#wanderingman

Joyous Noise - Wanderingman (1972) 

(Folk/Jazz/Southern Rock) 

Based in Los Angeles, California, USA, Joyous Noise comprised Lee Montgomery, Marc McClure, Lance Wakely, Happy Smith and Dennis Dragon. McClure was previously a member of Levitt And McClure, an excellent country-influenced act associated with San Francisco’s Beau Brummels.

A similar style of music was present on both Joyous Noise albums, but an interest in jazz was equally apparent. Wanderingman is the band’s last album before disbanding. McClure subsequently embarked on an ill-starred solo career before joining the reformed Spanky And Our Gang in 1976. Dennis Dragon, brother of Daryl Dragon of Captain And Tennille, later joined the irreverent Surf Punks.

Southern rock tune Rock And Roll Road Cowboys starts off the album. I’m completely in love with Lee’s voice. Kinda reminds me of Fogerty. This song is great. Includes a pretty sweet song break. If you heard this song playing somewhere, you could easily recognise it. The chorus is memorable because they mention the title track many times. Slide On The Light is an acoustic country track sung by Marc. It’s an ok tune. If you really like country, maybe you’d dig it. I do admit that the chorus is catchy. I know I kept singing it in a southern accent all day. “...Slide on the light from the sky...”  My favourite tune, Silver Guitar is next. This time sung by Lance. The beat is fast and it’s so awesome. VERY SOUTHERN. VERY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL. The solo guitar riff has a good hook to it. Lance sings on Clear Light once more. Again a favourite. It’s an enjoyable acoustic tune with some electric guitar licks and backing harmonies. The tune gets very fast near the end with some scat singing then returns back to how it was previously. Harry On Sunday is sung by Lee again. His voice is so raw and manly. I like it. This is a more jazzy tune with horns and piano being more important than the other instruments. Side two consists of three songs morphed into one. Everyman, Story Road and Winter a.k.a Wandering Suite. It’s different than what we heard so far. It’s more progressive and kinda reminds me of Jethro Tull. It’s a nice track. “...Wandering man, catch me if you can...” 

This is a good album. The vocals are so beautiful. These guys really have talent and it’s a shame they’re so underrated. I would check this album out if you’re into southern rock. 

*Bolded are my favourites off the album.*

1. Rock And Roll Road Cowboys (Lee Montgomery, Lance Wakely)  2. Slide On The Light (Marc McClure, Happy Smith)  3. Silver Guitar (Lance Wakely, Marc McClure, Happy Smith)  4. Clear Light (Lance Wakely, M.Roth) 5. Harry On Sunday (Lee Montgomery)  6. Everyman (Lee Montgomery)  7. Story Road (Lee Montgomery)  8. Winter (Lee Montgomery)