Category: Album of the Week

Album of the Week Roundup

A quick summary of recent Albums of the Week which we did not cross-post here to the main A&M Corner page, including one (the Toni Smith) which was assigned a catalog number but never released:

2010: Original Soundtrack Recording

Bolland & Bolland: Silent Partners

Joan Armatrading: Secret Secrets

Keel: The Right to Rock

Toni Smith (unreleased)

Fairchild: Fairchild

Click any of the titles above to view topics and discussion of these A&M recordings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lost Album of the Week: Gary Taylor’s “Just Gets Better With Time”

Our “lost” albums of the week are those albums which were assigned a spot in A&M’s album catalog but for whatever reason, were never released.  While Gary Taylor‘s album Just Gets Better With Time was never released, the song of the same title was released as a single on A&M.

If the tune sounds familiar, the song was also recorded by The Whispers, who many listeners will recognize from the hit single “Rock Steady,” on which Taylor sang backing vocals.  Taylor’s songwriting, production and vocal talents have been found on many recordings by such names as Anita Baker, Lalah Hathaway, Vanessa Williams and others.

Popular songs he has written includes “Keep in Touch” (Grover Washington, Jr.), “Living Without a Heart” (Vanessa Rubin), “My Heart, Your Heart” (The Whispers) and “Good Love” (by Anita Baker, Lonnie Liston Smith and others).  Gary Taylor’s official Web site is Morning Crew Music. Be sure to pay a visit!  And join our forum discussion here.

 

Album of the Week: “Hearts of Fortune” by Immaculate Fools

[​IMG]Immaculate Fools did not make much of an impression in the US, but their unique blend of alternative rock, folk and Celtic music made an impression in the UK, landing Hearts of Fortune at #65 on the UK albums chart.  They would find even greater success in Germany and Spain, and eventually moved to Spain themselves.

The band consisted of brothers Kevin Weatherill (vocals, guitar, bass, harmonica) and Paul Weatherill (bass, backing vocals, percussion), and brothers Andy Ross (guitar) and Peter Ross (drums).  The Ross brothers could boast of the late Ronnie Ross, a popular saxophonist (Matt Bianco, The Beatles “Savoy Truffle,” and others) as their father.  The band would become a college radio favorite and remained popular in Spain, and remained together until 1997.

Join our discussion at the forum.  

 

 

 

Album of the Week: Jim Diamond’s “Double Crossed”

[​IMG]Hailing from Scotland, singer-songwriter Jim Diamond first broke through on the UK Top 5 with the 1982 hit “I Won’t Let You Down,” as part of the group PhD (featuring keyboardist Tony Hymas and drummer Simon Phillips).  On 1984’s Double Crossed, our album of the week, the track “I Should Have Known Better” became a Euro-pop UK and Australian No. 1 hit, and entered the Top 5 in three other countries (but surprisingly, not in the US).

Diamond was first discovered by Alexis Korner. After leaving Korner’s group, he formed a band (Bandit) with AC/DC member Cliff Williams, and later moved on to Los Angeles and formed another group called Slick Diamond with guitarist Earl Slick.  After disbanding PhD, Diamond would record Double Crossed for A&M.  He would follow this up with the Top 5 hit “Hi Ho Silver” from the soundtrack to the British crime drama Boon.

In later years, Diamond would make guest appearances on a handful of other artists’ albums, and release a few more himself, including City of Soul from which all proceeds went to charity. Diamond passed away in 2015.

This album is available as an import CD, and selected tracks are featured on the Best of Jim Diamond anthology.