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Topic: Rare Earth, Russ Ballard, Argent

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macka
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Rare Earth, Russ Ballard, Argent
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Is it true that Rare Earth did some work in the 90's with Russ Ballard from Argent following the Different World cd.  Did the band record Hold Your Head Up?  Perhaps Gil or Ray can confirm, it is an interesting story anyhow.  Look forward to the new cd which I only just read about on this site. 

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UK Dave
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My three favourite artists / bands mentioned in one line. I never thought I'd see these mentioned in the same breath!

I think I also heard RE had approached Russ after Different World. I wouldn't have thought Russ would re-visit Hold Your Head Up, especially as it was written by Rod Argent & Chris White. I would have thought he'd have written something especially for them.

Are you a Russ fan Macka? He's just released his first CD of new stuff in 13 years. He's currently touring Germany and I'm agonising over whether to fly to Munich next week to catch his band.

With Rare Earth planning a new CD this year 2007 is already looking good!

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John
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I heard about this one too Macka, but I can see UK Dave's point about Hold Your Head Up.  Certainly sounds like an interesting combination though, Ballard has written some great songs.  I am a big fan of Argent myself and have some dvd footage of them performing  on a Don Kirshner rock concert.

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UK Dave
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I have that footage too John. Can't get enough of Argent, even the post Ballard years.

As for Rare Earth covers of Ballard songs, I'd be interested to hear them do Tragedy and Its Only Money Pts I and II. I reckon they'd also put a good interpretation on the Hot Chocolate No1 "So You Win Again". What could you see them covering?

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MDF
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HELLO UK DAVE.....
I AM GUESSING THAT IF YOU LIKE ARGENT....HOW ABOUT THE ZOMBIES??
COLIN BLUNSTONE...?? I LIKE COLIN'S SOLO CAREER AS WELL....I HAVE A VERY NICE ANTHOLOGY ALBUM FROM COLIN....I PICKED IT UP FROM ALAN PARSONS FAN CLUB WEB SITE.....COLIN SANG LEAD VOCAL ON PARSONS SONG CALLED OLD AND WISE THAT WAS A HIT HERE IN AMERICA....I KNOW THIS IS A RARE EARTH FORUM BUT WE ALL LOVE THE BAND AND THERE IS A LOT OF GREAT MUSIC OUT THERE....
THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENTS.....
MDF.....

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UK Dave
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Hi MDF
I love The Zombies too. Have you caught them on any of their recent US Tours since they reformed? Well worth it as they play "Old and Wise" plus all the old Zombies, Argent and CB hits plus some really good new stuff.

Let's bring it back on topic by suggesting Argent and Rare Earth do a "Soulful Tale of Two Cities" type thing with Argent doing some RE songs and RE doing some Argent / Zombies songs.

I'm joking of course. Then again, the Zombies used to play a bit of Motown in their early days so it would be interesting to hear a 20 or 30 minute version of "Get Ready".

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MDF
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HELLO AGAIN DAVE.....
YES I DID CATCH THE ZOMBIE'S(I ALMOST FORGOT)...THEY WERE IN CHICAGO WITH THE ALAN PARSONS LIVE PROJECT IN 1999 OR 2000??(I CAN'T REMEMBER YEAR) IN JULY OF THAT YEAR DURING SUMMERFEST....THE ZOMBIES CAME ON FIRST AND REALLY WARMED UP THE CROWD...THEY FINISHED THIER SET WITH HOLD YOUR HEAD UP....WHEN PARSONS AND CO. CAME ON AND STARTED HIS SET GUESS WHO CAME OUT TO SING OLD AND WISE?? YEP,COLIN CAME ON AND DID A WONDERFUL PERFORMANCE.....I WAS FORTUNATE TO HAVE BACKSTAGE PASS FOR THE AFTERSHOW(MOST OF A.P.FAN CLUB MEMBERS TO GET THESE PASSES)......I STRUCK A CONERSATION WITH ALAN AND ASKED HIM WHO DID HE THINK (OTHER THAN HIMSELF) PAST OR PRESENT A VERY GOOD PRODUCER AND OR ENGINEER...HE SAID THE MOTOWN PRODUCERS WERE VERY GIFTED WITH NORMAN WHITFIELD BEING ONE OF THE BEST OF ALL TIME....BEING BACKSTAGE WAS A GREAT EXPERENCE...I DID NOT GET TO SEE ANY OF THE ZOMBIES.....BUT TRULY HAD A GREAT TIME..
THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENTS....MDF

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John
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I enjoyed the Zombies when they played under the name live some while ago.  I also saw the Blunstone Argent package which was great.
Still got to think about the Earth twist with Argent songs. maybe I will be inspired later. 
Also the band Phoenix which came out of the Argent line up back in 76' have just had the 1st album re-released on cd for the 1st time.  In about 1980 Russ Ballard was to join Phoenix and the band recorded Ballard's song "I Surrender" which would have been the original version, this did not issued and Verity gave Rainbow the nod to go for it and as we all know I Surrender was a massive record.
Yes this is the Rare Earth forum but it is fine when there is any connection of some kind, to stray a little!

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UK Dave
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Hi John
I just bought the Phoenix re-issue. I saw their very first gig in Sept 1976 and a few times after that. I got to know Rob Henrit and Jim Rodford quite well plus JV to a lesser extent. Even so, JV recently recorded a live CD in his hometown village to an invited audience. I was lucky enough to get an invite.

The three of them still play together now and then around pubs in the London area under the guise of the John Verity Band. All covers of classic rock plus a guitar version of Hold Your Head Up.

If you go into www.rateyourmusic.com and sign up for free, you'll be able to click on artists including Rare Earth, HUB, Argent, Phoenix etc and share views on their albums etc. Meanwhile should anyone want to talk about Argent related stuff (or RE of course) then they can PM me on dpw999@hotmail.com I'm amazed that many other RE fans seem to share a liking for Argent, but I just concerned somebody is going to wave the red card for going off topic




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john
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thats great, I still have to get my copy of the Phoenix cd.  I recently gave Verity a copy of Phoenix performing Easy on tv which I am sure he liked.  I must get to see them as I live in Bedfordshire and the band are always on around here. 

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UK Dave
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Phoenix performed "Easy" on TV? Wow, I never knew. I'd love to see that, even if only to see Bob's massive Pearl drumkit or Jim's twin neck Fender.

Its the same with Rare Earth. Everyone seems to have odd things here and there. I just wish there was enough footage to put out a commercial DVD of the 72-74 line-ups.

John, I live in Derbyshire, so I guess you are like me in that you never got to see Rare Earth perform live

I'd like to think I might get to see Ray in the flesh if the "real" Funks come to the UK!

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MDF
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WHAT BIT OF MOTOWN DID THE ZOMBIES PLAY?? WAS IT SUGAR PIE HONEY BUNCH??
THANKS MDF

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UK Dave
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MDF

I thought they played Road Runner by Jr Walker but when I dug out my Zombie Heaven box set it turned out to be a different song with the same title.

There is a version of "This Old Heart of Mine" on there however. It was something they did live for the BBC. This was in their early days and is no competition for the Isley's version I have to say. Its not exactly suited to Colin Blunstone's breathy voice, whilst Rod was obviously still doing a paper round to save for his first decent sounding organ. The one he uses on TOHOM sounds like it fell out of a Christmas cracker.

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MDF
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UK DAVE...
I WAS AWARE THAT THE ZOMBIES DID SOMETHING ON MOTOWN BUT WAS NOT CLEAR OF WHAT SONG....DID YOU KNOW THAT COLIN WAS IN A BAND THAT WAS VERY SHORT LIVED CALLED KEATS??....THEY MADE ONE ALBUM AND I BOUGHT IT FROM A BARGIN BIN AND THE ALBUM IS VERY GOOD.....PETE BARDENS FROM CAMEL,IAN BAIRNSON,DAVID PATON,STUART ELLIOTT FROM PILOT WERE IN THE BAND TOO!....I DON'T THINK THE ALBUM WAS PROMOTED VERY WELL OR I AM SURE THE ALBUM WOULD HAVE TAKEN OFF...FYI...
TAKE CARE.....
MDF

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UK Dave
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Hi MDF

Yes I remember the Keats project. Heard the single but never picked the album up, though I heard it's very good. It came about though Colin's association with Alan Parsons Project. I always assumed Keats were named after the poet, but I read that they got the name from a wine bar that the band used to drink and dine in between rehearsing and recording!

Regarding Motown, Colin topped the charts with "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted" with Dave Stewart in the 80s. Allegedly Jimmy Ruffin prefers it over any other covers of the song. CB followed it up with a version of "Tracks of my Tears" but this never charted.

Jimmy Ruffin. Another name from Motown's golden past.

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MDF
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HELLO AGAIN UK DAVE....
WOW!! THANKS FOR THE INFO!! I ALSO KNOW THAT THE BAND PILOT WERE A.P.P'S SESSION BAND FOR OVER TEN YEARS!....SO I CAN SEE THE CONNECTION.....
I LOOKED AT C.B.'S ANTHOLOGY AND TRACK OF MY TEARS IS ON THERE!DUH! I GUESS I WAS NOT PUTTING THE CONNECTIONS TOGETHER......
WHAT R.E.SONG DO YOU THINK C.B.'S VOICE WOULD FIT?? THE ONLY SONG I CAN THINK OF IS NEW ROCHELLE FROM DREAMS/ANSWERS,WHICH I THINK GIL SINGS.....:

REGARDS FROM THE FROZEN MIDWEST......

MDF

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UK Dave
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HI MDF

I can't come up with an answer to your RE song suitable for CB's breathy vocal style. Mind you, Mr Blunstone can rock it up when he wants to. He's doing a pretty fair job in the reformed Zombies on HYHU and God Gave Rock and Roll To You. If pushed I reckon he'd do a pretty good job on "I Know I'm Losing You".

By the way, have you heard or bought Russ Ballard's new CD yet? Its called "Book of Love" and is available from Germany via ebay. I shall reciprocate that little plug by mentioning the forthcoming Rare Earth CD on any Argent forums I come across!

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john
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I went to see ther Jones Gang on friday who consist of Kenney Jones, Robert Hart , Rick Willis and Dave Colewell, they were incredible, best gig I have seen in years.  They announced that they had so many problems getting a record deal coz they were considered too old by record company bosses, anyway they got a deal and followed that with a no1 US single called ANGEL......written by Russ Ballard.

Never too late!

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UK Dave
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John

Ballard still knocking out the hts. That's good news. I hadn't heard of that particular song and will look out for it. I know he wrote some songs with Robert Hart a few years ago.

The Jones Gang sound interesting. All well known individuals with a proven track record.


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Jimmy19029
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I've seen the reformed Colin & Rod fronted Zombies several times in the last several years. Awesome isn't the word to describe them! Colin still sounds like he did at age 20! If any of you see a Zombies show advertised near you...GO! You won't be sorry!

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UK Dave
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I have to echo Jimmy's comments. I saw them yet again a couple of weeks ago and they are still writing and recording new material of the highest uality.

In case anyone is interested, its the 40th anniversary of the release of the Oddysey and Oracle LP next year and the original line-up is getting back together to perform the whole album next March at London Shepherds Bush Empire. Two nights are planned, March 7th and 8th. Keith Airey, current guitarist will sit in for the late Paul Atkinson. The current line-up will perform some Argent / Colin Blunstone material first then the originals will play the O and O songs, then everyone will join up for the finale, no doubt featuring a finale of She's Not There.

They are planning to then bring the show to New York and LA. There won't be a tour, I gather its going to be once in a lifetime, never to be repeated thing.

Sorry to take up space with non Rare Earth info. I know Jim Rodford (bass) quite well and usually chat to him after shows. He has mentioned in the past that he's played on the same bill as Rare Earth in his days with Argent. Next time I see him I must get him to elaborate.

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UK Dave
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Particularly for the interest of MDF, John, Jimmy and Macka, there's a new CD released today (at least in the UK), by The Zombies called "Into the Afterlife". Its not strictly a Zombies album but a compilation of different things that were recorded immediately after they disbanded. Apparently it contains some Argent / White songs that were written in the embryonic stages of (the band) Argent, as well as Colin Blunstone recordings that went out under the name of Neil McArthur

Too often these compilations are full of throwaway songs, but apparently this is a bit special and has taken many years to compile. It has been put out by Ace, the same people that compiled the brilliant 4 CD set "Zombie Heaven". How I wish Ace could do the same brilliant job with a 4 CD "Rare Earth Heaven". Anyway, there's a track listing and full details on www.amazon.co.uk for those who might be interested.

No doubt when the stores open I won't be able to find anyone who has it in stock, but I won't shed too many tears because, at long last, I ordered Ralph Terrana's book last week and its due to arrive either Monday or Tuesday. I can't wait!!
 
A quick weather check...hope you're having better weather on your side of the pond. We've had an awful June with rain and floods and early July is set to be the same....but colder! What happened to global warming? ashamed

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Ralph Terrana
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Dave,
hope you enjoy the book. As far as weather goes, even in my area in California, it has been cooler than normal. there are these Oak Moths that are usually seen in the autumn that are already fying through the oak trees. Very strange.

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UK Dave
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Hi Ralph

The book arrived about this morning. I'm already getting stuck into it and the Fire Service is telling everyone to "stay at home" because of the severe weather, so I will have ample opportunity.

It has just been announced that this is the wettest June since records began in the 1870s. This follows the hottest May since records began. Right now its only 53 degrees F, torrential rain and howling gales. We've got several more days of this "book reading weather" to come apparently. The main road in my village has been closed due to flooding. It was just this minute announced on the radio.

Wow, your Oak Moth story sounds strange. Let's hope its not a sign that your summer is going the same way as ours!!

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UK Dave
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No, the book didn't arrive "about" this morning...it arrived definitely this morning. That'll teach me to preview next time before I press the "submit post" button. smile

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Ralph Terrana
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Dave,
I'm guilty of not previewing my posts as well which is apparent at times. Stay dry dude.

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UK Dave
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Now we've got the gales bringing down the power cables. Three power cuts already this evening. I wonder if Ralph ever envisaged anyone reading his book by candlelight?

It was the Glastonbury Festival over the weekend. As usual it was a washout with everyone covered from head to toe in mud. Thirty people suffered broken ankles after slipping in the mud apparently.

It was the first day of the tennis tournament today too. Three words that never crop up in the same sentence (apart from this one of course)...Glastonbury, Wimbledon and drought.



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Richard
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Dave: You must be reading Ralphs book "Under God's Candlelight" lol

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Ralph Terrana
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Dave,
I think it's pretty safe to say I never envisioned anyone reading ANYTHING I had written.

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MARK M
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UK DAVE.....

I RECENTLY HAVE BOYCOTTED OUR LOCAL RADIO STATIONS BECAUSE OF THE CONSTANT SONG CYCLES....I MEAN YOU CAN JUST ABOUT PREDICT WHAT SONG WILL BE PLAYED EVERY DAY.....IT'S A SHAME TO HEAR THE SAME CLASSIC ROCK SONGS EVERYDAY........UNTIL...... I SWALLOWED MY PRIDE ONE DAY AND STARTED SURFING.....AND FOUND ONE THAT WAS PLAYING "DO YOU REMEMBER THE EIGHTIES"....AND THEY HAPPENED TO PLAY AN OLD BALLARD TUNE CALLED "VOICES" AND WAS SHOCKED TO HEAR IT...BECAUSE I DO REMEMBER THE SONG.....THEN THEY PLAYED MORE STUFF THAT I "FORGOT" ABOUT........NEEDLESS TO SAY I FOUND THE RIGHT ONE...UNTIL THEY GET THE SONG CYCLE BUG...LOL... FYI...
TAKE CARE..............
MARK M (AKA MDF)biggrin

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Gil
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Hi Mark. Just thought i'd let you know that Rare Earth's new CD will include two Russ Ballards songs that were givin to us to record around 94 or 95.One is called "Dancer" and the other is called "Prove IT".We hope to have the new CD finished by year end.It will be titled "Its a Brand New World.It contains mostly all new material internally written.



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UK Dave
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Thats welcome news Gil, particularly that it features two Russ Ballard songs. Is Dancer the same song that Russ wrote and recorded for his "At the Third Stroke" album? If so, its a cracking song and I can't wait to hear Rare Earth's version.

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MARK M
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HI GIL,THANKS FOR THE GOOD NEWS...CAN'T WAIT FOR THE RELEASE!!

BEST WISHES...
MARK Mbiggrin

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STUART -- CHICAGO
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Cool Gil!

It's a brand new world will join different world and one world in RE cannon.  Do I see a pattern here Gil LOL!

Stuart



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UK Dave
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On the subject of Argent, I went to see The Zombies at Wolverhampton on their UK tour last night. Nothing new there as I must have seen them over a dozen times over the last three or four years. Last night was something special though. I've never seen Rod Argent play keyboards like he did last night. He always plays great but last night he was on a different level altogether. Not to be outdone, lead guitarist Keith Airey (younger brother of Don Airey, the current Deep Purple keyboard player) was equally amazing with his lead solos on She's Not There and Old and Wise.

Old rockers never die....they just get even better!!! Am I right Gil?

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john
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DaVE

You may have seen it........on the john verity site there are some new videos including the phoenix track on supersonic

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UK Dave
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Hi John

Yes JV sent out an email to say they were on there. it brought back memories as I saw Phoenix a few times in their short existence, including their live debut at Wolverhampton. I'm not likely to forget that gig. It had been the hottest driest summer in the UK since records began. We hadn't had rain for weeks and cattle were even dying. The drought ended during that Phoenix gig. It was a nice sunny evening when I went in, but as I was heading towards the door (after a brilliant show) I heard people saying it was raining.

That turned out to be the understatement of the year. A fierce thunderstorm was raging. I had a long drive home, I didn't know the area and my car had started playing up and wouldn't go faster than 30 miles per hour. I'd barely set off when I realised it was too dangerous to drive because the rain was so bad. Visibility was really bad. I was looking for somewhere to pull in safely when suddenly a large van appeared in front of me. I braked and aquaplaned straight into it. The rear view mirror shattered and I suffered a cut on the bridge of my nose. I still have my little "Phoenix" scar. Unfortunately the car was a write-off and I had to get a train home next morning.

Ironically I went to see the John Verity Band earlier this month. Where? Yep, Wolverhampton. Luckily, having worked there for 3 years until recently, I now know the area pretty well, so I had a safe return.

As for the videos on JV's site, just look at that eye liner (yuch). I like the rare footage of the post Russ Ballard line-up performing Hold Your Head Up. JV is on lead vocals with the late John Grimaldi on lead guitar. John G was an awesome musician and a truly nice guy. Its very sad that he died so young.

Sorry to all Rare Earth fans. I didn't mean to spend so long off topic!!

UK Dave

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John
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Dave

Interesting to hear about John Grimaldi, I never knew he had passed away.  I saw him in a band called Flux, they were supporting STRAY at a concert in St Albans in 1973.  Good to see Jv used my copy from dvd of Phoenix doing "Easy" on supersonic.

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UK Dave
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John

It was you who supplied JV with the Easy video? You're a hero. Well done. I'd love to see the DVD version. I bet JV lost a lot of quality by altering the format.

As for JG, I was aware of Flux. I'd heard him speak about them. I became good friends with him after he left Argent. One day he complained to me that he was feeling very tired and was going into hospital for tests. I never heard from him again. The diagnosis was MS and he went downhill very quickly. He'd abandoned Jazz Rock and got into New Wave and was writing some really good songs that were ahead of their time. Unfortunately he couldn't get a record deal. He had a number of options. Alan Shacklock (ex Babe Ruth) wanted to work with him in a new project. He was thinking it over but then the health problem arose.

Did you ever see him with his school band Motiffe? One of their members, Neil Chapman (drummer?), was in touch with me not long back.

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John
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Dave

Email me your address and I will get a copy of Phoenix to you,  that was the only band other than Argent I knew about for JG.

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MARK M
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John wrote:

Dave

Email me your address and I will get a copy of Phoenix to you,  that was the only band other than Argent I knew about for JG.



UK DAVE AND JOHN...

ARE YOU GUYS ABLE TO POST ANY OF THE PHOENIX STUFF ON YOU TUBE??
OR IS YOU TUBE AVAILABLE IN THE UK?
JUST CURIOUSsmile

MARK M



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John
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Hi Mark

Yes we can post on you tube no problem. As for the Phoenix stuff on filmyou can watch it by clicking this link         http://www.johnverity.com/frames.htm

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MARK M
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John wrote:

Hi Mark

Yes we can post on you tube no problem. As for the Phoenix stuff on filmyou can watch it by clicking this link         http://www.johnverity.com/frames.htm



THANKS JOHN!!



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Glenn
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UK Dave wrote:

I have that footage too John. Can't get enough of Argent, even the post Ballard years.

As for Rare Earth covers of Ballard songs, I'd be interested to hear them do Tragedy and Its Only Money Pts I and II. I reckon they'd also put a good interpretation on the Hot Chocolate No1 "So You Win Again". What could you see them covering?



Big Ballard fan here, too, but mostly as a writer. I, also, was surprised to see him coming up in this forum. Glad to hear RE will be doing some newer Ballard songs, but a couple of covers I thought they might sound good on are:

SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE a.k.a. SINCE YOU BEEN GONE
LIAR
WINNING
I KNOW THERE'S SOMETHING GOING ON

All of these were big in America, the latter three on Top 40 radio, and the first one of the most-played album rock tracks of all time in its version by Rainbow. Rare Earth could do killer versions of any of these. Russ has done exceptionally well as a writer here with a bunch of other significant hits and a healthy amount of album tracks, but I consider these too soft-pop for Rare Earth. Including, sorry to disagree my friend UK Dave, "You Win Again". GREAT song, but not for RE. Just an opinion.

Glenn




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UK Dave
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Hi Glenn

Did I REALLY suggest RE could do a version of So You Win Again? Well, you produced the quote so obviously I did!! Maybe I'd had a few too many glasses of wine at the time :) Admittedly it seems an odd choice looking back.

I reckon my thinking was those harmony vocals and the marimbas and percussion that Eddie might have taken advantage of, thus ending up with a different interpretation. I have a previous recording of the song by an artist called Le Blanc which didn't chart, plus I think I once heard a transmission on the radio of the original demo recorded by Russ himself. Mickie Most transformed it into something different.

I love the whole Winning album. Its packed with great commercial songs, Since You Been Gone being one of them. Incidentally, as posted in another thread, I saw Russ perform this live last month in London at a charity concert. He also joined Rod Argent and Jim Rodford to perform Hold Your Head Up, Jim's son Steve on drums.

At one time the new Rare Earth CD was going to carry two of Russ' songs, one being Dancer from At The Third Stroke. Does anyone have the CD yet? If so, are Mr Ballard's songs included, what are they and most importantly, are they good? :)

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Chicago Tommy
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Hi All,

UK Dave, to answer your question, I got the new Rare Earth new CD, "A Brand New World" and Russ Ballard is credited for the following tracks;

 Track 3) "Dancer"
 Track 9) "Prove It"

Soon my neighbors will be listening to it as well, as I'm planning to go sit in the sun and crank up th new CD on my home surrond system.

Check this out, www.rareearth.com

All the best,

biggrin

-Chicago Tommy



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UK Dave
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Hi Tommy

I don't know "Prove It" so maybe that is something Russ provided exclusively for Rare Earth? That should be interesting. Hopefully the majority of the material will be self compositions rather than covers. I'm very excited about the new CD and hats off to Gil for keeping the flag flying. I hope the CD sells really well, just as I hope that Peter, Ray, Mike and Rod succeed with their respective projects.

I said a while ago that I hoped the sleeve artwork wouldn't be cheap and nasty. They didn't disappoint with the sleeve for Different World and the new CD looks pretty good too!

I must remember to get my order in asap. Congratulations Gil.

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Glenn
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UK Dave wrote:

Hi Glenn

Did I REALLY suggest RE could do a version of So You Win Again? Well, you produced the quote so obviously I did!! Maybe I'd had a few too many glasses of wine at the time :) Admittedly it seems an odd choice looking back.

I reckon my thinking was those harmony vocals and the marimbas and percussion that Eddie might have taken advantage of, thus ending up with a different interpretation. I have a previous recording of the song by an artist called Le Blanc which didn't chart, plus I think I once heard a transmission on the radio of the original demo recorded by Russ himself. Mickie Most transformed it into something different.


UK Dave,

I do know what you mean by the percussion sound on that and most other Hot Chocolate records. Mickie Most really shined as producer on those multi-layered, spatially exciting, complex but accessible Hot Chocolate records. His use of lots of different percussive instruments created a unique and fascinating sound. Moreso than his work with the Animals, Herman's Hermits, and other 60's groups, his work with Hot Chocolate was a real testament to his innovativeness and genius as a producer.

Eddie certainly could have been a brilliant player on those, but most Hot Chocolate songs wouldn't have been suitable for Rare Earth. An exception might have been "Brother Louie" -- Rare Earth could have done a killer version of that. I can just hear Peter's vocal...

Glenn

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MARK M
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JUST CURIOUSconfused DID SANTANA COVER BALLARDS "WINNING" BACK IN THE 80'S?...GOOD SONG!

MARK M

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UK Dave
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Mark

They did indeed. I don't think I ever managed to hear it though.

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MARK M
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THANKS DAVE....THE SONG IS ON SANTANA'S GREATEST HITS ALBUM...I REMEMBER THAT SONG IT DID VERY WELL HERE IN THE STATES FOR SANTANA...AND I WAS WONDERING IF IT WAS THE SAME SONG AND SO IT IS!
THANKS AGAIN..
MARK Mbiggrin

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UK Dave
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Mark

regarding Ballard covers, Glenn mentioned some other songs in an earlier post on this thread. One was Liar oriinally featured on Argent's first album. I know Three Dog Night had a massive US hit when they covered it. In the UK there was a very good rock band called Capability Brown who covered the song on their first album. They were a six piece band who could all sing and play several instruments. They came to our local college in the early 70s and I've never seen so many guitars on a stage in my life. Liar was one of their showpiece numbers and lasted about 7 minutes with some great dual lead guitar playing. I always wondered if Capability Brown ever toured the States?

I missed their last appearance at the college. What a pity as a friend told me that the band members were getting very agitated with each other that night and two of the members almost broke into a fight with each other (doing a Gillan and Blackmore??). That would have been fun to watch smile. Sadly they split up soon after. They were a talented band, particularly for their complex vocal harmonies, but never broke into the big time. Half of them came back in a new band called Krazy Kat, still showcasing Liar, but the magic wasn't quite the same. Both bands only recorded two albums each before breaking up.

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Ivan
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UK Dave wrote:

Hi Tommy

I don't know "Prove It" so maybe that is something Russ provided exclusively for Rare Earth? That should be interesting. Hopefully the majority of the material will be self compositions rather than covers. I'm very excited about the new CD and hats off to Gil for keeping the flag flying. I hope the CD sells really well, just as I hope that Peter, Ray, Mike and Rod succeed with their respective projects.

I said a while ago that I hoped the sleeve artwork wouldn't be cheap and nasty. They didn't disappoint with the sleeve for Different World and the new CD looks pretty good too!

I must remember to get my order in asap. Congratulations Gil.



Hi UK Dave,, And Tommy,

I saw this and thought I would answer..

Yeah, almost all of the tunes are written in the band.. There are two tunes that Ray co-wrote also!! Which is great!! It's great to have Ray as a contributing writer on this record. They were tunes that were written before I came along..  So, I guess all in all, we have two Russ Ballard tunes, Papa, and two that have Ray as a co-writer.. The rest are within the current band..

The next record will be all Polkas and Irish drinking songs, or at least that's what the Label says they want.. um,, oh,, wait.. We don't have a Label.. Never mind!!..

Yeah, hey you guys and Gals, tell everyone you know about this Record PLEASE!! I love buying new Records!!

Ivan...........................

 



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John
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Come off it Ivan Irish drinking songs, no way! Polka's well thats another matter!



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UK Dave
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Reviving this old thread, fans of Argent might be interested to know that they are reforming to play at the High voltage Rock Festival in London in July 2010. This will be the original line up featuring the return of guitarist/vocalist Russ Ballard,  writer of two of the songs on Rare Earth's Brand New World CD.



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Mark M
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Ballard coming to the UK?...Dave, you got to be doing cartwheels by now!!biggrin That has to be a first for Ballard in a long time!!! I mean it seemed he was never going play there in London...I wonder what changed him?...Persistance from fans?...I know you will have a good timebiggrin

Best

Mark



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UK Dave
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Mark

It's only a 50 minute slot and you have to buy a ticket for either the whole day or two days. They haven't announced which bands are playing which days yet though. There's loads of 70s bands on the bill, ELP are reforming to headline one of the days!! I'm not a big fan of ELP but nevertheless it gives you an idea of ho big his Classic Rock festival is going to be.

I'm rather hoping that the 50 minute slot might lead to some seoparate gigs, either as warm ups or them doing a proper tour afterwards. I can't see them doing too much as Rod Argent is still heavily committed to The Zombies and they ar writing and recording a new album.

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Glenn
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More Ballard U.S. hits:

I Can't Shake Loose - Agnetha Faltscog (Ballard wrote the first solo hits for both of the ABBA ladies!)

You Can Do Magic - America (This song returned America to the Top 10 after a 9 year absence. They were a hugely successful U.S. group that was actually formed in the U.K.)

Note: Both of the above songs refer to "spells", a favorite Ballard theme

The Border - America (America invited Ballard to the U.S. to produce their next album. This song was a minor Top 40 hit at the time, but now consistently receives standing ovations when they do it in concert. One of Russ's best songs AND productions, PERIOD.)

Since You've Been Gone also charted in the middle of the Hot 100 by Head East. It was the most successful version in this country. I hate that version.

"You Win Again" by Hot Chocolate was a repectable Top 40 hit here. Most people think only of "You Sexy Thing" when they think of Hot Chocolate in this country, but the fact is they had 3 Top 10 hits here, two of them Gold Records. In addition they had several other Top 40 hits that performed well.

New York Groove - Ace Frehley ---- All 4 members of Kiss released solo albums at the same time. This by far was the biggest single from any of them. It hit #13.


 



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UK Dave
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Quite right Glenn

Actually, Errol Brown, the lead vocalist with Hot Chocolate, was quite a prolific writer, but despite all those hits (and don't get me wrong, I like him and think he's phenomenal), Russ' "So You Win Again" was their first No1 UK record.

"God Gave Rock and Roll To You" has to be one of Russ' biggest songs. So many American rock fans think that kiss wrote it, but Argent did it first, way back in 1973 on their "In Deep" album. Add to that "Liar" whch was a hit for 3 Dog Night, but we're probably going over old ground now.

Argent, the original line-up featuring Russ Ballard, are re-uniting for 4 or 5 UK dates next month. I'm fully intending to catch a couple of them.



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Glenn
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Dave, If Errol Brown had only written one song in his lifetime, and that song was "It Started With A Kiss", he would still qualify as "phenomenal" in my book. (That song was not a hit here. I don't even think it was released as a single here.)

And I should mention that the Brown/Wilson songwriting team had a #1 song in the U.S. - two years before they ever charted here as artists! A group called Stories covered "Brother Louie" in 1973 and shot straight to the top of the charts. So Brown/Wilson hit number one in the USA as writers, before Hot Chocolate hit U.K. #1 for the first time with a song they didn't write. Considering you have to sell a lot more records to hit number one here, Brown/Wilson don't have to bow to anyone as songwriters.

Argent together again with Russ Ballard on board sounds very exciting, and who woulda believed it would happen? I hope you really enjoy it, and be sure to tell us all about it.

Glenn

 



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UK Dave
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Hi Glenn

Argent / Ballard did a handful of dates in 2010 and I saw them twice. There is lots of footage on You Tube and they were as good as ever.

Re Hot Chocolate, I have all their hits on CDs. Tony Wilson the bass player was a great co-writer but left quite early on. He released a great solo single which failed and after that he seemed to disappear. I saw Errol Brown and his band a few years ago and he still had it. The females were falling at his feet. I gather he's now retired. Hot Chocolate are still about, but without Errol it wouldn't be the same for me.

I have to agree with you that 'It Started With A Kiss' is a fabulous song.



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