Various: Power for Passion

Various: Power for Passion
Label: Dionysus
Release Date: 2004
Review Date: 9/16/05

Power for Passion is subtitled “file under power pop 1978-85.” As compilations go, this one is pretty darn good. Originally this review was to be written by my friend Shane who is Mr. Power Pop. The first thing he did was grouse about how this was mostly just a re-release of some old punk compilation that he couldn’t get off the tip of his tongue at the moment. Then he went on to complain that it wasn’t even true power pop. A couple of months later he handed me a review scribbled on a piece of paper (hello, email!) which I either couldn’t read, couldn’t be bothered to transcribe, or lost.

This compilation is a little varied in time, geography, and genre, but it’s still really good. A lot of the tunes have a bit more edge than your typical powerpop song of the era. It’s like when a lot of bands just couldn’t figure out how to jump on the punk bandwagon or were having a hard time grasping the concept after seeing it watered down and abstracted in the media. So while it’s sometimes awkward or silly, there are some hidden gems like Chicago’s own Headaches. “Teenage Sex” is their near perfect impersonation of early Geneation X, albeit 3 years later. It’s such a good impersonation you’d swear it was Billy Idol singing. These guys have since reformed and released a full length CD which I would seriously consider purchasing were it not for the what I’ve read about their song titled “Lets Bash the Clash.” I might be able to stomach the possibility of such a song if the Headaches didn’t sound like Generation X clones in 1981.

Other standouts on Power for Passion are The Silencers’ Boyfrieds/Girlfriends a ditty about unsatisfactory traditional female roles in society, even if you’ve heard the X-Ray Specs, Slits, and Vice Squad say the same thing. The Reducers “Small Talk” is another good one. The Nips contribute a nice ttune called “Take Me Down” and are the same Nips that were Shane MacGowan’s Nipple Erectors as near as I can tell, except that isn’t mentioned in the liner notes. The Foreign Objects have a couple of funny, quirky songs straddling the line between punk angst and cartoon pop music. They were from the East coast but sometimes sound like the Dickies nerdier little brothers, if that’s at all possible. Butch Minds the Baby chips in with a goofy but likeable “Natural Cause” which is an almost folky combination of punk Cold War paranoia and pop. Sounds odd, but you have to hear it. Also notable is the Weirdos-esque “Pearl Harbor” by San Francisco’s Match Heads.

Power for Passion is a low budget compilation from your friends at Dionysus Records. It’s certainly low budget in comparison to Rhino Records similar DIY series. Sticking to the Dionysus tradition of meager liner notes, this time at least there is current contact information forsome of the bands on the disk. If ever there was a time for Dionysus to spend an extra buck on extended liner notes, this would have been it. Power for Passion may not be perfect, but at least it preserves the music that otherwise might disappear forever, and Dionysus gets an “A for effort” in that department.

Online Action: www.dionysusrecords.com