Search - Poppin' Wheelies :: Poppin Wheelies

BASICALLY THE 2ND GAS GIANTS CD!! ROBIN WILSON AT HIS BEST!

Larry Davis | NYC/Long Island, NY | 09/18/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To those not in the know, this album is the followup to the Gas Giants' 1999 debut/only CD "From Beyond The Back Burner", and the Gin Blossoms (BIG YAY!!) Add Scott Johnson on guitar (from the Gin Blossoms/Roger Clyne + The Peacemakers) and there ya go. The only thing is they are hiding under a cartoon disguise here, sorta like Blur doing the Gorillaz project. I found out about this project/CD at the NYC Gin Blossoms gig at BB Kings, which was terrific as expected. Robin told me about the CD, and it was being sold among the merch, so of course I bought it, along with Jesse Valenzuela's solo CD "Tunes Young People Will Enjoy" (AWESOME!!), and the CD debut of the Gin Blossoms' indie debut "Dusted" (BIG YAY!!) I flipped when Robin told me this, and flipped many times more when I put it on, woohoo!!Think CLASSIC GIN BLOSSOMS, with that Gas Giants edge, but even MORE POWERPOP SUGAR PILED ON!!! Yes, that is a VERY good thing. If you are a TRUE POWERPOP ENTHUSIAST, this POPPIN WHEELIES CD is for you!! I mean, a cartoon group is a perfect powerpop vehicle, along the lines of the Vandalias, Archies, Powerpuff Girls, Banana Splits, Josie + The Pussycats, BUT here, the music is Robin Wilson and his pals, and pure magic!!There are 11 tunes here, the whole shebang PRODUCED by our hero Robin, recorded at his recording studio, Mayberry, in Tempe, AZ, ALL LEAD VOCALS by our Robin (so you KNOW this will be a gem, and indeed, this is CLASSIC ROBIN!!), lead guitar and bass by DAN HENZERLING from Robin's Gas Giants, drums by PHILIP RHODES from both the Gin Blossoms + Gas Giants, plus SCOTTY JOHNSON on lead guitar on 1 track!!!! AND to further entice fellow powerpop enthusiasts, there are (count em) THREE TOMMY KEENE COVERS (including a FANTASTIC take on "Places That are Gone")!!! Those along with 5 new Robin originals!! Toss in 3 other covers (by Jeff Moss, Robin pal and collaborator Steve French, who plays lead guitar on 2 songs here, and Owen Vyse), and you have the much-overlooked Poppin Wheelies!!Now, the gyst of this cartoon concept superhero "band", is they are a powerpop 4-piece (Tommy on lead vocals + rhythm guitar-looks like a blue Rickenbacker, plus he looks like Tommy Keene, Danny on drums + the driver/remote controller of their "Galacta-Van", Tennessee on bass, and Otis on lead guitar-a Les Paul-with Cracky, his pet parrot + band mascot), who travel from planet to planet in their GV and play their cool powerpop tunes to pop-loving aliens and robots. Now, as in most cartoons, they have enemies and competition in a 4-piece robot band called "The Techno-Pops" (who have 1 Robin-co-written tune on the CD called "Spaced Out" and sound like a weird hybrid of Suicide and Kraftwerk with some pop tossed in), and their controller/boss "The Black Widow Commandress".It's a cool concept, well-executed, with neat colourful graphics, well-thought-out characters, + 11 amazing powerpop tunes by Robin + company (fave tunes here are "Alone Again" and "Danger Girl", which rank as high as the best Gin Blossoms and Gas Giants tunes, seriously!!) All that is needed is an actual Poppin Wheelies cartoon broadcast on the Cartoon Network, which COULD generate a cult following among animation fans and hip college students/twenty + thirty-somethings. At least the website is cool, which has great graphics, animation, and fleshes out the characters in more detail. Check it out: www.poppinwheelies.com, if it's still up that is, the CD came out in 2000, and I'm the first reviewer, in 2003!!!I will be spreading the word to all Gin Blossoms/Gas Giants/Tempe scene fans, as none seem to be aware of this CD at all!! And they should, it's very cool and very worthy, and classic Robin Wilson!!! YAY about the Gin Blossoms reunion too, woohoo!!!"

It should be a classic!

Gregory Masciola | Carol Stream, IL USA | 07/25/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've recently become a die-hard fan of the Gin Blossoms, and in the process, learned of this CD. What's not to like about this CD? It's packed with great songs that to me are just as good as some of the Gin Blossoms best stuff such as "Time 4U", "Up & Down", "Little Stars", "Places That Are Gone", & "Radio Summer". Basically the only bad track is the last one, so skip it. Everything else on this CD is likeable. Don't hesitate to buy this album. You'll love it!"

AWESOME CD!

Richard J. Goldschmidt | Oak Lawn, IL USA | 07/11/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like the GAS GIANTS CD...this was recorded at ROBIN WILSON's MAYBERRY STUDIOS in ARIZONA and has an EXCELLENT Sound and this is a solid group of songs. ROBIN's singing performance makes it and SCOTTY JOHNSON'S Solo on track 5 is a HIGHLIGHT! If you like GREAT music BUY this CD!"