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Review: "Unsound" Compilation

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Power Pop Unleashed: The "Unsound" Compilation CD

Total visits by power pop music fans since August 3, 1997:

Various Artists:
"Unsound Series - Volume 1: Pop!"
To M'Lou Music #PIG-3
Released 1998.
RATING: ****

Gary "Pig" Gold and Shane Faubert, the executive producers of this series, are to be commended for this fine collection of power pop gems.

What's unique here is that none of the 24-tracks on the album was done in a major studio. All the tracks are demos recorded at home and sent to the producers on tapes for inclusion on this effort. Let me tell you, there's some great things being recorded in kitchens, closets and basements around the world. The evidence of those great recordings is on this album, your honor.

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Jeremy Morris

Jeremy Morris' "The Actor" is incredible. Recorded in his basement with Jeremy playing guitars, bass, drums, keyboards and handling the vocals.

There's an immediate Oasis sound to this, with John Lennon, Beatles and Pink Floyd elements popping up as the song progresses. You've got to love a guy who is loose enough when recording to take a cuckoo clock sample set on infinite repeat mode and incorporate it in a song and make it belong there.

On Jeremy's second track on the album, "Where Were You?", there's an uncanny Ricky Nelson-ish lead vocal. Amazing. A happy, joyous song, full of some great acoustic guitar. Filling out the sound on this track are Dave Dietrich on drums and Mike Turner on bass. Great stuff.

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Ed James

Ed James also kicks in two tracks. Ed's "Party At Joes" is is one of those great songs that used to make cruising in the car with the AM radio blaring a fun thing to do in the '70s. Probably the best song about partying since Brownsville Station sang "Kings Of The Party" many moons ago.

Ed can also produce a great pop song. He shows his serious side with "Turn It Around," which has a chorus that would have made Queen (circa "Killer Queen") proud. Now folks, Ed recorded this pop masterpiece in his bedroom --- and he not only handled the vocals, but played all the instruments himself!

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The Welcomcats

One is tempted to write-off The Welcomcats as a mildly interesting band when listening to a throw-away track like "Tattered And Frayed," but hang in there and listen to their other two tracks on this compilation.

"She Gets Around" starts with a slightly sinister country twang ala The Eagles and then brightens into a glorious chorus that would make Eric Carmen proud. The lyrics by M. Tennyson skip around like a murder mystery --- and the melody is just as enigmatic. That Tennyson is a gifted songwriter is very much in evidence here as he takes you through an ill-fated love affair.

"Emerald City" is even more stunning. Tennyson wrote all three songs, and this one is the sweetest treat of them all. Similar to The Beatles "A Day In The Life" in production, mostly a singer and his piano, this is a beautiful effort. A band to watch.

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Martin Dibbs

"I Don't Need To Know" sounds like Donovan singing lead for The Zombies. No joke and more cool than it may sound. In fact it's a charming piece of very mellow pop.

The Manchester, England, native has reportedly recorded over 300 songs and published three books of poetry.

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The Joe Ward Trio Featuring Liz Corrigan

That's a picture of Joe above, by the way. This song is perfect; no doubt about it. Joe Ward has written a gorgeous melody with some infectious lyrics for "To The Kiss."

Those lyrics take on a delicious sound when Liz Corrigan (imagine the vocal interpretations of Karen Carpenter or Heart's Ann Wilson, if you will, with a country tinge over a hook that is very John Fogerty-ish) sings them:
"Well I know your theory / and it goes like this / If you get too close / You bring me to the kiss / Yes I give into this / You bring me to the kiss / Welcome to my lips."

A hundred singers could sing that and it would have no impact, but Liz Corrigan's delivery and interpretation of the lyrics make a very strongly written pop tune even stronger.

You have to hear her vocal interpretation of Joe's wonderful song to understand how good this track really is. Great backup vocals by Scott Finter, too. Joe played all the instruments here. All I can say is "WOW!!!"

On a sad note, we've learned that Liz passed away a few years ago, a victim of cancer. This track remains, a terrific monument to a beautiful voice taken from us much too soon.

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Aaron Skye

"Susie's Song" (written by lead vocalist Mike McKay) sounds like a track that Dwight Twilley forgot to include on "Twilley Don't Mind." Really --- it's that good, folks!

The band's jangling guitars, throbbing bass and steady beat echo a love of the '60s/'70s sounds of Twilley, Big Star, The Raspberries, The Beatles and The Beach Boys.

...and guess what? These guys are from that ever so-mod rock capital of the US, the glorious state of Ohio (Youngstown, if you please).

Great song. Great musicianship. Why haven't these guys been signed yet?

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Lane Steinberg

Lane has recorded as Noel Coward's Ghost, but records two tracks under his own name here.

"Frustration" opens with some drumming straight out of The Dave Clark Five's "Bits And Pieces." More of a filler-type of song, likeable but not stunning.

Lane redeems himself with his other track, "Living In A New World." Fun, intelligent lyrics sung over a bright, summertimey melody: "Well you say that times are changing/ and you think too much / and you work from sun to sun now / with just a break for lunch." You know, sometimes a guy never gets a break, and Lane expresses that feeling very well.

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Phenomenal Cats

Michigan's Phenomenal Cats (Chris Richards and Keith Klingensmith) offer up "Seagirl." A polished version of the song appears on the band's 1996 album, but the demo appears here.

"Seagirl" was the first demo recorded by the band. A sweet, gentle guitar-driven piece, there's some delightful lead vocals and "wa-wa-wa-oooo" backing vocals. A true treasure of a performance.

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Mick Hargreaves

"This Girl Of Mine" is the perfect explanation of why Mick has had a successful, acclaimed career in "power folk." A former member of The Tonebenders and The Gripweeds, Mick currently records with the brilliant Ghost Rockets.

Full of the jangly guitar of the Beau Brummels and The Byrds, the track boats clever lyrics: "Friends say / it's not real / it's only your heart she'll steal." Good stuff!

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Robin Stanley

On "Hurts," Robin proves he is the logical inheritor of the Ray Davies' style of songwriting (introspective lyrics over a mesmerizing melody).

"Hurts" may have Beatles' "Rubber Soul" overtones, but the song is uniquely Robin. An artist to watch.

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Ray Carmen

For more than a decade, Ray Carmen has been turning out pop gems in Canton, Ohio, and promoting them via his website and "Pop!" mail order catalog.

Adopting a "garage sound" over the "surface scratch" of a recording of The Five Americans' "Western Union" (seriously, none of the music, all of the scratch; interesting concept), Carmen echoes early Creedence and bluegrass on this track.

Not the best thing he's ever done (it's a demo recorded over a decade ago, after all), it's an introduction to a clever recording artist.

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The Popstars

Graden Grove, California's The Popstars offer up a very Stones-ish "I Still Don't Know" (you'd swear that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were singing lead on this).

The band is actually just Mike (all instruments and lead vocals) and brother Steve Schnee (backing vocals; Steve is well known as former co-editor of the late print publication Popsided).

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Pet The Pig

North Carolina's Pet The Pig sound features Ed James, Dave Badger and Chris Price performing "Talk Show." The song harkens back to early Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson.

The threesome wrote the tune, which is instantly a playful commentary on modern life: "I saw my baby on a talk show / Found out some things that I don't want to know / Mother's her uncle / An alien's her dad / ... ran away from home when she was just a small boy / told the whole world that I'm her love toy."

Great social commentary, guys. If "The Jerry Springer Show" ever needs a theme song, this should be it.

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Shane Faubert with The Skyecats

Special thanks go to the U. S. Postal Service for this track. Why? It was performed and recorded by each of the band members via the US mail --- each member adding something to a tape, then forwarding the tape to the next member who then added his part to the tape.

This "supergroup" is made up of the lead vocal/guitar/bass talents of the legendary Shane Faubert --- a pop sensation all by himself usually --- aided by guitarist Mike McKay of Aaron SKYE and the drums/backing vocals of Keith Klingensmith of the Phenomenal CATS (therefore the backup group's merged name of SKYECATS, get it?)

The intro reminds one of the good-timey Outsiders intro to "Time Won't Let Me," quickly propelling itself into a lovely, Cowsill-ish pop chorus. Shane's composition says, "I'm gonna steal a piece of the sky / Gonna find what makes it so blue / Got to wonder if maybe tonight / I could give a little sky to you." Very cool lyrics, Shane. Kudos to the band members for a fine pop performance.

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Scott Finter

"Outside Looking In" is a great pop tune. A great bass line, ringing guitar-sounds and a steady drum beat, all sugar-coated by sweet, sweat-covered pop vocals.

Scott Finter does it all --- he plays all the instruments and sings all the vocals on this track. After more than two decades of making music with countless bands and at countless gigs, I have to wonder why the pop industry hasn't latched onto Scott.

His music is a beautiful melding of his influences (CCR, The Beatles, The Lovin' Spoonful, The Byrds, et al) into a style that is uniquely his own.

A very talented guy (if further evidence is needed, listen to his backing vocals on the Joe Ward Trio's "To The Kiss" track on this compilation).

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Rick Harper

I've got to praise this young fella, right? He's certainly the pop pride of Middletown, Ky., which is not only just outside of Louisville, but is where I went to high school.

That said. I wouldn't offer praise if he didn't deserve it. Fortunately, Rick deserves the accolades in volume.

With an intro sounding like a slowed down, acoustic version of the Raspberries' "Go All The Way" intro, he quickly breaks into a very cool vocal that is very much like The Byrd's Roger McGuinn.

"Brand New Favorite Song" is an ode to love ("one day you're up in the clouds / the next you're down in the dirt"). This will be a favorite of Byrds' fans and pop fans should love it, too.

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The Breetles

The Breetles is actually Chris Breetveld, who plays all the instruments and sings all the vocals on his two tracks, "Restaurant Scene" and "Betsy Jean."

So you're wondering what kind of pop there is in New Jersey? Great pop --- that's what!

"Restaurant Scene" is a nice mix of "Pet Sounds" era Brian Wilson with a '90s flair (not inlike Ben Folds Five). The vocalist and piano dominate the track, the gentleness of the melody hiding the sinister lyrics about a woman and a gun ("she took the breath of one good man and his wife"), a lyrical cousin to The Police and "Every Breath You Take" done with a Beach Boys' style.

On "Betsy Jean," Chris does a remarkable '68 Paul McCartney (think The Beatles' "Rocky Racoon" and you've got a near twin in sound, although uniquely in The Breetles' stylings).

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Gary "Pig" Gold & The Portastudio

Is this guy talented or what? He's a creative music journalist who happens to possess a great Nick Lowe-ish voice and plays guitar as well as anyone you'll hear.

"Goodbye To Greatness" is stunning in this demo. Vocals and instrumentation are just Gary, and that's enough. A great power pop/folk/country-tinged melody with cool lyrics (by this time, you know I love a great lyric in my pop music): "There's a beautiful tension everywhere / A hint of purpose in the air / A wonderful time to pretend you care."

Gary also performs the song in two alternate versions with his group, The Ghost Rockets, on their album "The Spatula Ranch Sessions Volume 1" (Pop The Balloon Records # Big Bang 7).

Web Links:

How to order "Unsound" Volume 1 , "Unsound" Series Home Page , Tracks Online: The Unsound Series. , Press (Reviews) , Twangin'! Who's Who ~ Ghost Rockets , PET THE PIG! WEBSTY . The Breetles , The Ray Carmen / POP! Productions Web Page , RAY CARMEN'S FAVORITE BAND/ARTIST WEB PAGES , EdWorld - The Official Ed James Website , The PopsterMan Homepage and The Ghost Rockets .

This page is part of the Power Pop Music News http://members.aol.com/DKrider214/index.html website (aka "Power Pop News"). Please visit our main page and check out our table of contents.

Written and maintained by Don Krider.
Email: Krider@Stones.Com
Updated August 1, 1999.

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