Cellarful of Noise (album)

Cellarful of Noise
Studio album by Cellarful of Noise
Released	June 1985[1]
Genre	Pop-rock, Synthpop
Length	38:01
Label	CBS Associated Records
Producer	Kevin Valentine, Mark Avsec
Cellarful of Noise chronology
- Cellarful of Noise (1985) Magnificent Obsession (1988)

Cellarful of Noise is the debut studio album from 1980s pop-rock act Cellarful of Noise, a solo project of Mark Avsec.

Background

In the mid-1980s, Donnie Iris and the Cruisers released the album No Muss...No Fuss. By this point the band began to split into different directions. After the album, Avsec was free to dabble in his home studio and make demos for Iris. These songs were not planned to be used with any solo project.^[2] Avsec began work on these recordings during the winter of 1984, at his home in Twinsburg. This solo project was given the moniker Cellarful of Noise, which was based on the feelings Avsec got from doing recording in his basement. The 10 tracks chosen for the album were out of 40-50 songs Avsec had written, and was the first time he performed lead vocals. Avsec soon found himself in a deal with CBS Records to release his own solo album, and since the project had become more serious the Cruiser's former drummer Kevin Valentine got involved in the recording, to help produce the record.^[3] In an interview with Avsec in AOR Basement Issue #4 (April 1988), by Ian McIntosh, he revealed how the project came to be released by CBS: "I had some spare time and I was really just experimenting in my basement with an eight-track and some midi-equipment. My manager, Mike Belkin, shopped the tapes and CBS put it out, virtually as it was - although it was really just me messing around. Right after it came out, though, I wanted to get more serious about it and make a better sounding record."^[4][5]

In the Scene Magazine of August 1985, an interview with Avsec, by Rosemary O'Brien, revealed: "It's just a little hobby, I always like to be busy doing something. I've got an eight-track studio in my basement, and one day I was talking to Mike Belkin and I told him I'd like to try writing some songs. I didn't really feel like getting involved with another artist or anything like that. I've done a lot of that. I just felt I needed to be by myself. I wanted to be able to write lots of songs without having to try to write certain kinds of songs." Speaking of Kevin Valentine, he said: "Kevin's pretty talented in that area [production]. He has always been more than a drummer. He's got good ears and he knows what to play. He thinks of the record as a whole. I'm the artist working on the thing, and then he can come in there, and I really need his input and opinion. And he can co-produce the album, which is what happened. I basically did all the vocals, keys and bass. We weren't exactly dealing with state of the art equipment, but we got into the spirit." The other musician to work on the album was Alan Greene, who like Valentine, was part of the band The Innocents at the time. Avsec would later cover "Heartzone", a song from the band's 1985 album Livin' in the Street, on the second Cellarful of Noise album.^[3]

The album's only single was "I'd Walk the Line", released in America via CBS and in the Netherlands via Epic Records.^[6] The B-Side was the album track "Something Goin' On with Us".^[7] It was released on both 7" and 12" vinyl, with the latter version adding a third track; "Easier Said than Done", also from the album.^[8]

After releasing the eponymous debut album, Avsec said there were no plans for any live gigs to support the album, though a video was put forward as a possible option. This never came to fruition.^[3] Avsec and Iris maintained that Donnie Iris and the Cruisers was still their main focus, and that they wanted to continue to release new albums with the band and its new line-up. The band returned to the studio in 1986 and recorded a new album titled Cruise Control; however, a lawsuit with the band's former label MCA resulted in the shelving of that album pending the resolution of the lawsuit. It still remains unreleased. With the HME label going out of business, the band became an unsigned act. Since the band had hit a road block, Avsec began work on the second Cellarful of Noise album, Magnificent Obsession. He approached Iris to help on the project, and he provided lead vocals on a selection of tracks. Released in 1988, the album produced a moderately successful single, "Samantha (What You Gonna Do)", which reached #69 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in April 1988.^[9]

Recording and release

The album was recorded and mixed within Avsec's basement studio "The Cellar", in Twinsburg, Ohio. It was mastered by Jack Skinner at Sterling Sound in New York.^[10]

The album was released on vinyl and cassette only, in America via CBS Associated Records, and on vinyl in the Netherlands via Epic Records.^[11] In America the album was also manufactured and distributed by the CBS label. To date it has not been released on CD, and has remained out-of-print since its original release.^[12]

Track listing

Critical reception

Allmusic writer Steve "Spaz" Schnee spoke of the album, stating "Avsec released the first Cellarful of Noise album in 1985. This keyboard-based album featured many of Avsec's production trademarks and great vocals, though the sound was a bit muddy and thin. With a little help from Cruisers' Marty Lee and Kevin Valentine, this was more or less a one-man affair and an album filled with great melodies and plenty of heart, sweat, and tears. Unfortunately, the album didn't set the charts on fire, Iris and the Cruisers were on hold, and Avsec quietly disappeared into the musical wilderness. Three years later, the long-delayed sophomore release, Magnificent Obsession, finally appeared with a bigger, beefier sound."^[9]

In the Toledo Blade of October 5, 1985, a review of the album was published, written by Richard Paton. It stated "The name suggests post-punk mayhem, but in fact this is an album of tightly crafted power pop and rock with more catchy hooks than a fisherman's hat. Recorded in Twinsburg, Cellarful of Noise basically is Mark Avsec on vocals, synthesizers, drum computer(!), and bass. The hooks get you from the opening track, "I'd Walk the Line," while other songs such as the tougher "Heartwrecker," have an almost anthemic quality. On "Easier Said than Done" the rock is wrapped in lush harmony. The album suffers somewhat from a lack of variety, but the energy it exudes is contagious."^[13]

Personnel

• Mark Avsec - lead vocals, background vocals, synthesizers, drum computer, bass, producer, engineering
• Kevin Valentine - drums, producer, engineering
• Alan Greene - guitar
• Jack Skinner - mastering
• Belkin Personal Management - management
• Kenny Avsec – equipment
• Susan Haffey – organization, paperwork
• Mark Larson – design
• Raúl Vega - photography

References