Paul Collins hits it out of the park with latest release
Paul Collins is famous, like, really famous. Well, he’s famous if you’re a fan of Indie Rock before anyone called it that, otherwise, maybe you haven’t heard of him.
His career is long enough and storied enough that I could simply recount its highlights here without ever mentioning his latest work, but what’s point of that?
A hundred thousand words or more have already been written about who he is, what he’s done, and who he’s influenced and it’s all readily available, so anything but the lightest recap here is time and space that could be spent talking about his phenomenal new album.
The Nerves, The Breakaway, The Beat (under a few name variants) are all Paul Collins’ vehicles and his work with those groups, as well as his extensive solo work, has earned him a cult status second to none.
Most often described as “power pop,” his better known titles include, “Hanging on the Telephone,” made famous by Blondie, and “Walking Out on Love,” popular in its own right but re-invigorated by a Green Day cover in their American Idiot Broadway musical production.
Collins began his solo career in 1979, releasing 11 studio albums to date, the latest being Out of My Head.
The opening track, “In and Out of My Head,” is at once vintage and timeless. It’s a song equally at home in 1966 or today, driven by vintage distortion and minor chords. Part Byrds, part Tom Petty, part Roy Orbison, it is an instantly catchy tune occupying a very particular niche in popular music.
The follow up track, “Go,” confirms the power pop description of Collins’ work while reinforcing the instrumental arrangements as the sort of naked, trebly guitar and straightforward drums that defined the better part of a decade a long, long time ago. There are shades of Elvis Costello, young Elvis Costello anyway, in the delivery of this song.
“Kind of Girl” delivers up the same groove as “Go.” Collins’ superior lyrical skills set this music far beyond the realm of bubblegum, but his sound is what so much bubblegum tried to imitate.
I’ve already referenced Elvis Costello once, but “Just Too Bad You’re Leaving,” the fourth track on the album, sounds like the Nick Lowe/Elvis collaboration that never happened but should have.
I cannot say whether Collins is a nostalgic fellow or not, but there is a very clear love for vintage pop evident and underlying every track on the album. “Emily” could very well be an Everly Brothers song, verse, chord structure, background vocals, and all. There are no ten dollar adjectives necessary for this tune, it’s enough to say it is pretty, and sweet, in the best possible way those two words can be applied.
“Midnight Special” is an original tune (not the familiar old standard) that perhaps demonstrates either a personal evolution on the part of Collins or the actual historical evolution of the genres that influenced.
The vocals are a little growlier, the guitar is ever so slightly meaner; it’s still well within the realm of power pop, but it is edgier than the first half of the album, gently pushing the envelope.
There are five more tracks on the album, ranging from the lush, dynamic “Killer Inside” to the Twin Peaks-esque “Beautiful Eyes.”
Collins’ work is fascinating in that it may be taken at face value, as simple, sweet, nostalgic tunes, and a fine representation of those values and traits, but one cannot help but feel there is more going on under the surface.
I strongly suspect that the seemingly straightforward approach to pop music masks a much deeper, well informed and thoughtful approach to song craft which is there for the appreciation of folks inclined to find such things. What I can say for certain is that whether you choose to take it as it is or delve for the sublime, it is very satisfying music.
Out of My Head will be available in September, a beautiful album by a gentle giant of the genre, and I defy you to listen to its entirety without involuntarily smiling and swaying to the tunes.
I’m no audiophile. I have some experience recording, going far enough back to have laid down some tracks on reel-to-reel, but I honestly can’t claim the kind of ability to recognize the difference.