It has been 7 years since the sad loss of Tommy Keene. Plenty lay claim to the King Of Power Pop, but to me, Tommy was it. A fan since his 80s debut and when I started Blogging, it was largely in the Power Pop world and over two decades on, I still think of the support and encouragement that he gave me.
Many talk glowingly about an artist when they die, sometimes inaccurately, you will never hear a bad word about Tommy during his career and since. He was the nicest man in Power Pop and it is the Power Pop that people talk about, although there was far more to him than that.
Our conversations were about everything but Power Pop. Our love of Prog, particularly King Crimson. How much we both adored Be Bop Deluxe. But mainly about our dogs. It has been delightful to see his back catalogue appear on Bandcamp keeping his memory alive and also seeing albums such as this appear.
Unusually for Power Pop artists, Tommy enhanced his reputation via his live performances. He had all the chops, big riffs and choruses and that unmistaken vocal, but he oozed melody and harmony. Killer songs across a great career and also capable of some splendid cover songs.
Here we find him in 2002 in Arlington VA with a magnificent performance from the soundboard. Newbies can hear how good the man was at what he did. Power Pop can be maligned as a one trick pony, not in the hands of an expert.
His anthology was called Tommy Keene You Hear Me, both a great description and a command. No one did more to show life affirming Power Pop could be. He's really missed, both an artist and a person. You can discover the delights of his career on Bandcamp and there is more to come.
You can listen to and buy the album here.
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