Fullbloods Mild West High/Dive Records 2015

Fullbloods Mild West High/Dive Records 2015 CAT# HDR013

Millennial Dad Rock is my new favorite genre. Seriously, these Kansas City dudes are slick and weren't afraid to use the studio as an instrument. Which is nice to see in indie-rock, it's okay to layer up sounds and seek that clean Fleetwood Mac perfection, although, people got Pro Tools now, Fleetwood Mac just had tape and lots of cocaine to get things perfect. But, yeah, these kids in the Fullbloods evoke groups like Steely Dan and Fleetwood Mac, albeit, the lite version, but the clean sound is there.

And they don't go full yacht rock, the Fullbloods would rather flirt with all the smoothness, they still have their indie-rock moments. But man, the track "Anima Mundi" is so Steely Dan-ish, it's hard to think of anything else when you play this LP.

The whole album, even at Steely Dan-lite status, is great. Chill vibe, not as jazz heavy as the Dan, but the light blues rock guitar riffs and vocal gymnastics are what draw you in.

Anima Mundi

The Ozark Mountain Daredevils It'll Shine When It Shines A&M 1974

The Ozark Mountain Daredevils It'll Shine When It Shines A&M 1974 CAT# SP-36

This album contains the Daredevils standout, yacht-rock hit, "Jackie Blue." It still sounds strange in the context of the band's music. They try so hard to be down-home and roots driven rock n' roll. They step heavily into country and bluegrass and keep a live sound. Then, out of nowhere, "Jackie Blue" with its smoothness and cocaine perfection. You'd guess the band was from Los Angeles and not in between Springfield, Missouri and Kansas City.

From there, the Daredevils do what they do. Play around with rock n' roll and traditional roots music. There's a  track entitled, "Kansas You Fooler," which seems to recall the bitter Kansas-Missouri rivalry, However, this appears to be a coming to terms with Kansas after leaving Colorado, seeing all the flatness of Western, Kansas is kind of peaceful. Another highlight is the track, "E.E. Lawson," which is this driving bass rhythm with truck stop vocals telling the story, it's a bit novelty, but clever. Overall, the LP is a strong effort worth repeated listens.

Jackie Blue

Randle Chowning Band Hearts On Fire A&M Records 1978

Randle Chowning Band Hearts On Fire A&M Records 1978 CAT #SP-4715

Upon the first break up of the mighty Ozark Mountain Daredevils, Randle Chowning, the band's singer and likely leader branched out on his own to record this LP. Chowning stayed with his management team (or maybe his management team stayed with him), Good Karma Productions and actually appears to have relocated to Kansas City for this part of his career. The band lists their contact address as 4218 Main Street, KCMO.

He's joined by some other dudes, who I can't find much on. Assume they were friends from the Springfield area, maybe KC guys, but for all we know, could have just been L.A. session guys. He put them all together to make under-the-radar yacht rock LP. Under the radar because no one cared about it, yacht rock because to this day, no one cares about it.

It's not awful, it has moves and has pleasant moments. Unfortunately, it's not very good, either. Middle of the road pomp from 1978, it's what'd you expect from an obscure major label release no one knows exists.

Within A Dream

Alan White I'm Stranger Here Myself Laughing Willow 1987

Alan White I'm Stranger Here Myself Laughing Willow 1987 CAT# LW 1001

Full disclosure; I'm probably never going to grab this album again. This is going to be my first and only impression of this release.

I can't find much info on Alan White, based on the LP it appears his home base was Kansas City, KS. Other than that, you can find listings on-line from sellers, most people that have tried to sell this LP try to pass it off as jazz. Which is weird, it came out in 1987. People selling records should know that there are only like 5 80's Jazz albums that people are actively searching for. That said, it does have jazz influences, on the smooth, yacht-rock, side of jazz, but the influence is there.

So yeah, yacht rock or 80's blue-eyed soul is where this lands. Lots of programmed beats and synth, but still a lot of organic stuff, horns play a prominent role and sometimes the guitar takes center stage. Alan White sings with soul, he lands on Michael McDonald spectrum, in that, yeah, he's got some soul, but I can still tell he's white.

Overall, I'm not a fan of this type of thing, but despite not having an expert opinion, I believe this is a well done LP. For a privately issued LP, it's insanely well-produced. The LP was produced by Alan White himself so it's surprising I can't find a list of other work he was involved in. This should all sound terribly corny, cheap and plastic. But, kid you not, if someone played this for me and said, "This was huge in the 80's." I'd believe them. Alan White's songs are par for course, the lyrics aren't hokey, the players are capable, the songs are well put together and thought out, and again, the production is well done. It's a little simple, but hey, that was the scene. If slick, privately produced, jazz-influenced pop-albums from the 80's ever become a collector thing, I'd say this might record might get noticed.

Brewer & Shipley Shake Off the Demon Karma Sutra 1971

Brewer & Shipley Shake Off the Demon Karma Sutra 1971 CAT# KSBS 2039

A friend of mine and I were talking and he brought up "Yacht Rock", which is basically a term to describe music similar to Loggins & Messina.  Smooth rock, pop oriented, and usually crappy.  So, that got me thinking, does Kansas or Kansas City have any Yacht Rockers?  The best I could come up with is Brewer and Shipley.  Famous for the song, "One Toke Over the Line."

These handsome devils aren't really from Kansas or Kansas City.  One is from Ohio the other is an Okie.  However, after their debut LP, they located to Kansas City, Missouri.  In doing so, they are HUGE, in this area.  Classic rock stations play "One Toke Over the Line" in heavy rotation.  Furthermore, they truly did call KC their home, so props to them, it's a nice town and central.

As for this LP and the band in general, it's a little too folk oriented to be true yacht rock, but it's the closest I could come.  The music definitely has a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young feel (it's not nearly as good), doesn't ever try to rock too hard and doesn't ever try to be too country, just kind of walks in the middle with folk leanings.