Magical Moment Photos

ERIC BLOOM OF THE AMAZING BLUE OYSTER CULT IN OAKLAND, CA. ON 6-6-76. PHOTO/ART BY BEN UPHAM.

BLUE OYSTER CULT-
“ON YOUR FEET OR ON YOUR KNEES”
(LIVE ALBUM FROM 1975) REVIEWS

#1-
“No One Envied the Bands That Had To Follow Up This One”
By Bud (Seminole, Texas, USA)
June 4, 2004

When surveying Blue Oyster Cult’s catalog of live albums, it’s apparent that each of these in-concert releases was carefully placed at a specific point in the band’s career, to sum up or end a particular epoch. Such albums include “Some Enchanted Evening” (1978), “Extraterrestrial Live” (1982), and the recent triumph “A Long Day’s Night.” Each live album balanced old and new material, describing the advances and new territories discovered, while making sure to note the material from previous eras that made the progression possible. 1975′s “On Your Feet Or On Your Knees” was the first of these releases, an homage to BOC’s first three albums (all of which were landmark recordings for the heavy metal genre), and a reliable testament to what kept this great band alive-loyal touring and performing.
The blazing fury on this album completely blows away many, if not most, live albums that came before it; in 1975, Peter Frampton’s “Frampton Comes Alive” was still a year away, and artists were not yet mistaking his example and disguising greatest hits albums under the live album mask (though some bands did manage to make live albums a meaningful event). Some of the only concert recordings released before “On Your Feet Or On Your Knees” that had as much fire and energy were The Who’s “Live at Leeds,” Deep Purple’s “Made in Japan,” and Bob Dylan & The Band’s “Before the Flood.”
The focus on these songs should not be so much on melody as on the fact that each of these five men are playing their guts out. The extended guitar readings that dominate the album are pure heavy metal passion and a musical bond that few bands can perfect. A perfect example is `Seven Screaming Diz-Busters,’ which features a searing guitar exercise in which drummer Albert Bouchard’s driving drum beats are kept perfectly in time with the soaring guitar work, one musician in heavy metal harmony with another. And when BOC does show a hint of restraint, it is just as hypnotic; Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser’s `Then Came the Last Days of May’ is one of the best songs written during their early era, a haunting but deceptively melodic tune about the futility and violence of the drug business. The collection closes on an appropriate note, a cover of `Born To Be Wild,’ one of the songs that coined the phrase “heavy metal.”
Perhaps it’s best that “On Your Feet Or On Your Knees” has not yet been fully remastered. The studio polishing would only take away from the raw sound that places the listener amidst the battalion of appreciative fans cheering for a band that were among the most unrelenting pioneers in heavy metal. As non-mainstream (for the 70s) as this music was, “On Your Feet Or On Your Knees” was Blue Oyster Cult’s first album to break into the Top 30, a stunning document of the innovations to come; it is both the end and the beginning of an era.

#2-
“A hearty slice of the Rabid 1970s”
By S. R.
February 16, 2005

Blue Oyster Cult recorded “On Your Feet…” at a time when they were selling out venues all over the world without the benefit of a hit single anywhere. A raw sounding record with NO OVERDUBS shows the rabidness of the band and gives a wicked slice of their first few releases with a couple cover songs thrown in, to boot. Speaking about sonics, this album will not impress you at first especially if your under the age 25, but give it a further listen a realize the time it was (I’m not saying its a badly recorded album, it just sounds like a mid 70s live album). “Then came the Last Days of May” features killer Buck Dharma solos, and is one of the coolest songs of the era, and the band’s re-working of the Yardbirds “I aint got You” is also very good rock. This is the band before “Don’t fear The Reaper” was released and before their style began to progress to a more adult-oriented rock and roll. But it’s all good, and it’s all cranked to high volume. A good lost classic for any collectors of landmark musical recordings. An interesting piece of history from an American metal band amongst a sea of British metal gods. An album worthy of the landmark title and should be on the tip of tongues of metal-heads everywhere like Led Zeppelin, and Black Sabbath is today. Blue Oyster Cult took a back seat to NO metal band of ANY era they just progressed beyond the (for lack of a better phrase) the teenage genre. Check it out.

#3-
“Let me take you back”
By Dr. Music
July 28, 2004

In a darkened room, set up your speakers on the floor about four feet apart. Now, lay down with your head on a pillow positioned midway between your speakers. I’m serious! Crank up Last Days of May (without making your ears bleed) and close your eyes.
Now, picture white clad Buck Dharma, bathed in blue light, standing alone in a smoky spotlight beam. A heady brew of pot and perfume permeates the air. Buck looks down as you strain against the crowd that yearns for your spot on the barrier, longing to worship at his feet. He smiles at you with his infectious grin and nods knowingly as he effortlessly produces the most unearthly, mournful wails ever to emanate from a guitar. You stare in disbelief and a shiver comes over you as if it was you in that ill-fated back seat, with your life-blood flowing and your mis-spent life slipping away before your eyes. The crush fades as the crowd becomes mesmerized. Lighters begin to pierce the darkness like stars on a moonless night. Someone nearby lets out a shrill whistle. Buck turns and your ears buzz with a harmonic ringing, like a pickup on Buck’s guitar. The solo ends with a flourish, the lights come up and he joins Eric Bloom, clad in sunglasses and a theatrical black cape, as they bring the song to a finish. The spell is broken and the air is forced from your lungs as the crowd surges forward, pinning you against the barrier. You could die a happy man now. You have witnessed one of the greatest live songs ever recorded.
This album captures Blue Oyster Cult’s musical genius and raw power like lightning in a bottle. At the time this was recorded, the sound level at a BOC concert could probably be measured on a seismograph!
Unlike most live albums, many of the songs here are actually better than the studio versions. Last Days of May compared to the studio version is like The Red and the Black compared to I’m on the Lamb: not even close. Subhuman is unbelievable! Buck flat out wails and Allen plays the Hammond like a six-string axe. Seven Screaming Dizbusters just keeps building and building to a diz-busting climax. Harvester of Eyes is transformed into a crunchy boogie that is far more enjoyable than the already good studio version.
The CD is not without its faults such as bad production, that annoying screech between two tracks, the repeat of a portion of Buck’s Boogie as a jam at the end of Maserati GT and of course, several conspicuously absent classics. Despite this, it still ranks as one of, if not THE greatest live album in rock history.
I for one would not mind if this album was remastered, if for no other reason than to get rid of that awful screech. As an owner of a vinyl copy as well, I am annoyed by the crossover added to the CD to meld four album sides into one.

#4-
“ALBERT, ALLEN, JOE, BUCK & ERIC’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE” March 29, 2006
By stevenb
March 29, 2006

Of all the live albums this band has ever done, this has got to be a personal best. Albert Bouchard, the band’s drummer, stated in an interview that this was his favorite. This may not be BOC’s best recorded album of all time, but it excells in surprises and unpredictability. It was listening to OYFOOYN that I was first introduced to this amazing band…they had an aura and a mystyic about them. Looking at the earlier albums later, I thought…just who are these guys, and better yet…which one was which?
THE SONGS:

SUBHUMAN: This band started off with a song that deserved a live recording. It has a certain Santana quality to it. Good starting song.

HARVESTER OF EYES: Where did that oooweeoo sound come from? Synthesizer? Guitar? And by the way, who will take responsibility for that? Eric? Buck? Allen? It’s perfect! This is the song that really introduces the album. It’s way better than the SECRET TREATIES version and is unrelenting from beginning to end.

HOT RAILS TO HELL: Joe Bouchard’s hellhole trash metal. Once again, a much different and better turn than in the studio.

RED & THE BLACK: A great song that is an all-time BOC classic, worth it all even just to hear Joe’s bass solo.

SEVEN SCREAMING DIZ-BUSTERS: The song your Baptist parents warned you about. Probably about as controversial a tune as ME-262, this entry has got some assorted treats in it.

BUCK’S BOOGIE: Penned instrumental by Buck and Albert, this jawbreaker has some of the best guitar and keyboard give-and-take ever heard.

THEN CAME THE LAST DAYS OF MAY: Blue Oyster Cult’s mellower side. Yes, this version is much better than their first album’s account. Buck’s lead guitar literally sings on this one.

CITIES ON FLAME: BOC comes roaring back with a song I’m sure all devoted BOC fans appreciate. Albert does the vocals, and this has got to be their best version…oh, to see all of this on DVD. Allen Lanier is especially impressive-to start off with keyboards (on the whole through their career Allen does not sing), and end the song with second guitar.

ME-262: As The Band’s The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down is an account of the Civil War from a Southern man’ perspective, this song is an account of WW2 from a German bomber pilot’s angle of vision…about as controversial a song as Walker Blues by Steve Earle. This take on the song is a little inferior to the one on SECRET TREATIES but worth it to hear all of them on guitar. This is the live part to watch the early charter members do their five-man guitar frontal assault before the audience.

BEFORE THE KISS, A REDCAP: My top-ten personal favorite from BOC. Actually, I love both takes on this one.

MASERATI GT: A song by MC5 that I’m sure BOC loved to cover. This song has a certain roadhouse quality to it and it is enhanced by Eric’s vocals and Buck’s solo guitar in it.

BORN TO BE WILD: The classic BOC live song they never wrote. Poorly recorded, it’s sometimes hard to find out exactly what they are all doing during the song. I guess it might have been better to insert a live take of ODed ON LIFE ITSELF or DOMINANCE & SUBMISSION. Or even a DVD of OYFOOYN to see what is exactly going on.

On the whole, this album closes a chapter of BOC’s first wild and crazy era. It is called the black and white period, where Blue Oyster Cult were the original bad boys your parents didn’t want to even know about, much less listen to. Nowadays, the Oyster Boys keep on rocking the house with fans ranging from teenaged kids to 40-somethings such as me and older. I guess BOC’s future may something on the order of selling out assisted living homes. One thing is for sure…they don’t look like they will ever retire from this.

#5-
“The Best Live Heavy-Metal Album of Its Time”
By BluesDuke (Las Vegas, Nevada)
August 4, 2003

After a magnificent debut album, Blue Oyster Cult’s two succeeding studio albums suffered from excellent material sounding as though it been cut in a huge hurry between concert gigs, minus the stage ambience that enhanced and amplified the band’s hyperkinetic, craftsmanlike playing style (the knitting of their guitars and keyboards had always set them apart from the usual pound-sound heavy metal) and strikingly arrayed songs. This was one heavy metal band that concentrated as much on music structure as they did on blast and flash and weren’t afraid to let a little lyricism or melodism run around loose. What a surprise, then, that the most full-sounding Blue Oyster Cult album in their pre-”Agents of Fortune” period would be a live album. With a few slight re-arrangements – the added intro/bridge of “Subhuman,” the cheeky finale bridge for “Seven Screaming Dizbusters” (with singer Eric Bloom’s smartass parody of Mickey and Sylvia’s “Love Is Strange” repartee), the thundercrack, soaring four-guitar-and-bass midsection of “ME 262,” the eerie synthesiser support for an extended guitar solo (and a pretty one) on Donald (Buck Dharma) Roeser’s early master ballad, “Then Came The Last Days of May” – and a couple of clever covers (especially the oddly atmospheric “I Ain’t Got You”), the Cult delivered a setfull of the exuberant, insouciant slash that made them such an in-person favorite even when their recordings weren’t selling accordingly.

Interestingly, the band divided the selections almost evenly from their first three albums: three from “Blue Oyster Cult” (including a speedball-accelerated “Before The Kiss, A Redcap” and “Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll”), three from “Tyranny and Mutation,” and three from “Secret Treaties,” the aforesaid pair of covers, and the concert favourite “Buck’s Boogie.” For the latter, Roeser and keyboardsman Allen Lanier trade off on some whip-it solos before Lanier eases back to play support-and-push for the guitarist’s galloping flights. It could have been a washout of self-indulgence but wasn’t; Roeser was always too sensible and tasteful a player for that (he was nothing if not the most underrated guitarist of his breed), and it didn’t hurt that the band could and did keep up with him and keep him anchored as well as they did.

As a kind of wrap-up to their early era (they were already at work on the music that would become “Agents of Fortune,” determined to take the kind of care with it that they took with their first album, avoiding the rush job of the second two), “On Your Feet or On Your Knees” was as good as it got and then some. For a band whose strength was as much their concert style as their recordings, Blue Oyster Cult would never again put forth a live album (there were two yet to come, the disappointing “Some Enchanted Evening” and the inconsistent “Extraterrestrial Live”) equal to this one’s elemental sophistication of power and sensibility.

BLUE OYSTER CULT DISCOGRAPHY:
1972 Blue Öyster Cult
1973 Tyranny and Mutation
1974 Secret Treaties
1975 On Your Feet or On Your Knees
1976 Agents of Fortune
1977 Spectres
1978 Some Enchanted Evening
1979 Mirrors
1980 Cultösaurus Erectus
1981 Fire of Unknown Origin
1982 Extraterrestrial Live
1983 The Revölution by Night
1986 Club Ninja
1988 Imaginos
1994 Cult Classic
1994 Live 1976
1998 Heaven Forbid
2001 Curse of the Hidden Mirror
2001 St. Cecilia: The Elektra Recordings
2002 A Long Day’s Night

CLICK THE LINKS BELOW TO SEE BLUE OYSTER CULT PHOTOS:
BLUE OYSTER CULT PHOTOS BY BEN UPHAM
AND
BLUE OYSTER CULT FINE ART AMERICA IMAGES BY BEN UPHAM

CHARLIE TUMAHAI & BILL NELSON OF BE BOP DELUXE PERFORMING IN SPOKANE, WA. ON 11-19-76. PHOTO BY BEN UPHAM.

BILL NELSON-
“FANCY PLANETS” CD

Studio Album, released in 2009

Songs / Tracks Listing:
1. Fancy Planets.
2. The Golden Days Of Radio (Compact Mix).
3. Kiss Me Goodnight, Captain Marvel.
4. The Land Of Dreams Is Closed.
5. This Leads To That Leads To This.
6. Where Are We Now.
7. Twice In A Blue Moon.
8. Everyday Now Is Forever Again.
9. She Dreams Of Fires.
10. I Hear Electricity.
11. Mysterious Object Overhead.
12. Dream Cities Of The Heart.
13. Mystery Engine.
14. The Golden Days Of Radio (Hypermix).

Line-up / Musicians:
Bill Nelson all instruments
Releases information:
Released on Sonoluxe CD013 July 2009

REVIEWS:
#1-
BY STATGRUBBY-
NOVEMBER 2, 2009

Full vocals on this one. Edgy and perfect. IT has great melodies and hooks hooks hooks. If you love Bill..this is a classic!

#2-
BY STEPHEN B. GRIGGS – MuzikReviews.com Contributor
FEBRUARY 23, 2010

With Fancy Planets, prolific recording artist and revered experimental rocker Bill Nelson creates his own, rather well removed, sonic universe. The cover art depicts a buxom damsel distraught in the arms of a soaring space villain. Rest assured, the music is a trip too. Between lyrics on dream-space-and-time travel, super heroes (“Kiss Me Goodnight, Captain Marvel”), and super beauties (“The Land of Dreams Is Closed”) and fantastically over the top production, even the casual listener can’t help be entertained.
What Nelson creates on Fancy Planets is his own show, his own framework for his music, which makes it very hard for him to go wrong. Cheating? Maybe, but it’s arguably the same idea behind what we hear on commercial radio. The rules don’t apply; this isn’t for people who like the rules. And with that, Nelson bathes you in chimes before zapping you with synth lasers and phaser beam guitars, all the while spouting off something or other about time traveling cowboys and lucid dreams. If it weren’t all so tongue-in-cheek, it’d be cheesy, but lines like “Me oh my, oh how that dress becomes you / me oh my, and here it comes again” induce smiles rather than cringes.
Despite all the wise cracks and techie noodling, the songs on Fancy Planets make for good rock ‘n’ roll, with plenty of guitar work and a few considerable hooks that manage to get nestled in the mix. “The Golden Days of Radio” is an easy standout choice, replete with BBC Radio vocal samples and guitar tones that change at the drop of a name. Albeit, Fancy Planets would sound like more of a guitar record, but the MIDI-heavy orchestration often pushes Nelson’s fret play to the back of the mix. You can tell he’s having fun, and that enjoyment transmits, but if there’s any detractor on Fancy Planets it’s over-saturation. The carnival only comes to town for a limited time, and fourteen songs—none shorter than two and a half minutes—stuffed full of production and flippancy are likely to tire out all but the most devoted Nelson fans. A healthy tasting might include “The Golden Days of Radio,” a catalog of the man’s guitar heroes; “Kiss Me Goodnight, Captain Marvel” with its tasty refrain; “Where Are We Now” a nice ambient interlude; and “I Hear Electricity.”
Often times an artist’s prolificacy necessitates a sacrifice of quality for quantity, and ultimately, Fancy Planets—a fifth release for 2009—is another exercise of Nelson’s productive muscles. The end result is an entertaining listen, offering the odd song that earns its own despite the company.

#3-
BY BEN UPHAM
12-31-2011
I have been a fan of Bill Nelson for 36 years now. I was initially exposed to his Music at a Concert by Be Bop Deluxe in Spokane, Wa. on 11-19-76 as they were the opening act for Ted Nugent.
It was a brilliant performance that had the entire audience stomping and lighting their lighters for a full 10 minutes to get them back for a lengthy encore! This was a Ted Nugent crowd in late 1976 mind you…
After seeing that show I went out and purchased a couple of Be Bop Deluxe’s albums, “Axe Victim” and “Sunburst Finish”. The Music was fantastic and I was on my way to becoming a huge fan of this band. I was disappointed to hear that the group had disbanded in 1978. Nelson released “Red Noise” in 1979 and I remember listening to it and not appreciating it at all.
He had gone into a new realm that sounded nothing like the Rock stylings of his Be Bop Deluxe days…Almost no audible guitar could be heard…
Flash forward about 20 years and I started to give some of Bill’s later releases a chance.
The CD’s that I wound up finding were quite good….”Practically Wired….Or How I Became Guitar-Boy”, “Blue Moons and Laughing Guitars”, and “Whimsey” were among my favorites. They were fresh and found Bill exploring many new Musical Worlds…But still…For me at least they were not as intense and satisfying as the Be Bop Deluxe material from the 1970′s…
Then a few months ago I was turned on to “Fancy Planets”…
I’ve got to say that for my ears and Musical tastes this is the BEST Bill Nelson Music since Be Bop Deluxe! It’s not that it’s retro, or goes back to that Be Bop sound either…More like it has transported much of the Be Bop Space and Energy forward in Time from the 1970′s to receive a 2009 treatment….
It is a Magical, Shining open door to fresh and new ideas and lots of excitement in Bill’s singing and playing….It sounds to me like his finest work to date…The production is fantastic. The guitar work is everywhere in the mix….lots of great power chords and spacey riffs along with golden soloing and even a few Be Bop surprise licks!
I am hoping that anyone reading this that hasn’t given this CD a listen will at least sample it from the links that I’m attaching…It is a beautiful addition to anyones collection if you have any respect for this man’s gift…Thank You Bill…………..

BE-BOP DELUXE DISCOGRAPHY:
1974 Axe Victim
1975 Futurama
1976 Sunburst Finish
1976 Modern Music
1977 Live in the Air Age
1978 Drastic Plastic
1978 The Best of and the Rest of
1981 Singles A’s and B’s
1987 Raiding the Divine Archive
1994 Radioland- BBC Radio One Live in Concert
1997 Air Age Anthology
1998 Tramcar to Tomorrow
2002 Tremulous Antennae
2002 Postcards from the Future

BILL NELSON (SOLO) DISCOGRAPHY:
Northern Dream (1971)
Sound – On – Sound (1979) (Bill Nelson’s Red Noise)
Quit Dreaming And Get On The Beam (1981) Mercury
Sounding The Ritual Echo (Atmospheres for Dreaming) (1981)
Das Kabinet (The Cabinet Of Doctor Caligari) (1981)
The Love That Whirls (Diary Of A Thinking Heart) (1982)
La Belle Et La Bete (1982)
Chimera (1983)
Savage Gestures For Charm’s Sake (1983)
The Two-Fold Aspect of Everything (1984)
Trial By Intimacy – The Summer Of God’s Piano (1985)
Trial By Intimacy – Chamber Of Dreams (Music from the Invisibility Exhibition) (1985)
Trial By Intimacy – Pavilions Of The Heart And Soul (1985)
Trial By Intimacy – A Catalogue Of Obsessions (1985)
Chameleon (The Music Of Bill Nelson) (1985)
Getting The Holy Ghost Across (1986)
Iconography (1986) [Orchestra Arcana]
Map Of Dreams (1987)
Chance Encounters In The Garden Of Lights – The Angel At The Western Window (1987)
Chance Encounters In The Garden Of Lights – The Book Of Inward Conversation (1987)
Optimism (1988) [Orchestra Arcana]
Demonstrations Of Affection – Chimes And Rings (1989)
Demonstrations Of Affection – Nudity (1989)
Demonstrations Of Affection – Heartbreakland (1989)
Demonstrations Of Affection – Details (1989)
Simplex (1990)
Raiding the Divine Archive – [Be-Bop Deluxe] (1990)
Altar Pieces (1990)
Luminous (1991)
Blue Moons & Laughing Guitars (1992)
Automatic (1994) [Channel Light Vessel]
Radioland – [Be-Bop Deluxe] (1994) BBC Radio 1 live in concert 1976
Crimsworth (Flowers, Stones, Fountains And Flames) (1995)
Practically Wired or how I became…Guitarboy! (1995)
My Secret Studio Volume I – Buddha Head (1995)
My Secret Studio Volume I – Electricity Made Us Angels (1995)
My Secret Studio Volume I – Deep Dream Decoder (1995)
My Secret Studio Volume I – Juke Box For Jet Boy (1995)
After The Satellite Sings (1996)
Excellent Spirits (1996) [Channel Light Vessel]
Confessions Of A Hyperdreamer: My Secret Studio Volume II – Weird Critters (1997)
Confessions Of A Hyperdreamer: My Secret Studio Volume II – Magnificent Dream People (1997)
Atom Shop (1998)
Whistling While The World Turns (2000)
Noise Candy – Old Man Future Blows The Blues (2002)
Noise Candy – Stargazing With Ranger Bill (2002)
Noise Candy – Sunflower Dairy Product (2002)
Noise Candy – King Frankenstein (2002)
Noise Candy – Console (2002)
Noise Candy – Playtime (2002)
Caliban And Chrome Harmonium (2002)
Astral Motel (2002)
Whimsy (2003)
Whimsy Two (A Garage Full Of Clouds) (2003)
The Romance Of Sustain Volume One: Painting With Guitars (2003)
Luxury Lodge (2003)
Plaything (2003)
Dreamland To Starboard (2004)
Custom Deluxe (2004)
Satellite Songs (2004)
Wah-Wah Galaxy (2004)
Rosewood: Ornaments And Graces For Acoustic Guitar Volume One (2005)
Rosewood: Ornaments And Graces For Acoustic Guitar Volume Two (2005)
Orpheus In Ultraland (2005)
The Alchemical Adventures Of Sailor Bill (2005)
Neptune’s Galaxy (2006)
Return To Jazz Of Lights (2006)
Arcadian Salon (2006)
Gleaming Without Lights (2006)
Secret Club For Members Only (2007)
And We Fell Into A Dream (2007)
Silvertone Fountains (2008)
Illuminated At Dusk (2008)
Mazda Kaleidoscope (2008)
Clocks & Dials (2008)
Golden Melodies Of Tomorrow (2008)
Fancy Planets (2009)
Here Comes Mr Mercury (2009)
Theatre Of Falling Leaves (2009)
The Dream Transmission Pavilion (2009)
Non-Stop Mystery Action (2009)
Picture Post (2010)
Modern Moods For Mighty Atoms (2010)
Captain Future’s Psychotronic Circus (2010)
Fables And Dreamsongs (2010)
Fantasmatron (2011)
Signals From Realms Of Light (2011)
Model Village (2011)

CLICK THE LINKS BELOW FOR BE BOP DELUXE PHOTOS AND MORE:
BE BOP DELUXE FINE ART AMERICA IMAGES BY BEN UPHAM
AND
BE BOP DELUXE PHOTOS BY BEN UPHAM
AND
SAMPLE AND PURCHASE BILL NELSON- “FANCY PLANETS” CD

TOY CALDWELL OF THE MARSHALL TUCKER BAND (PHOTO/ART BY BEN UPHAM)

THE MARSHALL TUCKER BAND-
“THERE’S GOLD IN THEM GRASSROOTS”
THE GASTONIA GAZETTE
GASTONIA, NORTH CAROLINA
MAY 2, 1976

It’s 3:00 A.M. in the Capricorn sound studios on Broadway and while George McCorkle and Doug Gray of the Marshall Tucker Band get whipped in a game of Ping-Pong by the band’s roadies, down the hall in the main control room, Toy Caldwell, Marshall Tucker’s lead guitarist and songwriter, and producer Paul Hornsby are listening
to John McEuen of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band add some banjo overdubs to Caldwell’s ‘Long Hard Ride,’ the title track to the band’s fifth album and their first recorded instrumental. Mark Pucci, Capricorn Record’s publicist, is also there, touting the song as the next ‘Rawhide’, but as a publicist he knows he’s able to do little with press releases to help Tucker.
Marshall Tucker is a grassroots band, and its own greatest asset for publicity. For the last three-and-a-half years, the band has been on a “long hard ride,” covering the country in a customized bus on a grueling tour schedule, trying to play most of their markets at least twice a year. “We play a place,” says Toy, “and when we come back, there are twice as many people as before. All those people who come out to see ya, that’s a weird feeling sometimes. Look at me! What the hell do they want to see me for?”
While Marshall Tucker worked on their latest album in Macon, Capricorn threw a party for the band, giving them gold copies of their first album, “The Marshall Tucker Band,” recorded three years ago. And on the basis of their grassroots appeal, two other albums have gone gold within the last six months, “Where We All Belong” and
“Searchin’ fora Rainbow.”
Four years out of being just another club band from Spartanburg, S.C.,
Tucker still comprises its six original members, with Caldwell on lead, McCorkle on rhythm guitar, Gray on vocals, Tommy Caldwell (Toy’s brother) on bass, Jerry Eubanks on alto sax and flute and Paul Riddle on drums.
Toy Caldwell and McCorkle played together in high school in Spartanburg, then in the early Seventies Caldwell formed a band with Gray and Eubanks called The Toy Factory. In 1972 they joined
McCorkle, Riddle and Tommy Caldwell and changed their name to the Marshall Tucker Band, after the owner of their rehearsal hall in Spartanhurg.
In May of that year Tucker played with Wet Willie, a Capricorn Records group, at the Ruins, a club in Spartanburg. “They heard our stuff.” recalls Toy, and told us to take it to Phil Walden (President of Capricornt. Hell, I never heard of the cat. Still, we drove down to Macon and dropped a tape off.” They were booked into Grant’s Lounge in Macon. “I went by there one night,” recalls Capricorn’s executive vice president Frank Fenter, and they sounded entirely different than anything we had on the label. Surprisingly, though, people compare them to the Allman Brothers.
Marshall Tucker’s first album was released in March 1973, and that year they toured as the opening act for the Allman Brothers, before being added to tours with Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Eagles. And, as the Tucker band developed into a strong touring band Capricorn’s natural temptation to do a heavy hype on them waned. “It’s easy for me to sit here, with three gold records,” reflects Jerry Eubanks, “and say, ‘No, I’d never sell out.’ But there have been many times when you’re broke and starving when you’d do about anything. Capricorn had the sense not to come to us and say, ‘You be that kind of band,’ or put us into the position of trying to fill large halls when we weren’t ready for it.”
Doug Gray is less analytical. “You could never imagine me coming out on roller skates; I’d probably trip over my hair. We kid each other and say, ‘Hey, I’m gonna dress up in tights tonight.’ But we laugh at people who have to do that stuff in order to sell a record. If they want to do it, fine, but not anybody in our band. Hell, what would your friends think?”
Toy Caldwell turned to the new album, set for release in June. “The tunes — eight of them — are there. The pickin’s there and the sound is crisp.” The album demonstrates Marshall Tucker’s amazing versatility, with a mixture of slow — and fast-paced luncs, heavily overlaid with country, rock and jazz influences. In this latest album, they’re not just another Southern band. “The country is ready for Marshall Tucker.” Phil Walden immodestly proclaims. “Groups like the Eagles have paved the way… and the Eagles don’t say ‘ain’t’ like Marshall Tucker says ‘aint.’

MARSHALL TUCKER BAND DISCOGRAPHY:
1973 The Marshall Tucker Band
1974 A New Life
1974 Where we All Belong
1975 Searchin’ For A Rainbow
1976 Long Hard Ride
1977 Carolina Dreams
1978 Together Forever
1979 Runnin’ Like The Wind
1980 Tenth
1981 Dedicated
1982 Tuckerized
1983 Just Us
1983 Greetings From South Carolina
2003 Stompin’ Room Only (1976 Live)
2006 Live on Long Island 4-18-80
2008 Carolina Dreams Tour 1977

TOY CALDWELL DISCOGRAPHY:
1992 Toy Caldwell
1998 Can’t You See (Live)
2000 Son of the South

CLICK ON THE LINKS BELOW TO SEE MARSHALL TUCKER BAND PHOTOS AND ART:
MARSHALL TUCKER BAND PHOTOS BY BEN UPHAM
AND
MARSHALL TUCKER BAND ART BY BEN UPHAM
AND
MARSHALL TUCKER BAND FINE ART AMERICA IMAGES BY BEN UPHAM

LONESOME DAVE PEVERETT & ROD PRICE TURN THE SPOKANE COLISEUM BLUE ON 2-2-77. PHOTO/ART BY BEN UPHAM.

FOGHAT-
“YOUTH SCENE”
BY ANDY MELLEN
THE WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA
JANUARY 8, 1977

Although many major acts such as Queen and The Eagles rightfully command a lot of my listening time, much of my listening pleasure is derived from a wide array of lesser known groups and performers.
One such group is Foghat, a veteran British quartet which started up four years ago utilizing the nucleus of one of Savoy Brown’s earliest (and best) line-ups. Rhythm guitarist-lead singer Lonesome Dave Peverett, drummer Roger Earl and bassist Tony Stevens (who was replaced a couple of albums ago by Craig MacGregor) performed on some of Savoy’s most memorable sides, including the “Raw Sienna”, “A Step Further” and “Looking In” albums. Together with lead guitarist Rod Price, they paid their dues in the truest sense of the word, working countless one-nighters as the opening act for everyone from Deep Purple to Rod Stewart and The Faces.
The group’s determined efforts were rewarded last year when a single from the band’s fifth album, “Fool For The City”, proved to be one of the surprise hits of 1976. An edited version of “Slow Ride” went Top 10 nationally, boosting “Fool For The City” to platinum record status for sales in excess of one million units. Not a bad accomplishment for a group often dismissed by many critics and radio announcers as “just another boogie band.”
Foghat’s latest album, “Night Shift”, enhances the group’s reputation as an honest, hard working rock and roll outfit. The group’s sound remains the main feature of riff-dominated rockers such as “Take Me To The River”, “Driving Wheel” and “Burning The Midnight Oil”.
Rod Price’s lean, slashing guitar work is ably complemented by the aggressive bottom served up by Roger Earl and Craig MacGregor, resulting in a razor sharp assault on the senses. There will always be a place on my turntable for this group’s brand of unpretentious, straight-forward hard rocking.

FOGHAT DISCOGRAPHY:
1972 Foghat
1973 Foghat (Rock ‘n’ Roll)
1974 Energized
1974 Rock and Roll Outlaws
1975 Fool For The City
1976 Night Shift
1977 Foghat Live
1978 Stone Blue
1979 Boogie Motel
1980 Tight Shoes
1981 Girls to Chat and Boys to Bounce
1982 In the Mood for Something Rude
1983 Zig-Zag Walk
1994 Return Of The Boogie Men
1998 Road Cases (live)
1999 King Biscuit Flower Hour (Live)
2001 Road Cased Version 2 (live)
2001 Extended Versions (live)
2003 Decades Live
2003 Family Joules
2006 Live II

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO SEE FOGHAT PHOTOS:
FOGHAT PHOTOS BY BEN UPHAM

YESTERDAY & TODAY PERFORMING AT GOLDEN GATE PARK IN SAN FRANCISCO, CA. ON 4-18-75. PHOTO BY BEN UPHAM.

YESTERDAY & TODAY-
“1977 INTERVIEW”
BY MIKE DEL REY
THE MONTCLAIR TRIBUNE
MONTCLAIR, CALIFORNIA
APRIL 14, 1977

A few weeks ago I was in the dressing room at the Starwood, a somewhat showcase arena for new talent arriving in Hollywood. However, the group I talked to Saturday has, according to their publicity release, “arrived.”
The group is “Yesterday and Today.” They have just recently signed with London Records and their debut album “Yesterday and Today” is somewhat promising.
Yesterday and Today is composed of Dave Meniketti, lead guitar, lead vocals, background vocals; Joey Alves, rhythm guitar and background vocals; Phil Kennemore, bass, lead and background vocals; and Leonard Haze, drums, percussion, lead and background vocals.
In an “off-the-wall” manner where questions bounced from one subject to another, I interviewed Yesterday and Today in their dressing room before they took the stage.
MD: How did Yesterday and Today get started?
Dave M: Well, we wanted people to hear us and the only real way was to produce and promote our own concerts. We tried Oakland but Oakland is too funky.
MD: Funky?
Dave: Yes, too “Tower Of Power” and Graham Central Station”.
MD How did you go about promoting your own concerts?
Dave: We had money to put up. Then we just printed about 500 pamphlets and had some of our friends hand them out to the high schools in the area.
MD: Where was the first place Yesterday and Today played?
Dave: Well I believe it was “Ides Lodge Hall in Hayward.
MD: What does the Ides stand for?
Dave: If it stood for anything it’s beyond me.
MD: About how many people attended these self-promoted concerts.
Dave: Between 800 and 1,000.
MD: Were the concerts as “successful” as you thought they may have been?
Dave: Well, we played because we liked playing. As far as being successful we did get our music heard.
MD: How did the group come up with the name Yesterday and Today?
— Henry Bentley (loyal supporter and personal friend also in dressing
room): When the band was doing a concert at Treasure Island Naval Base for the enlisted men one thing lead to another and they were thrown but due to security. Later on that day the band called the promoter and during their conversation the promoter asked one of the members what the name of the group was. Not having a name, they used the first thing that came to mind and that was the title of an early Beatles album resting next to the phone, “Yesterday and Today.”
MD: Interesting. Well here is another toughie for the band. Do you feel that you’re a commercial band?
Leonard: Yes I think we’re commercial hard rock.
Joey: I think we’re commercial also. That is if commercial means selling a lot of albums.
MD: You guys were just on tour for the first time outside the West Coast. I heard that in San Antonio, Texas you got your best welcome yet.
Leonard: Well I don’t know if you can call it our best welcome but it was a welcome we won’t forget.
MD: What happened?
Leonard: San Antonio has one of the finest radio stations in the country; radio station KISS. Not any relation to our “Kiss” Station here at home. Anyway this station played our album “Y & T” before we got there. So consequently people in the S. A. area were familiar with our music.
MD: I heard the crowd would not let you off the stage.
Leonard: Well that’s true. We had already given three encores and if the house lights did not go on we would have given a fourth.
MD: Being a new band, did you have enough material to cover a fourth
encore?
Len: Oh yes. We have 30 written tunes.
MD: I also heard that when you were walking down the street in S. A. a car full of girls drove by and screamed “There goes Y&T”.
Len: Yes. That did happen.
MD: Dave. How did the title cut from your first album come about?
Dave: Well, if you mean “Alcohol,” it’s a true story about a friend of mine who got arrested by being under the influence of alcohol, and the song is his story.
MD: A couple more questions before you go on. Joey what did the band expect from this debut album?
Joey: Well it was like a test album. It would tell us where we went wrong or what we did right. We made the album so as to not overpower our live performance. We want to be better on stage than on an album.
Yesterday and Today are described by Henry Bentley as “steal on stear”. And for being the first such band out of the Oakland area Y & T will be here tomorrow.

YESTERDAY & TODAY (Y&T) DISCOGRAPHY:
1976 Yesterday & Today
1978 Struck Down
1981 Earthshaker
1982 Black Tiger
1983 Mean Streak
1984 In Rock We Trust
1985 Open Fire (Live)
1985 Down for the Count
1987 Contageous
1990 Ten
1991 Yesterday & Today Live
1995 Musically Incorrect
1997 Endangered Species
2000 BBC In Concert
2003 Unearthed Volume 1
2004 Unearthed Volume 2
2009 OneTwo (1st two albums Remastered)
2010 Facemelter

CLICK THE LINKS BELOW TO SEE YESTERDAY & TODAY (Y&T) PHOTOS:
Y&T FINE ART AMERICA IMAGES BY BEN UPHAM
and
YESTERDAY & TODAY PHOTOS FROM SF 4-18-75 BY BEN UPHAM
and
Y&T PHOTOS FROM SPOKANE, WA. ON 7-18-10 BY BEN UPHAM

JAMES YOUNG (J.Y.) OF STYX PLAYING SOME HOT GUITAR IN SPOKANE, WA. IN AUGUST 1977. PHOTO/ART BY BEN UPHAM.

STYX-
“MIDWEST HAS IT’S OWN ROCK SOUND”
BY BRUCE MEYER
THE HUTCHINSON NEWS
HUTCHINSON, KANSAS
MARCH 14, 1978

Rock ‘n’ roll has always been subject to a lot of geographical influences. It began in the South, a blend of blues and country with a beat, but spread rapidly and evolved wherever it found a home, from Los Angeles to Liverpool.
And the places where rock is most at home tend to evolve their own “sounds,” readily identified by anyone with even a passing interest in the music. Currently, California has its own mellow sound — typified by the Eagles and Linda Ronstadt and the South is stronger than ever with hard-driving guitar bands like Marshall Tucker and the Outlaws.
Then there’s the Midwest. Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland and a dozen other Midwestern cities have long been known as hotbeds of rock fever, but for some reason no “Midwest sound” has ever been defined.
Until now…
In the last few years a different sort of rock blend has developed in the Midwest, a synthesis that falls roughly between Britain’s art-rockers (Yes, Genesis, ELP) and the latterday heavy metal boogie bands (Aerosmith, Ted Nugent). Kansas — which leans more toward the arty side — is one successful example of this kind of group.
But perhaps the best Midwestern band of all right now is Styx, whose eight long years in the music business are finally beginning to pay off big.
Using last year’s superb “Grand Illusion” album as a springboard, the five members of Styx seem destined for the Big Time at last.
Which raises the question — why has it taken them so long? Styx guitarist James Young (J.Y.) answers: “My opinion is the whole thing is 25 percent talent and 75 percent having your business together — knowing what to do when. And we didn’t. There are a lot of talented bands that never surface — and in some ways, with progressive bands, it’s more difficult still.” That’s the word J.Y. uses for Styx’ music — “progressive” — and he concedes that it’s one of those terms that means something different to everyone. “But to me,” says J.Y., “progressive (rock) is music with a hard edge — that’s attractive to concert audiences — that is also self-indulgent enough to include an extended guitar solo, an extended synthesizer passage from time to time, without vocal communication to the audience.”
It takes time to evolve a musical identity as complex as Styx’ — and
the band has put its eight years of experience to good use, on stage as well as in the studio. “You don’t have a style when you start out,” says J.Y., “you’re shooting for a style … and we (the members of Styx) had such diverse influences, it was hard finding our own space, and yet please everyone in the group. “We explored a lot of directions …had to assess what our strong points are — a hard rock approach, the vocals, the dramatic changes and dynamics, the synthesizer work. So we’ve retained all these things and they’re pretty much the keys to everything we do.” They are also the keys to the emerging Midwest school of rock — and Styx is at the head of the class.

STYX DISCOGRAPHY:
1972 Styx
1973 Styx II
1974 The Serpent is Rising
1974 Man of Miracles
1975 Equinox
1976 Crystal Ball
1977 The Grand Illusion
1978 Pieces of Eight
1979 Cornerstone
1981 Paradise Theatre
1983 Kilroy was Here
1984 Caught in the Act (Live)
1990 The Edge of the Century
1997 Return to Paradise (Live)
1999 Brave New World
2001 Styxworld Live 2001
2002 Live at the Rivers Edge
2003 Cyclorama
2003 21st Century Live
2005 The Big Bang Theory
2006 One with Everything (Live)

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO SEE STYX PHOTOS:
STYX PHOTOS BY BEN UPHAM