THE GOLDEN PALOMINOS Drunk With Passion 1991

 

Discogs

 

Artist Biography by Jason Ankeny

The Golden Palominos were not a group per se, but rather the revolving-door project of drummer, programmer, and bandleader Anton Fier. Born June 20, 1956, in Cleveland, Ohio, Fier first made his mark as the drummer on the Feelies' seminal 1980 debut Crazy Rhythms. After leaving the group, he joined the punk-jazz unit the Lounge Lizards before returning home to Cleveland, where he was recruited by the legendary new wave band Pere Ubu for the album Song of the Bailing Man. After exiting Ubu, Fier again relocated to downtown New York City, where he founded the first Golden Palominos lineup in 1981. In its primary live incarnation, the band was an avant-funk supergroup comprised of Fier and another drummer, David Moss, saxophonist John Zorn, guitarist Arto Lindsay, and a pair of bassists, Bill Laswell and Jamaaladeen Tacuma; on their self-titled 1983 debut, the Palominos were augmented by Fred Frith, Nicky Skopelitis, and Mark Miller.

Over the next few years, Fier moved away from the first record's experimental noise into far more traditional pop territory; simultaneously, he largely jettisoned the first album's lineup in favor of an ever-changing collection of punk legends, post-punk superstars, up-and-comers, and N.Y.C.-scene vets. After enlisting ex-Raybeat Jody Harris to help him co-write much of the music, Fier recruited vocalists ranging from R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe and Cream's Jack Bruce to PIL's John Lydon and newcomer Syd Straw. Rounded out by musicians like former dB Chris Stamey, guitar greats Richard Thompson and Henry Kaiser, and P-Funk alumni Bernie Worrell and Mike Hampton, the revamped Golden Palominos reached an early peak with 1985's Visons of Excess, a diverse yet cogent collection highlighted by a cover of Moby Grape's "Omaha" and the original "Boy (Go)."

With 1986's Blast of Silence, the group flirted with elements of country and folk; while Stipe and Lydon were noticeably absent, many of the other players featured on Visions of Excess remained, along with new additions including guitarist T-Bone Burnett, Numbers Band singer Robert Kidney, artist/producer Don Dixon, singer/songwriter Peter Blegvad, Matthew Sweet, and Flying Burrito Brothers alum Sneaky Pete Kleinow. On 1989's moody A Dead Horse, Fier again shifted gears, settling on a constant lineup of Laswell, Skopelitis, Kidney, and ex-Information Society vocalist Amanda Kramer along with a handful of guests, including former Rolling Stone Mick Taylor.

1991's Drunk with Passion returned to the all-star format; Stipe and Thompson again rejoined the fold, welcoming newcomers like Sugar's Bob Mould. This Is How It Feels, a sophisticated concept album inspired by the Graham Greene novel The End of the Road followed in 1993; along with core members like Laswell, Skopelitis, Worrell, and Kramer, the record spotlighted vocalists Lori Carson and Lydia Kavanaugh, as well as bass great Bootsy Collins. 1994's Pure featured many of the same principal players, while 1996's Dead Inside, essentially from a trio comprised of Fier, ex-Psychedelic Furs guitarist Knox Chandler, and vocalist/lyricist Nicole Blackman, explored electronic and ambient soundscapes. Dead Inside would be the final album by the Golden Palominos with various compilations being the only additions to the discography.

 

Tracklist 

1	Alive And Living Now	5:38
2	The Haunting	5:30
3	When The Kingdom Calls	6:26
4	A Sigh	8:36
5	Thunder Cries	4:22
6	Hands Of Heaven	5:22
7	Dying From The Inside Out	8:18
8	Begin To Return	6:12

 

LORI CARSON Shelter 1990

 

Discogs

 

Artist Biography by Greg Prato

Although Lori Carson's name may not automatically come to mind when discussing the best singer-songwriters of the late '90s, it doesn't mean that she isn't deserving of such accolades. Although she has received much critical acclaim and acquired many fans along the way, her talents have unfortunately gone unrecognized (hopefully this will soon change in the Lilith Fair-friendly late '90s). Beginning with her debut in 1990, Shelter, Carson was predicted to be a major recording force by the likes of Time and Rolling Stone. But instead of following the path laid down by her debut, which she wasn't entirely happy with, she put her solo career on hold and joined friend Anton Fier in the Golden Palominos. Appearing on two of their albums, 1993's This Is How It Feels and 1994's Pure, Lori turned out to be an important addition and integral member of the band.

Returning to solo work in 1995, she released her gentle sophomore effort, Where It Goes, on Restless Records, with Fier handling production chores. Again she received praise from Rolling Stone, as well as Entertainment Weekly, Details, and other publications. It was also during 1995 that Lori began getting involved in composing for movies, as she co-wrote "Fall In the Light" for the motion picture Strange Days with writer Graeme Revell, and contributed "You Won't Fall" (from Where It Goes) to the movie Stealing Beauty. Her most stripped-down album yet, Everything I Touch Runs Wild, was released in 1997, again to rave reviews, as Carson spent the rest of the year touring the world. Stars followed in 1999 and In 2001 she released House In The Weeds. Stolen Beauty appeared in 2003 ad received glowing reviews. The Finest Thing was relewased in mid 2004; it showcases a change in direction as Carson, for all her gifts as a songwriter, chose to use them in order create not a series of songs, but, as she terms them, "meditations." The entire recordng, is, in a sense, a guided meditation.

 

Tracklist 

1	Shelter
2	Pretty Girls
3	Every Heartbeat
4	The Last Time
5	Day After
6	Love And Pain
7	Stand On Your Own
8	Pearl In His Pocket
9	Way Of The Past
10	Which Way Be Broadway
11	Imagine Love
12	Junk