Terry Callier
Band members Related acts
|
- Terry Callier (RIP 2012) -- vocals, keyboards, guitar
backing musicians (1979) - Ernie Boddiker -- synthesizers - Oscar Brashare -- trumpet - Oliver Brown Jr. -- percussion - Keni Burke -- bass - Reginald Burke-- keyboards, synthesizers - James Gadson -- drums, percussion - Bill green -- sax - Elizabeth Howard -- backing vocals - Barbara Kom -- French horn - Gail Levant -- harp - Steve Madaio -- trumpet - Arthur Mabe -- French horn - James "Alibe" Sledge -- backing vocals - Patricia Henley Talbert -- backing vocals - Tommy Tedesco -- guitar, mandolin - Earl Van Dyke -- keyboards - Larry Wade -- guitar - David T. Walker -- guitar - Wah Wah Watson -- guitar - Ernie Watts -- sax - Fred Wesley -- trombone - Robert White -- guitar
|
- none known
|
|
Genre: soul Rating: 2 stars ** Title: Fire On Ice Company: Elektra Catalog: 6E-143 Country/State: Chicago, Illinois Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: cut out notch along top edge; original lyric inner sleeve Available: 1 Catalog ID: 2562 Price: $20.00
|
So here's a guy who has made a career out of being a critics favorite, but never made much of an impact with the buying public. Major creative missteps like this album certainly didn't help his cause.
Signed by Elektra, teamed with producer Richard Evans, and backed by an all-star cast of sessions players, 1978's "Fire On Ice" was almost bound to be a disappointment. If you've never heard him, Callier has an amazing voice - deep, lustrous, and quite appealing, however, like every other singer, he's dependent on having good material. On this set he was saddled with an amazingly bad set of original material. Adding to the problem, Elektra seemed determined to frame him as an adult contemporary artist and Callier seemingly went along with the plan lock, stock, and barrel. The results ranged from hideous to simply plodding, made even worse by the fact Callier was such a talented guy.
"Fire
On Ice" track listing: 1.) Be a Believer (Terry Callier) - rating: ** stars 'Be a Believer' did a fair job of showcasing Callier's fantastic voice, but made the mistake of showcasing that voice on a surprisingly formulaic and dull slice of adult contemporary music. This is the kind of stuff you'd expect to hear while you're on hold with your insurance company, or playing in the background at your dentist's office. Snooze fest ... 2.) Holdin' On (To Your Love) (Larry Wade - Terry Callier) - rating: *** stars 'Holdin' On (To Your Love)' found Callier shifting into his 'make-out' voice. Smooth and breezy, this one was actually kind of soulful and funky. Loved the little nod to Marvin Gaye. 3.) Street Fever (Larry Wade - Terry Callier) - rating: ** stars 'Street Fever' started out with some interesting phased guitar, before morphing into the album's most rock-oriented track. Normally I like Callier when he rocks, but this one sounded formulaic and ponderous 4.) Butterfly (Terry Callier) - rating: ** stars Opening up with some of the cheesiest synthesizers you've ever heard, 'Butterflies' spread into one of those big ballads that was more suited to someone like Barbara Streisand ... well maybe not. Hard to imagine Streisand singing a lyric like 'pretty ghetto butterfly ...". Regardless it was a pretty dreadful waste of Callier's talents. That didn't stop Elektra from releasing it as a single:
- 1978's 'Butterfly' b/w 'Street Fire' (Elektra catalog number E 45547-A/B) 5.) I Been Doin' Alright (Part II) (Everything's Gonna Be Alright) (Terry Callier) - rating: ** stars Overlooking the cumbersome title, 'I Been Doin' Alright (Part II) (Everything's Gonna Be Alright)' found Callier diving headlong into adult contemporary jazz-rock a-la Steely Dan at that worst. Again, not exactly a genre that served to highlight the man's talent.
(side
2) The first time I heard 'Disco In the Sky' I thought I'd set my turntable at the wrong speed. Nope, Callier actually sounded like a chipmunk on the opening. 'Not sure what to say about this one other than hearing Callier sing a disco song was definitely a disappointment. The nod to Jimi Hendrix was almost insulting. 2.) African Violet (Larry Wader) - 7:12 rating: ** stars I have nothing against a lyric embracing African American empowerment, however 'African Violet' sounded like a bad Ritchie Havens tune. Droning and musically dull, this one did nothing for me. 3.) Love Two Love (Larry Wade) - 2:42 rating: ** stars Hard to pick on this mess of an LP, but I'd select 'Love Two Love' as the low point. An instantly forgotten ballad, you can at least blame Callier's long standing writing partner Larry Wade for this one - Wade wrote it himself. 4.) Martin St. Martin (Larry Wade - Terry Callier) - 5:34 rating: ** stars As I recall, in the late 1970s there was a big and contentious effort to turn Martin Luther King's birthday into a national holiday ultimately successful). It seems hard to believe that the concept of establishing a national holiday could evoke so much passion (for and against) in people, but it did and one of the unintended consequences was a flood of Martin Luther King-inspired songs, including 'Martin St. Martin'. Compared to some such as Stevie Wonder's 'Happy Birthday', this one was simply harsh, strident., and preachy
If you're going to start exploring Callier's catalog, this isn't the place to start that ultimately rewarding trip.
|
|
Genre: soul Rating: 3 stars *** Title: Turn You To Love Company: Elektra Catalog: 6E-189 Country/State: Chicago, Illinois Grade (cover/record): VG+/ VG+ Comments: still in shrink wrap (open and torn); original inner sleeve Available: 1 Catalog ID: 2526 Price: $20.00
|
Given how disappointing Terry Callier's "Fire On Ice" Elektra debut was, I have to admit I didn't have high expectations for 1979's "Turn You To Love". Even the "love man" cover seemed blasé to me. So much for initial impressions. Produced by Reginald Burke (with Larry Wade credited as associate producer and Don Mizell executive producer), this one was 100% better than the predecessor. Judging by the cover art and tracks like 'Pyramids of Love', 'You and Me (Will Always Be In Love)', and 'A Mother's Love' Elektra seemed interested in marketing Callier to the Marvin Gaye/Donny Hathaway crowd. That probably wasn't a bad idea since Callier had a voice that was easily as good as either of those contemporaries. Ironically, the album's highlights came in the form of Callier's exploration of non-ballad material. The disco-tinged 'Sign of the Times' was easily the album's strongest tune (providing him with his lone US hit). Almost as good were a cover of Smokey Robinson's 'Still Water (Love)' and a remake of his own 'Ordinary Joe' which effortlessly captured that classic '60s sound. All told, a nice place to start exploring Callier's catalog ...
"Turn You
To Love" track listing: 1.) Sign of the Times (Larry Wade - Terry Callier) - 8:25 rating: **** stars By all rights I should have hated 'Sign of the Times' ... a pedestrian, extended disco-tinged track that borrowed virtually ever trick out of the extended dance workout catalog. And for some odd reason, this was one of those rare exceptions. Yeah, I've heard most of this stuff hundreds of time before, but somehow Callier and co-writer Larry Wade managed to make it sound fresh and interesting. Kicked along by Callier's purring voice, some surprisingly insightful lyrics, and a nifty little synthesizer pattern, it was amazing that these eight minutes flew by so quickly. Elektra tapped the tune as a single, releasing it in 7" and 12" formats. It proved his only US chart entry.
7" format - 1979's 'Sign of the Times' b/w 'Occasional Rain' (Elektra catalog number E 46054) # 78 R&B 12" format - 1979's 'Sign of the Times' b/w 'Occasional Rain' (Elektra catalog number AS-11416) 2.) Pyramids of Love (Larry Wade) -3:42 rating: *** stars Okay, the synthesizer washes and up-with-people lyrics sound a bit dated, giving it kind of a Holiday Inn lounge act vibe, but ultimately there was something simply engaging in this breezy ballad. Nice to hear Callier's double tracked voice on this one. 3.) Turn You To Love (Larry Wade - Terry Callier) - 3:46 rating: *** stars Opening up with some Tommy Tedesco mandolin, it took a little while to acclimate myself to the MOR-ish title track ballad. The thing is Callier had such a warm voice, you all but forgot the song's sappy melody. 4.) Do It Again (Donald Fagen - Walter Becker) - 4:52 rating: *** stars As a massive Steely Dan fan I wasn't sure what to expect from Callier's decision to cover one of their classic tunes. Once it got going Callier's arrangement wasn't all that different from the original, though I'm not sure his busy, horn-powered version was going to make you forget the original.
(side 2) 1.) Ordinary Jack (Terry Callier) - 4:54 rating: **** stars I'm not sure why Callier felt the need to redo 'Ordinary Joe'. Originally recorded on his 1972 "Occasional Rain" album, the redo was actually quite good. If someone played this for you without any background information, you couldn't be blamed for thinking it was a mid-'60s soul release. Callier effortlessly nailed that unique sound on this one. It remained a classic track that should have provided him with a massive radio hit. 2.) Occasional Rain (Terry Callier) - 3:49 rating: ** stars The second remake, 'Occasional Rain' struck me as being the album's first outright disappointment. Harkening back to Callier's folkie days, the remake wasn't a major change from the original (his voice was deeper on this version), and while there was nothing wrong with the song's pretty, jazzy arrangement, it just wasn't something I could get into. 3.) Still Water (Love) (Smokey Robinson - Frank Wilson) - 3:48 rating: **** stars Not a big fan of any song that starts out with cheesy sound effects, but Callier's cover of this Smokey Robinson-penned classic was one of the exceptions. Yeah, it was a touch to disco-ish for Callier's only good, but his velvety delivery ultimately won be over. And while I still love The Four Tops version, this was another one where you were left to wonder why Elektra didn't tap it as a single. 4.) You and Me (Will Always Be In Love) (Reginald Burke - Larry Wade - Terry Callier) - 4:21 rating: ** stars I'm guessing the big ballad 'You and Me (Will Always Be In Love)' was envisioned as the tune to underscore Callier's reputation as a competitor for the late-'70s love man sweepstakes. He certainly had the chops, but this was nothing more than a pretty, but ultimately saccharine ballad. 5.) A Mother's Love (Larry Wade - Terry Callier) - 3:44 rating: **** stars I remember the first time I heard this one, wondering if I'd put on an Astrud Gilberto bossa nova album ... And once I got over the initial shock, this proved to be one of my favorite tracks. Smooth and comforting and a perfect showcase to hear what a fantastic voice Callier had.
|
BACK TO BADCAT PAYMENT INFORMATION
