Power pop is one of the most beloved and fawned-over rock subgenres of the 1970s, and the whole style can be understood with a sampling of five representative songs. The decade was truly one of the most experimental and creatively fruitful periods in music history, with rock music veering off into so many different new and exciting directions. Along with hard rock, heavy metal, arena rock, progressive rock, punk, and new wave, the power pop movement developed, and it kept one foot in the past and one in the future.
Tightly packed and efficient music, power pop in the ’70s harkened back to the early days of rock ‘n’ roll with its simple instrumentation of guitar, bass, and drums, while also incorporating a Beatles-style pop-rock sensibility. Grittier, louder, and often more focused on the ribald side of life than ’60s British guitar pop ever was, ’70s power pop was all about agitation, guitars and drums played in unison, and hooks on top of hooks on top of hooks. The genre could best be described as radio-friendly punk but played adeptly and cleanly. It had its moment throughout the 1970s, and certain bands took their representative hits to the top of the charts and into the hearts of rock fans. Here are the five songs that can serve as an audio primer of ’70s power pop.
No Matter What — Badfinger
“No Matter What” encapsulates power pop, and if one were to break it down even more, the song’s introductory guitar lick alone sums up what the genre is all about. It bursts out of speakers with a descending two-note riff that leads into some picking, with just a little bit of fuzz and distortion lingering, before ending with a moment of brief and anticipatory silence. “No Matter What” announced that Badfinger wasn’t just a project for the Beatles. Sure, the group was part of the roster at the band’s Apple Records and even sounded a bit like them in its early singles. But this was a band that took the Fab Four’s understanding of what makes a populist pop song and made it rock harder — and that’s power pop.
Badfinger, a band that broke in 1970 that should still be famous, hit the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 late that year with “No Matter What.” Along with that recurring, happy guitar riff, the song features an inspired and effervescent guitar solo, soaring harmonies, and plenty of surprise percussive flourishes. The members of Badfinger sound like they’re all on the same page in “No Matter What,” and more importantly, like they’re having a great time playing music.
September Gurls — Big Star
A big part of the tragic story of Big Star is that label mismanagement prevented the Memphis trio with potentially wide appeal from getting its music to the masses. Very few people were able to purchase or listen to Big Star’s albums when they were fresh and new in the 1970s. “September Gurls” is a stellar cut from album No. 2, “Radio City,” and it set a template for ’70s power pop as well as the jangling sub-set of rock that would come of age in the 1980s thanks to Big Star acolytes like R.E.M., the Replacements, and the Bangles.
A hard-charging but non-invasive drumbeat propels “September Gurls,” a romantic and swoony mid-tempo song that one could almost slow dance to if it were a little bit slower and a lot less cool. But multiple ringing guitars are the big stars for Big Star here, as is singer Alex Chilton’s plaintive wailing vocal style. “September Gurls” is a casual anthem, and it invites singing along and harmonizing. There’s also inherent melancholy, witsfulness, and mystery, which evoke a kind of nostalgia, just like the best classic rock songs and timeless pop songs.