CD Review: Greg Pope Fanboy – Deluxe Edition

The prolific Mr. Pope has another disc out. It seems he gives us a new title roughly once a year, a model the music business used to follow back in the day before iTunes and American Idol. The latest, Fanboy, follows a similar formula to its predecessors – catchy, crunchy powerpop laden with interesting cultural references.

Fanboy is a disc that gets better and better with each listen however there are a number of tracks that will grab you from the get-go. “King of the Scene” is an interesting story-song about a self-derailed career in music, the title track is likely an autobiographical piece and the first song I believe I’ve every heard with an Ultraman reference. For the uninitiated, Ultraman was a Japanese superhero that every afternoon after school, saved the planet from Godzilla-type creatures. A lip-syncing nightmare but incredibly entertaining nonetheless.

Other highlights include “Greater Threat”, “Galileo” and an acoustic version of a track previously released on Pope’s Pete EP a few years back. “Sleeping Dogs” was one of my favorite tracks on that year (2009) and the acoustic version is even better.

The only thing that differentiates the regular from deluxe edition of Fanboy are the demos that are included at the end of the disc. Personally, I enjoy hearing these as it gives a glimpse into the artist’s creative process. And in rare cases, the scratch version is even better than the fully realized one. For me, such is the case for “New Beginnings”.

If you liked any of the prior Greg Pope releases, this is one you need to get.