Formed in 1980 and taking their name from a Pink Floyd lyric, Steel Breeze came to the attention of pop mastermind Kim Fowley. Before long, they had a top 20 hit.
Written by: Eric
ARTIST: Steel Breeze
ALBUM: Steel Breeze
LABEL: RCA
SERIAL: AFL1-4424
YEAR: 1982
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA
LINEUP: Ric Jacobs – vocals * Rod Joner – keyboards * Waylin Carpenter – guitar * Ken Goorbian – guitar, vocals * Vinnie Pantaleoni – bass, vocals * Barry Lowenthal – drums, percussion
TRACK LISTING: 01 You Don’t Want Me Anymore * 02 Lost In The 80’s * 03 I Think About You * 04 All I Ever Wanted To Do * 05 Dreamin’ Is Easy * 06 Every Night * 07 I Can’t Wait * 08 Who’s Gonna Love You Tonight * 09 Can’t Stop This Feeling * 10 Street Talkin’
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Steel Breeze Background
‘You Don’t Want Me Anymore’ put Steel Breeze on the musical map from which they fell off all too quickly. One of this reviewers favourite songs of 1982, I’m sure many had high hopes for these Sacramento, California cats. They seemed to be primed at the pump for the big time.
Steel Breeze formed in 1980 and took their name from a Pink Floyd lyric. The band came to the attention of pop mastermind Kim Fowley. He dug his way through a trove of 1200 discarded demo tapes.
One thing lead to another with the aforementioned single hitting the American top twenty. The band toured extensively with Missing Persons, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, The Tubes, and Hall & Oates. There was also a choice stadium tour with Billy Squier and headliners The Who.
The Songs
Unfortunately ‘You Don’t Want Me Anymore’ as catchy as it was didn’t produce enough interest. Despite the fact that the rest of the album is a classic of early 80s radio rock.
Much like contemporaries All Sports Band, Silver Condor and The Clocks, Steel Breeze offered an accessible and timely sound. It slotted seamlessly on playlists while providing the ‘Solid Gold’ dancers another chance to strut their stuff.
Of course that was lip-synched not to mention looking kinda awkward. But Steel Breeze was the real deal. It was tinged with trendy new wave eccentricities on the prophetic ‘Lost In The 80’s’ and ‘I Think About You’.
There was a spritz of Rick Springfield on the peppy ‘All I Ever Wanted To Do’. Overall it’s a record dripping with the innocent optimism and carefree spirit of the decade.
The LP’s second single ‘Dreamin’ Is Easy’ captures the iconic ‘I Want My MTV’ vibe yet only reached #30 on the charts. All this setting in stone the Breeze’s ‘one hit wonder’ status. Even classic melodic cuts like ‘I Can’t Wait’ and ‘Can’t Stop This Feeling’ just couldn’t tear it down.
In Summary
Apparently RCA wanted Steel Breeze to become the next Journey. Of course that didn’t happen and the label dropped the band.
although their next album ‘Heart On The Line’ with Kevin Chalfant on vocals, they came close to achieving RCA’s goal. Oh, what might have been?
Steel Breeze on Video
You Don’t Want Me Anymore
Dreaming Is Easy
Lost In The 80’s
