Time once again for another edition of “bands I’ve let slide”,
\nthose groups whose work I have really enjoyed when I’ve listened to
\nthem, but haven’t gotten around to digging out of the archives for
\nsome time.<\/p>\n
Today’s subject: Pat DiNizio and The Smithereens, a group I
\nalways have thought were underappreciated in their time. I first
\ngot into this group thanks to their 1989 release
\n11<\/i>, and it wasn’t long afterwards that I found myself in the
\nused record store picking up a copy of their 1988 release (and
\nsecond full-length album)
\nGreen Thoughts<\/i>. While the group’s sound was still very much
\nin development, the overall feel of this album is a good one,
\nshowing that the band was very close to having all their skills
\npolished.<\/p>\n
The song I once remembered this album for was “Only A Memory,”
\nwhich the radio station I worked for in college had the 12-inch
\nsingle for. The crispness of the sound still wasn’t there, but
\nDiNizio, guitarist Jim Babjak, bassist Mike Mesaros and drummer
\nDennis Diken were jelling together as a band, and this particular
\nsong showed how much progress had been made since their first
\nfull-length effort
\nEspecially For You<\/i>. (In all fairness, the album’s sound
\ncould be the result of producer Don Dixon.)<\/p>\n
The more I’ve listened to this album, the more I’ve grown to
\nunderstand that “Only A Memory” is not the sole track that defines
\nGreen Thoughts<\/i>. There is “House We Used To Live In,” a slab
\nof pop that is fresh and fun to listen to. There is “Drown In My
\nOwn Tears,” a song that dares to make the pain one feels enjoyable.
\nThere is the title track, which sends the album forth in a pop fury
\nthat one might never have experienced before.<\/p>\n
But what sets
\nGreen Thoughts<\/i> apart from other albums of this genre and
\ntime period is that this is a more solid album than one might have
\nexpected from a sophomore release. Tracks like “The World We Know,”
\n“Deep Black,” “Spellbound” and “Especially For You” might never
\nhave gotten airplay or a lot of attention, but they do say volumes
\nabout who this band was in 1988, and where they were headed in the
\nvery near future.<\/p>\n
Granted, this is an album that you have to live with for a few
\nlistens in order to truly appreciate it. Plus, if you’re coming off
\nof discovery of the band through albums like
\n11<\/i>, this one will pale in comparison for a while. It’s been
\nsome time since I listened to
\n11<\/i>, so I was able to approach
\nGreen Thoughts<\/i> with fresh ears.<\/p>\n
\nGreen Thoughts<\/i> appears to be out of print at the moment, but
\nis well worth the search. Anyone who is an afficionado of good
\npower-pop should add this one to their collection, as should fans
\nof The Smithereens. Even though it’s not their “best” work, it’s
\nnot far off the target.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7330],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-39024","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-the-smithereens","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/39024\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=39024"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=39024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}