Natural Gas was a Canadian rock music group featuring a horn section. Consisting of eight members, it was formed by George Olliver. They released an album and a single in 1970. They had hit that year with " All Powerful Man". Their self-titled

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

also made the charts.

Background

In a similar vein to Lighthouse, Chicago and Blood Sweat & Tears, the group was put together by George Olliver. The group's line up included drummer

Graham Lear Graham Lear (born July 24, 1949) is an English-born Canadian rock drummer, best known for his time with Gino Vannelli, Santana and REO Speedwagon. He was born in Plymouth, United Kingdom. Background In 1952 his family moved to London, Ontario, ...

, and George Olliver. Founder Olliver had previously been with

Mandala A mandala ( sa, मण्डल, maṇḍala, circle, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for e ...

and George Olliver & The Soul Children which was formed in 1967. Other members were, Dave “Hulk” Berman, Dave Classic, Leon Feigenbaum, Dave Tamblyn, Carl Watral and Brian Wray. Wray had done some arrangements on Freedom North's self-titled album that was released in 1970. At one stage Natural Gas was represented by public relations man Richard Drew of Austin Drew Associates in New York. They recorded just one album. Brian Wray joined the group in May, 1969. He was previously in the group Five Of a Kind which also had a pre- Mashmakhan Brian Edwards in their line up. Leon Feigenbaum joined up in October. He was previously in a group called The Influence.

Career

The group was formed around late 1968. They met their managers, Pat Jaques and Fran White in March, 1969 while in New York. Their debut album was recorded at RCA studios in Montreal in October that year and mixed in New York. Self-titled, it was produced by Pat Jaques and Fran White. Also in January, 1970 the group played at The Laugh In in Victoria Street, Montreal. Playing in genres that ranged from rhythm and blues to jazz and rock, they received a positive review by Montreal's '' The Gazzette''. The reviewer noted a slightly unusual choice of material when they played the theme to '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', but wrote that it added to their versatility. Also in January, their album was released. It actually saw a US release before it got a Canadian release. The album was a ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' and ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' frontpage pick. It was reported by ''Record World'' in their January 24, 1970, issue that Natural Gas' single " All Powerful Man" bw "What Do You Want From My Life" would soon be released. A party was held at Broadway Recording Studios for the release of the group's album. It was attended by Gus Gossart,

WCBS-FM WCBS-FM (101.1 FM) is a radio station offering a classic hits format licensed to New York City and is owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are in the combined Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood in lower M ...

Program Director, Dick Bozzi, WCBS-FM Music Director, Dan Goldberg, Music Editor of ''Record World'', plus hosts, George and Sam Goldner of Firebird Records. Their song, "What Do You Want From My Life" was also getting attention. By March, 1970, Modern Tape's Promotional Director, John Driscoll was ready to tour the Western Provinces to promote the group's LP album and their single, "All Powerful Man". "All Powerful Man" peaked at #76 on May 9, 1970, spending a total of 7 weeks in the Canadian charts. Their album got into the Canadian Top 10. It also made the Top 50 in the United States.

Line up

* Dave Berman - Saxes, Vocals * Dave Classic - Trombone, Vocals * Leon Feigenbaum - Bass *

- Percussion * George Olliver - Vocals, Organ * Dave Tamblin - Guitar, Vocal * Carl Watral - Trumpet, Fleugelhorn, Vocals * Brian Wray - Organ, Piano, Flute, Vocals

Post Natural Gas

In 1971, members, Dave Berman and Brian Wray along with Brian Dewhurst, Gerry Legault and Joey Roberts (aka Joey Miquelon) became the fifth version of Motherlode, originally founded by Steve Kennedy, William Smith, Ken Marco and

Wayne Stone Motherlode was a Canadian pop rock group formed in 1969 in London, Ontario. The group scored some success in the US with their single, " When I Die", which hit #1 in Canada and #18 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 1969. The group ...

. This fifth version of Motherlode didn't release any recordings. Two Natural Gas members, Graham Lear, Brian Wray later became part of the group

Truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...

which had evolved out of an earlier group called

Sound Spectrum In the physical sciences, the term ''spectrum'' was introduced first into optics by Isaac Newton in the 17th century, referring to the range of colors observed when white light was dispersed through a prism. Soon the term referred to a plot o ...

. The group managed to have two singles released in 1972. They were "Canada" bw "Rain", released on

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerou ...

72679, and "Get It Together" bw "Can’t Wait Until Tomorrow", released on Capitol 72687. They also had a self-titled

released that year. It included the track "Rollin's On My Mind" Lear co-wrote with keyboardist Brian Wray. During their time they opened up for

ELP Elp is a small village in the Dutch province of Drenthe. It is a part of the municipality of Midden-Drenthe, and lies about 15 km south of Assen. The village was first mentioned in 1362 as "in Elpe". The etymology is unclear. Elp was home t ...

, Deep Purple and

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the li ...

. The biggest gig they played was to 20,000 people at the Rockwood Music Festival in Orangeville, Ontario. After a series of line-up changes the group broke up. Two other members of the group, Carl Watral and Leon Feigenbaum would join the group Young.

Later years

In 1973, Olliver released a solo single, "I May Never Get to See You Again" on Much Records. The single was produced by Bill Hill who was the A&R man for the label. In 1976, he had another single released. The song " Don't Let the Green Grass Fool You" had Dianne Brooks helping out with background vocals. Dave Classic died in 2019.

Discography

Discogs
Natural Gas (2), Discography
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References

{{reflist

External links

Discogs: Natural Gas
* retiredcanadian Youtube channel
Natural Gas entire LP, 1970
Canadian pop rock music groups Canadian rhythm and blues music groups Canadian jazz rock groups