Green (8) – Elaine MacKenzie

It is perfect power pop. One of the great lost classics of the 80ies. A must have. Do not compare it to Kinks or watever. It stands on its own. Its witty, down to the point, surprising, great hooks and funny. Great for parties and on your own. Don't buy it because I will get all the cheap copies.

I think of Big Star meets R.E.M. when I listen to this. It just has that purist, roots rock kind of feel. Very different than the debut, which is also perfection.

CMJ put this one on its cover on December 18, 1987. Being on the cover of the nation's college radio trade magazine was a big deal for Green's young career, but the review itself was even sweeter: "Garage bands emerge often and go away all too quickly, but this is one such band that's on the road to survival. Their EP with the color Xerox cover was followed up by the self-titled album, which aroused enough interest that Chicago's aggressive Pravda Records has issued its follow up. The band is taking the jump in stride, and has produced another album chock-full (14 tracks!) of crashing pop brilliance. Jeff Lescher is the centerpoint of the power trio - its prolific songwriter, slashing guitar player and gritty vocalist. Lescher's debts to The Kinks and The Beatles are obvious, as is his love of underground rock from the Replacements back to the Buzzcocks and beyond, but he's got the kind of songwriting touch and energetic delivery that defies simple attribution of influences. Whether he's softly crooning/talking/whispering or letting loose with a wild screech, it's undeniably affecting and infectious. And the songs are memorable - top cuts include "Up All Night," "She's an Addiction," "Fingerprints, "I'm Not at Home" and "Beaten Into Submission," but it's when the tongue in cheek "Heavy Metal Kids" kicks into the heat-seeking "My Love's on Fire" that Green reaches transcendence. Hold your breath until you hear this one."