AMBERGRIS
''AMBERGRIS''
1970
38:56
01 - Something Happened To Me/2:42
02 - Play On Player/3:05
03 - Gotta Find Her/3:51
04 - Chocolate Pudding/4:23
05 - Forget It, I Got It/4:17
06 - Walking On The Water/5:31
07 - Sunday Lady/3:11
08 - Home Groan/3:10
09 - Soul Food/3:13
10 - Endless Night/5:25
Credits By Discogs
Arranged By – Harry Max (tracks: 2, 6, 9), Jerry Weiss (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10)
Artwork By [Cover] – Thom Williams
Bass, Piano – Jerry Weiss
Drums – Gil Fields
Engineer – Tony May
Engineer [Re-mix] – Steve Cropper
Gong – Fred Lewis
Guitar, Harmonica – Billy Shay
Other [Direction] – Al Schwartz, Paul A. Sloman
Other [Production] – Forlenza Group, The
Photography – Steve Myers
Piano, Organ, Percussion – Larry Harlow
Producer – Steve Cropper
Trombone – Glenn John Miller
Trombone, Violin – Lewis Kahn
Trumpet [Lead] – Charlie Camilleri
Trumpet, Bass [String Bass], Violin – Harry Max
Vocals, Congas – Jimmy Maeulen
Review
By RDTEN1/RateYourMusic
If you're a Blood, Sweat and Tears, or early Chicago fan this one-off project might be of passing interest. Otherwise, you can stop reading right here ...
It's hard to believe now, but in the late 1960s/early 1970s horn rock was all the rage. Driven by the success David Clayton Thomas and BS&T, Chicago, and others enjoyed, record labels began scouring the countryside for any entity that could be marketed as a horn band. Paramount Records contribution to the feeding frenzy came in the form of Ambergris. If you were a horn band then bigger was apparently considered better and as a ten piece ensemble Ambergris was up there. The band featured the talents of drummer Gil Fields, keyboardist Larry Harlow, singer Jimmy Maeulen, guitarist Billy Shay, former BS&T bassist Jerry Weiss, and a horn section showcasing Charlie Camilleri, Lewis Kahn, Harry Max, and Glenn Jon Miller.
Produced by Steve Cropper, 1970's cleverly titled "Ambergris" should have resulted in something interesting, but judging by these ten tracks, these guys didn't bring anything original or unique to the genre and Cropper was apparently clueless as to what to do with them. Exemplified by tracks like 'Something Happened To Me'' and 'Endless Night' the players were all pretty good with Bill Shay distinguishing himself with a couple of impressive turns on guitar. Unfortunately, among the weakness, as lead singer Maeulen was an acquired taste; his raw voice managed to hold its own against the horns, but it wasn't all that much fun to listen to. Add to that none of the ten songs was particularly memorable, or impressive. Best of the lot was the oddly titled 'Chocolate Pudding'. From there on it was largely forgettable.
- 'Something Happened To Me' started off with some nice Larry Harlow harpsichord, but then you got hit by a 1-2-3 punch of Maeulin's flat, forced voice, Lewis Kahn's scratchy violin (bringing back chalk-on-a-blackboard memories), and the horns. Ouch !!! rating: ** stars
- 'Play On Player' found the band trying to get funky. Not a good musical, or career choice for them. rating: ** stars
- Starting out with a nice Billy Shay guitar figure (he also turned in a nice solo at the end of the song), and a breezy tropical feel, 'Gotta Find Her' started out promisingly enough, but then the group vocals and horn charts kicked in. Downhill from there. rating: ** stars
- I'll readily admit that it was lost on my middle class sensibilities, but 'Chocolate Pudding' was supposedly the band's anti-drug statement ... The first couple of times I heard the song I thought it had something to do with having caught a sexually transmittable disease ... I'll give it an extra star for the mildly interesting lyric and the fact Maeulen's lead vocal wasn't half bad on this one. rating: *** stars
- Kicked along by Larry Harlow's keyboards, 'Forget It, I Got It' wasn't awful. The song had a decent Latin rock edge and while the horns were a little too prominent for my tastes, the track actually became kind of funky and generated a bit of heat by the time it got to the end. rating: *** stars
- Opening up with some Harlow church organ and Maeulin mouthing some sort of non-sensical mumbo-jumbo (it sounded like a Gregorian chant), 'Walking On the Water' found the group apparently trying to make a big statement. Geez, I've already forgotten everything about the track ... rating: ** star
- 'Sunday Lady' was apparently intended as their attempt at a commercial ballad.. Credit Maeulin for toning down some of his bombast, but the song wasn't particularly good. rating: ** star
- Another group sung monstrosity, the only thing the rocker 'Home Groan'' had going for it was a brief Billy Shay guitar solo that was quickly swallowed by the horns. rating: * star
- Another attempt to get funky, 'Soul Food' was absolutely dreadful. Maeulen's limited voice simply didn't stand a chance against the busy horn charts. Not that it mattered one iota since the song was fragmented, tuneless, and about as much fun as bleeding gums. Nobody should have to work this hard to sound soulful. rating: * star
- 'Endless Night' found the band trying to dance between bluesy moves and a tropical feel before devolving into a completely discordant mess. Too bad none of the genres worked for them. Okay, I'll admit I liked Jerry Weiss' bass pattern. rating: * star
Paramount also tapped the album for a single in the form of:
- 1970's 'Forget It, I Got It' b/w 'Sunday Lady' (Paramount catalog number PAA-0027)
At least one review I've seen said something to the effect the cover art was the best thing about the album. That might be a little harsh ... emphasis on little. I'll readily admit I'm not a gigantic horn rock fan, but this one was a major disappointment all around. Even more so given Steve Cropper's involvement.
''AMBERGRIS''
1970
38:56
01 - Something Happened To Me/2:42
02 - Play On Player/3:05
03 - Gotta Find Her/3:51
04 - Chocolate Pudding/4:23
05 - Forget It, I Got It/4:17
06 - Walking On The Water/5:31
07 - Sunday Lady/3:11
08 - Home Groan/3:10
09 - Soul Food/3:13
10 - Endless Night/5:25
Credits By Discogs
Arranged By – Harry Max (tracks: 2, 6, 9), Jerry Weiss (tracks: 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10)
Artwork By [Cover] – Thom Williams
Bass, Piano – Jerry Weiss
Drums – Gil Fields
Engineer – Tony May
Engineer [Re-mix] – Steve Cropper
Gong – Fred Lewis
Guitar, Harmonica – Billy Shay
Other [Direction] – Al Schwartz, Paul A. Sloman
Other [Production] – Forlenza Group, The
Photography – Steve Myers
Piano, Organ, Percussion – Larry Harlow
Producer – Steve Cropper
Trombone – Glenn John Miller
Trombone, Violin – Lewis Kahn
Trumpet [Lead] – Charlie Camilleri
Trumpet, Bass [String Bass], Violin – Harry Max
Vocals, Congas – Jimmy Maeulen
Review
By RDTEN1/RateYourMusic
If you're a Blood, Sweat and Tears, or early Chicago fan this one-off project might be of passing interest. Otherwise, you can stop reading right here ...
It's hard to believe now, but in the late 1960s/early 1970s horn rock was all the rage. Driven by the success David Clayton Thomas and BS&T, Chicago, and others enjoyed, record labels began scouring the countryside for any entity that could be marketed as a horn band. Paramount Records contribution to the feeding frenzy came in the form of Ambergris. If you were a horn band then bigger was apparently considered better and as a ten piece ensemble Ambergris was up there. The band featured the talents of drummer Gil Fields, keyboardist Larry Harlow, singer Jimmy Maeulen, guitarist Billy Shay, former BS&T bassist Jerry Weiss, and a horn section showcasing Charlie Camilleri, Lewis Kahn, Harry Max, and Glenn Jon Miller.
Produced by Steve Cropper, 1970's cleverly titled "Ambergris" should have resulted in something interesting, but judging by these ten tracks, these guys didn't bring anything original or unique to the genre and Cropper was apparently clueless as to what to do with them. Exemplified by tracks like 'Something Happened To Me'' and 'Endless Night' the players were all pretty good with Bill Shay distinguishing himself with a couple of impressive turns on guitar. Unfortunately, among the weakness, as lead singer Maeulen was an acquired taste; his raw voice managed to hold its own against the horns, but it wasn't all that much fun to listen to. Add to that none of the ten songs was particularly memorable, or impressive. Best of the lot was the oddly titled 'Chocolate Pudding'. From there on it was largely forgettable.
- 'Something Happened To Me' started off with some nice Larry Harlow harpsichord, but then you got hit by a 1-2-3 punch of Maeulin's flat, forced voice, Lewis Kahn's scratchy violin (bringing back chalk-on-a-blackboard memories), and the horns. Ouch !!! rating: ** stars
- 'Play On Player' found the band trying to get funky. Not a good musical, or career choice for them. rating: ** stars
- Starting out with a nice Billy Shay guitar figure (he also turned in a nice solo at the end of the song), and a breezy tropical feel, 'Gotta Find Her' started out promisingly enough, but then the group vocals and horn charts kicked in. Downhill from there. rating: ** stars
- I'll readily admit that it was lost on my middle class sensibilities, but 'Chocolate Pudding' was supposedly the band's anti-drug statement ... The first couple of times I heard the song I thought it had something to do with having caught a sexually transmittable disease ... I'll give it an extra star for the mildly interesting lyric and the fact Maeulen's lead vocal wasn't half bad on this one. rating: *** stars
- Kicked along by Larry Harlow's keyboards, 'Forget It, I Got It' wasn't awful. The song had a decent Latin rock edge and while the horns were a little too prominent for my tastes, the track actually became kind of funky and generated a bit of heat by the time it got to the end. rating: *** stars
- Opening up with some Harlow church organ and Maeulin mouthing some sort of non-sensical mumbo-jumbo (it sounded like a Gregorian chant), 'Walking On the Water' found the group apparently trying to make a big statement. Geez, I've already forgotten everything about the track ... rating: ** star
- 'Sunday Lady' was apparently intended as their attempt at a commercial ballad.. Credit Maeulin for toning down some of his bombast, but the song wasn't particularly good. rating: ** star
- Another group sung monstrosity, the only thing the rocker 'Home Groan'' had going for it was a brief Billy Shay guitar solo that was quickly swallowed by the horns. rating: * star
- Another attempt to get funky, 'Soul Food' was absolutely dreadful. Maeulen's limited voice simply didn't stand a chance against the busy horn charts. Not that it mattered one iota since the song was fragmented, tuneless, and about as much fun as bleeding gums. Nobody should have to work this hard to sound soulful. rating: * star
- 'Endless Night' found the band trying to dance between bluesy moves and a tropical feel before devolving into a completely discordant mess. Too bad none of the genres worked for them. Okay, I'll admit I liked Jerry Weiss' bass pattern. rating: * star
Paramount also tapped the album for a single in the form of:
- 1970's 'Forget It, I Got It' b/w 'Sunday Lady' (Paramount catalog number PAA-0027)
At least one review I've seen said something to the effect the cover art was the best thing about the album. That might be a little harsh ... emphasis on little. I'll readily admit I'm not a gigantic horn rock fan, but this one was a major disappointment all around. Even more so given Steve Cropper's involvement.