Felix Harp – The First Of Felix Harp (1972)
Artist: Felix Harp
Title: The First Of Felix Harp
Year: 1972
Format: LP
Label: Western World Music
Formed in Pittsburgh, PA 1970, Felix Harp consisted of bassist David Adomites, drummer Michael Ardisson, singer/guitarist Billy Hricsina, and lead guitarist David Lenart. Still in their teens, the quartet generated some buzz on the local club circuit, eventually capturing the attention of Louis Guarino who signed them to the small Western World Music label.
The few brief reviews of 1972′s Guarino produced The First Of Felix Harp you’ll find aren’t particularly positive, I’ll go out on a limb and beg to differ. First, I’ll readily admit this isn’t a lost classic, but song for song it’s as good as anything Eric Carmen and the Raspberries or the hoard of early-1970s power poppers ever released. It’s even more impressive when you consider these guys were still in high school when they recorded the album. Pretty high praise there!
The big problem with this set was that producer Guarino and engineer Tony Bongiovi Jr. apparently did think these guys were strong enough to stand without extensive backing. As a result they literally drown the band in over-the-top orchestration (courtesy of James Drake and Lewis del Gatto). (Bad Cat)
Track Listing
- Black
- Dear
- Life
- There Comes A Time
- My Love And I
- Mother
- Never Should Have Let It Happen
- Try Not To Listen
- Love Has Been All Around
- She Done Me Wrong
Mark & Sumley – Nice Things (1969)
Artist: Mark & Sumley
Title: Nice Things
Year: 1969
Format: LP
Label: Evolution
U. S. album by the Michigan duo of Mark Dutil and Ray Sumley with an introspective folk-rock sound in a Simon & Garfunkel vein. Good cover version with harmony vocals of Bob Dylan’s hit “Lay Lady Lay.” The album was produced and arranged by the legendary Milt Okun. (Max Collodie)
Track Listing
- Nice Things
- Take Me To Tomorrow
- Sincere Replies
- Westward Bound
- Take Your Time About It
- Lay Lady Lay
- I Was Just About To Ask The Same Of You
- Your Reason Why
- Affair On Eighth Avenue
- Just A Step From Yesterday
- She Gonna Fly
Acrobat – Acrobat (1972)
Artist: Acrobat
Title: Acrobat
Year: 1972
Format: LP
Label: TMS
For a city recognized for the blues and soul acts it churned out, Memphis sure seems to have supported a lot of rock bands in the 1960s and 1970s. I’ve lost track of the number of acts that were unknown to me that trace their roots back to the city. The short lived Acrobat is yet another in the ever lengthening list …
Singer/guitarist Bob Lehnert’s initial brush with success came in Detroit with The Amboy Dukes. Through a series of circumstances in 1966 Lehnert found himself with legal ownership of the Amboy Dukes name.
Lehnert and a young guitarist by the name of Ted Nugent subsequently reached an agreement whereby Lehnert relinquished rights to the name in return for a slot as lead singer in Nugent’s band. The partnership only lasted a few months with Lehnert dropping out of the band (he was replaced by John Drake), eventually moving to Memphis in the early 1970s.
In Memphis Lehnert attracted the attention of Trans Maximus Studio who hired him as a photographer and agreed to help him finance a band. Lehnert quickly latched on to slide guitarist Greg Davis, lead guitarist Billy Jones, keyboard Mel Senter (the three having been members of the recently defunct Smiling Phases). and drummer Barry Johnson.
Billed as Acrobat the quintet were given rehearsal time at the TMI studios and within a couple of months were ready to record. Co-produced by David Mayo and J. R. Williams 1971′s cleverly titled Acrobat showcased Lehnert’s talents.
In addition to handling lead vocals, he wrote, or co-wrote all nine tracks. Propelled by Lenhert’s dry, but likeable voice musically material like “Wake Up”, “Harmony” and “Feel No Regrets” found the band pursuing an agenda that fell somewhere between Firefall-styled country-rock and CSN&Y/Manassas rock.
It wasn’t blatant, but “Be a Man”, “Escape” and several of the songs seemed to have a slight religious flavor to them. Full of strumming guitars and pretty melodies it may not have been the year’s most original offering, but was never less than enjoyable.
I’m usually not big on religious oriented songs, but in this case propelled by some killer twin lead guitar from Davis and Jones one of the LP highlights was “Be a Man”. TMI also tapped the LP for a single in the form of the country-rock flavored “Better Tomorrow” b/w “Escape” (TMI catalog number 75-0108). If Pure Prairie League scored a top-40 hit with “Amie”, then this one should have charted as well. Naturally it didn’t…
In an effort to support of the album the band relocated to Atlanta, but within a couple of months were back in Memphis where they played occasional local dates and apparently started to record a sophomore LP. Unfortunately personality conflicts and the lack of success saw the group collapse before the second album was completed. (Bad Cat)
Track Listing
- Wake Up
- Relate
- Harmony
- Be A Man
- Feel No Regrets
- Better Than Today
- The Objective
- Escape
- Behind Our Eyes
Casey Kelly – Casey Kelly (1972)
Artist: Casey Kelly
Title: Casey Kelly
Year: 1972
Format: LP
Label: Elektra
Contributed by Eliot W.
Casey Kelly’s first album was released in 1972 and is a good early 70s rock effort with lots of guitar (and even some steel guitar courtesy of Sneaky Pete Kleinow). Casey Kelly wrote and sings all the songs. The album also features Leland Sklar, Russ Kunkel, Craig Doerge, Al Garth, Danny Cohen. Jim Messina.
The absolute beauty and power of this album is self-evident once you listen. The appearance of the best session players available, along with Jim Messina’s guitar solo on “You Can’t Get There From Here” further underscores the importance of this record. (itsaboutmusic.com)
Track Listing
- Silver Meteor
- Making Believe
- Run Away
- Poor Boy
- For Miss Julie
- A Good Love Is Like A Good Song
- You Can’t Get There From Here
- Escaping Reality
- Resign Yourself To Me
- Visiting An Old Friend
Casey Kelly – For Sale (1974)
Artist: Casey Kelly
Title: For Sale
Year: 1974
Format: LP
Label: Elektra
Contributed by Eliot W.
Skip ahead two years and things have changed a bit. Pressure from the label squeezes Casey to make a “different” record. This time out, the same band appears on the tracks but the essence of the music is filtered and altered to suit the “suits” at Elektra.
This is still a great album but the magic of the first album was somehow gone. After all, not many records were ever made that are as good as Casey’s first. (itsaboutmusic.com)
Track Listing
- Jus’ Enjoy All You Can Stand
- Bayou Country
- All I Could Do
- Airport Song
- Reach Out For Me
- It’s Too Late To Change What’s Happened
- I Wish I Knew
- Honey Wait For Me
- Sometimes I Think I Love You More
- And I’m Home
Compton & Batteau – In California (1970)
Artist: Compton & Batteau
Title: In California
Year: 1970
Format: LP
Label: Columbia
The 1969 Appaloosa LP was released by Columbia and after the album proved commercially stillborn the company effectively lost interests in the band. When the band collapsed violinist Robin Batteau joined his wife in California. Singer/guitarist John Parker Compton decided to join him, promptly packed up for California.
Once in California the pair began shopping demos and were promptly signed by Columbia A&R man Eddie Matthews, Produced by Abner Spector, 1970′s In California wasn’t a major change in direction from the Appaloosa album – perhaps a touch more country-rock oriented (thanks in part to support from several members of Poco who happened to be recording an album in the same studio), but featuring the same general sound – eclectic, but with some commercial touches.
Perhaps the biggest change was the emergence of Batteau. Appaloosa had pretty much been a showcase for Compton, but this time around Batteau contributed a couple of tracks to the mix (two of the best performances in my humble opinion) and handled a couple of vocals. As it turned out, his voice was far more commercial than Compton’s. (Bad Cat)
Track Listing
- Laughter Turns To Blue
- Silk On Steel
- Honeysuckle
- Elevator
- Homesick Kid
- Proposition
- Grotto Farm
- Essa Vanessa
- Zephys
- California
Mo Mcguire – Mo (1974)
Artist: Mo Mcguire
Title: Mo
Year: 1974
Format: LP
Label: Wooden Nickel
Lone album by Chicago vocalist Mo Mcguire featuring a backing group consisting of Billy Steele, Erik Scott, Terry Fryer and Bud Van Horn among others. The album was released on Bill Traut’s Wooden Nickel label which was the successor to his legendary Dunwich Records. Traut also co-produced this album, which is a solid blues/rock/pop effort. Two tracks of note, “Just About Over The Hill” a song very reminiscent of Spanky & Our Gang and “First Of May” an absolutely gorgeous remake of the Bee Gees‘ song. (Prairie Prince Minsky)
Track Listing
- I Got You Covered
- Mama Was A Cowgirl
- Living Without You
- Chicago Bust Rag
- Medley: Hard Lovin’ Loser/Mean Old Frisco Blues
- Just About Over The Hill
- Take Out Some Insurance
- First Of May
- Saturday Night In The Summertime
- Hold An Old Friend’s Hand
Joyce Everson – Crazy Lady (1972)
Artist: Joyce Everson
Title: Crazy Lady
Year: 1972
Format: LP
Label: Warner Brothers
Joyce Everson has opened shows for The Everly Brothers; recorded with musical legends like Don Henley of The Eagles; toured with Gordon Lightfoot and performed on Saturday Night Live. In 1972 when she was only twenty, Warner Brothers released her album, Crazy Lady, an easy-listening, folk album she wrote that featured her singing and had “rocker” guest artists, including Peter Frampton, Andy Bown, Lesley Duncan and Madeline Bell. Her title track was number one on the radio in cities like New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and even as far away as Japan.
She was discovered by Rod Stewart who intoduced her to Long John Baldry and worked with him on songs that were meant for his 1972 release Everything Stops For Tea. The songs, “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” and “I’m Just a Rake and Ramblin’ Boy”, duets with Baldry, were eventually released on the 2005 Cd version as bonus tracks. Also included on the Cd was a radio spot of Baldry promoting Crazy Lady.
“This is very exciting for me. It’s a gift,” said Everson (now known as Joyce Turnpenny). “You never know when someone is doing something to further your career and a kind of nice gesture. It’s this magic thing that John Baldry did. We finally got heard.” Just after she recorded those duets, Turnpenny moved to California.
“I used to hang around with a whole bunch of people, we were all out in California trying to kick our careers off. One of those guys was Chevy Chase,” she said. “When he got a job on Saturday Night Live, he knew how well I sang so he got my boyfriend and I to perform on the show.”
“Music is my heart, it’s my soul, it’s my spirit. It’s who I am and that has not left me,” she said. “It was an amazing experience – and it’s still amazing. Things still excite me, and I would love to make another album.”
And even though it’s been more than 40 years since Crazy Lady first hit the shelves, Turnpenny says the music of her era is timeless. “A lot of that era – The Eagles, Jackson Browne – they’re making a resurgence. People are interested in that era and a lot of us who recorded then are now coming to the forefront.”
After eight years in California, Turnpenny started to focus on family and had a daughter, who’s now in her twenties, with her husband Michael, former drummer for Ronnie Hawkins. The pair now perform together, with Michael on the guitar. Turnpenny is also a music teacher at the St. Mildred’s-Lightbourn School. (Krissie Rutherford)
Track Listing
- Country Air
- Jesus Is My Saviour
- Song To A Lover Of Yesterday
- White Cliffs Of Dover
- Crazy Lady
- What Did She Taste Like?
- Woman-Child
- Butterflies
- My Friend Susan
- To Be A Pilgrim
Gordon Lowe – Follow The Sound (1970)
Artist: Gordon Lowe
Title: Follow The Sound
Year: 1970
Format: LP
Label: North Bay
Hi there… I did indeed record this in 1970 with Kenny Gamble as co-producer. We had Brian Buckley, guitar, Denny Jackson, guitar and mouth harp, John Erlendson,bass and Laurel Ward vocals. It was during that time in Phila. that I found myself as opening act for ‘The Doors’ in Boston…. cool! G.
Rare folk-psych/SSW album from Toronto-native Lowe, recorded in Philadelphia at Sigma Sound Studios and featuring Vincent Montana Jr. on percussion. (Howard Hales Broom)
Track Listing
- Follow The Sound
- Give Her My Love
- Dawn
- Jenny’s Gone
- Life Of A River
- Round And Round
- So Sorry
- Prisms
- Turnover Darlin’
- Coming Home
Ol’ Paint – Ol’ Paint (1971)
Artist: Ol’ Paint
Title: Ol’ Paint
Year: 1971
Format: LP
Label: GWP
Merging country-rock, power pop, psychedelia, and progressive rock, Ol’ Paint were an obscure band from Central New York State who later won a cult following for their sole album. Formed in Syracuse, NY in the late ’60s, Ol’ Paint featured Tony Caputo on lead vocals, Andy Mendelson on lead guitar and keyboards, Phil Zeppetello on rhythm guitar, John Bujak on bass, and Richard Mendelson on drums.
The group scored a recording contract with GWP Records, a subsidiary of RCA Victor, and they cut their one and only album in 1971 with the help of producer Rupert Holmes, several years before he scored a hit with the single “Escape (The Pina Colada Song).” While the album was well-received, it fared poorly in the marketplace, and the band broke up without recording a follow-up.
Andy Mendelson and Richard Mendelson later worked with Andy Pratt, best-known for the 1973 hit “Avenging Annie,” and in 1980, Mendelson released a solo album, Maybe the Good Guy’s Gonna Win, with Richard on drums. Andy and Richard Mendelson went on to a career as a recording engineer. Phil Zeppetello still lives and works in the Syracuse area, and Tony Caputo sadly died of AIDS-related illnesses in 1987. (Mark Deming)
Track Listing
- Always In The Way
- She Leaves Free
- It’s My Birthday
- All For Love
- I’m A Natural Man
- Was I Surprised
- Mogitah
- Victims Of The Sex Revolution
- Up From The Sea
- You Are My Friend
- Good-Bye
- Down So Long
