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Thread: Remember Audience?

  1. #51
    Member nosebone's Avatar
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    Aw...., RIP
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  2. #52
    Jazzbo manqué Mister Triscuits's Avatar
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    Very sorry to hear about Keith Gemmell; he and Howard Werth were a formidable combination.

    Quote Originally Posted by yoyiceu View Post
    Curiously, I don't see a mention of the fact that Howard Werth was seriously considered to replace Jim Morrison as lead singer of he Doors after Morrison's death, to the point that the rest of the band moved to England and for a while practiced together with Werth on vocals, but one of the members suddenly wanted to go back to the US and the project was abandoned.
    Robbie Krieger says there were never any rehearsals with Werth, they "just talked with him one day." And note that this was not right after Morrison's death, but almost two years later, after the Doors had put out two relative flop albums as a trio and had pretty much run out of steam.
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  3. #53
    Quote Originally Posted by JJ88 View Post
    As an aside, I'm surprised 'You're Not Smiling' wasn't a hit. Bizarrely, a few months ago I read that a single release was reissued in 1973 under Howard Werth's name, with Audience essentially listed as a back-up band:
    It's appeared on one compilation I know of, and is the same version from House on the Hill.

  4. #54
    Quote Originally Posted by yoyiceu View Post
    Curiously, I don't see a mention of the fact that Howard Werth was seriously considered to replace Jim Morrison as lead singer of he Doors after Morrison's death, to the point that the rest of the band moved to England and for a while practiced together with Werth on vocals, but one of the members suddenly wanted to go back to the US and the project was abandoned. Later, though, Krieger and Densmore did form The Butts Band with another British singer -Jess Roden- on vocals.
    Jac Holzman was apparently the one who wanted Werth fronting the Doors to happen. He was a huge fan of Audience and was apparently crushed that House on the Hill and Lunch weren’t bigger hits. He also claimed a similarity in Werth’s voice to Jim Morrison’s, which I’m afraid I do not hear at all!

    But...hey. Couldn’t have been any worse than Full Circle, am I right?
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  5. #55
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    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear View Post
    Jac Holzman was apparently the one who wanted Werth fronting the Doors to happen. He was a huge fan of Audience and was apparently crushed that House on the Hill and Lunch weren’t bigger hits. He also claimed a similarity in Werth’s voice to Jim Morrison’s, which I’m afraid I do not hear at all!

    But...hey. Couldn’t have been any worse than Full Circle, am I right?
    You got it. One of the ultimate "contractual obligation records"!

  6. #56
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
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    Played both FFF and HotH last night.


    Quote Originally Posted by yoyiceu View Post
    Curiously, I don't see a mention of the fact that Howard Werth was seriously considered to replace Jim Morrison as lead singer of he Doors after Morrison's death, to the point that the rest of the band moved to England and for a while practiced together with Werth on vocals, but one of the members suddenly wanted to go back to the US and the project was abandoned. Later, though, Krieger and Densmore did form The Butts Band with another British singer -Jess Roden- on vocals.
    Had never heard of this story, especially The Doors moving to the UK

    Quote Originally Posted by Mister Triscuits View Post
    Robbie Krieger says there were never any rehearsals with Werth, they "just talked with him one day." And note that this was not right after Morrison's death, but almost two years later, after the Doors had put out two relative flop albums as a trio and had pretty much run out of steam.
    Other Voices was a rather good album... I can see this being a classic Doors album if Jimbo had sung the songs himself

    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear View Post
    Jac Holzman was apparently the one who wanted Werth fronting the Doors to happen. He was a huge fan of Audience and was apparently crushed that House on the Hill and Lunch weren’t bigger hits. He also claimed a similarity in Werth’s voice to Jim Morrison’s, which I’m afraid I do not hear at all!
    Lunch: there IS something wrong with that album... can't put my finger on it, but it just doesn't click.
    HotH: difficult to believe this was a miss, and even more FFF, which I find even better

    But...hey. Couldn’t have been any worse than Full Circle, am I right?
    Well, TFC might've been an OK album if it hadn't bear the Doors name ... It's just that people expect LA Woman or Strange Days from a Doors album.
    I mean if it had been done by dozens of other band, it would've been thought as "on par" with the rest of their discography
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

  7. #57
    Quote Originally Posted by Trane View Post
    Lunch: there IS something wrong with that album... can't put my finger on it, but it just doesn't click.
    Audience must stick to the formula, Black Sabbath horror kitsch. Priestess, Murderess, Satan devours... the humorless audience just can't take a fun record in the vein of Kevin Ayers, The Bonzos and The Kinks.

    Seven Sore Bruises, Barracuda Dan and the incredible speed-feast Trombone Gulch. 'Sorry no video' from the up-loader which is fine as I can visualize the roadrunner and coyote disappearing over the desert hill during the fade-out.


    Hula Girl, well I won't describe what I visualize with that 'toon' but I'm certainly in 'Gay Paris' with my striped t-shirt and beret during Party Games. I could blame the song for my latent appreciation of the French accordion sound. I'm back in London with Buy me an Island, how many times have I just washed my car when the first spots of rain fall?

    Then there's the 'cuda been contenders' Stand By The Door, Thunder and Lightning and the almost great In Accord (I could have done without the acoustic ending and Werth's slighty disturbing voice) to make the whole thing (cover included) an even more essential album than Odyssey and Oracle.


    Bummer, I've just seen that my Virgin Cd doesn't have the excellent Elixir of Youth. Even more reason to get the Esoteric version, folks.

  8. #58
    Quote Originally Posted by Mister Triscuits View Post
    Very sorry to hear about Keith Gemmell; he and Howard Werth were a formidable combination.

    Robbie Krieger says there were never any rehearsals with Werth, they "just talked with him one day." And note that this was not right after Morrison's death, but almost two years later, after the Doors had put out two relative flop albums as a trio and had pretty much run out of steam.

    Well, Howard Werth seems to have a different recollection...

    This link leads to an interview with Werth where he talks at length about the rehearsals with the Ex Doors in London...

    http://newdoorstalk.proboards.com/th...s-disband-1973

  9. #59
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    Quote Originally Posted by Trane View Post
    Lunch: there IS something wrong with that album... can't put my finger on it, but it just doesn't click.
    HotH: difficult to believe this was a miss, and even more FFF, which I find even better
    I'll tell you what was wrong with it - no Keith Gemmell. At that point, Keith had left to join Sammy, a band featuring Mick Underwood(ex-Quatermass!)and Geoff Sharkey(ex-Ginhouse)among others. Audience enlisted a couple of session players(Bobby Keys and Jim Price IIRC). Decent players, but they were just playing parts and didn't display the passion that Gemmell and few others(Dave Jackson, Mel Collins)could bring. That's why Lunch is so flat.

  10. #60
    Quote Originally Posted by Calabasas_Trafalgar View Post
    I'll tell you what was wrong with it - no Keith Gemmell. At that point, Keith had left to join Sammy, a band featuring Mick Underwood(ex-Quatermass!)and Geoff Sharkey(ex-Ginhouse)among others. Audience enlisted a couple of session players(Bobby Keys and Jim Price IIRC). Decent players, but they were just playing parts and didn't display the passion that Gemmell and few others(Dave Jackson, Mel Collins)could bring. That's why Lunch is so flat.
    Going from the inside cover of Lunch, that looks like Bobby Keys on sax.




    I still think Gemmell was on In Accord (Gemmell/Williams/Conner). Correct me if I'm wrong.

  11. #61
    Jazzbo manqué Mister Triscuits's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Galactic Bulldozer View Post
    Going from the inside cover of Lunch, that looks like Bobby Keys on sax.
    No, that is definitely not Bobby Keys. I believe Keys and Price only did the album as a session; the touring horn man to replace Gemmell was a guy named Pat Charles Neuberg. That must be him.
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  12. #62
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    The house on the hill is a great album. Got it on cd about 3 years ago.


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  13. #63
    Quote Originally Posted by Trane View Post
    Lunch: there IS something wrong with that album... can't put my finger on it, but it just doesn't click.
    I don’t find it quite as horrid as its reputation but it is definitely the most...un-good of their LPs. As you say, just doesn’t click. And as others have said, the dearth of Keith Gemmell probably had something to do with that. Nothing wrong with Bobby Keys, obviously, but Gemmell brought something to the table. For Bobby, it was just another session gig.

    HotH: difficult to believe this was a miss, and even more FFF, which I find even better
    Audience were kind of a hard sell, as they weren’t really comparable to any other band. Except maybe Family, also a hard sell. I don’t think FFF was ever released in the States, but you’re right; it might be their best album.
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  14. #64
    Jazzbo manqué Mister Triscuits's Avatar
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    ^ It does seem odd to me that The House on the Hill didn't even chart in America, as I used to hear it on the radio a lot. The title track, "Nancy," and "Jackdaw" all got airplay in my neck of the woods.
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  15. #65
    Member moecurlythanu's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear View Post
    I don’t find it quite as horrid as its reputation but it is definitely the most...un-good of their LPs. As you say, just doesn’t click. And as others have said, the dearth of Keith Gemmell probably had something to do with that. Nothing wrong with Bobby Keys, obviously, but Gemmell brought something to the table. For Bobby, it was just another session gig.
    Well, the elephant in the room is that the songwriting just wasn't as good on that one, on top of what others have said. It's just blah...forgettable.

  16. #66
    Quote Originally Posted by Galactic Bulldozer View Post
    Going from the inside cover of Lunch, that looks like Bobby Keys on sax.
    .
    Sounds to me like Gemmell on that track. That version seems like a mix of live vox with some of the album track-- definitely more than one sax going on.

    I'm one of those people who thinks Lunch is great, and that those Family/Kinks comparisons are on target.

  17. #67
    Lunch was the least of Audience's rekkids, with that I'd agree, but it still has a lot that I like, primarily "In Accord" and "Buy Me An Island". To me it just seems more like the Howard Werth show . . . . . . . not bad, but Audience was better when Gemmell was around and the compositions were spread around a bit.

    I'm saddened to hear about Gemmell. RIP
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  18. #68
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Calabasas_Trafalgar View Post
    I'll tell you what was wrong with it - no Keith Gemmell. At that point, Keith had left to join Sammy, a band featuring Mick Underwood(ex-Quatermass!)and Geoff Sharkey(ex-Ginhouse)among others. Audience enlisted a couple of session players(Bobby Keys and Jim Price IIRC). Decent players, but they were just playing parts and didn't display the passion that Gemmell and few others(Dave Jackson, Mel Collins)could bring. That's why Lunch is so flat.
    You said it better than I could have, sir !!

    Quote Originally Posted by Progbear View Post
    I don’t find it quite as horrid as its reputation but it is definitely the most...un-good of their LPs. As you say, just doesn’t click. And as others have said, the dearth of Keith Gemmell probably had something to do with that. Nothing wrong with Bobby Keys, obviously, but Gemmell brought something to the table. For Bobby, it was just another session gig.
    Yup, it's not horrible... I guess a fair bit of bands would've been happy to release a record like Lunch, much like TFC or Other Voices from The Doors weren't nearly as bad as their rep.

    Audience were kind of a hard sell, as they weren’t really comparable to any other band. Except maybe Family, also a hard sell. I don’t think FFF was ever released in the States, but you’re right; it might be their best album.
    The only gripe I have with FFF is Ebony Variations (I don't detest it), which screws its homogeneity and cohesiveness. I mean it really has nothing to do in there (IMHO and YMMV, of course).
    Raviole did that a bit less on HotH, but it's passable, because I like it.
    But altogether, I think the wild ecstatic mood is stronger in FFF
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

  19. #69
    Quote Originally Posted by Reginod View Post
    Lunch was the least of Audience's rekkids, with that I'd agree, but it still has a lot that I like, primarily "In Accord" and "Buy Me An Island". To me it just seems more like the Howard Werth show . . . . . . . not bad, but Audience was better when Gemmell was around and the compositions were spread around a bit.
    I think Gemmell's on most of the album though...He's the only one credited with clarinet and flute, so that puts him on "Barracuda Dan and "Party Games". It's probably Keys and Horn on the songs with a horn section (Trombone Gulch, etc) rather than solo sax.

  20. #70
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    Quote Originally Posted by bRETT View Post
    Sounds to me like Gemmell on that track. That version seems like a mix of live vox with some of the album track-- definitely more than one sax going on.

    I'm one of those people who thinks Lunch is great, and that those Family/Kinks comparisons are on target.
    Family maybe, ...but the Kinks? I've never heard any such comparisons, and if I did would wholeheartedly disagree.

  21. #71
    Quote Originally Posted by Calabasas_Trafalgar View Post
    Family maybe, ...but the Kinks? I've never heard any such comparisons, and if I did would wholeheartedly disagree.
    The Kinks of Muswell Hillbilies phase, where they went all dixieland all of a sudden, have some similarities with some of the brassy cuts on Lunch.

  22. #72
    Quote Originally Posted by yoyiceu View Post
    The Kinks of Muswell Hillbilies phase, where they went all dixieland all of a sudden, have some similarities with some of the brassy cuts on Lunch.


    This could have been on Lunch.

    Forgot... Seven Sore Bruises - Ray and Dave after a fight.

    .and I had never heard this before... even though I lived in Muswelll Hill for a year.

    Last edited by Galactic Bulldozer; 08-10-2016 at 06:10 PM.

  23. #73
    Okay, the "Island" clip is definitely live vox over the studio backing track. It's wonderful though, if you love that song and album. Sadly there seems to be nothing else from whatever that show was on Youtube (or any live Audience at all, pre-reunion).

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