Stars After Stars After Stars: Scrapbook

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."
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Stray Divides Brothers III

Stray Divides Live At The Brothers III, West Haven Connecticut. Circa 1981.

Posted by Spike on Jan 22, 2005 at 04:12 AM in Pictures, Scrapbook, Stray Divides | Permalink

After TV Neats I was in Stray Divides.This is like 1981/82. Mark Mulcahy was the drummer (replacing our 1st drummer John Robinson after a few gigs). Ray Neal played guitar and keyboards. I played bass (which I picked up for this band) and sang, and the guitar player and main singer/songwriter of the band was Kirk Swan. Kirk had been in a Durham, CT punk band called The Suburbanites and would go on to co-found Dumptruck (and play with Steve Wynn/John Wesley Harding etc). Stray Divides was kind of a post-punk/Echo and the Bunnymen/Joy Division type band with some Postcard-era Orange Juice thrown in. Anyway I think that was what we were going for.That band basically fell apart when I moved to NYC in 1982 to attend The School of Visual Arts. Kirk moved to Boston to form Dumptruck with Seth Tiven. Mark got up from his drumkit and started writing songs with Ray, at first calling themselves American Legion, and later on Miracle Legion.

Posted by Spike on Jan 22, 2005 at 04:08 AM in Pictures, Scrapbook, Stray Divides | Permalink

TV Neats On The New Haven Green

Me and Scott Harris on the New Haven Green.

Posted by Spike on Jan 22, 2005 at 04:02 AM in Pictures, Scrapbook, TV Neats | Permalink

TV Neats Flyer

Ron's Place was THE New Haven Punk Rock Club.The Suburbanites was Kirk Swan's 1st band.

Posted by Spike on Jan 22, 2005 at 03:59 AM in Scrapbook, TV Neats | Permalink

TV Neats

TV Neats was a New Wave/Power-Pop "Supergroup" led by New Haven scenester Ricky Rondo (nee Orlando) who had been in New Haven's Hot Bodies and also featured Robin Cornell on keyboards.The group recorded extensively (and had lots of photo sessions) but never released anything (actually-1 song on the New Haven Comp "It Happened But Nobody Noticed").Other members included Jay Potts (brother of Miracle Legion and Hello Strangers member Joel Potocksy), Scott Harris and Chip Per. Ricky and Jay were later members of the Boston funk band Skin. Listen to me sing my composition "Pushing Buttons" and dig that English accent. Circa 1980.
Pushing Buttons-TV Neats.mp3