For Almost Ever Scooter

Bill Fox is a sent-to-us-by-the-pharaohs songwriter, no matter what idiom he chooses, but he was at his best in the Cleveland cult band, The Mice. Here he had other forces (Ken Hall and his brother Tommy) prodding and pushing him along in one way or another. In particular, Ken and Bill were like a married couple at times, with lots of conversations at elevated volume. But when the dust settled, it worked. And they rocked. They made passionate, frantic, hook-saturated power pop/mod/punk rock, which has influenced everyone from Superchunk to Guided by Voices. This is the first CD reissue of their album, "For Almost Ever Scooter" -- the original recordings have been out of print since their initial vinyl releases. As Chris Burgess said in his liner notes, "Nothing could have prepared me for the second sessions, when we were recording Scooter (1987). We set up and they started playing 'Little Rage' as I adjusted levels. This was the kind of song every pop songwriter wished he could have done. From the seamless harmonies to the Badfinger-esque arpeggiated guitar, it was instantly amazing. And it still is...."