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Marshall CrenshawAlbums ReviewedMarshall Crenshaw (1982)Field Day (1983) This Is Easy: The Best Of Marshall Crenshaw (2000) Marshall Crenshaw(1982)Of course, punk and new wave was one way of taking rock back to basics, but also included elements of aggression and politicisation that weren't really part of rock in the first place. New Yorker Marshall Crenshaw took an altogether different approach, stripping back to three chord songs about girls, delivered by a tight three piece and earning comparisons to Buddy Holly. His 1982 debut features his brother Robert on drums, while Crenshaw handles all the guitar parts. The simplified arrangements of these songs are invigorating; the songs are snappy and intelligent, and even though the production places the album in the early 1980s, these melodies could have easily come from an earlier era. Crenshaw's persona is so likeable that he can get away with a song simply about cruising around checking out girls, and make it innocent and laudable rather than seedy and leering. The album does have a cynical tone that is a little more realistic than its fifties inspirations, despite Crenshaw's clear vocals. In a just world, half of these songs would be radio staples, and that these accessible songs didn't make Crenshaw a superstar is almost unfathomable. The lack of success of this album is magnified by the strong triple punch at the beginning; 'There She Goes Again', the power pop standard 'Someday, Someway' and the exuberant 'Girls...' ("You know I don't want to be impolite/But I need someone to hold beside me tonight") are some superlative examples of eighties pop. 'Mary Anne' builds a great song out of three chords and a minimalist melody, while 'Cynical Girl' is another winner. The other half of the record isn't quite as strong, especially the cover of the ubiquitous 'Soldier Of Love', stopping this album some distance from perfection. But any intelligent guitar pop fan is going to cherish songs like 'Someday, Someway' and 'Mary Anne', and feel like playing this refreshingly sincere album often. 
 Field Day(1983)Crenshaw's sophomore effort was recorded with producer of the moment Steve Lillywhite, also working with U2 at the time, and he's often criticised for smothering Crenshaw in overproduction. Whether that's the case or not - sometimes the fuller sound certainly works in the record's favour - there's a marked shift in Crenshaw's writing. The songs on Field Day are generally less wide-eyed, innocent and fifties derived than those on the debut, and it does lack the effortless vitality of the debut. Of course, in hindsight this change was necessary for Crenshaw - there's no way he could be taken seriously if he kept on making fifties homages, and it's clear that his song-craft has developed and this is a more complex set of songs. Crenshaw is again joined by the same rhythm section, although there's little of a three piece feel about the arrangements here, and the record feels more like lush power-pop. The record opens with clearly the best song, the huge, hooky 'Whenever You're On My Mind', where the gulp of melody at the start of each verse is intoxicating. There's plenty of solid power-pop like 'All I Know Right Now' and the stacked vocals and ringing arpeggios of 'One More Reason To Cry'. The full production really works for the closing 'Hold It', which practically drowns in a luscious wave of warm backing vocals and guitar arpeggios. Like the debut, the worst song is the sole cover, the stilted 'What Time Is It?', although Crenshaw's crooning vocal in the verses is surprisingly effective. While not exactly bad, 'One Day With You' is also somewhat plodding and predictable, while the modulating chorus melody of 'Try' can be somewhat grating. Field Day is not as effortless and infectious as Crenshaw's debut, but it's a solid sophomore effort that deserved a far better fate than deposing Crenshaw from promising commercial force to cult favourite.
This Is Easy: The Best Of Marshall Crenshaw(2000)Like most dedicated music fans, I generally try to avoid buying compilations, but Marshall Crenshaw's a pretty good candidate for one, since most of his early albums are difficult to find, apart from his debut (I've never seen a copy of Field Day), and his songs are well suited to compilations, hooky and succinct, yet inexplicably not all over the radio. If the early material on this album still sounds freshest and most exciting, Crenshaw's ability to create memorable hooks didn't really decline through his career if the songs chosen here are anything to go by. There's also a clear stylistic shift between each album, with the debut featuring his unabashedly poppy, energetic three piece, the sophomore Field Day with a bigger rock sound helmed by Steve Lillywhite, a foray into country on his T-Bone Burnett-produced third album Downtown and so forth. It's also nicely packaged with a commentary from Crenshaw on each song (defending Lillywhite's production: "Field Day is an honest, interesting, and cool record. With a really terrible picture on the front cover. D'oh."). The four selections from the debut still sound fresh and exciting and the omission of strong tracks like 'Girls...' is only proof of how strong the set is. The 4-track demo 'You're My Favourite Waste Of Time', featuring plastic maracas, which originally surfaced as the b-side of 'Someday, Someway' is an easy highlight here, while the morose cover of 'I'm Sorry (But So Is Brenda Lee)' is one of the lesser tracks. The melancholy 'Blues Is King' hits on an inventive, original melody, while 'Calling Out For Love (At Crying Time)' also utilises the country music form to good effect. Later tracks like 'Starless Summer Sky' and 'Someplace Where Love Can't Find Me' maintain the standard of quality; even if they don't sound as effortless as his early work, they're well crafted all the same. Simply, this is a collection of great guitar pop, performed with musical deftness and sweetness, and if you want to hear music that's unabashedly hooky yet hasn't been played to death on radio, here's your chance to hear 22 great underexposed songs all in one package.
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Written 2001-2007, Graham Fyfe
