Neonfire in Bloomington, MN

Greg Russo
is probably better known as the author of a string of collector-centric reference books, charting the extremes of his musical tastes from
Manfred Mann
to
Jethro Tull
. Now he moves on to
the Mothers of Invention
, whose early inventiveness is spattered across this wonderful little collection. Indeed, from the moment
"Alive"
kicks in on a melodic line that certainly wouldn't have been out of place among the sweeter moments of
Freak Out!
, it's clear that
Neonfire
is not an album to just put on while you're washing the cat. Not-quite-quirky tunes merge with
Candy Zappa
's sassy vocals to push the album through a widescreen '60s-style sheen that defies the album's mid-noughties genesis, to hover instead in the shadow of pop's late-'60s golden age. Don't miss the cover of
Dylan
's
"If You Gotta Go, Go Now,"
by the way. Cut firmly in the mold of
the Manfreds
' hit version but jollied up by a deliciously fuzzy guitar, it's one of the most buoyant
covers to come along in many a moon. ~ Dave Thompson