ARTIST: Stec, Joey ALBUM: Joey Stec LABEL: Playboy Records SERIAL: PB-412 YEAR: 1976 CD REISSUE: 2000, Poptones (UK), MC5005CD COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: LINEUP: Joey Stec - vocals, guitars * Carl Radie - bass * Jim Gordon - drums * Bobby Keyes - sax * John Nuese, Art Deljudijo - guitars * Peggy Sandvig - keyboards * Nancy Costa - backing vocals TRACK LISTING: 01 Do You Know * 02 Happier * 03 I Wish It Would Rain * 04 No Knowing * 05 Give My Love To You * 06 Easy To Love * 07 Back Again * 08 Standing Here Alone * 09 Then * 10 Even Angels

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Background
Connoisseurs of American pop will recognize Joey Stec from his work with both The Millennium and Sagittarius - two late '60s Sunshine pop bands that produced cornerstone albums of that breezy genre. A few years down the road Stec finally came out with an album of his own in 1976, released on the ill-fated Playboy label and in turn never received the attention it so justly deserved. Spoken in reverence amongst power pop fans in the know, the album has become a cult item over the years and finally saw a CD reissue in 2000 on the British Poptones label.

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The Songs
Produced by the legendary Jimmy Miller (Rolling Stones, Blind Faith and Motorhead), fans of Big Star and mid-70's AM radio pop will find this an endearing disc. I love the opener 'Do You Know' which could easily be mistaken for a Big Star out take circa 'Radio City'. 'Happier' is a nice little pop ditty while 'Give My Love to You' has an obvious Eagles influence and really, the Laurel Canyon sound is never too far away in Stec's music. A Beatles influence pops up late on the albums closer 'Even Angels' and it's over before you know it. A fun listen and sure, the saxophone solos on some of the cuts including 'Back Again' gives the album a jazzy feel in spots and are not always welcome, but Stec's material is strong enough to carry any inconsistencies instrumentally making this a perfect road disc while traversing the dusty back roads of the upper Midwest on a summer afternoon - a joy I can attest to.

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In Summary
In the late 90's Joey formed Sonic Past Music, a label devoted to releasing previously unheard material from classic rock artists, including Clover, Randy Meisner, Richie Sambora and Rick Springfield, as well as an archive disc of his own material recorded between 1976-1994 called 'Desire'. I have yet to hear it myself, but it's high on the want list as the Joey Stec debut should be on yours.

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