B

So, without a doubt, here's one of the holy grails in the tax scam genre. I've looked thorough various hardcopy and on line reference materials, but have never found a review of this LP, let alone another photo of this late-1970s slice of soul and funk.

In typical Tiger Lily tax scam fashion, 1976's "Electric One" doesn't carry biographical, or performance information. In fact, other than the song titles and songwriting credits the only piece o

f information on the LP comes in the form of a small note on the back panel crediting the album to 'Family Productions'. Speculation on my part, but in this case Family Production seemingly you back to Artie Ripp's infamous, short-lived L.A.-based record label which screwed a young Billy Joel over and seems to have served as a "feeder" source of material released on Morris Levy's infamous Tiger Lily label. As mentioned, I can't tell you anything about these guys other than to my ears they sounded like a bunch of white guys trying their best to sound soulful ("Fill My Soul") and occasionally funky ("Superman"). The songwriting credits were split between T. Saviano and V. Turturoo. The former was American sax player/producer Tony Saviano, while the latter was former Churchill singer/guitarist Vinny Turturoo. Anyhow, I guessing this was little more than a short-lived studio entity That's always a difficult proposition and while there tracks were never less than professional, it made for a narrow marketing niche (perhaps explaining why the album wasn't initially released by Artie Ripp's Family label).

So what to I make of this one? It's clearly one of the rarer Tiger Lily releases (this is the only copy I've ever seen). but musically it's a mediocre release. Nothing really awful (okay, "Superman'" was pretty lame), but then nothing particularly original or awe-inspiring. If you're going to buy this one, that decision is going to be predicated on rarity rather than musical inspiration. I know ... I'm actually trying to sell this item. 'Course I would feel bad hyping it merely to sell it ...

Kicked along by some jumpy mini-moog, "Stop Your Dreamin''" was a bouncy, pseudo dance number that sounded a bit like a good KC & the Sunshine Band-meets-Pablo Cruise track. Very mid-1970s vibe mixing heavy, Latin percussion with a throwaway, but catchy dance feel ... Yeah, this one was better than anything Wild Cherry ever did.

"Fill My Soul" was a pretty, if somewhat anonymous, soul-tinged ballad. While I liked the song (particular the brief wah-wah guitar solo), the supper club arrangement may have been a bit too middle-of-the-road for lots of listeners. That's not to say the song didn't have radio potential.

"Superman" found these guys trying to get funky. Nothing wrong with that, unless you were a bunch of white guys who seemingly thought Howard Wayne Casey made for a good musical role model. A great example of a bad musical concept - this track did nothing to help their reputations ...

The mid-1970s saw a slew of songs trying to make serious statements about American social inequities. I guess you can file "Ghetto Boy" under that category. Musically it was a slice of supper club soul with a lyric that wasn't particularly subtle, or insightful. If you really felt the need to listen to something along these lines, I'd suggest Ben E. King and the Average White Band's 'A Star In the Ghetto'. Curiously it was the one song on the album without a writing credit.

5.) Waitin' for An Answer (Tom Saviano - Vinny Turturoo) - 3:00 rating: *** stars

Another 'statement' song, "Waitin' for An Answer" was at least cloaked in a likeable pop melody that recalled something a band like Wet Willie, or Head East might have released.

On the surface I should have detested a song like "Keep On Pushing". A horn propelled, slightly funky number, with some hokey self-empowerment lyrics, the initial impression was off a fourth rate Tower of Power, but for some reason this one was actually kind of enjoyable. Yeah, the arty horn arrangement was a bit of a surprise. Maybe that's what peaked my interest.

"Moonlight" found the band taking a stab at an adult contemporary ballad. Pretty, but ultimately kind of dull and plodding.

The album's strangest and most interesting performance, "Electric One" sounded like a strange hybrid of George Clinton and Parliament, Dr. John and some '70s new age outfit. Shame the track faded out just as it was really starting to gather some real energy.

Unfortunately, ''Two Times' saw the album end on a disappointing note. Probably he album's dullest performance, this slice of pop was simply forgettable. The less said about it, the better.

That was my band in the early seventies. I'm surprised it was ever released. We or at least I had no knowledge of this release. I wrote four of the songs on that record. Yes, those are my horn arrangements too! Would you be kind enough to send me a copy of the CD? Or at least some high quality MP3's by email or maybe Dropbox? Where did you find it?

Best,
Tom Saviano (March 2012)