''Ramshackled'' is the only solo album by Alan White, drummer for

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

band Yes. It was released in 1976 on Atlantic Records, during a period when all five Yes band members ( Jon Anderson,

Chris Squire Christopher Russell Edward Squire (4March 1948 – 27June 2015) was an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes. He was the longest-serving original member, having r ...

Steve Howe Stephen James Howe (born 8 April 1947) is an English musician, best known as the guitarist in the progressive rock band Yes across three stints since 1970. Born in Holloway, North London, Howe developed an interest in the guitar and began to le ...

Patrick Moraz Patrick Philippe Moraz (born 24 June 1948) is a Swiss musician, film composer and songwriter, best known for his tenures as keyboardist in the rock bands Yes and The Moody Blues. Born into a musical family, Moraz learned music at a young age a ...

and White) released solo albums. White only performed drums on the album and neither wrote nor sang any of the songs.

Background and recording

White had worked with Pete Kirtley and

Kenny Craddock Kenny Craddock (18 April 1950 – 30 May 2002) was a British instrumentalist, composer and producer. Throughout his career he worked with artists including Ringo Starr, Ginger Baker, Billy Bragg, Gerry Rafferty and Alan White. He collabor ...

in the

Alan Price Set Alan Price (born 19 April 1942) is an English musician. He was the original keyboardist for the British band the Animals before he left to form his own band the Alan Price Set. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 as a m ...

and Happy Magazine. White, Kirtley, Craddock and Colin Gibson then worked together in the short-lived Griffin in 1969.''The Story of Skip Bifferty'' (2003, Castle Music) liner notes In the early 1970s, White, Kirtley, Craddock, Gibson and Bud Beadle played together in unsigned band Simpson's Pure Oxygen. Craddock was also in the second line up of Lindisfarne who released two albums between 1973 and 1975. For his debut solo album, White brought Kirtley, Craddock, Gibson and Beadle back together. Fellow Yes members, Jon Anderson and Steve Howe, guested on "Spring: Song of Innocence". Gibson and wind player Bud Beadle also appeared on Steve Howe's own solo album from the same period, ''

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''. Although he does not appear on the album, Patrick Moraz has a cameo in the promotional video. Yes subsequently toured in 1976, with initial dates of the tour including material from the members' solo albums, including "One Way Rag" and "Song of Innocence", but these were soon dropped.

Reception

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 databa ...

's Alex Anderson found the album highly uneven and noted that the album's hodgepodge of popular styles failed to appeal to the progressive rock fanbase White had gained with Yes. He concluded "Although ''Ramshackled'' isn't terrible, most of the Yes fans who bought it agreed that their money hadn't been well spent."

Track listing

#"Ooh Baby (Goin' to Pieces)" (Pete Kirtley) 5:33 #"One Way Rag" ( Colin Gibson,

) 4:07 #"Avakak" (Craddock, Gibson, Kirtley) 6:54 #"Spring-Song of Innocence" (lyrics:

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

, music: Kirtley) 5:02 #"Giddy" (Craddock, Gibson) 3:13 #"Silly Woman" (Kirtley) 3:15 #"Marching Into a Bottle" (Craddock) 2:00 #"Everybody" (Craddock, Gibson, Kirtley) 3:14 #"Darkness, Pts. 1–3" (Craddock, Gibson) 5:32

Personnel

*Alan White – drums, percussion *Bud Beadle, Steve Gregory – flute, saxophone * Henry Lowther – trumpet *

Madeline Bell Madeline Bell (born July 23, 1942) is an American soul singer, who became famous as a performer in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s with pop group Blue Mink, having arrived from America in the gospel show ''Black Nativity'' in 1962, with the ...

Vicki Brown Vicki Brown (23 August 1940 – 16 June 1991) was an English pop, rock and contemporary classical singer. She was a member of both The Vernons Girls and The Breakaways and was the first wife of fellow singer and musician Joe Brown and mother o ...

, Joanne Williams – backing vocals *Pete Kirtley – electric and acoustic guitars, vocals *

– piano, organ, synthesizers, vocals *Alan Marshall – vocals * Colin Gibson – bass, percussion *

David Bedford David Vickerman Bedford (4 August 1937 – 1 October 2011) was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music. He was the brother of the conductor Steuart Bedford, the grandson of the composer, painter ...

– orchestral arrangements and conducting * Jon Anderson – vocals on "Spring-Song of Innocence" *

– guitar on "Spring-Song of Innocence"

Production

*Produced by Alan White & Bob Potter *Recorded & engineered by Alan White, Bob Potter &

Paul Hardiman Paul Hardiman is a British record producer. He worked with Lloyd Cole and the Commotions (on their debut ''Rattlesnakes'') and Lloyd Cole's solo career. His other production credits include Chris de Burgh's most commercially successful albums '' ...

*Assistant & second engineer: Paul Hardiman *Tape cutting engineer: David Tucker

Charts

References

External links

* "Ramshackled" at AllMusic {{Authority control 1976 debut albums Atlantic Records albums Yes (band) Albums recorded at IBC Studios