"Fotomaker": power pop heaven from members of The Raspberries and The Rascals
Written: Dec 25 '04 (Updated Jul 23 '07)
Product Rating:
Pros: Reproduced from the original masters.Features the hit,"Where Have You Been All My Life."
Cons: No extras.
The Bottom Line: Dino Danelli and Gene Cornish from The Rascals join Wally Bryson of Raspberries in Fotomaker. This 2004 CD release marks the album's first release on CD in its original form.
Wounded Bird Records, a small label that reissues long out-of-print LPs on CD, remastered from the original master tapes and without any extras to keep costs down, has reissued in 2004 the three Fotomaker albums on CD for the first time.
Rhino Records had reissued the first album in its entirety as part of the "The Fotomaker Collection" CD (http://www.epinions.com/musc-review-5210-68AD5D7-38600918-prod2) in 1995 with four tracks from the second album, "Vis-A-Vis," one track from the third album, "Transfer Station," and one unreleased track ("Baby I..."). That release has long been out-of-print.
The three Fotomaker studio albums have never before been released on CD in their original format and these reissues, with sterling clear sound, are well worth seeking out. They are available from the Wounded Bird Records label at their website at http://www.woundedbird.com or from online retailers such as Amazon.Com.
The two albums power pop fans must have are "Fotomaker" and "Vis-A-Vis." They feature Raspberries' lead guitarist Wally Bryson with two former Rascals in bassist Gene Cornish (who played guitar in The Rascals) and drummer Dino Danelli. Both albums originally appeared in 1978.
The third release, "Transfer Station," came out in 1979 with a disco sound and without Bryson. It is interesting, however, with backing vocals by Ian Lloyd (former lead singer of Stories ("Brother Louie") and a frequent backup singer for Foreigner).
The personnel on "Fotomaker":
Bassist Gene Cornish and drummer Dino Danelli recorded some of the biggest hits of the 1960's as members of New York's The Rascals (also known as The Young Rascals for a time). The Rascals scored such Top 10 hits as "How Can I Be Sure," "Groovin'," "Good Lovin'," "A Beautiful Morning," "A Girl Like You" and "You Better Run."
After leaving The Rascals, Cornish and Danelli recorded with Bulldog, scoring a minor Hot 100 hit called "No" in 1972.
Lead guitarist/vocalist Wally Bryson first hit the charts in 1967 as a member of Cleveland's The Choir, a band that opened for acts like The Who, Herman's Hermits and The Byrds. The Choir hit the Hot 100 when Bryson was 17 with "It's Cold Outside."
Five years later, Bryson was a member of Raspberries with Eric Carmen, scoring with the million-seller "Go All The Way," one of that band's four Top 40 hits ("I Wanna Be With You," "Overnight Sensation (Hit Record)" and "Let's Pretend" being the other hits).
Bryson has joined Cornish and Danelli on tour in recent years as The New Rascals, but is currently touring (2004-2005, at least) with the original Raspberries lineup again (Bryson, Carmen, Dave Smalley and Jim Bonfanti; Smalley and Bonfanti were also in The Choir with Bryson previously). Bryson has also recorded albums with bands such as Tattoo and The Sittin' Ducks.
The five-man band was filled out by a second lead guitarist/vocalist in Lex Marchesi and keyboardist/vocalist Frankie Vinci, both veterans of Masquerade, which has been described as a "Kiss-like outfit" by one reviewer. Vinci, Cornish and Danelli later formed the ska band Modo and had a minor hit with "I Wish I Could Dance Like Fred Astaire."
Tim McGraw's country music fans may recognize Vinci's name. Vinci wrote a tune with Kris Tamerlin called "Somebody Must Be Prayin' For Me" that appears on McGraw's "A Place In The Sun" album. Vinci also writes commercial jingles that have been used by Duncan Hines, Nestle's, Chevrolet and others.
The band considered calling themselves Player and Dancer only to find those names already registered for use by other acts. Danelli suggested Fotomaker, which means "photographer," because their original label, Atlantic, was having success with "F" group names like Foreigner and Firefall --- it just seemed to work.
Bryson was a last minute addition to the lineup. Cornish had seen Bryson play Carnegie Hall with Raspberries in 1973 and felt his guitar/vocals would give benefit Fotomaker. Danelli said of Bryson, "Wally was the icing on the cake for us. We needed a harder edge, and he brought that."
The CD:
Remastered from the original Atlantic Records' master tapes, the sound is gorgeous.
This first Fotomaker album was coproduced by the band. Eddie Kramer (Jimi Hendrix, Kiss, Led Zeppelin) produced the basic tracks, but a family crisis caused him to bow out of the project (a recent magazine interview had him saying, "I loved Fotomaker.") Brought in to finish production were Ron and Howard Albert, two brothers known for their work with Crosby, Stills and Nash.
Cornish later desrcibed the results of mixing the various producers in "The Fotomaker Collection" liner notes saying, "We had the strength of Kramer's instrumental sounds and the beauty of the Albert brothers' way of recording vocals."
It is that mix that makes "Fotomaker" one of the best power pop albums of the 1970's or any other time period. The music is still fresh-sounding 26 years later, with gutsy guitar-playing and sweet harmonies over wonderfully melodic rock 'n' roll.
The album peaked at # 88 in the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart during a 13-week chart attack. It produced the Hot 100 Singles hit "Where Have You Been All My LIfe," which peaked at # 81 in 1978 during a 6-week chart run.
The album cover, created by band member Dino Danelli, was Grammy-nominated.
This album, and its follow-up LP, "Vis-A-Vis," also released in 1978, helped me keep the rock 'n' roll faith as disco seemed to grab all my college classmates at Western Kentucky University ("...put Fotomaker on the turntable and lay down a suppressing fire!!!" I felt like yelling whenever I heard "boogie-oogie-oogie" blaring from some car stereo; I swear, it was like "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers" --- people going to sleep loving rock 'n' roll and awakening the next day as Pod People loving Disco Ducks).
I loved the "Fotomaker" album. Heck, I've still got a copy of the album's songbook.
The 10 tracks:
"Where Have You Been All My LIfe," "Can I Please Have Some More," "All There In Her Eyes," "Two Can Make It Work," "The Other Side," "Say The Same For You," "Plaything," "All These Years," "Pain" and "Lose At Love."
Recommednation:
Love power pop? Love classic rock? Love Brit-pop and/or glam-rock? Ever liked The Rascals and/or The Raspberries? If you answered yes to these questions, then this CD is a must-have in your collection.
Some of my favorite tracks on "Fotomaker":
"Where Have You Been All My LIfe":
Written by a friend of the band, James Cawley (a CBS Records executive), "Where Have You Been All My LIfe" is a soaring, melodic, power pop tune that showcases the band's ringing guitar sounds, keyboards and vocal harmonies. Fans of The Beatles and The Byrds will love this throwback to 1960's pop innocence:
"It used to be, my life was like a puzzle in a million pieces / and it seemed, my purpose and my destiny were mysteries to me / then, girl you came into my life and you brought my heart a one-way ticket straight to paradise / and just where have you been all my life / tell me, where have you been all my life..."
Marchesi and Vinci duet the lead vocals here.
"Can I Please Have Some More":
Skillfully played high hats, an unusual backbeat, ringing guitars and bright harmonies accent the boyish, anthemic swagger of the melody to Marchesi's "Can I Please Have Some More":
"...I would not mean to cage you, cramp your style or enrage you, but there's one thing I've really got to know / can I please have some more..."
"The Other Side":
Vinci's "The Other Side" was the album's second single, but didn't click, which is odd. The tune is a wonderful marriage of Foreigner ("Cold As Ice") and The Babys ("If You've Got The Time"), full of swirling keyboards, jangly guitars and multi-part harmony about a guy getting even with an unfaithful lover:
"You say it's all over, then you turn around and walk away / I can't keep up with you, you change from day to day / I don't know what went wrong, I thought you were satisfied / but you live and you learn, and I guess our love has died / so when I see you again, I'll turn around and walk away / I'll treat you in the same way, I'll put you on the other side..."
"Say The Same For You":
Written by Marchesi and Danelli, "Say The Same For You" begins with some nasty guitar-work, giving a swinging bravado to the hard-rocking melody as Marchesi's lead vocal tells his lover not to mess with him (not unlike the theme of Foreigner's "Headknocker") as the band answers in on the chorus:
"Anytime, that you want me / that's the time, I'll be there / even though, you don't need me / I'll still write, I'll still care / (wish that I could say the same for you) say the same for you / (act the way you do) send it back to you..."
The lead guitar work here is outstanding and stunning to listen to: played with guts and with a youthful exhuberance.
"Plaything":
Written by Marchesi, Vinci and Danelli, "Plaything" places its hard rock boots firmly on your rear end for a nice swift kick in the seat.
Danelli's drumming drives the piece with a quirky, Keith Moon-ish-styled beat. He remains one of the best drummers in rock. The guitar-work by Marchesi and Bryson is to die for (there's a dynamite guitar break at the song's core, too).
As a theme, a guy not wanting to be his lover's "Plaything" was an unusual concept in 1978:
"...don't count me out or in, I am not your plaything / don't care to lose or win, I am not your plaything..."
"All These Years":
The band could also produce soaring ballads, a bit like Bad Company or Led Zeppelin. On "All These Years," written by Marchesi, Vinci and Danelli, the tune progresses with a slow march of a melody, some sweetly played guitar and a lyric that's both intelligent and skeptical at the same time:
"I can't believe what they're saying about you / can it be that you've gone your own way / can I take all that's happened between us / can I casually throw it away / ... / all these years, I thought I knew her..."
"Pain":
"Pain" is a killer --- really? Honest!!!
Danelli has never sounded better as he beats the skins raw on "Pain." Marchesi and Bryson trade sliding guitar sounds as Cornish gives able bass support (Cornish is so professionally perfect at times that he almost gets lost in the mix, but his performance is important on every track here).
It's a great Marchesi and Danelli collaboration as songwriters, with a driving rock/jazz-influenced track, crunching guitars and multi-part harmony:
"...is it true? / is it true? / that my baby just went and found somebody new / I'm in love / I'm in love / but my baby won't say what she's thinking of / pain / pain..."
Just released:
Wally Bryson appears on Live On Sunset Strip (Deluxe Edition of 2 CDs and a DVD recorded during the 2005 reunion tour) By Raspberries, a 2007 Rykodisc release with liner notes byBruce Springsteen and a photo of John Lennon in a Raspberries sweatshirt in the CD booklet, produced by Mark Linett and Eric Carmen: http://www.epinions.com/content_393207123588
On the web:
The Wounded Bird Records, the label behind the Fotomaker reissues, sells the CDs at its website (other retailers like Amazon.Com also have them): http://www.woundedbird.com
Official Frankie Vinci website: http://www.frankievinci.com/
Official Raspberries site: http://www.raspberries.net (you might also enjoy the official Eric Carmen site at http://www.ericcarmen.com)
Related reviews:
My review of the third Fotomaker CD, "Transfer Station," featuring ex-Stories lead singer Ian Lloyd on backup vocals and sax great Mike Brecker: http://www.epinions.com/content_227031092868
Capitol/EMI's 24-bit digitally remastered CD released in May of 2005 in the U. S. and Europe, "Greatest," features all 7 of Raspberries Hot 100 singles, has 20 tracks and runs 78:53 minutes: http://www.epinions.com/content_186044681860
Wally and Kenny Margolis of The Choir were also members of The Sittin' Ducks, who appear on the compilation CD "Talkin' Baseball": http://www.epinions.com/content_21746650756
***Updated Note: RPM Records in England is reissuing each of the four Raspberries studio albums as single CDs in 2005 ("Raspberries" and "Fresh" on January 4, 2005; "Side 3" and "Starting Over" in the Spring of 2005). Information is at http://www.cherryred.co.uk/rpm/artists/raspberries.htm ***
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