The Edgar Winter Group, "They Only Come Out at Night" (Epic, 1972)
On the pop charts, 1972 was a big year for instrumental hits, including Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll, Part 2," Apollo 100's "Joy" and Gershon Kingsley's "Popcorn." The latter two prominently featured the relatively novel sounds of the Moog sythesizer, which had appeared on the scene a few years before to produce what appeared to be the musical wave of the future.
In late '72 a band fronted by Texas multi-instrumentalist Edgar Winter released an album called "They Only Come Out at Night," which closed with a tune he'd been performing for years. It started as a setup for a percussive workout, hence its original title, "The Double Drum Song." By the time of its appearance on the new LP, Edgar had settled on the name "Frankenstein" because it had been cut up and edited in the studio so many times.
After two conventionally structured singles (words and music) from the album failed to click, someone at Epic decided it might be a good idea to slap the all-instrumental "Frankenstein" on a 45. Along with an extremely catchy guitar riff, the song also featured plenty of Moog. And if it worked for Gershon Kingsley, why not Edgar Winter?
The first pressing of the single went nowhere, but the record company decided to try again in March '73. And the result must have exceeded everyone's expectations by a country mile, as "Frankenstein" raced up the charts, eventually hitting the proverbial No. 1. It even cracked the Top 20 in Britain, which had paid no attention to Edgar before (and, as it turned out, wouldn't again).
The monster hit - literally, in this case - took "They Only Come Out at Night" up to No. 3 with it, and a subsequent single, "Free Ride," cracked the Top 15.
All that, of course, marked the commercial pinnacle of Edgar's career, although he continues to record and perform regularly today. And the main theme of "Frankenstein" remains one of the classic riffs of classic rock. ("Free Ride" also continues to get airplay and recently appeared on a TV commercial, always a trigger for nostalgia.)
Along with the two hit singles, "They Only Come Out at Night" has plenty to offer, not the least of which was the lineup of the Edgar Winter Group.
From late '70 through early '72, the younger of the famed Winter brothers (with guitarist Johnny) had worked with a band called Edgar Winter's White Trash, releasing a pair of albums that were well-received critically. That aggregation, which featured a decidedly R&B sound, came to a halt when drummer Bobby Ramirez was killed in a bar fight in Chicago.
To soldier on, Edgar retained one White Trasher, guitarist Rick Derringer, and plucked bassist Dan Hartman from a Harrisburg band called the Legends. He also hired Ronnie Montrose, a guitarist who recently had been doing session work for Van Morrison. All three went on to solo fame, and with drummer Chuck Ruff, they made for quite a formidable team.
The results are evident on their sole collaboration, "They Only Come Out at Night," which features about as many effective pop hooks per song as your likely to find on any album. It starts right off the bat with "Hangin' Around," which had relatively modest success as the third single from the LP. From the double-guitar theme lick to the anthemic chorus - "And I don't see the world goin' by, and I don't even have to try" - the song seems like it should have made it as big as the two hits.
Actually, several of the tracks sound like they could have cut it as 45s: "Alta Mira," with its Island rhythms, sing-along chorus and Edgar's marimba playing; "Undercover Man," sounding like the type of material Lynyrd Skynyrd would make popular a year or two later; "Autumn," a quality power ballad long before the term had been invented; and "We All Had a Real Good Time," with those unforgettable harmonies on the chorus.
Of course, the album's high sales totals were attributable to the hits, both of which were worthy of the mass consumption.
"Free Ride" is Hartman's magnum opus, a highly charged number that has everything going for it: great guitar riff, catchy lyrics and another of those choruses that never grow old, all compacted into just over three minutes. Hartman went on to score some disco-oriented solo hits and carve a niche as a producer before his death at age 44.
As for "Frankenstein," that's an example of a once-in-a-lifetime compositions where everything works, even those weird synth noises in the middle. Its success certainly proved once in a lifetime for Edgar Winter, who caught lightning in a bottle when the record-buying public went crazy for his instrumental.
The timing obviously was right.
On the pop charts, 1972 was a big year for instrumental hits, including Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll, Part 2," Apollo 100's "Joy" and Gershon Kingsley's "Popcorn." The latter two prominently featured the relatively novel sounds of the Moog sythesizer, which had appeared on the scene a few years before to produce what appeared to be the musical wave of the future.
In late '72 a band fronted by Texas multi-instrumentalist Edgar Winter released an album called "They Only Come Out at Night," which closed with a tune he'd been performing for years. It started as a setup for a percussive workout, hence its original title, "The Double Drum Song." By the time of its appearance on the new LP, Edgar had settled on the name "Frankenstein" because it had been cut up and edited in the studio so many times.
After two conventionally structured singles (words and music) from the album failed to click, someone at Epic decided it might be a good idea to slap the all-instrumental "Frankenstein" on a 45. Along with an extremely catchy guitar riff, the song also featured plenty of Moog. And if it worked for Gershon Kingsley, why not Edgar Winter?
The first pressing of the single went nowhere, but the record company decided to try again in March '73. And the result must have exceeded everyone's expectations by a country mile, as "Frankenstein" raced up the charts, eventually hitting the proverbial No. 1. It even cracked the Top 20 in Britain, which had paid no attention to Edgar before (and, as it turned out, wouldn't again).
The monster hit - literally, in this case - took "They Only Come Out at Night" up to No. 3 with it, and a subsequent single, "Free Ride," cracked the Top 15.
All that, of course, marked the commercial pinnacle of Edgar's career, although he continues to record and perform regularly today. And the main theme of "Frankenstein" remains one of the classic riffs of classic rock. ("Free Ride" also continues to get airplay and recently appeared on a TV commercial, always a trigger for nostalgia.)
Along with the two hit singles, "They Only Come Out at Night" has plenty to offer, not the least of which was the lineup of the Edgar Winter Group.
From late '70 through early '72, the younger of the famed Winter brothers (with guitarist Johnny) had worked with a band called Edgar Winter's White Trash, releasing a pair of albums that were well-received critically. That aggregation, which featured a decidedly R&B sound, came to a halt when drummer Bobby Ramirez was killed in a bar fight in Chicago.
To soldier on, Edgar retained one White Trasher, guitarist Rick Derringer, and plucked bassist Dan Hartman from a Harrisburg band called the Legends. He also hired Ronnie Montrose, a guitarist who recently had been doing session work for Van Morrison. All three went on to solo fame, and with drummer Chuck Ruff, they made for quite a formidable team.
The results are evident on their sole collaboration, "They Only Come Out at Night," which features about as many effective pop hooks per song as your likely to find on any album. It starts right off the bat with "Hangin' Around," which had relatively modest success as the third single from the LP. From the double-guitar theme lick to the anthemic chorus - "And I don't see the world goin' by, and I don't even have to try" - the song seems like it should have made it as big as the two hits.
Actually, several of the tracks sound like they could have cut it as 45s: "Alta Mira," with its Island rhythms, sing-along chorus and Edgar's marimba playing; "Undercover Man," sounding like the type of material Lynyrd Skynyrd would make popular a year or two later; "Autumn," a quality power ballad long before the term had been invented; and "We All Had a Real Good Time," with those unforgettable harmonies on the chorus.
Of course, the album's high sales totals were attributable to the hits, both of which were worthy of the mass consumption.
"Free Ride" is Hartman's magnum opus, a highly charged number that has everything going for it: great guitar riff, catchy lyrics and another of those choruses that never grow old, all compacted into just over three minutes. Hartman went on to score some disco-oriented solo hits and carve a niche as a producer before his death at age 44.
As for "Frankenstein," that's an example of a once-in-a-lifetime compositions where everything works, even those weird synth noises in the middle. Its success certainly proved once in a lifetime for Edgar Winter, who caught lightning in a bottle when the record-buying public went crazy for his instrumental.
The timing obviously was right.
1 Comments:
This is truly a fine album. I've read where Edgar Winter's "White Trash" is the one to own in his catalog -- if it tops this one, it must be a fine album
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