Lucky Europe. While they might have to occasionally have to withstand the throes of such horrid musical trends as the Spice Girls, Robbie Williams, and S Club 7, they've still got one thing that America has lost: an appreciation of the single format. Just look at a number of great European independent bands; many of their "debut" albums are nothing more than collections of songs previously released on singles. While that may not necessarily be a problem for those who are just experiencing the band, the fans who would rush out to buy their record might be a little disappointed to find that they already own the record! (I still don't own the Clientele's Suburban Light.)
Poor Rich Ones have been around for years, but it wasn't until their most recent full length, Happy Happy Happy that they had an American album release. They could have been Coldplay, but their debut arrived well after "Yellow" became ubiquitous. That doesn't take away from the fact that Happy Happy Happy is a wonderful blast of continental Britpop, one that could have easily sent Chris Martin running home with his tail between his legs. With expert production by Mark Trombino, it was an album that "could have been." In fact, at the time I compared it to Jimmy Eat World's Clarity, and I stand by that; it's epic rock, with a bit of emotion.
What many might not realize is that Poor Rich Ones' style of post-OK Computer/pre-Parachutes Britpop is that they actually predate Coldplay's debut by a few months, and Radiohead's masterpiece by several yaears. It would be impossible to listen to anything by Poor Rich Ones (including the songs on this record) without thinking of either Radiohead or Coldplay. While you'd think that their earlier songs would be rougher, not as polished as later works, it's surprising to hear how focused Poor Rich Ones were when they started out. Early tracks such as "Other Days" and "Mummy" (from the 1996 album Naivety's Star) are sweet ballads that are as strong as the new songs on here, "Milwaukee" and "Old Age And Failures." Many of the songs are compiled from their singles and EP's, and, personally, I'd love to hear the rest of all of their earlier work, especially if they're as good as "Blind" (from 1997's Bubble Bowling EP) or "Habit" (from 2001's All Those Present EP). Then again, I'm a sucker for a really good EP.
It's a sure sign of a band's greatness when they can compile songs from all aspects of their career and have it sound like a fresh new album. While the status of Poor Rich Ones may seem a bit in the air (lead singer William Hut recently debuted with a solo album), Joe Maynard's Favourites makes an excellent case for this little-heard band. Maybe next time around, stardom will await. There's plenty of evidence here to prove them worthy of it...
--Joseph Kyle
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