Mirror Stars

• Artist: The Fabulous Poodles
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1978 10
• Genre: Rock

Review

In 1978 it looked like the Fabulous Poodles were going to make it big in America. Their first American LP, Mirror Stars, had just been released to fairly good reviews and they landed opening spots on tours with Tom Petty and the Ramones. The album was actually a compilation of their two British efforts, The Fabulous Poodles, produced by John Entwistle and released on Pye in 1977, and Unsuitable from 1978. Lead singer Tony DeMeur wore severe horn rim glasses leading to inevitable comparisons to Elvis Costello. DeMeur was a wise-ass songwriter, but he didn't write the band's snarky lyrics -- that job was taken by non-performing member John Parsons. All DeMeur really had in common with Costello was his eyewear. On its release, Mirror Stars outsold the first albums by the Clash and the Jam, but bad management and band strife broke up the Fab Poos in 1980. The song "Mirror Star" opens the record with a Stones/Kinks rocker that gives listeners a glimpse of a would-be star playing air guitar in front of the mirror in his bedroom. It briefly became a geek-rock anthem with its dubbed-in applause and big clanging guitar. "Work Shy" is an energetic three-chord workout that describes the hazards of playing all night and trying to make it to your day job in the morning. DeMeur's vocals are strong and, while he has an edge, his delivery tends to be arch and playful. "Chicago Boxcar" has hints of Mott the Hoople's "All the Way to Memphis" in its piano line and DeMeur's Hunter-esque vocal, while the playfully sexuality of "Oh Cheryl" is pure pop fodder with its faux Latin beat and Brill Building teenage feel. "Toytown People" combines Gypsy and ska beats; "Mr. Mike" blends doo wop and British music hall influences; and "Roll Your Own" is the obligatory drug tune, a blues shuffle with a pop edge that instructs listeners in the fine art of joint rolling. DeMeur accents the tune with some credible blues harp. The album closes with three Kinks-like portraits of working-class British life. "B Movies" celebrates hours spent in the dark dreaming of better times to come, "Tit Photographer Blues" is the story of a half-assed porn photographer who can't ever score with his models, and "Cherchez la Femme" lays out the story of a clueless bloke who never gets anywhere with the opposite sex. The playing throughout is solid, but the band never really transcends its influences. Mirror Stars was reissued in 2009 as a two-fer with Think Pink by American Beat, a division of Collectors' Choice. ~ j. poet, Rovi

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