New York, NY (Top40 Charts) The early 21st century has seen the rediscovery of several rock acts from yesterday that never got their due back when they were recording and performing (artists such as Pentagram and Rodriguez immediately come to mind). And there is another overlooked '70s group that should now finally get the attention it has long deserved: Kelakos.
Recording and working out of Ithaca, NY, Kelakos was composed of singer/guitarist
George Michael Kelakos Haberstroh, guitarist Mark Sisson, bassist Lincoln Bloomfield, and drummer Carl Canedy. Kelakos issued its first single in 1976 and an 11-song album in
September 1978, 'Gone Are the Days,' which sounds impressively on par with favorite cuts that classic rock radio stations have been playing for the past few decades.
And now, record collectors and musicologists will be able to hear the music of Kelakos, with the fully-remixed release of the 15-track disc, 'Uncorked: Rare Tracks From A Vintage '70s Band,' which contains such standouts as "Gone Are the Days" and "How Did You Get So Crazy" (which were also released as a single way back when), "Boogie Bad Express" and the memorable "Frostbite Fantasy" as well as a never-before-released song, "In the Sun."
And if one of the band members' names sounds familiar, it should: Canedy is the long- time drummer for heavy metal vets The Rods, in addition to producing classic releases in the '80s by such bands as Anthrax, Overkill, TT Quick, Exciter, and Possessed, among others, and a solo album "Headbanger" in 2014. And after reading the liner notes to 'Uncorked,' other names should pop up - keyboardist
David Kent, who played with Hall & Oates; and engineers Alex Perialas, who went on to work with many of the same aforementioned standout metal acts that Canedy worked with; Tony Volante, who went on to engineer for several album artists including Donald Fagan and is now film and television re-recording mixer at Sound Lounge in NY; and Les Tyler, who became a top executive at DBX, Carillon Technology and THAT Corporation.
Lead singer and guitarist Haberstroh continued to write and record, building a prolific catalogue of original music. Sisson pursued his passion for electric guitars and became a sales professional, often contributing pedal steel tracks on Haberstroh's recordings. Bloomfield went to Washington to pursue international relations in and out of government, performing charity concerts in recent years with a band including other officials and guitarist Jeff "
Skunk" Baxter of
Doobie Brothers and
Steely Dan fame.
Now, music fans will finally hear what Kelakos was all about, with the release of 'Uncorked: Rare Tracks From A Vintage '70s Band.'
'UNCORKED' TRACKLISTING:
Boogie Bad Express
Funky Day
Gone Are The Days
Rachel
Frostbite Fantasy
All You Need Is A Ticket
How Did You Get So Crazy
Lovin' so Fine
Change Your Mind
Follow Your Dream
Persephone's Poison
Till The Break Of Day
Break Of Day Coda
In The Sun
There's A Feeling
