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Reviews of "The Very Thing That You Treasure"


  • "Beautifully crafted, laid-back pop songs as sunny as a fresh summer's day, and as melancholy as mid-fall, Spike Priggen's The Very Thing That You Treasure is a delicate, yet sophisticated acoustic pop record."

    Alex Steininger

    In Music We Trust


  • "The Very Thing That You Treasure, Priggen will tell you, has been a lifetime in the making. Quite frankly it’s been worth the wait."

    Kurt Hernon

    Bangsheet


  • If there is any justice in this teen-popping world, The Very Thing That You Treasure won't get lost on the streets. It's a sweet little treasure that deserves a home.

    Carrie Havranek

    SonicNet


  • "The Very Thing that You Treasure is, quite simply, an amazing album. From the first track, a gorgeously reverby, jangly pop ballad called "Every Broken Heart," you know you're into something good. Priggen's voice is kind of nasal and a little bit awkward, but there is a gentleness to it that is immediately charming."

    Scout

    Delusions Of Adequacy


  • "Next time I'm getting over a terrorizing, head-over-heels heartbreak, The Very Thing That You Treasure will be in the driver's seat, helping me cry myself into the nearest telephone pole. Until then, this unbelievably depressing CD will be sitting on my shelf, safe from unsuspecting ears that can't deal with its gut-wrenching power. Priggen definitely has issues with chicks, as several tunes (including "Every Broken Heart" and "She Used To Be My Baby") highlight a borderline obsessive-compulsive singer-songwriter bloodletting his emotions onto a recorded medium. Priggen has a way with words, and his exceptional lyrics weave intricate tales of desperation and loss that somehow, by the disc's end, inspire a sense of hope and yearning. Nonetheless, this potent collection of tear jerking, honky-tonk pop tunes is a marvelous expression of calculated emotional outbursts. Medical authorities should be contacted immediately, as this CD should only be allowed into your CD player with a prescription from your local psychiatrist."

    Andrew Magilow

    Splendid E-zine


  • “To be blunt about it, this is a brilliant LP, and as debuts go ranks right up there with those of Marshall Crenshaw, Big Star and The Pretenders. It’s full of indelible hooks and I just want to keep playing it again and again and again…One of the year’s best”

    Toast Magazine


  • “Turns simple phrases around gorgeous melodies and into moving pop poetry”

    Mean Magazine


  • “Gloriously melancholy. Worth every minute of the ride.”

    Power Of Pop


  • “The very definition of bittersweet”

    Joey Sweeney

    Time Out New York


  • "His lyrics seethe with John Lennon's anger (and wit), but most often, and most brilliantly, they hinge on the sort of forlorn melancholy that Chris Bell made so affecting."

    Red Tunic Troll

    Amazon Customer Review


  • "In the finicky music world, Spike Priggen may well be destined to skirt around the perimeters of success for a few more years to come, but his satisfying songs are already worthy of a wider audience. Priggen's debut, The Very Thing That You Treasure, finds the accomplished musician joining the alt.country fray as a less cocky version of Ryan Adams. Two of the better offerings, Every Broken Heart and Outtasight take to the sort of countrified twang that R.E.M. tried for on 1991's Out Of Time. .. It is welcome news that Priggen has already set to work on a follow up."

    Rip It Up Magazine


  • "Priggen's songs are so melodic and throw up so many surprises both lyrically and sonically that it is hard not to love everything on this record.All of the tracks have been a favourite at different times so it is hard to pick out a standout song. It changes from the opening 'Every Broken Heart' to everything in-between that and the last song, 'So Good To See You', a strange psychedelic ballad full of weird effects and mellotron.

    Pennyblack Music Website


  • "In truth it's hard to single out tunes for praise when all 12 tracks are consistently solid. This is a 'song' record, an album that's not about glossy production or sampled drum beats. Spike Priggen writes damn good songs, and that's what you'll find on The Very Thing That You Treasure."

    Barfly.com


  • "Not the most rock 'n' roll of names, and one most likely that most of you have never encountered before, but then 'The Very Thing That You Treasure' isn't the most rock 'n' roll of records. In fact, the debut from New York based multi-instrumentalist Priggen is a wonderfully vibrant melting pot of eclectic pop rock styles that will have power pop fans drooling.

    Classic Rock (UK)


  • "Starting with a chorus of “Every broken heart is just like the first one”, Priggen shows his perfect hand early. Matching Teenage Fanclub with Matthew Sweet, he can’t help but sound like Big Star – which is even better! Irresistibly ragged production and endlessly bittersweet guitar solos will have you singing every line, and feeling like you wrote them all yourself. Proof beyond question that the one thing you can never grow out of is a teenage crush."

    TNT Magazine (UK)


  • "It's an album of confidant versatility, and the two years it took to record are evident in the sound of the material, the care that has been given. So often these days music can seem meaningless, vocals tossed away with a cheap rhyme, but not here."

    Logged Off Website

« June 2005 | Main | September 2005 »

Thanks

Thanks to everybody that came out for the shows in New Haven this past Saturday as well as Rudy's and Cafe 9. Both shows were a rousing success. We raised alot of money for the Cat Project at the Rudy's event.

And Cafe 9 has become a really great venue to play now. Even though it's relatively small, acts like The dB's, Los Straitjackets, and  Juliana Hatfield have played or will play there soon. Definitely a good place to play or see a show.

And thanks to Dean Falcone for putting it all together, booking the shows, lending the gear, playing the guitars. etc.

Posted by Spike on Aug 30, 2005 at 04:34 AM in Shows |

Yesterday & Eighteen (Demos)

Spikebathroom

A couple of 8 Track demos recorded back in the day at the Original Studio Red in Philly (not to be confused with Studio Green- "specializing in ambient noise and side projects") by the phenomenal Adam Lasus, one from each of my solo LP's.

"Yesterday" is an original, not the Beatles song, and is much more indie rock on this than the LP version, owing to the fact that I was still letting myself play "lead" guitar on my recordings then (I farm that shit out to real musicians now).

"Eighteen" is the Alice Cooper song.

The lineup for both songs is:
Spike Priggen-Guitar & Vocals
David Brooks-Guitar
Robert Vickers-Bass
Doug Wygal-Drums
George Usher-Hammond Organ
with the addition of
Tada Hirano on lead guitar on "Eighteen"

Spike Priggen-Yesterday (Demo).mp3
Spike Priggen-Eighteen (Demo).mp3
Listen to more Spike Priggen Music
Buy Spike Priggen CD's

Posted by Spike on Aug 30, 2005 at 04:21 AM in Sounds |

Spike Priggen Returns Home For CD-Release Party With Plenty Of Friends

 

 

Former New Havenite Spike Priggen plays a CD-release party Saturday at Cafe Nine and a fund-raiser at Rudy’s.
By Patrick Ferrucci
Register Entertainment Editor
8/26/05

A sophomore slump? A weird career move? Former New Haven resident Spike Priggen, 41, grew up in the punk-rock era, so his second solo project might take some by surprise. "I never really played covers as a kid," says the songwriter from his New York home. "It was uncool; it just didn’t follow the do-it-yourself aesthetic."

But in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Priggen began a residency at a bar, playing every Wednesday and doing a lot of cover songs, interpreting other folks’ tunes in different ways. "All of a sudden, it was fun to do covers," he says. "It was good as a songwriter to learn others’ songs, learn how they’re put together and then break them apart. It was a weird bunch of songs."

Priggen began playing music at early age, becoming a New Haven scene fixture by his early teens, taking part in a number of bands like The Excerpts and The Obvious with fellow scenesters including Miracle Legion members Mark Mulcahy and Mr. Ray Neal, multi-instrumentalist Dean Falcone, Dumptruck’s Kirk Swan and now-Los Angeles producer and composer Jon Brion. Once in New York, Priggen formed The Hello Strangers.

But even though Priggen took the stage with many bands over the years, 2001’s "The Very Thing That You Treasure" became the first release under his own name. The album scored with critics and fans of power pop, landing a tune on "Felicity" and an iPod commercial. For a sophomore record, the songwriter felt like experimenting. "I wanted to try out some production techniques," he recalls. "I didn’t want to use my songs as guinea pigs because I’m not that prolific. Not that I didn’t have enough songs, but I just didn’t want to. So I started doing covers. I want to show that’s not a big deal, that they’re just as valid, good recordings of good songs."

Thus "Stars After Stars After Stars" came into fruition. Priggen’s 11-song covers album will see a local release at Cafe Nine Saturday, where the performer and his band — special for the occasion with a few surprises — will play his versions of tunes from such artists as Alice Cooper, Big Star, Miracle Legion, The Zombies, The Hot Bodies and The Ramones, all bands whose songs he covers on "Stars."

With a roster of mostly unknown songs, "Stars" exhibits how artists can completely rework tunes, leaving them with a totally original take on something someone else wrote. Cooper’s "I’m 18" goes from a hard-rock tune to a slightly countrified, early R.E.M.-esque swirl, while Priggen easily improves The Ramones’ "Questioningly," giving it the life the legendary band just could not.

"It’s fun to totally rearrange things," Priggen says. "The guys playing on them had mostly never heard (the originals), so making them different was not difficult. I just pretended I wrote them and then arranged them like I would."

The record’s guest performers include Cheap Trick’s Bun E. Carlos, Falcone, and contributors to They Might Be Giants, Fountains of Wayne, Jay Farrar and Beat Rodeo. "Everyone who did it," says Priggen, "is a friend of mine."

The early response to "Stars" has been interesting, but, Priggen says, exactly what he expected. "People have loved it or wondered why I would make a covers record second. But almost everything has been positive.

"One said it was a weird career move. I laughed at it. It’s like, ‘What career? Who am I (really) alienating?’ I wanted to thank him for thinking I had a career."

 

Posted by Spike on Aug 26, 2005 at 01:32 PM in Press |

Cafe 9 New Haven, CT Sat August 27

I'm playing two gigs in New Haven on Saturday August 27. Both also feature The Shellye Valauskas Experience. The first is a Benefit at Rudy’s Bar & Grill (see entry below) and will be more acoustic-ish. Then later on I'll be playing with a special big band at Cafe 9. The band for both gigs will be:
Nancy Polstein-Drums
Greg Beshers-Bass
Dean Falcone-Guitar
Jeff "The Baby" Weiderschall-Guitar

CAFE 9
Saturday August 27
250 STATE STREET
NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT
212.529.8463

Posted by Spike on Aug 14, 2005 at 04:32 AM in Gigs |

Benefit @ Rudy’s Bar & Grill, New Haven, CT

GnhcpA benefit for a good cause.
And it's also my Mom's Birthday Party.
I'm also playing Cafe 9 in New Haven later that night.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Benefit @ Rudy’s Bar & Grill
372 Elm Street New Haven, CT  (203) 865-1242
Live Entertainment/Light Supper
Cash Bar Coffee/Desserts
Saturday, August 27, 2005

4:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Suggested Donation $20.00 (100% tax deductible)

5:30 P.M. “Tin Roof Sundae” performing a cabaret of Frank Loesser Music
7:00 P.M. Shellye Valauskas/Dean Falcone- Melodic Pop Acoustic Performance of their CD “The Stupid Truth”
8:00 P.M. Spike Priggen performing his recently released CD “Stars after Stars after Stars”

All proceeds benefit The Greater New Haven Cat Project, Inc. www.gnhcp.org
To purchase tickets or purchase a listing in our program for this event: To purchase tickets or purchase a listing in our program for this event: call events chairperson Jane Scarpellino @ (203) 624-5295/ (203) 318-8600x100 or G.N.H.C.P. @ (203) 782-CATS

The Greater New Haven Cat Project, Inc. is a 501 (c)(3) all volunteer non-profit organization dedicated to alleviating the needless suffering of feral, stray and abandoned cats through spaying/neutering and public education.

Posted by Spike on Aug 13, 2005 at 10:51 PM in Gigs |

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Reviews Of "Stars After Stars After Stars"


  • "New York-based Spike Priggen of Liquor Giants, Pussywillows, and Dumptruck enthralled fans with his 2001 solo debut's synthesis of Big Star's chime, the dBs' quirkiness, and Dwight Twilley's pure pop power. This follow-up of lovingly selected covers (in the tradition of Bowie's Pin-Ups and the Band's Moondog Matinee) melds the hearts and minds of the originals with his overarching melancholy, mating a collector's ear for material with a producer's imagination for re-creation. Highlights include Priggen's versions of the Pontiac Brothers' yearning "Be Married Song" and the Zombies' delicate morning-after B-side "How We Were Before." The Ramones, Tracey Thorn, and Scritti Politti's songs all find a common wistfulness in Priggen's soul- and country-inflected arrangements. Closing the disc is a mesmerizing found-sound "J&H Productions" tape, in which a would-be Cincinnati concert promoter attempts to "get with" the "label industry." Whether the "label industry" "gets with" Spike Priggen, lovers of Lennon, Chilton, Stamey, and Sweet certainly should."

    Eli Messinger

    East Bay Express


  • "Although it is a highly eclectic collection of mostly obscure songs by other artists, Priggen's second album, "Stars After Stars After Stars," underscores the considerable depths of his talent. Priggen makes each song his own, giving the album a remarkable coherent sound. Some of that is due to his song selection, songs which, except for a straightforward reading of Alice Cooper's "Eighteen," render themselves to his vaguely rootsy power pop interpretations. Priggen reclaims "Questioningly," the Ramones' well-written but improbable stab at country-rock and rescues from obscurity early British pop gems such as Tracy Thorn's "Plainsailing" and Scritti Politti's "A Slow Soul.""

    Mark Wilson

    Evansville Courier & Press


  • "This second album finds Spike Priggen and a bunch of friends (Ivan Julian, Bun E Carlos, etc.) covering some great underknown songs by folks like the Pontiac Brothers, the Zombies, Nikki Sudden/Dave Kusworth the Jacobites, Tracy Thorn, the Ramones, etc. If Spike is doing all of the vocals as the press kit seems to indicate; he's the best singing vocal mimic I've ever heard. His Tracy Thorn, and Joey Ramone are uncanny."

    George Parsons

    Dream Magazine #5


  • "Priggen is a frequent performer on the NYC scene and at various times has been a member of Dumptruck, Hello Strangers, Liquor Giants, Schramms, and Pussywillows. His 2001 debut revealed a tremendous talent for perfect pop songs often filtered through a country sound. Therefore, the first track on his new disc comes as quite a shock with its blast of synthesizer. Thereafter, he returns to his normal style, for which a useful comparison is Freedy Johnston, whom Priggen resembles in vocal timbre, melodically (especially), and to a lesser extent in overall style. It's a sound that doesn't work well unless lavished on high-quality songs, and Priggen supplies plenty."

    Steve

    The Big Takeover


  • "Most of the album is a nostalgic look back at the artist's past, including the bands he's played in as well as those he's idolized, including the Hot Bodies, the Jacobites, and the Zombies. He works through these songs competently and respectfully, and in the end what he's created is a tribute to his own musical development. But in doing so he's also given us a window back into some forgotten moments in music from the 70's and 80's various indie, new-wave, and punk scenes."

    George Ford

    Delusions Of Adequacy


  • "On Spike's new "Stars After Stars After Stars" he pulls off the neat trick of recording a classy set of covers (The Pontiac Bros. "Be Married Song"; Zombies, Jenifer Jackson, Sudden & Kusworth) with a star-studded cast (Bun E Carlos, Ivan Julian). He's kicked around in some bands that almost crossed over (Dumptruck, The Liquor Giants, The Caroline Know)--can he finally get a break?". -

    Josh Goldfein

    The Village Voice

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