JOHN KAY & STEPPENWOLF
''RISE & SHINE''
1990
53:49
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1 Let's Do It All 03:57 (John Kay, Rocket Ritchotte, Michael Wilk)
2 Time Out 03:45 (John Kay, Rocket Ritchotte, Michael Wilk)
3 Do Or Die 04:05 (John Kay, Michael Wilk)
4 Rise & Shine 04:05 (John Kay, Michael Wilk)
5 The Wall 06:18 (John Kay, Rocket Ritchotte, Michael Wilk)
6 The Daily Blues 03:35 (John Kay, Rocket Ritchotte, Michael Wilk)
7 Keep Rockin' 04:02 (John Kay, Michael Wilk)
8 Rock"N"Roll War 07:05 (John Kay, Rocket Ritchotte, Michael Wilk)
9 Sign On The Line 03:43 (John Kay, Rocket Ritchotte, Michael Wilk)
10 We Like It, We Love It 04:53 (John Kay, Rocket Ritchotte, Michael Wilk)
11 Lonely Dreamers 04:06 (John Kay, Rocket Ritchotte)
12 Now and Forever 04:10 (John Kay, Rocket Ritchotte, Michael Wilk)
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John Kay/Lead Vocals
Michael Wilk/Keyboards, Bass, Programming
Rocket Ritchotte/Guitars, Vocals
Ron Hurst/Drums, Vocals
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ABOUT THE ALBUM/OFFICIAL
One of the The Wolf’s very best! Two of this CD’s high points are “The Wall,” John Kay’s powerful song about his childhood escape from Communist East Germany and “Rock and Roll War,” the band’s moving tribute to the Vietnam Veterans.The album as a whole is marked by a feeling of rejuvenation and exuberance. This re-release also contains “Now and Forever” and “Lonely Dreamers,” two previously unreleased bonus cuts. Other songs: Let’s Do It All, Time Out, Do or Die, Rise and Shine, The Daily Blues, Keep Rockin’, Sign On The Line, We Like It We Love It.
-----
This is my favorite Wolf album since Steppenwolf 7. Recorded at my new studio in Tennessee, it contains some of the best material written by the team of Michael Wilk, keyboards, Rocket Ritchotte, guitar, and myself. For me two standouts are “Rock and Roll War” which was to become a favorite of many Vietnam vets, and “The Wall” a song near and dear to me because of my early years behind the iron curtain. Both benefited from Rocket’s soaring guitar lines and Michaels’ imaginative keyboard work. Others include the title cut as well as “Do or Die”, “Sign on The Line” and “The Daily Blues”, although there isn’t a single dud on the on the whole album as far as I’m concerned. Overall the record conveyed the optimism and enthusiasm that we felt about our partnership with our new label IRS. Unfortunately IRS decided to switch distributors in the midst of “Rise & Shine’s” release and shortly thereafter sold the label altogether. Naturally we were disappointed under the circumstances, but that does not change the fact that it is one of our better records and that many fans who have discovered it agree.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Greg Prato
Steppenwolf leader/founder John Kay is perhaps the most overlooked early contributor to the musical style that would become heavy metal and hard rock. Kay was the first rocker to use the phrase heavy metal in a song, in one of metal's first great anthems: Steppenwolf's 1968 classic "Born to Be Wild." Born Joachim Fritz Krauledat on April 12, 1944, in the section of Germany that was once known as East Prussia, it was the American rock & roll that he heard on U.S. Armed Forces radio after his family moved to East Germany that fueled his interest in music. After relocating to Toronto, Canada, in 1958, Kay became even more transfixed by rock & roll -- leading to Kay picking up the guitar, writing songs, and playing in local bands.
In the '60s, Kay founded the Sparrow, a rock outfit who played both Canada and the U.S., but received little attention. The group had fallen apart by 1967, but with a new, harder-edged style of rock beginning to conquer the charts and airwaves (Cream, Jimi Hendrix, and the Yardbirds), Kay decided to pursue this direction with his next band, Steppenwolf (titled after Hermann Hesse's novel of the same name). After moving to Los Angeles, the fledgling band was signed to Dunhill and recorded their self-titled debut, issued in 1968. The album became a sizeable hit, as "Born to Be Wild" was unleashed on an unsuspecting record-buying public, becoming one of rock's most instantly identifiable and enduring hits of all time. After the track was used in the 1969 cult classic movie Easy Rider, it subsequently appeared in countless other movies and TV commercials over the years and was covered by numerous other bands (Blue Oyster Cult, Slade, Crowded House, and the Cult).
Steppenwolf continued to crank out hit albums (1968's The Second, 1969's At Your Birthday Party, and 1969's Monster), singles ("Magic Carpet Ride," "Rock Me"), and tours on a regular basis, with Kay being the only constant member among a revolving door of other musicians. By 1972, Kay decided to end the group, issuing his first solo albums around the same time: Forgotten Songs & Unsung Heroes and My Sportin' Life. Steppenwolf's retirement didn't last for long, however, as Kay alternated between the band and his solo career throughout the '70s, '80s, and '90s. He even took a few former members of the band to court when they, too, began touring behind the name Steppenwolf. In 1994, Kay penned an autobiography, Magic Carpet Ride, and four years later, Steppenwolf and Kay were the subject of an interesting Behind the Music episode for VH1.
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WEBSITE
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TO THE TOP
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''RISE & SHINE''
1990
53:49
********************
1 Let's Do It All 03:57 (John Kay, Rocket Ritchotte, Michael Wilk)
2 Time Out 03:45 (John Kay, Rocket Ritchotte, Michael Wilk)
3 Do Or Die 04:05 (John Kay, Michael Wilk)
4 Rise & Shine 04:05 (John Kay, Michael Wilk)
5 The Wall 06:18 (John Kay, Rocket Ritchotte, Michael Wilk)
6 The Daily Blues 03:35 (John Kay, Rocket Ritchotte, Michael Wilk)
7 Keep Rockin' 04:02 (John Kay, Michael Wilk)
8 Rock"N"Roll War 07:05 (John Kay, Rocket Ritchotte, Michael Wilk)
9 Sign On The Line 03:43 (John Kay, Rocket Ritchotte, Michael Wilk)
10 We Like It, We Love It 04:53 (John Kay, Rocket Ritchotte, Michael Wilk)
11 Lonely Dreamers 04:06 (John Kay, Rocket Ritchotte)
12 Now and Forever 04:10 (John Kay, Rocket Ritchotte, Michael Wilk)
********************
John Kay/Lead Vocals
Michael Wilk/Keyboards, Bass, Programming
Rocket Ritchotte/Guitars, Vocals
Ron Hurst/Drums, Vocals
********************
ABOUT THE ALBUM/OFFICIAL
One of the The Wolf’s very best! Two of this CD’s high points are “The Wall,” John Kay’s powerful song about his childhood escape from Communist East Germany and “Rock and Roll War,” the band’s moving tribute to the Vietnam Veterans.The album as a whole is marked by a feeling of rejuvenation and exuberance. This re-release also contains “Now and Forever” and “Lonely Dreamers,” two previously unreleased bonus cuts. Other songs: Let’s Do It All, Time Out, Do or Die, Rise and Shine, The Daily Blues, Keep Rockin’, Sign On The Line, We Like It We Love It.
-----
This is my favorite Wolf album since Steppenwolf 7. Recorded at my new studio in Tennessee, it contains some of the best material written by the team of Michael Wilk, keyboards, Rocket Ritchotte, guitar, and myself. For me two standouts are “Rock and Roll War” which was to become a favorite of many Vietnam vets, and “The Wall” a song near and dear to me because of my early years behind the iron curtain. Both benefited from Rocket’s soaring guitar lines and Michaels’ imaginative keyboard work. Others include the title cut as well as “Do or Die”, “Sign on The Line” and “The Daily Blues”, although there isn’t a single dud on the on the whole album as far as I’m concerned. Overall the record conveyed the optimism and enthusiasm that we felt about our partnership with our new label IRS. Unfortunately IRS decided to switch distributors in the midst of “Rise & Shine’s” release and shortly thereafter sold the label altogether. Naturally we were disappointed under the circumstances, but that does not change the fact that it is one of our better records and that many fans who have discovered it agree.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Greg Prato
Steppenwolf leader/founder John Kay is perhaps the most overlooked early contributor to the musical style that would become heavy metal and hard rock. Kay was the first rocker to use the phrase heavy metal in a song, in one of metal's first great anthems: Steppenwolf's 1968 classic "Born to Be Wild." Born Joachim Fritz Krauledat on April 12, 1944, in the section of Germany that was once known as East Prussia, it was the American rock & roll that he heard on U.S. Armed Forces radio after his family moved to East Germany that fueled his interest in music. After relocating to Toronto, Canada, in 1958, Kay became even more transfixed by rock & roll -- leading to Kay picking up the guitar, writing songs, and playing in local bands.
In the '60s, Kay founded the Sparrow, a rock outfit who played both Canada and the U.S., but received little attention. The group had fallen apart by 1967, but with a new, harder-edged style of rock beginning to conquer the charts and airwaves (Cream, Jimi Hendrix, and the Yardbirds), Kay decided to pursue this direction with his next band, Steppenwolf (titled after Hermann Hesse's novel of the same name). After moving to Los Angeles, the fledgling band was signed to Dunhill and recorded their self-titled debut, issued in 1968. The album became a sizeable hit, as "Born to Be Wild" was unleashed on an unsuspecting record-buying public, becoming one of rock's most instantly identifiable and enduring hits of all time. After the track was used in the 1969 cult classic movie Easy Rider, it subsequently appeared in countless other movies and TV commercials over the years and was covered by numerous other bands (Blue Oyster Cult, Slade, Crowded House, and the Cult).
Steppenwolf continued to crank out hit albums (1968's The Second, 1969's At Your Birthday Party, and 1969's Monster), singles ("Magic Carpet Ride," "Rock Me"), and tours on a regular basis, with Kay being the only constant member among a revolving door of other musicians. By 1972, Kay decided to end the group, issuing his first solo albums around the same time: Forgotten Songs & Unsung Heroes and My Sportin' Life. Steppenwolf's retirement didn't last for long, however, as Kay alternated between the band and his solo career throughout the '70s, '80s, and '90s. He even took a few former members of the band to court when they, too, began touring behind the name Steppenwolf. In 1994, Kay penned an autobiography, Magic Carpet Ride, and four years later, Steppenwolf and Kay were the subject of an interesting Behind the Music episode for VH1.
********************
WEBSITE
********************
TO THE TOP
********************
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