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Kyle - Kyle

Kyle 1974

I was searching an online catalogue for some stuff and this popped up when I was looking for something by Randy Stonehill. Considering I had most of his stuff already, I have no idea why I was looking, but up popped an album by Kyle, no first name, or maybe it was his first name. Who knows. I know I don't. Turns out the song "If I Had the Cash" was also co-written by Keith Green. Now I was curious.

The album cost me five bucks, and I will admit I was very curious. I was even more curious when I read the back cover. It was produced by Danny Janssen & Bobby Hart. So this was likely going to be somewhere between The Monkees, Josie and the Pussycats and The Partridge Family. That's okay, I liked The Monkees.

I'm going to jot down my thoughts in real time, and then come back and see if anything makes sense? Are you seated comfortably?

The first song, "Rescue Me," comes over the speakers and this sounds a bit like Neil Diamond, mixed with Andy Kim. It was actually really good. I mean, really good. From what I can see it was released as a 45, and it should have gotten some play somewhere, but I can't seem to see anything on this out there. Okay, I'm paying attention now.

Next up is "By The Time I Reach Tomorrow," which seems to be taken right out of the Jimmy Webb songbook, and Kyle's voice has hints of Glen Campbell with John Denver's vibrato, or was it Bobby Goldsboro? (I like John better, I will not get into the shitty mess that was "Honey".) "One Line Rhyme" is another page right out of the Webb/Campbell songbook. I'm guessing KYLE is the guitar player because it's prominent in the mix, and his acoustic work is very good and perfectly fitted to the songs.

Okay, so far this has been really good early '70s soft rock, but with "I'm to Blame" we veer into the country lane, with steel guitar and a breezy shuffle and solid chorus. It does call to mind "What Am I Doing Hangin' 'Round?" in places by The Monkees. Not a bad thing, I love me some Michael Nesmith.

I'm starting to wonder why this album is so obscure. This stuff is the shit.

Staying in the same lane for "Robin's Egg Blue," the pedal steel sings along as the tempo slows down and I'm treated to another solid song. The first side closes out with another mid-tempo ballad, "I'll Be Back Again," that's full of lush strings arranged by the legendary Jimmie Haskell. (There are strings all over the album.) The acoustic and electric guitar work is really nice. The acoustic solos throughout call to mind Red Shea. It really is very tasty, and not overplayed.

What a great surprise so far.

ABC Records

"I Got the Music to Play" opens the second side with a Chuck Berry-styled riff, and then seems to blend in some Jerry Reed swagger from "Guitar Man." It's a lot of fun, and even the punched-up (I mean someone pushed the fader up to 10) end riff works. If I needed a reminder that this was from 1974, having a Caribbean steel drum kind of does the trick, and the song has a lot in common with Harry Nilsson's "Coconut." It was kind of fun, but not really that great, to be honest.

The album is now going up-tempo with a soft rock flair. It's a little hard to peg. "Peace in the Country" doesn't do much for me, but dang it has a nice acoustic guitar solo - not quite enough to save it, although I wonder if a couple more plays will change that.

Up next is the Randy Stonehill / Keith Green composition "If I Had the Cash," the only song on the album not written by Kyle, and frankly it's a goofy throwaway novelty song that truly feels out of step with the rest of the album. Although, to be honest, the two previous songs were moving in this direction and it actually does kind of fit. Whoever sequenced the album knew what they were doing.

The album closes with "Silver Wings," the strongest song on side two, and one of the best songs on the album. The song's acoustic foundation and driving bass underpin the song, and as it goes on it builds momentum. By the time the solo hits with the double-tracked leads, it's sounding a bit like the Allman Brothers, but then the acoustic guitar solo hits and it brings the song home.

An absolutely killer track.

back cover

This was truly a wonderful surprise, and other than a couple of small missteps on the second half, this was a way better album than I expected. I know I kept trying to find something to compare this to, that's only because I was trying to give a sense of what I was experiencing. I was really surprised at how crisp the production was on this one. Props to Danny Janssen & Bobby Hart. For a couple of guys primarily known for their songwriting credits and production in the bubblegum arena, they absolutely crushed it here.

I have no idea why this is so obscure.

I'm googling and checking through Discogs and AllMusic and there's very little out there. I have no idea who Kyle is, or was. I did figure out his name was William Kyle Eidson, but that didn't really help much either. By all accounts he released two other albums in the early '70s. This would be the last one. That's about all I can find. 

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