''Fire Up Plus'' is an album by Merl Saunders and Friends. It contains most of the songs from two LPs from the early 1970s — '' Heavy Turbulence'', and '' Fire Up''. It was released on CD by

Fantasy Records Fantasy Records is an American independent record label company founded by brothers Max and Sol Stanley Weiss in 1949. The early years of the company were dedicated to issuing recordings by jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, who was also one of its inves ...

on July 9, 1992. ''Fire Up Plus'' features

Merl Saunders Merl Saunders (February 14, 1934 – October 24, 2008) was an American multi-genre musician who played piano and keyboards, favoring the Hammond B-3 console organ. Biography Born in San Mateo, California, United States, Saunders attended Poly ...

on keyboards and vocals,

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician who was the lead guitarist and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 196 ...

of the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

on guitar and vocals,

Tom Fogerty Thomas Richard Fogerty (November 9, 1941 – September 6, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the rhythm guitarist for Creedence Clearwater Revival. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993. Biography ...

Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival, commonly abbreviated as CCR or simply Creedence, was an American Rock music, rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty, h ...

on guitar,

John Kahn John Kahn (June 13, 1947 – May 30, 1996) was an American bassist. From 1970 to 1995, Kahn was Jerry Garcia's principal musical collaborator outside of the Grateful Dead. Biography John Kahn was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Adopted at birth by ...

on bass, and

Bill Vitt Bill Vitt (May 6, 1943 - July 16, 2019, aged 76) was an American drummer and keyboardist. He worked extensively as a live performer and as a session musician. In the 1970s he played with Brewer & Shipley, Jerry Garcia, Merl Saunders, and the S ...

on drums. ''Heavy Turbulence'' was recorded in the fall of 1971 and released in 1972. All six tracks from that album are included in ''Fire Up Plus''. ''Fire Up'' was recorded between November 1972 and January 1973, and released in 1973. Six of the eight tracks from that album are included in ''Fire Up Plus''. The songs "Charisma (She's Got)" and "Chock-Lite Puddin'" were omitted due to space considerations.

Critical reception

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Lindsay Planer said, "Here, aunders, Garcia, Fogerty, Kahn, and Vittlay down their substantially funky existence onto a considerably eclectic mix of cover tunes and highly inventive originals. Saunders' arrangements — particularly with the

Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. The band has had a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted ...

brass on "Man-Child" and "Soul Roach" – reveal a hidden talent for the keyboardist. That blending of styles results in a hearty

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

sound with the horn section taking a backseat to no one. Saunders alternates between the rubbery

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

of "Expressway (To Your Heart)" through to a comparably leaner sound on their redux of

JJ Cale John Weldon "J. J." Cale (December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013) was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Though he avoided the limelight, his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Neil Young, Mark Knopf ...

's " After Midnight." The lead vocals are split between Saunders and Garcia. On The Best Of Website, Barry Small wrote, "There are many solid moments on this release, though none better than the lovely

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

inspired riffs that Garcia lays out on " Lonely Avenue". I generally prefer the cover versions to the original Merl compositions.

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

's song " Imagine" is done instrumentally. The rendition of JJ Cale's "After Midnight" is top notch.... Merl Saunders' ''Fire Up Plus'' is a more than worthwhile addition to a CD collection. Writing about ''Heavy Turbulence'' on Allmusic,

Eugene Chadbourne Eugene Chadbourne (born January 4, 1954) is an American banjoist, guitarist and music critic. Life and career Chadbourne was born in Mount Vernon, New York, Mount Vernon, New York, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He started playing guitar wh ...

said, "This is pretty much a straight rock and funk effort... Since ogertyis such a terrific rhythm guitarist, it is really no surprise that he and Saunders could create such a pumping oil well; this is an album in which the rhythmic feel of each song can never be faulted, no matter how different the approaches might be. The band is really well recorded, the tones thick and fat, and the grooves trembling from the fine organ fondling.... Lead guitar fills by Jerry Garcia are a musical inspiration, as well as probably stimulating much of the original album's sales." Writing about ''Fire Up'' on Allmusic, Chadbourne said, "With both the chops and musical background to lead the somewhat younger rock neophytes on a vision quest, Saunders became something of a galvanizing force, bringing out some of the tightest and strongest performances of the players featured here.... the program wisely emphasizes the leader's clever songwriting; fans of the good ol' boogaloo should enjoy both "Soul Roach" and "Chock-Lite Puddin'." The range of material is narrowly focused into the areas where these players really excel, rather than attempting to be jaw-droppingly eclectic."

Track listing

:From ''Heavy Turbulence'': #"My Problems Got Problems" (

, Pamela Carrier) – 4:29 #"

The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" is a song written by Robbie Robertson. It was originally recorded by his Canadian-American roots rock group The Band in 1969 and released on their eponymous second album. Levon Helm provided the lead vo ...

" (

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal Robertson (July 5, 1943 – August 9, 2023) was a Canadian musician of Indigenous and Jewish ancestry. He was the lead guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band in the mid-late 1960s and early-mid 1970s. Robertson was also the ...

) – 4:03 #"Save Mother Earth" (Saunders, Edmund Lewis) – 7:18 #" Imagine" (

) – 2:36 #"Welcome to the Basement" (Saunders, Eddie Moore) – 6:12 #"Man-Child" (Saunders, Lewis) – 12:30 :From ''Fire Up'': #

" After Midnight" (

) – 4:58 #"

Expressway to Your Heart "Expressway to Your Heart" is a song written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and performed by the Soul Survivors. It appeared on their 1967 album, ''When the Whistle Blows Anything Goes'', which was produced by Gamble and Huff. The song reached N ...

" ( Kenneth Gamble, Leon A. Huff) – 5:14 #"Soul Roach" (Saunders, Ray Shanklin) – 4:24 #"Benedict Rides" (Saunders, Carrier) – 3:03 #"The System" (Saunders, Carrier) – 3:55 #" Lonely Avenue" (

Doc Pomus Jerome Solon Felder (June 27, 1925 – March 14, 1991), known professionally as Doc Pomus, was an American blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the co-writer of many rock and roll hits. Pomus was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hal ...

) – 8:42

Personnel

Musicians

– keyboards, vocals *

– guitar, vocals *

– bass; electric piano on "Soul Roach" *

– drums *The Hawkins Singers (

Edwin The name Edwin means "wealth-friend". It comes from (wealth, good fortune) and (friend). Thus the Old English form is Ēadwine, a name widely attested in early medieval England. Edwina is the feminine form of the name. Notable people and char ...

Walter Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

, Tramaine, Lynette, Feddie, Carol) – vocals *

–

horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (anatomy) * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * Horns (novel), ''Horns'' (novel), a dar ...

*Eddie Moore – drums on "Welcome to the Basement" *

Kenneth Nash Kenneth C. Nash (born 1964) is an American psychiatrist and professor who is certified in child and adolescent psychiatry and psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He practices at the University of Pittsburgh Physicians, Dep ...

– percussion on "Welcome to the Basement" *Bob Drew –

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

on "Welcome to the Basement" *

Gaylord Birch Gaylord G. Birch (March 10, 1946 – April 14, 1996) was an American drummer for the bands Santana, Graham Central Station, Cold Blood, Pointer Sisters and Herbie Hancock. History Birch was the drummer for the Pointer Sisters during 1974 and ...

–

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

s on "Expressway (To Your Heart)" *Mike Howell – guitar on "Soul Roach" *Christopher Parker – drums on "Soul Roach" *

Bill Kreutzmann William Kreutzmann Jr. ( ; born May 7, 1946) is an American drummer and founding member of the rock band Grateful Dead. He played with the band for its entire thirty-year career, usually alongside fellow drummer Mickey Hart, and has continued to ...

– drums on "Lonely Avenue"

Production

*Produced by

Brian Gardner Brian Knapp Gardner, also known as Brian "Big Bass" Gardner, is an American mastering engineer. He has worked on a number of recordings since the mid-1960s, including classic rock, funk, disco, alternative rock, R&B, hip hop, pop punk and dance-p ...

*Engineer: Brian Gardner *Assistant engineer: Eddie Harris *Digital remastering: Phil De Lancie *Art direction: Phil Carroll *Design: Jamie Putnam *Photos: Tony Lane

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fire Up Plus Merl Saunders albums Jerry Garcia albums 1992 albums