Head East - Onward & Upward

Head East was an interesting anomaly of the 70's. They recorded what is surely considered one of the most familiar classic singles of their era, "Never Been Any Reason", yet they remained virtually unknown. I remember when the band was highly active and prolific, they still never appeared in the relevant magazines or television programs that most of their contemporaries did. AOR radio ate them up, but their records barely sold. It still puzzles me, as their writing was strong, their musicianship was top-notch and they had A&M Records going to bat for them.

In any case, a few of the members got wise and jumped ship in 1980 when they realized they were flogging a dead horse. Band stalwarts, Roger Boyd and Steve Huston, decided to carry on with a new lineup. A&M stuck it out with the band for one more album, "U.S. 1" before even they threw in the towel. Refusing to go quietly, the band moved to a small midwestern label and recorded this album, "Onward & Upward". Predictably, the album flopped and Head East went into semi-retirement.

So, is the album all that great? Truthfully, no, but it's not terrible either. The fact that it represents a rather grey area in the band's evolution somewhat merits its inclusion here. Like many of the other albums I have posted and will continue to post here, it deserves reconsideration because it fell between the cracks before anyone had a chance to understand it. Like many of the albums in the band's repertoire, this was never pressed to CD. So, for your scrutiny, here it is..."Onward & Upward".

192kbps @ http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JYAPSPH2