Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 23, 1991 TAG: 9102230354
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Tracie Fellers
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Danny Wilde and Phil Solem, who started the band on a whim, don't rap or rely on sampling. They play acoustic guitars, a keyboard or two and sing.
Their self-titled album is a refreshing package of memorable melodies that please the ear without a lot of trappings. Tracks like "That's Just the Way It Is, Baby," "Show Me Your Love" and the Beatles-esque "Every Secret Thing," are simple, but satisfying in a way that much of what's on the radio isn't.
The Rembrandts, who initially recorded the songs on the album in Wilde's garage, appear tonight at the Iroquois in downtown Roanoke. Tickets are $10 and the show starts at 9:30 p.m.
Wilde and Solem first played together in a Los Angeles band called Great Buildings. The group's style, dubbed "power pop," was in good company with post-punk bands like The Knack and The Motels. But Great Buildings disbanded in the early '80s after one album, and Wilde and Solem sought solo careers with mixed results.
Wilde released three albums that were well-received by critics but not by record buyers. Solem returned to Minneapolis, his hometown, and played the coffeehouse circuit.
When the pair got together last year to write a few songs, they didn't plan on the collaboration becoming a permanent arrangement.
"At first," Wilde told Rolling Stone, "it was a bit hard for both of us to adjust to the fact that what we were doing together was a lot stronger than what we had been doing individually. But I realized it when my wife was going around the house singing the Rembrandts songs and wasn't paying much attention to my Danny Wilde solo stuff."
In an interview with music magazine Monday Morning Replay, Wilde said this of the album: "That the music is timeless will hopefully come into play. We didn't set out to put any kind of stamp on it, saying, `this is music of this era.' We didn't intend for this to be a `retro' thing.
"What we've done is try to present songs that weren't masked or overshadowed by the production. The songs exist for the songs' sake and the lyrics tell a little story or provide an emotional experience." THE REMBRANDTS: 9:30 tonight, Iroquois Club. $10. 982-8979.
by CNB