Cleveland's Michael Stanley Band: Rockin' The Midwest
Written: Apr 12 '00 (Updated Jul 02 '06)
Product Rating:
Pros: Hits:"He Can't Love You,""Rosewood Bitters,"Lover,""Falling In Love Again,""My Town"...
Cons: None.
The Bottom Line: One of Cleveland's greatest acts, The Michael Stanley Band scored with hits like "He Can't Love You," "Falling In Love Again," "Lover" and "My Town."
Don_Krider's Full Review: Right Back at Ya'(1971-1983) by The Michael Stanle...
When a musician attracts guests on his albums that include Joe Walsh, Clarence Clemons, Todd Rundgren, Eddie Kramer, Joe Vitale and Kenny Passarelli, among others, that musician is worth checking out.
Michael Stanley, who still performs and records while also being a popular disc jockey at WNCX in Cleveland, Ohio, is worth checking out for many other reasons as well.
Cleveland was labeled "the New Liverpool" by New York's Rock Scene magazine in the early '70s. The moniker may have been a bit much, but it was a lively scene that included Stanley, Walsh (with The James Gang and then Barnstorm), Circus, The Dead Boys and The Raspberries (featuring Eric Carmen and Wally Bryson).
Stanley hit the U. S. charts with several singles in the late '70s and early '80s, including "He Can't Love You" (with a lead vocal by Kevin Raleigh, a member of the Michael Stanley Band before going solo) which peaked at # 33 during a 16-week chart run in 1980-81. Raleigh wrote the tune.
One of their most unusual promotional efforts was for the Top 40 hit "My Town" in 1983. The song was a heavy rotation video on MTV, while the single was distributed in some 95 versions with the word "Cleveland" added or replaced by other city's names depending on the market playing the song.
The band was enormously popular in Cleveland --- they sold out four consecutive nights at the Blossom Music Center in Cleveland in 1983, something no other act, national or local, has done before or since.
Nationally --- they had limited impact, but they deserved a better fate. They had seven albums chart on Billboard's Top 200 with 1983's "You Can't Fight Fashion" being the highest charter at # 64 (with 17 weeks on the chart). The "Heartland" album from 1980 peaked at only # 86, but spent 32 weeks on the chart, their longest charting release.
I first became aware of Stanley via a 1974 appearance on "Don Kirshner's Rock Concert," a syndicated television series. I sat mesmerized by an acoustic rendition of The Beatles' "Help!" Truly a stunning performance, rich in texture and emotion.
Seeing The Michael Stanley Band live in December 1981, when they opened in Louisville for Foreigner, was another memorable moment. The band, aka MSB, featured several great vocalists and musicians, and constant touring had made them a tight unit, with Stanley a charismatic frontman. One of those rare treats was when the crowd sang all the lyrics to their hit "Falling In Love Again" with the band.
Evidence of their live power is presented on this album with two live tracks from the "Stagepass" album. "Midwest Madness" and "Nothing's Gonna Change My Mind" display all the reasons I rank Stanley's music right up there with the best of Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp.
The band's treasures on vinyl were many, but limited success led to the group's breakup in 1987. Stanley has continued to release solo albums (his "Eighteen Down" album is due out June 6, 2000) and even united his hometown's biggest stars for Cleveland Artists Recording for Ethiopia (The C.A.R.E. Session).
The C.A.R.E. Session recorded the single, "Eyes Of The Children." The 1985 charity single is highly collectible: it features a number of Cleveland-natives including Ben Orr of The Cars, three ex-Raspberries (Wally Bryson, Dave Smalley and Jim Bonfanti), Donnie Iris and many others, including the members of MSB, of course.
To the tunes on this album:
"He Can't Love You" from 1980 features a sax-driven intro and hook giving Bruce Springsteen-ish life by Springsteen E Street Band member Clarence Clemons. With killer rock 'n' roll crooning by Kevin Raleigh, the song is instantly likeable and catchy like Rick Springfield at his best: "He wants to hold you / don't you let him try / he says he needs you / but you'd better pass him by / because he can't love you like I love you / just let me prove it to you / he can't love love you like I love you..."
"Lover," also from 1980, shows the band's soft side, again using Clarence Clemons' strong sax work on this lovely ballad. Stanley puts the lament of lost love into a song that'll break your heart as you share his pain: "If I leave this thing up to you / I'm going to lose the best thing I've found / I can't see what's going down / So I talk to the night / I head for the light / Try to hold it on the road / Thank God for the man who put the white lines on the highway / Baby whatcha gonna do when the fire is through / When you find out he's lookin' for somebody new / Because you did everything that he wanted you to do / and now you're alone and crying..."
"Rosewood Bitters" from 1971 is from Stanley's first solo album (and one of two songs on the album that pre-date the band). It features the lead guitar work of Joe Walsh, with Todd Rundgren on clavinet (Walsh later recorded a cover version of the song). Walsh's slide guitar-work is a tempting piece of ear candy --- don't resist the temptation to taste this song.
"Rosewood Bitters" features some of Stanley's best lyrics also: "...I'm too long on the road my friend / too long between rides / too long between roads again / too long without someone by my side / and Lord there's something about a sad song / that helps to ease the pain / and here I am Lord / just singin' up a storm / and I'm all alone again / too much goin' down today / just can't take it in / too much runnin' round today / can't tell you where I've been / and it seems like singin' is the only thing to do / only thing to help me pass my time / songs are just like ladies / can't forget them when you're through / and they're always on your mind / and the rosewood bitters / help me meet the sunshine in the morning / and the rosewood bitters / help me through the night when I feel blue..."
Stanley's love of his hometown of Cleveland is evident in "My Town." With a kicking drum beat by Tommy Dobeck and searing lead guitar from Danny Powers driving the song to rock 'n' roll heaven, Stanley tells us how he feels in the lyrics:
"This old town's been home long as I remember / this town gonna be here long after I'm gone / East side, West side, give up, don't surrender / been down, but you're still our home / Oh, and this town is my town, alright / Love her, hate her, it don't matter / 'cause I'm gonna stand and fight / This town is my town / she's got her ups and downs / but love her, hate her, it don't matter / 'cause this is my town / this old town is where I learned about lovin' / this old town is where I learned to hate / This town, buddy, has done its share of shovin' / This town taught me that it's never too late / This is my town."
The other tracks: "Someone Like You" (with a lead vocal by Kevin Raleigh, who was a member of Dynamite (with ex-Raspberries Dave Smalley and Jim Bonfanti) before joining MSB), "In Between The Lines," "Let's Get The Show On The Road" (with Joe Walsh and his Barnstorm bandmate drummer Joe Vitale, along with Kenny Passarelli, whose bass work can be heard with everyone from Eric Carmen and Elton John to Derringer), "One Good Reason" (incredible alto sax by David Sanborn and lead guitar by Jonah Koslen), "Strike Up The Band" (lead vocal by Koslen), "Why Should Love Be This Way" (great keyboard work by Bob Pelander), "In The Heartland," "Somewhere In The Night" and "In Between The Lines."
Side bar: Studio wizard Eddie Kramer (Led Zeppelin, Kiss and Fotomaker, among others) sings backup vocals on "Falling In Love Again." He should sing more --- he's quite good at singing.
Stanley was the main man at the opening of the Hard Rock Cafe in Cleveland in July 1998. After performances by local favorites, he closed the show with a performance of Ian Hunter's "Cleveland Rocks" bringing Raspberries' guitarist Wally Bryson on stage to back him. Stanley has been a guest on "The Drew Carey Show" as well (Carey uses a version of "Cleveland Rocks" by the Presidents of the USA in the opening sequence).
The album features 16 songs with a total running time of over 74 minutes. The 8-page CD booklet is limited photo-wise, but is very detailed on the songs, featuring an introduction written by Stanley. Stanley also offers commentary on each of the album's songs (some of the commentary is quite funny, such as Stanley relating how someone sent him a tape of a Howard Stern radio broadcast where Stern spent a half-hour trying to figure out what "Rosewood Biters" were).
Stanley's official sites (solo and band, respectively) are online at: "http://www.michaelstanley.com/" and "http://www.michaelstanley.com/msb/" .
You may also enjoy:
The Sittin' Ducks featuring Wally Bryson of Raspberries with Dan Klawon and Kenny Margolis, Wally's bandmates in The Choir (see their "Choir Practice" CD): http://www.epinions.com/content_239152434820
Capitol/EMI's 20-track 24-bit digitally remastered CD "Greatest" by Cleveland's Raspberries (the original lineup --- Eric Carmen, Wally Bryson, Dave Smalley and Jim Bonfanti --- who sang the million-seller "Go All The Way" reunited in 2004-2005) was released in May of 2005 in the U. S. and Europe. It features all 7 of Raspberries Hot 100 singles, has 20 tracks and runs 78:53 minutes: http://www.epinions.com/content_186044681860
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