Album: Potential Collectors Item
Year: 1978
Style: Comical Singer/Songwriter, Bluegrass/Country
Similar Bands: Ray Stevens, Ted Leo, Loudon Wainwright III, John Wesley Harding/Wesley Stace
"One-Word" Review: Introspective Coffee Shop Comedian with a Guitar
Based Out Of: Indiana
Label: Enigma Records, Seventeen Levels Inc.
- Look At That Love 3:00
- Pity Pity 3:54
- Scatter Me 3:02
- Shopping Mall 2:15
- Like Bobbers on the Water 3:10
- The Boys in the Bar 5:15 /
- Let's Get Old 3:01
- Bonnie & Joe 5:06
- Moving Away 2:42
- Every Love Song 3:13
- The Pleaser 2:40
- Safe at Long Last 2:11
- Alice the Alien Girl 2:40
Members & Other Bands:
- Mo Whittemore - Engineer, Produced, Arranged, Mixed, Keys
- Mark Copenhaver - Live Engineering
- Peg Copenhaver - Live Engineering
- Craig Parmerlee - Horns Arrangement, Horns (Jim Sturgis)
- Ernest (Ed Johnson-) Ott - Producer, Vox, Guitar (The Future)
- Betty Ott - Producer
- De De Garrard - Vox
- Frank Fox - Vox
- Jack Stevens - Electric Guitar (Jeff Davis Group)
- Gary Brewer - Drums (Dan Mobley, Duke Tumatoe & Al Star Frogs Jim Sturgis)
- Jerry DeRome - Drums (Dan Modlin /Dave Scott)
- Kevin Stonerock - Bass (Bottom Dollar,
- Dan Modlin - Bass
- Jim Larner - Harmonica (Mathematicians)
- Kevin Gasaway - Horns (Jim Sturgis)
- Jack Schfele - Horns
- Merri Mike - Announcer
- Don Garrard - Creative Consultant
- Niles Gwinn - Mgmt
- John Meyers - Cover Photo
- Thomas Jerome Newton - Photo Collage
- Phineas - Photo Collage
Unknown-ness: I never heard of this band, however, I am familiar with the baseball player Ed Ott, as he was a friend of my uncles, growing up in Central PA as kids. Just a coincidence, i'm sure. This looks to be a singer songwriter style album, since it's one guy, however, there is a touch of humor from the album title, and the sticker on the shrink wrap: "LIMITED EDITION Pressed on BLACK Vinyl."
Album Review: As expected, this is a singer-songwriter with a comedic twist in some of his songs. For Example, '78 was near the start of massive shopping malls, and his comic portrayal of them is filled with sarcasm. Now, on the other side of the shopping mall craze, quite dated (but it's nostalgically nice to hear the name drops of Radio Shack, Spencer's Gifts, B Daulton Book Sellers, Sears, etc). His voice is calm, but has a distinct Ted Leo / Wesley Stace sound at times, which makes it not just another dime a dozen vocalist with a guitar. At other times, there is a classic country/bluegrass sound that is pleasant as well. The b-side to the album was recorded live at Hummingbird Cafe in Indianapolis, with audience noise and participation. Apparently, Paul Simon was a fan.
Stand Out Track: Look At That Love, Shopping Mall
Links:
Discogs
Music Family Tree
Rate Your Music
700 West
Ed's Facebook
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