Paley Brothers

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Paley Brothers

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Before going on to their west coast endeavors with Brian Wilson the Paley Brothers were a band of legendary status in the northeast for a brief time in the late 70's. Killer tunes, arrangements and stunning moments of brilliance by guitar virtuoso Eric Rose (aka Rosenfeld; easily one of the greatest this reviewer has ever seen). Highlights include Magic Power, Tell Me Tonight & a Yardbirds style rave up on Buddy Holly's Down The Line (with Eric in fine form). For more info there is a great site at: http://www.punkblowfish.com/BlowfishPaley.htm. Get this CD before it falls off the radar!

The Paley Brothers are an oddly smooth product of a Boston scene known more for its taverns and punk rock than its bubblegum. With Andy and Jonathan Paley singing harmonies up front, their band pulled in players from legendary Beantown acts like The Sidewinders and Nervous Eaters. By the time they recorded this 1978 LP with Earle Mankey in Los Angeles, they'd developed the same sort of Teen Beat following as The Rubinoos, and were playing the same sort of super-sweet pop music.

The album itself is finely produced, well played and sung, but the original songs simply aren't as memorable as those from the Rubinoos, Raspberries, or other pure popsters. The power ballad "Turning the Tide," for example, is more noticeable for Mankey's production tribute to Phil Spector than for the song itself, and one of the album's standouts, "Stick With Me Baby," is an Everly Brothers cover that was written by Country music legend Mel Tillis. The Paley's own "Lovin' Eyes Can't Lie" does have a terrific Beach Boys styled vocal arrangement that shows off the brothers' pipes.

The album really takes off at the end of side two with the effervescent original "Come Out and Play." Produced by Jimmy Iovine in New Jersey, there's a wonderfully insistent beach feel to this track, anchored by a monster melodic hook and sparked by verbal percussion ala The Vogues' "Five O'Clock World." It's a shame they didn't include the other three songs Iovine produced for the band ("Ecstacy," "Rendezvous," and "Hide 'n' Seek"), as they smoke the Mankey-produced tracks that are here. Even still, this is a sweet treat that lines up nicely with a few other pop bands that were plowed under by punk rock. 3-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2007 hyperbolium dot com]