Label: MCM
Released 4/19/14
RECORD STORE DAY 2014 EXCLUSIVE
As a founding member of the Yardbirds, Jim McCarty's place in rock 'n roll history was assured, had he retired in 1968. But the creative spark that helped inspire "I'm A Man", "Shapes Of Things", "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago", providing the foundation for heavy metal, psychedelic hard rock, Led Zeppelin and Cream, to name but a few, could hardly be satisfied with a few hits during the British Invasion. Shortly after the untimely demise of the Yardbirds came the first "Renaissance" album, with it's pedigree of McCarty & Keith Relf, sister Jane Relf, Ex-Nashville Teen John Hawken and Steamhammer's Louis Cennamo. It was an album far over the heads of most rockers, and it in turn helped launch what became known as progressive or symphonic rock, a natural progression for the Yardbirds' creative spark. No thought of simply continuing in the same path, this new adventure was just that, trail blazing with the same passion that the Yardbirds had exhibited. Renaissance gave voice to McCarty & company in fresh new terms, combining a truly progressive rock approach, majestically lyrical, with roots in classical music and romanticism never before heard in a rock format. Once again, they had changed the game, and with Renaissance and then Illusion, Jim McCarty the songwriter truly emerged, up front, never to retreat. Over the years that followed, Jim the drummer turned singer/songwriter turned frontman continued blazing his trails as Shoot, The Jim McCarty Band, Stairway, Pilgrim, and other solo projects came and went, covering a dizzying array of musical genres from rock & blues to new age, world music, singer-songwriter balladry and soft rock, to masterful, melodic guitar-powered psychedelia. His drive to create and make personal statements was refined, yet he never lost the edge that made those early records so intense. His craft became ever more personal, his songs deeply insightful, more universal than even the passionate plea for peace in the lyrics of otherwise hard psych recordings like "Shapes Of Things" so many years before. Despite being the driving force and primary songwriter in every endeavor following The Yardbirds, much of his work since then has been missed by the mainstream. Yet he carried on, creating a body of work that allows him to recently fill a legendary venue like El Mocambo in Toronto under his own name, and garnering glowing reviews on impressive solo releases such as "Out Of The Dark" and his latest "Sitting On The Top Of Time". Yet through the years precious little of his catalog has ever been released on vinyl, and lost gems such as live recordings of his 1973 group 'Shoot' have sat idle on the shelf, along with out-takes from projects that together would make an album any artist would be proud to claim. "Jim McCarty - Frontman" brings together on audiophile quality vinyl a sampling of those projects, 16 tracks, 14 of which have never been on vinyl, 5 of which are previously unreleased. The set includes brand new versions of two McCarty favorites, making their debut on this limited edition numbered Record Store Day exclusive release. Not to be missed, a bonafide collectible right out of the box.