''Endangered Species'' is the fourth and penultimate album by the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band Klaatu, released in mid-1980. It was branded upon release as an attempt at a harder

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

sound geared for AOR radio, contrasting with the pop stylings of their previous album '' Sir Army Suit''.

Recording

According to Dave Bradley, "An outside producer was brought in, most of the instruments were played by Los Angeles based session musicians, and the band members were asked to add their voices and (usually) one lead instrument per song. The band was sent home before the album was even mixed." John Woloschuk, bass player of Klaatu, said that all of Dee Long's lead guitar parts were overdubbed by Chris Bond, with the only exception being Long's guitar solo on "Sell Out, Sell Out." One track on the album ("Sell Out, Sell Out") was a searing attack on Capitol's attempts to "jump on the bandwagon."

Reception

The album was a commercial and critical failure. As a result, the band was dropped shortly afterwards by Capitol, though Capitol's Canadian division picked up the band and released their final album '' Magentalane'' in Canada only.

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 ...

described ''Endangered Species'' as a "downright ghastly

pop-rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and ...

affair", and deemed its songs "dismal".

Artwork

Regular Klaatu artist Ted Jones, who had not painted the cover for the group's previous album '' Sir Army Suit'', returned to paint the album cover.

Track listing

Unreleased songs

The following tracks were recorded but not included on the final album: *”There's Something Happening” (Dee Long) - later released on ''

Sun Set ''Sun Set'' is a box set of various Klaatu rarities, outtakes, demos, live tracks and other recordings from 1973 to 1981. It was launched at the "KlaatuKon" 2005 convention in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The final nine tracks on disc one are alte ...

''. *”Inflation Blues” (Dee Long) *”C'mon Dance With Me” (Dee Long) *”All Over Morocco” (Terry Draper) - later released by Terry Draper on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

*”Tribute to Walt Disney” (John Woloschuk) *”I'll Miss You” (John Woloschuk) *”List of Endangered Species” (John Woloschuk and Dino Tome) - later re-recorded and released as "Blue Smoke" on ''Magentalane''.

Personnel

Klaatu *Dee Long -

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

, guitar solo on "Sell Out, Sell Out" *John Woloschuk - vocals, bass,

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, guitar * Terry Draper - vocals,

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Additional musicians *Chris Bond -

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

, acoustic guitar, electric guitar,

ARP Avatar The ARP Avatar was a guitar synthesizer manufactured by ARP Instruments beginning in 1977. While innovative, being one of the first commercial guitar-controlled synthesizers, it was a commercial failure, and is widely blamed for the financial col ...

synth guitar,

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

Leland Sklar Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. Sklar rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coaleced into a group in its own right, The Section. This group of musicians so frequ ...

- bass guitar *

Ed Greene Ed Greene is an American drummer and session musician. In 1971 he recorded with Donald Byrd (''Ethiopian Knights'', 1972), together with Thurman Green, Harold Land, Bobby Hutcherson, Joe Sample, Bobbye Porter Hall, David T. Walker, and Wilton ...

- drums *

Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on ...

- drums
Gary Coleman
- percussion *

Bobbye Hall Bobbye Jean Hall is an American percussionist who has recorded with a variety of rock, soul, blues and jazz artists, and has appeared on 20 songs that reached the top ten in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Early career, work for Motown and move to ...

- percussion *Tom Hensley - keyboards *

Clarence McDonald Clarence "Mac" McDonald (1944 or 1945 – July 21, 2021) was a Los Angeles-based American pianist, composer, arranger, and producer. McDonald was known for his musical diversity, enduring melodies and signature groove. His most famous composition ...

- keyboards *Richard Kerr - keyboards * Tom Scott -

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

and solo on "Hot Box City" *

Ernie Watts Ernest James Watts (born October 23, 1945) is an American jazz and rhythm and blues saxophonist who plays soprano, alto, and tenor saxophone. He has worked with Charlie Haden's Quartet West and toured with the Rolling Stones. On Frank Zappa's ...

- sax *

Jim Horn James Ronald Horn (born November 20, 1940) is an American saxophonist, woodwind player, and session musician. Biography Horn was born in Los Angeles, and after replacing saxophonist Steve Douglas in 1959, he toured with member Duane Eddy for f ...

- sax *

Chuck Findley Charles B. Findley (born December 13, 1947 in Johnstown, Pennsylvania) is an American trumpet player known for his diverse work as a session musician. He also plays other brass instruments such as flugelhorn and trombone. His technical abilities ...

- trumpet * Sir Rupert Perry - spoken vocals on "Sell Out, Sell Out"

References

{{Authority control Klaatu (band) albums 1980 albums Capitol Records albums