BLOODY RED BARON – October Reviews

Posted on 23 December 2015

BLOODY RED BARON

OCTOBER REVIEWS

by Mike Baron

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The Turnback

THE TURNBACK: Are We There Yet?

The Turnback accepts the challenge of writing tight power pop songs not to exceed one octave in range! Or so it seems through the first half of the album, recalling Redd Kross’ Researching the Blues. “Five Days A Week” opens up a little with a sweet bridge as the boys return again and again to the A/B harmonies as practiced by the dB’s. Both “Reveal” and “July” are reminiscent of the Kinks, in melody and riffing. “A Place For Me” features a wider pallet with Hawks-like chords, rich and sweet as Midwest wheat. “Seconds” is my favorite thanks to a stunning bridge while “A Long Way Home” is Who-like in ambition with the return of those A/B harmonies.

Four and a half stars.

Www.theturnbacks.com

Pop4

POP4: Summer

This quartet deals in shimmering, multi-layered harmonies reminiscent of the Beach Boys, The Shake-Ups, and particularly the Mommas and the Poppas, light and sweet as orange meringue, beginning with the Carmina Burana like “I Will Become Love.” Gothic a capella. “Einstein and Sunshine” is the most complex song on the record, with an unforgettable bridge and hook. You might hear a little Cowsills and Monkees in here. “Jaded” has a dreamy quality while “I’m So Jealous” features crunchy granola drums to die for. Just the title for “You’re No Aimee Mann” would have been enough, but it’s a good song.

Four stars.

Www.pop4.rocks

Steve Robinson

STEVE ROBINSON & ED WOLTIL: Cycle (Sunshine Drenchy)

Steve Robinson was in the Headlights and played with Roger McGuinn. Ed Woltil is in the Ditchflowers. This record is redolent of so many great records of the sixties and seventies, from the Jefferson Airplane to the Beatles to the Byrds. Flutes and violins flicker in and out. “Love Somebody” has a Hollies/Grateful Dead vibe in the chords and picking, while “Elastic Man” is Beatlesque with soaring harmonies. Robinson’s unexpected vocal aerobatics on “Elastic Man” sound a little like Kelly’s Heels and is guaranteed to snap your head around. “The Boy From Down the Hill” could have come from Crosby, Stills and Nash. “Butterfly” sneaks in a stunning Supraluxe-like chord that whips your head back into shape.

Four and a half stars.

Www.robinsonwoltil.com

Secret Friend

SECRET FRIEND: Sleeper

Pop music is all about dynamics, changes in tempo, key and harmony that propel the listener onward, eager to hear the next sound. Steven Fox, the ex-pat songwriter who is behind Secret Friend, has the kind of pop dynamics as Brian Wilson or Burt Bacharach, combining Mika-like electronica and endless chord changes with inventive melody. There are more hooks in a Secret Friend song than in most albums by other groups, beginning with the stunning Kelly Jones sung “Blue Sky.” Fox’s songs are mini symphonies that usually run five minutes or more, giving room to each of his musical ideas. They never outstay their welcome. Linus of Hollywood weighs in on “Something’s Happening,” a river of A/B harmony as championed by the dB’s. “I Don’t Know You,” sung by Wyatt Funderburk, is a power ballad of inchoate longing with more hooks than a knitting bee.

And so it goes through “Nobody Listens,” a paean to pop music. Secret Friend is so good, I don’t even mind the two instrumentals which sound like they were written by R2D2.

Five stars.

Www.secretfriendmusic.com

 

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Mike Baron is the creator of comic books Badger and (along with Steve Rude)  Nexus.  His latest book is “A Brief History of Jazz Rock” – more on Amazon CLICK HERE.

He has written five novels in the last few years, all available on Amazon here:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1/184-5348781-8830168?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Mike%20Baron.  Visit his website here:  http://bloodyredbaron.net and on Wikipedia here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Baron

One Response to “BLOODY RED BARON – October Reviews”

  1. kent18 says:

    No year’s-end “best of” roundup from the sagacious Mr. Baron? Color me disappointed.