Further Observations From A Jangly Music Fan

April was highlighted by Roger McGuinn's annual visit to the greater Washington, D.C. area for a solo show at the Barns of Wolf Trap. Roger played 25 songs during his set and encore, and he alternated between his signature model Rickenbacker electric 12-string guitar, his signature model Martin acoustic 12-string guitar and his Martin HD7RM seven-string acoustic guitar. McGuinn made an effort to please everyone in the audience by playing a number of Byrds hit songs, numerous Dylan-penned tunes and a number of folk standards that he has featured on his Folk Den website.

Crowd screams accompanied Roger on "So You Want To Be A Rock'n'Roll Star," and "I'll Feel A Whole Lot Better" and "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" generated lots of chorus vocals from the audience. There was no better way to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the recording of the Byrds' first album! Many artists have emulated Roger since he captured public attention with the Byrds in the mid-60s, and I have devoted much of my music library to collecting Byrds-inspired jangly tunes. Here are some of the recent additions to my music library that may interest the rest of you jangly music enthusiasts:

"Song of the Month" honors go to "Hun Kommer" by American Suitcase - as Byrdsian a tune as one could ask for … with German lyrics! I mentioned this song in last month's column, and it has stayed at the top of my play list since I acquired the CD it appears on - the two-CD, 46-track Planet of the Popboomerang Volume 2.

A close runner-up in the "Song of the Month" category is "Would You Love Me Back Again" on Tish Hinojosa's latest disc - A Heart Wide Open. This jangly, listener-friendly song reminds me of her song "Destiny's Gate" from the album by the same title. Tish grew up in a Tex-Mex household listening to pop music on her mother's AM radio; clearly, the radio channels she listened to played lots of Byrds tunes! Gifted sideman and producer Marvin Dykhuis also contributes heavily to the success of this "come back" album. Long may you run, Miss Tish!

"Artist of the Month" accolades go to the very talented David Grahame. I recently added Grahame's Eric and Shout Heard 'Round The World to my music library to complete my David Grahame disc collection. The former disc is his most recent release of pop gems, and the latter disc represents a studio effort from 1984 that never reached the public until Sir David released it himself on his Dog Turner Records label. While Eric is overflowing with the catchy pop melodies that have helped David earn favorable comparisons with Paul McCartney and Emmitt Rhodes, Shout Heard 'Round The World represents a snapshot of Grahame's singer/songwriter talent in the early 80s. I could swear that I heard "Lay It On The Line" and "All Of Me" on the radio during that time period. Grahame's vocals on Shout merit comparison with Paul Carrack, Glenn Frey and Eric Carmen songs from that era. Seek out Grahame's The Power Station Sessions 1982-1986, and I challenge you to find two better pop albums by the same artist from that decade. Pop archivist John Borack is currently working on a book to chronicle the Top 100 Power Pop albums - I would certainly vote for Shout Heard 'Round The World (and Grahame's first solo disc Toy Plane) to be a candidate for this honor. If you love jangly tunes, the opening track on Eric, "Out Of This World," will fulfill your desire … right down to the chiming closing chords that sound like the fade-out from the Beatles' "Eight Days A Week." I may have said this several years ago, but it bears repeating - David Grahame's body of work puts him in a very select group of pop musicians who warrant "Pop All Star" status. Long may you run, Sir David!

The "Album of the Month" award goes to Russ Schneider for his very strong 20-song debut disc, Friday Night, produced (and accompanied) by 12-string guru Herb Eimerman. Schneider's disc should appeal to power pop fans in general and pseudo-60s pop fans in particular. With twenty tracks to choose from, there is no shortage of songs that feature chiming, jangly riffs. Favorite songs include "When I Fell In Love With You," "1969," "Don't Ask Why," "Summer Love" and "5 Part Movement In C." Eimerman's production, backing vocals and instrumentals are notable. Let's hope that Russ and Herb combine for an encore release! Friday Night is now on my list of candidates for "Top Ten" honors in 2005.

Broadcast One - by the Capitals. "Tell Me Your Secrets" is a tremendously catchy tune with plenty of 12-string jangle … that reminds me of Javelin Boot. "Someday" and "Fall Into Your Dreams" are two other listener-friendly pseudo-60s tunes. The Canadian pop scene should be proud of this band and disc!

Free Your Mind - by Frenzy. This disc is chock full of strummy tunes that are reminiscent of Skooshny's work. "Life's A Movie" adds some chiming electric guitar to the acoustic strumming.

Music From Ed's House - by Haymaker. This month's top jangle'n'twang alt-country/pop disc. Tunes that glisten with bright guitars include "Morphine Pump" "Tear Me Down" and "Uneasy Street." Think of a more jangle-oriented band than the Bottle Rockets, and top it off with vocals that sound like a cross between Warren Zevon and Evan Dando. This combination of instruments and vocals works quite well. Hope there's more where this came from!

Modern Dating Tips - by Jensen Bell. This is a very cool "concept" album (with some equally cool cartoon graphics) that has ringing guitar riffs on many of the tracks. The most chiming track is "Smoke And Perfume," but "Possible Jane Situation," "The Swear-Off Song," "Happening" and "Her City's Got A Train" are also bright and appealing pop tunes.

Unnoticed - by Jesse Sprinkle. This is a solid power pop disc with crisp lyrics and melodies. For added listener pleasure, the title track and "The Rumor Of Happy Living" should catch jangleholics' ears.

Dum Dog Run - by Dum Dog Run. Thanks go out to band member Rick Altizer who sent me a copy of this excellent disc. Most of the 16 tracks are more rock than pop-oriented, and many songs have a 70s Arena Rock feel to them. "Power Ballad" sounds a bit like Supertramp's "Give A Little Bit" at the start, and then it becomes more reminiscent of the Greenberry Woods. If Thin Lizzy recorded power pop, it might sound like Dum Dog Run!

Number 9 - by the Spongetones. The latest power pop disc from Jamie Hoover and his bandmates who are well-known for wearing their Beatles influences on their sleeves. Those sleeves just got a little longer, and the pop community is richer for it! The Rickenbacker guitars are most pronounced on "I Dance To You."

While not necessarily jangly, Freddie Krc's latest recording endeavor - Freddie Steady Go! by the Freddie Steady 5 - features 16 cool cover songs of some of Freddie's favorite tunes penned by Texas artists and two original tunes. Krc (who was recently inducted into the Texas Music Hall of Fame) does his state proud with versions of (among others) Buddy Holly, Sam the Sham, Sir Douglas Quintet and Bobby Fuller tunes. My personal favorite is Roky Erickson's "You're Gonna Miss Me." Freddie Steady had the honor of performing on stage with Roky not too long ago. Long may you run, Sir Freddie!

Two recent tribute discs with catchy cover tracks are A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You: An Indie Tribute to Neil Diamond and Friends And Lovers: Songs of Bread. My favorite cuts from the Neil Diamond tribute disc are "A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You" by Jeremy Morris, "Thank The Lord For The Nighttime" by the Shambles and "Cherry, Cherry" by Danny Dean & The Homewreckers. The top song on the Bread tribute disc is Ken Stringfellow's version of "Down On My Knees."

Speaking of the Shambles, the prolific Bart Mendoza has been busy with tribute tracks (including "Whatever Happened To Saturday Night" for the forthcoming Buffalo Springfield tribute disc), a kiddie track entitled "Wouldn't You Like To Be A Bear?" for a San Diego fundraiser disc, and other original tracks. With Bart busy in the recording studio, no one should doubt whether pop music is alive and well in San Diego!

Until next month, jangle on!

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