March 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.

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The Spindles—Wavelength

The Spindles conduct a master class in power pop, paying homage to the past while strutting into the future. The Hollies’ “Bus Stop” represents their roots—hell, it represents the roots of most power pop bands, followed by “Rock Boy” which has the smart chords and deft guitar work of Automat. “Henry and Leslie” shares the mournful quality of The Ghost Particles, the minor key longing of the Cave Dogs and Spooner, a great Wisconsin band that included Butch Vig and Dave Benton, who also plays in The Ghost Particles. The Spindles stay in minor key through “Rock For It” and “How To Love,” return to sunny chords with “Two Sides To Every Story,” with the indelible lyric, “Well there’s two sides to every story, one for truth and one for glory.”

The vibe often recalls the Elvis Brothers. Main songwriter and singer Jeff Janulis says, “Regarding the EBs, they first started playing together when I was starting at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, and I was a fan who became a friend. I have known them now for more than 40 years.”

“Ride My Bike” is a biker anthem, hat tips to Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda, and features dueling lead guitars like the Allman Brothers, with Bob Midnight and Andrew Bockelman trading licks. Every song’s a winner finishing with the high note of “The Best Of Everything,” which ends with John Lennon’s lyrics from “Give Peace A Chance.” “The Best of Everything” is a better song.

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The Laissez Fairs—Cryptic Numbers (Rum/Bar)

Las Vegas psychedelic trio returns with a haze-infused cornucopia that looks backward and forward at the same time. John Fallon’s guitar and Joe Lawless’ Mellotron summon the summer of love, Love itself, Jimi Hendrix, condensing big sounds into three minute bites. Like “Steal the Whole World” that opens with an arresting, almost orchestral fanfare, Mellotron sounding like a sitar. There’s a major prog component at work on “Duke F 1842,” which recalls the Neal Morse Band, and again on “Jennifer Down.”

“Soul Motion” sounds bigger than a trio, with the Mellotron playing a lush fanfare. “Idiot Proof” has a California vibe, Moby Grape, Quicksilver. “Authentic Blues” too, but more Grateful Dead during their Workingman’s Dead period. Power pop’s a big tent and includes “Uncle John’s Band.” If you love psychedelia, these guys are right up there with Neal Morse and the Pillbugs.

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Brad Marino—On The Brink (Rum/Bar)

This collection of rarities, remixes and unreleased tracks is elemental pop rock in the groove of Paul Collins and Kurt Baker, only more roadhouse, more garage, beginning with “Girl, I Want You,” which sounds like Brad wrote this after listening to the Kinks’ “You Really Got Me.” The songs are short, sometimes just fragments, but there are so many of them! Marino has always been about the machine gun burst as seen on his last record, Basement Beat. Marino turns Buddy Holly’s “Peggy Sue Got Married” into his own grittier version, followed by the elemental “C’Mon C’Mon,” on which he plays all instruments, as he does on most songs. Dee Dee Ramone’s “Somebody Like Me” and “Outsider” fit seamlessly into Brad’s roadhouse sensibility. Brad pays tribute on “Ramones and Stones,” and on the lickety-split “A.D.H.D.,” which summarizes his approach. None of these songs overstay their welcome. In fact, you wish there were more.

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Joe Giddings—Stories With Guitars (Kool Kat)

As lush and refreshing as a Hawaiian rain forest, Joe Giddings’ Stories With Guitars is a cathedral of sound looming over the pop rock landscape. I hesitate to call it power pop. It is, but it’s so much more. It’s ELO, Wilkerson and the Beatles too, beginning with “Tonite Tonite,” a fanfare opening in the tradition of Cheap Trick’s “Hello There,” and Ed James’ even more thrilling and criminally overlooked “Welcome to the Show.” It’s a “let’s get this show started” velvet gauntlet and it only gets better. Like Ed James, Joe plays every instrument and quadruple tracks himself for the harmonies. Every song is a bullseye.

“Then Came Madeline” is a swooning ballad with the shifting textures of The Dowling Poole or The Blood Rush Hour. “Pandora’s Brand New Box” plants a flag in Jellyfish territory. “David Stepanski” harnesses Marshal Crenshaw’s lilting romanticism. “Adrenaline” is an Aztec pyramid of chords. Giddings plays profligate guitar on every song, but especially on “Bite My Lip.” “Song At the End of the World” quotes Beethoven’s fifth before launching itself into the stratosphere. Top ten, maybe record of the year.

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Miss Georgia Peach—Class Out The Ass (Rum/Bar)

Hey! What’s she doing in here? This is straight up country! And you’ll love it, even if you’ve never heard Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, or Tammy Wynette. Miss Peach has got the voice and attitude. Never mind that “Honey Wagon” is the same tune as Danny and the Juniors’ “Rock and Roll Is Here To Stay.” When you play roadhouse and lean toward honky tonk and rockabilly, you’re going to hit those chords. Even better are the duets: “Sweet Thang” with Scott Luallen and “You’re The Reason Our Kids Are Ugly” with Blaine Cartwright. Both those guys have got the twang. This is like a time capsule from the sixties but the recording’s a lot sharper.

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November Album Reviews: Bloody Red Baron

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