Customer Reviews

Beat and Torn

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
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2 star:		(1)
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Let's go ahead and get this out of the way now - The Spongetones sound remarkably like the Beatles. I've heard them described as "the Rutles played straight", and that just about does it, but I can't give this band high enough praise. Recreating the fabulous sounds of those Liverpool lads we all know and love, Spongetones are not ripoffs, just a band out of time and place. Shading all their songs with familar elements of Beatles songs, the tunes are not direct re-writes, but do invoke a lot of "Hey - this sounds REALLY familar!" The band did southern-style power pop a bit different than its peers - buddies Mitch Easter, Don Dixon, and REM contribute handclaps to the tune "Shock Therapy", but those works of those artists are quite removed from the Spongetones sound. The first album, Beat Music, and the subsequent EP Torn Apart were closer to pure pop than new wave or any other styles of power pop. Beat Music, from 1982, is an absolute charmer, with guitarists Jamie Hoover and Patrick Walters, as well as bassist Steve Stoeckel, all contributing gems. The styles run from beat ravers to bluesy slower numbers to acoustic-driven ballads to mild psychedelia, resulting in something of a "Beatles 101" that retains a smooth album feel instead of sounding like a disjointed singles collection. A masterpiece. Torn Apart is not quite up to the same standards, I find a few songs to drag a bit, but it's hard to argue with glorious explosions like "Have You Ever Been Torn Apart?" and "Now You're Gone". A catchy, previously rare single closes the album on a nice note - a fantastic album that all Beatles fans and pop fans owe it to themselvs to seek out.

Best Tracks:
"Here I Go Again" - Beatles '65 played with conviction and energy, a great opener with a perfect pop hook.
"Take My Love" - A nice soft ballad in the "And I Love Her" vein. How do these guys do such amazing harmony vocals?
"A Part Of Me Now" - Another gem, this takes the drums from "Ticket To Ride" and builds a great tune around them. Nice sounding guitar solo (Leslie amplifier?) and probably the best song bassist Stoeckel ever wrote.
"She Goes Out With Everyone" - A tale of a wild teen, this storyelling song is a nice change of pace. Different, almost jerky chorus rhythms keep this short tune exciting.
"Every Night Is A Holiday" - Absolutely gorgeous. Probably my favorite tune here, I can't listen to it enough. Sounds like a 12-string leading this song of sheer joy and happiness.
"Have You Ever Been Torn Apart?" - Has anyone done upbeat Beatlesque pop tunes like this since maybe Badfinger's "No Matter What" or the Raspberries' "Go All The Way"? Probably not, and certainly nobody has done it as well since. Sad lyrics of lost love, but totally upbeat music keep your head bobbing - you always want to add in your own "whoo-hoos" and "la-la-la's".
"Lana Nana" - Acoustic led, nice off-kilter drumming - great song with a Lennon-esque vocal.
"Now You're Gone" - Another happy melody/sad lyric from the pen of Patrick Walters, this is an amazing acoustic led rocker with a nice Latin-sounding guitar solo. The Beatles, Hollies, and Byrds would all be proud to include this on any one of their albums.

Charlotte, North Carolina's own Spongetones came out of the chute near the turn of the 80's. To call this disc (which compiles their 1982 LP "Beat Music" and a 1984 six-song EP called" Torn Apart" plus one other later song) "Beatle-esque" is to understate the case greatly--it's like saying that Whitesnake might slightly resemble Led Zepplin, or that "Hello I Love You" (The Doors) vaguely reminds you of "All Day and All Night"(The Kinks).

If you didn't know better, you would swear that many songs here actually WERE Beatles out-takes circa 1964. These guys sound like they are trying very hard to BE the Beatles in some alternate-Merseybeat universe--and they succeed greatly in doing so. Various Spongetones sound uncannily like Messrs. Lennon and McCartney, and their choice of instruments (i.e. Rickenbacker guitars, Vox amps, Hofner bass-this gear was pictured in the vinyl LP/EP and got a 'this band uses...' credit) further underscores their ability to nearly exactly duplicate that early Beatles sound. The songwriting is clever and extremely evocative of the Lennon/McCartney songbook. Occasionally one can pin down the specific Beatles song being targeted for inspiration. Examples are "Better Take It Easy", which comes directly from the "Paperback Writer" school of songwriting, and "Where Were You Last Night?", which almost owes royalties to "I Call Your Name". "Take My Love" is cut from the same cloth as "And I Love Her", and "Eloquent Spokeman" is a hodge-podge of circa 1967 sounds and production techniques from songs like "Penny Lane" and "I Am The Walrus" with the abrupt ending of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" thrown in. This is about the only song on the disc to draw from the Beatles post-1966 catalog for ideas.

This extremely creative 'tribute' to the Beatles does not come across as a parody (such as the Rutles) or a even mere aping of styles. It is indeed finely crafted performing and songwriting that stands on its own quality merits even as it simultaneously owes a great debt of inspiration to the Fab Four. It helps to have an appreciation of the Beatles to enjoy this, but it is not a pre-requisite. If the sounds eminating from England circa 1964-66 are not to your liking, though, you will not tolerate what the Spongetones are up to very well.

The six songs near the end of the disc that were originally from the "Torn Apart" EP show more of a branching out to other Merseyside and British Invasion acts as influences. The Searchers, Hollies and even later solo McCartney material variously get the 'influence' nod in songs like "Maryanne", "Torn Apart" and "Annie Dear". Fun Fact: a little group from Athens, Georgia known as REM contribute handclaps to the song "Shock Therapy". At the time, REM was way below the public radar screen and were working in relative obscurity on their second full length LP called "Reckoning" at the same time/same Reflection Sound Studios in Charlotte where the Spongetones were cutting these tracks.

This disc is highly recommended for anyone with an affinity for the British Invasion sounds of the pre-psychedelic 60's. You will be amazed at how well this group takes the '64-'66 recordings of the best band in the world as a benchmark and nearly succeeds in equaling their heros' output and quality. A few substandard songs from the "Torn Apart" EP are all that keeps this from being a five-star recommendation. Grab this one, put on your Beatle boots and find yourself exclaiming, "Fab!" and "Gear!" with each new piece of ear candy that blasts from your speakers.

You thought you grew up and away from the Merseybeat sound, but you haven't and you have Beat and Torn to prove it. Beat Music 1982 and Torn Apart 1984 are here combined to make a proud statement of all that stuff we loved. The SpongeTones have produced a mighty amalgamation of hundreds of groups that lived in our radios and hearts. It sounds like albums that didn't exist by your favorite Invasion Bands all getting together and throwing in trademark bits--sounds like...? These are familiar sounds in familiar song-boxes done by a conglomeration of different people far away from where/when it all happened. Encapsulating a whole musical trend--harmonies and guitar styles perfectly matched and propelled forward. The musicianship is superb and updated into new decades. There. I managed to say the same thing several ways. Sort of like these songs. Eloquent Spokesman and Shock Therapy are my favorites. Have You Ever Been Torn Apart, Tell Me Too!, Don't You Know?, Now You're Gone--Annie Dear--on and on. Great rhythm guitars and field-appropriate leads. You'll be happy all over and smile again. The SpongeTones have intelligently revitalized and re-energized the sounds we loved and placed them in the times we now inhabit. Eloquently.

This is one of the best power pop albums ever. If you didn't know better, you would swear that the songs on this recording were Beatles outtakes. All of the Spongetones recordings are great but this is by far their best. They seem to be playing the music they love and not being self-conscious about it, like they seem to be on their latter CDs. All of the songs are great but my favorites are "Here I Go Again", "Tell Me Too!", "Cool Hearted Girl", "Take My Love", "Don't You Know", "You're the One", and "Have You Ever Been Torn Apart?". If you love the music of the early to mid-period Beatles, you'll love this. Don't miss it!!!!

Wow! OK, lets face it, these guys are really trying to sound like the Beatles, and what's wrong with that? Nothing, if you do it as well as the Spongetones do. The guys absolutely nail it!

"Here I go agian" is a perfect lift of an early Beatle tune, The Rickenbacker rhythm sounds just like Lennon on "I saw her standing there", and it's a very Lennon-esque vocal too, the Bongos... from "A hard days night". I swear it's George and Paul singing back ups, and the guitar solo..a cross between the Rutles and Harrison. The screams are perfect too, just like McCartneys double tracked howl on "Can't buy me love".

"Cool Hearted Girl" Sounds like a Ringo song to me ala "honey Dont" ( I know, it's not REALLY a Beatles song). The solo is very familiar too... Hmmm...can you say "I'm a loser". Yes, they do "Borrow some things here and there, but it works.

Track 11 "Better take it easy" is another great track. Great intro guitar riff ala Paperback Writer or Day tripper, also it reminds me of Big Star little too, the melody maybe.

"Eloquent Spokesman" sounds a whole lot like "Jellyfish" who sound a whole lot like the Beatles circa 1967, exept this album came out in the early eighties, before "Jellyfish" were doing their thing. Hmmm, Interesting.

Actually, all of the tracks are solid, and CAAAATCHY. Not all of the songs are are in the vein of the Fabs. Some of the tracks sound more like bands that were influenced by the Fabs i.e. Peter and Gordon, The Monkees etc..., but lets face it who wasn't influenced by the greatest rock band ever!

If you're a Beatle fan, the Spongetones pay a great homage to our beloved boys.

-john parry

If you love the Beatles and are not a 60s purist who believes that music ended after '69 then this is the CD for you. From the opening strains of "Here I Go Again" to the closing notes of "This Kiss Is Mine Tonight" this album is a time warp back to the mid-60s. And a most enjoyable trip it is. There's not a clinker in the whole set of songs. Merseybeat is alive and well!

One of the most underrated power pop bands of the '80s, the Spongetones released several albums of effortlessly catchy guitar pop that captured the feel of '60s British Invasion pop with remarkable accuracy and innocent charm. While they never received much critical or commercial attention, their music has aged much better than most power pop of the era (late-70s early-80s) and among specialists, they're highly revered not only for their studio prowess but also for their spirited live shows. They are one of the few bands to carry on past the "skinny tie" fad into the '90s gracefully - not as strict revivalists but as something unique. The band, comprised of Steve Stockel (vocals, bass), Pat Walters (vocals, guitar), Jamie Hoover (vocals, guitar), and Rob Thorne (drums), began as a covers band in Charlotte, North Carolina in the early '80s. They signed to the Ripete label in 1982 and released their first full length, Beat Music the same year, following with the Torn Apart EP in 1984 - the latter featuring esteemed guests, Don Dixon, Mitch Easter and REM on hand claps. Now combined on one CD, Beat Music and Torn Apart represent the band's earliest recordings and some of their finest. These two albums are simply Southern power pop at its best, and this package is essential for fans of pure pop. - Chris Woodstra, All Music Guide

North Carolina is a place known for Sherrif Taylor, Cousin Barney and Mayburry, not beat groups. I was surprised to learn that is where this group is from. The Spongetones started out as a "Beatle's Tribute band", but soon went into thier own material, while keeping the "beatle spirit" intake. All the tracks sound like they could be Beatle tunes, if not then thier contemporaries. "Tell me too" has shades of Peter and Gordon, while "My girl Maryann" has the early Who feel. This is not an official album by the group but a sampler. Now that I've heard this compilation I will get the rest of the Spongetones cds.

Sorry to rain on all of your parades, but to compare these guys to the Beatles is ridiculous. This stuff is light years from the Beatles - and the direction is downward. The melodies are not clever or graceful, the vocals are undistinguished and the lyrics incredibly puerile. The Beatles. it should be remembered, were quite influenced by the black American music scene - Smokey Robinson, the girl groups and, a bit further back, Chuck Berry, Larry Williams and Little Richard. And when you listen to the early Beatles, especially Lennon's early soul covers (e.g. Mr. Postman, You Really Got a Hold on Me), they were very soulful themselves. The Spongetones are about as soulful as their name would suggest. They do sound a bit Beatley in their guitars occasionally - 6 and 12 string combinations here and there - but Utopia's Deface the Music, some of XTC's Dukes of Stratosphear Beatle rip-offs and, of course, the Rutles all come much closer. I know these guys are supposedly de rigueur for Beatle lovers, but I'm not hearing it AT ALL.