Rare Earth - Ecology (1970)

2018-11-28T11:54:22Z

Rare Earth - Ecology (1970)


A1 	Born To Wander 	3:20
A2 	Long Time Leavin' 	4:47
A3 	(I Know) I'm Losing You	10:53
B1 	Satisfaction Guaranteed 	4:34
B2 	Nice Place To Visit	3:57
B3 	No. 1 Man 	4:52
B4 	Eleanor Rigby	6:38

Gil Bridges -Flute, Saxophone, Tabla, Vocals
Eddie Guzman - Congas
Kenny James -Keyboards, Organ 
John Persh - Bass, Composer, Tambourine, Vocals
Rod Richards - Guitar, Vocals
Pete Rivera - Drums, Vocals

Two strong tracks propelled Ecology up the pop charts: the swaggering, bravado-laden "Born to Wander," written by Tom Baird, and a hard-hitting, rocking rendition of the Temptations' "I Know I'm Losing You," written by Cornelius Grant, Eddie Holland, and Norman Whitfield; the epic remake of the latter is almost eleven minutes of pure funk-rock. Lead singer Pete Riviera had a powerful voice, similar to Dennis Edwards, that could sell a song; the percussion and echo vocals accentuate the classic. The guys do a nice job on John Lennon and Paul McCartney's "Eleanor Rigby," and bass player John Persh's "Nice Place to Visit" adds a different twist to Rare Earth's legacy. ---Andrew Hamilton, AllMusic Review

“Ecology” Rare Earth’s sophomore effort hit the album chart on 11 July 1970, topping at #15, and hanging on for 49 weeks. The band settled into guitar driven, percussion supplemented grooves that worked well. Edward Guzman (congas and percussion) became the band’s sixth member and the album yielded not one, but two hit singles. First “(I Know) I’m Losing You” written by the Motown team of Norman Whitfield, Edward Holland, Jr. & Cornelius Grant. Whitfield was brought in to produce the sessions, obviously a great choice. The song charted on 1 August 1970, peaking at #7 and hanging on the charts for 14 weeks. Like the band’s first single, the track was edited to just less than 4 minutes from the nearly 11 minute album take which gave each band member a chance to show their chops. The band’s cover, like “Get Ready” before it, outperformed The Temptations’ original. The single edit is available on both “Anthology” and “Fill Your Head.” The album’s second hit single “Born To Wander” charted 12 December 1970, reaching #17 and holding on for 11 weeks. The single, penned by producer Tom Baird, was their first not written by anyone from the old school Motown roster and was edited to 3 minutes compared to the LP version’s four minute plus run time. The single was quite a change in sound for the band, with its lighter, more carefree feel. Gil Bridge’s flue is memorable as is Rod Richards’ lead guitar. The single edit of “Born To Wander” is available only on “Anthology.” ---psychedelicbabymag.com

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Rare Earth - Rock Collection (2010)

2013-06-26T16:05:21Z

Rare Earth - Rock Collection (2010)


1. City Life
2. Finger Lickin' Good
3. Happy Song
4. Hum Along And Dance
5. Train To Nowhere
6. No. 1 Man
7. Wine, Women And Song
8. Couldn't Believe What Happened
9. Mota Molata
10. Come With Me
11. What'd I Say
12. Ain't No Sun Since
13. 6-3-4-5
14. Searchin'
15. I Really Love You
16. Rock 'n' Roll Man
17. Under God's Light
18. Walking Schtick

Rare Earth first came to the attention of the world as somewhat of an anomaly. Whereas a number of white acts spent the 50s stealing hit blues and soul songs and sanitizing them for pop audiences, Rare Earth largely made a career out of taking hit Motown songs and giving them an even funkier rock sound - and doing it as Motown's first major white act.

Formed in Detroit in the mid 60s by drummer Peter Rivera, saxophonist Gil Bridges, bassist John Parrish, guitarist Rod Richards and keyboardist Kenny James, Rare Earth was playing the local bar scene and had released one minor album (Dreams/Answers) when they were signed by Motown. Berry Gordy and company had enough faith that they created a Rare Earth label around the group.

Rare Earth scored a surprise first hit on its Motown debut with an infectious, rocked-out version of the Temptations' "Get Ready." The single and the accompanying album hit the Pop and Soul top twenty. The group went back to the well again the next year with its album Ecology and the hit remake of "(I Know I'm) Losing You," another cut from the Tempts catalog. The group's third album yielded perhaps its most popular single, the Dino Fekaris composition "I Just Want to Celebrate," a fantastic blend of bar rock and funky soul that hit the top 10.

Rare Earth remained pretty prolific over the next several years, but the members' own compositions didn't click with audiences as their remakes had. After a few more albums on Motown they moved to the Prodigal Records label for a handful of discs, but failed to generate much interest.

The group split in the mid-80s and Rivera began years of touring singing the Rare Earth catalog. He now lives in Southern California with his wife of over 30 years and most recently toured with the Classic Rock All-Stars. Bridges formed a new version of Rare Earth and attempted a comeback with the album Different World in 1993. The group, now with a lineup of Bridges, Ivan Greilick, Randy Burghdoff, Mike Bruner and Floyd Stokes, still plays around the US and internationally. They've recently self-released The Rare Earth, a disc of new recordings of some of their biggest hits that is available through their website. They're also working on their first new music in a decade and a half, A Brand New World, slated for 2009 release. ---Chris Rizik, soultracks.com

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Rock, Metal

Rare Earth - Ecology (1970)

Rare Earth - Rock Collection (2010)