Issue
#98
Aug.
'07
You can’t
judge a book by its cover…
Show of hands, how many of you have actually bought an
album/CD because of the cover?
My hand is raised, how about yours? Hmmmm…
The cover of Sunshine
Girl by The Naomi Star
presents
summer, presents summer as a girl, a girl who wears a very psychedelic
look, a
look that invokes the summer of love (and to think, this is the 40th
anniversary of that summer), and shines, shines in a fashion that
embraces Pop.
Pop as described by The Beatles, the creators and ultimate masters of
the true Pop
genre (and we should include all the various bearers of the torch
since). The Naomi Star band members
worship at
the alter of The Beatles and they prove themselves worthy disciples.
Sunshine Girl
is
an instant summer classic. Right from the start this is tasty tuneage;
using a
studio magnificence that smacks of professional mixing, producing, and
mastering and conjures up thoughts of the Rubber Soul &
Revolver era, the
title track is one perfect pop song that lays claim to a total record
of
compositions just as noble.
And just like that Just Let Go, Hazy Sunshine, Enlighten,
and Gonna
Find Her take us on a journey through a songbook
that has
Lennon/McCartney and Harrison
inscribed upon each
bridge, harmonic backing vocal, lead solo, perfectly placed hook,
sing-a-long
chorus and more. Add a Jeff Lynne/ELO and Neil Finn/Crowded House
understanding
of how to present Beatles-style Pop without becoming a knock-off band,
and
we’ve entered a new chapter on how important the past history
of music really
is to the continued development of actual musicians/artists of the 21st
century and beyond.
You can’t judge a book by its
cover…
I do actually judge a band by its cover -
its cover of
someone else’s song(s). It is a credit to those bands who can
find the right
cover to enhance their own sound while paying respectful homage to the
original
writers/performers of such song(s). There are certain artists/songs
that are
very dangerous for any musician to try to cover; many times it can
become the
defining element of their existence – as much a death toll as
a triumphant
victory. To even attempt a Beatles tune takes balls.
Following Gonna Find Her, which is a
perfect
1962 Munich rock/Liverpool skiffle hammering replete with “Oo, La, La, La, Oo, La, La, La’s”
and patented Lennon yelp at the
crescendo for the wrap, The Naomi Star
tosses the dice and comes up a winner with Paperback Writer. Placed
directly in
the center of this pop-fest, Paperback
Writer explodes out of the
speakers and immediately plants a smile on your face. Go ahead, try to
wipe it
away, you can’t, and why? Because The
Naomi Star nails it. With Down and Dirty guitars and pitch
perfect
harmonies, they update and refresh the song to a point where they make
it their
own and a part of this millennium, yet let us know that it is done with
ultimate respect and honor to The Beatles, and the era from whence it
came.
Might as well flip the LP here, because Sunshine Girl breathes nostalgia, it
liquefies on the speakers and
drips over the edges, it has you wishing for a turntable and summer. Misty
Water hints of Led Zeppelin melding with Jefferson
Airplane. Find
My Way Home is a grand XTC meets Crowded
House via Berlin
era Bowie
with a side of Motown and
60’s R&B fusing with Bad Company as played by Earth,
Wind & Fire to a
point where involuntary participation is mandatory. And, Annihilation Blues is the
English White Boys playing Elvis playing American Black Rhythm
& Blues
complete with requisite 5 note lead solo.
Slipped in-between those is Saturday,
a stripped
acoustic number which wraps a blissful sound in a hallowed and haunting
backing
and gives us an emotional peek into the growing abilities of the band
to deftly
craft pop gems in all variations. Along that same line, the album
closes with
two more perfect portraits of pop. Down My Road is a sparse tale
of one
man’s obsession. The Naomi Star
offers
2 short stanzas to set the tone, then uses a slow deliberate musical
build to
accent the vocal inflection of one phrase repeated so that it aptly
captures
the curiosity, as it grows into questioning, annoyance, frustration,
helplessness,
and finally anger before gliding to a succinct end. Finally, Sky
So Blue sets a fitting conclusion to this pop
pureness with an anthem
to the peacefulness of life (dig the echoing Toms, acoustic chords and
string
accompaniment). Put aside your conflict, open your heart and mind,
drink in the
beauty of nature, enjoy life, for though there may be rainy days, the
world is
still covered by a blue sky.
You can’t judge a book by its
cover…
The Naomi Star
cover pop.
Perfectly. Buy the book. ;-)
The
Naomi Star - Sunshine Girl,
is available now for: $10.98 +s/h*
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Everywhere else -$7.00
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