PaulMaul Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Greetings! I just joined the forum, and I heard the Raspberries for the first time (even though I am 43 years old) only a few months ago. I was immediately captivated and have been wearing out the "Greatest Hits" CD ever since. Has anyone here ever heard the band Starz? Their LP "Violation," while a bit more aggressive than the 'Berries, seems heavily influenced by Power Pop to me, especially the song "Cherry Baby." I have always loved this record (which came out in 1977). Any opinions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raspbernie Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Big fan. Saw them live back in the day. "Cherry Baby" definitely hits my sweet spot. Also worth checking out is "(Any Way That You Want It) I'll Be There" and "Hold on to the Night" from "Attention Shoppers." I'm sure you won't find too many people here who don't get Starz.Bernie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeanTylerVO Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Also saw them back in the 70's, Very good rock pop, melodies etc.Couple of members came from group called Looking Glass. I read that lead singer Micheal Lee Smith is the brother of teen idol/singer Rex Smith who had a decent hit called "you take my breath away". "Cherry Baby" is a MUST hear from ANY berries fan. They are still out there in bars these days and on you tube, check em out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMaul Posted February 19, 2010 Author Share Posted February 19, 2010 Here's another great track from the same album, for those who haven't heard this stuff: Yeah, Michael Lee is Rex Smith's brother. The resemblance is certainly there. I just can't figure out how great stuff like this never made it big, it seems tailor-made for commercial success. Or was stuff like this considered too commercial for '70's FM radio, but not quite AM rock either? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris hess Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 loved them!! angel too!!! lol,chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim From Wisconsin Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 PaulMaul, You are "preaching to the choir" here! I have started numerous threads about Starz on this Board and I've linked just about every youtube video at 1 time or another. I love Starz!! I saw them twice back in 1978, and I've seen them 8 times since 2005 including the ever so awesome "StarzFest" in NJ back in 2005. At StarzFest they had all of the original guys there besides Pieter Sweval who passed away a few years ago, and they played all 4 albums in their entirety + lots of bonus songs including some Looking Glass and Stories classics. The most recent shows were 3 months ago in Detroit and Cleveland. I live in the greater Milwaukee area and the drive isn't bad at all. They sound great these days! They are now touring with the "Coliseum Rock" band including Michael Lee Smith, Richie Ranno, Joe X Dube, Bobby Messano, and a great Bass player George DiAna. They hope to play in the Mid-West sometime in 2010 - Don't miss it!! I have been a Raspberries fan since 1972 - Welcome to a great message board run by a great man (Bernie), and dedicated to an astounding musician / composer / singer / all around fantastic guy (Eric Carmen)!! Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonecimar Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 Welcome to the board PaulMaul. I had never heard Starz before, thanks for turning me on to them!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOMMY TUNES Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 "Cherry Baby" is a great TUNE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 Based on this thread (and previous ones) I went and listened to some song cuts from these guys. And... I guess I am one that doesn't "get" them; and I'm as big a Rasperries fan as there is. The Starz sounded more like an 80s hair band than The Raspberries, at least to me.But then again, I only listened to short bites from 8 or 9 songs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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