We're All Different and Nothing's Universal

I was click-wheelin' through my collection this morning on the way to work looking for something different when I landed upon Ro Sham Bo. Let me take you back in time. The year is 1993. Grunge has not yet disrupted the growing popularity of power pop. Matthew Sweet's Altered Beast is in the record shops (remember those?) just a few rows down from Jellyfish's Spilt Milk.

Recently departed Jellyfish member Jason Falkner teams up with power pop royalty Jon Brion, Dan McCarroll and Buddy Judge to form The Grays. Their only album, Ro Sham Bo, is released in April 1994 and kicked off by the single The Very Best Years. Wow. This is power pop at it's ultimate best. Even 15 years later, this album is fresh, inventive and inspiring. It's also filled with kick-ass hooks. The album takes you on a roller coaster ride of melodic wonders.

Unfortunately, The Grays disbanded shortly thereafter and went their separate ways. I guess all good things have to come to an end eventually, but this was too quick. What is even sadder, Ro Sham Bo is long out of print. All you can get from iTunes is the music video of The Very Best Years. Amazon offers up a few physical copies but nothing to download. Hell, even YouTube won't let me embed the video for The Very Best Years on this post. This is one album that begs to be rediscovered.

If this isn't part of your collection, do yourself a favor and track down a copy today.