Stanley was seven years older than I am, so he was 26 and I was 19 when I was first introduced to his music when my friend Mark loaned me his copy of Stanley’s 1974 LP “Friends and Legends.” I had begun hearing his exceptional tune “Let’s Get the Show on the Road” on WMMS-FM, Cleveland’s hugely influential rock radio station, and I wanted to hear more. In the big cities and small towns of the Great Lakes area, The Michael Stanley Band - or MSB, as his fans called them - were enormously popular from the mid-’70s through the mid-’80s and beyond, setting attendance records at major venues that still stand decades later. The difference between Stanley and those nationally known rock stars was that, despite relentless efforts over many years, he never could get the broader recognition his music so richly deserved. In Cleveland, especially, Stanley was an artist who felt every bit as important as Detroit’s Bob Seger, Indiana’s John Mellencamp and even Jersey’s Bruce Springsteen, who also captured working class lives, loves and disappointments with an authenticity as gritty as it was charged.” Holly Gleason, a Cleveland-based writer, put it succinctly in a piece she wrote in the wake of Stanley’s passing last week: “Like a secret handshake, you can still measure the rock and Midwestern bonafides of people, especially those who grew up in Ohio and surrounding states in the ‘70s and ‘80s, by whether they knew The Michael Stanley Band. ![]() The off-kilter beat of "Only a Dreamer" features a complex arrangement and nice organ and guitar work.I should begin this week’s post with this caveat to my readers: If you’re not from Cleveland, or at least from the Midwest, you’re probably going to be scratching your head and wondering, “Who is Michael Stanley?” "Slip Away" includes bright rhythm guitar and strong all-around vocals. The original version is included as a bonus track on the Razor & Tie CD. Arista boss Clive Davis didn't like the original version, so MSB re-recorded the lead vocals and piano and remixed it Lange, Davis, and Rick Chertoff are credited as co-producers. The piano-based ballad "Why Should Love Be This Way" is pleasant, but its creation was a bit convoluted as Stanley explains in the Razor & Tie CD reissue liner notes. "Misery Loves Company" rocks along with an upbeat sound despite depressing lyrics. "Long Time (Looking for a Dream)" is a gentle pop ballad and the string section was directed by Electric Light Orchestra arranger Lou Clark. ![]() "Baby if You Wanna Dance" is the appropriately boisterous opening track. Gary Markasky replaced Jonah Koslen as lead guitarist, and it was the first studio album for keyboardist Bob Pelander, but the last album for bassist Daniel Pecchio. Cabin Fever was recorded in Wales and England and Stanley remembers plastering the control room with photos of Blondie's Debbie Harry and sharing Trident Studios with Genesis in London. Originally, Bob Ezrin was supposed to produce the album, but Stanley isn't sure why that plan fell apart. It was MSB's first release on Arista Records and it was produced by up-and-comer Robert John "Mutt" Lange, who would helm AC/DC's Highway to Hell the next year and quickly become one of the most important and successful producers of the 1980s and beyond. 1978's Cabin Fever is one of the most interesting albums in the Michael Stanley Band catalog due to the circumstances of its recording and the music contained within.
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