Edward Bear - Edward Bear

"Last Song" is really the only tune I can name off the top of my head by Edward Bear. It's one of those little AM radio nuggets that still holds up.

When I found the album I was in one of those moods where I wanted to take a chance on something, and this one looked interesting, and the bear on the cover looked slightly menacing. This pressing had the hype sticker embossed onto the cover, "includes LAST SONG, FLY ACROSS THE SEA, MASQUERADE" of the three songs I was only familiar with the aforementioned "Last Song" so I was curious to hear them.

But first, some trivia. Who doesn't love trivia?

Hands up?

The band is literally named after Winnie the Pooh. I was this many years old when I learned that Edward Bear and Winnie-the-Pooh are one and the same. Nifty. It makes the ominous looking pissed off bear on the cover that much cooler.

Now back to the previously meandering entry.

The album opens with "Last Song" and the song is pure pop cheese with terrible guitar effect choices that are just ... perfect. I've listened to the album a few times now while puttering around and it is the best song on the album hands down. There's also something it that makes me think of Terry Jacks and "Season in the Sun" but I can't put my finger on it. This isn't to say the album is a one and done. Far from it. "Fly Across the Sea" one of the other songs listed on the cover is quite good, but the sleeper on side one is "Edgware Station" which is really good but suffers from a brutally quick fade that seems to leave the song feeling somewhat truncated.

The album itself seems to have been percolating for a while which was unusual for the early '70s, especially when bands were often cranking out two albums a year.  Several of the songs were written in 1971 with the balance being from 1972, and the album was released in 1973. There's probably a story there, but who knows.

Side two kicks off with "Masquerade" the last of the songs singled out on the cover. It's a decent song, and honestly the singer, who I think is Larry Evoy reminds me a lot of Myles Goodwin from April Wine. Which is actually kind of cool. 

Speaking of singers, Edward Bear featured two vocalists, and I'm going out on a limb and am going to assume that whoever wrote it, sang it, although it's hard to tell. The other singer Roger Ellis is good, and honestly listening now I have trouble figuring out who is who. I'll bet this is a case where the credits list both a vocalists, but one is lead and one is backing.

Regardless, from what I've been able to tell, and there's not a lot out there (maybe there is, I really didn't go that deep trying to read up on the band) but Larry Evoy was a singing drummer, and Roger Ellis the band guitarist. Paul Weldon played keys. There was no bass player listed, but the back cover thanks a guy named Bill Loop for playing. 

I found it interesting to see Terry Brown's name listed in the production credits. He produced "Fly Across the Sea", "Edgware Station", "Masquerade" and "Best Friend" while Gene Martynec produced the other songs on the album, including the big hit.

While most of the album is a light pop album with little hints of an edge here and there the album closes with "Black Pete" that features a horn section, some blistering guitar and some killer organ. It's probably one of the coolest pieces on the record and a great way to bookend the album.

Oh, one last little bit of silliness I found amusing. The band's music publishing was attributed to Eeyor Music, without the "e" at the end. I wonder if they spelled it wrong on purpose? Edward Bear really went all in, although I didn't see any references to honey or the Hundred Acre Wood.

Oh bother.