Shooting Star Self Titled Virgin Records 1979

Shooting Star Self Titled Virgin Records 1979 CAT #VA 13133

Been putting this one off for a while. When I started doing this blog, I was worried about all the Kansas LPs I'd be sifting through, but I've grown to like the band Kansas. What I should have been dreading is Shooting Star albums.

This is Shooting Star's first LP which was recorded in England (they were after all, the first American band to be signed by the Virgin label) by Gus Dudgeon who did more famous work with the likes of Elton John and David Bowie. The result is over the top pomp rock with heavy emphasis on good times, being awesome, and getting the girl back. I mean, they're competent players and while pomp-rock can be great (see the band Boston), Shooting Star is just too fucking happy. No matter what the circumstances are, Shooting Star is fucking winning and celebrating with guitars.

Just watch this video, these guys won 1979.

Donnie Quinn Reno Junction Big K 1979

Donnie Quinn Reno Junction Big K 1979 CAT# 39863

Generally, Big K Records was putting out regional country albums, but this doesn't quite fit the bill. It's basically an Elvis Presley impersonation album, there's even a tribute tune. That probably sounds worse than it actually is, but that's the best description for it.

Donnie Quinn was apparently a teenager obsessed with the King. Of course, with that comes a healthy dose of country influences, from rockabilly to the straight early Nashville sound, but it's all filtered through Elvis Presley. The album also features the work of Terry Swope on guitar, who apparently like Quinn, was also obsessed with Elvis as he pens some of the tunes.

Again, though, it's not a terrible thing, a bit strange, but not terrible. The ballads don't need to be here, they showcase Quinn with his snarled lip vocals, just trying to channel some Elvis magic. But, it's no better than what Andy Kaufman was doing as a joke. When the band gets going on their "comeback" style Elvis-tunes, it's pretty enjoyable. There's some horns here and there, Donnie channels the best of sweaty, soul-driven, black, leather-suit, Elvis. It's no From Elvis in Memphis, but it's highlights aren't bad, just no where near as fulfilling as the real thing.

Lilah Gillett and Harvery Prinz Play the Hammered Dulcimer Duets Happy Hammerin' Audio House 1979

Lilah Gillett and Harvery Prinz Play the Hammered Dulcimer Duets Happy Hammerin' Audio House 1979 CAT# AHKB105F79

Oh man, why not, right?  How bad could it be, right?  Well honestly, it's not that bad at all.  Lilah Gillett and Harvey Prinz throw down on their dulcimers; hardcore.  They do some traditional, some waltzes, and even throw in a few rags, one of which was penned by Kansas Citian, Charles Johnson.  I mean, keep in mind you have to like the sound the hammered dulcimer, then you have to be prepared for two hammered dulcimers going at it with each other (no dueling, though, just harmonizing).  Once you get over the fact that there is no other musical accompaniment, the arrangements are enjoyable and it's surprising how much room two of these instruments can fill.

Both these players are seasoned vets, so that's good.  Further, at the time of it's release, both were Overland Park residents.  A little research will lead you to YouTube videos with Lilah Gillett at the Dulcimer Players Convention which indicates she was a founding member in 1963 (I'd post them, but there's like 4 videos and each one is 20 minutes).  Further, the back cover lets you know she was once a teacher of the instrument.

Harvey Prinz was such a fan of the instrument, he ran a small Overland Park business making them himself.  His maker skills were even commissioned by the Walnut Valley Association of Winfield, Kansas, for use in their festivals.  Research shows though, that Harvey's true passion however was the Lutheran Church as he was an acting Reverend.  Nevertheless, his love of the instrument allowed him to record this album (there's apparently two others, both of which also feature Lilah Gillett).

Anyway, I'm not saying it's the best hammered dulcimer album I've ever heard, but I am saying it's the only album to focus solely on the hammered dulcimer I've ever heard.  Strange record, though.  I can't really put my finger on it's purpose.  Audio House didn't fund it as they were a custom label, they recorded and put your music on vinyl for a set fee.  So these two footed the bill in a custom press apparently to advertise Prinz's handcrafted dulcimers and lessons taught by Gillett.  No doubt, I'm sure there were some family and friends that scooped up the album as well.

Missouri Welcome Two Missouri Polydor 1979

Missouri Welcome Two Missouri Polydor 1979 CAT# PD-1-6206

Meh, nothing but a bunch of meh-ness from this Kansas City band on their major label debut.  And, it's kind of hard to figure out all the MOR numbers on this album.  Was it the labels fault?  The band?  What was the reason for virtually no excitement on this record.

The first album was decent bar-band stuff.  This however, it's still bar-band stuff, but it's a bit more polished and lost some of the appeal in the process.  Some of the numbers have flashes of something that would at least got people off their ass, but the band keeps it at a medium pace; they aren't about to rock you despite that their tunes could have.  I'm just confused, did they walk into the studio and say, "Hey, we got some rockin' tracks for Polydor."  To which Polydor replied, "That's great, sure they rock, but do the tracks sound like the Eagles?"

To me, the album sounds like a dirty bar band trying to sound like the Eagles.  There's a smoothness to this entire record that would have been better served without.  Either way, this album marked the end of the band, Missouri.  The album features a re-recorded version of the band's surprise hit, "Movin' On," it's not any better and it's really not worse, although, people seem to cite the first version as superior.  It's just meh, the entire album is bland. devoid of color, and boring (however, second to last song, "Love on the Run", cool drum intro and synths begging to be sampled, but still, meh).

A collection of tunes

Thumbs S/T Ramona Records 1979

Thumbs S/T Ramona Records 1979 CAT#RR1

The Thumbs were a late 70's, early 80's band from Lawrence, KS.  This debut LP stinks of 1979 and lies somewhere between skinny tie new wave and working class Midwestern power pop.  It falls closer to the power pop spectrum, as there isn't synth on LP (keyboards got switched to the organ setting), and the only reason to compare it to New Wave is because singer, Steve Wilson, approaches the vocals like a cartoon character.

That's my main problem with the album.  Steve Wilson, who is an awesome guy and still a heavy supporter of local music in Lawrence, just draws out his words like Lou Reed, but he can't sing or sound like Lou Reed.  On this LP, he's pitchy and all over the place, he's in the higher register and to me, it seriously sounds like a cartoon character.  It's distracting and takes away from what's going on with the songs.

As for the songs, production is pretty muted, the drums sound muddy and it can be hard to pick up a bass line.  The levels all over sound unven as the guitar is really high and sometimes the organ is too loud.  The production is distracting and probably hides a lot of great moments in the LP.  I've heard people claim it to be a lost power-pop gem, to which I don't really agree with.  It's pretty par for the course.  The organ is cool, but overall, it's middle of the road for 1979.  To the band's credit, it doesn't appear they were trying for a straight ahead power pop as they are better compared to college rock bands like the dBs or later, REM.

There are some gems, "Is It Too Much?," done correctly could have been classic.  "Still Bound to You" has the right idea and even some harmonies (which most the LP lacks).  Second to last song, "Rags to Rags" starts promising and I kind of dig the twee-pop break down (likely not meant to sound twee, but again, production isn't the LP's strong point).  The final song, "Art History," must be singer Steve Wilson's favorite as it's the sole video on YouTube and posted by him.  The organ is pretty killer and there is some Byrds jangle to it.

The band released a follow up in 1982, which I haven't listened to in years but it's on the stack of
to be discussed soon".  Steve Wilson (I should really talk about the other guys, but he's kind of the leader of the band) would go onto to front another Lawrence favorite, the Mahoots, and by that point had calmed down his vocal approach considerably.

Art History

Brothers Heritage Sin-The-Tic RMS Records 1979

Brothers Heritage Sin-The-Tic RMS Records 1979 CAT# R33079

I love this type of thing for the rarity, obscurity and weirdness.  This is a private press release from some jazz nerds in Kansas City.  I stress the words nerd not just in the jazz sense, but they sing about some pretty absurd stuff.  If I had to classify this release, Jazz Fusion is a good term, Cosmic Disco/Boogie is better.  The disco elements brings a lot of synth and a ton of funk inspired moments throughout the grooves and some huge drum breaks.  There's also a lot of pop/rock influence, definitely on the art rock  side of things, whichever player is channeling that vibe is obviously a huge Queen fan.  Most tracks feature vocals and not much can be said for the singing, but that's where most the weirdness comes into play.  They use abstract harmonies and have some bizarre lyrics.

The record itself has some collector's appeal based on the jazz-funk aspect.  The initial on-line discovery saw the album selling for over $100 to collectors.  Since then the price has tapered down drastically and you can now score a copy between $20 to $40.  The folks that initially drove the value of the album up were beat jockies and sample junkies.  Hip-Hop enthusiasts looking for drum breaks and un-sampled sounds.  Once they get the stuff out there, the value went down.  It makes sense for the album.  It's inspired music with amazing ideas throughout (and again, killer drum breaks), but as far as putting together one great track, the brothers couldn't do it.  Too many ideas crammed into single tracks.  The LP was produced by one of the members and you get the sense a producer would've have focused the band on a single groove.  Some of the tracks contain sudden and abrupt changes that could have just easily been several different songs entirely.

Unfortunately, I can't find much info on these dudes.  The LP lists Kansas City as home base and notes it was recorded at Sound Recorders Studio in K.C., but for all I know, that could be the home of one of the players.  Features three brothers, Dennis, Phil, and Kevin Rogers along with a host of other players.  Dennis Rogers handles most the drum work and is fantastic.  Kevin Rogers handles guitars and Phil does a lot of synth work.  The album was engineered by Kansas Citian, Ron Ubel, who did a lot work locally and nationally as a sound engineer.

Morningstar Venus Columbia 1979

Morningstar Venus Columbia 1979 CAT # JC 35713

I can tolerate Kansas City's brief foray into the realms of arena and studio rock.  Shooting Star, whatever.  Missouri, better than you think.  Kansas, they got the prog rock thing and that's cool.  But, this band is awful.  The Kansas Music Hall of Fame states they barely missed their moment.  The band's contemporaries like Styx, Journey, and Foreigner had all opted for a ballad driven sound while the rest of the musical landscape was filled with disco and punk--the hard rock sound of Morningstar was destined to be overlooked.  Really?  That may have been true on the pop charts, but last I checked, AC/DC, Aerosmith, The Who, and Led Zeppelin were putting out "hard rock" albums and staying both successful and enjoyable without support of pop radio.  Last I checked, most of those bands put out good music in the late 70's.  Morningstar just isn't that good.

I mean, they seem like competent players.  They sound slick and polished.  They have cool facial hair and great bangs on the back cover.  One problem, they didn't write good songs.  What they do well is showcase the ineptitude of major labels, even at a time when record labels were still successful. The band  appears to be a case of major labels keeping up with the Joneses.  Whenever and wherever something is successful, the labels always find a way to saturate the market with sound alikes.  The band Kansas scored substantial hits in the mid-70's.  Shooting Star was signed by Virgin and being thrown out there in heavy doses.  The band Missouri had a moderate hit without even having major label support.  So, Morningstar seems like Columbia's attempt to cash in on the Kansas/Missouri rock sound.

Even worse, the label just threw them into the melting pot.  You can tell the band was forced to step outside their comfort zone in hopes of finding a hit song.  There's the Styx moments on the record, the moments that try to be the working man's tune, and the moments that get sappy.  This was their second album, so they tried everything.  Overall, it just created an uneven album and history suggests that Columbia gave up on the band shortly after it's release.

Angel

John Biggs The Roads We Travel Blue Valley Records 1979

John Biggs The Roads We Travel Blue Valley Records 1979 CAT# 001

Private press LP from Manhattan, Kansas.  I got this by posting records on Instagram.  There's an absurd amount of people that post, brag about, and talk about records on Instagram.  I got into it just recently, started following @soundtracksunday.  He posts a lot of soundtracks and his thing is he started the soundtracksunday hash-tag in which you listen, post, and hash tag a soundtrack on Sundays (obviously).  I posted a copy of the Rockers soundtrack and mentioned I had a double, @soundtracksunday asked if I wanted to trade.  I replied, sure, but sent it to him without committing to any sort of trade at the time.  A few months later I got this out of it, cool right?

It is decent.  John Biggs is a picker and falls a bit more on the country side of things than he does the bluegrass side.  I wish there was a larger scene for stuff like this in Kansas.  Many, many, years ago there was Big K Records out of Kansas City that did a lot of root driven country music.  There's also the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas.  It's a large acoustic music festival catering to pickers, bluegrass and old time music.  There's also an absurdly large scene that goes from Springfield to St. Louis, Missouri.  Some of it incredibly good.  Most of it a little too influenced by Jesus, the Ozarks, and Branson, Missouri.  But, the good stuff is really good.  Since the furthest I'm going to get away from Kansas is St. Joseph, Missouri, I wish there was more stuff like this available from Kansans.

Biggs is good when he keeps it on the country side.  His originals aren't too bad.  The traditional songs that make up the bulk of the album are the best moments.  My biggest complaint is that his voice is in the higher registers.  The arrangements are crisp and it tends to make his voice sound like a minstrel Renaissance fair singer.  That, and he's from Manhattan, Kansas, but that goes without saying.

Dan Sturdevant Band Tyrannosaurus Rex B/W Ol' Man River Private Press Release 1979

Dan Sturdevant Band Tyrannosaurus Rex B/W Ol' Man River Private Press Release 1979 No Cat #


I'm not sure why this exists?  The lyrics to Tyrannosaurus Rex seem to be a shot at dependency on oil.  It was put out in 1979, the U.S. Gas Crisis was several years before this was released, so that's not the answer.  You can try the lyrics, but they are as cryptic as a 14 year old girl on Facebook.  There's also a possible explanation on the back side following the lyrics stating; "Of course, Tyrannosaurus Rex's remains make up a very small part of the biomass in creating oil--and who knows if, in the apparently natural evolutionary design, man will be superceded by "three legged creatures"?"  What?  What the fuck is Dan Strurdevant referring to?


Regardless, it's local.  Recorded in KCMO.  It's awful.  Kind of lounge-y, but not over the top enough.  It seems as if everybody was trying really hard to create a fun, laugh along song.  Problem, the song is awful and it's not funny.  The B-Side is a cover of Ol' Man River.  It's awful, too.  You figure it's because how do you follow such a killer A-Side, right?  More likely, the guy just thought his idea had to see the light of day, he didn't have any other songs to offer but had to get the one he did out there as soon as possible.

***Afterthought, did some research, Mr. Sturdevant, does a lounge act in KC and still pens some tunes from time to time.

Lounge
Eh, a Christmas song about KC