East Bay Grease

East Bay Grease
Studio album by Tower of Power
Released	1970
Studio	Mercury Recording Studios, San Francisco
Genre	Soul, R&B
Length	41:35
Label	San Francisco/Atlantic
Producer	David Rubinson
Tower of Power chronology
East Bay Grease (1970) Bump City (1972)
Singles from East Bay Grease
"Back on the Streets Again/Sparkling in the Sand" Released: 1970

East Bay Grease is the debut album by the soul and funk group Tower of Power, released in 1970. ^[1] The band was one of the early music groups to be signed by Bill Graham's Fillmore Records, which released the LP. ^{[2] [3]}

The album shows the band at an early stage of development, trying out several lead singers including Rick Stevens who soon left the band (1972) because of heavy drug abuse. ^[4] In a retrospective review, music historian Rickey Vincent said the album contained "sloppy and raggedy horn-heavy R&B." ^[5] Drummer David Garibaldi later said that his playing style was undisciplined during this time, that the album showed his "rough edges". He began private drum lessons with a Bay Area drum teacher named Chuck Brown, and polished his technique in time for the improvements to be heard on 1973's Tower of Power album. ^[6]

The album was released on CD in 1992 by Rhino Records.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]

Track listing

All selections written by Emilio Castillo and Stephen Kupka, except "Sparkling in the Sand" by Emilio Castillo, Stephen Kupka and Lawrence Lopez. ^[8]

1. "Knock Yourself Out" - 7:08
2. "Social Lubrication" - 7:28
3. "The Price" - 6:09
4. "Back on the Streets Again" - 5:50
5. "The Skunk, the Goose, and the Fly" - 5:55
6. "Sparkling in the Sand" - 9:06

Personnel

Production credit ^[9]

• Rufus Miller - lead vocals (except "Sparkling in the Sand")
• Emilio Castillo - alto saxophone, vocals, extra greasy vocal on "The Skunk, the Goose, and the Fly"
• David Garibaldi - drums, vibes, background vocals
• Greg Adams - first trumpet
• Stephen "The Funky Doctor" Kupka - baritone saxophone, background vocals
• Skip Mesquite - tenor saxophone, flute, vocals
• David Padron - second trumpet
• Frank Rocco Prestia - bass
• Rick Stevens - lead vocal on "Sparkling in the Sand", background vocals
• Willie James Fulton - guitar, background vocals
• Mic Gillette - trumpet, trombone, flugelhorn with solo on "Sparkling in the Sand" ^[3]
• Ken Balzell - trumpet

Technical

• Bruce Steinberg - cover and liner design, artwork, photography

References

1. Godbey, Matthew (October 26, 2016). "Stage & Screen: "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" a not-so-lovely plot". Post and Courier. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
2. Hall, J.T. (November 16, 2016). "Tower of Power Gets Funky In Verona". Syracuse New Times. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
3. "Tower of Power Founder and Trumpeter Mic Gillette Dead at 64". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
4. Lentz III, Harris M. (2018). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2017. McFarland. pp. 375–376. ISBN   9781476633183.
5. Vincent, Rickey (2014). Funk: The Music, The People, and The Rhythm of The One. St. Martin's Publishing Group. p. 333. ISBN   9781466884526.
6. Payne, Jim (2010). The Great Drummers R&B Funk & Soul. Mel Bay Publications. p. 214. ISBN   9781609745820.
7. Wynn, Ron. East Bay Grease at AllMusic. Retrieved 26 June 2007.
8. Wynn, Ron. "East Bay Grease - Tower of Power - Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
9. "East Bay Grease - Tower of Power - Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 21, 2017.

External links

• Tower of Power - website discography Archived 2011-10-19 at the Wayback Machine
• East Bay Grease at Discogs (list of releases)