Charlie (ENGLAND)
Napísané: 09 Dec 2024, 08:32
Charlie - Elysium (2015)
Year : 2015
Style : Melodic Rock , AOR
Country : United Kingdom
Audio : 320 kbps + front
Size : 152 mb
Bio:
Charlie was a British rock band that was formed in 1971 by singer/songwriter Terry Thomas. The group was most active as a recording unit from the mid-1970s through 1986. Charlie never charted in their home country, but had four minor hits in the US: 1977's "Turning To You"; 1978's "She Loves to Be In Love"; 1979's "Killer Cut" and 1983's "It's Inevitable".The band was briefly called "Charlie Cuckoo" (after a racehorse), but soon became known simply as "Charlie". The band debuted as a recording act in 1973, issuing the non-charting single "I Need Your Love" on Decca in their native UK. Although the band had a contract for four singles with Decca, only one more ("Knocking Down Your Door") was recorded, and it was never released.Three years later, Charlie returned to record stores with their debut album Fantasy Girls. Thomas was Charlie's primary songwriter for this and all future albums, although he would also collaborate with other band members from time to time. Charlie toured the UK in the spring of 1976 as support act to the Dutch progressive rock band Focus to promote the album. Smith left after the first album and was replaced by keyboard player Julian Colbeck.The group's second album, No Second Chance, began the practice of featuring a photograph of a female model as the album's cover. "Turning To You", off that album, became Charlie's first chart hit, peaking at US #96. Terry Thomas also took the reins as producer for this album, along with John Anderson; all future Charlie releases would be produced by Thomas, usually in association with one or more band members.Eugene Organ was added as a fifth member on guitar for the following two albums, 1978's Lines and 1979's Fight Dirty. The band had their biggest hit to date in 1978 with "She Loves to Be In Love," which peaked at #54 in the United States. The following year, the band again had a minor hit with "Killer Cut", which rose to US #60. By this time, Shep Lonsdale had been added as an official sixth member, playing drums and percussion alongside Gadd on all of Fight Dirty.Colbeck and Organ departed in 1980 amid some turmoil, after having completed recording the group's planned fifth album, Here Comes Trouble. Colbeck writes, "Finally, the touring band line-up of Terry Thomas, John Anderson, Eugene Organ, Steve Gadd, and myself ceased operations once Arista refused to release Here Comes Trouble, and our caring, sharing management company immediately cut off all our money in 1980. That's a whole other story but, for the record, our final gig was in 1979 at the Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island on Monday 29 October, alongside Foreigner." Thomas commented, "Arista our new label in the U.S. wanted more songs - our company in the UK - Trident Audio Productions - refused to put us in the studio or spend any more money. The UK record company - Polydor - wouldn't release it until it had a U.S. release. Effectively Charlie had no record label and no money to live on. Eugene and Julian decided to leave."In 1981, a reorganized Charlie issued the album Good Morning America for RCA Records. The band now consisted of Thomas, Anderson, Gadd, John Verity (keyboards, guitar), and second drummer Bob Henrit. (Lonsdale had moved on to work for the band Toto as a sound engineer, mixing their live shows.) The previously unissued Here Comes Trouble, recorded in 1980, was finally released in 1982, albeit only in continental Europe.In 1982, Verity left and Terry Slesser joined the group as new lead singer, while Thomas, still a member of the band, began concentrating more on the instrumentation. In 1983, the group had their most successful hit single, "It's Inevitable", which peaked just inside the US Top 40 at #38. The MTV music video featured a rousing pie fight. The accompanying self-titled album was a flop, however, and the band folded.In 1986, Thomas resurrected the band identity, while essentially working as a solo artist. For the 1986 Charlie album In Pursuit of Romance, Thomas is the only credited band member, though there are some contributions made by session musicians. Thomas writes, "This was basically a contractual album - Steve had gone off to work with Iron Maiden as a drum tech and John had a job in the telecommunications industry. I ended up making the whole album by myself - it put me in the hospital!"After a long lay off, in 2009 Charlie released their first album of new material in 23 years, Kitchens Of Distinction. The album began life as a Terry Thomas solo project, but as the finished product included contributions from Martin Smith and Julian Colbeck (amongst others), the decision was made to credit the CD to Charlie.Drummer Steve Gadd died on 27 March 2013, after a year-long battle with cancer.
Album:
At this point of Rock history, British melodic rockers CHARLIE are a cult classic band with some great albums recorded during the Seventies / Eighties, until the band returned in 2009 for a solid comeback album. I am sure none was expecting a new Charlie album ever, but founder, singer & songwriter Terry Thomas has recruited original members Julian Colbeck and Martin Smith (along with guest drummer Steve Alexander) for the recording of this final album entitled "Elysium".And I am glad he did it, as "Elysium" is a wonderful, delicious CD from start to finish.During the Seventies Charlie blended melodious rocking songs (in the style of City Boy to name one reference) with some progressive elements. The band released five albums that went quite unnoticed in UK, however, in the USA things were decidedly different as their melodic style gained them significant traction on FM radio, which resulted in the band working almost exclusively for that market.In the early '80s they moved to USA and embraced the AOR / melodic rock sound so popular in the first half of the decade, creating some memorable tunes into four 'American' albums.Then Terry Thomas concentrated in producing other artists, until the mid-2000's when resurrected Charlie and released a celebrated comeback album in 2009, almost recorded all by himself.Honestly, I was not expecting a new Charlie album, even less with original members at the helm. Well, Terry Thomas did it, and "Elysium" is one of the best albums you'll hear this year.Call it what you want: melodic rock, progressive, hard rock (classic), all is here blended in this new CD.The hook-filled melodies, the interesting arrangements, the biting, cynical lyrics are all in place on this 2015 Charlie release. Oh yeah, Charlie 2015 is more about thought-mind themes than girls & rock 'n roll lifestyle, but this is a plus, believe me.You have melodic hard rockers like opener 'YouTube Girl', the groovy 'Make It Real' or the ridiculously catchy 'I Want A Maserati' (they haven't lost the sense of humor). There's also classic rockers with tons of groove and attitude like 'Clutching At Straws' including Hammond B3 and excellent atmospheres.But my favorites are the intelligent melodic rockers such as 'Talking Heads', 'Call Me Dave', the cheerful 'Hey Dude', or the acoustically filled and poppy 'The Super Rich'. Thomas & Co. also add an elaborate touch of melodic progressive on songs like the captivating 'Virus', and especially the terrific 'Abandon Ship'.There's as well elegant ballads in title track 'Elysium' (more a mid-tempo, slow melodic rocker indeed) and the heartfelt 'Thinking About You', both songs arranged and performed with class.As said above, from my personal experience, "Elysium" is one of the best albums I heard this year. It's expansive, rocking but far from ordinary, melodic but with essence, there's some beautifully crafted harmonies, fantastic guitar solos, catchy choruses and really, really good lyrics.As happened with the new Dakota album, this new Charlie album is being silently released through a small London based label called Floating World Records.It doesn't matter, we are here to bring you these little hidden gems... Charlie's "Elysium" deserve to be listened by all quality Rock music aficionados.
Line Up:
Terry Thomas - lead vocals, guitar
Martin Smith - guitar, bass, backing vocals
Julian Colbeck - keyboards, backing vocals
Steve Alexander (Jeff Beck Band) - guest drummer
Tracklist:
01. YouTube Girl (04:28)
02. The Ballad of Kerry Katona (05:12)
03. Virus (06:10)
04. Make It Real (05:32)
05. Elysium (07:58)
06. I Want A Maserati (03:34)
07. Thinking About You (05:06)
08. Call Me Dave (04:38)
09. Clutching At Straws (06:34)
10. Hey Dude (05:37)
11. Abandon Ship (08:17)
12. The Super Rich (04:08)
13. Sad (05:33)
14. Talking Heads (05:13)
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/
Year : 2015
Style : Melodic Rock , AOR
Country : United Kingdom
Audio : 320 kbps + front
Size : 152 mb
Bio:
Charlie was a British rock band that was formed in 1971 by singer/songwriter Terry Thomas. The group was most active as a recording unit from the mid-1970s through 1986. Charlie never charted in their home country, but had four minor hits in the US: 1977's "Turning To You"; 1978's "She Loves to Be In Love"; 1979's "Killer Cut" and 1983's "It's Inevitable".The band was briefly called "Charlie Cuckoo" (after a racehorse), but soon became known simply as "Charlie". The band debuted as a recording act in 1973, issuing the non-charting single "I Need Your Love" on Decca in their native UK. Although the band had a contract for four singles with Decca, only one more ("Knocking Down Your Door") was recorded, and it was never released.Three years later, Charlie returned to record stores with their debut album Fantasy Girls. Thomas was Charlie's primary songwriter for this and all future albums, although he would also collaborate with other band members from time to time. Charlie toured the UK in the spring of 1976 as support act to the Dutch progressive rock band Focus to promote the album. Smith left after the first album and was replaced by keyboard player Julian Colbeck.The group's second album, No Second Chance, began the practice of featuring a photograph of a female model as the album's cover. "Turning To You", off that album, became Charlie's first chart hit, peaking at US #96. Terry Thomas also took the reins as producer for this album, along with John Anderson; all future Charlie releases would be produced by Thomas, usually in association with one or more band members.Eugene Organ was added as a fifth member on guitar for the following two albums, 1978's Lines and 1979's Fight Dirty. The band had their biggest hit to date in 1978 with "She Loves to Be In Love," which peaked at #54 in the United States. The following year, the band again had a minor hit with "Killer Cut", which rose to US #60. By this time, Shep Lonsdale had been added as an official sixth member, playing drums and percussion alongside Gadd on all of Fight Dirty.Colbeck and Organ departed in 1980 amid some turmoil, after having completed recording the group's planned fifth album, Here Comes Trouble. Colbeck writes, "Finally, the touring band line-up of Terry Thomas, John Anderson, Eugene Organ, Steve Gadd, and myself ceased operations once Arista refused to release Here Comes Trouble, and our caring, sharing management company immediately cut off all our money in 1980. That's a whole other story but, for the record, our final gig was in 1979 at the Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island on Monday 29 October, alongside Foreigner." Thomas commented, "Arista our new label in the U.S. wanted more songs - our company in the UK - Trident Audio Productions - refused to put us in the studio or spend any more money. The UK record company - Polydor - wouldn't release it until it had a U.S. release. Effectively Charlie had no record label and no money to live on. Eugene and Julian decided to leave."In 1981, a reorganized Charlie issued the album Good Morning America for RCA Records. The band now consisted of Thomas, Anderson, Gadd, John Verity (keyboards, guitar), and second drummer Bob Henrit. (Lonsdale had moved on to work for the band Toto as a sound engineer, mixing their live shows.) The previously unissued Here Comes Trouble, recorded in 1980, was finally released in 1982, albeit only in continental Europe.In 1982, Verity left and Terry Slesser joined the group as new lead singer, while Thomas, still a member of the band, began concentrating more on the instrumentation. In 1983, the group had their most successful hit single, "It's Inevitable", which peaked just inside the US Top 40 at #38. The MTV music video featured a rousing pie fight. The accompanying self-titled album was a flop, however, and the band folded.In 1986, Thomas resurrected the band identity, while essentially working as a solo artist. For the 1986 Charlie album In Pursuit of Romance, Thomas is the only credited band member, though there are some contributions made by session musicians. Thomas writes, "This was basically a contractual album - Steve had gone off to work with Iron Maiden as a drum tech and John had a job in the telecommunications industry. I ended up making the whole album by myself - it put me in the hospital!"After a long lay off, in 2009 Charlie released their first album of new material in 23 years, Kitchens Of Distinction. The album began life as a Terry Thomas solo project, but as the finished product included contributions from Martin Smith and Julian Colbeck (amongst others), the decision was made to credit the CD to Charlie.Drummer Steve Gadd died on 27 March 2013, after a year-long battle with cancer.
Album:
At this point of Rock history, British melodic rockers CHARLIE are a cult classic band with some great albums recorded during the Seventies / Eighties, until the band returned in 2009 for a solid comeback album. I am sure none was expecting a new Charlie album ever, but founder, singer & songwriter Terry Thomas has recruited original members Julian Colbeck and Martin Smith (along with guest drummer Steve Alexander) for the recording of this final album entitled "Elysium".And I am glad he did it, as "Elysium" is a wonderful, delicious CD from start to finish.During the Seventies Charlie blended melodious rocking songs (in the style of City Boy to name one reference) with some progressive elements. The band released five albums that went quite unnoticed in UK, however, in the USA things were decidedly different as their melodic style gained them significant traction on FM radio, which resulted in the band working almost exclusively for that market.In the early '80s they moved to USA and embraced the AOR / melodic rock sound so popular in the first half of the decade, creating some memorable tunes into four 'American' albums.Then Terry Thomas concentrated in producing other artists, until the mid-2000's when resurrected Charlie and released a celebrated comeback album in 2009, almost recorded all by himself.Honestly, I was not expecting a new Charlie album, even less with original members at the helm. Well, Terry Thomas did it, and "Elysium" is one of the best albums you'll hear this year.Call it what you want: melodic rock, progressive, hard rock (classic), all is here blended in this new CD.The hook-filled melodies, the interesting arrangements, the biting, cynical lyrics are all in place on this 2015 Charlie release. Oh yeah, Charlie 2015 is more about thought-mind themes than girls & rock 'n roll lifestyle, but this is a plus, believe me.You have melodic hard rockers like opener 'YouTube Girl', the groovy 'Make It Real' or the ridiculously catchy 'I Want A Maserati' (they haven't lost the sense of humor). There's also classic rockers with tons of groove and attitude like 'Clutching At Straws' including Hammond B3 and excellent atmospheres.But my favorites are the intelligent melodic rockers such as 'Talking Heads', 'Call Me Dave', the cheerful 'Hey Dude', or the acoustically filled and poppy 'The Super Rich'. Thomas & Co. also add an elaborate touch of melodic progressive on songs like the captivating 'Virus', and especially the terrific 'Abandon Ship'.There's as well elegant ballads in title track 'Elysium' (more a mid-tempo, slow melodic rocker indeed) and the heartfelt 'Thinking About You', both songs arranged and performed with class.As said above, from my personal experience, "Elysium" is one of the best albums I heard this year. It's expansive, rocking but far from ordinary, melodic but with essence, there's some beautifully crafted harmonies, fantastic guitar solos, catchy choruses and really, really good lyrics.As happened with the new Dakota album, this new Charlie album is being silently released through a small London based label called Floating World Records.It doesn't matter, we are here to bring you these little hidden gems... Charlie's "Elysium" deserve to be listened by all quality Rock music aficionados.
Line Up:
Terry Thomas - lead vocals, guitar
Martin Smith - guitar, bass, backing vocals
Julian Colbeck - keyboards, backing vocals
Steve Alexander (Jeff Beck Band) - guest drummer
Tracklist:
01. YouTube Girl (04:28)
02. The Ballad of Kerry Katona (05:12)
03. Virus (06:10)
04. Make It Real (05:32)
05. Elysium (07:58)
06. I Want A Maserati (03:34)
07. Thinking About You (05:06)
08. Call Me Dave (04:38)
09. Clutching At Straws (06:34)
10. Hey Dude (05:37)
11. Abandon Ship (08:17)
12. The Super Rich (04:08)
13. Sad (05:33)
14. Talking Heads (05:13)
Download links for all albums only on our blog here: http://goodmetalandhar.do.am/