Rich Wamil & Copperpenny

Rich Wamil & Copperpenny - Fuse

This was another one of those "still sealed" records I scored for by birthday. The cover looked cool, I subconsciously filed this under rock and prog, and assumed I was in for a '70s keyboard driven album. I mean, with a title like Fuse, with a cover that featured an old glass fuse - the kind you could once find in your stove or old electric panel I figured this was going to be an electrified experience.

Before I dropped the needle I scanned the back cover, and the only name I recognized was Hayward Parrot, who engineered the album. This was cool, as I'd just seen his name on The Front an album I'd just found. While the cover showed Rich Wamil & Copperpenny, the album's spine and the record label attributed this to Copperpenny. I'm guessing at the time there was some name recognition for Mr. Wamil, and sure enough on the credits his name is in bold print.

The album opens with "Disco Queen" and sure enough, what I'm getting is a blend of rock and funk with a generous dollop of keyboards. I wasn't disappointed, this was good fun. The whole first side was solid. The second side features a really cool cover of Van Morrison's "Feedback on Highway 101" that got my attention.

Musically Copperpenny was first and foremost a rock band, that incorporated elements of Gospel, rhythm and blues, funk, and a lot of swagger. I often find this point of the '70s a lot of fun, as there are big riffs, with the echoes of the late '60s permeating the grooves. In a way this reminded me a bit of some of the early Grand Funk - particularly the Mark Farner fronted songs.

Rich has a big voice, and I can see (hear) why his name is on the marquee. However, the whole band is on fire throughout, and the album sounds huge and full. I've also got to give a lot of love to Bert Hermiston who played the sax solos on the album. The epitome of cool. I'm not generally a sax man, but you have to give it up when things stand out.

Just as I getting into it, the last song "Tossin' and Turning" ends, and I'm left wanting more. This was too short. I'll just have to get up and flip it over and repeat.

Since I'm on my repeat listen, I'll just take a peek and see what's out there on the band. Fuse was the band's third album, and their first on Capitol Records Canada. It was also their last. Which was a shame. There's very little out there on Mr. Wamil, or the band in general, although I read that they had a short lived variety show (I wonder if it was a local cable access show) and they were responsible for discovering Doug Henning. Maybe he was the one who made their career disappear.

Regardless, Copperpenny now seem to be little more than a forgotten footnote, and despite being on Capitol Fuse isn't out there on any of the streaming platforms. The album is a buried treasure. Their RCA debut is out there, and I'll likely give it a listen, but it was this album I wanted to find.

I was going to try and work in a blown fuse thing to end with, but it seemed a little too dismissive and I didn't have the energy.

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Old Enough to Forget

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