Little River Band - Time Exposure (1981)

My road to discovering Little River Band was a rather unusual and somewhat circuitous one involving a cop in Boston who shared many of the same musical tastes that I had. In one of our many email exchanges he recommended that I check out Australian vocalist, John Farnham and his work with Little River Band. I didn't act on his recommendation initially. But I tucked away his advice in the cobwebby filing cabinet of my mind.

A year or so later, I finally got around to picking up their greatest hits album. Other than It's a Long Way There, Night Owls, and Lady it didn't really grab me at first. But I listened to that CD again and again. Eventually I was hooked.

I've often thought of Little River Band as an Australian answer to the Eagles. Their country-rock stylings and tight vocal harmonies bore more than a passing resemblence to their more successful American counterparts.

That being said, Little River Band, were an excellent band in their own right. They spawned a string of hits including It's a Long Way There, Happy Anniversary (peaked @ #16 in 1977), Help Is On Its Way (peaked @ #14 in 1977), Lady (peaked @ #10 in 1979), Cool Change (peaked @ #10 in 1979), and Reminiscing (peaked @ #3 in 1978) which even John Lennon commented was one of his favorites.

Time Exposure was the last album recorded with lead singer Glenn Shorrock before he was replaced with John Farnham. Incidentally, Shorrock would later return and record a few more albums with LRB. But Time Exposure marks the end of an era.

The album opens with the Wayne Nelson sung Night Owls (peaked @ #6 in 1981) and follows with two more hit singles-- Man On Your Mind (peaked @ #14 in 1982), and Take It Easy On Me (peaked @ #10 in 1981). And while none of the other songs on the album were released as singles, many of them including Full Circle and Just Say That You Love Me easily could have been released as singles. In addition to Shorrock's lead vocals the vocal tandem of David Briggs, Beeb Birtles, and Graeham Goble provide harmonies so tight they sing as one. Where the Eagles were likely better musicians, I'd argue that Little River Band's vocal harmonies were superior to those of the Eagles. There was a tightness, a cohesiveness that was pure vocal magic.

What likely prevented this album from matching the success of the 2 previous LRB albums (1978's Sleeper Catcher and 1979's First Under the Wire both went platinum) was the disparity between the stronger and weaker songs on this album. While the strong material is as good as their best tracks on their previous albums, their weaker material on Time Exposure feels uninspired and some might argue "phoned in."

Over twenty-five years after its release, the stronger material still holds up as well as any of Little River Band's other material (not to mention their better material holds up as well as some of the better material of the Eagles as well). The weaker material sounds sadly dated.

A 1996 re-issue featured the John Farnham sung The Other Guy (peaked @ #11 in 1982) as a bonus track. An enjoyable yet curious inclusion considering that song was recorded after Time Exposure was released.

All in all, while not essential this album is certainly a worthy inclusion into any classic rock collection. If you're new to Little River Band, I'd start with either their greatest hits album, Sleeper Catcher or First Under the Wire before picking up Time Exposure.

Related Links

The Night Owls

Man On Your Mind

Take It Easy On Me

The Other Guy (live 1983)

Little River Band (official site)*

Birtles Shorrock Goble (official site)*
Little River Band (wikipedia)
Birtles Shorrock Goble (wikipedia)
Time Exposure (wikipedia)
Glenn Shorrock (wikipedia)
Beeb Birtles (official site)
Beeb Birtles (wikipedia)
Graeham Goble (official site)
Graeham Goble (wikipedia)
Wayne Nelson (wikipedia)
David Briggs (wikipedia)**
John Farnham (official site)***
John Farnham (wikipedia entry)***
Other Little River Band related reviews on The Review Revue

*The founding members of Little River Band lost the rights to use the Little River Band name. The current band is comprised of no original members. As a result Beeb Birtles, Glenn Shorrock, and Graeham Goble briefly toured as Birtles Shorrock Goble from 2006 to 2008.

**While Beeb Birtles, Glenn Shorrock, and Graeham Goble are barred from discussing their time in Little River Band, apparently David Briggs is not. He recently wrote The Diary of the Loneseome Loser about his time in the band (1976-1981).

***I only included the Farnham links due to the inclusion of The Other Guy on the 1996 CD release of this album. Farnham was not in the band at the time of the recording or release of Time Exposure.

Blood Sweat & Tears - Child Is Father to the Man (1968)

Blood Sweat & Tears are arguably a case study of a band with a brilliant debut that the band was never able to live up to again.

BS&T's was in large part the brainchild of Al Kooper. So it was quite surprising when after this debut, Kooper was given his walking papers and replaced by David Clayton-Thomas.

While Kooper is not a great singer, this listener prefers his vocals over those of his successor. Add to that that Kooper was the principal songwriter in the band the band seemingly shot themselves in the foot when they showed Kooper the door.

Commercially their second album was considerably more successful, but to my ears it lacks the inventiveness and the pure unbridled potential this album showed.

Today this album does sound a bit dated, not in a bad way. It's a delightful capsule of the late sixties. There's a fullness and lushness that's at least marginally reminiscent of the Moody Blues Days of Future Passed released the year before.

One of the reasons Kooper was let go was the band felt they could find a better singer, but listening to songs like More Than You'll Ever Know and I Can't Quit Her I honestly can't hear the need for a new singer. Kooper doesn't just sing well, he nails the vocals on most of these songs. And even if he lacked the range of "better" singers, the band would have been better served bringing in a second singer in addition to Kooper, as opposed to replacing him.

What is perhaps most remarkable about this album is that its so strong and so seamless from start to finish. There's not a bad track on it and it certainly leaves the listener wanting more. It's arguably one of the "must-have" albums for any fan and/or collector of late 60s rock.

All in all this album is both a testament and a glaring question mark to what might have been had BS&T held on to the talents of Al Kooper.

Related Links
Blood Sweat & Tears (official site)
Blood Sweat & Tears (wikipedia)
Al Kooper (official site)
Al Kooper (wikipedia)
Jim Fielder (wikipedia)
Fred Lipsius (official site)
Fred Lipsius (wikipedia)
Randy Brecker (official site)
Randy Brecker (wikipedia)
Jerry Weiss (wikipedia)
Dick Halligan (official site)
Dick Halligan (wikipedia)
Steve Katz (wikipedia)
Bobby Colomby (wikipedia)

Shadow Gallery - Tyranny (1998)

I first stumbled upon Shadow Gallery when I saw them mentioned on a Dream Theater message board. Their songs Destination Unknown from their Legacy album and I Believe from their concept album Tyranny came highly recommended.

Upon first listen-- WOW! Honestly these guys blew me away. I could hear elements of Alice Cooper, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Dream Theater, and even some hints of Queen with their elaborate church choir-esque harmony vocals not to mention the Yngwie Malmsteen meets Brian May guitar stylings of Brendt Allman and Gary Wehrkamp.

Tyranny is a concept album that starts to tell the story about the military industrial complex. The story continues on 2005's Room V. But this is really the album that made fans sit up and take notice.

Where Dream Theater is easily more technically proficient, there's something arguably more organic about Shadow Gallery's style. The way the vocals dance around the elaborate instrumentals. The way their heavy metal guitar work dances around the tight vocal harmonies really sets Shadow Gallery apart.

Unlike some of their contemporaries, Shadow Gallery is strictly a studio band. Since their inception in the early 90s they have been strictly a studio band which is likely the predominant reason why they aren't as well known as some of their contemporaries like Queensryche, Fates Warning, or Dream Theater. It's a shame as those who haven't yet experienced their unique sound are truly missing out.

There are some truly transcendent moments on Tyranny. The vocal harmonies that come in at about 5 minutes into the song on I Believe NEVER, and I do mean NEVER fail to give me chills. Mike Baker's vocals were in top form from start to finish. I Believe is easily the most upbeat song on the album as it expresses that no matter what there's always a hope for positive change. There's even a mention of Jesus's prophecy of a better world that lifts the spirits of the main character sung by Michael Baker. Dream Theater's James LaBrie steps in for guest vocals as he sings the part of the main character's father. It's a brief snippet early in the song but LaBrie's vocals are unmistakable.

What makes the album work is that it's not a full-on heavy metal onslaught. There's a serious amount of musical diversity including neo-classical influences as well as the trademark metal stylings that one would expect. Some songs waltz back and forth between melodic soft rock to driving crunchy metal.

If you're not familiar with Shadow Gallery and want to give them a try this is an excellent album to start with as it shows the true breadth of their musicianship much moreso than their first 2 albums (their self-titled debut and Carved in Stone).

On a sad post-script, lead vocalist Mike Baker, died of a heart attack on October 29, 2008.

Related Links
Shadow Gallery (official website)
Shadow Gallery (wikipedia)
Tyranny (official website, includes samples of all songs)
Tyranny (wikipedia)
Brendt Allman (wikipedia)
Gary Wehrkamp (wikipedia)
Mike Baker (wikipedia)

Beckley Lamm Wilson - Like a Brother (2000)

Supergroups come and go with varying degrees of success. One would think that combining the vocal talents of Gerry Beckley (America), Robert Lamm (Chicago), and Carl Wilson (the Beach Boys) would be a recipe for success. And at times it is. This particular endeavour is largely hit or miss.

There aren't any songs on the album that could be considered "bad." There are a handful of good tracks mixed in with a handful that one would struggle to use superlative adjectives to describe. The best that can be said for much of this album is that it's pleasant and unoffensive.

In all fairness to Gerry, Robert, & Carl given the rigorous touring schedules of their respective bands finding the time to get together to record this album proved rather prohibitive. Add to that Carl Wilson's cancer and subsequent passing there were certainly plenty of obstacles which likely played a part in preventing this album from being far better than it actually ended up being.

That being said, there are some excellent songs on this album-- the Gerry Beckley sung Today, the Harry Nilsson cover Without Her, the wistfully nostalgic Watching the Time Go By, and the hopeful yet somber farewell from Carl Wilson to his sons: I Wish For You. Incidentally Watching the Time Go By had previously appeared on Robert Lamm's 1999 solo release, In My Head. On Robert's solo version he sings the first verse, whereas on the BL&W version, Gerry Beckley sings the first verse. Both versions are rather enjoyable and neither is really superior nor inferior to the other.

With this album being released a few years after Carl Wilson's untimely passing, the album was dedicated to his memory. Indeed, the strongest material on this album is the material that features either he or Beckley on vocals. And in light of Carl's passing his songs take on a decidedly more haunting and poignant tone, especially I Wish For You which is said to be the final song he recorded before his passing and Like a Brother which was a tribute to Carl's brother, Brian.

One is left wondering how much better this album might have been had it not been treated almost as an afterthought to Beckley, Lamm, & Wilson. If the album had been recorded over a shorter time span and all three members of the band had made a concerted effort to MAKE time to record this album rather than record and collaborate only when they were able to find the time to do so this album could and likely would have been considerably better. The talent was certainly there and the stronger material on the album does bear witness to the quality the entire album could have aspired to had it been give the time and focus it truly deserved.

Related Links

Like a Brother (wikipedia entry)

Like a Brother (Amazon.com-- mp3 download $8.99--includes 3 songs not on the original CD release!)

Gerry Beckley (wikipedia entry)

Robert Lamm (wikipedia entry)

Carl Wilson (wikipedia entry)

Gerry Beckley (official website)

Robert Lamm (official website)

REO Speedwagon - Lost in a Dream (1974)

Before becoming arena rock giants along with Journey, Foreigner, & Styx; REO Speedwagon was a hard workin', hard rock band. After a rocky start, and on their third lead singer in as many albums REO had seemingly found some stability with Michael Murphy who, at this point, was the first of their singers to sing lead on two consecutive albums.

Much like his predecessor (and as history would bear out-- his successor as well), Kevin Cronin, Murphy had a rather distinct vocal style. Where Cronin's vocals leaned more towards the nasal, Murphy's were more towards the Rod Stewart meets the more contemporary Macy Gray end of the vocal spectrum.

That this band could survive a revolving door of tenor vocalists as distinctly different as Terry Luttrell, Kevin Cronin, and Michael Murphy is a testament to the strength of REO Speedwagon.

This album is a return to form of sorts to the band's roots. Much like their 1971 debut there's a strong roadhouse dive bar vibe to this album. You can almost feel the sticky floors at your feet and see the Harleys lined up outside and the paint peeling from the tattered walls inside.

Unlike Ridin' the Storm Out which also features Murphy on vocals, I don't believe any material from Lost in a Dream or its 1975, follow-up This Time We Mean It has ever made it into the live set since Murphy's departure from and Kevin Cronin's return to the band. It's a shame really as there's some respectable material. The underrated Gary Richrath has some excellent solos, and Neal Doughty's piano/keyboard chops give off that really cool aforementioned roadhouse dive bar vibe, and as always Greg Philbin and Alan Gratzer on bass & drums respectively provide a strong backbone to the band's sound.

The trouble with the album is that it never rises above that roadhouse dive-bar vibe. That's both its greatest strength and Achilles heel. At this point in their career REO's fans were largely a regional cult following. There were hundreds of house bands at roadhouse dive bars playing the same kind of music. The only thing setting REO apart from their more anonymous less famous bar band counterparts was a record deal and the polish of professional studio production that went with the standard recording contracts of that era.

From start to finish the album is fun and catchy but never realizes or even aspires to excellence. If you're a fan of REO's latter day much more pop friendly sound, you'd scarcely be able to tell that the band that recorded Keep On Lovin' You, Take It On the Run, and Can't Fight This Feelin' also recorded this album. On the other hand if you're not a fan of their latter day more pop-friendly material and you think you know REO Speedwagon you might want to give Lost in a Dream a chance. You might just find yourself pleasantly surprised.

Related Links
REO Speedwagon (Official Website)
REO Speedwagon (wikipedia)
Lost in a Dream (wikipedia)
Gary Richrath (wikipedia)
Neal Doughty (Official Website)
Neal Doughty (wikipedia)

Chicago - The Box (2003)

Box sets come in all shapes & sizes and are often hit or miss. Generally casual listeners aren't inclined to spend the fifty to one hundred (or more) clams to purchase a collection of music they only have a casual interest in. And die-hard fans already have most of the material included on the box sets of their favorite bands (in some cases several times over).

This is Chicago's second crack at a box set. Their first was the early-90s 4 CD Group Portrait released on the Columbia-Legacy label and thus only included material they recorded while on contract with Columbia Records (their debut-Chicago XIV-- material recorded and released between 1969 and 1980). It included a non-LP B-side (Closer to You) and an unreleased track recorded during the Chicago XIV sessions (Doin' Business) and a 52 page booklet written by the AllMusicGuide's William Ruhlmann.

Luckily for Chicago, apparently someone at Columbia Records wasn't paying attention when Chicago's contract was written up. A few years after the Group Portrait box set was released all of the rights to Chicago's Columbia Records catalog reverted to the band (generally record labels aren't quite that generous). After a short and ill-fated attempt at their own record label (Chicago Records), the release rights to Chicago's Columbia era material was sold by Chicago to Rhino Records. Luckily for Rhino Records they are a branch of Warner Brothers. Warner Brothers owned Chicago's latter day catalog (Chicago 16-the then unreleased Stone of Sisyphus album as well as the bonus tracks that had been included in a couple of late 90s compilation CDs).

This chain of events has allowed Rhino to release a considerably more complete box set-- adding a 5th disc and a DVD of rare footage of the band. And therein lies the bait for all of those die-hard fans who already had/have multiple copies of much of the material on the CDs. In addition to material from their studio albums spanning their entire career this set includes Good For Nothing (a song recorded for the We Are the World album), Hearts in Trouble (from the Days of Thunder soundtrack), the 4 bonus tracks from the two Heart of Chicago collections from the late nineties, three tracks from the then ureleased Stone of Sisyphus album (Stone of Sisyphus was finally released in 2008), and a handful of alternate edits and single edits of various songs.

Addition by Subtraction

There are a handful of songs that were included that are real head-scratchers. Other than an abysmally bad performance of You Come to My Senses on the Arsenio Hall show in the early 90s Chicago has never performed any material from their twenty-first album live. So the inclusion of three songs from that album is rather surprising. Another regrettable inclusion is Song For You from Chicago XIV a rather bland and uninspired Cetera ballad. Overnight Cafe or Hold On would have been superior selections to represent XIV, one of Chicago's weakest albums.

Chicago X suffered from a "too many hands in the cookie jar" (and the white stuff in the "cookies" at that point in time wasn't sugar, if you get my drift) yet there were SIX songs from that album included in this set... and despite including six songs from Chicago X, they still managed to leave off the two best tracks from that album-- Once or Twice and Scrapbook!

Conspicuous Absences


Initially, it was surprising that the 2 non-LP tracks that had been included in the Group Portrait (Doin' Business and Closer to You) had been left off this set, however Rhino included those songs as bonus tracks on their re-releases of Chicago XIV and XIII respectively.

However, what is glaringly absent from this collection are any live tracks from either the Live at Carnegie Hall or Live in Japan albums. A live track or two from each would have been welcome additions as both albums feature some truly scorching Terry Kath guitar solos.

Terry Kath's haunting tribute to Jimi Hendrix, Oh Thank You Great Spirit from Chicago VIII would also have been a nice fit. The Robert Lamm penned When Will the World Be Like Lovers which was recorded for Chicago 18 but was cut in favor of the Jason Scheff penned Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now would also have been a welcome addition to this set.

When Chicago VII was being recorded the band couldn't decide between a pop/rock album or a more experimental jazz-influenced album. So they compromised and released it as a double album-- one LP of more pop-friendly mainstream material and one LP of more experimental jazz influenced material. While this set does include a handful of tracks from the more pop-friendly LP, it's conspicuously lacking any material from the more jazz-oriented LP (much to this listener's chagrin).

The collection could have been tremendously improved by dropping two songs each from XIV, Twenty-1, and X and including some of the stronger material from some of their other albums (In The Country from II, Sing a Mean Tune Kid and Happy Cause I'm Goin' Home from III, and Prelude to Aire & Aire from VII for example).

Bonus Points

Rhino deserves credit where it's due and they did include some excellent pieces from the Columbia era that were conspicuously absent from the Group Portrait. Chicago's anti-Vietnam epic-- It Better End Soon, Terry Kath's ode to breakfast food and self-love-- An Hour In the Shower, and the aforementioned Good For Nothing and Hearts in Trouble are all quite welcome inclusions.

The DVD

The DVD is a nice addition for both hardcore fans and the more casual listeners. The concert footage from Arie Crown Theater shows the band when they were still creative and adventurous with a bit of fire and youthful enthusiasm. It features Devil's Sweet, one of the aforementioned more jazz-tinged pieces from Chicago VII, as well as Now That You've Gone, Dialogue & Saturday In the Park from Chicago V.

The promo footage for Chicago XIII is an amusing addition for the more die-hard fans. But considering how laughably bad that album is (another instance of too many hands in the cookie jar and too much of the "other" white powder in those cookies) this footage is more of a novelty and will likely not generate enough interest to warrant repeated viewings even by the most die-hard of fans.

Closing arguments

One wonders what the rationale and/or motivation was behind some of the song selections for this collection. Some of the material is quite strong, but a lot of weaker material also made it onto this collection. Was the song selection based more on personal preferences of the members of the band and the staff at Rhino who compiled the box, on the perceived preferences of the target demographic, or on which collection of songs would generate the most songwriting royalties to the various members of the band?

Regardless of the motivations behind the song selections, in all fairness to those making such decisions it must be conceded that you can't please everyone. With that in mind, this box set was a valiant effort at accomplishing just that-- even if it did come up short for some fans it likely succeded in spades for others.

If you're new to Chicago with a thirst for deeper than all of the "greatest hits" and "best of" compilations and have the disposable income to do so-- purchasing this set is a considerably more economical way to get a broader view of Chicago than purchasing their entire back catalog. It offers a considerably deeper and more comprehensive snapshot of the band's history than any of the 1 or 2 disc compilations offered to date. If however you're merely a casual listener just interested in the hits, stick with the 2CD Only the Beginning: The Very Best of Chicago set.

Related Links
Chicago "The Box" (Rhino Records)
Chicago "The Box" (Amazon.com)
Chicago "The Box" (Wikipedia)
Chicago (Official Website)
Chicago (Wikipedia)
Chicago Music & More (Chicago Message Board)
Other Chicago related reviews, interviews, & etc.