the a.m. band. eight hit wonders. review by alan haber. buhdge

hot buhdge too good to pass up in a world gone mad

They're hot, alright: the latest releases by music's best. Too good to pass up in a world gone mad, they're must-gets in a world full of must-avoids. They're the cream of the crop, and we review them here.

The A.M. Band Eight Hit Wonders Babyland (2004) I'm old enough to remember a time when the word oldies referred to grandparents and other people my friends and I used to refer to as "older than dirt." As I get closer and closer to the dirt phase of my life, I realize that, in reality, it is impossible to be older than dirt, although it is possible to be dirtier than old. But I digress. The topic at hand is what was, and it was what is was for a reason, and holds up today because it still is what it was. You dig? Here in the pop world, it's fashionable to be retro, to revel in the sounds of yesteryear, and here at buhdge, it's always time to indulge in the comfort of familiar grooves from decades past. We've lately taken quite a shine to melodic pop of the seventies, at least until the point that disco rears its ugly head (don't worry, we're still sixties folks at heart, but the seventies is fast creeping in as an equal partner), so it's no wonder that we've taken quite a shine to New York's A.M. Band. A live band mixing melodic, seventies-flavored originals with a wealth of diverse cover songs from the period--everything from Boz Scaggs' "Lido Shuffle" to the Grass Roots' "Sooner or Later" and Dawn's "Knock Three Times"--the A.M. Band makes retro about as fun as it gets. It's obvious from listening to the band's debut CD that they love seventies pop, as they've delivered an octet's worth of songs guaranteed to have you rummaging in your closet for those wide-collar shirts and smoke and bubble machines you've been, uh, hiding all these years. Among the highlights: the bright, bouncy and cheery Brady Bunch-ish "C'mon, C'mon Sunshine," with the band members' kids on backing vocals; the infectious (get yer la-la-las out!), toe-tapping "Sha La La La (La)"; and the rocket pick to click, "Here Comes Melanie," which will take you right back to 1975 with its jaunty melody and sunny lyrics. I dare you not to sing along at first listen! (The beat-driven, soulful "All Your Lies" is another personal fave.) Bryan Gordon, Matt Kaprelian and Stuart Stahr, take a bow! You guys rule! While I was playing this CD, I thought that, if ever there was a record in 2005 that belongs on vinyl, it's this one. I could absolutely imagine myself bicycling to the local record store, picking up the new A.M. Band platter, and playing it on my mono portable record player. I can absolutely imagine playing it for all of my friends at one of our frequent, not-on-a-school-night parties (chaperones at the ready!). I can absolutely imagine being in love with the A.M. Band. In fact, I am, and you will be too. Alan Haber March 23, 2005
alan haber's pure pop buhdgeblog hot buhdge \| pop buhdge \| buhdge remembers television buhdge \| film buhdge \| books buhdge video buhdge \| buhdge fine print \| links about buhdge \| write for buhdge \| contact home (c) 2004 Alan Haber

The A.M. Band
Eight Hit Wonders
Babyland (2004)

the a.m. band's eight hit wonders I'm old enough to remember a time when the word oldies referred to grandparents and other people my friends and I used to refer to as "older than dirt." As I get closer and closer to the dirt phase of my life, I realize that, in reality, it is impossible to be older than dirt, although it is possible to be dirtier than old.

But I digress. The topic at hand is what was, and it was what is was for a reason, and holds up today because it still is what it was. You dig? Here in the pop world, it's fashionable to be retro, to revel in the sounds of yesteryear, and here at buhdge, it's always time to indulge in the comfort of familiar grooves from decades past. We've lately taken quite a shine to melodic pop of the seventies, at least until the point that disco rears its ugly head (don't worry, we're still sixties folks at heart, but the seventies is fast creeping in as an equal partner), so it's no wonder that we've taken quite a shine to New York's A.M. Band.

A live band mixing melodic, seventies-flavored originals with a wealth of diverse cover songs from the period--everything from Boz Scaggs' "Lido Shuffle" to the Grass Roots' "Sooner or Later" and Dawn's "Knock Three Times"--the A.M. Band makes retro about as fun as it gets. It's obvious from listening to the band's debut CD that they love seventies pop, as they've delivered an octet's worth of songs guaranteed to have you rummaging in your closet for those wide-collar shirts and smoke and bubble machines you've been, uh, hiding all these years.

Among the highlights: the bright, bouncy and cheery Brady Bunch-ish "C'mon, C'mon Sunshine," with the band members' kids on backing vocals; the infectious (get yer la-la-las out!), toe-tapping "Sha La La La (La)"; and the rocket pick to click, "Here Comes Melanie," which will take you right back to 1975 with its jaunty melody and sunny lyrics. I dare you not to sing along at first listen! (The beat-driven, soulful "All Your Lies" is another personal fave.) Bryan Gordon, Matt Kaprelian and Stuart Stahr, take a bow! You guys rule!

While I was playing this CD, I thought that, if ever there was a record in 2005 that belongs on vinyl, it's this one. I could absolutely imagine myself bicycling to the local record store, picking up the new A.M. Band platter, and playing it on my mono portable record player. I can absolutely imagine playing it for all of my friends at one of our frequent, not-on-a-school-night parties (chaperones at the ready!).

I can absolutely imagine being in love with the A.M. Band. In fact, I am, and you will be too.

Alan Haber
March 23, 2005