Sneaker - Sneaker (LP) (1981) - €10,00

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Sneaker was a West CoastAmericanrockband, active from 1973 to 1983. The band is best known for its Billboard Hot 100Top 40hit single, “More Than Just the Two of Us”, from its first album, Sneaker (1981). 

They also had a minor hit with “Don’t Let Me In”, a song written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker from Steely Dan.

Sneaker is the debut album by the band Sneaker. It was released in 1981 on Handshake Records.

Do you remember their first hit “Don’t Let Me In?” It was a Steely Dan song Becker and Fagen never recorded themselves, but this band had modest success with it back in the day. 

On this song’s heels quickly follows their second hit, and a modest staple of FM adult contemporary pop called “More Than Just the Two of Us.” While this lovely arrangement, rich in harmony and warm keyboards sounds like it would make a great wedding song, it’s actually about a pending divorce for Mitch Crane, which was surprising to discover.

Other highlights on this album include: “Jaymes,” a rich and well-produced track with a sweet jazzy saxophone that was written for Jaymes Foster, uber producer and composer David’s sister.

“Get Up, Get Out”: Savvy light fusion track that has a hell of an instrumental break and the great line, “You’d trip the dancer for a chance to be inside her shoes.”

“Looking for Someone Like You”: A song that’s been near and dear to my heart since I first bought this album. You will notice (also admitted by Michael Carey Schneider) a similarity in the piano and melody line of this song to something off Joni Mitchell’s Blue album, including references to gardens and the sea. 

This song is so breathtaking and haunting that you will come back to it over and over against your will!

“No More Lonely Days:” Luscious keyboards and slow bass groove that are extremely resemblant of the title track to Steely Dan’s Aja masterpiece as much as Ambrosia’s darker early tunes, it is quite obvious that most of their musical influences lie there and in Michael McDonald era Doobie Brothers.

The demo version of “More Than Just the Two of US” is almost better than the finished product of track two, but you definitely will appreciate the full circle outcome of “Don’t Let Me In” after hearing the bonus offering. “Easy with Your Love” is the rockin’est thing on here and, recorded in a living room, also the most dated sounding thing. 

“Lazy Lady” is charming and is an attempt to do a song in the style of McCartney’s first solo album–the one with the cherries on the cover–and it succeeds to some degree, but the keyboards are far more prominent than Macca would have done at that time. 

It’s a cute, sweet song however, and a breather from all the gloss of Jeffrey Baxter’s nearly immaculate production.

If you like bands like Steely Dan, the Doobies, Ambrosia, and Player you will be more than pleased with Sneaker’s debut album. I also recommend their second and final studio offering, Loose in the World, which is just as worthy if not better than this one.

Side A

A1.  Don’t Let Me In - 3:45

A2.  More Than Just The Two Of Us - 4:20

A3.  One By One - 2:45

A4.  Jaymes - 3:42

A5.  In Time - 4:40

Side B

B1.  Get Up, Get Out - 3:33

B2.  Looking For Someone Like You - 4:08

B3.  Millionaire - 4:20

B4.  No More Lonely Days - 5:05

Personnel

• Michael Cottage – bass, background vocals
• Mitch Crane – guitars, lead and background vocals
• Mike Hughes – drums, background vocals
• Jim King – keyboards, synthesizers, vibes
• Michael Carey Schneider – lead and background vocals, keyboards
• Tim Torrance – guitars

 Production

• Producer: Jeff Baxter
• Engineer: Larold Rebhun
• Management & direction: Shelly Weiss
• Additional engineering: Al Schmitt, Wayne Neuendorf, Jeff Baxter
• Assistant engineers: Clif Jones, Sheridan Eldridge, John Hanlon, Krohn McHenry, Karen Siegel
• Recorded at Village Recorder & Cherokee Studios
• Mastered at Bernie Grundman Mastering, Hollywood
• Mastering: Bernie Grundman
• Production coordinator: Marylata Kastner
• Photography: Sam Emerson
• Illustrations: Susan McDonnell
• Design: Tommy Steele/Art Hotel

 Guest artists

• “Don’t Let Me In”: Jeff Baxter – guitar solos on fade
• “Jaymes”: Ed Greene – drums, John Raymond – bass, David Foster – clavinet, Lon Price – saxophone solo, Bobby LaKind – percussion (courtesy Warner Bros. Records)
• “One By One”: David Woodford – saxophone solo
• “No More Lonely Days”: Jeff Baxter – guitar solos on fade, Sherlie Mathews, Paulette Brown, Cleopatra Kennedy – background vocals, Jimmie Haskell – string and French horn arrangements

Notes
Release: 1981
Format: LP, Vinyl
Genre: Soft Rock
Label: Handshake Records
Catalog# 204361

Vinyl: Goed (VG+)
Cover: Goed (VG+)

Prijs: €10,00