“Four hours of this all-but-forgotten Chicago pop band may be a bit much for all but the most anglophile power poppers, but guitarist Jeff Lescher's group was the kind of all-embracing pop band that burbled around in the late-80s, pre-grunge underground. Far ranging enough to embrace everything from Merseybeat balladry to neo-soul falsetto workouts to off-the-wall experimental pop, Green was a critics' darling back in the day for its ability to turn all manner of styles into gleaming, melodic jangle pop. The 1986 debut is a bit thin on the ground--bare production values drag it down--but has its share of rough-cut gems. By Elaine MacKenzie, though, Lescher had found his voice, and it remains a mystery why Material Issue and the Posies are fixed in the collective memory as the era's prime bands when Green was offering up such frothy guitar pop as "She's An Addiction" and the riff-happy "Up All Night," the latter of which could've been a nice mod-rocker in the hands of a singer like Steve Marriott. That Lescher could also write something as sublime as "Don't Ever Fall in Love With Someone When You're In Love With Someone Else," a strange mélange of Association-style pop and Elvis Costello at his Bacharach best, proves he's an unfairly lost talent.” (From PopCulturePress).
Download : Green - Elaine MacKenzie
