Rob's Pages

Sunday, January 16

The Semantics - Pre-debut Demos (early 1990s)

Demos
c. 1991 and/or 1992
recording location(s) unknown

01 Avalon
02 Baby It's You
03 This One's for Me 
04 Facts of Life
05 Hippy Woman
06 Lonely Girl
07 Standing Still
08 Merry Go Round
09 Wildflower
10 Victim for Somebody Else
11 Maria
12 Sticks and Stones
13 Future for You
14 Coming Up Roses
15 The Sky Is Falling
16 Black and Blue
17 Johnny Come Lately
18 Life Goes On
19 Glasses and Braces

Musicians:
(Will) Owsley: vocals, guitars, keys, percussion, bass
Millard Powers: vocals, bass, keys, guitars
Jody Spence: drum machine programing, drums (on some tracks)
Ben Folds: drums (on "Coming Up Roses" and one other)
Zak Starkey: drums on a couple (probably "Life Goes On" and one other)
John Mark Painter: mellotron on "Coming Up Roses"

ROB SEZ: All credit here goes to Mick and Don from the old ASH blog, to whom I am indebted for so many posts over the years. Not sure why I never shared this back when I was regularly doing the "ASH Tuesday" posts, but I guess it got lost in the shuffle.  All these tracks are power pop gems, and serve as the prelude to Powerbill, considered one of the best (and hardest-to-find) power pop albums of the 1990s. The debut album features Owsley, Millard Powers, and Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr). There's a mystery bonus share included in the download folder. (Before you ask: I do not have this in lossless. I'm sharing it the way it originally came to me.)
   
P.S. - Paul over at Albums That Should Exist has posted a shorter set of these as an "imagined" album by the band. He always does a good job with his posts. Go check it out.

      

5 comments:

  1. Some of the finest, pure guitar-pop of the 1990s. Ushers me back to a simpler time. I think Ben Folds had some involvement with these recordings. Powerbill was supposed to see a release in the US, but the execs at Geffen felt they were incapable of marketing it given current mainstream tastes at the time.

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  2. Hi Fantastic!! Thanks a lot. Robert Pally, Switzerland

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