She Was Tall and Cool and Pretty and She Dressed as Black as Coal

I've always been a big Smithereens fan and I have veejay-turned-podcast pioneer Adam Curry to thank for it. Back when 11 was released and A Girl Like You was rightfully hitting big, Curry introduced it as AC/DC meets Beatles. While no big fan of AC/DC, anything that was remotely compared to the Beatles back then was a must for me. I was not disappointed. Seeing them at the annual free Fourth of July concert at the Taste of Chicago in 1990 is to this day one of my favorite live music experiences. What a blast. Few bands put on such a jovial, party of a show like the Smithereens.

Well I'm thrilled to share the news that Pat DiNizio, the distinctive voice of the Smithereens, has a new solo album out called This is Pat DiNizio (very creative). It's an album covering mostly classic 60s tunes (could you tell he was a fan of the 60s?) done jazzy and minimalist. I was very skeptical considering I don't particularly get enthused about covers and I've never gone out of my way for some jazz. But, man, listening to just a couple of the soundbites courtesy of Not Lame has me very excited to hear the rest. I'm convinced only DiNizio with such a cool, unique voice could pull this off. Listen to the previews yourself:

Pat DiNizio - For No One
Pat DiNizio - California Dreaming
Pat DiNizio - Behind the Wall of Sleep (one of my all time favorite Smithereens tunes)

Very cool. As always, thank you very much Not Lame.