It leads with “One Man Band,” which was also Leo Sayer’s debut single when he finally released his own recording in mid-1974. (At the age of 80, he’s still their manager in 2022.)Īt a svelte 38 minutes in length, Daltrey wastes nothing. It peaked at #45.īefore long, Stamp and Lambert were out and Track employee and tour maven Bill Curbishley moved into Who/Daltrey management, naming his company Trinifold. Some believe they quietly did what they could to scuttle Daltrey at MCA, the label that released it and The Who’s albums in America. They were worried The Who might split, or become a hybrid act in the mold of Rod Stewart and Faces. Despite the huge popularity of The Who in America, Daltrey’s solo success had created a rift between The Who’s managers Chris Stamp and Kit Lambert (who also ran the band’s U.K. the single barely scraped into Billboard’s Hot 100. In April 1973 Roger performed his current top 10 hit single “Giving It All Away” on the BBC’s Top of the Pops television show. Cole’s steel guitar, Dave Arbus’ violin and guitar by Jimmy Page on a track eventually relegated to a B-side, “There is Love.” Del Newman, who had worked with Cat Stevens, Elton John, Rod Stewart and many others, did the string arrangements, and Courtney and Faith were listed as producers on the finished product. There were a few overdubbed instrumental parts, including B.J. We didn’t even have time to tune the piano!”Ĭourtney played that piano, Daltrey a bit of acoustic guitar, Dave Wintour was on bass, and two members of Argent, guitarist Russ Ballard and drummer Bob Henrit, filled out the band. It was fresh and completely unpretentious. It’s still the best solo album I ever made. “We had the album finished in three weeks…with the orchestra and everything,” Daltrey told Charlesworth. What about if you give me three or four songs and I’ll record them?” He figured he might open some doors for Sayer, who was the singer in the writing duo.Ī month or two later, 10 songs were written, assembled and demonstrated on a piano in The Barn. Surprised that Faith had been unable to secure them a record label contract for such “fucking brilliant” material, Daltrey casually said, “We’ve got six demos. Daltrey, who “had bugger all to do” with no Who project, engineered the Sayer session in October 1972, and was impressed by the songs from these unknowns. Who’s Next had been released in 1971, but Daltrey’s band was now off the road while Pete Townshend developed Quadrophenia. “I never felt comfortable outside The Who…if I was out there singing but not with The Who, I had to make sure I was singing stuff The Who would never, ever do.”įaith (real name Terence Wright), a ’60s British teen idol and hitmaker who’d turned to managing careers and producing, brought the singer-songwriter team of Leo Sayer and David Courtney (real name David Cohen) to Daltrey’s home studio, set up in a barn on his property in East Sussex, to do some song demos. “I was only doing a favor to help a friend of mine, Adam Faith,” he told the journalist Charles Charlesworth in 1997. The appearance of the 10-song Daltrey LP in April 1973 was the result of serendipity and a little casual work. Their follow-up album has been completed, according to Ramsey, but few other details about the release have been announced.The Who’s lead singer, Roger Daltrey, never intended to record outside the group, or have any kind of solo career. Old Dominon released their current single “Make It Sweet” in October 2018 and it was the group’s first new music to emerge since the 2017 album Happy Endings. “I’ll lay down the beat/You’ll carry the tune/We’ll get tattoos and trash hotel rooms,” he sings in the chorus. Ramsey makes his case for the rock-star life being a richer experience when it’s shared with someone. Guitarist Brad Tursi leads things off with an arpeggiated, ringing pattern that accompanies Ramsey’s verses, and the song mostly stays in this hushed territory for the duration - the drums never fully enter, ceding timekeeping duties to soft snaps and shaker. “Been flyin’ solo for so long/Nobody’s singin’ the harmony,” sings Matthew Ramsey at the top of Old Dominion’s new song “One Man Band.” In this case, he’s not singing about his own backing crew, but rather the search for a fulfilling and supportive partnership.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |