Customer Reviews

Coelacanth

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A coelacanth is a large prehistoric fish believed to have been extinct but was found to still be in existence in the early 1900s. Some might say this is analagous to the band, The Producers. Up until this year, I thought the band had retired their musical talents, but they are still in existence and putting on great shows in conjunction with their recent CD release "Coelacanth". Check out their website at www.theproducers.org

This CD was originally recorded 14+ years ago but, unfortunately for us, MCA left it in their music vault preventing its release. A special thanks to One-Way Records for dusting off the tracks and releasing them to all of us in 2001. The strongest tracks are "Out of My Head" (slow ballad with smooth vocals by Van Temple), "Dance on My Heart" (most reminiscent of their earlier songs; great drum beat by Bryan Holmes and keyboards by Wayne Famous), "One Good Reason", "Primitive Man" and Kyle Henderson's "Renaissance". There is one song here from their previously released album "Run For Your Life" (not on CD yet, but hopefully someday), that is re-released here. This version of "Slow Dancing" is not as strong as their first in my opinion, but is still a decent track.

So, if you want to hear new 80s music, try this CD ("Trouble with Love" could be released today and few would suspect it was recorded so long ago). Finally, one of Sheryl Crow's band members, Tim Smith, was a member of The Producers when this CD was recorded and co-wrote a few of these songs. Although it would be nice to have him back performing with the original four band members, fans do wish him well. It's great having former band member Kyle Henderson back on bass. Rumor has it, they will be performing at The Howling Wolf in New Orleans on New Year's Eve 2001-2002.

Why this CD sat on the shelf for years at the band's former label is a mystery. There were definitely surefire hits on the album ("Renaissance" and "Out of My Head") that had potential. Too bad. But here it is -- Coelacanth -- for your listening pleasure many years after the fact.

I guess the only downside to the album is the dull brown cover art. Not bad, but not all that attractive. That's kind of petty considering the good music contained within (don't judge a book by its cover!), but I like cover art.

If you're a fan of the band's previous albums, get this album while you can before it goes out of print and becomes impossible to find.

Seeing The Producers in concert four times during 1985-86, I was somewhat familiar with some of the songs on this new release. I particularly remember them opening their set with the song "Primitive Man" - the catchy guitar riff and the tag line "there's a monkey on your stereo". So I guess you could say I've been patiently waiting 15 years for this CD to come out. I must say it was worth the wait, especially considering it's value price. In general the songs are good although I would argue that the songwriting on this album, as well as its predecessor "Run For Your Life (RFYL)", suffer from the absence of bassist Kyle Henderson (although Tim Smith is an amazing bass player). A funny story about Tim - I can still remember the first time I saw the Producers, seeing several drunk college-age kids standing at the front of the stage in front of Tim screaming "Whooo Kyle. Rock and roll. Yeah Kyle. Whoooo!!" I wondered if Tim might tell them between songs that he wasn't Kyle, but he just ignored them and kept on playing... Anyway, standout songs on this album, besides the previously mentioned "Primitive Man" are "Dance On My Heart", "Right Man for the Job", "Trouble With Love", and "Renaissance". Interestingly, a similar but more obviously spiritual version of "Renaissance" appears on Kyle Henderson's out-of-print Contemporary Christian solo album released in 1985. A couple of minor disappointments are: 1) There are only 10 songs on the album and one, "Slow Dancing", is an unimaginative remake of the same song off the RFYL album, and 2) the sound is not as pristine as I would like. But one has to keep in mind it was recorded in 1987 and there have been a lot of improvements in recording technology since then. Overall, if you are a Producers fan you will want to pick up this release. And keep your eyes out for the upcoming re-release of RFYL.

One has to congratulate One Way Records, they have been leading the forfront of Re-releasing music long out of print, or in the case of the Producers album "Coelacanth" letting it see the light of day, and boy--does it shine!!

Granted it was supposed to be released 14 years ago, but it still sounds better they any current top 40 bands!

Van Temple, Wayne Famous, Bryan Holmes and Tim Smith, have created a pure pop CD with all the right hooks and melodies that made the first 2 releases but the band so damn good!!

So buy this and party like it is 1987!!!

Looking forward to the re-release of the final Producers album "Run for your life"..........

The Producers were a great band that met the fate of many a good band...jammed by a record company and then discarded. Their two albums for Portrait/CBS (on an OOP two-fer Producers/You Make the Heat) were darn near flawless power-pop in the skinny tie era. When the single "She Sheila" was just on the brink of putting The Producers over the top, Portrait folded, bad blood between the group and the exec holding their contract ensued and this CD, recorded for MCA, languished for 12 years in a vault.

Fortunately, the cult of Producers Fans eventually brought "Coelacanth" to the surface. And while it is a good album, it seems that the band had lost their spark. "Primitive Man" and "When All Is Said and Done" are as good as anything on the other two albums and "Who's Crying Now" spotlights their best ballad, but the snap is gone. It may be somewhat due to the departure of Kyle Henderson, who'd departed for a solo Christian Rock career (an OOP album "More Than The Look of Love," and if you ever heard his rewrite of "Back To Basics" - we're going back, back to the word of God..." - you'll wish he hadn't). Tim Smith is a decent replacement and he keeps up with drummer Bryan Holmes, but he didn't add much vocally. Since harmonies were a big part of The Producers' magic, "Coelacanth" misses some of that glory. One of the key components was always Wayne Famous, and once again his work is stellar.

Two of "Coelacanth's" songs were re-recordings. Slow Dancing appeared on Run For Your Life and was rerecorded for Coelacanth. Kyle wrote "Renaissance" before leaving and the words were adjusted so to not be quite as 'Christian'. "Slow Dancing appeared on "Run For Your Life" (which has yet to make it to CD) and was rerecorded for "Coelacanth." This is a moderately good Power Pop CD, but the best work was already behind them. If you have an interest in The Producers, get this now since One Way Records has closed up shop.

... but The Producers' great "lost" album, "Coelacanth", has finally been released, & on CD, no less!!

For those of you who aren't familiar with this Atlanta-based quartet, The Producers were early-MTV era darlings until they had a falling out with a viciously petty A&R rep at Portrait Records, who basically tore up their contract & effectively blackballed them from getting a deal with any other label(s). Dauntless, The Producers (minus original bassist / vocalist Kyle Henderson) recorded their indie release, "Run For Your Life" (which, unfortunately, has yet to see an official CD pressing -- one can always hope!) with a new bassist, Tim Smith, later to play with Jellyfish & Uma Jets.

Having no big label release -- & subsequently no big budget for touring -- didn't deter them from playing out as much as possible, & this had the fortunate effect of sparking interest at MCA records, the label that was supposed to release "Coelacanth" (more about this name later).

Unfortunately, the A&R rep who fired them from Portrait took control of MCA Records & promptly fired them again, effectively ending their "professional" career as a band. "Coelacanth" languished in the MCA vaults for over a decade, never to be heard outside a few "hot" (read: "distorted") bootlegs.

12 years later, the "fish" everyone thought extinct (yes, the "coelacanth") finally re-emerge to have their day, to an extent.

Remixed, remastered, reorganised, & a joy for the ears, "Coelacanth", The Producers' great "lost" album, has finally been officially released & I couldn't be happier about it (well... there are a few things I could be happier about, such as their being signed again to a major label & getting their dues, as well as revenge on Al Teller, but I digress). The songs are crisper, punchier, & just as good as -- if not better than -- all their previous releases.

Lead singer / guitarist Van Temple's voice is in ultra-fine shape, having undergone surgery to remove polyps from his vocal cords in early 1987. Drummer Bryan Holmes' signature beats are bombastic, ever-present & tight as ever, keyboardist Wayne Famous is as frenetic & tasteful as always, & then-bassist Tim Smith plays soldily in the pocket (no mean feat when playing alongside Holmes), & he especially shines on the fretless basslines of "Right Man for the Job" & "Who's Crying Now?".

While The Producers don't have a recording contract, they are still together & touring, albeit mostly just regionally around the Georgia area. Bassist Kyle Henderson has returned to the fold, & while Tim Smith did a wonderful job during his tenure, nothing & no one can touch the original line-up.

In this age of internet-based record companies, there's hope that The Producers will one day release another album of new material (the liner notes of "Coelacanth" allude to this very possibility), but for now, just knowing that (most of) their previously recorded material is finally available on CD is enough.

For now.

I am a musician and long-time Producers fan. The Producers are one of the most underated and unoticed pop bands of the eighties. The first record is as perfect as it gets. I also enjoyed the follow-ups "You Make the Heat" and "Run For Your Life". I was excited to find out that this unreleased album was now available. I gave this CD many spins. If you are big Producers fan, this is worth it just to wet your appetite for new material. But in my opinion, there are only three strong tunes on this CD, they are Primitive Man, One Good Reason, and Slow Dancing (which is a re-recorded song from the "Run For Your Life" LP). All the other songs are average, because they just do not have the strong hooks that are typical of a Producers song. For newcomers, get the dual album cd Producers/ You Make The Heat, if you can find it. A true gem. I was suprised how well others have rated this CD. It does not stand up to the first three records. Call me the black sheep, but this one is for fans only (that includes me).

why this album was never released in 1988 is a mystery to me! this group is one of the best bands to come out of the early 1980's - hands down! I always dubbed them as "The greatest pop band that never was!" this album is another fine piece of work! the first 4 songs could have been hits! I was a musician for years & I know a great band when I hear one! these guys should have had a few top 10 records. "What's he Got?", "Certain Kinda Girl", "She Sheila", "What She does to Me" are bonafide top 10 hits! why they weren't, I'll never understand! these guys were robbed of deserved stardom by a poor management team & Portrait records!

It's amazing that this record sat unreleased in the vaults for over 14 years. It sounds a little dated now, but if it had been released as planned back in 1987, it could've been huge. This is a great album of rockin' power-pop from the Atlanta foursome. The sound on this disc is amazing, it literally leaps out of the speakers. Buy this one and the "two-fer" of their first 2 albums as well! Hopefully their 1985 album "Run For Your Life" will end up on CD soon...

As a musician and long-time fan of The Producers, I've come to expect the musically engaging hooks, thoughtful arrangements, note-perfect harmonies, syncopated drumbeats, and tasty guitar solos that a Producers record promises. And while "Coelacanth" delivers all of those, it does so on a less consistent basis than previous outings. With such an immensely prolific and polished debut, the bar for these fellows was set quite high at the outset.

With the pedigree of a mop-top cover band, Cartoon, I wasn't surprised by the Beatlesque major-minor chord progressions echoing throughout "Out Of My Head" and the minor fifths coloring "Who's Crying Now". But the unexpected Fab Four paean "Trouble With Love", right down to its 1965ish title, is this album's best of the genre.

As Tim Smith's bass stakes a four-corner perimeter around Van Temple's excellent vocal in "Dance On My Heart", I was transported back to 1982 aboard New Orleans' Riverboat President, swaying to this gem and thinking of how well they captured it live, especially the "Oh no" refrains. Sonically, an early-80s Producers show was hard to beat, and garnered the band its lasting reputation for musical quality.

Not all on the album is as noteworthy. The sparse "Right Man For The Job" seems a bit too sparse, while the mid-tempo "One Good Reason" (perhaps one too many at mid-tempo on the record) is only a good performance of a middling song. This pair comprises that which conservatively might be downgraded to filler. The closer "After All Is Said And Done" is a better composition, lacking only the "WOW" factor of earlier Producers efforts. Most disappointing, though, is the Kyle Henderson penned track, Renaissance, which suffers not only from weak lyrics, thinly co-opted from a spiritual theme, but moreso from a decidedly 1980s production value that sounds very dated.

The remake of "Slow Dancing" is an effort to better complete a version that appeared first on the quartet's indie third outing "Run For Your Life". But in filling the holes in the quirky original, some of the charm has been lost. Van Temple faithfully recreates his superb guitar solo note-for-note, which in only 30 seconds constitutes a treatise on how to play well-phrased and musically adept rock guitar. But the muffled recording pales to the crisp, urgent presence of the original, which included a bit of string noise after the opening phrase to remind the listener that Temple achieves brilliance in a single live take. If you haven't before, listen to that earlier version and judge for yourself.

The strongest praise is saved for last. "Primitive Man", the album's aptly-chosen opener, is a jewel of a song more in the vein of the darker complexity of "You Make The Heat" than of the bouncy pop of "The Producers". With its distorted opening riff seguing into Wayne Famous' ethereal synthesizer renderings amid Bryan Holmes' snare flams, the track captures all of the fire, the imagination, and the unique essence of The Producers. This song stands out among its peers, and alone makes the record a must-buy for real Producers fans.

After 20 years, the overwhelming charm of The Producers survives in this long-lost time capsule. In my mind, "Coelacanth" is a reminder that The Producers remain one of the best bands never to hit the big time. What a shame.