🎵 AotW AOTW: Lee Michaels - SPACE & FIRST TAKES (SP-4336)

[LPJim]

Lee Michaels
SPACE & FIRST TAKES
A&M SP4336

Side One: Own Special Way (As Long As) 4:33/ First Names 13:36.

Side Two: Hold On To Freedom 5:02/ Space And First Takes 16:40

All songs by Lee Michaels (LaBrea Music/ Sattwa Music ASCAP)
Drums: Keith Knudson
Bass: Joel Christie
Guitar: Drake Levin
Organ, piano & guitar: Lee Michaels (also Producer)

Recording Engineer: Richard Madrid/ Mix-Down Engineer: Henry Lewy/ Art Direction: Roland Young/ Cover Paintings: Patti Landres/ Portrait Illustration: Joe Garnett/ Album Design: Chuck Beeson.

SPACE & FIRST TAKES entered the Billboard Top 200 on March 25, 1972, peaked at # 78 and charted for 13 weeks, according to Whitburn's "Top Pop Albums."

Reissued on CD in 1996 by One-Way Records (OW 33645)

JB

 

[jfiedler17]

Drums: Keith Knudson

Same drummer as the latter-day Doobie Brother?

 

[W.B.]

This LP yielded exactly one single: "Hold On To Freedom" c/w "Own Special Way (As Long As)" on AM-1326. I should know; I have a copy. While the latter side was kept as is, the former ("Hold On . . . ") was edited down to 3:28 for 45 release. I seem to recall that both songs pretty much held to the same tempo.

 

[Dave]

Is this Lee Michaels' final LP for A&M? I think he eventually moved to Columbia, where one noted work there was entitled Tailface.

With four songs (two to a side--one short and one long) on this album, I'd say this is also "Jumped The Shark" kind of material; least if he didn't have any hits like "Do Ya Know What I Mean?", or anything novel like "Keep The Circle Turning" or a remake of a Blues song, "Stormy Monday" or a twisted "When Johnny Comes Marching Home". Bring back Carnival Of life, with something that stands out, like "Sounding The Sleeping" or the title-track!!!

Dave

 

[LPJim]

Lee Michaels LIVE (SP 3518), a double LP set from May 1973, was his last A&M album. It also was reissued by One-Way but the CD version is hard to find.
TAILFACE and NICE DAY FOR SOMETHING were Columbia LPs. He recorded another album, ABSOLUTE LEE, for an independent label and pretty much disappeared from the music scene.
He later became a restaurant owner/operator in the L.A. area.
JB

 

[W.B.]

Is this Lee Michaels' final LP for A&M?

Certainly, his final studio LP for them -- based on what LPJim had said.

And he wasn't the only soon-to-be-ex-A&M'er to switch to Columbia during this period. So did Liza Minnelli after a coming AOTW a few weeks from this point . . .

 

[Brasil_Nut]

I'll get blasted for this, but I've never been particularly fond of Lee Michaels. I don't know why, but his music never appealed to me.

However, I wonder: was he a big-selling A&M artist? I mean, was he a boom to the otherwise 'middle-of-the-road' image A&M had before Jerry spiced things up a bit?

Jon

...curious, online...

 

[jfiedler17]

However, I wonder: was he a big-selling A&M artist? I mean, was he a boom to the otherwise 'middle-of-the-road' image A&M had before Jerry spiced things up a bit?

I don't know how his album sales were, but his singles career wasn't especially remarkable. He placed just two songs in the Top 40; "Do You Know What I Mean" was of course the biggest (#4), and "Can I Get a Witness" just barely squeaked in at #39.

 

[dostros]

Lee Michaels was one of my favourite artists in the 70s. "5th" was great, with it's gospel vibe in places. "Can I Get a Witness" jumped unbelievably - so much energy! So I was surprised to read on another AM Corner thread the conditions under which the "5th" album were recorded. (Great information on this board!) They apparently came in from a sleepless partying night and threw things together to get it over with, since they'd already burned their bridges with A&M.

He may not have had many single hits, but he had FM "hits" - for instance "Thumbs" from Barrel (a ragingly antiwar record), which I remember hearing quite a bit on the radio.

Since the "5th" AOTW thread is closed, I'll mention here that I just stumbled upon a Pickwick re-issue of that album - with some interesting liner notes on the back.

As for Space & First Takes, I'd sure buy it if I ran across it.