Gino Vannelli - Brother to Brother (1978)

Steve:

Gino Vannelli is a Canadian soul singer who had a few hits in the late 70s and early 80s. I believe Brother to Brother was one of the many albums Dan taped off the radio back in the late 70s when Zeta-4 played complete albums every day at noon. It represents Vannelli at his creative and commercial peak; the album climbed to #13 on the US Billboard charts, and its flagship single "I Just Wanna Stop" went all the way to #4. In spite of its commercial leanings, Brother to Brother does share a trait common to other late 70s albums covered in this blog: the composing, production, and sonic detail and depth are all top notch, allowing listeners to bathe themselves in its ocean of sound, its wealth of great pop hooks, or both.

Indeed, were it not for the catchy and memorable pop songs, I may not have remembered this album as vividly as I did when I decided on a whim to purchase my own copy of Brother to Brother some 15 years ago. This decision was driven by nostalgia more than anything else, but once I put it on, I instantly remembered all these fine songs despite not having heard them in decades. I found myself returning to the album often, and as I did, the finer points of the amazing music underneath made themselves known. This is not an album that screams "Prog!" but as with Steely Dan or Toto, the musicians behind it are so supremely skilled that they can make incredibly complex music sound easy, natural, and catchy.

"Appaloosa" begins the album on a thrilling and dramatic note, punctuating a funky rock groove with tension-raising rhythmic accents, jazzy chord changes, and a climactic falsetto hook in the chorus. I remember a few years ago I was playing this song when I had some friends over, and one friend (a musician, btw) asked if it was Frank Zappa. Not quite, but he wasn't too far off the track. Although not released as a single, "Appaloosa" has earned inclusion on every "Best Of" Vannelli album I've seen thus far.

Vannelli keeps the album interesting throughout by alternating louder/faster songs and slower/romantic songs. Of the former, "Love and Emotion", "The Evil Eye", and the album's centerpiece, the 7-minute "Brother to Brother" all have prominent guitar, busy drums, and rapid chord changes, all while staying within the pop song format. "Brother to Brother" departs slightly from this formula by using multiple sections and more dramatic layers as befits a song occupying 7 minutes (although I would not call this song a "prog epic").  

The slower, more soulful songs are uniformly beautiful and memorable, and reinforce a consistent mood while all sounding distinct from each other. The big hit, "I Just Wanna Stop", is quintessential late 70s "yacht rock" (a term I use endearingly) that uses Vannelli's vocal abilities to their fullest to give added gravity to the longing, pleading lyrics. "The River Must Flow", "Feel Like Flying", "People I Belong To" and "Wheels of Life" are all equally impressive in different ways.

Although Vannelli made some fine albums prior to and after Brother to Brother, this album hits the sweet spot and gets the most plays from me by far. It's an ideal pop album in a way - the hooks reel you in, but the music keeps you interested for years to come.

Dan:

The first time I ever heard Gino Vannelli was in a house in Miami's Little Havana. I had bumped into German, one of my students, in a record store and we got talking about hi fi. He is the reason why I became an (gasp) audiophile, a dubious status that can only be self-imposed after years of listening and spending. German played a track from Vannelli's Powerful People (1974) to show off how good the recording was. His hi fi was awesome and so was the music. Thanks German!

I'm not sure when Brother to Brother entered my collection. I know I had the LP, but Steve may be right about the cassette recording too. Regardless, I dug every song on the album and played it enough so that my young son would never forget it. He's right about the album's enduring appeal.

Within the past year, I added the LP back into my collection. As a seasoned audiophile by this time, I paid attention to the recording details, especially the engineer, as well as the musicians and backing vocalists. For a mere 5 bucks, I managed to find an early pressing of a Bernie Grundman production featuring a fantastic studio ensemble. Brothers Ross and Joe Vannelli were joined by jazz luminaries Victor Feldman, Ernie Watts, Manolo Badrena, and a trio of soul-singing ladies, among others. 

As Steve notes, the songs on Brother to Brother tend to be busy and complex. In most cases I would be suspicious of "overproduction," my favorite term for mindless, cluttered, over-the-top arrangements. But with Grundman and Gino's caring touches, Brother to Brother, on vinyl at least, passes any audiophile test. And not that many audiophile faves are found amongst Vannelli's genre of all-out rock. But this one is different and holds an honored place in both Steve's and my collections.