From 1984 this is the band Sender featuring both American and Canadian musicians, with a connection back to Gino Vannelli.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Sender
ALBUM: Exiled On Earth
LABEL: RCA Victor
SERIAL: KKL1-0547
YEAR: 1984
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada, USA
LINEUP: Ross Vannelli – lead vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards * Tom Saviano – keyboards, sax, flute, backing vocals * Pat Kelly – guitars, backing vocals * Vin Scrima – bass, backing vocals * Joey Scrima – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Additional Musicians: Lee Ritenour – guitar * Bill Meyers – keyboards, synthesizer * Joe Vannelli – synthesizer * Chris (Christine) Bennett – co-lead vocals (#6)
TRACK LISTING: 01 Stuck On A Star * 02 Just The Beat Of My Heart * 03 Exiled On Earth * 04 Billy’s Equation * 05 Diva * 06 Total Control * 07 Decisions * 08 Out Of My Hands
WEBLINKS: None
Background
It’s got kinda a weird album cover and I haven’t been able to work it out. From 1984 this is the band Sender featuring both American and Canadian musicians. Have you heard of them? Well, I consider myself a bit of a know-all about AOR from 1984 but these guys are new to me.
The two prominent members of Sender include Ross Vannelli, brother of the hairy one Gino, and Tom Saviano. The inclusion of Saviano is an interesting one, as he has a significant track record, both in jazz circles as a session man and sax player and the Chicago scene.
He was the leader of L.A based jazz/funk band Heat which released two albums in the early 80’s, and also Melissa Manchester‘s musical director for a time. Guests include Lee Ritenour, Joe Vannelli, jazz legend Christine Bennett and Bill Meyers, well known to GDM folk.
Though the album line-up might indicate a leaning toward jazz fusion, it’s not actually. There’s lots of synth and pop elements which lands this closer to bands like Life By Night, Carrera for instance. Even some of Gino Vannelli‘s solo material is comparable, especially his 80’s era.
The Songs
Some of the songs were written by Gino Vannelli and Grammy Award recipient Gloria Sklerov, plus with the added inclusion of Ritenour and Meyers it should interest some spectators here at GDM. The music isn’t overly energetic nor is it rippling with thrilling choruses, but there are moments of interest.
‘Stuck On A Star’ with the music stuck inside a synth bubble along with its drum machine parts is a good indicator of where Sender are heading. ‘Just The Beat Of My Heart’ flows nicely, though hardly gets into third gear with the tempo held back with total restraint.
The title-track ‘Exiled On Earth’ is another track awash with synth trickery, the guitars jangling along with the aforementioned Life By Night and Novo Combo as references. ‘Billy’s Equation’ co-written by Bill Meyers didn’t do enough to keep its place in my memory bank, much better is the pumping ‘Diva’, with a prominent chorus.
‘Total Control’ is the shortest track here (2min 45 sec) and features a female co-vocal by singer Chris (Christine) Bennett who also co-wrote the track. Bennett’s track record is very interesting. Not only is she a recognised great of the jazz scene, but she also had connections to Giorgio Moroder and Casablanca Records during the heyday of the late 70’s disco scene.
Seventh track ‘Decisions’ is a mid-tempo cruiser, with Saviano’s sax work to the fore. The finale ‘Out Of My Hands’ is a good way for Sender to sign off, with a fair comparison to the band Carerra, even with the solo section dominated by Saviano’s flute work. It’s probably the highlight of the album for me.
In Summary
A nice little find, Sender won’t win awards for originality, though it is a product of its time (1984), meaning that it sounds a bit dated. With only the eight tracks and each around the three to four-minute mark, it won’t overstay its welcome. If you’re a collector of anything to do with Gino Vannelli, then you can add Sender to the list due to the family association.
Sender on Video
Stuck On A Star
