Ugh. What a horribly busy and depressing few days it has been at work :( Even listening to old albums by Halo James, Let Loose, Waterfront and Living In A Box failed to lift my gloomy mood (although more on those at some point. Forgotten gems galore). Maybe the arrival of the PWL rereleases will lift me up (hurry up usually reliable amazon!!) In the meantime, I will satisfy myself (ooer) with two new releases from previous faves...
The Click Five:
Then ~ When a nicely suited and booted Click Five first appeared on the scene with Greetings From Imrie House, it was such a blast of jangly catchy guitar pop fresh air, that it fair took my breath away. It's hard to pinpoint one song of amazingosity but certainly Just The Girl, Catch Your Wave and Pop Princess all were equal parts McFly, Beach Boys and Backstreeet Boys wrapped up in delightful three minute pop songs. I dug the album out this week and it is still as lush now as it was back in 2005. Then Eric Dill left and the band recruited a new singer and went a bit panic-at-the-disco. Whether they were trying to shrug off their boyband image, i don't know, but the album initially was a disappointment over the debut. Over time, I have revised that opinion and there are still some great tracks on there filled with melody, punch and a kicky hook - check out Flipside, Headlight Disco and brillo Summertime....
Now ~ I wasn't entirely sure that The Click Five would be returning so I was quite pleased when I heard they would be. Hurrah I thought. Then I saw the promo picture on their website (above) and my heart sunk in a 'what is happening here' moment. The piccie did not represent what I wanted in a Click Five return to glory. Luckily the song I Quit I Quit I Quit does (click the link to stream). Structurally, it reminds me quite a lot of The Feeling's Love It When You Call. The chorus is quite unassuming at first but Kyle's voice soon powers it forward and there are some lovely harmonised vocals towards the end of the tune. It seems that the boys are back to doing what they do best - writing a love letter to pop and singing their hearts out about it. It certainly hasn't taken me long to fall back in love with them, horrible promo pic notwithstanding :)
(Next ~ more on Eric Dill's solo tracks soon and finally, a peek at the Taking Five movie)
Rob Thomas (not of Veronica Mars creation fame!):
Then ~ the beauty of solo Rob Thomas without his matchbox or twenty was that he embraced an eclectic mix of pop styles within his music. And he did it quite well. Smooth was/is amazing. The latin tinged Lonely No More was an urgent pop triumph. And his made-for-top-forty track Little Wonders (from Meet The Robinsons movie) was as wistful as it was lovely. And the tracks that came inbetween were all of the nearly good to quite good variety. Then he got back together one more time with MB20, produced some fairly decent tunes but left me hoping he would return to solo pop soon...
Now ~ Rob is back! Doing solo pop! And i'm not entirely blown away. Yet. I have faith people. Thing is, it sounds like his album will be as eclectic and musically diverse as his debut. And there is nothing wrong particularly with the lead off single Her Diamonds (click on the link to stream). It just seems incredibly by the numbers, made for radio smash. That's not a bad thing and i'm aware that this is really what the Rob Thomas brand is all about. I kinda just want to shake him a little bit and get him to fuse those innovative moments he has into an entirely terrific album. I DO like the song, and it will probably grow on me quite a lot over the next couple of weeks and then I will profess my love for it and it will be like this write up never happened :) (the gospelly bit at the end IS great!)
(Next ~ Rob should shave his head again. Much hotter)
Let us not forget: The return of Sophie Ellis Bextor as proper popstar. HMMAD must be massive soon...
EDIT1: Ok, so after the dire situation that was his cover of Patience, Nikki is right ~ the new Nick Lachey song ISN'T terrible!!
EDIT2: I have decided that perhaps the Click Five promo pic is actually a clever "holding pic" that suggests a brand new look will be revealed soon. I am so smart :P
Coming soon: More new music (I still need to get around to Del Marquis and Marina & The Diamonds); old music (Princess, Mandy Smith, Lonnie Gordon, Halo James, Waterfront, Let Loose, Bad Boys Inc, Living In A Box and any other highlights from old albums i find), what have i missed this tv season and the predictable weekly catch up. CU soon!
Then ~ When a nicely suited and booted Click Five first appeared on the scene with Greetings From Imrie House, it was such a blast of jangly catchy guitar pop fresh air, that it fair took my breath away. It's hard to pinpoint one song of amazingosity but certainly Just The Girl, Catch Your Wave and Pop Princess all were equal parts McFly, Beach Boys and Backstreeet Boys wrapped up in delightful three minute pop songs. I dug the album out this week and it is still as lush now as it was back in 2005. Then Eric Dill left and the band recruited a new singer and went a bit panic-at-the-disco. Whether they were trying to shrug off their boyband image, i don't know, but the album initially was a disappointment over the debut. Over time, I have revised that opinion and there are still some great tracks on there filled with melody, punch and a kicky hook - check out Flipside, Headlight Disco and brillo Summertime....
Then ~ the beauty of solo Rob Thomas without his matchbox or twenty was that he embraced an eclectic mix of pop styles within his music. And he did it quite well. Smooth was/is amazing. The latin tinged Lonely No More was an urgent pop triumph. And his made-for-top-forty track Little Wonders (from Meet The Robinsons movie) was as wistful as it was lovely. And the tracks that came inbetween were all of the nearly good to quite good variety. Then he got back together one more time with MB20, produced some fairly decent tunes but left me hoping he would return to solo pop soon...
