Perfect Fit
5 Out of 5 Stars

Hailing from Zion. Illinois, Shoes were the prefect antidote to a vacuum in the late 80's power pop universe. Led by the brotherly harmonies of Jeff and John Murphy and boasting a third strong songwriter in Guitarist Gary Klebe (drummer Skip Meyer rounds out the quartet), Shoes made the sort of effortless power-pop that sounds ridiculously derivative (Beatles, Kinks, Raspberries) at the same time it's stunningly original.

When "Present Tense" first appeared in 1979, I was boggled by the number of what seemed to me to be obvious hit singles. These guys had adolescent love down like few others of the time, and hookfests like "Tomorrow Night," "Now and Then" and "I Don't Miss You" cut through the clutter like no American Band on the current new wave rising. (Only Britain's The Records came close with "Starry Eyes.") Like The Knack, who released their debut at roughly the same time, Shoes wasted no time on getting right to the point, but unlike The Knack's focus on Doug Fieger, Shoes were a band that worked as an obvious unit. With the ambitious "Three Times," they made it plain to anyone who heard them that they had talent and ambition to burn.

Their second Elektra release, "Tongue Twister," was even better. Producer Richard Dashut managed to bring the Shoes' sound into a tighter focus and - song for song - the compositions are equal to those on "Present Tense." John and Jeff's harmonies are of a cotton weave beauty, and the loves songs "Karen" and "Found A Girl" rate with the band's best. They hadn't given up on their stunning fuzz-guitar attacks though, as "Your Imagination," "She Satisfies" and the closing "Hate To Run" make clear.

Shoes should have been huge. Like so many other terrific power-poppers of the new wave (The Producers, 20/20, Plimsouls, The Beat, etc), they got lost in the deluge. However, with these two albums available for download at a bargain price, this is well worth a space in your collection.