It would be difficult to tell you about the band Steel Breeze, because frankly there's very little infomration to be found. Though the band was formed with six members in Sacramento, comprising of Ric Jacobs (vocals), Ken Goorabian and Waylin Carpenter (guitars), Rod Toner (keyboards), Vinnie Pantaleoni (bass guitar), and Barry Lowenthal (drums), there have been consistent lineup changes since.
They were discovered by producer Kim Fowley, who found their demo amongst 1,200 other cassettes which were earmarked as trash by a local night club. She and attorney David Chatfield would work with the group to record their first album, and ultimately secure a deal with RCA to release it.
While they were harkened to the likes of Journey, personally, I don't hear the similarities. Instead, I get more of a The Cars vibe.
Among the tracks on the band's demo, and subsequent 19825 self titled debut album, was their chart topper, You Don't Want Me Anymore, which reached number sixteen on the Billboard. It was followed by the single, Dreamin' Is Easy, which reached number thirty, and became their last hit.
As I played through their debut, I was first and foremost greeted by their above noted highest charting hit. It was good, for sure, but was it a one hit wonder? This answer came with track three, where I found myself really getting into it. This is also where I started to note the similarites noted above to the group, The Cars.
Everything I was hearing so far had that catchy 80's rock vibe to it. You'd know it if you heard it, but trust me, that's what was eminent here. Overall, I dug the whole thing. I didn't grab every last track for my shuffle list, but it was certainly enjoyable.
While I considered checking ou their other 80's albums, this thought quickly deminished which I saw the prices. I don't think I can spend $50.00 to $100.00 on albums I know nothing about.
As I mentioned above, lineup changes were a constant for Steel Breeze, and this is probalby the biggest contributing factor to their overall failure. By the time they released their 1983 follow-up, Heart On The Line, they had already lost their orrignal and subsequent replacement lead singer. Releeasing the album on an indipendent label also didn't help matters, and contributed greatly to it relatively going unnoticed, despite guest appearances by Clarence Clemons and Alex Ligertwood.
Steel Breeze would release one final album in the 80's, 1989's Cry Thunder, and two albums in the 90's, all of these, of course, with a different lineup. They never had another Billboard chartter since their debut. Beyond that, there's not much to tell in the limited history that is the band.
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS May 17, 1980 |
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS May 17, 1986 |
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