Don’t mess with Carla

By Henry Lipput

You know it’s bad enough for you when you get a knock on the door or a call from a bill collector or the police but it’s even worse when it’s because you’ve done Carla Olson wrong. Especially when she has Tall Poppy Syndrome backing her up.

On the brand-new collaboration “Is It True?” (Tres Melo Musique/Carla Olson Productions) Olson joins the TPS to give a fresh coat of rock and roll paint to a Brenda Lee classic from 1964. Tall Poppy Syndrome adds some fuzz to the guitars to add a sense of menace to Olson’s take-no-prisoners vocal and backing vocals from the TPS lads bring a real 60s sound to the mix. Olson means business and makes it clearer than Brenda did that you better not have been missing around.

Tall Poppy Syndrome sets their eyes on tomorrow

By Henry Lipput

On “This Time Tomorrow” (Tres Melo Musique), Tall Poppy Syndrome’s take on Kinks’ wistful, acoustic look at the future, the band plugs in their amps and turns up the volume.

As a long-time fan of The Kinks (my second favorite band after The Four-Headed Monster) – well, since 1979 but I then searched New York City record stores to find past releases and bought future albums and EPs as they came out -- this cover of “This Time Tomorrow” is a welcome addition to other cover versions of Kinks songs that get it just right. Don’t take my word for it – original Kinks drummer Mick Avory has told Tall Poppy Syndrome he likes it!

Tall Poppy Syndrome is the classic Bee Gees Vince Meloney on electric guitars; the multi-dimensional Jonathan Lea on electric guitars, mellotron, and tambourine; the legendary Clem Burke on drums; and, from the Strangers in a Strange Land band Paul Kopf on vocals and Alec Palao on bass and electric piano.

Vince Meloney's rock and roll super group has an official name and a new single

 By Henry Lipput

The rock and roll super group that accompanied Vince Melouney on his “Women” single last year (in my review I called it “a crash course in garage rock”) was made up of members of Blondie, the Jigsaw Seen, and Strangers In A Strange Land. It now has an official name and has released a single.

"Come Some Christmas Eve (Or Halloween)," the single from Tall Poppy Syndrome (Bandcamp), was written by Vince’s former bandmate Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees in 1968 for that band’s Idea album (it wasn’t included in the original album but is part of the 2006 reissue). Vince, as you know, is an Australian guitar legend and was a member of the classic Bee Gees lineup from 1967 to 1969.

 

"Come Some Christmas Eve (Or Halloween)" isn’t a seasonal song despite the mention of those two almost holidays. The song concerns a long-lost love and perhaps those two days had a special significance for the lovers (dragons also seem to figure in the relationship).  

The new version is a completely different animal than the original. Tall Poppy Syndrome’s version grabs mid-60s influences and puts them into a melting pot to serve up a steaming plate of prime rock and roll. Vince brings his signature crisp, clean guitar sound to the song, drummer Clem Burke of Blondie channels his inner Moon man, Jonathan Lea of the Jigsaw Seen adds more guitars and an Indian-sounding mellotron wash, and Strangers In A Strange Land’s Alec Palao’s bass playing is very much in the McCartney Revolver-era vein while his bandmate Paul Kopf lays down a terrific vocal on top of it all.