WITNESS [US] - AOR
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WitnessArista, 1988
Tracks 1, 3, 4, 7, 9 & 10 produced by Kevin Elson Tracks 2, 5, 6 & 8 produced by Bill Drescher Ratings: HH: 87 (31) | RYM: 3.83 (53) Total rating: 818 Updated: 150324 Line-upDebbie Davis (v, p)
Damon Johnson (g) Joey Huffman (k, g) Eddie Usher (b) Eddie Boyd (d) + Bill Drescher (g, b) Brad Gillis (g) Danny Chauncey (g) Eddie Moody (b) Jimmy Goings (bv) Keith Borman (bv) Neal Schon (g) Peter Hoorelbeke (bv) Steve Smith (p) Stevie Smith (g, bv) Tim Pierce (g) Tommy Funderburk (bv) Warren Tuttle (bv) |
Track listing01|Show Me What You Got (SJ)
02|Do It Till We Drop (FM/JB) 03|Am I Wrong (MBo/MBr) 04|Desperate Lover (BS/TK) 05|Let Me Be The One (SS/ML) 06|You’re Not My Lover (CK/KS/UN) 07|Jump Into The Fire (DD/WT/CWH) 08|When It Comes From The Heart (CL/JP) 09|Borrowed Time (NS/DD/WT/JH) 10|Back To You (NS/DD/WT/JH) SongwritersBS = Billy Steinberg
CK = C. Kidd = Captain Kidd * CL = Clyde Lieberman CWH = Charles William Hoyt III DD = Debbie Davis FM = Frankie Miller JB = Jeff Barry JH = Joey Huffman JP = Jeff Pescetto KS = K. Swing = King Of Swing * MBo = Michael Bolton MBr = Martin Briley ML = Mark Leonard NS = Neal Schon SJ = Steve Johnstad SS = Sue Shifrin TK = Tom Kelly UN = U. Nohoo * WT = Warren Tuttle Note: C. Kidd*, K. Swing* & U. Nohoo* are pseudonyms for Desmond Child, Jon Bon Jovi & Richie Sambora. |
Rock Report reissue review
WITNESS - Witness - YesterRock, 2009
YesterRock surprised us last month with reissues of several 'real' classic albums in the AOR/melodic rock field and is doing that again with this here "Witness" album. I have always been a big fan of female-fronted melodic rock bands and Witness - although they have only released one album - was one of the best in the second half of the 80s.
Originally operating in Georgia under the moniker of Native, this five-piece moved to San Francisco after having been signed by Arista Records in 1988. Signboard for the band was the pretty Debbie Davis, who was (and hopefully still is) the owner of a powerhouse voice. Keeping a stable line-up seemed to be her major problem though, but when it was about time to record the debut album, she could count on help from a lot of well-known musicians, such as the guitarists Neal Schon and Steve Smith from Journey, Brad Gillis from Night Ranger, Danny Chauncey from 38 Special and well-known session man Tim Pierce. Although they got credits here and on the album, neither Damon Johnson (g) nor Eddie Usher (b) were actually performing on the album! Partially produced by Bill Drescher (4 tracks) and Kevin Elson (6 tracks), "Witness" is generally regarded as a classic AOR album. Twenty-one years after its initial release it's still a pleasure to listen to tracks like the uplifting opener "Show Me What You Got", the AOR-ish pair of "Am I Wrong" and "Let Me Be The One" (nice keyboards) and the excellent closing track, "Back To You". A pity the Witness adventure only lasted for one album. And whatever happened to Debbie Davis after the demise of Witness remains a mystery to me?
Chris Lambert, August 2009
YesterRock surprised us last month with reissues of several 'real' classic albums in the AOR/melodic rock field and is doing that again with this here "Witness" album. I have always been a big fan of female-fronted melodic rock bands and Witness - although they have only released one album - was one of the best in the second half of the 80s.
Originally operating in Georgia under the moniker of Native, this five-piece moved to San Francisco after having been signed by Arista Records in 1988. Signboard for the band was the pretty Debbie Davis, who was (and hopefully still is) the owner of a powerhouse voice. Keeping a stable line-up seemed to be her major problem though, but when it was about time to record the debut album, she could count on help from a lot of well-known musicians, such as the guitarists Neal Schon and Steve Smith from Journey, Brad Gillis from Night Ranger, Danny Chauncey from 38 Special and well-known session man Tim Pierce. Although they got credits here and on the album, neither Damon Johnson (g) nor Eddie Usher (b) were actually performing on the album! Partially produced by Bill Drescher (4 tracks) and Kevin Elson (6 tracks), "Witness" is generally regarded as a classic AOR album. Twenty-one years after its initial release it's still a pleasure to listen to tracks like the uplifting opener "Show Me What You Got", the AOR-ish pair of "Am I Wrong" and "Let Me Be The One" (nice keyboards) and the excellent closing track, "Back To You". A pity the Witness adventure only lasted for one album. And whatever happened to Debbie Davis after the demise of Witness remains a mystery to me?
Chris Lambert, August 2009
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