Early '90s Month: PC Quest

PC QUEST
"DIRECTIONS"
(RCA, 1992)


"It Must Be Love"


The first album by teen-pop quartet PC Quest, who hailed from Oklahoma, was quite cheesy even by early '90s pop standards, but it had some cute songs that I still have a soft spot for. Their second and final album, "Directions", was a bit more grown-up and again had a handful of songs that were enjoyable, but this time for less shame-inducing reasons -- even Chad Petree, the cherubic sweetie-pie of the group, being in full-on Axl Rose worship mode can more-or-less be forgiven. More mature love songs ("If Love Is Blind", Almost In Love") and catchy rockers ("(She's Not a) Bad Girl", and my favorite "We Could Be Trouble") abound, although there's the occasional clunker, like the seriously dated-sounding cover of "Cathy's Clown".

Having presented PC Quest before in a less-than-flattering light, this time I thought I'd share with you one of their better songs. I think of PC Quest as a kind of "nexus" in my world of music, since I have them to thank for my love of Graham Colton (in whose band Drew Nichols played guitar on their 2004 album) and Shiny Toy Guns (of which Chad Petree is a founding member). Steve Petree co-wrote some of the songs on STG's debut album, and I've heard that Kim Whipkey is now a wife and mother who still sings in her spare time. Maybe they'd rather forget PC Quest, but I'll always remember them with fondness.

Audio Train Wreck of the Month: Can I Call You My Girl?

"Can I Call You My Girl?"
PC Quest
from the album "PC Quest" (RCA, 1991)

Quick -- What's the sappiest teen-pop love song of all time? If you answered "Please Don't Go Girl" by New Kids On The Block, you're in for a surprise. That one definitely comes close, but I put today's download up against the sickly-sweetest schmaltz anyone has to offer. Seriously ... if you're a diabetic, you may want to make sure you have an emergency insulin injection handy before you try listening to this song.

Sonic saccharine reached critical mass in 1991 with this ditty, from co-ed teen pop group PC Quest, featuring Chad Petree (yes, the same Chad Petree who's now part of the genuinely cool synth-rock band Shiny Toy Guns) on lead vocals. I almost hate to upload this song, 'cause he's probably just now lived down this dubious part of his music career ... but then, how can he feel like he's accomplished something without looking back at the embarrassing stuff he's done in the past? See, I'm helping him feel good about himself. Besides, PC Quest must not have been too traumatic for Chad, 'cause he was willing to go with the same three-guys-and-one-girl configuration when assembling Shiny Toy Guns.

This song's not completely horrible; for one thing, you have to admit that, even back in his early teens, Chad had a great singing voice. And the guitar solo (from Drew Nichols, later of The Graham Colton Band) rocks too, in a semi-lame teen-pop sort of way (probably not his fault ... after all, how hard would the producers let him "shred" it on that kind of record?). The other songs on the album are kind-of cool, if you can overlook the very dated early '90s sound, and the same goes for PC Quest's follow-up album, "Directions".

Hmmm ... all of my Audio Train Wrecks so far have come from the early '90s. It's gotta be a coincidence ... I don't hate early '90s music, 'cause plenty of it was good. I'll see if I can tune my crap-o-meter in to other musical eras ... and I think I may do an "early '90s month" theme for my Songs of the Week soon, just to show you that there really was some good stuff to come out of that time period.

CD of the Week: Shiny Toy Guns

SHINY TOY GUNS
"WE ARE PILOTS"
(Universal Motown, 2006)

Back in the early '90s, when he was a kid, Chad Petree was part of a bubblegum-pop group called PC Quest, which made two albums. Silly as they were, those albums have become sentimental favorites of mine, and I've always tried to keep up, if only for curiosity's sake, with what the former members have gone on to do later. I decided to give Shiny Toy Guns a try as soon as I found out that Chad was part of the group, even though I knew full well not to expect any trace of PC Quest pop, and despite the fact that the recent resurgence of '80s-style synth-rock has for the most part left me cold. As it turns out, Shiny Toy Guns surprised me in all the right ways.

STG combines all that was good about new-wave music in the '80s -- part Duran Duran (catchy-as-heck songs), part Human League (the switch-off between male and female vocals), and a dash of everything else. "Le Disko" is the quintessential dance-rocker, "Waiting" a hypnotic ballad, "Rainy Monday" another great upbeat number, and the title track brings the album to a nice, understated, mid-tempo close. And, as strange as this sounds, just as pleasing to me as the music is the fact that Chad Petree (as well as his brother, Stephen, who was also a member of PC Quest) co-wrote most of the songs on the album.

It's ironic, really ... I'm an Eighties kid, and still love a lot of the music from when I grew up, but for some reason I just haven't found much to love in this '80s-inspired new-wave revival that's been going on for the last few years. Aside from STG, Under The Influence Of Giants is the only group in that sub-genre that I've really taken a liking to. But now I'm starting to get the itch to go back and give The Killers one more try...!