Customer Reviews

The 9 Volt Years: Battery Powered Home Demos & Curios (1979-198?)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album is a wonderful collection of well-crafted, ear-catching melodies, hitherto unknown gems and new versions of old favorites. Crenshaw fan(atic)s have come to expect no less from their man, but the very pleasant surprise on this album is "Everyone's in Love with You," a sweet little number written (and perhaps performed -- I'm not sure) by Marshall's brother, Robert. Also of interest is an instrumental version of "Blues Is King" from "Downtown" titled "Bruce Is King." This album is, of course, a must for any Crenshaw fan, but the curious music aficionado will find plenty here to learn and love. Easily worth the price of admission.

A good quick exposure to Marshall Crenshaw in action. Since some of his album's were produced to a perfect polish, it's sort of fun to hear them with more edge to them. High props espcially to "Someday Someway" (rockier), "Favorite Waste of Time", "Bruce Is King" and "Stay Fabulous". Quick note - "I'm Sorry" is NOT "I'm Sorry (But So Is Brenda Lee)", but rather the Bo Diddley song. Since "A Collection" is apparently not in print, this may be a good way for neophytes to check out what Mr Crenshaw's all about.

If you are a fan of Marshall Crenshaw, you'll love listening to this CD of his favorite demo tapes. We like to put this CD on while we are lounging around the pool. It's fun to imagine that Marshall is out in our garage playing and practicing. This music is light-hearted, soul-warming, and just really great rock-n-roll. Phil Wilkerson, Naples, Florida.

This unpolished rarities collection captures Crenshaw at his best. What the songs lack in polish they make up for in raw energy. These demos are somewhat rare (although one or two have appeared on vinyl or CD). The liner notes are fun as well although I'd like to have seen a bit more of Marshall's witty comments.

This deserves 3 1/2 stars (it would get four but there are a couple of tracks that aren't quite up to snuff despite the fact that they are fun to hear). This album along with the recent This is Easy anthology and Live - My Truck is My Home would make the perfect homemade box set for any Crenshaw fan.

After 15 years of listening to Crenshaw, hoping that he'd return to the form of his first LP, this collection is very welcome - great to have "Favorite Waste of Time" on CD at last.

I was maybe a little late for experiencing Mr. Crenshaw's art. This album was a wonderful introduction. The DIY quality feels extremely genuine. I'm interested in hearing more.

This album is a wonderful collection of well-crafted, ear-catching melodies, hitherto unknown gems and new versions of old favorites. Crenshaw fan(atic)s have come to expect no less from their man, but the very pleasant surprise on this album is "Everyone's in Love with You," a sweet little number written (and perhaps performed -- I'm not sure) by Marshall's brother, Robert. Also of interest is an instrumental version of "Blues Is King" from "Downtown" titled "Bruce Is King." This album is, of course, a must for any Crenshaw fan, but the curious music aficionado will find plenty here to learn and love. Easily worth the price of admission.

This is a collection of demos and none of the recordings were originally considered for release. So obviously, you can't expect hi-fi sound quality; nonetheless most tracks sound very good and many songs are easily as good as Crenshaw's released album-tracks.

Most songs are upbeat-pop-rockers and most of them are both fine and catchy; I especially like the two opening tracks "Run Back to You" and "Someday Someway"; the latter is supposedly the only track recorded with professional equipment.

Probably the stand-out is the simple, but extremely catchy "You're My Favorite Waste of Time", which was a minor hit for Bette Midler.

Interesting how Crenshaw's voice often sound like John Lennon's.

I'd sort of forgotten about Marshall Crenshaw until I saw/picked this disk up. Back in the early eighties he seemed like he was everywhere and his first three albums "Marshall Crenshaw", "Field Day" and "Downtown" were just chock full of pop classics. It all came back to me with the first few chords of the alternate version of "Someday, Someway" (with backup singers). This disc rocked me back in time, which is strange, considering I hadn't heard most of these songs before. There are a few stripped down demos of Crenshaw classics "Someday...", "Vague Memory", (an instrumental) "Blues is King" (dubbed "Bruce is King") and "Rockin' Around in NYC", but most are lost demos of songs that had never been released. Didn't matter, afterward, I just busted out all my old Crenshaw LP's and played them too.

Crenshaw's power-pop is presented in sketch form on this collection of home-recorded demos. All of the elements that powered his studio releases can be heard in embryonic form, from the insistently hummable melodies and biting lyrics, to the Beatlesque vocals. All that's missing is the polish that honed these songs into masterpieces.

A few tracks seem hurried, combining the artistic frenzy of 'have to get these songs out' with the nervousness of 'hope this song's okay'. The loping rhythm of "Someday Someway" is rushed in comparison to the finished form, as is the Ramones-like drive of "Rockin' Around in NYC."

Additional tracks catalog songs that never made it to final release, including a pair of instrumentals highlighting Crenshaw's melodic talent. While not the first item an aspiring Crenshaw fan might buy, this is a very pleasing peek at the pop artist as a very young man.