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- PolyGram Records B000001FZT
If you like raw, haunting solid
power pop which burns with emotion, and touching
heartfelt ballads, too, than take a moment to explore this classic, dark
gem from Chicago's late '80's - early '90's alternative pop explosion - a
fertile scene backed by intense and inventive musical force which still
continues to this day.
Chock-full of song after song filled with longing
and lust for hip, idealized, distant young women with names like Valerie,
Diane, Lulu and Christine; the melodies are fresh and familiar all at
once. Material Issue's
International Pop Overthrow
is sprinkled throughout with catchy
hooks, a crisp, precise backbeat from the dual rhythm section of
Ted Ansani on
bass/backing vocals and Mike Zelenko
on drums; and fronted by Jim Ellison's
aching, tug-at-your-heart lead vocals and wall-of-sound guitar. A
welcome and refreshing major label debut, this collection revealed the
promise and hopes of three extremely talented young musicians.
From the very beginning of the disc, with the
haunting opening chords of the hit Valerie Loves Me ("...it
's such a shame she's not with me and all the pretty things, all the love
my heart could bring, I would give my whole life to her - Valerie loves
me!") the stage is set for the ups and downs of unrequited love. The
song chops along at a brisk clip, and ends abruptly with Ellison screaming
"Valerie loves me!" one last time.
Barely missing a beat, he introduces Diane
with another melodic chord run and breaks into his clear-as-a-bell
tenor, "Diane lives in sanctuary, she swears to Jesus she'll never
marry...Diane is everywhere, pretending that she just don't care, Diane I
hear you're just nineteen...Diane's a superstar, she's everything you wish
you were, Diane you're all these things to me."
In the sweet, straightforward ballad, This
Letter, Ellison sings, slowly, with a faint yelp, "I'd like to
show you, the plans I made for you, but I don't need anyone but
myself...I'd like to tell you, how much I love you, but I don't love
anyone, any more." It is devastating, and at this point Ansani and
Zelenko are restrained in their approach, wise to keep pace but not to
upstage. Ansani then joins in for gentle harmony on the chorus.
The somber This Letter is followed
by the deceptively lilting melody of Out Right Now, yet
another song of unrequited love juxtaposed against a striking melody.
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The hard driving
Chance of A Lifetime is an anthem not only of love, but of
opportunity, and the title song, International Pop Overthrow
though light on the lyrics is heavy on spirit, with
searing guitar work which clearly reinforces the band's commitment to
solid rock and roll.
But Very First Lie, which comes
right after, is deceptively complex in its message. In understated
4/4 time, it is replete with jangling acoustic guitars and tambourine
р la
Aimee Mann, and a lyric full of wishes
and dreams: "I'd like to wake up with you early in the morning, or stay up
late just playing records on your phonograph. I'd like to get to know your
mother and your father. Maybe just once pretend to be somebody's better
half. And I would like to tell the very first lie."
Trouble is a searing tale of
revenge for a crime, in cut time, that drives hard and fast, with Zelenko
and Ansani pounding out the rhythm while Ellison clearly wails above it
all. I could play it over and over again without tiring of it, not
only because of the nuance of the story, which leaves enough blanks for
the imagination to fill in, but the sheer construction of the song, with
each member playing a seamless part.
On This Far Before, Ellison sounds
like a young, Zombie's-era Rod Argent.
His beautiful, perfect tenor singing the rapid-fire verse, and Ansani's
crisp harmonies on the silky-smooth chorus, are a tribute to late '60's
power pop at its best.
International Pop Overthrow was
preceded by an independently released EP, and followed up with two
additional full-length critically acclaimed albums (one each on PolyGram
and Rykodisc). At the time, would anyone have thought that the dark
tones of this album may have been an early foreshadowing of Ellison's
tragic suicide? It is so hard to say, as we all have our dark and
rainy corners. In 1997, the year following his death, Rykodisc
released the final installment of Material Issue's original recordings,
Telecommando Americano, lovingly completed by Ansani and
Zelenko, that the three had begun together.
All-in-all, the fourteen cuts on IPO
stand both together and alone as a living testament to an unusually
talented trio, frozen in time.
Both Ansani and Zelenko continue to record, and
each has completed new projects recently. For more information on
Material Issue, Ansani, Zelenko and friends, click on any of the links
below.
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