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Everest - Everest

Everest

I was farting around meanderbrowsing (it's a real thing) through one of the record stores I occasionally shop. Krazy Bobs is a treasure trove of stuff, but can be a tad overwhelming, and while not disorganized, it's all over the place. I've found more than a few awesome nuggets, and the proprietor is an odd duck, at times in the best way, and other times it's overwhelming when I just want to quietly browse. However, he's a treasure trove of knowledge, and his ability to retain an astounding amount of absolutely useless trivia makes me look like a moron. Something I can do all on my own without help - but that's beside the point.

Generally, when I'm there I have a specific item I've got a hankering to find. Chances are pretty decent he has it, or knows about it. This is also the same guy that put me onto Hair Cut One Hundred (better than I expected), and the Karroll Brothers - which was a wicked score. We've also lamented poor Jim Clench's bad luck, and praised 451 Degrees as an album that should have been much bigger, at least here in Canada.

He knows I'm partial to mid '80s rock, and he wandered up and asked if I'd heard of Everest. I hadn't. So he pulled out the album. I just laughed, and accused him of trying to get more cash out of me than I wanted to spend. Then again, to be fair, whenever I do spend money he plays a "skill" testing question game that usually leads to me getting to pick an album, sometimes two, out of the bargain pile ... so, win-win.

He hands me the record and I scan through the back cover, and under the band name Paul Gross was listed as producer. Well, I will sheepishly admit for a moment I thought of the actor and occasional singer Paul Gross, then changed mentally changed gears to Paul Gross the producer. The guy behind the first three classic SAGA albums. The guy who founded the legendary Phase One Studios. The Guy who knew a thing or two about making great-sounding records. Heck, it was mastered by Bob Ludwig - Epic had put up some money on this one.

I'll admit I was now curious. The album opens with a go big or go home track that sets the stage for the entire album, "Right Between the Eyes," that is keyboard-driven, with fat power chords and powerful vocals. If SAGA and Asia had an illegitimate love child, this is what it would sound like. My goodness, Ric McDonald even sounded like John Wetton on this one. This is the best Asia song you never heard. This isn't meant to be unkind. Heck, I love Rhino Bucket and Airbourne, and they're not exactly shy about wearing their influences on their sleeves.

I'm pretty sure that if I'd have found this back in '84 it would have gotten a fair bit of play because I liked this kind of stuff. Even then I would have been aware that it was more than a tad derivative and didn't really have an identity of its own, but it wouldn't have mattered. It was so good.

inside pic
Listening to this so long after it was released, it does get hard to place where it would have landed at the time. Right now I just more or less lump it in with the rest of the '80s AOR stuff I like, but at the time a year or two on either side of the release was a big deal. This kind of music was right in the pocket in '82 when the first Asia album went four times platinum in the States. A year later Asia's follow-up Alpha would go platinum, and by '85 they were over as far as being a commercial force. So with this coming out in '84, despite having all of the ingredients, they were already pushing their expiration date.

Heck, even for me in '84 I was more into artists like Ultravox, Eddie Schwartz and even Huey Lewis (don't hate me, I liked it), and probably one of my favourites that year was Time Line by AD (Kerry Livgren's post-Kansas band). It was a fantastic bridge between his roots and new music. Everest was a tad out of step, and although it did have an '80s flair throughout, it just didn't feel like the future.

back cover
Of course, with the passage of time all of those delineations are blurred, and the album can stand on its own merits. While it is still tied to the times, it's a lot more malleable, and I'm able to listen unencumbered by a specific time period. This album is really enjoyable. It's not a stretch to call it wonderfully obscure AOR, and a lost treasure. I tried to find the band online, but there's not much out there (code for I couldn't find shit).

As to the record I got, it was pretty much pristine, which was great - sadly, there's one lone pop, and it occurs near the start of the first song, which wasn't awesome. If only this was on CD or iTunes, as this will be lost if it isn't preserved.

Time for a shout-out to the lost heroes who tried to climb to the summit with Everest. If only they'd had a Sherpa.

  • Frank Reid - keyboards and vocals
  • Ric McDonald - lead vocals, basses, bass pedals
  • Jim MacLeallan - percussion
  • Don Gaze - guitars
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