Year : 1989 (Rock Candy Remastered 2013)
Style : Hard Rock
Country : United States
Audio : 320 kbps + scans
Size : 114 mb
Bio:
Tangier was a popular Philadelphia-based American rock band active in the late 1980s and early 90s.Tangier formed in Philadelphia by songwriter and guitarist Doug Gordon and grew up in the clubs with bands such as Cinderella, who would later help the group out by having Tangier open for them on their second major tour. The first, independent self-titled debut album, comprising Bill Mattson (vocals), Doug Gordon (guitar, songwriter), Rocco Mazzella (guitar, songwriter), Mike Kost (bass) and Mark Hopkins (drums). After minor local success, Doug decided to disband Tangier, take time off and start fresh. Doug wrote material and put together a new version of Tangier, utilizing only Mattson from the previous lineup. Douglas Gordon's competence as a rock lead guitarist was "PRO-FILED" by Guitar World in its October 89 issue, p. 118: ".And on "Sweet Surrender," the album's tour de force. Gordon, after a growling 1-3-5 bass-note riff, launches into a dizzying, double tracked barn burner that suggests a summit meeting between Winter and Danny Gatton. This man can blaze." Garry Nutt was brought on board, as well as Gari Saint on guitar and Jimmy Drnec on drums. The new, unnamed band recorded demos and sought management and hooked up with Larry Mazer. The band showcased for many labels and was finally signed by Derek Schulman, who was to head up the newly reborn and revamped ATCO label. Veteran producer Andy Johns was selected for "Four Winds." Bobby Bender was secured for the drums prior to recording "Four Winds." The name Tangier was again used out of convenience and familiarity. It produced the hit singles "On The Line" and "Southbound Train". A prolific writer, Douglas Gordon wrote every verse and note on "Four Winds".For their 2nd major label album Stranded there were some line-up changes again. Separating with both Mattson and Saint, the band brought in vocalist–guitarist Mike LeCompt. LeCompt's gruff soulful vocals brought a heavier edge to the band. This album produced the hit single "Stranded", featuring Pamela Anderson in its music video.Doug Gordon, Mike Lecompt and Garry Nutt are the only former members still active in the music business. LeCompt has his own band that performs regularly in the greater Philadelphia area. Bassist Nutt has been involved with Arcade, Laidlaw, Davy Jones, Mike Tramp, Cinderella, Jean Beauvoir, and is currently touring with Chubby Checker. Doug Gordon went on to co-produce, play sessions and write with other artists. He played guitar on Myles Goodwin's (April Wine) solo album, co-produced a "I Just Can't stop Lovin You" on Linear's 1992 album "Caught in he Middle", produced the MOJO's album "Not for Nothin", Co-Produced "Bakers Pink" album (1993), and co-wrote "Babylon" on Tom Keifer's solo album "That The Way Life Goes" (2013).
Album:
Originally released in 1989 on major label Atco Records (thanks in part to the band’s support from Cinderella’s Tom Keifer), “Four Winds” was the second album from Philadelphia based rockers TANGIER, greatly ‘Remastered & Reloaded‘ by Rock Candy Records.Turns out that Tangier, named after the ‘party town’ in Morocco, had actually released a proper underexposed album in the mid-eighties on Wolfe Records, a Melodic Rock / AOR affair that drew Foreigner comparisons.For this second record, Doug Gordon, the band’s mainman, and vocalist Bill Mattson would let go of the rest of the band and recruit a new trio of rock ‘n’ rollers to help them down that dusty road to the rootsier, bluesier melodic hard rock that they claimed to have really loved all along.Enlisting bassist Garry Nutt, guitarist Gari Saint and Bob Bender on drums, Tangier signed to ATCO in the wake of the success of fellow Philly outfits Cinderella and Britny Fox, and began work on “Four Winds” with the hugely-respected producer Andy Johns on board, and Bob Rock engineering.With these talented cats behind the desk, “Four Winds” resulted into an awesomely slickly-produced record, a terrific collection of polished rockers with a winning combination of melodic hard rock with a bluesy foundation hugely benefited from the strength of vocalist Bill Mattson’s gravelly David Coverdale / Paul Rodgers / Jimmy Barnes-esque tones.Starting with a synthesizer line, opener “Ripcord” soon turns into a solid steady rocker with a slightly southern feel, followed soon after by the smoky slow burner “Mississippi”, another tremendous track.Some of you will have seen the video to “‘On The Line”, a great semi-ballad with a brooding stadium-bluesy Whitesnake quality, allowing Mattson’s Coverdale-like vocals to shine through.With a straight-forward skeleton the harder “In Time” rocks great, as do the title track “Four Winds” which moves from a slow start to a more lively pace as the lead vocals grow throughout the song from restrained to powerhouse by the end.The slide guitar work akin Cinderella is remarkable on “Fever For Gold”, while “Southbound Train” (the other single from the album) is both commercial and melodic. According to Rock Candy’s essay in the booklet, producer Andy Johns was particularly enthused with “Southbound Train”. This song is one of the more overlooked tracks on the disc with an exceptionally well done chorus in both the lyrical and musical phrasing.Tangier take on a different swing with “Sweet Surrender” moving into fast-paced hard rockin’ boogie territory, and more feel-good rock n roll is displayed on the awesome groove of “Bad Girl”.To complete the album, a fantastic hard rocking tune called “Good Lovin” is delivered with passion and vigour.Although Tangier “Four Winds” sold fine and even charted on Billboard, it was not the success that the record label expected as the ‘new’ Cinderella.This a wonderful album on all aspects: all songs are killer, the musicianship is top notch and the production, absolutely fantastic. The Rock Candy remaster is on par with the quality od the master tapes: everything sounds crisp with a great dynamic range.I love this record, and while it’s unlikely that “Four Winds” will now attract the kind of sales Atco were hoping for back in ’89, it will continue to garner admirers aplenty. And rightly so.
Line-Up:
Bill Mattson - lead vocals
Doug Gordon - guitar, backing vocals
Gari Saint - guitar, backing vocals
Garry Nutt - bass, backing vocals
Bobby Bender - drums
Tracklist:
01. Ripcord
02. Mississippi
03. On The Line
04. In Time
05. Four Winds
06. Fever For Gold
07. Southbound Train
08. Sweet Surrender
09. Bad Girl
10. Good Lovin'
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