CD Review - King of Power Pop by Paul Collins

King of Power Pop

Paul Collins

Alive/Natural Sound Records

Paul Collins revisits the fun and frisky sounds of the Nerves and the Beat with a CD of (mostly) new material  on King of Power Pop. You can’t find fault with the title after listening to songs that alternatively bring to mind The Beatles, The Beach Boys and the best tunes from Collins’ groundbreaking power pop bands.

The CD starts off, appropriately, with C’mon Let’s Go, a raspy garage rock anthem with a. modicum of Brit invasion phrasing. Nikki Corvette adds sass with her backing vocals.

The Ramones-y intro  to Doin’ It for the Ladies pulls you into the song immediately. It’s purely reminiscent of the Beat, and the .bon vivant man about town storyline has a clever twist. Hurting’s On My Side, a reflective ballad with harmonies that echoes the first few Beatles albums, has a slight country twang to the guitar.

Collins’ crisp guitar drives the fast-paced songs. The Romantics’ Wally Palmar on harmonica, Collins’ longtime lead guitar player Eric Blakely and drummer Dave Shettler (from Detroit garage rock band the Sights) round out the sound.

Many Roads to Follow, a beefed-up remake of the Nerves tune, is a heartbreaking slice of pop truth with a Wall of Sound lurking in the background. This is America, is a veritable rock ‘n’ roll travelogue compressed into into 3 minutes and 40 seconds. It’s  a flashback to Kim Wilde’s “Kids in America”, updated with namechecks from Chuck E. Cheese to James Brown. There’s an evocative, raspy-voiced cover of The Letter. Collins salutes influential pre-glam, pre-punk band Flamin’ Groovies with a cover of You Tore Me Down.

Collins’ crisp guitar drives the fast-paced songs. The Romantics’ Wally Palmar on harmonica, Collins’ longtime lead guitar player Eric Blakely and drummer Dave Shettler (from Detroit garage rock band the Sights) round out the sound.

King of Power Pop sounds fresh..It’s compulsively listenable, just like the Nerves and the Paul Collins Beat. There’s no "old rocker tries to recapture past inspiration.” vibe. Judging by the tunes on King of Power Pop, Collins never lost it.

CD Review: The Plimsouls - Live! Beg, Borrow & Steal: October 31, 1981 Whiskey A Go-Go

The Plimsouls
Live! Beg, Borrow & Steal: October 31, 1981 Whiskey A Go-Go
Alive/Natural Sound Records

The Plimsouls’ lean and catchy melodies lit up the the L.A. club scene in the late 70s/early 1980s. Singer/guitarist Peter Case formed the Plimsouls in 1978, after his first band, the Nerves, disbanded. Live! Beg, Borrow & Steal: October 31, 1981 Whiskey A Go-Go captures the Plimsouls during their heyday. Recorded on Halloween 1981 at the Whiskey A Go-Go on the Sunset Strip, it’s a slice of that coveted time in L.A. music history. Recorded the same year the band released their first (currently out of print) studio album. Live! Beg, Borrow & Steal features live versions of most of those songs and a few boisterous covers.

The Plimsouls are known to the public primarily for the song “A Million Miles Away” from Valley Girl. If you think that song was catchy, how’d ya like 17 more like it? Yes, L.A. was chock full of great bands and clubs in 1981. Hard-core punk and alternative bands were a dime-a-dozen on the scene, but the Plimsouls carved out a fresh and frenetic power pop sound. They retained a garage rock edge that cemented their identity. You can pick out a Plimsouls song from the soulful opening riffs of Eddie Munoz’s lead guitar every time.

There’s no lull in the action here, from the urgent opening of “Lost Time” to the jangly beat of “Zero Hour.” One party song segues into another, with every tune as energerized as the next. It’s a reminder of what grassroots rock ‘n’ roll was meant to be — kicky, unadorned fun. Members of New York’s Fleshtones join the band for of Gary “U.S.” Bonds’ “New Orleans.”

This is the Plimsouls’ second live album. 1988’s One Night in America, was released long after the band had ceased to exist. Case went on to a solo career, but the Plimsouls albums remained legendary among fans of garage rock, power pop and the L.A. scene.

The sound on Live! Beg Borrow & Steal is crisp and clean. It really gives you the sense that you’re standing right there in front of the stage listening to the band. Even the cheering and shouting fans come through clearly.

The band sits in front of the original Sunset Grill (the same one made famous by the Don Henley song) in the cover photo. The CD insert contains striking photos of the band by renowned rock photographer Robert Matheu. A note to vinyl collectors — Alive Naturalsound Records is releasing a limited edition LP version of Live! Beg, Borrow & Steal, with a free poster.