KAREN KNOWLES vocal FRANK CRAWFORD piano, keyboards BRUCE BISHOP acoustic guitar, dobro JOHN LEFTWICH bass DAREK OLES bass JOSH SKLAIR electric & acoustic guitars EFRAIN TORO drums & percussion BOB SUMMERS trumpet & flugelhorn LARRY KLIMAS saxophones (alto, tenor), alto flute EVEANNA MANLEY baritone saxophone SAM SKLAIR – ARRANGER, MD clarinet VICKIE LEIGH, BRUCE BISHOP backing vocals
Moonglow (W. Hudson, E. De Lange, I. Mills) 2.59 Espresso (K. Knowles/R. Mitchell) 3.29 There, I’Ve Said It Again (R. Evans, D. Mann) 4.06 All I Want To Do ( K. Knowles/R. Bulpin, N. Smith) 3.25 Don’t Say (R. Freeman-Smith, R. Strykert/P. Hyde) 3.58 Under The Moon (J. Dawson, S.D. Walter) 4.28 What’s Taken Your Smile Away? (N. Smith/J. Camilleri) 3.23 Nature Boy (E. Abba) 4.0
I first heard of Karen Knowles from an Australian audiophile friend who was visiting the April '92 Stereophile Show - “She's been the female lead singer of The Seekers…..you know, rightly considered a big Australian star, bigger than Ben Hur, you know…..and she’s heard one of your Vital albums and wants to record with you…. Seriously, you know….” Karen sent me the DATs of the previous recordings and the new demos and we began corresponding by phone and fax based on her willingness to come halfway around the world to Chino, California to record with us. I felt that we owed her everything of the best, especially that we had a musical director and arranger of the highest calibre to offer. For me there was only one choice: my long-time British partner Sam Sklair, who was living in Johannesburg at the time. Always enthusiastic about my ideas Sam jumped on the plane straight away and arrived about a week before Karen. Sam and I were totally taken with Karen: her brave and talented singing and her calm and confident manner during the sessions. This album is a combination of Australian, British and Californian effort. Me? Happy? More, I’m just on the… what’s it called?… moon? Yes. David Manley. California 1992