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As far back as the 1980s, the great philosopher Huey Lewis<\/strong> proclaimed that it’s \u201chip to be square.\u201d Good thing, that, because like many of my rock’n’roll fan contemporaries, I got my musical start buying albums (cassettes, really) by some of the soft-sounds purveyors of the early 70s: The Carpenters<\/strong>, Sonny and Cher<\/strong>, Jim Croce<\/strong> and the like.<\/p>\n For many years, it simply wasn’t cool to admit a fondness for such non-rocking things. It all began to change in the 1990s, amidst a flurry of self-consciously ironic mini-trends: the cocktail nation\/exotica craze and all manner of tribute albums. The 1994 release If I Were a Carpenter<\/em> featured updates\/rethinks of much-loved songs by Karen and Richard, done by hot-in-the-moment contemporary artists.<\/p>\n But once that ironic stance subsided, things calmed down a bit and people began to admit a bit more freely that, yeah, some of this stuff is pretty good. As a result, artists like Ben Folds<\/strong> could freely admit inspiration by the likes of Burt Bacharach<\/strong> without being labeled as soft (though Folds did famously describe his music as \u201cpunk rock for sissies\u201d).<\/p>\n In 2013, an impressive list of pop\/powerpop artists contributed to a new compilation titled Drink a Toast to Innocence: A Tribute to Lite Rock<\/em>. Drawing its title from a Dan Fogelberg<\/strong> lyric is the first clue that the songs on the set will be of the sort that blanketed AM radio back in the day.<\/p>\n Thankfully, the varied approaches employed by the artists aims for the middle ground. For the most part, these aren’t insipid, soft-rock retreads, and they’re not hard-rock bashers, either. The artists tend to look for the hooks and the melodies, and craft updated readings that highlight those qualities. The result is that \u2013 as rendered by Eytan Mirsky<\/strong> — Rupert Holmes<\/strong>‘ \u201cThe Pi\u00f1a Colada Song\u201d isn’t nearly<\/em> as annoying as it once was. It’s actually pretty good, with a driving bass line and some nice electric guitar licks atop a gurgling organ. The Davenports<\/strong>‘ rocked-up \u201cJust When I Needed You Most\u201d feels a bit like Fountains of Wayne<\/strong><\/a>, and that’s always a good thing. Plasticsoul<\/strong>‘s \u201cSentimental Lady\u201d plays it straight, quite similar in arrangement to both the Fleetwood Mac<\/strong> and Bob Welch<\/strong> versions.<\/p>\n Lannie Flowers<\/strong><\/a>‘ distinctive vocals are applied to an unorthodox arrangement on Orleans<\/strong>‘ \u201cDance With Me.\u201d The result sounds like Flowers’ original material crossed with Mary Hopkin<\/strong>‘s \u201cThose Were the Days.\u201d Weird but successful, and awarded extra points for being the most out-of-the-box and inventive reading on this set.<\/p>\n Popdudes<\/strong> aren’t the first to cover Walter Egan<\/strong>‘s \u201cMagnet and Steel.\u201d Matthew Sweet<\/strong><\/a> contributed a version to the 90s soundtrack of Sabrina The Teenage Witch<\/em>; Popdudes’ version is another played-straight reading. In fact quite a few of the artists on Drink a Toast to Innocence<\/em> seem unburdened by any desire to re-imagine these songs: Joe Giddings<\/strong>‘ \u201cUndercover Angel\u201d funks things up a bit, but the breezy backing vocals ensure that the version would work fine on the soundtrack to another Brady Bunch<\/em> film.<\/p>\n Mike Viola<\/strong><\/a> is among the best-known of the artists involved with this project; though he pens some fantastic original tunes of his own on solo albums (and as Candy Butchers<\/strong>), he’s best known for his lead vocal on the the title song from That Thing You Do!<\/em> Here he takes on Robbie Dupree<\/strong>‘s \u201cSteal Away,\u201d layering a bunch of retro-sounding synthesizer lines; the result suggests what The Wonders<\/strong> might have sounded like circa 1977 had they stayed with Play-Tone.<\/p>\n Those analog synths are a highlight of Bleu<\/strong>‘s \u201cBaby Come Back,\u201d though the Leslie-effect guitar is prominent (it had to be, of course). The vocal harmonies are flawless, even as they deliver insipid lyrics (what, exactly, is \u201cfalse bravado?\u201d). This may be the strongest cover on the entire collection, though it can’t really be said to add anything new to the song.<\/p>\n People of a certain age may remember \u201cThank You for Being a Friend\u201d as the theme song from The Golden Girls<\/em>, but thankfully those of us who are a bit older recall Andrew Gold<\/strong>‘s original version instead. Brandon Schott<\/strong>‘s cover plays it close to the original arrangement (do you sense a pattern here?). The Sonic Executive Sessions<\/strong> turn in a lovely reading of Stephen Bishop’s \u201cOn and On,\u201d and sidestep Bishop’s idiosyncratic pronunciation of the title lyrics; this is another album highlight, full of creamy vocal harmonies. But it’s up to Linus of Hollywood<\/strong> to turn in the winner of the bunch, a lite-powerpop cover of \u201cMore Than I Can Say,\u201d originally by Leo Sayer<\/strong>. Shimmering guitar lines, a lilting beat and just enough grit in the electric guitars make this a delight. Greg Pope<\/strong> leans in an acoustic singer-songwriter direction to cover the late-period Poco<\/strong> tune \u201cCrazy Love.\u201d Wyatt Funderburk<\/strong> employs a similar approach on Michael Johnson<\/strong>‘s one-hit-wonder \u201cBluer Than Blue,\u201d and it suits the song perfectly.<\/p>\n Vegas With Randolph<\/strong><\/a> know how to rock, but they dial it way back for a balladeering cover of Little River Band<\/strong>‘s \u201cCool Change.\u201d Well, they do for the first minute or so; then<\/em> they switch over to their trademark sound, and it works really well; ignore the lyrics and enjoy the dynamics of this winning cover. Seth Swirsky<\/strong> gamely (and effectively) tackles the falsetto vocal lines of Henry Gross<\/strong>‘ lovely ballad about a dog, \u201cShannon.\u201d<\/p>\n
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