''Lazarus'' is the self-titled debut studio album by Texas band Lazarus. It was produced by

Peter Yarrow Peter Yarrow (born May 31, 1938) is an American singer and songwriter who found fame for being in the 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. Yarrow co-wrote (with Leonard Lipton) one of the group's best known hits, " Puff, the Magic Dragon". H ...

and

Phil Ramone Philip Ramone (né Rabinowitz, January 5, 1934March 30, 2013) was a South African-born American recording engineer, record producer, violinist and composer, who in 1958 co-founded A & R Recording, Inc., a recording studio with business par ...

, released in 1971 on the Bearsville Records label, and distributed by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

. "

Warmth of Your Eyes "Warmth of Your Eyes" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Billie Hughes. It was recorded by Lazarus on the band's debut eponymous '' Lazarus'' album and released as a single in 1972 by Bearsville Records, distributed by Warner Bros. ...

" was released as the first single in 1972. The album is considered one of the early albums of the Contemporary Christian movement. ''Lazarus'' was released in the US, UK, Canada, Australia in 1971 and in Japan in 2016.

Background

According to Peter Yarrow's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desce ...

, Lazarus band members

Billie Hughes Billie Keith Hughes (April 4, 1948 – July 3, 1998) was an American recording artist, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is best known for his successful artist career in Japan, lead vocalist of his band Lazarus and his collaboratio ...

, Gary Dye and Carl Keesee attended a

Peter, Paul and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary was an American folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival phenomenon. The trio consisted of tenor Peter Yarrow, baritone Paul Stookey, and contralto Mary Travers. The group's repertoir ...

concert in Abilene, Texas, after which they met Peter Yarrow and asked him to listen to their tape. They drove 20 minutes outside Abilene to a small farm house where, sitting on the floor with a single candle light, the band played their tape for Peter. Yarrow invited Hughes, Dye and Keesee to

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

, New York, where they lived in his cabin and worked on their self-titled ''Lazarus'' album over a period of two years, with Phil Ramone joining them. ''Lazarus'' was one of the first releases on

Albert Grossman Albert Bernard Grossman (May 21, 1926 – January 25, 1986) was an American entrepreneur and manager in the American folk music and rock and roll scene. He was famous as the manager of many of the most popular and successful performers of folk and ...

's Bearsville record label. In April 1972, a launch celebration in London with Albert Grossman in attendance, was hosted by Kinney (WEA), set to distribute the Bearsville label in the UK, with initial album releases by

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...

, Lazarus and

Foghat Foghat are an English rock band formed in London in 1971. The band is known for the use of electric slide guitar in its music. The band has achieved eight gold records, one platinum and one double platinum record, and despite several line-up c ...

Milton Glaser Milton Glaser (June 26, 1929June 26, 2020) was an American graphic designer. His most notable designs include the I Love New York logo, a 1966 poster for Bob Dylan, and the logos for DC Comics, Stony Brook University and Brooklyn Brewery. In 1954 ...

, designer of the poster for ''

Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits ''Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits'' is a 1967 compilation album of songs by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Released on March 27, 1967, by Columbia Records, it was a stopgap between Dylan's studio albums '' Blonde on Blonde'' and ''John Wesley H ...

'' and covers for Peter, Paul and Mary albums, designed the ''Lazarus'' album cover.

Critical reception

Neal Vitale, '' The Tech'' wrote: "Lazarus comes off as one of the freshest, most pleasant albums released in quite awhile. Such cuts as the truly beautiful 'Looking Through,' ' Eastward,' and the hauntingly dark 'Rivers' all add up to an excellent first effort."

Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...

: "filled with gorgeous vocal harmonies and understated yet stirring acoustic instrumental work. Lead singer Bill Hughes’ high, pure tenor serves as a perfect vehicle for the yearning and reverence embodied in his lyrics." ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' wrote: "A find of PP&M's Peter Yarrow, Lazarus is a highly talented folkish trio very much in the strain of Crosby, Stills et al. Group has a quality of presence, unsurpassed. "River", "Baggage" and "Circuit Rider" get the nod."

Track listing

Personnel

Lazarus * Bill Hughes – vocals, guitar, violin * Gary Dye – vocals, piano, organ * Carl Keesee - vocals, bass Production * Cover (Design) –

* Musical Director –

* Engineered, Mixed by

* Photography – Benno Friedman * Producer –

* Liner Notes –

* Recorded at A&R Studios, New York City

Cover versions

In 1974,

the Lettermen The Lettermen are an American male pop vocal trio. The Lettermen's trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959. They have had two Top 10 singles (both No. 7), 16 Top 10 singles on the Adult Contempor ...

released " Eastward" as a single, reaching number 16 on the Billboard US

Adult Contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

. "Blessed" is included in ''The Giant Book of Christian Sheet Music'' published by

Alfred Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

References

{{Authority control 1971 debut albums Bearsville Records albums Albums produced by Phil Ramone Folk rock albums by American artists Contemporary Christian music albums by American artists Warner Music Group albums Pony Canyon albums