Jack Lee
is one of the great mystery men of the power pop boom of the '70s.
Lee
was one-third of
the Nerves
, the wildly influential California pop trio that also included
Peter Case
and
Paul Collins
and helped set the stage for the L.A. punk rock scene.
wrote
' best-known song, "Hanging on the Telephone," which would later become a big hit for
Blondie
, and he also penned a major international success for
Paul Young
, "Come Back and Stay." But after releasing two small-label albums in the '80s,
dropped out of recording and performing, and his public invisibility has turned him into something of a cult figure.
Bigger Than Life
is a collection that reissues
's two albums in full -- 1981's
Greatest Hits, Vol. 1
and 1985's
-- with the non-LP B-side "Small World" closing out the set as a bonus. The 11 songs from
(which, in the grand tradition of
Phil Ochs
'
Greatest Hits
, was actually a collection of new material, though "Hanging by the Telephone" was already familiar to listeners) fare best here. The melodies and production hit a middle ground between poppy, new wave-influenced energy, and a hard rock attack, and
and his accompanists deliver solid work. The material from
has a different sound and feel, ranging from mainstream pop to hard rock with '80s metal influences. There are a number of fine songs on
, fans will enjoy hearing
's versions of the tunes he wrote for others, and this collection makes two rare albums readily available (and affordable) again. ~ Mark Deming