(as reviewed in Moo Magazine)

PAT DULL

The Rare Early Tapes, Vol. II

You know the nun in Airplane? That's Pat Dull in his just funnin' mode, but that is pretty much what he does -- acoustic non-weepers (guitar only) spanning the strum to strum from rags to Talking, I-Bought-A-Woody-Guthrie-Album, Blues as referenced from Bob Zimmerman, albiet much more on the puny front similar to some of Eric Davidson's white-boy, middle-class, English-major asides. On the whole you would decide Pat is a nice guy who has really "heard" those Marshall Crenshaw LPs. I have no use for this what-so-ever, or anything like it, but Pat knew that. I wish I could play guitar and sing as good as him, though. This is as good as any Billy Bragg I have heard, without the join-the-union-fight-that-Mean-Margie-Thatcher stuff, so pervasive in his piddling. The bonus side of his band Pop Rocks! is nice dirty gumball Buddy Holly punk pop rock including an Elvis Costello song about "doin' it" and two songs credited to The Beat which I assume is the band the guy who wrote "Hangin' On The Telephone" led. There are nice 50sish changes dragged through the kinder pubrock side of '77 punk rock, like the Nipple Erectors 'er something. This is primarilly "fun" music. I don't have fun. I think it is counter productive, personally. If Pat wrote the song "Break My Heart," he needs a record contract. It's a fine Elvis Bros./Shoes power popper equal to all but a couple of Jerry "Beerdog" Wick's very best. No insult there. Plus he doesn't play too fast. Good band. This will do until Pat Boone's metal record comes out. B-

--Craig Regala

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