Blow Up

Smithereens | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 10, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B000007NZN
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #119,841 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I'll Drink To That!, February 4, 2001

By 

G. J Wiener (Westchester, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blow Up (Audio CD)

Don't mean to repeat the same things as the previous reviewer but it is truly very accurate. The record is loaded with drive and has that special avante garde sixities flavor that makes the Smithereens so special. Some of the arrangements are more creative than on previous releases. Top Of The Pops and Indigo Blues rock with energy and flair while Evening Dress is one pretty ballad. Anywhere You Are I would not quite classify as a ballad but stands strong on the spooky organ playing as well as the eerie vocal harmonies. A consistent effort from start to finish.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous Power Pop, October 4, 2004

By 

John Erle Mundle "DJ @ Dynamic Range Radio" (Vancouver, British Columbia Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blow Up (Audio CD)

This is an album for anyone who's been madly in love, gone through a painful breakup, or loved someone from afar. "Evening Dress" is a perfect wedding song, while "Anywhere You Are" and "Over And Over Again" are for those long nights spent thinking about the one that got away. The lead single and opening track "Top Of The Pops" is probably the weakest song on the album -- it's a slow-tempo rehashing of the heavy-riffing guitar sound that worked so well on "A Girl Like You" -- but the second single "Too Much Passion" captures more of the flavor of what's to come. There are a few rocking songs on the album, like the potent blast of "Tell Me When Did Things Go So Wrong" and "Girl In Room 12", but this album is primarily for lovers of bittersweet jangly power pop like R.E.M., Big Star, and the like.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "Blow Up" Explodes From the First Chord, June 24, 2000

By 

Melanie Fleming (Columbus, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blow Up (Audio CD)

Pat DiNizio and company have been at this pop music thing since early in the 80s. DiNizio's haunting, heavy-toned pop melodies graced college radio for a decade, but the Smithereens never garnished much popular success.

Their fine fourth album, "Blow Up," was the band's last Capitol release (1991). The single, "Too Much Passion," cracked the Top 40 and was somewhat of a departure for the group. Replete with strings, it sounds a bit like Nick Lowe doing a self-parody.

Also notable on this particular album are "Top of the Pops," "Tell Me When Did Things Go So Wrong," and "Girl in Room 12," which are standard-fare, drive-home-that-hook, vintage rhythmic Smithereens. "Anywhere You Are" calms things down and pulls the stops out to create a lounge-style, slightly psychedelic tune with a Hammond organ solo that could have been done by Rod Argent of the Zombies back in the 60s.

All in all, a fine effort from an overlooked band.