November 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.
The Ghost Particles—North Central (Artisanal Records)
Several members of The Ghost Particles are power pop veterans. Phil Davis was in Firetown. Dave Benton and Joel Tappero were in Spooner. This second Ghost Particles record is something else. This is music for drowning your regrets late at night in a dark tavern, with Dylanesque overtones. Davis has a mournful foghorn voice suited to the subject matter; “Save the Ashes,” “All Gone Now,” “Last Call,” “What Remains,” and “This Is How It Ends.”
Songs like “Last Call” are minor key melancholia, but they all have great hooks, and sometimes the hooks are major chords, but melancholy. “I’m Your Man,” co-written with Butch Vig (who was also in Spooner), is full of regrets, riding on a massive bass. “All Gone Now” recalls the great roots rocker Scott Miller, and you can hear Dylan singing all these songs…except Davis has a better voice. These lyrics from “What Remains” are emblematic of the whole album: “What remains is what we lost, and every day we pay the cost.”
You gotta be in the mood, but if you’re in the mood—this is your record.
Nick Piunti & The Complicated Men—Up And Out Of It
Nick Piunti has an immediately identifiable sound centered around his multi-octave caramel voice and band dynamics of a top fuel dragster. You wouldn’t think his sound could get any bigger but it does and it casts a wide net. “Bottle It” has the simplicity and elegance of early Marshall Crenshaw, but hi-tech and in your face—a mellifluous juggernaut, like most of these songs.
“Long Way Down” is a time capsule from the ‘80s with a touch of John Cougar Mellencamp mourning. “Rejection Letter” is a stadium-ready barn burner with massive guitar. I chuckle when I see people post lists: “The Ten Best Guitarists Of All Time.” There are a thousand guitarists at that level and Piunti is one of them.
This record crackles with memorable riffs. “I’m Ready” softens the blow. It’s almost elegiac but loses none of Piunti’s characteristic power. “On the Ropes” has a perfectly placed minor chord that lifts the song higher. His best record yet.
Ed Ryan—Along For the Ride (Kool Kat)
Ed Ryan is another sole proprietor doing it all himself. He’s a power pop master writing lyrical songs of substance, the meaning of life, love, hopes and aspirations, with live wire writhing and popping guitar as on “Along For the Ride,” and every other song. “Better Than That” contains a gram of reggae and five grams of Jimmy Buffet, but less facile and more substantive. “Heart On My Sleeve” is a roadhouse jam, some bar in the middle of the country, more Doughboys than Beach Boys.
He slips his exquisite hook into “Solitary Man” like a winning lottery ticket. He does it on almost every song, as on the Blank Pages-adjacent “Looking For Something,” with another jolt of pure delight in the hook. Felix Cavalier might have written “Imperfect Life.” “Popee’s Garden” is an acoustic charmer with another unforgettable melody. Rick Derringer would proudly play “Find Me A Girl.” And “Follow You Down” would fit comfortably in O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Ed Ryan is a genius and this is a masterpiece.
Orbis Max—Tilt-A-Whirl
Every year I say it and every year it’s true. This has been one of the greatest years in pop/rock history, and here comes Orbis Max with a cornucopia of glory, beginning with “The Light From Other Windows,” a song about envy. Or maybe comparison. Comparison is the thief of joy. The a capella intro leads to an elegant, XTC-inspired melody.
Orbis Max covers a range of styles but it’s all power pop with careful attention to bridges and hooks. “Tuesday Too’s” roadhouse piano is pure ‘60s honky tonk, with a sax that sounds like it came off the soundtrack of Eddie and the Cruisers. The horns on “Take That Ride” have R&B contours reminiscent of later Blood, Sweat and Tears. (For B, S & T fans, New Blood is their best record, long after the controversial singers departed.) “Another Broken Waltz” might have come off Workingman’s Dead.
“On the Radio” hits the ground running, as do most of the CD bonus tracks. It could have been written by Huey Lewis. “With A Girl” combines Sun Sawed in ½ harmonies with George Martin arrangements. “One Of A Kind” has a Who bottom and a Hollies top. There are no bad songs. Top ten contender.
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Nick Piunti’s got IT! Very cool.
Oh, hell, "The Light from Other Windows" immediately had me.