SEA LEVEL
''CATS ON THE COAST''
1977
37:31
1/That's Your Secret
Randall Bramblett / Davis Causey/5:16
2/It Hurts to Want It So Bad
Charlie Feldman / Steve Smith / Tim Smith/3:39
3/Storm Warning
Chuck Leavell/5:26
4/Had to Fall
Randall Bramblett / Jimmy Nalls / Lamar Williams/4:12
5/Midnight Pass
Neil Larsen/6:38
6/Every Little Thing
Randall Bramblett/4:50
7/Cats on the Coast
Davis Causey/5:43
8/Song for Amy
Chuck Leavell/1:47
Joe Barnes /Arranger
Randall Bramblett /Keyboards, Piano, Saxophone, Vocals
Harrison Calloway /Trumpet
Davis Causey /Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
Richard Dickles /Strings
Ronnie Eades /Horn, Sax (Baritone)
Jesse Ehrlich /Strings
Dennis Good /Horn, Trombone
Jaimoe Johnson /Congas, Drums
William Kurash /Strings
Chuck Leavell /Keyboards, Organ, Percussion, Vocal Harmony, Vocals
Muscle Shoals Horns /Horn
Jimmy Nalls /Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
Sid Sharp /Strings
Harvey Thompson /Saxophone
George Weaver /Drums, Percussion
Lamar Williams /Bass, Vocals
REVIEW
by Dave Lynch
The cover photo of Sea Level's sophomore album, 1977's Cats on the Coast, depicts nearly twice the number of musicians as the cover photo of the band's eponymous debut album released earlier that same year. There's a lot of promise on display, and the music largely fulfills expectations. In addition to the quartet introduced on Sea Level -- keyboardist/vocalist Chuck Leavell, drummer/percussionist Jaimoe, bassist Lamar Williams, and guitarist Jimmy Nalls -- the band now includes singer/songwriter and saxophonist Randall Bramblett, guitarist Davis Causey, and drummer George Weaver (the latter featured prominently since Jaimoe only plays congas, and only on three tracks). This lineup bears remarkable similarity to the then-disbanded Allman Brothers, from whom Leavell, Jaimoe, and Williams had departed: two guitarists, two percussionists (well, sometimes), a bassist, a keyboardist -- and, importantly, Bramblett, a proven session man, saxophonist, and singer/songwriter with two acclaimed but underappreciated solo albums (1975's That Other Mile and 1976's Light of the Night) under his belt. Cats on the Coast wastes no time introducing the new singer with the Bramblett/Causey co-written leadoff track "That's Your Secret," building from pure Southern R&B/soul/funk into dual-guitar fireworks (Causey in one channel; Nalls in the other) that any Southern rock fan could appreciate. Bramblett's somewhat oblique lyrics may lack the emotional immediacy his writing often possesses, but Sea Level clearly weren't about to introduce the singer with anything remotely approaching a downer ("This Could Be the Worst" could wait for the next album, On the Edge).
Leavell takes over the mike on the soul shouter "It Hurts to Want It So Bad," featuring the Muscle Shoals Horns, and Bramblett and Leavell trade off verses on the down-n-dirty Louisiana swamp blues-funk of "Had to Fall," which collapses into utterly unhinged howling derangement at the end. The mood is far calmer in "Every Little Thing," Bramblett's "let's-talk-it-over" display of sensitivity later in the track list. But Sea Level's instrumental skill was the main attraction on the debut, and here they arguably up the ante. Leavell's "Storm Warning" stands with his best jazz-rock fusion numbers, but with stinging dual lead guitars the likes of which hadn't emerged from a Capricorn studio date since the Allmans left their blues at home on Idlewild South. Bramblett's soprano sax here, and his soulful alto on Neil Larsen's "Midnight Pass," add even stronger jazziness to the band's palette. Best of all is the two-part instrumental title track, with Nalls' slide approaching Duane Allman territory and Bramblett's soprano answering him in a stunning call and response; after a full-band climax, Jaimoe and Weaver take the track out under a flurry of simulated seagull cries. The album then concludes with the brief "Song for Amy," a lovely and unexpected coda featuring Leavell on piano accompanied by a string quartet. Some great music from Sea Level was still to come, but the best moments of Cats on the Coast wouldn't be topped.
BIOGRAPHY
by Jason Ankeny
Jazz-rock combo Sea Level was formed in 1976 by keyboardist Chuck Leavell, bassist Lamar Williams, and drummer Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson following their exit from the Allman Brothers Band; guitarist Jimmy Nalls completed the original lineup, which in 1977 issued its self-titled debut LP on the Capricorn label. Honing its distinctive marriage of rock, blues, and jazz through relentless touring, the group returned to the studio with an expanded lineup including vocalist/saxophonist/keyboardist Randall Bramblett, guitarist Davis Causey, and drummer George Weaver to cut Cats on the Coast, also released in 1977, followed in 1978 by On the Edge featuring Paul McCartney & Wings drummer Joe English; although Jaimoe had returned to the Allmans, Sea Level recorded two more albums -- 1979's Long Walk on a Short Pier for Capricorn (finally released in the U.S. in 1998) and 1980's Ball Room for Arista -- before dissolving. Leavell later emerged as a sought-after session player and producer, also touring with the Rolling Stones; in 1998, he issued his debut solo LP, What's in That Bag? Randall Bramblett also subsequently restarted his solo career that had begun before joining Sea Level, issuing a number of critically acclaimed albums on the New West label after the turn of the millennium. Sadly, on January 25, 1983 Williams died of cancer, which some believed was attributable to his exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. Jimmy Nalls was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1995, although he continued performing and recording in the face of the disease's symptoms, issuing the solo CD Ain't No Stranger in 1999.
DoWnLoAd
''CATS ON THE COAST''
1977
37:31
1/That's Your Secret
Randall Bramblett / Davis Causey/5:16
2/It Hurts to Want It So Bad
Charlie Feldman / Steve Smith / Tim Smith/3:39
3/Storm Warning
Chuck Leavell/5:26
4/Had to Fall
Randall Bramblett / Jimmy Nalls / Lamar Williams/4:12
5/Midnight Pass
Neil Larsen/6:38
6/Every Little Thing
Randall Bramblett/4:50
7/Cats on the Coast
Davis Causey/5:43
8/Song for Amy
Chuck Leavell/1:47
Joe Barnes /Arranger
Randall Bramblett /Keyboards, Piano, Saxophone, Vocals
Harrison Calloway /Trumpet
Davis Causey /Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
Richard Dickles /Strings
Ronnie Eades /Horn, Sax (Baritone)
Jesse Ehrlich /Strings
Dennis Good /Horn, Trombone
Jaimoe Johnson /Congas, Drums
William Kurash /Strings
Chuck Leavell /Keyboards, Organ, Percussion, Vocal Harmony, Vocals
Muscle Shoals Horns /Horn
Jimmy Nalls /Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
Sid Sharp /Strings
Harvey Thompson /Saxophone
George Weaver /Drums, Percussion
Lamar Williams /Bass, Vocals
REVIEW
by Dave Lynch
The cover photo of Sea Level's sophomore album, 1977's Cats on the Coast, depicts nearly twice the number of musicians as the cover photo of the band's eponymous debut album released earlier that same year. There's a lot of promise on display, and the music largely fulfills expectations. In addition to the quartet introduced on Sea Level -- keyboardist/vocalist Chuck Leavell, drummer/percussionist Jaimoe, bassist Lamar Williams, and guitarist Jimmy Nalls -- the band now includes singer/songwriter and saxophonist Randall Bramblett, guitarist Davis Causey, and drummer George Weaver (the latter featured prominently since Jaimoe only plays congas, and only on three tracks). This lineup bears remarkable similarity to the then-disbanded Allman Brothers, from whom Leavell, Jaimoe, and Williams had departed: two guitarists, two percussionists (well, sometimes), a bassist, a keyboardist -- and, importantly, Bramblett, a proven session man, saxophonist, and singer/songwriter with two acclaimed but underappreciated solo albums (1975's That Other Mile and 1976's Light of the Night) under his belt. Cats on the Coast wastes no time introducing the new singer with the Bramblett/Causey co-written leadoff track "That's Your Secret," building from pure Southern R&B/soul/funk into dual-guitar fireworks (Causey in one channel; Nalls in the other) that any Southern rock fan could appreciate. Bramblett's somewhat oblique lyrics may lack the emotional immediacy his writing often possesses, but Sea Level clearly weren't about to introduce the singer with anything remotely approaching a downer ("This Could Be the Worst" could wait for the next album, On the Edge).
Leavell takes over the mike on the soul shouter "It Hurts to Want It So Bad," featuring the Muscle Shoals Horns, and Bramblett and Leavell trade off verses on the down-n-dirty Louisiana swamp blues-funk of "Had to Fall," which collapses into utterly unhinged howling derangement at the end. The mood is far calmer in "Every Little Thing," Bramblett's "let's-talk-it-over" display of sensitivity later in the track list. But Sea Level's instrumental skill was the main attraction on the debut, and here they arguably up the ante. Leavell's "Storm Warning" stands with his best jazz-rock fusion numbers, but with stinging dual lead guitars the likes of which hadn't emerged from a Capricorn studio date since the Allmans left their blues at home on Idlewild South. Bramblett's soprano sax here, and his soulful alto on Neil Larsen's "Midnight Pass," add even stronger jazziness to the band's palette. Best of all is the two-part instrumental title track, with Nalls' slide approaching Duane Allman territory and Bramblett's soprano answering him in a stunning call and response; after a full-band climax, Jaimoe and Weaver take the track out under a flurry of simulated seagull cries. The album then concludes with the brief "Song for Amy," a lovely and unexpected coda featuring Leavell on piano accompanied by a string quartet. Some great music from Sea Level was still to come, but the best moments of Cats on the Coast wouldn't be topped.
BIOGRAPHY
by Jason Ankeny
Jazz-rock combo Sea Level was formed in 1976 by keyboardist Chuck Leavell, bassist Lamar Williams, and drummer Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson following their exit from the Allman Brothers Band; guitarist Jimmy Nalls completed the original lineup, which in 1977 issued its self-titled debut LP on the Capricorn label. Honing its distinctive marriage of rock, blues, and jazz through relentless touring, the group returned to the studio with an expanded lineup including vocalist/saxophonist/keyboardist Randall Bramblett, guitarist Davis Causey, and drummer George Weaver to cut Cats on the Coast, also released in 1977, followed in 1978 by On the Edge featuring Paul McCartney & Wings drummer Joe English; although Jaimoe had returned to the Allmans, Sea Level recorded two more albums -- 1979's Long Walk on a Short Pier for Capricorn (finally released in the U.S. in 1998) and 1980's Ball Room for Arista -- before dissolving. Leavell later emerged as a sought-after session player and producer, also touring with the Rolling Stones; in 1998, he issued his debut solo LP, What's in That Bag? Randall Bramblett also subsequently restarted his solo career that had begun before joining Sea Level, issuing a number of critically acclaimed albums on the New West label after the turn of the millennium. Sadly, on January 25, 1983 Williams died of cancer, which some believed was attributable to his exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. Jimmy Nalls was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1995, although he continued performing and recording in the face of the disease's symptoms, issuing the solo CD Ain't No Stranger in 1999.
DoWnLoAd
