steering clear of the mainstream
since 2001

june 2010

review
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info opinion

Linus of Hollywood

"Your Favorite Record" CD

Franklin Castle

Genres: soft rock, sixties pop, pop

Franklin Castle
7510 West Sunset Blvd. #217
Hollywood CA 90046

July 1 - 7 2002

Linus of Hollywood is a sixties-influenced pop musician who knows how to write music. Good music. And Your Favourite Record is a fine example of this. Right from the opening melodies of "Say Hello To Another Goodbye", you know you're in for a real treat. The song, catchy yet menacing, is the type of tune that stays in your head for weeks. Meanwhile, "Thankful/It's Over Now" is a very listenable track about the end of a relationship. Linus of Hollywood's collaborations with Margo Guryan are also successful. His reworking of "Sunday Morning" is particularly well-done, beaming with upbeat energy and immediate accessibility, and his version of "Shine" is similarly pleasant, even featuring Guryan on piano!

The key to Linus' music is listenability. Every single song on this album is extraordinarily accessible - they're like little treats for your ears. "When I Get To California" fits that description particularly well - it's a saccharine-sweet pop song that's got both the style and the charm of the sixties.

It can be said that Linus of Hollywood is stuck in the past - that he's simply a nostalgic daydreamer. But that wouldn't be correct at all. Linus is simply influenced by all the great pop that the decade had to offer. And an eye for the past is a nice breath of fresh air in today's climate of popular boy bands and nu-metal - so please, Linus, don't stop doing what you do!

87%

Matt Shimmer