LP Record review:
Tommy Keene - Ten Years After

Tommy Keene - Ten Years After

Band: Tommy Keene Title: Ten Years After Rating: Release Date: 02 February, 1999 Media: LP Record Tracks: 1: Going Out Again 2: Turning on Blue 3: Today and Tomorrow 4: Your Heart Beats Alone 5: If You're Getting Married Tonight 6: On the Runway 7: We Started over Again 8: Silent Town 9: Good Thing Going 10: Compromise 11: You Can't Wait for Time 12: Before the Lights Go Down 13: It's Not True

Customer Reviews Catchy Pop and Arousing Rock If Keene had two brothers, they might well be Bill Lloyd and Matthew Sweet. Ten Years After contains thirteen numbers fitting nicely between melodic Pop and energetic Rock - all driven by Tommy Keene's guitar work. Ten Years After isn't interchangeable with the albums of Lloyd or Sweet, but fairly close. The energy of fuzz-guitar rockers such as "Going Out Again" and "Turning On Blue" is intense. Keene weaves catchy lyrics and hum-along melodies (Today And Tomorrow, On The Runway) into well-crafted Pop jingles. Whether attacking the guitar with vigor (Compromise), or gently strumming the strings (Silent Town), his playing is arousing. The band can rock hard, lay down jangling guitar harmonies (Your Heart Beats Alone, Good Thing Going, Before The Lights Go Down), and add convincing touches of country (If You're Getting Married Tonight). I'm enthusiastic with Keene's lyrical wit and craftsmanship, but if I had to pick one "less than superb" attribute, it would have to be Keene's voice - he comes off as whining and effeminate. Still, Ten Years After is an worthwhile addition to my collection of albums by the Records and the dB's. Keene deserves such highly acclaimed company. Note: Hidden tracks (#13) on CD's just aren't cute anymore. And what's the story on the cardboard CD box - there goes another tree. Give me a clear polyvinyl chloride compound as God intended. will someone make this guy a star already? But alas, because he favors straight ahead melodies and minumum trappings, he has fallen by the wayside more than a few times. It's a pity, because in a perfect world Tommy Keene's power pop would have propelled him to superstar status by now. 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. . You can see a complete list of all Tommy Keene discography, or go back to the Tommy Keene tabs