THE MICHAEL STANLEY BAND
''HEARTLAND''
1980
49:02
1 I'll Never Need Anyone More (Than I Need You Tonight) 03:09
2 Lover 04:44
3 Don't Stop The Music 03:33
4 He Can't Love You 03:30
5 Working Again 03:46
6 All I Ever Wanted 03:07
7 Say Goodbye 03:21
8 Hearts On Fire 02:45
9 VooDoo 04:25
10 Carolyn 02:56
11 Save A Little Piece For Me 03:09
12 He Can't Love You (Live) (Bonus Track) 04:37
13 Lover (Live) (Bonus Track) 05:52
Clarence Clemons/Guest Artist
Michael Gismondi/Bass, Synthesizer
Gary Markasky/Guitar (Electric)
Bob Pelander/Orchestra Bells, Organ, Percussion, Piano, Piano (Electric), Synthesizer, Vocals
Kevin Raleigh/Organ, Percussion, Piano, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Michael Stanley/Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Percussion, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
REVIEW
By Bret Adams (AllMusic)
Cleveland's Michael Stanley Band were a phenomenon in Northeast Ohio in the late '70s and early '80s and set attendance records at several concert halls, but MSB only achieved modest success nationwide. Heartland, a superb slice of meat-and-potatoes, Midwestern rock & roll, is their best album; Stanley himself says as much in the liner notes of their Razor & Tie reissue. MSB had been dropped by Arista Records after 1979' s Greatest Hints and were having trouble finding a new label, so the bandmembers decided to produce an album completely on their own terms with no outside meddling. If they couldn't find a label, they planned on releasing the album independently. Luckily, EMI America picked up Heartland and the Michael Stanley Band spent their four most prosperous years with the company.
Every Heartland track has merit, but the most familiar song is the infectious pop/rocker "He Can't Love You," which was MSB's first Top 40 hit. Keyboardist Kevin Raleigh sings lead, and Clarence Clemons of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band contributes the blistering saxophone lines. Clemons also plays on a few other cuts including the minor hit "Lover," (its signature lyric, "Thank God for the man who put the white lines on the highway," became a singalong favorite at concerts). "Don't Stop the Music" is a driving rocker propelled by Gary Markasky's guitar riffs and Tommy Dobeck's energetic snare-drum work. "Working Again" is a catchy blue-collar anthem. MSB's pop leanings are evident on "I'll Never Need Anyone More (Than I Need You Tonight)" and "Carolyn," yet "Voodoo" has an appropriately dark vibe. Heartland is a must for lovers of pure rock & roll.
BIOGRAPHY
By Bret Adams (AllMusic)
Cleveland native Michael Stanley became a regional phenomenon, but the singer/songwriter/guitarist and his Michael Stanley Band deserved more national success than they achieved. Stanley, whose real name is Michael Stanley Gee, played bass with the folk-rock group Silk in the late '60s. He then went solo and released two solo albums in the early '70s that fit right in with the "singer/songwriter" era. His talent attracted the likes of producer Bill Szymczyk and guest musicians Joe Walsh, Todd Rundgren, and David Sanborn from the beginning. He formed the Michael Stanley Band (aka MSB) in 1975 and pursued a more straightforward rock direction. MSB recorded a string of albums through the late '70s and early '80s that were modest successes nationally but major hits in Ohio. In fact, the Michael Stanley Band was such a sensation at home that it still holds attendance records at major concert venues. 1980's Heartland was easily MSB's best album, and Stanley agrees. It included the hit single "He Can't Love You" (sung by vocalist/keyboardist Kevin Raleigh) and the minor hit "Lover" (sung by Stanley and featuring blistering saxophone by Clarence Clemons). MSB's second and last Top 40 hit was Stanley's anthem "My Town" in 1983. After recording for Epic, Arista, and EMI, MSB independently released two albums on their own before breaking up in 1987.
The Michael Stanley Band was a reliably consistent, meat-and-potatoes enterprise responsible for superb Midwestern rock & roll. Stanley went on to become a popular television and radio personality in Cleveland. He still regularly releases albums -- solo and the one-off group project the Ghost Poets -- and performs annual summer and New Year's Eve shows along with occasional acoustic dates; these concerts and albums both feature MSB alumni and other Cleveland musicians. Razor & Tie has reissued most of MSB's catalog and two excellent best-of collections on compact disc.
OFFICIAL SITE
''HEARTLAND''
1980
49:02
1 I'll Never Need Anyone More (Than I Need You Tonight) 03:09
2 Lover 04:44
3 Don't Stop The Music 03:33
4 He Can't Love You 03:30
5 Working Again 03:46
6 All I Ever Wanted 03:07
7 Say Goodbye 03:21
8 Hearts On Fire 02:45
9 VooDoo 04:25
10 Carolyn 02:56
11 Save A Little Piece For Me 03:09
12 He Can't Love You (Live) (Bonus Track) 04:37
13 Lover (Live) (Bonus Track) 05:52
Clarence Clemons/Guest Artist
Michael Gismondi/Bass, Synthesizer
Gary Markasky/Guitar (Electric)
Bob Pelander/Orchestra Bells, Organ, Percussion, Piano, Piano (Electric), Synthesizer, Vocals
Kevin Raleigh/Organ, Percussion, Piano, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Michael Stanley/Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Percussion, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
REVIEW
By Bret Adams (AllMusic)
Cleveland's Michael Stanley Band were a phenomenon in Northeast Ohio in the late '70s and early '80s and set attendance records at several concert halls, but MSB only achieved modest success nationwide. Heartland, a superb slice of meat-and-potatoes, Midwestern rock & roll, is their best album; Stanley himself says as much in the liner notes of their Razor & Tie reissue. MSB had been dropped by Arista Records after 1979' s Greatest Hints and were having trouble finding a new label, so the bandmembers decided to produce an album completely on their own terms with no outside meddling. If they couldn't find a label, they planned on releasing the album independently. Luckily, EMI America picked up Heartland and the Michael Stanley Band spent their four most prosperous years with the company.
Every Heartland track has merit, but the most familiar song is the infectious pop/rocker "He Can't Love You," which was MSB's first Top 40 hit. Keyboardist Kevin Raleigh sings lead, and Clarence Clemons of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band contributes the blistering saxophone lines. Clemons also plays on a few other cuts including the minor hit "Lover," (its signature lyric, "Thank God for the man who put the white lines on the highway," became a singalong favorite at concerts). "Don't Stop the Music" is a driving rocker propelled by Gary Markasky's guitar riffs and Tommy Dobeck's energetic snare-drum work. "Working Again" is a catchy blue-collar anthem. MSB's pop leanings are evident on "I'll Never Need Anyone More (Than I Need You Tonight)" and "Carolyn," yet "Voodoo" has an appropriately dark vibe. Heartland is a must for lovers of pure rock & roll.
BIOGRAPHY
By Bret Adams (AllMusic)
Cleveland native Michael Stanley became a regional phenomenon, but the singer/songwriter/guitarist and his Michael Stanley Band deserved more national success than they achieved. Stanley, whose real name is Michael Stanley Gee, played bass with the folk-rock group Silk in the late '60s. He then went solo and released two solo albums in the early '70s that fit right in with the "singer/songwriter" era. His talent attracted the likes of producer Bill Szymczyk and guest musicians Joe Walsh, Todd Rundgren, and David Sanborn from the beginning. He formed the Michael Stanley Band (aka MSB) in 1975 and pursued a more straightforward rock direction. MSB recorded a string of albums through the late '70s and early '80s that were modest successes nationally but major hits in Ohio. In fact, the Michael Stanley Band was such a sensation at home that it still holds attendance records at major concert venues. 1980's Heartland was easily MSB's best album, and Stanley agrees. It included the hit single "He Can't Love You" (sung by vocalist/keyboardist Kevin Raleigh) and the minor hit "Lover" (sung by Stanley and featuring blistering saxophone by Clarence Clemons). MSB's second and last Top 40 hit was Stanley's anthem "My Town" in 1983. After recording for Epic, Arista, and EMI, MSB independently released two albums on their own before breaking up in 1987.
The Michael Stanley Band was a reliably consistent, meat-and-potatoes enterprise responsible for superb Midwestern rock & roll. Stanley went on to become a popular television and radio personality in Cleveland. He still regularly releases albums -- solo and the one-off group project the Ghost Poets -- and performs annual summer and New Year's Eve shows along with occasional acoustic dates; these concerts and albums both feature MSB alumni and other Cleveland musicians. Razor & Tie has reissued most of MSB's catalog and two excellent best-of collections on compact disc.
OFFICIAL SITE
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