Everybody's Crazy (album)
Encyclopedia
Everybody's Crazy is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Michael Bolton
. The melodic hard rock/AOR
album was released in 1985 by Columbia Records
.
The lead guitarist on the album is Bruce Kulick
, later of KISS
fame. The title track was a minor hit on hard rock radio stations, and was also featured in the 1986 movie Back to School. The album is currently out of print in the US. It was reissued overseas in the mid-'90s with a then-current photo on the cover.
("references" here are just a few examples). The album's hard rock/metal sound contrasts sharply with his later soft rock
-based material that would make him a superstar (although the track "Desperate Heart" hinted at the more ballad-esque songs that would ultimately make him successful), and devout fans of his music in the latter style may react less favorably to this album.
Personnel only performing on "Desperate Heart"
Michael Bolton
Michael Bolton is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton originally performed in the hard rock and heavy metal genres from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s, both on his early solo albums and those recorded as the frontman of the band Blackjack...
. The melodic hard rock/AOR
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
album was released in 1985 by Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
.
The lead guitarist on the album is Bruce Kulick
Bruce Kulick
Bruce Howard Kulick is an American guitarist, musician and a member of the band Grand Funk Railroad. Previously, Kulick had been a longtime member of the band Kiss....
, later of KISS
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
fame. The title track was a minor hit on hard rock radio stations, and was also featured in the 1986 movie Back to School. The album is currently out of print in the US. It was reissued overseas in the mid-'90s with a then-current photo on the cover.
Reviews
While some have criticized the album, decrying it as the low point of Bolton's career (see Allmusic Guide link in the infobox to the right), many others have hailed it as one of the finest AOR-based/melodic hard rock releases from the '80s1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
("references" here are just a few examples). The album's hard rock/metal sound contrasts sharply with his later soft rock
Soft rock
Soft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes...
-based material that would make him a superstar (although the track "Desperate Heart" hinted at the more ballad-esque songs that would ultimately make him successful), and devout fans of his music in the latter style may react less favorably to this album.
Track listing
Personnel
- Michael BoltonMichael BoltonMichael Bolton is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton originally performed in the hard rock and heavy metal genres from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s, both on his early solo albums and those recorded as the frontman of the band Blackjack...
- lead vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s - Bruce KulickBruce KulickBruce Howard Kulick is an American guitarist, musician and a member of the band Grand Funk Railroad. Previously, Kulick had been a longtime member of the band Kiss....
- lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
(except "Desperate Heart") - Dennis Feldman - bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals - Chuck BurgiChuck BurgiChuck Burgi is an American drummer and session musician. Born in Montclair, New Jersey, he is the brother of actor Richard Burgi....
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
(uncredited on the original release, but listed on the reissue) [] - Mark MangoldMark MangoldMark Mangold is an American pop singer-songwriter best known as a member of the band Touch. As a songwriter, Mangold's songs have been performed by Michael Bolton, Cher and Jordin Sparks.-Biography:Mangold was born in Miami and grew up in New York City...
- keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Mark RadiceMark RadiceMark Radice is an American singer/musician and producer, who has worked with a variety of different artists and achieved minor success with his own material in the 1970s...
- keyboards - Jan Mullaney - keyboards
- Allan St. John - keyboards
- Lloyd Landesman - keyboards
- Larry FastLarry FastLawrence Roger 'Larry' Fast is a synthesizer expert and composer. He is best known for Synergy, his 1975–1987 series of synthesizer music albums, and for his contribution to a number of popular music acts, including Peter Gabriel, Foreigner, and Hall and Oates.- Biography :Fast grew up in...
- synthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s - Schuyler Deale - bass guitar
- Neil KernonNeil KernonNeil Kernon is a musician/record producer/mixer/recording engineer - from London, England.He has worked with a number of artists over the last 30 years, but may be best known for his work with Hall & Oates on three of their most important albums - 1980's Voices, 1981's Private Eyes, and 1982's H2O...
and Doug Katsaros - additional keyboards - Mark RiveraMark RiveraMark Rivera is a musician, musical director and corporate entertainment provider. In addition to playing soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, Rivera's musical talents encompass vocals, guitar, percussion and keyboards.-Education:...
- saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846... - Peppy Castro - backing vocals
- Terry Brock - backing vocals
- Joe CerisanoJoe CerisanoJoe Cerisano, , is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and President of Outta' the Woods Records. He is often referred to as "possibly the most famous anonymous singer in America".-Early life:...
- backing vocals
Personnel only performing on "Desperate Heart"
- Kevin DukesKevin DukesKevin Dukes is an American guitarist, born in Brookhaven, Mississippi in 1956.A native of Natchez, Mississippi, Kevin attended The University of Southern Mississippi as a Music Theory and Composition major prior to moving to Los Angeles, California in the late 1970s...
- guitar - Paul Pesco - additional guitar
- Randy GoodrumRandy GoodrumRandy Goodrum is an American songwriter. Goodrum has written numerous popular songs, including Anne Murray's #1 hit "You Needed Me" and "Broken Hearted Me" , Michael Johnson's "Bluer Than Blue" , England Dan & John Ford Coley's "It's Sad to Belong" , Steve Perry's "Oh Sherrie" , DeBarge's "Who's...
- keyboards, drum programmingDrum machineA drum machine is an electronic musical instrument designed to imitate the sound of drums or other percussion instruments. They are used in a variety of musical genres, not just purely electronic music...
and backing vocals
Reissue
The album was reissued on February 25, 2008 by Rock Candy Records, UK on CD with a 12-page full colour booklet with original and new artwork.External Links
- Everybody's Crazy at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...