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

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

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Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024

In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections

Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)