There are some bands you can look at and date. Moxy is one of those bands. The hair, the porn star moustaches, the clothes - it all literally screams 1970s. But the music doesn't. It still stands up almost 50 years on and sounds as fresh now as it did then. This is good debut album - a great debut album, in fact - and I have to wonder why they didn't become more successful because of it.
It wasn't for lack of trying. The band, who had previously called themselves Leigh-Ashford, was joined by singer Buzz Shearman in 1974, after which they changed their name and adopted a heavier sound. They set about touring Canada almost non-stop during 1974 and into 1975 before having a hit with Can't You See I'm A Star - third song, side one. They then toured the U.S. on the strength of the radio airplay that song generated, finding a particularly enthusiastic audience in Texas, where in 1977 an unknown Australian act called AC/DC opened for them.
Not too many people are aware that many of the guitar solos on this record were performed by session musician Tommy Bolin, who had previously played lead guitar for The James Gang and would later replace Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple.
This record - also known as The Black Album - was recorded over two weeks in early 1975. Bolin appeared because he just happened to be in the same studio (he may have been recording his own album, Teaser, at the time) and was so impressed with Moxy's sound that when asked by the band's manager, Roland Paquin, to fill in, he said yes. Turn's out Moxy's guitarist, Earl Johnson, had been turfed from the studio after he got into a disagreement with producer Mark Smith, so Bolin was brought in to play the solos, although Johnson did play the rhythm parts. Johnson is a terrific player who really did a lot to help define the band's sound, so I don't know why the band opted to allow their producer to sub him out like that. Seems over the top, no matter the disagreement.
The back cover also lists Buddy Caine as the band's second guitarist, but he didn't join until after this record was recorded. So what you're hearing is all Earl and Tommy Bolin. As far as I know there's no Buddy Caine on it. I wonder if he collects royalties?
Bolin's appearance on this record garnered some much needed attention in the American media, which led to a new record contract that resulted in a worldwide reissue of this record in 1976, after which my favourite track on this album - Fantasy - hit the Top 20 charts on KISS-FM in San Antonio, where disc jockey Joe Anthony played the album in its entirety on several occasions.
Comparisons of the band's sound were made to Aerosmith, Deep Purple and fellow Canadian rockers, Rush (who were still a hard rock band at the time and hadn't yet started writing songs about books). Geoff Barton, of the UK publication Sounds, called Moxy "Canada's Led Zeppelin". They became the opening act for Black Sabbath and played for larger audiences. Things were looking really good, indeed.
But then not much happened. Other albums followed and the band continued to tour at a relentless pace - the smell of The Big Time was right there - but it all began to take its toll. Buzz Shearman developed vocal cord problems and left the band. He was replaced by Mike Reno, later of Loverboy, and this is pretty much where Moxy - for me, anyway - comes to an end. I'm not sure why, but I was never interested in any of the incarnations of the band beyond their second LP. Even Riding High, the third record with the original lineup intact, didn't do anything for me.
Shearman would rejoin Moxy in 1979, but by then Earl and Bill had left and it was just too late. Buzz would remain in front of the microphone until his death in a motorcycle accident in 1983, and the band would continue to limp along for years afterward with many different members rotating through the ranks. By then their best efforts - this first record and Moxy II - were far behind them. This record is the real classic. Die-hard Bolan fans are always looking for it, so it's also probably the most sought after. And it's not that expensive in the wild, either.
It is great record that should have resulted in more fame and fortune for a band that should have made it bigger than they did. Who knows why these things happen, and why the music gods smile on some bands but not others. Standout tracks here include Can't You See I'm A Star - a song I immediately sat down and learned to play on guitar - Sail On Sail Away and the aforementioned Fantasy, the terrific tune that opens the album and immediately draws you in. First time I heard it I knew I was hearing something special and I wanted to hear more.
My copy is the original pressing and it sounds great. It's heavy and melodic and very well produced, although not overly so. It's something you play really loud in the car. If you are into heavy rock and roll, you really should have this record in your collection.
There are some bands you can look at and date. Moxy is one of those bands. The hair, the porn star moustaches, the clothes - it all literally screams 1970s. But the music doesn't. It still stands up almost 50 years on and sounds as fresh now as it did then. This is good debut album - a great debut album, in fact - and I have to wonder why they didn't become more successful because of it.
It wasn't for lack of trying. The band, who had previously called themselves Leigh-Ashford, was joined by singer Buzz Shearman in 1974, after which they changed their name and adopted a heavier sound. They set about touring Canada almost non-stop during 1974 and into 1975 before having a hit with Can't You See I'm A Star - third song, side one. They then toured the U.S. on the strength of the radio airplay that song generated, finding a particularly enthusiastic audience in Texas, where in 1977 an unknown Australian act called AC/DC opened for them.
Not too many people are aware that many of the guitar solos on this record were performed by session musician Tommy Bolin, who had previously played lead guitar for The James Gang and would later replace Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple.
This record - also known as The Black Album - was recorded over two weeks in early 1975. Bolin appeared because he just happened to be in the same studio (he may have been recording his own album, Teaser, at the time) and was so impressed with Moxy's sound that when asked by the band's manager, Roland Paquin, to fill in, he said yes. Turn's out Moxy's guitarist, Earl Johnson, had been turfed from the studio after he got into a disagreement with producer Mark Smith, so Bolin was brought in to play the solos, although Johnson did play the rhythm parts. Johnson is a terrific player who really did a lot to help define the band's sound, so I don't know why the band opted to allow their producer to sub him out like that. Seems over the top, no matter the disagreement.
The back cover also lists Buddy Caine as the band's second guitarist, but he didn't join until after this record was recorded. So what you're hearing is all Earl and Tommy Bolin. As far as I know there's no Buddy Caine on it. I wonder if he collects royalties?
Bolin's appearance on this record garnered some much needed attention in the American media, which led to a new record contract that resulted in a worldwide reissue of this record in 1976, after which my favourite track on this album - Fantasy - hit the Top 20 charts on KISS-FM in San Antonio, where disc jockey Joe Anthony played the album in its entirety on several occasions.
Comparisons of the band's sound were made to Aerosmith, Deep Purple and fellow Canadian rockers, Rush (who were still a hard rock band at the time and hadn't yet started writing songs about books). Geoff Barton, of the UK publication Sounds, called Moxy "Canada's Led Zeppelin". They became the opening act for Black Sabbath and played for larger audiences. Things were looking really good, indeed.
But then not much happened. Other albums followed and the band continued to tour at a relentless pace - the smell of The Big Time was right there - but it all began to take its toll. Buzz Shearman developed vocal cord problems and left the band. He was replaced by Mike Reno, later of Loverboy, and this is pretty much where Moxy - for me, anyway - comes to an end. I'm not sure why, but I was never interested in any of the incarnations of the band beyond their second LP. Even Riding High, the third record with the original lineup intact, didn't do anything for me.
Shearman would rejoin Moxy in 1979, but by then Earl and Bill had left and it was just too late. Buzz would remain in front of the microphone until his death in a motorcycle accident in 1983, and the band would continue to limp along for years afterward with many different members rotating through the ranks. By then their best efforts - this first record and Moxy II - were far behind them. This record is the real classic. Die-hard Bolan fans are always looking for it, so it's also probably the most sought after. And it's not that expensive in the wild, either.
It is great record that should have resulted in more fame and fortune for a band that should have made it bigger than they did. Who knows why these things happen, and why the music gods smile on some bands but not others. Standout tracks here include Can't You See I'm A Star - a song I immediately sat down and learned to play on guitar - Sail On Sail Away and the aforementioned Fantasy, the terrific tune that opens the album and immediately draws you in. First time I heard it I knew I was hearing something special and I wanted to hear more.
My copy is the original pressing and it sounds great. It's heavy and melodic and very well produced, although not overly so. It's something you play really loud in the car. If you are into heavy rock and roll, you really should have this record in your collection.
BONUS TRACK
I think the 1970s was a tough time to be a Canadian band trying to make it. A glance at the music charts from that decade shows a lot of pop but very little rock. And while one might think that would somehow have made it easier to get noticed, it really didn't help.
Even when a rockin' great band like Moxy started to make a name for themselves after a couple of years of non-stop touring, along came the one-two punch of disco and punk and all the attention focused elsewhere. And this happened despite the fact that there were a lot of kids like me who craved rock and roll and were desperate to find some more great heavy music. A band like Moxy could have easily eaten up my entire allowance for weeks had the music media of the time told me about them.
Sure, there were some decent rock bands in the 1970s - good Canadian rock bands - but they were already more-or-less established before the critical mid-point of 1975. Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Rush, Heart, The Guess Who, Triumph, April Wine … they were already household names by mid-decade.
Then there was a sort of second tier, where acts like Goddo and Trooper hung out. That's where Moxy ended up.
It was a hard, upward slog for Moxy but they pressed onward and even gained momentum. And then the signer quit. Then someone else got fed up and quit and all that hard-won headway began to slow.
The band eventually grew disillusioned and broke up, reforming every now and again for whatever reason. And then decades passed, during which a "best of" and a tribute CD were released. Then another reformation with a new lineup - more than 20 musicians have rotated in and out of the band over the years - and a live CD. It's Earl's band now. He's all that's left of the original Moxy.
And so it goes.
Moxy reminds me of another great band from the 70s that never made it big called Artful Dodger. An American band from Virginia, but almost the same story. Well, their singer didn't die young. But otherwise … their second album, Honor Among Thieves, should have been huge.
Just like this record.
No doubt about it, Moxy should've been a lot bigger than they were. Play this record. You'll see.
I think the 1970s was a tough time to be a Canadian band trying to make it. A glance at the music charts from that decade shows a lot of pop but very little rock. And while one might think that would somehow have made it easier to get noticed, it really didn't help.
Even when a rockin' great band like Moxy started to make a name for themselves after a couple of years of non-stop touring, along came the one-two punch of disco and punk and all the attention focused elsewhere. And this happened despite the fact that there were a lot of kids like me who craved rock and roll and were desperate to find some more great heavy music. A band like Moxy could have easily eaten up my entire allowance for weeks had the music media of the time told me about them.
Sure, there were some decent rock bands in the 1970s - good Canadian rock bands - but they were already more-or-less established before the critical mid-point of 1975. Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Rush, Heart, The Guess Who, Triumph, April Wine … they were already household names by mid-decade.
Then there was a sort of second tier, where acts like Goddo and Trooper hung out. That's where Moxy ended up.
It was a hard, upward slog for Moxy but they pressed onward and even gained momentum. And then the signer quit. Then someone else got fed up and quit and all that hard-won headway began to slow.
The band eventually grew disillusioned and broke up, reforming every now and again for whatever reason. And then decades passed, during which a "best of" and a tribute CD were released. Then another reformation with a new lineup - more than 20 musicians have rotated in and out of the band over the years - and a live CD. It's Earl's band now. He's all that's left of the original Moxy.
And so it goes.
Moxy reminds me of another great band from the 70s that never made it big called Artful Dodger. An American band from Virginia, but almost the same story. Well, their singer didn't die young. But otherwise … their second album, Honor Among Thieves, should have been huge.
Just like this record.
No doubt about it, Moxy should've been a lot bigger than they were. Play this record. You'll see.
