Baby Lemonade - The Best of Baby Lemonade (2015)

I know Baby Lemonade because they play as Love Revisited or The Love Band when backing original songwriters and founding members of Love, Arthur Lee and Johnny Echols. My admiration for this band is already through the roof given the professionalism and passion they approach playing as Love. Funny thing? I have never really heard one of their records. This is my first time listening to them as a stand-alone band. This CD is a "Best of.." so it gives me a nice little introduction to the music that they recorded over 4 albums.

Well, the CD opens with just a stellar track called Greenboat. To my ears, just a stone cold classic indie pop song. As far as I am concerned, discovering this song instantly made me feel that buying this CD was a great deal. However, that is not where the goodness ended. The next 11 songs are up to par if not as stunning as Greenboat. For instance, listen to the tenderness of the song World Lines, or the frentic Pop Tarte. Overall, great compilation that requires that I seek out all of their previous albums. You should as well.

Love Revisited - July 15, 2005: Burg Herzberg Festival Germany

I posted this on Facebook not too long ago included here with a few edits:

Last night I saw something very special. I was still in my teens when I was introduced to the album, Forever Changes, by Love. Love was an LA based band lead by Arthur Lee. The band also included other incredible musicians and songwriters as well (e.g., Johnny Echols and Bryan Maclean to name just two). Forever Changes is a beautiful album with gorgeous melodies and arrangements. It is very much a contemporary and as good as Sgt Pepper’s (The Beatles) and Pet Sounds (Beach Boys). In my opinion it is slightly better than those two phenomenal albums. Much later, after some trouble in his life, Arthur Lee recruited(?) the LA band Baby Lemonade to back him and tour as Love. The marriage was a match made in heaven. It was a young band of great musicians who were fans of Love and they played beautifully. The songs “lived” again, as well as Arthur Lee and Love's legacy. If you get a chance find, on YouTube the shows that this version of Love did in London where they reproduced song by song the album Forever Changes, including the orchestral arrangements that were found on the original album.

I eventually saw Love play while I was living in Minneapolis. It was in the mid 2000s and they played at First Avenue with another great 60s band, The Zombies. By the time they played in Minneapolis they had picked up original guitar player Johnny Echols as part of the band. Watching those two legends play together was perfect and emotional. It was good to see two members of the original band finally getting some of the recognition for their masterpiece. A few years later Arthur Lee passed away. However, it was good to read later on that Love with Johnny Echols would continue to play this amazing music as Love Revisited (or The Love Band). Last night was my first chance to see this version of the band again. Baby Lemonade and Johnny Echols as Love Revisited played the Casbah and just wowed me with their precision and respect that they show to the music. Johnny Echols, who looks exactly the same as he did in the mid 2000s, played his SG fluidly and was clearly having a great time listening to the music of his band being played expertly, and watching his music listened to adoringly by the Casbah audience. I smiled all night and often closed my eyes just realizing how lucky I was to be there at that very moment. Yet, if there was a highlight for me from an extraordinary night, it was listening to the band play this song below. Enjoy it for yourself. 

This CD was made available at the show and it is the band with Johnny Echols already in the band but after Arthur Lee had passed away.

Various Artists - Beat From Badsville: Trash Classics from Lux and Ivy's Vinyl Mountain Vol. 3

So, here is a little background. Lux Interior and Poison Ivy led a legendary punk, trash, garage rock band called The Cramps. In addition, Lux and Ivy were big time record collectors especially of the single or 45 variety. When Lux (singer and cofounder) died, his wife, guitarist and cofounder, Ivy,  essentially ended The Cramps. After The Cramps ended, given the general desire and glee for anything related to The Cramps, compilations (like this one) started to appear that supposedly take records from Lux and Poison's record collection and makes them available to the general population. Much like The Cramps, the records here range from 50s rockabilly and rock'n'roll, novelty records, and early RnB/doo-wop. Most of these artists are unknown (e.g., Glenn Reeves, The Morrocos, The Bobbettes), however, there are a few songs by more well known artists including Wanda Jackson, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Annette (Funicello), and teen-idol, Fabian.

Here is taste of what you will find on here:

Wanda Jackson - Mean, Mean Man
Charlie Baker - You Crack Me Up
Annette - Jo Jo The Dog Faced Boy

The Muffs - Happy Birthday to Me (1997)

Well, I bought this used not too long ago and had not had a chance to listen to it until this week. My bad. This is a great slice of pop punk and alternative rock that satisfies all your needs for crunchy guitars, gritty, strained female vocals, and sing-along melodies. When adding this to my Discog collection, I was surprised that this was from 1997. The music is not dated at all it is a pleasure to hear a bit of crunch to the guitars. In listening to it now, I am reminded of The Thermals. To my ears there is a similarity although I think the Muffs are a bit more melodic. I will need to explore more records by The Muffs. You should as well. Here is a taste of Crush Me  and a personal fave, All Baby Blue.

Grand Atlantic - This is Grand Atlantic (2006)

Within the last year or so, I went through the Popboomerang catalog of music and ordered all those CDs that were listed as power pop/melodic guitar pop or indie rock. Scott Thurling, the mastermind behind the label also helped me in finding the right music to buy. I ended buying around 20 to 25 CDs. Grand Atlantic is one of those CDs I purchased. What a find!

I do not know much about this Australian outfit other than they are very good. They definitely are melodic but I get the sense they are bit moodier than the typical "power pop" band. In listening to this CD I am hearing more of a Posies or Gigolo Aunts vibe. In fact, I just checked with Scott Thurling on Facebook to see if my characterization is wrong and he says "No, You are not wrong!". So, my ears are still working well. : ) To get a sense of what Grand Atlantic is doing on this release (their debut), listen to gems like Wonderful Tragedy or Until It's Gone.  I also loved Take You For Granted. If you like a little more muscle to your pop, listen to Missile Crisis which to me sounds more like another great Australian band called You Am I. Overall, this is an excellent CD and recommended.

Kelly's Heels - Dig In ! (2004)

Kelly's Heels is a UK based band that plays superb guitar based pop music. This release, on Australian-based Popboomerang Records, is a compilation of songs from their first 4 albums that spanned the years 1998-2003. I first became aware of Kelly's Heels from their association with the US based pop label Not Lame in the late 90s. Basically, if a CD came out on Not Lame, it was a must have. At the time, I am talking about the late 90s and early 2000s, guitar pop bands like this were coming out of the woodwork and the whole world was a melodic paradise.

If you have any doubts, check out Sabrina, the opening track of this compilation and the opening track on their debut Gone Off Pop ?!? Other standouts include How Much Worse? or She Knows or my personal favorite, Faded Out. While the period of 1998-2003 was a long time ago, this is still high quality pop that will bring a smile on your face even to your jaded heart in 2019. I mean, does good guitar pop ever age? I don't think so. Also, I believe this is still available from Popboomerang.