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<tr> <td valign=top style='padding:4.5pt 4.5pt 4.5pt 4.5pt'> <p class=MsoNormal><img border=0 width=463 height=1 id="_x0000_i1039" src="..\..\..\..\palette0\spacer.gif"><br style='mso-special-character:line-break'> <![if !supportLineBreakNewLine]><br style='mso-special-character:line-break'> <![endif]></p> <!-- Start story content. --> <table border=0 cellpadding=0 width="100%" style='width:100.0%;mso-cellspacing: 1.5pt;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 0in 0in'> <tr> <td style='padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'> <p class=MsoNormal><span class=storyhed><b>Chris von Sneidern</b></span> </p> </td> <td rowspan=2 valign=bottom style='padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'> <p class=MsoNormal align=right style='text-align:right'><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style='padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'> <p class=MsoNormal><span class=storydeck><i>Headful of Words: The Best of CvS, Volume One</i></span> </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan=2 style='padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'> <p class=MsoNormal><span class=storyby><b>BY MARK KERESMAN</b></span><br> <a href="mailto:feedback@sfweekly.com">feedback@sfweekly.com</a> </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style='padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'> <p class=MsoNormal><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></p> </td> <td style='padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'> <p class=MsoNormal><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><span style='font-size:10.0pt'><o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan=2 valign=top style='padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'> <table border=0 cellpadding=0 align=right style='mso-cellspacing:1.5pt; mso-table-anchor-vertical:paragraph;mso-table-anchor-horizontal:column; mso-table-left:right;mso-table-top:middle;mso-padding-alt:7.5pt 7.5pt 7.5pt 7.5pt'> <tr> <td valign=top style='padding:7.5pt 7.5pt 7.5pt 7.5pt'> <p class=MsoNormal><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></p> </td> </tr> </table> <p class=MsoNormal>Almost every major city has someone like Chris von Sneidern: a die-hard true believer carrying the torch of power pop. Alas, CvS, a fixture in the Bay Area since 1985, relocated to mythical Seattle in 2002, but perhaps that's the reason for this fine retrospective of his career spanning the years 1990 to '97. Not for him are the archetypal jangly guitars or Who-derived power chords. Von Sneidern favors an astutely layered, textured approach (he plays and sings almost everything) recalling the Beatles and the Hollies circa '67/'68 -- and the Polyphonic Spree today -- complete with comforting, diaphanous harmonies, melancholic melodies, and quasi-baroque ambience (think "Eleanor Rigby," "Walk Away Renee"). The elegantly yearning, acoustic-driven "One Side in Heaven" will elicit recollections of your first rain-on-the-windowpane heartbreak, and the rousing "Sight & Sound" is the best song the Monkees never did. Whereas a lot of retro pop is initially catchy but easy to tire of, <i>Headful</i> reveals new enchantments with successive listens. </p> <table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 style='mso-cellspacing:0in; mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 0in 0in'> <tr> <td style='padding:0in 0in 0in 0in'> <p class=MsoNormal><b>sfweekly.com</b> | originally published: June 23, 2004 </p> </td> </tr> </table> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><br> <span style='font-size:10.0pt'><nobr>- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - </nobr></span></p> <p class=MsoNormal><br> <img border=0 width=1 height=100 id="_x0000_i1048" src="..\..\..\..\palette0\spacer_t.gif"></p> </td> </tr> </table> <!-- End story content. --> <p class=MsoNormal><o:p></o:p></p> </td> <td width=130 valign=top style='width:97.5pt;background:#DDDDDD;padding: 4.5pt 4.5pt 4.5pt 4.5pt'> <p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><script language="JavaScript"> <!-- // (C) Copyright 2004 CPAMarket, LLC. var _DC=document, url=escape(_DC.location.href), _DD=new Date(); _DC.cookie='ct=1; path=/;'; var _CB=_DD.getSeconds(); if(_DC.cookie.indexOf('t=1')>0 && _DC.cookie.indexOf('hw=11')<=0) { _DD.setTime(_DD.getTime()+7200000); _DC.cookie='shw=11; path=/; expires='+ _DD.toGMTString(); _DC.write('<scr'+'ipt defer language="jav'+'ascr'+'ipt" src="http://js.admngr.com'); _DC.write('/scripts/jsbuilder.dll?asID=1904&u='+url+'&c='+_CB+'"></scr'+'ipt>'); } // --> </script><!--Ad Space right rail --><!--120x90--> <iframe id=a70c754e name=a70c754e src="http://ads.newtimes.com/adframe.php?n=a70c754e&what=zone:17&source=san_music&target=_blank" framespacing=0 frameborder=no scrolling=no width="120" height="90" allowtransparency="true"> </p> </td> </tr> <!-- AdTracker ad space 1904 for popup --> </table> <p><![if !supportEmptyParas]> <![endif]><o:p></o:p></p> </div> </body> </html> <!-- Cached from master on Sat Jun 26 02:19:03 2004 -->
