Chesapeake Juke Box Band

• Artist: Chesapeake Juke Box Band
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1972
• Genre: Rock

Review

There's a long and rich history in rock & roll of people wanting to sound like the Beatles, which was OK when that meant writing good three-minute songs and playing them with enthusiasm and imagination. Things became more problematic when the Fab Four made Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band; after the Beatles convinced a generation that epic-scale overproduction was art, more than a few musicians followed in their footsteps, forgetting that most of them couldn't write songs as well as Lennon and McCartney in order to cover their tracks. Steve Sawyer and Freddie McFinn were a pair of East Coast tunesmiths who worshiped the Beatles and were convinced they could make a Sgt. Pepper's of their own; a record company took the bait, and Chesapeake Juke Box Band, the self-titled debut from the duo, was the result. Recorded with a large cast of first-call session musicians (uncredited, but reported to include Tony Levin, David Spinozza and Hugh McCracken) and with production and arrangement assistance from Ron Frangipane, Chesapeake Juke Box Band is a grand and lavish affair to be sure, with every tune conceived and executed on a grand scale. The playing is expert throughout, Sawyer and McFinn's vocals (including blocks of overdubbed harmonies) are fine, and the psychedelic ambience of this album is palpable and impressive, especially on the side two song suite "Martha & Walley Frizbee's Memorabilia." However, while Chesapeake Juke Box Band may well possess even more widescreen grandeur than Sgt. Pepper's, the songs simply aren't memorable, and the lyrics often sound either trite or silly. Chesapeake Juke Box Band is an album that's developed a passionate cult following since it came and went largely unnoticed in 1971, and not without reason, but while the album is a triumph in the art of record making, as music it's much ado about nothing. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Until We Meet Again	Steve Sawyer, Freddie McFinn	Chesapeake Juke Box Band	(3:15)
Love	Freddie McFinn, Steve Sawyer	Chesapeake Juke Box Band	(5:30)
Jennifer	Freddie McFinn, Steve Sawyer	Chesapeake Juke Box Band	(2:11)
This Time	Steve Sawyer, Freddie McFinn	Chesapeake Juke Box Band	(3:41)
Has to Be	Steve Sawyer, Freddie McFinn	Chesapeake Juke Box Band	(3:44)
Daisies for the 8th of May	Steve Sawyer, Freddie McFinn	Chesapeake Juke Box Band	(4:37)
Sad Nite in Boston	Steve Sawyer, Freddie McFinn	Chesapeake Juke Box Band	(3:26)
Fizbee's Tavern	Steve Sawyer, Freddie McFinn	Chesapeake Juke Box Band	(4:56)
Chesapeake Juke Box Band	Freddie McFinn, Steve Sawyer	Chesapeake Juke Box Band	(4:59)
The Door's Unlatched	Freddie McFinn, Steve Sawyer	Chesapeake Juke Box Band	(2:08)
Don't Howdy Doody on Me [#][*]	Freddie McFinn, Steve Sawyer	Chesapeake Juke Box Band	(2:20)
Don't Cry Your Eyes Out [#][*]	Steve Sawyer, Freddie McFinn	Chesapeake Juke Box Band	(3:20)
Crime of the Century [#][*]	Steve Sawyer, Freddie McFinn	Chesapeake Juke Box Band	(4:39)

Credits

Nick Robbins (Recreation), Jay Messina (Engineer), Freddie McFinn (Producer), Mark Frumento (Liner Notes), Joe Foster (Recreation), Ron Frangipane (Arranger), Ron Frangipane (Executive Producer), John Millerburg (Design), Steve Sawyer (Producer), Andy Morten (Artwork), Andy Morten (Design), Jack Douglas (Engineer), Roy Cicala (Engineer), Andy Morten (Producer), Mark Frumento (Producer), Joe Foster (Producer)