“Power pop” has always been a loosely defined genre—a big umbrella for upbeat, guitar-driven music that mostly harkened back to 1960s pop-rock but makes room for acts and songs that didn’t all exactly issue from the same universe. That’s what you’ll find on the three-CD, 76-track Looking for the Magic: American Power Pop in the Seventies, which covers the music’s peak period and embraces diverse styles. The title, released Nov. 17, 2023, is available for order in the U.S. and the U.K.
A few leading power-pop outfits are missing from the program, including Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds and Blondie. Also not featured are some little-known but essential tracks, like the Only Ones’ explosive “Another Girl, Another Planet.” That said, the package does showcase material from most of the prominent power-pop acts, as well as one-hit wonders, no-hit wonders and no-hit-no-wonders.
Bestsellers on the program include Blue Oyster Cult’s Byrds-like “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper,” the Cars’ “My Best Friend’s Girl,” Andrew Gold’s Peter Asher-produced “Lonely Boy” and Todd Rundgren’s “We Gotta Get You a Woman” (which doesn’t particularly sound like power pop). There are also lesser-known tracks by famous bands, such as “Down on My Knees” by Bread, “Love Is Gonna Come at Last” by Badfinger” and “Your Number or Your Name” by the Knack.
The program has its weak points, such as the MC5’s Jon Landau–produced “Shakin’ Street,” a mediocre track that the group recorded after it had apparently decided to skip the revolution and go for the gold—unsuccessfully, as it turns out. Other forgettable moments include Crabby Appleton’s “Go Back,” the American Dream’s “Egg Carton Wall” and the Wackers’ “It’s My Life” (which is not to be confused with the Animals’ classic song of the same name).
But the pleasure in exploring a grab bag like this is discovering random, relatively obscure gems that you otherwise never would have encountered, and there are more than a few of those here, such as “To Be Your Friend” by Eric (aka Sid Bradley), which sounds like a great lost Undertones track; the Flamin’ Groovies’ “You Tore Me Down” and Athanor’s “I Don’t Mind,” both of which evidence a strong Beatles influence; the Greg Kihn Band’s rendition of Bruce Springsteen’s “Rendezvous”; the punk-psychedelic “Some Kind of Jerk” from Boston-based Fox Pass; Earth Quake’s “Friday on My Mind,” a San Francisco Bay Area group’s sharp-edged reading of the Easybeats hit; and “Slip Away,” a propulsive solo single from Stories’ Ian Lloyd.
Also featured are such power-pop standouts as Television; Jonathan Richman; the Raspberries and its lead singer, Eric Carmen; Big Star and that group’s prime mover, Alex Chilton; the Runaways; Cheap Trick; Grin and its leader, Nils Lofgren; the Ramones; and the late, great Dwight Twilley, whose included “Looking for the Magic” gives this anthology its title.
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“Go Back” by Crabby Appleton was a GREAT song!!