ItsAboutMusic.com announces the release of the entire Andy Pratt catalog including eight new albums.
(PRWEB) July 22, 2005 -- ItsAboutMusic.com Proudly Announces The Release Of The Entire Andy Pratt Catalog Including Eight New Albums
"By reviving the dream of rock as an art and then reinventing it, Pratt has forever changed the face of rock," Stephen Holden, Rolling Stone Magazine, July 1, 1976.
Andy Pratt is back!
Few artists can claim a calling card as convincing as Andy Pratt's "Avenging Annie," the 1973 hit which rode up the charts on the power of Pratts piano-laced, falsetto-sung twist on the legends of Pretty Boy Floyd and Annie Oakley. A demo tape of the song made Pratt a regional sensation a year before it kicked off the Boston natives debut album for Columbia and became a timeless FM classic. The lanky singer-songwriter with the curly, golden locks toured with a great band that included Syracuse guitar ace Mark Doyle and drummer Rick Shlosser, opening for Foreigner and The Band.
While he never scored another hit to rival "Avenging Annie" (which was later covered by Roger Daltry), Pratt made three other major-label albums during the ‘70s, charming fans and critics alike with tunes like "All I Want Is You," "Karens Song" and "If You Could See Yourself (Through My Eyes)." In Rolling Stone, critic Stephen Holden wrote in 1976, "By reviving the dream of rock as an art and then reinventing it, Pratt has forever changed the face of rock." That alone could have been the end of the fairy-tale story. After modest success in the ‘80s, Pratt relocated to Europe, got married, sang in churches, and disappeared from the pop radar. As he had sung in "Avenging Annie," "I found my peace and I found my release, and Im happy just to be alive."
But after a 15-year sojourn in Belgium and the Netherlands, Pratt has returned like a true avenger, a prodigious talent with a wealth of new songs that prove hes as prolific and potent as ever. "Id like to try and get famous again, to make people happy," says Pratt, who has moved from Europe back to his native Boston to record new music and play as often as possible. "When I play music, it makes people happy."
To that end, Pratt has released not one or two, not three or four or five or even six or seven six new albums but eight new releases since his return. The first was "Cover Me," a collection of his unique interpretations of songs as divergent as the road-rambling Fred Neil favorite "Everybody's Talkin'" (made famous by Harry Nilsson) and the Grandmaster Flash rap classic "The Message." "I had this song in 1972 called 'It's All Behind You,' which is kind of a rap song, so now I say I was one of the first rappers," says Pratt with a grin, who also transforms Brian Wilsons "Dont Worry Baby," Queen/David Bowies "Under Pressure" and John Lennons "Give Peace a Chance" (with its Marvin Gaye-like arrangement) among the records other selections. "The songs said the things I wanted to say" says Pratt.
The second CD was "Heaven & Earth," which spotlights some of Pratts original "soft" Christian tunes collected from his CD releases in Europe. Among that records highpoints are such tender, thoughtful tracks as "Cry," "Walkin Down the Road" & "Grey, Chick and Malda."
And yet another CD called "Runaway Heart" that was released this year. This is an album which spotlights Pratts new, original tunes in a stripped-down setting that showcases his voice, acoustic guitar and piano. This would be classified as a "spiritual" collection of tunes more than a Christian release.
The fourth CD released was entitled "Solo" - and that is exactly what it is. Recorded at Indre Studios in Philadelphia, PA with Andy all alone at the piano and on acoustic guitar, this album bares all. Andy takes us back to some poingnant moments in his 30 year career and performs the songs he loves most in a style not unlike the way these tunes were originally written. The added bonus to this album is that each track on the CD was recorded on video, all of which are available at ItsAboutMusic.com.
The fifth CD entitled "New Resolutions" is a hybrid collection of tracks from various sources including rare live recordings of Andy with his new band. This CD marks the very first CD appearance of the track entitled "Wet Daddy" which was taken from Andy's first album on Polydor UK, released in 1971. This is a must-have-CD for any Andy Pratt fan since it also contains video tracks from the band's live performance of "Treasure That Canary" in New York City in 2003 and Andy's solo studio performance of "Who Am I Talking To."
The sixth album,"I'm Alright" was completed in 2003 and is now available for download only. It's an album of originals, produced at the studio of his original guitarist Mark Doyle, who has worked with everyone from Meat Loaf to New Kids on the Block over the years. This new project with Pratt takes deft advantage of drum loops and other modern production techniques. "Were all geeks now " Pratt says with a smile. "And this album really rocks!"
The seventh album is an official bootleg recording from Andy's heyday in 1977 when the band played a club in Delaware called The Other Side. This performance was broadcast over the WIOQ-FM airwaves and proves without a doubt that Andy and band were the consumate rockers.
The eighth CD release was also captured on video when Andy's new band played The Village Underground in New York City in March of 2003 and features the perfect sampling of his catalog along with quite a few of his newer tunes. A sample of the video is now offered at ItsAboutMusic.com so you can see what you missed.
"Im just trying to build it up," says Pratt, who has been honing both new and old material through, thus far, selected gigs in his favorite cities and towns, joined by his original touring band members from the 70's, Mark Doyle on guitar and Gary Link on bass as well as new members, ex-Stompers guitarist Sal Baglio and musician extraordinaire Tom Hambridge on drums. "There have been really good reactions anytime weve played," says Pratt. "Its starting to take off now and it's exciting."
Music initially took off for Pratt in the ‘60s. The son of a school headmaster and a classical pianist, he began to play piano at age eight and guitar at 13, inspired by musical heroes like Van Dyke Parks, Van Morrison, the Beach Boys and the Beatles. He launched his career with the rock power trio, "Butter" at the height of ‘60s flower-power, and frequented the Cambridge folk circuit. He was also a fan of jazz, going to Bostons famed Jazz Workshop to catch John Coltrane, Art Blakey and other greats. Pratt graduated from Harvard in 1968, and released his first album, the jazz-pop effort"Records Are Like Life" for Polydor UK in 1971. Since then, Pratt has released fifteen more records, and he acts like hes just getting started. His voice, even in its fabled falsetto form, is strong as ever. And Pratts latest project is learning to play the alto sax which he plays on "I'm Alright," though he admits that he wishes he could play piano simultaneously. Referring to his return to Boston after his extended stay in Europe, Pratt says "The Boston musicians' community was wonderful." "Some people came down (to the club) who had never heard of me, and they generally liked me, and a lot of people remembered 'Avenging Annie.' When I play that song, they go, 'Wow!'"
Andy Pratt's music can be sampled at:http://store.yahoo.com/itsaboutmusic/andypratt.html
Press photos are available for download at the following location:
http://www.itsaboutmusic.com/lib/itsaboutmusic/pratt-press-shot.jpg
Promotional downloads of this artist's music are available upon request.
Full album downloads of this artist's music are available for review upon request.
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