10944 - GARY U.S. BONDS - LET THEM TALK (2009)

GARY U.S. BONDS
''LET THEM TALK''
JUNE 1982
48:46

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1 Whine 03:15 (Gary Bonds, Mark Leimbach, Laurie C. Anderson)
2 Pour Me 03:34 (Gary Bonds, Mark Leimbach, Laurie C. Anderson)
3 If I Live Through This 04:29 (Pam Reynolds, Rob Robinson)
4 Let Them Talk 03:22 (Sonny Thompson)
5 Get It Together 03:06 (Danny Kean)
6 Have Mercy 04:27 (Mark Leimbach)
7 I'm Gone 03:50 (Danny Kean)
8 She's a Woman 05:17 (Gary U.S. Bonds, Laurie C. Anderson)
9 I Got Love 03:45 (Danny Kean)
10 I Forgot How Bad My Good Woman Could Be 03:52 (James Timothy Du Bois, Arnold Goldstein, Jim Hurt)
11 Burden 04:29 (Gary U.S. Bonds, Laurie C. Anderson)
12 Shake a Hand 05:15 (Joe Morris)

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Laurie C. Anderson/Vocals (Background)
Gary "U.S." Bonds/Vocals
Dan Cipriano/Horn
John DiGiulio/Drums
Zerrick Foster/Bass Guitar
Danny Kean/Bass Guitar, Guitar, Keyboards, Organ
Mark Leimbach/Guitar, Soloist
Hal Selzer/Bass Guitar
Mario Staiano/Congas, Drums
Lance Hyland Stark/Drums

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BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Cub Koda
After moving to the Norfolk, VA, area in the mid-'50s, young Gary Anderson began plying his vocal wares, first in church, later with a local group called the Turks. When he was not yet 21, he was approached by local record producer Frank Guida to join his tiny Legrand label. Guida changed Anderson's name to U.S. Bonds, hoping the first release would get extra airplay by disc jockeys mistaking it for a public-service announcement. The result was the classic "New Orleans," combining rock-combo raunch with impassioned, scorched soul-singing that set the stage for all that would follow. Guida double- and triple-tracked Bonds' voice and the resulting murky production gave all the hits (including "Quarter to Three," "School Is Out," and "Dear Lady Twist") a party-in-outer-space quality all their own. Though he kept recording, making a couple of excellent solo albums in the early '80s with the help of Bruce Springsteen, Bonds is best seen today dotting the landscape of oldies shows the world over, singing the songs that made him famous.

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BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA

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WEBSITE

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TO THE TOP

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10943 - GARY U.S. BONDS - BACK IN 20 (2004) (REPOST)

GARY U.S. BONDS
''BACK IN 20''
JUNE 1 2004
46:01

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1 Can't Teach An Old Dog New Tricks (With Bruce Springsteen and Southside Johnny) 04:22 (Laurie Anderson, Gary U.S. Bonds)
2 Murder In The First Degree 03:11 (Gary U.S. Bonds, Mark Leimbach)
3 Take Me Back (With Southside Johnny) 03:23 (Mark Leimbach)
4 She Just Wants to Dance (With Dickey Betts) 03:07 (Georgina Graper, Kevin Moore)
5 Fannie Mae (With Southside Johnny) 03:37 (Waymon Glasco, Morris Levy, Clarence L. Lewis)
6 Bitch/Dumb Ass (With Phoebe Snow & Dickey Betts) 04:04 (Laurie Anderson, Gary U.S. Bonds)
7 (I've Got) Dreams to Remember 04:35 (Otis Redding, Zelma Redding, Joe Rock)
8 Nothing But Blue 04:15 (Laurie Anderson, Gary U.S. Bonds)
9 She Chose to Be My Lady 03:28 (Gary U.S. Bonds)
10 Too Much Too Little Too Late 03:46 (Laurie Anderson, Gary U.S. Bonds, Mark Leimback)
11 Every Time I Roll the Dice 04:27 (Max Barnes, Troy Seals)
12 Dont Do it Here 03:40 (Laurie Anderson, Gary U.S. Bonds, Mark Leimback)

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Gary U.S. Bonds - lead vocals
Bruce Springsteen - guitar & background Vocals on 1
Southside Johnny - harmonica on 1, 3, vocals on 5
Dickey Betts - guitar on 4, 6
Phoebe Snow - vocals on 6
Joey Stann - saxophone
Mark Leimbach - guitar
Dan Cipriano - saxophone
Jeff Kazee - keyboards
Hal Selzer - bass
Lance Hyland Stark - drums
Jim Wacker - piano, keyboards
Walter Smith - background vocals

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ABOUT THE ALBUM/WIKIPEDIA

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REVIEW/AMG
William Ruhlmann
Back in 20, the title of Gary "U.S." Bonds' sixth studio album of new material in 43 years, is easily explained: 20 years have elapsed since his fifth LP, Standing in the Line of Fire, was released in 1984. Bonds has a habit of turning up in record stores every two decades or so. As a 21-year-old in 1960, he scored the first of six Top 40 hits with "New Orleans," leading to the release of his first two albums, Dance 'Til Quarter to Three and Twist Up Calypso. In 1981, at age 41, he returned under the auspices of Bruce Springsteen, who wrote, produced, and played on his comeback hit "This Little Girl" and participated in his albums Dedication and On the Line. Except for the title track, contributed by Springsteen cohort Miami Steve Van Zandt, Standing in the Line of Fire was largely the product of Bonds (whose real name is Gary Anderson) and his wife Laurie Anderson (not to be confused with the performance artist). In that sense, Back in 20 is a belated follow-up to that album, since it was largely written, produced, and even engineered by the Andersons and performed by Bonds' regular backup band, the Road House Rockers. There are some guest musicians, it is true. Springsteen contributes guitar (reminiscent of his "Darlington County") and background vocals to the lead-off song, "Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks," alongside Southside Johnny, who plays harmonica. Southside also plays harmonica on "Take Me Back," and he duets with Bonds on "Fannie Mae." Dickey Betts plays guitar on "She Just Wants to Dance" and "Bitch/Dumb Ass," the latter a duet between Bonds and Phoebe Snow. But listing all these names gives a false impression. Back in 20 is an album of barroom blues-rock by a band that clearly plays the same kind of music several times a week. Most of the songs were written by some combination of Bonds, Anderson, and guitarist Mark Leimbach, and they are all examples of traditional rock, blues-rock, and R&B styles. The listener may not have heard these particular compositions before, but the styles in which they were written and in which they are performed have been familiar for nearly 50 years. Bonds, in his mid-'60s, has the same gruff, exciting voice he always did, and he stands at the center of the band, playing off the saxophones, guitars, and drums. There are no great classics here to make this a required purchase, but these are songs that no doubt sound fine interspersed with "Quarter to Three" and "This Little Girl" in Bonds' club dates.

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BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Cub Koda
After moving to the Norfolk, VA, area in the mid-'50s, young Gary Anderson began plying his vocal wares, first in church, later with a local group called the Turks. When he was not yet 21, he was approached by local record producer Frank Guida to join his tiny Legrand label. Guida changed Anderson's name to U.S. Bonds, hoping the first release would get extra airplay by disc jockeys mistaking it for a public-service announcement. The result was the classic "New Orleans," combining rock-combo raunch with impassioned, scorched soul-singing that set the stage for all that would follow. Guida double- and triple-tracked Bonds' voice and the resulting murky production gave all the hits (including "Quarter to Three," "School Is Out," and "Dear Lady Twist") a party-in-outer-space quality all their own. Though he kept recording, making a couple of excellent solo albums in the early '80s with the help of Bruce Springsteen, Bonds is best seen today dotting the landscape of oldies shows the world over, singing the songs that made him famous.

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BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA

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WEBSITE

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TO THE TOP

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10942 - GARY U.S. BONDS - THE BEST OF GARY U.S. BONDS (1996)

GARY U.S. BONDS
''THE BEST OF GARY U.S. BONDS''
JUNE 1996
37:35

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1 Angelyne 04:03 (Bruce Springsteen)
2 Hold On (To What You Got) 03:05 (Bruce Springsteen)
3 Jole Blon 03:25 (Traditional)
4 Love's On The Line 03:39 (Bruce Springsteen)
5 New Orleans (Live) 05:21 (Frank Guida, Joseph Royster)
6 Out Of Work 02:54 (Bruce Springsteen)
7 Quarter To Three (Live) 05:24 (Gary Anderson, Gene Barge, Gary U.S. Bonds, Frank Guida, Joseph Royster)
8 Rendezvous 02:41 (Bruce Springsteen)
9 Soul Deep 03:17 (Wayne Carson)
10 This Little Girl 03:42 (Bruce Springsteen)

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REVIEW/AMG
Richie Unterberger
This ten-track compilation is not really the best of Gary U.S. Bonds; it's the best of the material he recorded during his early-'80s comeback. It has tracks from the Dedication and On the Line albums (including the hits "This Little Girl" and "Out of Work"), as well as previously unreleased live 1981 versions of a couple of his '60s hits ("New Orleans" and "Quarter to Three").

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BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Cub Koda
After moving to the Norfolk, VA, area in the mid-'50s, young Gary Anderson began plying his vocal wares, first in church, later with a local group called the Turks. When he was not yet 21, he was approached by local record producer Frank Guida to join his tiny Legrand label. Guida changed Anderson's name to U.S. Bonds, hoping the first release would get extra airplay by disc jockeys mistaking it for a public-service announcement. The result was the classic "New Orleans," combining rock-combo raunch with impassioned, scorched soul-singing that set the stage for all that would follow. Guida double- and triple-tracked Bonds' voice and the resulting murky production gave all the hits (including "Quarter to Three," "School Is Out," and "Dear Lady Twist") a party-in-outer-space quality all their own. Though he kept recording, making a couple of excellent solo albums in the early '80s with the help of Bruce Springsteen, Bonds is best seen today dotting the landscape of oldies shows the world over, singing the songs that made him famous.

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BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA

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WEBSITE

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TO THE TOP

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10941 - GARY U.S. BONDS - ON THE LINE (1982)

GARY U.S. BONDS
''ON THE LINE''
JUNE 1982
41:00

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1 Hold On (To What You Got) 03:05 (Bruce Springsteen)
2 Out Of Work 02:55 (Bruce Springsteen)
3 Club Soul City 03:38 (Bruce Springsteen)
4 Soul Deep 03:20 (Wayne Carson)
5 Loves On The Line 03:43 (Bruce Springsteen)
6 Turn The Music Down 03:40 (Laurie C. Anderson, Gary U.S. Bonds)
7 Rendezvouz 02:42 (Bruce Springsteen)
8 Angelyne 04:06 (Bruce Springsteen)
9 All I Need 05:13 (Bruce Springsteen)
10 Bring Her Back 03:47 (Laurie C. Anderson, Gary U.S. Bonds)
11 Last Time 04:46 (Steve Van Zandt)

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Gary U.S. Bonds - lead vocals
Bruce Springsteen - background vocals (credited under the pseudonym "Rusty Cloud")
Steven Van Zandt - guitar (solo on 11), background vocals (solo on 8)
Roy Bittan - keyboards
Clarence Clemons - saxophone (solo on 2, 8), background vocals
Danny Federici - keyboards (solo on 3), accordion
Max Weinberg - drums
Garry Tallent - bass guitar
Additional Musicians:
Charles Jackson - background vocals on 3
J.T. Bowen - background vocals on 2
Rusty Cloud - keyboards (solo on 10), background vocals
Bill Derby - guitar (solo on 6), background vocals
Joe Martin - guitar, background vocals
Mike Micara - drums
George Ruiz - bass guitar, background vocals
Joey Stann - saxophone (solo on 5, 10), background vocals

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ABOUT THE ALBUM/WIKIPEDIA

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REVIEW/AMG
William Ruhlmann
On the Line, Gary U.S. Bonds' second comeback album under the sponsorship of Bruce Springsteen, was even more of a Springsteen record than its predecessor. This time, Springsteen wrote seven of the 11 songs, co-produced all of them with Miami Steve (Van Zandt) and again lent the E Street Band for the sessions. While there were no Springsteen masterpieces here, the rock & roll revival style of the material, similar to that on Dedication, made it, in effect, the follow-up to Springsteen's The River album, albeit with a different vocalist. And that vocalist was, if anything, more expressive than the author -- on a song like "Out of Work," one of Springsteen's blue-collar anthems, Bonds sang with the conviction of a journeyman who knows what work is and what it's like not to have it.

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BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Cub Koda
After moving to the Norfolk, VA, area in the mid-'50s, young Gary Anderson began plying his vocal wares, first in church, later with a local group called the Turks. When he was not yet 21, he was approached by local record producer Frank Guida to join his tiny Legrand label. Guida changed Anderson's name to U.S. Bonds, hoping the first release would get extra airplay by disc jockeys mistaking it for a public-service announcement. The result was the classic "New Orleans," combining rock-combo raunch with impassioned, scorched soul-singing that set the stage for all that would follow. Guida double- and triple-tracked Bonds' voice and the resulting murky production gave all the hits (including "Quarter to Three," "School Is Out," and "Dear Lady Twist") a party-in-outer-space quality all their own. Though he kept recording, making a couple of excellent solo albums in the early '80s with the help of Bruce Springsteen, Bonds is best seen today dotting the landscape of oldies shows the world over, singing the songs that made him famous.

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BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA

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WEBSITE

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TO THE TOP

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10940 - GARY U.S. BONDS - DEDICATION (1981)

GARY U.S. BONDS
''DEDICATION''
APRIL 1981
41:21

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1 Jolé Blon (with Bruce Springsteen) 03:25 (Traditional)
2 This Little Girl 03:44 (Bruce Springsteen)
3 Your Love 03:28 (Bruce Springsteen)
4 Dedication 03:11 (Bruce Springsteen)
5 Daddy's Come Home 06:26 (Steven Van Zant)
6 It's Only love 03:05 (John Lennon, Paul McCartney)
7 The Pretender 06:13 (Jackson Browne)
8 Way Back When 04:04 (Gary U.S. Bonds, George Bruno)
9 From A Buick 6 04:28 (Bob Dylan)
10 Just Like A Child 03:43 (LeRoy Anderson, John Clemente, Lou Conte)

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Gary U.S. Bonds - lead vocals
Bruce Springsteen - guitars, background vocals (solo "Jole Blon")
Steven Van Zandt - bass, fuzz bass, guitar, bongos, background vocals
Roy Bittan - keyboards
Clarence Clemons - saxophone, background vocals
Danny Federici - accordion, keyboards
Max Weinberg - drums
Additional musicians:
Chuck Jackson - vocals
Ben E. King - vocals
Ellie Greenwich - background vocals
Carol Williams - background vocals
John Clemente - bass
Rusty Cloud - keyboards
Luis Conte - guitar
Rick Gazda - trumpet, background vocals
Ula Hedwig - background vocals
Brenda Hilliard - background vocals
La Bamba - trombone
Eddie Manion - tenor saxophone
Mike Micara - drums
Rob Parissi - guitar
Michael Spengler - trumpet
Joey Stann - baritone saxophone, background vocals
Carole Sylvan - background vocals
Brenda Joyce Hillard - background vocals
Mikie Harris - background vocals

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ABOUT THE ALBUM/WIKIPEDIA

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REVIEW/AMG
William Ruhlmann
Bruce Springsteen played guitar, sang a duet, wrote three songs, and co-produced and co-arranged four on Gary U.S. Bonds' comeback album, recorded 20 years after his heyday. Springsteen also lent his backup group, The E Street Band, while E Street guitarist Miami Steve (Van Zandt) also contributed a song and produced the bulk of the record. The result, naturally, sounds like a Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band album with lead vocals by Gary U.S. Bonds. Bonds' elastic tenor, heard in much greater clarity than it ever was in his early years, has just enough grit to be soulful, and he puts across the pop-soul tunes Springsteen and Van Zandt have constructed for him effectively. He also tackles the Beatles' "It's Only Love" and Bob Dylan's "From a Buick 6," and sings Jackson Browne's "The Pretender" as if the lyric was devoid of irony. It's an enjoyable album that does nothing to change the notion that Bonds as a recording artist essentially conforms himself to the intentions of his producer, whether that's Frank Guida, Jerry Williams, Jr., or Bruce Springsteen.

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BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Cub Koda
After moving to the Norfolk, VA, area in the mid-'50s, young Gary Anderson began plying his vocal wares, first in church, later with a local group called the Turks. When he was not yet 21, he was approached by local record producer Frank Guida to join his tiny Legrand label. Guida changed Anderson's name to U.S. Bonds, hoping the first release would get extra airplay by disc jockeys mistaking it for a public-service announcement. The result was the classic "New Orleans," combining rock-combo raunch with impassioned, scorched soul-singing that set the stage for all that would follow. Guida double- and triple-tracked Bonds' voice and the resulting murky production gave all the hits (including "Quarter to Three," "School Is Out," and "Dear Lady Twist") a party-in-outer-space quality all their own. Though he kept recording, making a couple of excellent solo albums in the early '80s with the help of Bruce Springsteen, Bonds is best seen today dotting the landscape of oldies shows the world over, singing the songs that made him famous.

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BIOGRAPHY/WIKIPEDIA

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WEBSITE

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TO THE TOP

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6494 - GARY U.S. BONDS - Back In 20 (2010)

GARY U.S. BONDS
''BACK IN 20''
JUNE 1 2004
46:13

1 /Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks
Laurie C. Anderson / Gary "U.S." Bonds/feat: Southside Johnny, Bruce Springsteen/4:24
2 /Murder in the First Degree
Gary "U.S." Bonds/3:13
3 /Take Me Back/feat: Southside Johnny/3:25
4 /She Just Wants to Dance/feat: Dickey Betts/3:09
5 /Fannie Mae
Morris Levy / Clarence Lewis/3:39
6 /Bitch/Dumb Ass
Laurie C. Anderson / Gary "U.S." Bonds/feat: Dickey Betts, Phoebe Snow/4:05
7 /I've Got Dreams to Remember
Otis Redding / Zelma Redding / Joe Rock/4:36
8 /Nothing but Blue
Laurie C. Anderson / Gary "U.S." Bonds/4:17
9 /She Chose to Be My Lady
Gary "U.S." Bonds/3:30
10 /Too Much, Too Little, Too Late
Laurie C. Anderson / Gary "U.S." Bonds/3:47
11 /Every Time I Roll the Dice
T.J. Seals/4:29
12 /Don't You Do It Here
Laurie C. Anderson / Gary "U.S." Bonds/3:39

Dickey Betts /Guest Artist, Guitar, Soloist
Gary "U.S." Bonds /Horn Arrangements, Vocals
Dan Cipriano /Horn Arrangements, Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor), Soloist
Jeff Kazee /Organ
Mark Leimbach /Guitar
Hal Selzer /Bass
Walter Smith /Vocals (Background)
Phoebe Snow /Guest Artist, Vocals
Southside Johnny /Guest Artist, Harmonica, Vocals
Bruce Springsteen /Guest Artist, Guitar, Vocals (Background)
Joey Stann /Horn Arrangements, Sax (Baritone), Sax (Tenor), Soloist
Lance Hyland Stark /Drums
Jim Wacker /Keyboards, Piano, Soloist

REVIEW
By William Ruhlmann
Back in 20, the title of Gary "U.S." Bonds' sixth studio album of new material in 43 years, is easily explained: 20 years have elapsed since his fifth LP, Standing in the Line of Fire, was released in 1984. Bonds has a habit of turning up in record stores every two decades or so. As a 21-year-old in 1960, he scored the first of six Top 40 hits with "New Orleans," leading to the release of his first two albums, Dance 'Til Quarter to Three and Twist Up Calypso. In 1981, at age 41, he returned under the auspices of Bruce Springsteen, who wrote, produced, and played on his comeback hit "This Little Girl" and participated in his albums Dedication and On the Line. Except for the title track, contributed by Springsteen cohort Miami Steve Van Zandt, Standing in the Line of Fire was largely the product of Bonds (whose real name is Gary Anderson) and his wife Laurie Anderson (not to be confused with the performance artist). In that sense, Back in 20 is a belated follow-up to that album, since it was largely written, produced, and even engineered by the Andersons and performed by Bonds' regular backup band, the Road House Rockers. There are some guest musicians, it is true. Springsteen contributes guitar (reminiscent of his "Darlington County") and background vocals to the lead-off song, "Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks," alongside Southside Johnny, who plays harmonica. Southside also plays harmonica on "Take Me Back," and he duets with Bonds on "Fannie Mae." Dickey Betts plays guitar on "She Just Wants to Dance" and "Bitch/Dumb Ass," the latter a duet between Bonds and Phoebe Snow. But listing all these names gives a false impression. Back in 20 is an album of barroom blues-rock by a band that clearly plays the same kind of music several times a week. Most of the songs were written by some combination of Bonds, Anderson, and guitarist Mark Leimbach, and they are all examples of traditional rock, blues-rock, and R&B styles. The listener may not have heard these particular compositions before, but the styles in which they were written and in which they are performed have been familiar for nearly 50 years. Bonds, in his mid-'60s, has the same gruff, exciting voice he always did, and he stands at the center of the band, playing off the saxophones, guitars, and drums. There are no great classics here to make this a required purchase, but these are songs that no doubt sound fine interspersed with "Quarter to Three" and "This Little Girl" in Bonds' club dates.

BIOGRAPHY
By Cub Koda
After moving to the Norfolk, VA, area in the mid-'50s, young Gary Anderson began plying his vocal wares, first in church, later with a local group called the Turks. When he was not yet 21, he was approached by local record producer Frank Guida to join his tiny Legrand label. Guida changed Anderson's name to U.S. Bonds, hoping the first release would get extra airplay by disc jockeys mistaking it for a public-service announcement. The result was the classic "New Orleans," combining rock-combo raunch with impassioned, scorched soul-singing that set the stage for all that would follow. Guida double- and triple-tracked Bonds' voice and the resulting murky production gave all the hits (including "Quarter to Three," "School Is Out," and "Dear Lady Twist") a party-in-outer-space quality all their own. Though he kept recording, making a couple of excellent solo albums in the early '80s with the help of Bruce Springsteen, Bonds is best seen today dotting the landscape of oldies shows the world over, singing the songs that made him famous.