Customer Reviews

Resolution: The Collection

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When Resolution was released in July,1976, Rolling Stone Magazine made it the lead review. The fervent rave included the statement "Pratt has forever changed the face of rock". Now these words are in Landau re: Springsteen territory ("I've seen the future of rock&roll"), so, naturally, we went out and immediately bought it. Everyone else must have been on vacation when that review came out though, because the album sold like coldcakes. Nevertheless, though it did not apparently change the face of rock, it is, indeed, a magnificent work. It was rereleased as a CD a couple of years back with 3 superb additional cuts, one that begins the CD-- the amazing novelty song "Avenging Annie" which, as great as it is, detracts from the flow of what is to follow-- and the 2 final cuts from Pratt's follow-up to Resolution, which have the same producer, the reknowned Arif Mardin. Mardin did a remarkable job. He matched the heavyweights of NY session musicians with Pratt's voice and piano. What we are left with are soaring, orchestral arrangements of Pratt's richly textured melodies; witty, heartfelt, inspiritional, touchingly profound lyrics; and his passionate and powerful singing, akin to a vulnerable Mick Jagger. Unlike the majority of records 25 years old or more, this album remains as fresh and unique as the day we bought it. What has become of Andy? We've heard rumors that he's now a social worker, a missionary, an ex-patriot, a busker back on the streets of Boston. Wherever he is, he has left a legacy. One of our favorite albums of all time.

When I first heard Andy Pratt on the radio with Avenging Annie, it blew me away. The perfectly expressive piano and the insightful and exciting lyrics brought to life a modern woman--and a man wrote the song! I was not quite ready for his other compositions, as I was only 15. When I recently bought Resolution, I was more than ready. Thoughtful, intricate, and beautiful songs in every way. Bravo, Mr. Pratt! What a beautiful album.

If I was told I would be on a deserted island for one year, and I was allowed to take only 10 albums with me for the duration, "Resolution" would make my top 5....EASILY! A truly beautiful masterpiece filled with emotion, and some melodic creshendos that make my blood rush. Pratt's song writing in this album is superb and the music blend is candy to my ears.

I was very fortunate to see Andy play "live" at the Boarding House in San Francisco when this album came out. During a short pause after one of the earlier songs, he had this boyish grin on his face, and he said "I got me a band !" And man, he sure did. Clean and dynamic... just what you would hope for after hearing the album.

Sadly, amidst the brief attention this album did get, Pratt just sort of faded away. Never heard anything about him after that. I just chalked it up to the same fate that the band "City Boy" met. Amazingly talented... but maybe mismanaged, maybe ignored by an idiot record label exec, or maybe intentionally overlooked by a negligent and trite pop scene. But I'm just guessing. Maybe Pratt just did a "stage left" on his own and retired from public attention all together. I don't know. A shame in any event. All my friends and I were really looking forward to more post-Resolution.

But I DO KNOW that it is a crime that this album is not more readily-available on CD. I burned my old 33 wax copy to CD, but I still have to put up with hearing some occassional (irritating) vinyl popcorn. It would be nice to hear the album remastered on CD. In the meantime, I recently ordered some of his later work (which emerged from somewhere I don't know about). Looking forward to that. Sunny days!

It's a shame that Andy Pratt's self-titled Columbia recording from 1973 remains unreleased. We used to drive around Lowell, MA in the mid-70s, as teenagers, with the 8-track, and knew all the words to all the songs. Those truly were the days. Years later, another lp, 'Resolution,' and we all travelled to Boston to see Andy play live at City Hall Plaza, then at UMass/Amherst. Andy's music remains in a warm part of the heart. I heard "Avenging Annie" the other day on the radio, and it brought tears to the eyes. Thanks, Andy.

Yep, that's right. All of Andy Pratt's catalog is available for (legal) download and purchase as professional-produced CDs at itsaboutmusic-dot-com (sorry for the spelling, don't want it to be edited out), including this rare and often expensive album (can you believe they want at least $30 for a single CD?). This version of Resolution does have a few extra tracks, but some of them are on Andy's second, self-titled album (also worth getting), so there's not really much need to shell out an exorbitant fee for this. While you're looking, though, I might as well tell you about the album.

Is it worth getting? Absolutely! It stands next to his second album as classic exercises in mid-70's pop rock. Yes, Rolling Stone said it changed the face of music forever. I'm not so sure about that, but Resolution has some excellent songs, great performing by Pratt, and some of the rawest emotion I've ever heard in pop rock to date. Andy Pratt obviously went through some serious personal changes to produce such a nakedly emotional album, and the results are certainly classic.

Some standout tracks, in my opinion include the opener "Resolution," which sets the tone of optimism and personal growth, along with Pratt's unique, falsetto voice and some characteristically catchy piano hooks. "If You Could See Yourself Through My Eyes" is another great track that combines a slinky sense of melody with an upbeat, R&B style of rock. Pratt also busts out some excellent ballads, like "Can't Stop My Love For You," and the slightly more upbeat "That's When Miracles Occur." Although some of the record has a sound that might be considered lite-pop today, you have to remember that, at the time, combining saxophone with a tender melody wasn't considered cliche. Give it a chance--despite what the production connotes this day and age, Pratt wrote some great songs, melodies, and lyrics that vibrantly support this music.

Resolution, although it may not have actually changed the face of music forever, is a great album--it's chock full of hooks and songwriting that resonates with listeners on a really personal level (just check out the other reviews). It's too bad such a good album is so hard to track down, but hopefully the word will get around about the availability of his catalog on itsaboutmusic-dot-com. Hope you enjoy (re)discovering this great lost album!

The quality of the music on the Resolution album is hard to exaggerate. Excellent songwriting, immaculate production, and committed performances combine to make this a peak among obscure rock classics. I've enjoyed other Andy Pratt albums, but none come close to this one.

On the other hand, it isn't hard to understand why this music wasn't a hit for the masses. The production and arrangements, though outstanding, are too dense for mass consumption; also the songs are sophisticated to the point that they don't reveal all of their secrets on first hearing. In short, this is thinking person's music, pop music as art, but the best example of it that I know.

The lyrics reflect a sensitive vulnerability that is somewhat pervasive - this isn't a CD for the macho crowd. But if you respond to melodic, sophisticated pop that isn't dumbed down - get this CD...this is music that you can enjoy for the rest of your years.

If I had to put a recording in a time capsule to represent the ultimate in artistic quality for pop-rock, this might be it.

NOTE: The original Resolution LP makes up tracks 2-12...the inclusion of bonus tracks, especially Avenging Annie, are an additional treat.

Now if you ask me, and a lot of folks interested in disappearing musical geniuses do now and again, this here Andy Pratt feller is a musical genius what disappeared on us. See, this feller made a big splash with the critics back in 1976 and never really caught on with the general record-buying public and never had a hit to speak of, so he kind vanish from the face of the musical scene. Shame, really. He was (and is) toe-tappin' good.

I reckon the problem might could be that Mr. Pratt writes music that is simply too insightful, too melodious, and too intelligent for the mass market. What most of them lemmings want is to plunk down their pocket change for music that is thin and empty and when a feller like this comes along who gives them, something that ain't, well then the feller finds that he is out of luck. He should have developed a cult following the like of Bruce Cockburn back in the day... one that would have given him a fan base large enough to keep an iron in the fire. Well, I guess he does still have an iron in the fire, but it is a smaller iron than it ought to be.

This here Resolution was "groundbreaking" when it came out... least that what you see slung around like so much verbal tinsel. It may have been groundbreaking, but the important issue ain't that it broke ground, but that it is a darn good album of music what stands up even now. Me and Mama had it on the CD just last night and Mama axed me , "Suguarlump," (see... Mama likes to call me 'Sugarlump' as a kind of a pet name now and again) ... she done said, "Sugarlump, we got any more of this here feller's albums to listen to because I sure enough do like this here one." Well, truth be node, we ain't. The only one we got is Resolution because all the other Andy Pratt albums I done had were LPs and they went by the wayside when our old double wide trailer burned to the ground back a few years ago. See, Junior was playing with matches in the bathroom when he was a weed of a boy, and he ended up catching the commode seat on fire (because we had us a plastic commode seat) and it ended up creating a conflagration what was big enough that we couldn't get it out. Plus that, Mama grabbed a pot of what she thought was water to throw on the fire, but it turned out to be not water but hog drippin's we had rendered down and the drippin's caught a fire and added to the conflagration and that is what did us in. Anyway, Lost all my old LPs and that is why I have turned to Amazon (dot com if you will) to rebuild my collection over the past few years. One of the first old released I sought out was this here Resolution because I like it so much and plus that
"Avenging Annie" is a right good song what should have been a radio single back in the day. I like to program my CD player to give me that one repeatedly when I am in a mood for toe tappin'.

Andy, wherever you are, you need to know the Huckabee clan is a committed fan base. We would be willin' to travel to see you live if you were to announce a comeback tour and promised to sing some of the songs on Resolution. The folks at Rolling Stone Magazine may have been a little over enthusiastic when they were raving about Resolution back in 1976 because nobody in the record buying public paid them any heed, but you ought to be proud of the record you came out with. It is a masterpiece of popular music.

I'd suggest anybody in their right minds (and most people who might be a little out of their minds too) go ahead on and get this one because it will make you sit down and listen to what Pratt had to say... and what he had to say was calming, interesting, and lively.

I only wish there were more cd's to review and that Andy's Email address were correct so I could ask after "Summer". However I'll take what I can get and this collection does my heart good. Thanks for taking me back to a nice place. If you know Andy Pratt's music at all, you'll have to have this cd. Do it again Andy, we're waiting!

This CD is marvelously inventive and only a little dated. But Andy Pratt's best album is a splendid exorcism of pain and fear that came out on Columbia Records in 1973. Alas, there is no response when you contact the e-mail address listed for the artist above, so I cannot tell you whether or not you can find Pratt's best record.

Maybe Andy Pratt is a little too idiosyncratic to connect with a mass audience. Critics praise him, no doubt, but he probably is too much like Randy Newman in that he has his own quirky style. Still, the Resolution album is wonderful-it doesn't quite hit me like it did twenty plus years ago, but the craftsmanship is as good as I have ever heard on any pop album. The songs all point to the redemptive power of love, but the styles of music are so different within that theme. It really has a wonderful unity like a concept album. The arrangements are so well thought out it amazes me. "Everything Falls Into Place" sounds like a great Eric Carmen ballad, but most of these I can't hear anybody performing but Andy Pratt himself. "Can't Stop My Love" I once read was a tribute to his father who had recently died-what a moving piece with a superb orchestral arrangement. One quibble I have is that I would have chosen "Rainbow" instead of "So Faint," which comes across as overly precious. "Rainbow" makes references to Jesus, and since Pratt apparently became a Christian around that time, it would be a fit ending. Interestingly, the album "Motives," which came out after "Shiver In The Night," was more overtly Christian, but musically not as powerful overall.