Customer Reviews

Blow Up

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I have always enjoyed this album, and I've had it since 1991. The songs are well written and well sung. The musicians really do have talent.

Every song is very good. The sound engineering is well done. You'll really appreciate it in an automobile with a great sound system. It's just a classic rock'n roll album that most people will enjoy, and I'm sure their peers will agree. I don't think they're a well known band, which is unfortunate. I hope I'll get to see them live in a small venue here in the Bay Area. It's well worth the retail price.

As a long time Smithereens fan, Blow up represents the best they've ever recorded. The upbeat track rocks, the slow songs don't stumble. The only flaw maybe that the splendid production and mixing of the tracks has dulled the gritty rock n'roll edge the band is best known for.

The '91 offering from The Smithereens yields even more of the brilliant songwriting diversity I've come to expect from Pat DiNizio & Co. The Drive of TOP OF THE POPS and WHEN DID THINGS GO SO WRONG goes beautifully with the mellow drive of EVENING DRESS and ANYWHERE YOU ARE. The guitar work is stellar, and lyrics are intelligent, yet easy to relate to. Great job.

I listened to it twice in the used music store, but decided not to buy. It's not a bad effort, and does have some interesting tracks, (like "Tell Me When Did Things Go So Wrong" and "Indigo Blues") ... but overall the album feels poppier than other Smithereens albums, and it didn't speak to me.

It's respectable addition though, if you just want your collection to be complete.

The Smithereens are not a great band; it's not that they are bad; they just aren't great. This album is a case in point. `Indigo Blues' is quite infectious and fun, but the rest of the album is formulaic and uninspiring. It seems likely that real fans of the band will enjoy it but casual fans would be better served by a comp.