Product Description

Jules Shear has been an influential force on the American music scene for more than 20 years, first as a member of the LA country rock band the Funky Kings, then with his own Jules & the Polar Bears (whose debut release, Got No Breeding, was named one of Rolling Stone's top albums of the '70s), then as a solo artist. The founder and original host of MTV Unplugged, his songs have been covered by Cyndi Lauper ("All Through the Night"), the Bangles ("If She Knew What She Wants"), the Band, Roger McGuinn, Art Garfunkel and numerous others. Allow Me captures Jules' quirky, challenging pop at peak form, with a stellar band including Mark Egan (bass), Stewart Lerman and Steuart Smith (guitars), and guest vocals from Susan Cowsill, Vicki Petersen and Suzzy Roche. Produced by Stewart Lerman and Jules Shear.

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Champions of long-time cult hero Jules Shear have been scratching their heads in wonder for decades, wondering when the rest of the world will embrace their beloved singer-songwriter. Shear maintains a knack for stringing pithy, perceptive couplets back to back to back, adorning most with insistent pop hooks. Allow Me's best moments--the evocative folk-rocker "Just Another Railroad Train" (with Suzzy Roche adding harmonies) and the wonderfully empathetic "Hugging Her Guitar" among them--are as engaging as such Shear staples as "If She Knew What She Wants" (popularized by the Bangles). But Shear shares much with Jackson Browne; both write lyrics that soar, but their voices are earthbound, a shortcoming that partially explains the former's modest success. Allow Me, like most of its predecessors, isn't likely to change things for Shear and his faithful legions, but it will buck up the troops while the battle continues. --Steven Stolder