Saturday, June 21, 2008

Bram Tchaikovsky - Strange Man, Changed Man - 1979

Bram Tchaikovsky (born Peter Bramall) began playing in local pub rock bands in Lincolnshire, England, in the late '60s. He joined the Motors in 1977 and was relegated to mere sideman status by the nucleus of the band, songwriters Andy McMaster and Nick Garvey. While waiting on pre-production work for the second Motors album, Tchaikovsky took the opportunity to do some recording of his own. The resulting single, "Sarah Smiles," drew enough interest for him to leave the Motors and form his own band. In addition to its leader, the band Bram Tchaikovsky consisted of Mike Broadbent (bass, keyboards) and Keith Boyce (drums). They signed to the new Radar label in 1978 along with Stiff expatriates Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello. The band showed a great deal of promise with their first album, Strange Man Changed Man, fitting in nicely with the growing power pop movement.
Strange Man Changed Man remains Bram Tchaikovsky's finest moment. Produced by his former Motors bandmate Nick Garvey on a shoestring budget, the resulting thin sound only serves to enhance the songs which owe as much to '60s pop as they do to pub/punk rock. The pure pop of "Girl of My Dreams" (a minor hit in the U.S.) perfectly encapsulates late-'70s Brit-pop and stands as one of the classic singles of the era. -AMG

If you like "Strange Man, Changed Man" get it here!


3 comments:

ratboy69 said...

hEY Curty Ray, great post as usual. This is one of my favorites of the end of the seventies. I could never get tired of my old vinyl version. I recently bought the CD and it sounds even clearer and better. By the way, i wonder if you got the first MOTORS on CD, i only got the vinyl and i'm curious to hear if there is any improvement. Have a great day.

Unknown said...

thanks for these, some great music

Anonymous said...

Thanks, I had a very old vinyl version from this one! What a great record! Thanks again! Your blog is fantastic!
JF France

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