Thursday 28 November 2019

Elton (1978) Part Time Love - LOST70sGEMS

A Single Man (1978) was Elton's first without lyricist Bernie Taupin and first with Osbourne of duo Vigrass and Osbourne who was a flavour of the month poised for his own success at the time, sadly never eventuated.

Shine on Through is another sparkling Elton piano song with some of his tender moments, while the Carribean steel drum meets Zapata horns meets flamenco guitar melange that is Return to Paradise is daring and expertly stitched together performance. While I Don't Care proves Elton can elevate cheap disco music with a exuberant melody, while the heavy downbeat It Ain't Gonna Be easy mixes Elton's towering vocals with keyboards and a sweeping string section,
Part Time Love is the 80s sounding, cheap synth sweeping pop hit with some cheesy backing vocals backed by cheesier keyboards but a spirited melody but is far from his best, easily forgettable when placed alongside his bets 70s work or even other tracks on this very album. Georgia is another circular piano melody with a church organ sounding synth and a big belts and braces chorus, Elton likes his saloon ballads and gospel edge crooning about characters in fluid vocal melody that always seems to veer from a softened country rasp and then a terse but heavenly cats meow falsetto; its a winning formula in the era of country rock and Soft Rock and Disco. Shooting Star is a forerunner to all the 'nighttime in the city' songs of the 80s with a Sax wailing away in the background to mellow piano/keyboard textures. Madness is a striking synth pop hit with a Glam styled theatrical vocal and Moroder-esque programmed keyboard lines crisscrossing in the background like a pie crust. Reverie is exactly the opposite as it puts you to sleep in a good way with it's spectral display of a sweet ARP synthesizer playing a note as it spirals and twirls like a lead instrument over some piano chords like a twilight ballet painting a magnificent landscape when its done. It continues into the equally transcendent glassy keyboard and pianos of Song for a Guy to end on the type of ELO/Yes/Renaissance styel of prog rock beyond the realms if a little out of place on this disco and RnB album.


Saturday 23 November 2019

Elton John (1979) Warm Love in a Cold World - LOST70sGEMS

 Victim of Love (1979) is Elton's disco abomination but what an abomination proving his musicianship singing arranging skills are top notch consistent through out the 70s with this his last entry in the decade that help make him. After the sterling Mama Can't Buy You Love which ended being more a towering hallmark of  Producer Thom Bell, John rarely is outshone, but the production is so superb it makes Bell the star and Elton simply the voice. So his retort was a cheap disco production, from the cover photo you see what you're in for unless you're wearing the same rose tinted shades Elton sports in the photo. 

 The silly digital synth licks of Warm Love in a Cold World to the dull, soul destroying sheen of Born Bad's abrupt bop to Thunder in the Night's overly squelchy boogie, Spotlight's thin and overly phased New Wave pop, to Street Boogie's whirring collage of fretless bass and two dimensional keyboards to the final coup de grace of the title tracks' screaming Italo synth part; and no need to talk about the opening cover of Johnny B Goode is the whole album summed up. Bouncy bops made up of compressed James Brown chicken scratch strums, terrible refrains, none of Elton's trademark diversity and countrified soft rock balladry and an orgy of faux organ, cheesy 80s digital keyboard sounds that sound like they came form a childrens' toy set.


Thursday 21 November 2019

Gene Clark (1973) Here Tonight - LOST70sGEMS

Here Tonight is one of the late great Gene Clark's great hits, from his exquisite solo album Roadmaster it contains some of his 60s baroque style of  bittersweet songwriting. Starting with some aches of lap steel and some incongruous doowop vocals before Gene and his backing singers sing a lilting lovely melody that floats over the locked in acoustic rhythms; the sashaying beat similar to many a Byrds tune reminds us that a lot of Gene's material was dance-able and far more accessible than his country and folk peers. The bright harmonies are so damn catchy and the beautiful pedal steel work keep this short tune ticking over while Clark's use of multiple singers to convey his defeated lyricism is wise as it captures his melancholic delivery without bringing you too far down. If only he produced more upbeat arrangements later on in the 70s he could have staged more of a comeback; though having said that he did write a gospel song on his next album called Life's Greatest Fool :P 




Wednesday 20 November 2019

Elton John (1974) Pinky - LOST70sGEMS

Elton John's Caribou album is one of his forgotten works form his 70s run, looking past the giant hits of the Bitch is Back and Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me, we have an album of diverse material ranging from heavy guitars, acoustic textures, odd synth parts and more of Elton's melodic countrified vocals.

 Pinky is one of his most understated ballad with it's sunny flamenco flavour, gospel harmonies and surging analog synthesizer, all dancing to his effortless pop rock grooves and high tenor melodies flowing with a country rock exuberance. Its almost a shame it's followed up by Grimsby, a
heavy ode to the fishing port of Grimsby with the oddest sounding mix of twin guitars playing overdriven parts and reverse echoed hi-hats and crashing cacophonous power chords; but once again the vocal melody is king and the slow parts where the guitars are really strangled for maximum vibrato and Elton's voice takes on an extra earthy sheen is still memorable. Dixie Lilly is another superb fusion of Elton's natural country rock vocal and honky tonk style with more 70s touches throughout proving he was the decade's definitive artist in his combo of sentimental balladry, strutting rhythms, country vocals and yacht rock arrangement. Even the flamenco come honky tonk number Solar Prestige a Gammon with it's cheerful Nillsson melody and European languages and fine acoustic work is an example of his playful if overindulgent self though the track with it's dancehall beat and louche delivery never feels in danger of being too cringecamp and the accordion sound is approximated by use of multi-tracked Moog lines is creative.

 I've Seen the Saucers is a brilliant song with tablas and piano chords ringing out to a tender Elton vocal, while Stinker is anything but with the incredible tension created by a sturdy drum beat before a zapping guitar lasers away into a big traditional rhythm and blues song full of horn players screeching in ways you've never heard a overdriven rock solo.


Monday 4 November 2019

Poco (1977) Downfall - LOST70sGEMS

 The 1977 Indian Summer LP was heavily influenced by the dominance of RnB particularly on funky disco cuts Win and Lose and Living in the Band, but it totally did not work with the band's Country and Western vibes, instead they would finally hit commercial paydirt with the a more soft rock sound on their next album; 1978's Legend. Downfall is a bouncy rock n roller but with a very soft rock sensibility and a vivacious guitar solo section. Its Timothy Schmidt's faux Southern via California tone that carries a yodelling wail and delivers the heartfelt melody well but the real star are the trade-off guitar solo; I'm not a guitar solo kind of guy but these two guitars call and responding is simply exciting.




Tuesday 22 October 2019

Elton John (1976) Where the Shoorah - LOST70sGEMS

 Elton John's 1976 double LP Blue Moves was by far his most forgettable of his classic 70s run,
Your Starter for It is a xylaphone styled short instrumental that resembles a twinkly gentle video game theme ala Mario Kart. This whimsical opener is followed up by sweeping movie score grandeur of Tonight and the swooping falsetto soft rock epic Chameleon which pairs Elton in full of melodramatic high pitched wailing and watery guitar. Boogie Pilgrim is what it says on the tin but with a exuberant falsetto and stop start Southern beat. Cage the Songbird is a beautiful countrified Folk rocker and one of his most underrated as he warns you can 'cage the songbird' but not make her sing. Crazy Water is a bit of funky Captain and Tennille discofied yacht rock; this was 1976 and Elton was king!
Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word is one of Elton's stone cold classics along the lines of Your Song in it's sober barroom piano confessional style. Shoulder Holster has some light soul, Out of the Blue is harmonising Prog rock ala Kansas Wishbone Ash and that soughta thing, Between Seventeen and Twenty has some Stephen Stills light folk rock sound, while The Wide Eyed and Laughing is a bright harmony staked moody tune. A lot of this album has potential, its some of his finest craft and melodies just lacking the lyrical panache that Bernie Taupin usually graced his albums with; a rare off day. Songs like Someone's Final Song, Where' the Shoorah are draped in gorgeous melodies and harmonies but loses its snap, while If There's a God in Heaven (What's He Waiting For?) has a excellent funky rhythm but ridiculous lyrics, while the album ends how it started with a completely expendable monotonous and highly rhythmic theme tune; this time an Moroccan belly-dance type of acoustic piece called Theme from a Non-Existent TV Series; apt for an album unfairly forgotten by even the die hards amongst Elton's classic 70s run.


Monday 21 October 2019

Gene Clark (1973) In a Misty Morning - LOST70sGEMS

Roadmaster was one of Gene Clark's lesser solo album before the cult favourite No Other in 1974 and after the lauded White Light LP, but it contains two of his best tunes the first is In a Misty Morning. An epic string sweeping masterpiece, it features Clark's intoning baritone ringing alongside a trembling bass and a general rumble of thunderstorm arrangement. The melancholia that was the strain at the core of all his work is no better exemplified here from the wistful longing of a brighter past; 'Running through my thoughts, Were the memories of the days that I had left behind, Way down in my soul were the hope, That better days were always there to find'. Whilst the main hook is that the mood is so grey and outlook so bleak that the clouds 'just had to cry', a tender sentiment that hits a raw nerve while the bluegrass violin coda gives the song a pep and chaotic energy associated with the twirling storm ahead. It has echoes of the wide production technique of the Echoes solo album from the mid 60s and of his next venture, No Other, with his soulbaring croak underscored by Wagnerian soundscapes of strings, acoustics and bass to truly spellbinding effect.


Monday 9 September 2019

McKendree Spring (1976) Too Young To Feel This Old - LOST 70s GEMS

McKendree Spring is probably one of their great unheard folk rock songs with it's gentle pacing and caressing soft rock vocals as a father sings about his looking into his boy's face and how one day he will be gone and not see anymore, its a real tear jerker with a restrained country rocker style of beat. The strong wistful cycle of life musings are heartbreaking beyond the usual romance/heartache of the 70s rock genre, the weight of this song's subject matter is devastatingly relate able to most people, myself included as I soon enter my last year of my 20s next month. Well we're all human, all fallible, all young and all old..


Sunday 8 September 2019

Dreams (1970) Devil Lady -LOST 70s GEMS

Jazz rock ensemble Dreams may not have risen to the heights of the Mahavishnu Orchestra but they were equally talented, here on their debut they display their talents in expansive funky jazz Rock arrangements and free form jams.
Try Me is a cauldron of pounding drums, wah wah drawls and some big sexy sax stacks blasting out every funky phrase imaginable and some eye wateringly tight dynamics. The tinsel drum patterns and splintering lead guitar tones merge with a funky disco beat and flute work to remind me of a Blaxploitation film score.
The softer passages of this workout show off the bass work and the use of little horn and guitar squeaks and odd alien like metallic wails that I have never heard come from a guitar before. The Maryanne is a folk ballad which displays some flowery horn parts reminiscent of a slow down mariachi band while some Chicago soul seeps in towards the very end with a smoky lounge horn and a wallowing flute line. New York is an accessible radio ready single about the fast city set to a hustle bustle beat, the chaotic stabs of organ and horns are particularly rampant here, while the ending flange climax is incredible production sound. Holli Be Home is a beautifully sung song but the mix of dreamy pop, old school RnB and chiming Prog textures with the smoky horns doesn't work though individually they all sound great.

Then there is the three stages of the Dream Suit; the first part is called Asset Shop which showcases wah wahed funky background and some blistering horn work, explosive drums and a nice vocal part on top of that. The second part is simply titled Jane and is a little more mellower as the sax and horns separate and play a little out of sync with the flute, while the laidback shuffle of the verses increases the commercial sound as the percussion and brass dominate the mix over the soft vocal.
The third part of the Dream Suite is called Crunch Grenoala is a speed exercise in Dixieland sax and horn parts and more drawling wah wah guitar and a frenzied drum part way back in the mix; though this instrumental lacks the melodic aspects of the first two parts.

Devil Lady has a bracingly funky opening riff as horns and sax pip and put with each other in a rolling tradeoff, while the chorus soars, the piano and the harmonies add a dripping RnB flavour. 15 Miles to Provo is an odd one as it starts with a faux Mexican accent letting us know's its the start of take two over the studio speaker system before a placid beat and organ line start this modest tune which doesn't over do it at first before the ear splitting horns intrude on the relaxing number.




Thursday 29 August 2019

Gary Wright (1976) Dreamweaver - LOST 70s GEMS


This moody synth epic was one of the most timeless soft rock productions of the 70s mainly due to it's portentous Sci-Fi operatic sound. It starts with a flurry of spooky instrumentation; from from haunted keyboard sound, twinkling cocktail piano trills to the occasional digital gurgle from an analogue synth it plants an image in my mind of a supernatural forest like a Midsummer's Nights Dream. The twilight atmosphere continues with a hallowed lead vocal beaming down from the heavens above.
The tender crack in his voice as he sings the word 'behind' keeps the song rooted in intimate emotion whilst surrounded by galactic textures. The soaring chorus I first heard in a quick snippet in Toy Story 3 is of course iconic but never gets old; it has a 'whooshing' quality transporting you as the cooing vocal harmony goes up an step and a funky piano beats along and a glassy synth slides underneath. The surging quality of the track is what struck me but the murky atmospherics of the opening to the clear as daylight chorus and that beautiful bridge about the 'the dawn may be coming soon' It's like transcendental meditation encapsulated in a simple melody but deep spiritual philosophy. Meanwhile the pioneering synth work was a fitting concept in itself.


Wednesday 21 August 2019

Dreams (1972) Calico Baby - LOST 70s GEMS

Jazz rockers Dreams, made up of the Brecker Brother, drummer Billy Cobham and future Late Show bassist Will Lee, return for their sophomore album, Imagine my Surprise is chock full of horns and blue eyed soul vocals, streamlined guitar lines and huge wah wah guitar flecks.


Calico Baby with its effortless soulful delivery and pop smarts and pre-Disco wah wah and horn groove, the excellent mellow country pop of Why I Can't Find a Home, while the very 70s sounding harmony drenched sunshine pop of Just Be Ourselves carries an important lyrical message about reserved people suffering anxiety. Don't Cry My Lady is another laidback ballad with deep horns and vocals reminiscent of Stax. The closing track is a upbeat jazzy ditty with quirky offbeat soul arrangements of shuffle drum pattern, inane rhyming patter, twanging trumpets and horns and wah wah meows.


Tuesday 13 August 2019

Elton John (1972) Honky Cat - LOST 70s GEMS

Elton's Honky Château (1972) is famous for Rocket Man, but looking past that song's epic construction are some solid gems like the banjo and piano bounce of opener Honky Cat, the dark vaudeville jazz of I Think I'm Gonna Kill Myself and the droning multi-tracked gospel croon of Salvation. The album is filled out by suitable piano heavy jives like Mellow, Slave, Susie (Dramas), Amy; all Honky Tonk country rockers in keeping with the album title and solid tunes if forgettable.


Montrose (1975) All I Need - LOST 70s GEMS

Fast falling behind other rock giants like Kiss, Queen and Rush who debuted after them, the Warner Bros Presents album of 75 asserts a more simple riff based sound with greater use of keyboards and effects.Bob James replaced the departing Sammy Hagar, later of Van Halen fame, after some acrimony between the singer and the band's name sake guitarist. The thrilling Matriach is full of Deep Purple playing and a chugging organ part that is like a telegraph line, All I Need is a very melodic pop cut off the record and the raucous, circular riffs and rough shouting vocals on the Twenty Flight Rock cover is another personal highlight as they broaden their approach. The waves of phaser sound effects like crashing ocean waters lapping over the 60s sounding track Whaler is another neat production technique, while Bob James shines with a grittier and more youthful vocal on Dancin Feet and Lucky Man. But One and a Half is a blatant rip off of the Eastern fingerpickin instrumental, Black Mountainside from Led Zeppelin 1 which in itself was a direct cover of a folk instrumental by Davy Graham so ..I guess all is good then. The best thing about this album is, although less enjoyable than their previous two efforts, the B movie poster album cover where he gets the girl whilst a dinosaur with wings seems to terrorise a town of people at the foot of a castle is pure fun.


Wednesday 31 July 2019

Elton John (1971) Razor Face - LOST 70s GEMS

 Madman Across the Water is best known for the astounding opening track Tiny Dancer with it's effortlessly rolling melody and piano driven pulse. Levon, the second track follows in a similar melody with a Daniel-esque character song, the mopey balladry continues on Indian Sunset, but Razor Face is just as strong as Tiny Dancer with it's double tracked vocals and more lonesome aching vocal wails and a strong downhome accent. The title track carries an overcooked acoustic arrangement and overdone vocals by Elton. The ending lala las of Rotten peaches elevate the dour track while the mandolin draped folk rock of Holdiay Inn is reveals a different prowess, the backing vocals are acrobatic and gospel stacked while the sparkling strings of Paul Buckmaster ride in like a fantasy adventure score while an Eastern rage tinge subtly enters with them. The spindly workings of the mandolin are gasping with the stacked string orchestrations and the reverbed drums punching through. All the Nasties is clearly from the same chords of Tiny Dancer and carries the same verse/chorus phrasings and tempo as well as licks though the Handel sounding choral voices are more progressive touch sounding like a choir of monks or druids. Occasionally Elton's juicy wail stands out with his unique mannerisms like an operatic cowboy playing a saloon bar. Final track Goodbye captures the record's issue, it's too one note and dour in Eltons' vocal while the flexible piano, drums and strings struggle to drag some of the songs into the crackling chemistry that Bernie Taupins' magical lyricism could galvanise, without the Taupin the package would really feel far too laidback and monotone to work, when it clicks he rivals Neil Young, when it doesn't he could put the Eagles to forget what they were listening too.



Wednesday 24 July 2019

Sylvers (1972) I Wish I Could Talk to You - LOST70sGEMS


Clearly devised in the Jackson Five mould, The Sylvers left it a little too late to jump on the bandwagon as the bubble gum pop vein was getting old by 72, the year of their bouncy Jackson-esque debut album. 1972 was the last year of that sounds mainstream popularity, it would be the year before the Jacksons great up and embraced dance oriented funk in 73's Get it Together as a whole generation grew up. 1969 and 1970 was by far the peak of bubblegum from 1910 Fruitgum Factory to Archie's Sugar Sugar to Tommy 'dizzy' Roe to the Jacksons and the Osmonds even stitching to the teen aimed candy coated rock n roll of Glam rock acts like the Sweet and T Rex. But Soft Rock/Yacht Rock/ FM/ AC/ whatever youwantocallit would take over in 73 with artists like Elton John, but the Sylvers were not hanging on to that bubblegum sound for too long, this gem and single from that album reveals where they were going; a harder more progressive soul. Though they ultimately went down the Disco RnB route here on this gem there is proof of something darker and more engaging.

This song belongs more to the rarely acknowledged genre of cinematic soul, a label of grand dramatic string arranged soul numbers from artists such as Isaac Hayes, The Unifics, the Undisputed Truth and Curtis Mayfield. They each had records that carried a widescreen sound; complete with dark, foreboding brass parts mingling with shrieking strings weaving a movie score feel. 
It starts with a maudlin piano that reminds me of the interesting modal piano lines of Earth Wind and Fire such as 1979's Fantasy, but here Leon Sylvers was ahead of the curve. A Philly styled touch is felt as a Electric sitar twangs in unison and a drumbeat kicks us in to a sweeping and grand verse sung by Leon in his caressing, wise baritone. This brooding arrangement hangs with the feel of a funeral march horns sound over the stormy arrangement before a flowery pop chorus vocal by Edmund Sylvers; its such a huge sounding track full of fatalism, all its missing is a gong smash. The sound has such a steady feel, a light touch and yet latent power, its extraordinary; just listen to that impulsive yelp at 1.42 is one of the best things I'll ever hear and shows how much hunger this group had. From the delicate descending piano run to the little harp flourishes that dip in and out to the fluttering electric guitar fills to those smoky horns seething underneath. This brooding suite captures the dark desires of teen hood so well and reveals the first glimpse of Leon Sylvers III who would go onto become a highly in demand Producer and arranger.


Montrose (1975) All I Need - LOST 70s GEMS

Fast falling behind other rock giants like Kiss, Queen and Rush who debuted after them, the Warner Bros Presents album of 75 asserts a more simple riff based sound with greater use of keyboards and effects.Bob James replaced the departing Sammy Hagar, later of Van Halen fame, after some acrimony between the singer and the band's name sake guitarist. The thrilling Matriach is full of Deep Purple playing and a chugging organ part that is like a telegraph line, All I Need is a very melodic pop cut off the record and the raucous, circular riffs and rough shouting vocals on the Twenty Flight Rock cover is another personal highlight as they broaden their approach. 
 The waves of phaser sound effects like crashing ocean waters lapping over the 60s sounding track Whaler is another neat production technique, while Bob James shines with a grittier and more youthful vocal on Dancin Feet and Lucky Man. But One and a Half is a blatant rip off of the Eastern finger-pickin instrumental, Black Mountainside from Led Zeppelin 1 which in itself was a direct cover of a folk instrumental by Davy Graham so ..I guess all is good then. The best thing about this album is, although less enjoyable than their previous two efforts, the B movie poster album cover where he gets the girl whilst a dinosaur with wings seems to terrorise a town of people at the foot of a castle is pure fun.


Tuesday 16 July 2019

Elton John (1970) Bad Side of the Moon - LOST 70s GEMS

The self titled sophomore album by Elton john would be the first of the decade he would come to rule and personify in his ultra-characteristic balladry, though famous for the towering ode, 'Your Song' its a surprisingly consistent set of tunes if never capturing the subtle and sublime sentiment of that breakthrough hit. Between tthe legendary Bernie Taupin lyrical content and Paul Buckmaster's grand scheme of strings and choirs
There is the harpsichord lined, medieval love song I Need You to Turn To, the groovy gospel knockabout Take me to the Pilot, silly Stones-esque hoedowns like No Shoe Strings on Louise with it's ragged nature and then tracks like First Episode at Hienton which capture Elton's deep heartfelt and flawless vocals as clear and ornate as ever; sung with a delicate touch and rugged nature held in check. Border Song is a little too heavy in Johns' forced nasal delivery, with Tiny Dancer turnarounds and placid verses but but he leans on the trailing twangy nature of his vocal melody on every line and lacks his later lighter touch and finessed vocal polish.

 Sixty Years On and the Greatest Delivery are an exercise (or an excuse) for Buckmaster to try some bold string charts before some delicate, world music folk pickin enter in and some boring baroque verses by Elton. The Cage is catchy funky pop rocker and very melodic for a loose album jam, demonstrating how he would dominate the 70s with his love for the most popular genres of the upcoming decade that loomed ahead; soft rock and disco. The King Must Die is corny 'court of the Jester' imagery while Bad Side of the Moon is the most impressive mix of groove based pop balladry with enough funky soul and gospel backing singers to transcend the generic production, while Grey Seal has a more singer-songwriter feel and is another subtle tribute along the lines of Tiny Dancer and hits to come as well as the aforementioned Your Song. Live track Rock n Roll Madonna is a bonus that displays the Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting grit and Fats Domino thunder to come.


Sunday 14 July 2019

Montrose (1974) - Starliner - LOST 70s GEMS

Paper Money the sophomore album from California hard rockers Montrose starts off with the melodic pop of Underground, which has a pretty middle eight of "one by one they'll all taking up my space and time" with a steady lead in back to the main body fo the song like Zeppelin; the track is distinguished by the more harmonious vocals and shimmering guitar work though the jagged stop/starts and airey distortion keeps the aerial crunch of the debut album. The droning multi tracked slide guitar melody that opens the next track, Connection, is gorgeously beautiful before it leads to a placid folk acoustic verse that reflects Gong to California by Zeppellin, no doubt a towering influence of all bands circa 74 and thereafter. Nobody balanced these elements of acoustic guitars, mellotrons, chiming arpeggios and building up drum beat like Zep, but Montrose were by far the closest to their British idols; the refined vocal melodies and more variety of playing makes this a solid followup from the gigantic hard rock expanse of their debut album. The Dreamer is unimaginative track ironically, but Starliner returns to the semi-Prog space rock of Space Station #5 with it's gooey guitar and reverb soaked guitar whooshes, some quacky wah wah synth ala P Funkedelic and enough speed drumming to hint at the bright prog pop of the Who and Yes. Ronnie Montrose delights in multi tracked guitar melodies and droning like Brain May, who was also just getting started. Question; just how many bands took form Montrose? 

  Spaceage Sacrifice is another mix of flights of space rock and solid hard rock grooves, though We're Going Home's Mellotroned ballad lacks the sincerity to really drive home the winsome melancholy it aims for with it's tragic blues solo. Paper Money starts with dramatic rolls and sliding power chords for backing to the money troubles of the lyrics; from the drama to the down-to-earth; and just listen to the strangled, mangled heavily fuzz guitar solo that symbolises the ever-intensifying financial anxieties. But it's the quality of the melodies and songwriting which explains why this album, though not loved by fans nor critics was their highest charting.




Saturday 13 July 2019

Montrose (1973) Space Station # 5 - LOST 70s GEMS


 Montrose's 1973 debut album is a slashing slab of 70s hard rock bliss, from the outset the cowbell and screeching vocals sound like the arena rock of later 70s bands like Kiss and eventually hair metal come early. But the staccato rhythms recall Rush who were still a year away from releasing their debut, the spacey reverb, tumbling arpeggios, clanging double stops feel very much like Rush. Unlike that pretentious Canadian rockers the subject isn't as forced not to keep bringing it up but they seem to predate the 'Rush' sound a year early, while Sammy Hagar with his blonde perm seemed like a traveller form the early 80s. A severely underrated American hard rock group, while not an answer to Led Zeppelin, clearly able to hold their own against later exhilarating, jacked up hard rock of ACDC,

 Space Station #5 is again more in the Sci-Fi realm of Rush with talkbox growls and astral whines of guitar like an army of theremins starting the track, this heavily phased distorted space rock must have inspired By-tor and the Snowdog its ridiculously similar. The tune carries a Sabbath fury with its chug and a proggy speed shuffle, while a Bonham-esque /When the Levee Breaks drum beat starts off Rock Candy which pretty much mimics a lot of Alex Lifeson's early playing. The Sci-Fi space rock promise is too often squandered by powerful arena rock struts like Good Rockin Tonight which are pure addictive hard rock, it's shame they didn't balance a bit more for a more ambitious debut



Monday 17 June 2019

Pure Prairie League (1978) Just Fly - LOST 70s GEMS

 The Pure Prairie Leagues' Just Fly (1978) was the last album before a teenage Vince Gill would reinvigorate the Country Rock Pioneers whose success never really took off after their hit Amie's delayed success in the mid 70s; ironically their 76 albums are to me even better in overall songwriting quality than the Fuller years. Place in the Middle in has some great relationship insight, while You Don't Have To Be Alone is a soft rock tune with delicate sentiment. A lot of the tracks are a bland sheen semi-disco Adult Contemporary sound, you couldn't recognise this group as PPL as there are none of their crystal clear folk rock sound is around as that early 70s roosty style was totally out of favour in the glossy late 70s of Corporate rock, soft rock, new wave and disco. The sweet funk chicken scratch and in the pocket groove of the title track is draped in 1978 sounds with a Steely Dan meets Bee Gees sound. Lifetime is another sensitive ballad about painting a rosier picture on things, My Young Girl is a rare rocker, while Bad Dream is as sweet disco inflected pop tune.


Sunday 16 June 2019

Pure Prairie League (1972) Angel No 9 - LOST 70s GEMS

The songwriting team of Craig Fuller and George Powell was one of the finest in the business, and on Bustin' Out they made an album that is unequalled in country-rock. The songs are meditative portraits of relationships that aren't running smoothly but are still alive, and they sound autobiographical rather than something contrived to sell records. These tunes are presented with grace and unusual taste, the country guitars and vocal harmonies backed with astonishingly sympathetic string arrangements by Mick Ronson. Both lyrical and musical themes carry over from song to song -- "Falling in and Out of Love" and "Amie" are really two halves of one suite, and there are echoes of that suite throughout the rest of the album. Despite the extraordinary beauty and intelligence of the music on this album, it was not immediately successful, and the already troubled band broke up after it was released. Nevertheless, the influence of Bustin' Out was profound, and one song in particular became a staple for bar bands everywhere. RCA re-released "Amie" as a single more than two years after the album came out, and it was a Top 30 hit. The revival of interest in Pure Prairie League led RCA to re-sign the group, alas without Craig Fuller. That hit status also led to a rediscovery of the merits of the rest of Bustin' Out, which is acknowledged to be one of the artistic high points in country-rock history.


Bustin Out, the follow up to Pure Prairie League's 72 debut album, busts out with the Alt rock vibes of Angel No 9 with a great mix of a restless drum performance, a lead steel guitar and a jangly country rhythm guitar and some fine twin solos. Jazzman is far more mellow and bears a more natural rhythm and melody, but it's the lonesome whine of a pedal steel in the far background alongside some crystalline acoustic picking that made PPL a folk rock cousin to the Eagles with a more separated sonic mix rather than the bland mush of Eagles song productions, here the warm harmonies, gospel flavour, and rootsy textures of Craig Fuller's lead vocals are all wonderfully restrained. Both are richly melodic yet lacking some snap, which is provided by the next track Leave My Heart Alone with it's hard groovin mix of spritely acoustic, piledriving rock guitar and soaring soulful backing vocals and more 'rusty pipes' lead singers.


I won't make a point about Amie or it's Pre-track Fallin In and Out of Love as their crisscrossing harmony folk pop was the big hit and don't qualify as gems; they are also far too awesome to sum up. Early Morning Riser is an amiable country shuffle with more glistening acoustics, rootsy tooin lead vocals and rock n roll guitar punches. The band were a little too laidback for their own good and never quite showed the depth of the lyrics in their delivery with bright folk rock arrangements that belied the dark presence. By the time you get to Boulder Skies, the sleepy vocal style gets a little too one note for me, I need variety! Well the next song Angel features a more melancholic mountain ballad vibe with the minor key, the lyrics are once again spectacular and the pensive sound brings the lyrics to he fore, though it's a shame country rock was a vocal based genre that the singers in this band didn't modulate more often for dramatic effect. Album closer, Call Me, Tell Me is a fast paced jangly 12 string number with swooping string arrangement that doesn't quite gel with the restrained vocal it's a massive mix error; highly obtrusive and ill fitting you couldn't find a worse addition of a string section to a song, what was Mark Ronson thinking, I mean Mick Ronsons..wait not Bowie's guitarist(checks album liner credits) wait, what!?


Pure Prairie League (1976) In the Morning - LOST 70s GEMS


Laidback folk rocker In the Morning features fine violin work and a truly jaw dropping mix of sparkling acoustic and banjo playing as a bed for a nice little tune. The semi-disco hip thrusting rock n roller Livin' Each Day at a Time features cracking 'let's get back to slow country livin style of lyrics and smoother than honey melodies. Fade Away is another world weary, nostalgic ode to wanting to be somewhere else, it's another incandescent ballad with glistening acoustics, why they were'n up there with Firefall or even Poco is a mystery to me. Tornado Warning is a little soulful bop with easygoing vocals overlaid a catchy beat, this album is called Dance! Maybe more country groups should've gone for that dancing vibe, it helps Help Yourself, a funky lightly discoed track with big harmonic stacks and some folk rock heaviness too, and it works. San Antonio has some well recorded mandolin, played with laser fine precision and a well balanced recording, while All the Lonesome Cowboys has another wonderful mix of 50s bop and caressing lead vocal.

Sunday 2 June 2019

Pure Prairie League (1976) Sun Shone Lightly - LOST 70s GEMS

If the Shoe Fits..as the old adage goes and with Pure Prairie League the shoe seemingly fit for the band as the Larry Goshorn edition continued with two albums in 76, still trying to hold onto their initial success in some mall way whilst being more respectful of Traditional Country modes. The laidback melody of I Can Only Think of You has roll from line to another with ease in a Roy Orbison meets the warmth of the Eagles vibe, the rich earthy tones complement the back-beat drumming. Sun Shone Lightly is supremely luminescent tune with fresh lyricism in the world weary vocal lines and pinging arpeggios and rivals the Craig Fuller era. Long Cold Winter continues in more heartfelt slow country rock balladry with more clean electric arpeggios rooting the songs, Lucile Caulfield features a downbeat chorus that I love, but Aren't You Mine is a desperate plea dressed up in an aching vocal that cracks and drags out in the verses. It ends with the low key soulful ballad Goin Home and it is just as smooth and pop influenced as most of the album, this album was by far their best and most accessible so far, better then the Fuller years as they wisely sought more commercial success that had eluded them post-Fuller.


Thursday 30 May 2019

Pure Prairie League (1975) Runner - LOST 70s GEMS



1975's Two Lane Highway was a long awaited release from one of the most commercially successful of the second generation country rock bands, this Ohio outfit would lose their main singer songwriter and collaborator in Craig Fuller; the effective frontman and his singer of their hit Aimee. He was the Glenn Frey of the group, his lush countrified vocal tone, easygoing melodies and shimmering acoustic guitar laid the foundation and core of their respective band's early country rock sound; they may not have been the face of their very faceless bands but they fronted the hit singles more often or not.

A fine singer named Larry Goshorn stepped into Fuller's shoes for this release, the title track is a fantastic country rocker with a soaring chorus, slow build verses and a great mix of a bumping Rock n Roll pulse and smooth countrified pop balladry; the jazzy piano solo adds another layer of exuberance with a typically piercing pedal steel solo directly afterwards. Runner is another highlight, opening with a slowly descending flutter of pedal steel licks piled one on top of the other, the gentle vocal melody underscored by..well a score is excellent and their first real melodic cut that betters the Fuller era. Memories features an aching, tightly wound pedal steel line and a funky acoustic line doubled by some Piano extemporising, the gospel oohs also elevate the track which is standard, nostalgic paen with some lovely mandolin towards the end. 
Harvest has some Rush like distorted power chord slashes and some wiry solos, Sister's Keeper features some tremelo-ed arpeggio guitar figures that ripple like pond water under a yearning lead vocal in what is a straight country ballad spiced up with modern playing. Give us a Rise has some fanciful melody and shining Southern pop bounce, but it doesn't compare to the barnstorming closer Pickin to Beat the Devil with it's mix of dramatic slow verses full of depth to a rip roaring banjo driven chorus. 









Wednesday 29 May 2019

The Hollies (1979) It's in Everyone of Us - LOST 70s GEMS

The last Hollies album of 70s is called Five Three One - Double Seven O Four, which as the album cover shows, spells Hollies if held upside down on a calculator. It starts promisingly with an smooth keyboard and Afro drum beat interpretation of Murray Head's Say It Ain't So, Joe. Song of the Sun, a Pete Brown tune contains a groovy electric organ that jiggles like you were drowning in a pit of marmite it's so thick and luscious. When I'm Yours has some of Allan Clarke's talent for falsetto, high strung singing in the lead to the deep harmony chorus and some heartfelt lyrics. The Hollies were purging a lot of material from elsewhere like former Cream lyricist Pete Brown and his songwriting partner Toby Hymas, Stormy Waters is the only band entry with a mild harmonica leaden waltz bathed in ghostly harmonies but it doesn't really hit the spot musically unlike the strong lyrical content. Peter Brown's Boys in the Band is a disco version of Calypso with a clavinet underlined bobbing along chorus, but the melody is sweet; as the song says 'a simple melody can free the soul'. Allan Clarke's Satellite Three features a haunted house theme of a synthesizer loop, his most naked and vulnerable singing in the verse over this creepy keyboard riff before another rousing string chorus that lacks any real looseness but the synthesizer warbling in and out in spacey analogue seizures are another audio pleasure.

 It's in Everyone of Us by David Pommeranz is recorded here with a musical and yet spiritual setting with a low mix of strings streaming below one of Clarke's most defiant singing; he sings fittingly for a stage show, belting out some lines whilst carrying the emotions in hushed moments. Drums and the band join in and follow his vocal like a West End show. The backing vocals are warm and countrified and Clarke's vocal twangs a bit too to add flavour and it's good choice for a closer if not exactly representative of a beat group from the 60s. Something to Live For, another Brown/Hymas tune, is probably one of the highlights with it's effective mix of the best elements of this album with a subtle Disco throb, slow atmospheric keyboard and some gallivanting harmonies driving along the tune along, whilst strings dance in dramatic swooping lines in the background as the song antes up in the tag.


Friday 24 May 2019

Paris (1976) Blue Robin - LOST 70s GEMS

Paris, Bob Welch's power trio continued for one more album in 76 with Big Towne, 2061, however drummer Thom Mooney was replaced by Hunt Sales for this funkier offering from the Zep clones of the first album. Opening with the twangy guitar lines and streaking downhome backing vocals of Blue Robin before the seductive grooves of the over produced title tracks. The horrible Italo Disco sound in the tinny soulless ARPs on Pale Horse, Pale Rider remind me of the early 80s disco sound to come, and the following track doesn't improve things with more disco and Zeppelin mediocrity. Outlaw Game features atmospheric playing against an airy organ backdrop, while Money Love reminds me of another funk and Zep abomination called Detective and the overly Plant-esque vocals are really starting to grate and make me think of Greta Van Fleet; choose your own vocal style! Heart of Stone mixes a standard disco bass lien to Welch's detached vocals; it does not mix well, we need a defibrillator get some human element back to this music. The steady decline is reversed with Welch's phenomenal flamenco work on the echoey Slave Trader, the closing track Janie mixes a Yes level of Prog synths in with a keyboard flute melody over it like a Camel track.




The Hollies (1978) Feet on the Ground- LOST 70s GEMS

The Hollies' 1978 album, A Crazy Steal, was indicative of some of the direct influences of The Bee Gees, Elton John and in particularly one moment, Bruce Springsteen but this is one of their finest albums in years and far greater than their 1976 albums, which were steeped in the same tempo bubblegum pop numbers.

The album opens with the Writing on the Wall, that's the song title, it's pure countrified soft rock,/slow piano ballad stuff but the indelible harmonies keep it peddling over sweet and easy for the ear. It's a fairly decent Elton-esque 70s ballad with a moving saxophone solo and I am not a Sax fan so that is really saying something as it just drips in euphoric heartbroken soulfulness. What Am I Gonna Do starts with the same basic structure to the verses but explodes into the awesomely cooing choral chant, it's one of the best chorus hooks I've ever heard while the rest of the track is more plodding piano, strings, synth, harmony laden soft rock with a strong Wings vibe from the Live and Let Die strings and drumbeat combo, to the Jimmy McCullough sounding guitar solo. Let it Pour is a little too smooth and ear caressing in it's mix of mellow keyboards, electric piano and strings and treated vocal creating a hushed mix up until the clumsy multi-ARP solo. Burn Out is a Bruce Springsteen knock off complete with fast talking hip references, organ and choir backing a upbeat piano and animated shout outs to people; the solo is pure electric fire as always. Hello to Romance is a Bee Gees rip off form the whispered vocal, the twinkling electric piano to the steadily intensifying vocals leading into a soaring string laden chorus stack; this was pretty much based on Love So Right, though the production of the strings make it stand out more than the original. Of course the middle eight with it's gurgling synth and heavy funk overtones reflect the Bee Gees more than anything; not a subtle steal but a crazy steal, the title of the album referenced in this song but for the wrong reason. 

 Amnesty is a little too slow but carries an amiable message and more spirited piano, harmony and strings soft rock balladry, undercut by another three-dimensional solo. Caracas is brilliant jam of smoky lounge room jazz, cold ARP string ensemble and funky guitar yacht rock, the horn work is smooth and fluid with a reverbed punchiness adding some Latin American trippyness. Clown Service mixes country and western lovelorn confessional to Floyd Kramer piano work, bobbling along is some mighty fine harmonica and high quality country guitars. Feet on the Ground is simply the last and bets of the album with it's fresh melody carrying a less rigid bubblegum vocal but a more looser, natural soul vocal that Barry Gibb or even Elton would deliver; also the track is memorable for it's heavenly layers of synthesizers coursing through and a fantastically composed country blues solo.


Tuesday 21 May 2019

The Hollies (1976) Samuel LOST 70s GEMS

The unreleased Write On album of 76 is a secret cave of hidden Hollies gems; OK don't know what I mean then let me start from the top. The album Epic Records eventually passed on starts with Star; which begins with an soaring Ennio Morricone Spaghetti Western styled motif on a tin whistle that is played through a synth or a flanger of some sort. The song is your average stacked harmony bubblegum tune, but the solo returns the Morricone flute motif with a heavy tremelo effect; a strong underwater ripply effect that sounds so unique! The title track is up next with a slow building piano strings and acoustic strum ballad and a fine but forgettable melody; in the middle a funky clavinet bass enters but it doesn't animate this track enough, though Tony Hicks' overdriven wailing solo is Southern blues mania! I Won't Move Over features all the 70s Hollies trademarks; the steady hard acoustic rock beat, coursing harmony vocals with a bubblegum lightness, wah wah squelchs and a heavily filtered strained solo by Hicks. Narida is simultaneously light Latin Jazz, acoustic Disco and a salsa workout while Allan Clarke sings a story about a 'sweet Narida', while the harmonies take on the bewitching smooth vocals of Santana while an elegant piano plays underneath the whole song; and once again another fantastic, tastefully conciseand precise solo that doesn't divert you from the song's original context.

 Stranger is a delight to the ear with a low frequency organ line spookily leering over the track while a wah wah guitar rocks over the top, the clavinet also works giving a pulsating propulsion to a standard AM pop song. The slippery wah wah synth that drips over the track is also another audio splendour that the mid 70s Hollies loved to indulge in; probably so no two songs would sound exactly the same, they all had unique instrumental sounds. Crocodile Woman (she bites) is a pure Sweet/T-Rex early 70s Glam Rock Boogie with 50s throwback feel, breakneck piano, revved up guitar and aglorious chorus; the biscuit box drumbeat could've been played by Mick Tucker for all we know it sounds just like his standard drum sound while the spacey-echo-delay vocal effect in the chorus recalls Fox on the Run.

 My Island is a highlight with it's calming mix of twinkly windchimes, congas and mellow Oberheimer lines dancing alongside a jazzy strum, while the choral vocals are soothing. The next album highlight is There's Always Goodbye with it's meowing and deranged slide fuzz guitar orchestra before a more romantic folk yacht rocker enters, pianos, harmonies, strings etc all play a part but the central melody is more engaging than the ones that came before. The last songs critically bring up the rear, their cover of Emmylou Harris' classic Boulder to Birmingham is sung to tersely, while it's deeply felt, it's over done even though it should've suited their country soft rock voices it just doesn't match the authentic mourning of the song's author; though as always the intro is another delight with grindingly slow dual slide guitars drawling away similar to the track before it. Samuel starts with more twanging bottleneck sitars and delicately plucked Italian mandolin runs before a strong folk pop tune enters with harmonies reminiscent of the Nash years. And well the attempt at the Springsteen classic Born to Run, well let's just leave it at they bear all the instrumental and production prowess but none of the grit n soul, sounding more like Elvis impersonators than some great rock n roll messiah.


Monday 20 May 2019

Paris (1976) Solitaire - LOST 70s GEMS

Paris was Bob Welch's new project after Fleetwood Mac, it was a trio with Jethro Tull bassist Glenn Cornick and the drummer form the Nazz, Thom Mooney. From his slashing power chords, stop start dynamic and slightly huskier bluesier wail he is aping Led Zeppelin to the core. It's a money grab and his usual jazzy hypnotic pop balladry only comes to the fore occasionally, this is try to ride the coattails of Page, Plant and co. Religion reminds me of early Rush with the vocal distortion and the Zeppelinisms that group also took early on. Starcage is more along Welch's streamlined folky blues rock, while Narrow Gate (La Porte Etroite) is the glistening concoction of trippy blues that Welch perfected in the Mac, here the effect laden slide licks are stupendous. Beautiful Youth is almost a new version of The City from the Mystery to Me album of 1973 but with a more hard rock bent; after all in the Mac he got his fill of jazz and blues influences and wanted to cut loose form the pop image that band had slowly become. Solitaire features soaring guitar wails, overly wah wah-ed and distorted add a euphoric backing vocal texture to the track before the generic hard rock verses. What Paris continues is Welch's sleep eyed singing delivery and yet excited guitar arrangement, even if in Rock of Ages (before the musical) features a direct Plant imitation and lack of originality.


Saturday 18 May 2019

The Hollies (1976) Draggin My Heels - LOST 70s GEMS

The Clarke-Sylvester-Hicks' Hollies were in some respects a superior unit than the famous 60s Nash era when they released a lot of singles, Russian Roulette was an album of rock steady-disco beats, hard driving funk rock and their usual harmony laden bubblegum pop.

It starts with Wiggle That Wotsit which maybe a Disco parody or a straight attempt, it features a stellar horn section bursting through in stacks while the melody is a hard driving rock beat full of energy married with their high tenor bubblegum harmonies and some tactile funky guitar work. Forty Eight Hour Parole opens with fiery Hendrix blues playing, the guitar tweaks and whines away in a screaming tone, while the chorus is once again a sparkling pop sensation with their spellbinding harmonies front and centre. Thanks for the Memories is a little bit different with a bed of placid electric piano chords lumbering along in a watery echo and some echo and delayed horn lines punching through the polite layers of dreary keyboards; the rest is four on the floor Bee Gees serene vocal drenched balladry. But the spectral horns remind me of the song fascination form Bowie's Young Americans album a couple years before where the horns sound ghostly in faded echo state; this layered production with it's many chord runs is thick enough to drown in.

My Love is a romantic folk hard rocker with startling vocal refrains and another top notch Clarke lead vocal that manages to have a pop rock soul quality all sweet but not smooth. Lady of the Night is a hot burning soul number with a curious techno sound with talkbox synth chord progression before a cooing chorus that inter plays with some wicked saxophone work; the fluid yet distorted flamenco solo confirms the nighttime jazz feel of the track. The title track is a hard rocker with waka waka guitar, a gurgling eruption of rumbling clavinet, sultry upper register piano and hard rock chords that remind me of the A Team theme of later years in it's unique stop start rhythm. The pan African rhythms add tension as do the echo chamber chorus to give a hot and sweaty vibe keeping the song at fever pitch, the solo by Hicks as always featuring a Hendrix water distortion and thick wah wah tone you can reach out and touch as he strangles the fretboard with vigour in his heavy playing style.

 Draggin my Heels screams the Isley Brothers; from the 'Whos that Lady' rhythm guitar; a sprightly funk figure strummed back and forth to the chamelionic 'baritone soul' vocal Clarke puts on for the song. The spicy Jazz piano vamping, the Latin percussion, the analog synth patches; it is all too uncharacteristic of the Hollies but good. The album slows down with the stodgy forgettable T Rex bop of Louise, while the mildly dreary Be With You with i's multi-tracked layers of circular 'ahahahahs' is rescued by another rip roaring, countryesque solo by Hicks. Daddy Don't Mind ends on a fitting note with it's raw soul vocal and slicing funk guitars and disco beat; the heavy distorted lead guitar riff and the half speaking, breathy harmonies make this track sound like something the band Exile would have produced after their hit 'Kiss you All Over' a couple years after this record. But the foghorn sounding horn solo would fit a hazy jazz number not uptight hardcore funk rock.


Sunday 12 May 2019

The Hollies (1972) Romany - LOST 70s GEMS

 The Romany album was the first of two Hollies albums without their long standing vocalist Allan Clarke and it coincided with some the band's freshest material. Won't You Feel Good That Morning starts right out of the gate with a bright power pop guitar line and a chugging rhythm section and some laidback lead vocal lines but a horribly stilted pop chorus, they occasionally sang lines to straight without some soulful wavering or bluesy grit. Touch is a touch forgettable with it's acoustic/organ ballad sound I've heard many times before, though that quiet electric flamenco solo with a second guitar underneath plucking a note pull repeatedly like a Sonar signal; its a delight for the sense in it's dulled glowing style like Jimmy McCullough's solo on Thunderclap Newman's Something in the Air. But there are far more impressive tunes to come in this great..you read that..Great.. album! 

Words Don't Come Easy is built on a beautiful acoustic guitar figure of descending arpeggio where every chiming string is captured cleanly before the Baroque chorus enters with an upfront tabla sounding like the lead instrument over the more superfluous strumming and backing vocals. Lizzy and the Rainman opens with upbeat piano, crisp soft rock lead vocals and a ton of wah wah guitars filleting through the mix with it's squashy fills and a catchy chorus.
 Down River is almost the one forgettable tune on this solid album of folky pop rock but it harbours another heartfelt and unique Mikael Rickfors' vocal with a deep set heartbreak warble tone employed here. Delaware Taggett and the Outlaw Boys is the Hollies going full country with down-home deliveries and boogaloo bluegrass licks set to a folk rock shuffle as per usual for maximum commercialism; they found a formula and it worked! The funky scratches and the choral-ling 'ah's are stunning and fresh additions to their folk rock style.

 The American accents of Jesus Was a Crossmaker along with the tepid piano work shows their excellent arrangement sense and effortless use of light and shade, while the title track, Romany is a sweetly sung gentle folk ballad; it's all about that winning voice and the fabulous smooth guitar melodies of Tony Hicks and some more heavenly vocal stacks. Blue in the Morning is based on or around a circular acoustic guitar hook forming the basis for some CSN vocals. Courage of Your Convictions is a jangly slice of 60s tinged power pop with a wordy syncopated refrain but a nice use of hand claps. The Baby is a big horn and string sweeping number with big band passages mixing with psychedelic tabla, organ and electric sitar in the far more smaller and quiet verses. Strange for such an introspective tune as there are hollering group vocals and a magnificent sitar solo that is incredible. Magic Woman Touch features a huge smattering of squelchy wah wah Electric Sitar work amongst a frenetic acoustic chord progression and a pointless chorus and Rickfors' earnest croon. Indian Girl starts the way a lot of their songs start with a lone acoustic strumming and a bubblegum vocal joined by more folk group vocals before the inevitably cheesy chorus. 

 Papa Rain is a clean production with seductive blues rock guitars and country strums and haunted by some meandering mellotron work, while the classic stacked harmonies of the chorus are extraordinary. There cover of the Eagles' Witchy Woman tries a little too hard, from the tinny guitar whines of the opening riff to the heavily reverbed vocals, they lack the heady mystique of the original. While the Eagles were right up their 'Countrified Folk Rock' street they weren't as authentic as the LA quartet thought I must admit the 'ah' bridge is far more powerful in this version. Oh Granny is a kick ass country rocker with bombastic fills and vocal driven acoustic songwriting and a bluesy 60s rock solo to boot. I had a Dream is a Zombies' sounding number with more Santana-esque vibe as a funky wah wah plays around the edges of Terry Sylvester's hallowed Colin Blunstone-esque vocals before the typical big chorus while the wah wah twinkles away. I will choose the title track for the major highlight in a glowing album of great early 70s fairy lite Folk Rock.




Thursday 9 May 2019

Springwater (1971) I Will Return LOST 70s GEMS

A sonic journey, this guitar instrumental mixes some cyborg guitar twangs with some ancient church organ chords, the organ hangs over the whole piece , as the guitar slides around like Lap Steel in outer space mode. The slight fuzz tone and the pinging sustains create a Sci-Fi effect while drum bashes away in the background; there are actually two guitar lines, a more complex shredding guitar much lower in the mix adds t the unique composition. The sliding guitar tone sounds doubled like a harmony, it almost cries like a swan song it is incredibly emotive whine backed with the organ and drums for a very early 'power ballad' sound. The meowing, crying slide guitars would also make an appearance in the famous Derek and the Dominoes hit Layla from the same year so who knows where this influence may have lead..


Wednesday 8 May 2019

The Hollies (1970) Gasoline Alley Bred LOST 70s GEMS

From their Moving Finger album, practically a reissue of their first Post-Nash album Confessions of the Mind, it's actually not that great but there are a few highlights; I Wanna Shout is a picture perfect pop song about shouting out how in love you are with someone, most notably covered by psychedelic folk rockers Wicked Lester, a New York band that would soon morph into 70s arena rock giants Kiss and use I Wanna Shout as a lyric starting off point for their anthem Shout It Out Loud. Hollies guitarist Tony Hicks wrote Lady Please, is based on a sturdy wheel of an acoustic guitar figure, which is soon overlaid by a 'Hammond organ filtered' guitar mimicking the same circular pattern, while the lyrics and melody are all post 60s bubblegum pop but carrying the Hollies' expert penchant for adding depth and deceptive musicianship. The watery guitar squeaks and squelches all over the track alongside the smooth catchy harmonies and modern folk sheen of the tune creating a funky original sounding track. Gasoline Alley Bred is a Greenaway Cook Macaulay tune, boasting no fewer than three hit songwriters, the track peaked at no 14 in the UK lasting seven weeks its starts with another arresting acoustic electric interplay; a drawling country wah wah moans away over a thrumming acoustic line. The melancholic tinge delivered by Allan Clarke's vocals and the softened country guitars chiming away with restraint. These two tunes are the bets highlights of the Moving Finger album by far with Gasoline Alley just about making the difference with it's more heartfelt feel.


Sunday 5 May 2019

The Hollies (1975) I'm Down - LOST 70s GEMS

The Hollies' 1975 album Another Night saw a return of Allan Clarke, the band's seasoned vocalist who had missed the last two albums. It's hard to say if he was missed as those two albums he sat out are fantastic as is his last album before his hiatus, the fabulous Distant Light (1971) album. All these albums display The Hollies in a sparkling Folk rock style with huge productions and some harder edged fare like some funky blues jams as well. The two tracks that stand out are I'm Down and Layin to the Music; the former is a breathtaking vocal showcase. From the incandescent, breathy reverbed harmonies sighing along with a strident 12 string and some orchestral drama it's literal power ballad as the harmonies swoop and the instrumentation build behind it as well as the dive bombing title refrain. Layin to the Music is totally different, a funky Bo Diddley two step number with prominent banjo picking and countrified lead guitar over sweet group vocals and a cheery melody. The song features a simple country solo, an accapella 'ya hoo' and some tight vocal stacks but nothing beats the cascading vocal harmonies of I'm Down!



Saturday 4 May 2019

Southern Cross (1976) Story Teller - LOST 70s GEMS

Southern Cross's 1976 self titled debut is that of an Australian hard rock group arriving in the wake of fellow countrymen ACDC. 

 The opening track, Money Maker, is a funky balls to the wall rocker that starts with a jangly chords and smashing drums crashes of Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains the Same. The circular bass riffs, guitar strangling and coarse yet whiny vocals point towards an Aerosmith influence, the second track has the type of laid back stomping groove of Heart's Magic Man. The roundabout guitar melodies and rock steady beat complete old school rockabilly heavily reminds me of Aerosmith, undoubtedly the main influence as the singer, Alan Milano, sounds so close to Steven Tyler. Jessie is street smart funky blues slowed to a crawl with James Brown/ AWB classic chords changes, while What am I Waiting For features very raw vocals and roaring call back vocals and a strong Sabbath vibe with little meaty jazz licks and heavy distortion laden guitars playing to crunching stop starts. The hypnotic acoustic rhythm of Story Teller fits the lyrics about struggling to convey how different they feel and are unable to find the words to describe the feeling before it devolves into a heavily stunted blues riff that remind some of the speed-up rockabilly riffs of Zeppelins' Celebration Day.The ending of Story teller sees a quiet acoustic solo before the hard rock guitars return and the two playing together over an electric solo, the song never knowing when to end continues into a quiet bass section leading us into the next track Games. Games is a rain of distorted guitar arpeggios dooming laying down creating a devastating backdrop for the singer's average blues wailing, there is some more Sabbath monolithic power chord shuffles before another ostinato bass line section reflecting the band's robotic and very stiff sense of rhythm; though the drummer's rolls and restrained attack is refreshing for the rock genre. The haunted creeks and harmonics of the lead guitar's reverbed guitar add an haunting quality at times to the quiet verses; this is best heard in the final track Stormy Laden where it lends a tremelo effect to create a nice ambience amid the terse rock of the very superficial car/women metaphor of the closing track..shame


Sunday 28 April 2019

Ronnie McNeir (1972) Young Girl - LOST 70s GEMS

A very clear, three dimensional sonic soul album form 72, full of dynamite power and colourful wah wah textures and equally lush vocals. McNeir's vibrato is excellent on the quiet moving tribute to his son on Daddy's Coming Home where he explains "me and your mama, just couldn't get along!..but I'll never do you wrong!". The background singers are suitably hushed and reverbed for full on seductive effect on the listener; each track caresses you and makes each song a soft but intriguing package that draws you in. 

 McNeir's wonderfully restrained tenor wails for pop vibe while the strings have cold urban metallic feel to them, coursing in a very echoed manor along with some very hollow organ lines and reverbed piano beds; it all adds to the haunted nature of the album on tracks like the distant sounding The Tears in my Heart. The Motown tambourine shuffle of Gone Away with it's soul guitar of thin guitar lines and funky, reverb guitar chords full of Latin blues licks. Trouble's a Loser mixes many 70s elements from the sweet wah wah to the very precise electric organ playing and the use of a Melodica here and in other places on the album with it's harmonica by way of a keyboard sound adds a sunny country morning vibe to proceedings. Young Girl is the most pop and constructed song o the very 'airey' slow jam based album, the structure is more clear than the arrangements of the other tunes. The call and response chat on In the Summertime is very dated but sounds great with the smoky voice artists' luscious accents.Keep Your Hands Off My Lady starts with frenetic percussion intrlocking with intricate melodica lines, while the closer Girl you Gonna Lose your Groove features large wah wah strains and excellent melodica fills, playing blues improvisations.

You Better Make Sure creates an incredible sound with a flute and the multiple vocal tracks sounding like they were recorded in a deep well while the hazy trumpets are multi tracked and mixes in the background in this very spacey chamber reverbed mix to create a almost space age synth sound.
McNeir looks off in a look of being either at peace, or in love, in the velvety 70s cover with his big afro front and centre and a rainbow logo for his name.


Saturday 27 April 2019

The Hollies (1973) Slow Down Go Down - LOST 70s GEMS

 The Hollies' Out on the Road was only the second album with Allan Clarke replacement, Mikael Rickfors, it's one of their strongest with album jams that really rock like Trans-Atlantic West Bound Jet (#1); the evil sounding blues number features a flanged treated lead vocal, echoed handclaps and yells and equally out there guitar synths playing odd jazz scales and robotic lines. This is just the first half before a heady mix of oboe, wurlitzer pianos and tremolo guitars descends all clashing in an echoed chamber mix like a madhouse. Mexico Gold is a bluegrassy AM pop song with funky hard rock breaks, some reggae tempo and wailing harmonica. Pick Up the Pieces plays like a Philly Soul production which was all the rage at the time of the record's release, with its dusky sound of a ekectruc sitar cutting through an air of tables and radiant piano keys creating a humid vibe. Listen to how the sitar blazes in on the chorus, destroying some country blues licks, comfortably creating a cool swagger to the performance no guitar could've done with the same notes. Terry Sylvester's vocals aren't anything special here but he nails the refrain 'love is strange? Pick up the pieces again '.

The band's new singer Mikael Rickfors, a Scandinavian with a clean pop voice equally adept at rock, gospel and country leanings wrote some excellent songs for the album. The first one he wrote, Don't Leave the Child Alone has a crisp sound of a sweet lyrical wah wah guitar playing countrified slide licks, ringing out so wide, the downhome fast paced vocals have an affectation element to them that works, a rugged facade that belies the feminine heart felt affection of the lyrics.That thick wah wah guitar spreads all over the audio channels, it was miked effectiviley to capture a large clean recording of a sweet guitar effect. The next Rickfors' tune could be the best of a very strong set of songs presented on this album, it's its called They Don't Realise I'm Down, it represents the albums mix of fast paced countrified folk rock, funky rhythms, Soul textures and gospel harmonies. The exquisite tune starting similar to the other Rickfors' song with a wide wah wah guitar chords flanging out while Rickfors sing in a restrained, downbeat, downtrodden, understated delivery before breaking out into a golden sing a long harmony of "All the People looking around, They don't realize I'm down!", it's a beautiful sunny group vocal with a deeper edge to it far away form the romantic and post-hippy simple messages of the album. It's a darker statement cloaked in a happy upebat manner, my favourite kind of music style, that country rock groups like The Eagles and Firefall would soon master too.

If It Wasn't for the Reason That I Love You starts with the most awesome guitar opening with a relentless arpeggio two octaves a part providing a rolling riverbed for a sparse but smooth guitar lick wind away. The quiet fast syncopated lead vocal works with the conga led beat and the soft romantic lyrics, it's a shame the song never gets as vibrant as that stirring guitar opening. Shame.

A Better Place opens with wah wah quacking funk guitars before the glam verses concerning a guy who feels more in common with his mother in a simplistic gender dichotomy before the hippie choruses. The wah wah solo is so disco discofied for 1973 while the ticking keyboard heard faintly in the background is a nice arrangement addition. Nearer to You starts with fabulous hybrid of reggae and hard rock as a series of heavy guitars slide back and forth in sync to a cowbell while chirpy pan flute sings a calypso line over it; its another stunning intro and displayed the band' magnificent arrangement ability (this intro reminds meof Canned Heat' Up in the Country). When the vocals come in they can't natch the cheery upbeat attitude but the melody and lyrics alongside the reggae guitars and piping flute that is a missed opportunity for a hit single. In fact the album has many commercial radio friendly songs sitting around on this album aside from those mentioned. Nearer to You and A Better Place are great songs written by Hollies guitarist Tony Hicks and early 60s pop singer Kenny Lynch's but the peak of the Hicks/Lynch songwiting partnership is Slow Down Go Down.


Slow Down Go Down starts with another fantastic intro as a chorus of trembling electric guitars mix with emotive harmonies and banjo pickin for the contemplative verses, the chorus is unsettling with the line 'Give me a woman that I can trust and I don't have to beat' but the good time flat picking gives the song a road trip feel along with the bright country guitar playing. The percussive middle 8 is well placed as is the driving solo that follows bringing very subtle layers of Rockabilly to the surface, this almost sounds like a 60s number and the vocals are truly something special, heavy with solemness and inner suffering just waiting to break out as he sings the line 'I don't want to sleep at night..I've lost the will to fight... I just someone to love me I don't want to cry no more!'







Tuesday 23 April 2019

The New Birth (1972) Until It's Time For You To Go - LOST 70s GEMS

American Funk Group The New Birth's 1972 LP Birth Day is an extraordinary effort, and one of many albums released one after the other in the early 70s when they pumped out a great deal of product featuring all flawless layers of funkified harmonies in vocal and horn work.

Their cover of Buffy Sainte-Marie' Until It's Time For You To Go is spectacular with it's mesmerising opening of a delicate conversation between lovers whilst backed by a backing chorus and trembling electric pianos and restless tambourine and rolls. The upbeat Isaac Hayes styled number, Got To Get A Knutt, is full of funk hallmarks such as blasting horns, raw backing singers, sweeping wah wah guitars, but the bridge section of hi-hats and moaning is a supreme addition as it imitates lovemaking in a classy way. The pumped up tempo and pumping horns are carnivalesque with the layers upon layers of hype drumming and the distinct African rhythms and fever pitch vibes.There are various vocal spots all over with each member of the band vamping on Mary had a Little Lamb and plenty of vocal theatrics and animated non-sequitur. Just a tip it's all plays on the sexual pun of the title; it's about sex not food.. Theme From "Buck & The Preacher" is another Isaac Hayes/Bar Kays type of Comic book cinematic soul theme song, but the following track Stop, Look, Listen opens with alluring horns seeping in their most memorable tune. The whole lethargic mood form the sleepy singers singing in a drawling baritone letting each word roll out effortlessly in a nice contrast to the excitable electricity of prior tracks. Though the drumming remains uncontrolled in the background and the horns do return in full voice and fine form, the secret weapon is the tremelo-ed electric guitar in it's partial lines playing in the background creating a thin watery base for the upfront lead vocals. The wonder of this group is how they mixed soothing vocals and gospel singers with such powerful salvos of large horn section alongside thin rhythms of chiming electric pianos and watery jazz guitar and some of the tightest drumming you've ever heard.

It's like vast symphonies of gospel funk, though the playing is perfect it does lack more memorable songs and melodies over say the choice of covers they work on.
The front cover features a full rack of black snooker balls with one cracked in half revealing yellow yoak inside fitting the New born theme and title of the album and their name as well as the erotic percussion at the root of all the tracks.




Monday 22 April 2019

Exile (1978) Try It On - LOST 70s GEMS

I must admit I am not too familiar with this group or their big hit , Kiss You All Over, from this album but I am slowly discovering them and I am impressed. What stands out is this group would go onto full on Country Pop success alongside groups like Alabama and produce the same saccharine ballad sounds of artists like Restless Heart but in the 70s their sound was quite different. Preceded by their minor hit Try It on in 1977, Mixed Emotions LP is full of Blue Eyed Disco or more aptly a funk inflected Soft Rock very close to the Bee Gees and the first album by Player as well as shades of AWB and latter day late 70s sounds of Dr Hook or Wild Cherry.


Try It On was pure disco with sweeping autumn strings flowing in the background and a funky guitar driven beat and strident lead vocals that hint at country but are more related to the Bee Gees's soft rock delivery. You Thrill Me was their follow up to the chart topper Kiss You All Over, it bears a celestial synth organ sound, orchestral 'oohs', and a slinky guitar running through it from the 'cool and quiet' verses to the galvanising chorus where the smooth country licks serve a disco function. The drum beat is that sparse dance beat heavy on the four on the floor beat rooting the song in a constant movement ahead of the song instead of rock, soul and pop's laidback grooves. Never Gonna Stop is pure down and dirty jazz fusion/funk guitar extravaganza mixing a little Reggae syncopation and some mellow synthesizers for the Bee Gees's chorus; the pin point bumping bass line is also key. There's Been a Chance is 100% Average White Band from the soulful thin harmonies to the slick chicken scratch guitar but the solo is supremely melodic in it's simplistic way of sliding up and down in octaves. Kiss You All Over was the hit with it's chirpy beat and sunny mix of disco strumming, blooming synths and a late morning hungover vocal before erupting into a triumphant sweetly distorted lead guitar and some clavinet and synth boogie notes in the background. 
 
The duck quack of a wah wah synth was a classic sound of 70s disco and it starts off the next track the romantic soft rocker Ain't Got No Time, the dance floor piano track is enlivened by the squeaky synth wah fills and a overexcited guitar at the end. Don't Do It is a sexy disco bass line tune with low blues vocals and a hallowed soulful chorus and some incredibly funky keyboard parts here and there but the chorus calls of 'Don't You Do It, Don't You Take Away my Soul'. One Step at a Time continues with the fluid guitar liens with another smooth funky riff followed by another ridiculously melodic disco bass led melody and silky blue eyed harmonies over the top; This is an Excellent Album! Lats but not least is Stay With Me, opening with a jangly pop rock guitar paying bluegrass picking notes before going into a bit of a sub par but still very catchy harmony drenched disco pop tune that the band was getting very adept to. Exile made up for the Brothers Gibb's low points; there are no shrill falsettos here or dreary ballads, all tunes stick to a jaunty disco vibe whilst maintaining mellow vocals but always with a focus on the upbeat as well as maintaining a sensitivity and strong melodicisims this is the best rival to the Bee Gees' blue eyed disco sound I've ever heard and have been looking for for a long time.


The Hollies (1972) Cable Car - LOST 70s GEMS

The Hollies' Distant Light album is adorned with an incredibly detailed drawing of a typical fairy tale scene of a young prince bent over a lake in a colourful and pastoral, supernatural image totally at odds with the Hollies' classic British Invasion clean cut pop image. Their last UK album starts with the thunderously gospel harmony stacked ballad What a Life I've Led, a strong country rock spirit is present with Allan Clarke's countrified growl reminiscent of Roger Daltrey's style of singing and a pedal steel solo combined with some country western strumming. But the ghostly stacked harmonies are the most soulful addition to the track along with the rumbling piano chords, a feature that starts off the next track Look What We've Got, another mix of soulful piano balladry and countrified tenor singing making it an excellent punchy pop rock classic for me. The blues and soulful piano notes keep the groove fluid, while the saxophone solo and the structure of the big gospel choruses and Clarke's downhome vocal mean this reminds me a lot of Elton John's early discography. Hold On is a folk rock meets cool blues boogie with more of a restrained Clarke performance as the drumming gets explosive and an organ fades in and out like a heavy cloud over the track; the rest is characteristic of hippy rock with 'ahh' backing vocals and some blues vamping.

The funky hard rock shuffle of Pull Down the Blind reminds me of late 60s groups like Bread and hevay sunshine pop or bubblegum groups; the blues licks are played with pure virtuosity in a thin tone that accentuates the lead guitarist' dexterity.
To Do With Love starts with some Classical Gas styled Spanish arpeggios before a 'Seasons in the Sun'/ Neil Diamond style of sunny folk rock pop hit begins, once again Clarke's voice has never sounded so clean and heartfelt. To Do With Love has a strong romantic yearning at it's core, it ends with a harpsichord and even tablas intensifying as the song rave ups like many 60s acts tended to do.


One of the best songs is Promised Land with it's gorgeously clunky acoustic strum so aggressive and funky like a hoedown as Clark, some more piano chords and a host of backing vocals ring out in stereo echo before a sudden pause and a fuzz guitar and organ section full of rock malice and sustained tension. The soloing is all very fluid and dazzling while the organ continues to dominate as much as the reverbed vocals and even a little Jimmy Page patented high register shred at the end. Long Cool Women is so analogous aside form it's reverb and thin guitar funkiness, but it's more an old school chugger like a biker anthem, it doesn't belong here, but on a T Rex album; a group that at the same time was melding ethereal folk balladry and more funky RnR bops. You Know the Score continues with a dramatic Clarke melody, twanging sitar like blues playing to a fuzz rhythm guitar and more epic reverb and some tasty blues fills in between the Stephen Stills' styled choral chants. Unfortunately it drifts off into an airey wind effect for a full minute and a half before the fuzz guitar breaks the silence and some Hey Joe 'oohs' join in before another full round of the chorus.


The standard piano shuffle of Cable Car reminds me of melodramatic productions by soul groups like The Unifics with the echo drenched reverb piano led tragi-tales of young heartbreak an doomed relationships. It's one of the best tracks with a soulful and remarkably smooth harmonica solo aolng with a sweet lilting vocal from Clarke and streaking string arrangements. The shimmying strings, oriental wah wah, funky harmonica add to the upbeat poppy strum of Little Thing Like Love stand out. Long Dark Road is the closer which with it's cheery drawn out group vocals throughout and rock steady acoustic strum in the central channel smacking of the Marmalade, another funky folk pop rock outfit form the late 60s along with Bread that this album reminds me of slightly alongside the very Elton-esque gravelly, drawling tenor. A watery echo pervades almost each track like the lake in the Hipgnosis cover art, with something darker and more ominous lurking under the surface of emerald trees and a multitude of birds.


Wednesday 3 April 2019

The Temprees (1972) We've Only Just Begun - LOST 70s GEMS

From their 1972 Lovemen album, The Temprees produced a string of smooth soul songs form the early 70s drawing on artists like The Moments and the Jacksons. The light gossamer harmonies and sweet string and horn arrangements are a lot sparser than their Philly counterparts would have executed theses songs. Explain it to Mama highlights the lead singer's euphoric falsetto wail to a jumpy horn, drums and guitar track,
The cover features the three men be-sweatered in a red heart, it's a little corny but captures the pure romance of their vocals,
The sweet chorusing strings and viola intro of their cover of We've Only Just Begun lead into an exceptional faster, funkier and more baritone cover that truly stands tall as the overlapping vocal loops seem to sigh over each other to a panting drum beat in a drawn out sexual climax in the bridge that is as far removed form the Carpenters as possible. I Love You, You Love Me is an astonishing showcase for the band's featherweight vocals and mix of quiet and loud soul dynamics. On this track the weepy, dreariness of their delivery sounds unique and distinct to their act, dominating the prior tack Girl, I Love You too. Dedicated to the One I love features a mix of sparse piano and emotive guitar notes before the sweet vocals and strings return for quiet slow jam nature of the song's verses which develop into a coursing love letter. I'm For You, You For Me is another showcase for the high pitched punchiness of the lead singer's vocals as he vamps over the title refrain, the backing singers always present throughout the album with ghostly reverb and earthy sweetness. The mix of sweet falsettos, hard hitting horns and drums, clanging rhythm guitar reminds me of the Chi Lites,