The Life and Times Of Wayne Berry...In Song!

One of the pleasures of creating alternate albums or albums that didn't exist before is - I freely admit it - a God complex. Being the creator that brings order to chaos has an unmistakable allure. It's also fun to play with history, as a reader recently suggested. But yeah, the God complex thing. It gets especially strong if you not only do an album that under other circumstances could have existed, but a concept album that you built from scratch. The whole point of concept albums is of course that they are - if everything goes according to plan and its practitioners aren't total amateurs - meticulously planned. So, to propose a concept album out of a bunch of random outtakes is no doubt a total act of hubris. Constructing a musical autobiography without the artist's knowledge is madness. But hey, a guy's -  especially of the one buck variety - gotta do what a guy's gotta do. 

This will be the end of the three-part "albums that didn't exist"-project of residential favorite Wayne Berry. It is also in some ways my favorite because finding (or maybe: establishing) connections that you didn't see (or maybe: that didn't exist) before is half of the fun of constructing this kind of album. And the more I put songs on the side that might fit the project, the clearer the narrative became. It all started with the newly-minted title song of this album that didn't but should exist: "Country Boy, City Dreams" is clearly autobiographical and sounds like a man taking stock of his career and life situation. Alone, his would not prop up a concept. But then I threw "Looking For Love In America" on the pile, a song that recounts the meeting and love affair of Berry's parents, as well as his own subsequent birth and childhood, ending up with the narrator, Berry himself, looking for love in America. Now, things got interesting: Two autobiographical songs talking about different aspects and times in his life. Now I felt I had something there. 

From these two tentpoles, the rest of the story came easy. ""Looking For Love In America" opens proceedings during World War II and throughout Berry's childhood. From there he alternates between commenting on his love life and his career, first asking you to "Remember The First Time" you fell in (and out) of love before reflecting on his first steps in the rock'n'roll world in "Home Coming Dance". Back to romantic disillusion in "How Many Dreams (You've Got To Lose)" and "In Another World". Then, Berry decides to pick himself up again and go "High Steppin'", pleading to a woman to "Give Me The Chance". Then be contemplates where he is, how he got there and what that got him in "Country Boy, City Dreams" and concludes that he's part of a "Lost Generation". But he doesn't give up hope that "The Next Time" he falls in love with a woman, it will be the good (and final) one. See, it absolutely holds together, almost like the man wrote and planned it that way! He didn't, of course, but hey, order from chaos and all that. If Country Boy, City Dreams was never planned as an album, it sure as hell could've been...

And that concludes my sojourns into expanding Wayne Berry's discography and hopefully helping in spreading knowledge and appreciation of the man as well. He now goes from two barely available (three if you count the unreleased album for Capitol) solo records to five albums with the three albums that never existed that One Buck Records proposed to you. Now, that's a real discography. As with the first two albums (and the 'best of' I compiled) this is eminently listenable pop with folk and country influences. I repeat myself, admittedly, but Berry could've and should've been bigger than he was. Well, now there is more of his music out there to enjoy, so I hope you do just that with Country Boy, City Dreams... 

The Berry Project Part 2: Wayne Berry's got them Beachwood Blues...

It's time for part two of the tryptich of Wayne Berry albums that sadly never were but could have and should have been. Last we saw Berry on these pages, he tried (in our kayfabe version of history) to become a pop star by putting a bunch of could-have-been-contenders on ...just a matter of time. Album two, Beachwood Blues actually does have a single song that was released at the time. It's the title song, coming out as his lone single for A&M in 1973, and as usual for Berry, doing nothing charts-wise. 

Beachwood Blues' organizing principle is that it's a very loose concept album about finding and losing love in L.A. in the early 1970s. It starts with one of his most interesting outtakes from the era, because "Stray" sounds like he had taken an early, immediate liking to Bruce Springsteen. It even has some saxophone in it, and a muscular rock sound that sounds a bit like The Boss and his E-Street Band, a direction Berry wouldn't pursue afterwards. It also has some clear aurobiographical elements, which had me put it on the 'aural biography' Country Boy, City Dreams (the upcoming conclusion of the trilogy), but I needed a kick-ass rock song as an album opener. The ballads here, especially "It's Hard Living Without You", are top notch and Berry works his patented mid-tempo magic in the title song. But the more interesting numbers are the ones that show him stretching out a bit. We already talked about "Strays" but there is also "For Your Love", a rockabilly number that has Berry trying out his best Elvis Presley imitation. And if you have picked up the handy Berry compendium Berry's Cherries back in November, then you're already familiar with "The Wrong Man", a really catchy number that's one of his best outtakes from the period. Period. 

So, there really isn't much to add. It's another winner from Berry, which I hope you will agree on. Even his outtakes beat the established work of some charting artists, again. So, have a lovely weekend with some more Wayne Berry, a man who knows about making having the blues sound great...

PS: For the cover, I found a vintage picture of Beachwood Drive which I think works splendidly..

The Berry Project, Phase Two: Pop Goes The Berry!

I announced this back in November when I posted a primer on Wayne Berry, greatly underrated artist from the 1970s (take a ticket, buddy...). If you haven't yet picked up Berry's Cherries - A Wayne Berry Anthology I would strongly urge you to do so, because his mix of folk, country-rock and pop is definitely worth your listening time. I also announced that this was only part one of a bigger project. So here comes phase two. In his career, Berry only published two solo albums, one of which was out for about five minutes. A first solo album for Capitol was cancelled, then his career ground to a halt due to bad decisions, bad luck and bullshit from and around the music industry. (You can read up more on that in the fabulous No Depression profile of Berry I included as a text file with the anthology). 

But just because Berry had trouble getting his songs out to the public didn't mean that there weren't a bunch of them, nor that these weren't worthwhile despite not making the record stage. When his country/folk rock troupe Timber (with future soundtrack specialist George Clinton) collapsed in 1971 Berry's career was put on hold, but that didn't mean that he was just whiling away the time. He continued writing, and from time to time booked studio time to produce demos of his songs. And most of these weren't of the "a man and his guitar"-type spare affairs (though there are a couple), but fully produced songs with full band backing, background vocals, the works. A lot of these demos were essentially ready to be pressed to records that then never came. 

Enter One Buck Records, which will proudly present three albums that never were but should have been, presenting Berry's demos from around 1971 - 1974 in distinct albums, of which today's offering is the first. ...just a matter of time... presents Berry going full pop/rock. There's barely a hint of the country leanings that dominated half of his outstanding sole debut Home At Last, instead Berry tries a number of different pop flavors. There are songs that could have been soft rock hits like "Tell Her That You Love Her" and hints of a calypso beat underlying the ultra-catchy "Still Got You" which also sounds like it could have been a hit. The title song is one of Berry's patented mid-tempo shuffles that sounded like he alchemized the best of 1960s pop (listen to those "aaaah" and "oooh-oh-oooh" backing vocals) with an early 70s rock sound. I don't want to oversell the album, but in many respects ....just a matter of time... sounds a lot like a Greatest Hits album that unfortunately has no hits on it, but again, you can imagine an ultra-catchy song like "A Dream Come True" popping up on classic rock radio. And there's even a hint of a more agressive sound on the sneering "Big Girl Now" where Berry sounds a little like a proto-Elvis Costello, backed by some suitably squealing guitar playing. 

Listening to these songs you can't help but feel that Berry should have been a much bigger deal than he was. He had the songs, ha had the looks (get rid of the lumberjack beard and you could have tried to sell him as a bit of a hunk), but he didn't have the luck. And the fact that the songs on ...just a matter of time... are so relentlessly catchy and good-natured probably means that there won't be a full-fledged renaissance, as his music feels too close to the mainstream for someone to want to 'rediscover' and make a big thing out of it. One Buck Records, however, will do its modest part to try to spread the word on Mr. Berry. And on that note, hit the music...

He could've been a contender: Wayne Berry and the fickle footpath to fame

Some folks are unlucky, some are somewhat responsible for their own bad luck, some are a bit of both. Wayne Berry is one of those folks. Here's a guy who had all the goods and who could've conceivably become a star in the early to mid-1970s, if things had broken his way. But a mix of bad luck, jeaousy (fuck Billy Joel and his management!) and his own pigheadedness meant that Berry never made it above the level of also ran and never was. But he could've been somebody...he could've been a contender. The long and winding road of Berry into, then out of the music business has been told very well already, in an in depth article of No Depression (https://www.nodepression.com/wayne-berry-nashville-cat-home-at-last). If, like me, you don't necessarily like to scroll through dozens of screens to read an article (and there are a lot of screens, the whole thing is about 5000 words long...) I've included the article as liner notes of sorts to our album of the day. 

To cut the story very short: grew up in Nashville - hung out with Félice & Boudleaux Bryant and J.D. Loudermilk - moved to L.A., joined the Underground and helped draft dodgers - got signed ton Capitol as a solo artist, but preferred starting a country band, Timber, with George Clinton (not that one, the other one) - solo debut album shelved as a result - after two albums, Timer falls - does a bunch of demos and finally a solo album, the utterly fantastic Home At Last - on his first big tour upsets headliner Billy Joel by doing fantastically in his support slot and gets dumped from his national tour - album thus flops - follow up album Tails Up comes out in a tiny pressing number for about five minutes - hooks up with George Clinton again, for mainstream soft rock project Volunteers - after another failure hangs up his rock'n'roll shoes, goes back to Nashville and becomes a minister. The End.

Berry saw J.D. Loudermilk pitch tunes to artists and agents, "that affected me in a 'Tin Pan Alley' sort of way", and you can definitely see and hear it in his music. Instinctly, he could craft music that was both worthwhile and commercial, without being pandering - if, you know, the commerce and then the public had wanted any part of it. If you listen to Berry's music, you really think he should've been bigger. Not because the music is excellent and it woud have been only fair - the music is excellent, but unlike some other musical heroes of mine (*coughGENE CLARKcough*), it is not wishful thinking to imagine hearing a Berry tune on Top 40 radio. He had a knack for writing memorable hooks, as well as being able to write in a number of styles, incorporating country and folk elements, a whole lot of pop, some reggae...this is where the 'Tin Pan Alley' sort of way really comes into play.  

The attached album is a primer on Berry and his music, a Greatest Hits if you will that just accidentally has no hits in it, but sounds like it should. It breaks down as follows: one track to represent the shelved Capitol Records album (which drowned an insecure-sounding Berry in an ill-fitting countrypolitan sound), three tracks from Timber (from their second album, where Berry really started to find his voice, and a follow-up single), four (high-quality) demos sandwiching his lone single for A&M, the lovely "Beachwood Blues", six tracks from his classic Home At Last album, three from patchier follow-up Tails Out and three from the Volunteers project.  21 tracks to familiarize yourself with Berry and his music, or dive back into it, with some music here that you probably haven't heard before. 

This is also just an appetizer, for a much larger reclamation project to give Berry his due. In the following weeks I will post no less than three Berry albums that never were. High quality stuff all around, from a man who could've been a contender, who could've been somebody. To some of us, he is. 

PS.: If someone needs Home At Last, just say so...