''Elevator'' is a 1979 rock album by the

Bay City Rollers The Bay City Rollers are a Scottish pop rock band known for their worldwide teen idol popularity in the 1970s. They have been called the "tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh" and one of many acts heralded as the "biggest group since the Beat ...

. Having replaced longtime lead singer

Les McKeown Leslie Richard McKeown (12 November 195520 April 2021) was a Scottish pop singer. He was the lead singer of the Bay City Rollers during their most successful period in the 1970s. Early life McKeown was born in Broomhouse, a suburb close to the ...

with

Duncan Faure Rabbitt were a South African rock band formed in 1972, evolving from a band called The Conglomeration, consisting of members Trevor Rabin, Duncan Faure, Ronnie Robot, and Neil Cloud. Their successes included making it to the top of the South A ...

, the group shortened their name to simply The Rollers, and pursued a more rocking,

power-pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ch ...

sound than their previous work. The album, released by Arista, was critically acclaimed but poorly received commercially. Neither the album itself or any single releases would hit the charts. The album was reissued on CD in 2008, with no bonus cuts however.

Music

Dave Thompson of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

wrote that the album featured a

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

, AOR direction. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' felt the music was reminiscent of 1965-66 era

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

,''Billboard'', 25 August 1979 with ''

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference to ...

'' even comparing the album to the Beatles' ''

Rubber Soul ''Rubber Soul'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. It was released on 3 December 1965 in the United Kingdom, on EMI's Parlophone label, accompanied by the non-album double A-side single "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work ...

'' (1965).

Critical reception

gave the album four stars out of five.

Track listing

Side One

#"Stoned Houses #1" (Faulkner, Wood, Faure) #"Elevator" (Faulkner, Faure, Wood) #"Playing in a Rock and Roll Band" (Faure, Tom Seufurt) #"Hello & Welcome Home" (Faulkner, Faure) #"I Was Eleven" (Faure) #"Stoned Houses #2" (Faulkner)

Side Two

#"Turn on the Radio" (Faulkner, Faure, Wood, Alan Longmuir) #"Instant Relay" (Faulkner) #"Tomorrow's Just a Day Away" (Faulkner, Wood) #"Who'll Be My Keeper" (Faure) #"Back on the Road Again" (Faulkner, Faure, Wood, Alan Longmuir) #"Washington's Birthday" (Wood, Faulkner, Faure)

Personnel

Group members

Eric Faulkner Eric Faulkner (born 21 October 1953 as Eric Falconer) is a guitarist, songwriter and singer, best known as a member of the Scottish pop band, the Bay City Rollers. Faulkner was born at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, Scotland. As a ...

– Guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals, lead vocal on "Playing in a Rock & Roll Band" *

– Lead vocals, piano, moog, guitars *

Alan Longmuir Alan Longmuir (20 June 1948 – 2 July 2018) was a Scottish musician and a founding member of the 1970s pop group, the Bay City Rollers. He played the bass guitar in the band whilst his younger brother Derek Longmuir was drummer. Biograp ...

– Guitar, bass, vocals, string machine *

Derek Longmuir Derek Longmuir (born 19 March 1951, Edinburgh, Scotland) is a Scottish former drummer and a founding member of the 1970s pop group, Bay City Rollers. His elder brother, Alan Longmuir, played bass guitar in the group. Biography Longmuir was bo ...

– Drums, percussion * Stuart "Woody" Wood – Bass, piano, moog, string machine, clavinet, vocals, lead vocal on "Tomorrow's Just A Day Away"

Other personnel

* Peter Ker – producer * Rod Thear – engineer * Gary Gray – mixing engineer * John Naslen – mixing engineer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elevator (THe Rollers Album) Bay City Rollers albums 1979 albums Arista Records albums