Ivory was formed in early 1972 as a backup band for the lead singer, Grant Gullickson. However, Grant was somewhat uncomfortable with being the star, and wanted more of a "band" concept. Grant had been in a very successful band while he was in college, called the Canoise. Grant's friend and producer, Tim Alvarado, had the idea to create an all-keyboard band, with no electric guitarist at all. Originally, it was going to consist of three keyboardists and a drummer, but it was soon clear that with the superb musicians Paul Bass on Hammond organ, and Brian Whitcomb on piano, the sound was full and complex. Jim Divisek brought a strong rock feel on drums, but also a focus on eastern rhythms and electronic music acquired during his studies at Cal Arts. Steve Pinkston joined the group after their first bass player did not work out. Later, Grant's brother Lance Gullickson joined the group, and brought expanded vocal harmonies and songwriting skills to the mix.
Ivory has generally been described as a progressive or "prog-rock" band. Certainly, one could hear echoes of Yes, King Crimson, and Procol Harum in their music. But there was also a bit of a jazz influence at work. Live, the group would often do instrumental sets of jazz standards like "Summertime" or "Milestones". Grant's singing onstage was vastly more dynamic than was ever captured in a recording studio, and the live interplay between the musicians was very intense.
Ivory recorded just one album, a self-titled effort on Playboy Records (#PB115), produced by Tim Alvarado. Most of the album was recorded at the legendary Record Plant in Los Angeles. Two different versions were released. On the second version, a Robbie Robertson tune replaced a Kin Vassey tune, in order to qualify as "Canadian content" under that country's airplay rules.
Gibraltar Encyclopedia of Progressive Rock
Tracks
1. Morning Song (Grant Gullickson, Roger Kellaway) - 4:20
2. Prime Example (Michael Lanning) - 2:53
3. Take It Easy (Brian Whitcomb) - 2:59
4. Where Do We Go From Here (Robbie Robertson) - 2:27
5. Arrow Beach (James Divisek) - 1:28
6. Bringing Me Down (Grant Gullickson, Marian Brown) - 3:58
7. Bear Phaze (Stephen Pinkston) - 2:23
8. Theme For An Imaginary Western (Jack Bruce) - 3:29
9. I Want To Tell You (Grant Gullickson, Jim Bukey, Paul Bass) - 8:00
10.Time After Time (Brian Whitcomb, Grant Gullickson, Stephen Pinkston) - 3:05
Ivory
*Grant Gullickson - Vocals
*Stephen Finkaton - Electric Bass, String Bass. Tuba, Hands
When Dr. John's Gris-Gris hit the rock underground in 1968, it wasn't certain whether its master of ceremonies had landed from outer space, or just been dredged out of hibernation from the Louisiana swamps. The blend of druggy deep blues, incantational background vocals, exotic mandolin and banjo trills, ritualistic percussion, interjections of free jazz, and Dr. John's own seductive-yet-menacing growl was like a psychedelic voodoo ceremony invading your living room. You could be forgiven for suspecting it of having been surreptitiously recorded in some afterhours den of black magic, the perpetuators of this misdeed risking life-threatening curses for having exposed these secret soundtracks to the public at large.
In fact Gris-Gris was recorded surreptitiously, but not in some New Orleans house of sin. It was laid down in the famed Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, where Phil Spector had cut many of his classics. It might have never come to pass at all had Dr. John and his co-conspirators not managed to wrangle some free studio time that had been originally earmarked for Sonny & Cher sessions. The resulting album nonetheless sounded as authentically New Orleans as a midnight Mardi Gras stroll though the French Quarter. Given the circumstances, that achievement was just as magical as anything the most powerful voodoo ritual could have wrought.
Gris-Gris was the first record credited to Dr. John, and to most listeners he seemed to have dropped out of nowhere with his mystical R&B psychedelia and Mardi Gras Indian costumes. The album, however, was actually the culmination of about 15 years of professional experience, during which Dr. John -- born Mac Rebennack in New Orleans -- had absorbed the wealth of musical influences for which the Crescent City is famed. Gris-Gris's roots reach back well beyond the dawn of the twentieth century, even as the album took in cutting-edge influences such as 1960s progressive jazz, and pushed into territory that no popular musician had ever explored in quite the same fashion.
"Gris-Gris" itself is a New Orleans term for voodoo, and the name Dr. John taken from a New Orleans root doctor of the 1840s and 1850s. Also known as John Montaigne and Bayou John, he was busted in the 1840s for practicing voodoo with Pauline Rebennack, who may or may not have been a distant relative of our man Mac. One of Mac's grandfathers sang in a minstrel show, and the latter-day Dr. John adapted one of grandpa's favorite tunes, "Jump Sturdy," into the track on Gris-Gris of the same name. His onstage costumes and feathered headdresses, the source of shock and delight to audiences since the late 1960s, are similarly adapted from those worn by Mardi Gras Indians in New Orleans, famed for the infectious tribal percussive rhythms and chants they perform in local parades.
By the mid-1950s Mac Rebennack, still in his mid-teens, was busy gigging around the New Orleans area, absorbing more contemporary influences from jazz, rhythm and blues, gospel, and rock and roll. In the late 1950s and early 1960s the multi-instrumentalist participated in a myriad of New Orleans R&B and rock records as a session musician, songwriter, and producer. After battles with drug problems and the law, he moved to Los Angeles in 1965, joining an expatriate community of top New Orleans session dudes on the Hollywood studio circuit. Rebennack scrounged for survival by playing on L.A. pop and rock sessions, getting much of his work with the help of arranger (and fellow New Orleanian) Harold Battiste. Numerous recordings on which Rebennack played, sometimes as the featured artist, from the decade predating Gris-Gris have surfaced on compilations such as Medical School and Cut Me While I'm Hot . Though of historical interest, and sometimes of considerable musical worth, these enjoyable but journeyman R&B/rock sides gave little indication of the idiosyncratic genius unveiled on Gris-Gris.
Ever since coming to L.A., Rebennack had hoped to make a concept album of sorts melding various strains of New Orleans music behind a frontman named Dr. John. Mac actually wanted New Orleans singer Ronnie Barron to be the Dr. John character, but when Barron was (fortunately) unavailable, Rebennack took on the Dr. John mantle himself. Harold Battiste, now a major Hollywood name as arranger for Sonny & Cher, got Dr. John some of the duo's studio time for free, and also helped get Mac a deal with Atlantic for an LP. Had Atlantic known what was up it probably would have pulled the plug on the project. However, the album was completed, with help from Battiste (who produced and played clarinet) and numerous side musicians. These included transplanted New Orleans veterans like Jessie Hill (renowned for "Ooh Poo Pah Doo"), Shirley Goodman (half of Shirley & Lee of "Let the Good Times Roll" fame), saxophonist Plas Johnson, and Richard "Didimus" Washington, a percussionist who was particularly skilled at devising Afro-Caribbean rhythms and textures. Two basses were used on some songs, which together with the army of percussionists (eight are credited) created an especially deep and thick rhythm section.
The opening track's title, "Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya," was itself an indication of the record's homage to New Orleans eclecticism: the gris-gris voodoo, the gumbo (the regional stew made from numerous ingredients), and "Ya Ya," the title of one of the biggest hits to ever come out of the city (by Lee Dorsey). Rebennack wasted no time in assuming his new identity, immediately declaring "they call me Dr. John, known as the Night Tripper," his half-sung growl a white swamp counterpart to Howlin' Wolf. The snaky rhythms, soulful backup choruses, and ghostly echoing percussion set an eerie mood that if anything got spookier on "Danse Kalinda Ba Doom," its speaking-in-tongues ensemble vocals and middle eastern-by-way-of-New Orleans melodies establishing a quasi-religious ambience that permeated the record. "Mama Roux," by contrast, was deep-fried soul-funk, Gris-Gris 's hit single-that-never-was. It was back to the Bayou jungle, though, for "Danse Fambeaux," with its potion of Mardi Gras Indianesque chants, minstrel strings, impenetrable spell-casting lyrics, and mysterious melody.
The album's mischievous musical chairs were never as entrancing as they were on "Croker Courtbullion," with snake-charming flute and chants, Addams Family-styled keyboards (by Dr. John, who played all the keys on Gris-Gris), and free jazzy interplay revealing Rebennack's little-known admiration of musicians such as John Coltrane and Elvin Jones. As if these weren't enough, there were also birdcalls and animal noises that sound like nothing so much as a futuristic mating of Professor Longhair and Martin Denny. "Jump Sturdy" was a relatively brief, and quite infectious, marriage of vaudeville and funk. The closing eight-minute tour de force, "I Walk on Gilded Splinters," would prove the album's most durable song, a creepy voodoo soup that both smoldered with ominous foreboding and simmered with temptations of sensual delights.
Atlantic executive Ahmet Ertegun was initially reluctant to release Gris-Gris, exclaiming, according to Dr. John's autobiography Under a Hoodoo Moon, "How can we market this boogaloo crap?" Luckily, he relented, inaugurating an erratic career that saw Dr. John grow into an institution as a walking encyclopedia of New Orleans music. For the most part, his subsequent recordings were far more grounded in blues and R&B, never matching the versatile adventurousness of his debut full-length. Hard to find in its original form as an Atco LP, and only sporadically reissued since, Collectors' Choice Music is proud to make this classic available on CD for the first time in the United States.
by Richie Unterberger
Tracks
1. Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya - 5:38
2. Danse Kalinda Ba Doom (Harold Battiste, Dr. John Creaux) - 3:46
3. Mama Roux (Jessie Hill, Dr. John Creaux) - 3:01
4. Danse Fambeaux - 4:58
5. Croker Courtbullion (Harold Battiste) - 6:01
6. Jump Sturdy - 2:23
7. I Walk On Guilded Splinters - 7:40
Songs written by Dr. John Creaux except where stated
Personnel
*Dr. John - Vocals, Keyboards, Percussion
*Dr. Battiste - Bass, Clarinet, Percussion
*Richard "Dr. Ditmus" Washington - Percussion
*Senator Bob West - Bass
*Dr. John Boudreaux - Drums
*Governor Plas Johnson - Saxophone
*Dr. Lonnie Boulden - Flute
*Dr. Steve Mann - Bottleneck Guitar, Banjo
*Dr. Mclean - Guitar, Mandolin
*Mo "Dido" Pedido - Congas
*Dave Dixon - Backing Vocals, Percussion
*Jessie Hill - Backing Vocals, Percussion
*Ronnie Barron - Backing Vocals, Percussion
*Joni Jonz, Prince Ella Johnson, Shirley Goodman, Sonny Ray Durden, Tami Lynn - Backing Vocals
Richard Torrance is a gifted singer / guitarist with more than forty years of performing experience in the music business. Born in the Midwest, he relocated to Southern California soon after graduating from high school, to pursue his dream of becoming a recording artist. He signed his first recording contract with Shelter Records, Leon Russell’s label, in 1972. He recorded three albums for them before moving on to his second contract with Capitol Records in 1975. His first of four albums for Capitol, “Bareback”, produced his song, “Rio de Janeiro Blue”. “Rio” has achieved international acclaim and has been recorded by several other artists, as well.
Through the 1970s, he put together a band of Los Angles based musicians and did three national tours. Richard and his band opened for some of the most famous rock groups in the world, such as Little Feat, Kansas, Taj Mahal, Billy Joel, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, Bob Seger, Chicago, The Beach Boys, REO Speedwagon, Loggins andMessina, The Kinks, Average White Band, Pablo Cruise, and Aerosmith, to name a few. After leaving Capitol records in 1979, Richard moved north to Ojai, California and focused on building a home recording studio, producing local talent and continuing to write music. He stayed there for over ten years, raising a family and touring the west coast.
In 1990, he traveled to Las Vegas to do a corporate event and met several musicians who encouraged him to relocate. After giving this serious consideration, he moved his family to Las Vegas and began a fourteen year stay. Richard performed in two major production shows, as well as playing in nearly every casino lounge. During his time in Las Vegas, he released two more CDs. First, a compilation of his previously released music titled “The Record Years” and second, a tribute to the victims of September 11, titled “The Red, White and Blues”. He also got an opportunity to travel to the American Virgin Island of St. Croix for a one month stay at a club called Big Beards. He absolutely fell in love with the people and music of the islands. This led to his next adventure in 1998, working for Royal Caribbean International and touring the Caribbean Islands. Over the next two years he visited sixteen islands and was able to meet and jam with local bands, deepening his love for reggae, calypso, and high energy island music. After returning to Las Vegas, he was compelled to leave the desert and relocate back to his roots.
In 2004, he moved back to his home town of Bismarck, North Dakota, Richard performed as a solo act as well as toured with various artists throughout the U.S. such as Gary Lewis and the Playboys. Within the first year, he released his most recent CD “The Stories They Tell”. He is currently performing as a single entertainer, singing songs from his ten CDs as well as playing with bands for private parties and corporate events. Still having that gypsy blood in him, he travels the tri-state area performing on a full time basis. His goal now is to play fun loving places for people who enjoy singing along, letting their cares go, and just having a good time. When you hear Richard, this will be your experience, too.
It was around 2010 when Richard and Jennifer Lyn met and began playing music together and performing locally. They were both very deep into the blues realm and spent many hours listening to the blues greats comparing notes on guitar riffs and lyrics. As their friendship grew, they started collaborating and experimenting with recording which led to working on two projects together. Their first project released in 2021, "Nothing Holding Me Down", which features overdriven guitars with dueling lead harmonies and classic rock undertones.
Eureka” by Richard Torrance is a magical album. I know that I am not very objective, and that sometimes we abuse great qualifiers, overvaluing albums that are very good, but not special. This one is. From the feeling of freedom and natural connection that the artwork distills to songs solidly macerated in exquisite instrumentation.
Singer-songwriter with his own personality, we find in his music echoes of the boogie funk of Leon Russell (his boss at the Shelter record label), the vocal harmonies of CS&N, the pop melodies of Seals&Crofts.
Like so many other American kids, Torrance “escaped” in the mid-60s from the most traditional America (in his case Bismarck, North Dakota) to live the Californian dream, gradually making a name for himself in the crowded Los Angeles scene.
In 1974 he began a recording career with “Eureka” that, although he will continue to produce albums that are super enjoyable to listen to.
by Albert Barrios, November 18, 2022
Tracks
1. Ojai Road (Ken Weissman) - 2:03
2. I Just Don't Know - 2:27
3. Walking In The Rain - 2:53.
4. Fire Child - 3:19
5. Traveling Minstrel - 3:16
6. Because Of You - 2:49
7. Ceremony - 2:58
8. Him - 4:32
9. Canyon Side - 3:50
All songs by Richard Torrance except where indicated
Standing out as one of Dr. John’s most overtly political album, Babylon rings just as true as it did when it was first released in 1969, and it hasn’t lost any of its voodoo magic either. Originally cut in late ‘68, the album was influenced by dark themes such as the assassinations of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., the Tet offensive, and the Vietnam War.
While the lyrics can be clumsy at times, there are moments that shine through with a weight it still holds to this day, as on the album’s title track “No politicians/No higher religions/To guide you from the dark.”
While the lyrics can be heavy, the music is weightless and the brand of Weird that Dr. John specialized in. Loaded with electronic effects and unthinkable, otherworldly rhythms, the remastering further draws out and amplifies Dr. John’s legendary New Orleans sound of voodoo-funk with the occasional jazz influence; a smoky and sexy groove with the sharp edge of something sinister. A darkness in the almost trance-like chant of Dr. John’s delivery.
What falls a bit short is the music itself. There are times where it fades a bit too much into the background, gives up a bit too much of its power to the lyrics. As a result, some of the mysticism is lost and it’s difficult to establish a connection from one song to the next. Even so, Babylon still carries enough magic to make goose bumps crawl across your skin when the rhythm slows on a song like “Twilight Zone” and the lyrics “In the outer limits of a land unknown/In the twilight zone,” mumbled like a spell.
by Talia Boettinger
Tracks
1. Babylon - 5:24
2. Glowin' - 5:40
3. Black Widow Spider - 4:15
4. Barefoot Lady (Dr. John Creaux, Harold Battiste) - 3:11
5. Twilight Zone - 8:17
6. The Patriotic Flag-Waiver - 4:57
7. The Lonesome Guitar Strangler - 5:36
All compositions by Malcolm Rebennack "Dr John Creaux"
Pesronnel
*Dr. John - Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar, Percussion
*Richard "Didimus" Washington - Guitar, Percussion
Originally released on the Daffodil Records label in 1977, the debut self-titled album by Toronto rockers Hunt became an immediate hit in Texas of all places but was virtually ignored in Canada and the rest of the U.S. Formed from the ashes of the early-'70s band Dillinger, Hunt also featured drummer Paul Kersey who had formerly played with the Canadian hard rock stalwarts Max Webster.
The music of Hunt on this debut features a heavy organ and guitar lead with elements of progressive rock in the form of synthesizers, strings, and even a flute on a number of songs. Sounding very similar to such popular bands of the mid-'70s such as Rush, Kansas, Styx, and even Jethro Tull in odd moments, the band showed potential to become international stars. The band even included a song sung in French on the album! Unfortunately, it was the late '70s and disco was dominating the charts and punk was beginning to take hold on the music scene; hard rock and heavy metal music were starting to lose popularity.
Internal strife within the band lead to Hunt being reduced to a trio for the next album, Back on the Hunt, which was not to be released until three years later . This release by Unidisc is a straight reissue of the original album at a budget price and contains no bonus tracks.
by Keith Pettipas
Tracks
1. I Was Only Dreaming (Brian Gagnon, Paul Cockburn) - 4:25
2. A Song For A New Day (Brian Gagnon, Paul Cockburn) - 5:59
3. Little Miss Perfection (Brian Gagnon, Paul Cockburn) - 3:12
4. I Want To Be King (Brian Gagnon, Paul Cockburn) - 4:55
5. Faces (Jacques Harrisson) - 4:28
6. Billy (Brian Gagnon) - 3:39
7. Sent Me Away (Brian Gagnon) - 4:08
8. On Revient (Tout Le Temps) (Jacques Harrisson) - 3:33
9. Sad Song (Brian Gagnon) - 4:15
The Hunt
*Brian Gagnon - Lead Vocals, Bass, Acoustic Guitar
*Jacques Harrisson - Keyboards, Lead Vocals, Flute
Rehearsal Tapes (1971-1972) issued on the ETT Imprint label. SUN existed between 1971 and 1974, with the core membership comprising Keith Shadwick (sax, flute), Henry Correy (bass), Garry Norwell (drums) and George Alamanza (electric piano). The group’s roots extended back to 1968 and blues band Spoonful (aka Spoonful of Soul), from Wollongong, NSW. By 1971, arch jazz enthusiast Keith Shadwick was steering the band in a more exploratory, adventurous avant-garde direction.
"Jeremiah" is an obscure set of McCartneyesque power-pop written and performed, for the most part, by David Brown. Other members include Seiwell and Spinosa, i.e., Spinozza, who were members of Wings. Bassist Karl Jarvi and lead guitarist Pat Walters had played in a number of North Carolina-based outfits including The Barons and the Paragons. Jarvi had also been in The New Mix with singer/guitarist David Brown. Seiwell, as mentioned, recorded a couple of albums with Paul McCartney and Wings. This is a nicely crafted album. For what it's worth, front-man Brown recorded a follow-up album "I Want To Be with You" in 1972.
A group from Copenhagen, active in 1969-1971. Lived in Pocket-House and performed in the basement. Everyone could attend their rehearsals and concert, released only one single.
In 2003, the Frost label found everything (that could be found) and released this compilation disc. Heavy psychedelic with organ and guitar.
Tracks
1. I'm So Sleepybake Your Own Cake - 6:52
2. I'm In No Hurry - 5:20
3. Futte (To The 'pocket-House'-Cat!) - 5:30
4. I Can't See The Sun - 3:32
5. Opus II - 5:08
6. You Just Do What You Want To Do - 5:06
7. Love Machine - 4:29
8. In One Or Another Condition - 4:13
9. Sorry Babelook At Your Beautiness Picture - 9:44
One of Syracuse all-time greatest bands "The Seven" has members dating back to Syracuse;s very first rock band Jeff & The Notes (Nick Russo) add an original Sam & The Twister (Chuck Mellone), a few "Capitols" (Al Ruscito, Chuck & Frank Sgroi) along with some of Jimmy Cavallo's traveling Houserockers (Chuck Sgroi, Tony Licamele, John Latocha) and you end up with a band originally called "The Upsetters" in early 1966.
March 1967, with the departure of guitarist Latocha while adding Bob Canastraro, they changed their name to the "Magnificent Seven". After about a year Canastraro was replaced by Chuck Wheeler (of Surprise Package) and the band shortened their name to "The Seven". They became one of most popular and listened to bands between 1969 & 1972. The magical, mystical, and musical "The Seven" hit the road teaming with Syracuse Radio Station WOLF now known as "The Big 15".
They traveled with WOLF Radio deejay playing school assemblies throughout Central New York in one of Syracuse musics greatest promotions. This outstanding group was comprised of musical veterans Nick Russo (vocals, percussion), Chuck Mellone (keyboards, B3), Chuck Wheeler (guitar), Al Ruscito (trombone), Frank Sgroi (sax), Chuck Sgroi (bass) and drummer Tony Licamele.
The Seven played at some of New York Cities famed nightspots such as Ungano's located at 210 West 70th Street and two showcase performances at "The Bitter End", one with famed CNY songwriter Larry Santos (wrote Candy Girl for the 4 Seasons). After choosing to sign with Thunderbird Records over London's Parrot label (had both Them & Tom Jones) they entered New York's A&I Studio to records their first album.
The album "The song is Song, the album is Album" hit stores in 1970 on the Thunderbird Record label owned by Leonard Silver and Steve Brodie of Buffalo's Transcontinental Records Sales. Three songs were released as singles "Song" in January 1970, and later in May the flipside "Heatwave" that charted for seven weeks on WOLF Radio. Their third single, the old Zombies song "Tell Her No" stayed on the WOLF chart for ten weeks starting in July 1970.
In 1971, Tommy Forest (former Monterays vocalist) replaced Nick Russo who went on to form the band "Yugan" with Jimmy Cox. Mickey Nicotra and Bob Papaleoni..
The Seven one of Syracuse's greatest bands could be seen in such popular CNY night spots as The Place, Campus Inn, Captain Mac's and The Shack playing their famed one hour long "Rascals Medley". They also appeared in concert with "The Turtles" and on the popular regional television show "Upbeat" hosted by Don Webster that aired Sunday mornings from studios in Cleveland, Ohio.
Their final recording, the song "Junkyard" while not professionally completed is included on the History of Syracuse album series.
by Ron Wray, January 30, 2012
Tracks
1. Something Times Something Equals (Chuck Wheeler) - 0:42
