After All Is Said and Done - The Producers, Holmes
The folks at One Way Records dug deep into the vaults at MCA and came up with the never released 1988 recording of Coelacanth, the 4th album from The Producers. The Producers are also touring so watch for them to come to... more » a venue near you.« less
The folks at One Way Records dug deep into the vaults at MCA and came up with the never released 1988 recording of Coelacanth, the 4th album from The Producers. The Producers are also touring so watch for them to come to a venue near you.
"A coelacanth is a large prehistoric fish believed to have been extinct but was found to still be in existence in the early 1900s. Some might say this is analagous to the band, The Producers. Up until this year, I thought the band had retired their musical talents, but they are still in existence and putting on great shows in conjunction with their recent CD release "Coelacanth". Check out their website at www.theproducers.orgThis CD was originally recorded 14+ years ago but, unfortunately for us, MCA left it in their music vault preventing its release. A special thanks to One-Way Records for dusting off the tracks and releasing them to all of us in 2001. The strongest tracks are "Out of My Head" (slow ballad with smooth vocals by Van Temple), "Dance on My Heart" (most reminiscent of their earlier songs; great drum beat by Bryan Holmes and keyboards by Wayne Famous), "One Good Reason", "Primitive Man" and Kyle Henderson's "Renaissance". There is one song here from their previously released album "Run For Your Life" (not on CD yet, but hopefully someday), that is re-released here. This version of "Slow Dancing" is not as strong as their first in my opinion, but is still a decent track.So, if you want to hear new 80s music, try this CD ("Trouble with Love" could be released today and few would suspect it was recorded so long ago). Finally, one of Sheryl Crow's band members, Tim Smith, was a member of The Producers when this CD was recorded and co-wrote a few of these songs. Although it would be nice to have him back performing with the original four band members, fans do wish him well. It's great having former band member Kyle Henderson back on bass. Rumor has it, they will be performing at The Howling Wolf in New Orleans on New Year's Eve 2001-2002."
Another Great CD From The Producers
James Choma | 04/12/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Why this CD sat on the shelf for years at the band's former label is a mystery. There were definitely surefire hits on the album ("Renaissance" and "Out of My Head") that had potential. Too bad. But here it is -- Coelacanth -- for your listening pleasure many years after the fact.I guess the only downside to the album is the dull brown cover art. Not bad, but not all that attractive. That's kind of petty considering the good music contained within (don't judge a book by its cover!), but I like cover art.If you're a fan of the band's previous albums, get this album while you can before it goes out of print and becomes impossible to find."
GOOD THINGS DO COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT!
Stephen Palmer | Kansas City | 10/05/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Seeing The Producers in concert four times during 1985-86, I was somewhat familiar with some of the songs on this new release. I particularly remember them opening their set with the song "Primitive Man" - the catchy guitar riff and the tag line "there's a monkey on your stereo". So I guess you could say I've been patiently waiting 15 years for this CD to come out. I must say it was worth the wait, especially considering it's value price. In general the songs are good although I would argue that the songwriting on this album, as well as its predecessor "Run For Your Life (RFYL)", suffer from the absence of bassist Kyle Henderson (although Tim Smith is an amazing bass player). A funny story about Tim - I can still remember the first time I saw the Producers, seeing several drunk college-age kids standing at the front of the stage in front of Tim screaming "Whooo Kyle. Rock and roll. Yeah Kyle. Whoooo!!" I wondered if Tim might tell them between songs that he wasn't Kyle, but he just ignored them and kept on playing... Anyway, standout songs on this album, besides the previously mentioned "Primitive Man" are "Dance On My Heart", "Right Man for the Job", "Trouble With Love", and "Renaissance". Interestingly, a similar but more obviously spiritual version of "Renaissance" appears on Kyle Henderson's out-of-print Contemporary Christian solo album released in 1985. A couple of minor disappointments are: 1) There are only 10 songs on the album and one, "Slow Dancing", is an unimaginative remake of the same song off the RFYL album, and 2) the sound is not as pristine as I would like. But one has to keep in mind it was recorded in 1987 and there have been a lot of improvements in recording technology since then. Overall, if you are a Producers fan you will want to pick up this release. And keep your eyes out for the upcoming re-release of RFYL."
Long Over due, but worth the wait!!
Thomas Arthur | San Diego, California USA | 10/02/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"One has to congratulate One Way Records, they have been leading the forfront of Re-releasing music long out of print, or in the case of the Producers album "Coelacanth" letting it see the light of day, and boy--does it shine!!Granted it was supposed to be released 14 years ago, but it still sounds better they any current top 40 bands! Van Temple, Wayne Famous, Bryan Holmes and Tim Smith, have created a pure pop CD with all the right hooks and melodies that made the first 2 releases but the band so damn good!! So buy this and party like it is 1987!!!Looking forward to the re-release of the final Producers album "Run for your life".........."
Fish out of water
Tim Brough | Springfield, PA United States | 09/17/2008
(3 out of 5 stars)
"The Producers were a great band that met the fate of many a good band...jammed by a record company and then discarded. Their two albums for Portrait/CBS (on an OOP two-fer Producers/You Make the Heat) were darn near flawless power-pop in the skinny tie era. When the single "She Sheila" was just on the brink of putting The Producers over the top, Portrait folded, bad blood between the group and the exec holding their contract ensued and this CD, recorded for MCA, languished for 12 years in a vault.
Fortunately, the cult of Producers Fans eventually brought "Coelacanth" to the surface. And while it is a good album, it seems that the band had lost their spark. "Primitive Man" and "When All Is Said and Done" are as good as anything on the other two albums and "Who's Crying Now" spotlights their best ballad, but the snap is gone. It may be somewhat due to the departure of Kyle Henderson, who'd departed for a solo Christian Rock career (an OOP album "More Than The Look of Love," and if you ever heard his rewrite of "Back To Basics" - we're going back, back to the word of God..." - you'll wish he hadn't). Tim Smith is a decent replacement and he keeps up with drummer Bryan Holmes, but he didn't add much vocally. Since harmonies were a big part of The Producers' magic, "Coelacanth" misses some of that glory. One of the key components was always Wayne Famous, and once again his work is stellar.
Two of "Coelacanth's" songs were re-recordings. Slow Dancing appeared on Run For Your Life and was rerecorded for Coelacanth. Kyle wrote "Renaissance" before leaving and the words were adjusted so to not be quite as 'Christian'. "Slow Dancing appeared on "Run For Your Life" (which has yet to make it to CD) and was rerecorded for "Coelacanth." This is a moderately good Power Pop CD, but the best work was already behind them. If you have an interest in The Producers, get this now since One Way Records has closed up shop."