Compared to the band's intricate, insular debut,
About Us is a completely different story altogether. No work is required of the listener on this second album by
Stories, as
Eddie Kramer's cinematic production gives the band definition and drama, pulling them into the leagues of such power poppers as
Badfinger,
the Raspberries, and
Todd Rundgren. Not that
Stories rocked as hard as any of those three -- there's not much kinetic thrust to their rhythms or reckless abandon to their playing, not even on the boogie
"Don't Ever Let Me Down" or the jokey
blues of
"Down Time Blooze" -- but there's muscle and color to their sound on
About Us; the songs leap out of the speakers and command attention, unlike the tunes on the debut which whispered and required close listening. Not that
Michael Brown has abandoned his long-standing infatuation with delicate melodies, or even his fondness for
McCartney-esque whimsy, but when put through the filter of
Kramer's production, everything becomes bigger and bolder, to the extent that a jaunty piano instrumental,
"Circles," recalls nothing so much as one of
Billy Joel's
ragtime tunes of the early '70s. Such moves toward the mainstream are undoubtedly why
Brown bolted some time during the recording, leaving the band as the sole province of singer
Ian Lloyd, but the music left behind is almost all unmistakably
Brown's, as its all driven by melody and even occasionally built upon
baroque keyboards. The major difference and inarguable improvement is the production, which fleshes out the songs, not only making them easier to appreciate but harder to resist, turning
About Us into a minor
power pop classic. Of course, the exception to the rule is the album's lone hit, a lush cover of
Hot Chocolate's
"Brother Louie" which suggested
Stories were a
blue-eyed soul AM pop band, a suggestion that the rest of the album proved unfounded, but fewer people heard the other 12 songs on this album, not just in 1973, but throughout the years, so
About Us turned into a lost
pop classic that even
pop aficionados had to be persuaded to find. But once they were persuaded, they were often seduced by this sumptuous yet powerful
pop album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
![The Very Best Of [2003]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0081227397128_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "The Very Best Of [2003]")