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Reviews

Jim Basnight — Pop Top
(Bandcamp Power Popaholic, 1992/2022, DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2022-05-03

Pop Top Cover art

Power pop songwriter Jim Basnight released his first solo album back in 1992, by which time he’d been working in several groups for more than ten years. Pop Top was originally released on cassette with 20 songs, and got a CD release the following year, trimmed down to 18 tracks to fit CD length. The music has not been widely available for many years, and this remaster resurrects a fine example of melodic rock full of catchy hooks, infectious beats, and just all-round good songwriting. A large number of musicians contributed, with Basnight himself being the only constant, on guitar and lead vocals, but the sound is quite consistent. Some of the standouts include “Still a Part of Me,” which has great backing vocal parts to complement the catchy tune, “Hello Mary Jane,” with its catchy guitar hook, and “Asphalt Field,” which has a somewhat ominous feeling and occasional dissonant chords. But every track has merits, and there are no weak links. Basnight doesn’t repeat himself, either — there’s good variety on offer, with some songs leaning towards a slightly-country twang, others with punkish energy, and others with a more gentle touch. In an era when every pop song has at least a half dozen co-writers and sounds like every other pop song, Pop Top is a reminder that there is such a thing as an artist who can write and perform their own songs, and testimony to the timeless charm of good melodies well performed.

Filed under: Reissues, 2022 releases, 1992 recordings

Related artist(s): Al Bloch (My Favorite Martian), Jim Basnight

More info
http://powerpopaholicproductions.bandcamp.com/album/pop-top-2022-remaster

 

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