VA - Looking For The Magic (American Power Pop In The Seventies) (2023)⭐

Artist: Various
Title: Looking For The Magic (American Power Pop In The Seventies)
Year Of Release: 2023
Label: Grapefruit Records – CRSEGBOX13
Genre: Power Pop, Classic Rock, New Wave
Quality: FLAC (tracks+scans)
Total Time: 03:57:42

Tracklist:
CD1
1. MC5 – Shakin' Street (02:22)
2. Crabby Appleton – Go Back (03:00)
3. The American Dream – Egg Carton Wall (03:02)
4. Todd Rundgren – We Gotta Get You A Woman (03:09)
5. Grin – Moon Tears (02:20)
6. Bread – Down On My Knees (02:45)
7. Flamin' Groovies – You Tore Me Down (02:50)
8. Erik – To Be Your Friend (02:39)
9. Big Star – When My Baby's Beside Me (Alternative Mix) (03:24)
10. Stories – Top Of The City (02:58)
11. The Wackers – It's My Life (03:33)
12. Sparks – I Like Girls (Bearsville Version) (02:53)
13. Blue Ash – Abracadabra (Have You Seen Her?) (03:07)
14. Bang – Must Be Love (02:54)
15. Earth Quake – Friday On My Mind (03:34)
16. The Raspberries – Play On (03:04)
17. Athanor – I Don't Mind (02:34)
18. Fox Pass – Some Kind Of Jerk (03:52)
19. The Droogs – Ahead Of My Time (02:42)
20. Nils Lofgren – I Don't Want To Know (02:44)
21. Milk 'N' Cookies – Little, Lost And Innocent (02:51)
22. Tim Moore – Rock And Roll Love Letter (04:22)
23. Jonathan Richman – Government Center (02:03)
24. Alex Chilton – She Might Look My Way (Take 2) (02:29)
25. Target – Familiar Faces (04:39)
26. Eric Carmen – Last Night (02:58)

CD2
1. The Runaways – American Nights (03:18)
2. Blue Ă–yster Cult – (Don't Fear) The Reaper (Single Edit) (03:51)
3. Hollins Ferry – Downtown Menagerie (02:52)
4. Just Boys – All In All (02:59)
5. The Nerves – When You Find Out (01:59)
6. The Babys – If You've Got The Time (02:37)
7. Andrew Gold – Lonely Boy (04:24)
8. John Scoggins – To Stay (02:31)
9. Television – See No Evil (03:53)
10. The Meyce – I Trust You (02:07)
11. Cheap Trick – Oh Candy (03:08)
12. NRBQ – Ridin' In My Car (02:53)
13. Shoes – Boys Don't Lie (02:00)
14. The Scruffs – She Say Yea (02:53)
15. The Marshalls – She's The One (02:27)
16. Utopia – Love In Action (03:29)
17. Venus & The Razorblades – Alright You Guys (03:04)
18. Dwight Twilley Band – Looking For The Magic (03:17)
19. The Paley Brothers – Ecstasy (02:32)
20. Marbles – Forgive And Forget (02:50)
21. Tuff Darts – All For The Love Of Rock 'n' Roll (03:20)
22. The Quick – You, Yeah You (03:28)
23. Van Duren – New Year's Eve (03:41)
24. The Leopards – Mind Of My Own (02:48)
25. The Pop – Walk In The Rain (03:38)
26. Sneakers – Decline And Fall (03:14)

CD3
1. The Cars – My Best Friend's Girl (03:46)
2. Tommy Hoehn – Losing You To Sleep (05:14)
3. Gary Valentine – The First One (02:38)
4. The Moberlys – Leave The Past Behind (02:37)
5. Ramones – I Wanna Be Sedated (02:32)
6. Spitballs – Let Her Dance (02:30)
7. Jules & The Polar Bears – You Just Don't Wanna Know (03:23)
8. Segarini – Gotta Have Pop (03:37)
9. Robert Johnson – Say Girl (02:59)
10. Fotomaker – Come Back (03:21)
11. Bill Kern – Don't Listen To Them (02:37)
12. Badfinger – Love Is Gonna Come At Last (03:39)
13. The Rubinoos – Drivin' Music (03:16)
14. The Greg Kihn Band – Rendezvous (02:30)
15. The Knack – Your Number Or Your Name (02:57)
16. The Mumbles – Poly Vinyl (03:55)
17. Moon Martin – Rolene (03:38)
18. The Laughing Dogs – Get 'im Outa Town (03:27)
19. The Last – She Don't Know Why I'm Here (Album Version) (03:30)
20. Ian Lloyd – Slip Away (03:38)
21. Richard Lloyd – Should Have Known Better (02:54)
22. The Names – No More Heartbreaks (04:29)
23. Cheese – She Said (03:16)
24. 20/20 – Cheri (03:18)

• Comprehensive 3CD overview of the American power pop scene's evolution throughout the 70s.
• Featuring the genre's major bands, cult names, hits, rari7es and several previously unissued tracks.

Although the power pop genre wasn't named and codified until late 1977, the sound and spirit had been slowly gathering steam throughout the decade. Surrounded by heavy metal and
introverted singer/songwriters, the likes of The Raspberries, Big Star, Blue Ash and The Wackers spearheaded an early 70s return to the spiky, three-minute pop urgency of the mid-60s British Invasion bands.

While only The Raspberries charted, such bands established a musical template that was adopted by a new raft of slightly younger acts including the Dwight Twilley Band, The Rubinoos and Shoes. The tide had turned by the late 70s, with such names as Cheap Trick and The Cars achieving success as the American music industry embraced power pop as a radio-friendly alternative to punk.

When The Knack emerged from nowhere to dominate the summer of 1979 with the single 'My Sharona' and the album 'Get The Knack', it was clear that the decade was ending with power pop established as a significant commercial proposition.

A chronologically-arranged set, 'Looking For The Magic' traces power pop's development throughout the Seventies as largely unsuccessful bands were afforded cult status by the burgeoning grass-roots fanzine network that nurtured them.

As well as featuring all of the aforementioned acts, we include the likes of Todd Rundgren, Flamin' Groovies, Sparks, Ramones and the USA-based 1979 revamp of Badfinger, one of the seminal prototypal power pop bands at the start of the decade. We also focus on a huge
number of cult names and little-known acts, showcasing many tracks that were unissued at the time and even several cuts now gaining a first-ever release.

Housed in a clamshell box that includes a heavily annotated and illustrated 48-page booklet, 'Looking For The Magic' is a fascinating, highly entertaining celebration of a genre that went under the radar for most of its formative years