Marcia Hines - "Marcia Shines" (1975)

Born in 1953 in Boston, USA, Marcia Hines arrived in Australia in 1969 - sixteen years old and pregnant - to take part in the local production of the musical "Hair".

Marcia in "Hair", cast photo, 1970

In 1973 she followed that success with the role of Mary Magdalene in the Australian production of "Jesus Christ Superstar" - I've always thought it would have been good if she'd been pregnant when she did that role - "What!? A second virgin birth?" etc.

Hines as Mary Magdalene, 1973

In 1974 she joined the Daly-Wilson Big Band for several tours and an album, posted here previously.

After signing to the Wizard Records label, she released her debut album "Marcia Shines" in 1975. The first two singles - a soul-tinged cover of James Taylor's "Fire and Rain", and a power ballad called "From The Inside", were smash hits, catapulting her into major star status in her adopted country.

The third single, the more soulful "Don't Let The Grass Grow" didn't fare as well, and this set up (to my mind) an unfortunate pattern in the way she was produced and marketed after this album : she was pigeonholed as a stirring pop ballad singer, and the funk-soul that was prevalent on this debut album was somewhat left behind in the search for hits.

Career-wise, it was a wise move - she spent the 70s and 80s producing gold record after gold record, always supported by string-laden productions with surefire Top Ten hits, and became one of the biggest stars in Australia. She's had several career resurgences in the decades since then, and is currently enjoying a high profile again as the "nice" judge in Australian Idol. Her daughter Deni Hines also had some success in the 1990s as a dance act.

The great track "You Gotta Let Go" (previews are at top of post today) has been revered in the northern soul underground for some time, but there are several other good tracks here. I'm particularly partial to the slow burning "Easy Evil", the soul-pop of "Don't Let the Grass Grow" and the blues-tinged "I Need It Just as Bad As You".

As a special bonus track, we've got the rare heavier-than-heavy version of Bill Withers' "You", the B-side of the first single "Fire And Rain". Unreleased elsewhere, and not to be confused with a pop hit of the same name she released a few years later, it's a screaming soul-rock number drenched in electric piano, pounding drums and a heavy hand on the reverb plate.

None of Marcia's 70s and 80s albums have been re-released, and the ubiquitous compilations of her work focus on the pop songs - with none of the good stuff from here - so I thought it would be good to get a proper rip of this album up here in WAV and 320 MP3.

Special thanks to people from the Midoztouch forum - Micko for the rip of the song "You", and Deutros for the cover scans.

TRACKLIST

01. "Fire and Rain" (James Taylor) - 4:50
02. "Trilogy" (Robie G Porter) - 4:25
03. "Don't Let The Grass Grow" (D. Buskin) - 3:07
04. "From The Inside" (Artie Wayne) - 3:31
05. "If This Was the Last Song" (Jimmy Webb) - 4:05
06. "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (Jagger-Richards) - 3:07
07. "You Gotta Let Go" (Randazzo-Pike) - 3:29
08. "But It's Alright" (Jackson-Tubbs) - 2:33
09. "I Need It Just As Bad As You" (Holland-Holland-Wylie) - 3:07
10. "Easy Evil" (Alan O'Day) - 5:24

BONUS TRACK :
11. "You" (Bill Withers)- (B-side of "Fire and Rain" single) - 4:18

MUSICIANS

Tracks 2-10 :
Bass - Jackie Orszaczky, Duncan McGuire
Drums- Mark Kennedy, Craig Collinge
Guitar - Tony Naylor, Stephen Howsden
Piano - Peter Jones
Percussion - Sunil De Silva

Tracks 1 and 11 :
"Baxter Funt"
probable lineup :
Michael Carlos or Peter White - keyboards
Ken Firth - bass
Michael Wade - guitar
Greg Henson - drums

PRODUCTION DETAILS

Wizard Records, 1975
Cat. # ZL 209
Produced by Robie G. Porter
Assisted by J. M. Wagner
Arranged by Peter Jones and Robie G. Porter
Orchestration by Peter Jones
Engineered by John Sayers - Trafalgar Studios, Sydney
and Roger Savage - Armstrong Studios, Melbourne, Australia.
Cover Design - Tony Hogarth and Barry Falkner
Artwork - Barry Falkner
Photography - Phillip Morris
Marcia is managed by Peter Rix at the Great Australian Sound Company

To : Tony Hogarth, Sue Cooper, MLK, The Daly Wislon Big Band & Baxter Funt my eternal gratitude. This abum is dedicated to Esmerelda McPherson of Boston, Mass.

POST CREDITS

Album rip by Simon666
Vinyl rip of "You" 45 by Micko
Cover Scans by Deutros
Link to Deni Hines album at Willforall

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Johnny Rocco Band - "Rocco" (1976)

Some more rare mid-70s unblogged, jazz-infused Aussie soul-funk.
No-one in this band is named Johnny Rocco - presumably they named themselves after Edward G. Robinson's bad guy in the 1948 film "Key Largo". This Sydney-based group of jazz and funk musicians were joined on this, their only LP, by the New Zealand-born Maori soul vocalist Leo De Castro.

Leo De Castro

One of a few Maori singers who made their mark in Australian soul-funk and other music in the 1970s, De Castro played in many bands, but recorded with relatively few. Like many urban indigenous musicians around the world who are surrounded by European culture, Maori musicians have often found a home in musics that stem from the African musical diaspora - soul-funk, reggae, and more recently hip hop - although besides this album, De Castro's other sparse outings are more in tune with the ubiquitous "boogie-rock" that held a grip over his adopted country at the time.




I saw these guys play somewhere in 1975, and was particularly taken with De Castro's live voice, he killed it on tracks like "Baby's Gonna make it" - and in cataloguing these 70s funk albums, i'm realizing how much I got out when I was 13, and how comparatively little I get out now :) At the time, they were building up a strong live following, and preparing to record this album.

Original guitarist Mark Punch had just run off to join Renée Geyer's band, but was seemingly here to record on at least two of the tracks he'd co-written : "Heading In the Right Direction", soon to be a hit single for Geyer on "Ready To Deal", and "Sweet Kisses", that she would later record on "Winner".
There are some tight instrumental funk workouts with jazz touches, the flute and talkbox stormer "Number 43" , and great percussion throughout from Sunil De Silva - it's a pretty solid album and worth checking out.

While only independently released in Australia, the album was picked up internationally by 20th Century Records, with the band re-named simply 'Rocco', and a publishing deal seems to have been signed with the Reizner Music Corporation.




Many thanks again to Micko and the Midoztouch community for this album, and thanks to Soul Gentleman for the additional credits from the Italian release.

TRACKLIST 

01 'Good Times'(Olson / Riviera / Monette / Bridges / Guzman / Daird)
02 'Heading in the Right Direction'(Punch / Paige)
03 'Who's the Guy'(Campbell / Partridge / Rich / Dunlop)
04 'Sweet Kisses'(Punch / Paige)
05 'Funky Max'(Punch / Partridge / Dunlop / De Castro)
06 'Rocco'(Buchanan / Punch / Partridge / Dunlop)
07 'Baby's Gonna Make It'(De Castro / Buchanan / Punch / Partridge / Dunlop)
08 'She's Knocking on My Door'(Dunlop)
09 'What are you gonna do for the rest of your life?'(Dunlop / Richards)
10 'Number Forty Three'(Dunlop / Punch / Buchanan / Partridge)

JOHNNY ROCCO BAND

Leo De Castro - vocals
Harris Campbell- guitar, vocals
Tim Partridge - bass
Russell Dunlop - fibes(?), drums
Sunil da Silva - percussion

MANY THANKS TO
Tony Ansell - keyboards
'Spoona' (Tony) Buchanan - sax, flute
Mick Kenny - roland synthesiser
Mark Punch - guitar
Ralph White - horns
Tui Richards - guitar
Garry Paige - mentor

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Produced by Russell Dunlop
Engineered by Wahanui Wynyard
Mixed by B.C. Brown and R. Dunlop
All Songs except except "Good Times" published by Reizner Music Corporation
International release on 20th Century Records.Recorded in 1976

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Renée Geyer - "It's a Man's Man's World (1974)

This is the earliest Rénee Geyer album I've posted - it's her 2nd solo album, and comes before Ready to Deal in the chronology. "It's a Man's Man's World" is more infused with a classic RnB sound, with touches of blues, than her later more funk-soul influenced albums. Her cover of the James Brown song was a sizeable hit in her home country. Producer Tweed Harris, previously best known as a 60s soul musician, works here with a classic band setup augmented with orchestral and brass colourings. Not my favourite Geyer album, but some good tracks here - I like her cover of Isaac Hayes' "Do your Thing".

Enjoy!

TRACKLIST

01. 'It's A Man's Man's World' - 3.34 (James Brown)
02. 'They Tell Me Of An Uncloudy Day' - 3.42 (Jackie Moore / Dave Crawford / Brad Shapiro)
03. 'Take Me Where You Took Me Last Night' - 3.53 (Dee Ervin / Lynne Farr)
04. 'Since I Fell For You' - 3.42 (Buddy Johnson)
05. 'What Do I Do On Sunday Morning' - 3.58 (Dennis Lambert / Brian Potter)
06. 'Love The Way You Love' - 3.15 (Mark Punch / Garry Paige)
07. 'Scarlet Ribbons' - 2.45 (Evelyn Danzig / Jack Segal)
08. 'Do Your Thing' - 3.44 (Isaac Hayes)
09. 'And I Love Him' - 5.14 (John Lennon / Paul McCartney)
10. 'It's Been A Long Time' - 3.23 (Melvin Wilson / James Baker)
11. 'Mama's Little Girl' - 3.26 (Dennis Lambert / Brian Potter)
12. 'Once In A Lifetime Thing' - 3.33 (Jim Weatherly)
13. 'Feel Good' - 3.15 (Alan Ciner)

MUSICIANS

Renée Geyer: Vocals, Backing Vocals
Guitars: Phil Manning; Tim Gaze; Steve Murphy; Tony Naylor
Keyboards: Tweed Harris
Bass: Barry "Big Goose" Sullivan; Mike Kelly
Drums: Geoff Cox
Background Vocals: Julie McKenna; Wendy Reece; Bobby Bright; Mike Brady (no, not that one)
Percussion: Gary Hyde

CREDITS

Producer, Arrangements: Tweed Harris
Engineers: Ian McKenzie; Ernie Rose
Recorded at Bill Armstrong Studios, Melbourne, Australia
Released 19th August 1974

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Exciting Daly-Wilson Big Band ft. Kerrie Biddell (1972)

Long title hey ?
Well, I was pretty excited when my dad took me to see this funky big band in 1972, the year this album was recorded.

As a ten-year-old, my two major impressions from the show were :

1. I wanted a wah wah pedal. Now. Right now.
But it was to be five long years until I got a wah wah pedal.

2. Singer Kerrie Biddell looked a bit like my mother.
Maybe she was my real mother, and dad was just trying to tell me ? ...

In any case, this is a pretty funky 70s big band, perhaps a little looser and dirtier than the european equivalents of the time.



Best known track is "Dirty Feet" sampled by rapper Mobb Deep in the track "Shook Ones Pt. II". It starts with a breakbeat from sampler heaven, goes into a big brass section then builds into a psych guitar meltdown.



"City Sounds" is like a mini soundtrack, big band soul working it's way into an almost "free" middle section with crazy wah wah and scraped piano strings, plus great work by Kerrie Biddell/"Mom" who brings things back to basics at the end.



"Three for One" is a little like the music from an imaginary 70s detective show, perhaps with shots of the main character joking with pretty girls around the water cooler at the police station, then we cut to the money shot of him taking aim with a fat gun at some bad guys / male competitors ...


The track "In Necessity" was on the "Dusty Fingers 8" compilation - all in all, there are plenty of killer tracks to go around, with only a few crap tracks at the end.

* SENSIBLE BIOGRAPHY *

The Daly-Wilson Big Band existed from 1969-1983, formed by trombonist Ed Wilson and drummer Warren Daley. They went broke soon after this album was made, but were rescued by sponsorship from the Benson and Hedges cigarette company in 1973 - so this fiery album was also their last smoke-free one (I'm so sorry). They went on to make another three or four albums, adorned with B&H logos, that are not as fantastic as this one.

* DIRT-DIGGING BIOGRAPHY *

Musicians' biographies can be so boring. Rather than doing proper bios on these people, today we'll do a dirt-digging VH1 "Where are they now?" :

Kerrie Biddell appeared in this 80s World War 2 movie, along with jazz great Don Burrows, presumably appearing in some sleazy bar scene.
Or she was my real mother. Or both.

Warren Daley is giving drum lessons in Perth, Australia. First lesson is apparently free! I think we should all call Warren up and ask him to play the Mobb Deep "Dirty Feet" breakbeat over the phone (his phone number is there, add 61-8 to call from other countries).

Ed Wilson sells brass arrangements to the police, the army and your local school - but hopefully he changes that shirt occasionally ...

Finally, it seems that trumpeter / bass player Dieter Vogt had a creative way of paying his tax back in the 70s. So what happened to Dieter after that ? Is it him playing viola on this rather beautiful Jazzanova track 30 years later, a lit Benson and Hedges cigarette nonchalantly hanging from his bow? Sadly no ... he's retired to nasty dixieland hell. And is hopefully paying his taxes.

TRACKLIST

01 "Limp Dropper" - 4:30(Ed Wilson)
02 "Dirty Feet" - 3:30(George Broadbeck)
03 "City Sounds" - 4:32(The Carsons)
04 "Col's Dilemma" - 5:05(The Carsons)
05 "In Necessity" - 2:25(Martin)
06 "Today" - 4:28(The Carsons)
07 "Three For All" - 6:24(Col Loughnan)
08 "On My Own" - 3:20(Ed Wilson)
09 "Do Me A Good Turn" - 4:41(Rhode)

CREDITS

Label: Elephant Records
Catalog#: ELA 7002
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: Australia
Released: 1972(Listed incorrectly at Discogs as 1975)
Engineer - Spencer Lee
Producer - Ed Wilson, Warren Daly
Vocals - Kerrie Biddell(Can't seem to find musician's credits, sorry!)
Recorded at United Sound, Sydney, Australia

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Renée Geyer - "Winner" (1978)

'I Miss You'


'Save Me'


'Apartment C & D'

One day soon we'll move on from Renée Geyer at this site, but some great things are appearing so we'll keep going for now :
Although her first U.S. release "Moving Along" (see previous post) had its troubles in the international market, there was enough interest for Polydor to fund the recording of a second album. Motown's Frank Wilson once again manned the console, however this time the Renée Geyer Band provided the rhythm section, ably supported by U.S. session players like Neil Larsen, Ernie Watts, Nate Morgan and the Tower Of Power horns (see credits below).

However, Geyer wasn't happy with either the mix or the promotion that Polydor were providing, and negotiated a release from her contract. She then brought the tapes home to Australia and remixed the album herself with the help of John Sayers and Christo Curtis. She toured the country promoting it, but neither the album nor the two singles released from it enjoyed the same success as previous releases.

One wonders whether Wilson's original mix of the album was more of the polished style that he applied to 1977's "Moving Along", but in any case, we've got a rawer final album here, more in the style of her 1975 album "Ready To Deal" (see previous post) with plenty of Rhodes, some good tracks and, of course, some great vocals.

Perhaps unhappy with its commercial failure, Renée herself has since referred to this album as "Loser", but she's being harsh : "I Miss You" stands out as a great piece of orchestrated jazzy soul, with even a bit of scatting; "Bad Side of the Blues" has a great vocal performance that precurses her later move into more blues-oriented territory; "Apartment C & D" is another one of those big production 70s soul numbers like "Stares and Whispers" on the previous album, with massive orchestration and some of the same writing team, and there's some good slow funk in "Save Me" and "Sweet Kisses". I put up a preview clip of "Money" at the previous "Rarities" post.

BIG BIG thanks to Micko from MidOzTouch for the 320 vinyl rip.

TRACKLIST

01. "Money (That's What I Want)" - 5.19 (Berry Gordy / Janie Bradford)
02. "I Miss You" - 4.50 (Melvin Robinson / Judy Wieder)
03. "Save Me" - 4.13 (Mark Punch / Garry Paige)
04. "Baby I'm the One" - 4.36 (Dee Erwin/Alexandra Brown)
05. "Baby Be Mine" - 3.46 (Jean Mc Clain)
06. "Sweet Kisses" - 6.28 (Mark Punch)
07. "The Magic is Still There" - 3.58 (Mark Punch / Garry Paige)
08. "Bad Side of the Blues" - 4.03 (John Finley / Katherine Ornelas)
09. "Apartment C & D" - 3.54 (John Footman / Judy Wieder / Ron Cederlund)
10. "I Don't Wanna Lose a Good Thing" - 3.50 (Jack Allen / Shelby Flint)

RENEE GEYER BAND

Renée Geyer: Vocals, Backing Vocals

Mark Punch: Guitar

Tim Partridge: Bass

Greg Tell: Drums

OTHER MUSICIANS

Guitars: Melvin Robinson

Piano, Clavinet, Synthesizer: Nate Morgan

Special Synthesizer Work: Michael Boddicker

Keyboards (Tracks 1,5): Neil Larsen

Saxophone: Ernie Watts

Horns (3,5,7): Tower Of Power Horns

Percussion: Jack Ashford; Frederick Lewis

OTHER CREDITS

Producer: Frank Wilson

Recorded at Crystal Sound Recording, Los Angeles, California

Mixing: John Sayers, Renée Geyer, Christo Curtis at Studio 301, Sydney, Australia

Horn Arrangements : Bruce Miller (Tower Of Power Horns)

String arangements : Bruce Miller, Sonny Burke, Jim Martin

Cover Illustration: Shane ConroyDetails from Wikipedia

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Renée Geyer - "Rarities E.P."

I was going to wait a little longer for another Renée Geyer post, but many of you seem to be into this stuff, so let's go! Some rarities here that I've packaged together as an EP.

I dug reasonably deeply to put this together, even going through her career as a backing vocalist for Troublefunk, Sting and Joe Cocker, none of which made the cut - I've stuck mainly to soulful 70s funky stuff ...

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01. “IT'S A MAN'S MAN'S WORLD” (1974)

Renée's cover version of the James Brown classic, from her 1974 album of the same name. If you like this I'll post the album some time. (edit : album now posted).



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02. “IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME” (1977)



The rarest find - this was recorded for a series of radio concerts in 1977 by 2JJ, a “youth-oriented” government-owned radio station, and released on a compilation album called “Long Live the Evolution”. Great slow track with rhodes and trumpet.

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03. “BE THERE IN THE MORNING” (1976, alt. version)




7" single release, an entirely different version to the one that appears on the 1977 album "Moving Along". This one's rootsier and rhodesier (that's my new adjective, and i'm sticking to it).


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04. "MONEY (THAT'S WHAT I WANT)" (1978)




This comes from the 2nd album she did in L.A with legendary Motown producer Frank Wilson. The album was called "Winner". Renée fought with Polydor Records, took the tapes back to Australia and remixed them, and the album bombed. Was it the hair ? For some reason, this track was tacked on to the end of one of her greatest hits collections, although it was not a single or a hit. I'll dig for the album. (edit : album now posted). 

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05. "THE RESTLESS YEARS" (1977)




"The Restless Years" was an appalling TV soap that was inflicted on the Australian public from 1977-81. The theme song was a candy floss drifting piano and vocal piece that run over shots of clouds, a la "Days Of Our Lives". In a strange twist of fate, the TV network paid Renée to record a slightly funky (in a "Love Boat" sorta way) version, which charted reasonably. One skip on this track.

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06. "IT'S A MAN'S MAN'S WORLD"
(Drum n Bass mix,1999)


 For her third Greatest Hits collection in 1999, her record company enlisted electronic producers to remix her songs on a bonus CD. Almost always a bad move! Have you heard the way those people murdered Curtis Mayfield's classics last year? Well anyway - I'm not a big drum'n'bass fan, but for some reason this remix by the UK duo "Pound System" grabbed me - as busy as it is, it somehow gives her voice plenty of space .. trust me on this one ...


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Please leave a comment, hope you enjoy it!

Renée Geyer Band - "Really Really Love You" (1976)

This is a live Renée Geyer album that comes between the previously-posted "Ready To Deal"(1975) and "Moving Along"(1977).

Apart from the band's own title track, and a version of the jazz standard "Masquerade", she covers contemporary soul/funk tracks by Johnny 'Guitar' Watson, the Temptations, Aretha Franklin (a duet of "It Only Happens" with Doug Williams), Sly Stone, and the Average White Band. Her cover of Watson's "Hard Head" has appeared on a few rare soul/funk compilations before.

In the "Moving Along" post I wrote about the initial perception in the USA radio market that she was an African-American singer - well, they clearly hadn't heard her speak before : her speaking voice is pure nasal Aussie suburban girl in the interactive crowd bits ...

Anyway it's her singing we're concerned with here, and this still comes from her great period. Enjoy!

TRACK LIST

01. Hard Head - 5.33 (Johnny Guitar" Watson)
02. Shakey Ground - 4.38 (Jeffrey Bowen / Edward Hazel / Al Boyd)
03. Person to Person - 4.08 (Average White Band)
04. It Only Happens (Duet with Doug Williams) - 4.18 (Mickey Denne / Ken Gold)
05. Booty - 5.06 (Sylvester Stewart)
06. Masquerade - 6.41 (Herb Magidson / Allie Wrubel)
07. Really Really Love You - 11.08 (Renée Geyer Band)

Renée Geyer Band

Renée Geyer: Vocals
John Pugh: Guitars
Mal Logan: Keyboards
Barry "Big Goose" Sullivan: Bass
Greg Tell: Drums
Russell Smith: Trumpet
Bruce Sandell: Saxophones
Miguel Carranza: Trombone
Doug Williams : backing vocals
Otis Kevinagh : backing vocals
Stanley Brown : backing vocals

CREDITS

Producers: Renée Geyer Band; Ern Rose
Engineer: Ernie Rose
Recorded at Dallas Brooks Hall, Melbourne, Australia
Cover Notes: Ian Meldrum
Cover Art / Concept: Ian McCausland & Colin Batrouney
Photography: David Parker

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Renée Geyer - "Moving Along" (1977)

This album is something of a lost gem that i'm happy to bring you.
After her domestic Australian success with the album "Ready to Deal" in 1975 (see previous post), Renée Geyer recorded a live album called "Really Really Love You", which I'll post here another time.

In 1976, she was signed to RCA and sent over to Los Angeles to record the album "Moving Along" with famed Motown producer/arranger/songwriter Frank Wilson, the writer/producer of such classics as "Love Child"/"Stoned Love" (Supremes); "Keep On Truckin' " / "Boogie Down" (Eddie Kendricks); "Chained" (Marvin Gaye) and "You've Made Me So Very Happy" (Brenda Holloway, Blood Sweat and Tears).

Wilson had just left Motown, and brought an extraordinary collection of musicians to the studio : James Jamerson, Nathan Watts (bass); Ray Parker Jr (guitar); Raymond Pounds (drums) and many others - see the full list below.

The result was this beautiful collection of sophisticated soulful ballads and slick, orchestrated funk. Geyer was at the height of her vocal powers, and Wilson's arrangements are fantastic and tight. He co-wrote a few tracks - "Stares and Whispers" is like a Diana Ross movie theme on ecstacy, and was clearly set up to be the first single. (Wilson also got Freda Payne to record it as the title track on her album later in the year). Renee co-wrote "Be There In the Morning" - an uptempo soul number more recently 'rediscovered' by influential DJ Gilles Peterson and included on a few retro comps - with the two band members she'd brought along from Australia. It was later covered by Norman Connors on "Invitation". There's the rawer, bluesy funk vocal of "Tender Hooks", the philly-meets-gospel-pop "Quicker than the Eye", and many others.

After the mix was complete, RCA shipped copies - without photos or cover imagery - to hundreds of radio stations all over the USA, trying to create a buzz around this unknown soul singer. A wide range of RnB stations jumped on it, playing many different tracks on high rotation, and particularly focusing on the re-recorded "Heading in the Right Direction", which had been a single from her previous album.

Both Geyer's biography and legend have it as follows : it became clear that everyone away from the studio and record company assumed she was a black performer. The RCA execs suggested to her that they release the album without a photo of her on the cover, wanting to capitalise on black radio's rapidly expanding attention. Geyer (whose biography is titled "A Difficult Woman") refused, insisting on marketing the album complete with a cover photograph of what she later referred to as "my big pink face". And as it came to pass, the airplay stopped as soon as the album was released, an event that Geyer would later blame on her headstrong decision in regard to her marketing. I suppose no-one can know for sure why the album suddenly disappeared from the airwaves, and how much the story has changed over time ...

Although the album was a big success back home, that was the end of Renée Geyer's international career as a lead singer. She worked for some years with Chaka Khan and others as a studio/live backing singer, then briefly formed a band called "Easy Pieces" with former members of the Average White Band (!). Her later Australian albums moved more into pop, blues, rock and even country, and she still performs occasional jazz shows, but to me this is her finest album.

Hope you enjoy it, link below!

"Moving Along" - Renée Geyer (1977), RCA

TRACKLIST
01 Heading In the Right Direction - 3.00(Mark Punch / Garry Paige)
02 Be There In the Morning - 4.27(Renée Geyer / Mal Logan / Barry Sullivan)
03 Quicker Than the Eye - 4.09(Harry Booker / Judy Wieder)
04 Tender Hooks - 4.39(Ruth Copeland / Eric Thorngren)
05 Stares And Whispers - 3.29(John Footman / Frank Wilson / Terri McFadden)
06 Just To Make Love To You - 4.44(Greg Poree / Gralin Jerald)
07 Touch - 4.52(Frank Wilson / Pam Sawyer)
08 Moving Along - 6.11(Renée Geyer / Mal Logan / Barry Sullivan / Judy Wieder)

Album Credits
Producer, Arrangements: Frank Wilson: A Spec-O-Lite ProductionEngineers: Kevin Beamish; Frank WilsonRecorded at Crystal Sound Recording, Los Angeles, CaliforniaArt Direction: Basil Pao. AGIPhotography: Norman Seef

Musician Credits

Vocals, Backing Vocals : Renée Geyer
Guitars : Ray Parker, Jr., Greg Poree, Stephen Beckmeier
Bass : James Jamerson; Nathan Watts; Barry 'Big Goose' Sullivan
Keyboards : Harry Booker; Jerry Peters; Mal Logan
Piano : Reginald Burke
Drums : Raymond Pounds
Percussion : Jack Ashford; Frederick Lewis
Background Vocals : Venetta Fields; Sherlie Matthews; Pat Henerson; Tiemeyer McCain; Otis Stokes; Frank Wilson.

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bonus : Alt version of 'Be There in the Morning" DOWNLOAD

Renée Geyer Band - 'Ready To Deal" (1975)

When I was a 13 year old boy in Sydney, Australia in 1975, I was playing guitar in a metal band, covering Deep Purple, Led Zepplin and so on. One day I heard a song called "Shining Star" by Earth, Wind and Fire on the radio, and my musical world began to shift. I taped it on a reel-to-reel tape recorder, transcribed it, and forced my teenage comrades to start to play funk songs. They hated it, and the band soon split in half.

Later that year, my older brother and I began to go into the city to see Renée Geyer, who had an amazing soulful, jazzy voice and a funky band. Smells of marijuana and patchouli oil swirled around us, and people would laugh at the "little kids" as we walked around, but I was just transfixed by the music. She'd do a song by Chaka Khan and Rufus, and the next day i'd harass the import record shop owner for a record by them. Everything had changed.

There are some great funky tracks on this album, picks are "Sweet Love", "Love's got a hold" and "Heading In the Right Direction" . Plenty of Rhodes, clav and wah-wah. Renée made a few more great 70s albums, which I'll post if the interest is there.

TRACKLIST

1 Sweet Love
2 If Loving You Is Wrong
3 Spilt Milk
4 Whoop
5 Heading In The Right Direction
6 Two Sides
7 Ready To Deal
8 Love's Got A Hold
9 I Really Love You

MUSICIANS

Vocals - Renée Geyer
Bass - Barry Sullivan
Drums, Percussion - Greg Tell
Guitar - Mark Punch
Keyboards - Mal Logan
Saxophone, Flute - Tony Buchanan
Trumpet - Russell Smith

PRODUCTION

Producer - Ern Rose , Renée Geyer Band
Released in 1975

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