September 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.
Abbey Road Reimagined: A Tribute to the Beatles (Cleopatra)
Sgt. Pepper and Abbey Road are my two favorite Beatles albums. Abbey Road is more power pop than anything else they did, especially the second side…and especially the medley that begins with “You Never Give Me Your Money.” Reimagined begins with “Come Together,” unforgettable then and unforgettable now in the hands of Durga McBroom, Jackie Lomax, and Snowy White. Sonny Landreth brings his blazing guitar to “Something.” Roger Joseph Manning Jr. does “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” with a little help from his friends, including producer Fernando Perdomo who dreamed this up and plays on every track.
I like Ringo. He’s a great drummer. His songs, however, are closer to polka than rock, and that goes for “Octopus’s Garden,” featuring Brian Auger on keys. “I Want You” features Arthur Brown on vocals (yes, that Arthur Brown) and the results are wildly operatic with a touch of parody that approaches Frank Zappa. This one takes the most liberties of any song on the disc, and is among the most memorable. “You Never Give Me Your Money” finds the train picking up speed, headed downhill.
The trouble with all these second half Abbey Road songs is that they’re too short! Nothing beats a power pop medley, and that’s what the Beatles created. “Mean Mr. Mustard,” “Polythene Pam” featuring Matthew Sweet, and “She Came In Through the Bathroom Window” are all too short. I wish the whole thing would go on forever. The inevitable denouement unfolds as imprinted in the memories and imaginations of every power pop Beatles lover, through the stunning “Carry That Weight” and “The End” with a “Her Majesty” chaser.
Vinyl Kings—Big New Life (Kool Kat)
Few bands have been able to reinvent themselves to degree the Vinyl Kings have. Only The Guess Who’s recent resurrection as power pop comes to mind, and now people say that’s not the real Guess Who. But this is the real Vinyl Kings, who burst on the scene in 2002 with A Little Trip, a tribute to the Beatles uncanny in its mastery of their sound, nailing it with every song except “Mother Dear.”
“The intent of this project was to have fun, both of love and respect. It is important that you know that The Beatles and the time in which the band existed were, for all of us, the gift of inspiration that drove us to a life of music.”
It was a long lost Beatles masterpiece. Sure it was derivative, but they nailed the sound. Twenty-two years later they have released the stunning Big New Life which, while containing Beatles influence, declares the Kings to be masterful power poppers with a sound of their own.
George Martin might have produced this. You can hear it in the orchestrations on “Sunshine,” with its cello-like bottom. The “Smoke Rings For Renee” orchestration is more Brill Building, more Bacharach, but it’s also fresh. “Long Way Down” is a Beatlesque vamp, but not derivative, similar to the way XTC’s Dukes of Stratosphere did it. The guitar swell on “Change Is” is Beatlesque, but again, has its own sound. The Kings’ sound now verges on sunshine pop with lush orchestrations and subtle chord changes that owe nothing to the Beatles. Brilliant and irresistible.
Velvet Attack—Visions From Inner Space (Kool Kat)
This is a departure for Kool Kat which specializes in power pop. This is heavy metal with Scandinavian overtones and progressive undertones. There’s not a major chord to be found here, although they’re not integral to power pop. The Cave Dogs and 20/20 come to mind.
The opener, “Double Cylinder Man,” sets the tone with a massive bottom and twin horns like you’d find at a Motorhead concert. If it’s not a biker anthem, it should be. “Daughter of the Sun” is as prog as they come with a touch of psychedelia, perhaps the Laissez Faires, and a Jimmy Page guitar riff. “Hellfire,” whether intentional or not, touches on the Crazy World of Arthur Brown. Teamed with “Fire,” this would make a great medley. “House of Correction” has an Egyptian sounding riff like the soundtrack to Cleopatra, or The Bangles.
The ironically named “Dawn of Summer” is the opposite of The Beach Boys with doom crashing all around. I can see them playing this in a forest in Norway in winter. It ain’t power pop, but it’s good music. Every song is built like an Egyptian pyramid with bridges and hooks, and the juxtaposition of lead singer Kono’s harmonica with massive waves of guitar gives them a unique sound. Appropriately, Alaska Winter is the producer.
The Armoires—Octoberland (Big Stir)
The Armoires deal in sweet harmony far removed from The Beach Boys, more akin to Peter, Paul and Mary or The Mamas and the Papas. The sky blue cheer of their sound belies their subject matter: “Ouroboros Blues,” “Green Hellfire at the 7-11,” “You Oughta be Cut in Half,” “Sickening Thud.” “Ourboros Blues” carry a hint of the Canyon, with a little CSN, although Christina Bulbenko’s voice has an angelic, almost child-like quality. A child who knows how to sing.
Music is the only art where children can reveal their genius. Mozart began composing when he was four years old. Bulbenko is no child and she hits the notes. Larysa Bulbenko’s violin winds through every song like a green trail through a forest. “Green Hellfire” ironically recalls the exhilarating folk/rock of the We Five whose “When I Woke Up This Morning” sounds as fresh as when it was released in 1965. “Snake Island Thirteen” has a perfect balance of chords, a sunshine blast tangential to the surf. Good music has a timeless quality.
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