The Grafenberg Disciples – Johnny on the Spot 2021

In recent months I have heard quite a few different releases by bassist and songwriter Bob Madsen but must confess this one totally threw me as I never expected to hear something quite like this. The cd were originally written by Bob with 41POINT9 guitarist, Chad Quist, for a joint venture between Bob and Tony Carey, called Operation: Paperclip.
But when Tony heard this, he told them it needed to be a brand-new band, so they grabbed singer Hans Eberbach, brought in drummer Gregg Bissonette and did just that. They describe the album as a mix of Prince, Level 42, Ultravox, Marvin Gaye, Toad The Wet Sprocket and a few others – among that last they need to include Living Color (especially on “She Lay Sleeping” which would have fitted nicely on ‘Time’s Up’), Seal, Huey Lewis, Go West and even Todd Rundgren. I must confess to having not previously come across Eberbach, even though he has been around since the 90’s, and his voice is incredible – rich velvet, silky and smooth, able to go through quite a range and always feeling comfortable. The music is there as an armchair, to support and relax him, as he goes through his stuff.

01 – Dying to Live
02 – The Man Who Would Be King
03 – No Words
04 – She Lay Sleeping
05 – A Madman’s Lullaby
06 – The Girl with the Broken Smile
07 – In a Moment
08 – Fields of Sky-Blue Pink
09 – Music on the Wind (For S.O.B.)

turbo