Showing posts with label Power Pop. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Power Pop. Show all posts

Saturday, May 23, 2020

Flamin' Groovies


FLAMIN' GROOVIES To Reissue
"Now" and "Jumpin' In the Night" This Summer

The band that played a major role in the evolution of power pop and are considered a forerunner of punk rock readies two of their most popular albums
 This summer they will reissue two classic albums: "Now" on July 10th and "Jumpin' In the Night" on August 7th.

NOW (CD, July 10th)

While it took a long and torturous five years for the Flamin' Groovies to find their way back to an American record deal with Shake Some Action, a year and a half later the band had a follow-up ready, and while 1978's Flamin' Groovies Now isn't quite as cohesive as the album that preceded it, in many respects the band sounds at once tighter and more relaxed, with some time on the road firming up the rhythm section while giving the songs a bit more room to swing (which wasn't one of the strong suits of the British Invasion bands that provided their aural template). The band lost guitarist James Ferrell during the post-Shake Some Action tour, but former Charlatans picker Mike Wilhelm proved to be a more than simpatico replacement on these sessions, and while leader Cyril Jordan didn't come up with another new song as transcendent as "Shake Some Action," "All I Wanted" comes pretty close. But it's significant that most of the songs on Flamin' Groovies Now are covers, and while all of them are played with love, enthusiasm, and the right period flair (especially the Beatles' "There's a Place," Paul Revere & the Raiders' "Ups and Downs," and "Move It," an early U.K. hit for Cliff Richard), they give the album a feeling of being padded, and just because covering the Rolling Stones rarity "Blue Turns to Grey" was a good idea didn't mean the Flamin' Groovies had any business tackling "Paint It Black." All in all, Flamin' Groovies Now is a terrific-sounding record that captures a fine band when it was in great form, but it also makes clear that the gremlins that often dogged the Groovies in the studio (namely their inability to make a 100 percent satisfying album) hadn't gone away.


JUMPIN' IN THE NIGHT (CD, August 7th)

The third and last of the Flamin' Groovies late-'70s albums for Sire, Jumpin' in the Night storms out of the gate with the title song, a top-shelf rocker that brings the muscle of the Flamingo-era lineup of the Groovies to the more style-conscious British Invasion sonics of Cyril Jordan's version. Though Jumpin' in the Night never rocks that hard or that well again, it does sound decidedly tighter and tougher than 1978's Flamin' Groovies Now, and guitarist Mike Wilhelm, a new addition to the Now lineup, is much better integrated into their wall of guitars, with the Groovies sounding more solid than they did a year before. But while Jumpin' in the Night finds the Flamin' Groovies sounding better than ever, the material unfortunately lets them down. It's no wonder why the Flamin' Groovies loved the Byrds -- both were American bands who fell in love with the sounds of British rock and crafted their own variation on the style -- but three Byrds covers on this album is about two too many (especially given how clunky David Wright's drumming sounds on "5D"), and though having the Groovies tackle "Absolutely Sweet Marie" and "Please Please Me" sounds good on paper, the audible results are a bit underwhelming. (On the other hand, their cover of "Werewolves of London" is better than anyone had a right to expect.) The production and engineering by Roger Bechirian is crisp and flattering to the guitars, but lacks the resonance of Dave Edmunds' more layered approach on Shake Some Action and Now. A great band, the Flamin' Groovies often seemed to have a hard time reconciling their best qualities with the record-making process, and Jumpin' in the Night is probably the best example of this dilemma, though it has more than enough worthwhile moments to compensate. 

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Travelin' Thru With Tom Goss

Bear Lover
Tom Goss
For those you who may not be familiar Tom Goss is a singer-songwriter and actor. He is often compared to acoustic pop-peers such as Jason Mraz and Jack Johnson

The Out performer and Bear lover, has been travelin' thru the states promoting his latest album Wait and it's single Breath and Sound featuring Matt Alber


I caught up with Tom after his performance at GNI (Gay Naturists International) en route to his home town, Washington DC.


Time to check in with the one and only Tom Goss!


MS: So I have been tracking your movements lately, you just finished performing at GNI.

TG: I did, yeah!

MS: That was for their anniversary.

TG: I believe the 30th.

MS: Cool! What made you take that gig?

TG: Well, I have played events like that before and I've always had a really good time! It was a great experience, I find that the people there are very vulnerable, open and meeting each other where they're at. I find that really refreshing I had a really good time!

MS: Did you perform nude?

TG: No, I don't perform nude. I'm not opposed to being nude, I like being nude, I don't necessarily mind being nude in public, given the right circumstances. As a performer it feels strange to me, so yeah, I didn't perform nude. (laughs) 

MS: Obviously you are comfortable with it. I saw your striptease for World Of Wonder.
Tom's World of Wonder Striptease

TG: That's kind of poking fun at the whole thing. You know what I mean? That's what everybody wants. But I believe I generate content as well.

MS: You are headed to Washington DC right now. That's home for you, correct?

TG: I lived ten years in DC, now I live in Los Angeles, CA - I moved out there about eighteen months ago. So I am going to old haunts, stuff like that, ya know. 

MS: Your latest Breath and Sound is really great. Hit me with some inspiration for that.

TG: It's really a song about meeting somebody. Connecting with them spiritually, emotionally and physically for the first time. I'm very lucky. I have been married for ten years, and Mike's the first person I've ever really dated. I just fell into it and I got lucky. But I know a lot of people who date a lot of people and it just doesn't click. There is such a bravery in people putting themselves out there. It's hard to be vulnerable and it's hard to just let somebody see you for who you are. The song is really about that. 

MS: Love the video and the dancers!

TG: That's a video I want to do for two years now. I have always been mesmerized and inspired by dancers. With this song I thought it could work. I have been talking to directors and dance companies since the end of 2013. It wasn't quite fitting, I almost abandoned the idea until I talked to my friend Michael Serrato, who was the director of a dance studio. I told him what I was thinking, with his help I turned a thirty thousand dollar video into a seven thousand dollar video, which was something that I could swing. I really have my fans and my listeners to thank for that as well as they helped fund it through Kickstarter. I'm so very, very lucky.

MS: I thought the video and song, were poignant, beautiful and hot. It hit all the right notes.

                                                         Breath and Sound

TG: Yeah, I think the video did something similar to what Bears did. People who watched that video have said: Wow, I've never been attracted to a Bear before. It kind of turns the table, for me I find all of those couples dancing extremely erotic. The women together, the man and woman with each other, the men together...you see it from everyone's perspective and I think it helps us understand humanity a whole lot more.

MS: It's incredibly hot!

TG: There were so many moments during shooting we were just like: Cut! Cut! We can't show that! (laughs)

MS: How did Matt Alber get involved?

TG: So I was touring with Matt in the Fall of 2013. We were playing in the Midwest and singing some songs together. I was singing this song and knew I wanted to do it a little differently, so I started testing the song and asked him if he wanted to sing it with me. We worked out the kinks so when I went to record I asked if he wanted to do it with me, he did and it came out great! Everyone involved with the song gave themselves over to it, instead of doing it to be glamorous. 

MS: On a final note, tell everyone about your latest album Wait.

TG: Wait is a really strong album. I'm really excited about it. I spent a lot of time writing it, about a year and a half. For a while I was writing a record a year so I gave myself permission to take some time on this one. For the record I wrote seventy four songs. This gave me the opportunity to really whittle them down. Writing so many songs, thirteen of them have to be strong. Wait has a real fun vibe that is rooted in power pop. It's a super fun record! 

Hit The Road With Tom at:

https://www.facebook.com/tomgossmusic
https://twitter.com/tomgossmusic
https://instagram.com/tomgossmusic/?hl=en