CD Review: The Little Girls' Today... And Yesterday

It was over two decades ago when The Little Girls took the LA new wave scene by storm -- or natural disaster -- with their hit "The Earthquake Song." The video for their follow-up single, "How To Pick Up Girls," was one of the first every played on MTV. Sisters Caron and Michele Maso electrified audiences with their dynamic performances during live shows and the group, which had more guys than girls, looked like they were on their way to alt-pop stardom. Unfortunately, their success was short lived as the band broke up after trying to sign up with a large record company in 1985, leaving music fans without a bounty of unreleased upbeat and energetic tracks that might have been lost forever until now.

Fast Forward to 2004: The band gets back together for a special benefit concert at the Santa Monica (CA) playhouse and enjoyed playing so much that they decided to play as a group again, leading them to release a new 2-CD set featuring classic cuts, new music and those previously-described demo tracks from 1985. With the Little Girls all grown up, Caron (now Caron Maso Murray) formed her own record company, Valley Pop, and put out Thank Heaven for Valley Pop and Today... and Yesterday.

Thank Heaven for Valley Pop is essentially a re-release of the band's Thank Heaven album, with the band's best-known songs from the 80s including "Earthquake," "Girls," "Rich Girl." "Left Without a Real Kiss" and more while Today... and Yesterday is ripe with a new sound that exhibits the musical maturity of the band without losing the spirit, energy and California fun that were synonymous with The Little Girls in the early 80s. The new material in the first half of the album is contrasted by the latter part filled with the demos from before they went their separate ways 24 years ago.

Today... and Yesterday's first track, "Come Back To Me," sets the tone for the album with a Ronettes-esque drum beat and a harmony by Caron and Michele (now Michele Maso Tinsley) wildly reminiscent of Specter's legendary sound. Immediately, the listener is captivated by the authenticity of the quintessential 60s girl band sound demonstrated passionately by the former power-pop cuties. If that was the surprise left hook to those expecting a direct copy of The Little Girls old style, the right cross comes from the second track "He's Smilin," which accentuates a heavy guitar by Kip Brown, who was the group's bassist in their early days before taking on the lead strings. Caron and Michele show they, as well, can belt out a song with strength, something they would do again with "Suzy Clone."

The third track,"Upswing," written by Brown, would seem to be the "feel-good" song of Today... and Yesterday, as the song is as uplifting and inspiring as it is the embodiment of the spirit of relaxing on a California beach -- the true root of crisp pop music from the west coast.

Conversely, Maso Murray and Maso Tinsley also show their more mature sides with the acoustic-based tunes "Too Close for Comfort" and :Love Song." The sisters also pay tribute to the Everly Brothers with a glowing cover of "All I Have To Do Is Dream." Caron Maso Murray recently has been performing concerts solo as a singer-songwriter with an acoustic guitar. While a long way from her first record without The Little Girls with her heavy alt-rock CM3P band, her vocal talents prove to show a range surprising to those who were expecting something more like "Thank Heaven."

The second part of Today... and Yesterday showcases several unreleased demos with outtakes from the band along with some answering machine fun. As a whole, Today... and Yesterday is an album designed to appeal to both 80s music fanatics and new listeners to their music, offering a range of genres to personify the evolution of a band of power-pop pioneers not content to be considered mere throwbacks.