The Little River Band: Top 10 hit-makers of the '70s and '80s
Written: Feb 20 '03 (Updated Nov 19 '06)
Product Rating:
Pros: Six Top 10 hits:"Reminiscing,""Lady,""Lonesome Loser,""Cool Change,""The Night Owls,""Take It Easy On Me"...
Cons: None.
The Bottom Line: With 15 chart hits, including six that made the Top 10, this is a wonderful collection of The Little River Band's best tunes. Start "Reminiscing" and buy it.
Don_Krider's Full Review: Greatest Hits by Little River Band
The Little River Band, with a lead singer born in Kent, England, were one of the biggest acts to emerge from Australia in the 1970s (along with bands such as Men At Work and Inxs), scoring 15 Billboard Hot 100 hits in the United States between 1976 and 1983.
They scored six U. S. Top 10 singles (nine Top 10 hits in Australia). They were popular enough to get featured spots as opening act for mega-stars such as Queen, Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Foreigner, Heart, Jimmy Buffett and Santana.
The band had more of a "California-sound" and could easily have been mistaken for an American act on U. S. Top 40 radio.
An international lineup:
The band's members included not only Australians, but natives of England and Amsterdam.
Lead singer Glenn Shorrock, whose vocals identified the band on radio every bit as much as Mick Jagger's vocals quickly identify a Rolling Stones' song on radio, was raised in Australia, but was a native of Kent, England.
During their recording career (which lasted into the 1990s) the band underwent personnel changes and was produced for a time by George Martin (The Beatles, America, Cheap Trick).
The band name:
Band members discussed forming a group together in 1974. The following year, the band members came together in Melbourne, Australia, and formally formed The Little River Band.
The band took its name from a resort town outside of Melbourne.
As The Little River Band, the group was soon signed to a major recording deal by EMI's Harvest label (their U. S. singles were initially on Harvest, but later released on EMI's major U. S. label, Capitol).
Major songwriters:
A trip to the Broadcast Music, Inc., website (www.BMI.com), the folks who (along with ASCAP) keep track of how many times songs by their songwriters have been played on radio stations, will tell you just how popular The Little River Band's songs have been.
According to BMI, six of the band's tunes have been played on radio stations more than a million times each.
According to BMI's website, only 1,500 songs have achieved "million-air" status (one million airplays) among the 4.5 million songs by 300,000 artists represented by BMI.
BMI explains its "Million-Airs" award (http://bmi.com/awards/millionairs/index.asp) as follows:
"One million performances is the equivalent of approximately 50,000 broadcast hours, or more than 5.7 years of continuous airplay."
Among the six LRB songs to achieve that status: "Reminiscing" has four million airplays, "Lady" has three million and "Lonesome Loser" has two million. "The Night Owls," "Cool Change" and "The Other Guy" each have one million airplays
None of the band's 13 singles sold enough copies (one million singles sold was necessary at the time) to earn a Gold Record Award despite the enormous airplay. Their album sales, however, were another matter.
The people who issue Gold Record Awards (500,000 albums sold) and Platinum Record Awards (one million albums sold) at the Recording Industry Association of America (go to http://www.RIAA.com and click on "gold and platinum") have certified the band with five Gold albums and two Platinum albums.
Their "Diamentina Cocktail" album in 1977 was the first Gold Record Award-winner by an Australian band in the U. S. They also became the first Australian act to score a Platinum Record Award with their LP "Sleepcatcher" in 1978.
Among the albums, nine hit the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart in the U. S. between 1976 and 1983, with three making the Top 40 and "First Under The Wire" reaching the Top 10 in 1979.
This CD:
Released in 2000, "Greatest Hits" features 18 of the band's best songs. Each tune has been 24-bit digitally remastered from the original master recordings, meaning all the songs are clear and free of distortions that might otherwise exist on an old recording tape.
The CD booklet:
Informative, if short, 6-page CD booklet with biographical notes by Simon Glickman (only one photo of the band, however). Includes detailed chart, songwriter and release information on each tune.
The tracks:
"Lonesome Loser," ""Help Is On The Way," "Cool Change," "Take It Easy On Me," ""Face In The Crowd," "Reminiscing," "The Night Owls," "Lady" (not to be confused with the Styx hit), "We Two," "The Other Guy" and "Man On Your Mind."
Also, "I'll Always Call Your Name," "Down On The Border," "Happy Anniversary," "Playing To Win," "It's Not A Wonder," "You're Driving Me Out Of My Mind" and "It's A Long Way There."
Success:
After recording two Australian long players and replacing two of its founding members, the band saw its first U. S. album, simply called "Little River Band," released in 1976.
A disc jockey in Florida, Bill Barnett, is credited, at the band's website, with breaking the band on U. S. radio. Barnett later became a Capitol Records A&R person. This airplay helped boost the band's album to # 80 in Billboard.
Their first Top 40 single:
The band scored its first U. S. hit with "It's A Long Way There," a much shorter version of their nine-minute album version.
Written by guitarist Beeb Birtles (a native of Amsterdam), the tune rose to # 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976 during a 15-week chart run.
It's a peculiar little tune (with it's '60s psychedlia opening vocal of "hey everybody"), a mix of rhythm and blues, movie soundtrack orchestration, progressive rock and harmonies that sound like Yes ("Roundabout").
The follow-up single, "I'll Always Call Your Name," a more adult contemporary ballad, failed to have a major chart impact, peaking at # 62 with only five weeks on the chart.
Superstardom:
LRB, as fans came to shorten the name, began an amazing chart run in 1977 with 12 of their next 13 singles reaching the Top 40 by 1983 (only "It's Not A Wonder" in 1980 missed the Top 40, peaking at # 51).
Ten of those singles made the Top 20, with six reaching the Top 10.
The best tunes:
"Help Is On The Way":
Lead singer Glenn Shorrock wrote the band's first Top 20 hit in 1977, "Help Is On The Way," which reached # 14 in the U. S. (hitting # 1 in Australia). It's a funky, bass-filled tune with a Motown-feel which features the band's trademark of a harmony-packed chorus.
Shorrock sang the intelligent lyrics with a an emotional urgency:
"Why are you in such a hurry? / Is it really worth the worry? / look around, then slow down / what's it like inisde the bubble? / does your head ever give you trouble? / it's no sin, trade it in / hang on, help is on its way / I'll be there as fast as I can / 'hang on,' a tiny voice did say / from somewhere deep inside the inner man..."
The tune helped lift the band's second U. S. album release, "Diamantina Cocktail," to # 49 (with 48 weeks in the Top 200 Albums chart) in 1977
The band's follow-up album, "Sleeper Catcher," in 1978 did even better, peaking at # 16 and spending 61 weeks on the Top 200 Albums chart --- while producing three Top 20 singles, including the Bee Gees-disco-inspired "Happy Anniversary" at the end of 1977 ("...happy anniversary, baby, got you on my mind...") which peaked at # 16 in early 1978.
That album produced two Top 10 hits with "Reminiscing" in 1978 and "Lady" in early 1979.
"Reminiscing":
Guitarist Graham Goble came up with the gentle "Reminiscing," with its smooth, tropical feel, Big Band orchestration and blue-eyed soul sound.
Shorrock's vocal is as memorable as it is seductive, establishing the band's image as romantic balladeers (something of a cross between Southside Johnny and Jimmy Buffett in style here):
"...that's the way it began, we were hand in hand / Glenn Miller's Band was better than before / we yelled and screamed for more / and the porter tunes (night and day) / made us dance across the room / it ended all too soon / and on the way back home I promised you'd never be alone / ... / each time we hear our favorite song / the memories come along / older times we're missing / spending the hours reminiscing..."
The tune rose to # 3 on the pop charts, becoming what would be the band's highest charting single of their career. This tale of aging lovers remembering their life-long love affair spent 20 weeks in the Billboard Hot 100.
"Lady":
The band returned quickly to the Top 10 in 1979 with "Lady," also written by Goble. This tune also spent 20 weeks on the charts, peaking at # 10.
With some fine keyboard work, gently strummed guitars, understated drums and a slow bass line, the band's harmonies are sweet and memorable, as always:
"...a long time ago I had a lady to love / she made me think of things I never thought of / now she's gone and I'm on my own / a love song has come into my mind / a love song, it was there all the time / so lady, let me take a look at you now / you're there on the dance floor, making me want you somehow / oh lady, I think it's fair I should say to you / 'don't be thinkin' that I don't want you, 'cause maybe I do' ..."
"Lonesome Loser":
The band's next album, "First Under The Wire," rose to # 10 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart in the summer of 1979 (spending 33 weeks on the chart). It produced Top 10 singles in "Lonesome Lover" and "Cool Change."
On "Lonesome Loser," which peaked at # 6 in 1979 during 18 weeks on the charts, the band again offers some soulful R&B with a sweet pop chorus (nice, tasty lead guitar solos accent the tune).
It's the sad tale of an average person, someone who keeps coming back to tackle life no matter how many time they trip over society's roadblocks on the path to happiness:
"Have you heard about the lonesome loser / beaten by the queen of hearts every time / have you heard about the loneome loser / he's a loser, but he still keeps on tryin' / ... / 'it's okay,' he smiles and says / though his loneliness is driving him crazy / he don't show what goes on inside his head / but if you watch very close you'll see it all..."
"Cool Change":
Sharrock's "Cool Change" was another smash hit, peaking at # 10 during another 18-week chart run.
A very gentle, retrospective look at one's life, the tune is about a man trying to find himself. It's also a flashback to another musical time --- one minute just a lead vocal floating on a piano melody, the next a heavily orchestrated chorus by the whole band with gorgeous sax and strings adding to the emotional impact of the tune's lyrics:
"If there's one thing in my life that's missing / it's the time that I spend alone / sailing on the cool and bright clear water / lots of those friendly people / and they're showing me ways to go / and I never want to lose their inspiration / it's time for a cool change / now that my life is so prearranged / I know that it's time for a cool change..."
Enter George Martin:
The band's next album was a 2-LP live set called "Backstage Pass." It peaked at # 44 during a short, 10-week chart run in 1980.
Enter producer George Martin, the man behind many a hit act but most famous as producer of The Beatles.
Martin produced the band's next studio release in 1981, "Time Exposure," which peaked at # 21 with 50 weeks on the Top 200 Albums chart. The album also gave the band three more Top 20 hits, including a pair of Top 10 singles ("The Night Owls" and "Take It Easy On Me").
"The Night Owls":
On Goble's "The Night Owls," the band's new bassist Wayne Nelson (from Jim Messina's band) was given lead vocal chores on the tune (a break from regular lead singer Shorrock).
The tune is more uptempo, a rockier sound for the band with some searing lead guitar and a keyboard sound similar to Foreigner's hits (such as "Urgent") at the time.
Martin's production is instrument-heavy, it seems to this listener, a change in direction for a band known for its vocal talents (a "cool change"? I wonder what the band thought).
"The Night Owls" rose to # 6 and spent 21 weeks on the charts, the longest run of any of their hits in the U. S.
"Take It Easy On Me":
The band's final Top 10 single, "Take It Easy On Me," remains a wonderful addition to classic rock station playlists. With a gutsy lead vocal and a gorgeous guitar hook, this power chorded gem is a favorite of mine.
"Take It Easy On Me" is another story of someone who has lost at love but continues on:
"...take it easy on me / it should be easy to see / I'm getting lost in a crowd / hear me crying out loud / just want you to know / I know that you have to go / it's all up to you but whatever you do, take it easy on me / so now I'll go the minstrel road without you / I know there will be times when I need you there / and each night as I sing those songs about you / I'll think back to the time when you used to care / take it easy on me..."
Today:
The band scored four more chart hits with "Man On Your Mind" ( #14 in 1982), "The Other Guy" (# 11 in 1982-83), "We Two" (# 22 in 1983) and "You're Driving Me Out Of My Mind" (# 35 in 1983), but the departure of lead singer Glenn Shorrock (replaced by John Farnham) in 1982 spelled the end of the band's chart dominance.
The band's final Top 40 album was "Greatest Hits" in 1982-83, which peaked at # 33 during a 30-week run. It was also their final Gold Record Award-winner, though other albums followed.
The band exists today, but the lineup is vastly different. The current lineup is nothing like the classic lineup, at least personnel-wise.
Glenn Shorrock:
Shorrock returned to the band in the late '80s for a time and a couple of albums, but has since left the band again. The current LRB still records and tours, mostly in New Zealand and Australia, to adoring crowds.
Shorrock had been a major catch for the band, having been in The Twilights beginning in 1962. The Twilights were known as "Australia's Beatles" for a time, scoring Australian Top 40 hits in 1965 with "Young Girl," "Cathy Come Home" and "Needle In A Haystack."
In 1966, The Twilights went to London's Abbey Road Studios, recording in a studio next to The Beatles, who were recording their "Magical Mystery Tour" album with George Martin.
Legend has it that The Twilights then returned to Australia wearing "mod" clothing and playing sitars. A few more hits followed, with that band breaking up in 1969.
Shorrock then had additional hits ("Arkansas Grass" and "Little Ray Of Sunshine") in Australia with a band called Axiom before joining LRB.
The Australian Recording Industry Hall Of Fame inducted Shorrock into its membership in 1991.
He has since toured worldwide as a member of "The British Rock Symphony" and his solo album, "Spin Me 'Round," was released in 2000.
On the web:
Official Little River Band site: http://www.littleriverband.com/
Guitarist Beeb Birtles of The Little River Band was in a band with Rick Springfield called The Zoot. They were a Top 40 band in Australia and a CD anthology of their work has been released, "Zoot Locker: The Best Of The Zoot, 1968-1971": http://www.epinions.com/content_280651665028
BMI site (for "million-air" songs info): http://www.bmi.com
RIAA site (to see if your favorite act has won any gold or platinum awards): http://www.riaa.com
Official Capitol Records site: http://www.hollywoodandvine.com
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