Intervention Records has crafted audiophile reissues of records from the very late sixties through the nineties. For their latest release, the label reaches as far back as it ever has to revive one of the key LPs of rock and roll's earliest days. Originally released in 1957, Carl Perkins's Dance Album lined up a superb set of radio classics, knocking the socks off bobby soxers, greasers, and four Liverpudlian history-changers in the process. But it would do Perkins a disservice to suggest his Dance Album's importance is solely due to The Beatles, as a unit and as solo artists, covering nearly everything on it. Perkins's songwriting stands strong alongside the era's best composers, namely Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry, his "Blue Suede Shoes" easily being one of rock and roll's defining songs and philosophical statements. He also stands out for the crystalline precision of his singing and six-string twanging.
Following a moody debut with a couple of angular arty moments, Tears for Fears went full smash with their sophomore album. Things like "Mad World", "Pale Shelter", and "Change" had been UK hits and well-loved underground nuggets in the US but nothing to prepare Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith for what was to come with the world-dominating triple-threat of "Head Over Heels", "Shout", and"Everybody Wants to Rule the World". The latter was consciously crafted to be heard on drive-time FM radio, a scheme that more than worked when it and "Shout" each took the Billboard top spot.
For a teenage Stones freak growing up amidst the stink of hair metal, such as myself, The Black Crowes seemed like a breath of fresh air. So what if their sound was completely recycled from scratched-up copies of Sticky Fingers and A Nod Is as Good as a Wink? So what if their best song was an Otis Redding cover? So what if they were yet another bunch of skinny white guys pushing an "I was stewed in blues" image? They didn't screech from lipsticked lips and Ibanezes. They used minimal amounts of Aquanet. And they clearly loved music.
All written content of Psychobabble200.blogspot.com is the property of Mike Segretto and may not be reprinted or reposted without permission.
