Old Enough to Forget

I have no idea why I remembered Ian Gomm. The title to the album Gomm with the Wind always stuck with me, and I knew there was a song I knew, but couldn't remember. It was "Hold On," and while it wasn't a big hit, it did get some radio play and Ian was very much part of that early bunch of power pop acts who were crossing the pond. It's a fun song, and Herbie Flowers' bass is a sonic punch to the gut. The album contained a dozen pop nuggets with only one song going over three minutes, and that was by seven seconds. There were a couple of covers, one by Chuck Berry, "Come On," that was really cool, and the Lennon-McCartney "You Can't Do That." It was get in, get out. Keep it tight. None of the songs felt incomplete, they were just right. The album was released on Stiff / Epic and labelmates included Nick Lowe, whose "Cruel to Be Kind" had been co-written by Ian Gomm, along with Ian Dury and the Blockheads and the legendary Poi...

Rock 'n' Roll Juvenile came out in '79, and I remember the song "Carrie" being played on the radio, and then being somewhat confused when a very similar version by Cano, singing with an audible French-Canadian accent, actually outperformed the original here in Canada. When he released "Devil Woman" in 1976, I was hooked. It was a song I really liked, but I never picked up any of his albums. It wasn't until I saw a buddy of mine at the mall in the early '80s holding a copy of Rock 'n' Roll Juvenile . I must have given him a little goofy look (which is honestly just my resting face), and he got all defensive and went on about how good the record was and that I shouldn't be a snob about his choice in records. Well, I liked the aforementioned "Devil Woman," and I did like "Carrie." I really liked "We Don't Talk Anymore" and had recently gotten into The Tarney/Spencer Band, and at the time songs from I...

Ten-year-old me didn't know what to think of the song "Rock On" as it was an unusual thing, but strangely hypnotic and cool too. It was etched into my developing musical preferences. I never forgot the song. I blame Jack Wagner for Michael Damian being able to release his version of "Rock On" - yeah, I know that's not fair or accurate, but dang it, the only singing soap opera star I need (I was going to try and work an "All I Need" reference in there somewhere, but it seemed like a lot of work for zero payoff) is Rick Springfield. Let's just pretend that never happened, shall we? (Although I will reluctantly admit his cover version was "okay".) Before finding this album, the only other song by David Essex I was aware of was "A Winter's Tale," a song I found a few years ago that has become one of my favourite holiday tunes. It is a stunning piece - although my daughter thinks it's rather "meh," but likes tha...