Journeys to the vintage days of PCH and the Sunset Strip…
Singer-songwriter Whitney Rose mixes sounds from vintage Byrds and Eagles as she flies with Lisa Pankutz/dr, Dave Leroy Biller/g, Brad Fordham/b, Rich Brotherton/g and various guests through easy rockers and riders. Her voice has a bit of Carlene Carter to it, with a homey C&W feel on “Don’t Give Up On Me” and “Home With You” while she gets feisty on harder material such as “Better Man” and “In A Rut”. She shows shades of blue for “You’d Blame Me For The Rain” and is down home on “We Still Go To Rodeos”. Sounds good in suede.
Best known for his pop hits from the 1970s such as “Lonely Boy” and “Thank You For Being A Friend”, California native Andrew Gold has recently released a 16 song collection of early demos, previously unreleased, with none of the songs ever seeing the light of day on any of his albums. Funny, because they all are pretty strong on their own, mixing tunes with his band of Peter Bernstein/b, Kenny Edwards/g and Gene Garfin/dr with solo on piano and guitar. Gold has a Billy Joel earnestness on piano for “Come Down To Me” and “The World Tomorrow Knows” while the ensemble pieces “Prisoner” and “Something New” are straight out of the Byrds/Burrito Brothers mold. Gold’s relaxed approach is close to James Taylor on “You Are Somehere Within Me” making this feel like a first cousin to JD Souther. Cackley’s piano. California dreamin’.
The trio of Gerry Beckley, Dewey Bunnell and Dan Peek epitomized the relaxed surf-folk of Southern California, with these thirteen songs the second release of intimate demos. The music is wonderfully casual, even including an intimate “Mandy” and an informal acoustic guitar jam on “Jameroony”. A version of “Tin Man” includes the music with just the backing vocals, giving a rich foundation to the hit, with lovely strings and voice on ”You” while “Cornwall Black” is a relaxed rocker. . The vocal harmonies on “What Does It Matter” is a cruise on PCH with the entire set a bit like a nostalgic day at Malibu.