Crimson & Crowley: It’s still rock ‘n’ roll to me

One of the curses of being a dedicated music fan is the constant craving for new sounds.

Things might start off slowly. Let’s say you start your music career listening to Elvis Costello, then you might track down the work of the producer of his first four albums, Nick Lowe.

Next, you might sample the wares of Joe Jackson and Graham Parker, the other two members of the so-called “angry young man” triumvirate of New Wave.

Eventually your lust for new sounds might drive you to scour the pages of “The Trouser Press Guide to 90’s Rock” until your fingers bleed.

Fear not, music junkie, I am here to help slake your thirst for new tunes. What follows is a list of artists that are truly worth your time, many of whom are criminally
underrated.

They’re not extremely obscure by any measure of the imagination, but they are under-the-radar enough to make them not exactly household names.

Gene Clark was a member of the seminal 1960s band, The Byrds, until his fear of flying and squabbles lead to his departure from the group in 1966.

He composed some of the best-known Byrds songs, including “Eight Miles High” and “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better.” His solo body of work is a mixture of folk-rock, country and baroque pop. 

Clark’s “For a Spanish Guitar” is “better than something I or anybody else would have been proud to have written,” Bob Dylan said of the song from his second album, “White Light.”

That 1971 album is probably his finest outing as a solo artist and a good place to start. He’s a good bet if you like Neil Young or Gram Parsons.

Guadalcanal Diary is a jangle pop band hailing from Marietta, Ga. And although they share R.E.M.’s affinity for jangly guitars and post-punk rhythms, the band took a different approach to lyrics and vocals.

Where R.E.M., at least in its early years, was noted for impressionistic lyrics and vocals that sounded cloaked in a haze, Guadalcanal Diary was lyrically direct and literate with clear vocals. It’s an approach that would prove quite influential on
The Decemberists.

“Walking in the Shadow of the Big Man/Jamboree” is two-for-one collecting the group’s first two albums, an excellent deal for anyone interested in the group. It is highly recommended if you’re a fan of any of the groups previously mentioned.

The story of the Exploding Hearts is one of tragedy. Shortly after the release of their debut album, “Guitar Romantic,” three out of the four members of the band were killed in a van accident July 20, 2003.

It’s a shame because their one and only studio album is an excellent piece of power pop. It’s not likely they would have reached the same rarefied air as contemporaries like the Strokes or the White Stripes, but they could easily have become a cult band like Big Star.

“Guitar Romantic” is great for anybody who enjoys great pop hooks and crunchy, fuzzed out guitars. Good for fans of the Clash, the Undertones and Nick Lowe.

One of the great joys of being a pop music fan is constantly reassessing what’s good and what’s not. Just because critics have lionized a band or album, it doesn’t necessarily mean the music is great.