Greatest Hints

Last updated
Greatest Hints
Msb great hints.jpg
Studio album by
Michael Stanley Band
Released1979
RecordedFebruary-March 1979
Genre Rock
Length41:38 [1]
Label Arista
Producer Harry Maslin
Michael Stanley Band chronology
Cabin Fever
(1978)		Greatest Hints
(1979)		 Heartland
(1980)

Greatest Hints is an album by the Cleveland, Ohio based Michael Stanley Band that was released on Arista Records in 1979 and reached #148 on the Billboard Magazine charts. The album cover art prominently features the members of the band in black and white photographs. This was a direct attempt to introduce the world to Michael and his bandmates. [1]

Contents

Album name

At this point the band was almost five years old and had not yet been able to crack into the top third (at least #50) of the all important Billboard magazine charts nor would they ever. Their highest charting album would be their last for EMI America, the ironically titled You Can't Fight Fashion (1983). There have been many opinions over the succeeding decades as to why this was not accomplished, but in any event the band had failed to secure a foothold outside of the Midwest market. This might have been owing to a lack of promotion by Arista, or perhaps a lack of success in the charts by the band or bad timing on a rich landscape of crowded rock groups vying for national attention.

The band was extremely popular in rock heavy Cleveland and the state of Ohio in general, parts of the Midwest including Michigan and Pennsylvania, but its popularity did not generally extend to other parts of the country. The band embodied so many values of the Cleveland mentality. Their constant touring and performing, and reputation as a working man's band, would in the 1980s allow MSB to set attendance records at the Cleveland Agora and Richfield Coliseum that stand to this day. [2] In essence, the title 'Greatest Hints' was the band's way of poking fun at their inability to reach their musical career goals despite the fact that on the last album, Cabin Fever , they worked with legendary producer Robert John Mutt Lange who would go on to produce AC/DC, Billy Ocean, Foreigner, Shania Twain and Def Leppard. [3] The name is also a play on the music industry standard of bands having greatest hits albums after producing several studio albums. The band to this point had already produced three studio albums, You Break It... You Bought It (1975), Ladies' Choice (1976), and Cabin Fever (1978), along with the live Stagepass (1977) album.

Kevin Raleigh

This MSB (Michael Stanley Band) album is notable for the introduction of keyboardist and lyricist Kevin Raleigh. Raleigh would eventually join Stanley as the main songwriter of the band, and he wrote "He Can't Love You", "Save a Little Piece for Me", "When Your Heart Says It's Right", "You're My Love" and many other MSB classics. Raleigh provided a sharp contrast to Stanley's low register singing with his soaring high vocals and harmonies, which would become a hallmark of the group. [4]

The songs

"Beautiful Lies", "Lights Out" and "Promises" would become fan favorites and give the group the unique harmonic melodies with which they became synonymous. There are saxophone licks featured for the first time on Stanley's "Down to the Wire" and the Holland/Dozier/Holland cover "Back in My Arms Again" by Gismondi, which would become a feature of later hits on subsequent albums by MSB. The songs on this album are decidedly more catchy and hook filled than the albums that preceded this offering. The ballads and the love songs are in supreme form and we have the first taste of what the MSB style in the future would hold.

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Last Night" Kevin Raleigh, Michael Stanley 3:42
2."Don't Lead with Your Love"Stanley4:17
3."Promises"Raleigh4:01
4."Down to the Wire"Stanley4:12
5."No Turning Back"Raleigh4:55
6."Back in My Arms Again" Holland-Dozier-Holland 3:42
7."Beautiful Lies"Pelander, Stanley4:39
8."Lights Out"Pelander, Stanley4:25
9."Hold Your Fire"Raleigh4:25
10."We're Not Strangers Anymore"Pelander, Stanley3:45
Total length:41:38

Personnel

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Stanley</span> American musician (1948–2021)

Michael Stanley was an American singer-songwriter, musician, radio and television personality. As a solo artist and with the Michael Stanley Band (MSB), and Michael Stanley and the Resonators (MS&R) his brand of heartland rock was popular in Cleveland, Ohio, and around the American Midwest in the 1970s and 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loggins and Messina</span> American music duo

Loggins and Messina was an American pop rock duo consisting of Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina, who achieved major chart success during the 1970s. Among their well-known songs are "Danny's Song", "House at Pooh Corner", and "Your Mama Don't Dance". After selling more than 16 million records and becoming one of the leading musical duos of the 1970s, Loggins and Messina separated in 1976. Although Messina would find only limited popularity following the breakup, Loggins went on to achieve major chart success in the 1980s. In 2005 and again in 2009, Loggins and Messina reformed for tours in the United States.

<i>One-Trick Pony</i> (album) 1980 soundtrack album / Studio album by Paul Simon

One-Trick Pony is the fifth solo studio album by Paul Simon released in 1980. It was Simon's first album for Warner Bros. Records, and his first new studio album since 1975's Still Crazy After All These Years. His back catalog from Columbia Records would also move to Warner Bros. as a result of his signing with the label.

<i>Greatest Hits Live</i> (Carly Simon album) 1988 live album by Carly Simon

Greatest Hits Live is the first live album and second greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Arista Records, on August 2, 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sea Level (band)</span> American rock band

Sea Level was an American rock band from Macon, Georgia. Formed in 1976, the band was an offshoot of the Allman Brothers Band. Between 1977 and 1980, the band released five studio albums which incorporated elements of funk, blues and Latin music.

<i>Greatest Hits</i> (Bob Seger album) 1994 greatest hits album by Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band

Greatest Hits is a compilation album by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band, released in 1994. Certified Diamond by the RIAA, it is Seger's most successful album to date. In December 2009, Billboard and Nielsen SoundScan confirmed that with nearly nine million copies sold. Bob Seger's Greatest Hits was the decade's best-selling catalog album in the United States, even out-selling The Beatles' 1 and Michael Jackson's Number Ones. By September 2011, the album had sold a total of 9,062,000 copies in the United States.

<i>Boats Against the Current</i> 1977 studio album by Eric Carmen

Boats Against the Current is a 1977 album by Eric Carmen. The title is taken from a line in the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” It was Carmen's second solo LP, after the Raspberries disbanded. It peaked at #45 on the Billboard 200 for the week ending October 8, 1977.

<i>After Dark</i> (Andy Gibb album) 1980 studio album by Andy Gibb

After Dark is the third and final studio album by English singer-songwriter Andy Gibb. It features his last US Top 10 single "Desire", "I Can't Help It" and two Bee Gees numbers "Rest Your Love on Me" and "Warm Ride".

<i>MSB</i> (album) 1982 studio album by Michael Stanley Band

MSB is an album by the Cleveland, Ohio based Michael Stanley Band that was released in August 1982 on the EMI America label. It was the band's third release on the EMI America label. The record reached #136 on the Billboard Magazine Album Charts in 1982 and was lead guitarist Gary Markasky's last outing with the group.

<i>Friends and Legends</i> 1973 studio album by Michael Stanley

Friends and Legends is the second solo album by Michael Stanley. The album title refers to the backing musicians accompanying Stanley on the album, which was recorded at Applewood Studios in Golden, Colorado. The basic band on all tracks was Barnstorm, composed of Joe Walsh on lead guitar and synthesizer, Joe Vitale on drums, flute, synthesizer and backing vocals, and Kenny Passarelli on bass. In addition, three members of Stephen Stills' Manassas performed: Paul Harris on keyboards, Joe Lala on percussion and Al Perkins on pedal steel guitar, and the band also included saxophonist David Sanborn. Among the backing vocalists were Richie Furay and Dan Fogelberg. In keeping with the collaborative spirit, J. Geils assisted with production of the saxophone tracks.

<i>Through the Storm</i> (Aretha Franklin album) 1989 studio album by Aretha Franklin

Through the Storm is the thirty-second studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin. It was released on April 25, 1989, by Arista Records.

<i>Finder of Lost Loves</i> (album) 1985 studio album by Dionne Warwick

Finder of Lost Loves is a studio album by American singer Dionne Warwick. It was released by Arista Records on January 24, 1985 in the United States. Warwick worked with Richard Landis, Barry Manilow, and Stevie Wonder on the majority of the album, though she also reunited with Burt Bacharach for the first time in over a decade. The album includes a cover of the Bee Gees song "Run to Me" performed as a duet with Manilow as well as two duets with Wonder, which had previously been released on Wonder's soundtrack album to The Woman in Red. Finder of Lost Loves peaked at number 106 on the US Billboard 200 chart.

<i>Hey Ricky</i> 1982 studio album by Melissa Manchester

Hey Ricky is the title of the tenth album release by Melissa Manchester. It was issued on Arista Records in April 1982.

<i>Singin...</i> 1977 studio album by Melissa Manchester

Singin'... is a 1977 album release by Melissa Manchester on Arista Records.

Kevin Raleigh is an American singer and keyboardist best known for his tenure with the Michael Stanley Band.

<i>The Definitive Collection</i> (Eric Carmen album) 1997 compilation album by Eric Carmen

The Definitive Collection is a 1997 greatest hits album of all the singles released by Cleveland, Ohio singer-songwriter Eric Carmen. It features five hits by the Raspberries, a power pop group which he led in the early 1970s. It also contains his versions of two major hits which he wrote for Shaun Cassidy, two popular songs from the movie Dirty Dancing, and his greatest hit, "All By Myself", which peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 on March 5, 1976.

<i>Light Up the Night</i> (The Brothers Johnson album) 1980 studio album by the Brothers Johnson

Light Up the Night is the fourth album by the Los Angeles, California-based duo the Brothers Johnson, released in 1980. The album topped the U.S. R&B albums chart and reached number five on the pop albums chart. The single "Stomp!" became a dance hit, reaching number one on both the R&B singles and disco charts and top ten on the pop singles chart.

<i>Heartland</i> (Michael Stanley Band album) 1980 studio album by Michael Stanley Band

Heartland is an album by the Michael Stanley Band released in 1980. It reached #86 on the Billboard 200 album chart in 1981. The album stayed in the top 100 for over eight weeks and was in the top 200 for an additional ten weeks.

<i>What You See Is What You Sweat</i> 1991 studio album by Aretha Franklin

What You See Is What You Sweat is the thirty-third studio album by American singer Aretha Franklin, released on June 25, 1991, by Arista Records. It peaked at #153 on Billboard's album chart, dropping off after seven weeks. This was Franklin's first new release in the Nielsen SoundScan era.

<i>North Coast</i> (album) 1981 studio album by Michael Stanley Band

North Coast is an album by the Cleveland based Michael Stanley Band which was released in 1981. It reached No. 79 on the Billboard charts and included the hit Falling in Love Again which reached No. 64 on the Billboard hot singles list. It was the second album for the group on EMI America. The album's title refers to Cleveland, Ohio's "North Coast", which is the city's lakefront district. Stanley also used the term to portray Cleveland as its own "coast," separate from the East Coast and West Coast of the U.S.

References

  1. 1 2 Bret Adams. "The Michael Stanley Band - Greatest Hints (1979) Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards at AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-08-10.
  2. ↑ "The 80s". MichaelStanley. Retrieved 2015-08-10.
  3. ↑ "The 70s". MichaelStanley. Retrieved 2015-08-10.
  4. ↑ "Michael Stanley". ItsAboutMusic.com. Archived from the original on 2015-08-10. Retrieved 2015-08-10.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.