THE DEL FUEGOS
''STAND UP''
1987
36:06
1 Wear It Like A Cape 04:13
2 New Old World 03:47
3 Name Names 03:24
4 Long Slide [For An Out] 04:35
5 He Had A Lot To Drink Today 02:56
6 A Town Called Love 04:02
7 I Can't Take This Place 02:45
8 News From Nowhere 03:39
9 Scratching At Your Door 03:55
10 I'll Sleep With You [Cha Cha D'Amour] 02:43
Alex Acuña/Percussion
James Burton/Dobro, Guitar, Wah Wah Guitar
Merry Clayton/Vocals
The Del Fuegos Primary Artist
Mitchell Froom/Keyboards, Vocals
Donnie Garrard/Sound Effects, Vocals
Woody Giessmann/Drums
William "Bill" Greene/Vocals
Bobby King/Vocals
Tom Lloyd/Bass, Cello, Vocals
Tom Petty/Vocals
James Ralston/Guitar, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Dan Zanes/Guitar, Vocals
Warren Zanes/Guitar, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
REVIEW/AMG
by Mark Deming
*** / *****
On the front cover of Stand Up, the Del Fuegos third album, lead singer and guitarist Dan Zanes looks as if he's struggling to stay awake, and it seems sadly indicative of a band that was clearly running out of steam. While guitarist Warren Zanes and Tom Lloyd had contributed to the songwriting on the Del Fuegos' first two albums, on Stand Up Dan wrote all the songs either by himself or with outside contributors (among them producer Mitchell Froom), and with a third guitarist, a handful of guest musicians, a horn section and six backing vocalists contributing to the sessions, this album simply doesn't sound like the work of the same band that made The Longest Day and Boston, Mass. It doesn't help that Dan Zanes' voice sounds a bit ragged here, and while having Tom Petty and James Burton contribute guitar work to the album certainly seemed like a great idea at the time, the songs just aren't up to what this band was capable of and the performances lack the energy and keen focus of their best work. Between the arrangements and the melodic hooks of tunes like "Wear It Like a Cape" and "A Town Called Love," it's clear that Dan Zanes was embracing his R&B influences while making Stand Up, but his voice just isn't up to the challenge of the material, and the oddball experiment "He Had A Lot to Drink Today" simply sounds like a mistake. Warren Zanes and drummer Woody Geissman would both leave the Del Fuegos after Stand Up failed to make an impression with either critics or fans, and it's not hard to imagine why -- this album is the sound of a band that has clearly lost the plot.
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
by Mark Deming
Kicking up a ruckus on the more garage-oriented side of the 1980s' roots rock boom, the Del Fuegos were a four-piece band from Boston who (at least for a time) won critical favor and a loyal cult following at home and on the road for their passionate, no-frills style. Formed in 1980, the Del Fuegos consisted of guitarist and singer Dan Zanes, his brother Warren Zanes on guitar, bassist Tom Lloyd, and drummer Steve Morrell. Steady gigging on the Boston club circuit won the band a potent local reputation, which began to spread along the East Coast with the band's first few low-budget tours. While the Del Fuegos began recording an album for legendary local label Ace of Hearts Records, in 1984 the famed Los Angeles indie Slash Records stepped in and signed them, releasing their first album, The Longest Day, in the fall of that year. (By this time, Steve Morrell had parted ways with the band, and former Embarrassment percussionist Woody Giessmann had taken over the drum kit.) One of the first albums produced by former Ronnie Montrose keyboard man Mitchell Froom, The Longest Day's mixture of attitude, guitar firepower, and heart-on-the-sleeve emotion clicked with both critics and fans, and the Del Fuegos seemed poised for a commercial breakthrough with their second album, 1985's Boston, Mass.
While "Don't Run Wild" and "I Still Want You" earned some radio and MTV airplay and the album received rave reviews, it wasn't the hit some were hoping for, and the more self-consciously hip members of the music world began to turn their backs on the band after it appeared in a widely seen beer commercial. The band began reaching for a more ambitious sound and wider musical range on its third album, but 1987's Stand Up received harsh reviews and little support from fans, despite the Del Fuegos' appearance on an extended tour with noted fan Tom Petty (who also guested on Stand Up), in which the group shared the opening slot with the Replacements. After Stand Up's disappointing reception, Woody Giessmann and Warren Zanes both quit the Del Fuegos, and the band was dropped by Slash. In 1989, Dan Zanes and Tom Lloyd decided to give the band another chance, bringing aboard guitarist Adam Roth and drummer Joe Donnelly and cutting a new album, Smoking in the Fields, but while critics were kinder to the new set than Stand Up, the album was a commercial bust, and within a year the Del Fuegos were history. Dan Zanes went on to a solo career and in time found success with a series of acclaimed children's albums, while Warren Zanes returned to music in 2002 after many years in academia with a fine solo album, Memory Girls.
BIOGRAPHY (WIKIPEDIA)
TO THE TOP
''STAND UP''
1987
36:06
1 Wear It Like A Cape 04:13
2 New Old World 03:47
3 Name Names 03:24
4 Long Slide [For An Out] 04:35
5 He Had A Lot To Drink Today 02:56
6 A Town Called Love 04:02
7 I Can't Take This Place 02:45
8 News From Nowhere 03:39
9 Scratching At Your Door 03:55
10 I'll Sleep With You [Cha Cha D'Amour] 02:43
Alex Acuña/Percussion
James Burton/Dobro, Guitar, Wah Wah Guitar
Merry Clayton/Vocals
The Del Fuegos Primary Artist
Mitchell Froom/Keyboards, Vocals
Donnie Garrard/Sound Effects, Vocals
Woody Giessmann/Drums
William "Bill" Greene/Vocals
Bobby King/Vocals
Tom Lloyd/Bass, Cello, Vocals
Tom Petty/Vocals
James Ralston/Guitar, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Dan Zanes/Guitar, Vocals
Warren Zanes/Guitar, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
REVIEW/AMG
by Mark Deming
*** / *****
On the front cover of Stand Up, the Del Fuegos third album, lead singer and guitarist Dan Zanes looks as if he's struggling to stay awake, and it seems sadly indicative of a band that was clearly running out of steam. While guitarist Warren Zanes and Tom Lloyd had contributed to the songwriting on the Del Fuegos' first two albums, on Stand Up Dan wrote all the songs either by himself or with outside contributors (among them producer Mitchell Froom), and with a third guitarist, a handful of guest musicians, a horn section and six backing vocalists contributing to the sessions, this album simply doesn't sound like the work of the same band that made The Longest Day and Boston, Mass. It doesn't help that Dan Zanes' voice sounds a bit ragged here, and while having Tom Petty and James Burton contribute guitar work to the album certainly seemed like a great idea at the time, the songs just aren't up to what this band was capable of and the performances lack the energy and keen focus of their best work. Between the arrangements and the melodic hooks of tunes like "Wear It Like a Cape" and "A Town Called Love," it's clear that Dan Zanes was embracing his R&B influences while making Stand Up, but his voice just isn't up to the challenge of the material, and the oddball experiment "He Had A Lot to Drink Today" simply sounds like a mistake. Warren Zanes and drummer Woody Geissman would both leave the Del Fuegos after Stand Up failed to make an impression with either critics or fans, and it's not hard to imagine why -- this album is the sound of a band that has clearly lost the plot.
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
by Mark Deming
Kicking up a ruckus on the more garage-oriented side of the 1980s' roots rock boom, the Del Fuegos were a four-piece band from Boston who (at least for a time) won critical favor and a loyal cult following at home and on the road for their passionate, no-frills style. Formed in 1980, the Del Fuegos consisted of guitarist and singer Dan Zanes, his brother Warren Zanes on guitar, bassist Tom Lloyd, and drummer Steve Morrell. Steady gigging on the Boston club circuit won the band a potent local reputation, which began to spread along the East Coast with the band's first few low-budget tours. While the Del Fuegos began recording an album for legendary local label Ace of Hearts Records, in 1984 the famed Los Angeles indie Slash Records stepped in and signed them, releasing their first album, The Longest Day, in the fall of that year. (By this time, Steve Morrell had parted ways with the band, and former Embarrassment percussionist Woody Giessmann had taken over the drum kit.) One of the first albums produced by former Ronnie Montrose keyboard man Mitchell Froom, The Longest Day's mixture of attitude, guitar firepower, and heart-on-the-sleeve emotion clicked with both critics and fans, and the Del Fuegos seemed poised for a commercial breakthrough with their second album, 1985's Boston, Mass.
While "Don't Run Wild" and "I Still Want You" earned some radio and MTV airplay and the album received rave reviews, it wasn't the hit some were hoping for, and the more self-consciously hip members of the music world began to turn their backs on the band after it appeared in a widely seen beer commercial. The band began reaching for a more ambitious sound and wider musical range on its third album, but 1987's Stand Up received harsh reviews and little support from fans, despite the Del Fuegos' appearance on an extended tour with noted fan Tom Petty (who also guested on Stand Up), in which the group shared the opening slot with the Replacements. After Stand Up's disappointing reception, Woody Giessmann and Warren Zanes both quit the Del Fuegos, and the band was dropped by Slash. In 1989, Dan Zanes and Tom Lloyd decided to give the band another chance, bringing aboard guitarist Adam Roth and drummer Joe Donnelly and cutting a new album, Smoking in the Fields, but while critics were kinder to the new set than Stand Up, the album was a commercial bust, and within a year the Del Fuegos were history. Dan Zanes went on to a solo career and in time found success with a series of acclaimed children's albums, while Warren Zanes returned to music in 2002 after many years in academia with a fine solo album, Memory Girls.
BIOGRAPHY (WIKIPEDIA)
TO THE TOP
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