Dinner At Mr Billy’s – Blue Ash (Peppermint Records)
Summa the magical, mystical Blue Ash powerpop just feels so ‘60s, like some lost tracks from the "Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls" or "Easy Rider" soundtracks, or the incidental music from "Love American Style" or some kinda hippie exploitation marketing hoax.
Remember when 7-Up was selling themselves as flower child psychedelic? Blue Ash was around then and woulda been perfect to write their far out, hey man, garage punk jingles. So Good! The guitar playing feels like Strawberry Alarm Clock or 13th Floor Elevators sometimes, and the singer coulda been in "Hair".
If you know me, you know that the Bomp! Records Stiv Bators "Disconnected" LP is at the top of my all-time favorite records list, right next to "Young, Loud, & Snotty", "Into The Valley Of The Dolls", "Pet Sounds", "Pretenders 2", and "Back To Mystery City", and Stiv’s then-guitarist/bassist Frank Secich is one of my very favorite songwriters. I've sang the fuck outta summa his songs since I, myself was a teenager and that was a mighty long time ago. (ED: Blue Ash was one of Secich’s pre-Stiv bands and this album compiles their stuff.)
"I've Been Rolled" has these, "hey-a yeah a yeahs" that get lodged in your brain all day, forever! "When I Get You" is a stone cold hit, reminiscent of like, The Standells. I love this stuff! The vocals, the astonishing drums, it's pretty much perfect!
"Stay" sounds like Three Dog Night meets Steppenwolf! If you love Big Star, Flamin' Groovies or Badfinger, "Dinner At Mr. Billy's" is the right record for you! Even their wildman "Whhooows!" feel real and vital and alive as hell, like Billy Idol or David Lee Roth, decades later.
An amazing album! If you ever bought "Nuggets", you already have some affinity for all those cool-as-fuck American garage bands who saw the Beatles and Stones and Doors and Paul Revere on Ed Sullivan and immediately stopped cutting their hair, discovered the ganja, and sulked down into the basement to do their own version of the British Invasion, and Blue Ash rank among the best of the genre. It's like the Lemon Pipers or something, part irresistible bubblegum and part freak society dropout hymns. "Dinner at Mr. Billys" is a paisley snapshot of some old greasy spoon, side of the road, Route 66 dinner joint probably located near a rundown amusement park or something. "Dangerous Dynamite" is another absolute winner, very much a precursor to Redd Kross! "Jazel Jane" kicks ass like T Rex meets Cheap Trick!
This compilation is a righteous labor of love with in depth and insightful liner notes and a beautifully exquisite sleeve and package caringly tailored for old record collectors like you. I grew up on The Fleshtones and The Fuzztones and Blue Ash has that same feel. It's power pop with a real summer of love rocknroll edge. "It's Alright By Me" reminds me of Jeff Dahl's awesome "Go To Him", thematically, great stuff! "Movin' Right Along" is blue eyed soul like, you know, Lyres or Real Kids. The drummer's unbelievable.
"She's A Pleaser" sounds just like Cheap Trick or the Raspberries, classic! The guitar is gutsy as hell and then strings appear like on an old Arthur Lee classic, painting a cinematic movie in your head. "She Cried For Fifteen Years" showcases the soul of the vocalist, man, he can sing his arse off, I'm jealous, as fuck. A heartfelt masterpiece, really, like "Eleanor Rigby" or John Prine's "Hello In There", real personal, deep lyrics.
I'm 56 and if you're in my age group, power pop hall of fame members Blue Ash will remind you of your favorite bands that they influenced. "Make It Easy" is all Slade-like, catchy, fun! "Say Goodbye" is another throwback to 1966, beautiful radio music, with excellent Beatlesque background vocals. "She Isn't There" sonically summons up every band I grew up loving, you can tell Lester Bangs would feel this one, too.
"Can't Get Her Off My Mind" is reminiscent of Big Star, Love, or The Zombies. Just glistening, simple, straight forward, majestic pop and full of soul power. "Everybody's Singing That Song" is a real toe tapper you might turn up in the car. Blue Ash were one of those bands destined for greatness back in the day, but somehow got overlooked by "the industry".
Thanks to rock ‘n’ roll hero and diamond geez, Frank Secich and company, this ace compilation is available right now to everybody who digs that old school, proto power pop sound! "Hey a yeah a yeah!"
