Rob riffs on the self-titled debut studio album by Brother Cane from May of 1993 (How Long / Got No Shame / Hard Act to Follow / Don't Turn Your Back On Me). ENTERTAINMENT TRACK: the main theme from the television series “The Wonder Years” STAFF PICKS: “Lost In Your Eyes" by the Jeff Healy Band — Brian. “Jessie” by Joshua Kadison — Bruce. “Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses” by U2 — Wayne Baxter. “Honest to God” by Brad Gillis — Rob. INSTRUMENTAL TRACK: “Instrumental Jam” by Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. **(NOTE: What the Riff?!? does not own the rights to any of these songs and we neither sell, nor profit from them. We share them so you can learn about them and purchase them for your own collections.)
At a time when most music was coming out of the Seattle grunge scene or the Athens, Georgia college environment, Alabama's own Brother Cane is a reminder that good rock music can originate anywhere. The band was formed by front man and guitarist Damon Johnson and bassist Glenn Maxey, and they were joined by guitarist Roman Glick and drummer Scott Collier. Their self-titled debut album would peak at number 14 on the Billboard Heatseekers Chart.
Johnson wrote or co-wrote most of the songs on the album, but writing credits would be received by all band members for at least one song on the record.
Maxey left the group shortly after the debut album was released, after which Glick would switch to bass and the band would bring guitarist David Anderson into the group. Brother Cane would release three albums before disbanding, though they would reunite over the years, and are reformed as of 2022.
Friend of the show and owner of Monkey Wrench Brewing Wayne Baxter joins us for this podcast.
How Long
This track starts off slow and builds as the song continues. The entire band receives songwriting credits for this song, as does their producer, Marti Frederiksen. "How long my brother, can we turn away?
Got No Shame
This track is the lead single from the album, and the opening song for the album. Authentic harmonicast Cooper Price starts the song with a true Southern sound. This song made it to number 2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. Johnson and Frederiksen wrote this upbeat, energetic piece as a "southern version of 'Welcome to the Jungle'."
Hard Act to Follow
A somewhat slower song with similarity to the Black Crowes, the lyrics talk about the difficulty of moving on after a breakup. "You're a hard act to follow. Can't find nobody quite like you."
Don't Turn Your Back on Me
The funky organ and heavy "wall of sound" style gives this song a lot of appeal. We felt that the use of the vocoder hearkens back to Peter Frampton's work as well.
ENTERTAINMENT TRACK:
The theme from the television series “The Wonder Years”
The series that propelled Fred Savage to stardom finished it's run in 1993.
STAFF PICKS:
Lost In Your Eyes by the Jeff Healy Band
Brian's staff pick hearkens from Canada. Norman Jeffrey Healy started playing guitar at the age of three. Blind from a young age due to a rare cancer of the eyes. Healy often plays guitar with the instrument in his lap. This ballad was on the charts this month.
Jessie by Joshua Kadison
Bruce brings us the lead single from Kadison's debut album, "Painted Desert Serenade," released in May 1993. The songs on this album are ballads and soft rock, but there's more sophistication to them than the average love song. This one is about a guy who seems constantly drawn back to a girl and her fantastic plans that never seem to work out. Rod Argent is on keyboards and produced this song.
Who's Gonna RIde Your Wild Horses by U2
Friend of the show Wayne Baxter features the fifth single from the album “Achtung Baby.” The lyrics are inspired by the pain of divorce, which guitarist The Edge was going through at the time. A number of versions of this song were created, as the band struggled with the sound they wanted out of this track.
Honest to God by Brad Gillis
Rob's finishes the staff picks with former Night Ranger guitarist Brad Gillis playing with singer, guitarist, and co-writer Gregg Allman. This has a heavy sound with Allman's distinctive vocals.
INSTRUMENTAL TRACK:
Instrumental Jam by Emerson, Lake, and Palmer
The prog rock legends from the 70's had a new release in the 90's, and this instrumental piece from that album closes us out.