Power Pop

Power pop on vinyl: melodies with guitar power

In short: Power pop combines catchy melodies and harmony vocals with punchy guitars. The term is attributed to Pete Townshend of The Who, who used it in 1967; in the seventies bands such as Big Star, Raspberries and Cheap Trick stood for it. The Vinyl Room currently has 14 power pop records.

What is power pop?

From the late seventies to the early nineties: Katrina & The Waves are represented with “Pet The Tiger”, Steve Forbert with “Little Stevie Orbit”, The Tarney/Spencer Band with “Run For Your Life” and Meat Loaf with “Midnight At The Lost And Found”.

From Europe and from today: Eggstone from Sweden are here with “Vive La Différence!”; under this style tag we also have P!nk’s “The Truth About Love” and Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour”.

What to look for

Our power pop records range from the seventies to today; label, catalogue number and year of release help you tell which edition you have – it’s noted with each copy.

From our stock

First pressings

New in

→ Pop rock · New wave · Olivia Rodrigo · Rock on vinyl · How to spot a first pressing · Grading explained

FAQ

What is power pop? Melodic guitar pop with harmony vocals and plenty of energy.

Where does the term come from? It is attributed to Pete Townshend of The Who, who used it in 1967.

Who shaped power pop? Among others Big Star, Raspberries and Cheap Trick.

Which power pop records do you have? Here, for example, Olivia Rodrigo’s “Sour” and Eggstone’s “Vive La Différence!”.