Monday, January 14, 2008

Firefall Part 2 - The Fire Begins To Fall

Firefall Part 2 - The fire begins to fall

Publicly, Firefall was burning hotter than ever in 1979. Behind the scenes, the band members were toast. They'd spent more than five solid years gigging, writing, recording, and touring and had finally made it. Yet their financial situation was in doubt. Relationships - both personal and business, inside and outside the band - were in shambles. One or two band members weren't on speaking terms. The six-headed democracy, with no one in charge, was splitting at the seams. Their bodies, minds, and souls suffered the effects of touring, self abuse, and neglect, typical of the era's booze'n'blow rock'n'roll lifestyle. In short, Firefall needed a break. Attempts to straighten out all the above and more added up to the lengthy delay in getting the next album out. With Joe Lala again as an unofficial member of the group, sessions for Undertow were spread out over several months and both coasts. There was much wringing of hands and gnashing of teeth by the band, the producers and the record company. The resulting Undertow was finally launched. The single, Headed For A Fall, put the band back in the Top 40. But much momentum had been lost. The second single, Love That Got Away stalled on the charts during the summer of 1980. Financial troubles increased with a growing Atlantic debt and a lawsuit settlement with their first manager.
Quality : VBR

After the band completed a Japanese tour, Mark Andes and Michael Clarke left the band; Andes would later join the Wilson sisters for great success in Heart. Opting to carry on, Roberts, Bartley, Burnett and Muse quickly replaced them with Kenny Loggins' Grammy winning rhythm section: bassist George Hawkins and drummer Tris Imboden. Out at year's end, Clouds Across The Sun hit the charts in January 1981, followed a few weeks later by the single, Staying With It, which, unbeknownst nor agreed to by the band, ended up featuring a duet between Rick Roberts and Lisa Nemzo. After TV appearances George Hawkins left the band to join Mick Fleetwood's solo band. Boulder bassist Kim Stone was his replacement. Then, just after Firefall hit the road to support the new record, Larry Burnett bowed out of the band due to ill health. On the charts, Staying With It moved into the Top 40 but Clouds Across The Sun never caught on. Negotiations for a new record deal with RCA were in progress, but after a final concert on Maui Rick Roberts told his band mates he was history, and Firefall went into limbo. Later in '81, Atlantic Records, as an afterthought, released The Best Of Firefall before Christmas, then turned the page and dropped the band from it's roster.
Quality: 320 kb/s vinyl rip

9 comments:

TheSeeker said...

Comments please!

Anonymous said...

I have always enjoyed Firefall. I once had both albums mentioned in this post. Very good music! Alas, they were both on cassette and are long since worn-out.

Anonymous said...

It is always interesting to hear about some of a band's lesser known albums and their history. Thanks for sharing the information!

TheSeeker said...

Más comentarios por favor!

TheSeeker said...

Links:

Firefall - Undertow
http://lix.in/eedbfd87

Firefall - Clouds Across The Sun
http://lix.in/587d8016

Kenny said...

How come the links along the right side of your blog, for groups such as Heart, Chicago and The Eagles all take me back to Firefall pages? You shouldn't label something with another group's name because then people think you have that group on your blog. Which you don't. But, it doesn't look like you've had it for very long, so I'm sure it's still in the learning stages, eh?

bshears said...

Thanks for all the nice Firefall posts, been ages since I heard Undertow, I actually like it as much as Luna Sea.

bShears

Unknown said...

I've seen Firefall a number of times live since the early '90s, including once when Rick Roberts had rejoined them. They absolutely rock in concert. There is so much more to the band than you would guess from the songs that got radio play.

They are "reuniting" on April 9 in Boulder for one show. Wish I could be there!

wkc said...

Again..I can't say thank you enough for taking time to share Firefall. My vinyl albums have long ago worn out so I am excited to finally be able to listen to them again.