As requested, here’s the not easy to find remastered CD’s of both BLACK SHEEP albums. Black Sheep was a Seventies, Rochester, New York based band that featured the great vocals of future Foreigner singer Lou Grammatico – later Lou Gramm. Black Sheep’s music was on the bluesier side not to mention a little less commercial but still fantastic. Both albums the band recorded are worth owning for any fan of obscure 70s hard rock – and especially if you are a Lou Gramm fan these are both must haves.
This quintet recorded two LP’s for Capitol Records, both terrific slices of classic American bluesy hard rock with mojo and muscle that made the genre so popular. The band was scheduled for a nation tour with KISS, but Black Sheep was plagued by bad luck at that time, just when they seemed to be on the brink of success.
Also featuring future Foreigner member Bruce Turgon and talented guitarist Don Mancuso (pre Cheater), ”Encouraging Words” is the second and last Black Sheep album, even more focused than the debut, plenty of killer riffs a soaring vocals.
Despite being written and recorded less than a year after their first LP, Black Sheep’s second album ”Encouraging Words” showcases a more mature band, both musically and songwriting-wise. Gramm and company sounded a shade less similar to Bad Company this time, and a bit more like the era’s hard rock / progressive bands.
”Encouraging Words” had fuller-sounding instrumentation than the previous album, which was a mixed blessing for Gramm; although this album relied less on him to carry it, he was sometimes drowned out in the mix. This issue is pretty much fixed on this remaster.
Still, the more elaborated instrumentation usually complements Gramm quite well here. “No Worry, No Pain” and “Chain On Me” revisit the Deep Purple-like territory of the first single B-side; “To Whom It May Concern” bears a noticeable resemblance to Kansas.
Gramm’s vocals are the only element here that predicts the Foreigner sound; even ballads such as “Shauna” and “When It All Makes Sense” do not bear much resemblance to the hits of his later band. Still, of the two Black Sheep albums, ”Encouraging Words” is the one more likely to interest Foreigner fans and non-fans alike.
It’s a shame they couldn’t continue after the accident that robbed them of their equipment and their chance to go further. In 1975’s Christmas Eve, Black Sheep has just opened for KISS in Boston. It was the first night of the tour and a real opportunity for a band from Rochester that had struggled to get attention. Opening for KISS seemed like the perfect launch pad. Unfortunately, that performance would become a one night stand.
On the ride home from Boston the truck carrying their equipment crashed on the New York State Thruway, destroying all of the contents and leaving the band in a mad scramble to come up with replacements by the 27th – the date of the next show. They also needed to find a way to get that equipment to the venue.
The band reached out to their record label and to family and friends for help but came up empty.
What’s ironic is that Capitol Records decision to not offer any financial or operational support is what prompted the band to call KISS manager to say that they couldn’t continue with the tour.
When the label learned that Black Sheep had pulled out they promptly dropped the band — not however before reminding them that per their contract they still owed Capitol one more record. This would end up being an incredibly short-sighted decision and one that couldn’t have been rationally tied to the music.
For any Foreigner fan that think the band made the singer, you would be wrong – Lou Gramm’s vocals made Foreigner. You can hear it loud and clear on this second Black Sheep album. Gramm sounds fantastic here. Both Black Sheep albums are a must for those Foreigner fans curious to hear where this great singer cut his teeth.
After this LP, Black Sheep disbanded and Gramm joined Mick Jones to form Foreigner.
1. Halfway Home
2. Encouraging Words
3. To Whom It May Concern
4. No Worry, No Pain
5. When It All Makes Sense
6. The Change
7. All I Am
8. Shauna
9. Chain On Me
Lou Grammatico (Lou Gramm) – vocals
Don Mancuso – guitar
Larry Crozier – keyboards
Bruce Turgon – bass
Mike Bonafede – drums
BLACK SHEEP (Lou Gramm) – Encouraging Words [Remastered] (2016), MP3+FLAC CD
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