Their unyielding devotion to this art form reached an apex on their sophomore effort entitled AM Waves. "Midnight In Richmond" is not only a perfect audio artifact, it's also as catchy as hell.
"Lenny" channels Kenny Loggins, who's last name first initial stuck on his first name would be the title of the song. Coincidence? I think NOT! (Laugh out loud) These guys can both sing in real falsettos and their vocal arrangements are rife with David Foster and Gary Katz tendencies. "Take It Or Leave It" is another superb mid-tempo number with a delicate but satisfying hook. There are two other fairly unknown west coast bands that again come to mind. Far Cry and the highly underrated Larson Feiten Band. It's as if someone took a snow globe of lost west coast music then shook it up and what settled is YGSF.
"Underdog" continues the perfect streak of sonic delight. Another sunny, mid-tempo melody with more thoughtful vocal arrangements and perky horn charts that actually could be a keyboard playing their part. Either way it doesn't matter. There is more musical substance on this one track than on entire albums. "Mojo Rising" marries an early 80's Hall & Oates vocal arrangement with Richard Page atmospherics. This is top down late night city driving soundtrack music.
"Just A Man" recalls Bobby Caldwell or Lee Ritenour (Eric Tagg) and is a silky sweet slice of jazzy goodness. "Love Guarantee" is another track that could be considered "best of show" on this record with all of the aforementioned subtleties in play. Just when you thought the influences were in check, "Caroline" emulates the Beach Boys and the Beatles while maintaining it's wonderful soul pop underpinnings. "Kingston Boogie" skirts the edge of disco but does so without complete immersion. And I say "so what?" The steel drum effects and the silky dance floor vibe are addictively infectious. "Lolita" is the last of 10 absolutely flawless tracks. Slightly more on the Loggins and Messina side of the coast with a heavy dose of Isley Brothers style guitar work on the solo. And bursts of sunshiny production and vocal improvisation.
It can't be overdone about how good this record is. There are too many hooks. Too many fresh vocal parts, too many interesting stories being told. It's completely authentic, original and fresh sounding. This is a complete ear candy store that could send you into some kind of musical diabetic shock.
Young Gun Silver Fox is the best new west coast band in the world right now.
Wow, this might be my favourite "new" band that you've introduced me to
ReplyDeleteover the past number of months!! I've heard some of Shawn Lee's solo
albums years ago, but this is in a whole other musical category of its own. Good calls with all your references to similar-sounding acts, especially the Larsen/Feiten Band or did you actually mean the similarly-named Nielsen Pearson band?!? Either way, both were great
acts in their day, and this new combo are carrying that proud musical
torch forward for a now largely-regrettable tin-eared generation of
'music' fans!! P.S., any such grouping of similar-leaning/sounding
acts would also undoubtedly have to include such ensembles as the
legendary Firefall (personal favourite), The Sandford-Townsend Band
and the quite marimba-heavy Starbuck, no?!? Thanks again, and Happy
Thanksgiving to You and Yours from a northern neighbor!!
P.P.S, not sure if you've ever heard an album called "Needless Freaking" (1981) by a Canadian singer-songwriter named Dwayne Ford,
but it features stellar playing and production work from a still quite-green
David Foster. Well-worth seeking out on YouTube and/or elsewhere.
I meant Larson. I was excited writing this that I must have put them both together by accident. Sanford Townsend is a superb group. And "Needless Freaking" is a lost classic. I have a playlist I am developing on Spotify that will have much of this style plus deeper album cuts and one off wonders.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I belatedly discovered your YouTube playlists nearly a year after
ReplyDeleteI started following your videos and was absolutely blown away by all those hidden gems and lost classics I wasn't previously familiar with. And as a long-time deep dive music enthusiast, thrift store/charity shop hoarder, that's really saying something!!
I'm doing it more on Spotify now. And I do the thrift shop thing myself almost every weekend!
DeleteGetting harder and harder in Toronto to find those classic treasures on
ReplyDeleteCD in such shops as most folks have already divested themselves of their physical collections long ago! But still I search with great hope and sometimes I'm fortunate enough to find some real gems. Running out of space to store it all, both in my small apt. and my jam-packed storage. Still, it's one my only vice...
Thanks for pointing this group out.. One of my favorite new bands! Dig their retro 70s sound.
ReplyDelete