Various Artists - DIY: Come Out And Play: American Power Pop I (1975-78) (1993)

Power-pop benefited from the punk explosion, since it had as much to do with the rock & roll mainstream as with the punks. In the wake of the Ramones and Sex Pistols, straightforward, guitar-driven power-pop bands had a greater audience than before, since more listeners were aware of the existence of such music. And if the ringing pop on D.I.Y.: Come Out and Play: American Power Pop I has more to do with the British Invasion than the Damned, it shares the same kinetic energy and vital spirit as punk, especially since many of the bands on this collection were doggedly releasing independent records and touring in the late '70s to a dedicated cult following. There are no hits on Come Out on Play -- Cheap Trick, the one marquee name on the compilation, is represented by the dynamic album track "Southern Girls" -- but that doesn't mean it's a collection of also-rans and mediocrities. Instead, these songs are the foundation of the first wave of power pop, and many of the artists here -- Pezband ("Baby It's Cold Outside"), the Nerves ("Hanging on the Telephone"), Artful Dodger ("Wayside"), Chris Stamey ("Summer Sun"), Tommy Hoehn ("Blow Yourself Up"), the Paley Brothers ("Come Out and Play"), Fotomaker ("Where Have You Been All My Life"), and Chris Bell ("I Am the Cosmos" -- have become legendary in certain circles. As a result, Come Out and Play serves as a terrific introduction to the world of power pop, but it's better seen as a collection of some of the best and catchiest pop singles that slipped through the cracks in the late '70s.