New England - 4x CD Reissue (1978-1981) Expanded re-up

allmusic.com biography: This quartet formed around Boston under the auspice of powerhouse manager Bill Aucoin, who ruled the '70s with Kiss. Guitarist and vocalist John Fannon proved to be the guiding light of the band, with Jimmy Waldo providing impressive keyboards and Gary Shea on bass while Hirsh Gardener worked the drums. Paul Stanley came over from the Kiss camp to produce New England's sterling debut (featuring the incomparable "P.U.N.K." and the incredible "Nothing to Fear"), an orchestrated, absorbing affair with the boys giving all. The lush "Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya" nicked the Top 40 and proved to be New England's moment in the sun. Despite an opening stint supporting the falling but still high-profile Kiss, New England unfortunately slid between the cracks with Starz and Piper, two other talented Aucoin projects. The similar sophomore effort, Explorer Suite, garnered almost no notice, and Todd Rundgren's production on the innovative Walking Wild also didn't produce sales. New England dissolved, with Shea and Waldo ending up in Alcatrazz.

Produced by Paul Stanley of Kiss who was also represented by manager Bill Aucoin, this Boston band's debut still stands as their finest. "Hello, Hello, Hello," much like Alice Cooper's use of Rolf Kemp's "Hello Hooray," is a nice opener, but the lyrics are more like Stevie Nicks witchcraft and magic. Song two is the most classic statement made by writer John Fannon and his group New England. "Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya" is perhaps the shortest poem/song on record by Fannon, but it is his most famous. There are swirling keyboards by Jimmy Waldo and the precision the band is known for in performance. Like another Boston-based group, Private Lightning on A&M with their local hit "Physical Speed," these groups were ahead of their time and exploring sounds that were not identified with the city that brought the world the Modern Lovers, Aerosmith, and the Jonzun Crew. But with three albums on a major label, and superb production, New England had a good shot at the brass ring and a tune with all the elements of "hit" in this track. "P.U.N.K." is also a song that generated attention. About a punk, and certainly not punk rock, although the band frequented (and played) the clubs like the Paradise and the Rat, which, no doubt, helped inspire this. "Shall I Run Away" has a great vocal from Fannon and is the best tune next to "Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya" – mellow with cosmic guitars, a unique sound removed from the Asia style producer Mike Stone and the band New England became known for, almost Roxy Music. And that is where the band could've really made its mark, by being more experimental and less like the arena rock bands of the day. "Alone Tonight" is a great song held back by the "overproduction," to quote the late Stones producer Jimmy Miller and his idea of the New England sound. The thick production on this music is incessant. "Nothing to Fear" has hooks a plenty and the voice more prominent; "Shoot" is like a progressive Black Sabbath riff sped up and gone pop. Fannons' great ideas and lyrics seem to get lost in some of the instrumentation of "Turn Out the Light." That stage life which Paul Stanley knows so well from the Kiss hit "Beth" is the theme of "The Last Show." "Encore" concludes the album with Fannon almost sounding like Roger Waters in delivery and idea. New England deserves recognition for years of hard work and the creation of a very important tune from the late '70s. The cover photo has Terminator-style lightning (so did Private Lightning's cover, of course) and the band being delivered from out the blue.

~ allmusic.com review by Joe Viglione

This sophomore effort by the Boston-based group New England – produced by Mike Stone, who also worked with Queen, Journey, and Asia – is a very large-sounding work by a band that deserved to be as popular as Stone's other clients. "Honey Money" is certainly not ABBA; the song's subject is the almighty dollar and its impact on musicians, and the ethereal vocals wrap themselves around a theme that could be delivered to a girlfriend as well as a fellow rocker. "Livin' in the Eighties" has a hard-hitting melody and keyboards that fall somewhere between Gary Wright and Brian Eno. "Conversation" has Nick Lowe-style guitars (much like "Cruel to Be Kind") – a nice change from the incessant bombast Stone and bandleader John Fannon splash on these tunes. It emerges as one of the best tracks on this release. "It's Never Too Late" has a great pop hook, but "Explorer Suite" is the big production number, the "We Will Rock You" showpiece that New England and this album are remembered for. "Seal It With a Kiss" is rife with thick keyboards, backing vocals, and '80s guitar. A renegade "Secret Agent Man" for the '80s, the tune "Hey You're on the Run" sounds like Triumvirat meeting the band Boston by way of the Sweet. "No Place to Go" is as elegant a ballad as Yes or Queen could devise, but with more of an edge.

~ allmusic.com review by Joe Viglione

If the first album by New England is the band's best musical statement, Walking Wild is where the group could have gone. Todd Rundgren was the perfect choice to help tone down the ostentatious Mike Stone sounds, and the magician from Utopia brings this band a welcome and wonderful blend of progressive music and experimental rock. The very British and very cool "You're There" is the standout; although it never got the attention of the first album's "Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya," the second album's "Explorer Suite," and this album's single "DDT" ("Dirty Dream Tonight"), it cries for attention and renewed interest. Great pop backing vocals reminiscent of Klaatu's "Calling Occupants" – a hit for the Carpenters – make this pure pop song a very satisfying ending to this disc, as creative as Boston area colleagues the Cars at their best. "L-5" is co-written by Todd Rundgren, keyboard player Jimmy Waldo, and singer John Fannon – the first time Fannon is not credited as the sole songwriter (Rundgren wrote the lyrics, with music by Fannon/Waldo). This is a neat science fiction kind of tune that fans of Todd should seek out. "She's Gonna Tear You Apart" features lyrics by drummer Hirsh Gardner and music by Gardner/Fannon/Waldo – three-fourths of the band. It's another change in style with a verse almost like one by .38 Special, before the band suddenly slips into a Cars/Roxy Music motif. The perfect example of Rundgren's production work being so distinctive from Mike Stone's is "Elevator," which would almost be punk rock except for the precise big vocal sound and everything being in tune. Fannon's lyrics are succinct and almost angry, from "He's fashionably mad/Rebel eyes/Fearless type/Raging force" on the title track to "Hit me," the first words in "Holdin' Out on Me." The Cars sang "You're All I've Got Tonight," and New England countered with "Be my "Dirty Dream Tonight." Walking Wild has found a new life re-released on the GB Music label out of New York City (www.newenglandrocks.com). A fourth disc by New England (demos recorded prior to the GB Music deal) has been issued on that label as well, along with reissues of the band's first two discs. Four New England albums is not a lot for such a creative bunch of guys. Keyboard player Jimmy Waldo and bassist Gary Shea formed a band called Alcatrazz after the breakup of the group. Had they been able to develop New England's music for a few more records, they might have been a force to reckon with. John Fannon's work with Boston area singer/songwriter Peter Zicko actually has many of the elements that New England forged. Drummer Hirsh Gardner did much production work in the '80s around the Boston area, and perhaps a disc of his material would give New England fans a bit more insight regarding what might've been.

~ allmusic.com review by Joe Viglione

New England 1978 provides the world with a glimpse of John Fannon's music prior to it being put through the rock & roll machine of major labels, major management, and major record producers. Released about 20 years after the band's formation, these ten "demos" are even more sophisticated than the Cars' early recordings from around the same period, and like those legendary Ric Ocasek compositions, these early sketches are superb. Jimmy Waldo's keyboard sound on "Don't Ever Wanna Lose Ya" is reminiscent of early Deep Purple from their Tetragrammaton days. If the hit version of this song was overpowering, this original take stands up as a terrific rendition. It very well could have been the hit with its Cars-ish thumping rhythm guitar and keyboard sweeps. This disc also contains early versions of "Hello, Hello, Hello," "Turn Out the Light," "Shoot," "Nothing to Fear," and "Alone Tonight" from their first, self-titled 1979 debut; one song, "Searchin," from 1980's Explorer Suite and three previously unreleased titles – "Candy," "I'll Be There," and "Even When I'm Away." Conceived as a retrospective, the CD captures the spirit of a group that "from 1977 through 1979 rehearsed 8 hours a day and journeyed to a small studio in Philly to record the demos that eventually would result in a recording contract with MCA/Infinity Records," according to the group's drummer. The music once heard only by heads of record labels like Clive Davis, Chris Wright, and Neil Bogart really could have been released as the group's first disc and is as entertaining as any of New England's commercial offerings. "Nothing to Fear" and "Searchin'" both have vocals that sound like the Beach Boys battling the group Yes, and that's a compliment. The pop sound of "Don't Worry Baby" combined with the heaviness of "Roundabout" works better than it might sound on paper. The 12-page booklet that comes with the material includes lyrics but not enough background information. With plenty of space on the CD, the almost 38 minutes of music would have been enhanced with a radio interview from the day, or even a new audio of the band telling its story. Regardless, New England 1978 is a real find for both fans and people unaware of the group and its unique blend of ultra-power pop.

~ allmusic.com review by Joe Viglione