Comprehensive three CD overview of the American power pop scene's evolution throughout the 70s. Featuring the genre's major bands, cult names, hits, rari7es and several previously unissued tracks. Although the power pop genre wasn't named and codified until late 1977, the sound and spirit had been slowly gathering steam throughout the decade. Surrounded by heavy metal and introverted singer/songwriters, the likes of The Raspberries, Big Star, Blue Ash and The Wackers spearheaded an early 70s return to the spiky, three-minute pop urgency of the mid-60s British Invasion bands. While only The Raspberries charted, such bands established a musical template that was adopted by a new raft of slightly younger acts including the Dwight Twilley Band, The Rubinoos and Shoes. The tide had turned by the late 70s, with such names as Cheap Trick and The Cars achieving success as the American music industry embraced power pop as a radio-friendly alternative to punk. When The Knack emerged from nowhere to dominate the summer of 1979 with the single 'My Sharona' and the album 'Get The Knack', it was clear that the decade was ending with power pop established as a significant commercial proposition. A chronologically-arranged set, 'Looking For The Magic' traces power pop's development throughout the Seventies as largely unsuccessful bands were afforded cult status by the burgeoning grass-roots fanzine network that nurtured them. As well as featuring all of the aforementioned acts, we include the likes of Todd Rundgren, Flamin' Groovies, Sparks, Ramones and the USA-based 1979 revamp of Badfinger, one of the seminal prototypal power pop bands at the start of the decade. We also focus on a huge number of cult names and little-known acts, showcasing many tracks that were unissued at the time and even several cuts now gaining a first-ever release. Housed in a clamshell box that includes a heavily annotated and illustrated 48-page booklet, 'Looking For The Magic' is a fascinating, highly entertaining celebration of a genre that went under the radar for most of it's formative years.

Track List

1. Shakin' Street - MC5
2. Go Back - Crabby Appleton
3. Egg Carton Wall - the American Dream
4. We Gotta Get You a
5. Woman - Todd Rundgren
6. Moon Tears - Grin
7. Down on My Knees - Bread
8. You Tore My Down -Flamin' Groovies
9. To Be Your Friend - Sid
10. Bradley (Erik)
11. When My Baby's Beside Me
12. (Alternative Mix) - Big Star
13. Top of the City - Stories
14. It's My Life - the Wackers
15. I Like Girls (Bearsville Version) - Sparks
16. Abracadabra (Have You Seen Her?) - Blue Ash
17. Must Be Love - Bang
18. Friday on My Mind - Earth Quake
19. Play on - the Raspberries
20. I Don't Mind - Athanor
21. Some Kind of Jerk- Foxpass
22. Ahead of My Time - the Droogs
23. I Don't Want to Know -Nils Lofgren
24. Little Lost and Innocent-Milk 'N' Cookies
25. Rock and Roll Love Letter - Tim Moore
26. Government Center -Jonathan Richman
27. She Might Look My Way (Take 2) - Alex Chilton
28. Familiar Faces - Target
29. Last Night - Eric Carmen
30. American Nights - the Runaways
31. (Don't Fear) the Reaper
32. (Single Edit) - Blue Öyster Cult 3 Downtown Menagerie -Hollins Ferry
33. All in All* - Just Boys
34. When You Find Out - the Nerves
35. If You've Got the Time -The Babys
36. Lonely Boy - Andrew Gold
37. To Stay - John Scoggins
38. See No Evil - Television
39. I Trust You* - the Meyce
40. Oh Candy (Single Mix) - Cheap Trick
41. Ridin' in My Car - NRBQ
42. Boys Don't Lie - Shoes
43. She Say Yea - the Scruffs
44. She's the One - Themarshalls
45. Love in Action - Utopia
46. Alright You Boys - Venus ; the Razorblades
47. Looking for the Magic -Dwight Twilley Band
48. Ecstasy - Paley Brothers
49. Forgive and Forget -Marbles
50. All for the Love of Rock
51. And Roll - Tuff Darts
52. You Yeah You - the Quick
53. New Year's Eve - Van Duren
54. Mind of My Own - the Leopards
55. Walk in the Rain - the Pop
56. Decline and Fall -Sneakers
57. My Best Friend's Girl - the Cars
58. Losing You to Sleep -Tommy Hoehn
59. The First One - Gary Valentine
60. Leave the Past Behind -The Moberlys
61. I Wanna Be Sedated -Ramones
62. Let Her Dance - Spitballs
63. You Just Don't Wanna
64. Know - Jules ; the Polar Bears
65. Gotta Have Pop - Segarini
66. Say Girl - Robert Johnson
67. Come Back - Fotomaker
68. Don't Listen to Them - Bill Kern
69. Love Is Gonna Come at
70. Last - Badfinger
71. Drivin' Music - Rubinoos
72. Rendezvous - the Greg Kihn Band
73. Your Number or Your
74. Name - the Knack
75. Poly Vinyl - the Mumbles
76. Rolene - Moon Martin
77. Get 'Im Outa Town - the Laughing Dogs
78. She Don't Know Why I'm
79. Here (Album Version) - the Last
80. Slip Away - Ian Lloyd
81. Should Have Known
82. Better - Richard Lloyd
83. No More Heartbreaks* -The Names
84. She Said - Cheese
85. Cheri - 20/20