The best of the long-lasting musical sub-genre known as “power pop”—short, snappy tunes that owe a debt to artists such as the Beatles and the Who and are fed by ringing guitars, vocal harmonies and memorable melodies—is examined in author John M. Borack’s upcoming book, Shake Some Action 2.0: An Updated Guide to the 200 Greatest Power Pop Albums, 1970-2017.
The new book, due in September from Not Lame Media, is an update of sorts to Borack’s now-out-of-print 2007 book, Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide. Here is what to expect from SSA 2.0:
• 414 pages of pure pop-inspired passion that even the most casual power pop fan will appreciate but a serious one will get totally geeked about.
• Newly written and/or expanded reviews of the outstanding power pop releases that Borack lauded in his first book.
• All-new quotes from nearly every artist featured in the new, updated Top 200, speaking about their respective albums.
• Nearly 60 new entries included in the Top 200.
• A collection of various record reviews that Borack has penned over the past several years which feature many over-looked, high-quality albums you’ll want to make sure to add to your collection.
• Borack’s year-end ‘best of’ lists from 1996-2017—unearth and discover what you might have missed.
In addition, the book comes bundled with a 24-track CD collection from Borack’s power pop band Popdudes, titled Maximum Rock Stupidity. The CD contains several rare and/or previously unreleased tracks.
Related: Our look at Badfinger’s Straight Up
In describing the new book—his third—Borack says, “Shake Some Action 2.0 will be laid out in similar fashion to a Billboard chart: albums have climbed up or slid down the chart, with new efforts from 2008-2017 replacing those that have fallen out of the top 200. Among those making their ‘chart debut’ in the new book will be acts such as Van Duren, Sorrows, Silver Sun, the Exploding Hearts, Starbelly, the Jags and the Len Price 3.”
More information on SSA 2.0 (as well as pre-ordering info) can be found here.
Visitors to the link will also find ordering instructions for a repressing of 2007’s Shake Some Action: The Ultimate Power Pop Guide, as well as details on bonus content (including a digital compilation of never-before released power pop tracks by various artists) available for those who pre-order SSA 2.0.
Borack says, “I hope that after reading SSA 2.0, you discover a band or three that is perhaps new to you, or one that had slipped into the dark recesses of your memory bank. Because as we all know, those sorts of musical discoveries—or rediscoveries—are one of the coolest things about power pop.”
Watch Popdudes perform “Magnet & Steel”
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