Customer Reviews

Different Kind of Crazy

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

 

 

This US Midwest group, never rose into the "A" level of the "Rock" biz, but put out several exceptional albums in the mid 70's/early 80's. They can be described easiest as an American version of England's own Rock Legends "Uriah Heep". The albums were rich on melodies, harmonies and good hard rock!! This effort featured the song "Too Late" which was a minor chart success in the US when released. It garnered a fair amount of FM radio play (at least in the Atlanta area). I can only guess that this may be why this particular album was chosen for release on CD. Other solid cuts on this album are: "If You Kew Me Better" , "Lonlier Now (ballad) and "The Feelin' is Right". There are several other excellent Head East albums not on CD. Maybe we'll "Get Lucky" and someone will decide to re-evaluate this good band. My pick for a CD release is cleary the "Live" double album. I'm not usually much on live albums but this one is GREAT!!!! All their classic songs as well as some awesome covers, including a great Beatles cover. Let's hope this one sees the light of day.

I bought this on vinyl so long ago, along with all of the Head East library. This is an awesome listen! CD quality is a great improvement to my vinyl. Get it! And, I now have a website for Head East, though it's not an official site (yet). http://www.users.uswest.net/~stumpf6/headeast.htm

Pity Head East. What chance did they have with a national fan club in La Crosse, Wisconsin? For all the world they looked like nerdish midwest headbangers.

Their string of albums featured some of the worst album covers of all time. This one, with its loony collage of flying toast, syrup pancakes, glazy pharaohs and garish orange stripes, is simply not to be displayed in mixed company.

Tradesmanlike and unfancied as they were, Head East have lasted the distance to rank among the very best of the power pop bands. They ought to be as revered as Big Star.

Mike Somerville (guitar) and Roger Boyd (keyboard) forged one of the most distinctive sounds of 1970s pop. Lead vocalist John Schlitt packs the same kind of punch as John Waite (Babys) and Billy Paliselli (Artful Dodger). Here, he fronts the band at its least metallic and most melodic.

"Too Late" was the single, but it is the five tracks of the vinyl side one that stand out. Especially the controlled urgency of "Feelin' is Right", the blissfully sunny instrumental "Morning", and the regretful ballad of life "Lonelier Now".

"Lonelier Now" is to be remembered for its guitar break which, rather like a Wally Bryson riff, reveals a novel in twenty notes. And we can all relate to the chorus: I used to be so special/I used to be so proud I used to be so lonely/I'm so much lonelier now.

"If You Knew Me Better" is one of the all time greatest rock tunes ever. Yet, not even proclaimed Head East fans even know about this song. Most people don't realise that Johnny Shlitt is one of the greatest rock vocalist to ever live... and he is featured on this album... straight from his abdomen into you soul... in his prime. This is their best sounding recording and though the musicianship is basic, the ideas transcend the songs... Ever wonder why you can only order American CD's from Europe...

Yes I Really Like this cd. It has three songs I Really like. Morning, To Late, and my Favorite is Hard Drivin Days. Most seem to like If You knew me better, or Specialty, and they are good songs, but I Love Hard Drivin Days Days, because it is so Up Beat, and I Like the Drums at the end of that one. Anyway this is just another Great Head East cd worth getting.

Mediocre output from a band that put out some really good albums. Its self titled cd is arguably their best, and this is just awful compared to their earlier recordings. Keep a Secret is really bad and seems kind of forced to go forward. It is almost as if they just playing the same chords over and over until it mercifully reaches its conclusion, which is really weak, needless to say. Got to Be Real pretty much covers the same pattern as far as lacking a lot of power. Highlights on this one is Lonelier Now and Too Late. On Lonelier now, they got everything right for the most part. Too Late is just a catchy tune. Unlike their earlier releases, this one lacks any kind of power, to say the least. If you like this band, stick with its self titled or Flat as a Pancake to get a flavor of how good this band can be. This cd is a poor representative of this band's true talent.