Tommy Keene - Based On Happy Times (1989)

1. Nothing Can Change You (3:19)
2. Light of Love (3:00)
3. This Could Be Fiction (3:24)
4. Based on Happy Times (3:47)
5. When Our Vows Break (3:20) (Keene/Shear)
6. The Biggest Conflict (3:42)
7. Highwire Days (3:37)
8. Our Car Club (3:22) (Brian Wilson, Mike Love)
9. If We Run Away (4:06) (Keene/Shear)
10. Hanging on to Yesterday (3:53)
11. Where Have All Your Friends Gone (2:25)
12. Pictures (3:34)
13. A Way Out (4:09)


If you've never heard Tommy Keene, you've been missing out. Tommy Keene has been around for a while, and has released over 10 albums. Recently, I read that the Gin Blossoms had asked Keene, their hero, to go out on tour with them. Keene has always been one of my favorite musicians since I first heard him on vinyl back in the 80's. One of my favorite songs of all time is "Places That Are Gone" from his The Real Underground album. I've never heard a guy with so many hooks in his songs. He is definitely a musician's musician.

Based On Happy Times was released in 1989 on Geffin. What make this disc special, is his collaboration with one of my favorite song writers, Jules Shear. Jules co-wrote two of the songs and plays (sings) on the album as well. I've never heard a bad song come out of Keene. My least favorite song on this album is Our Car Club, which is actually a Beach Boys song, so I guess it doesn't count against him. I hope you enjoy Tommy Keen as much as I do. This CD is no longer available.

A Google search turned up this review...

Tommy Keene is one of those guys who should be much better known, though he is highly regarded by critics and a small group of fans (for example, a used copy of this out-of-print cd is currently selling for $99 on amazon.com). I’d always heard good things about him, and major music fan (with a particular interest in ‘60s and ‘70s music), historian, collector of high end rock memorabilia, and all around good guy Steve Potocin was kind enough to furnish me with a copy of this album for this review (thanks again, Steve!). Right away I was surprised, as the album is more straight rock ‘n’ roll than the “power pop” I expected, though the jangly guitars commonly associated with that sub genre do appear on stellar songs such as “When Our Vows Break,” “Highwire Days,” and “If We Run Away.” Elsewhere, harder rocking songs such as “Nothing Can Change You,” “Light Of Love,” and “Our Car Club” (a rather obnoxious Beach Boys cover) recall bands such as The Replacements and Soul Asylum, while Keene’s not particularly pretty yet effective nasal vocals (which bring Tom Petty to mind) are especially affecting on mellow, moodier songs such as “Based On Happy Times” and “A Way Out.” Keene isn’t above unleashing a guitar solo if it serves the song, and most of these tracks are memorable and catchy (if not immediately so), with intelligent relationship-based lyrics that veer towards the bittersweet (example: “all you’ve got to say is hanging on to yesterday”). Perhaps Keene wouldn’t win many points for originality, and there are a few merely solid songs on side 2 (“Our Car Club,” “Where Have All Your Friends Gone,” “Pictures”), but overall this is a really good rock ‘n’ roll record that makes me want to hear more from Tommy Keene.

I also found this information on Wikipedia.

Encoded at 320K from CD. Includes all CD artwork (14 page booklet), with pictures and lyrics to all songs. Zip format.

Favorite songs: Based On Happy Times, When Our Vows Break and If We Run Away.

Download: Based on Happy Times