Point Blank
Band members Related acts
|
line up 1 (1974-76) - James Russell "Rusty" Burns (RIP 2016) -- guitar, slide guitar, vocals - Kim Davis (RIP 2010) -- guitar, vocals - Richard Heaton -- drums, percussion - Peter Buzzy Gruen (RIP 2023) -- drums, percussion - John O'Daniel (RIP 2018) -- vocals - Phillip Petty (RIP 2010) -- bass guitar
line up 2 (1976-79) - James Russell " Rusty" Burns (RIP 2016) -- guitar, slide guitar, vocals - Kim Davis (RIP 2010) -- guitar, vocals NEW - Peter Buzzy Gruen (RIP 2023) -- drums, percussion (replaced Richard Heaton) - John O'Daniel (RIP 2018) -- vocals - Phillip Petty (RIP 2010) -- bass guitar
line up 3 (1979-80) - James Russell " Rusty" Burns (RIP 2016) -- guitar, slide guitar, vocals - Kim Davis (RIP 2010) -- guitar, vocals - Peter Buzzy Gruen (RIP 2023) -- drums, percussion NEW - Bill Hardin -- keyboards - John O'Daniel (RIP 2018) -- vocals NEW - Bill Randolph -- bass (replaced Phillip Petty)
line up 4 (1979-80) - James Russell " Rusty" Burns (RIP 2016) -- guitar, slide guitar, vocals - Kim Davis (RIP 2010) -- guitar, vocals - Peter Buzzy Gruen (RIP 2023) -- drums, percussion - John O'Daniel (RIP 2018) -- vocals - Bill Randolph -- bass (replaced Phillip Petty)
line up 5 (1980-83) - James Russell " Rusty" Burns (RIP 2016) -- guitar, slide guitar, vocals - Kim Davis (RIP 2010) -- guitar, vocals - Peter Buzzy Gruen (RIP 2023) -- drums, percussion NEW - Mike Hamilton (RIP 2010) -- keyboards (replaced Bill Hardin) NEW - Bubba Keith -- vocals (replaced John O'Daniel) - Bill Randolph (RIP 2001) -- bass (replaced Phillip Petty)
line up 6 (2005-2007) - James Russell " Rusty" Burns (RIP 2016) -- guitar, slide guitar, vocals - Peter Buzzy Gruen (RIP 2023) -- drums, percussion (replaced Richard Heaton) NEW - John O'Daniel (RIP 2018) -- vocals (replaced Bubba Keith) NEW- Phillip Petty (RIP 2010) -- bass guitar (replaced Bill Randolph)
line up 7 (2007) - James Russell " Rusty" Burns (RIP 2016) -- guitar, slide guitar, vocals NEW - David Crockett -- drums percussion (replaced Peter Gruen) - John O'Daniel (RIP 2018) -- vocals (replaced Bubba Keith) - Phillip Petty (RIP 2010) -- bass guitar (replaced Bill Randolph) NEW - Larry Telford -- keyboards (replaced Mike Hamilton) NEW - Buddy Whittington -- guitar (replaced Kim Davis)
line up 8 (2007-2008) - James Russell " Rusty" Burns (RIP 2016) -- guitar, slide guitar, vocals - David Crockett -- drums percussion (replaced Peter Gruen) NEW - Mouse Mayes -- guitar (replaced Biddy Whittington) - John O'Daniel (RIP 2018) -- vocals (replaced Bubba Keith) - Phillip Petty (RIP 2010) -- bass guitar (replaced Bill Randolph) - Larry Telford -- keyboards (replaced Mike Hamilton) - Buddy Whittington -- guitar (replaced Kim Davis)
|
- Ace Song Service (Rusty Burns) - American Tears - Big "D" Stuff (Michael "Mouse" Mayes) - The Fabulous Flippers (Michael Hamilton - Alan Fox Band (Bubba Keith) - Steve Hardin (solo efforts) - The Bugs Henderson Group (Karl Birke) - James (Bubba Keith) - The James Gang (Bubba Keith) - LAPD (Bubba Keith) - Stacy Mitchhart And Blues-U-Can-Use (Steve Hardin) - John O'Daniel (solo efforts) - The Shake Russell Band (Rusty Burns) - Savvy (Michael Hamilton - Stratoblasters (John O'Daniel) - Turnabout (Karl Berke) - Uncle Tom (John O'Daniel) - The Voodoo Kings (Michael "Mouse" Mayes)
|
|
Genre: Southern rock Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: Point Blank Company: Arista Catalog: AL
4087 Country/State: Irving, Texas Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $25.00
|
Like many of my friends, the mid-'70s found me jumping headfirst into the Southern rock genre. The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker Band, Molly Hatchet, The Outlaws, The Atlanta Rhythm Section, 38 Special and somewhat overlooked in the crowd - Irving, Texas' Point Blank all of them drained my limited discretionary income.
Guitarist Rusty Burns, drummer Richard Heaton and singer John O'Daniel started working together in 1973. Originally known as Odessa the group became regulars in clubs throughout Texas and across the Southeast. By 1974, with the addition of guitarist Kim Davis, drummer Peter "Buzzy" Gruen and bassist Phillip Petty had renamed themselves Point Blank. Spotted by Bill Ham (riding high on his successes with Z.Z. Top), Hill signed the band to A Lone Wolf Productions, taking on the role as their manager, helping them score a contract with Clive Davis' Arista Records.
Produced by Ham, 1976's "Point Blank" was recorded in Memphis' famed Ardent Studios with Terry Manning engineering. The album featured a collection of eight originals with all six members contributing to songwriting chores. Exemplified by tracks like the single "Moving" and "Lone Start Fool" I always thought the group were a little more rock-oriented than many of their Southern rock contemporaries. That was certainly the case on their latter releases. Lead singer John O'Daniel had a rugged, if occasionally shrill voice that was well suited to the band's mix of rockers and boogie material like "Bad Bees". His standout moment came on the ballad "Distance". Rusty Burns and Kim Davis provided the band's twin guitar fire power, while drummer Peter Gruen and bassist Phillip Petty were steady, if not particularly flashy. I've listened to this album dozens of times over the last fifty years (yes, I've owned a copy that long). It's not particularly original. It's not particularly commercial. That said, it's one of those album's where the sum is better than the individual tracks. Exhibited by material like "Free Man" and "Wandering" they were an incredibly tight unit (to be expected from a band that routinely played over 200 live shows in a year). At the same time I've also tried to figure out what was missing on this one and it boils down to the fact the album lacked a hook that grabbed you by the throat. The single "Moving" the pretty ballad "Distance" and "In This World" came close, but ultimately not quite close enough.
Sad footnote, but as of 2023 all six players had passed on.
- Burns died of lung cancer in February 2016. - Sadly Davis committed suicide in October 2010. - Gruen died in April 2023. - After having survived a liver transplant O'Daniel passed on from cancer in November 2018. - Suffering stomach cancer Petty died in June 2010.
"Point
Blank" track listing: 1.) Free Man (John O'Daniel - Rusty Burns) - 5:08 rating: *** stars Powered by O'Daniel's growl of a voice and Burns' slide guitar, "Free Man" opened up as a surprisingly bluesy rocker. Kind of Bad Company-meets-Southern rock vibe. And then around the two minute mark the tune shifted the spotlight to Burns and Davis' twin guitar, more conventional Southern rock mode> The song then returned to the opening blues rock motif before closing out with a return to twin lead guitars. Have to admit I liked the more conventional twin lead guitar segments. The video quality isn't great, but YouTube has a clip if the band performing the song at a 1980 performance in Houston: POINT BLANK - Free Man - Live in Houston, Texas 1980 2.) Moving (John O'Daniel - Kim Davis - Peter Gruen - Philip Petty - Rusty Burns) - 2:57 rating: **** stars The group penned "Moving" was built on a nifty little Burns guitar riff, but the thing that's always surprised me about the rocker is how good the group's backing vocals were. Just didn't expect a bunch of Southern rockers to sound as smooth. That commercial sheen might explain why Arista tapped the song as a single:
- 1976's "Moving" b/w "Bad Bees" (Arista catalog number AS 0217)
3.) Wandering (John O'Daniel - Kim Davis - Peter Gruen - Philip Petty - Rusty Burns) - 5:19 rating: *** stars Opening with an unexpected Gruen drum solo, "Wandering" was an interesting number with some almost progressive-styled timings and melody changes. 4.) Bad Bees (Phil-p Petty - Rusty Burns) - 2:11 rating: ** stars With O'Daniel and Burns sharing lead vocals "Bad Bees" offered up a patented slice of Southern boogie rock. It wasn't bad, but sounded like scores of other boogie rock tracks. Pass. The song also appeared as the "B" side on their "Moving" 45.
(side
2) O'Daniel's vocals occasionally struck me as being shrill, but he sounded great on "That's the Law". And as good as he sounded, once again Burns and Davis twin lead guitars provided the "punch" that made the song one of the standout performances. 2.) Lone Star Fool (John O'Daniel - Kim Davis) - 4:19 rating: **** stars Imagine if AC/DC had been born and raised in Texas rather than Australia (with Styx on backing vocals) and you'd get a feel for this blazing rocker. The Gruen-Petty rhythm section just killed it on this one. 3.) Distance (John O'Daniel - Kim Davis - Peter Gruen - Philip Petty - Rusty Burns) - 5:12 rating: **** stars The album's prettiest melody, the ballad "Distance" served as O'Daniel's best performance. The song allowed him to showcase the full breadth of his vocal range while Burns and Davis added some lovely guitar interludes. 4.) In This World (John O'Daniel - Kim Davis) - 3:09 rating: **** stars Another track built on a nifty guitar riff, "In This World" was a track where Burns and Davis grabbed the spotlight, leaving O'Daniel in the shadows. By the way, this is the track I would have tapped as the single.
© Scott R. Blackerby March 29, 2026
|
BACK TO BADCAT PAYMENT INFORMATION
