Gino Vannelli

This release from the BGO label combines two of Gino Vannelli's albums for A&M, Powerful People (1974) and Storm at Sunup (1975). Both releases peaked in the Top 60 of the Billboard 200, while “People Gotta Move” – the lead song on the former – was one of Vannelli’s biggest singles and narrowly missed the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100. Those who pick up a well-chosen Vannelli compilation can get the essential songs, but soft rock diehards can obtain a fair amount of Vannelli’s choice album-bound material right here.

Crazy Life was Gino Vannelli’s debut album for A&M. Word has it that Gino, frustrated with being unable to secure a record deal in Los Angeles, hung out early in the morning at A&M’s lot and waited for someone of importance to show up. When a startled Herb Alpert encountered Vannelli in the parking lot, he agreed to an audition, signed Vannelli, and produced the debut album. Crazy Life was the gamble that A&M took on this relatively unknown talent, one that would pay off in future years with hits like "People Gotta Move" and "I Just Wanna Stop" for A&M.
Looking back on much of Gino’s mid-era A&M output, Crazy Life actually sounds less dated than many of his other albums. All the elements were there in the beginning: jazz inflections, "pop" vocals about love and relationships…

The journey Niels Lan Doky and Gino Vannelli have undertaken in this album is - most of all - a rejoining journey. A reunion with their own roots ("A Word To My Father"), with their most intimate affections ("Tout Depend De Nous"), with Nature ("The War Of A Lonesome Dove"), with the World ("Close Your Eyes") and Spirituality ("Karumi"). To rejoin all this is to perceive Opposites and Conflicts as mere appearances. As such, melody and dissonance, sound and silence, perfect and unperfect, sacred and profane share the same, radiant Light. Recognising such differences means to solve them, to focus where the beauty and unity are coming from. This is "Haitek Haiku": at the same time an ideal Myth, a Project and a Sound.
In the heterogenity of its ten tracks, hypertechnological and hyperhuman coexist with one another…

Gino Vannelli's Yonder Tree is a musical breath of fresh air from a gifted artist who can perform just about anything he wants to. However with Yonder Tree, the listener truly feels his exuberance and his human compassion as he explores themes of romance and moral consciousness in a musical genre that is so well suited to his voice.
With Yonder Tree, Gino delves into his gift for lush arranging and presents us with a beautifully orchestrated work that is romantic, eclectic, and highlights his most beautiful instrument, his voice, in a way that his three previous albums did not. This is yet another overlooked and underappreciated effort from an artist who is constantly evolving and dares his audience to join him on the journey. Those who are able to be touched by a genuine artist whose primary goal is to touch the heart and soul with his music will enjoy the ride.

The stories that Gino tells in this work, his 14th album, seem to be clearly reflective of life experiences of an "inconsolable". Gino looks deeply into the mirror at his own reflection, and that of the culture he lives in, critically relfects on what he sees, and lyrically and musically expresses his insights.

Gino Vannelli is one of the few artists to effortlessly navigate between pop and R&B. With the songs "Walking," "The Surest Things Can Change," and his 1978 classic "I Just Wanna Stop," Vannelli's work is always filled with both skill and passion. After six successful years at A&M he signed with Arista in 1981. Nightwalker is his label debut. During the three years between albums, not only did pop music come into vogue again, but he grew as a writer and singer. This album reflects the change. The dramatic title track has him singing overripe lyrics like "I can't live in this world without love, without you." The powerful "Put the Weight on My Shoulders" has him doing some good vocal riffs…