By Alan Haber – Pure Pop Radio
Rogers & Butler | Diana Dors (Zip, 2019)
Edward Rogers teams up with Smash Palace’s Stephen Butler for a smashing four-song EP full of rock and pop swing, anchored by the pretty title song, a love letter to the English actress Diana Dors, “forgotten to the past.”
Rock and pop collide in the mid-tempo “Seven Hour Man,” which features a nifty psych-infused instro section, and “Witness Tree,” a toe tapper about guilt and innocence and the truth that lies in between that sounds like a second cousin to Wings’ “Deliver Your Children.” The big number–the should-be radio hit–is the closing, catchy pop-rocker “Possibilities,” about letting colors bleed into a black-and-white view of the world in order to see the light.
Guitars are crisp and up-front throughout this EP; melodies are catchy, and the Smithereens’ Dennis Diken supplies the sturdy beat. Solid stuff.
Where to Get It: Amazon (releases on February 8)
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Coke Belda | “Can I Stay With You” (2018)
It’s always a great day when Pure Pop Radio favorite Coke Belda releases one of his magical recordings. Until his next original collection of tuneful pop songs, we have this sweetly-realized cover of Nick Garrie’s “Can I Stay With You,” which originally appeared on Garrie’s classic 1969 album, The Nightmare of J.B. Stanislas.
That Coke turns Garrie’s tune into something that sounds like it could have been nailed by the Bee Gees should come as no surprise–Coke released a wonderful collection of Gibb brothers covers on Futureman in 2017. Snap this up pronto; it’s a free download. And, as you will hear, it’s wonderful.
Where to Get It: Bandcamp
Alan Haber’s Pure Pop Radio is the premiere website covering the melodic pop scene with in-depth reviews of new and reissued recordings, and a wide variety of features. We’ve been around since the first weekly Pure Pop Radio shows, which began broadcasting in 1995, and the 24-hour Pure Pop Radio station, which ended last August. Welcome to your number one home for coverage of the greatest melodic pop music in the universe from the ’60s to today.
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