SCOTTS HIDDEN TREASURE #62 - Multiple Personalities

[Scott]

So just like all successful collaborations, Jon and RJ's success as a duo has hit an impasse.  They called it "creative differences".  I think of it more like "irreconcilable differences", you know that check box on the divorce form?  Can this relationship be salvaged?  Well, I'm not sure the state of their relationship is a compelling reason to stay tuned, but this week’s playlist sure is...

I’m looking at Hidden Treasures from bands that showcased more than one Lead singer.  Much like RJ and Jon, we'll find out if these bands were able to co-exist with multiple lead men?  Let’s listen in...


Playlist Vitals...

• LINK: http://www.podsnack.com/playlists/7df16493fbd0e1d830c74e85a1125283
• LENGTH: 26 minutes 18 seconds

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TITLE: What'cha Gonna Do?
BAND: Pablo Cruise
ALBUM: A Place In The Sun
YEAR: 1977
LENGTH: 4:19
DID YOU KNOW: Initially, there were many fans that were left wondering who Pablo Cruise really was. When asked the question, the band would answer, "He’s the guy in the middle." When asked what Pablo Cruise meant, the band would say that "Pablo represents an honest, real, down to earth individual; and Cruise depicts his fun loving and easy going attitude towards life."

My first concert in 1978!  And such a sentimental favorite.  They were fronted by Dave Jenkins and Bud Cockrell.  Cockrell had an edge, a real guttural tone and passion that came through clearly.  Jenkins was clearly the better voice though.  Bud left after this album and the band started a slow decline, much to my dismay.

TITLE: Goin Home
BAND: Toto
ALBUM: Xx
YEAR: 1998
LENGTH: 5:16
DID YOU KNOW: Although "The Seventh One Tour" was very successful the band decided to replace lead singer Joseph Williams. During the European leg of the tour, Joseph had lost his voice before many of the performances. Originally, the band wanted to reunite with original vocalist Bobby Kimball to record new songs for a greatest hits record, but the record company instead insisted they hire South African singer Jean-Michel Byron. Before Byron was brought in, the band recorded "Goin Home."

Lukather, Kimball, Paich, Williams, Ferguson, Byron, etc...  Loads of talent in this band vocally.  But too many changes at the mic stand caused identity crisis for a period of time, at least until they took control of the band and plowed forward.  Lukather, Kimball and Paich still comprise the core of this band’s sound and they are as strong as ever.

TITLE: Ride The Tiger
BAND: Jefferson Starship
ALBUM: Dragon Fly
YEAR: 1974
LENGTH: 5:11
DID YOU KNOW: In the early 1970s, singer-guitarist Paul Kantner recorded Blows Against the Empire, a concept album featuring an ad hoc group of musicians and credited on the LP as "Jefferson Starship", marking the first use of that name.  This 'prototype' version of Jefferson Starship included David Crosby and Graham Nash and Grateful Dead members Jerry Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart, as well as some of the remaining members of Jefferson Airplane, lead singer Grace Slick, drummer Joey Covington and bassist Jack Casady.

Paul Kantner, Grace Slick, and Marty Balin.  THe ONLY Jefferson Starship worthy of purchasing.  Love the harmonies and the way they worked together, it came across so well on the vinyl, but not so well behind the scenes.  Alas, too many changes, too much tension, and this band split and reformed in many configurations.

TITLE: 21st Century Schizoid Man
BAND: April Wine
ALBUM: Harder ... Faster
YEAR: 1979
LENGTH: 6:25
DID YOU KNOW: Harder ... Faster proved to be yet another multi-platinum release for the band. It would stay on the Billboard top album chart for 40 weeks. The supporting tour for the album began as an opening slot for Nazareth on their national tour across the United States.

Myles Goodwin and Brian Greenway split at least one or two songs on each album..  Goodwin gets the majority of work though, he's a killer front and lead geetarist!  No tension here, just straight ahead rock and roll!  One of Canada's best!

TITLE: Hold On
BAND: Deep Purple
ALBUM: Come Taste The Band
YEAR: 1975
LENGTH: 5:05
DID YOU KNOW: There are at least two versions about the recruitment of Bolin: Coverdale claims to have been the one who suggested auditioning Bolin. "He walked in, thin as a rake, his hair colored green, yellow and blue with feathers in it. Slinking along beside him was this stunning Hawaiian girl in a crochet dress with nothing on underneath. He plugged into four Marshall 100-watt stacks and...the job was his". But in June 1975, Bolin himself claimed that he came to the audition following a recommendation from Blackmore.

David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes started strong with DP on Burn, and then they lost Blackmore with Stormbringer and then this final effort.  Funny thing is, this is a killer album top to bottom.  Hughes and Coverdale at their best. IMHO...

[Jon]

Do not get Walking Through Fire. I'll put it up next week as a L/F album and you'll see what I mean. 

 

I highly recommend Animal Grace and Attitude.

[Alan Christensen]

This is ALLMUSIC.COM's review of Walking Through Fire. - I just like and remember one of the single's from the release on the radio (Though I probably only heard it once or twice.

 

Last albums due record companies to fulfill record contracts are usually haphazard affairs, but bandleader/lead singer Myles Goodwyn, along with holdover guitarist Brian Greenway and three other musicians (just to fill out the band), produce a decent collection of more hits than misses. Because Goodwyn obviously had less static from departed bandmates, the material meanders in and out of hard rock and highlights more ivory work than any other April Wine album. The bouncy keyboard fare of "You Don't Have to Act That Way" is one of Goodwyn's forgotten gems.

[Jon]

Is Rock Myself To Sleep the single you heard? That's why I bought the album when it first came out and the rest made me cringe then, and still does. 

 

Starship also had a version of Rock Myself To Sleep, believe it was on their Knee Deep In Hoopla album.

[Alan Christensen]

 

You were right, I don't like this version as much. But yes, this is the song I've heard. I was just surfing you tube, found and remembered the April Wine version.

I'll read your review. Strange thing, Animal Grace and Walking Through The fire are now paired up as a 2-on-1 CD.

 

 

[Jon]

Yeah, and that's how I got Walking Through Fire on CD. Purchased that 2-fer because that's the only way to get a remastered version of Animal Grace.

[Jon]

Hey look! 21st Century Schizoid Man! I get it, Scott!

Guess I should have remembered this because I bought that Toto album all because of this SHT.

[Gordon Williams]

The mellowing of ol' man Gordy continues...

And by that I mean...I remember hearing the Pablo Cruise on the radio. Did n't like it one bit. It were n't rock enough for me. But now...I'm liking it, especially the vocal work. Musically, too "all keyboardy" for me, but vocally very strong. Nice guitar lead, though. Sounds double tracked, which I like.

Now Toto...for me they have always been a band I think of like I think of Queen. Loads of immense musical talent in the band, but I just can't dig it very much.

On the Starship...I like the album cover! Not enough to win a tournament or anything, but a pretty cool cover none the less. Nice sing along chorus, that will probably get stuck in my head today! And, like a lot of Starship, guitar all over the place! Like the drum work on this one...the main "beat"...is that some cowbell I hear?

The April Wine I've digged from the very first time I heard it many moons ago. Still a killer tune...and I love the extended middle section where all 3 guitar players trade off taking turns. I like the slight effect on the lead vocals, as well.

The Deep Purple is a completely new tune for me. My Deep Purple "fandom" began with "Machine Head" and went forward, up to this very moment. But for me, this tune does not meet DP standards. I think the lead vocal work is the best part of this track, but the chorus sounds like a church choir singing. I have no problem what so ever with church choirs...but on a rock record? The chorus sort of blemishes this song for me.

 

[Mike Mills]

None of these would be on the top shelf of my collection, but I liked the whole list, with the Starship, being my least favorite. I just heard the Pablo Cruise on the radio recently, it still sounds good!