Jules Shear

JULES SHEAR "The Great Puzzle" Polydor * * * 1/2 It's tempting to drop bad puns about "sheer greatness" in synopsizing the strengths of Shear's "Great Puzzle." That might be a bit misleading. This album--which, as the title suggests, is yet another agreeably vain attempt to make rhyming and rhythmic sense of that most senseless of subjects, luv --is more likely to sneak up on you than bowl you over. Its greatness is more in its afterglow.

Love's road, as Shear navigates it, holds more than its share of potholes, but his achingly lovely melodies, smart lyrical turns and the intertwined voices in these 15 duets--with partners from Paula Cole and Freedy Johnston to Carole King and Margo Timmins--prevent romantic bleakness from becoming all-consuming. * Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).

Love's road, as Shear navigates it, holds more than its share of potholes, but his achingly lovely melodies, smart lyrical turns and the intertwined voices in these 15 duets--with partners from Paula Cole and Freedy Johnston to Carole King and Margo Timmins--prevent romantic bleakness from becoming all-consuming. * Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).

Speaking of "lost" albums, "Bad for Business" was recorded in 1980 as the third album under the Los Angeles band's contract with Columbia Records. Built around the songs of Jules Shear, the first two collections had established the group as a critical favorite. But sales were so slim that there was a lot of pressure from the label to come up with something more marketable. The company didn't think they got it in this album.

Wearing a colorful vest over a blue T-shirt, his wavy dark hair framing his hound-dog expression, singer-songwriter Jules Shear looked a bit like a young, thin Arlo Guthrie as he gave a rare solo performance on Friday at McCabe's. An appropriate resemblance: In this setting Shear's writing revealed some of the same Bob Dylan influences of young Guthrie, especially in the staccato meters and dense, evocative imagery. But enough of that nostalgia.

Jules Shear is a power-pop hall of famer. The longtime cult hero, who headlined the Troubadour on Tuesday, mines a wealth of classic '60s pop devices, creating a world where taut, throbbing verses, soaring choruses and arching bridges trace the contours of emotional ups and downs (in Shear's case, mainly downs). He's an uncommonly sophisticated craftsman in the style, fashioning hooks that have substance as well as catchiness and bringing an elegance to sound that's often simplistic.

Jules Shear broke up with Aimee Mann a while back. Of course, both are singers who write of romantic affairs with sometimes brusque candidness. And both did just finish their first post-disentanglement albums with their respective bands; Shear's Reckless Sleepers have their debut LP just out, and Mann's 'Til Tuesday has one due in early November. So does this mean fans can expect opposing perspectives on the split, a la Faulkner? Maybe.

Jules Shear is one of those "does-that-ring-a-bell?" names that even avid pop fans may not be able to place. But millions of listeners would readily recognize his work. The Pittsburgh native wrote two fetching Top 10 pop hits of the mid-'80s, Cyndi Lauper's ballad, "All Through the Night," and the Bangles' wistful harmony showcase, "If She Knew What She Wants."

It took 16 years, but Jules Shear finally has achieved something that even cultlevel rockers like himself usually enjoy from the start: recognition in his hometown. Shear, 39, lit out from Pittsburgh in 1973 and headed to Los Angeles as a 20-year-old aspiring pop-rocker. While he hasn't attained mass success as a recording artist, he has earned the sorts of credits that usually make one a big deal in the eyes of the folks back home.

Jules Shear is a power-pop hall of famer. The longtime cult hero, who headlined the Troubadour on Tuesday, mines a wealth of classic '60s pop devices, creating a world where taut, throbbing verses, soaring choruses and arching bridges trace the contours of emotional ups and downs (in Shear's case, mainly downs). He's an uncommonly sophisticated craftsman in the style, fashioning hooks that have substance as well as catchiness and bringing an elegance to sound that's often simplistic.

It took 16 years, but Jules Shear finally has achieved something that even cultlevel rockers like himself usually enjoy from the start: recognition in his hometown. Shear, 39, lit out from Pittsburgh in 1973 and headed to Los Angeles as a 20-year-old aspiring pop-rocker. While he hasn't attained mass success as a recording artist, he has earned the sorts of credits that usually make one a big deal in the eyes of the folks back home.

Jules Shear is one of those "does-that-ring-a-bell?" names that even avid pop fans may not be able to place. But millions of listeners would readily recognize his work. The Pittsburgh native wrote two fetching Top 10 pop hits of the mid-'80s, Cyndi Lauper's ballad, "All Through the Night," and the Bangles' wistful harmony showcase, "If She Knew What She Wants."

JULES SHEAR "The Great Puzzle" Polydor * * * 1/2 It's tempting to drop bad puns about "sheer greatness" in synopsizing the strengths of Shear's "Great Puzzle." That might be a bit misleading. This album--which, as the title suggests, is yet another agreeably vain attempt to make rhyming and rhythmic sense of that most senseless of subjects, luv --is more likely to sneak up on you than bowl you over. Its greatness is more in its afterglow.

Wearing a colorful vest over a blue T-shirt, his wavy dark hair framing his hound-dog expression, singer-songwriter Jules Shear looked a bit like a young, thin Arlo Guthrie as he gave a rare solo performance on Friday at McCabe's. An appropriate resemblance: In this setting Shear's writing revealed some of the same Bob Dylan influences of young Guthrie, especially in the staccato meters and dense, evocative imagery. But enough of that nostalgia.

If you knew that Matthew Sweet (who opens for Toni Childs at the Palace on May 11) is a product of the much-hyped alternative music scene of Athens, Ga., you'd hardly be expecting his new album, "Earth," to be filled with lucid lyrics about love, with pop hooks and harmonies. It has considerable mainstream commercial potential, and makes much use of synthesizers and drum programming. In other words, it's not exactly R.E.M.-like. "I was in bands in Athens and I was on records that have 'the Athens sound,' " says Sweet, who has since moved from that musical mecca to the shores of New Jersey.

One of pop songwriting's unsung heroes, Jules Shear, has formed a new band--Reckless Sleepers. (Remember his last group, the Polar Bears?) Their first album, "Big Boss Sounds," due out July 12 from I.R.S. Records. . . . Boy George has a new single out in England called "Clause 28," a protest against a new government bill banning local authorities from funding any event or organization which "promotes" homosexuality. . . . Who's a happening producer?

It's hard not to pull for the Reckless Sleepers. For one thing, these new kids on the rock block turn out nifty, compact, cheery tunes that glide through a broad range of melodic-rock territory--as showcased on the neat debut LP, "Big Boss Sounds" and equally neat set Saturday at Club Lingerie.

Jules Shear broke up with Aimee Mann a while back. Of course, both are singers who write of romantic affairs with sometimes brusque candidness. And both did just finish their first post-disentanglement albums with their respective bands; Shear's Reckless Sleepers have their debut LP just out, and Mann's 'Til Tuesday has one due in early November. So does this mean fans can expect opposing perspectives on the split, a la Faulkner? Maybe.