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TANTRUM - Tantrum/Rather Be Rocking/Breaking AwayEuropean Import : Escape Music - ESM118 STOCK STATUS: TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK - ships in 10 days |
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| Imagine, if you can, a hard-as-nails
rock'n'roll band propelled by the fiery finesse of three female
lead vocalists. Now, picture this power-house trio juxtaposed against
a quartet of lithe players - all of whom happen to be male - and
you've formed a mental picture of Tantrum, the septet that's proven
to be the most famous female fronted band ever! An amalgam of seven
seasoned Chicago musicians, Tantrum fell together like pieces in
a puzzle. The idea came when their manager envisioned a female counterpart
to a band like Three Dog Night. A band with all the power of Led
Zeppelin, yet not so rock-hard as to deny the harmonic and melodic
possibilities their unique composition afforded them. Tantrum's
formation didn't take place among school chums or neighbourhood
peers. The members brought with them a variety of influences, interests
and geographic backgrounds. But, by the time they'd met, rehearsed
and commenced in the writing of some 40 original songs, it was obvious
that the chemistry was right. Like old friends who'd just met for
the first time, Tantrum became a unit with a common mission - to
make great music within their most unusual framework, and to make
this music heard by the masses. In forming the nucleus of Tantrum,
more than one hundred girls auditioned. It was pared down to three
- brunette Pam Bradley, blonde Barb Erber and auburn-haired Sandy
Caulfield. Although none of the three were novices behind the mike,
their pasts differ considerably. Pam sang in a host of bands from
Chicago to Arizona, including Pacific Coast Highway and Jezebel.
Forced to decide between her career and a jealous lover, she opted
for the former, and eventually met her Tantrum cohorts. Barb has
played since she was 14, as a rhythm guitarist for bands with names
like Creation and Sunshine Sequence, performing at such venues as
Chicago's Aragon and with the likes of Baby Huey and the Mauds.
Then she packed her bags and headed for the Rockies, and vowed never
to return to the Midwest. Contently driving a sandwich truck in
Denver, opportunity knocked on Barb's door and she caught the first
plane back. Sandy attended Indiana University, singing in various
bands while appearing on commercials, such as the Schlitz Malt Liquor
bull. Of the band's male contingency, Keyboardist Phil Balsano began
his interest in music with accordion lessons in his small town in
Northern Illinois. Later, he played in bands that contained "Big
George" Millspaugh (now of Pearl Handle) and two of the Aliotta
brothers (later part of Aliotta, Haynes and Jeremiah.) Bill Syniar,
Tantrum's bassist, considered himself as a "pretty normal person"
until he picked up a guitar and bass in his mid-teens, later to
scuffle the circuit as bassist in rock bands (Arena, Roughhouse,)
jazz bands and even show bands. Guitarist Ray Sapko fronted a band
in the mid-60's known as the Smoldering Cinders ("The Rolling
Stones had nothin' on us," he says in retrospect) and later
found himself studying in a conservatory. Finding that the best
musical preparation was "on the streets," he played in
a number of bands. One of these was Skylady, as close to Tantrum's
antecedent as anyone's apt to find, where Ray played with Syniar
and Balsano. Vern Wennerstrom, the man behind the skins, comes to
the group with a strong background in jazz, but a craving to play
rock'n'roll. A veteran of such jazz ensembles as Matrix and Bunky
Green, Vern chanced upon the Tantrum auditions on his way to try
out for Harvey Mandell's band. After stringent rehearsals and an
itinerant club and concert schedule, Tantrum was brought to the
attention of the Chicago-based Ovation label, best known for bearing
the year's top country single (the Kendalls' "Heavens Just
A Sin Away") plus success in disco, jazz and blues. Tantrum
marks Ovation's full-swing emergence into the rock market and a
strong debut their first album is. From the lilting pop harmonies
and the dashing hard-rock musicianship that punctuates "Listen"
to the progressive leanings of "Flash Commander," Tantrum
proves that the right combination of talent, energy and versatility
are the key ingredients of a hit album. Of
course, comparisons with some of rock'n'rolls other "co-ed"
bands will be inevitable. Some may even draw parallels to groups
like the Chiffons and the Shirelles although the girls in the band
deny the influence. Most will liken them to Heart and Fleetwood
Mac. But the only band Tantrum was interested in sounding like was
Tantrum! The use of John Ryan (Chicago Kid
productions - Styx) as producer for the second album was definitely
a great move; the 1979 album "Rather be Rockin'" was a milestone in the bands career. The album was issued with two different sleeves, the 1979 version had an "oldy worldy" image of the band on the front and a splendid full colour shot of them on the reverse. In 1980 a green sleeve appeared with a totally different non-band picture on the front and a smaller picture of the band on the reverse, taken from the same photo shoot as the earlier version. What we had in the second album was a far superior extension of the debut with a heavier emphasis on the guitars. The bombastic "Applaud the Winner" was chosen by Kerrang! Magazine to feature on a compilation called "Konnoisseurs.." That one song alone is a remarkable introduction to this very talented band. Until now, the two albums by Tantrum remained on vinyl only; however, there was always talk of the third Tantrum album "Breaking Away" which was actually fully recorded with all artwork prepared. In fact it was all ready to be released, but it never saw the light of day. For years it has remained a strong talking point for all fans of the band and for years it has always remained unreleased in any shape or form. That is, until now. Here it is on CD, fully remastered with the other two famous Tantrum recordings. All in all this entire package features thirty tracks from possibly the most unique and exciting female fronted rock band in the history of rock music. |
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