Playing with ‘60’s & ‘70’s rock forms like a kitten unraveling a ball of yarn, Fred Prellberg reveals a host of vaunted influences on his most recent CD, “Ten Pennies Make a Dime.” Opening with a rock salvo copping The Pirates’ classic “Shakin’ All Over” guitar riff, “No Man’s Land” devolves into a MC5-like rock jam, underscoring the album’s core rock ‘n roll ethos. Elsewhere, “Mari Tamed the Mountain Lion” and the ironic “Lie” sport decidedly melodic, post-Beatles pop-rock grooves, “Hands of God,” with its careening Hammond organ backing, comes across like an adrenaline-fueled, ‘60’s garage band hyped up on Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower,” and the cinematic “Tornado Alley” feels like a less-than-subtle tribute to the grandiosity of Springsteen’s “Born to Run” lp. “Real Real Wild,” a pure rockabilly tune with some Jordanaires-like backing and Carl Perkins-worthy accompaniment, shows the breadth of “Ten Pennies’” influences, while album closer, “The World Today” (dedicated to the late cult figure, Nikki Sudden), brings it all home with an Ian Hunter-like rocker as Prellberg & band leave the song (and album) hanging on an unresolved chord. Despite the many influences, however, Fred Prellberg’s “Ten Pennies Make a Dime” CD is as cohesive as it is original, a studied exercise with literate and insightful lyrics that declares the album is more about the author’s artistic vision than its many influences.
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