Search - Skylark :: Wildflower - Golden Classics Edition

So Much Talent, But So little Commercial Sucess!

D. R. Saxton | Bemus Pt. N.Y. USA | 02/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When you look back at this album, little did we know in the spring of 1973, ( when "WILDFLOWER" was breaking into the BILLBOARD TOP 10), that this group had one of the most dominant musicians and record producers of the 1980's!!

David Foster went on to be an amazing studio musician and record producer. He produced records for CHICAGO, (He ressurected their career!) Barbara Streisand, Lionel Richie, and a number of other top acts of the 80's. David also was in a few other bands such as AIRPLAY (1980), and the Attitudes (1977). His credentials are legendary! It basically started with the group SKYLARK. However, the short-lived group out of Canada had several other fantastic artists aboard.



One of the lead singers, Donny Gerrard, had one of the greatest soulful voices of the 70's. Listening to him on their big hit "WILDFLOWER" can bring a tear to your eye. It's a shame that he didn't go on to great things. ( He did release a solo album around early 1976 on Greedy Records.) I also think he did a few TV and radio jingles.

Was that him on the MONRO Muffler Commercial back in the late 70'S? "Monro, Monro, we fix your car all under."



Yet another amazing voice in the band was B.J. Cook and later B.J.Cook Foster. (I'm assuming she and David were married for awhile.) B.J. had a voice that was so emotional and chilling at times. "I'll Have to Go Away" which was the follow up hit to "Wildflower" is probably in the TOP 10 most beautiful songs ever! I know that is just one person's opinion, but the musicianship and emotion that runs through this 5 minute ballad is off the charts!!! Unfortunately, this song never made the Billboard chart. I believe it was a BUBBLING Under hit in 1973. Maybe because the 45 version is so hacked up.



Finally, the drummer, Duris Maxwell is a much better than average trap-man. He puts down some nice fills in "What Would I Do Without You".

Overall, this is one of the best albums of the early 70's. So much talent and a unique mix of soul and pop.

The lead singer of the O'Jays said on their live album that the group sounded like a white group trying to sound black, or maybe a blackgroup trying to sound white. I think it was a stab at SKYLARK, but in the song "WIldflower", he made somewhat of a valid point. Unfortunately, SKYLARK only released one more album in 1974. The title is so original- "SKYLARK 2". The sound quality is muffled and they even throw on the hit "WILDFLOWER" as a draw or as to fill up space. The complete first album is on this Collectables CD, and they added "If That's the Way That You Want It" and "Virgin Green" from SKYLARK 2. "Virgin Green" was originally called "Foster Frees" on the record album. This song is an instrumental that really shows off that keyboard talents of David Foster.

On a final note, if you can ever find SKYLARK 2, buy it. It's never been released on CD but it has a lot of great songs. It's too bad Collectables didn't do a two-fer on this CD. With "Wildflower" being repeated on both records, there would have been plenty of room to combine both on one CD. "Skylark 2" has a really FAR-OUT cover which Collectables could have used instead of the generic one. Overall, I heavily recommend this CD."

Classic Melancholy Pop

D. R. Saxton | 09/08/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, this is the first Skylark album (1972), with a couple of bonus tracks. If you look at the trck listing for this CD, here at Amazon or elsewhere, it looks like there is just one tune, "Wildflower". In reality it contains all the songs from the Skylark's first work: 1. Brother Eddie 2. What Would I Do Without You 3. A Long Way to Go 4. Suites for My Lady 5. I'll Have to Go Away 6. The Writing's On The Wall 7. Twenty-six Years 8. I'm In Love Again 9. Wildflower 10. Shall I FailPlus 2 tracks not on the original: 11. If That's The Way You Want It 12. Virgin GreenI would describe this album as basically early seventies pop & easy listening, with gospel overtones. However, there are a couple tunes here which qualify as rock classics in my book. The group's one and only hit, "Wildflower", is melodramatically sad but has a beautiful melody. The instrumental track, "Suites For My Lady", has one of the most intense and moving symphonic bits ever used to accent a rock tune. It leads seamlessly into "I'll Have To Go Away". Like "Wildflower", this is a very melancholy tune, but somewhat prettier and more interesting, and beautifully sung. Both these songs, and "Shall I Fail" are lyrically touching and thought-provoking, in contrast to the rest of the album. However, you're bound to find something you like among the other tunes too. WARNING: Don't trade-away your rare vinyl version of this CD. Although it has no scratches, this is a fairly poor recording for a CD and suffers from some noticeable fidelity problems, even for a tin-ear"

Review

laura richardson | 11/10/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My father David Richardson wrote the lyrics to the hit song "wildflower" that is in this c.d. I think that this c.d. is awesome and can be listened to continuosly. My favorite song on this c.d. is of course "wildflower". I love how the music is done, the melody flows so smoothly, and the lyrics go along perfectly with it. Overall this is a great c.d."