'Pop Treasures' by Half/Cubes

GUEST POST: Jordan Oakes

This Flashcubes project involves creating hybridized cover tunes in which the Syracuse legends meld tributarily with their power-pop heroes, skillfully enshrining them in their temple of tempos.

“Pop Treasures is a direct result of Pop Masters. When the Flashcubes finished Pop Masters, there were lots of great songs on our list that veered toward a decidedly more pop direction, not typically in the Flashcubes’ sweet spot—so Gary and I decided to keep going,” said Tommy Allen, drummer of The Flashcubes.

Several of the tracks feature contributions from people in the bands who originally did them; other songs are Full/Cubed and self-contained.

“The songs we chose are personal favorites from our heroes, and to have some of them participate in our versions of their great songs is an honor,” Allen said, adding, “Volume 2 is almost done!”

The chosen ones are like recommendations in demonstration mode—a playlist in more than one sense.

They’re by Eric Carmen, 10cc, Alessi Brothers, 20/20, Jason Falkner, Hudson Brothers, and other wish-list icons. Mind you, not every track is wrapped in a skinny tie—some delve into the plaintive pleasures of British guitar pop, like The Trashcan Sinatras and Del Amitri.

There’s even a souvenir from the synth-pop zeitgeist, Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark. But every song, even the genre-straddlers, conform to The Flashcubes’ trademarked distillation of soaring pop and restless rock. And they tackle a track or two that I never considered a classic the first time around.

For example, “Heaven’s Falling,” from Cheap Trick’s 1983 album, Next Position Please. Written by producer Todd Rundgren, it’s a catchy Utopian tune from the Trick’s brief castrato phase, when they seemed to surrender their rage in favor of a plasticine ELO congeniality. (I was relieved to hear them bounce back in kick-ass fashion on the under-appreciated follow-up, Standing on the Edge).

This all goes to say that the Half/Cubes’ take is faithful, but somehow superior to Cheap Trick’s. The cover, in fact, makes me a “Heaven” convert at last.

Among the non-songwriter guest musicians who bring their best game to Pop Treasures are the versatile Darian Sahanaja, Jim Laspesa, Matt Jardine, and Rob Bonfiglio.  

20/20’s exuberant “Jet Lag”—perhaps the true masterpiece of that perfect first album—is handled by the Half/Cubes with care and precision; it’s as though the songwriter, Mike Gallo, trusted them with the keys to the car (or the plane, as it were).  

“The Things That We Do” sounds remarkably like Beagle’s original version—which is unsurprising, as it features the lead vocal of that Swedish band’s Magnus Borjeson. The Rubinoos’ “The Girl”—which, to my knowledge, made its first appearance on Yellow Pills; Volume 1—sounds better than ever.

The Rubes and the Cubes have always enjoyed a camaraderie, and this sparkly new recording cannily features the Daltrey-Townshend nucleus of The Rubinoos—Jon  Rubin and Tommy Dunbar—to help it breeze along (no windmill guitar moves required). Pop Treasures is a total success in terms of taste and execution.

The song possibilities for future volumes are practically endless.

May I suggest including a Brit rock-style postcard in the next volume, on which listeners can make their requests for future coverage? Though the band would be the final arbiters, of course, and never run out of ideas on their own, a Big Star light bulb or two might go off if somebody else pulls the string.

In this power pop Game of Games, we need team Flashcubes and their amazing halftime show. Pop Treasures contains pure gold, and not a scrap of irony.

Jordan Oakes founded, published, and edited the Yellow Pills power pop magazine beginning in 1991, and compiled five Yellow Pills CD compilations beginning in 1993. His journalism has also appeared in Sound Choice, Speak, The Riverfront Times, The Christian Science Monitor, Rolling Stone’s ‘Alt-Rock-a-Rama’ book, and elsewhere. He’s a published poet and occasional standup comedian. He loves dogs and dog-eared magazines.

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