New York, NY (Top40 Charts) In an improbable one-time-only onstage reunion, seminal '60s classic rock band The Choir will perform songs from its just-released Omnivore Recordings album Artifact: The Unreleased Album in a small-venue show on November 3, 2018 at the Beachland Ballroom in the band's hometown, Cleveland, Ohio.
This Omnivore release documents the sessions the band recorded in February 1969 at the legendary Cleveland Recording Company. Artifact: The Unreleased Album was engineered by Ken Hamann, who also engineered and produced many nationally charting hits of the era at that famed studio including the Outsiders' "Time Won't Let Me," the Human Beinz' "Nobody But Me," the Lemon Pipers' "Green Tambourine," the
James Gang album Thirds, and seven albums featuring many hits by multiplatinum-selling artist Grand Funk Railroad.
All
Music called Artifact "a revelation, and is essential listening for fans of late-'60s pop music." "This is good stuff if you like American power pop and want to connect some dots tracing not only Eric Carmen's roots but also the remarkably rich musical legacy emanating out of Ohio," noted Audiophile Review. The Arts Desk said, "This is one of the '60s' great lost albums and its appearance is to be greeted with, as the Raspberries sang in 1973, ecstasy."
The Choir began as the Mods in 1964, and is best known for the regional classic "It's Cold Outside," from 1966. The group would go through several lineup changes throughout the decade, featuring past and future members of '70s classic rock bands including the
James Gang and Raspberries. The circa 1969 version of The Choir that recorded this album will be performing at Beachland: Jim Bonfanti, drums, vocals; Randy Klawon, guitar, vocals; Phil Giallombardo, organ, vocals; Ken Margolis, piano, vocals; and Denny Carleton, bass, vocals.
Author Stephen King recently increased The Choir's visibility with a laudatory tweet, and among the band's famous fans was the late Tom Petty, who often played "It's Cold Outside" on his Buried Treasure SiriusXM radio show.
Artifact: The Unreleased Album was mixed in 2017 by Tommy Allen, who also mixed last year's Pop Art Live, the critically acclaimed Omnivore release from power pop icons Raspberries, which documented that band's historic 2004 inaugural reunion concert. Artifact: The Unreleased Album was produced by The Choir, Tommy Allen and Brad Rosenberger, and features liner notes by Eric Carmen and Al Kaston, plus an extensive Choir "family tree."
According to Carmen, from the album's liner notes: "I went to see The Choir when I was 16, and immediately wanted to join their band. They were a great group that had many lives and many members. This album was made by one of the last and final versions of the band. This recently discovered recording is sure to rekindle fond memories for the many fans of The Choir, including myself. Give it a spin, and enjoy a special piece of Cleveland rock history."
Tickets for the show are available at this link:
https://www.beachlandballroom.com/event/1675780-choir-artifact-unreleased-cleveland/
