Jun 28, 2019

RhoDeo 1925 Grooves

Hello,


Today's Artists are a Scottish funk and R&B band that had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They are best known for their million-selling instrumental track "Pick Up the Pieces", and their albums AWB and Cut the Cake. . ...... N Joy

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The Average White Band (also AWB) are a Scottish funk and R&B band that had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They are best known for their million-selling instrumental track "Pick Up the Pieces", and their albums AWB and Cut the Cake. The band name was initially proposed by Bonnie Bramlett; the band backed Bramlett on her first solo outing, 1973's Sweet Bonnie Bramlett, an album that presaged the Disco movement, particularly with the track Crazy 'Bout My Baby played heavily in dance clubs. They have influenced others such as the Brand New Heavies, and been sampled by various musicians including the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, TLC, The Beatnuts, Too Short, Ice Cube, Eric B. & Rakim, Nas, and A Tribe Called Quest, Christina Milian, as well as Arrested Development – making them the 15th most sampled act in history. As of 2018, 46 years after their formation, they continue to perform.

AWB was formed in early 1972 in London by Alan Gorrie, and Malcolm "Molly" Duncan, with Owen "Onnie" McIntyre, Michael Rosen (trumpet), Roger Ball, and Robbie McIntosh joining them in the original line-up. Hamish Stuart quickly replaced Rosen. Duncan and Ball, affectionately known as the Dundee Horns, studied at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art (now part of the University of Dundee, but which at the time was part of the Dundee Institute of Art and Technology, now known as Abertay University), and were previously members of Mogul Thrash. Gorrie and McIntyre had been members of Forever More. McIntyre and McIntosh were used as session musicians on Chuck Berry's recording of "My Ding-a-Ling". According to Duncan, members of the band had played together before in Scotland, but had moved to London separately and met up by chance at a Traffic concert. They decided to jam together; a friend heard them and remarked: "This is too much for the average white man," which became adapted as the name of the band.

The band's breakthrough was a support slot at Eric Clapton's comeback concert in 1973. MCA Records released their debut album, Show Your Hand (1973), which sold poorly. Bruce McCaskill, who was Clapton's tour manager, liked the band's music and agreed to manage them. He borrowed money to take them to the US and to promote them. McCaskill had many contacts from his days with Clapton and managed to get Atlantic Records to sign them. The band relocated to Los Angeles and released the follow-up, AWB, better known as The White Album. It reached No. 1 and was the first of many with renowned producer Arif Mardin.

McIntosh died of a heroin overdose at a Los Angeles party on 23 September 1974. Gorrie also overdosed, but Cher kept him conscious until medical help arrived. The NME reported in January 1975 that AWB played a benefit show for McIntosh's widow at the Marquee Club in London. McIntosh was replaced by Steve Ferrone (previously of Bloodstone), and, like McIntosh, previously with Brian Auger's Oblivion Express. In 1975, the single "Pick Up the Pieces" – taken from the No. 1 AWB album – reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song knocked Linda Ronstadt's "You're No Good" out of No. 1 and sold over one million copies. It was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in March 1975. It also prompted The J.B.'s, the backup band of the "Godfather of Soul", James Brown, to record and release a song in reply, "Pick Up the Pieces, One by One", under the name AABB (Above Average Black Band). It was both a tribute to AWB's knowledge of funk and a tongue-in-cheek play on the Scottish band's name.

AWB followed up with the LPs Cut the Cake (1975) and Soul Searching (1976), both big sellers and yielding further Top 40 singles. Cut the Cake was dedicated by the surviving band members to McIntosh's memory. A double live album "Person To Person" was issued in late 1976. Their next LP, Benny & Us, was a collaboration with Ben E. King. After several more albums, "Warmer Communications" (1978), "Feel No Fret" (1979) and after a switch to the U.S. Arista label, "Shine" (1980) and "Cupid's In Fashion" (1982), AWB's audience and sales dwindled. The group initially disbanded by 1983. Their 1980 disco hit "Let's Go Round Again" (UK No. 12), was covered in the late 1990s by Louise.

Ferrone went on to work with Duran Duran whilst Hamish Stuart joined Paul McCartney's touring group. In 1985 Gorrie released a solo album, Sleepless Nights.

The classic lineup of Gorrie, McIntyre, Ball, Stuart, Duncan and Ferrone reunited for one last time at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary in 1988. Gorrie, McIntyre, and Ball then continued in 1989 to record Aftershock. Alex Ligertwood (ex-Santana, Jeff Beck Group and another veteran of Brian Auger's Oblivion Express) also appeared on this album, replacing lead singer Hamish Stuart, along with Eliot Lewis who co-wrote with Gorrie and joined the band. Ligertwood left after the album's recording and drummer Tiger McNeil joined for the reunited band's live shows. McNeil was with the group until 1994. He was then succeeded by Peter Abbott (ex-Blood Sweat and Tears), who in turn was replaced by Fred "Catfish" Alias in September 1998. Drummer Adam Deitch did a two-year stint with AWB from 1999 to 2001.

Average White Band has continued recording (1997's Soul Tattoo, 1999's Face to Face) and touring since. Ball worked on Soul Tattoo with the group but was replaced by Fred Vigdor (aka Freddy V.) in 1996. Brian Dunne took over the drum chair in 2001 and when Eliot Lewis left the band in September 2002 to pursue other musical opportunities (including a stint with Hall and Oates), he was replaced by Klyde Jones. Their line-up as of 2002 became Alan Gorrie (bass guitar, guitar, lead and backing vocals), Klyde Jones (keyboards, bass guitar, guitar, lead and backing vocals), Onnie McIntyre (guitar, vocals), Freddy V (sax, keyboards, vocals), and Brian Dunne (drums).

Dunne was replaced by Rocky Bryant as drummer as of the 2006 tour. After Jones left in 2011 to join Hall and Oates, Monte Croft (keyboards, bass, guitar) and former Earth Wind and Fire member Morris Pleasure (keyboards, bass, guitar) came in to do brief stints before Rob Aries arrived in 2013. Brent Carter (ex-Tower of Power) has been singing with AWB since 2011.

In July 2015, Malcolm ‘Molly’ Duncan, Steve Ferrone and Hamish Stuart reunited to form The 360 Band. This is in essence one half of the original AWB. They released an album titled "Three Sixty" in 2017 and have been performing live together along with supporting musicians. As of 2019, Alan Gorrie and Onnie McIntyre are the only two original members left in the Average White Band.





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Like Earth, Wind & Fire and the Ohio Players, the Average White Band demonstrated that even the mightiest of funk bands can experience a creative and commercial decline. 1978's Warmer Communications was the last AWB album that went gold; by the time they came out with 1979's uneven Feel No Fret, AWB's popularity had decreased. That isn't to say that nothing they recorded after the '70s has merit; 1997's Soul Tattoo found AWB providing a decent and satisfying, if less than essential, CD 17 years after the '70s ended. Nonetheless, many AWB fans agree that Warmer Communications was the Scottish band's last truly excellent album. This 1978 LP didn't have a blockbuster single like "Cut the Cake" or "Pick Up the Pieces"; the funky single "Your Love Is a Miracle" only made it to number 33 on Billboard's R&B singles chart. But Warmer Communications (which Arif Mardin produced) didn't need a major single to sell at least half a million copies in the United States, where fans were willing the buy the record regardless of how much radio airplay it received. In fact, fans found that they could easily play this album from start to finish without ever feeling disappointed -- and you can't say that about Feel No Fret, AWB's next album. Warmer Communications gets off to an impressive start with "Your Love Is a Miracle," and AWB keeps the creative momentum going whether they're getting funky on "Same Feeling, Different Song" and "Big City Lights" or chilling out on slow jams that include "One Look Over My Shoulder (Is This Really Goodbye?)," the ethereal "She's a Dream," and a memorable cover of James Taylor's "Daddy's All Gone." There are no dull moments on Warmer Communications, which was a welcome addition to AWB's catalog.



 Average White Band - Warmer Communications  (flac   299mb)

01 Your Love Is A Miracle 6:04
02 Same Feeling, Different Song 5:16
03 Daddy's All Gone 4:38
04 Big City Lights 4:52
05 She's A Dream 5:36
06 Warmer Communications 4:07
07 The Price Of The Dream 3:59
08 Sweet & Sour 4:50
09 One Look Over My Shoulder (Is This Really Goodbye?) 3:55

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From their self-titled sophomore album of 1974 to 1978's Warmer Communications, the Average White Band enjoyed a commercial winning streak in the '70s; all of the albums they recorded for Atlantic during that period went either gold or platinum in the United States (and that is in addition to their impressive sales in Europe). But if any AWB album demonstrated that all good things must eventually come to an end, it was Feel No Fret. This 1979 LP marked the first time since 1973's Show Your Hand (also known as Put It Where You Want It) that an AWB album didn't enjoy either gold or platinum sales in the U.S., and it was also the most uneven album they recorded in the '70s. So what went wrong? Perhaps the absence of Arif Mardin was a factor; Mardin had produced all of AWB's previous Atlantic releases, whereas they produced Feel No Fret themselves. If Mardin had been encouraging the Scottish soul/funk band to go that extra mile, they settled for decent or competent on this record. Feel No Fret is far from a total meltdown, and the material is generally likable -- especially the good-natured "Atlantic Avenue," the slow-grinding "When Will You Be Mine," and a remake of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David favorite "Walk On By" (which became a minor hit and made it to number 32 on Billboard's R&B singles chart). But after Mardin-produced treasures like AWB, Soul Searching, Cut the Cake, and Warmer Communications, AWB followers had become extremely spoiled -- they expected excellence, not a record that was merely adequate. Nonetheless, hardcore devotees (as opposed to casual listeners) will want to hear this album, which Rhino reissued on CD as Feel No Fret...and More (with four bonus tracks added) in 1994.



Average White Band - Feel No Fret  (flac   261mb)

01 When Will You Be Mine 4:23
02 Please Don't Fall In Love 3:42
03 Walk On By 3:56
04 Feel No Fret 6:22
05 Stop The Rain 4:28
06 Atlantic Avenue 3:12
07 Ace Of Hearts 3:48
08 Too Late To Cry 3:40
09 Fire Burning 3:27

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This underrated Average White Band album produced by David Foster featured songs by AWB with Foster co-writing a couple with the guys. The album's smooth, jazzy sound turned off fans that liked AWB rawer. Time, however, has treated these tracks well (they can be found on CD) and what wasn't cutting-edge at the time has proven to be timeless trinkets. Check out: "Catch Me (Before I Have to Testify)," "Let's Go Round Again," "For Your Love," and "Into the Night," the LP's rawest cut.



Average White Band - Shine (flac   262mb)

01 Our Time Has Come 3:30
02 For You, For Love 3:52
03 Let´s Go ´Round Again 4:40
04 Whatcha' Gonna Do For Me 4:10
05 Into The Night 3:57
06 Catch Me (Before I Have To Testify) 4:52
07 Help Is On The Way 4:18
08 If Love Only Lasts For One Night 4:39
09 Shine 3:55
10 Into The Night (Reprise) 2:00

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The first four tracks of VOL VIII were unreleased cuts from the Shine period. They were combined with a selection of greatest hits and released in 1980 as VOL VIII.



Average White Band - Volume VIII (flac   262mb)

01 Kiss Me 3:49
02 Love Won't Get In The Way 5:01
03 Love Gives, Love Takes Away 4:09
04 Growing Pains 4:21
05 Pick Up The Pieces 3:58
06 Person To Person 3:38
07 Cut The Cake 4:03
08 A Love Of Your Own 4:01
09 Queen Of My Soul 4:34

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So towards the end AWB headed down the disco path which lead them away from what many saw as their true soul approach, however it is hard to find a soul artist who at this time did not go the same way. Disco had a short life but was ubiquitous. So it was inevitable that AWB also followed this trend, I for one was disappointed that they did not retain a stronger jazz element that was there in their very early work but I do recognise why they took the direction they did, and they produced some cracking albums along the way.
That UK cover is something to give you nightmares!  Design [Styling, Mannequins] – Mundo Mesa Very creepy! Cupid's In Fashion was recorded at Sigma Sound Studios, NYC. It turned out to be the last album by the band, they split and partly reassembled 7 years later.



Average White Band -Cupid's In Fashion (flac   289mb)

01 You're My Number One 3:19
02 Easier Said Than Done 4:07
03 You Wanna Belong 4:25
04 Cupid's in Fashion 4:20
05 Theatre of Excess 4:28
06 I Believe 4:30
07 Is It Love That You're Running From 4:12
08 Reach Out  / I'll Be There 3:52
09 Isn't It Strange 3:22
10 Love's a Heartache 4:47

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Great thanks for your posts about the AWB. I, as I guess many others, knew about their international hit, but didn't imagine, as I guess many others, that the guys were scottish. Just thinking about this is funny, and adding to that the energy of their music just expands the joy I feel listening to their creations.

Thanks again.