RANDOM OBSERVATIONS FROM A JANGLY MUSIC FAN

Until last month, I had the pleasure of writing the "Jingle Jangle Morning" column for Alan Haber's Pure Pop web 'zine. Alan even found some cool clip art graphics that featured a Rickenbacker 360/12-string guitar in the column's banner logo.

Alan is now focusing his attention on other interests, and he recently terminated the Pure Pop subscription website. So, when I was invited to join the staff of Fufkin.com, it presented me with an opportunity to continue to share my passion for jingly-jangly music with fellow enthusiasts.

I recently made a CDR for a Boomer pal of mine who has been so busy raising a family of four children during the past 25 years that the "pop renaissance" of the 90s escaped his attention. The CDR, entitled "Sounds Like The Byrds," features jangly nuggets from the 70s, 80s and 90s that were all clearly influenced by the Byrds. The disc opens with Andrew Gold's superb song, "Space And Time," which is featured on Andrew's homage to the 60s - Greetings From Planet Love - under the moniker of the Fraternal Order Of The All. For those who are unfamiliar with this wonderful album, the 20 songs showcase Andrew's multi-track skills, vocal range and instrumental prowess. "Space And Time" could be the companion tune to the Byrds' finest b-side song, "She Don't Care About Time." Other songs on Greetings From Planet Love can be mistaken for Beatles, Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Doors and Association tracks.

"City Of Sisterly Love," a Byrdsian gem by the gifted and departed Jimmy Silva, is the second song on this compilation. The next two songs are tunes that I love to play back-to-back: "Listen To Her Heart" by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and "Hearts In Her Eyes" by the Searchers. The CDR also features two songs by the Spanish band, Pribata Idaho - "Bad Boy Dreams" and "Jump The Gun." Another band that merited two tracks on the disc is the Lears … and it was tough to limit them to just two songs, since almost every tune in their reportoire is Byrdsian in sound. I chose "Is This Her Day?" and "Her Magic Smile" for this compilation. Two songs by 80s L.A. bands that have since disbanded are also featured - "Raging Winds Of Time" by the Walking Wounded and "Spectacular Fall" by the Long Ryders. Long Ryders frontman, Sid Griffin, went on to found the Coal Porters, and one of their songs, "I Tell Her All The Time," is included in the mix. (NOTE: Byrds co-founder Chris Hillman would be proud of the mandolin pickin' that augments the chiming Rickenbackers on both "City Of Sisterly Love" and "Raging Winds Of Time.")

Blue Rodeo is a talented Canadian band that survived the 90s together and they blend bits and pieces of Buffalo Springfield, the Beatles and the Byrds in their original material. The very jangly "Til I Am Myself Again" is featured on the sampler. I'll never forget the first time my brother (also a "jangleholic") played "Lullabye" by Dramarama for me. It, too, is on the disc … along with Matthew Sweet's most Byrdsian tune, "I've Been Waiting" and Marshall Crenshaw's classic "Cynical Girl." Two contemporary Australian tunes/bands are included: "Coming Down" by the Pyramidiacs and "10,000 Sunny Days" by Jack & The Beanstalk (featuring jangly popmeister, Joe Algeri). Some of the more obscure songs on the compilation include: "Words Falling Down" by EIEIO; "Dropping You" by Grant McLennan; "Cambridge" by my Boomer friend, Rich Arithmetic; and "Sleepwalker" by the studio band, the McGees.

Like most of my sampler tapes/discs, "Sounds Like The Byrds" was a spontaneous, hasty effort that overlooked a number of other very Byrdsian artists and songs (like George Usher, Velvet Crush, the jangly German band, Different Faces, and many of the artists who participated in the Full Circle: A Tribute to Gene Clark two-CD project). Be patient, friends, and we'll talk about these artists … and a host of other artists and songs … in future columns. Until then, jangle on!

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Eric Sorenson: December, 2000

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