Paul Collins Beat With Peter Case
South by Southwest Aftershots
Reviewed by Michael Toland, Fri., March 23, 2012
Paul Collins Beat With Peter Case
Easy Tiger Patio, March 17"This is a song Peter and I wrote in Los Angeles, back when we had no money," declared Paul Collins before launching into "All Across the USA." "We're gonna do it now when we still have no money." Since the Knack's brief chart run, power-pop has been music played purely for the love of it, and Collins lives and breathes it without thought for material success. Augmenting his band the Beat with his old pal Peter Case, with whom he shared space in the Nerves and short-lived the Breakaways, Collins knocked out "hits" "Working Too Hard" and "Walking Out on Love" plus deep catalog gems such as "I Don't Fit In" and "Don't Wait Up for Me Tonight" with his eyes shut in determination and pushed through a multitude of sound issues, including a few songs in which the bassist's harmony vocals were louder than the principles'. The bouncing Case contributed nimble lead guitar lines, as well as his Nerves gem "When You Find Out." "Many Roads To Follow" found the singers sharing a microphone, rediscovering the chemistry that resulted in the cult recordings that feed their current legend.
