line-up 1 (1976)

- Scott Berry -- vocals, guitar

- none known

Genre: pop

Rating: 3 stars ***

Title:  Morning Glory

Company: Tiger Lily

Catalog: TL 14005
Year: 1976

Country/State: Hopeville, Virginia

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+

Comments: small cut out hole top right corner

Available: 1

Catalog ID: 5780

Price: $400.00

Several of the acts who recorded for the Tiger Lily label seem to have shared common roots.  In some cases the artists played on one another's albums.  Additionally, several seem to have gotten their starts working in Broadway show pit bands.  Singer Scott Berry seems to have been one of them, apparently a member of  the pit band that supported the mid-1970s Broadway run of Joseph Papp's I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It On the Road.  

Released in 1976, "Morning Glory" was produced by namesake Berry.  Berry was also credited with penning about half of the material.  The tracks themselves seem to date back to 1974 and 1975, featuring a weird hodgepodge of genres and styles that made you wonder if this was really the work of one person, or several different artists slapped together by Tiger Lily for marketing purposes.  The good news was Berry had a nice, radio friendly voice that was best spotlighted on his most commercial outings such as the title track and conventional rockers like 'Sweet Tanya' and 'Pinky the Dealer'.  Ballads and country-tinged material like 'Hearing Claudia's Song' and 'Giving It All Away' were less persuasive. All in all a pretty good album and one of the better tax scam releases.  Probably wouldn't make my tax scam top-10 list, but comes close.   In case anyone cared, most of the Tiger Lily catalog is hard to score, but this one's exceptionally rare.  In fact this is the only copy I've seen in 30 years of collecting - hence the stiff asking price.  Good luck locating another copy, let alone one in this shape.

"Morning Glory" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Morning Glory   (Scott Berry) - 3:30  rating: **** 4 stars

A Berry original, the title track was a pretty, mid-tempo ballad that showcased Berry's likeable AOR-styled voice.  Imagine David Pack and Ambrosia at their most commercial and you'd have a feel for the sound. The results were quite commercial and with a little promotion would have sounded right at home on mid-1970s top-40 radio.  

2.) Give It All Away   (Claudia Berry - Scott Berry) - 3:06   rating: *** 3 stars

Ah, the evils of materialism always makes for a good song ...  Sporting a modest country-twang and some sensitive singer/songwriter lyrics. 'Give It All Away' was less impressive, though if you were a Jackson Browne fan this one was probably something you'd enjoy and with those Eagles-styled backing harmonies it did kind of grow on you.   

3.) Hearing Claudia's Song   (Scott Berry) - 2:15   rating: ** 2 stars

How about an acoustic ballad?  Well for someone needing to hear one there was 'Hearing Claudia's Song'.  Pretty, but largely forgettable, the highlight was the unexpected trumpet solo.  Super sensitive and frankly kind of cloying in a John Denver kind of way, at least it was short ...  

4.) Sweet Tanya   (Norman Brown) - 3:20   rating: **** 4 stars

Thank goodness, 'Sweet Tanya' brought an end to the string of ballads.  A slinky rocker, this one was really nice.  Yeah the chorus harmonies were a bit weak, but the basic song was first rate, the guitar solos were killer, and the la-la-la background vocals were fun.  Easily one of my favorite songs on the set.   

5.) Pinky the Dealer   (Norman Brown - Jackie Lee Turner) - 4:07   rating: **** 4 stars

'Pinky the Dealer' was also an unexpected surprise.  With a distinctive Latin flavor (lots of percussion), it came off as a cool mix of Santana meets Blood, Sweat and Tears (with considerably more Santana than BS&T).  Nice rocker with a pleasant horn section and another track that would also have sounded good on 1970s FM radio.   

(side 2)

1.) Mr. Mole   (Scott Berry) - 3:30   rating: *** 3 stars

'Mr. Mole' started out with a surprisingly funky piece, and though the song was listed as a Berry composition. the vocal sounded different.   

2.) High & Low   (Norman Brown - Jackie Lee Turner) - 4:10   rating: ** 2 stars

'High & Low' offered up another stab of southern rock with a distinctive Gospel edge - imagine Delaney Bramlett doing a rock song.  

3.) Music Is The Way   (Claudia Berry - Scott Berry) - 3:25   rating: *** 3 stars

Probably the most commercial pop track on the album, 'Music Is The Way' certainly could have been a single.  Memorable and quite catchy, it also had a great organ solo and one of those uplifting 'music saves the soul' lyrics.   

4.) Mama Child   (Scott Berry) - 3:15   rating: *** 3 stars

 Another decent rocker, 'Mama Child' sported a strong melody, nice vocal, and equally impressive guitar solo.  Less impressive was the obtrusive horn arrangement.  The audience applause at the end also sounded canned.  

5.) Love Connection   (Joel Weinstein - Scott Berry) - 3:20   rating: ** 2 stars

Back to conventional pop with 'Love Connection' (and that wasn't meant as a criticism).  One of the better melodies, though the lyrics were completely vapid.  

6.) Rock And Roll Wilderness   (Norman Brown - Scott Berry) - 3:20   rating: ** 2 stars

Ah, a slice of mindless rock and roll ...  nothing wrong with that and 'Rock And Roll Wilderness' fit the bill well.  If you were going to cobble together a rock song, it would have been hard to come up with something more average than this one.  

7.) unlisted 13th track   rating: *** 3 stars

Curiously that last song wasn't even shown on the track listing.  In musical terms it was a decent rocker with a decidedly anti-drug message (wonder if the fact the lyric include mention of the word 'marijuana' might have had something to do with not listing it).  

Certainly looks like the same guy - If so, while living and working in New Orleans, Berry released a self-financed single:

- 1976's 'Down at Papa' Joe's' b/w 'The Drifter and the Lady' (Scott Berry Productions catalog number VPMF-4238)

© Scott R. Blackerby June 2024