Category: Record reviews
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Bonnie Hayes: Brave new girl
Bottom line: Forgotten bands finishes with Bonnie Hayes, who emerged from the San Francisco punk scene of the 1970s and with Bonnie Hayes & The Wild Combo produced an ’80s landmark that was buried by bad breaks and marauding girl groups. Moment of glory: Hayes has supported herself as a…
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Ashford and Simpson: Remember me as a sunny day
The bottom line: I’m stretching the rules of the forgotten bands game with this choice, because songwriters Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson are remembered – but only by writers and music nerds. Songwriters don’t become famous unless they become famous performers. Just ask Bernie Taupin, the lyricist behind Elton John.…
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The Flamin’ Groovies: Let me bust out at full speed
Bottom line: Five boys from San Francisco who formed a hard-rock outfit in 1965, made three records (Supersnazz, Teenage Head, and Flamingo) that nobody listened to, then switched in 1976 to power pop and made twice as many records that nobody listened to. Flamin’ is sometimes spelled without the apostrophe.…
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Gene Clark: Sidewalk scenes and black limousines
Bottom line: Our series on forgotten bands continues with folk- and country-rock pioneer Gene Clark, who wrote the best original songs on The Byrds’ first two albums, Mr. Tambourine Man and Turn! Turn! Turn! Exhibit A: “I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better.” (On Fifth Dimension, he co-wrote “Eight Miles High.”)…
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The Beau Brummels: Lonely, oh so lonely
Bottom line: Five guys from the folk-rock scene in San Francisco who developed a taste for country. Three Top 40 hits, including one in the Top 10 (“Just a Little”), and two more that broke the Top 100. How can a band that placed five songs in the Top 100…
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