This 1975 release is one of my favourite Henry Gross albums and is typical of his fun rock ‘n roll style.
Written by: Eric
ARTIST: Henry Gross
ALBUM: Plug Me Into Something
LABEL: A&M
SERIAL: SP 4502
YEAR: 1975
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Henry Gross – electric guitars, lead vocals * Warren Nichols – bass, pedal steel, dobro, banjo * Alan Schwartzberg – drums, percussion * Phil Aaberg – piano * Tom West, Carl Wilson, Ricky Fatar, Carlos Munoz, Terry Cashman, Tasha Thomas, Ann E. Sutton – backing vocals
TRACK LISTING: 01 One More Tomorrow * 02 I’ll Love Her * 03 Southern Band * 04 The Drivers Engine * 05 Travellin’ Time * 06 All My Love * 07 Only One * 08 Evergreen * 09 Dixie Spider Man * 10 Tomorrows Memory Lane
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Background
For better or worse Henry Gross was a founding member of the ’50s revival band Sha Na Na. I never understood the appeal of ‘Bowser’ and company, I guess you had to be there and lived through the 1950’s. And while their 1971 self-titled album had some good moments, Gross had already left the group embarking on a solo career starting with a 1972 album that sold poorly.
A move to A&M proved to be a wise decision and Gross was on his way releasing critically acclaimed albums and earning minor hit singles including his cover of Lindisfarne‘s ‘Meet Me On The Corner’. It wasn’t until 1976 and a song about the death of Beach Boy Carl Wilson’s Irish setter ‘Shannon’ that Gross finally hit his pot of gold.
A sweet tune that still confuses many who thought it was a love song and ending up shocked and sad when the truth was learned. Unfortunately, Henry was never able to follow-up this monster with another hit and to this day is widely tagged with the ‘one hit wonder’ stigma. Yet prior to his 15 minutes of fame, magazines like ‘Rolling Stone’ were pushing Gross as an upcoming guitarist with a bright future as his albums were always far more rock than light pop.
The Songs
This 1975 release is one of my favourite Henry Gross albums and is typical of his fun rock ‘n roll style. ‘One More Tomorrow’ demonstrates the Gross guitar method with a Doobie Brothers styled rocker perfect for FM play lists of the day that couldn’t get enough ‘China Grove’.
‘I’ll Love Her’ is a summery pop tune that reminds me of sunshine, hot girls in bell bottoms and Volkswagen vans which really dates me doesn’t it lol! Gross was from New York, but obviously influenced by the then burgeoning Southern rock scene with ‘Southern Band’ floating in the whiskey drenched ZZ Top universe which again is a good vehicle for Gross.
Side Two’s ‘All My Love’ is a sweet Mersey meets The Raspberries power pop rocker and shows another side of Henry’s versatility and musical smarts while ‘Dixie Spider Man’ brings up memories of Atlanta southern rock heroes Hydra. And although ‘Tomorrow’s Memory Lane’ hangs on for just a little too long like so much bad Mark Farner, it’s Gross’ six string creativity that saves the day.
In Summary
Tours with Loggins & Messina, Aerosmith, Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac and others would follow and as a result ‘Plug Me Into Something’ sold relatively well. Fast forward and with a sense of humor, Henry Gross released a 2006 CD ‘One Hit Wanderer’ and at the time wanted to make a film about his musical life or develop it into a reality TV series. Say it ain’t so, Henry.
We don’t need another one of those! Not sure what the status is of either project but samples are up on his web site and at CDBaby, some of it sounding pretty good, much of it not so. Your best bet is looking into his early albums with most of his catalog reissued on CD as 2fers and worth owning for anyone serious about American rock in the 1970’s.
Henry Gross on Video
Southern Band
