REVIEW: The Toms, The Toms (Not Lame Archive Series)
- Bill Holmes
The first entry in Bruce Brodeen's dust-off-some-worthy-classics project celebrates the joyous pop of Tom Marolda. Yes, that's "Toms" as in Tom playing this, Tom playing that - a start-to-finish 1979 DIY job that makes me wonder one thing - how could a guy who writes songs like these not be heard from again? Unfortunately, I know the answer to that question, which is why I'm happy that Not Lame Recordings is trying to erase that mistake.
I could think of a thousand comparisons to make, and all of them would be right. The melody structure is pure 60's Britpop influence. Think Kinks, Beatles, Badfinger, Searchers - classic Rickenbacker pop songs that should have been cascading out of car radios everywhere. Tom's double tracked harmonies transcend very good pop songs into great pop songs. "Other Boys Do" would have kept The Knack's career afloat. Listen to "The Door" and tell me Badfinger isn't alive and well. Ditto Dwight Twilley on "You Put Me Up To This". Makes one nostalgic for eighteen years ago, when "hit radio" was full of songs, not trends.
The production is a little dusky in spots, but considering it was recorded in a home studio, it's pretty crisp under the surface. Occasionally ("The Flame") it will sound like you're listening to an old 45 RPM that's just slightly oval...but so what? Listen to the pure Beatle-esque majesty of "Let's Be Friends Again" and "Think About Me" and "I Cannot Spot You" and you'll soon focus on the essence and not the wrapping. Nineteen songs, and with the possible exception of the gimmicky "Hook" (a song about a song), not a clunker among them.
This is an amazing pop record, an historical document that belongs in every pop collection. So I ask again - where is Tom, and how quickly can we get him into the studio? I'd say he's due for another shot at the brass ring. (contact Not Lame on the Internet at popmusic@notlame.com or visit at http://www.notlame.com )
