The Jamie Hoover Web Site - Reviews: Paparazzi

Reviews: Paparazzi

Jamie Hoover and Bill Lloyd
Paparazzi
Paisley Pop
Buy Now!

By Justin Cord Hayes from goTriad.com

When I was 11, I found God, and his name was John, Paul, George and Ringo. About 10 years later, I found him again. This time, his name was Big Star. I mention this as a caveat to this review because Jamie Hoover & Bill Lloyd obviously spent a lot of time listening to Big Star’s "Radio City" and the Fab Four before recording "Paparazzi."

Consequently, I had a visceral response to the disc the first time I played it. I’m hooked by the pair’s lush hooks and basketball bounce between light and dark, bitter and sweet. If songs with melodies that sound timeless, voices that ache with emotion and clever lyrics aren’t your cup of tea, you won’t like "Paparazzi."

"Better Left Alone" and "Really Not Alone" are excellent examples of beautiful, albeit downbeat, tunes on "Paparazzi" that you’ll swear existed in some alt-’60s limbo until they were plucked out of whole cloth by Hoover and Lloyd. But the album also features rave-ups like "The Bucks Stop Here" and "Screen Time," which compares a young woman to icy "Hitchcock blondes" and has the excellent line, "It may be real life to you and me, but she’d rather chew up the scenery."

Released on Oregon’s peerless Paisley Pop label, "Paparazzi" has a North Carolina connection in Hoover, who has been with the Tar Heel State’s excellent power pop group, The Spongetones. Bill Lloyd is a former country crooner whose first love was Beatles-influenced pop. They’re joined on the album by Smithereens drummer Dennis Diken. Excellent power pop for your listening pleasure.

From Ruta 66 magazine (Spain)

In a musical present dominated by sensationalist mediocrity and soulless rehash, rock testosterone and enervating and pretentious pop, there doesn’t seem to be a place for records as “Paparazzi”, the meeting between two bigger than life artists, two veterans with sublime smell for power-pop with a highly recommended path by their separate own on their backs (Hoover as a member of The Van Delecki’s and The Spongetones, one of the best power-pop bands of the last 20 years; Lloyd side by side with Radney Foster first, then with three great solo albums. With Dennis Diken help on drums, Hoover & Lloyd build a gorgeous record in which flows pop of the highest level in its different embodiments, a bath of melodies that reflect their shared love for Big Star and Todd Rundgren, but avoiding to fail in an exercise of mere nostalgia. The opening “Show & tell the world” would make you think in Elvis Costello at his best, “Better Left Alone” and “Really Not Alone” could have been written by Lennon & McCartney, “Still not over you” makes us yearn Jellyfish… Wait a minute, stop comparisons! Hoover & Lloyd are two craftsmen who belong to a millenary tradition, songwriters with personality and truly savoir faire, so let’s judge them by the nature of their creations, abstracted from time, past and present. “Paparazzi” is a record that reconciles you with the origin of your love for pop music. Because if “Screen time” isn’t one of the best songs you’ve heard in recent months, maybe you’ve forgotten your heart in the freezer.

By John Grooms from Creative Loafing

You'd never know it from reading the mainstream press, or most rock mags for that matter, but there's a thriving pop rock subculture in the US. We're talking multiple record labels devoted to the genre, successful tours, even pop conventions. Fans call it by various names: power pop, indie pop, jangle pop or, as this CD's label attests, paisley pop. (For neophytes, think the Raspberries' "Go All The Way" or even "Back In the USSR" by the Band No One Must Be Compared To). The pop subculture has been around long enough for an unofficial hierarchy to have evolved. Near the top of the ladder, with an international pop rock reputation that will be news to many Charlotteans, is Queen City singer/songwriter/ guitarist/producer/Spongetone Jamie Hoover. He and another power pop honcho, Bill Lloyd, created Paparazzi, a disc that has become one of my favorites of 2004. Full, lush, ringing guitars introduce melodies that actually go somewhere a la Big Star, and great harmonies bring to mind the Everlys (plus irony) on songs like "Show & Tell The World," "Walking Out," and a great Hoover tune, "It Could Have Been Me."

Rating: *** --John Grooms

By Stuart Munro from the December 2004 issue of HARP

Power pop titan Bill Lloyd tends to keep us waiting a good while between each release, so the near-simultaneous appearance of two Lloyd projects -- one a solo album, the other a collaboration with longtime Spongetone Jamie Hoover -- qualifies as an embarrassment of riches. Back to Even features plenty of vintage Bill Lloyd music (along with, by his own admission, some unusually personal lyrics). There's jangling and kerranging power pop, naturally, but lots of other pop as well: country-rock/power-pop double-yer-hybrids reminiscent of Foster & Lloyd, somber acoustics, jazzy ruminations, Badfinger recapitulations, new wave echoes and way-cool instrumental bridges and snippets. There's plenty of collaboration on the songwriting and playing/singing fronts too, from Lloyd pals such as Peter Case, Swan Dive, Don Henry and Beth Nielsen Chapman. On Paparazzi, it's all Lloyd and Hoover (except of the able assistance of the Smithereens' Dennis Diken on Drums): The credits inform us that all of the songs were co-written and performed by the pair, and lead vocal duty is divided equally. There's no sense of "Hoover" or "Lloyd" contributions here; just classic sounding songs that, if more narrowly constructed than those on Back to Even, still run the gamut of the power pop vocabulary with ease and style.

By Malcolm Carter from pennyblackmusic.com

Hands start shaking and the heart beats faster when these two names are put together. To say that Jamie Hoover and Bill Lloyd are leading lights in the melodic power pop field would be an obvious statement to anyone with the slightest interest in the genre. Ringing guitars, sunshine harmonies and tunes which have dropped down from heaven into their hands are a given to any record bearing their names.

The duo play all the instruments on this record apart from the drums which are handled by Dennis Diken from the Smithereens, an inspired choice if ever there was one. Space prevents us from detailing the background to this highly acclaimed duo. If jangly guitar pop is not your thing then this album is not going to appeal to you. If it is then you will already know all there is to know about Hoover and Lloyd. This is quite possibly the best power pop album ever. And with their pedigree that’s no surprise.

One glance at the CD gives it all away; the phrase "it does what it says on the box" has never been more apt. The actual CD label is a replica of an old vinyl album, the track listing on the reverse of the CD inlay has the songs listed as side one and side two and this all reflects the fact that the music unashamedly has its roots in those glorious sounds of the 60's and early 70's.

That’s a problem I have with reviews of power pop albums like this. though It’s always the same old groups wheeled out as influences; the Beatles, Big Star, the Byrds, the Beach Boys, the Searchers and more recently XTC and Jellyfish. Now I’m not about to say that the likes of Lloyd and Hoover are not influenced by those groups, there are undeniable traces (but that’s all they are; traces) of all of those artists in this album, but having lived through that music I can’t hear any significant sounds of the Beatles or any of those groups in these songs. I can’t imagine any of these songs gracing a Beatles album, ‘Really Not Alone’ is the closest to a Beatles sound but it would take a good stretch of the imagination to imagine it on a Fab Four album. I’d like to know what songs Hoover got that distinctive guitar sound on because none spring to mind.

If we have to get pedantic about it a more honest comparison would be of Elvis Costello fronting any obscure pop-sike group of the era. One listen to the opening ‘Show And Tell’ confirms this. A melody to die for, ringing guitars, a sneering Costello vocal and a production which sounds like Phil Spector had his hands on the board somewhere during the recording.

‘It Could Have Been You’ is possibly the only song that could have come straight off an album from any of those groups but even then it would have to be Roger McGuinn’s excellent ‘Back From Rio’ album from 1991 and not from the 60's.

The point is that the impression might be gained that Lloyd and Hoover are just 60's copyists from some reviews and that is so far from the truth. I love the sounds from the 60's more than the next guy, but not all of it was good. The best sounds for the most part have been hidden away until recently and are finally only now available on the glut of obscure 60's compilations which increases by the week. What the likes of Hoover and Lloyd do (and do extremely well) is take inspiration from those sounds rather than recycle them. They use the past rather than get eaten by it. They inject those sounds with imagination and a certain originality which makes all the difference.

They run through all types of power pop on these twelve songs. Power Pop is not all “let’s see who can get to the end of the song first”; there are a number of ballads on the album. ‘As You Were’ is a beautiful acoustic based dream like ballad to a lost love with background vocals Brian Wilson would be proud of before the gorgeous lead guitar comes in. ‘I Can’t Take It Back’ is another ballad with a chorus which sneaks up on you after the darkness of the verses. Not as immediate as the other songs it does take a few plays to sink in which is unusual with Lloyd and Hoover songs but once that chorus gets under the skin it will have to be surgically removed.

A defining power pop album and one that is going to be used as a gauge for all future jangly guitar pop albums. Although doing sterling work away from each other (and the word workaholic could have been made for these two musicians) let’s hope that it’s not too long until they hook up again together and deliver another set of outstanding songs like these.

By Peter Cooper from the Tennessean

Paparazzi, a collaboration with Jamie Hoover of North Carolina-based pure pop outfit The Spongetones, is a pleasing meeting of like minds. Each song was co-written and co-produced by Lloyd and Hoover, with rhythmic assistance from drummer Dennis Diken.

Hoover's slightly grainier voice proves a brotherly match when paired with Lloyd, and the pair's shared affinity for Todd Rundgren, Alex Chilton and others is given an appropriate outlet here. Show & Tell the World, Better Left Alone and It Could Have Been Me manage to convey the romance of old-school, vinyl-era pop without ever sounding like throwbacks or historical replicas, while Walking Out and As You Were are sober songs filled with adult realizations that are the emotional flip side to all the pop revelry.

Peter Cooper, Staff Writer

By John Stacey from erasing clouds

Paparazzi storms out of the speakers like the Ghost of Power Pop, intent on wreaking havoc with your ears. The vocals, the jangling guitars, the beat, the sheer construction of the songs shouts out - here is Greg Khin, Cheap Trick, the Rubinoos and every power pop combo you have loved over the years sliced up, thrown together and brought to life like some benign Frankenstein monster. Sure Jamie and Bill have got all the moves, the licks, the ideas in the right order; after all, they have got the pedigree - Jamie has been with power pop legends The Spongetones for what seems an eternity and he has served as sideman with the likes of the wonderful Orange Humble Band, the divine Don Dixon and the tragically under-rated Smithereens. Bill, on the other hand, has produced for Sweethearts Of The Rodeo and his songs have been covered by the likes of Marshall Crenshaw, Guy Clark and Hootie and The Blowfish. Together with guest drummer, the Smithereens' Dennis Diken, Jamie and Bill have produced an album of pure power pop heaven - 12 tracks of on-the-button magic; "Show And Tell The World," "Better Left Alone," "Still Not Over You" and "It Could Have Been You" are stone classics. These are feelgood nuggets of pure power pop happiness with more than a few nods in the direction of Elvis Costello, the Beach Boys and Graham Parker.

By Nat Carsley from LOGO-Magazine.com

They come bearing a long, rich power-pop heritage, so a collaboration between Jamie Hoover (Spongetones) and Bill Lloyd (Foster and Lloyd) is something to savour. ‘Paparazzi’ subsequently bears a hefty weight of expectation, yet from the first snatch of a drum roll it transpires all too quickly that this is a partnership carved out at the gates of power-pop heaven. As ever, this is a sound indebted heavily to the hooks’n’harmony traditions of luminaries McCartney and Big Star, yet ‘Paparazzi’ rarely falls away from a territory that’s rich in originality and as quirky as it comes. It’s only the first step on a creatively lucrative journey, but ‘Paparazzi’ has already made its mark as one of the power pop albums of the year.

By Richard Cooper from Songbook magazine

Look, I know it smacks of laziness to say that this is influenced by The Beatles as, heaven knows, if it was recorded post ’63 there’s every chance it will be. But bear with me on this one. It’s not a clever, clever reproduction for the sake of it; it’s not a bandwagon jumper (I wish) but it is one of those ‘for the joy of it’ collaborations, where the two protagonists – JH and BL – met (a long time ago in a studio far, far away) and hit it off with their mutual love of all things pop: Beatles, Todd, XTC, 10cc…mmm, nice.

So they traded wit and talent, swapped melodies and songs and came up with this feast of hooks, harmonies and hot tunes, helped on drumming duties and sonic tweaking by Dennis Diken from the legendary Smithereens. Although other projects took some of the songs and lots of their time, the pull of power pop prevailed and this is a would-be classic waiting for you to reel off your train-spotters’ reference to all those pop stations on the up line to Rockville. Of course, The Beatles as a whole, but also clever bits of George guitar, Paul ballads, John-type sneering vocals, songwriting like Marshall Crenshaw, world-weariness like Tom Petty and hook laden Fountains Of Wayne/Cotton Mather songs. But they’re just reference points whereas the CD as a whole is a joy from beginning to end, sonically wonderful, cleverly paced and above all, a foot tapping feast of tunes for your delight and delectation.

In his sleeve notes Jamie Hoover says: “We laughed a lot – it was fun. Have fun listening” and that is so obviously true I defy you not to.

From Americana UK

This collaboration between long-term Spongetone Jamie Hoover and Bill Lloyd and featuring Smithereens drummer Dennis Diken, sounds exactly as you are imagining it. Dead on harmonies, huge chords, tight playing, power pop wearing its influences on its tight trousers. These are true craftsmen; you can imagine them having their sandwiches out of a metal lunch pail after spending the morning nailing together the huge guitar break on ‘The Buck Stops Here’. The hard hats come off for ‘I Can’t Take it Back’ - handle with care, broken heart, minor chords, softly sung. The Move, REM, Big Star, oh, and quite possibly the Beatles can be discerned on songs (especially ‘Really Not Alone’). These boys could knock together an album for you in a week, remodel your band in a few days, immortalise your thoughts as quickly as you have them.

By Carl Anders from AltCountryTab.com

The sun's out, I'm driving along the quays in my Ford Focus with the window down having a cigarette and even though smoking in my car is officially illegal under the new smoking ban, I don't care. The day's a good one and Paparazzi is proving to be the soundtrack of the day.

And why wouldn't it be? Both Hoover and Lloyd have a remarkable pedigree when it comes to music and in particular pop, having served over 20 years in the business ultimately coming together to co-write, produce and perform paparazzi.

Comparisons can easily be drawn with all the classic pop and influences on the record, from the Beach Boys to early Elvis Costello, but this record is closer to more contemporary interpretations of pop, in particular its more reminiscent of Summerteeth than of the Beatles say, though with a healthy dose of Big Star.

Each track is a valuable lesson in making music for all of us. Girlfriend/boyfriend gone? All alone? Instead of sitting there staring at the empty bottles and writing songs whilst wallowing in your own self pity, why let a broken heart stand in the way of foot tappingly good pop music?

And there you have it, the themes are familiar to us all but the presentation of the songs is the ultimate symbol of perfect pop representing the stage when you realise the sun is out, you're over it and it's time to get back on the scene.

Stick it in the car, crank up the volume and tell me I'm wrong.

By Rick Cornell from the Monitor

It takes all of, oh, 1.8 seconds for Jamie Hoover and Bill Lloyd's Paparazzi! to grab you, as guitars gallop out of the gate in full-on hook mode. Just a quick side note to literalists and professional contrarians: guitars, in fact, can gallop and chime and ring and caress and a whole bunch of other things, all of which Paparazzi! demonstrates by song #4. It's exactly the kind of album you'd expect from the meeting of two pop music A listers such as Hoover (member of Charlotte's legendary Spongetones, in-demand producer, musical cohort of Don Dixon and Graham Parker, and so much more) and Nashville's Lloyd (formerly half of the Everly-ish duo Foster & Lloyd, architect of one of the best pop records of the '90s in Set to Pop, and, well, so much more). And rounding out the gathering of royalty on Paparazzi! is guest drummer Dennis Diken of the Smithereens. The best of a uniformly glorious bunch of songs is "Screen Time," which comes off like "Killer Queen" as re-imagined by two extremely talented Anglophiles from the US South, with the femme fatale in question de-lethalized down to a drama queen. As a bonus, the pair's writing is frequently as agile and clever as their melodies, with the minor-twist title of "The Bucks Stop Here" just one example. Based on Hoover and Lloyd's habit of cowriting by mail and telephone, it's tempting to label this collaboration Pen Pal pop. But with a nod toward Paparazzi!'s title, let's go with Picture Perfect pop.

By Kent H. Benjamin from Pop Culture Press

The ever prolific Bill Lloyd returns with a new album in partnership with Jamie Hoover of the SpongeTones, as well as the Smithereens' Dennis Diken on drums. The result is pretty much a marriage made in heaven. Between them, Hoover and Lloyd have contributed to something like 50 really great records, and this is easily one of the best for both of them -- a dozen songs, and every one's a classic. Lloyd is one of the absolute masters of the jangly guitar sound, and a shared love of the Beatles is quite evident on this record. Sometimes the pair channels post-Beatles masters like the Dwight Twilley Band on "The Buck Stops Here" (with a riff resembling "I'm on Fire" and patented Phil Seymour-style backing vocals). On cuts like "It Coulda Been Me," the similarity is to a great Foster and Lloyd track, "Really Not Alone" goes straight back to the Beatles, like some long-lost Help outtake. The really great thing about it is that the pair, long-time friends -- though I don't think they've worked together much in the past -- sound like they've been in a band together for years. It's really good to see this finally out at last (Bill sent it to me last spring); after living with it for a while, it feels kinda like a pop masterpiece. If you like upbeat pop music with flawless arrangements, and a fresh, feel-good vibe, this one's pretty much unbeatable.

-- Kent H. Benjamin, POP CULTURE PRESS, Issue 58, Spring & Summer 2004.

By Stu Olds from Musicworkz ezine

Being a bit of a power pop newbie and a country philistine has disadvantages – the names Jamie Hoover and Bill Lloyd mean very little to me. And so, armed with my limited background knowledge of these 2 fellas (i.e. Hoover from his Orange Humble Band stint and The Spongetones, and Lloyd from his collaborations with Steve Earle and Marshall Crenshaw), I was at least able to appreciate the album for its own worth, rather than base any criticism of it on the strength or weakness of any previous works.

Of course, that's a load of codswallop - the reality is that anyone with even a passing interest in jangly guitar pop and the people who have contributed extensively to (and influenced) the genre, will hardly be surprised to hear that 'Paparazzi' is on par with anything the individuals behind the project have been involved in. This doesn't necessarily mean that the album falls into, say, a Spongetones off-shoot category, in the way that many side project albums might. The cross-era Big Star guitar jangles and perfect pop harmonies are all there, encased in an influential wrapping of Beach Boys, Beatles and Costello, and although neither of the two meisters have a particular musical affinity with the world of rock, the main course is liberally sprinkled with good old fashioned, easy on the ear rock for good measure.

Having a pedigree in the world of jangly guitar pop, especially in the current revival wave might help sales a little, but without a bagful of talent, sumptiously concocted tunes, and the knack for twisting the worn old lyrical pop themes, Hoover and Lloyd's 'Paparazzi' would be lost amongst the glut of albums of this ilk being released.

By Lucas Hendrickson from The Rage

Published: April 8, 2004

If one were inclined to dig deep enough, one would probably find these prophetic words etched into the primary education transcripts of both Bill Lloyd and Jamie Hoover: "Plays well with others."

For those in the Nashville power pop know, reciting Lloyd's resume is a tad redundant. Foster & Lloyd. Feeling The Elephant. Set To Pop. Freedom Speaks. Standing On The Shoulders of Giants. And now The Long Players, soon to be Nashville's newest must-see recurring musical happening.

Hoover's credentials are equally impressive, anchoring Charlotte, N.C.-based power-popsters The Spongetones since their inception in the early '80s, as well collaborating with producer Don Dixon and guitarist Bryan Shumate in The Van Delecki's.

Hoover and Lloyd had been fans of each other's work for years. Mired happily in the influence of The Beatles, XTC, Jellyfish and anything else that came across the aural path, they decided to team up to flex their collaborative creative muscle. Musical workout partners, if you will.

Enlisting Smithereens skinsman Dennis Diken, Hoover and Lloyd have crafted a dozen power-pop gems, sparkling in their guitar work, harmonies, hooks and the occasional flash of snarkiness. Whether the song calls for "sing pretty" or "sing like you've got sand in your throat," both men can pull it off. Be it a stomper like Screen Time or a lamenter like It Could Have Been Me, every element fits just so, but without the annoying shine that tends to inhabit mass-produced so-called "pop" these days.

If there were a School of Pop, Hoover and Lloyd would both be full-blown tenured professors with students thumb-wrestling for the chance to get into one of their classes. This is one Paparazzi you won't mind hanging around your car.

By Beverly Patterson from The Lance Monthly

Jamie Hoover and Bill Lloyd "Paparazzi" (The Paisley Pop Label) "Steered by a winning combination of rich melodies and sturdy structures, each and every tune flows with assurance and flair."

Having worked together here and there, Spongetones singer and guitarist Jamie Hoover and Bill Lloyd, who enjoyed a run of commercial success as one-half of the country duo, Foster and Lloyd, before embarking on a solo career, finally teamed up to record a full-length album. "Paparazzi" also features Dennis Diken of The Smithereens on drums, so you know this disc promises a popping good time.

Steered by a winning combination of rich melodies and sturdy structures, each and every tune flows with assurance and flair. The vocals radiate with vibrancy and plenty of chiming six-string action surrounds the environment s well. You can't help but be touched by the yearning delivery presented on "It Could Have Been You," where tracks such as "The Buck Stops Here," "Really Not Alone" and "Show & Tell The World" are wrapped tight with catchy songwriting smarts that involve imaginative tempos and perfected pacing.

Memories of British Invasion bands like The Searchers and The Merseybeats are sure to come to light while listening to these harmonious numbers that convey a poetic quality, yet Jamie and Bill manage to implement their own distinctive intimacy into the picture. Driven by sincerity and substance, "Paparazzi" is a lovely record. Let's hope to hear more collaborations from Jamie and Bill in the near future.