Brian Protheroe - Pinball -- Chrysalis, 1974

wow , well the story behind this lp for me. the song "pinball" was recently posted by per gessle of Roxette who is one of my facebook friends - he posted it as a song of the day thing. i had never heard the song & checked it out. i really liked it. . fast forward a couple weeks & i am browsing through some records at half priced books & came across the full length Pinball LP ! - its really amazing to me that there are still gems like this yet to be found. not a dud on this one. on the whole its very ambitious & takes from many influences , i hear - beach boys , beatles , bob welch , steve miller , 10cc , queen , bowie , nilsson , emmitt rhodes - et al , ha.
i think there will be a few folks REALLY surprised to see it , as i could see how this would be a great re visit ! -- me , i am hearing it for the first time !
i am calling lost epic here ! - love to hear your own stories !!
headphones ~ ....:)

" Prior to his career as an actor on the silver and small screen in Britain, Brian Protheroe was a pop singer/songwriter primarily inspired by Paul McCartney, something that he was not alone in during the early '70s. He sits comfortably alongside such British troubadours as Elton John, Al Stewart, and Gilbert O'Sullivan, and obscurities like John Howard, who along with Protheroe was revived on RPM's excellent soft rock installment in their Lipsmackin 70's series, 2003's Zigzag: 20 Junkshop Soft Rock Singles 1970-1974. Protheroe's exquisite "Pinball" opened up Zigzag, setting the wheels in motion for EMI's 2006 set, Pinball and Other Stories, the first CD compilation of Protheroe's work to see release on CD. Unlike Howard, who truly was a maverick, Protheroe was quintessentially English in his understatement and impeccable taste, borrowing the best from McCartney, whether it's his ballad style or his enduring taste for vaudeville camp. But far from being a mess of affectations and influences, Protheroe was a sharp craftsman of soft pop, blessed with a gift for melody and a wry wit, along with possessing a fondness for lush, layered productions that makes him a quintessentially '70s singer/songwriter, yet the craftiness behind his music means that this collection of highlights from his '70s albums is far from a mere artifact: the craft helps these songs transcend their era of origin even if the sound of the recordings effortless evokes its time. Which, of course, is a large part of the appeal of Pinball -- this smartly selected collection of highlights showcases Protheroe at his best as a pop craftsman, and even if he's hardly the genius of McCartney, or as commercial as either Elton or O'Sullivan or as eccentric as Stewart, fans of any of those four '70s pop songwriters will find this pretty close to irresistible. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine "

Released in 1974, Pinball was a very minor hit (number 22 for a week) in the UK. It had no chart action in the US. It is the title cut of an album also called Pinball, which like the non-hit single tends toward the quiet, introspective side of glam. Protheroe did two more albums and they stiffed harder than his debut. One of the reasons for Protheroe's lack of success is that he was at heart an actor and would rather spend his time on stage doing Shakespeare, Chekhov, and Pinter than playing the ol' sing song. Thus Pinball, as his other records, was made between acting gigs. Protheroe's last big theatrical splash? He played Saruman in The Lord of The Ring


Brian Protheroe - Pinball -- (Chrysalis, 1974) CHR1065
MP3@ 320 kbps - includes back cover / lyrics high rez scan !
[ cause these lyrics are kewl - ha ]
ALL TRAX FROM WAX - AKASHAMAN - 2010

1. Clog Dancer
2. Money Love
3. Moon Over Malibu
4. Mickey Dollar Dreams
5. Goodbye Surprise
6. Pinball
7. Kinotata
8. Changing My Tune
9. Monkey
10. Lady Belladonna
11. Fly Now
12. Interview / Also In The limelight
13. Wrong Kinotata

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