Craig Fuller Eric Kaz (1978) Cry Like A Rainstorm - LOST 70s GEMS

Probably the best track from the Fuller and Kaz album, two survivors of the underrated mid 70s country rock outfit American Flyer, they prove themselves to be the soulful energy behind that entity here with some great style but lacking in the tunes department. But the refrain of this song works even if overall the group before and this solo album never left an indelible mark like Poco or Firefall their pristine sound worked just fine when the songs were there like on the first American Flyer album.

Badfinger (1970) Believe Me - LOST 70s GEMS

No Dice was the precursor to Straight Up, Badfinger's and the genre of Power Pop's magnus opus, while this is a harder rockin album itdoesn't have the eclectic material, heavy pop arrangements this had some solid melodies too though not as punchy or colourful as the follow up. There's is the rip roaring opener I Can't Take It, which showed they like most 70s bands tried to revive that 50s RnR style alongside their more contemporary stuff. I Don't Mind is a gentle laidback track full of harmonies far too reminiscent of the Fab Four whose label Apple they were on but the song is good while the closer We're For The Dark features a crystal clear acoustic guitar on it's own with a typical Pete Ham composition centered around romance and despair, just ignore the orchestra stabs which are unnecessary though incredibly mixed. The album contains the staples Without You (famously covered by Nillson and Mariah Carey) and the upbeat hook laden pop of No Matter What too.

    

But Believe Me is by far the best song with Tom Evans with it's soaring lead vocals and close harmony singin a gem that was of course overshadowed by the famous WIthout You but is worth another listen as a statement of intent of this band on the precipice of their artistic peak.

Souther Hillman Furay (1975) Follow Me Through - LOST 70s GEMS

A catchy yacht rocker with enough country to prove the three solo artists of this forgotten super group had some fresh ideas. From their second album the funk crossover Trouble in Paradise which was interesting and solid on songwriting if lacking the original spark that was in the sound of their prior ventures like Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds or even Longbranch Pennywhistle. They tried to mix funk into their easygoing carefree harmony country rock, their first album's lead single Border Town featured a chugging rhythm along the liens of Listen to the Music but these three couldn't gel and create a new organic outfit so they finished after what was a solid album, far more than their debut, but lacking in interesting arrangements pretty much just adding light jazzy guitar licks to the country rock they had already established in other ventures. Shame..circle can't be broken til the last line is spoken..

Linda Ronstadt (1974) You Can Close your Eyes - LOST 70s GEMS

While her proteges The Eagles had gone off and singlehandedly commercialised country in one fell swoop after a good half decade of failed near misses by other entertainers Ronstadt showed her own crossover potential. Wisely beefing up this Neil Young tune sparse folkiness and pale hints of down home singing never overdoing it she followed the Eagles success with her own brand of country soul. The ragged harmonies add to the sound of pretty 70s ballads with their organic and honest sound a million miles from the vacuous, stilted and cheesy lyrics of today's pop

Rick Springfield (1973) Weep No More - LOST 70s GEMS

With its Elton John style, this histrionic power pop tune was one of Springfields' most underrated songs; this was when he was known more as a teen idol than a serious songsmith. The 'na na nas' (also used in the I'm Your Superman track represents the loose comic book theme of the album) and the crisp rock guitar crunch mixing with the hissy vocals time stamps this as part of the early 70s singer songwriter AM Pop/ FM Soft Rock sound of Elton, David Cassidy, Neil Diamond and Andy Kim; artists who drew from Bubblegum music as much as soul in their pop rock arrangements.

 

America (1975) Daisy Jane - LOST 70s GEMS

This Gerry Beckley tune slots in perfectly next to his big AM radio hit, the serene Sister Golden Hair. The sweet romantic tone is fantastic and the lyrics hint at uncertainty also prevalent in Golden Hair. The George Martin feel is present here with the short musical snippet where the piano is upfront in the mix with the strings right in the back, sonically resembling the punchy guitar line of the Beatles' In My Life. But Beckley's sweet rendering of the song's warm chorus line of "Does she really love me?". Off their 1975 album, Hearts, this presented their soft rock identity and lush romanticism, far from the rootsy virtuoso folk rock trio of expatriates they appeared at first in their 1971 debut.

Chris Hillman (1976) Down in the Churchyard - LOST 70s GEMS

While lacking the big Motown sound of the original Gram Parsons Flying Burrito Brothers cut, this is still a great song reinterpreted for the late 70s California disco influenced soft rock scene for the now maturing country rockers of the early 70s.

Take it on the Run is a Glenn Frey sounding rocker, makes sense as he is one of the few country rock artists to truly appreciate the Eagles openly, while he experiments with new sounds like the light jazzy piano soft rock of Slippin Away which reminds me of Richie Furay's second solo album Dance a Little Light; which sorta proves my point that this album could've been a MOR solo venture by any country rock veteran with little of Hillman's specific talents rising above the mix. A more individualistic contribution would've been welcome but its not really meant to be as ambitious or strong in voice as the work of his former colleagues like Gene Clark, David Crosby, Gram Parsons etc.