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Plain and Fancy

Music gives soul to universe, wings to mind, flight to imagination, charm to sadness, and life to everything.

Plato

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Stu Nunnery - Stu Nunnery (1973 us, wide country folk rock, Vinyl edition)



If you’ve never heard of Stu Nunnery, you’re probably not alone, but it would be your loss. Nunnery is a singer/songwriter who released one self-titled album on the short-lived Evolution label in 1973. The nine-song LP showcased a heady talent, playing a mix of folk-rock that fans of Dan Fogelberg, James Taylor, Gordon Lightfoot and Jackson Browne should connect with immediately. 

Yet, Nunnery sounded like no one else. And if you’ve never heard him, read and listen on, for there’s plenty of great music to discover here.

Stu Nannery
"My story is a simple one. I did one album in 1973-74. Over the next couple of years, two of the cuts from that album“Madelaine” and “Sally From Syracuse”reached the Top 100 on the American charts. And in 1976 after I had left the company I was with“Lady It’s Time To Go,” which is on the flip side of the album, became the #1 Record in Rio de Janeiro and San Paulo, Brazil. 

And it was my recording of it, sold to a label called Copacabana Records, which was part of the RCA stable. And in 1976, I got a phone call after I had left the record company I was with, telling me I was a big star in South America, and, “Can you come down here and perform?”


Tracks
1. The Isle Of Debris - 5:30
2. And That's Fine With Me - 3:35
3. Sally From Syracuse - 3:58
4. Madelaine - 3:30
5. Lady It's Time To Go - 3:30
6. Your Rise - 2:51
7. Diminished Love - 3:23
8. The Lady In Waiting - 3:28
9. Roads - 5:10
All songs by Stu Nunnery

Musicians
*Andy Muson, Kirk Hamilton, Stu Woods - Bass
*Alan Schwartzeberg, Rick Marotta - Drums
*Eric Weissberg, Ken Kosek - Fiddle
*Al Gordoni, David Spinozza, Elliot Randall, Hugh McCracken, John Tropea - Guitar
*Buzzy Feiten - Bass
*Paul Griffin - Keyboards, Synthesizer
*Stu Nunnery -  Guitar, Vocals

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Sawbuck - Sawbuck (1972 us, excellent west coast psych with southern rock taste, Vinyl issue)



Sawbuck formed 1970  in San Francisco. On an office remodeling job, Ronnie Montrose met promoter Bill Graham, who introduced him to his partner, producer David Rubinson. Graham and Rubinson owned a small record label called Fillmore Records, and signed a recording contract with Sawbuck. 

Rubinson was especially impressed by Montrose--s talent and ambition. He set the guitarist up for session work with the Pointer Sisters and keyboardist Herbie Hancock before he arranged for Montrose's big break.

Montrose had been in the process of recording what would have been his first album with Sawbuck when David Rubinson, the producer, arranged an audition with Van Morrison. Montrose got the job and played on Morrison's 1971 album Tupelo Honey. 

Mojo Collins remembers,
One day I stumbled into the office of the Fillmore and met the secretary Annie, we quickly became friends and she opened the door for me to get a 45 record to Bill Graham, owner and manager of theJefferson Airplane and Marty Balin. He liked the record and I got hooked up with Annie and her friend Starr Donaldson who was playing Wolfie in the San Francisco version of "Hair" at a local theatre. 

We became friends and later I met Ronnie Montrose and Chuck Ruff along with Bill Church, who replaced our original bassist Kooch. This was the basic foundation for what became Sawbuck. We were signed to Fillmore Records and an album entitled "Sawbuck" was recorded in 1970-71 produced by the famed David Rubinson who also produced Moby Grape, Santana, Janis Joplin, The Chambers Brothers, Elvin Bishop, Cold Blood and Tower of Power.

For the next year or so we toured and opened for major acts and played the final week of the Fillmore West before it closed. During the making of the album, Ronnie was approached to do some commercial jingles and one was heard by Van Morrison, and Ronnie was gone, he later wound up with Edgar Winter and recruited Chuck Ruff from Sawbuck for The Edgar Winter Group, and that pretty much ended our tenure as a performing band. 

I came home to NC and tried to put together another Sawbuck, with my brother David Collins and a few of his friends, we toured for awhile when the album was released but fizzled out because of lack of support from the label. Around this time David Rubinson and Bill Graham split there partnership and Sawbuck was shelved. 


Tracks
1. Sing This Song - 3:50
2. Wound Up - 2:35
3. Oo Lolla Moore - 3:26
4. Virginia Woman (In Gear) - 3:07
5. There Will Be Love - 3:02
6. Believe - 3:07
7. Reno - 2:29
8. Mayday - 3:04
9. Sweet and Sour - 2:57
10.Lovin' Man - 2:35
11.Bible Burning - 4:03
12.Promised Land - 5:27
All songs written by Mojo Collins except Reno' written by Stephen Hatley and Chuck Ruff.

Sawbuck
*Mojo Collins - Lead vocals, Guitars
*Starr Donaldson - Guitar, Vocals
*Chuck Ruff - Drums
*Stephen Hatley - Keyboards, Acoustic Guitar
*Nine Year – Bass
Guest Musicians
*Ronnie Montrose – Guitar Track 6 & 10
*Bill Church – Bass
*Boots Rolph Stuart Hughston - Saxophone
*Andrew Narell - Steel Drum
*Sami - Congas
*Hungria Carmello Garcia - Timbales
*Arsinio Avizaro - Vocals
*Raymond Clough - Vocals

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