Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Title: Ellie Pop
Company: Mainstream
Catalog: S/6115
Year: 1968
Grade (cover/record): NM/NM
Comments: still in shrink wrap
Available: 1
Price: $180.00
Released by the Mainstream label, "Ellie Pop" offered little information on the band in terms of liner notes or performance credits. Here's what you can tell: 1.) judging by the album cover they were a quartet (or an eight piece if they employed the four pigeons), and 2.) brothers S. and R. Dunn were responsible for penning all 12 tracks. Whoever these guys were, they definitely had a thing for Anglo-pop, tracks such as "Some Time Ago" and "Caught In the Rain" literally dripping Beatles influences. To many folks that's probably the kiss of death. Normally they'd be right, but not in this case. Exemplified by material such as "Seven North Frederick", "Seems I've Changed" and "Watcha Gonna Do" (love the "yeah, yeah, yeahs"), the Dunns avoided the usual clichés, turning in a wonderful set that was catchy and commercial, but retained an innovative edge that made ever selection worth hearing. One of the few albums we've given a five star rating to ... One word of warning; while the set's occasionally been billed as psychedelic, in spite of isolated distorted guitars and a few oddball time signatures, to our ears it's simply too mainstream to be considered anything other than pop. Naturally the album vanished without a trace, followed in short order by the band.
"Ellie Pop" track listing:
1.) Seven North Frederick (S. Dunn - R. Dunn) - 2:19
2.) Winner Loser (S. Dunn - R. Dunn) - 2:12
3.) Can't Be Love (S. Dunn - R. Dunn) - 2:31
4.) Remembering (Sunnybrook) (S. Dunn - R. Dunn) - 2:26
5.) Seems I've Changed (S. Dunn - R. Dunn) - 2:20
6.) Caught In the Rain (S. Dunn - R. Dunn) - 2:30
7.) Oh! My Friend (S. Dunn - R. Dunn) - 2:18
8.) Some Time Ago (S. Dunn - R. Dunn) - 2:18
9.) No Thanks Mr. Mann (S. Dunn - R. Dunn) - 2:48
10.) Watcha Gonna Do (S. Dunn - R. Dunn) - 2:41