Starbuck - A Fool In Line

This is probably my all time 'fave' dollar bin special.
These guys are better known for their AM pop tune success 'Moonlight Feels Right'. 'Moonlight' easily put them into the soft rock hall of fame. Their other LP's are vaguely reminiscent of 'Moonlight' except for this one.  None of the others albums are as interesting as 'Rock'n Roll Rocket' on a production level at least. This one, in my opinion stands out in epic format.

This one is strange. Wish we could know more of the story behind this one. There's an abundance of heavy synthesiser use on this album, and truck of load of trickery and even some drum machine. And yet it's a theme that's not carried along on either the previous or proceeding albums. It's strange that they got so into keyboards and drum machine on this album, but then those components are missing from the other albums.

This is indeed Starbuck's masterpiece in my eyes. It's rare to find an album like this. Trust me I'm constantly searching for stuff that sounds like it. Such great use of so many effects, such an interesting collection of songs, and it bounces about from bridge to chorus and from intro to turn around all morphing through some kinda hippie celestial thing.

Each song, as goofy as they might be on the surface, are all incredibly clever. The entire LP makes for a really great and curious listen, yet a few songs stick out considerably more than others. 'Fat Boy' has the pimpish feel of flossing around in a big 70's or 80's American car. It's a morality tale with nice harmonica and synth sounds basically about 'don't ya get too fat' either physically or mentally. Famous Starbuck quote '22 Slims Jim's never gonna slim ya down', yet I think Dr. Atkins would disagree. 'Call Me' has got amazing synth bass lines and killer Rhodes work and is also graced by a vibes solo, not just once but twice. Then 'Benny Bought The Big One' sounds like ELO and 10cc had collision with Sly and The Family Stone.

'City Of The Future' and 'Sunset Eyes' are also quite memorable. I'd say the LP is 80% strong. But, again..it's such a unique piece of work that you should definitely seek it out and give it a listen. Not hard to find at all. Just check the bay. Or, your town record store dollar bin.
This track, 'Fool In Line' is the creme de la creme. Fat synth bass line under belly. The lead moog is wicked, the guitar work is tight, and some of that backing synth sounds like theremin or something. Just genius production. This is the epicenter of blue-eyed boogie for me. The song that's on the 8 track player whenever your sailing about in the Bay, yacht rockin' it up. With this song, and Starbuck's whole relaxed soft rock approach you can see why this has been a secret obsession of mine.
Cheers, enjoy.

Starbuck - A Fool In Line

Prelude - Take It From Me

UK act Prelude bring us this enjoyable folk pop album. I originally started to do this post with just one track, but honestly feel it's better to represent their sound with a few cuts from this LP. They're a brilliant act with sweet harmonies and a well rounded jingly touch to their own brand of AM rock.

This is some Pina Colada and 'walkin' in the rain' music for sure.

This sound won't be for everybody, but represents the diversity in the music in which we love on this site. A lot of this same style of music was harvested by Leonora, who started a night called 'Smile' in San Francisco.  Two Years ago when I DJ'ed there it had transformed quite a bit and was a completely different animal. Respect is due to 'Leo' for not only starting that night, but for also diggin in the crates for rare folk, pop, rock, and hippy stuff from the 70's. I was sold on first listen, and thought of her when I found this in a junk shop record pile.

I've included the first three songs from side B, just because they moved me the most, and I've also included the first song on side A. 'Take It From Me' is by far the best song on this LP, yet there's a variety in these songs. From the 'funky-lite' style in 'The Night That New York Cried' (easy a second best) and 'Woman To Love' to the Jesus Christ Superstar-ish jam 'I Was Born To Sing Your Song' (a strong third best on the LP) they've got the 70's late night lite rock vibe covered.

In ripping these songs I made a slight error in tagging them. I mistakenly misread the date from LP label.  In the track ID tags I entered 1978 as the year this LP was released, but it was in fact released in 1976. I'm off to track down any other good Prelude LP's and if you know anything about this group, please I encourage you to share!


Prelude - The Night That New York Cried
Prelude - Take It From Me
Prelude - I Was Born To Sing Your Song
Prelude - Woman To Love

Char - Shinin' You Shinin' Day

Due to popular demand, I had to post this up. It was one of those situations where I actually thought I had already done it. Even the mp3 was already loaded up on media fire. But, it seems I've had some slippage. I was wrong indeed. No worries. If at any point you notice I am double posting, it's not because I'm trying to cheat, I'm just actually getting a little senile. Here it is, in all its splendor. This fantastic man (or group) Char. I think the name does refer to the actual dude Char, based on interviews I've seen of him on Japanese TV. Either way, Char is mostly a rock and roll outfit. This is one of those exceptions. Feeling the tides of soft rock and fine mist of quiet storms, Char crafted this epic tune. I'm ALL in on this one. Definitely my shit. I've said it before (perhaps waaaay tooo much) but, I'm hell bent on this mission to connect the many great things I'm finding in the soft rock and funky rock soul vein from japan to that of its US counterpart. Seems as though Boz Scaggs, Bobby Caldwell and even the likes of Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan sent waves that crashed on the shores of Okinawa. Thing is, some of the Japanese soft rock is even light years better. Case in point this tune.

The vibe and groove of this tune is lethal. Even with a lengthy guitar solo, which feels so dated and outdoor rock festival-ish, it still manages to kill me. If you know anything about my tastes, you'll know how much I love the imperfections in this singers English accent. It's not how you say it, so much as what you're actually saying. And, this song has a happy little positive message. Love it. Then it gets brutal, at about two and a half minutes in, they cave my head in with this synth and guitar thing. Sounds like they're showing Blue Oyster Cult what it really sounds like to be the cheer squad for Godzilla. Nice chanting vocals, goofy-but endlessly cool-lyrics and a mid-tempo groove. Great synthesiser action throughout, tasty flute, falsetto highlights, it all adds up to one tasty bowl of Blue eyed inspired Japanese Boogie funk. Stir it around a bit, let the miso mix with the tofu bits. You'll thank us for it.

Char - Shinin' You Shinin' Day

Ned Doheny - Get It Up For Love

This isn't going to sound entirely fair, but here's another one from the white guys. Partly that's not fair because Ned Doheny is not just another 'anything' in any sense. He's got a remarkable trail of goodies. From his disco rock dancer 'Prove My Love' to a rare 80's LP I still have not found for a reasonable price. Judging from this cover he's being marketed like someone we know all too well, Robert Palmer. Or, the like I suppose. But, Ned has been proving more than his love. He's turned out to be more rewarding than just your average 'yacht rock' shite. Even when you're me...and you LOVE shite yacht rock.
Far from being shite really. Here's a guy who seems to have 'Earth, Wind And Fire' trapped up in his chest and soul is oozing on every album.
This tune start out like the music from Kubrick's 'Clockwork Orange' and eclipses into the loveliest of hippie funkdom reaches a plateau of late night loft classiness. Amazing really, this tunes does my head in quite well. Just so freakin' lazy and cool yet so irresistibly funky.

From his 1976 'Hard Candy' LP this song was also used by Tata Vega for a disco version. Most seem to know her version, but have never even heard of poor ole Ned. Ned Doheny had 5 albums in total and was immensely popular in Japan and Europe. More so in Japan. Several of his LP's also were released in Japan at the same time as over here. Could also be why you can't find any of his joints on this side. All his shit was bought up long ago buy Japanese dealers and collectors. Nice work gang, early appreciation gets the worm. Got to respect that. This only further confirms my suspicions about Japanese groups being heavily influenced by soft rock and blue-eyed boogie. So true, that something in artists like Ned Doheny bled right into Japanese artists like Char. Wait, have I posted anything by Char yet? Ok, shit. I'll get right on that. (I actually went and checked) Ok, it looks like I haven't got to that yet..so, here's what I'm talking about... Char - Shining You, Shining Day on YouTube. But, it'll go up next. But, with artists like Char and Tatsuro Yamashita it's obvious to me, they are replicating this small but delicious genre or, short lived era of groove rock or soft rock soul music. I've heard the young kids these days calling it 'groovy' well, that's certainly true. Kind of funny to us old folks as 'groovy' could just about identify anything.
So, back to Ned. He's the king of shit like this. And, THIS song proves that shit. Whether he took a back seat to Boz Scaggs or Robert Palmer because the FM bandwidth in peoples brains was so narrow or he just didn't get play on radio at all...he still deserves major credit. Credit for making sweet music and doing his thing, which at any time was not immensely popular to be doing.
Mr. Black Dick himself, D.J. Harvey even threw kudos to him and reminded disco folks that before Tata there was Ned by playing him at his gigs. If you're looking for more interesting and groovy white guys and theme music for floating around the harbor in a yacht then check out Ned. But, make sure you're getting on the boat with shorts and Sperry Topsiders or just a white suit with no shirt on. Important.


Ned Doheny - Get It Up For Love

Tatsuro Yamashita - Solid Slider

The lovely DJ Mama Bear played a little Tatsu' last time I went a' Sweaterfunking. She bumped "Dancer" from his lovely 1977 LP called 'Spacy' on RCA. I was reminded just how sweet and mellow Japanese Boogie can be. This tune however is appealing to my interests in 'soft rock' funk. Half sung in English and Japanese it's feeding my developing ears into the realm of blue eyed boogie. It's turning out that many Japanese artists were right in pocket with the 'soul easy rock' bag. In fact they often capture the mood better than their 'blue-eyed' contemporaries.

Tatsuro Yamashita has a large catalog of great soul music. Still pumping out music to this day, and over 20 LP's released from 1972. Originally in the Sugar Babe Group, he then went and recorded a long list of solo LP's. His 80's stuff is great. Probably the best, most well rounded of the 80's Japanese Boogie artists.

This tune bears a stark resemblance to Boz Scaggs' "Low Down". Complete with similar pop bass, 'woo-ooh-ooooh--ah ooh' creepy backing vocals and overall sleazy mood. So, hats off to TY for out bow-tie-in' the bow tie funkers. And, honorary mention in the soft rock, soul funk hall of fame.


Tatsuro Yamashita - Solid Slider