Aural Fixations

THE ARROWS
A's B's & Rarities
(EMI)
VODKA COLLINS
Boys in the Band
(Polystar/Felicity)
ALAN MERRILL
Aleecat
(MEC)
Do you ever wonder if there's a secret history of rock & roll? A legion of artists toiling away in the shadows (at least as far as America is concerned, that is—because nothing of consequence happens in music unless it's blessed by U.S. chart action, right?), influencing trends, innovating movements or just plain making good music that's as much worth hearing as anything with names like Stones, Springsteen or Spears attached? Well, your suspicions are correct—there's a whole coterie of musicians who helped make history but were then forgotten. But just because the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll doesn't mention them doesn't mean they ain't there. Such an artist is Alan Merrill. The New York-born singer/songwriter has been making records since the early 70s, becoming a star in Japan with Vodka Collins and in England with the Arrows, working behind the scenes with Meat Loaf and Rick Derringer and making the occasional solo record when the mood takes him. (He was also in a post-Arrows band called Runner, but it's not represented here.) He's even the co-author of what has become, for better or worse, one of the most indelible rock & roll anthems of the past 30 years. Yet you're unlikely to find his name held up with that of his peers, even during discussions of the time periods when he enjoyed his greatest popularity. There's a hell of an autobiography in there somewhere, but in lieu of that, Merrill himself has undertaken efforts to remind rock & roll fans of his existence, with new compilations from his bands and a new solo album. He's tried this trick before, with the solo record Cupid Deranged that sported remakes of some of his older tunes, but that album was a pretty weak attempt at giving his music new life. Making the original hits available, while essaying a contemporary batch of new material, makes a far stronger argument for Merrill's relevance.

Though usually associated with the British glam rock movement of the 70s, to my ears the Arrows sound less stylized than bands like Sweet or the Glitter Band. That's not to say that the trio—bassist/singer Merrill, guitarist Jake Hooker, drummer Paul Varley—doesn't often draw from the same well as the glitter hoards (though they eschewed the makeup and silver threads). "Bam Bam Battering Ram," produced, like much of their early output, by the legendary Mickie Most, has the same goofy lyrics and shiny grin as vintage bubbleglam, while "Dreamin'," the Bo Diddley-baiting "Toughen Up" and "We Can Make It Together" update 50s rock and R&B in the same way as acts like Mud and Wizzard. "Touch Too Much" is even written by the glam hitmaking duo of Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. But the Arrows were hardly content to ride a wave they didn't really want to surf. The band abandons a specific stylistic direction by moving through the glistening folk rock of "Hard Hearted," the Rolling Stones-infused snarl of "Diesel Locomotive Dancer" (featuring a rare, Jaggeresque lead vocal from Hooker), the blue-eyed soul groove of "Movin' Next Door to You" and the pure pop ear candy of "Wake Up." Then, of course, there's "I Love Rock 'N' Roll," a deliberately dumb hard rocker that became an international juggernaut after an extremely faithful cover by Joan Jett. While there's nothing earthshattering about any of these tracks, there's plenty of delightful, lighthearted rock & roll pleasure to be had. Unfortunately, the band's career reached its nadir by the mid-70s with the advent of The Arrows TV Show. The ridiculous T. Rex tribute/rip "The Boogiest Band in Town" and the horribly sappy ballad "Once Upon a Time," both written and no doubt forced upon the group by songwriters/producers Phil Coulter and Bill Martin, are the kind of songs most bands bury in an unmarked grave when it comes time for career-spanning compilations, and yet, here they are. Merrill faithfully re-recorded four songs from that era in 2004, but they don't hold up particularly well, either, especially not "Bring Back the Fire," which sounds way too much like Mac Davis for comfort. Fortunately, things perk up, as Merrill gives "Movin' Next Door to You" a funky new coat of polish that actually cooks, ending the record on a high note. I suspect this isn't the definitive Arrows collection, but as a feet-dampening introduction, A's B's & Rarities is just fine.

Merrill's work with Vodka Collins predates his time in the Arrows; he found his greatest popular success with the Japanese glam rock band. Boys in the Band is a handy introduction for those unfamiliar with the group (i.e. anyone outside Japan), covering four albums recorded over 20 years. Though the tracks aren't identified by album or year of recording, it's easy to delineate between the straight glam of the early tunes like "Automatic Pilot" and "Billy Mars" and the bluesier, though still pop-melodic, direction of later songs like "Miss Prettyface" and "Scratchin'." For me, this is Merrill's strongest work, with his songwriting at its catchiest and both the glitter pop tunes and the R&B rockers taking the best advantage of his husky vocals. The dynamics of "C'est No More" find the perfect balance between modest and melodramatic, while the ballad "Sands of Time" (sung in both English and Japanese) works far better in its original incarnation than his subsequent solo remake on Cupid Deranged. The Stonesy "Vacuum Girl" and the title track (which somehow makes the clichés about rock & roll life sound, if not fresh, at least fun again) simply rock. It also sounds like Merrill and his Japanese cohorts are having a blast; the relish in his singing on the faintly ridiculous "Les Animaux de Partay" and the gold chains-wearing "Pink Soup" (a disco/rock hybrid analogous to Kiss' overlooked gem "Sure Know Something") telegraphs how much fun he's having playing this music with his old friends. Even the hoary warhorse "I Love Rock 'N' Roll" takes on new life in this hyperactive version. Boys in the Band is Alan Merrill at his best. [buy it]

Aleecat, the prolific musician's latest solo album, doesn't live up to the standard set by Vodka Collins, but it's still solid, respectable work. I've criticized his attempts at blue-eyed soul before, but the approach works far better here than it did on Cupid Deranged. With his soulful voice further up in the mix and the grooves evolving naturally, tunes like "Illusion" and "Trisha Uptown" evoke a hipper Righteous Brothers. Meanwhile, "No Speed Limit" works a roots rock mojo to fine effect, while "Next Time" find Merrill in a heavy blues rock state of mind. "Lost in Lust" revisits his hard rock/glam rock roots with palpable enthusiasm, while "Phoenix and the Renegade" successfully blazes a previously untried path for Merrill with convincing folk. "Everytime She Comes Around," meanwhile, is possibly his finest solo track yet, a magnificent soul-tinged pop tune that's exactly the kind of track you wish adult contemporary radio stations played instead of the latest Sting single. He stumbles a couple of times with a predictably bland ballad ("Somebody Special") and a game but clumsy stab at country rock ("Straight From Your Heart"), and the so-called bonus tracks aren't anything special, but overall Aleecat is a well-conceived, strongly executed statement of purpose from an artist who's proven himself worth rescuing from the margins. Michael Toland [buy it]