Merl Saunders • Fire Up

Review by Eugene Chadbourne

What might have been worth volumes of rock history, but turned out to be nothing much more than a short story, was the supergroup comprising members of both the Grateful Dead and Creedence Clearwater Revival, a ship whose captain was the wonderful Merl Saunders. With both the chops and musical background to lead the somewhat younger rock neophytes on a vision quest, Saunders became something of a galvanizing force, bringing out some of the tightest and strongest performances of the players featured here. As this band evolved in later years, former Creedence Clearwater Revival guitarist Tom Fogerty was pushed out of the picture and Saunders began a program of diversity in which the hapless Garcia would be thrust into the limelight on ballads such as "My Funny Valentine," an ungrateful fish out of water to be sure. There is none of that here, as the program wisely emphasizes the leader's clever songwriting; fans of the good ol' boogaloo should enjoy both "Soul Roach" and "Chock-Lite Puddin'." The range of material is narrowly focused into the areas where these players really excel, rather than attempting to be jaw-droppingly eclectic. Of the covers, the best is an energetic reworking of "Expressway to Your Heart," in which Saunders displays his feel for light, melodic soul material. He gets the others to play in the pocket, yet these are hippie bell-bottoms with holes in the pockets; the slightly unkempt nature of the Bay Area psychedelic rockers adds a nice atmosphere. The big airplay number of the time was the opener, "After Midnight," which despite its dated '70s mildew is after all a good vehicle for the Saunders greasy organ style, as would be anything even vaguely bluesy. Fantasy eventually combined this album with an earlier Saunders effort for a CD entitled Fire Up Plus.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/fire-up-mw0000922389

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Reseña de Eugene Chadbourne

Lo que podría haber valido volúmenes de historia del rock, pero resultó no ser más que una historia corta, fue el supergrupo formado por miembros de Grateful Dead y Creedence Clearwater Revival, un barco cuyo capitán era el maravilloso Merl Saunders. Con el talento y la experiencia musical para guiar a los algo más jóvenes neófitos del rock en una búsqueda de visión, Saunders se convirtió en una especie de fuerza galvanizadora, sacando a relucir algunas de las actuaciones más apretadas y fuertes de los jugadores que se presentan aquí. A medida que esta banda evolucionó en los últimos años, el ex guitarrista de Creedence Clearwater Revival Tom Fogerty fue expulsado de la escena y Saunders comenzó un programa de diversidad en el que el desafortunado García sería puesto en el centro de atención en baladas como "My Funny Valentine", un pez ingrato fuera del agua para estar seguros. No hay nada de eso aquí, ya que el programa enfatiza sabiamente la inteligente composición de las canciones del líder; los fanáticos del buen boogaloo deberían disfrutar tanto de "Soul Roach" como de "Chock-Lite Puddin'". La gama de materiales se centra en las áreas en las que estos jugadores realmente sobresalen, en lugar de intentar ser eclécticos. De las portadas, la mejor es una reelaboración energética de "Expressway to Your Heart", en la que Saunders muestra su sensibilidad por el material ligero y melódico del alma. Consigue que los demás jueguen en el bolsillo, pero son pantalones de campana hippies con agujeros en los bolsillos; la naturaleza ligeramente desaliñada de los rockeros psicodélicos del Área de la Bahía añade una atmósfera agradable. El gran éxito de la época fue el primer partido, "After Midnight" (Después de medianoche), que a pesar de su anticuado moho de los años 70 es, después de todo, un buen vehículo para el grasiento estilo de órgano de Saunders, como lo sería cualquier cosa, incluso vagamente azulada. Fantasy finalmente combinó este álbum con un esfuerzo anterior de Saunders para un CD titulado Fire Up Plus.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/fire-up-mw0000922389

Tracks:

    A1 After Midnight
Bass [Fender Bass] – John Kahn
Drums – Bill Vitt
Electric Piano, Organ – Merl Saunders
Guitar, Vocals – Jerry Garcia
Rhythm Guitar – Tom Fogerty
    A2 Expressway (To Your Heart)
Bass [Fender Bass] – John Kahn
Congas – Gaylord Birch
Drums – Bill Vitt
Guitar – Jerry Garcia
Organ – Merl Saunders
Rhythm Guitar – Tom Fogerty
    A3 Charisma
Bass [Fender Bass] – Chuck Rainey
Drums – Gaylord Birch
Electric Piano, Synthesizer [Arp (Flute)],
Organ – Merl Saunders
Guitar – Mike Howell
Percussion – Ken Nash
Rhythm Guitar – Tom Fogerty
Vocals [Background Vocals] – Walter Hawkins &
Sisters (Tramaine, Lynette & Feddie)
    A4 Soul Roach
Drums – Christopher Parker
Electric Piano – John Kahn
Guitar – Jerry Garcia
Organ, Synthesizer [Arp (Band)] – Merl Saunders
Rhythm Guitar – Mike Howell, Tom Fogerty
    B1 Chock-Lite Puddin´
Bass [Fender Bass] – Chuck Rainey
Drums, Tambourine [Tamborine] – Gaylord Birch
Electric Piano, Organ, Synthesizer
[Arp (Flute)] – Merl Saunders
Guitar – Mike Howell
Percussion – Bill Sommers, Ken Nash
Rhythm Guitar – Tom FogertY
    B2 Benedict Rides
Bass [Fender Bass] – John Kahn
Drums – Bill Vitt
Electric Piano, Clavinet – Merl Saunders
Guitar – c
Rhythm Guitar – Tom Fogerty
Vocals – Walter Hawkins
    B3 The System
Bass [Fender Bass] – John Kahn
Drums – Bill Vitt
Guitar – Jerry Garcia
Piano, Organ, Synthesizer [Arp (Band)],
Vocals – Merl Saunders
Rhythm Guitar – Tom Fogerty
    B4 Lonely Avenue
Bass [Fender Bass] – John Kahn
Drums – Bill Kruetzman
Guitar, Vocals – Jerry Garcia
Organ, Piano – Merl Saunders
Vocals [Background Vocals] – Walter Hawkins &
Sisters (Tramaine, Lynette & Feddie)

Recorded at Fantasy Studios Berkeley except "Lonely Avenue"






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