Two for Thursday, 8/11/11

Tony Cox-On the Way. After a successful and well-received debut in the power pop community with 2009's Unpublished, Tony Cox is back with On the Way, and he's topped himself in the process. As with Unpublished, Tony enlists pop utilityman Nigel Clark (who can be heard with Dodgy, The Offbeat, and his own solo disc) on vocals, and the combination is another winner. Opener "We'll Get High" is a perfect pop confection, a slice of 60s-pop with a hint of soulfulness. "Hold Me Angeline" is reminiscent of Clark's work in The Offbeat, while "The Way" evokes The Association with a Nuggets-styled sheen. And "Curse of Love" could pass for a lost Zombies classic. This could the album of the year for those who love 60s-styled sunshine pop.



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Rollo Time-Victims of the Crown. It's Rollo Time again, as this Chicago-area band returns with the followup to their 2007 self-titled debut. Once again, they show a great facility for melding classic rock and power pop, and that's apparent right off the bat with "You Can Talk" and "Sick and Tired", a pair of tracks that will appeal to fans of bands like The Shazam and Superdrag. "Eyman Prison" tells the story of a frustrated prisoner (of a real Arizona prison) to a power pop beat, while the midtempo janglers "Madeline Says" and "I Can't Believe This Day" are also standouts.



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CD of the Day, 5/27/09: Tony Cox-Unpublished

If you've been asking yourself "Where can I find some classic 60s-styled British pop that has a timeless quality to it?", then Tony Cox has the answer. Unpublished is his debut album, and thankfully for us he actually did publish it. There is one twist here: although Cox wrote all the tracks and plays guitar and keyboards, the lead vocalist is Nigel Clark, not Cox. If that name sounds familiar, Clark is the onetime frontman of Dodgy, and released a quality solo disc in 2006 titled 21st Century Man.

"Sweet Elaine" and "Feel Real Love" open the disc in grand fashion, incorporating Northern Soul (dig those horns) and a Motown bassline, together with sunshine melodies. If you dug last year's Rinaldi Sings disc, stop reading this review and immediately go to the link below and order this one. "Jamelia" adds an insistent guitar hook to the mix while "Fallen" lays on the jangle. The midtempo "Chills" recalls Merseysiders like Peter & Gordon and Herman's Hermits, while "Say the Word" continues the 60s tour with some Beach Boys influence. The only question I have is how did "Life is Hardcore" end up on this disc? With its heavy synths it's about 20 years figuratively removed from the rest of the album. That minor quibble aside, Tony Cox has the Carnaby Street Album of 2009 on his hands. He may be retro, but he has the tunes.

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Unpublished - Tony Cox