An obscure but absolutely essential example of late-'70s/early-'80s power pop, D.L.

Byron's This Day and Age easily ranks with the best work of contemporaries like Pezband, Graham Parker, and the Jam.

On this, his debut album and only officially released full-length record for Arista, Byron rages through a set of first-rate original compositions (in later years Byron became a successful hit songwriter for other artists) with the flailing guitar fury of a prototypical angry young man.

While some artists fitting this description tend to get bogged down in politics, Byron remains true to the power pop credo of "girls, girls, girls" and delivers one biting examination of failed (or failing) romantic relationships after another.

The energy level on This Day and Age remains high throughout the album's ten songs, due in part to the top-notch rhythm section, which includes some then-members of Billy Joel's touring band.

Legendary producer Jimmy Iovine keeps the sound simple, crisp and up front, wisely avoiding many of the tricks that make other albums from this period sound so dated.

Those listeners only familiar with D.L.

Byron's much mellower 1998 comeback album Exploding Plastic Inevitable may find This Day and Age a bit too punk rock, but any lover of pure power pop should make every effort possible to find this stunning high point of the genre.