michael bateman Kind of hard to describe it, but the reason I like Rain Parade is that they sounded (to me) like a band influenced by the Notorious Byrd Brothers but contemporary. And they had one or two tracks on Emergency Third Rail Power Trip that sounded like rewrites of '66-style songs. Derivative. I think those are the weaker tracks on the record. Yeah, that Salvation Army material is better, but it has that vibe I described to it. This is all totally subjective. And I'll also totally contradict myself by saying I really like The Pandoras' debut LP and the next one they cut.
I did like the Rain Parade LP they cut for Island -- Crashing Dream -- that got panned and most people say is terrible but never really listened to it. Explosions in the Glass Palace was also good. Everything they did was great, although I haven't heard the recent LP. The guy who never seems to get credit from that scene was producer Ethan James. From all accounts a great guy and former member of Blue Cheer. He produced some great material at his studio, Radio Tokyo.
Did people like the band True West? I didn't care for their self-titled EP at all and I had high hopes -- with the UC Davis and Steve Wynn connection. Then again, that Suspects 7" is pretty bad.
