Elkie Brooks

Elkie Brooks - Live And Learn - 1979 - A&M Records

"Live And Learn" was released on the back of two AOR hit singles "Don't Cry Out Loud" and "The Runaway", neither of which was included on this album. The legendary Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller who had previously worked with Elkie Brooks produced the album and also had a hand in penning six of the album's 10 tracks. Elkie's early career was as a jazz blues singer. She was a member of the brilliant but short lived blues rock band, Vinegar Joe, which also included the late Robert Palmer. Around 1979, disco flavoured music was still popular and a big seller, and Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller produced the album with a strong funk and disco feel which was not popular with many of Elkie's blues fan base. Some of the songs on "Live And Learn" were released as singles without any chart success which greatly diminished this album's promotion by A&M. Also, Elkie had become pregnant while recording the album and A&M delayed promotion even further. Nevertheless, Elkie Brooks has long been one of Britain's greatest and most enduring jazz blues singers, and similar to vocalists like Paul Carrack, and Paul Rodgers, Elkie has the ability to often make a mediocre song sound good. This is not a mediocre album, and the disco element should not put you off listening to a good album. "Live and Learn" reached No.34 and was 6 weeks in the UK album charts. Interestingly, one track "He Could Of Been An Army" was written by Lieber, Stoller and the great Mickey Jupp. There are also songs by Alan Toussaint, Dozier & Holland and others. Elkie herself, helped write "Dreamdealer", and "Not Enough Lovin' Left". Musicians on the album include Paulinho Da Costa and Fred Tackett on guitar, Jean Roussel and Mike Stoller on keys, Hal Blaine on drums, the Tower of Power Horn Section, and Venetta Fields and Jim Gilstrap on backing vocals. Listen to Elkie's live "Don't Cry Out Loud" album, and her "Rich Man's Woman" album, and search this blog for related releases [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 89.4 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

A1 Viva La Money - Alan Toussaint 3:23
A2 On The Horizon - Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller 3:31
A3 He Could Of Been An Army - Mickey Jupp, Leiber & Stoller 4:31
A4 The Rising Cost Of Love - Len Ron Hanks, Zane Grey, Bobby Martin 5:01
A5 Dreamdealer - Leiber, Stoller, Elike Brooks, Pete Gage 4:01

B1 Who's Making Love - Homer Banks, Don Davis, Bettye Crutcher, Raymond Jackson 3:37
B2 If You Can Beat Me Rockin' (You Can Have My Chair) - Ronald Dunbar, Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland 3:22
B3 The Heartache Is On - Leiber, John Sembello 3:24
B4 Not Enough Lovin' Left - Brooks, Gage, Leiber, Stoller 3:48
B5 Falling Star - Leiber, Stoller 4:09

MUSICIANS

Elkie Brooks - Vocals
Marlow Henderson, Spencer Bean, Paulinho Da Costa, Paul Warren, Oliver Leiber, Fred Tackett, Tim May, Adam Chase Benay - Guitars
Scott Edwards, Ed Watkins Jr, Brian Garofalo - Bass
Jean Roussel - Keyboards
John Barnes, Mike Stoller - Piano/Keyboards
Michael Boddicker - Synthesizers
James Gadson, Ed Greene, Hal Blaine - Drums
Corky Hale - Harp
Lenny Pickett - Woodwind
Marni Robinson, Alan Robinson, Jim Decker, Steve Kupka, Emilio Castillo, Lenny Pickett, Mic Gillette, Greg Adams [Tower of Power Horn Section] - Horns
Venetta Fields, Darlene Love, Julia Tillman Waters, Maggie Henry, Jim Gilstrap, Oren Waters - Backing Vocals

SHORT BIO

British pop-jazz-blues crooner Elkie Brooks (born Elaine Bookbinder) dominated U.K. radio in the late '70s with a series of hit singles that established her as "the biggest-selling female album artist in the history of the British pop charts." The Manchester native, who grew up in an extremely musical family, left school at the age of 15 to join a dance band in London. She eventually mad the jump to radio, as well as numerous appearances with legendary jazz bandleader Humphrey Lyttelton, before embarking on a career in pop music. The early '60s saw the budding young singer releasing singles for Decca and EMI, as well as opening for everyone from Carl Perkins to the Beatles, but commercial success remained elusive. She joined the blues-rock band Dada in 1970, which would eventually find success through a name change (Vinegar Joe) and the arrival of a new vocalist, Robert Palmer. The popular group released three beloved records before disbanding in 1974, and after a brief stint with U.S. Southern rock band Wet Willie, Brooks decided to take another crack at a solo career. The resulting Rich Man's Woman, Two Days Away, Shooting Star, Live & Learn, Pearls, and Pearls II, as well as frequent sold-out tours and numerous silver, gold, and platinum recordings, would go on to cement her reputation well into the 21st century. © James Christopher Monger © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/elkie-brooks-mn0000797077