April Album Reviews: Bloody Red Baron
GUEST POST: Mike Baron
Mike Baron (aka Bloody Red Baron) was the longtime album reviewer for Pop Geek Heaven. With the closure of that legendary power pop newsletter, we are very happy to host his latest round of album reviews here at Remember The Lightning.
Jordan Jones—And I, You (Kool Kat)
Jordan Jones’ minimalist packaging belies the richness of his songs, which approach Explorers Club serendipity, particularly the first song, “Envelope of Skin,” and particularly The Explorers Club’s Grand Hotel, when the Club expanded beyond their Beach Boys inspiration to embrace Burt Bacharach. Jones’ piano-driven song washes over you like a warm surf. Few are the power pop instrumentals that don’t overstay their welcome. This is one.
“Listen” is the first vocal, again, reminiscent of Grand Hotel, but with Jones’ unique voice. “Adore You” shows the same influences. Jones is not imitating Grand Hotel, but you hear the same river of American popular music going back to the Brill Building. Cynthia Weil. Burt Bacharach. Neil Sedaka. Lieber and Stoller. Jackie DeShannon. “Love Song of J” hits those same notes, pitch perfect minor key. If you heard this walking down a corridor in the Brill Building, you would assume Carole King had written it. Leave ‘em wanting more is a staple of show biz, and Jones does.
The Burroughs—Honey Imastar
The Burroughs are a nine-piece soul band from Greeley that bill themselves as “sweaty Greely soul.” They have a four-man horn section that’s tighter than a pickle jar. Leader Johnny Burroughs’ voice has an instantly identifiable sound combining intimacy with tensile strength. He goes from a whisper to a scream in “Go Crazy.” There are so many touchstones to this new album it would take a book to list them all, but throughout The Burroughs retain their own identity, built around the leader’s voice and a horn section that rivals Tower of Power.
“Automatic Systematic” could have been lifted from The S.O.S. Band’s Too. If you know The S.O.S. Band, you know that Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis wrote and produced much of their material. The Burroughs sound like that. Tower of Power horn-like hairpin curves mark “Found My Groove,” Graham Central Station on “Harder to Believe.”
No one will mistake The Burroughs for any of those bands due to Johnny’s voice, but this is the type of pure gold rhythm and blues enthusiasts have been waiting for. Having seen the band live on several occasions, I can testify that they sound just like this on stage.
Wesley Fuller—All Fuller No Filler (Kool Kat)
Wesley Fuller, who sometimes performs with a band, did this one all by himself, imbuing each instrument with a unique personality. Most of Fuller’s songs draw inspiration from the Brits, as on the XTC-like “Everything Is Strange,” but he also writes in the tradition of classic American power pop, such as “Jacaranda,” which is something the Raspberries or Hollies might have sung.
The drum solo and compelling bassline on “Inside and Out” illustrate Fuller’s ability to create a masterful melding of voices, while highlighting each individual voice. The bass on “Pacific Coast Highway” and “The Velvet Affair” are compelling. Fuller also harmonizes masterfully, evoking The Hollies and Sun Sawed in ½. Handclaps on “All Of My Dreams” bring this too short album to a joyous finish.
Jim Basnight—Summertime Peculiar
Jim Basnight rose to prominence in the seventies with The Moberlys and has been active ever since. He released his last two records, including the poppy Not Changing, on his own Precedent label. Summertime Peculiar is without Precedent. That is, Summertime Peculiar is digital only.
Skipping my usual rant on the need for physical media, Summertime Peculiar is an exercise in eclecticism, embracing power pop, Nashville, rockabilly, and the warm-hearted soul of the Brill Building in the sixties. It is exuberant and elegiac, sometimes in the same song. Basnight embraces any means necessary, including violin, harmonica and trumpet. “Lattes” sounds like a band in a 1920s speakeasy.
“What I Wouldn’t Do” sounds like something John Hiatt would like, and “I’ll Be There” sounds like something Bob Dylan would sing. The sing-along chorus on “Riding Rainbows” evokes the British singing hall, The Beatles, and XTC. The Beatles incorporate that sound into so many of their songs, including “For the Benefit of Mr. Kite.”
“Stars In Time” is a duet with Suze Sims, and the intertwining of their voices harks back to classic duets of the sixties and seventies. Steve Lawrence and Edye Gorme. Marvin Gaye and Tammi Tyrell. “Cameltoe” is the bastard child of Roy Rogers’ “Happy Trails,” with a stuttering vocal that almost pushes it into novelty territory. Almost. “Sea of Blue” also has one foot in country.
Through it all, Basnight shows an unerring sense for the elegant and unexpected bridge. “Alone With Her” is power pop more on the Marshall Crenshaw side of the room, while the heartfelt “We Rocked and Rolled” is more on the Shazam side of the room. The hoedown-like “Elma” features a violin that sounds like Richard Greene.
“Comfort Me” is a jazzy duet with with Suze Sims again, and this song has a peculiar quality. I listened in my car and as my elbow hung out the window, I felt vibrations in my arm. I looked around for somebody with massive speakers in their trunk, but when I drove away I realized it was this song. I did not hear a booming bass, but I felt it in the frame. “I Saw You Standing There” quotes Rodgers and Hart’s “Blue Moon,” originally released in 1934.
Summertime Peculiar has something for everyone while satisfying rockers.
Thanks for this! It's great to hear some new tracks that are falling under the radar.