BROTHER BAIT 1976 SEALED POMP ROCK A TRUE MUSIC GEM FEW KNOW ABOUT

$

55

DOMESTIC $ 5 PLUS $ 1 EACH  INTERNATIONAL  $ 21 PLUS $ 7 EACH  With guitarist Bloom responsible for penning all of the material, these eight tracks were incredible 70s AOR.  Think along the lines of Journey, Kansas, Pablo Cruise, early Steely Dan, Styx, or any one of dozens of outfits that tried to find success blending pop, hard rock, and occasional progressive moves.  The good news was that  Bloom had a talent for crafting catchy melodies that for the most part managed to avoid the artistic dead ends and excesses that plagued most of the competition.  He was also a talented guitarist who managed to make the most of his time in the spotlight.  The rest of the band were equally good.  Both Lester and McDonald were accomplished singers who blended their voices well (check out 'I Caught You In the Act').  Costley and McDonald were a capable rhythm section, giving the album a needed kick in the butt whenever things threatened to turn pompous and overblown. That said  Crutcher was seemingly the band's secret weapon, his arsenal of keyboards frequently serving as what amounted as a second lead guitar 'Masquerade' showcased the interesting combination of Bloom's squealing lead guitar and Crutcher's arsenal of keyboards and synthesizers.  The result was a pounding rocker which sounded like a mixture of Pablo Cruise and Santana.  - 'I'm No Pushover' was one of the album's more commercial offerings, boasting a refrain that was clearly written for radio airplay. - Opening up Crutcher turning in some ELP-styled synthesizers for the song  Rainbow' found the band taking a stab at a more progressive sound.  What you thought of the song was going to depend on what you felt about  Styx. If you love Styx then this will be right up your alley.   Then the killer 'I Caught You In the Act'  is without a doubt the  album's standout track.  Yeah, this one was hyper-commercial again sounding like it had been structured with top-40 radio in mind (not a crime), but the performance was enthusiastic; the band actually sounded like they were having fun.  

- One of my favorite performances, 'All I Need Is Your Love' dropped most of the progressive flourishes in favor of a conventional rocker.  One of the few songs to showcase Bloom's lead guitar, the track also allowed Costley to finally show that he was a first-rate drummer.  Great track and made you wonder why they didn't record more stuff like this.  - To my ears the closer 'Rider In the Sunset' sounded like something that had been left off of a mid-1970s Kansas album.  I happen to like mid-1970s Kansas so that wasn't meant as a criticism, but the rock-progressive hybrid was likely to irritate many people.  

THIS IS A MUST READ ABOUT THEIR LIVE ALBUM GOOD LUCK I DON`T BELIEVE IT EXIST  http://gdm.glorydazemusic.com/articles.php?article_id=5483

HERE ARE TWO COPIES FOR SALE     http://www.amazon.com/Brother-Bait/dp/B003K60G0K http://www.musicstack.com/album/brother+bait/brother+bait