Paul Collins has been a significant part of the power pop scene for 35 years plus. From his early days as drummer for cult-hero power-poppers the Nerves, to his brief leadership of the Breakaways, to his establishment of the Beat (a.k.a. Paul Collins’ Beat), Collins has championed the three-chords-and-a-chorus style that gives this album its cheeky name. King Of Power Pop is in fact a 13-track celebration of the genre, and it’s successful on just about every level. The songs are tight and memorable, the guitars are sharp and punchy, the beats make your feet tap, and the shout-along choruses dare you not to. – Daily Vault
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Collins doesn’t fornicate around here – he just whips out nugget after nugget of catchy, melodic, chiming guitar pop with two guitars, bass and drums. The assertion in the album title may seem over the top, but after spinning King of Power Pop! a few times, you’ll find it difficult to disagree. – The Big Takeover
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No one has more right to lay claim to the title of King of Power Pop than Paul Collins: over a 30-year career with The Nerves, The Breakaways, and Paul Collins’ Beat, Collins has consistently delivered the Rickenbacker jangle and harmonies, as well as songs about girls, “the kids”, and music itself, that power pop aficionados have demanded since the first issue of Bomp!, if not the Who’s The Kids Are Alright. As it is, he more than backs up his album’s boastful title on this most welcome—and deserving—victory lap. – Stephen Haag / PopMatters
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With assistance from Detroit musician and producer Jim Diamond, King of Power Pop! finds Collins comfortably back in form, in the thick of his power pop roots. Accompanied by Austin singer/songwriter Eric Blakely on lead guitar, Detroit stalwart Dave Shettler on drums, and Diamond on bass, Collins proves that he still has the chops, executing deft hooks with his distinctive flourish of energy….. a satisfying pop record perfectly fitted for the waning signs of summer. – The North County Journal
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I’ve little doubt that Paul Collins has chosen the title ‘The King of Power Pop’ with his tongue very firmly inserted in his cheek. However, his enviable way with timeless tunes ensures this benign monarch will always have his staunch followers. I’m proud to count myself among them. – Tim Peacock / WhisperingAndHollering
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Leave it to the commoners of the blogosphere to endlessly debate Paul Collins’ status in the power pop firmament; as for this humble rockcrit, given the uniquely high quality of tuneage on King of Power Pop!, with nary a duff track among the thirteen, I say give him the crown. He’s earned it with better than three decades of uncompromising loyalty to the power pop aesthetic. – Rev Keit A. Gordon / Blurt
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These thirteen rapid-fire pop concoctions barely allow the listener to catch a breath before Collins is off and running again. Nothing fancy, mind you, just a hook and a prayer. King Of Power Pop! will do the trick, whether you’re cleaning the garage, driving the neighborhood kids to soccer or shaking yer moneymaker in hopes of wooing a new mate. – MOKB
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(Paul Collins) new album is called King of Power Pop! and it takes guts to go with that
title, but Collins has the chops to back it up. – The Washington Post
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Collins has cut a handful of fine records since the breakup of the Beat, but King of Power Pop! is the first one in ages that captures the tough, upbeat sound of his most memorable work, and it proves the man hasn’t lost his touch for writing tight, hooky tunes with killer hooks and energetic guitar figures. Collins’ voice is a little rougher than it was in his salad days, but he makes that work to his favor, giving the songs a touch of defiant swagger even when he’s sounding sweet and heartbroken, and when he and his lead guitarist Eric Blakely lock in, this sounds like the perfect follow-up to the Beat’s classic albums for Columbia, bursting with tuneful vigor and rock & roll passion (and arriving a mere quarter-century after the fact). – Mark Deming / AMG
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In his liner notes for his newest album, Paul Collins describes King of Power Pop! as “the record that connects the dots, from The Nerves to The Breakaways to The Beat to today”. This may be one of the most accurate assessments I’ve ever read an artist make of his own work. The record has a distinctly nostalgic feel in the best possible way, sounding both fresh and familiar at the same time. On the first listen, you almost feel as if you’ve heard these songs before. This isn’t a criticism of Collins’ originality. It’s a tribute to his ability to craft solid, punchy, thoroughly enjoyable rock and roll. – Music Tap
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Recording in Detroit with Jim Diamond producing, Collins sounds as if he’s fresh off the end of a tour with the Beat – his voice a tad ragged but still thrilled by the glories of power pop. He charges hard into the bluesy “Do You Wanna Love Me?” and cuts the difference between the Beatles and Everly Brothers on the opening “C’mon Let’s Go!” His lyrics haven’t yearned so dearly and his voice hasn’t sounded this unbridled since he sang “Rock ‘n’ Roll Girl” and “Walking Out on Love” thirty years ago. Collins and Eric Blakely’s guitars rumble and sting, Jim Diamond’s bass and Dave Shettler’s drums propel, and the vocal harmonies and backings capture the joy of a summer’s night cruise with the windows down and the radio up.
Shettler adds tympani to “Many Roads to Follow,” and with the duet harmony sung at the top of Collins’ and Blakely’s ranges, they conjure the deep teen emotions of the Brill Building. Given his track record, it’s not really surprising that Collins still has great albums in him, but that he so effortlessly reaches back to the sounds he helped coin in the mid-70s (and whose invention he details in “Kings of Power Pop”), and it’s inspiring that he finds such satisfying ways to use the wear in his voice. Particularly noteworthy is how easily he matches Alex Chilton’s gravelly tone on a cover of the Box Tops’ 1967 hit “The Letter,” and how beautifully he covers the Flamin’ Groovies’ “You Tore Me Down.” The heartbreak of his original “Hurting’s on My Side” is rendered in the sort of ragged-voiced emotion John Lennon shouted out in 1964. Anyone who loves the Nerves EP and the Beat’s albums (particularly the debut) should grab a copy of this one ASAP. – Hyperbolium
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The 13 tunes zip by in just over a half hour with only one making even the three minute mark. The economy is refreshing. Every song has its hook, but the before they can grow tiresome he’s wrapped things up and moved on to the next one. And while much of the subject matter is fairly trite he has some moments of hard won clarity, whether it’s the self-effacing title track (“Sometimes people, they remember me and tell me how great they thought I used to be”) or the anthemic “This is America” which counts Trans Ams, Burger Kings and “The Kids” amongst our nation’s finest achievements. No point arguing with that. Or this record, for that matter. It is what it is and it is a very good power-pop record by an often overlooked originator. – Friendly Suggestions
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Being in charge of checking in new rock at a radio station, it’s easy to lose my enthusiasm for new releases. CDs start to sound the same. But Paul Collins’s King of Power Pop shattered all that. I was zapped by its fresh, fun, cool, tingly, and exciting voltage. I put it on and then played it again. I had to set my lemonade down on the new Phillip Selway CD to help Paul Collins with an air guitar solo. The songs on King of Power Pop are rippingly exciting, punky and professional, youthful and accomplished. This disc has wings. – Smile Politely
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