From 1994, and his genuine classic CD Set to Pop, please enjoy genuine power pop genius Bill Lloyd and the aptly titled "I Went Electric."
Have I mentioned that Marshall Crenshaw is playing acoustic 12-string on that?
Lloyd is one of the great unsung heroes of contemporary rock. I was lucky enough to meet him briefly in the late 80s, when he was enjoying considerable commercial success as part of the mainstream country duo Foster and Lloyd (a band I was in opened for them at the Bottom Line), and it was quite apparent at the time that there was a power pop guy fighting to get out.
Here he is discussing his career on a recent webcast; it's quite illuminating and a lot of fun.
I should add that if you don't already have Set to Pop you need to snag a copy immediately (you can still find copies over at Amazon). I should also add that Lloyd has apparently remade the album from stem to stern; I haven't yet heard it, but as soon as I do I'll keep you posted.
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6 comments:
Great song!!
Sounds like Crenshaw is singing the bridge, doesn't it??
Yes, it does. I'll check the credits....
Great lead off track to a pretty fine album. And, yes, that is Marshall singing lead on the bridge. Jody Stephens of Big Star is also on a couple of tracks which were likely recorded at Ardent.
A little story about my first exposure to Bill Lloyd:
I bought my first CD in 1987. I had no choice. Initially, the Hendrix Live at Winterland only came out in that configuration. But I didn't have a CD player yet. Hendrix and Ryko Disc made me have to go out and reluctantly buy one.
I went to the Federated Group.This was a major discount electronics chain at the time. They aired wonderfully inane and somewhat surreal advertisements on TV featuring longtime SoCal DJ, Shadoe Stevens, as Fred Rated. I still remember a sales event of their's called "The Rabid Frog Bonanza."
Anyway, I knew a guy who worked there as a salesman. His name was Kevin Deal. No lie. That was his birth name. Despite the fact that he was an annoying little horndog, I bought a relatively cheap Technics player. I gave in to his relentless pestering and agreed to go out to dinner with him. I warned him that him I had expensive tastes. The restaurant was my choice, his tab, and I already knew this guy wasn't even getting to first base. The dinner conversation wasn't bad, but the mojo chemistry just wasn't there. Anyway, Kevin threw in a bunch of CD's from their newly unveiled CD department on the deal in an attempt to curry favor with me and secure the dinner date.
One of them was the Foster & Lloyd debut. I never had heard of them. But it was pretty good. Not the Thieves, Yoakam, Earle or Jason at their best, by any means, but it was alright.
It was good enough for me to spend 14 bucks to see them play the Coach House in Capistrano in the Spring of 1989. It was an enjoyable show. Got a cassette of it somewhere in the storage vault.
But I never had the good fortune to see Bill as a solo artist. If he's made it out this way, I sure wasn't paying attention. Anyone ever see Bill solo? How was it?
Vickie Rock
I knew I liked this music called power pop -- I had disks by the likes of Blue Ash, Shoes and The Raspberries -- but I wasn't a rabid fan. One day at Tower Records, an album called "Set to Pop" was in one of the listening stations. I previewed it, liked what I heard, and snagged it. I took it home and put it in my CD player, where it pre-empted my listening to anything else for days and days. In a very short time, I was ordering 10 to 15 CDs a month from NotLame. So, for me, "Set to Pop" is pretty much the power pop Rosetta Stone.
Foster & Lloyd were guests on my radio show some 25 years ago. After the interview was done, I spent the next hour or so just sitting around talking music with Bill. Wonderful guy. He had recently produced some tracks for Carl Perkins and had some great stories about it. He and Crenshaw have been friends for many years. Crenshaw plays guitar and bass on "She Knows What She Wants" from Foster & Lloyd's second LP, "Faster & Louder". Lloyd returned the favor on Crenshaw's "Miracle of Science". If you can find a copy of Lloyd's "Feeling The Elephant" disc, there's a couple of gems to be had.
Loved F&L from the git go-I described them to someone at the time as "like Marshall Crenshaw with a pedal steel." Next album comes out and there's MC's great guitar solo mentioned above.
Bill did an interview with local Peoria boy made good Steve Gibson (sesh guitarist, producer) that is really great.
F&L were on Austin City Limits and closed out their big hit "Crazy Over You" with an extended "Whole Lotta Love" take-off that had me in stitches. Man, was country good back then.
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