Billy K.

I personally get mixed up with singers within the bands themselves. Particularly the BeeGees.....can't nail if it is Barry...or Robin....or Maurice that sang a particular song....Same with the Cars.......Ric or Ben?? Perhaps a thread of this should be in order.....

You should get the "Black Country Communion" live DVD...... Bonamassa, of course, rocks.......but that Glenn Hughes is a phenominal bass/vocal combination. Then there is the little Bonham on drums..... Too bad these guys didn't stay together.....but Bonamassa is better as a solo artist.....

Sad to say, I have not heard a single song from the Petty album get airplay here in Seattle......but the tickets to his concert are selling well, on the "coat-tails" of the album.....go figure....

Some of their self-penned album tracks are actually decent. "Black Licorice" is amusing... And about "who stealing from who first"...... GFR's "Getting over You" or Starship's "Ride the Tiger" ??

Amen, James......."Bad Time" is my favorite GFR song.......EXCELLENT!!

Let's hope that "the stars come out when it is the darkest" once again...... The Beatles came out at a time when music was becoming "schlocky"............Creedence came out when we needed to get "back to basics"......The Ramones came out when record-making became a "big machine"..........Nirvana came out at the time when there was nothing but "pretty boy bands" on the radio...... It is certainly possible, that someone will come "out of the blue" and turn millions of people's ear on edge, once again....... Problem is, the new artists need help doing it.....but there's less help available......that is the problem.....

Saw the Rock Hall nominees......not thrilled.......but what else is new?? N.W.A.--- aren't there too many rappers in, at the expense of REAL rock?? Spinners---Great voices.....but why isn't Philippe Wynne listed as a member?? He sang on almost all the hits. Kind of like omitting Mike Love or Mark Lindsey or Mike Smith or Robert Plant. Lou Reed----sentimental favorite of critics and fans, due to his recent passing....but worthy, nonetheless.... Joan Jett and the Blackhearts----a bit of over-compensation after the E-Street and Silver Bullet omissions. With all due respect to the Blackhearts' personnel, nobody like Clemons, Weinberg or Craig Frost, here, in their lineup. Kraftwerk---good in a couple of ways....techno gets recognition......and a non-US, non-British act, which doesn't happen too often. SRV---blues, but definitely more rock than the majority of the nominees. Sting----great artist, worthy.......but for a former member of a major rock band's solo career......I would have picked Don Henley or John Fogerty first. But the absence of Chicago or Deep Purple or the Doobies from the list is inexcusable. Plus...also more deserving than most of the list...... a lot of bands that put out great records, and sold millions of them(Cheap Trick, ELO, Grand Funk)......Artists that didn't really make it big but influenced others(i.e. Slade, Joy Division).......R&B artists that contibuted to rock(Tower of Power)......and people better known in other capacities than performing(Alexis Korner). My five picks......Reed, Kraftwerk, Smiths, SRV, Sting.....

Got some more of that same show.....but decided to do this song first, well, because it hadn't been done live on the other Raspberries shows.......

Should be up and ready about 6pm Eastern time.......loading now.......Wally's band doing a song from the first album......one that the guys did not do in recent tours.........

Just curious of how the four albums sold......did one sell considerably more units than another? And how did they fare outside the USA?

Yes, ballads can get you stuck in a rut, for sure. The most notable case of this happens to be Celine Dion. She sang some really fun, upbeat songs, among the rest, that I got good vibes from, in the beginning of her career.....this is despite the fact she only sang in French, and I didn't understand what she was singing about. Nowadays, ballads only. I appreciate a good ballad from time to time, but a bit of overkill, here. Don't find her songs interesting, as of late, since a bunch of other singers could do the same, too. Granted, not going to the extreme of loud rock....but there are some other "soft" sounds that do have some contrast to them---i.e. Celtic, jazz, smooth R&B, etc. But that's an example of how ballads-only can ruin any artistic credibility.

My list: 1. All By Myself 2. Sunrise 3. Never Gonna Fall in Love Again 4. Last Night 5. My Girl 6. Everything 7. That's Rock and Roll 8. No Hard Feelings 9. On Broadway 10. Great Expectations

And I mean this, relatively speaking, of course.......especially when you have the incredible "GATW" and the epic "I Can Remember" on the same album. I do really get into "Get it Movin'" and rank it higher than most people do.

I think there's a country band called the National Harvesters, if I'm not mistaken......

Did John Alexic serve???

There are "jam" songs that are mostly endless soloing, such as "Layla" or "Light My Fire" or "Free Bird" which can be chopped down to the basic song(which it has been done for AM radio). Then there are the ones you can't really edit(i.e. "Bohemian Rhapsody") "I Can Remember" sort of falls in between these two. You can probably chop off a few bars here and there, but once you get beyond a certain point, it will lose any sense of continuity, especially with the changing dynamics of the song.

It was kind of an interesting contrast between the first three albums. On the debut, it had a bit more classical-influence(i.e. "I Can Remember"/"Waiting") thrown in, while the third album was more "album rock FM"........"Fresh" on the other hand, was virtually all "radio-ready" hit music throughout the album. Like all the other albums, the lead-off track came off very strong. Can't argue with that. My personal favorites from this album, are the Smalley tunes "It Seemed So Easy" and "Goin' Nowhere Tonight"........"Might As Well" didn't grab me, initially, but it grew on me with repeated listenings. The closing chord of "Nobody Knows" has that nice harmonic ringing sound sound to it. (And if you like that kind of sound, it is strongly suggested you listen to the closing chord of Badfinger's "Your So Fine", too). The end section "I Reach For the Light" gets on my nerves sometimes. There was some quote from Eric, someplace, describing his own singing is "sounding like a sick dog", or something like that-----I could not disagree with the man himself. Actually, the song isn't bad......and in fact, there is a cover version I like better. Although the presence of Jimmy Ienner's bass vocals are obvious on "Drivin' Around", Wally's fills rounds out the song quite nicely. I think it would not sound right without these fills, done "authoritively" in the right spots. (1) I Wanna Be With You (2) It Seems so Easy (3) Goin' Nowhere Tonight (4)Might As Well (5) Let's Pretend (6) Nobody Knows (7) If You Change Your Mind (8) Drivin' Around (9) I Reach For The Light (10) Every Way I Can

All for of the albums are great, for different reasons. But hands down, track #1 on album #1 is was got most of us going...........and it still stands up! Yes, I can write several pages analyzing "Go All the Way" and why this song and performance is so great. This #2 track also is excellent, and is extremely underrated......"GATW"/"Come Around and See Me", in my personal opinion, is one of the best 1-2 lead-off pairs, off an album, of all time!! The two Smalley songs are a bit cliche'd, both in the music and lyrics department. But it's still our band, what can I say? And "second-level" Raspberries tunes are certainly more enjoyable than many other bands "top drawer" material. "I Can Remember" is an incredible piece of work. "With You in My Life" has a little contrast to the ballad piano, and the rockers. Wally sounds like he's from Manchester UK, not Cleveland, in that song. (1) Go All the Way (2) Come Around and See Me (3) I Can Remember (4) I Saw the Light (5) Get it Movin' (6) Don't Want to Say Goodbye (7) With You in My Life (8) Waiting (9) Rock and Roll Mama And yes, a good remaster of this album is in order.

However, if you really think about it, it's really a "short" album, as far as amount of time, and number of tracks. I was wondering if there were any alternative songs/takes not used for "Side 3"......it would be an interesting listen....

One irony about "On the Beach".......I am a kind of person that likes beach songs, and have just about every Beach Boys album, and like to watch cheesy summer movies......you would think this sound would be "right up my alley".......although well-done, it doesn't quite "hit a home run" as it does with other people. Just can't pinpoint what it is about the song that doesn't "grab" me, the way it's supposed to be. In all honestly, I enjoy "Money Down" more than "On the Beach". "Tonight" and "Ecstasy" hands down, are the strongest tracks. "I'm a Rocker" really should have gotten more airplay--easily as good as stuff KISS, Foghat, Montrose, etc. did during the same period, and their fans would have appreciated it. Ditto for "Should I Wait"----easily as good as Eagles, Pure Prairie League, etc., and again, their fans would give it the "thumbs' up", too. "Hard to Get Over a Heartbreak".........well, I like it, because it's a different approach, and sounds interesting. Slightly off-kilter beat, and a nice bridge section. So, my order of preference: (1) Tonight, (2) Ecstacy, (3) I'm a Rocker, (4) Hard to Get Over a Heartbreak, (5) Last Dance, (6) Should I Wait, (7) Making it Easy, (8) Money Down, (9) On the Beach. Really no bad songs here......the album is great! As for remastering, I don't think you can really do much more than what has already been done. The instruments and vocals all cut thru, and are "in your face". It's close to "live", and a relative lack of session players and overdubbing, compared to the other three albums. Not dense at all.

They actually had rehearsed with some(but not all) of the musicians, at various times.....just not all five together, until they got up on stage. Still, it's a testament of how talented these guys are, and the ability to pull this off....

Went to the Wally Bryson group concert last night....it was fantastic to see and hear in a small venue(Winchester Music Hall, Lakewood, OH). Just a quick rundown of the show...it ran slightly over 2 hours, and it was non-stop energy....with no breaks. It was a mix of various eras and bands---Wally's solo stuff, songs from the Choir, Fotomaker, and of course some Raspberries tunes......... "I'm a Rocker" was done in the original key. "Come Around and See Me" was done at the original faster tempo. There was also a song called "Moondog Blues" which was never used by the Raspberries. Wally was very funny on his patter in between songs. One song that we are familiar with, from the first album, was "With You in My Life". That was not done on any of the previous Raspberries concerts, in recent years......and kind of caught me off-guard. I had not expected them to play it. Rich Spina did quite a job on keyboard splits(tuba/horns sounds). Quite impressive, the sound of that song, overall. And certainly a good break to have this, along side of all the rockers. Conversely, I had expected to hear "Miles Away", but that didn't happen. Billy Sullivan even sang one of his own originals. There were a few minor mistakes made.....but unless you are a musician, you were likely to have not picked up on it. As I found out after the show, all five did not rehearse together.....and just went for it......which makes it even more amazing. And yes, Dave Smalley was in the audience. All of the above make it worthwhile to see!!

Let's hope he practiced more, and gotten back in shape. He always used to put on a good show. But a few years back, he was on the Jerry Lewis Telethon, and he was absolutely awful!!

Are we talking about "Internal Monologue".....or does Dave have another CD out???

I think this was the first time that "Eight Days a Week" was played by Macca since the 1965 tour!!