Seriously?

This year saw the CD reissue of one of the lesser known great pop records from the 70's. The album was called Are You Serious? and was released by Van Duren in 1978. Van Duren was part of the Memphis pop scene at that time. In fact he auditioned in 1974 to join Big Star as a second guitarist. That didn't materialize. However, he and Big Star drummer Jody Stephens recorded some demos with former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldman and played in an outfit with Stephens called the Baker Street Regulars. This nearly complete solo record (he recorded nearly everything himself) doesn't contain Stephens, although one of the songs is a co-write with Jody. And while numerous write ups have mentioned that it sounds like Big Star, to these ears I hear more of a Todd Rundgren influence thrown in with the strong helping of Paul McCarntney or Emmitt Rhodes. The CD was released on Water Records and is available from the usual online CD shops.