The Motors – Approved By The Motors

British pub rock with a pop feel — 3 1/2 stars

The Motors began life as pub rockers Ducks Deluxe before dispensing with the boogie quotient of their sound and refining it for mass consumption. "Approved by the Motors" was released in 1978 and more than improved on their unfocused debut, which failed to offer anything of note other than the overlooked trad rock classic, "Dancing the Night Away". Far spunkier than the majority of their counterparts, the Motors were capable of writing great songs with more valuable ideas and higher-grade harmonies than they were given credit for. As unique and noteworthy as Squeeze and Status Quo in of melodic base and substance, the Motors' singing and songwriting duo of Nick Garvey and Andy McMaster had their brief moment in the sun before fading into obscurity. Undeservedly ignored over the past two decades and their contribution to power pop and trad rock having been largely disregarded, the Motors did at least release an unacknowledged great album, which even I, a discerning semi-collector with incredibly eclectic tastes, only stumbled across recently.

As sophomore albums go, this one is one of the finest and superbly crafted of the era. Replete with dynamism, quirkiness and infectious hooks, the new wave-leaning hits "Airport" and "Forget About You" are the standouts of the album, but the equally catchy deep cuts "Mamma Rock 'n' Roller," "Sensational," "You Beat the Hell Outta Me," and "Dreaming Your Life Away" are very strong indeed, all hidden gems in power pop history remarkably unaffected by the age of time.

Although it lasted for a short period of time, the Motors did achieve modest success during the late 1970s. ittedly, they were later represented on the Rhino D.I.Y. compilations as well as given a solid career retrospective in 1995, but their output remains unfairly neglected, which is perhaps due to the paucity of material they released. Fortunately, "Approved by the Motors" is available at a reasonable price in various forms and, with the exception of "Dancing the Night Away", contains all the essentials produced by this worthwhile band assembled so cohesively that it functions more aphoristically than the aforementioned exhaustive and consequently less enjoyable overview.

Rating: 4.5/5