Bill Lloyd - Standing on the Shoulders of Giants - 1999

Bill Lloyd makes no bones about his interest in mid-'60s, Beatles-style pop/rock, especially on this, his third solo album, the title of which describes his posture exactly. If you think 1965 and 1966 were the greatest years in human history, when sainted young men with jangly guitars sang melodic three-minute songs about love over peppy beats, this is music for you. Many of the basslines and guitar solos will be familiar, and, like the album title, many of the songs specifically refer to earlier music, especially the Beatles on titles like "Dr. Roberts Second Opinion" and "Turn Me on Dead Man." (Remember the "Paul is dead" rumor?) Lloyd assembles a cast of like-minded friends for these frisky goings-on, including ex-NRBQ guitarist Al Anderson, Cindy Bullens, Marshall Crenshaw, Smithereens drummer Dennis Diken, Henry Gross, Al Kooper, Cheap Trick bassist Tom Peterson, Greg Trooper, and Poco steel guitarist Rusty Young. But he actually plays most of the instruments himself, and the guests never get in the way. There are songs here that would fit seamlessly onto Nuggets, not to mention the Beatles' Yesterday...and Today, and that's a high compliment. Of course, the music has nothing to do with the contemporary country music scene where Lloyd made his mark, or with much of contemporary pop music. But, hey, it sounds really cool, and we're not complaining. -AMG