Monday, September 25, 2023

 I’d heard the Windbreakers, Bobby Sutliff’s band, but it was long ago Only Ghosts Remain, the album in question here, is a good reminder of how much I liked what I heard back then. I’m glad to own this album for that reason alone.


Tim Lee, Bobby's band mate, was kind enough to answer a few questions for me.


Andrea Weiss: What are your memories of Bobby?


Tim Lee: So many of them. The story goes that Bobby and I met as teenagers on the front row of an Alice Cooper concert during Suzi Quatro’s opening set. Bobby was talking about guitars, but I was too busy staring at Quatro’s leather jumpsuit to notice. It’s mostly true. We were friends for so many years, and we hung out and played in each other’s bands even when we weren’t doing the Windbreakers. In latter years, when we weren’t living near each other, we still talked on the phone every couple weeks.



AW: How did the Windbreakers form?


TL: Bobby and I were hanging out a bunch, listening to records and playing guitars, when the band I was in broke up. Soon thereafter, Bobby left his band and called me up. We grabbed up a couple other guys we knew and started learning a bunch of songs: lots of Beatles, Byrds … 60s-type stuff along with punk and power pop stuff. From the beginning, we were working in our own songs, which was pretty rare at the time in Jackson, Mississippi. One guy left, we did some recording, I left, I came back and eventually the Windbreakers became just me and Bobby and whoever else we brought on board.



AW: Who were the Windbreakers’ influences?


TL: All kinds of stuff from rockabilly to punk rock and soul music. Our favorite stuff was mostly 1960s pop rock like the Beau Brummels, Bobby Fuller Four, Left Banke, the Byrds, Beatles, etc. Like most aspiring indie rockers of that era, we were really into Big Star and the Velvet Underground as well. Early independent power pop singles and EPs by Sneakers, Chris Stamey, Shoes, and others were the inspiration to start making records.



AW: How did Only Ghosts Remain come about, including Mitch Easter producing it?


TL: By the mid-‘80s, Bobby had left the Windbreakers because he wasn’t in a position to go out and tour, so for a while it was just my band. But he was still writing songs and making home demos, so Howard Wuelfing and Marty Scott at Jem records got him hooked up with a record deal. The Windbreakers had been recording with Mitch from early on, so it was a natural thing for Bobby to call him up. The two of them were a good team, and that record shows it.



AW: What kind of Rickenbacker guitar was he playing? And Mitch?


TL: Oddly enough, Bobby didn’t really play a lot of Rickenbackers. He had a blonde 360 for a little while and a really janky 12-string for even less time, but back then he was mostly a Fender guy. We both relied heavily on Telecasters back then. Later on, Bobby also got into Les Pauls, I think mainly because of his appreciation for Peter Green. But Bobby was a guitar fanatic, so there probably aren’t many brands or models he didn’t own at one time or another.



AW: All of these songs are about love gone wrong. I've heard that he could be difficult to deal with, so are these his experiences or hypothetical situations?


TL: I’d say they were some of both. There are certain songs he told me were about specific people or events. I don’t know that Bobby was necessarily difficult to deal with, but he was pretty complex. On one level, he was a real go-with-the-flow guy, but he and I both could be hard-headed. So that led to occasional conflicts, but we usually got over stuff pretty quickly.



AW: Are you still playing music?


TL: Yep. I have a band called Bark that still records and tours. We just released our fourth album, Loud, last week.



AW: Is there anything in the works like a tribute concert?


TL: There has been talk of such, but nothing concrete has come together. Bobby’s wife, Wendy, mentioned to me recently that she’d like to put something together, but I don’t know where that stands.

 Bobby Sutliff

Only Ghosts Remain Plus

Jem Records


Sutliff lost his battle with cancer in 2022, and this reissue of this first solo album, plus 11 bonus tracks selected by his family and friends, backs up what was said about it in 1987, that it is one of the best power pop albums ever. Every track is a winner. The songs never quit, even as they are about love gone wrong, “Same Way Tomorrow” should’ve hit big, and it’s a shame he didn’t live long enough to see this reissue.


The original release was produced by Mitch Easter, so it jangles. You might think this jangle sounds like early REM or Let’s Active, but it doesn’t. It’s all Bobby, and as jangle pop had gotten heavier by 1987, this does sound like heavy pop, with the Tele chiming metallically. What it adds here is a solid bottom and jiggly top.


It’s not all about his relationships, either, but other people’s as well, so the lyrics don’t feel sorry for themselves or woebegone. How they do sound is tough -- tough rock. So if you ever wanted to find out what jangle pop was, this is the place to start, with some of the best power pop ever.


Andrea Weiss

Sunday, September 10, 2023

 Graham Parker

Last Chance To Learn The Twist

Big Stir Records


Parker’s Big Stir debut finds him mellowing a bit, but not soft or flabby. More like subtle, understated, nuanced, and as ticked off about everything as on his best work in the 70s.


The relationship songs are biting and curt, like “It Mattered To Me” and “Since You Left Me Baby.” On the political song “We Did Nothing” he snarls about apathy, and “Pablo’s Hippos” snarls general disgust with current politics. Then there are fun songs like “Cannabis” and “Them Bugs.” It all goes down like a stiff drink. In other words, like the best of his 70s work.


And there isn’t a wasted note or one out of place. It's impeccably produced by Graham Parker and Tuck Nelson, and the lyrics are packed with meaning. The Goldtops are wonderful, expert players.


So yes, this is a great album in a career spanning almost 50 years. He’s never really been away, so it isn’t a comeback, just a continuation of what he started as one of the original 70s UK punks, and he still is one today. And I’ll take good punk rock anywhere I can find it these day. I suspect so will you too.


Andrea Weiss

Monday, September 4, 2023

 Super City

Getouttahere (Official Video)

Sofaburn Records


The music is sort of a sped up take on The Knack’s “My Sharona,” which means it’s new wave/power pop, and good. The plot of the video involves the drummer, Ian Viera, running all over the place, filmed by a crew that acts very snarky about the whole thing. It’s fast-paced to the point of frantic, which is interesting. Why is he running all over, maybe to escape being taken hostage by someone?


The song features an amazing guitar solo, written in response to Eddie Van Halen’s death. So watch this to hear that, and see an interesting short film that fits the song well. 


Andrea Weiss

 Shadwick Wilde

Floating Away

Sofaburn Records


The origami figures--animals and a little boat that contains a love letter floating down a stream--set to sad lyrics about a breakup, makes for a very poignant clip, as does the gentle, tranquil folk/rock. Recommended to those who like folk/rock, sad songs, origami, and good songs period.

Andrea Weiss