Thursday, November 16, 2006

New England - debut - 1979 - mca



hey all :

most of the stuff i will be posting will be pre `70 obscure psych - ish stuff , but every now & again i wanna post some other obscure greats that have gotten lost in the cracks of time.
this one came from a cd.
here is info on the band , New England from 1979.



"This quartet formed around Boston under the auspice of powerhouse manager Bill Aucoin, who ruled the '70s with Kiss. Guitarist and vocalist John Fannon proved to be the guiding light of the band, with Jimmy Waldo providing impressive keyboards and Gary Shea on bass while Hirsh Gardener worked the drums. Paul Stanley came over from the Kiss camp to produce New England's sterling debut (featuring the incomparable "P.U.N.K." and the incredible "Nothing to Fear"), an orchestrated, absorbing affair with the boys giving all. The lush "Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya" nicked the Top 40 and proved to be New England's moment in the sun. Despite an opening stint supporting the falling but still high-profile Kiss, New England unfortunately slid between the cracks with Starz and Piper, two other talented Aucoin projects. The similar sophomore effort, Explorer Suite, garnered almost no notice, and Todd Rundgren's production on the innovative Walking Wild also didn't produce sales. New England dissolved, with Shea and Waldo ending up in Alcatrazz." --- AMG

"Produced by Paul Stanley of Kiss who was also represented by manager Bill Aucoin, this Boston band's debut still stands as their finest. "Hello, Hello, Hello," much like Alice Cooper's use of Rolf Kemp's "Hello Hooray," is a nice opener, but the lyrics are more like Stevie Nicks witchcraft and magic. Song two is the most classic statement made by writer John Fannon and his group New England. "Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya" is perhaps the shortest poem/song on record by Fannon, but it is his most famous. There are swirling keyboards by Jimmy Waldo and the precision the band is known for in performance. Like another Boston-based group, Private Lightning on A&M with their local hit "Physical Speed," these groups were ahead of their time and exploring sounds that were not identified with the city that brought the world the Modern Lovers, Aerosmith, and the Jonzun Crew. But with three albums on a major label, and superb production, New England had a good shot at the brass ring and a tune with all the elements of "hit" in this track. "P.U.N.K." is also a song that generated attention. About a punk, and certainly not punk rock, although the band frequented (and played) the clubs like the Paradise and the Rat, which, no doubt, helped inspire this. "Shall I Run Away" has a great vocal from Fannon and is the best tune next to "Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya" -- mellow with cosmic guitars, a unique sound removed from the Asia style producer Mike Stone and the band New England became known for, almost Roxy Music. And that is where the band could've really made its mark, by being more experimental and less like the arena rock bands of the day. "Alone Tonight" is a great song held back by the "overproduction," to quote the late Stones producer Jimmy Miller and his idea of the New England sound. The thick production on this music is incessant. "Nothing to Fear" has hooks a plenty and the voice more prominent; "Shoot" is like a progressive Black Sabbath riff sped up and gone pop. Fannons' great ideas and lyrics seem to get lost in some of the instrumentation of "Turn Out the Light." That stage life which Paul Stanley knows so well from the Kiss hit "Beth" is the theme of "The Last Show." "Encore" concludes the album with Fannon almost sounding like Roger Waters in delivery and idea. New England deserves recognition for years of hard work and the creation of a very important tune from the late '70s. The cover photo has Terminator-style lightning (so did Private Lightning's cover, of course) and the band being delivered from out the blue." -- AMG

*********

one of my fave records of all time. i was 14 when the hit "dont ever wanna lose ya" hit the airwaves.
i thought i would share this one with some that might remember it , & yet have forgotten how good these guys were.
this came from an import cd , pretty hard to get -- i am gonna up the other two they did soon as well , i even have some demos & unreleased tracks if interest is high enuff !
:)
ya , waldo & shea [ bass - keys ] ended up with yngwie & bonnet on the alcatrazz` recordings , even on the one they did w/ steve vai - "disturbing the peace".
for fans of journey , boston , elo , sweet , etc.


New England - s/t debut - 1979 - Infinity - MCA records -- MP3 @ 320 - VBR - 69 MB

1- Hello, Hello, Hello
2 - Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya
3 - P.U.N.K. (Puny Undernourished Kid)
4 - Shall I Run Away
5 - Alone Tonight
6 - Nothing to Fear
7 - Shoot
8 - Turn Out the Light
9 - The Last Show
10 - Encore

download -- here --

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

You truned me on to this band years ago.i still have the LP i got at the dallas record-show. Great band. Thanks for the trun-on here. DACE>

Anonymous said...

Thanks man. You got Clear Approach by Trillion?

akashaman said...

hey man : dont have trillion , but i have seen it; i`ll keep my eyes peeled :

thanks

aka`

tilted2oneside said...

Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Many thanks for New England.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the New England LP.
I've never owned it, but have always wanted it.

Anonymous said...

Man, I looked for this for a LONG time, since my vinyl is gone. I was 24 and getting married then (Divorced now) but this one was one of my faves too. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Their first is one of my favorite albums of all time. Still have the vinyl and listen to the CD regularly. Saw them live at the Coliseum in Houston in 1979. They opened, AC/DC was next and Journey was headlining. What a show and what a great band!

Anonymous said...

Great! Been looking for this for quite some time, since the vinyl once purchased left me - together with the wife!

Anonymous said...

I hope you still plan on posting up the other two albums & the rarities you mentioned. I always thought this band should have been HUGE!

--JV

Dr Bombay said...

Please Please Please would you post this one again!! I have been searching for years for this treasure.

akashaman said...

RE-UPLOADED !

ask & ye shall receive :
have you heard thier other 2 lp`s after this ?
i really need to post them , maybe i`ll do just that while i get my new pc together !

check out thier site for more info on them. they had a reunion show quite recently & there is talk of more music ?

http://www.newenglandrocks.com/

aka`

Anonymous said...

Trillion Clear approach and their first album are overhere:
bryonsplace.blogspot.com

Greetings.

Anonymous said...

deeb says;
thanks ..memories of jr. high come flooding back..thanks so much..still have the vinyl

akashaman said...

welcome , make sure you check out the other two i posted !
ya , this lp sure brings back the memories for me too.
some of the melancholic vibe only seems to exagerate the nostalga.
really takes you back to another place in time , which for me almost seems like another lifetime altogether.

aka`

Anonymous said...

awesume dude ^^ been looking for this LP along time now...thanks!

Anonymous said...

Hi from Cy
I believe, I still have 7" P.U.N.K. on green vinyl, somewhere. I traded the album on but kept the single. Hope others find this site as the above comments are cooling off in the time zone.
I see you have the demoes elsewhere,so would like to hear the stripped back versions, as the 1979 production (of power pop) blew away the home made British punk sound but punk had what this production didn't, street cred, that said New England were awesome.

jeroenskibeat said...

Thanks for his upload, still got this album on vinyl.
Groeten uit Grollo

Anonymous said...

Thanks, from México.