Label: MCA
Year of Release: 1978
Some obscure seventies rock here, and this really is a record of two distinct halves. "Flying High" is a piece of contemplative shoreline sensitivity, the sound of one man and his band staring at seagulls and considering their own freedom. Clearly nobody in the group ever had their crisps swiped by a gull as a four-year old.
The B-side "Medicine Man", on the other hand, is a bluesy rock workout, and one which is likely to be of far more interest to readers of "Left and to the Back". Shades of CCR and ZZ Top lurk in the grooves here.
Sale are a mysterious outfit who only managed this one 45 before disappearing into oblivion, so sadly I can't offer any background information at all. Their name is also one of the most un-Googleable group names ever, bringing up lots of search results about online auctions and, if you combine the search with "Flying High", budget kites. If you know who they are, please pass the details on. I have to say that both sides have slight shades of Sad Cafe about them, and while the two groups aren't identical sounding, I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they operated in similar corners of the gig circuit.
Also interesting to note that the A and B side were written and produced by different individuals (Joe Peppard on the A, Chester Allen on the flip) which seems like an odd arrangement. It leaves me wondering if the B side is from an entirely different session with possibly different musicians involved, and why that might be... but we're well into the realms of speculation here, and it's unlikely I'm going to get an easy answer.
3 comments:
Hello - 'Flying High' was written by band member John Peppard, originally from Co.Derry. Peppard had success as a country music songwriter with huge hits such 'In Another's Eyes' for Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks. Peppard who is a fine guitar player stills gigs locally in Sussex and Surrey in the UK.
Hi. John Peppard here. Just some background info on Sale. The band members were James Bradley on drums, Chester Allen on bass, my wife, Lizann, on keyboards and I played guitar and sang the lead vocal on the A side which I wrote. Chester Allen wrote the B side and sang lead vocal on his song. Lizann, Chester and I sang harmonies. I produced my song and Chester produced his. An American friend of ours, Steve Landress, also played guitar including slide guitar on Medicine Man. We recorded the tracks at Morgan Studios in London. The single was the only one we ever made for MCA and Sale disbanded not long after. I went on to become a songwriter for Garth Brooks, Michael McDonald and others.
Thanks for dropping by and clearing that up, John! Lovely to hear from you.
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