The Balls Bros. Band
Rock and Roll Freedom
LP
(Gramex Records, 1977)
Used record stores are like a magnet to me. There are a handful in my area that I hit on a semi-regular basis, and there are certain stores with certain sections that I always check. One of those sections is for vintage (or is it historic?) local records. It's usually full of stuff that doesn't look particularly appealing and/or stuff I already have. Every once in a while, though, something snags my eye.
Sometime in the last year, this album jabbed me in the ocular socket and made me take a closer gander. I flipped it over and saw that it was from 1977, no one was actually named Balls, and both guitarists also played synthesizers. What the heck; here's my $4. Thank you; goodbye.
Musically, these guys were pretty much straight up rock, pop, and roll. They're not flashy musicians and the compositions aren't challenging or anything, but, after a few spins, I found the songs pleasantly popping into my head on a fairly regular basis. Lyrically, the songs are mostly about love and rock and roll, i.e. Rock and Roll Freedom,
A Rockin Love Song,
Lovin to the Rock and Roll,
etc. Today's jukebox selection doesn't have either concept in the title, but it's still about lovin', of course. It's a snazzy little power pop gem that, in my opinion, could have been a hit.
The songs on the album were all either written or co-written by the dude on the left below, Rocky Valentine. I've tried researching these guys on the 'net, but have found precious little info other than they have at least two or three more albums out there, plus some singles, all on the Gramex Records imprint, which may or may not be their own label. If anyone would like to hip me to more info, I'd be much obliged, thanks.
