'60's-oriented singer/songwriter's intelligent pop/rock w/hooks, harmonies, Hohners, a Rickenbacker thrown in for good measure, & liner notes from "Last of the Rock Stars" author, Elliott Murphy.

10 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Folk Rock, ROCK: 60's Rock



Details:
The debut release by Chicago-area singer/songwriter Fred Prellberg, Last of the Rock Stars, is also the 1st release on Denmark Street Records. Two years in the making, nine of the ten songs on LOTRS were written by Prellberg, the lone cover ("Last of the Rock Stars") a rarely heard rock'n'roll anthem by acclaimed singer/songwriter, Elliott Murphy (who provided liner notes from his home in Paris). LOTRS was co-produced by Ellis Clark (Kevin Tihista, Nikki Sudden, Chamber Strings) & also features Paul Gongola (guitars, keyboards) & Jerry King (drums), as well as guitar & keyboard work from producer Clark.

From the album opener, "Stay Where You Are", a classic r&b-inspired ballad, to the album closer, "False Claims", an unapologetic tribute to The Rolling Stones' "Paint it Black", LOTRS mines '60's & '70's era Rock aesthetics not as a map or template, but as the wellspring of the kind of pop/rock that informs the singer's rock'n'roll vision. If you hear the influence of The Kinks, Byrds, Del Shannon & Bob Dylan, or even contemporary Australian singer/songwriter, Paul Kelly, it is probably no accident. What Fred Prellberg shares with each is a dedication to the pop song as an absolute; an art form with merits & exigencies unique & no less important than the more traditional arts.

From Rick Cornell, Host of Border Radio - WXDU 88.7, Durham, NC

I can count on it every year: just after all my year-end faves lists are compiled and submitted, along comes a record that, in the immortal words of Terry Malloy, "coulda been a contender." I'm really enjoying this album from
Prellberg, a singer/songwriter whose rustic, versatile work trumps the limitations typically suggested by the s/sw tag. And, yes, the title track is an Elliott Murphy cover.