🎵 AotW AOTW: Gino Vannelli - BROTHER TO BROTHER (SP-4722)

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LPJim

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Gino Vannelli
BROTHER TO BROTHER

A&M SP-4722

sp4722.jpg


Appaloosa 4:44/ The River Must Flow 3:50/ I Just Wanna Stop (#4 single) 3:38/ Love and Emotion 3:50/ Feel Like Flying 5:20

Brother to Brother 7:19/ Wheels of Life 4:15/ The Evil Eye 4:13/ People I Belong To 4:00.

Reissued on CD
Reached # 13 in the Billboard Top 200 & charted for 35 weeks.

www.ginov.com

JB
 
At this point, Gino went from albums which were "hit-heavy" to running a but hollow...

"Wheels Of Life" and "I Just Wanna Stop" are the only "menchen" tracks in the song set, while the suite-like title track somehow is more over-indulgent, than the interesting "journey" that Vannelli could make "the long songs" be, earlier in his career, without becoming obviously long-winded, less focused, and definitely rendering the remaining filler on his albums (even the interesting ditty of "The River Must Flow") too run-of-the-mill...

Only redemption this album offers is a little less of the "bare-chested, modern Tom Jones, hoping to get the ladies' hearts a'throbbing image" he'd manifested on the early A&M LP's, in exchange for more sincere, but minor, romantic minions, with at least a lot less of the artifice conveyed in his fiery panting, and a reduction in the pompous pandering...



Dave
 
To my ears, "Wheels Of Life" and "I Just Wanna Stop" are the same songs sideways. "I Just Wanna..." gets the edge although "Wheels..." is a compelling too. The title track would be truly great if not for the awful lyric. I get what it's about but it's put across in the most remedial terms possible. Despite the syntax-shattering-ness of it, the playing is just great and goes by far too slowly. Great stuff!

Ed
 
If I'm not mistaken, this was Gino's biggest hit album for A&M, and his last before signing with Arista and releasing "Nightwalker".
I saw him in concert on March 31, 1979- I recall the date well because he wished Herb Alpert a Happy Birthday! (I'm not sure if Herb was actually there, lol)
I found this album a bit too commercial and dull, It's going to be hard to top "Powerful People" no matter how many albums he makes. His Arista debut I mentioned was better than B to B...I always like Gino though
 
Among musicians, I can tell you that "Brother to Brother" is basically the be-all end-all of Gino's work - it had a tremendous influence on a generation of players, for the musicianship, the arrangements, and the combination of pop, rock and jazz. Far more of an influence than his work before or after......
 
Oh, a BIT Hollow! Did I push the WRONG KEY???? :rotf:

Seriously, though I believe I saw a man wearing a "Jazz Cap" (& obviously a fairly astute jazz fanatic by the way he was dressed) buying a slew of jazz albums w/ this one also in his hand...

Yes, once Gino did eschew the excessive synthesizers & omnipresent hackwork, he did much more make his albums & songs more straight-forward & to the point...

OK, my typo-... --Yeh, yeh, very funny! :laughup:



Dave :oops: :winkgrin:
 
A&Mguyfromwayback said:
Among musicians, I can tell you that "Brother to Brother" is basically the be-all end-all of Gino's work - it had a tremendous influence on a generation of players, for the musicianship, the arrangements, and the combination of pop, rock and jazz. Far more of an influence than his work before or after......

Jimmy's solo on B2B is quite recognizable there. :agree: Also amazing that Jimmy and Joe Vannelli have worked together on and off over the years, not just a one-off shot on what turned out to be one of Gino's bigger albums.

I agree this one and Nightwalker were the pinnacle of his commercial era, and quite influential. It is also interesting to go back and listen to Crazy Life (his debut, before all the synths took over) and hear some of the roots of this same influence.

He can still write a mean hook, but his records just don't sell or get airplay like they did in the past. "Measure Of A Man" is quite a solid piece of modern pop, but I'd wager that most folks have never even heard it.
 
All of Gino's early work was influential to me and the other keyboard players I was hanging out with at the time. In fact, I think I'd have to say "Storm at Sunup" was the one that most of us were listening to obsessively back in the day. :)
 
JMK said:
All of Gino's early work was influential to me and the other keyboard players I was hanging out with at the time. In fact, I think I'd have to say "Storm at Sunup" was the one that most of us were listening to obsessively back in the day. :)

"Where Am I Going" was actually in the rotation at WJZZ locally. Before I really knew Gino's albums, I remember buying almost a half dozen various Gino albums trying to find it, since it'd been a few years and I didn't know the lyrics. :laugh:
 
I actually was given a free copy of Powerful People when I was hired to work at an ice cream parlor when I was a kid. No joke. I knew that Lani sang on "Felicia" and I was so excited to get the album. Not sure why the manager had a stack of them in his office, but he did. Strange but true.
 
Some of you are kinda "dissin'" this album, but from what I understand, Gino HAD to make this album! What happened was THE GIST OF THE GEMINI and A PAUPER IN PARADISE, as good as they both were, did not do that great commercially, particularly APIP,(he actually nearly got kicked off the label,in fact!), so to recoup their investment in Gino and Joe, A&M MADE them do something more commercial,and BROTHER TO BROTHER was the result!

For me the highlights of the album are: "The River Must Flow","Feel Like Flying","Wheels Of Life", and the beautiful song dedicated to his family and woman,"People I Belong To". Also "Love and Emotion". Last note: "I Just Wanna Stop" was written by Gino's younger brother Ross, not Gino himself. The reason that I am mentioning this at all, is because over the years,the song has been wrongly credited to Gino. Yes, Gino did help a bit with the lyrics, but it is basically Ross' song, and it should be known as that.For example, new jack swing crooner Al B. Sure! did a cover of the song with smooth jazz guitarist Joe Taylor, and the credits read "Written by Gino Vannelli". See what I mean?

Til next time,take care.
(November 2nd, go out and VOTE!)
jazzdre
 
No "dissin'" on my part here--it's one of his career high points IMHO. It did set him out on a commercial streak as well--the follow-up album did well with "Living Inside Myself" being the hit, and he hit the chart a few more times in later years with "Black Cars" and "Wild Horses"...and others. IN recent years he has been able to do his own thing: Yonder Tree, Canto, Slow Love, etc.
 
Rudy said:
No "dissin'" on my part here--it's one of his career high points IMHO. It did set him out on a commercial streak as well--the follow-up album did well with "Living Inside Myself" being the hit, and he hit the chart a few more times in later years with "Black Cars" and "Wild Horses"...and others. IN recent years he has been able to do his own thing: Yonder Tree, Canto, Slow Love, etc.

Dittos :thumbsup:

"Nightwalker" is one of my favorite GV songs...
 
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