New One By Peter Bruntnell

There have been a number of well promoted Power Pop albums already out this year.  But the new album from blog favorite Peter Bruntnell came out very quietly, with limited distribution and little fanfare.   It is true that Peter can always be counted on to enlighten the ears with his subtle brand of folk and pop. 

This year's effort is a largely acoustic live record entitled "Live in Firth".   It includes sparse re-imagined versions of recent Bruntell classics from his last four or five albums.   Really wonderful and well worth your time to pick up.   I've been collecting some tunes from appearances by Peter on radio and video promotion shows.   It leans in some similar directions and includes some tunes not included on Peter's great official effort.   Consider this a taster for the uninitiated and an odds and ends collection for Bruntnell completists - like me.   

Thanks Peter for all of the consistently fine music.

1 False Start
2 End of The World
3 Long Way From Home
4 The London Clay
5 Another Day
6 Clothes of Winter
7 Dissapointer
8 Black Mountain UFO
9 Sea of Japan
10 Black Window
11 Played Out
12 Here Come The Swells

New Album from Chris Price

I'm loving "Dalmatian" the new album from Chris Price.   Along with "Cabin Life" the new one by Linus of Hollywood, this album shows that 2018 is off to a good start in Power Pop.   "Dalmatian" is an odds and sods collection of tracks leftover from Chris's phenomenal sophomore effort "Stop Talking".   That fine album made number 4 on my top 25 list of last year and though it was a more coherent effort, Dalmatian is arguably more fun.  There is a heavy dose of Motown influenced uptempo pop numbers along some well crafted chamber pop tunes.   At current. I can't get the tune "Rollercoaster" out of my head.  The most catchy ear-worm of the year so far...

Through his work with Taylor Locke and Rooney and producing "Rainbow Ends" the 2016 comeback album by pop legend Emitt Rhodes, Chris has quickly entered the upper reaches of working Power Pop artists.   All three of his CDs are stellar and deserve your support.    As a completest, I've pulled together a set of single tracks and band collaborations that complement these great albums.   Tunes include a couple of tracks from Chris's early band Price and a few tracks from his 2016 band Bebopalula (I've been waiting for a full album's worth of tunes from that group for a couple of years now).  Can't wait to hear what Chris has in store for us....

1 All Fall Down - Bebopalula demo track
2 Please Read Me - B-side of Emitt Rhodes Bee Gees tribute single
3 Perfect Portrait - Bebopalula demo track
4 Melody Fair - Bebopalula track from Bee Gees tribute
5 Wesley - Bebopalula B-side
6 Bethany - from out-of-print Bethany EP
7 Soft Life of the Typics - Bebopalula demo track
8 Lady Lemonade - Bebopalula demo track
9 Hey Nancy Drew - Price track
10 Take Me Back - vocal guest appearance on Toxic Melons single
11 Don't You Want Me - Human League cover from 1980s compilation
12 Can't Argue With Love - from out-of-print Bethany EP
13 Honeymoon - from out-of-print Bethany EP
14 Birds - from out-of-print Bethany EP
15 I Don't Want a Thing This Christmas - Price track (mono version)

(By the way if anyone has better fidelity versions of these tracks, please contact me in a posting and let me know the best way to get in touch with you.  Thanks!)