Rare+earth

The first album of new material from the new look Rare Earth features a nice piece of artwork on the front. Beyond the sleeve is a set of new material plus some covers. Of the latter, the band strangely choose to re-visit "Tobacco Road" from their first Get Ready album. The inclusion of Lennon and McCartney's "Lady Madonna" and the Four Tops' "Reach Out I'll Be There" doesn't really do them any favours. Far more interesting are the newer songs…

Rare Earth is an American rock band affiliated with Motown's Rare Earth record label (named after the band), which prospered from 1970–1972. Although not the first white band signed to Motown, Rare Earth was the first big hit-making act signed by Motown that consisted only of white members…

Clocking in at 75 minutes, this single-CD release is probably as much Rare Earth as most casual fans want (even though it only contains nine songs), and as a mid-priced item it's doubly attractive…

Rare Earth's Motown debut is as well-oiled as a new V-8, and so are its liner notes: "In this age of ego-tripping freak bands, Rare Earth has stood pretty much alone. Each cat stands handsomely tall as if from a fashion rack at Carnaby…

This is part of Sony Music's budget cd releases and it's an excellent live recording of Rare Earth as they sound today. For those interested there are three original members of the group but drummer Peter Rivera who sang "Get Ready" and "I Just Want To Celebrate" plus many more is no longer with Rare Earth, having left to pursue a solo career in the early eighties…

The difference with this album and Rare Earth's previous release in 1978 is that the Grand Slam LP featured a Barry Gibb and Albhy Galuten tune with no input from those two individuals. The addition of Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, and Robin Gibb on "Warm Ride" off this quick follow-up features the Bee Gees singing, and it's that extra attention which made this the last of Rare Earth's half-a-dozen 1970s hits. What was really needed, though, was production from Barry, Robin, Maurice, and their partners in crime, Karl Richardson and Albhy Galuten, skills which might've brought the single "Warm Ride" further up the charts…

Two strong tracks propelled Ecology up the pop charts: the swaggering, bravado-laden "Born to Wander," written by Tom Baird, and a hard-hitting, rocking rendition of the Temptations' "I Know I'm Losing You," written by Cornelius Grant, Eddie Holland, and Norman Whitfield; the epic remake of the latter is almost eleven minutes of pure funk-rock…

What was necessary for this Motown act was a bit of an identity come the third album, and One World did nothing to define the individuals of this sextet, but Norman Whitfield's machine shop production on the remake of "(I Know) I'm Losing You," from the previous Ecology album, was pure genius…

Perhaps more of an advocate for contemporary music than any other major pianist essentially rooted in traditional repertory, Maurizio Pollini was born in Milan, Italy. He learned quickly and was given piano lessons from Carlo Lonati from an early age, making his public debut at the age of nine. Enrolling in the Milan Conservatory, he studied with Carlo Vidusso. In 1957 he performed a recital of Chopin etudes in Milan that drew favorable attention from the national Italian press. He won a second prize in the 1958 Geneva Competition. Embarking on further studies with Arturo Benedetto Michelangeli, he won first prize in the Warsaw Chopin competition in 1960…

Arguably the first hard rock album released by the Motown-owned Rare Earth imprint, 1970's The Gospel According to Zeus was also the first and last recording by Detroit heavy rockers Power of Zeus. Needless to say, these two facts were inextricably linked, as the producers and engineers responsible for fueling the Motown hit factory had little or no understanding of what it took to capture the new decade's Earth-shaking hard rock sounds in their studios…