- Van Duren -- vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion,

   synthesizers

  supporting musicians:

- Hilly Michaels -- drums, percussion

- Doug Snyder -- percussion, bass

- John Tiven -- guitar, bass, sax

- Good Question (Van Duren)

- Van Duren and Tommy Hoehn

Genre: pop

Rating: 4 stars ****

Title:  Are You Serious?

Company: Big Sound Records

Catalog: BSLP-019
Year: 1977

Country/State: Memphis, Tennessee

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+

Comments: --

Available: 1

Catalog ID: 917

Price: $75.00

All hyperbole aside, this is simply one of the best pop albums to ever come out of Memphis and naturally it is all but unknown to the listening audience.   Hard to imagine how it got overlooked ...  If I had a record label, this is one I'd re-issue and promote in a heartbeat.

I'm not a Van Duren scholar, but as I understand his story singer/multi--instrumentalist-writer Van Durren actually auditioned as a late-inning replacement for guitarist Chris Bell in Big Star.  Having spent most of his time playing bass, Van Duren didn't make the cut.  He subsequently attracted some attention playing with Bell and Big Star drummer Jody Stephens in the Baker Street Regulars.  Luckily, a couple of years later he was signed to Joe Tiven's newly formed Big Sound label.   

Produced by Tiven (the album actually credited him with "directing"), 1977's "Are You Serious?" showcased a top-notch collection of English influenced power pop and rock tunes with tons of nods to McCartney and second generation Macca-wanna-bes like Eric Carmen, Emmit Rhodes, and even Todd Rundgren.  Oh, let me add  there were also Badfinger echoes throughout the set as well.  Featuring all original material (one tune co-written with friend Jody Stephens), virtually all of these thirteen songs served to showcase Van Duren's wonderful voice and knack for crafting giddily catchy tunes.  Exemplified by material like 'Chemical Fire', 'Oh Babe' and 'Yellow Light', about half of the album featured commercially viable up-tempo rockers.  The other half was devoted to ballads and-mid-tempo numbers that were largely just as enjoyable.  The album was even more impressive when you realized it was almost a one man show - Van Duren sang and with the exception of drums, handled almost all of the instrumentation.  Even more impressive, the album was recorded on a shoestring (Van Duren reportedly had to sell his bass amplifier to pay the cost of getting to Tiven's Connecticut-based studio),.  Given the overall sound and high caliber of material, you'd never know this wasn't a major label release.

"Are You Serious" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Chemical Fire  (Van Duren) - 3:11

Wow, talk about a wonderful way to start an album.  Joyous power part that was one part Badfinger, one part Emmit Rhodes, and one part gritty Big Star.   You certainly couldn't knock that combination.    Add in a killer lead guitar and you had to scratch your head and wonder how radio missed out on this tune.   The lyrics also spawned the title used on the English release of the album - "Staring At  the Ceiling".  rating: **** stars

2.) This Love Inside  (Van Duren) -3:28

Always loved the strumming acoustic guitars and shimmering melody.  This was the kind of tune Eric Carmen and the Raspberries would have killed to have written, though for some reason the vocal has always reminded me a bit of primetime Styx.  Another tune that should have been a massive hit if anyone had been paying attention.   rating: **** stars

3.) Oh Babe  (Van Duren) - 3:47

Pure power-pop that would have given Eric Carmen and Emmit Rhodes a run for the Paul McCartney wanna-be trophy.  How could radio ignore this tune ?   This one was at least released as a UK single.    rating: **** stars

4.) Waiting  (Van Duren) - 4:52

The first couple of times I heard the ballad 'Waiting' I registered it as the collection's first minor disappointment.  Those initial impressions left me thinking stark keyboard and vocals ballad that came a bit too close to Billy Joel territory.  Luckily the song's charms caught me after a couple of spins and got notably better when the band kicked in.   rating: *** stars

5.) Grow Yourself Up  (Van Duren) - 3:47

Geez, Van Duren channeling Todd Rundgren trying to sound like Harry Nilsson, doing his best Paul McCartney impression ...   the funny thing is this was actually surprisingly good and commercial.  And this guy wasn't picked as guitarist Chris Bell's replacement in Big Star ...     rating: **** stars

6.) Guaranteed  (Van Duren) - 3:05

Shifting into a surprisingly attractive higher register, 'Guaranteed' could easily have been mistaken for an Eric Carmen solo number.   I'm not a big Carmen fan, but with more acoustic guitars and some wonderful multi-tracked vocals, this song quickly won be over.   rating: **** stars

(side 2)
1.) Positive  (Van Duren) - 2:40

More Carmen-styled sensitive singer/songwriter moves.  Too touchy-feely and fey for my tastes.  One of two disappointments on the album.   rating: ** stars

2.) New Year's Eve  (Van Duren) - 3:38

Ever wondered what Badfinger would have sounded like had they been American rather than English?  Probably not, but if that thought ever crept into your head, I'd suggest giving the bouncy 'New Year's Eve' a spin.  One of the album highlights ...   rating: **** stars

3.) So Good To Me (For the Time Being)  (Van Duren) - 4:10

One of the "sleeper" tunes on the album, 'So Good To Me (For the Time Being)' had a bittersweet melody and lyric that resembled something Emmit Rhodes might have recorded.  Like the best of Rhodes' material, this one had a subtle hook that climbed into your head and wouldn't leave   rating: **** stars

4.) Yellow Light  (Van Duren) - 3:57

Interesting sound collage opening (when's the last time you heard the name Anwar Sadat in a rock song?), that led into one of the album's best rockers (Joey Molland would have traded half of Badfinger to have penned this one), and resulted in one of the album's most commercial tunes.   If this one didn't have mid--'70s radio written on it, you had to wonder what did.   rating: ***** stars

5.) For a While  (Van Duren) - 2:50

Another isolated misstep, with a jittery rhythm and melody, For a While' simply didn't sound like a completed song.  rating: ** stars

6.) Stupid Enough  (Van Duren) - 2:40

Glistening pop tune with some nice cheesy synthesizers to kick it along.   rating: **** stars

7.) The Love That I Love  (Van Duren - Jody Stephens) - 3:07

Co-written with friend/Big Star drummer Jody Stephens, 'The Love That I Love' was a pretty acoustic ballad highlight by some nice multi-tracked vocals and a pretty guitar solo   Another tune that recalled Emmit Rhodes.   rating: *** stars

"Staring At the Ceiling" Big Sound catalog number SHY 8530

Sadly Big Sounds simply lacked the resources to promote the album and even though Van Duren did some local touring in support of the LP, it quickly disappeared.  Ironically, the album saw a UK release via a deal with London Records.  Different cover art, but same track listing and track sequence.  London at least made an effort to promote the album, pulling a single:

- 1979's  'Oh Babe' b/w 'Chemical Fire' (London/Big Sound catalog number HLT 10577)

Van Duren actually recorded some material for a follow-on album, tentatively entitled "Idiot Optimism", but when Big Sounds collapsed, the tapes were shelved until 1999.   

For anyone interested in learning more about this rock and roll survivor, Edd Hurt did a wonderful interview with the man for Nashville Cream at: http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashvillecream/archives/2012/09/12/van-duren-the-cream-interview