The difference with this album and
Rare Earth's previous release in 1978 is that the
Grand Slam LP featured a
Barry Gibb and
Albhy Galuten tune with no input from those two individuals. The addition of
Barry Gibb,
Maurice Gibb, and
Robin Gibb on
"Warm Ride" off this quick follow-up features
the Bee Gees singing, and it's that extra attention which made this the last of
Rare Earth's half-a-dozen 1970s hits. What was really needed, though, was production from
Barry,
Robin,
Maurice, and their partners in crime,
Karl Richardson and
Albhy Galuten, skills which might've brought the single
"Warm Ride" further up the charts. As with the
Grand Slam disc,
Band Together is held back by two things:
John Ryan's pedestrian production work and
Rare Earth's failure to reinvent themselves. Unlike the brilliant
Norman Whitfield's intuitive skills which sent
"(I Know) I'm Losing You" to the Top Ten in 1970,
Ryan has the band merely emulating
Motown. Both the exquisite composition
"You" and
"Love Is What You Get (If Love Is What You Give Me)" come off like a cover band playing in the arena created by
Berry Gordy. It's somewhat listenable, but just not as original as that refreshing sound which ripped radio open when
"Get Ready" blasted into the Top Five in the spring of 1970. On the
Ecology album, the band did an almost
Vanilla Fudge-style version of
"Eleanor Rigby" with soul, and that definiteness of purpose is missing here. What
Band Together cries out for are original
Rare Earth renditions of early
Motown classics. There's
funk here, elements of
disco, and a very play-it-safe atmosphere. Nothing jumps out at you and grabs you like their first two hits.
Dennis Lambert and
Brian Potter's
"Love Music" finds its way onto the disc, but it's stuck in some
John Travolta rut, and while the band can still groove, the grooves are somewhat vacant. Those innovations that brought group identity to faceless musicians needed a duet with ex-labelmate
Kiki Dee or another impressive jump outside the norm to make their last bid a memorable one. Yes, the involvement of
the Bee Gees puts them further in the history books, but like
Tavares, who got the same endorsement, the two songs from these two different groups' 1978 outings couldn't get over the hump and languished at the bottom levels of the Top 40 charts. For the enormous boost
Rare Earth got by involving themselves with the
Gibbs, they needed a bit more enthusiasm.
Jerry Zaremba's
"Dreamer" would have been a nice follow-up hit had it only a bit more in the production values department, while the final track,
"Mota Molata," has the most to offer next to
"Warm Ride." It is an original by singer
Peter Hoorelbeke, keyboardist
Mark Olson, guitarist
Ray Monette, and producer
John Ryan. Had this
Santana style been the rule on the album rather than the exception,
Band Together might have had a shot. The LP cover has the boys standing on an illuminated square from which they vanish on the back. Very appropriate because this
Rare Earth unfortunately sounds like a band whose best days were behind them. ~ Joe Viglione
