Search - Tommy Keene :: Ten Years After

Will someone make this guy a star already?

Pedro A. Urias | Phoenix, Az United States | 04/21/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's a pity, because in a perfect world Tommy Keene's power pop would have propelled him to superstar status by now. But alas, because he favors straight ahead melodies and minumum trappings, he has fallen by the wayside more than a few times. Still, this album offers of what I mentioned above--and of course, the melancholic adult viewpoint we have known him for all these years, plus his weedy, though not unpleasant tenor that colours each of these tracks with the full bodied emotion they deserve and which a less interested perfomer would screw up. There's a resemblance to Gin Blossoms (who have cited him as an influence and did tour together). Songs such as the reflective "If You're Getting Married Tonight", the jet propelled rock of "Turning On Blue", prove that there are more than several ways to "power pop". If Matthew Sweet is the prince of power pop, then Tommy Keene is its overlooked king."