Big Money Item
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''Big Money Item'' is an album by the American
power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ch ...
band
the Greenberry Woods The Greenberry Woods is a power pop quartet formed in 1989 by songwriters Matt Huseman and Ira Katz while students at the University of Maryland. They were later joined by Huseman's twin brother Brandt Huseman on bass and drummer Miles Rosen. ...
, released in 1995. The band broke up two weeks after its release. "Smash-Up" and "Super Geek" were released as singles.


Production

The album was produced by
Andy Paley Andrew Douglas Paley (born November 2, 1952) is an American songwriter, record producer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist who formed the Paley Brothers, a 1970s power pop duo, with his brother Jonathan Paley. Following their disbandment, And ...
. The songwriting was equally divided among guitar players Matt and Brandt Huseman and bass player Ira Katz.


Critical reception

''
Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...
'' called ''Big Money Item'' "superb stuff, but overly derivative." ''
The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'' thought that it "boasts enough beautiful minor-key melodies and lush, soaring harmonies to put any listener in mind of ''Rubber Soul'' and ''Revolver''." ''
The Record The Record may refer to: Music * ''The Record'' (album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear * The Records, an English power pop band * '' Their Greatest Hits: The Record'', a 2001 greatest-hits album by the pop-music group Bee Ge ...
'' opined that "the quartet makes affecting, careful pop look so effortless that it's easy to underestimate their tremendous accomplishment." The '' St. Petersburg Times '' wrote: "Like Squeeze and Crowded House at their least self-indulgent, the Beach Boys sans their one-trick-pony musical clichés, the Posies fulfilling their early promise, Badfinger with jangly optimism, Pezband with decent songs—this disc sounds as timeless and classic as anything you'll hear recorded today." The ''
Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The ...
'' stated that "the Woods jangle and harmonize through 18 condensed gems in 50 minutes." The ''
Contra Costa Times The ''East Bay Times'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Walnut Creek, California, United States, owned by the Bay Area News Group (BANG), a subsidiary of Media News Group, that serves Contra Costa and Alameda counties, in the East Bay ...
'' declared that "the Greenberry Woods have tapped into some kind of long-forgotten genius on ''Big Money Item''... this is an album so clear-headed and upbeat that you're blown backwards with joy." The '' Northwest Herald'' listed ''Big Money Item'' as the fifth best album of 1995; the ''
Times Colonist The ''Times Colonist'' is an English-language daily newspaper in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It was formed by the Sept. 2, 1980 merger of the ''Victoria Daily Times'', established in 1884, and the ''British Colonist'' (later the ''Daily Co ...
'' listed it as the eighteenth.
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
wrote that "even at its most superficial and derivative and unapologetically nerdy, ''Big Money Item'' is just so chock full of fatal hooks that ... well ... life almost starts to feel that fresh and innocent again."


Track listing


References

{{Authority Control 1995 albums The Greenberry Woods albums Sire Records albums