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Post by maddogfagin on Jun 25, 2015 16:21:55 GMT
www.popmatters.com/10 of the Best Fleetwood Mac Member Solo AlbumsBY ROB CALDWELL 25 June 2015 www.popmatters.com/post/194279-10-of-the-best-fleetwood-mac-member-solo-albums/Bob Welch / Paris: Paris (1976)Paris was formed soon after Welch left Fleetwood Mac; Welch was joined by ex-Jethro Tull bassist Glen Cornick and Thom Mooney, who had been in Nazz with Todd Rundgren in the late ‘60s. Though not issued under his name, for all intents and purposes, this is a Bob Welch solo album; he wrote all the songs, sang them, and plays the guitar parts. Modeled after Led Zeppelin, this was a harder rocking side of Welch than had been seen before or was seen after. Though it’s louder, his gift for melodicism shines through. The drama and dynamics in “Narrow Gate (La Porte Etroite)”, the hectic and claustrophobic “Starcage”, and the wide open spaces of “Solitaire” are highlights. With this, Paris’ first album (a second, Big Town 2061, doesn’t quite measure up, though it has its moments), Welch sounds like he had something to prove—and he delivered, in spades. A few years later, he struck radio gold with a remake of his Fleetwood Mac song “Sentimental Lady” from the solid French Kiss album.
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Post by steelmonkey on Jun 30, 2015 2:16:49 GMT
I saw Paris in about 1974, in a small Denver nightclub, motivated, of course, by Cornick...and bought the second album. Big Towne 2061....not blown away but no regrets either...the album had at least 4 or 5 great songs and the concert was not at all boring...I remember being a bit put off by the fashion aspect...they were a trio at that point, I think, and they all took the stage wearing over the shoulder girly purse/bags...even the drummer....why...? like, might they need to freshen the make up during the gig or pull out some change...check out videos from that era to see if they are wearing their bags on stage !
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Post by steelmonkey on Jun 30, 2015 2:18:40 GMT
It seemed like sort of hard to play music...not at all loose or jammy...and Glen Cornick was visibly competent.
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Post by maddogfagin on Apr 16, 2018 6:27:36 GMT
therockasteria.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/paris-paris-1975-usuk-powerful-hard.htmlWednesday, December 18, 2013Paris - Paris (1975 us/uk, powerful hard classic rock)One of the most devastating power trios ever. Formed by leading light Welch (ex-Fleetwood Mac) along with Cornick (ex-Wild Turkey, Jethro Tull), they came out with a unique style unmatched to this day. Musically, they conjured up an aural holocaust with Welch's lyrics steeped in deep mysticism and religious nightmares. "Paris" is a classic. by Tony Jasper"Paris" was the band that I started with Glenn Cornick after I left Fleetwood Mac. I had wanted to try doing some heavier rock , like Led Zeppelin was doing at the time. During the last six months of 1974 , while touring with FM , I had been spending a lot of my off time talking to Jimmy Robinson who was an engineer that we had met while working either at Larrabee Studios , or (more likely) the Record Plant studio in LA. I think it was Jimmy who suggested Thom Mooney , who he knew. (ex-Nazz and Todd Rundgren drummer). Glenn Cornick was also between bands , and since we knew each other pretty well (he had been married to an ex girlfriend of mine , Judy Wong) I asked him if he wanted to start a hard rock trio. I think Glenn and I came up with the name "Paris". For one thing , I had lived and worked in the actual city of Paris (the French one , not Tennessee) and Glenn Cornick and I had first met when he was playing a gig there with Jethro Tull. Also , by the name Paris , we wanted to imply that , although this would be a "hard rock" trio , it would have a certain level of refinement and not just be" headbangers " Glenn and I both wanted to do something along the lines of what Led Zeppelin was doing. I personally wanted to rock a little harder than I had been able to do with Fleetwood Mac. Lucky for me, Fleetwood Mac was taking off at the time with the "White" album , which would contain their 1st ever # 1 single. That meant that there was a fair amount of interest in me as an ex FM member. John Carter at Capitol records was the one who finally bit the bullet (after a couple of passes) and gave us a demo budget. Capitol liked the demo and Al Cory decided to sign us. That was about the last of the smart moves Paris ever made. We cut the record up at the Record Plant studios in Sausalito CA , a beautiful location by the bay, in the "pit" , which was a studio built especially for Sly Stone by the Record Plant owners, Chris Stone and Gary Kellgren. The "pit" was very unusual at the time ; it had no glass wall between the control room and the players space as was customary (and necessary because of leakage). The walls- floor to ceiling- were carpeted in bright maroon plush , and you could play or sing plugged in "direct" into the console while you were lying down. The "pit" also had a couple of bedrooms with microphone jacks in the head boards , so Sly, or whoever was in the bed could do vocals while under the covers. It really was the height of '70's "over the topness"... Once I woke up and the clock said "2". I thought, "oh , I'm late , it's 2pm and we better get started". I peeked ouside for a minute, and realized it was 2 am , not 2pm. I had been asleep for 24 hours. Yes, there were lots of drugs at those sessions. I especially remember a Bayer aspirin bottle full of coke, that was constantly replenished ( from the album budget !!). And Gary Kellgren was a big fan of nitrous oxide , of which there were tanks aplenty. Every so often a little opium would appear from somewhere. In 1975, Sausalito California was overrun with drug dealers. It was still considered fashionable and chic to do coke. If you didn't pull out your little bottle and offer some around, you were considered to be rude and ungracious. Half the time I didn't know what day, or what hour of the day, or even what month it was. Let me be clear here; Glenn Cornick never did drugs, that I know of. Neither did Thom Mooney. I was a bit more prudish than some of the real " heroic imbibers" ( who I won't name) . I was a "nothing till after the 5 o'clock cocktail hour" type of guy. Maybe that's one reason why I'm still alive... In retrospect , with Paris , I was in too much of a hurry . We probably should have let the band develop a little further , tour constantly, and find an audience. As it happened, Hunt Sales came down with a case of Bells Palsy (which paralyzes your face muscles), and we had to go on a long break. In that interval, I wrote "French Kiss"...and Paris just sort of faded. If the 2nd Paris album "Big Towne 2061" had done a little better, and/or we had stayed on the road.... who knows.......? by Bob WelchOn June 7th 2012, Bob Welch, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 65.
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Post by maddogfagin on Apr 14, 2019 6:39:10 GMT
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