Gallagher & Lyle

Gallagher & Lyle - Seeds - 1973 - A&M

Benny Gallagher, and Graham Lyle from Largs, Ayrshire, Scotland, began their songwriting career in 1964 with 'Mr. Heartbreak's Here Instead', a single for Dean Ford And The Gaylords. They later moved to London, and composed for the Apple label. The great Welsh singer, Mary Hopkin recorded the duo's great 'International' song. In 1969, G&L joined the great pub rock band McGuinness Flint, and penned the brilliant 'When I'm Dead And Gone' and 'Malt And Barley Blues', which really brought G&L's name to the forefront of good pop rock music. After leaving McGuinness Flint, in 1971, they recorded a few melodic pop rock songs without any real success. G&L released a debut album on the Capitol label, which was re-released by A&M Recotds, with whom they signed in March 1973. Their first official A&M album was produced by the great record producer, Glyn Johns, who had worked with artists like Bob Dylan, and The Beatles. Glyn Johns also produced "Seeds". Shortly after, they joined Ronnie Lane's Slim Chance, until May 1974, and during this time they recorded the ‘Seeds’ album, posted here and also penned five songs for Dennis Coulson's Elektra album. After leaving Slim Chance they recorded a few albums which contained some very good "folk rockish" songs, but the success of these almost forgotten albums, were nowhere near as successful as their McGuinness Flint days. In 1976 they wrote the great, and very successful ‘Breakaway’, 'I Wanna Stay With You' and 'Heart On My Sleeve' songs, which have been recorded by many artists. By 1979, the duo had split up. Read the bios of G&L further down this post for a better insight into these guys' talents.

Gallagher & Lyle beef up their folk-based sound from previous albums on this recording produced by Glyn Johns. The duo adds several uptempo cuts in a more rock-oriented vein, using saxophone on the opening and most rock-oriented cut, "Country Morning." Harmonicas add energy to the second song, the uptempo "A Misspent Youth," one of several songs with a social edge. Both Gallagher and Lyle have thin voices, but on songs which have an edge of melancholy, such as "Remember Then," and "The Clearings," (two of the outstanding tracks) the voice quality lends itself to good effect. Although many songs on the album deal with regret or loss, there are several which tip the balance in favor of upbeat moods and feeling. Also, melodies and arrangements are strong throughout the album. Side One is particularly effective, with each song having a particular mood of its own. Although Gallagher & Lyle headed more into mainstream rock production values with their next effort, this transitional effort is their best album overall. © Michael Ofjord, All Music Guide

Although "Seeds" spawned no major success for the duo, and most of these songs are hardly ever heard on the media, there is not a bad track on the album. Benny Gallagher, & Graham Lyle were superb songwriters, and "Seeds", which is a very neglected album, contains some of G&L's best compositions. Check out the pair's "Willie & the Lap Dog" album

TRACKS

1. Country Morning
2. Misspent Youth
3. I Believe In You
4. Sleepy Head
5. Layna
6. The Clearings
7. Remember Then
8. Seeds Of Change
9. Shine A Light
10. Randolf & Me
11. Cape Cod Houses
12. Seeds

All songs composed by Benny Gallagher, & Graham Lyle

BIO (WIKIPEDIA)

Graham Lyle (born Graham Hamilton Lyle, 11 March 1944, Bellshill, Lanarkshire, Scotland). Benny Gallagher (born Bernard Joseph Gallagher, 10 June 1945, Largs, Ayrshire, Scotland). Gallagher and Lyle was the Scottish pairing of singer-songwriters Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle. They joined forces in 1959, initially as members of the local Largs based band, The Bluefrets. They began writing original material for the band and also wrote "Mr Heartbreak's Here Instead" for Dean Ford and the Gaylords (later to become Marmalade). Their first recognition came in 1968, when they were signed by The Beatles to write for Apple Records' musicians such as Mary Hopkin ("Sparrow", "The Fields of St. Etienne", "International", "Heritage", and "Jefferson"). There was a rare one-off single issued on UK Polydor 56093 in 1967; "Trees" b/w "In The Crowd" issued under the name Gallagher-Lyle, which preceded their success as songwriters at Apple. By 1970, they had joined McGuinness Flint, and penned the UK Singles Chart Top 10 hit singles "When I'm Dead and Gone" and "Malt and Barley Blues", both produced by Glyn Johns. In the wake of the singer-songwriter phenomenon, they formed the duo Gallagher and Lyle in 1972, recording four albums: Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle, Willie and the Lapdog, Seeds, and The Last Cowboy again under the auspices of Glyn Johns. But it was not until their fifth album, Breakaway, in 1976, that they charted again, with the hits "Heart on My Sleeve" and "I Wanna Stay with You", both of which reached Number 6 in the UK Singles Chart. Art Garfunkel's cover of "Breakaway" was also a hit at the time, and Don Williams took "Stay Young" to No. 1 on the U.S. country chart, which saw the song receive in excess of one million airplays on American radio. The duo also penned and performed "A Heart in New York", which was later performed by both Simon & Garfunkel and Garth Brooks in their concerts in Central Park, New York to audiences of 500,000 and 750,000, respectively. Their mellow sound was only briefly in vogue, and elusive further success (another minor hit in the UK was "Every Little Teardrop") prompted their split in 1979. Lyle formed a new songwriting partnership with Terry Britten, and their hits included "What's Love Got to Do with It?" and "We Don't Need Another Hero" for Tina Turner; and "Just Good Friends" for Michael Jackson. He also recorded an album with Tom McGuinness, credited to Lyle McGuinness: Acting on Impulse (1983). Gallagher spent nine years as a founding director and the first chairman of the Performing Artists Media Rights Association (PAMRA), which saw £20 million of equitable remuneration paid through to UK performers under his stewardship. He has been deemed a companion of LIPA, Sir Paul McCartney's school of performing arts in Liverpool, and spent a brief spell as bassist and vocalist of The Manfreds, which included five of the original members of Manfred Mann, featuring both lead singers, Paul Jones and Mike D'Abo, in the same band for the first time touring the UK, Europe, the Middle and Far East, Australia and New Zealand. Gallagher is currently a featured artist and co-owner of OnSong (an internet based record label) with Derek Wilson. Gallagher has released two albums as a solo artist - Benny Gallagher on Stage and more recently, At the Edge of the Wave. Gallagher and Lyle sang and performed as members of Ronnie Lane and The Slim Chance Band on the hit single "How Come" and the ensuing album, Anymore for Anymore, and they have worked, jointly and individually, on records with Mary Hopkin, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, Ronnie Lane, Ronnie Wood, Elkie Brooks, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Champion Jack Dupree, Joan Armatrading, Ralph McTell, Sandy Denny, Fairport Convention and Jim Diamond. In addition to those already mentioned, artists who have recorded and released Gallagher and Lyle songs include: Bryan Ferry, Colin Blunstone, Donavon Frankenreiter, Elkie Brooks, Fairport Convention, Fury in the Slaughterhouse, Joe Brown, Judith Durham, Little Anthony & The Imperials, Phil Everly, Ricky Nelson, Ringo Starr, Rita Coolidge, Status Quo, The Fureys, Lemon Jelly and Jim Capaldi.

MORE ABOUT THE DUO

The pop duo phenomenon that spawned such acts as Simon & Garfunkel, Brewer & Shipley and Seals & Crofts was pre-dated by the duo formed by songwriters, guitarists and vocalists Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle. Initially attracting attention as songwriters of Dean Ford & the Gaylords' single, "Mr. Heartbreak's Here Instead," Gallagher & Lyle went on to record as a duo and members of McGuinness Flint and Ronnie Lane's group, the Last Chance Band. Gallagher and Lyle continued to balance their performances and recordings as staff songwriters for the Beatles' Apple label, writing "Sparrow" and "International" for Mary Hopkin. The title track of their sixth duo album, Breakaway, was later covered by Art Garfunkel. Gallagher & Lyle first played together in Largos, a small town in Argyle, Scotland., near Glasgow. Relocating to London in 1967, the duo became full-time writers at Apple. Three years later, they joined with Tom McGuinness and Hughie Flint to form McGuinness Flint. Although they recorded two successful singles, "When I'm Dead and Gone" and "Malt and Barley Blues," the group disbanded in 1971. Recording their self-titled debut duo album for Capitol, Gallagher & Lyle switched to the A&M label by their second effort. Their first release on A&M, however, was a reissue of their debut album. In the spring of 1974, Gallagher and Lyle joined Ronnie Lane's Last Chance Band, remaining with the group until May 1974. The duo balanced their work with the band with additional duo albums, How Come and The Last Cowboy. They continued to record on their own following the breakup of the group. Breakaway was released in 1975, Love on the Airwaves in 1977 and Show Down in 1978. Switching to the Phonogram label, they recorded their final album, Lonesome No More in 1979. Following a tour to support the album, the duo went their seperate ways. Lyle continued to write, in collaboration with Terry Britten, reaching his peak with "What's Love Got to Do With It," covered by Tina Turner, and "Just Good Friends," recorded by Michael Jackson. © Craig Harris, allmusic.com