Tag Archives: Bomp

Sorrows: Bad Times Good Times

Rebirth of out-of-print early-80s power-pop

The New York City based Sorrows (not to be confused with the Don Fardon-fronted freakbeat band The Sorrows) was founded by Arthur Alexander (not to be confused with the R&B hit maker who recorded “You Better Move On,” “Soldier of Love” and “Anna”) following the dissolution of the Poppees. Unlike the Poppees die-hard Merseybeat inflections, Sorrows early ‘80s releases for CBS (1980’s Teenage Heartbreak and 1981’s Love Too Late) were more in line with the power pop sounds of 1970s bands such the Motors, Records, Plimsouls and Beat. You can still hear the early Beatles influences in their chiming pop, and the urgency of melodic punk rock (ala The Undertones) also made an impression, but it was the pure pop sounds of the Raspberries, Badfinger and others that really held sway.

The band played CBGB’s, Max’s Kansas City and other key New York clubs, but their albums failed to break nationally, and by mid-decade, they’d broken up. Their official CBS-released albums remain unreissued to this day, which makes this collection so especially welcome. The sixteen tracks include resequenced versions of the twelve titles from their debut album, the non-LP originals “That’s Your Problem” and “Silver Cloud,” and live covers of the Rolling Stones’ “Off the Hook” and Goffin & King’s “Chains.” The liner notes are cagey as to whether these tracks are distinct performances from the album takes, mentioning tapes rescued from a demolition dumpster and advising “this is not a reissue of previously released tracks.”

What is novel is the sound, which is significantly better than the original vinyl. What was once thin on LP has a lot of muscle on this CD. Even with the mono introduction of “She Comes and Goes,” the abrupt cut to stereo at the 1:30 mark makes good on the band’s “ABBA meets the Sex Pistols” tag line. The collection’s non-LP demos are as good as the album tracks, and the live takes, particularly the punked-up arrangement of “Chains” gives a taste of how vital the band sounded on stage. This isn’t a replacement for a reissue of Teenage Heartbreak, but in many ways it’s actually better. Fans now have to hope that tapes of Love Too Late will be rescued from some other demolition dumpster. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

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The Poppees: Pop Goes the Anthology

Teriffic Merseybeat sounds from the heart of the punk era

Amid the skinny ties, safety pins and DIY ethos of late-70s punk rock, a few brave souls stood in contrast with well-crafted pop and tunefully sung harmonies. Among them, the Poppees most visibly swathed their sleeves with Beatles influences. Well, “influences,” is probably an understatement. Though they weren’t a Beatles tribute band, per se, “homage” is a more accurate description of the group’s sound. Like the bands sprung directly from the Beatles’ wake (e.g., Uruguay’s Los Shakers, Poland’s Czerwone Gitary and New Jersey’s Knickerbockers), the Poppees didn’t so much take a cue from the Beatles as they took whole pages of music, along with the Fab Four’s fashions and haircuts.

The Poppees actually got their start in 1974, a year before the downtown New York City scene exploded with new music. Their first single,” If She Cries,” was produced by Bomp head-honcho Greg Shaw in 1975, and opens tellingly with the same guitar strum with which the Beatles led their cover of “Do You Want to Know a Secret.” The flipside, helmed by soon-to-be-Ramones-producer Craig Leon, was a cover of Lennon and McCartney’s “Love of the Loved” that features the winsome qualities of Gary Lewis & The Playboys. In short order the group was playing CBGB and Max’s Kansas City alongside punk and new wave bands who would soon become icons. The following Spring the Poppees cut their second – and last – single, the original “Jealousy,” backed with a cover of Little Richard’s “She’s Got It.” Produced by Cyril Jordan, the single is even hotter than the debut.

Only a few months after their second single was released, the band split, sending lead guitarist Arthur Alexander to start the Sorrows (soon to be joined by drummer Jett Harris), and bassist Paddy Lorenzo and rhythm guitarist Bob Waxman to start the Boyfriends. Bomp’s CD fleshes out the band’s two singles (which, on their own, are worth the price of the disc) with demos, live performances and an unreleased studio track. The extras are often as good as the original singles, highlighted by the Harrison-esque volume pedal of “Sad Sad Love,” the flaming hot (and crisply recorded) CBGB live cut “She’s So Bad,” a harmony call-and-response take on Dusty Springfield’s “Stay Awhile,” and demos of “If She Cries” and “Jealousy” whose charms may be even greater than that of the finished singles.

Unlike fake Beatles bands (such as the Buggs, Liverpools, and Beatle Buddies) whose budget labels sought to fool unsuspecting buyers, the Poppees celebrated the Beatles with their original echo of the Merseybeat sound. There are Rutles-like moments of “spot the Beatles,” such as the “All My Loving” guitar figure in “I’ll Be Loving You” and the “This Boy” riffs in a cover of “Since I Fell for You,” but like those who earnestly rode the wave in the mid-60s, it’s affectionate and terrifically infectious. By the time they played “Woman” at Club 82, the group was moving towards a harder rock sound, having exhausted their exploration of Please Please Me and With the Beatles. But those early sounds are great to hear, and sound as fresh as they did in 1976 and 1963. [©2010 hyperbolium dot com]

MP3 | Jealousy
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