+jesse+mccartney

Since 1951 finds Gold continuing his trend of writing catchy, jangly pop songs, many of which are reminiscent of Del Amitri, like opener “Can Anybody See You,” “First Time in Love,” and “The Secret”; there’s also a definite Jimmy Webb vibe to “The Best of Everything.” In fact, there are several stylistic tips of the hat to other pop musicians, like Steely Dan on “Back on Top” or the Beach Boys on “Teardrops.” Creatively, the only notable misstep is “Cyberspace,” which, it must be said, sounds like an old fogey trying to keep up with the kids; fortunately, as experiments go, the instrumental “Main Title” is decidedly more successful, accomplishing its goal of creating the feel of a motion picture score.

Since 1951 finds Gold continuing his trend of writing catchy, jangly pop songs, many of which are reminiscent of Del Amitri, like opener “Can Anybody See You,” “First Time in Love,” and “The Secret”; there’s also a definite Jimmy Webb vibe to “The Best of Everything.” In fact, there are several stylistic tips of the hat to other pop musicians, like Steely Dan on “Back on Top” or the Beach Boys on “Teardrops.” Creatively, the only notable misstep is “Cyberspace,” which, it must be said, sounds like an old fogey trying to keep up with the kids; fortunately, as experiments go, the instrumental “Main Title” is decidedly more successful, accomplishing its goal of creating the feel of a motion picture score.

Julian Lennon released his debut, Valotte, in 1984, not even a full four years after his father John's assassination. The wounds were still fresh and there were millions of listeners ready to embrace the son of a Beatle, particularly when he sounded remarkably like his father on the stately piano-led ballad "Valotte," the first single from the album. Its elegant evocation of late-period Beatles – deliberate but not self-conscious – invited some carping criticisms that Julian was riding on his father's coattails when the reality is this: any pop singer/songwriter of Julian's generation was bound to be influenced by the Beatles. At his best on Valotte – particularly the title track, but also the caramelized psychedelic chorus of "Well I Don't Know," the tightly wound "Say You're Wrong," and the spare, simple closer "Let Me Be" – Julian demonstrated a keen ear for Beatlesque pop songwriting, drawing equally from Lennon and McCartney.