Plain and Fancy

Thursday, May 29, 2025

Pentwater - Pentwater (1977 us, fascinating prog rock, 2003 remaster)

Pentwater's first and (for a long time) only LP was originally released in 1977 on the band's own small Beef Records label, as was the CD reissue from 2003. The group took this opportunity to expand the original LP tracks with a few pieces recorded at the same time (tracks 7, 9, 11 and 12). Presumably these numbers were part of the original LP concept, but were omitted at the time for reasons of space. In any case, they fit into the album without any problems and bring it up to a good 50 minutes of playing time. The order of the tracks has also changed slightly on the CD reissue.

The album gets off to a rather wild start, with a woman shrieking and the rather bizarre, exalted vocals starting off with some rather crooked, weird prog that is vaguely reminiscent of Gentle Giant. “Frustration Mass” is a very promising start to the album, even if the vocals take some getting used to. Unfortunately, this level is not maintained, as “Living Room Displays” is an upbeat rocker that is only given a rudimentary prog factor by a short, tricky section after around 4 minutes. Even the beautiful, almost a little cheesy ballad "Memo" doesn't change much. It is only with "Orphan Girl" that prog realms are reached again. An elegiac flute, accompanied by echoing piano and subtle percussion, introduces this long track, of which the last few minutes in particular are really great, with their tumbling, polyphonic vocal lines, accompanied by a guitar that howls again and again.

The rest of the album is also quite a varied mixture of slightly symphonic, but mostly very guitar-heavy, mildly complex prog and more or less interesting, "normal" rock. The latter often has a somewhat affected glam rock character, or is strongly reminiscent of Queen ("Palendrome", "Gwen's Madrigal") due to the expressive choral passages, although interludes of Mellotron, flute and organ and occasional complex-fickle sections provide a certain progressive element.

Also worth mentioning is the instrumental trilogy of "Prelude to War", "War" and "Death". After the short, somewhat shaky viola-violin duet of the prelude, "War" is an exciting jazz rocker that shines with Ken Kappel's intricate organ playing. "Death", on the other hand, consists of elegiac, sombre, slowly striding keyboard pads and long, drawn-out bass and guitar tones. All in all, Pentwater make quite independent, entertaining music on their first album, which occasionally shows certain influences of Gentle Giant, Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Genesis.

by Achim Breiling

Tracks

1. Frustration Mass (Ronnie Fuchs, Tom Orsi) - 3:37

2. Living Room Displays (Mike Konopka) - 4:58

3. Memo (Tom Orsi) - 4:10

4. Orphan Girl (Tom Orsi) - 8:33

5. AM (Ronnie Fuchs, Tom Orsi) - 2:47

6. Palendrone (Ken Kappel, Tom Orsi) - 3:57

7. Prelude To War - 1:12

8. War (Ken Kappel) - 5:05

9. Death - 2:48

10.Gwen's Madrigal (Ken Kappel, Tom Orsi) - 4:00

11.Wave - 3:04

12.Radioactive - 5:43

Pentwater

*Tom Orsi - Percussion, Vocals

*Mike Konopka - Guitar, Flute, Violin, Vocals Percussion

*Ken Kappel - Keyboards, Vocals

*Ron LeSaar - Bass, Vocals

*Ron Fox - Guitar, Oboe

*Phil Goldman - Guitar, Vocals

Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Ray Fenwick - Keep America Beautiful Get A Haircut (1971 uk, fine melt of country folk psych classic rock)

A definitive British rock journeyman, guitarist Ray Fenwick played with numerous famous acts, though even most serious collectors would be hard pressed to identify him. He replaced future Yes guitarist Steve Howe in the Syndicates in the mid-'60s, and played a wild freakbeat solo on their single "Crawdaddy Simone," which comprised some of the most adventurous guitar work of the British Invasion era. He served time in Dutch groups After Tea and the Tee Set (who would later make the U.S. Top Five with "Ma Belle Amie") before joining the post-Stevie Winwood lineup of the Spencer Davis Group in the late '60s.

There were also stints in the Guitar Orchestra with future Procol Harum lead guitarist Mick Grabham; Fancy, who had two Top 20 hits in the U.S. in 1974; the Ian Gillan Band; and, in the 1980s, Forcefield, which also featured Jan Akkerman and Cozy Powell. Fenwick also did a lot of work as a sessionman and producer. And, finally, he made one solo album in 1971, Keep America Beautiful, Get a Haircut, a run-of-the-mill mix of the era's popular hard rock/progressive-rock styles. Ray Fenwick died on April 30, 2022 at the age of 75.

Fenwick's only solo album, recorded with Elton John's rhythm section (Dee Murray on bass and Nigel Olsson on drums), touches on a lot of facets of British rock circa 1970 -- Traffic-like folk-rock, country-rock, Paul McCartney-ish melodic bits, and rumbling, pedestrian boogie -- without really getting anywhere. Much of the material was inspired by his travels in the U.S., and there are some quasi-suites supposed to reflect journeying through the American landscape, but the execution is unremarkable. The 1997 CD reissue adds five bonus tracks.

by Richie Unterberger

Tracks

1. Stateside: Mr Straight / The American Way / $ Jesus Saves - 8:06

2. Anniversary - 3:56

3. I Wanna Stay Here - 4:49

4. City Ride - 4:34

5. The Dream: The Exotic Escape / The Working Man's Dream / Nightmare / Reality - 11:53

6. Back USA - 2:45

7. The New Jersey Turnpike - 3:52

8. Your Man - 2:50

9. Groupie - 4:04

10.Stone Song - 3:33

11.Back USA - 2:32

12.Blues Never Gonna - 2:40

All songs by Ray Fenwick

Musicians

*Ray Fenwick - Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica

*B.J. Cole - Pedal Steel

*Robert Eduard - Vocals

*Mick Grabham - Guitar

*Edward Hardin - Organ, Piano

*Dee Murray - Bass, Vocals

*Roger Pope - Drums

*Pete York - Percussion

*Nigel Olsson - Drums, Vocals

*Hans Vermeulen - Vocals

*Caleb Quaye - Piano

*Pollie Edward - Vocals

*Margot Newman - Vocals

*Vicky Brown – Vocals

*Hans Vermeulen - Vocals

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Rock Candy - Rock Candy (1970 us, tough fuzzy acid rock)

An obscure heavy psych quartet with mountain man vocals, fuzz and wah wah guitars/organ and short, original songs.

Tracks

1. Cause We Want To Please You (Brian Naughton) - 2:50

2. You Know (Frank Daniels) - 3:30

3. Poor Man (Andy Andrews) - 3:07

4. Don't Leave Me Behind (Joe Roffredo) - 2:39

5. I've Paid My Dues (Brian Naughton) - 2:59

6. Down The Street (Brian Naughton) - 3:22

7. You've Lost Your Touch (Brian Naughton) - 5:42

8. We Get A Funky Feeling (Brian Naughton) - 2:14

9. Living To Die (Andy Andrews) - 2:52

10.Get Out Of My Way (Brian Naughton, Joe Roffredo) - 2:47

Rock Candy

*Brian Naughton - Guitar, Vocals

*Frank Daniels - Organ, Piano

*Joe Roffredo - Drums

*Andy Andrews - Bass

Sunday, May 25, 2025

Friar Tuck - Friar Tuck And His Psychedelic Guitar (1967 us, rockabilly surf psych beat, 2007 extra tracks edition)

LA native Mike Deasy had got the rock and roll bug at high school in the 1950s, and wound up the decade playing with Eddie Cochran and Richie Valens. By the early 60s he was an established member of Dick Clark's Caravan of All-Stars, and had also started to acquire a name as a session guitarist, his ability to read music greatly endearing him to clock-watching producers Before long he was contributing licks to sessions for legends such as Phil Spector and Brian Wilson, as well as countless also-rans. By 1966 he was one of LA's top guitars-for-hire, with the added cachet of actually liking rock and roll - unlike many of his jazz-loving contemporaries. Though his musical inventiveness was widely acknowledged, the hip, bearded Deasy cut an incongruous figure next to his pipe-smoking studio brethren, and by 1966 he'd fallen in with boy wonder Curt Boettcher. The restlessly ambitious and creative Boettcher had showcased his astonishing abilities as a producer and vocal arranger on the Association's colossal hits Along Comes Mary and Cherish, and welcomed the opportunity to collaborate on a putative Deasy solo project - not least because he was experiencing frustration getting his own recordings with the Ballroom off the ground.

The cast Deasy and Boettcher assembled for Friar Tuck and his Psychedelic Guitar reads rather like their phone books must have: the guitarist rounded up some of the hippest session cats in the city (including Ben Benay, Toxie French and Jerry Scheff, who later made the rare Goldenrod LP), while Boettcher recruited the other three-quarters of the Ballroom (Michele O'Malley, Jim Bell and Sandy Salisbury) as well as Dottie Holmberg, who'd been in his first group, the Goldebriars. The album they recorded may have been conceived and commissioned as a cash-in on the burgeoning hippie movement, but there are no peace and love clichés in the grooves Instead, it comprises deranged cover versions (including a spectacularly lethargic take on Sweet Pea, a recent hit for Roe), set to almost avant-garde guitar parts, with deranged mutterings and sounds endlessly floating in and out of the mix. Though the first side can be interpreted as skewed easy listening, the self-penned second side is a multi-layered suite that reveals fresh eccentricities on every listen.

Boettcher's vocal arrangements are rarely to the fore, but provide a constant ambient drone in the background, occasionally vying with Deasy's laid-back half-singing to unsettling effect. The overall atmosphere is of inscrutable, stoned humour, and - given that it was recorded in three different studios - the album is surprisingly uniform in conception and sound. It appeared on Mercury early in 1967, trailed by a 45 (Alley-Oop / Sweet Pea), but neither sold and Friar Tuck hung up his habit. Later that year Deasy recorded two rare sitar-driven 45s for the Vault label as The Flower Pot (included here as bonuses), before collaborating with Ry Cooder on another one-off solo project, the Ceyleib People's Tanyet. Boettcher, meanwhile (after working with many of the same musicians on Bobby Jameson's Color Him In LP) was soon at work on his 1968 masterpiece, the Millennium's Begin.

Friar Tuck and his Psychedelic Guitar was soon forgotten about by all but the most dogged pop-psych collectors, and Boettcher himself dismissed such projects in a 1974 Goldmine interview, stating: "I was kind of half demented myself, and usually didn't care what I was doing, as long as I was working and getting session money." The album's legend, however, has never stopped growing, and it stands today as a fascinatingly bizarre piece of the 1960s LA pop-psych jigsaw.

Liner-Notes

Tracks

1. Sweet Pea (Tommy Roe) - 3:16

2. Louis Louis (Richard Berry) - 4:41

3. Work Song (Nat Adderley, Oscar Brown Jr.) - 4:51

4. Alley-Oop (Dallas Frazier) - 5:10

5. All Monked Up - 2:52

6. Ode To Mother Tuck - 2:00

7. A Record Hi - 2:34

8. Fendabenda Ha Ha Ha - 2:29

9. A Bit Of Grey Lost - 2:41

10.Where Did Your Mind Go? - 3:37

11.MrZig Zag Man - 2:02

12.Black Moto - 2:03

13.Wantin' Ain't Gettin' - 2:05

14.Gentle People - 2:45

Alls songs by Mike Deasy except where stated

Tracks 11-14 as The Flower Pot

Personnel

*Mike Deasy - Guitar

*Ben Benay - Guitar

*Jim Helms - Guitar

*Butch Parker - Piano

*Mike Henderson - Organ

*Jim Troxel - Drums

*Jerry Scheff - Bass

*Toxie French - Vibes

*Curt Boettcher

*Jim Bell - Vocals

*Michele - Vocals

*O'Malley - Vocals

*Sandy Salisbury - Vocals

*Dottie Holmberg - Vocals

*Sharon Olsen - Vocals

*Dyann King - Vocals

*Alicia Vigil - Vocals

*Bob Turner - Vocals

1976 Sanford And Townsend - Smoke From A Distant Fire (2004 remaster)

Friday, May 23, 2025

The Sanford • Townsend Band - Nail Me To The Wall (1979 us, wonderful groovy soft rock)

Best remembered for their ubiquitous 1977 pop hit "Smoke from a Distant Fire," blue-eyed soul duo Sanford & Townsend reunited Ed Sanford and John Townsend, who previously teamed in the Montgomery, AL-based Warner Bros. act the Heart. Despite a series of opening gigs in support of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the group's lone LP attracted little notice and after the Heart dissolved, both Sanford and Townsend migrated to Los Angeles, where the latter signed on with the group Feather and scored a chart hit with the White Whale label single "Friends." After renewing ties in L.A., Sanford and Townsend began writing songs, most notably placing their "Peacemaker" on Loggins & Messina's 1976 effort Native Sons; with engineer Alex Kazanegras, they cut a demo tape that eventually made its way to the legendary producer Jerry Wexler, and on his recommendation Warner Bros. extended a contract offer.

After decamping to the famed Muscle Shoals Recording Studio, Sanford & Townsend issued their Wexler-produced eponymous debut in 1976. The record fared poorly on its initial release, but when "Smoke from a Distant Fire" cracked the Top Ten on the pop charts in the fall of 1977, the LP was re-released, this time titled after its smash hit. In addition to a lengthy stint opening for Fleetwood Mac on their epic Rumours tour, Sanford & Townsend also supported Smoke from a Distant Fire via gigs with Southern rockers the Marshall Tucker Band. Their second album, Duo-Glide, nevertheless failed to repeat its predecessor's success, and when 1979's Nail Me to the Wall met a similarly dismal fate, Warner Bros. terminated the duo's contract. Both Sanford and Townsend then returned to session careers. Sanford later co-authored Michael McDonald's 1982 pop classic "I Keep Forgettin'," while Townsend resurfaced following an extended creative hiatus with a 2003 solo release, The Road Leads Home.

by Jason Ankeny

Tracks

1. Nail Me To The Wall (Ed Sanford, John Townsend, Jeanne Townsend) - 4:21

2. Gopher Broke - 3:43

3. Every Day - 3:04

4. Shady Grove - 3:52

5. Jubilee - 4:05

6. Just Another Lie - 4:38

7. Just A Fool - 4:04

8. Hour Of Love (Ed Sanford, John Townsend, Otis Hale) - 5:38

9. Tell Me How Love Survives (Ed Sanford, John Townsend, Kenny Loggins) - 4:24

All songs by Ed Sanford, John Townsend except where indicated

Musicians

*Ed Sanford - Keyboards, Vocals

*John Townsend - Keyboards, Lead Vocals

*Otis Hale - Guitars, Sax

*Roger Johnson - Guitars

*Jerry Rightmer - Bass

*Chris Meyers - Drums

*Tom Roady - Percussion

Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Vigrass And Osborne - Queues (1972 uk, wonderful folk orchestrated soft rock with first-rate backing musicians, 2013 SHM remaster)

British Folk pop soft rock duo of Paul Vigrass and Gary Osborne, come together here with a wonderful harmony sound – a mode that's somewhere between the A&M work of Lambert & Nuttycombe, and maybe the best America albums of the 70s – set to these great arrangements that feature lots of cool keyboards from sound library genius Alan Hawkshaw! Jeff Wayne arranged and produced the set – and his touches here clearly make him the third member of the group – as the care of presentation really makes the album way different than it might be otherwise – one of those really unique, really special little 70s records that never got its due at the time. Titles include "Men Of Learning", "Virginia", "Sail Away", "Forever Autumn", and "Don't You Worry".

D.G.

Tracks

1. Men Of Learning - 3:18

2. Don't You Worry - 3:48

3. Ballerina - 3:35

4. Mississippi Lullabye - 2:43

5. Virginia - 3:27

6. Sail Away - 3:23

7. Forever Autumn - 2:50

8. An Invitation - 5:30

9. Remember - 2:35

10.The End - 4:40

11.Mr. Deadline - 2:50

12.Remember Pearl Harbor - 3:32

Music by Jeff Wayne, all Lyrics by Paul Vigrass, Gary Osborne

Personnel

*Paul Vigrass - vocals

*Gary Osborne - vocals

*Jeff Wayne - Moog synthesizer

With

*Chris Spedding, Caleb Quaye, Clive Hicks, Martin Kershaw - Guitars

*Alan Hawkshaw - Keyboards

*Pete Morgan - Bass

*Barry Morgan - Drums

*Ray Cooper, Terry Emery, Alan Graham - Percussion

*Barry St. John, Doris Troy, Harry Vokales, Jimmy Thomas, Judith Powell, Liza Strike, Rob Freeman - Backing Vocals

Monday, May 19, 2025

Quartz - Quartz (1977 uk, tough heavy rock, Tommy Iommi production, 2006 edition)

Quartz is an English heavy metal band from Birmingham. They came to prominence during the initial rise of the NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal), but their origins can be traced back to the mid-1970s.

The band had strong ties to Black Sabbath, with one of Quartz’s prominent members in the 1970s being Geoff Nicholls (who was a member and off-stage musician with Sabbath between 1979-2004). Tony Iommi was a friend of the Quartz members from their early days playing in bands, and ended up producing their first and self-titled album Quartz in 1977, bringing in friends like Brian May and Ozzy Osbourne to give the project some further star power.

But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s go back and start at the beginning. Quartz dates back to 1974, when they saw the light of day under the moniker Bandy Legs. Prior to the founding of Bandy Legs, Geoff Nicholls played lead guitar for the Birmingham bands The Boll Weevils, The Seed, Johnny Neal and the Starliners, and played keyboards for World of Oz.

Guitarist Mick Hopkins had played in Wages of Sin, a short-lived Birmingham band that toured as a backing band for Cat Stevens in 1970. After that band’s dissolution, he followed his Canadian bandmates Ed and Brian Pilling to Canada to form the band Fludd, but left less than a year later after they were dropped from their original record label.

At that point, Hopkins went back to Birmingham and co-founded Bandy Legs, later known as Quartz, with guitarist/keyboardist Geoff Nicholls, vocalist Mike “Taffy” Taylor, bassist Derek Arnold, and drummer Malcolm Cope.

Bandy Legs became a very popular live band in their wider regional circuit. Their members were already well known to their audiences through their previous bands, and as they were well connected and friends with others in the business, they often supported bands like Black Sabbath and AC/DC. On a tour with AC/DC, Sabbath’s tour manager Albert Chapman agreed to take them under his wing, further positioning them for a wider breakthrough.

They were signed to Jet Records in 1976, and only changed their name to Quartz in time for the release of their 1977 debut album, Quartz.

Most of the band had been close friends with the guys in Sabbath since the sixties, growing up in the same area. Tony Iommi knew them well as early as the 1960s, and they had stayed connected through their recent bouts of supporting Sabbath on tour. In fact, Iommi insisted on producing their album, as he’d become a huge Quartz fan, which the guys were thrilled about.

In an interview with MetalMouth in 2012, guitarist Mick Hopkins said “[Working with Iommi] was great fun, we learned a lot from him.” Geoff Nicholls, who would soon end up working longer with Iommi than just about anyone, added “Working with Tony on our first album was an eye opener as he showed us a lot of technical stuff which helped us with future things we did.”

There were some surprises as well. Malcolm Cope (drums) still sounded shellshocked when he said during the 2012 interview “I couldn’t believe it when he added flute to the track Sugar Rain.”

One song from these album sessions would turn out to provide some inspiration for a later Black Sabbath song. Mainline Riders had a droning, atmospheric build with a steady bass line. When Geoff Nicholls was called in to help out the band during the early sessions for Heaven & Hell in 1979, he found himself playing bass and went back to the Mainline Riders riff. It quickly built from there, turning into the framework for the Heaven And Hell song.

“They already had Children of the Sea [when I arrived],” said Nicholls of those Sabbath sessions. “Geezer wasn’t there by that point so I had to play bass at first to start getting the songs worked up. The very first song we did was Heaven And Hell – not bad for a first go, eh? Tony had a riff which he put over my bass line. I had used a very similar chugging bass line in Quartz for the track Mainline Riders so I just did that. I was just messing about with this bass riff and suddenly everything started to build up from there. It was very, very simple but it really worked.”

Iommi was (and is) a close friend of Queen’s Brian May, so he invited him to the Quartz sessions. He ended up making a guest appearance on the track Circles. May was keen to do his Queen-style layered guitar editing on the track, so the band left it to him and Iommi to get it done. “We left him in the studio,” Malcolm Cope told MetalMouth, “and returned a few hours later from the pub to find piles of recording tape on the studio floor.”

The layered approach wasn’t as natural a fit as May first thought, and in the end he gave up, agreeing that it sounded better as Quartz was already playing it.

At one point, the song also featured Ozzy Osbourne on backing vocals, but his contribution was cut from the final mix by Iommi. “As I remember,” Mick Hopkins said, “I don’t think Tony really wanted Ozzy on the track.”

In any case, the song did not make it onto the final track selection. “I think Tony thought the song was a bit too commercial for the album,” Geoff Nicholls shrugged. Dropping the song wasn’t a big bone of contention within the band. Mick Hopkins said, “We had used Circles as a b-side when we were still Bandylegs, so it hadn’t occurred to us to use it on the album.”

The track seemed destined to forever remain a b-side, as Quartz used it as a b-side again on the Stoking Up the Fires of Hell single. It finally got an album inclusion as a bonus track when their second album Stand Up & Fight (1980) was reissued on CD in 2004 by Majestic Rock.

Norselands-Rock

Tracks

1. Mainline Riders 3:32

2. Sugar Rain 4:44

3. Street Fighting Lady 4:48

4. Hustler 4:50

5. Devil's Brew 3:50

6. Smokie 1:08

7. Around And Around 5:00

8. Pleasure Seekers 3:50

9. Little Old Lady 4:34

All songs by Mike Taylor, Mick Hopkins, Geoff Nicholls, Derek Arnold, Malcolm Cope

Quartz

*Mike Taylor - Vocals

*Mick Hopkins - Guitar

*Geoff Nicholls - Guitar

*Derek Arnold - Bass

*Malcolm Cope - Drums

Saturday, May 17, 2025

Bob Neuwirth - Bob Neuwirth (1974 us, excellent folk country classic rock, 2023 remix and remaster)

Right up until his death in 2022, Bob Neuwirth was known to cognoscenti as a songwriter (“Mercedes Benz,” famously recorded by Janis Joplin), painter, recording artist, and onetime member of Bob Dylan’s inner hipster circle. The last thing he was known for was being famous, which his longtime partner, music executive Paula Batson, says was intentional. “He was very self-effacing in a way,” she says. “He didn’t believe in blowing your own horn. He loved promoting other people and helping them, but he wasn’t good at self-promotion.”

Two years after he died of heart failure at age 82, Neuwirth’s profile is about to increase beyond his appearance in D.A. Pennebaker’s Don’t Look Back. In December, actor Will Harrison (who played Graham Dunne, the lead guitarist in the streaming series Daisy Jones & the Six) will be seen playing Neuwirth in A Complete Unknown, the Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet. A documentary on Neuwirth’s life, co-produced by Batson and currently in the works, will incorporate footage from a posthumous 2022 tribute concert that featured covers of his songs by Eric Clapton, T Bone Burnett, Maria Muldaur, the late Happy Traum, and many others.

On the next edition of Joni Mitchell’s rarities boxes, Joni Mitchell Archives, Vol 4: The Asylum Years (1976-1980), Neuwirth will be heard introducing Mitchell on several performances recorded during the Rolling Thunder Revue. Over 1,000 pieces of his paintings and artwork have been catalogued. And Neuwirth’s own debut album, first unveiled 50 years ago, has been remixed and will be re-issued next month, accompanied by a new lyric video featuring rare footage, most of it shot in the Sixties by Neuwirth himself.

An art student at the School of the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, the Ohio-born Neuwirth wound up in the Cambridge and then New York folk scenes. “Right from the start, you could tell that Neuwirth had a taste for provocation and that nothing was going to restrict his freedom,” Dylan wrote admiringly in Chronicles: Volume One; indeed the two shared a love of a cynical putdown. But Neuwirth could also be supportive, encouraging Patti Smith to write songs and not just poems and suggesting Joplin record his friend Kris Kristofferson’s “Me and Bobby McGee” when the song was largely unknown.

Eventually leaving the Dylan orbit (although returning for Rolling Thunder), Neuwirth moved to L.A. There, he fell in with the Troubadour crowd and wound up being signed to David Geffen’s Asylum label alongside Dylan and fellow Laurel Canyon regulars Mitchell, the Eagles, Jackson Browne, David Blue, and Judee Sill. Arriving a decade after he’d first played clubs in New York, his first and only Asylum album, Bob Neuwirth, was the definition of a long-delayed debut.

But with Geffen’s financial encouragement, Neuwirth made up for lost time. Attesting to his stature, Neuwirth recruited a veritable denim-clad army to join him on the songs, including Kristofferson, Cass Elliot, Don Everly, the Byrds’ Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman, Rita Coolidge, then-Poco member and future Eagle Timothy B. Schmit, folk legend Geoff Muldaur, steel player (and Neil Young compadre) Ben Keith, then-Doobie Brother Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, and Dusty Springfield. Neuwirth, McGuinn, and Kristofferson cowrote “Rock and Roll Time,” a boozy slice of Seventies music life, and Neuwirth also finally was able to release his version of “Mercedes Benz,” which he never considered much of a song, and with a new verse.

Befitting the times, the album sessions were reportedly carousing affairs. “He said it was just a drunken alcohol fest,” says recording engineer and Neuwirth friend John Hanlon. “It was the Seventies. The label gave him a lot of money, and you could tell. Nobody questioned budget with them. It was just about making great art.”

But according to Batson, Neuwirth was never happy with the end result, which was overloaded with guests and layers of instrumentation that swamped Neuwirth’s voice. The album also reflected his own indulgences at the time. “As long as we were together, Bob would mention how amazing it was to have Don Everly and Mama Cass and Kris’ band and Booker T. Jones at those sessions,” Batson says. “But he knew that the end result was not what it could have been. He wasn’t happy with it because he felt that, not being sober, he didn’t deliver what he could have. It was a regret.” In fact, Neuwirth stopped drinking three years after the album’s release.

Shortly before his death, Neuwirth thought about revisiting and tweaking the album and reached out to Hanlon, who has worked for notorious audio perfectionist Neil Young for decades. “I said, ‘How do you want me to approach this?’” Hanlon recalls. “And Bob said, ‘I know what you do. Just do what you do.’ He was a man of few words about music, but he knew what was good and what sucked.”

Working painstakingly with the tapes, Hanlon was able to pare down some of the horns and orchestration and declutter the recordings. “These were A-list players, all playing great licks, but everyone was playing constantly,” he says. “You had to figure out the lick that accentuated the melody and what the melody line was. I wanted to find the song in the song and bring it out.”

With the help of the remix, Bob Neuwirth sounds even more like an early alt-country record, especially on “Kiss Money” (which is getting the lyric-video treatment), the waltz “Hero,” and Neuwirth’s takes on country songs by Don Gibson (“Legend in My Time”), Donnie Fritts, and Troy Seals (“We Had It All”). The reissue, which will be released on CD and vinyl on Sept. 27 and then on streaming services on Oct. 31, will also include “Ohio Mountain Blues,” an outtake that finds Neuwirth singing about leaving “a little old country town” for, ultimately, New York City.

Neuwirth passed away any of this renewed interest was in the air. The bulk of the work on A Complete Unknown didn’t start until after his death. (Batson says she hasn’t seen any of the movie yet but adds, “I’m happy to see Bob included and I hope it’s wonderful.”) The same goes with the revamped Bob Neuwirth album; sadly, Neuwirth was never able to hear a note of his dream project. But Hanlon feels his friend is aware of it, somehow. “I know he’d be proud of it,” he says. “As far as I’m concerned, he has heard it in his own way. He’s heard a bit of it in heaven.”

by David Browne, Rolling Stone, August 14, 2024

Tracks

1. Rock 'n' Roll Time (Kris Kristofferson, Roger McGuinn, Bob Neuwirth) - 3:21

2. Kiss Money - 3:14

3. Just Because I'm Here (Don't Mean I'm Home) - 5:36

4. Honky Red (Murray McLauchlan) - 3:46

5. Hero - 3:51

6. Legend In My Time (Don Gibson) - 1:51

7. Rock 'n' Roll Rider - 3:00

8. We Had It All (Donnie Fritts, Troy Seals) - 3:08

9. Country Livin' - 3:50

10.Cowboys And Indians (Bobby Charles, Ben Keith) - 4:48

11.Mercedes Benz (Janis Joplin, Bob Neuwirth) - 2:48

Songs 2,3,5,7,9 written by Bob Neuwirth

Musicians

*Bob Neuwirth - Vocals

*Jeff Baxter - Guitar

*John Beland - Guitar

*Stephen Bruton - Guitar

*Jerry McGee - Guitar

*Ben Keith - Guitar

*Danny Weiss - Guitar

*Donnie Fritts - Keyboards

*Mike Utley - Piano

*Richard Greene - Fiddle

*Bobby Lichtig - Bass

*Sammy Creason - Drums

*Blue Mitchell - Trumpet

*Booker T. Jones - Organ

*Chris Hillman - Bass

*Clifford Scott - Tenor Sax

*Clifford Solomon - Tenor Sax

*Donald Cooke - Trombone

*Dusty Springfield - Background Vocals

*Jerry Jumonville - Horn Arrangements, Tenor Sax

*Jimmie Haskell - String Arrangements

*Kris Kristofferson - Background Vocals

*Plas Johnson - Baritone Sax

*Rick Mitchell - Trumpet

*Priscilla Coolidge - Background Vocals

*Rita Coolidge - Background Vocals

*Cass Elliot - Background Vocals

*Richie Furay - Background Vocals

*Clydie King - Background Vocals

*Timothy B. Smith - Background Vocals

Friday, May 16, 2025

Millard And Dyce - Open (1973 us, outstanding prog folk rock, 2018 Vinyl reissue)

Millard and Dyce was a folk-rock band formed in the 1970's and based in Baltimore. They toured on the east coast for several years and recorded one album. The album has since become a rare collector's item, recently selling for as much as $449.

It's a custom pressing on the Century - Kaymar label by this Maryland trio. On a whole it’s a modest album, highly influenced by the likes of Tim Hardin though with a mix of electric and acoustic guitars of the folk blues nature. As with most private vanity pressings little effort went into the production and engineering, leaving a weakness in both the vocals and the instrumentation, though as of late folks are embracing this sound and calling it earthy.

It’s a strange album for sure, especially lacking a drummer, two guitars and a bass, with all three members singing lead at one point or another, laced with smooth soft though hardly compelling harmonies.

Tracks

1. On Goose Wings - 6:45

2. Businessman - 5:33

3. Changes - 1:51

4. I Came Upon Her Dreaming - 3:55

5. In Your Dreams - 3:57

6. Airport Scene - 2:05

7. Virginia On A Sunday - 3:19

8. Sadie - 5:29

9. Catch Me A Falling Leaf - 3:28

Millard And Dyce

*Millard Arbutina - Vocals, Guitar, Slide Guitar,

*Earl French - Vocals, Guitar,

*Gary Urie - Vocals, Lead Guitar,

*Michael Peirce - Bass

1973 Hank Marvin And John Farrar - Hank Marvin And John Farrar (2007 remaster)

Thursday, May 15, 2025

Marvin • Welch • Farrar - Marvin • Welch • Farrar / Second Opinion (1971 uk / australia, nice folk classic rock, 2006 double disc remaster and expanded)

To anyone not from England, or not part of the baby boom generation, it's a bit difficult to explain the significance of Marvin, Welch & Farrar as a group -- not that they were lacking in any way; far from it, their music speaks (or, more properly and significantly, sings) volumes, and they made some superb vocal pop, very much influenced by Crosby, Stills & Nash, among other harmony vocal music of the early '70s. But that's the hard part to explain -- to anyone who doesn't know Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch as core members of the Shadows, a quartet renowned since 1958 for their instrumental music, or to anyone who does know them that way. It's as though members of the New York Philharmonic string section decided to form a choral outfit and ended up being really good at it.

The key to understanding what Marvin, Welch & Farrar were about is to recognize that the Shadows didn't just make instrumental music, and that's not merely referencing their work with vocalist Cliff Richard. Rather, Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch did occasional vocal numbers, and while these never "took" with the public, the critics and more discerning listeners all approved of what they'd heard. Cut to 1968 -- after ten years of success as a rock & roll outfit, most of it quite immense during the first four and a lot of the rest receding gradually amid the rise of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, et al., the Shadows, consisting then of Marvin, Welch, bassist John Rostill, and drummer Brian Bennett, decided to put the band on hiatus. Rostill and Bennett went their separate ways in music, while Welch took some time off and Marvin kept his hand in music with a series of solo releases and a record cut in tandem with Richard. But by 1970, Welch was ready to pursue a new musical venture, and he and Marvin decided that this would be as un-Shadows-like as possible -- a harmony vocal outfit. Rejecting the idea of a new band, or reestablishing the Shadows identity, they decided to go out as themselves, using simply their names. But a third voice and player seemed called for, and that was when Welch's Australian fiancée -- Olivia Newton-John -- took a hand, reminding them of their favorable impression of a guitarist they'd seen on a tour of Australia a couple of years before, named John Farrar; and contacting him was not half the problem it might normally have been, as Newton-John had not long before worked with singer Pat Carroll, who happened to be Mrs. John Farrar. By the end of the summer of 1970, Farrar was in London and the trio was recording, assisted by Clem Cattini on the drums and Dave Richmond on bass.

The group's debut single, "Faithful" b/w "Mr. Sun," issued in early 1971, was a stunner vocally, with some of the most beautiful harmonies heard on a record that year. And it was totally unexpected to Shadows fans expecting a certain kind of sound from Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch. It got good press and lots of exposure but failed to chart, though the self-titled debut album that followed did better, reaching number 30. It was a total break from the sounds with which Marvin and Welch had previously been associated, and they took the bull by the horns, even remaking an old Marvin-authored Shadows track called "Throw Down a Line" in distinctly new terms in their new musical surroundings. And as testimony to the craftsmanship that went into the compositions, two of the new songs on the album -- and they were all originals -- were covered by Cliff Richard, who got a Top 30 hit out of "Silvery Rain" that same year. The resulting album was impressive on just about every level, especially the vocals, something that Marvin and Welch were simply not known for doing -- indeed, a lot of the record came off as what might have resulted if the Hollies, widely known for their three-part harmonies, had done an unplugged or low-wattage album.

This flurry of activity was complicated by the fact that the Shadows, now reactivated as a recording outfit, had an album of their own out at the same time. In one of those peculiar coincidences, Marvin, Welch & Farrar and the new Shadows album each peaked within weeks of each other at the identical chart position, number 30, in England. Meanwhile, a somewhat abbreviated U.S. release of the Marvin, Welch & Farrar album went unnoticed on the far side of the Atlantic. A brace of follow-up singles and an album, Second Opinion, followed, but by mid-1972 personal situations -- most notably the breakup of the engagement between Welch and Newton-John -- had begun to take their toll. And by the time of the second album's release, the trio was effectively reduced to a duo of Hank Marvin and John Farrar.

The group did a tour alongside Cliff Richard that drew enough people to be a success on paper, but they were never able to break away entirely from the expectations of the Shadows' audience. People expected the rock & roll instrumentals, and the absence of that material from their set disappointed concertgoers in droves. In 1973, Marvin, Welch & Farrar were effectively folded into the fully reactivated Shadows, with Brian Bennett resuming his place in the drummer's slot. According to Hank Marvin, in an interview quoted by David Wells in his notes for a reissue of the trio's albums on Beat Goes On, they were able to incorporate some of the Marvin, Welch & Farrar vocal numbers very well into the Shadows' sets. The vocals continued to figure in their work until the departure of John Farrar -- he went on to collaborate with Olivia Newton-John and followed her to America. Meanwhile, Welch enjoyed a highly successful second career as a producer, and Marvin released the occasional solo effort -- and the Shadows went on playing and recording right into the 21st century, clocking in more than 40 years as stars. Eventually, however, someone did remember their attempt to redefine their music as a vocal trio -- in 2006, the two Marvin, Welch & Farrar albums were reissued on CD by Beat Goes On.

by Bruce Eder

Tracks

Disc 1 Marvin, Welch, Farrar

1. You're Burning Bridges - 4:02

2. A Thousand Conversations - 2:16

3. Brownie Kentucky - 2:33

4. My Home Town - 3:15

5. Silvery Rain - 2:32

6. Throw Down A Line - 3:19

7. Baby I'm Calling You - 2:47

8. Faithful - 2:21

9. Mistress Fate And Father Time - 3:14

10.Take Her Away - 1:58

11.Wish You Were Here - 3:23

12.Mr. Sun - 2:47

Songs 1,3,5,6 written by Hank Marvin

Songs 2,7,10,11,12 written by Bruce Welch, Hank Marvin

Songs 4,8 written by Bruce Welch, Hank Marvin, John Farrar

Song 9 written by Hank Marvin, Paul Ferris

Disc 2 Second Opinion

1. Black Eyes - 3:21

2. Tiny Robin - 2:36

3. Simplify Your Head - 2:47

4. Ronnie - 3:06

5. Far Away Falling - 2:15

6. Let's Say Goodbye - 2:38

7. Lonesome Mole - 3:16

8. Thank Heavens I've Got You - 2:33

9. Lady Of The Morning - 3:39

10.The Time To Care - 2:26

11.Come Back To Nature - 2:55

12.All Day, All Night Blues - 3:05

13.Marmaduke - 3:00

14.Strike A Light - 2:57

15.Music Makes My Day - 3:46

16.Skin Deep - 4:25

17.Galadriel (Spirit Of Starlight) - 6:05

18.Small And Lonely Light - 3:12

Songs 1,11,15, written by John Farrar

Songs 2,3,5,8,18 written by John Farrar, Peter Best

Songs 4,7,12 written by Bruce Welch, Hank Marvin

Songs 10,16,17 written by Hank Marvin, John Farrar

Songs 6,9 written by Bruce Welch, Hank Marvin, John Farrar

Song 13 written by Alan Tarney, Trevor Spencer

Bonus Tracks 13-18

Personnel

*Hank Marvin - Vocals

*Bruce Welch - Vocals

*John Farrar - Guitar

*Alan Hawkshaw - Organ, Piano

*Dave Richmond - Bass

*Clem Cattini - Drums (Disc 1)

*Peter Vince - Organ, Piano (Disc 1)

*Brian Bennett - Drums (Disc 2)

*Johnny Van Derek Fiddle (Disc 2)

*Duffy Power Harmonica (Disc 2)

1971 Amazing Blondel - Fantasia Lindum

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Amazing Blondel - Live In Tokyo (1977 uk, elegant orchestrated folk rock, 2009 remaster)

The exact origins of the performance on this recording remain a mystery, more than 40 years after its release. It was almost certainly not a Tokyo show, nor a performance anywhere in the Far East, which makes the title even more of a mystery -- one imagines it just sounded more impressive to somebody than the European venue that it almost certainly was from. What is equally clear, and even more mystifying, in view of the abysmal studio album Bad Dreams that preceded this release, is that Amazing Blondel (or "Blondel," as they'd rechristened themselves after the departure of John Gladwin from their three-man lineup) were still a fine performing unit.

When Terry Wincott and Eddie Baird stick to their earlier style and repertory, they can do little wrong -- they harmonize beautifully, and the haunt-count on pieces like "Leaving of the Country Lover" and "Young Man's Fancy," mixed with their acoustic playing, is all one could have hoped for. And even when they embrace their more contemporary sound, as on "Love Must Be the Best Time of Your Life" -- where they come off vocally like a watered-down U.K. version of England Dan & John Ford Coley -- they aren't bad; what this album avoids, that Bad Dreams didn't, was some impossible contemporary music accompaniment that didn't sound natural around these two voices. As it is, uncertain origins and all, this album can be recommended to anyone who liked the Amazing Blondel of 1972 and beyond, and shows what the two-man version of this group could do, probably better than any other record they ever issued. One still misses Gladwin's contribution, and it's a shame that live recordings of the trio didn't surface for decades, but this record is not to be missed by longtime fans.

by Bruce Eder

Oddly enough, this release was recorded in Scandinavia since the band never went to Japan. This set represents a band at the peak of it's' powers and shows what a fine and accomplished live set the band could play. The Amazing Blondel, due to continual touring in the '70s, became established in the British live scene with a large fan base and became one of the biggest underground "cult" bands. Their zany and unique sound appealed to the entire Folks scene.

Tracks

1. Help Us Get Along - 3:43

2. Leaving of the Country Lover - 3:29

3. Young Man's Fancy - 5:00

4. Love Must Be the Best Time of Your Life - 2:48

5. Lesson One - 4:01

6. For Our Love - 2:59

7. The Lovers - 2:13

8. Mulgrave Street - 7:37

9. Sad to See You Go - 4:45

All songs by Eddie Baird

Amazing Blondel

*Edward Baird - Guitars, Vocals

*Terry Wincott - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals

1973 Amazing Blondel - Blondel
1974 Amazing Blondel - England

1974 Amazing Blondel - Mulgrave Street (2009 japan remaster)

1976 Amazing Blondel - Bad Dreams (2009 remaster)

1975 Eddie Baird - Hard Graft ( 2015 edition)

Monday, May 12, 2025

Shelagh McDonald - Let No Man Steal Your Thyme (1970-71 uk, brilliant singer songwriter, jazzy acid folk baroque psych country rock, 2005 double disc remaster)

As much myth as musician, singer/songwriter Shelagh McDonald seemed poised to emerge as a major voice in British folk music when she abruptly vanished mere months after the release of her breakthrough LP. Born and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, McDonald arrived in London sometime in the late '60s. While performing at the Troubadour, she befriended fellow singer/songwriter Keith Christmas, who would prove instrumental in landing her a record deal with the B&C label. Album followed in 1970 to decent reviews but mediocre sales, but 1971's Stargazer was a far different story. With McDonald dubbed "the new Sandy Denny" by the U.K. music press, the record was a critical smash and sold respectably.

But after recording a handful of tracks for a proposed third LP, McDonald suddenly disappeared, leaving no clues to her rationale or her whereabouts. While many friends and fans speculated she returned to Scotland, unhappy with her life and career in London, others believed she fled to either the U.S. or Canada in an attempt to recover from a failed relationship or to cure a drug problem. In truth, it was a life-altering LSD trip that sent her into seclusion and also ruined her voice. After a time spent putting her life back together, she married a Scottish bookstore owner and drifted away from society again, only this time happily.

With the CD re-release of Album and Stargazer, her music was embraced by a new generation of fans, and in 2005 Castle/Sanctuary released Let No Man Steal Your Thyme, a compilation of McDonald's complete recorded output, including outtakes and demos. 2005 also was the year McDonald finally resurfaced. After reading a story about herself in The Scottish Daily Mail, she submitted to an interview that cleared up much of the mystery behind her disappearance.

by Jason Ankeny

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Hullo Stranger (Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter) - 2:27

2. Street Walking Blues (Traditional) - 2:44

3. Mirage - 4:03

4. Look Over The Hills And Far Away (Gerry Rafferty) - 5:13

5. Crusoe - 3:52

6. Waiting For The Wind To Rise (Keith Christmas) - 4:57

7. Ophelia's Song - 2:50

8. Richmond (Andy Roberts) - 2:47

9. Let No Man Steal Your Thyme - 3:25

10.Peacock Lady - 3:29

11.Silk And Leather - 3:00

12.You Know You Can't Loose (Keith Christmas) - 5:05

13.Ophelia's Song - 2:09

14.Jesus Is Just All Right (Malvina Reynolds) - 3:00

15.Book Of Rhyme - 2:54

16.What More Can I Say? - 2:55

17.The City's Cry - 2:35

18.The City's Cry - 2:46

19.Rod's Song - 3:11

20.Stargazer (False Start) - 0:42

21.Stargazer - 4:12

All words and Music by Shelagh McDonald except where stated

Tracks 1-2 originally released on "Dungeon Folk", an LP spin-off from the BBC Radio One show Country Meets Folk, released in January 1969 on BBC's own label.

Tracks 3-13 originally comprised The Shelagh McDonald Album 1970

Tracks 14-21 demos from mid-december 1970

Disc 2

1. Rod's Song - 3:10

2. Liz's Song - 2:50

3. Lonely King - 6:01

4. City's Cry - 2:32

5. Dowie Dens Of Yarrow (Traditional) - 6:53

6. Baby Go Slow - 3:54

7. Canadian Man - 2:48

8. Good Times - 3:25

9. Odyssey - 6:11

10.Stargazer - 4:11

11.The Road To Paradise - 3:44

12.Sweet Sunlight - 2:27

13.Spin - 5:25

14.Rainy Night Blues - 3:31

15.Spin - 3:21

16.Dowie Dens Of Yarrow (False Start) (Traditional) - 0:25

17.Dowie Dens Of Yarrow (Traditional) - 7:40

All words and Music by Shelagh McDonald except where noted

Tracks 1-10 originally comprised Stargazer 1971

Bonus Tracks 11-17

Personnel

*Shelagh McDonald - Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards

*Harver Burns - Drums

*Keith Christmas - Guitars

*Pat Donaldson - Bass

*Katy And Mac Kissoon - Backing Vocals

*Mike London - Backing Vocals

*Dave Mattacks - Drums

*Dave Richard - Bass

*John Ryan - String Bass

*Danny Thompson - String Bass

*Richard Thompson - Guitars

*Ray Warleigh - Saxophone

*Ian Whiteman - Organ

*Gerry Conway - Drums

*Mike Evans - Bass

*Tristan Fry - Vibes

*Gordon Huntley - Pedal Steel Guitar, Dobro

*Roger Powell - Drums

*Andy Roberts - Guitar

*Keith Tippett - Piano

1971 Amazing Blondel - Fantasia Lindum

Sunday, May 11, 2025

Amazing Blondel - Bad Dreams (1976 uk, pleasant soft rock, 2009 remaster)

Bad Dreams came out 1976 ιn record stores. The album achieved critical acclaim and the band continued recording and playing for two years after Bad Dreams. Certain tracks became standards in the live set from Bad Dreams including "Give me a chance" and "Call it a night".

Tracks

1. Give Me A Chance - 3:10

2. Big Boy - 3:42

3. One Bad Dream - 4:05

4. Until I See You Again - 2:55

5. It's Got To Be A Girl - 3:37

6. I'll Go The Way I Came - 3:19

7. Wait For The Day - 3:12

8. Liberty Belle - 5:03

9. The Man That I Am - 2:40

10. Call It A Night - 3:04

All songs by Eddie Baird except track #8 by Terry Wincott

Amazing Blondel

*Edward Baird - Guitars, Vocals

*Terence Wincott - Guitar, Keyboards, Flute, Vocal

With

*Mickey Feat - Bass

*John Gilston - Drums

*Dave Skinner - Piano

1973 Amazing Blondel - Blondel
1974 Amazing Blondel - England

1974 Amazing Blondel - Mulgrave Street (2009 japan remaster)

1975 Eddie Baird - Hard Graft ( 2015 edition)

Saturday, May 10, 2025

Ambrosia - Ambrosia (1975 us, a masterful act with progressive refinement, shifting to blue-eyed soul and yacht rock)

Although they would become better known for smooth AOR ballads like "How Much I Feel," Ambrosia first made their name with this album of progressive rock with a pop music twist. Its songs skillfully blend strong melodic hooks and smooth vocal harmonies with music of an almost symphonic density. Good examples of this crossbreeding are "Drink of Water," which sounds like the Beach Boys tackling a Pink Floyd space rock epic, and "Nice, Nice, Very Nice," which utilizes a combination of stately close-harmony vocals and dynamic instrumental breaks to put forth a clever lyric derived from a Kurt Vonnegut novel.

The complexity of the music is further highlighted by its crystal-clear sonic landscape, mixed by Alan Parsons, which highlights unique touches like the use of a Russian balalaika ensemble and 300-year-old Javanese gongs on "Time Waits for No One." Despite this prog rock ambitiousness, the group is smart enough to avoid letting their instrumental chops take precedence over their music's melodic content: They keep their songs succinct and punchy (nothing extends over six-and-a-half minutes) and they infuse tunes like "Lover Arrive" and the radio favorite "Holdin' on to Yesterday" with a delicate sense of pop songcraft that makes the group's cinematic sound easy for listeners to assimilate. The end result is an album that is intricate enough to please prog rock addicts but catchy enough to win over a few pop fans in the process. Though Ambrosia would go on to score bigger hits later in their career, this is definitely their most cohesive and inspired album.

by Donald A. Guarisco

Tracks

1. Nice, Nice, Very Nice (Burleigh Drummond, Christopher North, David Pack, Joe Puerta, Kurt Vonnegut Jr.) - 5:55

2. Time Waits For No One (Burleigh Drummond, Christopher North, David Pack, Joe Puerta) - 4:53

3. Holdin' On To Yesterday (David Pack, Joe Puerta) - 4:19

4. World Leave Me Alone (David Pack) - 3:18

5. Make Us All Aware (Burleigh Drummond, Christopher North, David Pack, Joe Puerta) - 4:29

6. Lover Arrive (David Pack) - 3:11

7. Mama Frog (Burleigh Drummond, Christopher North, David Pack, Joe Puerta) - 6:05

8. Drink Of Water (Burleigh Drummond, Christopher North, David Pack, Joe Puerta) - 6:29

Ambrosia

*Burleigh Drummond - Drums, Percussion, Vocals

*Christopher North - Keyboards, Vocals

*David Pack - Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals

*Joe Puerta - Bass, Guitar, Vocals

With

*Andy Toth - Violin

*Chuck Girard - Violin

*Fletch Wiley - Violin

*Daniel Kobialka - Violin

*Ian Underwood - Saxophone

*James Newton Howard - Synthesizer Programming

*Jim West - Violin

*Keith Johnson - Violin

*Michael Granger - Synthesizer Programming

*Ruth Underwood - Marimba

*Splash Price - Violin