Friday, August 2, 2013
A Great Lost Pop Album-Ricci Martin's Beached (Produced by Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche) by Peter ReumRicci Martin is Dean Martin's son, and younger brother of Dino Martin of Dino, Desi, and Billy. Not coincidentally, Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche produced this album. Of course, Carl married Ricci and Dino's sister Gina later in the Eighties. The first indication that there might be an album was when Ricci's single Stop Look Around came out on Capitol. The single did not sell. The album was optioned by CBS/Epic, and was released in 1976 on the Epic label. The Stop Look Around/Moonbeams 45 was released. The album was a beautiful oasis of sophisticated pop rock at a time when radio was a mishmash of proto disco, guitar rock, and silly slop.
What made the album special? Well, for one thing, it was beautifully arranged. The songs are catchy, well performed, and need no "tricks" to make them listenable. The backing vocals, by Carl Wilson, Peter Cetera, Gerry Beckley, Bobby Figueroa, Billy Hinsche, and Ricci himself, are immaculate. The credits read like a who's who of the Beach Boys/Chicago crowd from 1975. What I loved about the album when I played it in-store back in the Seventies was that people would come in grumpy and out of sorts, and leave in a great mood, even if they didn't buy the album. The album got lots of play along the Front Range of Colorado, and I heard on Denver, Boulder, and Ft. Collins stations.
The backing tracks here are so easy, so tasteful. Billy and Van Dyke Parks contribute synthesizer, and Carl plays mellotron. Dennis Wilson, Ricky Fataar, Ed Teduri, and Ricci himself drum. A marvelous highlight besides the aforementioned tracks is Spark of Me, which begins with some piano by Ricci, then goes into a gorgeous, understated piano/drum based track. Choruses add synthesizer, strings, and mellotron. There is a beautiful change of tempo and modulation on the bridge. Truly a wonderful, moody, yet reassuring love song. Brass by Chicago's horn section add stunning beauty to Street of Love, another slow to mid tempo tune that is incredible. The drums here sound like Dennis. Strings add a flavor of hope, and clarinets add a dash of irony. This is love, Mid Seventies American Style.
A Carl Wilson/Ricci Martin co-written song, Everybody Knows My Name is a catchy tune that probably feels the most like a Beach Boys song on the record. The horns come in midway, and follow the lead vocal. Backing vocals are what one might imagine a Beach Boys song would sound like in 1975, had they recorded and finished songs during that time. Belle of the Ball is built around a riff that is begging for Chicago to record it. The tune is something that would be easy for that group to pull off. In the place of horns, Carl, Billy, and Ricci decided to add vocals and a tasty synthesizer line.
My Old Radio recalls the Fifties, and drips of nostalgia without sounding overly silly. Precious Love is a tune that asks "what happened" that caused a relationship to end. Sleigh bells and phased guitar make a cameo on the song's bridge, and backing vocals are heavenly. Perhaps there is a little too much synthesizer on that track. I Don't Like It is a tune that tends to bemoan being out of love, yet also allows the singer to rationalize by saying "it's ok to be alone." I Had a Dream has somewhat of a minor key feel to it, which is piano based, and which is a piece of classic pop. It seems to address a person who is in a state of either madness, or emotional disturbance. It is a great song, and stands out as the best tune on what was the second side of the album.
Here I Go Again is the album's final song, and is fairly understated. I can hear Van Dyke Parks here, using the synthesizer to sound like an accordian. It's a brief slice of pop that begs to be a minute longer. It is a terrific sketch of a tune. The album as issued in Japan on cd offers the single mixes of Stop Look Around and Moonbeams. This mix of Stop Look Around has Carl and Billy prominent on backing vocals. Moonbeams is more understated in the single mix. It is one of those songs you could swear you have heard before because it is so accessible and catchy.The fade from the single is bizarre, but that isn't Ricci's fault.
So there it is, an album that is classic pop rock, recorded at Brother Studio, probably in 1975 and early 1976. Lots of Beach Boys, lots of Chicago, several Beach Boys Band members on board, and the best of LA's sessions players of the time. I have waited many years to get the cd, and it doesn't dissapoint. If you are still into vinyl, the album is relatively easy to find, especially online. Don't miss it, and thanks Ricci! I am glad to hear your work again....
Text copyright 2013 by Peter Reum-All Rights Reserved
― Naive Teen Idol, Thursday, 9 July 2015 04:52 (eight years ago) link