The Sneetches were one of the best classic guitar pop bands in the late '80s/early '90s, and the long overdue compilation
Form of Play: A Retrospective charts their course from a bedroom pop duo to their too-early demise in the mid-'90s. Built around the songwriting talents of
Mike Levy and
Matt Carges, the band formed in San Francisco as an alternative to the noisy, overdriven sound of the indie rock mainstream. With song structures that called to mind bands like
the Kinks and
Zombies, vocal harmonies as rich as
the Association, the powerful underpinnings of great power pop bands like
the Raspberries, and the warm autumnal feeling of Bay Area bands that had come before them such as
the Beau Brummels, the Sneetches plotted a musical course that found them some influential fans (like
Alan McGee of Creation Records) and led to them hobnobbing with members of
the Flamin Groovies. It didn't make for much commercial success, but the fans who did discover their lovely singles and albums fell deeply in love with them.
Form of Play does a fine job of presenting highlights from the group's short career, while adding some worthwhile rarities too. It helps that their bassist,
Alec Palao, is now one of the leading reissue producers, and he does a fine job both with the liner notes and with picking the tracks. Selections from all three studio albums are mixed with early tracks, previously unreleased live recordings, an unreleased studio recording from 1991, and a home demo of "How Does It Feel" from 1989. The songs aren't presented in chronological order the way most comps are; instead,
Palao fits everything together like a mixtape of the band's finest moments. Tender ballads are slotted next to chiming rockers, rough live cuts next to highly polished gems, and probably their best song, the glorious power pop update "...And I'm Thinking," is near the beginning where it belongs. No matter what order the songs are presented, they are fine examples of what made the Sneetches a special band, and the collection serves as both a reminder for anyone who may have forgotten and an introduction for those who never knew. A box set of all their singles, EPs, and albums is the only thing that could have been better.