Further Observations From a Jangly Music Fan

I never thought I would be earning “frequent flyer” miles by traveling to Las Vegas, but my youngest son has elected to go to school there and I helped him settle in to his condo three weeks ago … and it’s already time to return, attend parent/student orientation with him and check on the status of my “retirement” home. I have to admit that I was more favorably impressed with the Las Vegas area than I thought I would be - mostly because it reminds me of Phoenix, Arizona when Phoenix was a smaller city. During subsequent visits with my son, I may discover the best clubs in Las Vegas for jangly pop and desert rock music - a very worthy father/son endeavor!

On that note, I will open by mentioning Las Vegas pop musician Brian Jay Cline’s latest and BEST pop CD - The Big Issue. This is Brian’s third CD in less than two years, and it is overflowing with melody and big hooks. I believe that it is fair to compare his original music to Squeeze, Monte Warden, Ray Brandes, Kevin Johnson, the Mavericks and Walter Clevenger … and, you could easily mistake “One More Broken Heart” for a Richard X. Heyman tune. The first two CDs were both quite pleasant to listen to, but The Big Issue is as pop-oriented as an album can be, and it should generate many new pop fans for BJC. Brian is accessible via www.brianjaycline.com

Last month, I mentioned Blue Cartoon’s superb new release - The Wonder Of It All. I failed to mention that the very Byrds-inspired song “Everyday Magic” is wonderfully similar to Velvet Crush’s own very Byrds-inspired tune “Gentle Breeze.” Learn the chords to one song, and you’ll have no trouble mastering the other. Both songs should strongly appeal to Byrds enthusiasts.

Tim Mann (who featured an excellent cover of Gene Clark’s “Spanish Guitar” on his last full-length CD) has just released a terrific four-song CD-EP - Hillside Sessions. Mann sounds alternately like Gene Clark, Gordon Lightfoot and Steve Wynn. The tunes fall into the acoustic folk-rock genre, with some light alt-country and Americana brushings. Check Tim out at www.timmannexp.com

Although there’s not much jangle in his tunes, Stephen Reso has released one tremendously fine power pop album - Ordinary Life - that features a “wall of guitars” sound, lots of hooks and vocals that remind me a lot of Gene Loves Jezebel. Add this disc to your collection and you’ll be hitting the replay button, cranking up your speakers and singing along. Check Mr. Reso out at www.gigrecords/com/stephenreso

Gary Pig Gold (talented singer/songwriter, producer and pop music journalist) and his pals at To M’Lou Music have released a very cool tribute disc entitled He’s A Rebel: The Gene Pitney Story Retold. Once again, the indie pop community has paid homage to a pop artist in a fine manner that continues to elude the mainstream music industry. There are 26 excellent tracks on this disc, and standout jangly tunes include Mark Johnson’s “Prelude,” “It Hurts To Be In Love” by Randall Kirsch and Billy Cowsill, “Dream World” by Jeremy,” “I’m Afraid To Go Home” by the Retros and “Teardrop By Teardrop” by the See Saw. I dig all the tracks - these just happen to have the most chiming riffs. For more information, contact fellow fufkin.com writer Gary Pig Gold at pigprod@aol.com

Another recent compilation with plenty of bang for the buck is The Stiff Generation: If It Ain’t Stiff It Ain’t Worth A Tribute. This assortment of 24 tunes has a couple of very cool jangly tracks - most notable among these is Robin and Bobby Sutliff’s cover version of “Broken Doll.” Byrds fans and Sutliff/Windbreakers fans will truly enjoy this track. You can find this compilation at www.groovedisques.com

Ray Gianchetti of Kool Kat Musik keeps finding some excellent indie artists; the Blackouts are no exception. On their full-length disc, Everyday Is A Sunday Evening, this Illinois band plays some infectious pop/rock with a strong nod to 60s garage music and contemporary artists like the Kwyet Kings and DM3. Think of the Hoodoo Gurus, with a bit of jangle thrown in for good measure. The Blackouts are my kind of bar band! Learn more by visiting www.lucidrecords.com

If you like your power pop music drenched in strong vocal harmony (like the Retros, for example), then snap up a copy of The Stand’s Replay. The album features fifteen hum-along songs that never deviate from the power pop formula that has worked for artists since the term was coined.

When it comes to harmony and melody, it’s tough to beat the timeless Rubinoos - who have just released thirteen nifty cover tunes on Crimes Against Music. To nobody’s surprise, a chiming Rickenbacker guitar can be heard on many of the songs, and the vocals are outstanding. My personal favorites include their covers of “Thorn In My Side,” “Shake Some Action,” “Evil Hearted You” and “Heroes And Villains.”

David Steinhart, Cindy Albon and John Glogovacs - AKA Smart Brown Handbag - have raised the bar for themselves … yet again. Fast Friends is the band’s seventh full-length disc and it contains songs that warrant comparison with Del Amitri, Badfinger and REM. Every song is well-crafted, but the strummy acoustic guitars and jangly electric guitars are most pronounced on “Push The Bell,” “Restraining Order,” “Done” and “Some Other Day.” Learn more about Smart Brown Handbag at www.stonegarden.com

From the other side of the Atlantic comes a real treat for fans of the Woodys, the Blue Shadows, the Delevantes, the Volebeats … and the Kennedys. Stuck On Love, by the Arlenes, features some very catchy jangle’n’twang tunes and some Everly Brothers-inspired vocal harmonies. Bottom line: this is country-pop music with enough jangle to make fans of pseudo-60s music take another listen. The Rickenbackers (and pedal steel guitar) predominate on the title track, “Into Every Life Falls A Little Rain,” “Tell Someone You Love Them” and “So Sad To See You Gone.” This isn’t the “Brit-pop” that you will hear on popular radio stations, but it sure would make Dave Edmunds proud.

Best of the rest: Mark and Lisa Flora (AKA Florapop!) feature some jangly songs among the 22 tracks that are included on their latest (JAM Records) release - Sunshine Saturday. Rich McCulley’s alt-pop album, If Faith Doesn’t Matter, shoiwcases his gritty voice and some bar band jangle that reminds me of the Mike Plume Band. Morty Shallman adds some chiming guitars to several of the tracks on his Love’s Oblivion: A Novel In Twelve Pop Songs. Rick Corcoran (AKA The Orgone Box) has released Things That Happened Then - a brilliant follow-up to his first collection of Beatlesque and John Lennon-inspired pop music. There’s plenty of jangle to go along with the psych-pop tunes. If you can imagine Jeff Larson fronting Blue Rodeo, you have some idea of the jangle’n’twang that Coronet Blue features on its self-titled disc. “After Passion” is a treat to listen to. More jangle’n’twang, along with some Crazy Horse/Flying Burrito Brothers influences are featured on Dave Gleason’s Wasted Days.

Finally, in the literature category, I strongly recommend Turn! Turn! Turn! The 60s Folk-Rock Revolution by pop/rock archivist Richie Unterberger. I was interested in the book as soon as I saw the great photo of the five original Byrds on the cover, but I found the contents fast-reading, thoroughly researched and very informative. The book made a great traveling companion during my previous visit to Las Vegas. Unterberger is promising a sequel in 2003 - to be entitled Eight Miles High: Folk-Rock’s Flight From Haight-Ashbury to Woodstock. If it’s as good as the first book, both books deserve to be on any Boomer’s music library shelf.

Until next month, jangle on … and/or keep on rockin’ in the free world!

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