| Good Music For Good People |
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PETER & THE PENGUINS - How To Choose A Sweetheart |
Norwegian Import and a stunner for fans of The Spongetones and other newer bands that have arrived in the last few years happily digging up the Mersey sounds of early Beatles like The Fore and The Offbeat. I heard this album as it was being developed and was so excited by the quality of the material you shall see the Not Lame logo on it as a stamp of high, high quality so it is hard to expand from that and how strongly I feel this material is going to appeal to many Not Lamers. A learned pop fan of excellent taste and pedigree on the power pop scene for 15 years, Alan Haber of BUHDGE and PURE POP RADIO has some similar strong feelings on "How To Choose A Sweetheart" - Peter And The Penguins usher in the new beat(le-esque) era, and are the latest, fab stewards of the good ship Beatle-esque to steer the ears of melodic pop fans and denizens of the beat music era to a rousing chorus of yeah, yeah, yeahs. A round of hearty handclaps, then, for these boys from Norway. Prepare to get Penguin-ized! `There`s No Living Here Without You` takes its cues from a decidedly McCartney-ized reservoir of melodic structure, a la Macca`s `My Brave Face` (the infectious bass line is pure, Paul). Not only is the basic structure of the infectious, mid-tempo popper `If You Wanna Leave Me for Somebody New` basically Beatle-esque (dig the instrumental section piano line for a warm nod back to early Fabs), the song is a veritable 60`s nod (don`t miss the delectable Mamas and Papas moment in the middle-eight). For more 60`s pleasure, the marvelous `Barefoot` wears its Beach Boys worship on its intensely-melodic sleeve, no more so than during its gorgeous, opening a cappella section. A decidedly Beatle-esque, early era-style bopper. A hook-heavy chorus and a thumping bass, not to mention Harrison-esque DNA dripping from the lead guitar lines, fuel the upbeat `She Took Me By Surprise. There`s no doubt about it: Peter and the Penguins is the Beatle-esque `it` band of the moment. If Beatle-esque and beat pop are your game, then you`re in for a great time, and you can`t beat that!" - Alan Haber. Records like this don`t come along often enough so it is a great cause of celebration deserving your time to listen to the soundbites below and see how it all fits for your tastes! HUGELY Recommended!
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| Customer Reviews |  | |
| PETER & THE PENGUINS - How To Choose A Sweetheart | |
| Reviewer: Curt Vance | | Definitely in my top 10 for 2009. You don`t get Power Pop better than this. If you ever wanted to hear a mix of Mersey Beat and The Beatles - pick this one up! Hard to stop listening to this!!
Curty Ray
Power Pop Overdose |
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| A REVIEW OF PETER & THE PENGUINS NEW ALBUM: HOW TO CHOOSE A SWEETHEART | |
| Reviewer: Marc Waszkiewicz | | This is one of the best CDs I have come accross in many many years. First off, my credentials for reviewing this CD.
I have been a professional musician for over 45 years and learned The Beatles` materiel as each album was released at the time! I have multiple music degrees, including a Master`s in music composition and arranging from a private music school in Los Angeles. I have owned numerous recording studios over the years, been a staff arranger and also engineer. I have played with the best in Hollywood for years and made my living with music almost my whole life. I was a music production manager at Lorimar Productions for three weekly national network sitcoms and have an Emmy. I know a thing or two about music and bands and CDs....
This album is the bomb! If you like The Beatles, you will absolutely love this album to death. Yet, it is fresh and new; not a rehash of old-sounding stuff. Creative, timeless, nostalgic, current, rockin`, exciting, hot... and many more adjectives aptly apply. There is not a dead puppy in the whole lot; every single song is wonderful. No filler songs here. And the sonic quality!!! Their mix engineer and mastering lab are to be commended indeed! This album is among the best I have ever heard when it comes to sonic clarity and presence. Every note, nuance... perfectly captured. The bass in particular sings out and the harmonies are something to marvel at.
These guys have their act together. Get this CD now, before it goes out of print and a major label grabs up these guys... and starts screwing up their sound! You will not regret adding this album to your collection; I guarantee it!!!
Marc C. Waszkiewicz
Bassist, Composer, Producer |
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| Keeps your toes tapping | |
| Reviewer: Aaron Kupferberg | | Last year on the IPO#11 disc a standout was "There Goes Pete Best," and this year has been chock full of Beatlesque bands making debuts this year. From The Poor Richards, Alan Bernhoft to Pete Best himself - the sound is just timeless and embedded in pop culture. Not even compared to other like-minded bands (The Fore, The Offbeat) this Norwegian band is easily a cut above the rest. That`s because they take the template and enhance it - for example, "Barefoot" uses the Rickenbacker riffs, honey sweet Beach Boys choruses and sax touches to make a catchy song, not just imitate what`s been done. Lots of highlights here that make them comparable to The Spongetones in quality (they even do a cover of "Here I Go Again"). "The Walk" has a jangle and beat thats just irresistible, and "She Took Me By Surprise" gets the early mop-top songwriting and guitar innocence down perfectly. "There`s No Living Here Without You" updates the snappy Beatle ballad with a minor chords aplenty. Not every song is perfect, but with 14 tracks here, you`ll find more than enough Mersey-inspired gems to keep your toe tapping. As long as bands like this keep making music, I will happily listen. Highly Recommended by Powerpopaholic |
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