The Krinkles – 3 – The Mordorlorff Collection

There were a few months back in 1998 when the Krinkles were my favorite band. Not just my favorite band I knew, but my favorite band in the whole world. Besides, I barely knew the guys. Friends of friends. But they were a great band.

At the time, I was not aware of the whole history of the Chicago power-pop scene. I love Cheap Trick as much as the next guy, but the Krinkles were something completely new for me. They sang with tight four-part harmonies and wrote catchy hooks and added badass metal guitar solos on top of it. Like all power pop bands, their live shows were way more powerful than anything they managed to capture on record. But their sophomore effort, Revenge of the Krinkles, holds up as a great piece of history and captures the band at the peak of their rock and roll power.

Unfortunately, they broke up in the middle of recording their third album. Two of the guys started new bands (a garage rock band and a heavy metal band), one works on high-end audio electronics, and one teaches math. Or something like that. But that combination of interests pretty much sums up what made the Krinkles so great.

Recently, the guys dug up the old tapes from those sessions, cleaned them up a little, and released them as The Mordorlorff Collection. This compilation of finished recordings, demos, and acoustic outtakes hints at what might have become a great, breakthrough album for the Krinkles. Considering its provenance, it’s a surprisingly cohesive album.

Anybody who loves rock and roll should check out the Krinkles.

MP3: The Krinkes – “Gimme Gimme” from 3 – The Mordorlorff Collection

The Krinkles on Sam Actor’s 10PM Rock Concert Special

This public access show was taped around the release of their debut album, Three Ringos, recorded just before Dan “The Fox” joined the band on smokin’ lead guitar.

If you like the Krinkles, you should check out the Millions and the Goldstars.