Robyn Gibson's band The Junipers are from Leicester and I don't know what it is about the city, but it seems to produce Jingle Jangle bands of the highest order. I've always been a fan of Diesel Park West and The Junipers are in the same mould. If you've never heard of them, you should chastise yourself and head off and grab their two albums.
Bob Of The Pops Volume 1 is an album of covers and what's more it's absolutely FREE. The album is as jangly as you'd expect from Mr Juniper, but the song selection is inspired. I'm particularly glad to see Nick Heyward's He Doesn't Love You Like I Do, an underrated gem from an underrated album.
Elsewhere, you'd expect to see some Teenage Fanclub, but not necessarily Slow Fade and Did I Say. The Power Pop nod is there with They Don't Know and the obligatory Lennon and McCartney, again Nowhere Man is a much wiser choice than the usual Hide Your Love Away.
It's also fantastic to hear The Dentists and Wire's Outdoor Miner and Honeybus's How Long is something that I don't recall being performed too often. The influences build up with The Rutles' With A Girl Like You.
The Springfields' Island Of Dreams is better than the original and there's even the theme tune to Laverne and Shirley. There's even one of Gibson's own songs to round things off. The spoof Top Of The Pops album cover is inspired, not the usual suggestive female pose and I definitely want one of those cardigans.
Well done Robyn! You can download the album free here and you can discover more about The Junipers here.
This was a fun listen. Thanks for the post on it!
ReplyDeleteVolume 2 is nearly ready for release. It took five years to do the first, a few months for the second.
ReplyDelete