Extra Epic Everything

Great Buildings (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 26, 2010)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Wounded Bird Records
• ASIN: B002WDL5KM
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #206,061 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Way to Go [#]

2. In Dreams [#]

3. So You Dance [#]

4. Mama Don't Shoot [#]

5. Looking for What's Lasting [#]

6. Cherry Cherry [#]

7. Your Eyes [#]

8. Jagged Edge [#]

9. All Night (Is Not Long Enough) [#]

10. Final Showing [#]

11. Goodbye, Goodbye [#]

12. Up the Walls of the World [#]

Editorial Reviews

2010 release of the previously unreleased second album from the L.A.-based Power Pop band led by Danny Wilde and Phil Solem, who went on to form the group The Rembrandts a decade later. Recorded shortly after their 1981 debut, this long-lost sophomore album remained unreleased for nearly 30 years before it was discovered in a vault and is finally given an official release by Wounded Bird Records.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The LONG LOST 2nd album!, January 26, 2010

By 

Stephen D. Schnee - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Extra Epic Everything (Audio CD)

"Great Buildings were a quartet with roots stretching back to the mid-'70s. Vocalist Danny Wilde and bassist Ian Ainsworth had been members of the Sparks-inspired band The Quick, who had released their Mondo Deco album in 1976. The Quick actually ended up spawning some of L.A.'s finest: drummer Danny Benair, went on to help form The Three O'clock while guitarist Steven Hufsteter played in bands like The Dickies before forming The Cruzados.

A little while after The Quick split, Wilde and Ainsworth joined forces with guitarist Phil Solem and drummer Richard Sandford in a quartet they christened Great Buildings. Though they weren't immediately caught up in the Power Pop scene in '79, within a year, the labels came sniffing around and the band were eventually signed, releasing their debut album, Apart From The Crowd, in 1981.

Though the band gigged over the next year or so (even adding fifth member Mike Mariano on keyboards), no album seemed to be forthcoming and they soon split. What outsiders (such as myself) didn't know is that the band had demoed a second album with Apart From The Crowd producer John Boylan. That set of demos (along with a previously unreleased track from the Apart From The Crowd sessions) has finally been released some 28 years after they were recorded!

Extra Epic Everything is exactly what one would have expected from the band following their excellent debut: catchy tunes, punchy production and pure infectious energy. Wilde's vocals have a lot more soul and power, the band's musical interplay is more dynamic and Mariano's keyboards add extra depth to the band's sound.

If the word 'demo' scares you away, there is absolutely no need to fear: Extra Epic Everything rocks even harder than Apart From The Crowd! While these recordings could have used an extra layer of harmony vocals or a very minor tweak or two, they are damn near perfect as is. To be honest, I have heard bootlegged 4th generation versions of many of these tracks for years, but these recordings are direct from the master and they sound absolutely wonderful.

To think of these tracks as nearly 30 years old boggles the mind because they sound so crisp, clean and clear. "Mama Don't Shoot", "Way To Go", "Final Showing", "Goodbye, Goodbye" and "So You Dance" are standouts, but I'm sure I'll discover (and rediscover) new gems with each spin.

Liner notes from Ian "Ainsworth" Grey provide an inside look at the band, which fascinates this long-time fanboy!

Is Extra Epic Everything as good as Apart From The Crowd? That is hard to say because their debut has a 28 year advantage over EEE. I'd say that they are pretty damn close but ask me again in about 30 years time...." Stephen SPAZ Schnee/Discussions Magazine

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I enjoy music, not being eaten by coyotes., March 30, 2011

By 

Fred H. (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Extra Epic Everything (Audio CD)

"Great Buildings" was Danny Wilde's band and Danny Wilde has been a favorite of mine going back to the 1980s. But what I learned is if you're out in the middle of nowhere and encounter a coyote playing guitar who claims to be Danny Wilde, you should not purchase a ticket to attend his show. I did, and I was almost eaten by a coyote.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not the same, February 6, 2011

By 

Isaac Padron "canonf1n" (S/D CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Extra Epic Everything (Audio CD)

Wow! Was that a press release? I waited over a year before I ordered this CD because I wasn't sure if I wanted to be disappointed. I was! I believe it was Phil Seymour who said "You have your whole life to write your first album and six months to write your second, and it had better be better then your first". Well Phil got it right, Great Buildings should have taken some extra time. The tracks are not catchy and lack the power of the first album. I listened to it in its entirety three consecutive time to see if it was me, I then listened to the first album, wow, the power and the beat coming from their first is some of the best music I've ever had the pleasure to enjoy. All I can say is if you are looking for more of the same, listen to the first album twice.
That's just my opinion,,,