Ambrosia
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1970-76) as Ambergris Mile - Burleigh Drummond -- drums, percussion, bassoon, backing vocals - Christopher North -- keyboards, backing vocals - David Pack -- lead vocals, guitar. keyboards - Joe Puerta -- lead vocals, bass
supporting musicians (1975) - Michael Granger -- synthesizers - Daniel Kobialka -- violin - James Newton Howard – synthesizers
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- Deep E (David Pack) - Burleigh Drummond (solo efforts) - Brice Hornsby and the Range (Joe Puerta) - Lost Dogs (Burleigh Drummond) - Maji (Joe Puerta) - David Pack (solo efforts) - Tin Drum (Burleigh Drummond)
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Genre: progressive Rating: **** stars Title: Ambrosia Company: 20th Century Fox Catalog: T-434 Country/State: Los Angeles, California Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: still in shrink wrap (opened); with lyric insert Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $30.00
Genre: progressive Rating: **** stars Title: Ambrosia Company: Warner Brothers Catalog: BSK
3181 Country/State: Los Angeles, California Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: reissue Available: SOLD Catalog ID: SOLD Price: SOLD $15.00
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I've owned a copy of "Ambrosia" since I was sixteen. It can remember riding my bike into the small Northern Virginia town of Herndon and buying it at the local Penguin Feather record store/head shop. It was one of the first "progressive" albums I ever bought and I remember having a sense of pride that my musical tastes had expanded beyond Casey Kasim's top-40. (Admittedly two of the songs on this album charted with one actually appearing on Kasim's top-40 show.) And yes, now in my 60s, I'm disappointed to discover that today Ambrosia's catalog slots firmly into what folks term Yacht Rock territory. Life was much easier before there were so many categories for things.
Formed in 1970 in in San Pedro, California, drummer Burleigh Drummond, keyboardist Christopher North, singer/guitarist David Pack and singer/bassist Joe Puerta started out working under the name Ambergris Mile. Given there was already a band recording and touring under the Ambergris name, they turned to a dictionary opting for "Ambrosia" (nectar of the Gods).
Throughout the early-'70s the band made inroads playing the San Pedro club scene, but expanding throughout Southern California. To supplement their meager income the group began working with a small hifi company specializing in the installing of audio systems in clubs and arenas. In 1971 they were testing a new sound system the company had installed at the Hollywood Bowl. Their work attracted the attention of Hollywood Bowl engineer Gordon Parry. In the role of mentor, Parry helped the quartet play a show at the University of California, Los Angeles. Parry also introduced them to Los Angeles Philharmonic conductor Zubin Mehta. Mehta hired them to support the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the 1971 All American Dream Concert at the Hollywood Bowl. The resulting publicity found them performing in the debut of Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass” at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. They auditioned for A&M Records, but were subsequently signed by 20th Century Records.
Produced
by Freddie Piro (with Alan Parsons serving as the mixing engineer), 1975's
"Ambrosia" featured a collection of eight band
originals. With all four members contributing to song writing chores,
the collection featured an interesting mixture of pop, classical and
progressive influe
"Ambrosia" track listing: 1.) Nice, Nice, Very Nice (Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. - Christopher North - David Pack - Joe Puerta - Burleigh Drummond) - 5:49 rating: **** stars The hyper-catchy 'Nice, Nice, Very Nice'' was based at least in part on the Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. novel - "Cat's Cradle" (hence the writing credit). (I endured reading the book in college and still don't have a clue what it was actually about.) With Puerta and Pack sharing lead vocals (love their faux British accent), the bouncy tune was simultaneously catchy and progressive. Awesome performances from drummer Drummond and keyboardist North, interesting lyrics and the harmonies were gorgeous. Great tune and hard to believe it didn't do better on the charts. An edited version was tapped as the second single:
- 1975's 'Nice, Nice, Very Nice' b/w Lover Arrive'' (20th Century catalog number TC 2244) # 63 Billboard US Hot 100 chart YouTube has a black and white performance clip of the song taken from a December 1976 appearance at New York's Capitol Theater: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6Hy0uvZ5LY 2.) Time Waits for No One (Christopher North - David Pack - Joe Puerta - Burleigh Drummond) - 5:01 rating: **** stars I've always thought 'Time Waits for No One' was the song Styx built a career trying to write. A wonderful mixture of progressive and pop featured, the track bounced through multiple sections, but remained consistently engaging, underscored the band's amazing vocal harmonies. Far more experimental than the studio version, YouTube has another black and white performance clip from their December, 1976 Capitol Theater date. North's freak-out opening is interesting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X27SCe551CQ 3.) Holdin' on to Yesterday (David Pack - Joe Puerta - Burleigh Drummond) - 4:19 rating: **** stars Powered by Pack's instantly recognizable voice and Daniel Kobialka's aching violin, the ballad 'Holdin' on to Yesterday' was clearly a precursor to the band's forthcoming Yacht Rock career. As such you can barf all over it, but the fact of the matter is the song's wonderful. Sure it may be overly sentimental, but it made for the perfect heartbreak tune. No idea if I'm reading too much into it, but given Pack was a devote Christian, I've always thought the song had a non-secular orientation. Still, Gawd only knows how many proms and weddings it's been played at. 20th Century Fox wisely tapped it as the debut single:
- 1975's 'Holdin' On to Yesterday' b/w 'Make Us All Aware' (20th Century Fox catalog number TC 2207) # 17 Billboard US Hot 100 chart Here's another December 1976 Capitol Theater performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLsOdYFTtYk
Having bought the band's contract, Warner Brothers reissued the single as part of it's "Back-to-Back Hits" series:
- 1975's 'Holdin' On to Yesterday' b/w 'How Much I Feel' (Warner Brothers catalog number GWB 0377)
4.) World Leave Me Alone (David Pack) - 3:17 rating: **** stars Opening with some awesome acoustic guitar, 'World Leave Me Alone' was an album highlight. And just when I'd pegged Pack as one of the kings of tear jerker ballads, along came 'World Leave Me Alone'. Showing me that I needed to listen before typing, the song aptly demonstrated 1.) Pack could play a mean lead guitar and 2.) he could write an impressive rocker. Awesome tune that would have made a nice single
(side
2) Giving North an opportunity to showcase his melodic keyboards, 'Make Us All Aware' started out sounding like it was going to be one of your standard Pack ballads. And just as you were settling in for another four minutes of heartbreak it unexpectedly morphing into one of the best examples of Ambrosia's unique mixture of commercial and progressive moves. While not in-your-face preachy, the song seemingly embraced a certain non-secular message. The track also appeared as the "B" side to their 'Holdin' on to Yesterday' 45. 2.) Lover Arrive (David Pack) - 3:12 rating: **** stars Shoot, the song title alone was enough to tell you this was a David Pack composition. The sweet, slightly classically-tinged ballad 'Lover Arrive' was certainly a precursor to the sound that would turn them into early-'80s mega sellers. In small doses Pack remains an amazing talent and I have to admit this is one of Pack's best songs. The song also appeared as the "B" side on their 'Nice, Nice, Very Nice' single. 3.) Mama Frog (Christopher North - David Pack - Joe Puerta - Burleigh Drummond) - 6:06 rating: *** stars Admittedly not the album's most commercial performance, the blazing 'Mama Frog' was a track that should surprise anyone under the impression they were nothing more than Yacht Rock clones. I've always heard King Crimson-styled progressive elements, complete with Drummond's amazing drumming, the drunken Gordon Parry's "Jabberwock" spoken word section and the hyper-speed band jam section. Puerta on lead vocals. 4.) Drink of Water (Christopher North - David Pack - Joe Puerta - Burleigh Drummond) - 6:29 rating: **** stars With Pack and Puerta' sharing lead vocals, for folks who don't think an epic progressive tune can actually be melodic there was the closer 'Drink of Water'. Clocking in at over six minutes, the track featured all sorts of twists and turns and timing changes. North's pipe organ and Hammond B-3 solos were worth the price of admission alone. Always wondered who the female backing singer was, but she gave the tune a Pink Floyd-sih vibe. Nice song for folks who only associated Ambrosia with their top-40 catalog.
After releasing a second album for 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers purchase the band's contract and in 1981 reissued the LP with different cover art (Warner Brothers catalog number BSK 3181).
© Scott R. Blackerby January, 2025
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nces.
Most of the attention went to David Pack, but the band were blessed with two
talented lead singers. The funny thing is to my ears their voices were
very similar and it was frequently hard to tell who was handling lead
vocals. Pack shined on the more commercial tunes like the ballads
'Somewhere I've Never Been', 'Lover Arrive' and his atypical rocker 'World
Leave Me Alone'. Joe Puerta seemed to handle the band less mainstream
outings including the debut single 'Nice, Nice, Very Nice' and progressive
tunes 'Mama Frog' and 'Drink of Water' (the pair actually shared lead vocals
on the latter). Having been fascinated by percussion since he was a
child, Drummond was simply a ferocious player, while North proved to be
surprisingly delicate on keyboards and synthesizers. These guys had
clearly been listening to English progressive bands like Gentle Giant, King
Crimson (whom they actually saw early in their career when Crimson played
Los Angeles' Whiskey a Go-Go) and Yes, but they seldom let the genre's
excesses get to them. Yeah, 'Mama Frog' skated close to progressive
navel gazing territory, but even it was redeemed by some ferocious drumming
from Drummond and then
band's sense of humor - a drunken Gordon Parry reciting part of Lewis
Carroll's "Jabberwock". What captured by ears and heart was
their clear affection for a good melody and their layered vocals. The
Moody Blues would have been proud of performances like 'Make Us All Aware'
and 'Drink of Water'. And yes, I love the two hits - 'Nice, Nice, Very Nice'
and the silk smooth 'Holding On to Yesterday' (yes, I can remember dancing
to it at my Senior Prom). Very overlooked and very worth tracking down
a copy.
