Clear Approach

About

Pomp rock band Trillion was founded by drummer Bob Wilkins and keyboard player Pat Leonard in 1976. They soon recruited DJ Dennis “Fergie” Frederiksen as vocalist, followed by Ron Anaman on bass an Frank Barbalace on guitars. Whisper, as they were originally called, was born. Soon this five-piece started writing, rehearsing and playing live, quickly building themselves a live reputation in the state of Illinois. Once they were discovered by Together Management, a major deal with the Epic Records label quickly followed. Their self-titled album was produced by Gary Lyons (Foreigner) and released in 1978. An obligatory tour followed before the band started writing material for a follow-up album. While in writing mode, it became obvious that Frederiksen and the other band members didn’t share the same vision and it was mutually agreed that the frontman would leave the band. Initial auditions didn’t produce a new singer, until Anaman suggested Thom Griffin. Within a fortnight he became Trillion’s new frontman. He seemed to be the perfect man for the band, adding the other guys in the songwriting process for the second album. John Boylan, who produced Boston’s debut album, was asked to twiddle the knobs and he brought the best out of the band. A strange thing was that the album opened with a track from Chicago songwriter Michael David Black, called “Make Time For Love”. The problem was not that the band members didn’t come up with enough quality material, it was just Epic that wanted the album to open with a hit single. Protest from the band members against this practice didn’t help and the song took the place of the band’s self-written “The Clown”, which you can find on this re-issue as an excellent bonus track. “Clear Approach” was originally released in 1980 and contained such classic songs as “Love Me Anytime”, “Make It Last Forever”, “What Can You Do” and “Wishing I Knew It All”. Remastered (Jon Astley) and reloaded (12-page colour booklet with archive pictures and liner notes by Stephen Allen), this is an absolute must for all of you out there, who are looking for some of the best pomp rock albums ever. (CL_RR).

via Last.fm