SEA LEVEL
''LONG WALK ON A SHORT PIER''
1979
34:42
1/Tear Down This Wall
Chuck Leavell/4:12
2/Canine Man
Randall Bramblett / Davis Causey/4:15
3/My Love
Chuck Leavell/4:01
4/Just a Touch
Lamar Williams/5:26
5/Thirsty
Randall Bramblett / Davis Causey/3:51
6/A Two 'n Two
Randall Bramblett / Davis Causey / Jimmy Nalls/3:31
7/Morning Light
Randall Bramblett / Davis Causey/2:46
8/Too Many Broken Hearts
Wendy Walker / George Weaver/3:36
9/Twenty Miles from Nowhere
Jimmy Nalls/3:04
Randall Bramblett/Clavinet, Piano, Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano), Saxophone, Vocal Harmony, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Charlie Brent/Horn Arrangements, Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone), Saxophone
Davis Causey/Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric)
Tony Dagradi/Sax (Tenor)
Ed Dowling/Trumpet
Joe English/Drums, Vocal Harmony, Vocals
Matt Greeley/Percussion, Vocal Harmony, Vocals
David Earle Johnson/Congas, Percussion
Rodney Lafon/Trumpet
Chuck Leavell/Keyboards, Percussion, Piano, Piano (Electric), Vocals
Jimmy Nalls/Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Slide Guitar
Jon Smith /Horn Arrangements, Sax (Tenor), Saxophone
Tommy Talton/Vocal Harmony, Vocals
Harold Williams/Sax (Baritone), Saxophone
Lamar Williams/Bass, Vocal Harmony
Joe Woolie/Trumpet
REVIEW
by Dave Lynch
Sea Level recorded their fourth album for Capricorn on the cusp of the label's 1979 bankruptcy, and Long Walk on a Short Pier went unreleased in the United States for nearly 20 years, finally issued in 1998 by a resurrected Capricorn, with distribution through Mercury/Polygram. The album continues down the path of the band's third album, 1978's On the Edge, caught up in a disco-fied era and trying a little bit of this, a little bit of that, hoping that something might catch fire. Or maybe, with the group photo on the front cover showing the bandmembers fishing off that short pier, they were "Casting out a line/But no one's biting" -- to quote Randall Bramblett's "God Was in the Water" from his first New West recording, 2001's No More Mr. Lucky. Anyway, Long Walk on a Short Pier begins with Chuck Leavell's slick R&B/dance track "Tear Down This Wall," recorded by the band at Capricorn's studio in Macon but punched up with a horn section recorded at Bramblett's old stamping ground of Sea Saint Studio in New Orleans, where he had recorded Light of the Night, his stellar -- and far less slick -- sophomore solo album released by Polydor in 1976. The horn section enlivens "My Love," another uptempo track written and sung by Leavell, but one begins to wonder why the keyboardist apparently stopped composing instrumental music for Sea Level to focus on clubby R&B/pop/rock (the horns play with more authentic feeling on "Thirsty" and "Morning Light," a pair of Bramblett numbers co-written with guitarist Davis Causey).
Thankfully, Leavell does get some chances to display his old keyboard magic, and there are several instrumental numbers scattered about: bassist Lamar Williams' sprightly "Just a Touch" with very Allman Brothers-ish guitar harmonies; the brief, funky "A Two n' Two"; and guitarist Jimmy Nalls' steady-rolling closing track, "Twenty Miles from Nowhere." The latter introduces country and bluegrass elements into the mix -- but that shouldn't be surprising for Sea Level given some of the bandmembers' previous work as session musicians with a wide range of Capricorn artists, including Alex Taylor and Cowboy ("Twenty Miles from Nowhere" could have fit into the track listing of the 1975 Cowboy album Boyer & Talton without raising an eyebrow). Three tracks from Long Walk on a Short Pier -- "Tear Down This Wall," "Canine Man" (a badass Bramblett blues-rocker with hot guitar from Nalls), and "Twenty Miles from Nowhere" -- were deemed strong enough to include on the 1990 Polydor Best of Sea Level comp, and while "Tear Down This Wall" probably could have been traded out without anybody shedding a tear, the other two fit reasonably well into the best-of. But with this album finding Sea Level searching for a successful formula amidst market indifference to the band's strengths, the two-decade wait for Long Walk on a Short Pier's release ended with a decidedly uneven listen for the band's patient U.S. fans.
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
''LONG WALK ON A SHORT PIER''
1979
34:42
1/Tear Down This Wall
Chuck Leavell/4:12
2/Canine Man
Randall Bramblett / Davis Causey/4:15
3/My Love
Chuck Leavell/4:01
4/Just a Touch
Lamar Williams/5:26
5/Thirsty
Randall Bramblett / Davis Causey/3:51
6/A Two 'n Two
Randall Bramblett / Davis Causey / Jimmy Nalls/3:31
7/Morning Light
Randall Bramblett / Davis Causey/2:46
8/Too Many Broken Hearts
Wendy Walker / George Weaver/3:36
9/Twenty Miles from Nowhere
Jimmy Nalls/3:04
Randall Bramblett/Clavinet, Piano, Sax (Alto), Sax (Soprano), Saxophone, Vocal Harmony, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Charlie Brent/Horn Arrangements, Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone), Saxophone
Davis Causey/Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric)
Tony Dagradi/Sax (Tenor)
Ed Dowling/Trumpet
Joe English/Drums, Vocal Harmony, Vocals
Matt Greeley/Percussion, Vocal Harmony, Vocals
David Earle Johnson/Congas, Percussion
Rodney Lafon/Trumpet
Chuck Leavell/Keyboards, Percussion, Piano, Piano (Electric), Vocals
Jimmy Nalls/Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Slide Guitar
Jon Smith /Horn Arrangements, Sax (Tenor), Saxophone
Tommy Talton/Vocal Harmony, Vocals
Harold Williams/Sax (Baritone), Saxophone
Lamar Williams/Bass, Vocal Harmony
Joe Woolie/Trumpet
REVIEW
by Dave Lynch
Sea Level recorded their fourth album for Capricorn on the cusp of the label's 1979 bankruptcy, and Long Walk on a Short Pier went unreleased in the United States for nearly 20 years, finally issued in 1998 by a resurrected Capricorn, with distribution through Mercury/Polygram. The album continues down the path of the band's third album, 1978's On the Edge, caught up in a disco-fied era and trying a little bit of this, a little bit of that, hoping that something might catch fire. Or maybe, with the group photo on the front cover showing the bandmembers fishing off that short pier, they were "Casting out a line/But no one's biting" -- to quote Randall Bramblett's "God Was in the Water" from his first New West recording, 2001's No More Mr. Lucky. Anyway, Long Walk on a Short Pier begins with Chuck Leavell's slick R&B/dance track "Tear Down This Wall," recorded by the band at Capricorn's studio in Macon but punched up with a horn section recorded at Bramblett's old stamping ground of Sea Saint Studio in New Orleans, where he had recorded Light of the Night, his stellar -- and far less slick -- sophomore solo album released by Polydor in 1976. The horn section enlivens "My Love," another uptempo track written and sung by Leavell, but one begins to wonder why the keyboardist apparently stopped composing instrumental music for Sea Level to focus on clubby R&B/pop/rock (the horns play with more authentic feeling on "Thirsty" and "Morning Light," a pair of Bramblett numbers co-written with guitarist Davis Causey).
Thankfully, Leavell does get some chances to display his old keyboard magic, and there are several instrumental numbers scattered about: bassist Lamar Williams' sprightly "Just a Touch" with very Allman Brothers-ish guitar harmonies; the brief, funky "A Two n' Two"; and guitarist Jimmy Nalls' steady-rolling closing track, "Twenty Miles from Nowhere." The latter introduces country and bluegrass elements into the mix -- but that shouldn't be surprising for Sea Level given some of the bandmembers' previous work as session musicians with a wide range of Capricorn artists, including Alex Taylor and Cowboy ("Twenty Miles from Nowhere" could have fit into the track listing of the 1975 Cowboy album Boyer & Talton without raising an eyebrow). Three tracks from Long Walk on a Short Pier -- "Tear Down This Wall," "Canine Man" (a badass Bramblett blues-rocker with hot guitar from Nalls), and "Twenty Miles from Nowhere" -- were deemed strong enough to include on the 1990 Polydor Best of Sea Level comp, and while "Tear Down This Wall" probably could have been traded out without anybody shedding a tear, the other two fit reasonably well into the best-of. But with this album finding Sea Level searching for a successful formula amidst market indifference to the band's strengths, the two-decade wait for Long Walk on a Short Pier's release ended with a decidedly uneven listen for the band's patient U.S. fans.
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
