“Authentic!”
“Masterful!” “A celebration!”
Critics and fans raved over Frank Lee Sprague’s
2004 album, Merseybeat. Now, his highly anticipated sequel, Cavern, is available
from Wichita Falls Records.
While Merseybeat often channeled the sunnier side of the
mid-sixties British Invasion, Cavern pulls us into the tense, sweaty atmosphere of Liverpool’s famous beat club where
a four- piece band captivates the audience with their electrifying brand of rock ‘n’ roll.
Cavern features thirteen all-new original Merseybeat songs,
skillfully sung, played, arranged and produced by Frank Lee Sprague. The album
leads off with an impressive 1-2-3 punch – the irresistibly catchy “You’ll Be Mine,” the soaring,
harmony-filled, “She’s a Bad Memory,” and the classic, all-out ferocious rocker, “Give it All You
Can,” a song and performance that would have made John Lennon proud. Other
highlights abound. “She Lied” is the perfect single, combining an
intense, passionate vocal with an absolutely mesmerizing arrangement and production.
The follow-up single might be “You Missed Out on
Me,” a song that will surely propel the cellar dwellers to the dance floor. “I
Believe” is a winsome, melodic ballad in the Paul McCartney mold, while “I Don’t Love Her Anymore”
has the feel of John Lennon’s best work on Meet the Beatles. If Peter and
Gordon had sat in with Buddy Holly, they might have come up with “Cavern,” the jaunty and delightful album closer. But the show isn’t over yet.
The band roars back with an encore, a crazed, rocked up
version of Cleveland Crochet’s, “Sugar Bee.”
Known for his remarkable ability to synthesize authentic
rock ‘n’ roll styles into his own West Texas imprint, Frank Lee Sprague’s work has wowed reviewers in Rolling
Stone, Playboy, The Washington Post, The New Yorker, and many other magazines and newspapers.
He has appeared on CBS nationwide television and National Public Radio, and has performed live around the world, including
several successful tours of Japan. With two Merseybeat-style albums
under his belt, he will perform live at the Cavern Club in Liverpool in spring 2006.
Cavern is yet another jewel in this outstanding musician’s
career.
As Cavern
Club host Bob Wooler would say,
“Remember
all you cave dwellers, the Cavern is the best of cellars. We’ve got the
hi-fi high and the lights down low, so here we go with the Frank Sprague show!”
