''Plantation Harbor'' is the second solo

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

musician Joe Vitale, released in 1981 by

Asylum Records Asylum Records is an American record label, founded in 1971 by David Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts. It was taken over by Warner Communications (now the Warner Music Group) in 1972, and later merged with Elektra Records to become Elektra/As ...

. The album was his only album to chart, peaking at No. 181 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200. The album was released at the height of the popularity of the

new wave music New wave is a music genre that encompasses pop music, pop-oriented styles from the 1970s through the 1980s. It is considered a lighter and more melodic "broadening of Punk subculture, punk culture". It was originally used as a catch-all fo ...

movement. The song " Lady on the Rock" received some airplay in the US on

album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the late 1960s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. US rad ...

radio, but the album was generally poorly received. The album features guest performances by

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born Joseph Woodward Fidler; November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Best known as a member of the rock band Eagles (band), Eagles, his five-decade career includes solo work and stints in other ...

Don Felder Donald William Felder (born September 21, 1947) is an American musician who was the lead guitarist of the rock band Eagles from 1974 to 2001. He is known for co-writing several of the band's songs, most notably "Hotel California". Felder was in ...

, Timothy B. Schmit,

Stephen Stills Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Crosby, Stills & Nash; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; and Manassas (band ...

Graham Nash Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is a British and American musician, singer and songwriter. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Crosby, Stills ...

, Mickey Thomas, Paul Harris,

George "Chocolate" Perry George Wesly Perry (born 1953), known professionally as "Chocolate Perry" is an American bassist, songwriter and producer. Perry has worked with the Bee Gees, John Cougar, Jon Secada, Stephen Stills, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Al Kooper, Di ...

Joe Lala Joseph Anthony Lala (November 3, 1947 – March 18, 2014) was an American musician and actor. In 1966, he co-founded the rock band Blues Image. Life and career Lala was born in Ybor City, Tampa, Florida, into a family of Italian-American bac ...

, and

Marilyn Martin Marilyn Martin (born May 4, 1954) is an American singer and songwriter. She is best known for her 1985 hit duet with Phil Collins, " Separate Lives", which reached number one on several charts. Early life Marilyn Martin was born on May 4, 19 ...

, and horns arranged by

James Pankow James Carter Pankow (born August 20, 1947) is an American trombone player, songwriter, and brass instrument arranger who is a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He is best known for his brass arrangements, and for being one-third of Chi ...

Background

In 1981,

Bill Szymczyk William Frank Szymczyk (; born February 13, 1943) is an American music producer and recording engineer best known for working with rock and blues musicians, most notably the Eagles in the 1970s. He produced many top albums and singles of the ...

had produced

the Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

's ''

Face Dances ''Face Dances'' is the ninth studio album by the English rock band the Who. It was released in 1981 by Warner Bros. in the United States (the band's first release on that label) and on Polydor in the United Kingdom. It is one of two Who stud ...

'', and Vitale had made commitments to Who bassist

John Entwistle John Alec Entwistle (9 October 194427 June 2002) was an English musician, best known as the bass guitarist for the rock band the Who. Entwistle's music career spanned over four decades. Nicknamed "The Ox" and "Thunderfingers", he was the band ...

's fifth solo studio album '' Too Late the Hero'' with

. The instrumental "Theme from Cabin Weirdos" is another in the series of "Weirdo" instrumentals (such as "Theme from Boat Weirdos," "Theme from Island Weirdos," etc.) that

and Vitale had on previous albums. The Echo drums on the track "Theme from Cabin Weirdos" were recorded on top of

Mount Mitchell Mount Mitchell (''Attakulla'' in Cherokee) is the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and the highest peak in mainland North America east of the Mississippi River. It is located near Burnsville in Yancey County, North Carolina in the B ...

, the highest peak of the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

and the highest peak in the eastern

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

; the mountain reaches an elevation of 6,684 ft (2,037 m).

Critical reception

In a retrospective review for

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 ...

, critic Rob Caldwell called the album "a dated sounding, but decent, collection of light and airy late 1970s/early 1980s rock." He likened it to

's solo albums, but disclaimed that it does not have the "strong hooks or the bite."

Track listing

All songs written by Joe Vitale, except where noted. Side one #"Plantation Harbor" – 4:14 #"Never Gonna Leave You Alone (Crazy 'Bout You Baby)" – 5:04 #"Laugh-Laugh" – 4:29 #"Man Gonna Love You" – 5:01 Side two #

"Theme from Cabin Weirdos" – 2:48 #" Lady on the Rock" (Vitale,

) – 5:30 #"Bamboo Jungle" – 3:16 #"Sailor Man" – 3:58 #"I'm Flyin'" – 5:17

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes. Musicians * Joe Vitale – vocals (1-4, 6-9), drums, percussion, synthesizers (1, 2, 6-9)

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

(1, 2),

clavinet The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and respond ...

(1-3, 4, 7-9),

vibraphone The vibraphone (also called the vibraharp) is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using Percussion mallet, mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone ...

(3),

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

(3, 7), electric piano (4, 5), grand piano (5) * Paul Harris – acoustic piano (2, 3, 8), clavinet (6), horn arrangements (8) *

Bob Mayo Robert J. Mayo (August 25, 1951 – February 23, 2004) was an American session keyboardist and guitarist, perhaps best known for his work with Peter Frampton. Biography Mayo was born in New York City, and grew up in Westchester County. He b ...

– lead clavinet (7), acoustic piano (9) *

– acoustic piano (9), backing vocals (9) *

Willie Hale Willie George Hale (born August 15, 1945), often known by the name Little Beaver, is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, who has been featured on many hit records since the 1960s. Early life and session musicianship Hale was born on Au ...

– rhythm guitar (1) *

– lead guitar (1, 6, 8), guitars (2, 3, 7, 9), rhythm guitar (6) *

– guitars (4), rhythm guitar (6, 8), guitar solo (8) *

– bass guitar (1-4, 6-9), backing vocals (1, 2, 7) *

–

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 (3) *

Marty Grebb Martin Joseph Grebb (September 2, 1945 – January 1, 2020) was an American keyboardist, guitarist, and saxophonist. A member of The Buckinghams in the late 1960s, Grebb was also a record producer and an arranger, who worked with musicians inc ...

– alto saxophone (8), sax solo (8) *

Walter Parazaider Walter Parazaider (born March 14, 1945) is an American woodwind musician who is a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He is best known for being one-third of Chicago's brass/woodwind section alongside Lee Loughnane and James Pankow. Para ...

– tenor saxophone (8) *

– trombone (8), horn arrangements (8) *

Lee Loughnane Lee David Loughnane (pronounced LOCK-nain; born October 21, 1946) is an American trumpeter, flugelhorn player, vocalist, and songwriter who is a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He is best known for being one-third of Chicago's brass/wo ...

– trumpet (8) *

Jimmie Haskell Jimmie Haskell (born Sheridan Pearlman; November 7, 1926 – February 4, 2016) was an American composer and arranger for motion pictures and a wide variety of popular artists, including Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Steely D ...

– string arrangements * Sid Sharp – concertmaster *

Joan Perry Joan Perry (born Elizabeth Rosiland Miller; July 7, 1911 – September 16, 1996) was an American film actress. Early years Perry attended Plant High School in Tampa, Florida. Career Perry gained early acting experience by participating i ...

– backing vocals (1, 2) *

– backing vocals (1, 4, 6) * Ricky Washington – backing vocals (1, 2) * Mickey Thomas – backing vocals (2) * Timothy B. Schmit – backing vocals (3, 8, 9), acoustic piano (9) *

Greg Droman Greg Droman is an American record producer, mixing and audio engineer. He has made hit singles and albums for some of the biggest artists in pop, rock, and country music. He has been Grammy and ACM nominated, winning an CMA as producer for Al ...

– backing vocals (4) *

– backing vocals (9) Production *

– producer, engineer, inner sleeve photography, album cover concept * Allan Blazek – assistant engineer * James Geddes – assistant engineer * Ed Mashal – assistant engineer * Jay PartI – assistant engineer * Jimmy Patterson – assistant engineer * John Swain – assistant engineer * Buddy Thornton – assistant engineer, maintenance engineer, truck driver, C.B. Maintenance, Mobile Monsters, fish dinners,

Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up video game developed and published by Taito for Arcade video game, arcades. It was released in Japan in April 1978, with the game being released by Midway Manufacturing overseas. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed s ...

maintenance, console customizing, one pound-o-lony, inner sleeve photography *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' '' Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Early life ...

– mastering at Sterling Sound (

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

) *

Jimmy Wachtel Jimmy Wachtel is an American photographer, art director and designer based in Los Angeles. He has designed album covers for big artists such as Joe Walsh, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Michael Stanley, Jo Jo Gunne, John Cougar, and Buckingham Nicks ...

– art direction, design * Joe Vitale – album cover concept, inner sleeve photography * Scherley Busch – cover photography * Jage Jackson – inner sleeve photography Notes

Jimmy Pankow James Carter Pankow (born August 20, 1947) is an American trombone player, songwriter, and brass instrument arranger who is a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He is best known for his brass arrangements, and for being one-third of Chic ...

Walt Parazaider Walter Parazaider (born March 14, 1945) is an American woodwind musician who is a founding member of the rock band Chicago. He is best known for being one-third of Chicago's brass/woodwind section alongside Lee Loughnane and James Pankow. Parazai ...

and

appear courtesy of

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

Chart performance

Album –

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 ...

(

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

) Singles –

(

)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plantation Harbor 1981 albums Joe Vitale (musician) albums Albums produced by Bill Szymczyk Albums with cover art by Jimmy Wachtel Asylum Records albums Warner Music Group albums Wounded Bird Records albums Elektra Records albums Rhino Entertainment albums