24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Right Sound, Wrong Time, June 11, 2001
This review is from: Marshall Crenshaw (Dlx) (Audio CD)
Yes we can all whine about how under-rated Marshall has always been. But what good would that do us or him? Let's move on. Simply put, Crenshaw is THE most amazing song-crafter I have ever heard.
In 1981 Glam-rock and Arena-rock were selling out concerts all over the world. We were living in a musical world that wanted to buy the sizzle and not the steak. You remember the concerts where the quality of the band was how many guitars and Marshall amps were built across the back of the stage like cliffs of the California coast. The sales of a group's music was based on how much spandex and hair spray they wore. Video was changing the way we bought music. We now bought it for the way it looked rather than how it sounded.
But humbly, with no marketing support, no big name producer, dressed like the guy you used to beat up after chemistry tests for not letting you cheat, Crenshaw makes his first statement in this album.
And with this one album, the word "Pop" is clarified. All of a sudden, tunes now mean something. Simple lyrics, albeit not Pulitzer prize-winning, stay in your head and cause you to think "I know exactly what he 's talking about." Suddenly we want to ask out our high school sweetheart again. Suddenly we want to just hang out on the hood of the car.
By the time we heard this -as well as his second album "Field Trip", we had tired of being told what we should listen too on the radios and video channels. We yearned to go back home.
This, fellow Boomers, is a trip back home.
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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Overlooked Gem, September 14, 2000
This review is from: Marshall Crenshaw (Dlx) (Audio CD)
Marshall Crenshaw achieved his greatest commercial and critical success with the release of his debut album. It is an impressive debut and 18 years after its release, Rhino Records has rereleased the album with a slew of bonus tracks. The original album is a pure power-pop treasure that is an overlooked gem. "There She Goes Again", "She Can't Dance", "Rockin' Around NYC" and "Mary Anne" are great examples of Mr. Crenshaw's ability to record short, snappy and hummable songs that will stick in your head. "Someday, Someway" was his only top forty hit, just barely scrapping in at #38, and is an immediately catchy number. I think the best song on the album and a song that should have been a hit is "Cynical Girl". It has a ringing guitar and some of the sharpest lyrics around. As usual with a Rhino release there are numerous bonus tracks and the nine included here are mostly demos and live songs. There is no filler amongst them and they only help to add to original tracks. Mr. Crenshaw has released numerous album since this one, has appeared as Buddy Holly in the movie LaBamba and co-wrote the Gin Blossoms hit "Till I Hear It From You", but he unfortunately has never come close to having another hit on his own since this record and it is shame. Rolling Stone included the album in it's top 100 of the 1980's and it is deserving of the honor.
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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Crenshaw Delux, August 16, 2000
This review is from: Marshall Crenshaw (Dlx) (Audio CD)
What a pleseant surprise that the great folks at Rhino have not just remastered Marshall Crenshaw's debut album, but have jam packed enough bonus material that nearly doubles it's original running time. There's even a "mystery" bonus track at the end of track 21, an extremely catchy song called " Brand New Lover". Why hide it is a mystery to me. The album itself has always been a good one with classics like "Someday, Someway" and "There She Goes Again". The bonus tracks are mostly great gems including the B-sides "You're My Favorite Waste Of Time" and "Somebody Like You", last seen on the out of print compilation "Attack Of The Killer B's" (Hey WB, how about reissuing those albums, too?). There's the beautiful '79 demos of "Starlit Summer Sky" which he had packed away for '96's Miracle Of Science record (which I highly recommend) and "Rave On" firming up those Buddy Holly comparrisons which he's thankfully moved on from. A very enjoyable album, and worth upgrading to if you own the original.
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