Covers can feel like an artistic cheat. Why write something new when there’s a wealth of material out there that’s already proven to be popular? But covers can be an equally exquisite creative outlet in the right artistic hands. So here we pull out some pretty fabulous covers from acts that certainly know their own way around a songwriter’s desk.
Our first song triplet reaches back to the sixties and seventies. Robert Crenshaw steps out of his brother’s shadow on his 2003 long-player Dog Days and takes on a real classic pop wonder with a cover of The Vogues 1966 hit “Five O’Clock World.” Artists as varied as Julian Cope, The Proclaimers and Bowling for Soup have taken a stab at it but Crenshaw’s version really lands. Mark Ward’s new album Translator offers a wide range of covers but his take on Badfinger’s “Baby Blue” hits the power pop guitar and vocal marks. Sometimes artists seem to deliberately take up material pretty far flung from their usual melodic haunts. Like Mark Aaron James’ cover of ABBA’s “The Name of the Game.” This is not an easy song to knock off at karaoke. It’s got strange pacing, plenty of tempo change-ups, and a melody that curves in unusual ways. James gets the tune across in an original way.
Robert Crenshaw – Five O’Clock WorldMark Aaron James – The Name of the Game
Moving toward the new wave turn of the decade capping off the 1970s The Pictures lead guy Davey Lane gives us a less English version of Squeeze’s kitchen-sink singalong “Up the Junction.” It’s got a rougher edge, slightly less winsome, perhaps more drink-along than sing-along – but good. The Dahlmanns know their Tom Petty and give us a taste on their 2024 Lucky EP. Their version of “A Thing About You” is less snarly, more power poppy, and utterly delightful. By contrast, Canadian Jeremy Fisher deconstructs The Cars super-hit “My Best Friend’s Girl,” adding mischief, some pipe solos, and background vocals with just enough cheese to be enjoyably ironic.
Arriving in the 1980s The Extensions reinvent the Simple Minds’ iconic movie tune “Don’t You (Forget About Me).” They seem to slow things down, lower the angst level, but dial into the song’s sincere heart. Lisa Mychols likes to collaborate and her new vehicle is The High Frequencies. Catch their magnetic cover of David Bowie’s “Modern Love.” It’s another song that sounds so easy to do but needs a certain kind of energy to really come together – this band does it justice. Another artist that is hard to cover is Aimee Mann. Her work is just so her that it’s hard to imagine other possible versions. But Marti Jones, another artist with a distinctive vocal approach, pulls it off on her cover of Mann’s “Put Me on Top” from her 1993 solo debut Whatever.
Marti Jones – Put Me On Top
Wrapping up this covers extravaganza is an elegant re-make of Elliott Smith’s “Waltz #2 (XO)” from the ever so piano-delightful Sofa City Sweetheart. The accompaniment is spare, just piano and Juan Antonio Lopez’s aching vocals.
Photo ‘Found Kodachrome Slide’ courtesy Thomas Hawk Flikr collection.
Canadian folk popster Jeremy Fisher has been getting back to his earlier material lately. Let It Shine Redux is his latest installment of re-recording his earlier material, this time an acoustic reworking of his first major label LP. A lot of artists have been drawn to the redux path in the last two decades, mostly to squeeze a bit more on the royalty side away from record companies. The first instance I recall was Squeeze’s Spot the Difference LP from 2010. The band’s reasoning was pretty straight up. With boomer nostalgia fueling the use of 1980s music in movies and TV the band wanted their re-recorded versions to be licensed for use instead of the ones owned by their former record company. And who can blame them. In Fisher’s case though, as he never really broke that big commercially, the reasoning might be different. This time out is a bit different from his 2022 reworking of Goodbye Blue Monday, retitled Hello Blue Monday. That record completely retooled the musical approach, different instruments, sometimes different tempos. But Let It Shine Redux is more of an acoustic treatment, reducing the earlier record’s pop complexity to just acoustic guitars (rhythm and lead) and vocals (background and lead). And these are not even the first acoustic takes as a number of tunes from the record have already appeared in stripped down form on Fisher’s Acoustic Songbook I and II. Still, the versions here are different from all others and definitely worth the return visit.
The album features the same tracks as the original in the same running order. Opener “Lemon Meringue Pie” sets the all-acoustic tone and I’ll confess I worried as it got going that things might be too stripped down here. But when the chorus kicked in that Fisher magic simply could not be contained. Other songs like “Suckerpunch” and “High School” gain a fresh punch with these new arrangements while should-have-been hits like “Singing on the Sidewalk” sound no less AM radio fabulous. A number of songs from the original album were already pretty folky (e.g. “Fall For Anything,” “Drunk on Your Tears”) so Redux gives Fisher a chance to strike a different folk pose. And he does, drawing out new melodic possibilities from his material. That’s the thing about Fisher, he makes it all sound so simple, obscuring his songwriting prowess. Always more Paul Simon than Bob Dylan, Fisher’s material is usually hummable, often sing-along-able, sometimes just reverently moving. What I loved about Let It Shine was Fisher’s knack for getting just the right balance of quirky instrumentation and reliable hooks. Let It Shine Redux alters that balance for sure but the results are fresh and lively and no less compelling.
On his website Fisher muses about getting material together for an album of new material. That can’t happen soon enough. Stock up on your Fisher catalogue at Bandcamp or his own retail space to help make that a reality.
It’s popular to paint Santa in petit-bourgeois hues, as if he’s the boss of the North Pole. For many he’s like a festive foreman, running the workshop as a seasonal overseer. But what if Santa is just another worker, one perennially doomed to work the night shift? It’s plausible. I mean, it’s not like he charges for the toys – we’re told he gives them away to boys and girls for no more payment than good behaviour. That hardly seems the ethos of some kind of profit-obsessed Christmas CEO. And if you set aside the magically-conceived-baby thing (and let’s face it, most of us do) what you’re left with actually sounds pretty socialist. In a sharing, caring, skip the work-camps sort of way. So corral your work-team into the break room – it’s time for our annual spate of poprock holiday hymns.
My go-to source for hooky holiday material is NYC’s mysterious merrymakers Make Like Monkeys. Do they work hard for holidays? I count twenty separate seasonally-themed pages on the band’s Bandcamp page so the answer would be yes. Here they get us into the spirit of getting busy with “Let’s Go Christmas,” a song that levels with you about what is to come (and it may be painful). Another reality check comes from Norfolk, Virginia’s The Mockers as they dispel the make-believe culture war nonsense of the political right on “(There’s No War on Christmas) When Christmas Is In Your Heart.” Keeping to the reality theme Jeremy Fisher completes our initial trio of tunes with the inflation-timely “Economy Xmas.” With a chorus consisting of ‘I owe, I owe, I owe’ this is clearly a real singalong number for many this year. So if you’re just looking for a Quiet Christmas this year, check out Jeremy’s album of the same name.
Trees and presents are essential components of consumer Christmas – we have to cover them. But we’re not heading to that in-town Xmas three lot, no sir. Instead we’ve signed up Sweden’s The Genuine Fakesto take us to Taylor Swift’s “Christmas Tree Farm.” It’s in a rougher part of the outback than Taylor usually frequents. Sometimes the guitars get turned up to 11. Moving on to presents, well you never know what you might get. Here to monetize that anxiety are everyone’s fave pop punkers Vista Blue with a track from their new EP Christmas Every Day entitled “What Are You Gonna Get?” But why worry about stuff when there’s love on the line? The Mockers explore the real meaning of the season and good deal of NYC and its boroughs on their beat group-inspired “(What’s a Better Present) At Christmas Time.”
Christmas is also about geography. After all, Santa’s got to cover a lot of ground in just one night. Perennial pub rocker Geraint Watkins draws our attention to classic humanist theme of harmony and togetherness in his beautiful, piano-based ballad “Christmas Day All Over the World.” Chicago’s Alpine Subs have a more narrow focus, finding Santa “Over Wichita”. There’s a nice Shins-meets-Paul McCartney vibe going on here. LA’s Sofa City Sweetheart draws our attention to the less savory side of a sunshine state seasonal celebration on “Christmas in California.” Still, it’s sung so pretty everything still sounds like a pretty good time. And there’s a whole album to go with it – you can literally spend Christmas on the Sofa.
What about feelings? We know that all the hyped holiday togetherness wallpapered through Xmas advertising gets a lot of people down. Geoff Palmer gives voice to some of this on “Lonely Christmas Call.” It’s basically a George Jones family break-up song but done in a more Nick Lowe poprock style. Make Like Monkeys hit the Beatles pedal hard on “Found Love for Christmas.” It’s an old, old story – everyone can see your new flame is about to go out. Looks like you’re getting heartbreak for Christmas. By contrast, Tall Poppy Syndrome are taking it slow. Why not just “Come Some Christmas Eve”? Seems like a curious time for a drop-in date but what do I know? The song is an oldie from Robin Gibb while the band features Vince Maloney from the original sixties version of the Bee Gees. Their version is both sixties immaculate and rather timeless.
You know what makes Christmas cool? Ok sure, snow. But beyond that you need a healthy dose of surf guitar holiday song instrumentals. Toronto’s all woman Surfrajettes go on a lovely guitar-lick-filled “Marshmallow March.” Then to the Jersey shore where The Evergleams take up the tempo on “Marshmallow World.” So much marshmallow, so little fire. Guitar virtuoso Joel Paterson is back with a second installment of his Hi Fi Christmas Guitar series, dubbed The More The Merrier. So hard to choose just one song from this fabulous collection. His take on “O Tannenbaum” is so groovy, one part Vince Guaraldi, one part shake and shimmying goodness. But then his work on “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer” takes a song most of can’t bear to hear again and makes it jump with new life. I’m just going to put them both right down here.
Wrapping things up, Vancouver’s Said the Whale remind us of the “Weight of the Season,” the different ways it affects us all. Now that Saint Shane is gone York’s Bullget my vote for most emotionally-charged Christmas tune with their new “Gay Days.” In their view the world may be shit and darkness reigns but as long as ‘you’re coming home for Christmas’ they can muster up a choir, some horns, and few penny whistles. We end our melodious journey where we began, with Make Like Monkeys and a focus on St. Nick. On “Father Christmas” the band reflect on the old man’s drive to make some good happen for those who believe while battling wind and weather and whatnot. Kinda like the rest of us (well, some of us).
It’s been a rough year for the working classes at home and abroad and wherever you may be. So please accept a merry happy whatever-you-celebrate this year from us here at Poprock Record.
Image courtesy Tatsuya Tanaka from his Miniature Calendar. I feature his image in part to help promote his great project – check it out here.
It’s been five years since I embarked on this mad journey: to write a music blog. I dithered over the decision to start one for a number of months. There’s nothing more pathetic than to start something with maximum fanfare and enthusiasm, only to have it flame out a half dozen posts later. The questions I had to ask myself were: (a) was there enough of ‘my kind’ of music to regularly post about, and (b) could I sustain the effort to get regular posts up on the blog? Well here’s the proof. In five years I’ve managed to produce 347 blogs posts. I’ve written more than 170,000 words about poprock tunes. And, most importantly, I’ve featured almost 1000 different artists. Guess the answers to (a) and (b) are both a resounding yes!
I think the biggest reason this blog thing has worked out for me is that it is such a great outlet for being creative and having fun with something that has always been pretty central to my life: music. I love doing all the mock serious regular features (e.g. Breaking news, Around the Dial, Should be a hit single) and coming up with goofy themes as a way to feature different artists (e.g. “Telephonic Poprock,” “Summer’s Coming,” and the Cover me! series. Sometimes I’ve pushed the posts in more serious directions (“Is That So Gay,” “Campaigning for Hooks,” and “Pandemic Poprock“) but only if the melodies and hooks were there in abundance. The blog has also allowed me to pay tribute to my musical heroes (Buddy Holly, The Beatles, The Zombies, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Marshall Crenshaw, Suzanne Vega, Aimee Mann). But, as regular readers know, such luminaries mostly appear as reference points to better help people get of a sense of what all these new acts are doing.
If you’ve just tuned in, I’m not assigning the past five years of posts as homework. Instead, I offer today’s anniversary post as a retrospective of what’s been happening here. I reviewed all 347 posts to pick out some choice examples of the range of styles I can cram under the rubrik of ‘poprock’. It wasn’t easy! My first go round produced a list of 118 songs. When I converted that to a playlist I got the number down to 81 tracks. Ack! Still too many. So I’ve broken things down into themes. This is not a ‘greatest hits’ or ‘best of’ Poprock Record. I’ve left out a lot of acts I really love. It’s just a representative sample of what goes on here, to borrow some lingo from my day job. Click on the highlighted band names to go to the original posts on the blog.
Let’s start by recognizing that not all that appears here is new. The blog has allowed me to explore a huge number of acts I’ve missed over the years, particularly in the 1990s when my new day job (academe) took over my life. I can’t believe I somehow missed great bands like Fire Town and the Soul Engines with their incredible guitar hooks. The Sighs “Make You Cry” is a pretty perfect poprock single. I knew about Billy Cowsills’ Blue Northern but had never heard of his later group, the Blue Shadows. And Eugene Edwards’ sole solo release, My Favorite Revolution, is a must add for any melodic rock and roll fan.
Fire Town – She Reminds Me of YouSoul Engines – Just Another DayThe Sighs – Make You Cry
Eugene Edwards – Congratulations My Darling
There have been acts that appeared again and again on the blog, my ‘old reliables’ as I might call them. These are performers I can pretty much carve out space in the queue for whenever I hear a new release is on the way. Gregory Pepper is probably my most covered artist. I love his quirky, always hooky, sometimes touching efforts. Ezra Furman was another great find who has an unerring knack of placing a memorable hook at the centre of whatever he’s doing, whether it’s retro 1950s pop or a punkish political ode. I discovered Jeremy Fisher long before the blog but I’ve used it to feature his work, old and new. He’s like a new wave Paul Simon with great videos. Edward O’Connell only has two albums, but they are reliably good. We really need a third. Mo Troper always delivers something wonderfully weird but still melodic and ‘can’t get it out of your head’ good. Finally, Jeremy Messersmith’s records regularly encompass big vision but he doles it out in memorable should-be hit singles.
Edward O’Connell – The End of the LineJeremy Messersmith – Fast Times in Minnesota
In my world of poprock, while any instrument goes, the electric guitar is arguably pretty central. Some bands really know how to ride a guitar-driven song right into your head. Jeff Shelton’s Well Wishers excel at putting the guitar up front. “Feeling Fine” is practically a ‘how to’ example of killer guitar-dominant poprock. The David James Situation and The Format are no slouches either. Jangle is a related field of guitar poprock and takes a number of forms, from the 1960s-inflected Byrds sound of The Vapour Trails to the more jaunty bubblegum feel of The Lolas “We’re Going Down to the Boathouse.” Jangle also usually features pretty addictive harmony vocals, showcased below in Propeller’s “Summer Arrives.”
David James Situation – I Should KnowThe Format – Wait Wait Wait
As the original and defining decade of poprock (in my view), the 1960s sound continues to be mined by new artists. Daisy House have few rivals in nailing the late 1960s California poprock vibe, sounding like time travelers from San Francisco’s 1968 club scene. Space Dingus have got The Monkees feel down. Both Shadow Show and The On and Ons gives us that rockier pop sound of the mid 1960s, with the latter delivering killer lead guitar hooks. By contrast, both Cut Worms and The Young Veins offer a candy-coated pop sound more akin to The Cyrkle and Simon and Garfunkel.
The On and Ons – Before Our EyesThe Young Veins – Cape Town
I’m a sucker for shivery harmony vocals so they’ve been featured regularly on the blog. One of Jenny Lewis’ side projects is the one-off album from Jenny and Johnny, I’m Having Fun Now. Aptly named, the record gently rocks and delivers amazing vocals. The Secret Sisters offer up a punchy tune where the harmony vocals seal the hooky deal. The Carousels “Call Along the Coast” has a big sound the rides a wave of harmony vocalizing and Beatlesque guitar work. Meanwhile Scotland’s Dropkick corner the market on delightful lilting songcraft on “Dog and Cat.” The blog sometimes shades into retro country and folk territory. Bomabil are an eccentric outfit who stretch our sense of song but never drop the melody. The Top Boost are pretty new wave but on “Tell Me That You’re Mine” they’re channeling Bakersfield via the Beatles 65. The Fruit Bats put the banjo upfront in “Humbug Mountain,” where it belongs. Gerry Cinnamon is like Scotland’s Billy Bragg and he shows what you can do with just an acoustic guitar and a Springsteen harmonica.
Jenny and Johnny – Scissor RunnerThe Secret Sisters – Black and BlueThe Carousels – Call Along the CoastGerry Cinnamon – What Have You Done
I’m proud to say that the blog has sometimes strayed off the beaten path of conventional poprock into more eccentric territory with bands that are smart and quirky and not afraid to lodge a hook in a more complex setting. Tally Hall pretty much define this approach. So ‘out there’ but still so good melodically. Chris Staples and Hayden offer up more low key, moody tunes but they still have a strong melodic grab. Overlord take clever to a new level, like a grad school version of They Might Be Giants. Coach Hop is just funny and hooky with his unabashed ode to liking Taylor Swift.
Tally Hall – Sacred Beast
Overlord – The Song That Saved the World
After the 1960s the new wave era is the renaissance of poprock for me with its combination of hooky guitars, harmony vocals, and melody-driven rock and roll. Screen Test capture this ambience perfectly on “Notes from Trevor” with a chorus that really delivers. The Enlows drive the guitar hook right into your head on the dance-madness single “Without Your Love.” Billy Sullivan epitomizes the reinvention of 1960s elements that occurred in the 1980s, well embodied in “Everywhere I Go.” Another strong theme in the blog has been the “I Get Mail” feature, populated largely by DIY songsters who write me about their garage or basement recorded releases. It is inspiring to hear from so many people doing their thing and getting it out there, especially when it is generally really good. Daveit Ferris is a DIY workaholic with an amazing range of song and recording styles. “Immeasurable” is a good illustration of his genius, with a banjo-driven chorus that always makes me smile. Mondello is practically the classic indie artist movie script, struggling to get an album out after 20 years. But then his follow up single, “My Girl Goes By,” is gold!
Screen Test – Notes from TrevorBilly Sullivan – Everywhere I GoDaveit Ferris – Immeasurable
I want to leave you with a two-four of should-be hits from Poprock Record. These songs are all quality cuts, grade A poprock with melodies and harmonies and hooks to spare. Some of these songs leave me panting, they’re so good. I kicked off the blog back in 2015 with Family of Year and I still think “Make You Mine” is a textbook should-be AM radio hit. Sunday Sun channel The Beatles through a 1980s song filter, in the very best way. Sitcom Neighbor’s “Tourist Attraction” is a delightful earworm affliction. Wyatt Blair has somehow boiled down the essential formula of a 1960s-influenced poprock hit. Wyatt Funderburk understands how to assemble the perfect melody-driven single. And so on. Get your clicking finger warmed up and you’ll be introduced to the essence of Poprock Record in 24 melodious increments.
Family of the Year – Make You MineEx Cops – JamesSitcom Neighbor – Tourist Attraction
The Primary 5 – MailmanDaisy – I Just Don’t Believe It
One thing I didn’t anticipate was all the great people I’d come in contact with writing a music blog. Thanks to all the bands, record labels, and readers who have responded so positively to what I’ve been doing here. A special thanks to Best Indie Songs, Tim at Powerpopulist and Don at I Don’t Hear a Single for their advice over the years and to my friends Rob at Swizzle and Dale at The View from Here for encouraging me to do this.
This post features pics from my poprock-postered 1985-7 apartment in Vancouver’s West End. Just $285 a month, all inclusive. No wonder I could buy so many records.
There are songs that come on and a smile follows. It’s spontaneous, even if it happens every time. Even this random car graphic above can’t resist smiling. Given the headlines, it seems like every day our world needs a few more songs that sound like a smile. Here are a few random choices that never fail for me.
Scotland’s Dropkick are a fave here at Poprock Record and I can’t resist a chance to feature another of their fabulous tunes, this time from Good Vibes: The Dropkick Songbook, a 2014 release of re-recorded songs drawn from material first released between 2001 and 2008. “Dog and Cat” is lovely, lilting happy tune, with a sweet sentiment. One could imagine Schroeder of Peanuts fame playing this for Lucy, I mean, if he actually liked her and switched from piano to guitar.
The Mowgli’s have that upbeat positive sound I associate with Family of the Year and Good Old War, bands that lean heavily on acoustic guitars, sweet harmony vocals, and catchy hooks. Stand alone single “Room for All of Us” builds from a positive message to an anthemic poppy chorus, and the song raises money for the International Rescue Committee, a nonprofit that helps those displaced by conflict.
Lord Huron is largely known for his dreamy Americana but from the first time I heard “Hurricane (Johnny’s Theme)” it practically leapt out at me as some kind of weird but wonderful mid-1960s pastiche revival tune, one part Johnny Rivers, another part Johnny Horton, with even some Marty Robbins in there somewhere. Listen to how the song takes off with it’s trebly lead line and strong vocals, so unlike most of Lord Huron’s other material. Upbeat and positive in its relentlessly peppy presentation.
Bruce Springsteen hardly needs press from the likes of me but his 2014 Record Store Day EP release American Beautycontains a stand out track that is just a little bit different than the rest of his catalogue with “Hurry Up Sundown,” particularly with its carmelized, fattened-up vocal track. The song is classic Bruce but coated in a polished poprock veneer circa 1987 that makes me smile.Hurry Up Sundown
Rounding out this post is a bit of Can Con I’ve regularly featured on the blog, Jeremy Fisher. Most of this Canuck’s songwriting is pretty sunshine and rainbows positive but “Come Fly Away” from his 2010 release Floodis smile plasteringly pleasant and uplifting. Cue sun-up and chirping birds.
You’ll never see the rock critics expounding on the seminal influence of Simon and Garfunkel to contemporary music – but it is there. Not because S&G broke new ground like the Beatles or the Kinks or the Who. Nor did they exude a counter culture rock persona like the Rolling Stones or Jimi Hendrix. But they did contribute to the unique 1960s synthesis of musical styles, songwriting, and performance that would define the popular song in the decades to come. Paul Simon’s genius was in melding the authenticity of folk music with the more relentless hooks from pop music, cast against a dazzling array of musical backdrops (something more fully exploited in his solo career). But in S&G, his talents produced a unmistakable sound, regardless of the style of the material. That sound can be found all over the contemporary music-sphere.
Australian band The Paper Kites nail the S&G sound on “Never Heard a Sound,” from the signature acoustic finger rolls to the effervescent harmony vocals.
Chicago’s Fruits Bats take the influence but sound like they’ve tuned everything down into a lower register on “Rainbow Sign.”
I wasn’t convinced Steve Robinson and Ed Woltil really fit the S&G bill until about half way through “The Boy from Down the Hill” because I was too distracted by the more obvious Bryds and Beatles influences but the vocals do have some very S&G touches.
You Won’t sound like S&G from an alternative dimension, you know, the one where everybody here is there too but somehow just a bit weirdly different. “Three Car Garage” is a wonderfully weird and different S&G-style single.
Jeremy Fisher is the living embodiment of S&G studies, a master of the master’s many styles. Really, if Simon and Garfunkel were sensible and wanted a killer comeback album they would just comb Fisher’s catalogue for an album or two of amazing material. Fisher particularly excels at the up-tempo S&G sound (e.g. Cecilia, Mrs. Robinson, etc.) as is evident from “The Scar that Never Heals.”
Ireland’s Villagers capture the more morose side of S&G on “Becoming a Jackal,” particularly when you hit the chorus.
Along with drugs, hard liquor and sex, cigarettes are a staple motif of the rock and roll imaginary. But poprock has typically taken a lighter approach to vice. Cigarettes appear as metaphors for both desire and dysfunctional relationships, sometimes in the same song. Jeremy Fisher’s amazing 2007 album, Goodbye Blue Monday, features a great cigarette song where the protagonist likens himself to a cigarette for his intended love: “Light me up and get on with it; I’ll be hard to forget; good or bad I’m just a habit.” Hardly seems like a strong way to sell yourself but Jeremy seems to be privileging results here at any cost. The video below became widely popular, even if the single and its album did not race up the charts the way they should have.
On “Last Cigarette” Darwin Deez’s lead singer strikes a different pose, alternating between telling himself he’s quitting but then opting for ‘one last cigarette,’ with shifts in focus illustrated with clever wordplay. But is the song about breaking up with somebody or just something, e.g. his cigarettes? I’m not sure – the ambiguity is part of the song’s charm. In any event, this is a standout track from an already impressive new album, Double Down. The band comes to Toronto December 12 for a show at The Drake Hotel.
Guster burst onto my scene with their 2003 album, Keep it Together. Initially I was taken with them for the title track of that record, which had been featured in an episode of Fox television’s teen drama The O.C. I bought the album, which features so many great songs (“Amsterdam,” “Diane,” “Backyard,” etc.) and saw them in concert at Lee’s Palace in Toronto. But their earlier and subsequent work didn’t grab me as much (“Satellite,” and “One Man Wrecking Machine” from their following album notwithstanding). But this most recent single is great and more striking in the digital single variation featured here.
This band has great album titles: How to Survive In (the Woods), At Echo Lake, etc. In needle-dropping my way through their eight-album catalogue, this song made me hit repeat. I love the mid-1960s trebly lead guitar sound of the simple but compelling riff used here to hook in the listener.
Fisher is a spot-on reincarnation of Paul Simon, if he were still writing great songs. From his latest album, 2014’s Lemon Squeeze, “A Song in My Heart” kicks off with a beat reminiscent of Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit in the Sky” or Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll” only to shift gears into an infectiously catchy hook that anchors the song. Try not to smile as he sings “There’s a little song in my heart …” But just as Fisher settles us into his hook, he shifts the direction of the song again. Great organ instrumental fill three quarters of the way through basically echoing the main hook.
There are songs that come on and a smile follows. It’s spontaneous, even if it happens every time. Even this random car graphic above can’t resist smiling. Given the headlines, it seems like every day our world needs a few more songs that sound like a smile. Here are a few random choices that never fail for me.
You’ll never see the rock critics expounding on the seminal influence of Simon and Garfunkel to contemporary music – but it is there. Not because S&G broke new ground like the Beatles or the Kinks or the Who. Nor did they exude a counter culture rock persona like the Rolling Stones or Jimi Hendrix. But they did contribute to the unique 1960s synthesis of musical styles, songwriting, and performance that would define the popular song in the decades to come. Paul Simon’s genius was in melding the authenticity of folk music with the more relentless hooks from pop music, cast against a dazzling array of musical backdrops (something more fully exploited in his solo career). But in S&G, his talents produced a unmistakable sound, regardless of the style of the material. That sound can be found all over the contemporary music-sphere.
Poprock Record 