Album Notes

In Woody Allen's new film Midnight In Paris, Owen Wilson plays an American writer who longs to live among his literary heroes from the past. He gets his wish, and soon finds himself communing with the likes of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, T.S. Eliot, and Gertrude Stein in Roaring-Twenties Paris. The screenplay could easily have been written about Peace Creeps front-man Richard Bush, who has never been shy about proclaiming his musical influences; Richard would like to turn the clock back several decades, and hang with The Beatles, The Zombies, Little Richard, and the early Stones: “It’s all about 1968,” he says, “when the Beatles were at their peak and everyone wanted to be in a band.”

Back in 1979, when Bush’s old band The A’s were nearing their peak, Rolling Stone editor Dave Fricke wrote this very positive review of their first album for Arista Records: “Shameless thieves though they are, the Philadelphia-based A’s plunder the Sixties and early Seventies with style and humor...this band welds pop’s cheery past to the concentrated power of punk’s nihilistic present, creating a flagrantly derivative whole that would simply be the impressive sum of its obvious parts if the A’s didn’t go about their piracy with such panache.” Well. Some things never change. Richard Bush still flies his Sixties flag high, and the Peace Creeps are his modern shipmates as he continues his piratical plundering of pop’s past. “Derivative” is way too strong a word, but “respectful emulation” would work quite well in this context; like the Owen Wilson character, Richard Bush is a “nostalgiac.”

The Peace Creeps are releasing their second album this month, and its title–Time Machine–succinctly captures what they are all about. As was the case with their first album Autumn of Love (a whimsical nod to 1967's so-called “Summer of Love”), it is an unabashed tribute to the musical forbears who became their artistic muses. The title comes from their song “Meet the Beatles,” a wistful fantasy that forms the album’s thematic frame:

“Someone told me yesterday you were gone away,
Never had the chance to say ‘Goodbye”...
But if we could paint the town one last time, it would make everything much better,
We can do anything we want to when I get my time machine together.
I’ll stop back and pick you up, we’ll go and meet The Beatles.”




While none of the album’s twelve songs can truly be called “derivative,” recognizable allusions to various styles abound. We hear stylistic flourishes in “When The Revolution Comes” and “May Queen” that recall the Sergeant Pepper’s and Magical Mystery Tour albums, particularly the backing vocals of bassist Roy Fisher and drummer Jeff Pancoast, and the psychedelic-era playing of guitarist Johnny Marchiano, who alternates between Hendrixian leads and the buzzy twanging of his sitar-guitar. “Sad Song Tonight” evokes “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away”–until real sitar played by Bill Colacicco chimes in and reminds the listener of “Norwegian Wood.” The most surprising song on the album is “Cold”–just one minute and a mere ten lines long, with only a string quartet for accompaniment ( arranged by Philadelphia composer Kile Smith ) –perhaps a nod to Beatles producer George Martin, who pushed for the use of orchestral instruments in “Yesterday” and “Eleanor Rigby.” None of these are even close to being “copies” of Beatles songs, but their tone and attitude nevertheless pervade.

Elsewhere we hear the influence of other Sixties icons–The Zombies in “Fashions For Fall,” The Who in “Over The Top,” and the Rolling Stones in “X-Ray Eyes.” The raucous “Letter O’ Love” defies easy categorization. Think: “Johnny Rivers starts playing ‘Secret Agent Man,’ but then Elvis and Little Richard show up and they all jam.” The album’s final cut–“I Hate November”–perhaps serves as a reminder that even time-travelers ultimately must return to their own allotted years; Bush will turn 60 when his next November rolls around. Fellow nostalgiacs will enjoy noting that Rocco Notte, his co-songwriter from The A’s days, plays keyboards on two of the album’s songs.

The Peace Creeps will debut their new album at Steel City Coffeehouse in Phoenixville, PA on Saturday, June 18. The official Philadelphia CD release event will be held at the Tin Angel on Saturday, July 30.