Designed in 1928 by Charles N. Agree for dance hall entrepreneurs Edward J. Strata and his partner Edward J. Davis, the Grande started off as a place Detroiters would go to dance and listen to jazz and big band sounds, but it would later achieve immortal status in the annals of music history as a rock venue. It is arguably the birthplace of punk and hard-driving rock, where bands like The MC5 and The Stooges cut their chops and became legends.
The building was designed in the Moorish Deco style and contained storefront space on the first floor and on the second a ballroom with Moorish arches featuring a floor on springs that gave dancers the feeling of floating. The dance floor held 1,500 dancers and was one of the largest in the city. Its ground floor had several retail tenants, such as W.T. Grant Department Stores, Beverly's and a drugstore. The neighborhood was a predominately Jewish enclave in the 1930s and '40s.
By 1961, the Grande was the only venue in the city with any semblance of what ballroom dancing used to be.
The ballroom did not serve liquor, "nor do we allow persons who have been drinking on the premises. This is not a pickup place," she told the News. "We do not emphasize the type of dancing or create the kind of atmosphere that appeals to troublemakers."
Russ Gibb, a social studies teacher at Maples Junior High School in Dearborn was a popular local radio DJ at the time. Gibb took a trip out to San Francisco to visit a friend in early 1966 and paid a visit to the storied Fillmore Auditorium and saw The Byrds. When he returned to Detroit, he set out to bring Bill Graham's Fillmore to the Motor City. He scouted out several locations, including the then-closed, since-demolished Gayety Burlesque theater on Cadillac Square downtown and the ballroom of the Statler Hotel on Grand Circus Park, which also has been razed. He settled on the Grande, which was near the neighborhood he grew up in back in the 1940s and entered a rent-to-buy deal with the Kleinman family.
The Grande opened the evening of Oct. 7, 1966, to a crowd of about 60 people turning out to see the Chosen Few and The MC5. Before long, the rock music and the counter-culture environment started luring kids from the suburbs eager to shed the ties and ditch the Brylcreem. The Grande became "the embassy for the suburban youth, whose parents had spirited them out of Detroit forever," Sinclair said. "They kind of thought the shopping malls were kind of lame, you know? They wanted to do something more interesting, so they started coming into the city. … Just as their parents feared, it rubbed off."
It featured one of the largest strobe lights ever built at the time. While Gibb, who was paying about $700 a month in rent, started off booking local acts like the MC5, Stooges, SRC, The Frost and the Rationals, in 1967, he started bringing in famous touring rock acts, the first being Vanilla Fudge on Dec. 15. Other rock legends soon followed, pummeling the sweaty crowds in temperatures that sometime reached 100 degrees: Led Zeppelin, John Lee Hooker, the Yardbirds, Cream, Pink Floyd, Canned Heat, the Jeff Beck Group, The Byrds, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Chuck Berry, Howlin' Wolf, the Velvet Underground, Canned Heat, the Steve Miller Band, Country Joe and the Fish, Blue Cheer, Tim Buckley and more all played the Grande.
The Grande's final show came on New Year's Eve 1972. Gibb had started booking shows at bigger venues, including the Michigan Palace (formerly the Michigan Theatre), and in other cities across the Midwest. "A big frustration for me was the New York and Hollywood agents," Gibb said. "If I wanted to have The Doors play, I had to take two or three of their bands, too. I wanted to put local bands on the bill. The greed was incredible. Plus, people were always thinking we were dopers and the cops were giving us a hard time. …
by Dan Austin
Tracks
1. Opening Announcement - 0:14
2. Rock And Roll Music - 3:10
3. Sweet Lady Love - 4:22
4. Baby Once You Got It (Bob Rigg, Don Hartman, Gordy Garris) - 5:26
5. Donny's Blues (Don Hartman) - 7:49
6. Black As Night - 3:59
7. 1500 Miles (Through The Eye Of A Beatle) (Don Hartman) - 2:57
8. Take My Hand-Mystery Man (Dick Wagner, Don Hartman) - 10:10
9. Black Train - 3:56
10.We Gotta Get Out Of This Place (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil) - 16:50
All songs by Dick Wagner except where noted
Frost’s final and, in Dick Wagner’s opinion, best album, “Through The Eyes Of Love”, was released in 1970. The album contained seven great songs including two, Wagner’s “Black As Night” and Donny Hartman’s “Fifteen Hundred Miles (Through The Eye Of A Beatle)”, that had been originally recorded at the Grande Ballroom but left off of “Rock and Roll Music”. Despite the overall quality of “Through The Eyes Of Love”, the Frost again fell victim to Vanguard’s lack of support and the album sold poorly.
Wagner related in an interview in 2003 that when the Frost went out to San Francisco to open for B.B. King at the Fillmore West in support of their new album, the crowds loved them but everywhere they went their records were nowhere to be found. Vanguard had sent no representatives to support them, so without vital label promotion no one in the cities they were playing in knew anything about the Frost. Band members felt that their record label had let them down and that they were basically on their own. This in turn resulted in resentment and a loss of group morale.
According to Wagner, the end came when drummer Bobby Riggs became upset that the band wasn’t getting the adulation on the road that it routinely received in Michigan. At the start of a tour of Canada, Riggs decided he no longer wanted to continue, and he left the rest of the group in Toronto and flew home. Wagner had to cancel the remaining shows, and that signaled the demise of the original Frost. Hartman and Riggs later tried to rekindle the Frost in 1971 and 1972 with new bassist Rick Bozzo and keyboardist Robin Robbins, but without Wagner and Garris, the band was only a pale shadow of its former self.
After the Frost break-up, Dick Wagner traveled to New York where his manager pitched him the idea of joining a band he was putting together called Ursa Major.
Originally, Billy Joel was to be the keyboardist in the trio. Joel at that time, however, was undergoing some severe emotional problems and had to drop out of the project. Wagner recruited bassist and keyboardist Greg Arama from Michigan’s Amboy Dukes to fill the void. Dick Wagner then took over leadership in the band and wrote all seven songs for the band’s self-titled debut album, “Ursa Major”, produced by Bob Ezrin.
Although the album received positive reviews and Ursa Major toured as an opening act for both Alice Cooper and Beck, Bogart & Appice, the album didn’t sell and the band dissolved. Wagner was then called by producer Bob Ezrin to play guitar on some Alice Cooper sessions. Dick played uncredited on the “School’s Out”, “Billion Dollar Babies” and “Muscle Of Love” albums and established a close friendship with Alice.
The connection with producer Ezrin led to Wagner’s next gig, playing guitar on Lou Reed’s “Berlin” album. Dick and fellow Michigander Steve Hunter, who also played on “Berlin”, then joined Reed’s touring band. This resulted in 1974’s highly acclaimed “Rock ‘N’ Roll Animal” live album on which the twin guitars of Wagner and Hunter overshadowed Lou Reed’s performance.
After the break-up of the original Alice Cooper band, Cooper decided to go solo and Wagner was brought in to help Alice write a ‘concept’ album. The two went to Nassau in the Bahamas and eventually came up with ideas and songs for the “Welcome To My Nightmare” album. Wagner and Cooper settled into a songwriting partnership in which Dick would compose the music and Alice would come up with the lyrics. The album’s big hit single was a ballad called “Only Women Bleed”. Cooper changed the words to a song Dick had written back in 1968 called “I’m Moving On”. Released as “Only Women”, the single was a huge hit and it helped propel the ‘Welcome To My Nightmare Tour’ into one of the biggest and most successful rock productions of the 1970’s. The tour’s elaborate stage show, which featured both Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter on guitars, set the standard for Rock and Roll theatrics.
The songwriting partnership between Cooper and Wagner flourished for the next few albums before Alice’s alcoholism got the best of him. The pair collaborated on three more hit big singles in the late 70’s, “I Never Cry”, “You And Me”, and “How You Gonna See Me Now”, before Cooper was institutionalized for his drinking problems.
Since that time, Dick has done some solo projects, wrote hit material for Air Supply, worked off and on with Alice Cooper, and joined John Bradshaw in the Remember The Child project. He returned to Saginaw in the 1990’s and opened his own recording studio. While in Saginaw, Wagner performed his Remember The Child music with John Bradhaw, the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, and a gospel choir during a memorable outdoor concert on the Campus of Saginaw Valley State University.
Donny Hartman lives in Northern Michigan and performs and records with the Donny Hartman Band. Bobby Riggs has played with Wagner and Hartman in several Frost reunions, and he recorded the CD single, “This Band Can Rock And Roll Forever/In The Middle Of The Night” with them in 1999 as part of the Frost 30th Anniversary Tour. After the Frost, Gordy Garris played in Whipeye and then in the Gordy Garris Band. He continues to be involved in music as a songwriter, but he has not participated in the Frost reunions.
In 2005, Dick Wagner closed his Saginaw recording studio and moved permanently to Phoenix, Arizona. In 2007, he suffered a major heart attack. Happily, Dick is on the road to recovery, and he is playing guitar again and producing a new artist called Wensday for his independent label Desert Dreams Records. Wagner has recently been working with his old guitar partner Steve Hunter, and there is a possibility that Dick and Alice Cooper may write together again in the near future.
Frost was voted into Michigan Rock and Roll Legends in 2008. "Mystery Man" was voted a Legendary Michigan Song in 2010.
Tracks
1. Black As Night - 7:37
2. Fifteen Hundred Miles (Through The Eyes Of A Beatle) (Donny Hartman) - 3:39
3. Through The Eyes Of Love - God Helps Us Please - 6:16
4. Maybe Tomorrow - 2:53
5. It's So Hard - 4:51
6. A Long Way From Home - 3:53
7. Big Time Spender - 4:32
All songs by Dick Wagner except where stated
Growing up in Memphis, Tennessee, he acquired a broad taste in music...records from blues greats such as Sonny Boy Williamson and Freddie King were placed alongside the Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra discs in his collection. Nix first started playing guitar but picked up the saxophone for his first real band.
The Mar-Keys were "a high school band" formed by Messick High School students. Along with Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn, Wayne Jackson, Andrew Love, Charlie Freeman, Packy Axton and others, they recorded "Last Night", an instrumental record intended for local radio that became an international hit in 1961, establishing the foundation of Stax Records. The group had follow up hits "The Morning After" and "Popeye Stroll".
They toured the world (with acts such as the Yardbirds, Ike and Tina Turner, Sam the Sham, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, etc.) and backed up various other Stax artists (Carla and Rufus Thomas, William Bell, etc.) onstage and in the studio.
The band eventually broke up following a rowdy appearance on American Bandstand (Packy Axton arrived at the studio taping less than sober and the entire band gave Dick Clark the "finger" afterwards) with Cropper and Dunn joining Booker T. and the MG's, and Wayne Jackson forming the Memphis Horns with Andrew Love. Other members of the original group included renown session guitarist Charlie Freeman and Jerry Lee "Smoochie" Smith.
After years of touring with the Mar-Keys, Nix was tired of the travel and uninterested with the show business aspect of playing onstage. He found his niche creating and directing music production behind the scenes.
He played the part of backup musician to tracks cut at Stax studios (including William Bell's huge hit You Don't Miss Your Water and eventually wore the hat of record company exec, overseeing the day to day operations of Stax's rock themed subsidiary label Enterprise.
Nix honed his production skills at Stax, John Fry's Ardent Studios, and at Leon Russell and Denny Cordell's Shelter label, producing artists such as Albert King, Delaney and Bonnie, Joe Cocker, Sid Selvidge and Tracy Nelson.
Despite his reluctance to ever beome a front man or stage performer, Nix released brilliant (but underrated) solo albums on Shelter and Enterprise, such as Living By The Days and Hobos, Heroes, and Street Corner Clowns. Well worth the listen, Nix used the finest musicians and vocalists from Memphis (Larry Raspberry, Jeannie Greene, etc.), Muscle Shoals, and the crowd at Shelter, known as the Shelter People (Claudia Lennear, Kathi McDonald, Chris Blackwell, Carl Radle, Don Preston, etc.) as players.
Nix's most notable project during this period was producing childhood hero Freddie King at the famous Chess Studios in Chicago. Leon Russell and Duck Dunn played on the session which produced a hit record for King, a song penned by Nix entitled "Goin' Down" , which has become somewhat of a standard jam tune with bar bands and rock stars alike. It has been covered by Deep Purple, Pearl Jam, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Mick Jagger, Maggie Bell with Stone the Crows and many others.
Jeff Beck covered "Goin Down" on his 1972 Jeff Beck Group album on Epic, and the next year Nix produced his colaboration with ex- Vanilla Fudge members Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice titled Beck, Bogart, and Appice.
Despite his reluctance to go back on the road, it was a necessity for Nix to tour and promote his solo albums. He formed the Alabama State Troupers around the premise of recreating an old time traveling music show.
Nix teamed with singer Jeannie Greene and guitarist Lonnie Mack, and they hit the road to promote their individual solo albums, backed by the finest musicians from Muscle Shoals and Memphis.
The group included Wayne Perkins and Tippy Armstrong on guitar, Clayton Ivey on piano, organist Ken Woodley, Bob Wray on bass, Ken Woodley on keyoards, drummers Tarp Tarrant (from Jerry Lee Lewis's band) and Fred Proudly (formely of the Hot Dogs), and the "Mt. Zion choir" with singers Marilyn Greene, Brenda Patterson, Mary "Bouche" Anderson, Carolyn "Pepper" Watkins and Marianne "Tweety" Watkins along with bodyguard/bouncer/cook "Sweet Emily" Smith. The band was a rock and roll version of a big tent revival.
They played shows up and down the west coast (most were simucast on local FM radio), and charged "plain folk prices" (usually $1 or $1.50). The tour was a wild success but ran into trouble when Lonnie Mack unexpectedly pulled out after the first few shows.
Nix turned to an old friend from Memphis, legendary Beale street bluesman Walter "Furry" Lewis for help. Lewis fought his fear of flying and caught the first plane west to join the tour.
The presence of a true authentic bluesman meshed with the younger players onstage was new and unexpected to the early 70's rock audiences, but they were remarkably well received. Lewis continued until the tour ended, and the next year Elecktra released the album The Alabama State Troupers/Road Show.
This two disc live recording is out of print, but is still considered a "must hear" for all Memphis music collectors and listeners.
One notable career event was her collaboration with George Harrison and many others in the production of the Concerts for Bangladesh - a pair of star-studded benefit concerts held at Madison Square Garden.
Harrison asked Nix to assemble a "soul choir" for the show (Claudia Lennear, Marlin and Jeannie Greene, etc.) and later told Nix that he should join the singers onstage. Though reluctant, Nix explains that "you don't say 'no' to a Beatle."
Apple intended to release a three disc album with a film to document the event,but the world class film team that Harrison commissioned to record the concerts were prevented from filming the shows ("right at the last minute" according to Nix) due to union regulations. A crew of Madison Square Garden union hacks apparently more familiar with sporting events actually filmed the concerts.
Blues rocker Bob “Catfish” Hodge grew up in Detroit, where he formed his first group while still at school. The city became world famous via the success of Motown, which inspired many young Detroiters, both black and white, to take up music as a career. In the late 60s Hodge founded the band Catfish. Emerging from a rock scene which starred the Stooges and the MC5, they recorded two LPs for Epic, neither of which sold well.
Hodge then self-released his first solo album, before moving to London to write some songs, hoping to become the next James Taylor. Instead he penned ‘Boogie Man’ and headed back to Detroit to get a record deal. Forming a new band, he went to see Westbound Records’ Armen Boladian, who invited George Clinton and Calvin Simon of Funkadelic to see them play.
Within weeks Hodge and his band were recording their first album, produced by Simon at Manta Studios in Toronto at the same time Funkadelic were making “America Eats Its Young”. A mix of boogie rock and soulful horns, “Boogie Man Gonna Get Ya” sold well and picked up good radio plays. A second album, “Dinosaurs And Alley Cats”, had a more laidback feel, most notably on ‘Circus Is In Town’.
Hodge then moved to Virginia, where he met Bonnie Raitt and played on many bills with her. Recorded in Los Angeles, his next album, “Soap Opera’s” (sic), was his most complex and featured a stellar line-up that included Raitt, Dr John, Birtha’s Rosemary Burton and the Flying Burrito Brothers’ Sneaky Pete Kleinlow.
Long out of print, this 2CD set brings together Hodge’s three Westbound and Eastbound albums, a handful of out-takes and a long-forgotten B-side. When we discussed this reissue, he was cheerful and happy with his past. When asked to look back on this period he said simply, “It was a very good time in my journey through life. It gave me a wonderful opportunity at the time when I was ready and able to take it.”
by Dean Rudland
Tracks
Disc 1
1. Different Strokes - 3:43
2. Ghetto - 3:07
3. Hungry Love - 6:49
4. I Want You (She's So Heavy) (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 5:23
5. I'll Be Gone - 3:06
6. Stop - 2:27
7. I'm The Man - 3:22
8. Boogie Man (Bob "Catfish" Hodge, Gary Shinder) - 9:36
9. Train To Detroit - 3:05
10.Heartbeat Of The Street (Bob "Catfish" Hodge, Gary Shinder) - 5:18
11.Color Tv Blues - 7:02
12.Circus Is In Town (Bob "Catfish" Hodge, Carol Hoffman) - 4:09
13.Never Tell Your Mother She's Out Of Tune (Jack Bruce, Pete Brown) - 6:03
14.Ten Speed Bike (Bob "Catfish" Hodge, Gary Shinder) - 2:48
15.Living The Blues - 5:49
16.Birmingham (Bob "Catfish" Hodge, Gary Shinder) - 4:57
All songs by Bob "Catfish" Hodge excpet where stated
Tracks 1-8 from "Boogieman Gonna Get Ya" 1972
Track 9 Unreleased
Tracks 10-16 from "Dinosaurs And Alleycats" 1974
Disc 2
1. What Those Wimmin Do - 4:32
2. Big Boss Man (Al Smith, Luther Dixon) - 5:36
3. We Got Love In Our House - 4:52
4. Keep Driving Me Crazy - 3:31
5. Silver Arrow - 4:09
6. Ain't It A Shame - 5:57
7. Bulldog - 1:50
8. Oscar Teo - 4:38
9. Des Woman - 3:24
10.It's All Over Now (Bobby Womack, Shirley Womack) - 4:55
11.Sweet Cocaine - 3:10
12.Take A Look In The Mirror - 4:01
13.For Free (Joni Mitchell) - 5:33
All songs by Bob "Catfish" Hodge excpet where noted
Tracks 1-2 Unreleased
Tracks 3-13 from "Soap Opera's" 1975
Musicians 1972 Boogieman Gonna Get Ya
*Bob "Catfish" Hodge - Vocals, Guitar
*Bob Babitch - Piano
*William H. Landless - Bass
*Pat Freer - Drums
*Jerry Paul - Percussion
*Dallas Hodge - Guitar
1974 Dinosaurs And Alleycats
*Bob "Catfish" Hodge - Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Organ
*William H. Landless - Bass
*Crispin Cloe - Baritone, Tenor Saxophones
*Dave Chambers - Drums
*"Shakey" Al Werneken - Guitar, Gong
*Dallas Hodge - Guitar, Vocals
*Bob Babitch - Piano
*Jim McCarty - Slide Guitar
*Carter Threlkeld - Trumpet
*Rachel O'Brien - Vocals
*Phyllis Gore - Vocals
*Richard Pinkston - Vocals
This double disc was recorded over two days in Atlanta in 1970. The venue was only 14 miles from the Allmans “Big House” in Macon, Georgia. So they feel at home.
Day one features some fine excursions, including a stompin’ version of “Hoochie Coochie Man” with Berry Oakley on vocals. It’s nasty. No other way to describe it. There’s a very nice version of the underrated “Dreams” that clocks in at almost 10 minutes and features solos by Duane and Dickey, and Gregg on vocal and organ. Even though Duane has been dead for more than 30 years, it would be hard to find a rock guitarist who sounds this sweet, but still plays with such incredible power. It’s an easy thing to forget what a magnificent player he was. Easy, that is, until you dial up on a tune with him playing. Anyway, disc one has some great music on it, including a “Mountain Jam” that gets interrupted by the rain.
But it’s disc two that lets you hear the Allman Brothers at their finest. Recorded two days after the first, on this disc they seem more comfortable, and they expand ideas throughout the set. Some of the songs are repeated from the first set, but, as you’d expect from a band that jams this much, things get changed around.
This version of “Statesboro Blues” is guaranteed to knock your socks off and make your rear end move. To really catch what this band is all about at their best, check out July 5th’s “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.” It’s a journey that has a lot of fun stops, and highlights each player’s strengths. It’s a shame some of today’s so-called jam bands can’t capture this feeling. No meandering. Everything, even when it appears to be found by chance, has a purpose.
Disc two also features a very cool version of “Stormy Monday,” a classic take on “Whipping Post,” and a 28-minute “Mountain Jam” with guest Johnny Winter.
Some of this has been bootlegged before, but the sound here is terrific. Kirk West’s liner notes are informative and fun, and there are some great photos in the small booklet.
by John Heidt, December 2005
Tracks
Disc 1
1.Introduction - 1:04
2.Statesboro Blues (Blind Willie Mctell) - 6:05
3.Trouble No More (McKinley Morganfield) - 4:04
4.Don't Keep Me Wonderin' (Gregg Allman) - 3:49
5.Dreams (Gregg Allman) - 9:49
6.Every Hungry Woman (Gregg Allman) - 4:31
7.Hoochie Coochie Man (Willie Dixon) - 5:29
8.In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed (Dickey Betts) - 11:35
9.Whipping Post (Gregg Allman) - 14:47
10.Mountain Jam Part I (Gregg Allman, Duane Allman, Dickey Betts, J. Johnny Johnson, Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks) - 10:35
11.Rain Delay - 1:14
12.Mountain Jam Part II (Gregg Allman, Duane Allman, Dickey Betts, J. Johnny Johnson, Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks) - 6:51
Disc 2
1.Introduction - 1:10
2.Don't Keep Me Wonderin' (Gregg Allman) - 4:04
3.Statesboro Blues (Blind Willie Mctell) - 4:25
4.In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed (Dickey Betts) - 13:14
5.Stormy Monday (T. Bone Walker) - 9:04
6.Whipping Post (Gregg Allman) - 14:23
7.Mountain Jam (Gregg Allman, Duane Allman, Dickey Betts, J. Johnny Johnson, Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks) - 28:20
Together, Country Joe & the Fish's third album, was the group's most consistent, most democratic, and their best-selling record. Unlike their first two albums, which were dominated by Country Joe McDonald's voice and compositions, Together featured the rest of the band -- guitarists Barry Melton and David Cohen, bassist Bruce Barthol, and drummer Chicken Hirsh -- almost as prominently as McDonald.
That's usually a formula for disaster, but in this case it gave the album more variety and depth: McDonald tended to favor droning mantras like the album-closing "An Untitled Protest," which worked better when contrasted with the likes of Melton's catchy anti-New York diatribe, "The Streets of Your Town," and the group-written "Rock and Soul Music." Songs like the latter cast the group as a soul revue, true, and they couldn't quite pull that off, but Together had the charming quality of unpredictability; you never knew what was coming next.
Unfortunately, what came next in the band's career was a split. Barthol was out by September 1968, Cohen and Hirsh followed in January 1969. Thereafter, McDonald and Melton fronted various Fish aggregations, but it was never the same, even when this lineup regrouped for Reunion in 1977.
by William Ruhlmann
Tracks
1. Rock And Soul Music (Country Joe McDonald, Barry Melton, David Cohen, Bruce Barthol, Gary "Chicken" Hirsh) - 6:54
2. Susan (Gary "Chicken" Hirsh) - 3:31
3. Mojo Navigator (Ed Denson, Barry Melton, Country Joe McDonald) - 2:27
4. Bright Suburban Mr. And Mrs. Clean Machine (Gary "Chicken" Hirsh, Barry Melton) - 2:22
5. Good Guys-Bad Guys Cheer-The Streets Of Your Town (Barry Melton) - 3:42
6. The Fish Moan - 0:28
7. The Harlem Song (Country Joe McDonald) - 4:23
8. Waltzing In The Moonlight (Gary "Chicken" Hirsh, Barry Melton) - 2:16
9. Away Bounce My Bubbles (Gary "Chicken" Hirsh) - 2:28
10.Cetacean (Bruce Barthol) - 3:41
11.An Untitled Protest (Country Joe McDonald) - 2:48
Country Joe And The Fish
*Country Joe McDonald - Vocals, Rap, Lead Guitar
*Barry Melton - Vocals, Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar
*David Cohen - Rhythm Guitar, Organ, Lead Guitar, Organ, Piano
*Bruce Barthol - Bass, Vocals, Backing Vocals
*Gary "Chicken" Hirsh - Drums, Vocals, Bells
By the mid-'70s, Lou Reed had been through a lifetime of rock 'n' roll experiences in just a little more than a decade. From early-'60s session work to the Velvet Underground to the unexpected chart success in the early '70s with the solo hit "Walk On the Wild Side," Reed was never one to stay in limbo. He followed his hit Transformer album with the dark and haunting Berlin, the live album Rock and Roll Animal and the back-to-basics Sally Can't Dance.
His next move remains one of the most famous middle fingers in the history of music: the 1975 release of Metal Machine Music, a double album of guitar feedback and other noise effects. Was it a joke, a bold artistic statement, a contractual obligation or all of these? In early 1976, Reed told an interviewer, "I committed a number of blasphemous acts that I can back myself up on, only in saying that it got me the chance to make Metal Machine Music, and it gave me the power to make Coney Island Baby my way, from top to bottom. That's why I did Metal Machine Music. It was supposed to clear the air. Most people, even if you are into electronic music, aren't going to listen to that."
Reed was back on a more conventional path with Coney Island Baby in early 1976, and by October, he returned with the self-produced Rock and Roll Heart, his seventh solo album. It's another of Reed's more conventional records, opening with the soul-injected "I Believe in Love," which surges along with R&B horns. Its refrain of "Good time music, good time rock 'n' roll" is a 180-degree turn from the barrage of noise found on Metal Machine Music.
Reed sticks to traditional music here: "Banging on My Drum" is a straightforward rocker, "Follow the Leader" is funky and "You Wear It So Well" is a soulful ballad. On "Ladies Pay," he even sounds like he's imitating Patti Smith imitating Lou Reed.
There's much use of horns on Rock and Roll Heart, bearing the influence of early rock 'n' roll and jazz that often hangs out in Reed's work. The closing "Temporary Thing," one of the album's best tracks, creates a tension that never breaks over five intense minutes as it borrows from the Velvets, jazz and soul music. "Rock 'n' Roll Heart" didn't get much love. But give it a chance. It's a fresh and intriguing listen, hardly the throwaway its critics claim.
by Dave Swanson, October 28, 2016
Tracks
1. I Believe In Love - 2:46
2. Banging On My Drum - 2:11
3. Follow the Leader - 2:13
4. You Wear It So Well - 4:52
5. Ladies Pay - 4:22
6. Rock & Roll Heart - 3:05
7. Chooser and the Chosen One - 2:47
8. Senselessly Cruel - 2:08
9. Claim to Fame - 2:51
10.Vicious Circle - 2:53
11.A Sheltered Life - 2:20
12.Temporary Thing - 5:13
All Songs by Lou Reed
Even though their previous studio release, Spectres, was one of the best selling albums of their career it just didn't live up to the monstrous ideology of that Blue Oyster Cult had created with such seminal releases as Secret Treaties and Agents of Fortune. Everything was there, to be true—searing leads, wonderfully out of place vocal harmonies, taut rhythms—but something was also missing. Funny thing is that it was almost as if the band knew that themselves and purposely realized that they needed to release a scorching live album to the public in order to reclaim some of that raucous bar band blast they were once so (in)famous for bringing.
To wit Some Enchanted Evening kicks off with "R.U. Ready 2 Rock," one of the more catchy, but also more lackluster offerings from Spectres. Needless to say, the live version is everything the studio version wasn't: it's loud, brash, and lives up to its title in every way, chugging and lunging out at the Atlanta audience with bristling energy and showcasing the band in their true element.
With "E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence)" the band keeps the energy levels in the red, the familiar guitar lick driving the crowd into a frenzy as Buck Dharma lets loose with some scorching mutant blues. This is still one of the best captured versions of this searing number out there. By the third song, the epic "Astronomy," the band is in full swing and showing and proving that they really can't f@#k this one up.
From the intricate and sweeping grandiosity of "Astronomy" the band kick full bore into the blazing cover of the MC5 classic "Kick Out The Jams." BOC simultaneously stay true to the original Detroit rock fever of the original while putting their own New York certified stamp on it. That it mudslides right into a turgid rendition of "Godzilla" is all the better, too. While the original version found on Spectres is a bona fide classic its given a breath of hot, magma filtered air in a live setting. Coupling it with "Don't Fear The Reaper" is altogether a smart move, both for the folks who were at the show twenty years ago and for those of us reliving the experience vicariously.
The set is rounded out with a wonderful take on The Animals "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place." Rolling along to Dharma's crisp guitar leads and snappy basslines from Joe Bouchard. It's a meandering lull that will suck you in. But there's a punch line: the track grows from a lumbering lope into a full-blown growl and snarl, from the vocals and guitars down to the flailing drums and rumbling bass. As brilliant as those fools who brew Guinness.
The original seven song version of Some Enchanted Evening is perhaps the best introduction one could have to the bugged out world of Blue Oyster Cult. The band presents some of their best material in a manner that is not only true to the studio recordings, but also delivers them with unmistakable energy imbued in a live setting. Give this to any BOC virgin and they'll be able to tie a cherry stem into a bow without thinking twice.
As for the bonus material, the new version tacks on an additional seven tracks to recreate the original vision of the album (it was initially intended as a sprawling double live album, but later trimmed down to the single disc version most hardcore heads will no doubt have tucked away in a dusty crate somewhere). While cuts like "ME-262" keep the energy levels on tilt, they also feel somewhat out of place. While only the first four tracks of the original issue were recorded in Atlanta, the remaining three were mixed so that it sounded like one singular show. In similar fashion the bonus material is made up of four tracks recorded in Detroit, buffered by selections from shows in Little Rock, Rochester, and Boston.
"Harvester Of Eyes" is a charging, old school BOC rocker. "Hot Rails To Hell" follows suit, the guitar skirling and cantankerous in a menacing bleed of grunge encrusted blitzkrieg. "This Ain't The Summer Of Love" gets a drastic overhaul, sounding edgier and heavier than the studio version. And "5 Guitars" is just as the name implies. Sort of. It begins with a rolling bass swatch and snappy snare drum shuffle before blowing out into nothing but six-string sizzle. At 8-minutes and 33-seconds it's also the longest track on the album. The bonus portion concludes with two covers: the pretty staid "Born To Be Wild" (with the exception of the over-the-top keyboard solo) and another version of "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place."
Whereas the original seven song live album feels like a whole, mixed to sound like a snapshot of a single show and presents all sides of the band, from balls-to-the-wall rock to textured, nuanced almost softly psychedelic allusions, the second seven song section feels like a completely different show, one where the band is hell-bent on recapturing their garage rock roots. It might have been cool to have had them sequenced in such a way that it sounded like one show instead of two distinctly different ones buffered up against one another. Oh yeah, for the seriously hardcore there is an accompanying DVD of a show from Landover.
All in all the new, expanded version of Some Enchanted Evening is a ripping good time that showcases Blue Oyster Cult at the top of their arena rock game. In many ways this album even eclipses some of their studio efforts and works as a welcome shift from their impending slickness that began on Spectres and carried over into some of their later work, as well.
3. Astronomy (Albert Bouchard, Joe Bouchard, Sandy Pearlman) - 8:26
4. Kick Out The Jams (Michael Davis, Wayne Kramer, Fred "Sonic" Smith, Dennis Thompson, Rob Tyner) - 3:07
5. Godzilla (Donald Roeser) - 4:08
6. (Don't Fear) The Reaper (Donald Roeser) - 6:09
7. We Gotta Get Out Of This Place (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil) - 4:40
8. Me 262 (Eric Bloom, Donald Roeser, Sandy Pearlman) - 3:24
9. Harvester Of Eyes (Eric Bloom, Donald Roeser, Richard Meltzer) - 4:35
10.Hot Rails To Hell (Joe Bouchard) - 5:01
11.This Ain't The Summer Of Love (Albert Bouchard, Murray Krugman, Don Waller) - 2:48
12.5 Guitars (Eric Bloom, Donald Roeser, Allen Lanier, Joe Bouchard, Albert Bouchard) - 8:34
13.Born To Be Wild (Mars Bonfire) - 6:30
14.We Gotta Get Out Of This Place (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil) - 4:36
DVD
1. R.U. Ready To Rock (Albert Bouchard, Sandy Pearlman) - 5:29
2. E.T.I. (Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) (Donald Roeser, Sandy Pearlman) - 5:04
3. Harvester of Eyes (Eric Bloom, Donald Roeser, Richard Meltzer) - 4:35
4. We Gotta Get Out Of This Place (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil) - 4:09
5. Golden Age of Leather (Bruce Abbott, Donald Roeser) - 6:48
6. Astronomy (Albert Bouchard, Joe Bouchard, Sandy Pearlman) - 8:18
7. ME 262 (Eric Bloom, Donald Roeser, Sandy Pearlman) - 3:24
8. Kick Out The Jams (Michael Davis, Wayne Kramer, Fred "Sonic" Smith, Dennis Thompson, Rob Tyner) - 3:03
9. This Ain't The Summer Of Love (Albert Bouchard, Murray Krugman, Don Waller) - 2:48
10.5 Guitars (Eric Bloom, Donald Roeser, Allen Lanier, Joe Bouchard, Albert Bouchard) - 8:34
11.Born To Be Wild (Mars Bonfire) - 6:30
Filmed in 1978 at the Capital Center, Largo, MD, all tracks previously unreleased.
Blue Oyster Cult
*Eric Bloom - Vocals, Guitar, Piano
*Joe Bouchard - Vocals, Guitar, Bass
*Albert Bouchard - Drums, Vocals
*Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser - Lead And Rhythm Guitars, Vocals
*Allen Lanier - Keyboards, Guitars
The career of Lou Reed defied capsule summarization. Like David Bowie (whom Reed directly inspired in many ways), he made over his image many times, mutating from theatrical glam rocker to strung-out junkie to avant-garde noiseman to straight rock & roller to your average guy. Few would deny Reed's immense importance and considerable achievements. As has often been written, he expanded the vocabulary of rock & roll lyrics into the previously forbidden territory of kinky sex, drug use (and abuse), decadence, transvestites, homosexuality, and suicidal depression. As has been pointed out less often, he remained committed to using rock & roll as a forum for literary, mature expression throughout his artistic life, without growing lyrically soft or musically complacent. By and large, he took on these challenging duties with uncompromising honesty and a high degree of realism. For these reasons, he was often cited as punk's most important ancestor. It's often overlooked, though, that he was equally skilled at celebrating romantic joy, and rock & roll itself, as he was at depicting harrowing urban realities. With the exception of Neil Young, no other star who rose to fame in the '60s continued to push himself so diligently into creating work that was, and remains, meaningful and contemporary.
Although Reed achieved his greatest success as a solo artist, his most enduring accomplishments were as the leader of the Velvet Underground in the '60s. If Reed had never made any solo records, his work as the principal lead singer and songwriter for the Velvets would have still ensured his stature as one of the greatest rock visionaries of all time. The Velvet Underground are discussed at great length in many other sources, but it's sufficient to note that the four studio albums they recorded with Reed at the helm are essential listening, as is much of their live and extraneous material. "Heroin," "Sister Ray," "Sweet Jane," "Rock and Roll," "Venus in Furs," "All Tomorrow's Parties," "What Goes On," and "Lisa Says" are just the most famous classics that Reed wrote and sang for the group. As innovative as the Velvets were at breaking lyrical and instrumental taboos with their crunching experimental rock, they were unappreciated in their lifetime. Five years of little commercial success was undoubtedly a factor in Reed leaving the group he had founded in August 1970, just before the release of their most accessible effort, Loaded. Although Reed's songs and streetwise, sing-speak vocals dominated the Velvets, he was perhaps more reliant upon his talented collaborators than he realized, or was even willing to admit in his latter years. The most talented of these associates was John Cale, who was apparently fired by Reed in 1968 after the Velvets' second album (although the pair subsequently worked together on various other projects).
Reed had a reputation of being a difficult man to work with for an extended period, and that made it difficult for his extensive solo oeuvre to compete with the standards of brilliance set by the Velvets. Nowhere was this more apparent than on his self-titled solo debut from 1971, recorded after he'd taken an extended hiatus from music, moving back to his parents' suburban Long Island home at one point. Lou Reed mostly consisted of flaccid versions of songs dating back to the Velvet days, and he could have really used the group to punch them up, as proved by the many outtake versions of these tunes that he actually recorded with the Velvet Underground (some of which didn't surface until about 25 years later).
Reed got a shot in the arm (no distasteful pun intended) when David Bowie and Mick Ronson produced his second album, Transformer. A more energetic set that betrayed the influence of glam rock, it also included his sole Top 20 hit, "Walk on the Wild Side," and other good songs like "Vicious" and "Satellite of Love." It also made him a star in Britain, which was quick to appreciate the influence Reed had exerted on Bowie and other glam rockers. Reed went into more serious territory on Berlin (1973), its sweet orchestral production coating lyrical messages of despair and suicide. In some ways Reed's most ambitious and impressive solo effort, it was accorded a vituperative reception by critics in no mood for a nonstop bummer (however elegantly executed). Unbelievably, in retrospect, it made the Top Ten in Britain, though it flopped stateside.
Having been given a cold shoulder for some of his most serious (if chilling) work, Reed apparently decided he was going to give the public what it wanted. He had guitarists Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner give his music more of a pop-metal, radio-friendly sheen. More disturbingly, he decided to play up to the cartoon junkie role that some in his audience seemed eager to assign to him. Onstage, that meant shocking bleached hair, painted fingernails, and simulated drug injections. On record, it led to some of his most careless performances. One of these, the 1974 album Sally Can't Dance, was also his most commercially successful, reaching the Top Ten, thus confirming both Reed's and the audience's worst instincts. As if to prove he could still be as uncompromising as anyone, he unleashed the double album Metal Machine Music, a nonstop assault of electronic noise. Opinions remain divided as to whether it was an artistic statement, a contract quota-filler, or a slap in the face to the public.
Later, Reed never behaved as outrageously (in public and in the studio) as he did in the mid-'70s, although there was plenty of excitement in the decades that followed. When he decided to play it relatively straight, sincere, and hard-nosed, he could produce affecting work in the spirit of his best vintage material (parts of Coney Island Baby and Street Hassle). At other points, he seemed not to be putting too much effort into any aspect of his songs ("Rock and Roll Heart").
by Richie Unterberger
Tracks
Disc 1 Lou Reed 1972
1. I Can't Stand It - 2:37
2. Going Down - 2:57
3. Walk and Talk It - 3:40
4. Lisa Says - 5:34
5. Berlin - 5:16
6. I Love You - 2:21
7. Wild Child - 4:41
8. Love Makes You Feel - 3:13
9. Ride Into The Sun (Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Maureen Tucker) - 3:16
Disc 5 Coney Island Baby 1975
1. Crazy Feeling - 2:56
2. Charley's Girl - 2:36
3. She's My Best Friend - 6:00
4. Kicks - 6:06
5. A Gift - 3:47
6. Ooohhh Baby - 3:45
7. Nobody's Business - 3:41
8. Coney Island Baby - 6:36
9. Nowhere At All - 3:17
10.Downtown Dirt - 4:18
11.Leave Me Alone - 5:35
12.Crazy Feeling - 2:39
13.She's My Best Friend - 4:08
14.Coney Island Baby - 5:41
All compositions by Lou Reed
Track 9 Recorded November 18, 21, 1975 At Mediasound Studios, NYC
Track 10 Recorded January 3, 4, 1975 At Electric Lady Studios, NYC
Track 11 Recorded October 19, 20, 1975 At Mediasound Studios, NYC
Track 12 Recorded January 3, 4, 1975 At Electric Lady Studios, NYC
Track 13 Recorded January 4, 1975 At Electric Lady Studios, NYC
Track 14 Recorded January 6, 1975 At Electric Lady Studios, NYC
Often looked at as the least attractive and least talented younger sibling to the monster Agents of Fortune, 1977's Spectres is actually quite strong on its own and holds up pretty well next to that breakthrough album. As SONY Legacy is slowly making their way through the catalog, this remaster is quite nice and a long time coming. All the original album cuts sound great, and there are four bonus tracks included, all songs recorded at the same sessions, and appearing here for the first time.
Making your way through this release, there really are a lot of intelligent, catchy, heavy rock tunes, some dripping with a dash of proggy atmosphere & texture, a little dose of "metal" here and there, but for the most part just very good rock music. Sure, the thing kicks off with the infamous "Godzilla", a snarling heavy rock beast that reminded fans that they could easily melt the speakers alongside Black Sabbath and Ted Nugent anyday. However, let's not forget the brash "Golden Age of Leather", or the super melodic "Death Valley Nights", complete with searing guitar licks from Donald 'Buck Dharma' Roeser. Spirited funk rock track "Searchin' For Celine" and the meditative rocker "Fireworks" both show the writing talents of Allen Lanier and Albert Bouchard, and the Eric Bloom/Ian Hunter penned "Goin' Through the Motions" is a great rock radio tune that surprisingly wasn't a smash hit. The heavy rocker "R.U. Ready 2 Rock" became a live favorite, and features crisp riffs from Buck and honky tonk piano from Lanier. "Celestial The Queen" is a grand & majestic tune that relies heavily on layers of vocals and Lanier's keyboard work. The last two tracks are quite interesting; "I Love the Night" is a tender piece written by Roeser, featuring his melodic vocals and an emotional guitar solo, while "Nosferatu" is a dark and mysterious piece about vampires, and comes pretty close to prog rock.
The bonus tracks are a mixed bag, but will be of great interest to fans. "Night Flyer" is a poppy rocker, "Dial M for Murder" features some snarling guitar work, an angry vocal from Bloom, and raging Hammond from Lanier, but "Please Hold" is pretty awful. The band's take on the Ronettes classic "Be My Baby" is suprisingly good, if a bit odd. After hearing these four songs, you'll realize why they were left off of Spectres, but it's great having them here so you can take in the entire session in one listen. Overall, this album might not be the immediate classic that Secret Treaties, Agents of Fortune, or Tyranny and Mutation are, but it comes close.
by Pete Pardo
The music is clean and precisely heard. The shouted parts in “Godzilla” are easily discernable while the clarity of the music is excellent. This is true throughout Spectres, which should please fans. The expanded parts of Spectres contain 4 bonus tracks recorded during the Spectre sessions but not used.The bonus cuts are easily discernible as having been from these sessions however, it’s also clear why they were left off. They are fun tracks and their inclusion here is worthy as it shows us a process of selection. These tracks feel out of place with the overall theme of the album but regardless add value to this new package. “Please Hold,” the third bonus cut is a mid-‘60s Stones-like song that holds well. The final bonus track, “Be My Baby” is a cover of The Ronettes’ popular, “Be My Baby” and is actually a very good cover at that, if not a curiosity, and an oft-traded BOC track - it reminds of the use of “Loco-Motion” by Grand Funk Railroad.
Tracks
1. Godzilla (Donald Roeser) - 3:41
2. Golden Age of Leather (Bruce Abbott, Donald Roeser) - 5:53
3. Death Valley Nights (Richard Meltzer, Albert Bouchard) - 4:07
4. Searchin’ for Celine (Allen Lanier) - 3:35
5. Fireworks (Albert Bouchard) - 3:14
6. R.U. Ready 2 Rock (Sandy Pearlman, Albert Bouchard) - 3:45
7. Celestial the Queen (Helen Wheels, Joe Bouchard) - 3:24
8. Goin’ Through the Motions (Eric Bloom, Ian Hunter) - 3:12
9. I Love the Night (Donald Roeser) - 4:23
10.Nosferatu (Helen Wheels, Joe Bouchard) - 5:23
11.Night Flyer (Joe Bouchard, Murray Krugman) - 3:48
12.Dial M For Murder (Donald Roeser) - 3:11
13.Please Hold (Albert Bouchard) - 2:47
14.Be My Baby" (Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Phil Spector) - 3:01
