Sept. 5, 1980 Gusto record review: Second harvest of summer recordings

A hot weather bonanza.

Sept. 5, 1980

Western New York Musicians

Churn Out Records Over the Summer

Record releases from Western New York keep coming at a brisk clip. The past six weeks have seen seven new singles and two albums. One album is jazz pianist Richard Shulman’s wonderful “Wonder,” reviewed here a few issues ago. The other comes from Fargo, N.D., in Soft Thunder’s “Volume 1” (Coliseum Records PS-1YQ2 Fargo, N.D.), which introduces a quintet that includes brothers Tim and Pete Bristol from Niagara Falls.

A band that’s successful in Fargo has to aim for an adult contemporary vein when they rock and that’s exactly where Soft Thunder is at. Most of their 10 original tracks are mellow romance, not too far from Christopher Cross, come to think of it. Same for their cover tunes – the Supremes’ “Back in My Arms” again and Jay and the Techniques’ 1967 hit, “Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie.” Better than the average group of this sort, they even do a send-up of the Dirt Band in “Give a Smile.” Now if they’d only change that name.

The other emigrant locals are Amherst natives Ron Spitzer, Andrew Halbreich and Robert Poss, who comprise three-quarters of Tot Rocket and the Twins, which has just left Connecticut and moved into the New Wave club scene in New York. Their single, “Reduce/Fun Fades Fast in the U.S.A." (Whiplash Records, Naugatuck, Conn.), is rebellion music with conscience attached. “Reduced” demonstrates taste in its instrumental stops and its protest against depersonalization. It’s earned them comparisons with the Clash. “Fun Fades Fast” is a chugging treatise on social injustice, from chemical dumps to “policin’ the world while the cities decay.”

Blues singer and guitarist Dan Harper has no intention of taking his single, “Let Me Come Inside/Leaving for Austin” (Buffalo College of Musical Knowledge BCMK-47), out to the stores. The idea is to use it as a ticket to a full-fledged recording contract. “Let Me Come Inside” is raw and immediate and a bit cocky, like the Rolling Stones when they were still putting Chicago blues on their LPs. “Leaving for Austin” is a strangely compelling delta blues with slide guitar, a popping cymbal and the audio-verite feel of a field recording.

Tapping raw energy can be a lot easier than building a big ballad, as seen on singer-songwriter Paul Anthony’s “I’ll Remember You/Listen to the Minstrel” (Blue Star Records BSR-001). Anthony, whose real name is Paul Campanella, seems a bit ill-at-ease in his attempt at a grandiose production on side one. It isn’t quite the greeting-card romance it aspires to be, though the chorus almost gets it there. “Minstrel” finds him picking up the pace, loosening his collar and working with a broader range of expression.

The funk-rock show group U.S.T. Topaze runs into the same situation on its single, “Keep Me Happy/Check It Out” (Buffalo College of Musical Knowledge BCMK-68). “Keep Me Happy” tries to be cool, but its hyperactivity never quite gets brought under control, even in its long coda. It takes letting their hair down on side two to show how good the band really is. “Check It Out” is a show tune which gallops gloriously, with everything popping perfectly into its racing rhythm.

Another case for the B-side can be made for the 7 Mile Per Hour Band’s “At the Disco/Playing Your Game” (Music City Records MC-JH-71180). “At the Disco” is a burst of beat and a fast blast of horns, which works well in ensemble but gets self-conscious when it’s time for solos or special effects. Still, it’s better disciplined than their debut single, the raucous “Latin Freak.” “Playing Your Game” was the flip side of that record too, and this mid-tempo Latin-flavored ballad may be the band’s real hit, though it could easily stand to be a minute shorter.

The best local example of the dancing, partying beat is Steady Funk’s “We Will Funk You Up” (Steady Funk MMX-1009), which works a big bass, a wealth of percussion and a gaggle of funny voices into a fine chant. It doesn’t sound like a local record. The flip side, “Syreeta,” is a classic throwaway tune, a simple, ingenious ballad with a singer tossing phrases in front of a falsetto chorus.

Mitch Meadows and Mono-Sonic’s “The Mono-Sound” (Mono-Sound Music Records 3755) delivers the promise of its subtitle, “Syncopated Nonsense.” It’s your basic dance-party track. No frills to get in the way, just clap-your-hands, get-on-down with a roomful of voices chanting. Since B is more of the same. Unfortunately, Mono-Sounds most promising element, noodling rock guitarist Bruno Varbanor, is buried way down in the mix.

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IN THE PHOTO: Undated photo of U.S.T. Topaze.

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FOOTNOTE: Taking it from the top. Tim Bristol played bass with the band Penelope in Niagara Falls and continues to gig around Niagara County. His brother Pete has passed away.

We checked in with Tot Rocket and the Twins earlier in 1980 when they played Gabel's on Hertel Avenue. Robert Poss has become highly respected in the experimental music community.

Dan Harper has been playing locally with his group Magic Show since 2009. They appear every third Friday of the month at the Tudor Lounge on Franklin Street.

Paul Anthony, now ,Paul X. Campanella, lives in Las Vegas, where he entertains in Mandalay Bay's House of Blues with his "Memphis to Motown" show. You can get a taste of him via his website, paulxcampanella.com.

U.S.T. Topaze may have been the most musically accomplished group at Tom Calandra's BCMK label. They included well-traveled keyboardist Van Taylor, who also was their manager. He's still active in Buffalo. Two of the other members, lead guitarist Kenny Hawkins and singer Joe Diggs went on to work with Rick James. All three are Buffalo Music Hall of Famers.

Don't know much about what happened to the 7 Mile Per Hour Band, but you can hear the record on Spotify. Can't say the same for Steady Funk and Mitch Meadows. They're even more obscure.