Monday, December 16, 2013

The Little River Band

The Little River Band (Original) 1975: (L to R) Glenn Shorrock, Beeb Birtles, Derek Pellicci, Ric Formosa, Roger McLachlan, Graeham Goble

The Little River Band 2013 (L to R) Wayne Nelson, Ryan Ricks, Chris Marion, Rich Herring, Greg Hind

CURRENT MEMBERS
Wayne Nelson - lead vocals, bass (joined 1980, left 1996, returned 1999) - sang lead on "Night Owls"
Greg Hind - guitar, vocals (joined 2000)
Chris Marion - keyboards, vocals (joined 2005)
Rich Herring - lead guitar, vocals (joined 2006)
Ryan Ricks - drums, vocals (joined 2012)

CLASSIC LINE-UP
Glenn Shorrock - lead vocals
Graeham Goble - vocals, guitar
Beeb Birtles - vocals, guitar
David Briggs - lead guitar (joined 1976)
George McArdle - bass (joined 1976)
Derek Pellicci - drums

ORIGINAL MEMBERS
Glenn Shorrock - lead vocals
Graeham Goble - vocals, guitar
Beeb Birtles - vocals, guitar
Ric Formosa - lead guitar
Roger McLachlan - bass
Derek Pellicci - drums

(Bold Names are original members. Bold Italics indicate early members, though not original.)

THE JOURNEY
The first thing you'll notice is that there are no original members in today's Little River Band. But this isn't like some of the 50's and 60's groups, where an unscrupulous manager owned the band name and just hired musicians to send out on tour. This is more like a local rock group that's been around for decades, and every few years a member leaves and is replaced, and before long there's all different members. But it happened so gradually that you hardly noticed. The main difference here is that the original group contained the guys that wrote and sang a bunch of hits that you probably still own on vinyl, CD or some digital file.

Since Wikipedia lists 28 former members, here's the condensed version: LRB started having hit singles and albums in the U.S. in 1976, including such classics as "Reminiscing," "Lady," "Lonesome Loser," and "Cool Change." The nucleus of the band was Beeb Birtles, Glenn Shorrock, and Graeham Goble, who wrote those hits and whose three-part harmony made them shine. In 1980, Wayne Nelson became the band's bassist, and sang lead on their 1981 hit, "The Night Owls." In the early '80s, the membership in the band started shifting. Some members left, then came back, others left for good. Lead guitarist Stephen Housden joined in 1981. When Wayne Nelson left in 1996, Housden was the member with the longest history with the band, and he acquired the legal rights to the name "Little River Band." Nelson returned in 1999, and although Housden left in 2006, he still owns the name and allows the current line-up to use it.

The current line-up is all from the United States, although the band is still known as an Australian group.

WHAT WON'T YOU HEAR
You'll hear all the hits - and they had a lot. The original band had enough hits to fill a concert. But with the exception of "The Night Owls," you won't be hearing the original vocalists.

WORTH SEEING?
I haven't seen LRB since the 1970s, but from what I've heard, they put on a tremendous show these days. If it doesn't bother you that it's not the original band, then you'll most likely have a wonderful evening of great music. But for some of us, it just doesn't work. It bothers me when an artist says, "Here's a song we recorded back in 1978," when you know that none of these guys were in the band back in '78.

There's also the idea that a tribute band has to actually be better than the original band. They don't have the luxury of "Well, he may not sound as good as he used to, but that's Brian Freaking Wilson - and he wrote these masterpieces!" So, they actually have to sound more like the record, and tribute bands will usually take less liberties with the songs and arrangements than the original band will. Am I saying that the current LRB is a tribute band? Wikipedia defines tribute band as "a music group…who specifically plays the music of a well-known music act…[and] does not include members of the original band whose music is being honored." Wayne Nelson has been with the group for many years, but was not in the band during their 70's heyday, and is not an original member, but he's the closest they have.

RECORDINGS STILL AVAILABLE
It seems that all of their original recordings are available on CD through Amazon.

ONE MORE THING…
The band has continued to put out new albums, and they are excellent! It's sad that musicians this good weren't able to make it big under a different name. But the truth is, having the name gets you more money, and better bookings. With the state of the music industry today, had they NOT used the name Little River Band, you wouldn't have even had a chance to hear their new music. So it's a two-sided thing. I enjoy their new music. I'm just aware than when I hear "I'll Always Call Your Name," that it's only the name that's the same.

OFF SHOOTS
Beeb Birtles, Glenn Shorrock, and Graeham Goble (the original singers and songwriters) went on to perform reunion concerts (in 2002-2007), but because they lost the rights to the name Little River Band, they appeared under the name Birtles Shorrock Goble (catchy, huh?)

Click to see Birtles Shorrock Goble doing "It's a Long Way There" from a 2007 show:

BAND LINKS


2 comments:

  1. You say the current band records are good.Considering the only hits that the LRB had were by the original band, any of the songs penned by the new band are largely irrelevant to the audience that go to see them perform, as they are there for the hits..not the filler..and without those hits by the original LRB, this current band would have no show..

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  2. and by the way David Briggs wrote the Lonesome Loser..which you got wrong :-)

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