Plimsouls Plus--How Long Will It Take---For The Reissue?

Holy Grail From LA

From the moment the needle hit the groove on the Zero Hour ep, I was a fan of the Plimsouls. The combination of great songs and raw and immediate studio recording made for an exhilirating listen. I played that record to death. How Long Will It Take? is the classic song here, but Great Big World, Hypnotized, the title track and the raucous version of Otis Redding's I Can't Turn You Loose are completely fantastic. That cover is emblematic of the bands style. These days they are regarded as one of the great "power pop" groups, but as far as I am concerned they are a garage rocking band fronted by a soul singer. Or in some ways resembling the early formative r n b Beatles. Peter Case is a great singer and the band is dynamite-- Eddie Munoz is a riff monster--The ep has a real live in the studio quality, and I'm told they were one of the best live acts in L.A. in their heyday.

Prior to Plimsouls, Case was in the legendary Nerves, with two power pop legends, Jack Lee and Paul Collins. Only recently have these recording been available on cd (except for two songs included in Rhino's DIY punk series), originally having been released on a small label. Lee's Hanging On The Telephone famously became a hit when it was covered by Blondie. Paul Collins formed his group the Beat and has penned a number of memorable songs such as Walking Out On Love and Rock N Roll Girl. His first album is a classic of the genre.

But back to Case and company. I was very disappointed when I picked up their album Everywhere at Once. I was expecting more of the music that I heard on their original ep. After listening to the album enough I realized that it is by no means a bad album. It suffers from overproduction and the energy level is muted a bit. There are excellent songs here. However, the slightly toned down nature of the recording is what made this album a very good album instead of an extraordinary one. It sounds like someone tried to commercialize their sound a bit with a bigger budget and wound up wrecking what made the band so terrific. The record still beats most pop groups at their game though so what I say is only in comparison to the Zero Hour ep, recorded for roughly $300. A perfect illustration of what I am saying is How Long Will It Take?. I think the original from Zero Hour is much superior to the album version. But A Million Miles Away, I'll Get Lucky, and Everywhere At Once are one this album, so understand that it is a matter of degree for me.

One day I saw a Plimsouls cd in a used record store in White Plains that I had never seen before. I saw on the back cover that it included the Zero Hour ep. So I picked it up for 7 bucks. I had no idea that they had made another album prior to Everywhere at Once. And the album picks up where Zero Hour left off. Now is another classic--when I heard it for the first time it completely bowled me over. It might be their best song, and it has radio ready hooks that should have made it a nationwide hit. They should have had success like the Bangles, or the Knack. But as we can see, fame is often elusive in the music business.

Hush Hush is another great rocker here, with its tough vocals and sing-along chorus. Also included is a live cut of this song, and it smokes. There are a few live tracks here, notably a raveup version of Dizzy Miss Lizzy a la McCartney. Shows you how great they must have been in clubs. Another of my favorites is the Byrdsy poignant gem Memory. I always assumed that the opening song, Lost Time was a cover song from a 60's soul group. But it is an original. I think that if you can make a retroish song that is comparable to the groups who you are influenced by, you are really doing something great.



No One Even Knows What I'm Talking About In This Town

 There is no shortage of good music on this disc. In This Town, Everyday Things are also standouts. Another high light is the soulful slow groover Mini-Skirt Minnie with great vocals by Case. He really sounds like he is enjoying himself here. I Want You Back is a great lightning fast raveup tune also. Its hard to believe that this disc was released in 1992 and never subsequently reissued. In the power pop guide Shake Some Action by John Borack, this is listed as the 35th best album of the genre for what its worth. Since the Nerves have now been anthologized on Cd I assumed that someone would follow suit with Plimsouls Plus. Even the Fleshtones have their music from their IRS years finally reissued. After nearly 20 years its really time to make this available again.

Peter Case has had a long and respectable career. He began his career busking in the streets and he has had a journeymans career as a folk/traditional artist after the Plimsouls split, though with many critical accolades. He has been nominated for Grammys for his albums Avalon Blues and Let Us Praise Sleepy John. He has created an estimable and deep body of work since his stint with the Plimsouls well worth investigating.

On a serious note about a year or so ago however, he underwent emergency open heart surgery and was in serious financial distress from the medical bills, as he was without health insurance. Friends and fans came together to try and help him through this difficult time, with a charity fund created plus benefit concerts. There is even a three Cd tribute album of his songs performed by a variety of friends and well-wishers, including Dave Alvin, Victoria Williams, Steve Wynn, and John Prine. The good news is that he is doing well today and has recently recorded a new album Wig!, on YepRoc, which is supposed to be excellent. Currently he is out on tour in the US playing venues of varying sizes, including Hoboken, NJ, Long Island City and Larchmont, NY. I've never seen him live, but I think I'm going to--very shortly.