1981
The Show
The Show
Genre: Power Pop/Rock that sounds like everything else
3.25 out of 5
Highlights:
Wrong Number
Money Talks
Baby Tonight
Always on Ten
Remember
The things I do for you guys.
I heard about The DIFF and decided it was something I wanted to have. Good old fashioned Power Pop that sounds like it fell off the back of 1979’s Power Pop truck. And, then I searched the rest of the catalog of the distributor, which seems to be a little record store in Villa Park, IL.
This record popped out at me.
Normally I wouldn’t buy something like this, unheard. Not in 2023. But, first of all, look at that cover. That SCREAMS Glam rock of the 70s! It sits nicely next to my Thundermug record.
But, more importantly, it wasn’t even included in our list of unsourced records. There’s no record of it.
Ok, Allen, so what? So, some dudes went in the studio and made a record that no one heard on a label no one has even heard of. Well, someone has because that label is a Universal subsidiary.
IS a subsidiary.
AND This. Was. Sealed! So, yeah. I got it.
Who was The Show? After some research it seems that it’s a project that got a deal with a tiny label and then nothing happened.
The main guy Jay Kessler has co-written songs with Robert Clotworthy, a voice over artist whose credit could choke an elephant.
Clotworthy doesn’t have credits on this, though. I had to look up Kessler on BMI.
A lot of this sounds like it could have been any one of a number of Knack-offs. Especially the entirety of Side Two. And, sometimes, Kessler sounds like Joey Cola from Sorrows.
And get this. Look who’s name is in teeny letters on the back cover!!
But on the back of the jacket I almost missed a credit that, honestly, knocked me out.
Under additional artists on the record is one Mitchell Froom.
Composer of the soundtrack for Cafe Flesh, Mitchell Froom.
Multiple Grammy nominated producer, Mitchell Froom.
Once married to Suzanne Vega and then Vonda Shepard, Mitchell Froom.
So, there’s some bona fides in here.
I mean…Mitchell FROOM!
Is it good?
Lemme put it this way:
I’ve heard worse. And some of it isn’t bad. And, well, unless something changes…you’re just gonna have to take my word for it.
Everything here sounds like…everything else. A little Billy Joel. A little Knack. A little attempts at disco. Every songs sounds like they took a song and changed a few chords and made a new thing.
And you know what?
It grew on me.
It’s probably a 2.75 record but I’m giving it extra points cuz I have now spun it 4 times and I love knowing that I am one of, maybe, 4 people that have listened to The Show in the last 40 years.
Now you can join me!
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-5GkA1DYNZY9l1ySYtjnoaN2y3MdsWpU?usp=drive_link
No comments:
Post a Comment