Retro Reviews: Kiss - Ace Frehley / Paul Stanley solo

 I decided to launch a new series to imagine myself as a critic at the end of the 60s and start of the 70s, and to rectify certain reviews from Rolling Stone magazine and Creem. This not meant to be contrarian, but to offer a more balanced perspective. All the albums reviewed are indeed classic albums. This is in tribute to Ace Frehley, Rest In Peace.

Kiss: Ace Frehley (1978)

***1/2

Producers: Eddie Kramer, Ace Frehley

Musicians: Ace Frehley, Anton Fig, Will Lee, Carl Tallarico, David Lasley, Susan Collins, Larry Kelly, Bill Scheniman, Bobby McAdams

Songs and music: Rip It Out, Speedin’ Back To My Baby, Snow Blind, Ozone, What’s On Your Mind, New York Groove, I’m In Need Of Love, Wiped-Out, Fractured Mirror

Reviewed By Matthew Anthony Allair

It’s not all that surprising that “New York Groove” is the single from this album, but we will get to that in a moment. All four members of Kiss have put together solo albums that link together to the Kiss brand. The results are pretty mixed but Ace and Paul are the strongest ones, the less that is said about the other two is probably for the better. To be honest, Kiss is usually off my radar, but I do appreciate the dedication of their fanbase, Kiss’s output pretty much offers up something straight forward, and there isn’t much profound on most of the albums. Yet I get why Kiss were successful a few years ago, there was too much of an over intellectualization with most rock music without the spirit of fun, there needs to be a balance. Yet it's true now the band is often at risk of oversaturation, quantity doesn’t always equate to quality, but these albums could be a benchmark for what they might do after the band is over. It seems as though that something has lit a fire under Ace, and it was incredibly smart for Ace to bring in Producer and Engineer legend Eddie Kramer to exert quality control on this collection.

There’s an rumor that Eddie Kramer produced the early demos that got the band their recording deal with Casablanca records, therefore it is baffling to me that Kramer didn’t produce their crucial early albums, they needed it, and while it was nice to have Kramer on last years Rock N Roll Over album, they needed a notable producer long before Bob Ezrin, and I don’t know if such a failure was a decision of the band or their label Casablanca not financing the services of such a producer before the Alive album, Kramer’s steady hand makes a difference.

Ace seems to understand the assignment, this is unpretentious, direct, and while Ace isn’t a great vocalist, he is a party vocalist and it suits the material well. You’ll have to accept this for what it is, and I pretty much suspect the average fan will embrace it. Lester Bangs has said that Rock n Roll was meant to be gloriously silly anyway. Ace’s guitar work throughout is solid, he also plays a little bass, and the little bit of keyboard work was played on a synth via Ace’s guitar. I would have liked a keyboard player to have been brought in to add some organ coloring to certain tracks, but I understand the aim of the rawer sound. “Rip It Out” pretty much sets the tone, Anton Fig’s drumming is quite good throughout. Ace offers up some of his classic guitar lead moves. ‘Speedin’ Back To My Baby” offers a good blues lead and shuffle. “Snow Blind” has a catchy mood, either about a certain drug or missing a woman. “Ozone” has an extended opening before the vocal that takes a nod to the structure of Jimmy Page’s sensibility. “What’s On Your Mind?” is a pretty straightforward number with some good guitar work.

The Russ Ballard number “New York Groove” has a fresh arrangement with a stomping tempo and some hints of RNB funk, the most focused number and concise, Ace offers up some good coloring and accents with his playing. “I’m In Need Of Love” is pretty simple piece accented by heavy delay effects. “Whipped Out” opens with a playful nod to the early 60s Surfaris number before shifting into something else. The instrumental closer has a slow opener that sounds like a nod to Rush, the track is more a vibe until the middle when the colors builds into the main melodic riff.

A lot of my peers miss the point that Kiss as a product isn’t designed to be very complicated, this is the kind of work you put the cassette or eight track in the car while cruising, or at a weekend party. You’ll have to take it for what it is. 

Kiss – Paul Stanley (1978)

***

Producers: Paul Stanley, Jeff Glixman

Musicians: Paul Stanley, Bruce Kulick, Steve Buslowe, Eric Nelson, Richie Fontana, Carmine Appice, Craig Krampf, Diana Grasselli, Miriam Naomi Valle, Maria Vidal, Peppy Castro, Doug Katsaros, Steve Lacey

Songs: Tonight You Belong To Me, Move On, Ain’t Quite Right, Wouldn’t You Like To Know Me, Take Me Away (Together As One), It’s Alright, Hold Me, Touch Me (Think Of Me When We’re Apart), Love In Chains, Goodbye

Reviewed By Matthew Anthony Allair

The band Kiss has jointly put out four solo albums under the band name, and the rumor is that a significant number of copies have been printed. Sounds like a pretty audacious move, and of the four, two work and the other don’t quite gel. Paul’s album is one of them that works, along with Ace’s. I will admit, I have been indifferent to Kiss, but I respect the slavish devotion of there fans, so I wanted to give them a chance. There’s a nagging feeling with Kiss, considering they put out two albums in 74 and two in 75, one being the big selling Alive, that quantity surpasses quality at times, and hence why some peers are so eagerly dismissive of the band. In the case of Paul, he is without argument the strongest vocalist in the band, and Paul’s vocal chops are almost on par with Plant, Mercury, Bowie, and McCartney, yet he often can sound a little reserved to my ears. Those other three singers care capable of taking adventurous gambles with their vocals. But Paul seems to need a good producer to push himself to new territories, at times there are certain vocal affectations he falls back on, and this can work against him. Paul has the range to step out of the Kiss brand, and that range allows him to stretch out with some of the writing. There’s the rockers, acoustic passages and piano ballad, but he sounds like he’s capable of even more.

The second guitarist and lead player Bruce Kulick might be his secret weapon on the album, and Kulick seems like a good foil for Stanley. The rhythm sections with the drummers and bassists offers some steady material, and you even have such drummers as Camine Appice on a given track is quite good. This may not work as well as Frehley’s effort, but the production is more straight forward and less ornamental than two of the other albums. Paul does seem to understand light and shade, and while the lyrics are nothing profound, he does seem to be working through some emotional tumult in the songs.

It’s not too surprising that the opening track is likely the single. “Tonight You Belong To Me” has a nice cordial acoustic 12 string opening with some nice interplay before the heavy section comes in. “Move On” opens with the typical flavor of his namesake band, but morphs into some nice colors with piano and acoustics for dramatic flare. “Ain’t Quite Right” has a laid back simple riff that is more about vibe than anything else, there’s some nice dynamics here, Steve Buslowe’s bass work is good on the track.  “Wouldn’t You Like To Know Me” is a pretty typical stadium anthem, fun. The opening half of the semi acoustic “Take Me Away (Together As One)” has a nearly prog rock feel before it shifts into the more brash section, some nice theatrical dynamics. Much of Bruce Kulick’s guitar work on the first half is tasteful and incendiary when needed.

Yes, I admit, “It’s Alright” is another stadium anthem that opens the second half, but Paul wears that mantel well. “Hold Me, Touch Me” had some nice piano and synth work from Doug Katsaros, again, it does show that Paul has some real range as a vocalist, probably the most sonically layered track. The tempo is brought back up with “Love In Chains”, but there’s some good guitar accents and interplay on the track, Bruce’s lead hints at Queen’s Brian May in places. The album closer “Goodbye” manages with it’s lead work to hint at AC/DC and Queen, a fairly solid closer. It is a shame that a Producer like Bob Ezrin wasn’t involved with this project, it would have been interesting to see where he might have taken it. The album certainly fares better than Gene or Chris’s album, to summarize, two out of four isn’t bad odds.

Again, the fans won't care, they will likely love it, for the rest, you will have to take it for what it is. One needs pop art as well as high art.

Retro Reviews: Herbie Hancock: Maiden Voyage

     I decided to launch a new series to imagine myself as a critic at the end of the 60s and start of the 70s, and to rectify certain reviews from Rolling Stone magazine and Creem. This not meant to be contrarian, but to offer a more balanced perspective. Some of the albums reviewed are lesser known titles.

Herbie Hancock: Maiden Voyage (1965)

*****

Producer: Alfred Lyon

Musicians: Herbie Hancock, Freddie Hubbard, George Coleman, Ron Carter, Tony Williams

Music: Maiden Voyage, The Eye Of The Hurricane, Little One, Survival Of The Fittest, Dolphen Dance

Reviewed By Matthew Anthony Allair

    Herbie Hancock has quickly moved up the ranks of the jazz field since he launch his first album for Blue Note in 1962. By the summer of 1963 he was thrust into attention as the pianist of Miles Davis. While they were mostly live dates, he did appear on a few sides of Miles Seven Steps Of Heaven album of that year, yet he still recorded his own Inventions & Dimensions, and Empyrean Isles last year. That fourth album featured The Tony Williams, Freddie Hubbard and Ron Carter line up, they all seemed in perfect synch to Hancock’s sensibilities, which makes this new album all the more interesting. Hancock has shown an uncanny knack to writing pieces that other players engage with, and while he is still exploring the modal jazz aspect of the scene, one senses that there’s an openness and expansiveness to his approach that one shouldn’t dismiss.

    The new album has plenty of astonishing moments, of the five tracks, there’s something interesting offered with each.  The opening title track has a searching quality, with a good Coleman solo, Hubbard’s solo is a slow burn, but it’s something special. One can hear Hancock playing off of Hubbard’s arpeggio’s as it’s progresses. Hancock’s solo takes a nod to Bill Evans, while also being expansive, Willliams cymbal work opens up at this point and it’s a delight. The more up tempo “The Eye Of The Hurricane” has a brief head before Hubbard is showcased first. The chemistry between Williams and Carter is undeniable as a rhythm section. Coleman ups his game on the number. Once again, Hancock seems to embrace not only modal playing but the free jazz sensibility with his soloing, there’s also a hint of Monk in there. The slower and more pensive “Little One” takes it’s time and closes out the first half.

    The next number “Survival of the Fittest” opens the second half and seems to fall into the spirit of free jazz more. But there’s still a focus and structure that differs from Ornate Coleman. Hubbard takes the first lead, Williams takes an early drumming lead before George takes over. Coleman’s lead might  be his strongest yet with some playful start and stops throughout. The title of the number is reflected with the image of oceanic animals in their struggle and dance to prevail. Hancock and Williams seem to be playing off one another by the mid point. The piece ends on a more outside, cryptic note. The final track, “Dolphin Dance” takes things down a little, after the opening statement, Hubbard again reveals why he is so highly regarded. Once again, Hancock’s solo takes an expansive view.

    It's no surprise that Miles Davis took such a liking to Herbie’s composing and playing, there’s an introspection to his work that Miles likely matched up with. There’s a loose oceanic theme to the material on this album. I don’t know why pop fans are so daunted by modern jazz records, there’s a lot to take in if you have the ears for it. Hopefully others will agree with me that is this Hancock’s most cohesive album yet. Highly recommended. 

Retro Reviews: Genesis: Selling England By The Pound

 

    I decided to launch a new series to imagine myself as a critic at the end of the 60s and start of the 70s, and to rectify certain reviews from Rolling Stone magazine and Creem. This not meant to be contrarian, but to offer a more balanced perspective. All the albums reviewed are indeed classic albums. 

Genesis: Selling England By The Pound (1973)

****

Producers: John Burns, Genesis

Musicians: Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins

Songs and Music: Dancing With The Moonlit Knight, I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe), Firth of Fifth, More Fool Me, The Battle of Epping Forest, The Cinema Show, Aisle Of Plenty

Reviewed By Matthew Anthony Allair

    First off, I’d like to disagree with some of my peers who suggest that Peter Gabriel is the sole visionary of the band. That he acts like a Svengali who controls the direction of Genesis. What I see from the credits are five immensely talented individuals, that are equals. This isn’t to diminish Peter’s talents as a vocalist or flutist, indeed, he is unique as a stage performer and as an idea man, he keeps the audience engaged. I don’t buy into the idea that Messiers Hackett, Banks, Rutherford or Collins count for very little, I think they do, and the continue to create some of the best Progressive leaning material out there. After Nursery Cryme and Foxtrot, this line up has settled into such a groove, it just leaves you curious with where they will go next.

    The opening track begins with some A Capella by Gabriel that sounds like an English hymn in “Dancing In The Moonlit Knight” before it settles into the soft acoustic number, then shifts minutes later into some playful figures from Gabriel and Hackett, the heavier fast section has some real life with Hackett and Banks’ solos. A lot has happened by the halfway point, and the grandeur of Bank’s choir mellotron and Garbriel’s vocal drives the narrative in the other half. The track does paint a picture of medieval chivalry and quests. It's obvious why “I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)” is the perennial single, after an ominous synth drone, it has a catchy verse with the sitar figure, then strong chorus. In a lot of respects, the piano driven “Firth Of Fifth” is astonishing even before the full band enters for the vocal section, the somber section has a nice Gabriel flute solo, Banks reinstates the opening with the full band and impressive synth leads, Hackett’s reinstatement of the other section features some moody lead work. “More Fool Me” is the Collins vocal showcase, an acoustic ballad, Phil’s vocal approach different from Gabriel, his approach is more soulful and accessible, and it will be curious to see if he contributes further.

    “The Battle of Epping Forest” is less an historical reference and more a satire of British class culture. Gabriel has gotten better at taking on various characters vocally separate from the stage costumes, Banks and Hackett’s lead work in quite good, the opening part offers some fife and drums, with Gabriel playing some clever flute, the main body of the song has some real craft musically. Collins drumming is inventive and interesting in several sections. “After The Ordeal” is a baroque pop instrumental, nice acoustic piano and guitar interplay before the full band comes in at the mid-point. The resolve has some good lead guitar harmony from Hackett and Gabriel’s flute plays off of it nicely, with an album that already has some long features. 

    “The Cinema Show” might be the tour de force of the album, after a lovely, introspective opening, there are moments several minutes in where Gabriel is able to make his flute sound nearly like an oboe. The three-guitar interplay with Rutherford, Hackett and Banks has always been a strong feature of the band, and it remains true here. The Gabriel and Collins vocal blend with the backgrounds remain strong on this one. The last half of the instrumental section is evocative and, once again, some good and clever drumming from Collins. The brief “Aisle Of Plenty” just seems to be a restatement of ideas from the album.

    Overall, the production on the album and the mixes seems significantly better and more present than on Foxtrot and Nursery Cryme. The band has shown some new growth and it all hints at exciting possibilities for the next album. It will be interesting to see where they go next. Recommended. 

Thank you!

 

Thank you from MFTBC

    I want to keep this brief, but to begin with, I want to thank everyone who is following the blog again, I decided over the summer to bring this back with the retro reviews, that is only the beginning…We have a bunch of material in the cue, rest assured. We have hit a small milestone, two blog reviews have hit 100 views, Rodriguez – Cold Fact and Neil Young – After The Gold Rush. Thank you, it’s a slow burn, but we are getting there.

    We started by regaining followers on Facebook, and added some more faces into the Facebook MFTBC group page, thank you!

    The numbers from the Instagram account keep growing, we have a huge number of people who view the Instagram promotions, but don’t follow us, please visit the blog, the numbers there really count. Thank you to all who are following the Instagram page! Spread the word!

    The Threads account is still growing, but I appreciate those who follow it. Thank you!

    I don’t really have any data from the Blue Sky posts, but thank you for those who take a look!

    The long piece about Ike & Tina Turner’s Workin’ Together album from 1970 is almost done, just finishing up book research to fill out details from the on-line work. We will be featuring video sample music with that review.  That is coming soon. The next full album review that will follow up is The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Axis: Bold As Love, but not certain when that will happen. People like Abigail Devoe and LarsLand have really pushed me to ‘do better’, thank you!

    We plan to add in sample video clips to the Billy Joel Round Up reviews and a great, insightful video discussion. We have to be careful to comply with “Fair Use”, so we are limited.

    We want to keep the Retro Reviews going, the ‘old school’ feature reviews, more of the Album Round Up’s and the Perspectives pieces. But the hope is to do video interviews with a talented host, with myself being the writer and Producer behind the scenes, and upload those to YouTube next year!

Retro Reviews: George Harrison - Wonderwall Music / Electronic Sound

 

    I decided to launch a new series to imagine myself as a critic at the end of the 60s and start of the 70s, and to rectify certain reviews from Rolling Stone magazine and Creem. This not meant to be contrarian, but to offer a more balanced perspective. These albums are lesser known titles.

George Harrison: Wonderwall Music (1968)

***

Producer: George Harrison

Musicians: George Harrison, John Barham, Tony Ashton, Colin  Manley, Philip Rogers, Roy Dyke, Tommy Reilly, Eric Clapton (alleged), Ringo Starr, Big Jim Sullivan, Aashish Khan, Mahapurush Misra, Sharad Kumar, Hanuman Jadev, Shambhu Das, Indrani Bhattacharya, Shankar Ghosh, Chandrashekhar Naringrekar, Shivkumar Sharma, S.R. Kenkare, Vinayak Vora, Rijram Desad

Music: Microbes, Red Lady Too,  Tabla and Pakavaj, In The Park, Drilling A Hole, Guru Veranda, Greasy Legs, Ski-ing, Gat Kirwani, Dream Scene, Party Seacombe, Love Scene, Crying, Cowboy Music, Fantasy Sequins, On The Bed, Glass Box, Wonderwall To Be Here, Singing Om

Reviewed By Matthew Anthony Allair

    Technically, George’s first side project from the Beatles could be considered a solo project, but it is really more the soundtrack to Joe Massot’s film of the same name. The album focuses on artists from India, and George’s newfound interests with Indian culture and Hare Krishna, it also blends in Western pop and rock sources in the cues to a enough of a degree so that the casual listener will have something to latch onto. But ultimately, this might act as a primer to the rock listener who is not familiar with Indian music. This is a difficult album to assess some if it’s merits unless you are already schooled in classical Indian music tradition. Even with the most western material, there’s a heavy use of experimentation. Earlier in the year, The Beatles “The Inner Light”, a lovely piece, showcased some of the players Harrison has gotten to know. This looks to be a next step.

    The opener “Microbes” basically sets up the tone with its somber Indian instruments, you aren’t going to get just the typical rock or pop sensibilities here, if you are open to what it offered, then it’s an interesting journey.  “Red Lady Too” is a complicated, baroque piano piece with several keyboard colorings. “Tabla and Pavavaj” is layered with several percussion instruments. “In The Park” again features a number of traditional Indian instruments and it makes for an interesting listen. “Drilling A Home” is an easier to grasp piece, a music hall, ragtime number where the speed of the tape has been manipulated. “Guru Veranda” is another traditional piece. “Greasy Legs” has an ominous opening before it shifts to a meditative piano and layers of keyboard. A driving percussion and Sitar drone beds “Ski-ing” with some blues guitar that sounds like Clapton to my ears. This evolves into some dueling guitars where I can’t tell if it’s one player, or Harrison in the mix. “Get Kirwani” has some impressive sitar instrumentation.

    The “Dream Scene” is a fascinating kaleidoscope of different sections, the first has a bed of sitar, what sounds like rolling harps, a male and female Indian vocalist, backwards effects, before it shifts to a treated piano whose melody is accentuated by a guitar or Indian instrument, I can’t tell. This becomes richer until it shifts again to a moody horn, pensive, that builds into a montage of sounds. “Party Seacombe” features a treated acoustic and piano with a strange processed vocal that seems to merge with a Wah pedal guitar, the drums become more emphasized along with a hint of Organ. “Love Scene” has some more traditional Indian arrangement’s that progresses. “Crying” is self-explanatory as it features Indian strings wailing.

    “Cowboy Music” is also self-explanatory with guitars, harmonica, galloping percussion, harmonium and dobro, a musical humorous pastiche. “Fantasy Sequins” is somber. “On The Bed” features some spry Piano and Organ as the bed, and some introspective horn soloing, and what could only be described as insect slide guitar. “Glass Box” is another traditional Indian snippet. “Wonderwall To Be Here” has a dramatic piano and string mellotron arrangement. The album closer, “Singing Om” is another traditional Indian piece with harmonium and prayer like vocals.

    The album seems to have a few purposes, one is to feature Indian musicians that may not be known to western ears, and the other is to allow Harrison to experiment with western instruments, and in interesting ways. For international music, this is a good primer.  While there were things to latch onto here. It will probably mostly appeal to the most intellectually curious. But the intent to blend the West with the West is a bold and fresh idea.

George Harrison: Electronic Sound (1969)

**1/2

Producer and Musician: George Harrison

Music: Under The Mersey Wall, No Time In Space

    George Harrison’s next project will probably be a litmus test for a number of the listeners. George recently acquired a Moog 3 series synthesizer and collaborated with Bernie Krause. With “Under The Mersey Wall” there are moments of musicality along with ominous tones and random textures. Irregular percussion, sounds, voices intermix with the strange synth textures. “No Time In Space” even takes this all further with what sounds like drum beats and firework cracks, then it transitions into wind sounds and noise. This whole effort is taking the extremes of the technology and it differs from Walter Carlos’s “Switched On Bach” album. Tonally, It will probably remind some of the electronic theme from Dr. Who, or the electronic score from 1956’s Forbidden Planet by Bebe and Louis Barron. Yet it lacks some of the finesse of those works. It feels like a noodling by George and hopefully will yield some interesting results in the future, but this is mostly for the curious of exotic sounds. I have no doubt that enthusiast for the odd will find this compelling, yet rock fans should be forewarned about this.

Retro Reviews: Johnny Cash: Orange Blossom Special

     I decided to launch a new series to imagine myself as a critic at the end of the 60s and start of the 70s, and to rectify certain reviews from Rolling Stone magazine and Creem. This not meant to be contrarian, but to offer a more balanced perspective. All the albums reviewed are indeed classic albums.

Johnny Cash: Orange Blossom Special (1965)

****1/2

Producers: Don Law, Frank Jones

Musicians: Johnny Cash, June Carter, Luther Perkins, Norman Blake, Ray Edenton, Marshall Grant, W.S. Holland, Bill Pursell, Charlie McCoy, Bill McElhiney, Boots Randolph

Songs: Orange Blossom Special, The Long Black Veil, It Ain’t Me Babe, The Wall, Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright, You Wild Colorado, Mama, You’ve Been On My Mind, When It’s Springtime In Alaska (It’s Forty Below), Danny Boy, Wildwood Flower, Amen

Reviewed by Matthew Anthony Allair

    Following themed releases like Bitter Tears from last year, or the earlier Ride This Train from 1960, Cash has now focused on a collection of songs once again. He had started out in the 50s as an originator of Rockabilly and Rock N Roll, and in spite of his recent association with County and Western, he seems open to youthful song writers. He bridges the gap between the past scene and new voices. Which brings us to one of the more interesting points - Johnny’s recordings of three Bob Dylan songs. I can’t think of two figures who are more in sync with each other creatively, Cash may not write as many songs as he used to, but the pairing of these two talents for the future is exciting to consider. Cash wrote two songs for the album. His affinity for selecting material is nearly unmatched.

    The opening title track has Luther Perkins distinctive driving rhythm, the harp manages to sound somewhere between a train whistle and a fiddle, it is in the tradition of many rail line songs, the saxophone solo is playful. “The Long Black Veil” has become part of the traditional selections in the country scene. The Dylan cover, “It Ain’t Me Bade” features June Carter, and the horn section has the same Mariachi or Banda flavor from “Ring Of Fire”, it’s not surprising this became the single. “The Wall” follows the same tradition of his prison songs like “Folsom Prison Blues”. The next Dylan recording is “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” which features a brisk rhythm grove. The first half closes with a Cash number, “You Wild Colorado”, Cash has always had an affinity of nature and ‘wide open spaces’, a very simple guitar and vocal ballad.

    The second half opens with the third Dylan track, “Mama, You’ve Been On My Mind”, once again a playful horn solo ornaments the number. “When It’s Springtime In Alaska (It’s Forty Below”, June Carter offers vocal support and takes a partial lead on the track, another stripped down piece. Johnny’s second original song is the more socially conscious “All of Gods Children Ain’t Free”, it is interesting that Cash didn’t select any of Dylan’s topical social pieces, but more relationship-built songs. Cash opens “Danny Boy” with a long narration about his father, and his first exposure to the song, before the plaintive acoustic guitar and vocal, supported by background singers and a sparce flute. Cash has an uncanny ability with narratives and addressing the audience to have a broad appeal. “Wildwood Flower” has a poetic narrative behind it. Some good support from the rhythm guitarist on the track. The album closes with the rousing gospel of “Amen” with some spry piano work and a choir. The album manages to feel rather varied, and while it embraces the country sensibility, it manages to be accessible as well.

    As a follow up to last years I Walk The Line album, this is a very, very good record. Recommended.

Retro Reviews: Fanny: Charity Ball

 

    I decided to launch a new series to imagine myself as a critic at the end of the 60s and start of the 70s, and to rectify certain reviews from Rolling Stone magazine and Creem. This not meant to be contrarian, but to offer a more balanced perspective. These albums are lesser known titles.

Fanny – Charity Ball (1971)

*** ¾

Producer: Richard Perry

Musicians: June Milligan, Jean Milligan, Nickey Barclay, Alice de Buhr

Songs: Charity Ball, What Kind of Lover, Cat Fever, A Person Like You, Special Care, What’s Wrong With Me?, Soul Child, You’re The One, Thinking Of You, Place In The Country, A Little While Later

Reviewed by Matthew Anthony Allair

    The new album by Fanny, the all-female rock band is a great continuation of what they presented with the first. At first glance, the material may appear less gripping, but further inspection reveals additional growth. The Milligan sisters are a potent duo on guitar and bass, and keyboardist / singer Nickey Barclay and drummer / singer Alice de Buhr continue to astound. They have stayed true to their live, informal, relaxed performances from the first album, but there’s some additional production layering. Even the album cover retains their whimsy. While I can’t agree with my peers this is as strong as the first, I will admit, this is only by a small margin. There's a certain power pop element that could remind the listener of peers like Badfinger.

    The album opens with the good time rock n roll of “Charity Ball”. The New Orleans blues of “What Kind Of Lover” is fun, Nickey’s vocal is fiery and June’s lead is good, it’s possible that Fanny had already heard The Guess Who’s “Albert Flasher” as they have a similar feel. The RNB fused “Cat Fever” has a strong rhythm shuffle from de Buhr. June’s lead guitar, and Nickey’s Piano lead tradeoffs give this some life and builds to a fiery end. The Country fused “A Person Like You” has a nice playfulness. The band wrote all of the material except for the next number, a Buffalo Springfield / Steven Stills cover of “Special Care”, has a good vocal from June and guitar lead.

    Things are brought down by the acoustic ballad “What’s Wrong With Me”, some really strong harmony vocals and the nice touch of a tasteful organ refine the number. The standout moments for “Soul Child” is the bass and the interplay with the B3 Organ, there’s an interesting switch up before a great organ solo, fair to say there's a funk infusion with the keyboards. “You’re The One” has an unexpected slow burn, but moves into playful territory. “Thinking Of You” has a dynamic opening for a ballad, but probably should be the single – there’s some real song craft there. “Place In The Country” is another country blues offering, Nickey, June and Alice are really allowed to shine in the number. The closing ballad “A Little While Later”, musically has a certain whimsy, but there’s a lyrical introspection that keeps it interesting, there’s a baroque pop quality to the second half of the number, building into a fitting conclusion for the album.

    The band and the four women who comprise it, remain a very talented group of players that should not be underestimated. This album leaves me curious within where they will go next. Recommended.