Cold Blood ~ Thriller!
reel-to-reel tape
Jacket design and execution:
George Hunter and Herb Greene
photo by Styrous®
In addition to my 20,000 Vinyl LP collection I'm selling, I have reel-to-reel, pre-recorded tapes for sale as well (see links below).
~ ~ ~
Cold Blood was one of the San Francisco Bay Area's non-psychedelic contributions to pop music in the late '60s and early '70s. Their R&B-influenced combination of rock, blues, funk and jazz stood out from the guitar-driven acid rock bands of the music scene of that era. It was founded by Larry Field in 1968. The album caused controversy because of its violent cover art which was cited in 1978 in a congressional committee on domestic violence.
photo by Styrous®
The band has often been compared to another Northern California group, Tower of Power,
and like Tower of Power they were rare in that they featured a horn
section in addition to guitar, keyboards (usually featuring a Hammond organ and Leslie speaker), bass and drums.
detail photos by Styrous®
Most of the
songs were covers, the singular exception being,
Live Your Dream, Max Haskett, which features the Pointer Sisters
on backing vocals. This was not the first collaborative effort between
the two groups, as the vocal trio had also made a few notable
contributions to the Sisyphus (1970) album.
reel-to-reel tape
photo by Styrous®
photo by Styrous®
Over the years there have been various incarnations of the band including singer/trumpet player Max Haskett (born 7 March 1947, died 15 September 1999, ex-Rubicon), Tower Of Power horn player Mic Gillette, Journey keyboardist Stevie "Keys" Roseman on Hammond B-3 organ, Sons Of Champlin drummer Jim Preston, Jefferson Starship drummer T Moran, guitar player Michael Sasaki (born Apr 3 1952), Tower Of Power guitarist Jeff Tamelier, Boz Scaggs horn player Tom Poole, Elvin Bishop sax player Bill Slais, bass player Michael White & others.
reel-to-reel tape label detail
detail photo by Styrous®
detail photo by Styrous®
George Hunter and Herb Greene had a very good sense of humor and, obviously, a VERY fun time designing the album.
detail photos by Styrous®
Cold Blood is featured playing live in Fillmore, a documentary of the last concerts at the Fillmore West auditorium during July 1971. I remember a night at the Fillmore, well, actually, I don't remember the night at all other than I somehow found myself lying flat on the floor. I remember the floor was sticky with who knows what and I had the impression I was sinking into the muck and I was going to drown in it. Not a pleasant memory.
The band disbanded in the late 1970s, reformed in the 1980s and
stabilized with its current membership in the 1990s. Cold Blood
continues to record and perform today, and some former band members such
as Raul Matute (and some from Tower of Power) appear on the band's most
recent album. Current personnel are Lydia Pense (vocals), Steve Salinas (keyboards), Steve Dunne (guitar), Mike Morgan (percussion), Evan Palmerston (bass), Rich Armstrong (trumpet, percussion), Rob Zuckerman (alto, tenor, baritone saxes) and Donny Baldwin (drums).
Funk covers on Thriller! include You Are The Sunshine Of My Life by Stevie Wonder, I'll Be Long Gone by Boz Scaggs, Kissing My Love by Bill Withers and Sleeping originally by the Band. My favorite song on the album is Sleeping. It is a slow ballad that rocks out toward the end with some terrific singing by Lydia Pense, great orchestral and horn backing and a very short but very nice sax supplied by Mike Andreas.
Track list:
Side 1:
1 - Baby I Love You - arranged by Adam's Dad, Cold Blood – written by Jerry Ragavoy - 6:10
2 - You Are The Sunshine Of My Life - Brass arranged by Tom Harrell – written by Stevie Wonder - 7:40
3 - Feel So Bad - Brass arranged by Gaylord Birch, Raul Matute, Rod Ellicott – written by J. Johnson, L. Temple - 7:22
Side 2:
1 - Sleeping - arranged by John Mewborn, Raul Matute – written by Richard Manuel, Robbie Robertson - 5:16
2 - Live Your Dream - Brass arranged by Max Haskett – written by Max Haskett - 3:21
3 - I'll Be Long Gone - Brass arranged by Adam's Dad, Raul Matute – written by Boz Scaggs - 5:40
4 - Kissing My Love - Brass arranged by Adam's Dad, Max Haskett – written by Bill Withers - 6:07
Side 1:
1 - Baby I Love You - arranged by Adam's Dad, Cold Blood – written by Jerry Ragavoy - 6:10
2 - You Are The Sunshine Of My Life - Brass arranged by Tom Harrell – written by Stevie Wonder - 7:40
3 - Feel So Bad - Brass arranged by Gaylord Birch, Raul Matute, Rod Ellicott – written by J. Johnson, L. Temple - 7:22
Side 2:
1 - Sleeping - arranged by John Mewborn, Raul Matute – written by Richard Manuel, Robbie Robertson - 5:16
2 - Live Your Dream - Brass arranged by Max Haskett – written by Max Haskett - 3:21
3 - I'll Be Long Gone - Brass arranged by Adam's Dad, Raul Matute – written by Boz Scaggs - 5:40
4 - Kissing My Love - Brass arranged by Adam's Dad, Max Haskett – written by Bill Withers - 6:07
Credits:
- Backing Vocals – Holly Tigard, Pointer Sisters
- Baritone Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Mel Martin
- Bass – Rod Ellicott
- Bass Clarinet, Tenor Saxophone – Benny Maupin*
- Design – Globe Propaganda
- Design [Jacket Design And Execution] – George Hunter (5), Herb Greene
- Drums – Gaylord Birch
- Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Michael Sasaki
- Engineer – Fred Catero, Jerry Zatkin
- Engineer [Remix] – David Rubinson
- Equipment, Other [Trucking] – Jerry Sanchez, Organic Earl Mederos
- Keyboards – Raul Matute
- Management – CB Productions, Ltd., Jim Sheehan
- Management [Personal Appearance Direction] – David Forest Agency, Ltd., The
- Other [Jack-Of-All-Trades] – Dennis Rose (Deke)
- Producer – David Rubinson & Friends, Inc.
- Producer [Associate] – Raul Matute
- Tenor Saxophone – Mike Andreas
- Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Bob Ferreira
- Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Backing Vocals – Skip Mesquite
- Trombone – Pat O'Hara
- Trombone [Valve], Trumpet – John Mewborn
- Trumpet – Rigby Powell
- Trumpet, Backing Vocals – Max Haskett
- Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Bill Atwood, Peter Welker
- Vocals – Lydia Pense
Music links on YouTube:
Styrous® - Tuesday, April 15, 2014
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