Max Gronenthal - Max

Name: Max (Carl) Gronenthal
Album: Max
Year: 1980
Style: Light "West Coast" Rock, Easy Listening
Similar Bands: Don Henley, Richard Marx, Steve Winwood. Toto, Kansas, Michael Bolton, Hall & Oates
"One-Word" Review: Motown Musak
Based Out Of: Nebraska
Label: Chrysalis

Cover & Record

 Record & Back

Max (1980)

1. I've Got Something Here For You 3:20
2. Rockin' Chair 3:33
3. Shana 6:23
4. Have A Good Time 3:50 (Paul Simon cover) / 
5. Where Do You Go 2:50
6. Say It Again 3:09
7. Here We Go Again 2:39
8. Near to You 3:20
9. Love Shows 3:24
10. Roll Home 2:35

Album Rating (1-10): 5.0

Members & Other Bands:

• Rob Fraboni - Producer
• Max Gronenthal - Vox, Piano, Organ, Synth (New Breed Blues Band, Chancellors, Fabulous Flippers, Gangbusters, Energy, DFK Band, Dan Fogelberg, Don Henley, Elton John, Kenny Loggins, Molly Hatchet, Bonnie Raitt, Bette Midler, Jack Mack & the Heart Attack, 38 Speical, Joe Cocker, Bad Company, Charlie Daniels, Wynonna Judd, Richard Marx, Tower of Power, Grand Funk Railroad, Rod Stewart, Dusty Springfield)
• Ricky Fataar - Drums, Percussion, Backing Vox, Guitar (Beach Boys, Flames, Hard Regulators, Monitors, Rutles, Upsetters)
• Jerry Wilson - Bass, Backing Vox (Seth)
• Rick Beilke - Guitar, Backing Vox, Sitar (Cheryl Dilcher, Persuuasions, Tractors, Mary Kay Place)
• Marty Grebb - Organ, Synth, Guitar, Sax (HP Lovecraft, Buckinghams, Exceptions, Fabulous Rhinestones, Weight Band, Taj Mahal)
• John McFee - Guitar, Violin (Clover, Southern Pacific, Tartan Horde, Doobie Brothers, Elvis Costello, Van Morrison)
• Mark Goldenberg - Guitar, Lyrics (Cretones, Eddie Boy Band, Jackie DeShannon, Linda Ronstadt, William Shatner)
• Marcy Levy - Backing Vox, Harmony Vox (Eric Clapton, George Duke Band, Nasty Housewives)
• Renee Geyer - Backing Vox (Australia Too, Australian Olympians, Easy Pieces, Sun, Phil Manning, Jimmy Barnes)
• Mike Finnigan - Harmony Vox, Lyrics (Black Rose, Dudek Finnigan Krueger band, Jerry Hahn Brother hood, Phantom Blues Band, Serfs, Dave Mason, Marc Tanner, Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart)
• Cornelius Bumpus - Soprano Sax (Doobie Brothers, NY Rock & Soul Revue, Moby Grape, Eikichi Yazawa, Donald Fagen)
• Rusty Anderson - Guitar, Effects (Ednaswap, Paul McCartney's band, Living Gaylights
• Ian Lafresnais - Lyrics
• Tim Kramer - Engineer
• Larry Nichols - Asst Engineer
• Ken Perry - Mastering
• Marty Wolff - Direction & Mgmt
• Bill Murphy - Album Design
• Rod Dyer - Album Design
• Andy Katz - Photos

Unknown-ness: I've never heard of Max, and don't know it its a band name or just one person. I like the color scheme and artwork with bold pockets of color, but it really does not shed light on what is to come on this record. Assuming it's one guy, i imagine singer songwritery stuff, and i don't see much new wave or power pop influence from the album art, but I could be wrong.

Album Review: Max, or Max Carl, or Max Gronenthal has been a singer & songwriter for his whole life, bouncing around Nebraska and Midwest bands, landing in some bigger bands like 32 Special and more recently Grand Funk Railroad. He is also responsible for scoring and writing songs for some films. He has worked on Spring Break and Police Academy, and his song plays over the closing credits of Short Circuit. Musically, this album is quite light. Despite having an R&B background, this breezy set of songs, West Coast AOR, lacks any memorable trait. At times, the R&B soes try to come out, but the production is so Easy Listening, that you could easily miss it.

Stand Out Track: Where Do You Go

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