A few years in and Gary Wright never quite matched the success of ‘The Dream Weaver’ album, that’s not to say his output beyond 1976 was lackluster but as most of us know, the music business is never fair and Wright has certainly seen its ups and downs.
Written by: Eric
ARTIST: Gary Wright
ALBUM: Touch And Gone
LABEL: Warner Bros
SERIAL: WB 56435
YEAR: 1978
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Gary Wright – vocals, keyboards
TRACK LISTING: 01 Touch And Gone * 02 Starry Eyed * 03 Something Very Special * 04 Stay Away * 05 Night Ride * 06 Sky Eyes * 07 Lost In My Emotions * 08 Can’t Get Above Losing You * 09 The Love It Takes
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
The intrepid ‘Dream Weaver’, Gary Wright has had a storied career with his band Spooky Tooth and as a solo artist. Wright played keyboards on George Harrison‘s classic ‘All Things Must Pass’, a badge of honor for anyone, but it’s the aforementioned smash single from 1975 that he will forever be remembered by for better or worse.
Unfortunately, Wright never quite matched the success of ‘The Dream Weaver’ album, and really didn’t have another hit single until 1981’s ‘Really Wanna Know You’. That’s not to say his output post ‘Dream Weaver’ was lackluster but as most of us know, the music business is never fair and Wright has certainly seen its ups and downs.
The Songs
Like most of Wright’s solo work ‘Touch and Gone’ is heavily electronic, using Moog, Oberheim and organ. The title track and ‘Starry Eyed’ are two of the best songs on the album, the later coming close to the vibe of ‘Dream Weaver’.
Both ‘Something Very Special’, and the closing ‘The Love It Takes’ have a slightly funky feel ala Rubicon (the pre- Night Ranger band), and this is the side of Gary Wright’s music I never really cared for. In my opinion he would have been better off sticking to the more cosmic and progressive rock end of the spectrum instead of trying to compete with Stevie Wonder.
In Summary
By the time this record was released, Wright’s fortunes were diminishing. The previous album ‘Light Of Smiles’ didn’t sell too well, and the tour for ‘Touch And Gone’ found Wright playing small colleges and universities losing much of the audience after opening act on nearly all dates – Starcastle, left the stage, a far cry from two years earlier playing Baseball stadiums with Yes and Peter Frampton.
The follow-up album ‘Headin’ Home’ sold even less and it seemed Gary Wright was yesterdays news. Fortunately that was not the case and he continues to record and tour, and if that’s not enough, he has recently reformed Spooky Tooth playing a couple dates in Germany. A DVD has been released, and hopefully we might even get a studio project at some point. Hope springs eternal!
Gary Wright on Video
Click to go to YTM album page.
