Paul Collins Beat w/ Sugar Stems

The Paul Collins Beatan American group once known simply as The Beat until the British band of the same name created brand confusion, forcing the changewas one of the lucky late-'70s power-pop bands granted a critical reappraisal. Though the band's songwriting never matched The Knack, The Buzzcocks and The Only Ones, their peppy, hooky records captured the spirit of the era as perfectly as just about any other act, and young audiences now herald The Beat's records as rediscovered treasures. Collins still tours and records with his Beat, and his new studio albums hold up surprisingly well against his old ones. His latest, <i>Ribbon of Gold</i>, is rife with the same youthful melodies that fueled The Beat's early work.