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Ken Sharp | Sonic Crayons (Jet Fighter, 2007) An acute Beatles fixation and frequent nods to the Beach Boys, bubblegum music and Sixties and Seventies pop are almost de rigueur for today's retro-fitted, melodic pop artists, which is at it should be and which is how it is with Ken Sharp, whose latest collection of songs is sure to please those enamored of the usual touchstones--you know, the ones simply just make you smile.

Count me among Sharp's admirers. It isn't easy to nod back to your many, varied influences and still come up sounding like yourself, but Sharp, who has toiled in the radio journalism biz, written books and, yes, recorded albums, knows his way around a hook. He can, in fact, hook with the best of them, as the 13 songs on offer here prove.

To wit: the wholly Beatlesque "The Man Who Couldn't Be Wrong," with its decidedly-Lennon-esque guitar stabs and McCartney-esque melody. The infectious "Better Every Day" celebrates the highs of true happiness (with a nod to Oasis); and the emotive, Seventies-styled, Raspberries-esque, mid-tempo ballad "Rush Rush" rolls along in awe of the healing powers of true love.

But all is not necessarily sunny within Sharp's songs. The bittersweet Todd Rundgren-styled "Why Girls Cry" tells the tale of a woman who leaves her guy after both of them give their relationship their all, at which point the guy fixates on "the things" he "should have said." He drops the sweet and holds on to the bitter: "Why'd you wanna be a star?", he asks. "Was it really worth the time? Playing in a house of cards, how could you?" All of this alongside one of Sharp's most fetching, pretty melodies. Nice job.

Helping multi-instrumentalist Sharp bring his wonderful melodies to life are similarly-multied Ritchie Rubini, whose drumming grounds the album with a solid beat throughout, and a number of other excellent players, including Chip Z'nuff, who plays bass on the Fab "So Simple Radio"; Carnie Wilson, who sings on the sprightly cover of the Archies' "Melody Hill" (it's always great to hear a good Archies cover); and Wilson's husband Rob Bonfiglio, whose mutli-instrument drive propels "Melody Hill" and a couple of other tunes on this fun record.

Sonic Crayons may draw on past sounds for inspiration, but it is centered in the here and now, and now is the time to listen.

Alan Haber

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