Artist description Song oriented, one-man-band Pop

Music Style Pop/Rock

Musical Influences Todd Rundgren, Beatles, Jules Shear, Kinks, Brian Wilson, XTC, Elvis Costello, ELO

Similar Artists Todd Rundgren, Beatles, Jules Shear, Kinks, Brian Wilson, Elvis Costello, XTC, Emitt Rhodes, ELO

Artist History Doug Powell was "discovered" by Jules Shear who brought him to the attention of several labels which eventually led to the release of Doug's debut in 1996 "Ballad of the Tin Men" on Mercury Records. After a successful tour with Todd Rundgren in support of "Ballad..." Powell split with Mercury. The demos for the aborted Mercury follow-up were released in January 1999 by Not Lame Records. Powell also plays in SWAG, a Nashville based pop band that includes members of Cheap Trick, Wilco and the Mavericks as well as solo artist Jerry Dale McFadden.

Group Members Doug Powell - All instruments

Instruments All

Albums Ballad of the Tin Men (Mercury, 1996), Curiouser (Not Lame 1999)

Press Reviews From Goldmine Magazine: Former Todd Rundgren sideman/associate Doug Powell (not to be confused with former Todd Rundgren sideman/associate Roger Powell) released his first solo disc on Mercury Records a few years back, and then was unceremoniously dropped from the label's roster. Happens every day, right? Well, sure. But how often does an artist's follow-up to their major label debut end up being an amazing collection of eight-track demos (released on an indie label) that absolutely blows away their previous work? That's the unlikely feat that Nashville's Doug Powell has managed to achieve on Curiouser. Even though the sonics may be a bit lacking, these performances are certainly not noticeably flawed in any way, shape or form, despite Powellís liner note apology to the contrary. And the reason that fans of passionate, literate, soulful pop-rock will covet this disc is not because of the sound, but rather for the sheer brute strength of the songs and Powell's emotionally charged lead vocals. Tunes like 'Canít Break My Heart,' 'Torn' and 'For the Love of God' are impeccably constructed, powerfully performed mid-tempo gems that fans of Todd Rundgren and Jules Shear will get plenty of listening mileage out of. Powell can also wax whimsical ('Are You Listening, Betty Flowers'), rock it up a little ('Let it Rock') and play it spirited and humorous ('Just Like Montgomery Clift'). There are many nuances to Curiouser (some of the Beatles-influenced backing vocals boggle the mind, as does the choral vocal effect on the disc-ending 'Goodnightî) that reveal themselves upon repeated listens, but the paramount thoughts that keep popping back into the brain are 'The overall feel is too richly textured to be only eight tracks,î 'How, for the love of Todd, could any major label let anyone this talented slip through their fingers?

Location Nashville, TN - USA

Copyright notice. All material on MP3.com is protected by copyright law and by international treaties. You may download this material and make reasonable number of copies of this material only for your own personal use. You may not otherwise reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, or create derivative works of this material, unless authorized by the appropriate copyright owner(s).