(Rock, AOR, proto-prog) Baby Grand (pre-"The Hooters") 2 альбома - 1977-1978, MP3, 320 kbps

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1. Never Enough
2. Can't Keep It Inside
3. Bring Me Your Broken Heart
4. Lady Of My Dreams
5. Down, Down
6. Alligator Drive
7. Shinin' In The Spotlight
8. Boy In The Band

#777Трэклист
1. All Night Long
2. Much Too Much
3. Weekend In New Jersey
4. Runner In The Rain
5. Walk Away Renee
6. Right Here, Right Now
7. Flame In The Wind
8. It's Not A Figure Salon

Rob Hyman-keyboards, vocal ("Wax">, >"Hooters")
Eric Bazilian-guitar, vocal (>"Hooters")
David Kagan-vocal ("Wax">, >Patty Smyth, >"Scandal")
+
Ralph Schuckett-clavinet, synthesizer (77-78) ("Utopia">, >"Clear Light", >"Jo Mama", >"The Numbers", >Clarence Clemons)
John Siegler-bass (77-78) ("Utopia">, >"Air", >"Mar-Tays", >Clarence Clemons)
Rick Marotta-drums (77) (>"Brethren", >"Night", >"Ronin", >"Yesca")
Carmine Rojas-bass (78-79) (>"Nektar", >Joe Lynn Turner)
David Prater-drums (77-79) (>"Nektar", >"Santana")
Rick Chertoff-producer
Baby Grand Review by Dave Connolly
Baby Grand was essentially a trio of David Kagan, Eric Bazilian, and Rob Hyman, who, along with producer Rick Chertoff, made this unmemorable album of '70s rock. Bazilian, Hyman, and Chertoff would find success in the Hooters a few years later, but there's nothing on this album to distinguish them from the competent also-rans that litter the avenue of broken dreams. The trouble with Baby Grand is vocalist David Kagan, who has lyrical vision but suffers in execution, wringing over his words with affectation rather than emotion. The presence of John Siegler and Ralph Schuckett suggests a Utopia connection, and "Shinin' in the Spotlight" does sound like a smoothed-over version of Todd Rundgren's "You Left Me Sore," but the similarities end there. The playing of Bazilian and Rick Marotta, combined with succinct arrangements from Hyman, add enough professionalism to show that Baby Grand knows what they're doing, but that's different than knowing what to do. Disco/rock storytelling isn't a good use of anyone's time, although it might have seemed that way in 1977. Arista did issue two of these songs as singles -- "Bring Me Your Broken Heart" and "Never Enough" -- but there are better tracks here. "Can't Keep It Inside" may cross over into Bee Gees territory, but Bazilian's soloing buys it some much-needed cachet. "Alligator Drive" is also a winner, catchy and well-presented, if steeped in the '70s. Yet the fact remains that Baby Grand is one album that hasn't aged well in storage.
Ancient Medicine Review by Dave Connolly
Now this is closer to what the doctor ordered: Less sappy and more savvy than their debut, Ancient Medicine features credible '70s studio rock in line with Toto and Steely Dan. Of course, Baby Grand isn't as commercially sharp as the one or as smart as the other, but at least this album justifies a record contract. Vocalist David Kagan is still a minor-league talent, with lyrics that wilt on inspection, revealing much too much ado about nothing (especially when compared to, say, the lyrics from Steely Dan's "Reelin' in the Years.") Fortunately, the music is interesting enough to make Kagan's inadequacies only a minor problem. "All Night Long," "Runner in the Rain" (with its shades of Genesis' "Ripples"), and "Right Here, Right Now" (suggesting Dan circa The Royal Scam) are good period songs. The band, which now included drummer David Prater and bassist Carmine Rojas, also throws in a pair of instrumentals, the pop-jazz "Weekend in New Jersey" and a lame boogie number, "It's Not a Figure Salon." Despite the signs of improvement, Ancient Medicine proved to be their last studio album (although a live album did follow). They likely would have improved as a band over time, but it was wiser to salvage the parts that worked (Bazilian, Hyman, Rojas) than hope to squeeze gold from a turnip. "All Night Long" and a cover of Left Banke's "Walk Away Renee" suggest commercial acceptance wasn't out of their grasp, but it was unlikely that Kagan's voice or storytelling style would ever resonate with a large audience. And then again, maybe it was the use of completely unrelated album artwork that did them in (this one features a head made out of vegetables).