Album review : NEW GUITARS IN TOWN Power Pop 1978-82 (3 CD Set)

February 10th, 2024 by brianmc

Cherry Red [Release date: 16.02.24]

By the late seventies, a genre that had blossomed in the Sixties was rediscovered by a new generation of teenagers.

And so the legacy of the Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Who and others skipped a musical generation or two and evolved, post punk, into Power Pop.

According to the Allmusic website, many of the bands here caught the public imagination “because their brief, catchy songs fit into the post-punk aesthetic”.

New Guitars In Town has 75 tracks and 4 hours of exactly that, all packed into 3 weighty CDs, plus a heavily annotated, 36 page booklet, giving us the run down on each track, along with cover art.

Even if you had nothing more than a passing interest in the genre and its spinoffs, you’ll recognise names like The Buzzcocks (Love You More), Elvis Costello (Pump It Up), Squeeze (Another Nail In My Heart), The Jam (Strange Town), The Boomtown Rats (She’s So Modern) and ‘You’ve Got My Number’ from The Undertones (whose vocalist, Feargal Sharkey, is now a political activist. Who’d a thought it?)

Others here were happy to exist on the periphery, enjoying the next best thing to commercial success . . . cult status.

Only occasionally did some of those artists register a decent sized blip on the radar of popular culture. Bram Tchaikovsky, ex of The Motors hit the US Billboard Charts a glancing blow (‘Criminal’ is here); The Motors ‘Forget About You’, the follow up to UK Charts no.4 hit ‘Airport’ is here; Spotify favourite, ‘Show Her You Care’ by Strangeways (the original) is here too. As is Wreckless Eric’s ‘Veronica’ and The Kicks’ ‘If Looks Could Kill’ (You’d need to pay best part of £50 now for this vinyl single).

Then there are the bands who achieved both cult status plus a degree of commercial success. Like Stiff Little Fingers. Ten studio albums, with all four released in the 1978-82 timeframe charting in the UK. The single ‘Just Fade Away’ (featured here) comes from 1981’s Go For It, a UK Top Twenty album.

Another John Peel favourite, and arguably more of an in-your-face pub rock band than Power Pop, are Eddie And The Hot Rods. The single, ‘The Power And The Glory’ is taken from 1979’s Thriller album.

Clearly many tracks are not covered here, there just isn’t the space, but we couldn’t miss the opportunity to mention some of the artists who at least chose a great band name: Zoot Alors; The Vapors; The Uncool Danceband; The Hollywood Killers; The Backseat Romeos (I’ve known a few of them in my time); spreadsheet pioneers, Excel; and lastly, the band with the perfect Power Pop name, Neon Hearts. ****

Review by Brian McGowan

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Next session: Sunday 1 December

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 3 November 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 29 October 2024.

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)