VA - Looking For The Magic (American Power Pop In The Seventies) (2023)

• Comprehensive 3CD overview of the American power pop scene's evolution throughout the 70s.
• Featuring the genre's major bands, cult names, hits, rari7es and several previously unissued tracks.

Although the power pop genre wasn't named and codified until late 1977, the sound and spirit had been slowly gathering steam throughout the decade. Surrounded by heavy metal and
introverted singer/songwriters, the likes of The Raspberries, Big Star, Blue Ash and The Wackers spearheaded an early 70s return to the spiky, three-minute pop urgency of the mid-60s British Invasion bands.

While only The Raspberries charted, such bands established a musical template that was adopted by a new raft of slightly younger acts including the Dwight Twilley Band, The Rubinoos and Shoes. The tide had turned by the late 70s, with such names as Cheap Trick and The Cars achieving success as the American music industry embraced power pop as a radio-friendly alternative to punk.

When The Knack emerged from nowhere to dominate the summer of 1979 with the single 'My Sharona' and the album 'Get The Knack', it was clear that the decade was ending with power pop established as a significant commercial proposition.

A chronologically-arranged set, 'Looking For The Magic' traces power pop's development throughout the Seventies as largely unsuccessful bands were afforded cult status by the burgeoning grass-roots fanzine network that nurtured them.

As well as featuring all of the aforementioned acts, we include the likes of Todd Rundgren, Flamin' Groovies, Sparks, Ramones and the USA-based 1979 revamp of Badfinger, one of the seminal prototypal power pop bands at the start of the decade. We also focus on a huge
number of cult names and little-known acts, showcasing many tracks that were unissued at the time and even several cuts now gaining a first-ever release.

Housed in a clamshell box that includes a heavily annotated and illustrated 48-page booklet, 'Looking For The Magic' is a fascinating, highly entertaining celebration of a genre that went under the radar for most of its formative years.