Just unearthed these jewels...192kbs of pure wayback machine madness. These releases came in under the radar nationally, but got prominent play locally.
Chicken Shack's Stan Webb-
The talented, yet relatively unrecognized, guitarist has this to say about the way major success has eluded him: "Some people say, 'You should be on stage at the Albert Hall, not Eric Clapton.' And I think, well, I don't agree with that, but I should certainly be able to go on there as well. But I'm happy with what's happening now. I've done the years and I'm getting more respect than I ever did then. It's worked for me."
[web]http://lelombrik.free.fr/LoMBriK/Ascens ... enseur.swf[/web]In terms of record sales, this album didn't exactly set the charts on fire. Released in 1977, 'Firing On All Six' managed to stay on the UK album chart for only 6 weeks, peaking just inside the top 40 at No.36. But don't be put off by this poor chart outing, this is a classy, well produced rock album.
As a band, Lone Star didn't have a long life-span. They formed in May 1975 and promptly disappeared to a rented house in Wales to write and rehearse their own material and to plan their assault on the rock world. They emerged from this seclusion armed with a demo tape of their material and proceeded to pester every major label in the hope of getting a deal. Their persistance paid off and in February 1976, they signed to Epic Records. The first album 'Lone Star' was released in August 1976, but this too had a bad time in terms of sales, spending only 1 week on the UK chart and reaching a lowly No.47. They toured Britain as the support band to Ted Nugent and appeared on the BBC Radio 1 'In Concert' programme in 1976, before getting their own headlining UK tour. Things were starting to look good. But, midway through the tour, the wheels fell off. American vocalist Kenny Driscoll was sacked. "Personality things" and the usual "musical differences" were the reasons given. In February 1977 a new vocalist, John Sloman, was announced as the replacement for the sacked Driscoll. After more writing and rehearsing, they went into the studio and recorded 'Firing On All Six.' A headline tour ensued to promote the new album, culminating in a superb perfomance recorded live for the BBC's 'Sight And Sound - In Concert', broadcast in November 1977. But it just wasn't to be, Lone Star finally split late in 1977. Vocalist John Sloman would go on to join Uriah Heep, whilst guitarist Paul Chapman joined hard rock outfit UFO. So that was Lone Star, but what was their music like?
The opening track 'The Bells Of Berlin' has become a bit of a classic. It opens with crashing guitar and keyboards. It's a song about the mood of the people in the divided city of Berlin, written long before the Berlin Wall was eventually dismantled in 1989. It features some great keyboard work from Rik Worsnop. 'The Ballad Of Crafty Jack' tells the story of a man facing a showdown with his biggest enemy. Both 'Time Lays Down' and 'Hypnotic Mover' feature the twin lead guitars of Paul Chapman and Tony Smith. 'Lovely Lubina', a song about groupies, opens with a nice drum introduction from Dixie Lee, followed once again by those superb twin guitars. 'Seasons In Your Eyes' is a very classy ballad that features some nice orchestral arrangements. Before the song completely fades out, my favourite song kicks in, 'Rivers Overflowing.' This is an excellent track, probably one of Lone Star's finest, on which everyone in the band gives it their all. The closing track 'All Of Us To All Of You', is a tribute to the fans who stood by the band throughout their short career. This was usually the song that closed their live shows.
'Firing On All Six' is an excellent album. A lot of effort went into making it a success. It is very well produced - you can hear everything thats going on. The band had all the breaks that many other bands could only dream of - signed to a major label, nationwide tours, television exposure, radio appearances, all that was missing was that they couldn't get on with each other. Lone Star were a great band, they could have been huge. Although 'Firing On All Six' is now long deleted and not available on CD, you may be able to pick up a copy from a record fair or second-hand shop. Your efforts will be well rewarded.