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ONCE UPON A TIME.....Calling All Girls

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  HILLY MICHAELS  Calling All Girls  (WB,1980) - Pop rock     Calling All Girls, the debut from singing drummer wonderboy Hilly Michaels (ex-Sparks), is like a shook-up can of Sunkist, ready to spew its sugary goodness with great force. It is a production triumph thanks to an inspired Roy Thomas Baker, who had a field day with the material. Around every corner are little bits of tasty ear candy: giddy background vocals, pulsing palm-muted guitar, UFO synth tones, flanged passages, castanets, key changes, jingling sleigh bells. It's all here, in generous quantity. The record's sonic profile is a perfect compliment to the music, a vivid celebration of youthful fun. Calling All Girls works in the same way the best Ramones music succeeds: the hooks are irresistible, the message is genuine, the songs level all in their path. TRACKLIST: Calling All Girls Teenage Days Shake It And Dance Gemini ...
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ONCE UPON A TIME.....Scuba Divers

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  DWIGHT TWILLEY  Scuba Divers  (EMI America,1982) - Power pop / Rock       Kicking off with the propulsive rocker "I'm Back Again," which shines thanks to its layering of acoustic and electric guitars, soaring backing vocals, and dramatic tension, Scuba Divers feels like the work of an artist fully in command of their sound, but also in desperate need to get their songs out to the world. This push and pull makes for a record that's rippling with energy, even on the slower songs like the aching midtempo track "Somebody to Love" or the girl group-inspired "Dion Baby." Twilley swings from these kind of songs, where it sounds like he's removed all the protective layers from his soul, to swaggering rockers that are full of joy ("I Found the Magic") and hope ("I Think It's That Girl"). In between are dramatic, slightly more complicated songs like "10,000 American Scuba Divers Dancin'" or the heavy rocker "C...
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ONCE UPON A TIME.....Rock America

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  NICK GILDER  Rock America  (Casablanca,1980) - Rock, Power pop       Nice mixture of new wave, glam-rock and power pop. Rock America is one of the catchiest songs I've heard in a long time, surprised it wasn't a big hit. Not sure why fans dismiss this album, it doesn't sound very different Nick's previous records. TRACKLIST: Rock America                    I've Got Your Number                    20th Century Girls                    Catch 22                    Wild Ones (Feeling Electric)                    On The Beat                    Night Comes Down                    Lady You're A Killer     ...
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ONCE UPON A TIME.....Dinner With Raoul

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  BLISS BAND  Dinner With Raoul  (Columbia,1978) - AOR      After an album with Dog Soldier and a stint in the David Essex Band, in the mid-'70s singer/keyboard player Paul Bliss decided to strike out on his own.  Heading for Los Angeles he formed the cleverly titled Bliss Band  featuring the talents of bass player Andy Brown, drummer Nigel Elliot, lead guitarist Phil Palmer (who had also supported David Essex), and keyboard player Alan Park.  Signed by Columbia, the band's 1978 deb ut "Dinner with Raoul" teamed them with former Steely Dan guitarist Jeff Skunk Baxter serving in the producer's chair.   With Bl iss responsible for all ten tracks, the album had a distinctive '70s AOR vibe that really did sound lik e a Steely Dan, or perhaps a Michael McDonald-era Doobie Brothers album.  The comparison was underscored by cameos from Doobie Brother drummer Keith Knudsen and McDonald himself who provided backing vocals on two tracks ...
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GUITAR WOLF.....Greg Howe

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        Greg Howe started playing the guitar at the age of 10 and by his middle teens, after discovering Van Halen, became obsessed with guitar while transforming his confident playing of pentatonic scales on the guitar into a broader understanding of music. By his late teens he had already began playing in clubs with his rock band, which featured his brother Al on lead vocals. Over the course of the next few years Greg continued to hone his guitar skills while playing in rock bands.       In 1988 Shrapnel Records owner and infamous guitar connoisseur Mike Varney asked Howe to record an album for his label after hearing a demo that Greg had sent him with the hopes of being featured in Varney's Spotlight column for Guitar Player magazine. That album, simply entitled "Greg Howe", featured David Lee Roth bassist Billy Sheehan and drummer Atma Anur. It instantly caught the attention of the whole guitar community and eventually led to numerous endorsement d...
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BORN IN THE 60's.....Walker Brothers

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        They weren’t British, they weren’t brothers and their real names weren’t Walker, but Californians Scott Engel, John Maus and Gary Leeds were briefly huge stars in England, and small ones in their native USA, at the peak of the British Invasion .       In March 1965 their first single – Pretty Girls Everywhere – emerged on the Philips label. The record flopped, but in June, Love Her (a Barry Mann-Cynthia Weil number) put The Walker Brothers into the Top Twenty for the first time.       The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore repeated the feat the following year, and the group also had UK hits with My Ship Is Coming In , (Baby) You Don’t Have To Tell Me , Another Tear Falls and others.       While The Walker Brothers looked the part of British Invaders with their shaggy mop tops, they were in fact far more pop than rock – and they didn’t play on most of their records.       In April 1967, some months af...
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ONCE UPON A TIME.....Breezy Stories

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  DANNY O'KEEFE  Breezy Stories  (Atlantic,1973) - Folk rock       Such a bizarre album. Very heterogeneous and reminiscent of so many other artists at the same time! If you like Mike Nesmith (big influence!), Boz Scaggs, Tim Buckley, Steely Dan or Geoff Muldaur, it's all mixed up in this bowl. Some excellent musicianship is displayed on this album but it takes a while to absorb it all. Not in a bad sense, mind you... TRACKLIST: Angel Spread Your Wings                    Magdalena                    Junkman                    Portrait In Black Velvet                    She Said Drive On, Driver                    Steppin' Out Tonight                    If Ya Can'...
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