The members of
GospelbeacH
have resumes as long as Wilt Chamberlain's wingspan, but none of them have been in a project quite like this.
Brent Rademaker
's partner in
Curation Records
is the proud owner of a huge stash of bubblegum and glitter pop singles, and after digging into some of them,
Rademaker
was inspired to give a handful of the songs the
treatment. On the
Jam Jam
EP, the band and the songs meet halfway in a glorious collision of sugary melodies and goofy hooks, drawling vocals and warm country-rock. The band extract some real goodies and give them a rollicking update.
The American Jam Band
's glittering obscurity "Jam Jam" is given some punchy swagger, the very
Badfinger
-eque "Lovin' You Ain't Easy" by
Michel Pagliaro
takes a mellow step in the direction of soft rock heaven, and the bubblegum classic "Gimme Gimme Good Lovin" isn't much of a song, but the group plow through it with just the right amount of energy and giddiness. The high points of the too-short EP are
's take on
Chunky
's "Albatross," which comes complete with a merrily stomping glam beat and some seriously cheesy synths, and a lovely version of
Sandy Salisbury
's sunshine pop gem "Do Unto Others." The band make it sound like a lost
Tom Petty
song from early in his career, while adding vocal harmonies pretty enough for a
Beach Boys
album. Not a surprise since they are provided by
Nelson Bragg
, a longtime member of
Brian Wilson
's band.
is a fun little diversion for
, showing they can do light and breezy like it's second nature. It's also a nice jumping-off point for anyone interested in discovering bubblegum and glitter by tracing the band's excellent choices back to the source. ~ Tim Sendra