''Moxy'', also informally known as ''The Black Album'' or ''Moxy I'', is the self-titled debut studio 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 ...

hard rock and heavy metal band

Moxy Moxy may refer to: * Moxy (airline), formerly proposed name for the airline Breeze Airways in the United States * Moxy (band), a Canadian hard rock band formed in the 1970s ** ''Moxy'' (album), 1975 ** '' Moxy II'', 1976 * Moxy Engineering, a No ...

. Their independently produced album was released in 1975 by

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

in Canada, then under

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it i ...

label was reissued in 1976 for worldwide distribution, both labels were owned by PolyGram at the time (they are now owned by

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

). The album was picked up by many radio stations in the United States and was one of the most requested albums in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. As a consequence, Moxy was picked up by the larger

label in the US and a national distribution deal was made and the album was reissued in 1976. The album produced the hit songs "Can't You See I'm a Star", "Train", "Out of the Darkness" and with "Sail On Sail Away" and "Moon Rider" that are still in the 2000s (decade) on regular rotation on several rock radio stations in

. The album sold well because of heavy promotion by the label who released the album on 8 Track in large numbers.

Tommy Bolin Thomas Richard Bolin (August 1, 1951 – December 4, 1976) was an American guitarist and songwriter who played with Zephyr (from 1969 to 1971), The James Gang (from 1973 to 1974), and Deep Purple (from 1975 to 1976), in addition to maintaining ...

was a guest musician on the album. He had previously been the lead guitarist for the

James Gang James Gang is an American rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1966. The band went through a variety of line-up changes until they recorded their first album as a power trio consisting of Joe Walsh (guitars, lead vocals), Tom Kriss (bass), a ...

and would go on to replace

Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guita ...

in Deep Purple. Bolin does all but two guitar solos. Earl Johnson performed all rhythm guitar and the solos on "Sail On Sail Away", "Can't You See I'm A Star" and the ending of "Train". Johnson was supposed to do all the guitar parts, but got into a disagreement with the producer and was tossed out of the studio. Bolin, being nearby, was asked by Moxy's manager Roland Paquin to fill in for Johnson. Paquin knew Bolin from when he was road manager for the James Gang. Bolin was only in the studio for this album, contrary to popular belief that he appears on

Moxy II ''Moxy II'' is the second studio album by the Canadian hard rock and heavy metal band Moxy, released in 1976. It was recorded at Sound Stage studio in April 1976 in Toronto with Jack Douglas producing. Two songs from the album entered the charts ...

. Though Bolin's time with

was short, the album is popular with his fans. Bolin's tone and phrasing were very similar to his classic

sound. Buddy Caine, who is listed on the album cover, did not join the band until after the album was finished. Caine was initially brought on board by the band as a rhythm guitarist to free up Johnson so he could play the solos on stage that Bolin had played in the studio.

Track listing

# "Fantasy" - 5:40 (Earl Johnson) (Solo by Bolin) # "Sail On Sail Away" - 4:52 (Earl Johnson) (Solo by Johnson) # "Can't You See I'm a Star" - 3:36 (Earl Johnson) (Solo by Johnson) # "Moon Rider (Moonrider)" - 4:25 (Earl Johnson,

Buzz Shearman ''A Tribute to Buzz Shearman'' is a compilation/tribute album by the Canadian rock group Moxy in the band's original incarnation with Buzz Shearman, Earl Johnson, Buddy Caine, Bill Wade and Terry Juric. The album is a tribute to Moxy vocalist B ...

) (Solo by Bolin) # "Time to Move On" - 4:09 (Earl Johnson, Buzz Shearman) (Solo by Bolin) # "Still I Wonder" - 4:16 (Earl Johnson) (Solo by Bolin) # "Train" - 4:37 (Earl Johnson, Robert Bonnell) (Solo by Bolin and Johnson) # "Out of the Darkness" - 4:57 (Earl Johnson, Buzz Shearman) (Solo by Bolin)

Single (1974)

Single ( Yorkville Records 1974) # "Can't You See I'm a Star" (Solo by Johnson) # "Out of the Darkness"

Credits

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 withou ...

* Earl Johnson -

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

* Terry Juric - bass * Bill Wade - drums *

- guitar solos * Tom Stephenson -

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

in "Fantasy" * Mark Smith - producer, engineer * Richard Dashut - engineer * Recorded and Mixed at Sound City,

Van Nuys, California Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, ...

* Jacket sleeve photo by Larry Nickels * Arranged by Moxy * Buddy Caine - guitar (Note: Buddy Caine is listed on the album cover, but did not join the band until after the album was finished.)

Reissued

Moxy’s original catalogue of albums were again available starting in 1994 when Valerie Shearman ("Buzz" widow) oversaw the release of all of Moxy's back catalogue of albums on CD through Pacemaker Records, and again in 2003 this time through

Unidisc Music Inc. Unidisc Music is a Canadian independent record label. The label is known for releasing rare music, that was made between the mid-1960s and late 1980s. Genres include rock, electronic, funk, soul, hip hop, jazz, reggae, Latin, disco and a capp ...

References

External links

Moxy Official Web Site

Moxy's official MySpace Page

CD/Album Review
Review of Moxy a
VistaRecords.us

on

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{{Authority control 1975 debut albums Moxy (band) albums Mercury Records albums Albums recorded at Sound City Studios