RICHARD ORANGE - BIG ORANGE SUN (2005, WIZZARD IN VINYL)
Richard Orange - lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass, background vocals, percussion, sound effects
James Loft - guitars, synthesizer, keyboards
David Smith - bass
Peter Sully - drums, percussion

Background
Some of you may remember Zuider Zee and their classic self titled 1975 album released on CBS? If not, I suggest picking up copy post haste! Heavily influenced by Paul McCartney & Wings and Badfinger, Zuider Zee were not from England, nor were they Dutch, but formed out of the Deep South, Louisiana to be more specific. The group received critical accolades, toured heavily, but split after the one of the band members was stabbed while thieves tried to steal the groups van. Not a pleasant end to what was one of the more promising groups of the era, but vocalist Richard Orange, the bands principal song writer went on to have an interesting career with his songs covered by Cyndi Lauper and Jimmy Davis & Junction, to name but a few.

The Songs
'Big Orange Sun' was recorded at the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee and it's a wonderful slice of sweet pop perfection! Orange's love for The Beatles is evident throughout the twelve tracks. His vocals have the ability to sound at one moment like John Lennon and the next like Paul McCartney, but none of this would matter if Orange didn't have the material to back it up. Check out the opening track 'Mental Dentist' a rocking tune bringing to mind Cheap Trick's 1980 masterwork 'All Shook Up' and the much-missed Jellyfish or 'All The Way to China (Hole in My Heart)' which puts to rest Cyndi Lauper's weaker version once and for all! 'Fall off the World (Mimi's Song)' brings us back to Lennon territory while the title track and 'Beatlesqe' sound like something that spilled out the 'Magical Mystery Tour' kaleidoscope.

In Summary
If it were not for Paul McCartney's brilliant comeback 'Chaos and Creation in the Backyard', this CD would have would have probably topped my list for best CD of 2005. It's that good and fans of quality pop music have nothing to lose by picking up a copy of 'Big Orange Sun'. Oh yeah, if anyone guarding the vaults at Sony is reading this, how about a CD reissue of Zuider Zee? In a perfect world...

URL: www.bangor.ac.uk/~iss082/orange/orange.htm

Track Listing:
01 Mental Dentist
02 All The Way to China (Hole in My Heart)
03 Fall Off the World (Mimi's Song)
04 Absolutely Positively
05 Big Orange Sun
06 Ballad of Captain Morgan
07 Corduroy (Vivian's Song)
08 Someday Darkness
09 Subterranean Sea
10 Yuppie Pie/ No. 5
11 Beatlesqe
12 Girls Dance with Girls

Rating:


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