Eye To Eye

Eye To Eye - Eye To Eye - 1982 - Warner Bros

The great producer, Gary Katz will probably be mostly associated with many of Steely Dan's great recordings, especially the legendary "The Nightfly" album for Donald Fagen, but he has produced many great recordings for artists as diverse as Bobby Darin, Mamas & Papas, Steppenwolf, Three Dog Night, 10 CC, & Joe Cocker. He is also a renowned A&R man/talent scout, and signed up artists like Jim Croce, Chaka Khan, Prince, Dire Straits, Christopher Cross and Rickie Lee Jones, mainly for Warner Bros. He was sent a recording of the American/British duo, Eye To Eye, was interested in their sound, and agreed to produce their debut album. It is a very good album full of quirky lyrics and catchy tunes. Katz, as is the norm with him assembled some of the best session musicians available, including part time Steely Dan members like Elliott Randall and Dean Parks to play on the album. Donald Fagen, himself played synth on "On The Mend." A single from this album, "Nice Girls" hit the Billboard Top 40." In 1983 they released their 2nd album "Shakespeare Stole My Baby" including the Billboard Top 100 single hit tune "Lucky." Again, it had an all star session list of credits, but had a much lesser impact than the first release which had been well reviewed by the New York Times and had also sold over 80,000 copies in the U.S. However, over the two albums, Warner Bros lost out financially. In 1983, Julian Marshall and Deborah Berg, had a band assembled which was comprised mainly of British musicians. They played a few N.Y gigs and were offered support band slot to a planned U.S tour by Fleetwood Mac. Warner, understandably were reluctant to finance Eye To Eye, and sadly the duo broke up soon after. It could have been their big break back then. Who knows? This very rare debut album from Eye To Eye is well worth listening to. Deborah's great voice combines the sounds of Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, and Sade. The album has unusual quirky lyrics, very catchy tunes, and some crack musicians. .Eye To Eye's music has been described as heavily influenced Steely Dan "Basia-vein pop," and that is a good description. There was a single released by"Eye To Eye" called "Am I Normal ?" c/w "Tonight Insomnia" on Automatic Records UK. This single should be worth seeking out. In 2005, "Eye To Eye" recorded a third album, "Clean Slate," which has received some great reviews. It is also worth checking out the "Zazu" album, by Rosie Vela @ R.VELA/ZAZU , which is another Katz production in a similar style - unusual song structures, quirky lyrics, and clever hooks played by the Katz/Steely Dan ensemble. But if you really want to hear a classic and criminally underrated album, again in this music style, check out the superb "Flaunt The Imperfection" album by China Crisis. Incredibly cryptic lyrics, but every track is a rock masterpiece.The album, "surprisingly" enough was produced by The Dan's Walter Becker. Enough said.

TRACKS

Hunger Pains
Life In Motion
Nice Girls
More Hopeless Knowledge
Progress Ahead
Physical Attraction
Time Flys
On The Mend

All compositions by Julian Marshall & Deborah Berg

MUSICIANS

Julian Marshall - Keyboards
Deborah Berg - Vocals
Donald Fagen - Synthesizer on "On The Mend."
Jeff Porcaro - Drums
Jim Keltner - Drums
Chuck Rainey - Bass
Abraham Laboriel - Bass
Rick Derringer - Guitar
Elliott Randall - Guitar
Dean Parks - Guitar
Ian Underwood - Keyboards
Starz Vanderlocket - Percussion
Rush Underwood - Marimba
Timothy B. Schmit - Background Vocals
Produced by Gary Katz

BIO (Wikipedia)

Eye to Eye are a duo formed by Seattle, USA singer Deborah Berg and English pianist Julian Marshall. They first met in San Diego in 1980 at a performance of the dance ensemble Mostly Women Moving, for whom Berg danced. Berg had been injured and sang instead of dancing on the night of the performance Marshall attended; he spoke with Berg and a few weeks later asked her to fly to England to record with him. A deal with Automatic Records followed soon after, and their first single, "Am I Normal?", came out later that year. Signing with Warner Bros. Records, they released their debut album in 1981, and the lead single "Nice Girls" cracked the Top 40 in the US. A second album followed in 1983, produced by Steely Dan producer Gary Katz, but it did not receive much label support and did not sell well. In 2001, the members reunited, and in 2005 released a third album.

EYE TO EYE HISTORY

Eye to Eye was born in 1980 after a chance encounter between Julian Marshall and Deborah Berg in San Diego, California. Julian and his wife, Arabella, attended a dance performance by the San Francisco-based dance collective Mostly Women Moving, with whom Deborah danced and sang. She had a knee injury, so she sang instead of danced that night, and her voice dazzled Julian. They exchanged phone numbers, and, upon his return to London, Julian invited Deborah to fly across the Atlantic and try writing together. Three weeks later, Deborah and Julian had a tape of demos and a record deal in the works. Their first single, 1980's "Am I Normal?," attracted the attention of Steely Dan producer Gary Katz in Los Angeles at a Warner Brothers Artist and Repertoire meeting. Soon, Julian and Deborah signed with Warner Brothers in the States and were recording in Los Angeles with some of the world's finest session players. Deborah and Julian recorded two albums for Warner Brothers, both produced by Gary Katz. Their self-titled debut came out in 1981 and eventually sold 80,000 copies in the United States. "Nice Girls," the album's single, scored them a Billboard Top 40 hit. Deborah and Julian undertook a successful East Coast tour in support of the album, and received a wonderful review from New York Times reporter Stephen Holden. Their second album "Shakespeare Stole my Baby" was released in 1982. To their disappointment, the album sank without much notice. It has, of course, been reissued to considerable critical acclaim. After their second album, Julian and Deborah put the band on hiatus while they both dedicated their time to family and other pursuits. In 2001, Julian flew to New York, fired up with enthusiasm to play and sing with Deborah again. He came with the idea of forming a jazz quintet with her, but after one listen to old Eye to Eye songs, they reawakened the band. Many trips across the Atlantic later (with enormous apologies to the environment) and armed with eleven new songs, Eye to Eye recorded again. Roxy Music producer Rhett Davies co-produced this album, and recording took place in both New York City and Devonshire. Eye to Eye's third album, 'Clean Slate,' was born on June 27, 2005, and is currently being promoted in the United Kingdom to great response. This vibrant duo's smooth sound and evocative lyrics herald a new chapter in Eye to Eye's fantastic story. © www.eyetoeyemusic.com/secondary/theBand.html

MORE ABOUT THE DUO [ Words © from Adult Music In Japan]

"Eye To Eye" is the duo comprising of Julian Marshall, keyboard player coming from UK, and Deborah Berg, female vocalist coming from Seattle,USA. Julian Marshall had done another duo with female singer, "Marshall Hain" in late 70's, which released the album "Free Ride" in UK (same album released in USA was titled as "Dancing In The City". The reason why this unknown pop duo "Eye To Eye" was remarked was, as you guess, the works produced by Gary Katz known for his producing works with Steely Dan. It is said that "Eye To Eye" started its duo activity in 1979 by releasing their single record "Am I Normal ?" c/w "Tonight Insomnia" under Automatic Records UK. In 1982, they released 1st album "Eye To Eye" produced by Gary Katz and first single "Nice Girls" hit Billboard Top 40. Only one year later, they released their 2nd album "Shakespeare Stole My Baby" including the Billboard Top 100 single hit tune "Lucky". If I explain to their music style, "Eye To Eye" was "pop heavily influenced from Steely Dan."