We continue our look back at the music of 50 years ago…..
The second LP for the horn driven band Chase was a disappointment to the record company. Epic pressed a ton of copies thinking the band could replicate the success of the debut LP the previous year. It didn’t happen.
The music is good. A hard driving rock band with a 4 man trumpet section. The brass massing for an aural onslaught with Bill Chase soaring above delivering double high C’s like they are gumdrops.
The thing that stands out for me is the funkiness of the bass lines from Dennis Johnson. Just great stuff…and the two drummers on the record, Jay Burrid and Gary Smith show a technical propulsiveness that drives the band onward and upward.
There is a new vocalist on most of the tracks. G.G. Shinn channels his inner David Clayton-Thomas which might make you think this is another Blood, Sweat & Tears. It’s not. Chase rocks alot harder than BST.
Side two is a suite of songs based on Greek mythology which gives the band the chance to spread out. Some nice work from guitarist Angel South and organist Phil Porter.
I’m sorry I missed the band’s concert at the Wausau West Fieldhouse in 1972. The videos I’ve seen suggest Chase was a great “live” group and it probably was a great night even in the cavernous, echoey fieldhouse.
