ANGEL - new album and book

[Garden Dreamer]

Somehow this flew under my radar but Angel is back (well, Frank on vocals and Punky on guitar with 4 other guys) and they released an album,"Risen" back in October. 17 tracks with the guitar the focal point since Greg Giuffria is not back on keys. Mostly harkening back to their hard rock and pop styles, no proggy arrangements as on the first two albums. They re-recorded "The Tower" and another song has a keyboard intro that refers to "Fortune". They have backing vocals now...



Frank's voice sounds amazing for being in his late 60's, even on some live videos I've seen, compared to when a version of Angel (Frank and Barry on drums) did some shows 10-15 years ago and his voice sounded strained.

In 2018, there was a book released about Angel, "On a Wing and a Prayer" by Gordon Gebert, who played keyboards on the version of Angel from the 2000's. Don't know how good it is since he obviously wasn't in the band for the 70's.

Any comments on the album or the book?

[Joe F.]

I have the album, but not the book.

I found the album to be lacking in most of the things that I loved about the first two albums. I'd still go see them if they came near me though, as they sets they've been playing have been chock full of the stuff I like by them.

[Steve F.]

True fact: I went to High School with Punky’s little brother Timmy. Also a guitarist.
My good pal, Chronometers- era Muffin drummer Stu Abramowitz, went to High School with and is still good friends with drummer Barry Brandt’s little brother, Guy, who now runs a very good delicatessen!

Thus ends anything I have to say of value to fans of Angel.

[moecurlythanu]

^ Still a good anecdote, Steve. We ain't getting any younger. Somebody needs to start a Reminiscences thread, where we can post things like that, concert memories, shit related to the music we love that was a part of our experiences, and the like.

Oh, and the first 2 Angel albums were great back in the day. I'll have to at least give this new one a shot.

[Guitarplyrjvb]

True fact: I went to High School with Punky’s little brother Timmy. Also a guitarist.
My good pal, Chronometers- era Muffin drummer Stu Abramowitz, went to High School with and is still good friends with drummer Barry Brandt’s little brother, Guy, who now runs a very good delicatessen!

Thus ends anything I have to say of value to fans of Angel.

True fact #2: My buddy's sister was married to Mickey Jones, the bass player (now deceased). I believe he was in a DC band called the "Cherry People" or something like that. As far as Angel, I've never heard a note of their music, despite Terry Bozzio's fandom!

[spacefreak]

Oh, and the first 2 Angel albums were great back in the day. I'll have to at least give this new one a shot.

Well... mostly the first one. Don't think that the second holds well.

[moecurlythanu]

Well... mostly the first one. Don't think that the second holds well.

I liked the 2nd better than the first back then. It was the 3rd where they lost me.

[Scrotum Scissor]

That debut is about as freaky as US 70s symph/hard rock ever got. The chorus in that opening track ("The Tower", is it?) says it all with the 'locked-in' sound of DiMino's voice. I still play this once a year or so, and it always gets me going. Their rawness was a kinda antithesis to the slick details of that other 70s US "prog" guilty pleasure of mine, Ambrosia. Whom I like a bit more, I have to say.

Never enjoyed later Angel, frankly, and that Giuffria album I bought back in the 80s when I considered myself a bonafide hard-rock fan was, well, not very good.

[Garden Dreamer]

I liked the 2nd better than the first back then. It was the 3rd where they lost me.

They switched producers with the third album and it totally killed their sound. First two were huge-sounding, soaring above the clouds with long proggy solo synth and piano passages. With the third album (On Earth as it is in Heaven), the songs became shorter, no long guitar/keyboard solo parts, and the sound became shrill, tinny and full of echoechoechoecho...although On Earth really isn't that bad, it's the next couple of albums where they dialed up the pop and it didn't work for me. Although "Winter Song" from those later albums is a great seasonal tune...

[spacefreak]

Never enjoyed later Angel, frankly, and that Giuffria album I bought back in the 80s when I considered myself a bonafide hard-rock fan was, well, not very good.

Yes, not good at all.

[Steve F.]

I believe he was in a DC band called the "Cherry People" or something like that.!

Cherry People were, indeed, a long running DC band in the late 60s who released a semi-sought after lp of that time. Later sort of evolved into what later became Angel.

[SunRunner2]

That debut is about as freaky as US 70s symph/hard rock ever got. The chorus in that opening track ("The Tower", is it?) says it all with the 'locked-in' sound of DiMino's voice.

"The Tower" was a pure blow your mind kind of affair, with over the top synths and soaring vocals. The rest of the album is good, but I always wondered what would have happened if they kept the dynamic of "Tower" and built on it for future releases. "Helluva Band" also had a similar stand out track called "The Fortune", but the rest of the album was a let down for me. After that, I could sense that there was no need to explore further. They delved further into short "rocking tracks" and left "The Tower" and The "Fortune" in their tracks.

[AdventAlan]

Greetings,

I saw Angel live twice, once in 1978 (opening for Styx) and then again last year. I used to enjoy a bit of their first three albums and have to say that the first show I mentioned was actually quite good--at least for where my head was at the time. I'm afraid last year's show wasn't very compelling, though Punky and Frank were both in relatively decent shape. Though I don't have high hopes for the new album, I'll probably check it out anyway.

Cheers,


Alan

[nosebone]

Loved the first album age 13 in 1975, after hearing Allison (the nightbird) Steele playing Broken Dreams on WNEW FM in NY.

[Dan Roth]

that Giuffria album I bought back in the 80s when I considered myself a bonafide hard-rock fan was, well, not very good.

Giuffria had two albums and I quite enjoyed the debut with the hit single "Call to the Heart". I loved the keys and the vocalist was outstanding imho. (That vocalist, David Glen Eisley, incidentally is probably most well known at this point for his song "Sweet Victory", which was used quite famously in a Spongebob Squarepants episode about a football game and got a lot of play during the Superbowl last year) The follow-up album, Silk and Steel, was very bland imho.

[nosebone]

Giuffria had two albums and I quite enjoyed the debut with the hit single "Call to the Heart". I loved the keys and the vocalist was outstanding imho. (That vocalist, David Glen Eisley, incidentally is probably most well known at this point for his song "Sweet Victory", which was used quite famously in a Spongebob Squarepants episode about a football game and got a lot of play during the Superbowl last year) The follow-up album, Silk and Steel, was very bland imho.

Good lord

[Gruno]

Angel... Casablanca's alternate universe of KISS. I skipped them (along with the band Giuffria) and went straight to House Of Lords. House Of Lords continues to deliver the goods. I wish Gregg Giuffria had remained with them.

Gordon Gebert has been banned from a few message boards and online communities. His credibility has been challenged numerous times.

[Scrotum Scissor]

"The Tower" was a pure blow your mind kind of affair, with over the top synths and soaring vocals. The rest of the album is good, but I always wondered what would have happened if they kept the dynamic of "Tower" and built on it for future releases.

Check out the more obscure US 70s band named Leviathan for that! Their sole record from '74 almost sounds like a continuation on the formula that Angel (ironically) would do on their debut; harsh riffs, Plant'ish vocals, fast rhythm section with intense drumming, fantasy lyrics, an overall sense of torment and drama and a virtual -ton- of mellotron.

[moecurlythanu]

"The Tower" got a lot of airplay on FM around these parts. As Archie and Edith would say, those were the days.

[moecurlythanu]

Just gave a listen to the video in the OP. Not bad. A bit 80s anthemic sounding, but not bad. Frank & Punky still have it. Guess I'll explore further.

[SunRunner2]

Check out the more obscure US 70s band named Leviathan for that! Their sole record from '74 almost sounds like a continuation on the formula that Angel (ironically) would do on their debut; harsh riffs, Plant'ish vocals, fast rhythm section with intense drumming, fantasy lyrics, an overall sense of torment and drama and a virtual -ton- of mellotron.

Thank you for the recommendation; I'll have to check it out further. Also, appreciate your distinguishing them from the other bands known as Leviathan (the "sole" album from '74 - US band). That album gets good reviews on Prog Archives and decent ones on Rate Your Music. Ah, yes, anything with a ton of mellotron is inviting to me.

[Fracktured]

The only thing I remember about this band is hair and lots of it


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[Dan Roth]

For the longest time, the only song i knew from Angel was "The Winter Song", which Philly radio DJ Ed Sciaky used to play in the winter months.

[TheLoony]

Angel... Casablanca's alternate universe of KISS. I skipped them (along with the band Giuffria) and went straight to House Of Lords. House Of Lords continues to deliver the goods. I wish Gregg Giuffria had remained with them.

Gordon Gebert has been banned from a few message boards and online communities. His credibility has been challenged numerous times.

I still have two tickets to House of Lords debut gig. Won them from the radio or something like that. They played at a restaurant in the now defunct Sahara hotel called, appropriately, House of Lords. I was never able to make the gig as I had no transportation at the time and this was before the bus system was introduced here. Always wondered if I would have liked the band or not.

[adap2it]

Saw them open for Gentle Giant and Blackmore's Rainbow in Rochester NY 1976. Didn't listen to what they were playing as I was backstage. What I do recall is the white dress and lots of hair.