VAN DUREN

Lucky Seven Records is proud to present IDIOT OPTIMISM by Van Duren on Lucky Seven CD 9218.  This is Van's long-lost second album, recorded in 1978-79, and never released in the US before!  In fact, it has only been released EVER in a limited edition version in Japan, which was only available outside Japan as an expensive import.

IDIOT OPTIMISM is truly one of the all time great Power Pop albums!  Van Duren was another seminal figure in the Memphis/Big Star Pop scene of the 1970's.  He was good friends with Chris Bell and Jody Stephens, and in fact, once auditioned to replace Chris in Big Star.  Then Van later was a member of Chris Bell's & Jody Stephen’s post Big Star band, The Baker Street Regulars.  He went north in 1978 with Jon Tiven, who produced Van’s first album, Are You Serious?, released on vinyl in the 70's.  This album has become an underground classic amongst cult Power Pop fans across the world (that one will be issued by Lucky Seven on CD for the first time in the US next year).  Then Van worked long and hard on his second album, IDIOT OPTIMISM, but had a falling out with the record company before its release.  In listening to it now, I am totally amazed by the depth and quality of his songs and performance.  This is truly one of the lost gems of recorded  music!  One of the highlights is his version of Chris Bell's song "Make A Scene."

Here’s what Steve Huey, of All Music Guide said:

VAN DUREN: Biography

Van Duren was part of the early Memphis power pop scene that spawned the legendary Big Star, and made several underexposed, small-label records during the late '70s. Duren began playing in bands at the age of 13 in 1966 and attended high school with eventual Big Star drummer Jody Stephens; he auditioned to replace Chris Bell in Big Star in 1974, shortly after the completion of Third/Sister Lovers). In 1975, he and Stephens collaborated on some demos that were produced by former Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham (whom he met through producer Jon Tiven),  and a year later he was playing in a group called the Baker Street Regulars with both Bell and Stephens. In 1977,

Duren traveled to New England to record for Tiven's new Big Sound label; his solo debut, Are You Serious?, was  released in March 1978. Duren also recorded Staring at the Ceiling for Big Sound, but disagreements and financial difficulties prevented Idiot Optimism from being released (until it was licensed to the Japanese Air Mail label in 1999). Duren returned to Memphis in 1981 and the following year put together a band called Good Question, which gigged around the city off and on for the next 18 years. In 1999, Duren collaborated with fellow Memphis power-popster Tommy Hoehn on the album Hailstone Holiday, on which he received co-billing. Unfortunately, health problems forced Duren to severely curtail his activities in 2000, which led to the breakup of Good Question.