U.S. Powerpop: Shoes - Best (1987 Black Vinyl Records)

Evoking the Beatles and the Raspberries in their gifts for writing superlative pop tunes and Todd Rundgren in his skill at bringing them to life in the studio, Shoes won over pop obsessives when they first emerged in the mid-'70s, playing music with a charming innocence and execution unmatched by the more derivative bands lumped into the category "power pop." At the same time, when punk and new wave were making "Do It Yourself" their rallying cry, Shoes were the living embodiment of the D.I.Y. ethic, writing their own songs, producing their own recording sessions in their own home recording studio, and releasing the results on their own label. When 1977's Black Vinyl Shoes became a cause célèbre among rock critics, it earned them a major-label record deal, and the group's cult following grew with the release of 1979's Present Tense and 1980's Tongue Twister. By the time Shoes released Silhouette in 1984, they'd left the major labels behind, turning their Black Vinyl label into a cottage industry, issuing new albums (1989's Stolen Wishes and 1994's Propeller) and keeping their older work in print. By the late '90s, the group's productivity had slowed to a halt, but 2012's Ignition showed Shoes were still capable of making top-shelf pop magic in the studio.




Shoes were formed in Zion, Illinois, in 1973 by Jeff Murphy, John Murphy, and Gary Klebe, with the Murphys and Klebe all sharing songwriting duties and Skip Meyer joining as drummer in 1976 . While the group played live on rare occasions, their natural home was in the studio, and Jeff Murphy, an electronics whiz and audiophile, created their own makeshift four-track studio in his home, where they could spend hours putting the sounds in their heads on tape. Released in 1975, Un Dans Versailles was Shoes' official debut, but it appeared in a very limited edition (only 300 copies) and received limited distribution through their own Black Vinyl label, while their second LP, Bazooka (1976), initially went unreleased.

Arriving in 1977, Black Vinyl Shoes changed the game for the band. Though it barely appeared in record stores, enough critics and key music industry people heard the record to start a word-of-mouth buzz. Eventually, Greg Shaw, the head of Bomp! Records, heard the record and arranged for the band to release one single, the brilliant "Tomorrow Night"/"Okay," on his label. The independent PVC Records label gave Black Vinyl Shoes a nationwide reissue, and soon Shoes were the toast of the rock press, earning rave reviews with much ink spent describing their unusual road to success. A contract with Elektra Records soon followed, and the label released the group's next three textbook power pop albums: Present Tense (1979), Tongue Twister (1981), and Boomerang (1982).

Despite the instantly accessible, catchy quality of the songs and plenty of positive press, radio failed to warm to the band, and as a consequence, they were unable to achieve mainstream
success. Among specialists, however, these albums, along with the debut, stand as the high points of the '70s-'80s power pop era, brilliantly crafted and highly influential.
Elektra dropped Shoes after the release of Boomerang, and Meyer left the band. The remaining three retreated back to the home studio, returning with Silhouette in 1984, a more subtle, keyboard-oriented album initially released only in Europe. Having won back the rights to Black Vinyl Shoes and their Elektra catalog, in 1987 Shoes issued Shoes' Best, a collection that pulled together the best material from their first 12 years and brought their music to compact disc for the first time. The CD revived interest in Shoes and gave the Black Vinyl label a new lease on life. Returning to their Short Order Recorder studio, they returned in 1989 with Stolen Wishes, a polished effort that emphasized keyboards and vocal harmonies.

 Shoes remained intermittently active in the '90s, releasing Propeller (1994) and the live Fret Buzz (1995), as well as issuing music from other like-minded bands on Black Vinyl. The collective efforts of Shoes in the mid-'90s led to a power pop revival in indie rock circles in the U.S., and the band stayed active working on reissue projects (including 2007's Double Exposure, a double CD of demos taken from the albums Present Tense and Tongue Twister), the occasional live show, and running the Short Order Recorder studio.(Mark Deming, allmusic.com)

Allmusic gave this collection five stars and i want give five, too. The collection is full of great songs from the '70s until 1987, in my opinion the best time of the band. I think this is a good startng point for people who haven't heard the band before. Enjoy.(Frank)




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