IAN THOMAS / THE RUNNER

Digitized from the original Vinyl LP, released in 1981 on Anthem Records.
Format: Mp3
Bit Rate: 320 kbps
ALBUM INFO:
Produced By: Ian Thomas & John Lombardo
Engineered By: Ian Thomas, Greg Roberts & Mick Walsh
Recorded & Mixed At: Grant Avenue Studios, Hamilton, Ontario
Cover Art: Deborah Samuel
TRACK LISTING:
Hold On
Stringin' A Line
Chains
Embers From The Fire
When I Need Someone
Borrowed Time
I Am The One
Goner
Freefall In Stardust
The Runner
THE PLAYERS:
Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion & Vocals: Ian Thomas
Bass: Steve Hogg
Bass (Hold On, Stringin' a Line, Chains & Embers From the Fire): Peter Cardinali
Drums: Jorn Andersen
Keyboards & Background Vocals: Hugh Syme
Percussion: Dick Smith
Saxophone: John Johnson
Guitar: John Zaslow
WEBSITE(S):
http://www.ianthomasband.com/

REVIEWS:

By Yours Truly

The fact that this man has been largely ignored south of the border, that border being Canada, should be a federal crime. I fail to understand how it is that his name is not a household item. Since the early 70's he's been producing at the very least excellent pop / rock music but except for one or maybe two hits he's never even been close to being on the radar in the states.

While this LP is not his best work it's still stands head and shoulders above most everything else that came out in 1981. He released 4 albums during the 80's decade, the last one being Levity, a personal favorite of mine, but this one is still a very enjoyable album and one you should hear if you're an appreciator of the man's talent.

Ian is also responsible for the Boomers who recorded 4 albums between 1991 and 2003. Those 4 albums are simply amazing and after hearing those you can't help but come back to Ian's earlier stuff with a greater appreciation for all his work. My recommendation would be to snatch up anything you can find with Ian's name on it because at the very least it's going to be high quality, whether it's his solo stuff or the Boomers CD's. He's also recently released his second book and is now talking about a new album. I'd say it's about time to that and will be looking forward to what he's got to say if and when that CD hits the stores.

Tom

CONTACT:

READ THIS for more information on this album.

JAY FERGUSON / TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Digitized from the original Vinyl LP, released in 1980 on Capitol Records.
Format: Mp3
Bit Rate: 320 kbps
ALBUM INFO:
Produced By: Jay Ferguson & Michael Verdick
Assistant Engineers: D.C. Snyder, Terry Nelson, James Geddes, Gary Lubow
Recorded At: Sound City, Van Nuys, California; Santa Barbara Sound, Santa Barbara, California
Mixed At: Location Recording Service, Burbank, California
Cover Art: Mitchell Funk
TRACK LISTING:
Love At The Red Line
Modern Girl
This Is Your Life (Take A Little, Take A Lot)
The Last Laugh
Missing Persons
You Should Know Better Than That
Local Color
Hard Enough Being A Man
My Baby's Eyes
The Juggler
THE PLAYERS:
Jay Ferguson - Keyboards, Lead Vocals
Bob Webb - Guitar, Vocals
Robbie Alpert - Keyboards
David White - Bass, Vocals
Curly Smith - Drums
Guests:
Joe Walsh - Guitar
Tony Battaglia - Guitar
Harry Stinson - Vocals
Jim Horn - Recorder, Sax
Terry Nelson - Percussion
WEBSITE(S):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Ferguson_(American_Musician)

http://www.bostream.nu/johanb/jay/

REVIEWS:

By Yours Truly

I was a big SPIRIT fan back in the day, remember listening to Mechanical World and Fresh Garbage on a late night underground radio show and picking up their first album not long after that but this isn't Spirit, this is just the voice of Spirit, Jay Ferguson, years later, trying to keep a solo career going.

This LP is another one of those that got lost in the deluge of crap at the beginning of the 80's and while it's not an earth shakingly great album it has enough good music on it to warrant giving it a listen. Others will argue that his earlier solo albums or his Jo Jo Gunne stuff is better than this one but to each his own I guess. I'd say his vocal work in Spirit was his best stuff. There's nothing that jumps right out at me on this disc, but the quality of the tunes is fairly consistent and the production is well done. Jay put out one more solo album in '82 before tossing in the towel on performing and went into writing music for TV. Hey, a guy's gotta make a living and times change. I sometimes wonder if I'd had the courage to pursue the musical career I dreamed of and worked towards where I'd be now and what I'd be doing. Like to think I'd still be out there putting it down, but unless the big guy decides to grant me overs I guess we'll never know........

Rock and Roll kids.

CONTACT:

READ THIS for more information on this album.

ON SECOND THOUGHT.....

Due to recent events in blogland I've decided to try a different tact that may or may not work, depending on the response I get. Basically it'll be up to you that have visited here in the past and you who are visiting for the first time now how well it works and whether or not I keep it going. Here's how it's gonna work, hope you'll give it a go....
So here you are for the first time and you've found an album (or 2) you'd like to know more about for research purposes. Research purposes are defined as listening to new music in a non-radio format to determine if you like it enough to plunk down your hard earned change to buy a sonically high quality CD copy of the album. This is how I spend my blog time and as a fellow audiophile I'll assume that you do the same....
So, at the end of every post where it used to say DOWNLOAD, it'll now say CONTACT with instructions. What you'll do once you've found something you want more information about is to drop me a line (Email, NOT a comment) saying Hey, Mr. Music Guru (or something else equally cute) I'd really like to know more about [INSERT ALBUM TITLE HERE] by [INSERT PERFORMER NAME HERE]. My Name is [INSERT NAME HERE] BTW.....handles are acceptable if that's how you want to be adressed. I live in [INSERT TOWN, STATE AND COUNTRY HERE]
I'd really like to know what town y'all are from, for you brave souls who aren't overly paranoid, but I'll settle for state and country. This info isn't accumlated so I can use it against you or sell it to someone else......it's to develop a mailing list database of music loving friends just "in case" and world map of visitors ( I have a map fetish).

Once I receive your request with the above info, I'll drop you a line back that will contain the info requested.

You'll only have to play this game the first time through. Once I have your Email addy and name in the data base....the next time you find something that looks interesting all you'll have to do is drop me a line with your request(s) for info and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Sometimes it may be a day or two so patience is a virtue here.

One thing I want to avoid are anonymous requests. If you're too fearful of Big Brother to share your name (or Suitable Handle) then you probably shouldn't be on the net in the first place....you should probably be out in Montana somewhere in a bunker with a 90 day food supply and a butt load of ammo. :-) Of course if you're not from North America you'll have to find a likewise suitable place to hide out in your part of the world.
If this ends up being a bust and no one decides to participate then I'll pull the plug on the blog and move on. No harm, No foul. It's not like this world is gonna miss one little ole blog that was just trying to share some music. The irony here is that if the self proclaimed geniuses in the music biz had gotten off their collective fat asses and did their job at the time and promoted this music when it was new there would be no need for others to do their job now! Can I get a Big DUH! ?
Anyhow, hope to hear from some of ya that I've talked to in the past, feel free to give me your thoughts on this project.

Oh! and if you do have a bunker in Montana, or Idaho for that matter and a little bit of extra room......I don't eat much and I'm a pretty good shot! :-O

Cut & Paste the following into an email, not in the comment section.
Hey, TC

My Name is: [ first and last name, or if you must, your handle.]

I live in [ town or city, (state), country, planet]

I'd like more info on [ Album Title By Performer/Artist/Band]

Tc

LOOKS LIKE THE PARTY'S OVER FOR NOW KIDS!

So much for my big plans this winter eh?

Looks like some schmuck had to get the goons involved instead of just writing me and asking for the offending link to be removed.

I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do at this point but I'd suggest you grab what you want pretty quick now cuz I'll more than likely kill this blog in the near future so I don't lose my other blogs due to another attack of anonomous terriorism. If I can find the time and garner up the enthusiasm I may move the whole mess to my own website. You'll have to have my main page addy to check in on that. I find it amazing that they've targeted me with some of the other sites I see out there in my travels but hey, just my luck I guess.........Stay in touch folks and keep yer eyes open.....you never know what might be coming down......

Tc
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Affected URLs:
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B.T.O. / STREET ACTION

Digitized from the original vinyl, released in 1978 on Mercury Records.
Format: Mp3
Bit Rate: 320Kbps
ALBUM INFO:
Produced By: B.T.O.
Engineered By: Rolf Hennemann, Jeff Tolman
Recorded At: Can Base Studios, Vancouver, B.C. Canada
Cover Art: James Omara
TRACK LISTING:
I'm In Love
Down The Road
Takes A Lot of People
A Long Time For A Little While
Street Action
For Love
Madison Avenue
You're Gonna Miss Me
The World Is Waiting For A Love Song
THE BAND:
C.F. Turner - Guitar, Vocals
Rob Bachmn - Drums, Percussion
Blair Thornton - Guitar
Jim Clench - Bass, Vocals
Guests:
John Hall - Keyboards on I'm In Love
Tom Keenlyside - Sax on Madison Avenue
WEBSITE(S):
http://www.btorocks.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachman-Turner_Overdrive
http://hem.passagen.se/re1/bto.html

REVIEW:
By Yours Truly
Here's an album by a band that most everybody out there has heard of. Just to prove that it Doesn't have to be way out by the left field fence to get on this blog I thought I'd put this one up for a bit of a change of pace. Back in the 70's these boys were a good rock and roll band and like a lot of folks I bought the first 2 releases. After the first two I lost interest though and didn't pay much attention until a friend played this release for me not long after it came out and I found that I really liked it.

It's funny to me that what has become my favorite album of theirs doesn't include the band's namesake, Randy Bachman, who'd wandered off to do a solo album. While I think this is a solid album of basic 70's rock and roll my particular favs are "A long time for a little while, Madison Avenue & The World is Waiting for a love song". It doesn't seem this album has gotten much attention in the music blog world so I thought I'd do my part and share my favorite B.T.O. album. Rock on kids!

Tom

CONTACT:

READ THIS for more information on this album.

TRANQUILITY / TRANQUILITY

Digitized from the original vinyl, released in 1972 on Epic Records.
Format: Mp3
Bit Rate: 320Kbps
ALBUM INFO:
Produced By: Ashley Kozak, A Zacko Production
Engineered By: Keith Harwood
Recorded At: Olympic Sound Studios, London, England
Cover Art: Mishi
TRACK LISTING:
Try Again
Ride Upon The Sun
Where You Are (Where I Belong)
Look At The Time, It's Late
Lady Of The Lake
Wak Along The Road
Thank You
Oyster Catcher
Black Current Betty
Happy Is The Man
Saying Good-Bye
THE BAND:
Terry Shaddick - Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar
Tony Lukyn - Keyboards, Vibes, Mellatron, Backing Vocals
Berkeley Wright - Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals
Kevin McCarthy - Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals
Bernard Hagley - Bass
Paul Francis - Drums Percussion
Guests:
Jim Leverton - Bass
John Perry - Bass
Eric Dillon - Drums, Percussion
WEBSITE(S):
http://www.vanityfare.co.uk/tranq.htm

REVIEW:
By Yours Truly
And this is the first album of 2 that this band put out. After listening to both these albums a 100 times or more I still can't decide If I have a favorite one. They both have their low points and high points but this one, being their debut effort is pretty impressive on the first play.

As I said previously, listening to this album you'll find a mix of eclectic songs all tied together with excellent musicianship and fantastic vocals and harmonies. It's just beautiful upbeat music that soothes the soul.

Trying to describe their music is difficult. They really have a pretty unique sound which I'm sure would've gotten better with time but if I had to call it something I guess I'd go with Folk Prog....how's that? Give it a listen and then tell me what you think.

Tom

CONTACT:

READ THIS for more information on this album.

TRANQUILITY / SILVER

Digitized from the original vinyl, released in 1972 on Epic Records.
Format: Mp3
Bit Rate: 320Kbps
ALBUM INFO:
Produced By: Ashley Kozak, A Zacko Production
Engineered By: Mike Ross
Recorded At: CBS Studios, Whitfield Steet, London, England
Cover Art: Bob Schulenberg
TRACK LISTING:
Eagle Eye
Can I See You
Linda
Whip Wheel
The Driver's Engine
Couldn't Possibly Be
Nice And Easy
Dear Oh Dear
Silver
The Tree
THE BAND:
Terry Shaddick - Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar
Tony Lukyn - Keyboards, Vibes, Mellatron, Backing Vocals, Lead Vocals On "Linda"
Berkeley Wright - Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals
Kevin McCarthy - Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals, Lead Vocal on "The Driver's Engine"
Bernard Hagley - Bass, Flute
Paul Francis - Drums Percussion
WEBSITE(S):
http://www.vanityfare.co.uk/tranq.htm

REVIEW:
By Yours Truly
This is the second album of 2 that this band put out before giving it up and heading off to find their life's work somewhere else. Like so many of the bands that were fighting to make a go of it in the 70's Tranquility had the bad luck of many and were never in the right place at the right time to get their message out. On top of bad luck they had a sound that was not easy to pigeon hole and this no doubt made a tough situation even tougher.

Listening to this album you'll find a mix of eclectic songs all tied together with excellent musicianship and fantastic vocals and harmonies. I'm not sure now what made me pick this one up and bring it home way back then, but I'm certainly glad I did. It's certainly a gem, along with the first album, in my record collection.

Trying to describe their music is difficult. They really have a pretty unique sound which I'm sure would've gotten better with time but if I had to call it something I guess I'd go with Folk Prog....how's that? Give it a listen and then tell me what you think.

Tom

CONTACT:

READ THIS for more information on this album.

ROSS / THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM

Digitized from the original vinyl, released in 1975 on RSO Records.
Format: Mp3
Bit Rate: 256Kbps
ALBUM INFO:
Produced By: Bruce Botnick by arrangement with The Robert Stigwood Organization
Recorded & Mixed By: Rik Pekkonen
Engineered By: Anton Mathews & Gerry Leach
Recorded At: Hollywood Sound Recorders
Cover Art: Ken Marcus
TRACK LISTING:
Swallow Your Dreams
Gotta Get It Right Back
Madness In Memories
Standing Alone
Discovery
Now I See
So Slow
The Edge
Nearer And Nearer
Free
I've Been Waiting
Oh, I'm Happy Now
THE BAND:
Alan Ross - Lead Vocals, Guitars & Filing Cabinet
Steve Emery - Bass and Vocals
Bob Jackson - Keyboards, Vocals, String Machine
Tony Fernandez - Drums, Percussion
Reuben White - Percussion
String Orchestration By: Jack Nitzsche
WEBSITE(S):
Nothing in an "official" capacity, but another Alan Ross fan sent me a link to his page on Alan.
Thanks Walid!
http://lowando.tripod.com/alanross.html

REVIEW:
By Yours Truly
It's been awhile since I put up the first Ross album and I've been meaning to put this one up for awhile now. So at last here it is in somewhat used condition. I apologise for the snap, crackle and pop that is audible in places but it got played back in the day.

I never really been "big" on concept albums but this one is done so well musically that I let the concept thing slide I spent awhile searching the net for info again but there's next to nothing out there although I did find a yahoo on Ebay with a copy of the first Ross album that he'd be happy to sell to you for the small sum of $250.00!! Just say No kids! I also found the other two Alan Ross Band albums that I don't have in the U.K. but again the prices are more than I can afford to pay these days.

At any rate this is an enjoyable album. If you downloaded and enjoyed the first one I'd be willing to bet that you'd dig this one too and when I break down and buy that new Ion turntable with the noise suppression software I'll redo this one and send snap, crackle and pop packin'.

Tom

CONTACT:

READ THIS for more information on this album.

SUGARLOAF - SPACESHIP EARTH

Digitized from the original vinyl, released in 1970 on Liberty records.
Format: Mp3
Bit Rate: 256kbps
ALBUM INFO:
Produced By: Frank Slay & J.C. Phillips for Chicory Productions
Engineered By: Paul Buff, Bob Kovach & Ken Nelson
Recorded At: ?
Cover Art - Joel Franklin
TRACK LISTING:
Spaceship Earth
Hot Water
Rusty Cloud
I Don't Need You Baby
Rollin' Hills
Mother Nature's Wine
Country Dawg
Woman
Music Box
Tongue In Cheek
THE BAND:
Jerry Corbetta - Lead Vocals, Keyboards, Chimes
Bob Webber - Vocals, Guitar, Dobro
Bob Raymond - Vocals, Bass
Bob McVittie - Drums
Robert Yeazel - Lead Vocals, Guitar, Bells, Harmonica
Guests
Glenn Grab - Cello on Music Box
Joe Julian - Viola on Music Box
WEBSITE:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Corbetta
http://www.bobyeazel.com/Hyperlinks.htm
http://www.classicrockallstars.com/flash.html

REVIEW:
By Yours Truly
Sugarloaf was a Colorado based band that was built originally around the keyboard and leadership of Jerry Corbetta. They had a smash hit called Green Eyed Lady that was the anchor for their first album. However, somewhere between the first album and this one, the second, they added another member by the name of Robert Yeazel who is mostly the one responsible for this album. He has at least co-writer credits for every song on the album and sole credit for most of them along with distinctive singing and lead guitar work.

This is one of the first, if not the first ecologically based albums and was dedicated to F. Buckminster Fuller's book Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth. While the tone of this album is decidedly eco-based there are a few tunes that don't follow that theme. Overall though this was / is an above average album for 1970. When I play it nowadays yes, it does sound a bit dated but jeez in 1970 most of us were still watching TV on black and white sets too so to put things in the proper perspective....this is an album worth adding to your collection for the simple reason of it's early on eco-status but also because there is a lot of good playing on this album and I woudn't be a bit surprised if you play it more than once or twice and find yourself singing along with the boys in the band.

Put on your bellbottoms, crank up the volume and take a trip back damn near 40 years ago.

Tom

CONTACT:

READ THIS for more information on this album.

BILL LORDAN / A CONNECTION FROM THE PAST TO THE PRESENT

Sorry for not posting much lately, I've been fighting a monster cold for the last couple weeks and dealing with alot of real life crap too so the energy levels are kinda low, but not to worry, there's plenty of stuff in the pipe that I'll be posting in the months ahead.

In the meantime...I discovered an album myself, on a blog that I frequent, that kinda connects with my most recent shares here. Bill Lordan, the drummer on the Gypsy albums I posted, went on with his career after the demise of Gypsy and not long after I found him playing with Robin Trower, where he stayed for a time. Now here it is 2008 and I'm surfing for new music like you and what do I see but "Drummer - Bill Lordan". Well, the blurb with the share sounded good, loved the title and the album cover and with Bill playing drums I decided to hit the rapidshare button and give it a go. Turns out that was a good idea cuz this album pretty much kicks butts and takes names. Not only is the drumming top notch but Chris Aaron is an above average guitar picker. If you like what I'll call Blues / Rock then I'd recommend giving this album a try and see what ya think. I like it enough that I ordered the CD from amazon to add to my collection.

Rock on boys and girls everywhere......

Tom

CONTACT:

READ THIS for more information on this album.