Average White Band

Average White Band ‎- Aftershock - 1988 - Track Record Company

The Average White Band were down to a trio consisting of singer/bassist Alan Gorrie, guitarist/singer Onnie McIntyre, and saxophonist Roger Ball on Aftershock, the band's first new album in six years. The threesome brought in a lot of session players, however, starting with Alex Ligertwood, who sang on three songs, and Elliot Lewis, who handled keyboards and programming, and including such friends as Chaka Khan and the Ohio Players. Producer John Robie, known for his mechanistic dance tracks, emphasized Average White Band's traditional funk sound without finding an effective way to update it, resulting in an album that was faithful to the band's heyday but did not address its career decline. © William Ruhlmann © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/aftershock-mw0000203457

There are no tracks on this album to equal the quality of "Atlantic Avenue", "You Got It", or "Pick Up The Pieces". Many AWB fans would agree that the last truly good album from the band was "Warmer Communications" in 1978. The AWB's early stuff with the late, great drummer Robbie McIntosh who died in 1974 and also much of the band's music with guitarist Hamish Stuart who left in 1982 was funkier and had more R&B and soul than the band's later stuff which mellowed, became more commercial, and lost a lot of that "blue eyed soul" grit. The band split in 1982 but in 1988 Gorrie, Ball, and Mclntyre re-formed the Average White Band and released "Aftershock" which is an underrated album and contains a lot of the essence of the mid-seventies band sound. Musicians included former Santana vocalist Alex Ligertwood and new keyboardist Elliot Lewis. Comparisons could be made to Little Feat who many people said could never be the same without Lowell George, but are still going strong and producing some great music. Likewise with the AWB who still play concerts. Throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, the AWB has featured many different lineups as well as some of the founding members. This great band's music can never be discounted. Listen to AWB's "Warmer Communications" album [All tracks @ 320 Kbps: File size = 81.1 Mb]

TRACKS / COMPOSERS

1 The Spirit Of Love - Alan Gorrie, Eliot Lewis 4:05
2 Sticky Situation - Alan Gorrie, Kevin Calhoun, Matt Noble 4:29
3 Aftershock - Alan Gorrie, Dennis Lambert, Franne Golde 4:07
4 Love At First Sight - Ohio Players 4:47
5 I'll Get Over You - Alan Gorrie, Kevin Calhoun, Matt Noble 4:32
6 Later We'll Be Greater - Elliot Lewis, John Robie, Roger Ball 3:52
7 Let's Go All The Way - Alan Gorrie, Eliot Lewis 5:53
8 We're In Too Deep - Alan Gorrie, Eliot Lewis 3:54
9 Stocky Sachoo-A-Shun - Alan Gorrie, Kevin Calhoun, Matt Noble 1:38

MUSICIANS

Alex Ligertwood - Vocals (Track 4), Backing Vocals (Tracks 2,5), Dennis Lambert - Backing Vocals (Track 3), Franne Golde - Backing Vocals (Track 3), Jean McLain - Backing Vocals (Track 3)
Alan Gorrie - Guitar, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals
Eliot Lewis - Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Vocals
Onnie McIntyre - Guitar, Vocals
Roger Ball - Keyboards, Alto Saxophone
Billy Beck - Keyboards - (Track 4)
Ronnie Laws - Soprano Saxophone (Track 1)
Chaka Khan - Vocals (Tracks 1,7)
Ohio Players - Backing Vocals

BIO

Their self-effacing name to the contrary, Average White Band was anything but -- one of the few white groups to cross the color line and achieve success and credibility playing funk, with their tight, fiery sound also belying their Scottish heritage, evoking American R&B hotbeds like Detroit, Memphis, and Philadelphia instead. Singer/bassist Alan Gorrie, guitarists Hamish Stuart and Onnie McIntyre, tenor saxophonist Malcolm Duncan, keyboardist/saxophonist Roger Ball, and drummer Robbie McIntosh comprised the original Average White Band lineup. Veterans of numerous Scottish soul and jazz groups, they made their debut in 1973 as the opening act at Eric Clapton's Rainbow Theatre comeback gig, soon issuing their debut LP, Show Your Hand, to little notice. After adopting the abbreviated moniker AWB, a year later the band issued their self-titled sophomore effort, topping the American pop charts with the Arif Mardin-produced instrumental "Pick Up the Pieces." The record's mammoth success was nevertheless tempered by the September 23, 1974 death of McIntosh, who died at a Hollywood party after overdosing on heroin. Ex-Bloodstone drummer Steve Ferrone replaced McIntosh for AWB's third album, 1975's Cut the Cake, which scored a Top Ten hit with its title track as well as two other chart entries, "If I Ever Lose This Heaven" and "School Boy Crush." (Put It Where You Want It, issued later that same year, was simply a retitled and repackaged Show Your Hand.) With 1976's Soul Searching, the group reclaimed the full Average White Band name, scoring their final Top 40 hit with "Queen of My Soul." Following the live Person to Person, they issued Benny & Us, a collaboration with soul legend Ben E. King. However, after subsequent outings, including 1978's Warmer Communications, 1979's Feel No Fret, and 1980's Shine, failed to recapture the energy of AWB's peak, the group dissolved in 1982, with Ferrone later joining Duran Duran and Stuart recording with Paul McCartney. Gorrie, Ball, and McIntyre reformed Average White Band in 1989, tapping vocalist Alex Ligertwood for their comeback effort Aftershock. Oft-sampled by hip-hop producers throughout the 1990s, the group continued touring prior to releasing Soul Tattoo in 1996. The live album, Face to Face, followed three years later. Jason Ankeny © 2012 Rovi Corp | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-average-white-band-mn0000064454