Bram Tchaikovsky: Strange Man, Changed Man, Forgotten Band
Today, I got to thinking about Bram Tchaikovsky. Pete at Disco:Very recently wrote a post about his personal canon of top albums. My personal canon would be headed by Strange Man, Changed Man, the album against which all other power pop pales (and it's an awfully pale genre to begin with). Bram Tchaikovsky's 1979 debut album has never been issued on CD (outside of Japan), and the band is remembered now, if at all, for the classic power pop single "Girl of My Dreams". But lo and behold, somebody ripped the whole album to mp3 recently!
The Allmusic review of "Girl of My Dreams" is incorrect on three points: first, songwriter Ronald Thomas did NOT use the stage name Bram Tchaikovsky, and was not even a member of the band. He was a member of the Heavy Metal Kids (whose drummer, Keith Boyce, also played with Bram Tchaikovsky). Peter Bramall was the leader of the band Bram Tchaikovsky, and he used the band name as his stage name, even back when he was in the band the Motors.
Second, the lyrics aren't "nothing special". If you listen closely to "Girl of My Dreams", you realize that the "girl" is a picture: a pinup or a centerfold. It's clever, goddammit! Third, the song does not include "sleigh bells": Mike Oldfield plays his famous tubular bells on the outro. But I do agree with Stewart Mason of Allmusic that "Girl of My Dreams" sounds like "Shake Some Action".
Bram Tchaikovsky's first album was followed by the forgettable Pressure (released in the UK as The Russians Are Coming) and Funland. Those albums don't equal the heady mix of multi-tracked harmonies and crashing power chords, plus the driving pub rock rhythms and surf guitar leads, that make Strange Man, Changed Man such a great album. I have loved it since I was 13. Peter Bramall will be 56 this Friday (November 10). He shares a birthday with the lovely Mrs. Manyjars.
Bram Tchaikovsky: Girl of My Dreams
Bram Tchaikovsky: Come Back (non-lp b side)
Bram Tchaikovsky: (Who Wants to Be a) Criminal (non-lp b side)
Surviving Grand Atlantic
When I first began buying records, one of my favorites was the 1979 debut album by Bram Tchaikovsky (finally reissued on CD in 2007, but already OOP). A subscription to Trouser Press magazine enlightened me about the genre known as power pop. Power pop strung together all the pulse-racing moments from bands like the Beatles, the Byrds and the Who -- crashing cymbals and power chords, galloping rhythms, glorious harmonies, and all the hormonal drama of adolescence. Power pop was like a musical rollercoaster that only went UP.
Thirty years later, the genre is still dear to my ears. One of my favorite recent power pop albums was the 2007 debut of Grand Atlantic, and the Australian band has recently released an excellent follow-up entitled How We Survive. I strongly disagree with the Allmusic review which describes Grand Atlantic as less than the sum of its influences (Beatles, Big Star, Zombies, and most specifically Oasis). I can admit that "She's a Dreamer" (from the new record) sounds tailor-made for the Gallagher bros, but most of the songs recall the time when bands like Teenage Fanclub, the Posies, Redd Kross and Velvet Crush made power pop with enough sonic muscle to rival the grunge bands.
How We Survive begins with its most radio-ready songs -- "Coast Is Clear", the extra-crunchy single "Trip Wires", and the aforementioned "She's a Dreamer" bear the strongest influence of the producer Magoo. In fact, we're four tracks into the album before we hear a guitar that could properly be described as jangly. Grand Atlantic indulges its orchestral pop fetish (think Sgt Pepper, Pet Sounds, Odessey & Oracle) only once, on the title track and centerpiece of "How We Survive". The latter half of the album has a looser, garage rock feel. Phil Usher is a talented and versatile songwriter with an ear for melodies and a love of vocal harmonies. Sha-la-la, ooh-wee and doot-doo are present and accounted for.
You can listen to How We Survive at Last FM (and download Grand Atlantic's acoustic cover of "Single Ladies"). You can also grab two free mp3's from the album (and two unreleased demos) from the label, Alien Lane. How We Survive is highly recommended and available on iTunes.
Grand Atlantic: Trip Wires
