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Personnel: Ian Gomm (vocals, guitar); Taff Williams (guitar); Malcolm Morley, Nick Glennie-Smith , Chris Parren (keyboards); Barry DeSouza, Alan Coulter (drums). Following Brinsley Schwarz's disbandment, Ian Gomm launched a solo career that fell somewhere between power pop and the new wave roots-rock of Rockpile, which was co-led by his former Brinsley colleague, Nick Lowe. Gomm wasn't as sharp a songwriter as Lowe, nor was he as accomplished a recordmaker. Instead, he was a solid, workmanlike pub-rocker with pop aspirations. Each of his albums had several fine pop gems, but Gomm tended to undersell his songs and rely on slick production that now sounds dated. However, these are minor flaws if you're already a fan of either pub rock or power-pop, and if that's the case, you'll likely excuse the somewhat uneven albums. Or you could choose Come On, a solid collection that culls 18 highlights from Gomm's first three albums (Summer Holiday, What a Blow, and Village Voice). His hit "Hold On," is fairly atypical -- the song makes him sound like a soft rock crooner, but the rest of the collection enjoyably falls into the power pop and pub rock traditions, even if the production may be a little glossy for Brinsley fans. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
