The 1981 Listening Post - Anthony Meynell (AKA Anthony Meynell and Squire) - Sings His Greatest Hits from 3000 Years Ago

 Reviewed by Paul J Zickler / LISTENING POST DISCOVERY

Released: 1981 Anthony Meynell (AKA Anthony Meynell and Squire) Sings His Greatest Hits From 3000 Years Ago Genre: Mod Revival Power Pop Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Highlights: I Don’t Get Satisfaction Sandy My Mind Goes Round In Circles B-A-B-Y Baby Love Noonday Underground Modern Love Does Stephanie Know The Youth Of Today Gonna Make It Now this is what I’m talking about. Mod revivalists go full power pop. Nonstop hooks with a bit of DIY punk ethos, but not enough to interfere with the sweet, sweet melodies and guitar riffs. It’s as if all the years between 1965 and 1980 just didn’t matter. Squire is opening for the Who tonight at the Marquee Club, and every Vespa-riding, Mohair-wearing kid in town is gonna be there. Because it’s 1981, I suppose you could view the low fidelity and one-take energy as deliberately retro choices, and maybe they were, but I find it impossible to care. Yeah, the bass is too loud on this song, and the guitar solo’s not quite right on that other song, but listen: the hooks simply DO NOT STOP. Anthony Meynell may be one of the hookiest late ‘70s/early ‘80s power pop songwriters, which is a bold claim in and of itself. But the music bears it out. Just listen. It doesn’t really matter where you drop the needle on this one. If you dig early Kinks, early Beatles, Small Faces, Merseybeat stuff, even some Big Star, you’re just going to eat this up. If there’s any complaint to be made, it may be that this album is too much of a good thing. If you’ve ever found yourself listening to a catchy hit single from a band, only to find the rest of the album kind of a drag, you’ve probably asked yourself, “Why can’t they just write ‘em all like [insert name of song here]?” Hits From 3000 Years Ago answers that query with a resounding, “We can!” The question is, would you really want them to? If so, this album may become a new favorite. If not, you might at least throw I Don’t Get Satisfaction, My Mind Goes Round in Circles, Noonday Underground and Modern Love on a playlist. Or, if you prefer, Sandy, B-A-B-Y Baby Love, Does Stephanie Know? and The Youth of Today Are Gonna Make It. Seriously, you can’t go wrong with any of these songs, which means I have no choice but to call this one a Listening Post Discovery. Enjoy!