The Pleasers were a London based band who came into being in 1977, they were there at the tail end of punk and on the cusp of the New Wave movement which was to be more receptive to their brand of guitar pop. Their music was more akin to the Mersybeat sound of the sixties with pleasantly played guitars and vocal harmonies and this was an antidote for some people to the harsher sounds of the punk movement. Their sound and visual image eventually found it's place in the Mod revival at the end of the seventies with it's smart clean cut reprisal of the 'clean living under difficult circumstances' ethic of the original movement of the mid-sixties in Britain.
Thamesbeat represents a gathering up of their recordings from that era and the title alludes to the moniker they humourously applied to their style of music. Opening song 'Billy' starts the proceedings off with a high energy rock 'n' roll outing in the spirit of the best Merseybeat bands of a decade earlier and sets the tone for most of the album. Their cover of The Who's 'The Kids Are Alright' stays fairly close to the original and has the right amount of Mod energy attached to it. Another cover in the shape of of Chris Montez' 'Let's Dance' fits right in with the original songs. 'Stay With Me' marks a change of pace and it's mid tempo and songwriting style tips it's hat to middle period Beatles. The original songs show the band's aptitude at working within the framework and ground rules of Thamesbeat, Merseybeat and power pop.
This album is a good representation of how power pop emerged and ran in parallel with the new wave scene in the late seventies and it also demonstrates where it's origins and influences were and shows that The Pleasers were masters of three minute foot tappers.
Reviewed by Kevin Wallbank of M100 and Honeymoon on Mars
Listen to some of their recently re-mastered tracks from 1977-78, that still stand today as fresh, quality, powerful pop. No less than the original Powerpop. Produced by Tommy Boyce, Ron Richards & Geoff Haslam & are now available on iTunes.
A Japanese record label called 'Air Mail Recordings' have licensed the Thamesbeat album (plus 6 bonus tracks) and will be releasing a new CD in January 09 for the Japanese market.
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