Big Towne, 2061
	Produced by Bob Hughes
	Released on 1976
	US CHART POSITION #152
	Find it at GEMM
ST-11560 cover [high resolution photo]

C alifornia dreaming that could be seen as Steve Miller Band or BOC on a lesser scale. Paris is an unlikely amalgam: former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Robert Welch (Paris’ principal architect), former Tull bassist Glenn Cornick and future Iggy Pop drummer Hunt Sales. Welch does most of the singing and songwriting, Sales kicks into the kitty on two tracks, Cornick on one. While the rhythm section of Sales and Cornick is solid, no power trio gymnastics protrude, no blistering guitar leads emerge. Big Towne, 2061 is populated by West Coast rock songs, laidback but informed by funk and the blues, average in every sense of the word. There are moments when they sound like Led Zeppelin (“Outlaw Game”), BOC (“Heart of Stone”), Steve Miller (“Pale Horse, Pale Rider”) or Santana (“Slave Trader”), without reaching that level. I came to Paris mostly to hear what Cornick was up to, being a big Tull fan. If you plan a venture for similar reasons, save your money. Paris has nothing to do with Tull, nothing to do with Iggy Pop, very little to do with Fleetwood Mac even. Instead, they inhabit the ranks of intelligent ‘70s rock bands who lacked good promotion and a clear purpose. You can imagine these records being sold with a big “Featuring Bob Welch from Fleetwood Mac” sticker on them, which would explain how their records charted at all. Not that the songs aren’t good, but lots of bands were making music like this, and it doesn’t really fit into an identifiable genre outside of generic rock. If I had to pick a single, I might choose the funky title track (shades of “Fame”), “Outlaw Game” or “1 In 10.” Someone saved themselves from that headache and put Paris to bed, cementing their status as a footnote to an interesting career (as opposed to an interesting footnote).

ST-11560 back cover	ST-11560 picture sleeve

TRACK LISTING

1. BLUE ROBIN    2:26
2. BIG TOWNE, 2061    4:30
3. PALE HORSE, PALE RIDER    3:22
4. NEW ORLEANS    4:14
5. OUTLAW GAME    (Welch/Sales/Sales)    5:16
6. MONEY LOVE    (Welch/Sales/Sales)    3:52
7. HEART OF STONE    2:40
8. SLAVE TRADER    3:07
9. 1 IN 10    2:59
10. JANIE    7:27
    
    All songs written by Robert Welch unless noted

CREDITS

GLENN CORNICK -- bass, keyboards
HUNT SALES -- drums, percussion, vocals
ROBERT WELCH -- guitar, vocals
Bob Hughes -- engineer
Roy Kohara -- art direction
Gernot Plitz -- photography
Link Zimmanck -- technics

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