Power pop music came to the pop charts with varying degrees of success in the 1970s via acts such as The Raspberries, Badfinger, Big Star, Blue Ash, Artful Dodger, Dwight Twilley, Fotomaker and Todd Rundgren.

The term "power pop" was coined by Pete Townshend of The Who as a way to describe his music --- pop music with power chords, sweet vocals over agressive guitars, jangly guitar sounds and oceans of melody.

The sound itself was defined by songs such as Badfinger's "No Matter What" in 1970 and The Raspberries' "Go All The Way" in 1972 which offered skillful songcraft into 3-minute singles at a time when extended solos and jams were the norm.

The style peaked in 1979 with the rise of The Knack to #1 with "My Sharona" (coinciding with their #1 album "Get the Knack").

By the early 1980s, the genre was in decay --- most of the '70s power pop acts had disbanded or no longer had record contracts due to declining record sales.

Still, power pop played on for a number of fine acts in the 1980s.

Some of those acts are featured here on "Poptopia: Power Pop Classics Of The '80s." This is the second volume in the three-volume series from 1997 (each volume is a seperate decade --- with other volumes for "...The '70s" and "...The '90s").

Rhino hired writer/musician Ken Sharp (he recently had the final interview with Who bassist John Entwistle in Goldmine magazine) as creative consultant/editorial supervisor for the project.

This was tied in with the release of Sharp's book "Power Pop! Conversations With The Power Pop Elite" that was released at the same time. Sharp has also published books on The Beatles, Cheap Trick and The Raspberries, as well as writing the liner notes for the recent Kiss' box set, among other things.

Sharp involved many of the artists as contributors to the CD booklets so some of the songs have fresh artist comments on their works which makes the liner notes to this collection all the more interesting.

The CD:

The 18 tracks presented here range from the well-known to the nearly unknown to anyone outside the power pop fan-base.

The best tracks:

The Romantics:

The Romantics' 1980 single "What I Like About You" (from their 1979 LP "The Romantics") peaked at #49 in Billboard but remains a very popular track on Classic Rock stations (and was featured on the "Stuart Little 2" soundtrack recently).

With drummer Jimmy Marinos handling the lead vocal chores while bashing his drum kit over some crunching guitar power chording, The Romantics were hot and heavy in pursuit of the girl the song is about:

"...what I like about you / you hold me tight / tell me I'm the only one / wanna come over tonight? / you're whispering in my ear / tell me all the things that I wanna hear / 'cause that's true / that's what I like about you..."

The La's:

The La's also peaked at #49 with their Merseybeat classic "There She Goes" in 1991 (originally released as a single in 1988 however --- it charted when re-released in 1991). The song was recently covered for a Top 10 hit by Six Pence None The Richer.

The La's version is more sweet and innocent, with a more Beatle-ish sound and some husky Beach Boy-style vocals --- simply adoreable:

"There she goes / there she goes again / racing thru' my brain / and I just can't contain / this feeling that remains..."

Marshall Crenshaw:

Marshall Crenshaw looks like Buddy Holly (he played Holly in the film "La Bamba") on stage and has one of the sweetest lead vocals you're likely to hear. His music, sadly, is better known to critics than to the mass album-buying public (although "Someday, Someway" hit #36 in 1982; it was later featured in the film "Peggy Sue Got Married," a film in which he appeared as a member of the "Reunion band").

For this album, his track is "Whenever You're On My Mind," which eeked its way to #103 on Billboard's Bubbling Under The Hot 100 Chart in 1983. It's a sweet, uptempo ballad with a gentle, romantic message:

"I think about you and forget what I've tried to be / everything is foggy and hard to see / it seems to be, but can it be, a fantasy? / whenever I think about you, strangers eyes in the crowd flash past / I go on and think of the fate you've cast / it seems to be a reverie, you're here with me / 'cause whenever you're on my mind / I leave the world behind..."

As evidenced above, power pop can wax beautifully poetic.

Phil Seymour:

The late Phil Seymour, drummer for the Dwight Twilley Band in the 1970s (they hit #16 in 1975 with "I'm On Fire"), went solo in the 1980s (scoring a #22 hit with "Precious To Me" in 1981).

For this collection, his 1980 single "Baby It's You" gives an idea of his sound --- still very Twilley-sounding with prime lead guitar work by Bill Pitcock IV. Phil's life was cut short by lymphoma in 1993, one of power pop's great losses.

The Spongetones:

The Spongetones were a great little band from North Carolina. Their "She Goes Out With Everybody" borrows heavily from The Beatles' "Please Please Me" in its main melody, but the song stands on its own merits as more of a tribute than a rip-off.

The Bangles:

Better known for "Walk Like An Egyptian," The Bangles were the daughters The Beatles never had.

Their love for the Merseybeat sound and all things British is showcased on "Going Down To Liverpool":

"...I'm going down to Liverpool, do nothing / all the days of my life..."

Candy:

Jonathan Daniel (who later recorded as a member of The Electric Angels and The Loveless; he also manages the group American Hi-Fi these days) was the songwriting genius behind Candy which broke out of California dubbed as "the new Raspberries" by at least one teen pop zine.

One of the '80s "big hair" bands, they were unique in that they were power pop instead of heavy metal in their initial style. With brilliant lead singer Kyle Vincent, guitarist Gilby Clarke (later of Guns 'n' Roses) and drummer John Schubert, bassist Daniel's songs were pop perfection in 1985.

Produced by Jimmy Ienner (Raspberries, Eric Carmen, Grand Funk Railroad, Three Dog Night) and with Musical Director Wally Bryson (lead guitarist of The Raspberries and Fotomaker), the band's wall-of-sound production was perfect for the group's teen dream songs.

"Whatever Happened To Fun" was an unsuccessful single from their only LP of the same name. Their video for it received minimal MTV airplay at the time.

The tune, however, is a well-crafted piece that should appeal to Bay City Rollers/Monkees fans, among others:

As Vincent sings "whatever happened to fun," the group sings "Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday-Friday-Saturday-Fun" in the background. Catchy-as-hell (if you loved BCR's "Saturday Night" you'll dig this).

Tommy Keene:

Keene is another highly respected but lesser-known pop star. Still, his music is often stellar in its execution.

That's true on "Places That Are Gone" (produced by Beatles/Badfinger engineer Geoff Emerick), an intelligent pop gem:

"...back before you knew me well / I was trapped inside a shell..."

The Smithereens:

"Behind The Wall Of Sleep" is from The Smithereens' 1986 album "Especially For You" (the album hit #51 in Billboard). It showcases the lead vocals and songwriting of Pat Dinizio in a band that has done songs about everyday things such as White Castle burgers and gangster John Gotti.

With non-stop drumming and searing guitar solos, it's a great tune full of references to '60s models and music-makers:

"...now I lie in bed and think of her / sometimes I even weep / then I dream of her behind the wall of sleep..."

Bill Lloyd:

Half of the country-duo Foster and Lloyd, Lloyd's music has always leaned more toward pop music (seek out 1994's "Set To Pop" album).

On "Lisa Anne", Lloyd is kind of a throwback to Dave Smalley of The Raspberries (the band's country-pop element) and even Jim Croce as he sings to the girl of his dreams amid some sweet pop emoting:

"...there's nothing left for me to say / how could you turn and walk away..."

Recommendation:

A fine collection that reminds one that everything in the '80s wasn't New Wave and Technopop. Not as good as the '70s volume (but better than the '90s volume), this one is worth being in the collection of any power pop fan with appeal that should reach Beatles and Beach Boys fans as well.

The tracks:

"What I Like About You" by The Romantics; "Baby It's You" by Phil Seymour; "Hold On To Something" by The Great Buildings; "Tell That Girl To Shut Up" by Holly and The Italians; "A Million Miles Away" by The Plimsoulds; "She Goes Out With Everybody" by The Spongetones and "Whenever You're On My Mind" by Marshall Crenshaw.

Also, "I Want You back" by The Hoodoo Gurus; "Every Word Means No" by Let's Active (featuring Mitch Easter); "Crybaby" by Utopia; "Going Down To Liverpool" by The Bangles; "Love Is For Lovers" by The dB's; "Whatever happened To Fun" by Candy and "Places That Are Gone" by Tommy Keene.

Also, "Behind The Wall Of Sleep" by The Smithereens; "Lisa Anne" by Bill Lloyd; "She's So Young" by The Pursuit Of happiness and "There She Goes" by The La's.

The CD booklet:

Lovely, informative 14-page booklet, with numerous photos (including full-solor album covers by some of the bands) and detailed track information. Includes comments by many of the artists (including Marshall Crenshaw, Peter Case of The Plimsouls and Mitch Easter of Let's Active) and great liner notes by John Borack (Goldmine and Amplifier are among the publications he has written for).

Related web links:

My review of "Poptopia! Power Pop Classics Of The '90s": http://www.epinions.com/content_88813899396

My review of "Poptopia! Power Pop Classics Of the '70s": http://www.epinions.com/musc-review-17E7-3855329-38D3E14F-prod5

International Pop Overthrow is the annual power pop festival in Los Angeles organized by pop music writer David Bash that showcases dozens of bands at various venues over several days each year. The festival has proved so popular that it has expanded into additional cities such as New York and Chicago to further showcase power pop acts in the midwest and on the east coast. The official website is at: http://www.internationalpopoverthrow.com/

Not Lame Records has the greatest collection of power pop recordings anywhere: http://www.notlame.com/

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Exercising