| Stoneground | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1971 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock, blues rock | |||
| Length | 36:47 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | Tom Donahue, Sal Valentino | |||
| Stoneground chronology | ||||
| ||||
Stoneground is the debut studio album by American rock band Stoneground, released in 1971 on Warner Bros. The album featured seven different lead vocalists, including Sal Valentino (formerly of The Beau Brummels) on four of the album's ten songs.
During the early 1970s, Stoneground built buzz as a touring act. [1] [2] The band recorded an attempt at a debut album in London for Warner Bros. but it was not released. [2] [3] While in England, the band added Bassist, keyboardist Pete Sears to its lineup. [4] For Stoneground, seven different lead vocalists were used, with Sal Valentino singing lead on four of the album's ten songs. [1] Valentino wrote five of the six originals on the album, which also contained covers of songs recorded by The Kinks, Reverend Gary Davis, John D. Loudermilk and John Mayall. [4]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [4] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B− [5] |
In a review for the album, Billboard wrote: "Stoneground has a lot of advance publicity to live up to, and in light of their first LP the predictions may have been somewhat inflationary, though there's no denying the potential for excitement here." [6] Village Voice critic Robert Christgau asserted that the album was "certainly the aptest use of Sal Valentino since the Beau Brummels were on Autumn." [5] Bob Koch of Isthmus suggested it sounded "more like a compilation album than one band," but that it also "showed the group's promise well; most of the singers are distinctive and the playing is great. The musicians' ability to fluidly mix and match musical styles makes for a more interesting brand of hippie rock than is the case for many similarly jammy supersized bands of the era." [1] Allmusic's Lindsay Planer said the Valentino compositions "bear repeated listens and hint at this group's truly great potential." [4] Author Vernon Joynson complimented Tim Barnes' guitar work and said the album "used several vocalists to good effect." [7]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Looking for You" | Sal Valentino | 4:32 |
| 2. | "Great Change Since I've Been Born" | Reverend Gary Davis | 3:04 |
| 3. | "Rainy Day in June" | Ray Davies | 2:39 |
| 4. | "Added Attraction (Come and See Me)" | Valentino | 3:04 |
| 5. | "Dreaming Man" | Valentino | 4:45 |
| 6. | "Stroke Stand" | Valentino | 4:02 |
| 7. | "Bad News" | John D. Loudermilk | 3:17 |
| 8. | "Don't Waste My Time" | John Mayall, Sonny Thompson | 3:38 |
| 9. | "Colonel Chicken Fry" | Valentino | 4:20 |
| 10. | "Brand New Start" | John Blakely, Tom Donahue | 3:56 |
The Beau Brummels was an American rock band. Formed in San Francisco in 1964, the band's original lineup included Sal Valentino, Ron Elliott, Ron Meagher, Declan Mulligan, and John Petersen (drums). They were discovered by local disc jockeys who were looking to sign acts to their new label, Autumn Records, where Sylvester Stewart—later known as Sly Stone—produced the group's early recording sessions. Initially, the band's musical style blended beat music and folk music and typically drew comparisons to the Beatles, while their later work incorporated other music genres such as psychedelic rock and country rock.
Introducing The Beau Brummels is the debut album by American pop rock band the Beau Brummels. It was produced by Sly Stone. Unlike with most other debut albums of the era, ten of the twelve songs on the album are originals. The album peaked at number 24 on the U.S. Top LPs chart in 1965.
"Laugh, Laugh" is a song by American rock group The Beau Brummels, written by guitarist Ron Elliott and produced by Sylvester Stewart, later known as Sly Stone. Released in December 1964 as the band's debut single, the song reached number 15 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart the following February. "Laugh, Laugh" was the first hit single to come out of the emerging San Francisco music scene in response to the British Invasion. The song was later included on the band's first full-length album, Introducing the Beau Brummels, released in April 1965.
Sal Valentino is an American rock musician, singer and songwriter, best known as lead singer of The Beau Brummels, subsequently becoming a songwriter as well. The band released a pair of top 20 U.S. hit singles in 1965, "Laugh, Laugh" and "Just a Little". He later fronted another band, Stoneground, which produced three albums in the early 1970s. After reuniting on numerous occasions with the Beau Brummels, Valentino began a solo career, releasing his latest album, Every Now and Then, in 2008.
Triangle is the fourth studio album by American rock band The Beau Brummels. Produced by Lenny Waronker and released in July 1967, it was the band's first album to include songs that vocalist Sal Valentino and guitarist Ron Elliott composed together. The band incorporated fantasy elements and surreal characters into the album's song titles and lyrics, and worked with a variety of session musicians to create Triangle's psychedelic musical style. The Beau Brummels were reduced to a trio—Valentino, Elliott, and Ron Meagher—at the time Triangle was recorded, as former group members Don Irving (guitars) and John Petersen (drums) left the band following the release of the group's previous album, Beau Brummels '66.
Bradley's Barn is the fifth studio album by American rock group The Beau Brummels. Released in October 1968, it contains the singles "Long Walking Down to Misery" and "Cherokee Girl." The album has received critical acclaim as an early example of country rock. Bradley's Barn is actually a recording studio in Nashville owned by Owen Bradley.
The Beau Brummels were an American rock band that formed in 1964 and originally consisted of singer Sal Valentino, lead guitarist Ron Elliott, bassist Ron Meagher, rhythm guitarist Declan Mulligan and drummer John Petersen. Local radio disc jockeys Tom Donahue and Bobby Mitchell discovered the band at a club near San Francisco. They signed the Beau Brummels to their fledgling Autumn Records label, and their house producer, Sylvester Stewart, later known as Sly Stone, recorded the band's early sessions.
The Beau Brummels, Volume 2 is the second studio album by American rock group The Beau Brummels. Released in August 1965, the album contains the U.S. top 40 hit "You Tell Me Why" and follow-up single "Don't Talk to Strangers."
Ronald Charles Elliott is an American musician, composer and record producer, best known as songwriter and lead guitarist of rock band The Beau Brummels. Elliott wrote or co-wrote the band's 1965 U.S. top 20 hits "Laugh, Laugh" and "Just a Little". In addition to reuniting with the Beau Brummels on occasion over the years, Elliott released a solo album in 1970, and has played on and produced albums by a number of other artists.
Beau Brummels '66 is the third studio album by American rock group The Beau Brummels, and their first on Warner Bros. Records. The album consists of twelve cover songs and no originals. Autumn Records, the band's previous label, had sold the band to Warner Brothers in early 1966. Warner Brothers, however, did not control the publishing rights, and opted to have the band record an album of covers, including songs originally performed by The Beatles and Bob Dylan, as well as recent hit singles by such acts as The Mamas & the Papas and Simon & Garfunkel. Lead vocalist Sal Valentino explained, "When we went to Warner Brothers, they were just anxious to get a record out, to capitalize on the success we had. That record was the wrong one to do at the time."
The Beau Brummels is the sixth studio album by the American rock band of the same name. Released in April 1975, the album features the work of all five original band members for the first time since the band's debut album, 1965's Introducing the Beau Brummels. The album peaked at number 180 on the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart in 1975.
John Declan Mulligan was an Irish-born American rock musician, singer and songwriter, best known as a guitarist of rock band The Beau Brummels in the 1960s.
Live! is a live album by American rock group The Beau Brummels. The album, released in August 2000 by Dig Music, was recorded in February 1974 near Sacramento, California, shortly after it was announced that the band had reunited. The album includes a mix of performances of their most commercially singles, including "Laugh, Laugh" and "Just a Little," as well as then-new material, some of which would be recorded for the band's 1975 eponymous studio album.
Not to be confused with Styx (band)
Stoneground was an American rock band formed in 1970 in Concord, California. Originally a trio, Stoneground expanded to a 10-piece band by the time of their eponymous 1971 debut album. The group appeared in two films, Medicine Ball Caravan (1971) and Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972), and released three albums before singer Sal Valentino quit in 1973. Three other band members—Cory Lerios, Steve Price and David Jenkins—left to form pop group Pablo Cruise. Stoneground continued as an act through 1982, with only Tim Barnes and Annie Sampson remaining from the early incarnation of the band. Barnes and Price led a re-formed Stoneground in 2003 and released a studio album the following year.
Donald Jay Irving is an American musician, best known as a guitarist for rock band The Beau Brummels. He was a member of the band for their Beau Brummels '66 album and joined a revamped lineup for a 2002 concert tour.
Family Album is the second album by American rock band Stoneground, a double album released in late 1971 on Warner Bros. It consists of both live and studio recordings and includes a mix of original songs and covers.
Stoneground 3, sometimes stylized as Stoneground Three, is the third album by American rock band Stoneground, released in 1972 on Warner Bros. It was the final studio album to feature the band's original lineup, as eight of the ten members quit shortly after the album's release.
The Candlestickmaker is the lone solo album by American musician Ron Elliott, released in 1970 on Warner Bros. It was recorded following the dissolution of The Beau Brummels, with whom Elliott had been the chief songwriter and guitarist. A two-part, fifteen-minute piece titled "The Candlestickmaker Suite" comprises the entire second side of the album.
Hearts of Stone is the fifth studio album by American rock band Stoneground, released in 1978 on Warner Bros. Produced by Bob Gaudio, it marked Stoneground's return to a major label, having released their previous album, Flat Out (1976), on their own label. "Prove It" was released as the first single from Hearts of Stone.