Vinyl Vault

Christine McVie Deep Dive: Christopher Cross’ ‘Back of My Mind’

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From this 21st century vantage point it seems pretty obvious that Christopher Cross was never going to match the improbable success of his start.

Never mind additional hype heaped on him by Grammy voters, who in February ‘81 made him the first (and, until Billie Eilish in 2020, only) recording artist in history with a clean sweep of the top categories, taking home trophies for album, record and song of the year as well as best new artist. (No need to re-litigate past injustices over who or what he beat, like the Pretenders for that last crown or Pink Floyd’s The Wall for the LP prize. It’s well-known the Grammys were myopic and rock-averse back then.)

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Soundtrack Sunday: The Aristocats

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Roughly a decade ago the archivists at Disney put out a comprehensive 2CD ‘Legacy Collection’ of this soundtrack that captures not only the cute flick’s complete score for the first time but also extras from the studio’s legendary songwriting Sherman Brothers that were cut from the finished film, the last to be greenlit by Walt himself.

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A&M Records Highlights: Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart

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Revisiting A&M Records No. 35
Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart:
‘I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonite?’ (April ’68)

I have only two quibbles over this pretty close to perfect proto-power-pop platter, the sort of still-sparkling gem you just know bands like Jellyfish and the Posies pored over at some point.

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Soundtrack Sunday: Apocalypse Now

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This may very well be the finest example of pure soundtrack ever created — not merely a collection of tunes and interludes but a truly transporting listening experience capable of conjuring the film’s vivid imagery sight unseen.

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A&M Records Highlights: Claudine

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Revisiting A&M Records No. 34
Claudine Longet: ‘Love Is Blue’ (April ’68, possibly earlier)

Say this much for that ingenue de chanson then equally known as Mrs. Andy Williams: back in the ‘60s she had exquisite taste. Or, at least, the men (entirely men) shaping her sound and style did, though I can’t fathom even such a lightweight artist agreeing to sing just anything placed before her.

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Christine McVie Deep Dive: Bonnie Raitt’s ‘Nine Lives’

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All things considered — including her then-label’s rejection of an earlier version, a three-year delay and overhaul, virtually zero promotional support for a hodgepodge that would mark the end of her tenure at Warner Bros. — this is still a fairly solid Bonnie Raitt album.

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Christine McVie Deep Dive: Todd Sharp’s ‘Who Am I’

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By now this sort of passed-over obscurity ought to be an unsurprising discovery to anyone still following my extensive peer into every facet of Christine McVie’s discography.

Danny Douma, Robbie Patton, Billy Burnette — these largely forgotten singer-songwriters all crossed her path at some point too, and in most cases wound up sharing credits on McVie hits. So it is with this fellow, Todd Sharp, who’d been lingering on the fringe of Fleetwood Mac circles since his time playing in Bob Welch’s band and contributing to Mick Fleetwood’s Zoo.

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A&M Records Highlights: Liza Minnelli

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Revisiting A&M Records No. 32
‘Liza Minnelli’ (February ’68)

Despite its self-titling, this is far from the debut of Judy’s daughter. By the time she was about to turn 22 and relaunch her recording career via the auspices of Mr. A & Mr. M, Minnelli had already issued three LPs for Capitol Records, starting with ‘Liza! Liza!’ in ’64, the same year she embarked on her first national theatrical run as Luisa in the touring production of ‘The Fantasticks.’

But the reality remained that after four years of working her young tail off — including landing the lead in ‘Flora the Red Menace,’ her Broadway debut — Liza was still struggling to step out from her mother’s formidable shadow.

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Christine McVie Deep Dive: Billy Burnette’s ‘Try Me’

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We encountered this well-coiffured scion earlier in my fathoms-deep dive into the discography of the late great Christine McVie.

Billy Burnette — son of Dorsey, nephew of Johnny, heir to their rockabilly bona fides since he was a child star touring with Brenda Lee — first entered the Macverse back in ’83 as a creature in Mick Fleetwood’s Zoo. For the oft-overlooked detour ‘I’m Not Me’ (see previous post) he provided plenty of fretwork and sang four numbers: the title track, a Beach Boys obscurity, his dad’s ditty ‘Tear It Up’ and his own tune, ‘Gimme You.’

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A&M Records Highlights: Cat Stevens

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Revisiting A&M Records No. 30
Cat Stevens: ‘Matthew & Son’ (March ’67)
Cat Stevens: ‘New Masters’ (December ‘67)

Technically these first two assortments from the future Yusuf Islam don’t belong in this series. His platinum tenure within Mr. A & Mr. M’s haven didn’t begin until he finally found his sound on third album ‘Mona Bone Jakon’ three years later.

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