Terence Boylan
Band members Related acts
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- Terrence Boylan (aka Terry Boylan) -- vocals, guitar
supporting musicians: (1968) - Walter Becker -- bass, guitar - Darius Davenport -- drums, percussion - Donald Fagen -- keyboards - Herb Lovell -- drums, percussion - Jimmy Johnson -- drums, percussion
supporting musicians: (1977) - Jeff Baxter -- guitar - Arnold Belnick -- violin - Ben Benay -- guitar - Larry Carlton -- guitar - Chevy Chase -- keyboards, percussion - Don Felder -- guitar - Victor Feldman -- percussion - Gary Foster --- sax, flute - Jim Gordon -- drums - Jay Grayson -- guitar - Ed Greene -- drums - Paul Harris -- keyboards - Don Henley -- backing vocals - John Holbrook -- bass - David Kemper -- drums - Russ Kunkle -- bass - Joy Lyle -- violin - Don Palmer -- violin - Michael Pocorao -- bass - Will McFarland -- guitar, bass - Michael Omartian -- keyboards - Emil Richards -- percussion - Timothy B. Schmit (aka Timothy B. Schmidt) -- backing vocals - Illke Talvi -- violin - Jai Winding -- keyboards - Dennis Whitted -- drums
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- Boona - The PreTeens
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Genre: rock Rating: 3 stars *** Title: Alias Boona Company: Verve Forecast Catalog: FTS
3070 Country/State: Buffalo, New York Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: original inner sleeve Available: 1 Catalog ID: Price: $50.00
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Born and raised in Buffalo, New York Terence Boylan discovered rock and roll early in his life. As a teenager he was playing Greenwich Village clubs. Signed by MGM, under his nickname Boona, Boylan recording a one-shot, instantly obscure 1966 single for MGM:
- 1966's 'Since I Last Saw You' b/w 'Just Part of Your Dream' (MGM catalog number K 13752).
Briefly relegating his music career to a back burner, Boylan enrolled in New York's Bard College. He formed the band The Ginger Men and the following year, along with his older brother John, recording the album "Playback" (Verve/Forecast catalog number FTS-3042) under the name The Appletree Theatre.
While attending Bard College Boylan continued his partnership with Verve/Forecast recording his solo debut "Alias Boona" in 1968. Given he was a new artist with little name recognition and limited sales history, it was surprising to see Verve/Forecast allowing Boylan to produce himself. The label also allowed him to bring in his own sessions support, which included fellow Bard students Walter Becker on bass and guitar and keyboardist Donald Fagen. Personally I was a little disappointed with the collection. I'm a big fan of the Appletree Theatre LP and I guess I was expecting something similar to that set's mixture of pop, psych and comedy. Instead Boylan opted for an album heavy on singer/songwriter moves. Boylan had a nice voice and material like the country-blues 'This Old Town', and singer/songwriter tunes like 'Who Do I Think I Am', 'Hey Hanna' and 'No Second Time' weren't bad. Unfortunately nothing here was particularly commercial, or engaging. A remake of Appletree Theatre's 'Don't Blame It On Your Wife' and The Band influenced 'Deep In The Middle' were the only tracks that made much of an impression on me.
So here are brother John Boylan's fawning liner notes: "In childhood days, when I was trying to shape my destiny I remember a little fellow at my shoulder wearing a sombrero and holding a ring full of keys. That was before he became known as Boona or to be more complete, "Boona the destroyer of model airplanes and other delicate toys." Still later the destroyer turned to creation and began to spin tales and script stories. The one night as we sat in the bottom drawer of a high dresser eating graham crackers, he confided in me: "I want to be a famous singer like Vaughn Monroe. Post-haste we taught him guitar, that all prophesies should be fulfilled and shortly thereafter be presented us with a sing: "KIckin' up the dust in the South Dakota Plain, We my lips in the cool Colorado rain, New York, Chicago, Denver and L.A.. Got my eyes wide open every step of the way." Ah the gentle musings of a callow youth. But time, as they say, flows under the bridge and the young man who listened hard to Buddy Holly, The Everly Brothers, Bob Dylan and Paul Newman is here before us in record form. And well you may ask is this the same Terry Boylan who was once co-editor of the Buffalo Broadside? Is this the one-time actor, the part-time college student, the full-time gatherer of experiences? Is this half of the famous team that producer The Apple tree Theatre or is this the sum total of all these Boonas, a sunny musical creation of many seasons? Well in the words of Julius-Caesar" "Yes."
"Alias
Boona" track listing: 1.) Subterranean Homesick Blues (Bob Dylan) - 3:08 rating: *** stars Boylan knew Dylan from his early-'60s performances in New York's Greenwich Village club circuit. Opening with a Dylan cover shouldn't have come as a surprise. Add to that apparently every early-'70s recording contract required at least one Dylan cover. LOL Boylan at least got it over quickly. His version of 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' slowed the song down, giving it a Jackson Browne, singer-songwriter flavor. Growing up with the Dylan original, it took a couple of spins to acclimate myself to this arrangement, though I eventually came to like Boylan's version. 2.) Don't Blame It On Your Wife (Terence Boylan) - 2:35 rating: **** stars I first heard 'Don't Blame It On Your Wife' on The Appletree Theatre album Boylan recorded with his brother John. Boylan's solo arrangement wasn't all that different from The Appletree Theatre recording, though the remake benefited from a stripped down arrangement, Boylan's sweet voice and guitar solo and Walter Becker's jazzy bass line. 3.) This Old Town (Terence Boylan - 2:55 rating: ** stars An acoustic country-blues number, 'This Old Town' just didn't do much for me. Slow, plodding and it sounded like dozens of other singer/songwriter efforts. 4.) Bring The Whole Family (Terence Boylan - 2:25 rating: ** stars Anguished singer/songwriter number showcasing Donald Fagen on keyboards. Boylan's guitar solo provided the highlight. 5.) Who Do I Think I Am (Terence Boylan - 1:55 rating: ** stars Pretty acoustic ballad that might have been mistaken for Dan Fogelberg. Wasn't a big fan of the vibrato Boylan employed. 6.) Glasses (Terence Boylan) - 2:40 rating: *** stars The odd song structure and Fagen's prominent keyboards have always reminded me of an early Steely Dan track. That's not to say the song was great ... just an interesting comment.
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2) Reflecting a slice of Band-styled Americana, 'Deep In the Middle' was one of the album's more tuneful performances, with a killer Boylan multi-track guitar solo. Catchy, the song had some commercial potential. 2.) Hey Hanna (Terence Boylan) - 2:53 rating: *** stars Back to Jackson Brown / Dan Fogelberg folk-rock ... one of the nicer genre offerings on the album and another track reflecting a farm theme. 3.) No Second Time (Terence Boylan) - 2:45 rating: ** stars Another stark acoustic singer/songwriter tune. 4.) County Fair (Terence Boylan) - 2:25 rating: * star Straight ahead country tune. Pass. 5.) Bare Road Of Sand (Terence Boylan) - 2:35 rating: ** stars zzzz another bland ballad. 6.) What A Way To Go (Terence Boylan) - 2:45 rating: *** stars Hey, how about ending the album with a ballad? Maybe because it was another Appletree Theatre remake, it's a little more to my liking.
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Genre: rock Rating: 3 stars *** Title: Suzy Company: Asylum Catalog: 6E-201 Country/State: Buffalo, New York Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: original inner sleeve Available: 1 Catalog ID: 6349 Price: $12.00
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The lone Appletree Theater LP has been a long standing personal favorite and even though I've owned a couple of Terence Boylan solo albums for years, for some odd reason I never made the connection between the two ... So much for my in-depth knowledge of 1960s and 1970s popular music ...
Released in 1980, the self-produced "Suzy" was Terence Boylan's third solo studio album and like the first two, this one disappeared without a trace. That was a major shame since about half of the album was thoroughly enjoyable; especially if you grew up during that timeframe and were a product of that special Southern California "yacht rock" sound that dominated mid-1970s airwaves. Backed by an all-star cast of L.A. sessions players, including Toto's Michael Pocorao, Steely Dan's Jeff Skunk Baxter, and most of The Eagles, the album managed to capture the best of that era without the pretentiousness that marred so much of that timeframe. Boylan was blessed with a great voice, a knack for crafting catchy melodies (check out the single 'Tell Me), and a knack for razor sharp lyrics (long time buddies Walter Becker and Donald Fagan would have been proud of a song like 'College Life'). I hate to compare him to other acts, but imagine a more commercial, less sensitive version of Jackson Browne and you'd at least have a place to start. A longtime friend of Browne, Boylan even looked a bit like an older, more world weary Browne. Anyhow, it made for a great album to play spot-the-influence with 'Shake Your Fiorucci' offering up an especially nice version of the game with nods to The Rolling Stones and Derek & the Dominos. Had side two contained a couple of up tempo rockers, you'd be talking about this one in the same breath as those better known late-1970s Southern California based acts ...
"Suzy" track listing: 1.) Suzy (Terence Boylan) - 2:51 rating: *** stars Opening up with some nice jangle rocker guitar (courtesy of Will McFarland), the mid tempo rocker 'Suzy' sound very much like a Jackson Browne track. Dark, intense, catchy, and very commercial - Boylan sounded uncannily like Browne on this one. 2.) Shake Your Fiorucci (Terence Boylan) - 2:31 rating: **** stars Okay, I had no idea what a Fiorucci was ...turns out it's a reference to a high end Italian fashion designer. In this case I think Boylan may been referring to Fiorucci as a maker of blue jeans. Regardless, the result was a scathing and funny stab at the hip and happenin' disco crowd. This time out Boylan sounded like Bryan Ferry with some hysterical nods to The Rolling Stones and Derek and the Dominos. 3.) College Life (Terence Boylan) - 4:40 rating: **** stars Attending Bard College in the late '60s Boylan actually spent time with Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. They participated on his debut album. Their influences were clearly long standing given the song sounded so much like an early Steely Dan song. Complete with catchy melody, hard to forget chorus, and take-no-prisoners lyric, 'College Life' has always been one of my favorite performances. Hard to imagine this one was not tapped as a single at a time when The Dan was all over the airwaves. 4.) Dump It In a River (Terence Boylan) - 4:06 rating: **** stars The first couple of times I heard 'Dump It In a River' I wasn't even sure Boylan was the singer ... his voice sounded so much deeper and rawer. Musically it was almost a slice of Americana roots music with a very dark and ominous feel - the lyric perhaps being advice to dump an unwanted child in a river. I'll admit the disturbing lyric has always been a mystery to me. Will McFarlane contributed the stunning acoustic guitar. 5.) $50 an Hour (Terence Boylan) - 2:51 rating: **** stars No idea what the title referred to ... Another bouncy, commercial melody with caustic lyrics seemingly decrying modern commercialism that would have sounded great on top-40 radio. 'Course the nasty word ensured that this was never going to get on radio play lists. Kind of a Warren Zevon flavor here. 6.) Roll Your Own (Terence Boylan) - 2:48 rating: *** stars Side one's most radio friendly offering, 'Roll Your Own' was a pretty "yacht rock' styled mid tempo ballad highlighting a nod to T.S. Eliot (remember Mr. Boylan was a product of Bard College) and McFarlane's fantastic lead guitar. Shame the song faded out just as McFarlane's was really starting to play ...
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2) A strong candidate for the yacht rock catalog, 'Did She Finally Get To You' was a pretty enough atmospheric ballad, but sounded a bit over-polished ... kind of like one of those late-1970s Toto, Christopher Cross, or Michael McDonald-era Doobie Brothers songs that were almost more product than music. Perhaps nothing more than coincidence, but Toto bassist Michael Pocorao played on the track with Eagles Don Henley and Timothy B. Schmidt providing background vocals. The track was tapped as a promotional single:
-1980's 'Did She Finally Get You' b/w 'Did She Finally Get You' (Asylum catalog number E-47028)
2.) Tell Me (Terence Boylan) - 3:53 rating: *** stars Opening up with tinkling electric piano, the ballad 'Tell Me' sounded like something Stephen Bishop, or Christopher Cross might have recorded (yeah I'll admit Boylan's voice was way better than those two contemporaries). Very late-1970s vibe which meant it was soulless, but radio friendly. Nice chorus and harmony vocals from Timothy B. Schmidt with Steely Dan guitarist Skunk Baxter featured, though his contributions were all but invisible. As a creature of '70s radio, I'll admit this one is a hidden pleasure. The track was tapped for a quick disappearing single:
- 1980's 'Tell Me' b/w 'Going Home' (Asylum catalog number E-46631)
3.) Ice and Snow (Terence Boylan) - 3:20 rating: *** stars With inspiration apparently drawn from H. Scott Fitzgerald' story of the same name, the jazzy chords that opened 'Ice and Snow' sounded like an "Aja" outtake crossed with something from Al Stewart. Great if you liked Steely Dan-styled jazz and Stewart-styled narratives. Not so much if you weren't a big fan of the two acts... The ornate orchestration sounded a bit out of place on this one. 4.) Going Home (Terence Boylan) - 3:23 rating: ** stars His voice was way smoother than Michael McDonald's, but 'Going Home' had the same adult contemporary feel that plagues so much of the former's work. A very bland mid-tempo rocker. Eagle Don Felder provided the brief guitar solos. 5.) End of the World (Terence Boylan) - 3:09 rating: * star A dull, plodding ballad, 'End of the World' sounded like a bad Jackson Browne, or J.D Souther track. Totally forgettable effort. 6.) Miso Soup (Terence Boylan) - 3:52 rating: *** stars I enjoy 'weird', but 'Miso Soup' was even strange for my tastes. I hate to keep going back to Steely Dan comparisons, but complete with kids chorus, Japanese flavors, and some Chevy Chase keyboards (I kid you not), this sounded like the most jazzy sections of "Aja" on steroids.
For anyone interested, Boylan has a web presence at: http://www.terenceboylan.com
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