Stepson - Stepson (1974)
Formed in 1971, Stepson featured drummer Len Fagen, bassist Bruce Hauser, singer Jeff Hawks and lead guitarist Joey Newman. By this point in time three of the four were seasoned musical professionals with resumes that stretched back to the late-'60s. Newman and Hawks had been in Don and the Goodtimes. Newman, Hawks and Hauser had all been in Touch and following that group's demise Newman had played in Blue Mountain Eagle.
With the addition of drummer Len Fagen,1971 found Hauser, Hawks and Newman reunited as Stepson. Working LA's club scene eventually saw them gain a steady job as the house band at the Whiskey a Go-Go where they made connections with the likes of Arthur Lee of Love fame and Three Dog Night's Jimmy Greenspoon. Finally signed by ABC, the quartet made their debut with the Bob d'Orleans' 1971 produced "Stepson". Featuring an enthusiastic, if somewhat pedestrian collection of hard rock and blues rock numbers, the album's become quite a collectable over the years. Showcasing Hawks growling voice and Newman's chunky lead guitar, this was your typical "bell curve" album. What the hell's he talking about? Well, as you probably remember from statistics, the album's ten songs followed a bell curve in terms of quality. To my ears there were three excellent performances - the fuzz powered opener 'Rule In the Book', the bluesy, Free-styled 'Suffer', and the proto-Van Halen-styled closer 'Burnin' Hot'. At the opposite end of the spectrum 'Back to 'Bama', 'Man, I'm a Fool', and 'Turnpike' were pedestrian, forgettable blues and country-rockers. And in the middle were the other four tracks. A typical bell curve distribution. Professional, occasionally enthusiastic, but hardly original or groundbreaking. Think along the lines of Grand Funk Railroad, The J. Geils Band, or perhaps a touch of Free. As mentioned above, the most interesting tune here was the closer 'Burnin' Hot' which really did sound like a prototype for Diamond Dave and the Van Halen brothers.
