Alan Haber's Pure Pop Radio is the premier website covering the melodic pop scene with in-depth reviews of new and new-to-you releases. Pure Pop Radio plays the greatest melodic pop in the universe 24 hours a day.
It’s true: We’ve been busy listening to the latest and greatest pure pop top tracks being released by your favorite artists and adding them to our ever-growing playlist.
What’s new on Pure Pop Radio? Now playing in rotation are some massively momentous monster tracks you’re going to love. Who from? Glad you asked! Here are just some of our most recent adds:
Not only have Sal Baglio’s Amplifier Heads released one of the finest melodic pop albums in many a year–Music for Abandoned Amusement Parks—they have quickly followed up with a luscious four-song EP titled Oh Golly Gee, which just happens to be part of the lyric to a lovely ballad called “Late to the Prom.” That song, and two others–“Short Pop Song About a Girl” and the provocatively-titled “Man on the Edge of a Ledge Contemplating a Jump”–are now playing in rotation on our air. More on the Amplifier Heads soon. Close your eyes, listening to “Man on the Edge,” and you’ll think you’re listening to a lost track from the Monkees being sung by Michael Nesmith. Really!
Rosie Abbott, an across-the-ponder who radiates talent at every turn, is releasing a gorgeous song cycle with singer-songwriter roots and baroque tendencies that melodic pop fans will devour with glee. Magnified, a very Kate Bush-y kind of affair, finds Abbott playing and singing everything in a most mesmerizing way. Pure Pop Radio is playing five of Magnified’s songs in rotation: “Alice Died,” “Robin Hood’s Stride,” “I Forget to Breathe,” “The Look in Our Eyes,” and “Erased.” Pure bliss.
The album’s title track:
Greg Pope’sWishing On a Dark Star is a top-tier long player that is perfect fodder for people hungry for great, catchy melodies performed with gusto. From start to finish, this is top-notch melodic pop; we’re playing six songs in rotation: the glammy “Gone,” “When the Road Began,” “Morning Sunshine,” “Wildest Dreams,” “Jump Back from the Light,” and “Crawling Back to You.” This is Pope’s grand achievement, his best release and a sure thing for this year’s best-of lists.
This coming October 9th would have been John Lennon’s 80th birthday; we all miss him terribly, of course. To help with our mutual yearning for his talent and wisdom, Jem Records is releasing a powerful tribute with vital covers of some of Lennon’s best and most-loved creations. Added to our playlist today, we are spinning a total of six tracks from Jem Records Celebrates John Lennon: “The Word” and “What’s the New Mary Jane” (The Weeklings); “You Can’t Do That” (The Grip Weeds); “No Reply” (The Gold Needles); a masterfully meshed take of “Revolution” and “Power to the People” (Richard Barone), and “It Won’t Be Long” (The Midnight Callers). Dig them all, as you should.
Alan Haber’s Pure Pop Radio is the premier website covering the melodic pop scene with in-depth reviews of new and reissued recordings, and a wide variety of features.
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Do you hear what I hear? You will when you add the following tasty musical holiday treats, newly released, to your gift lists (and don’t forget yourself; you deserve some gifts, too!).
Christmas will be here soon (there are only 13 shopping days until the big day), so read on and give the gift of holiday pop music!
The Weeklings | “Gonna Be Christmas” (Jem, 2019)
Lefty, Zeek, Rocky and Smokestack usher in the holiday season with a jubilant, Weeklings-ized version of a gorgeous song that first appeared on Zeek’s 2007 solo EP, Christmas Can’t Wait.
Sporting lovely, widescreen harmonies and the catchiest of holiday melodies, this warm, upbeat celebration of the joy felt every December 25th seems like a standard that will garner spins for many years to come.
Smokestack’s larger-than-life drum part and Lefty’s fluid, sliding bass line are particular gifts that drive this quite-alive recording and keep on giving with each successive listen.
It goes without saying at this point in the Weeklings’ career, but for those of you who aren’t aware of who is actually who, Lefty is Glen Burtnik, Zeek is Bob Burger, Rocky is John Merjave, and Smokestack is Joe Bellia. All are veteran musicians working at the peak of their powers, as will be evidenced by the forthcoming, incredible, third Weeklings album, about which I will have much to say in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Christmas 2019 is off and running with this classic track from New Jersey’s Fab Foursome.
Jamie Hoover | Happy Hoover Days The Bradburys | “Everywhere It’s Christmastime” b/w “Silver Bells” (Vandalay, 2019)
Dan Pavelich’s Vandalay Records offers up two delicious doses of Christmas cheer for 2019–a four-song EP from the Spongetones’ and Jamie and Steve’s Jamie Hoover, and a two-track single from Pavelich’s group, the Bradburys.
Hoover, a longtime Pure Pop Radio top favorite (of 25 years standing!), does it all on Happy Hoover Days; he’s responsible for every note played and sung.
Two choice covers–a supercharged take on Gene Autry’s evergreen “Sleigh Bells” and an emotional reading of Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s classic perennial “I Believe in Father Christmas”–sit side by side with an original, medium-paced rocker, “The Real Star,” co-written with Nashville songsmith Catesby Jones , and fifth Spongetone Greg James’ lovely ballad, “There’s a Star,” which appeared in a different version on the Spongetones’ 2001 must-have collection, Mersey Christmas.
Hoover’s always thoroughly invested, emotional vocals and playing drive each of these new recordings. He remains one of indie pop’s most versatile and entertaining writers and performers, a true beacon of artistry who never fails to deliver the goods. This more-than-welcome EP is just another example of how to do it.
The Bradburys, fronted by Vandalay Records’ guiding light, Dan Pavelich, digitally wax a pair of tuneful Christmas classics on a double-A-side single that’s sure to please.
The jangly “Everywhere It’s Christmastime,” penned and sung by Pavelich, is a catchy holiday nugget, built atop a sweet melody and laced with lovely, lyrical lead guitar work by John Scholvin, and an understated yet joyous coda powered by the sound of a choir and seasonal bells.
A cleverly conceived, cheerful cover of another of Christmastime’s perennials, “Silver Bells,” mixes Elvis Presley-fyed verses with ’50s rock ‘n’ roll choruses for a rollicking good time.
Pavelich, who writes and draws the wonderful comic strip Just Say Uncle, has fashioned a must-listen-to pair of holiday songs that are perfect for anyone on your gift list.
Where to Get It: Jamie Hoover’s Happy Hoover Days:Kool Kat Musik | The Bradburys’ “Everywhere It’s Christmastime” b/w “Silver Bells”: Apple Music
The Brothers Steve “I Love the Christmastime” b/w “Listen Up! It’s Christmastime” (Big Stir, 2019)
If you’re pining for a pair of catchy, Tsar-torial holiday tunes, The Brothers Steve’s new single is tailor-made for you.
Featuring three members of the much-loved band Tsar, including Steve Coulter, a writer who goes by the nom de plume S.W. Lauden, the Steves’ pair of musical gifts are a glittery holiday treat. The upbeat “I Love the Christmastime” is an ABBA-meets-New-Wave-meets-The-Archies-meets-early Beatles kind of celebration, complete with my favorite instrument, sleigh bells. And the thoughtful ballad, “Listen Up! It’s Christmastime” is driven by a lovely melody.
The 54th in the ongoing series of digital singles released by Big Stir Records is a holiday smash. (Side note: Steve Coulter, using his nom de plume, is the co-editor with musician and writer Paul Myers of Go All the Way, a neat book of essays about power pop by well-known writers and musicians, available at Amazon.)
An aptly-named Christmas album if ever there was one, Shiny and Brite finds Richmond, Virginia’s Taters, a longtime Pure Pop Radio favorite group, bringing their trademark musicality and playful joie de vivre to digital and silver disc formats.
As anyone who has seen the Taters play live and dug their everything-fits-if-we-let-it approach to covers can attest, you never know what you’re going to hear when the group sets to making music. This joyful mix of originals, like the tuneful “Last Lone Noel” and the Roy Orbison-y ballad, “My First Christmas With You,” and Taterized versions of well- and little-known Christmas classics is a holiday treat built on a solid foundation of love and respect for these wonderful songs.
Witness the bouyant cover of the Beach Boys/Ronettes’ “I Can Hear Music,” which features an a cappella break atop a swath of sleigh bells that’s squarely in the classic style of Hawthorne, California’s finest; the gorgeous a cappella mix of “Peace on Earth” and “Silent Night”; the supercharged version of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s “Christmas Dream,” as originally sung by Perry Como, here incorporating the theme from the television comedy classic Hogan’s Heroes; and the lovely take on “The Little Drummer Boy,” with Chris Mendez’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”-esque drum part.
“Peace on Earth/Silent Night” live at The Tin Pan in Richmond, VA, 12/9/17
Craig Evans, Brad Tucker, Gregg Mars and Chris Mendez’s collection of odes to Christmas joy is a wonder to behold and a perfect complement to your holiday soundtrack.
A pretty, orchestrated ballad written by Kenny and Bob Heatlie after Kenny and his wife Caroline visited Edinburgh, Scotland’s Princes Street Market, this sounds as though it’s been instilled in the forevermore section of the everlasting vault of holiday song classics since forever ago. Kenny’s lovely vocal and another melody that seems sent from the heavens above ensure this one will be played, well, forevermore.
An upbeat, jolly song about the joys of Christmas, this catchy number was recorded on December 21, 2018, live and in person at VZD’s Restaurant and Bar in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Written and performed by another Pure Pop Radio favorite group, this song sings.
The JAC (Featuring the Christmas Crew) | “Broken Gnome” (2019)
Anyone trying to hang on to a strained relationship may find a kindred spirit of sorts in Joe Algeri’s 2019 Christmas offering. Pairing an introspective lyric with an upbeat guitar pop track, “Broken Gnome” charts the course of a soon-to-be-extinguished love-light. Or does it? “What will the new year bring / Just let me be a leaf in the wind / Our light’s burning bright and still / I’m a little scared.” A world-class group of musicians help Joe bring this creation to life: Herb Eimerman, who like Joe is a member of the beloved Britannicas, Stefan Johansson, Lars Brusell, and Andy J Prinkkila.
This always engaging Ann Arbor, Michigan foursome unwraps a warm, soulful soft pop musical gift full of Christmas cheer. Pleasing chords and a lovely melody drive this song about the hues of the holiday (“Lights shine from every frosted window / Melting the winter time blues”). This one will put a smile on your face, for sure.
Various Artists | A Kool Kat Kristmas Vol. 3 (Kool Kat, 2019)
Five years on from Vol. 2, Ray Gianchetti’s Kool Kat Musik returns with a third holiday go-round featuring artists that have previously released music on the label. You’re sure to find a few (or more) favorites in this tasty holiday grab bag.
We found more than a few kool kats amongst these offerings: Everet Almond’s uptempo, poppy “Have a Very Very Very Merry Christmas”; The Decibels’ catchy, power pop anthem, “Christmas Wish,” with a neat Roger McGuinn-like guitar solo and a snatch of “Joy to the World” in the close; and The Seasons Greeters’ rocking, Stray Cats-meets-Dave Edmunds “Santa’s Leaving Town.”
More tasty treats: Tommy and the Rockets’ “December Snow,” upbeat and poppy all the way; Ed Ryan’s rocking slice of power pop, “Noel (You’ve Gotta Sing)”; and, last but not least, Emperor Penguin’s truly different country-and-western song, “Lonesome Cowboy,” sounding sort of like the Sons of the Pioneers if they were pop pickers, until, that is, the ending, when the band rocks out. “Merry Christmas to cowboys everywhere!”, indeed. Yee-haw!
Where to Get It: CD: Kool Kat Musik. Listen and download: Futureman Records (Note that $5.00 from the sale of every CD and download goes to the American Cancer Society).
Kai Danzberg and Scott McPherson | “The Day Before Christmas” (Big Stir, 2019)
Hanover, Germany’s own Kai Danzberg, an increasingly familiar name in melodic pop circles, teams up with Tiny Volcano and Pop 4’s Scott McPherson for a lively co-write that makes quite a lot of merry. It’s a big and happy holiday treat with a poppy heart, sugary and surefooted. Don’t be surprised to find yourself singing along at first listen. Full of joy.
Alan Haber’s Pure Pop Radio is the premier 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 in August 2018.
Welcome to your number one home for coverage of the greatest melodic pop music in the universe from the ’60s to today.
It is a bushelful of happy that greets me on this day, almost a month since I last posted due to various bits and bobs. Finding a new Weeklings song in my email inbox–an old-fashioned Weeklings song, if truth be known–speaks to my most get-in-there, take-it-apart-and-put-it-back-together-again-for-you instincts. Because what fun it is to wear the happiness that Weeklings recordings bring, like a new suit resplendent in audio jewels that really make me smile.
Started at London’s Abbey Road Studios, written by Lefty and Zeek Weekling, and finished off at home base in New Jersey, “I Want You Again” is perhaps a quintessential example of the Weeklings’ melodic sense that embodies significant Beatles and fellow traveler touchstones as much as the group’s own contemporary identity.
An I-really-shouldn’t-have-pushed-you-away-and-by-the-way-can-I-get-you-back song with a beat and a beating heart, “I Want You Again” is a jangly joy with a McCartney-esque bass line, Merseyside guitar stabs in the bridge, an “A Hard Day’s Night” namecheck (“When I think, of the time, when our love burned bright / When we shared, every word, singin’ ‘A Hard Days’ Night'”), and, most importantly, echoes of the Fabs’ “You Won’t See Me” and a closing melody quote from Badfinger’s “Baby Blue.”
“I Want You Again” is just the latest example of New Jersey’s finest fab foursome’s pursuit of audio excellence that bridges decades of catchy melodic pop. A bushelful of happy, if you will.
Alex Chilton | From Memphis to New Orleans (Bar/None, 2019) Songs from Robin Hood Lane (Bar/None, 2019)
When most people think of Alex Chilton, they likely remember his work with the Box Tops, whose big 1967 hit, “The Letter,” he sang at age 16 with the maturity of a much older and perhaps wiser artist, and Big Star, an influential group blessed with a deep vat of melodicism and rock-influenced pop songs that have stood the test of time, such as “September Gurls,” “The Ballad of El Goodo,” and “Thirteen.”
It is less likely that casual music fans–people who grew up with the Box Tops and Big Star–also embraced Chilton’s music that followed. Two new, comprehensive compilations from Bar/None seek to mend the fences over which Chilton jumped in the 1980s and 1990s to make music that was stripped down, less commerical, and sometimes undersold, yet still viable and enjoyable and quintessentially Chilton.
From Memphis to New Orleans draws from four releases produced in the second half of the 1980s. A mix of original and covered punchy, seductive bluesy rock (David Porter and Isaac Hayes’ “B-A-B-Y”), punchy rockers (Ronny and the Daytonas’ “Little GTO”), Bakersfield country (Chilton’s “Paradise”), gentle pop with a beat (“Let Me Get Close to You,” a Skeeter Davis flip side scribed by Carole King and Gerry Goffin that originally appear on High Priest) and rock and soul grooves, the album chugs happily along as it shows off the wares of Chilton’s post-Box-Tops-and-Big-Star eras.
Probably, the sides compiled on From Memphis to New Orleans are closer cousins to Chilton’s previous work and likely more palatable to fans of the Box Tops and Big Star, but it’s the covers of classic songs in the style of the music that he heard growing up, compiled on Songs from Robin Hood Lane, that might just provide a clearer picture of where Chilton’s heart really found the most peace.
Songs from two Chilton releases–1991’s Medium Cool and 1994’s Cliches–sit comfortably alongside four previously unreleased sides on Songs from Robin Hood Lane. Chilton nestles quite comfortably in the moods and emotions of a dozen jazz, blues and pop numbers, showing quite different sides of his musical persona. They are, in their way, just as emotional and effective as the singer’s work during his rock and pop years.
Highlights include the quietly bouncy “My Baby Just Cares for Me,” cut by Nina Simone in the 1950s and played out here with only Chilton’s masterly acoustic guitar picking and playful, jazzy vocal; “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying,” a jazzy, supper club take on the 1940s standard and one of the four previously-unreleased tracks on this collection; and “That Old Feeling,” a half instrumental and half sumptuous vocal workout of Sammy Fain and Lew Brown’s classic written in the 1930s and essayed by many classic vocalists, including Patti Page and Frank Sinatra.
Both From Memphis to New Orleans and Songs from Robin Hood Lane sport beautifully-laid-out packaging that includes immersive and informative liner notes by Glenn Morrow and track personnel and discographical facts. Bar/None is to be congratulated on both releases; listeners will come away from hearing a fuller picture of Chilton the artist.
The lesson learned in pop-rocker Bryan Estepa’s new digital release, “I’m Not Ready for This,” is that first loves are woven into one’s heart forever (“Forgetting first loves can’t be done”).
What to do with such a realization is another thing entirely, as noted in this mid-paced guitar popper. After all, first loves can be a fleeting thing (“Stay together for a little while / Run its course on this crooked mile”).
This track, with its smooth lead vocal, engaging backgrounds, and lovely, pleasing chords, will stay with you for a long while, even if your first love isn’t showing in your rearview mirror.
(Watch the stylish black-and-white video for “I’m Not Ready for This” below. The use of light fading quietly in and out to suggest the memory of a first love fading in and out over time is quite impressive.)
The banjo’s the thing here, which is the thing that counts most in Jacob Panic’s world. A rock/pop hybrid love song exhibiting immense power and emotion, “The Heart/Breaks” is all about love, and the more of it–the stronger it comes on–the better.
“Put your lovin’ arms around me / And everything’ll be alright,” Panic sings, and when those lovin’ arms lock tight, an explosion of emotion comes due. “Listen to the heart beat go / A mile a minute / Many miles it flows / It gets dark / It gets cold,” and where do you go from there?
Mostly, the choruses are drawn with thunderous drums and instrumentation mixing with powerful vocals; the connecting tissue is softer, limber. The feeling, near as I can tell, is when you truly feel love and it totally encompasses you, you fall hook, line and sinker.
A tremendous track from a tremendous performer, co-written by Panic and Steve Antonelli, and featuring Antonelli on guitar, bass, and drums and Lea B. singing backgrounds.
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.
The Weeklings featuring Peter Noone “Friday on My Mind” (Jem, 2019)
It’s Friday, it’s special, and it’s time for this important question: What happens when a quartet of old pros meet up with an old pro from the 1960s, get amped-up, plugged in and blast out, in smashing fashion, a 52-year-old classic hit of psych pop like it’s their last ride on the roller coaster?
Fireworks of the musical kind ensue! Better stand back, kids, and buckle in! You’re in for a fun, wild ride!
The Weeklings, New Jersey’s fab foursome, this time eschewing their fab influences, have connected with Herman’s Hermits front man Peter Noone to record a blown-up-and-put-together-again-with-a-rocking-bed-of-dynamite version of the Easybeats’ 1966 worldwide smash, “Friday on My Mind.”
Blowing up expectations, the Weeklings–Lefty, Zeek, Rocky and Smokestack–provide the daring instrumental and vocal backing and hand the lead vocal reins over to Peter Noone who, more in line with his persona on the Tremblers’ 1980 long player, Twice Nightly, aims for outer space as he takes on Harry Vanda and George Young’s classic number.
It’s a hell of a performance, folks; the mix of Noone’s piercing, take-no-prisoners vocal and the Weeklings’ mastery of the original song’s ultra-catchy melody and instrumentation is one of this melodic pop season’s most powerful moments.
As the beat and oomph ramps up in the last seven seconds of this great waxing to about as above ground as humanly possible, Noone looks his microphone in the eye and gives it all he’s got–a throat-shredding scream that lasts all of two seconds but burns itself into your brain for a lifetime.
And now, before this review bids you a fond adieu, enjoy the Weeklings and Peter Noone–the Fab Five, if you will–and their smoking rendition of the Easybeats’ “Friday on My Mind.” These guys are seriously superheros (Marvel or DC, take your pick).
Whew. Produced by Jem Records’ Marty Scott and recorded by the Grip Weeds’ Kurt Reil (Peter Noone’s vocal was recorded by Fernando Perdomo at Reseda Ranch Studios), this pulsating version of “Friday on My Mind” is a keeper, a classic in its own right–a monumental knock on the door of what we expect to hear…an instant classic, if you will.
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.
Day three of our Holly Jolly Christmas Party is here to help you with suggestions for holiday tunes you can give as gifts to your family and friends…and maybe even to yourself!
This is also day three of our bountiful Christmas presents giveaway. Today, we’ve got the Monkees’ new Christmas Party and the Grip Weeds’ Under the Influence of Christmas up for grabs. Enter below.
Our 2018 Festive Holiday Gift-Giving Guide has the day off tomorrow, due to a change in schedule here at Pure Pop Radio headquarters. We’ll be back on Friday to continue suggesting some of the great Christmas releases out there, all perfect for gift giving.
And now, here’s a lovely Christmas collection from the hardest working man on today’s music scene…
Fernando Perdomo | Present (2018) Multi-instrumentalist and supreme multitasker Fernando Perdomo (his new album, a smash, is Zebra Crossing) has put together a lovely, quite entertaining Christmas release called Present. It may not be wrapped in festive paper and topped with a bright red bow, but it’s a gift that will keep on giving and putting a holiday kind of smile on your face.
Perdomo’s facility with melody-rich holiday ballads (“It’s Christmas All Over the World,” “Darling It’s Christmas,” “The Meaning of Christmas,” and especially “December .. The Month of Love”) is just one of the most prominent calling cards presented here, but that’s not all you’ll find: “The Funky Little Drummer Boy” features Eddie Zyne on hard-hitting drums; there’s a slow, dreamy surf version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”; a sleepy take on “Silent Night,” with just electric guitars in the mix, really satisfies, and a punky, in your face version of “Deck the Halls” helps to make your season bright.
Thrift Store Halo | “I Still Love Christmas” (2018) Written by band members Frank Gradishar and Lance Tawzer, this perky, melody-rich celebration of the holiday finds Chicago’s Thrift Store Halo in a fun, spirit-of-the-season-esque mood and espousing a welcome sense of humor.
Everything is on the table at Christmas–greeting cards, holly wreaths, kid-made ornaments, snowmen, egg nog shakes, and “presents wrapped in gold and plaid (like granddad’s pants).” “It’s the one time each year the whole world is filled with joy and cheer,” Frank sings.
The Weeklings | “Christmas Time is Here Again” and “Revolution Wonderland” (2017) New Jersey’s Fab Four–Lefty, Zeke, Rocky and Smokestack–convened in the waning months of 2017 to record a pair of holiday classics chock full of the usual Weeklings Easter eggs and brimming with a whole lot of fun.
In case you missed them the first time around, the Beatles’ “Christmas Time is Here Again” got Weeklingsized by incorporating elements from the Fabs’ “Flying,” “The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill,” and “Baby, You’re a Rich Man.” And of “Revolution Wonderland”? Well, in this seasonal mashup, “Revolution” meets “Winter Wonderland” meets “Jingle Bell Rock” meets the coolest shoo-be-doo-wah vibe you’ll encounter this or any other year.
Follow Santa on his sleigh, with all of his reindeer and his custom North Pole GPS to add these full-of-good-cheer tunes to your Christmas gifting lists.
Where to Get It: “Christmas Time is Here Again”: Amazon, iTunes “Revolution Wonderland”: Amazon, iTunes
Big Stir Double-A-Side Christmas Single (2018): Kai Danzberg | “If Santa” Blake Jones and the Trike Shop | “String Lights and Hold On” The eighth in the continuing series of digital singles being released by Big Stir Records strikes a decidedly festive Christmasy chord (or two or more!) with holiday tunes from Kai Danzberg and Blake Jones and the Trike Shop.
Danzberg and Jones travel different-sounding paths on their way to stirring up their pots of Christmas magic. Danzberg’s “If Santa” is an upbeat, joyous Phil Spectory exercise with Paul McCartney bass lines, horns and, of course, bells. Jones presents his Christmas tune as art-rock-meets-quirky for a wholly different holiday experience. Both are more-than-worthy, Christmasy choices for gift-giving this holiday season.
Lannie Flowers “Christmas Without You” (2018) While his fans wait patiently for his new album Home to land, Lannie Flowers has been releasing new songs each month, independent of that release. “Christmas Without You,” newly remixed and remastered from its 2011 appearance, is the 10th in the series. It’s a typically catchy, jangly, melodic slice of melodic pop about wanting and needing the people we love to be with us at Christmas. “Christmas Without You” is a free download at the Spyderpop Records website.
Enter below to win a pair of melodic presents for the holiday season from Pure Pop Radio (the Monkees’ Christmas Party and the Grip Weeds’ Under the Influence of Christmas). Be sure to fill in all fields (type “Monkees Grip” in the Comment field), and send the completed form to us by tomorrow, Thursday, December 20, at noon ET. US residents only. Good luck!
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 ended this past August. Welcome to your number one home for coverage of the greatest melodic pop music in the universe from the ’60s to today. Happy holidays!
Linus of Hollywood | Cabin Life | Magic Beach, 2018 You’ve got to be carrying around on your shoulders a teeming bushelful of confidence to name your album Your Favorite Record, but that’s what the regally-named Linus of Hollywood called his very first long player in 1999, an instant soft-pop classic boasting liner notes from none other than soft-pop queen Margo Guryan, who perhaps prophetically asked in those notes, “Can you recall the first time you tasted ice cream?”
I remember very well getting Your Favorite Record and playing songs from it on my weekly Pure Pop Radio show. I remember that very first taste of ice cream, the flavors of which have only grown stronger over the years. And now, nearly 20 years later, Linus of Hollywood has served up another 10 scoops of tasty treats on Cabin Fever, his delightful fifth effort that really, truly is the kind of thing that puts a spring in your step.
The album kicks off with the sprightly title song that functions as a rallying cry for the rest of the album. Playful musically and emotionally warm, the lyrics talk about leaving the fast paced world for a spell, trading daily annoyances like ringing telephones for mountain air and singing birds. A blissful getaway is yours for the driving to the hills: “Throw all your troubles in the fire,” Linus sings, “Don’t it feel so right to live this cabin life?”
Some heartfelt words of wisdom are imparted in the fast-paced pop song “Won’t Let It Get Me Down,” played and sung with gusto. In pure when-life-gives-you-lemons-make-lemonade mode, Linus implores listeners to keep going when something comes along and tries to stop you in your tracks. Singers, especially, take note: “So tell me that I can’t sing/And tell me that I won’t amount to anything/But I won’t let it get me down…No I’ll never let it get me down tonight.” Or ever.
Cabin Life’s tender closing ballad, “It Was You,” details a love story for the ages. Beautifully sung and dedicated to Linus’s wife Augusta, the emotional arrangement marries delicate orchestration to nimble acoustic guitar playing as Linus sings about his true soul mate. “I finally got out of my own way,” he sings. “Everything just felt so easy/And I left behind my yesterday/You saved me from myself, believe me.”
Looking at the vibrant, colorful illustrations on the lovingly detailed front and back covers that make up the beautiful package design by Brad Bond, you can just feel the inspiration that fueled the writing of these songs (they were all written in cabins in the Lake Arrowhead, California area).
“Drive up to the hills/Take that winding road/I think I remember where it goes,” the title song sings. It goes to one of this year’s very best albums–Linus of Hollywood’s lovely Cabin Life.
The Weeklings | “In the Moment” | Single, 2018 New Jersey’s Fab Four let loose some powerful beat-driven sounds recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios during the making of the quartet’s most recent album, Studio 2. “Anything you want, I’ll be there to give you,” they sing with melodic and harmonic force. “Cause every time I see you, I love you more.” Life, in the moment! Guitars! Sounds-like-Paul-McCartney-is-playing-the-bass bass lines! Keith Moon-y drums! (Really!) And a whole lot of “And Your Bird Can Sing” spirit! (Really!) Another can’t-miss missive most welcome, you can be sure!
Pure Pop Radio’s signature shows, Alan Haber’s Pop Tunes Deejay Show, playing the latest and greatest melodic pop songs from today and across the decades, and Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation, the premiere Internet melodic pop talk show, air weekly on Pop that Goes Crunch Radio.
Listen to the Pop Tunes Deejay Show on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 pm ET (two different shows every week); In Conversation airs every Wednesday night at 9 pm ET. Don’t miss a minute!
Tune in to Pop that Goes Crunch Radio by clicking on the following snazzy-looking button:
It’s another big week for Pure Pop Radio’s specialty shows, all broadcast on the powerhouse Internet radio station Pop that Goes Crunch. Veteran singer-songwriter and performer Graham Gouldman stars in an exclusive wide-ranging interview on Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation, and the romance of trains–and terrific, hit-bound new releases, including a World Internet Radio Premiere of a brand-new track from The Weeklings–power two all-new episodes of Alan Haber’s Pop Tunes Deejay Show.
Graham Gouldman guests on Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation
tomorrow night–Wednesday, February 21 at 9 pm ET. Gouldman, whose history writing and performing wonderful melodic pop songs is long and prosperous, will be my guest on an exclusive, hour-long edition of Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation, airing on Pop that Goes Crunch Radio.
Graham Gouldman’s Play Nicely and Share EP (Wienerworld)
Graham Gouldman’s work is peerless, from the songs he wrote for other artists in the 1960s, such as “Bus Stop,” “No Milk Today,” and “For Your Love,” to the songs he wrote and sang while a member of 10cc and Wax and the songs he writes and performs today for his top-shelf solo releases. His delectable current EP, Play Nicely and Share, continues his ongoing tradition of producing only the best melodic pop music for waiting ears around the world.
During this exclusive program, Graham speaks with me about Play Nicely and Share, and we play three of the EP’s six songs. We talk about his approach to songwriting and the delightful art direction, by StormStudios, that graces the panels of his latest release. StormStudios, whose lineage is directly connected with that of the classic design firm Hipgnosis, created so many rich cover designs for 10cc and Pink Floyd and many other recording artists. And there’s more on our docket, including a Beatles nugget and news about Graham’s place in Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band in Europe this summer. It’s a rich hour you won’t want to miss.
To celebrate this very special edition of Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation, we’re giving away a copy of Graham Gouldman’s Play Nicely and Share; to enter, simply click here. Featuring five new songs and a very different cover of Buddy Holly’s “Rave On,” it will be your instant favorite new release.
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The romance of trains and new release magic, including a World Internet Radio Premiere of the new single by the Weeklings, power this week’s two all-new editions of Alan Haber’s Pop Tunes Deejay Show, airing tonight–Tuesday, February 20–and this Thursday, February 22 at 8 pm ET on Pop that Goes Crunch Radio.
After hearing the O’Jays’ classic “Love Train” on a favored Internet radio station, I got the idea to explore the romance of trains for a special themed edition of the Pop Tunes Deejay Show. So, I put on my engineer’s hat and placed the pop train on our tracks to deliver an hour’s worth of songs about all kinds of trains and songs with the word “train” in the title. You’ll hear Albert Hammond’s “I’m a Train,” Johnny Cash’s “Train of Love,” P.F. Sloan’s “Lollipop Train (You Never Had It So Good),” the Monkees’ “Last Train to Clarksville,” songs from West Coast Consortium, the Marthas and Arthurs, the Hardy Boys, the Kinks, and a whole lot more. All aboard tonight at 8 pm ET!
This Thursday night, February 22 at 8 pm ET on the week’s second edition of the Pop Tunes Deejay Show on Pop that Goes Crunch Radio, we broadcast the World Internet Radio Premiere of the Weeklings’ punchy new single, “In the Moment.” Is it Beatlesque? Is it Fab? Is it in keeping with the rich pop traditions that fuel the Weeklings’ substantial efforts? All will be revealed here on the Pure Pop Radio website this Thursday. (By the way, the song, recorded at famed Abbey Road Studios, goes on sale March 2.)
In addition to the World Internet Radio Premiere of the new Weeklings track, we’ve got two new songs from Linus of Hollywood’s upcoming Cabin Life, and two archival tunes from Winterpills’ Philip B. Price, whose two-CD collection, Without Your Love I’d Be Nowhere at All: Best of the Solo Archives 1988-2004, is a clear winner.
But that’s not all: Thursday night’s Pop Tunes Deejay Show offers up new songs from Juliana Hatfield, who is channeling the majesty of the records of Olivia Newton-John on her forthcoming release; Christopher Cash and the Brilliant Deductions; Chris Price; Dragsterbarbie; Brady Harris Band; Daisy House, and the aforementioned Graham Gouldman. It’s another can’t-miss hour.
Don’t miss a minute of this week’s Pure Pop Radio specialty shows, featuring an exclusive, hour-long interview with Graham Gouldman, and two all-new editions of the Pop Tunes Deejay Show, with the World Internet Radio Premiere of the Weekling’s “In the Moment” in the spotlight on Thursday night. See you on the radio!
Pure Pop Radio’s signature shows, Alan Haber’s Pop Tunes Deejay Show, playing the latest and greatest melodic pop songs from today and across the decades, and Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation, the premiere Internet melodic pop talk show, air weekly on Pop that Goes Crunch Radio.
Listen to the Pop Tunes Deejay Show on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 pm ET (two different shows every week); In Conversation airs every Wednesday night at 9 pm ET. Don’t miss a minute!
Tune in to Pop that Goes Crunch Radio by clicking on the following snazzy-looking button:
Every year around this time, I sit down to start work on this feature and I marvel at the sheer number of wonderful albums released during the previous 12 months. And then, I’m off and running.
The process of reviewing contenders for this list results in a survey of the absolute top of the pops that came out during the last 12 months. There were a lot of great indie records released in 2017. These are the ones that I came back to the most.
There are 21 entries in this year’s feature–18 albums and three singles, all followed by links you can click on to purchase them. They are presented in no particular order. As in years past, I do not rank them; I have trouble deciding which album should sit at number five versus number six and anyway, if I did rank them, the placements would likely vary depending on the day. So they are presented as a group of highly listenable creations, all of which I recommend without reservation, every day of the week.
And so, without further ado, here is Pure Pop Radio’s Favorite Records of the Year: Stars of 2017. The choices are mine; the pleasure, listening to them, is all yours.
Bill DeMain | Transatlantic Romantic Built around the Nashville, Tennessee artist’s piano and lovely vocals, and co-producer Jim Hoke’s tasteful string and horn arrangements, Transatlantic Romantic is a delicious, wonderfully arranged song cycle stacked high with sweet, beautifully written and performed classic-sounding songs in the style of Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman, Van Dyke Parks, and Harpers Bizarre. Case in point: “Lemon Yellow,” a lovely waltz blessed by Van Dyke Parks-meets-George Martin strings, Randy Newman-esque piano, and the charming story about the love of a car that came “all the way from Germany.” There is charm to spare in this gem of an album, a warm, beating heart full of joy. Purchase
Bill Lloyd | It’s Happening Now It’s Happening Now bathes listeners in the warm glow of tremendous acoustic-based songs evoking mid-’60s folk-pop aesthetics. Lovely melodies, nimble acoustic guitar playing, and emotive vocals combine for an affective listening experience from a contemporary music master. A couple of heartfelt numbers are among the best songs that Lloyd has written thus far: the gorgeous, beautifully orchestrated and tenderly sung “Happiness,” about really and truly and completely giving in to love (“Happiness/As much of a choice as a chance/You simply decide that you’ll dance/This time…/Then maybe you’ll finally be blessed with/Happiness”), and “Let Me In Your Life Again,” a gentle upbeat plea for rekindling a romance (“Back inside your grace/Warm in your embrace/Only face to face/Do I feel anything so true”). It’s Happening Now is Bill Lloyd’s finest hour, by far. Purchase
The Bye Bye Blackbirds | Take Out the Poison
Bradley Skaught’s Oakland, California-based outfit’s best offering yet presents 11 finely wrought, emotionally charged songs in an album stocked full of classic tracks. Variety is the key: “Let Your Hair Fall Down,” an out-and-out pop workout, complete with horns and sounding as if it were plucked from the J. Geils playbook, sits comfortably alongside such numbers as the mid-tempo, string-laden country ballad, “Duet,” which features a lovely vocal by Lindsay Paige Garfield, who co-wrote the song with Skaught. A career-defining release. Purchase
Karla Kane | King’s Daughters Home for Incurables The Corner Laughers’ Karla Kane steps into the spotlight with this enchanting solo set bringing together modern folk and soft pop sensibilities. Kane’s lovely vocals and melodies power these heartfelt songs, such as the gorgeous ballad “Under the Oak in May” and the amazing, percussive piano marvel “All Aboard,” which sports a traveling, train-inspired beat and builds to a seductive close. A true marvel of an album. Purchase
Fun of the Pier | 14:42
Nottingham, England’s Fun of the Pier paints their debut album in bright, happy folk-pop hues for a pleasing listening experience. Songs such as “Past/Future” and “(In My) Time” are drenched in lovely, clever and catchy melodies. Beautiful ballads “Lost and Lazy” and “I Live this Life (She Said)” hearken to classic artists such as Claire Hamill and Kate Rusby (and there is a correlation worth noting). 14:42 is a wonderful, delightful collection of songs, expertly performed, with Helen Luker’s alluring vocals particularly noteworthy. Purchase
Kelley Ryan | Telescope
astroPuppees veteran Ryan’s long player is a master class effort of melodic proportions, stocked deep with luscious, carefully crafted compositions. Telescope’s enticing mix of balladry and radio-friendly should-be-top-of-the-pops creations includes the catchy, mid-tempo closer “Real Gone Girl,” with its enticing melody and lovely, memorable and magical harmonies; and the gentle, so pretty “Pulling for Romeo,” from which this album gets its title (“You’re at the end of your rope/Don’t need a telescope…”). How does this album fit into the current melodic pop landscape? It fits like a glove. Purchase
Dave Caruso | Buddha Pesto Manifesto
Dave Caruso’s new songs, which form the whole of this career-defining new album, play with the duality of the times in our lives when decisions must be made. Easy or hard to fathom, these decisions are the fabric of our lives, set within this album to glide along atop durable melodies that beat to the heart of the matter. The album’s closer is a particular highlight: “I Get to Make You Laugh,” delivered emotionally by way of Caruso’s tender vocal and keyboard, finds the narrator self-realizing that another man has the woman’s commitment at the same time that the narrator has her soul. Coming three years after the bravura performances captured within Caruso’s breakout album Cardboard Vegas Roundabout,Buddha Pesto Manifesto sets a high bar for future musical endeavors. Purchase
Cindy Lee Berryhill | The Adventurist
A deeply felt, melodic, invigorating and emotional song cycle looking back on and celebrating Berryhill’s time with Paul Williams, the creator of Crawdaddy, the first, authoritative rock publication of record, The Adventurist shows the future unfolding for Berryhill one day at a time with each new step forward informed by steps already taken. The album’s heart-filled center is the heartbreakingly honest, emotionally melodic “Somebody’s Angel” (“The first time I kissed somebody new/I cried when I thought about you/And all the good times we had and the living we’d been through,” Berryhill sings. “Now I’m here for you forever or long as I am able/I gotta be somebody’s angel.”) The Adventurist, a remarkable, many-hued cycle of life, will grab hold of your heart as it summons your deepest emotions to the surface and affects you to your core. (Omnivore) Purchase
Cait Brennan | Third
A miraculous, astounding, and audacious album pairing Brennan, a one-of-a-kind artist, and multi-instrumentalist and ace producer Fernando Perdomo, Third is surely one of those fortified-in-heaven happenings that make life on earth a wonderful thing. Recorded at Memphis, Tennessee’s legendary Ardent Studios, fortified with Big Star heart, Third is a roller coaster ride through all of life’s travails, an emotional wake up call for all humans negotiating the pathways of their existence. The album’s highlight? “Catiebots Don’t Cry,” a gut-wrenching you-love-her-I-love-her-what-are-we-gonna-do-about-it slow-to-mid-tempo burner, a skewed kind of aromatic love song featuring Brennan’s multi-tracked, thing-of-beauty three-dimensional vocal harmony stacks. This Third is astonishing, bold, and seemingly effortless. (Omnivore) Purchase
The Blood Rush Hour | Who Folds First The followup to 2014’s astounding And Then… The Unthinkable Happened is just as miraculous and entirely satisfying, encompassing a variety of song styles, all finely wrought melodic microcosms and performed with perfection. Who Folds First brings the hits and a few happy surprises, like the Manhattan Transfer-like, a cappella opening that introduces the Todd Rundgren-esque “No More Excuses,” and “The Space that We Have Made,” about getting to the heart of the matter, a triumphant Steely Dan-ish number sung by Pure Pop Radio favorite Christian Phillips, who devised the three-dimensional vocal arrangements with Hour leader Robert DeStefano. Joyous and quite special. Purchase
Chris Price | Stop Talking
Stop talking? Hardly. The aim is for you to listen to these wonderful songs, recorded by Price between 2013 and 2016, and tell your friends about them, thereby creating a groundswell of support for this exceptional artist. From the catchy Paul McCartney-meets-Stephen Bishop-meets-Rupert Holmes “One of Them” to the tender, Nilsson-esque “You and Me (And Everyone Else),” co-written by Price and The New Pornographers’ Joe Seiders, and the toe-tapping, orchestrated charmer “Once Was True,” which puts a lovely chord progression and melodic structure center stage, Stop Talking is a classy keeper. (Omnivore) Purchase
The Weeklings | Live at Daryl’s House Club Vol. 1
Ten Beatles classics, inhabited and driven with red-hot enthusiasm by this ever-passionate New Jersey foursome, blow like missiles out of your speakers for a fun time that, yeah, yeah, yeah, cannot help but be had by all. Top tracks? Take your pick: “I Saw Her Standing There” (energy to spare and take-that drumming), “Nowhere Man” (tight, three-dimensional harmonies), or “Helter Skelter,” (a pulse-pounding showcase for the band and Lefty’s in-your-face vocal). Or, really, any of the other tracks on offer. Short of being transported to an alternate universe where the actual Beatles are playing at a club in your neighborhood, this is as real as this fab thing gets. (See below for more Weeklings fun.) Purchase
Coke Belda | Coke Belda 3 (Gs): A Tribute to the Bee Gees
The long-awaited followup to 2013’s Coke Belda I and 2015’s Nummer Zwei breathes new life into the art of musical homage. This alluring celebration of the charms of the Brothers Gibb, a virtual explosion of Bee Gees joy, hits the mark at every turn. Playing all of the instruments and singing all of the vocals, save for a welcome guest appearance from Gretchen’s Wheel’s Lindsay Murray, Coke delivers smile after smile. “Claustrophobia,” arranged and played as a sweet Merseybeat romp, will book you on a virtual time travel trip back to the 1960s. The album closer, a beautiful take on “Our Love (Don’t Throw It All Away),” a top 10 Billboard chart hit for Andy Gibb in 1978, written by Bee Gee Barry and keyboardist Blue Weaver, is a welcome, perhaps unexpected nugget. Follow with glee. (Bonus Belda joy follows below.) Purchase from Kool Kat (CD), Purchase from Futureman (Digital)
Scott Gagner | Pins and Needles A way-more-than-worthy followup to 2014’s five-star Rise and Shine,Pins and Needles elevates Scott Gagner’s art to six stars, at least. Boasting 10 literate, affecting pop songs and a lovely, emotional reading of “America the Beautiful,” the album is one of the great pleasures of 2017. Top numbers include the bluesy “Heart Attack” (“It seems I was a victim of love/Not heart disease”), the classic pop sounds of “The Ghost of Me and You,” and the aforementioned “America the Beautiful.” Lovely through and through. Purchase
Robyn Gibson | Bob of the Pops Vol. 1 and Vol. 2
Buoyant exercises in the art of homage, Bob of the Pops Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 find The Junipers’ multi-instrumentalist Robyn Gibson having a good old time putting his warm, wide-eyed spin on some of his favorite pop songs from across the decades. All across this lovingly essayed two-volume landscape, Gibson’s softhearted vocals and obvious love for the material cast a warm glow over every melody line and emotional keystone communicated. In Gibson’s hands, these classic constructs breathe new life into familiar musical landscapes. From Vol. 1, The Beatles’ “Nowhere Man” fairly drips with joy; the opening, harmony drenched a cappella couplet is sweetly delivered, and the song reveals itself as a modern-day folk song, every harmonic element glimmering with life and hope. Among the other top spins: The Hollies’ “Listen to Me” and the Who’s “I Can’t Reach You.” Vol. 2’s take on the Monkees’ “Girl that I Knew Somewhere” and Matthew Sweet’s “I’ve Been Waiting” are winners, as is “Bob’s” version of a well-known little group from Liverpool’s “There’s a Place.” Unmissable, and so much fun. Free Downloads
Scott Brookman | Smellicopter Two
Four years and seven months on from the mighty Smellicopter, Richmond, Virginia’s favorite son returns with this top-flight five-song sequel, a sterling collection of pop songs that should not only please fans but also draw in new Brookman connoisseurs. From the opening marriage of ’70s Todd Rundgren and late-’90s June and the Exit Wounds ambiance, “Consideration,” to “Old Bones Found,” a clever, catchy mix of pure pop styles, Smellicopter Two delivers the goods. Purchase
Dana Countryman | The Joy of Pop The fourth time’s the charm, although it certainly can be said that the previous three times have been equally charming; The Joy of Pop is nothing less than a joy, another in a growing line of wonderful retro-pop albums from a master of melody. With compatriots like Matt Tyson, Dana’s wife Tricia and Klaatu’s Dee Long in tow, you’re bound to have a rousing good time bathing in the glow of such gorgeous songs as “August Dream,” a Broadway-styled creation influenced, no doubt, by the work of Richard Carpenter, Burt Bacharach and Gilbert O’Sullivan; “Tell Me that You Love Me,” an early-1960s mid-tempo ballad dripping with Buddy Holly-isms; and “Can’t Stop Thinking ‘Bout You,” a jangly number graced with Dee Long’s beautiful guitar work. There is even a jolly holiday number, “It’s an Amazon.com Kind of Christmas,” that begs to be played year-round. Joy? There plenty to go around here. Purchase
Richard X. Heyman | Incognito
One-man-band Richard X.’s 12th album, no less than his best work by far, is powered by stellar playing, singing and songwriting that gets better with each passing year. Dazzling songs and equally dazzling performances greet you at every turn. In the pure popper “A Fool’s Errand,” the narrator tells the world that his love for his partner is solid and for the ages. “Her Garden Path” is a muscular track with a grandly attractive riff that chronicles a man’s escape from a woman’s web. And the horn-infused, soulful pop number “So What” finds Richard sounding as though he’s channeling the Rascals’ Felix Cavaliere. All of Richard’s albums are fantastic listens, but if you’re new to Richard’s work and you wonder where you should start, Incognito is a great place to jump in. Purchase
Winterpills | “Colorblind”
Upon first hearing this Massachusetts band’s music and, in particular songwriter Philip Price’s top-flight, three-dimensional songs, I could do nothing except flip for joy. This single, not yet represented on an album, is a great example of what Winterpills does best, and that is envelop the listener with lovely melodies and hooks galore. Beyond that, this description from the group’s Bandcamp page sums the process up nicely: “‘Colorblind’ features an infectious wall-of-sound vocal hook, samples recorded into an iPhone in a DC parking lot, out-of-tune pianos colliding over a burned-out city, a fat R&B beat, all poured through the alchemy of producer Justin Pizzoferrato’s overdrive brain.” Add this song, and all of Winterpills’ glorious albums, to your collection today. Purchase
Coke Belda | “Operator (That’s Not the Way it Feels)”
Coke Belda, who is ably represented above in this year’s Favorite Records of the Year feature, released this past November this heartfelt reinvention of Jim Croce’s top 20 hit. “My lovely wife, Verónica, introduced me to Jim Croce many years ago,” says Coke on his Bandcamp page. “I was captivated by his tunes and voice and I always thought this song was a clear power-pop song disguised as an acoustic piece.” Playing all of the instruments and singing all of the vocals, Coke has introduced Croce’s perennial to new listeners, as well as listeners who grew up with the song when it was first released. Stellar work. Purchase
The Weeklings | “Paperback Writer”
New Jersey’s Fab Four reconvened in the studio during the last few months of 2017 to record and release a couple of jolly Christmas singles–“Revolution Wonderland,” a mash-up of the Beatles’ “Revolution” and the perennial Christmas classic “Winter Wonderland,” and a lively take on the original Fabs’ “Christmas Time is Here Again,” with dollops of “Flying” and “Baby You’re a Rich Man” skillfully sewn in. Last September, they released this, and here’s that word again, joyous slice of Weekling-ized fun, reviewed by me thusly: “Lefty, Zeek, Rocky and Smokestack huddle together and Weekling-ize the number one 1966 Billboard chart Beatles smash with an in-your-face-and-your-ears-too injection of contemporary immediacy, tight-knit harmonies, a surprising and smile-inducing…break, rhythmic whirligigs, Lefty’s spot-on Paul McCartney-esque bass runs, and a daring dose of Monkees derring-do for a rip-roaring, must-play-it-again-and-again two minutes and 47 seconds-long eargasm.” Still sounds about right. Purchase
Pure Pop Radio’s signature shows, Alan Haber’s Pop Tunes Deejay Show, playing the latest and greatest melodic pop songs from today and across the decades, and Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation, the premiere Internet melodic pop talk show, air weekly on Pop that Goes Crunch Radio.
Listen to the Pop Tunes Deejay Show on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 pm ET (two different shows every week); In Conversation airs every Wednesday night at 9 pm ET. Don’t miss a minute!
Tune in to Pop that Goes Crunch Radio by clicking on the following snazzy-looking button:
The Weeklings are legendary here at Pure Pop Radio. They’re also legendary there and everywhere. The foursome’s new single, a top-of-the-pops take on the Beatles’ “Paperback Writer,” is being featured tonight, in fact, on our Pop Tunes Deejay Show at 8 pm ET (click on the Listen link below at the appointed hour).
Zeek Weekling appeared on Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation on September 6 to speak to me about the Weeklings’ take on “Paperback Writer” and the band’s future release plans. It was a typically spirited conversation, fortified with extra-added Weeklings vibes–the kind of in-depth talk you can only hear on the Internet’s premiere melodic pop talk show.
Listen to my interview with Zeek Weekling from September 6 by clicking the play button on the following player, or click on the Pure Pop Radio button to the left to download (then right click and choose “Save audio as” to save the file to your computer). (This interview is presented in scoped format; the songs have been removed due to copyright concerns.)
And now, dear Sir or Madam: Check out the video for The Weeklings’ version of “Paperback Writer,” and then, if you haven’t already, click on one of the links to add the track to your ever-growing Weeklings collection.
Purchase The Weeklings’ fab version of “Paperback Writer” by clicking on one of the following links (you’ll be so very glad you did!): Amazon, iTunes
Look out for more current and archived Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation interviews, coming soon.
Pure Pop Radio’s signature shows, Alan Haber’s Pop Tunes Deejay Show, playing the latest and greatest melodic pop songs from today and across the decades, and Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation, the premiere Internet melodic pop talk show, air weekly on Pop that Goes Crunch Radio.
Listen to the Pop Tunes Deejay Show on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 pm ET (two different shows every week); In Conversation airs every Wednesday night at 9 pm ET. Don’t miss a minute!
Tune in to Pop that Goes Crunch Radio by clicking on the following snazzy-looking button:
Spins and Reviews | 09.05.17 By Alan Haber – Pure Pop Radio
The Weeklings | “Paperback Writer” (Single, 2017)
Lefty, Zeek, Rocky and Smokestack huddle together and Weekling-ize the number one 1966 Billboard chart Beatles smash with an in-your-face-and-your-ears-too injection of contemporary immediacy, tight-knit harmonies, a surprising and smile-inducing…break, rhythmic whirligigs, Lefty’s spot-on Paul McCartney-esque bass runs, and a daring dose of Monkees derring-do for a rip-roaring, must-play-it-again-and-again two minutes and 47 seconds-long eargasm. I think that about covers it.
New Sincerity Works | Wonder Lust (2017)
Mike Tittel’s outfit sits on the fringe of where pop and rock meet for drinks on a Sunday afternoon, crafting inspired bellwether works fueled by a variety of influence. Alternative leanings meet pop songcraft meet a traditional rock and roll base on songs like “Find a Way Home,” an atmospheric mid-tempo ballad whose lengthy intro sets an emotional mood; “To Be Kissed Like That,” a lovely song that builds nicely and sports sensitive guitar lines; and the title number, a lively pop-rocker that sounds for all the world like U2, if Bono and company had more finite pop leanings. Tittel, aided and abetted by a more than able fellowship filled out by Roger Klug, whose singular pop-rock has been a Pure Pop Radio staple for two decades, Greg Tudor, Bob Nyswonger, Mike Landis, and Lauren Bray, has made a fine specimen, a record for dipping into for listeners inspired by the art of craft.
Poppermost | Songs for the Different (2017) Las Vegas popsters stake their claim for top-flight regional melodism with a generous sampling of their wares and come up with a collection that soft pop fans are sure to love. A collection of previously-released tracks and new single “Let It Shine,” a Cowsills-worthy explosion of sixties and seventies pop with lovely harmonies, Songs for the Different glows with a multitude of period smiles, from the Free Design vibe of “Tracy” to the swinging, harmony-rich clapalong reworking of the Monkees’ “Tapioca Tundra,” originally released on the Monkees’ The Birds, The Bees and the Monkees album in 1968. Alex Oliver and Roy Rendahl’s sense of the power of song steeped in strong melodies puts them at the top of the soft pop class, making this album a must-listen-to experience.
Pure Pop Radio’s signature shows, Alan Haber’s Pop Tunes Deejay Show, playing the latest and greatest melodic pop songs from today and across the decades, and Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation, the premiere Internet melodic pop talk show, air weekly on Pop that Goes Crunch Radio.
Listen to the Pop Tunes Deejay Show on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 pm ET (two different shows every week); In Conversation airs every Wednesday night at 9 pm ET. Don’t miss a minute!
Tune in to Pop that Goes Crunch Radio by clicking on the following snazzy-looking button:
By Alan Haber – Pure Pop Radio
Where to Get It: 
By Alan Haber – Pure Pop Radio
You’ve got to be carrying around on your shoulders a teeming bushelful of confidence to name your album Your Favorite Record, but that’s what the regally-named Linus of Hollywood called his very first long player in 1999, an instant soft-pop classic boasting liner notes from none other than soft-pop queen Margo Guryan, who perhaps prophetically asked in those notes, “Can you recall the first time you tasted ice cream?”
New Jersey’s Fab Four let loose some powerful beat-driven sounds recorded at London’s Abbey Road Studios during the making of the quartet’s most recent album, Studio 2. “Anything you want, I’ll be there to give you,” they sing with melodic and harmonic force. “Cause every time I see you, I love you more.” Life, in the moment! Guitars! Sounds-like-Paul-McCartney-is-playing-the-bass bass lines! Keith Moon-y drums! (Really!) And a whole lot of “And Your Bird Can Sing” spirit! (Really!) Another can’t-miss missive most welcome, you can be sure!
Listen to the Pop Tunes Deejay Show on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8 pm ET (two different shows every week); In Conversation airs every Wednesday night at 9 pm ET. Don’t miss a minute!
It’s another big week for Pure Pop Radio’s specialty shows, all broadcast on the powerhouse Internet radio station Pop that Goes Crunch. Veteran singer-songwriter and performer Graham Gouldman stars in an exclusive wide-ranging interview on Pure Pop Radio: In Conversation, and the romance of trains–and terrific, hit-bound new releases, including a World Internet Radio Premiere of a brand-new track from The Weeklings–power two all-new episodes of Alan Haber’s Pop Tunes Deejay Show.
After hearing the O’Jays’ classic “Love Train” on a favored Internet radio station, I got the idea to explore the romance of trains for a special themed edition of the Pop Tunes Deejay Show. So, I put on my engineer’s hat and placed the pop train on our tracks to deliver an hour’s worth of songs about all kinds of trains and songs with the word “train” in the title. You’ll hear Albert Hammond’s “I’m a Train,” Johnny Cash’s “Train of Love,” P.F. Sloan’s “Lollipop Train (You Never Had It So Good),” the Monkees’ “Last Train to Clarksville,” songs from West Coast Consortium, the Marthas and Arthurs, the Hardy Boys, the Kinks, and a whole lot more. All aboard tonight at 8 pm ET!
Don’t miss a minute of this week’s Pure Pop Radio specialty shows, featuring an exclusive, hour-long interview with Graham Gouldman, and two all-new editions of the Pop Tunes Deejay Show, with the World Internet Radio Premiere of the Weekling’s “In the Moment” in the spotlight on Thursday night. See you on the radio!
Bill Lloyd | It’s Happening Now
The Bye Bye Blackbirds | Take Out the Poison
Karla Kane | King’s Daughters Home for Incurables
Fun of the Pier | 14:42
Kelley Ryan | Telescope
Dave Caruso | Buddha Pesto Manifesto
Cindy Lee Berryhill | The Adventurist
Cait Brennan | Third
The Blood Rush Hour | Who Folds First
Chris Price | Stop Talking
The Weeklings | Live at Daryl’s House Club Vol. 1
Coke Belda | Coke Belda 3 (Gs): A Tribute to the Bee Gees 
Scott Gagner | Pins and Needles
Robyn Gibson | Bob of the Pops Vol. 1 and Vol. 2
Scott Brookman | Smellicopter Two
Dana Countryman | The Joy of Pop
Richard X. Heyman | Incognito
Winterpills | “Colorblind”
Coke Belda | “Operator (That’s Not the Way it Feels)”
The Weeklings | “Paperback Writer”
The Weeklings are legendary here at Pure Pop Radio. They’re also legendary there and everywhere. The foursome’s new single, a top-of-the-pops take on the Beatles’ “Paperback Writer,” is being featured tonight, in fact, on our Pop Tunes Deejay Show at 8 pm ET (click on the Listen link below at the appointed hour).
The Weeklings | “Paperback Writer” (Single, 2017)
New Sincerity Works | Wonder Lust (2017)
Poppermost | Songs for the Different (2017)