THE SILVER SEAS-High Society
Posted on November 30th, 2007 by ekkoBack in the 1970s, rock was a simpler affair: Sweet love songs for all ages. The Silver Seas, “High
Society†is an album of that same kind of irony-free piano-driven soft rock, a sound which I for one think we could all use a little more of these days. It’s a nice counterpoint to morose, self-indulgent indie rock and bling-bling crunk.
The first track, “The Country Life†begins with a quick building drum rush and continues with a lilt and chorus that is unmistakably similar to one of the more
underrated Van Morrison songs, “Jackie Wilson Says (I’m In Heaven When You Smile).†And that’s a great way to start a record. Daniel Tashian (lead singer/songwrier) has said that he wished “someone would hear one of my songs and pick it up for a sitcom theme.†It’s easy to imagine a song like “Broadway Lights†as the opener for a TV show about a single mom looking for love but finding only Schneider the Handyman, but they just don’t make shows like that
anymore. And I’m grateful. The last thing we need is for people to be sick of these songs before they give the album a proper listen. The record is a sweet and quick romp through 1970s AM Radio styles. It gets the Berkeley Place recommendation saved for albums truly worth your time and your money:
Check it out!
For fans of: Elton John, Electric Light Orchestra, and the like.
Comment By: jon
November 30th, 2007 at 8:37 pm
oh my god this is good. REALLY good.
at times it sounds like VM moondance, NY harvest moon. but never pandering.
almost like an american magic numbers.
Comment By: Ekko
November 30th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Yes! the Magic Numbers! I knew they reminded me of something.
Comment By: Anne
December 1st, 2007 at 1:49 am
Thanks for highlighting this album. I love it–it is actually one of my top albums for the year.
Comment By: Anne
December 1st, 2007 at 1:57 am
Just a quick add on note–I am not a fan of Elton John or ELO but I still love this group. I am however a big Van Morrison fan–could that be a better comparison?
Comment By: ekko
December 1st, 2007 at 12:25 pm
I dont see Van Morrison there, but whatever makes you happy can’t be bad, right? (I’m a huge Van fan, too, btw Seen him live at least 4 times.)
Comment By: Joe Ross
December 12th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
awesome. Thanks for supporting this band! They deserve it!
Comment By: john
December 18th, 2007 at 6:37 am
this album is simply amazing in every way. who’da thought i’d be able to blast a pop record?
Comment By: Don
January 4th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Great recommendation! “The Country Life” sounds to me like a mix of Steely Dan’s “Reelin’ In the Years”, Jackson Browne’s “Doctor My Eyes”, and Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”. Does anyone else get that kind of feeling?
Also, I thought this was interesting…it appears that The Silver Seas went by the name The Bees. Of course, there’s currently a UK band called The Bees, so I’d imagine they changed it to differentiate themselves. Oddly enough, the UK band The Bees is known as Band of Bees in the US. Confusing enough?
Any chance I could get a listen to that Van Morrison song you speak of? I can’t say that I’ve heard it…