If groups such as Cheap Trick, Shoes and Enuff Z'Nuff hadn't already made you wonder, I submit The Drysdales self-titled debut as proof positive that the bands coming out of Chicago have turned the place into the new Liverpool.

The Drysdales brand of melodic power pop is heavily British-invasion inspired rock 'n' roll. They even brought in Raspberries' bassist Scott McCarl to add his vocals and guitars to all 12 tracks on this album.

The key inspirations for a very diverse, distinctive sound are The Beatles, The Kinks, The Raspberries and Del Shannon (who headlined over The Beatles in England at the height of Beatlemania folks!).

McCarl wrote the intro to the CD booklet. He also sings lead on and cowrote "Lost In Your Smile," which I deem to be the best power pop tune of the past year. According to McCarl's liner notes, the band wrote the tune the way bands used to do things before corporate America took the art and fun out of making music --- they wrote it spur of the moment on a greasy pizza box.

McCarl wrote the tune with the three Drysdales (Patrick Potts, Steve Potts and Ron Fox) and Mike Konopka (who co-produced and engineered the album with Fox). It's like a time machine to "Beatles' '65" with an uptempo bass line from McCarl, Ringo-would-be-proud drumming from Steve Potts, jangly guitars (they grab you like The Byrds' "Turn! Turn! Turn!" or The Beatles' "Ticket To Ride") and sweet as chocolate harmonies:

"I just got lost in your smile / you're the reason that I'm feelin' this way / been so happy since that lonely day when you lit up my heart / Writing you this letter . to make you feel better / Speakin' love ain't easy / Happy Anniversary..."

The Drysdales first single, "Do You Feel Allright," which has received recent airplay on college radio and internet power pop webcasts, has a killer, crunching guitar intro that slows to an acoustic pace, then builds instrument-by-instrument and vocal layer-by-layer as it bursts out of your speakers.

It also is a subtle tribute to the band's love of The Raspberries (at the CD release party last fall ex-Raspberries McCarl and Wally Bryson joined the band on stage for some Beatles tunes). The lyrics to "Do You Feel Allright" include direct references to tunes by The Raspberries (and The Choir, a '60s outfit that included three future Raspberries):

"Please go all the way / it's cold outside / I just need to get my hands on you..."

Lead singer Patrick Potts (who plays rhythm guitar, piano and harmonica; he also plays lead guitar on "Ireland") is currently helping to put together a Del Shannon tribute album (information is at DelShannon.Com or from Patrick at Ppotts@opentext.com). He's a huge Del Shannon fan, evidence of which is The Drysdales performance of Shannon's classic "I Go To Pieces" on this album:

"When I see her comin' down the street/ I get so shaky and I feel so weak / I tell my eyes look the other way / But they don't seem to hear a word I say, and I / go to pieces and I wanna hide / go to pieces and I almost die / every time my baby passes by..."

Patrick wrote most of the songs here. His writing style reminds me very much of Ray Davies of The Kinks, though the touch of Lennon-McCartney and Jagger-Richards surface in his songs as well --- he's not stealing from the masters, but building on the strong foundation of their songwriting styles. It's really quite impressive.

On "Magazine," Patrick becomes the "everyman" who gets his life torn to bits by the modern press:

"Suppose they took every detail of your life / stories of your friends, your family, even your wife / they'll talk to people that you used to know years ago / way back when, when you were an original joe / it's there in black and white / the story of my life / written by someone I don't know / They say they knew me well / but they can go to hell / oh, do you know what I mean / in a magazine..."

It was such observations of life that make The Beatles and The Kinks such wonderful bands to listen to. Some people don't pay attention to lyrics, but I consider the words of a song to be as important as the music to my listening pleasure.

Adding to the sound is the presence of co-producer/engineer Mike Konopka. His production credits include Ray Davies, The Kinks, The Rolling Stones, Paul Weller, The Yardbirds, Brian May (of Queen), Dave Mathews, The Pretenders and many others.

There isn't a bad track on the album. Fans of British Invasion music from the '60s or the '70s power pop movement (Raspberries, Cheap Trick, Badfinger) and the '90s pop explosion (Posies, Fastball) will adore this album.

The CD:

A well-illustrated 8-page CD booklet (with lyrics to all the tunes). 12 tracks clocking in at 42 minutes total running time: ""Deep Of The Ocean Blue," "Do You Feel Allright," "I Go To Pieces," "Thick & Thin," "Magazine," "Lost In Your Smile," "Oscar," "Something About You," "Ireland," "Believe In You," "Jacknife" and "The Twain."

On the web:

The cd is available through CDNow.Com (which has sound clips of all the songs) and Amazon.Com . Additional information is also available at the band's website: http://www.thedrysdales.com (where you can also read about the band's involvement with the ex-Raspberries and Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens in recent months).

***The Drysdales opened for the reunited Raspberries (Eric Carmen, Wally Bryson, Dave Smalley and Jim Bonfanti) at the House of Blues in Chicago in January, 2005.***

You might also enjoy:

Capitol/EMI's 24-bit digitally remastered CD "Greatest" by Raspberries was released in May of 2005 in the U. S. and Europe. It features all 7 of Raspberries Hot 100 singles, has 20 tracks and runs 78:53 minutes: http://www.epinions.com/content_186044681860

My review of "Back2Back Hits: The Raspberries & The Babys":
http://www.epinions.com/content_110347390596

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Hanging With Friends