Post by P(D)enny La(i)ne on Jan 15, 2013 14:41:45 GMT -5
Denny Laine remembers Abbey Road
Jan 10, 2013 9:19 AM EST Updated: Jan 10, 2013 2:42 PM EST
By ROBERT PRICE
bprice@njherald.com
Denny Laine has fond memories of working and hanging out at Abbey Road Studios, the venerable London recording studio where The Beatles, Pink Floyd and many other British bands used innovative recording techniques to make musical history.
Laine, a founding member of both The Moody Blues and Wings, will relive and share memories of those times Thursday at the Salt Gastropub in Byram when he and his band perform The Beatles' 1969 "Abbey Road" album.
"The show isn't just the album -- that's only 46 minutes. It's Abbey Road memories ... and the music that was made there, not just by The Beatles, but by other bands from the British invasion. It should be a good show," said Laine, in a telephone interview from his home in Las Vegas.
"Abbey Road Memories" is a show that features a complete performance of the Beatles' legendary album, as well as other Beatles classics and songs recorded at Abbey Road Studios by the likes of The Zombies, Manfred Mann, Pink Floyd, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Stealer's Wheel and The Hollies. Of course, Laine will play his own songs, including The Moody Blues' No. 1 hit "Go Now," and Wings smashes such as "Time to Hide," "Live and Let Die" and "Band on the Run."
Backing Laine will be a group of musicians known in music circles as "the Peter and Gordon Band" because in the '60s they played with British pop duo of Peter Asher and Gordon Waller. (Asher, of course, became head of Apple Records and a world-renown record producer.) The band consists of: Jeff Alan Ross (keyboards, guitar), who was in Gerry and the Pacemakers in the '60s and Badfinger in the '80s; Bill Cinque (bass), also a Pacemaker; Steve Aho (drums), and Brian Pothier (guitar), both of whom have toured and recorded with many acts of the '60s and beyond.
A sampling of Laine's Abbey Road memories includes Wings' "Live and Let Die" session with a 40-piece orchestra conducted by famed Beatles producer George Martin; and being present for The Beatles' "Fool on the Hill" session in 1967.
Laine's connection to Beatles music can be attributed to his long friendship with Paul McCartney. Considering his decade with McCartney and Wings from 1971 to 1981, he's practically a fifth Beatle.
"I met The Beatles back in Birmingham, before any of us moved down to London. We were very friendly via the party scene," he said. "We (The Moody Blues) got invited to do their second British tour. It all led to me getting together with Paul in Wings."
Laine's time with The Moody Blues was short-lived, but in 1965 his voice was among the most recognizable on the scene thanks to the smash hit "Go Now" off their first album, "The Magnificent Moodies."
"The album didn't do that well and I wanted to do other things," Laine said, of his 1966 departure from The Moody Blues, who would go on to become one of the pre-eminent progressive rock bands of all time. "The Moodies I was in was more of a blues, R&B band. That first album is a cult album now. I keep getting asked to do the album live. Someday I may do it."
Laine plans to do several shows on this mini-tour in the East and the timing couldn't be better since McCartney is about to re-issue Wings' 1977 live album "Wings Over America," which documented the band's only tour of America.
Laine was a founding member of Wings, along with Paul and Linda McCartney, and stayed with the band through its entire 10-year run. He played guitar, bass and sang on such albums as "Wild Life," "Red Rose Speedway," "Band on the Run," "Wings at the Speed of Sound," "Wings Over America," "London Town" and "Back to the Egg."
While Laine was influenced by early rock and roll acts such as Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry, his first guitar hero was actually jazz/ragtime legend Django Reinhardt. Laine's first band, prior to The Moody Blues, was Denny and the Diplomats. After his stint in the Moodies, he formed The Electric String Band, another short-lived project despite the fact that its sound spawned the more popular and successful Electric Light Orchestra three years later. Next Laine became lead guitarist and vocalist for Ginger Baker's Air Force.
But as noteworthy as these early gigs were, it was all preparation for Laine's time with Wings and his development as an honorary Beatle, while eventually forging his own musical identity as well. Among his best solo efforts along the way were "Holly Days" (1976), "Wings on My Feet" (1986), "Blue Nights" (1994), "Danger Zone" (1995) and "Reborn" (1996).
Laine, who wrote and recorded an "environmental" album called "Arctic Song" in 2000, had direct dealings with nature in October when Superstorm Sandy dismantled the Jersey Shore. Laine docks a boat in Mayville and has a part-time residence there. "The boat was OK because it was out of the water, being restored. But the cabin I stay in was under water," Laine said.
At 68, Laine certainly is not resting on his laurels. He has a new album, "Valley of Dreams," set to be released early this year. He will be taking part in a stage show called "Vinyl," in Las Vegas and London, that's all about the music of the '60s and '70s. And he will be staging "Arctic Song," probably in Las Vegas. "It's all about the climate change situation," he said.
And he never says never about possible future dates with McCartney. "We're still in touch over various things. I can't predict anymore what Paul's gonna do," Laine said.
Jan 10, 2013 9:19 AM EST Updated: Jan 10, 2013 2:42 PM EST
By ROBERT PRICE
bprice@njherald.com
Denny Laine has fond memories of working and hanging out at Abbey Road Studios, the venerable London recording studio where The Beatles, Pink Floyd and many other British bands used innovative recording techniques to make musical history.
Laine, a founding member of both The Moody Blues and Wings, will relive and share memories of those times Thursday at the Salt Gastropub in Byram when he and his band perform The Beatles' 1969 "Abbey Road" album.
"The show isn't just the album -- that's only 46 minutes. It's Abbey Road memories ... and the music that was made there, not just by The Beatles, but by other bands from the British invasion. It should be a good show," said Laine, in a telephone interview from his home in Las Vegas.
"Abbey Road Memories" is a show that features a complete performance of the Beatles' legendary album, as well as other Beatles classics and songs recorded at Abbey Road Studios by the likes of The Zombies, Manfred Mann, Pink Floyd, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Stealer's Wheel and The Hollies. Of course, Laine will play his own songs, including The Moody Blues' No. 1 hit "Go Now," and Wings smashes such as "Time to Hide," "Live and Let Die" and "Band on the Run."
Backing Laine will be a group of musicians known in music circles as "the Peter and Gordon Band" because in the '60s they played with British pop duo of Peter Asher and Gordon Waller. (Asher, of course, became head of Apple Records and a world-renown record producer.) The band consists of: Jeff Alan Ross (keyboards, guitar), who was in Gerry and the Pacemakers in the '60s and Badfinger in the '80s; Bill Cinque (bass), also a Pacemaker; Steve Aho (drums), and Brian Pothier (guitar), both of whom have toured and recorded with many acts of the '60s and beyond.
A sampling of Laine's Abbey Road memories includes Wings' "Live and Let Die" session with a 40-piece orchestra conducted by famed Beatles producer George Martin; and being present for The Beatles' "Fool on the Hill" session in 1967.
Laine's connection to Beatles music can be attributed to his long friendship with Paul McCartney. Considering his decade with McCartney and Wings from 1971 to 1981, he's practically a fifth Beatle.
"I met The Beatles back in Birmingham, before any of us moved down to London. We were very friendly via the party scene," he said. "We (The Moody Blues) got invited to do their second British tour. It all led to me getting together with Paul in Wings."
Laine's time with The Moody Blues was short-lived, but in 1965 his voice was among the most recognizable on the scene thanks to the smash hit "Go Now" off their first album, "The Magnificent Moodies."
"The album didn't do that well and I wanted to do other things," Laine said, of his 1966 departure from The Moody Blues, who would go on to become one of the pre-eminent progressive rock bands of all time. "The Moodies I was in was more of a blues, R&B band. That first album is a cult album now. I keep getting asked to do the album live. Someday I may do it."
Laine plans to do several shows on this mini-tour in the East and the timing couldn't be better since McCartney is about to re-issue Wings' 1977 live album "Wings Over America," which documented the band's only tour of America.
Laine was a founding member of Wings, along with Paul and Linda McCartney, and stayed with the band through its entire 10-year run. He played guitar, bass and sang on such albums as "Wild Life," "Red Rose Speedway," "Band on the Run," "Wings at the Speed of Sound," "Wings Over America," "London Town" and "Back to the Egg."
While Laine was influenced by early rock and roll acts such as Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry, his first guitar hero was actually jazz/ragtime legend Django Reinhardt. Laine's first band, prior to The Moody Blues, was Denny and the Diplomats. After his stint in the Moodies, he formed The Electric String Band, another short-lived project despite the fact that its sound spawned the more popular and successful Electric Light Orchestra three years later. Next Laine became lead guitarist and vocalist for Ginger Baker's Air Force.
But as noteworthy as these early gigs were, it was all preparation for Laine's time with Wings and his development as an honorary Beatle, while eventually forging his own musical identity as well. Among his best solo efforts along the way were "Holly Days" (1976), "Wings on My Feet" (1986), "Blue Nights" (1994), "Danger Zone" (1995) and "Reborn" (1996).
Laine, who wrote and recorded an "environmental" album called "Arctic Song" in 2000, had direct dealings with nature in October when Superstorm Sandy dismantled the Jersey Shore. Laine docks a boat in Mayville and has a part-time residence there. "The boat was OK because it was out of the water, being restored. But the cabin I stay in was under water," Laine said.
At 68, Laine certainly is not resting on his laurels. He has a new album, "Valley of Dreams," set to be released early this year. He will be taking part in a stage show called "Vinyl," in Las Vegas and London, that's all about the music of the '60s and '70s. And he will be staging "Arctic Song," probably in Las Vegas. "It's all about the climate change situation," he said.
And he never says never about possible future dates with McCartney. "We're still in touch over various things. I can't predict anymore what Paul's gonna do," Laine said.
