Poppees - “Love of the Loved” Destination Bomp! Song released in 1975. Compilation released in 1995.
The Poppees were a 70s power pop band from New York City and were a quartet of early Beatles die-hards. The band formed in 1973, constantly playing at a bar in Queens called the Cozy Corner. They were able to get a demo out to Greg Shaw, the founder of Bomp! Records and he gave them their first record deal. They released two singles, one in 1975 and the other in 1978, and then went their separate ways. Along the way, they got to play at famed New York clubs like CBGBs and Max’s Kansas City. According to website Underappreciated Rock Bands, on Easter of 1976, they played Max’s, opening for Blondie and The Ramones. What a lineup.
This song was originally written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney (mostly Paul) but never got an official release. It was included on the Beatles’ audition tape that they submitted to Decca. Decca famously turned them down in what’s known as probably the biggest bungle in the history of popular music. However, The Poppees, who tried to get their hands on any early Beatles material that they could, decided to give a shot at covering that song. It was the B-Side of their first single and you can immediately hear that early Beatles’ influence.
This is pleasant New York power pop that could easily be mistaken for being British. With pleasant acoustic guitar strums and a midtermpo drum, the band sings in a relaxed tone, beginning with a single vocal, later joined by other band members to generate wonderfully catchy harmonies. Legendary punk and new wave producer Craig Leon implements a nice reverb technique on the vocals as well. For the chorus, The Poppees add in hand claps and some deep, rich, short piano riffs, adding to both the depth and the poppy catchiness of it all. On the bridge, they throw in some long and lazy harmonica for good measure.
Before new wave took hold of New York in the late 70s and 80s, the Poppees were successfully forging their own Beatles-inspired power pop path, with great thanks to this Beatles cover.
