Places & Faces From June 2015

Van Halen formed in 1974, but emerged in public view with the 1978 release of their self-titled debut album, which quickly established them as the hottest American hard-rock band since Aerosmith. The band reinvigorated hard rock during a period of doldrums by bringing youthful, West Coast bravado and blistering virtuosity to the genre. They delivered their music with an unrelenting intensity and musicality that audiences devoured, launching them to superstardom and restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene. After 30 years and 11 studio releases —four of which reached Number One—, Van Halen has sold more than 56 million records in the U.S., which places them among the top 20 best-selling artists of all time…

It’s safe to say that there is no other recording in the catalog of drummer and vocalist Buddy Miles like this one. Recorded in 1974 and produced by the great Johnny Bristol, this places Miles in a strictly soul setting with some funky backdrops in places – thanks to the arrangements by H.B. Barnum – and while it never rocks, it rolls throughout.

Canadian brass rock band Lighthouse were formed in Toronto 1969. Unusually, the band leader Ronn "Skip" Prokop was a drummer, he has played previously with artists such as Janis Joplin, Carlos Santana and Al Kooper before forming his first band The Paupers. Of these, the Kooper connection is probably the most significant, as the music of Lighthouse is based around a solid brass section and big arrangements, similar to those of Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago.
Prokop's ambitions were made clear from the outset when the first line up of Lighthouse had no less than 11 members. The were quickly picked up by RCA Victor, who release the bands self titled debut in 1969. Further albums followed quickly, but the punningly titled "Peacing it all together", their third release, would see the end of their relationship with RCA…