BACKSTAGE - A LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS

About Louie Shelton

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Over the past several decades you would have heard Louie Shelton's signature guitar riffs and solos on more hit records than any other session guitarist in history. While there are too many to mention, some of his classics include, Boz Scaggs' "Low Down", Lionel Richie's "Hello", Neil Diamond's "Play Me", The Jackson Five's "I Want You Back", "ABC" and "I'll Be There, The Monkees' "Last Train To Clarksville" and "Valerie". Some of the other artists Louie recorded with include John Lennon, Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, The Carpenters, Joe Cocker, Kenny Rodgers, The Mamas & Papas, James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald and many others.

Some of the albums which Louie Shelton worked on and/or produced.

Not only did Louie play guitar on Seals & Crofts greatest hits, "Summer Breeze", "Diamond Girl", "We May Never Pass This Way Again" and "Get Closer", he produced their many Gold and Platinum albums. Some of Louie's other production credits include Art Garfunkle, England Dan & John Ford Coley, Dan Seals, Cory Wells (of Three Dog Night), Jane Oliver, The Southern Sons, Mother Hubbard and Nashville Guitars.

As a recording artist himself, Louie has released five albums to date. "Touch Me" , "Guitar", "Hot & Spicy", "Urban Culture" and "Nashville Guitars"

While successfully working within all facets of the music industry in Los Angeles for many years, which includes session guitarist, recording artist, record production, and composing and playing on countless movie scores and television shows, Louie had the opportunity of working closely with the great composers Henry Mancini, Dave Grusin, Quincy Jones and Lalo Schifron.

Synopsis

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Synopsis
Backstage is the story of guitarist and producer LOUIE SHELTON, who after 5 decades of world class recordings and numerous multi platinum albums is now being publically recognized and inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame.

Backstage opens with Louis Shelton’s induction into the Musicians Hall of Fame, the curator and director introduce Louie as he is about to receive his award and as his guitar is placed into the Hall of Game. In this manner, the audience gains insight into the silent hero figure that has remained in the background for decades in a field where being in the spotlight is the burning ambition.

Backstage takes the audience on a journey behind the scenes of the music scene. It portrays Louis contribution on famous songs and gives an account of how these songs were written and composed. Account of how musical elements were created are accompanied by visuals of places relating to the song.

Musicians recall and elaborate on their collaboration with Louie using famous songs of that area as a trigger and (remember device) creating memorable moments on the film for the audience, as well as a background history to the song itself.

Backstage shows Louie Shelton as a character of great talent that always was highly respected by his colleagues, who, chose to stay in the background of the music scene.

Backstage explores Louis ability to adapt and adjust to the many various genres and styles of music and succeed in them all. Whatever he touched turned gold or platinum.

It’s a piece on the personal journey of the artist through the history of music, the creative process behind a successful song and the musical landscape itself from the 1950’s to today.

The man who played and recorded with artists such as Marvin Gaye and John Lennon, presents a fascinating story which in an industry known for excesses is a refreshing story to tell.

Set in various locations across the US and Australia, the perspective is backstage and behind the scenes and this will supported by the induction into Musicians Hall of Fame which adds to the historical and chronological sequence of events.

Backstage captures Louie’s musical journey and how he has recorded with much of the musical greats of the 2nd half of the 20th century.

Louie’s career is of significant interest to the music enthusiast and reaches abroader audience with interviews which include key artists that Louie has recorded with or produced such as Seals and Crofts, Lionel Ritchie, Quincy Jones, Boz Scaggs, Art Garfunkell, and more.

Film Style
Louie Shelton presents as an unassuming, modest artist living quietly on the Gold Coast and continuing to perform and record on projects which are of appeal to him. It is possible to see him perform from time to time in small venues. With a little luck one could stumble onto a performance of one of music’s greats in downtown Brisbane or another location.

Interviews with artists and performers chatting in an informal interview format, the music industry at the time that the recordings occurred and Louie’s role in the music.

Locations will include, LA, Nashville and Tamworth, with interviews occuring in a number of settings.

Backstage story will be supported with historical footage and music of performances and recordings of the key artists as well.

Backstage will show some original never seen before footage from the 1960’s.

Impromptu material that may occur as a result of the filming.

A selection of Albums which Louie Shelton Played on or Produced

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Adam Miller Who Would Give His Only Song Away

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Who Would Give His Only Song Away
Adam Miller
Louie Shelton - Guitar

Rockville Junction Lord Protect Me from My Friends

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Lord Protect Me from My Friends
Rockville Junction
Louie Shelton - Guitar

Little Taste of Southern Fried

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Little Taste of Southern Fried
Southern Fried
Louie Shelton - Guitar

Jack Daugherty and the Class of Nineteen Hundred and Seventy One

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Jack Daugherty and the Class of Nineteen Hundred and Seventy One
Jack Daugherty Orchestra
Louie Shelton - Guitar

Tim Weisberg Hurtwood Edge

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Hurtwood Edge
Tim Weisberg
Louie Shelton - Guitar

Bob Morrison Friends of Mine

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Friends of Mine
Bob Morrison
Louie Shelton - Guitar

Tongue & Groove Presents Lynne Hughes Freeway Gypsy

2009-12-09T21:20:00.000-08:00

Tongue & Groove Presents Lynne Hughes Freeway Gypsy
Lynne Hughes
Louie Shelton - Guitar, Guitar (12 String)

2009 Collection: Whitney Houston/My Love Is Your Love

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2009 Collection: Whitney Houston/My Love Is Your Love
Whitney Houston
Louie Shelton - Performer

2009 The Carpenters 40/40

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2009 40/40
The Carpenters
Louie Shelton - Guitar

Released upon the 40th anniversary of the Carpenters' debut album, 40/40 is a double-disc retrospective containing 40 tracks (hence the title). Compiled by Richard Carpenter and newly remastered, 40/40 largely covers familiar ground, running through all but one of their 20 Top 20 hits (the missing culprit is "There's a Kind of Hush") and plenty of other staples that have been reissued on compilations like this many times before.

2008 Revolutions in Sound: Warner Bros. Records - The First Fitty Years

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2008 Revolutions in Sound: Warner Bros. Records - The First Fitty Years
Various Artists
Louie Shelton - Producer

Unlike other labels subjected to exhaustive multi-disc retrospectives like this whopping ten-disc Revolutions in Sound: Warner Bros. Records -- The First Fifty Years, Warner Brothers never embodied a scene or sound: they've always embodied what a major label should be -- a dominant force that chronicles and dictates the sound of the mainstream. Coming out at the tail-end of 2008, when the influence of major labels is on a slow steady decline, Revolutions in Sound can be seen as a portrait of a time that's beginning to recede into the past: a time when there was such a thing as mass entertainment, when the pop audience all shared a common bond of hit records they either loved or rallied against.

2008 Al Kooper I Stand Alone/You Never Know Who Your Friends Are

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2008 I Stand Alone/You Never Know Who Your Friends Are
Al Kooper
Louie Shelton - Guitar

Al Kooper is destined to be remembered mostly as an ace session player and bandmember (of the Blues Project and Blood, Sweat & Tears), not as a solo artist, despite the numerous albums he issued under his own name. But though this two-CD set covers only his earliest solo work, it could be argued that it's the best compilation of recordings he made on his own, though certainly not one that represents the scope of his career, whether done alone or with others. This Australian anthology presents both of his first two albums, 1968's I Stand Alone and 1969's You Never Know Who Your Friends Are, in their entirety, as well as five tracks from his third album (1970's Easy Does It) and a couple he contributed to the 1970 soundtrack The Landlord.

2007 John Phillips Jack of Diamonds

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2007 Jack of Diamonds
John Phillips
Louie Shelton - Guitar

Although John Phillips record releases virtually ground to a halt after his 1970 solo debut album, he did continue recording intermittently in the '70s. The 13 tracks forming the core of Jack of Diamonds are an approximation of how a second Phillips solo LP might have sounded, pieced together from various sessions in 1972 and 1973. Phillips made a great contribution to mid-'60s pop/rock as chief songwriter for the Mamas & the Papas, and to be harsh, this batch of tunes is not only weak in comparison, but also finds him losing his central threads of stylistic identity.

2007 Gold: Soft Rock

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2007 Gold: Soft Rock
Various Artists
Louie Shelton - Producer

Hip-O's two-disc Gold: Soft Rock collection pull no punches in its attempt to re-create the heydays of '70s AM radio. All of the familiar Sunday staples are here like Dan Fogelberg's "Longer," "Sara Smile" from Hall & Oates, Player's impossibly smooth "Baby Come Back" and Seals & Crofts' soft rock anthem "Summer Breeze," but it's the effortless inclusion of contemporary cuts such as Godley & Creme's "Cry," the Moody Blues' "In Your Wildest Dreams," "Tempted" by Squeeze and even "More Than Words" by Extreme that sets this compilation apart from its lazy predecessors.

2007 Essential Teddy Pendergrass

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2007 Essential Teddy Pendergrass
Teddy Pendergrass
Louie Shelton - Guitar

When Legacy put together The Essential Teddy Pendergrass for release in 2007, four years had come and gone since the Philly soul singer's hits had last been anthologized in double-disc form. So, is this really all that necessary? Yes, it is completely necessary. Unlike 2003's Anthology, released through The Right Stuff, The Essential Teddy Pendergrass does not cut off just prior to TP's mid-'80s switch from Philadelphia International to Elektra/Asylum.

2007 Essential Teddy Pendergrass [3.0]

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2007 Essential Teddy Pendergrass [3.0]
Teddy Pendergrass
Louie Shelton - Guitar

When Legacy put together The Essential Teddy Pendergrass for release in 2007, four years had come and gone since the Philly soul singer's hits had last been anthologized in double-disc form. So, is this really all that necessary? Yes, it is completely necessary. Unlike 2003's Anthology, released through The Right Stuff, The Essential Teddy Pendergrass does not cut off just prior to TP's mid-'80s switch from Philadelphia International to Elektra/Asylum.

2006 Judee Sill Complete Asylum Recordings

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2006 Complete Asylum Recordings
Judee Sill
Louie Shelton - Musician

2005 Gene Vincent Road Is Rocky: Complete Studio Masters 1956-1971

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2005 Road Is Rocky: Complete Studio Masters 1956-1971
Gene Vincent
Louie Shelton - Guitar

No other Gene Vincent song title sums up his career so succinctly as "The Road Is Rocky." Vincent never had an easy time of things. He came crashing out of the gate with "Be-Bop-A-Lula," one of the epochal singles of early rock & roll, and for a brief moment it seemed that superstardom was within his grasp. Certainly, in the Blue Caps, powered by guitarist Cliff Gallup, he had a band that propelled him into the front ranks of rockers in 1956, and for a while they cut rockabilly with no peer, such as the frenzied "Race with the Devil." But this golden age was not only fleeting, it didn't produce much gold, at least far as the charts were concerned: as good as "Race with the Devil," "Bluejean Bop," and "B-i-Bickey, Bi, Bo-Bo-Go" were, they didn't turn into hits, and soon Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps started to fracture, starting with the crucial departure of Gallup.

2005 The Mamas & the Papas Complete Anthology

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2005 Complete Anthology
The Mamas & the Papas
Louie Shelton - Keyboards

What's in a name? If you love mid-'60s folk-rockers the Mamas & the Papas, this four-volume U.K. Complete Anthology (2004) speaks for itself. The 101 selections run in excess of five hours centering on the vintage long-players If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears (1966), The Mamas & the Papas (1966), The Mamas & the Papas Deliver (1967), The Papas & the Mamas (1968), People Like Us (1971), and The Monterey International Pop Festival (1971). For many, that gracious plenty would be sufficient. But the real icing (or cake for the hardcore fan) comes in the form of the nearly 90 minutes of hard-to-find material ranging from the quartet's debut as support vocalists for Barry McGuire, to rare singles, audio from a pair of television appearances, and a bevy of post-Mamas & the Papas entries from John Phillips, Michelle Phillips, Cass Elliot, and Denny Doherty as solo artists.

2005 Come on Get Happy! The Very Best of the Partridge Family

2009-12-09T20:43:00.000-08:00

2005 Come on Get Happy! The Very Best of the Partridge Family
The Partridge Family
Louiee Shelton - Guitar

The Partridge Family don't get much respect from the standard history of rock from the early '70s. Much like their fellow made-for-TV brethren the Monkees, their contributions are written off as pre-fab concoctions that are too trifling to be bothered with. If you fall in line with that kind of thinking you are going to miss one of the best pop acts of the era. Utilizing the cream of behind-the-scenes songwriters from Neil Sedaka to Hot Chocolate's Errol Brown, and the lush vocal harmonies of the uncredited (at the time) background singers, the Partridge Family's songs are solid AM pop, with hooks galore and a light but not saccharine sound.

2005 The Carpenters Chronicles

2009-12-09T20:40:00.000-08:00

2005 Chronicles
The Carpenters
Louie Shelton - Guitar

To add to the myriad greatest-hits compilations, anthologies, and special showcases of the Carpenters' unique sound currently flooding the market, this three-CD long-box set may be misinterpreted as another greatest-hits showcase, but it is far from it. Chronicles is actually a repackaging of three landmark albums: Close to You, Carpenters, and A Song for You.

2004 What Is Hip?: Remix Project, Vol. 1

2009-12-09T20:38:00.000-08:00

2004 What Is Hip?: Remix Project, Vol. 1
Various Artists
Louie Shelton - Producer

If you want to make it onto the next volume of Warner's What Is Hip?: Remix Project (the cover here says "Volume One," so let's assume), here is the not-so-secret formula. Start with a trippy and serene intro that you'll put under the main tune later, then drop in the original song's intro so everyone goes, "oh, it's that song!" then lightly dust your radio staple with electronic beats and bleeps. You can use a line from the song's chorus and echo it over your hypnotic breakdown if you like, but whatever you do, don't mess with the original too much.

2004 Ultimate 5th Dimension

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2004 Ultimate 5th Dimension
The 5th Dimension
Louie Shelton - Guitar

The 5th Dimension were just about the most successful harmony group of the 1960s and The Ultimate 5th Dimension is easily the most comprehensive single-disc collection on the market. It documents the heyday of the group, mostly their late-'60s tenure with Johnny Rivers' Soul City label and a few tracks from their '70s stay at Bell, and it focuses on their singles, their hit singles, that is. Each of the 20 songs here (the 21st track is a previously unreleased song, "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye") was a Top 35 hit or better.

2004 Krissy Nordhoff Thank Him

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2004 Thank Him
Krissy Nordhoff
Louie Shelton - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar

2004 Renee Armand Rain Book

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2004 Rain Book
Renee Armand
Louie Shelton - Guitar

2004 Quietime: Music to Reflect

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2004 Quietime: Music to Reflect
Various Artists
Louie Shelton - Guitar

2004 Quiet Christmas

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2004 Quiet Christmas
Various Artists
Louie Shelton - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric)

2004 In the Mood for Memphis

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2004 In the Mood for Memphis
Various Artists
Louie Shelton - Guitar (Electric)

2004 Del Shannon Home and Away: The Complete Recordings 1960-1970

2009-12-09T20:22:00.000-08:00

2004 Home and Away: The Complete Recordings 1960-1970
Del Shannon
Louie Shelton - Guitar

Of all the early rock & rollers, Del Shannon is the hardest to classify. He came on the scene a little late -- his first hits, "Hats off to Larry" and "Runaway," arrived in 1961, five years after rock & roll came crashing in, a long enough period of time where his music felt much, much different than the three-chord ravers of the first wave of rock & roll. He arrived during the peak of teen idol pop and was handsome enough to ride that wave, but he was older than Fabian and Ricky Nelson, scoring his first hits in his mid-twenties.

2004 Hit List: 24 Hot 100 American Chartbusters of the 1970

2009-12-09T20:18:00.000-08:00

2004 Hit List: 24 Hot 100 American Chartbusters of the 1970
Various Artists
Louie Shelton - Producer

Following in the tradition of its previous series The Golden Age of American Rock & Roll (which documented the 1950s) and Chartbusters (tracking the 1960s), the U.K. reissue label Ace moves into the Me Decade with The Hit List: 24 Hot 100 American Chartbusters of the 1970s. Its subtitle to the contrary, the first volume in the series actually focuses almost exclusively on Top 20 chart entries, documenting the autumn of AM radio's commercial heyday: sure, the pop hits of the 1970s have been maligned in many quarters, and novelties like John Sebastian's theme to the TV smash Welcome Back, Kotter and cheese like Seals & Crofts' "Summer Breeze" won't change naysayers' minds, but as these two-dozen songs prove, the decade was unmatched for the sheer variety of music that accessed the top of the charts, with hard rock, country-pop, disco and bubblegum pop all vying for commercial success.

2004 James William Guercio Electra Glide in Blue Original Soundtrack

2009-12-09T20:10:00.000-08:00

2004 Electra Glide in Blue-Original Soundtrack
James William Guercio
Louie Shelton - Guitar

2004 Boz Scaggs Collection: Slow Dancer/Silk Degrees/Down Two Then Left

2009-12-09T20:07:00.000-08:00

2004 Collection: Slow Dancer/Silk Degrees/Down Two Then Left
Boz Scaggs
Louie Shelton - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Slide Guitar

In 1997, Columbia released Collection, which combined the current CD releases of Slow Dancer, Silk Degrees, and Down Two Then Left in a cardboard slipcase box. There was no difference from the individual discs on the market; those discs were merely put in a box, which made it convenient for a fan who wanted to get all three discs at once. Seven years later, Sony reformatted all of their previously released Collections, moving away from the slipcased jewel boxes and introducing a book-styled box set, where the three CDs sit with the liner notes from the individual CDs thrown into the bottom of the box.

2002 Dan Seals Make It Home

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2002 Make It Home
Dan Seals
Louie Shelton - Mandolin, Guitar (Electric), Producer, Digital Engineer

2002 Definitive Monkees

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2002 Definitive Monkees
The Monkees
Louie Shelton - Guitar

This two-CD set, issued in Europe about a week before Rhino Records' expanded box appeared in America, resembles either a considerably expanded and upgraded version of the old Arista Records set Then & Now..., or a more entertaining successor to Rhino Records' 1998 Anthology. The disc, running just under 80 minutes and containing 29 songs, is for the listener who wants the hits and the best album tracks all gathered in one place, including ubiquitous numbers like the television series' second-season end credit track, "For Pete's Sake."

2002 Definitive Monkees [Bonus Disc]

2009-12-09T19:52:00.000-08:00

2002 Definitive Monkees [Bonus Disc]
The Monkees
Louie Shelton - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Guitar (Electric)

This two-CD set, issued in Europe about a week before Rhino Records' expanded box appeared in America, resembles either a considerably expanded and upgraded version of the old Arista Records set Then & Now..., or a more entertaining successor to Rhino Records' 1998 Anthology. The first disc, running just under 80 minutes and containing 29 songs, is for the listener who wants the hits and the best album tracks all gathered in one place, including ubiquitous numbers like the television series' second-season end credit track, "For Pete's Sake."

2001 David Cassidy Then and Now

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2001 Then and Now
David Cassidy
Louie Shelton - Guitar

While both David Cassidy and the Partridge Family have been at least partially anthologized over the years, it remains a thing of wonder that nobody has yet sat down to compile the best of both into one all-encompassing package -- all the more so since Cassidy's personal appeal remains as high as any '70s icon could dream of climbing. Cassidy himself has toyed with his past on occasion, with releases ranging from a mid-'80s live hits album to the savage reinvention of "I Think I Love You," which so dignified his 1998 Slamajama album.

2001 The Monkees Music Box

2009-12-09T19:45:00.000-08:00

2001 Music Box
The Monkees
Louie Shelton - Guitar

It's hard not to wonder why the four-disc Music Box even exists. After all, Rhino has not only released definitive reissues of all of the Monkees' studio albums, complete with bonus tracks, but the label has a series devoted to rarities (Missing Links), a single-disc greatest hits album, a double-disc anthology, and another four-disc box, Listen to the Band, which is excellent.

2001 Farzad Mirror of Emotions

2009-12-09T19:42:00.000-08:00

2001 Mirror of Emotions
Farzad
Louie Shelton - Guitar (Acoustic), Arranger, Guitar (Electric), Producer

Farzad, an Iranian-born violinist who studied in the U.S. and settled there after the fall of the Shah, devoted a part of his first album, From My Heart, to treatments of themes from Persian folk music. He takes a more eclectic approach on his second, mixing in a bit of everything in an attempt to demonstrate the oneness of all music. His playing in particular betrays his classical roots, but the styles of the music range from jazzy and Latin to light pop.

2001 Christmas With Jim Horn

2009-12-09T19:38:00.000-08:00

2001 Christmas With Jim Horn
Jim Horn
Louie Shelton - Guitar

Christmas With Jim Horn is a collection of Christmas standards performed by Jim Horn and his fellow contemporary jazz musicians. Like other Horn recordings, this is a mellow affair filled with fingerpicked guitar playing and keyboards. The arrangements are at times just too bizarre (his lounge salsa version of "The Christmas Song," for example), but for this genre this is better than average.

2000 Louie Shelton Urban Culture

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2000 Urban Culture
Louie Shelton
Louie Shelton - Guitar, Producer

2000 Dash Crofts Today

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2000 Today
Dash Crofts
Louie Shelton - Synthesizer, Guitar (Acoustic), Arranger, Guitar (Electric), Keyboards, Engineer, Drum Programming, Photography

2000 Nashville Guitars

2009-12-09T19:27:00.000-08:00

2000 Nashville Guitars
Various Artists
Guitar (Acoustic), Producer

On Nashville Guitars, produced by noted session guitarist Louie Shelton (the Jackson Five, the Monkees), he contributes the up-tempo track "High Roller," accompanied by ten more tracks from some of the finest pickers in Nashville. Mark Casstevens contributes an acoustic picking masterpiece in "Cowtown," this from a guitarist who can be heard on albums by folks like Garth Brooks, Faith Hill, and Amy Grant. Reggie Young (Elvis Presley's "Suspicious Minds") shines at full luster on "Exit 209," an easy listening number, and Ray Flacke smokes the fret board on "Templar Treasure."

1999 Pop Music: The Modern Era 1976-1999

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1999 Pop Music: The Modern Era 1976-1999
Various Artists
Louie Shelton - Guitar

To commemorate the end of the century, Sony Music assembled the gargantuan 26-disc box set, Sony Music 100 Years: Soundtrack for a Century. The title was imposing, as was the idea behind it -- to chronicle the life of the oldest record label in the music industry. To be clear, Sony Music has not existed for 100 years, but the heart of its catalog, Columbia Records, was founded early in the 20th century. Sony acquired Columbia and its various subsidiaries in the late '80s, purchasing one of the richest catalogs in pop history, as the box set proves again and again.

1999 American City Suite: The Very Best Of Cashman & West

2009-12-09T19:22:00.000-08:00

1999 American City Suite: The Very Best Of Cashman & West
Cashman & West
Louie Shelton - Guitar

1998 Dory Previn Mythical Kings and Iguanas/Reflections in a Mud Puddle

2009-12-09T19:19:00.000-08:00

1998 Mythical Kings and Iguanas/Reflections in a Mud Puddle
Dory Previn
Louie Shelton - Banjo, Guitar (Electric)

You might have expected that British label BGO Records, in reissuing Dory Previn's early-'70s albums as twofers, would pair her debut album, On My Way to Where, with her second, Mythical Kings and Iguanas, and her third, Reflections in a Mud Puddle/Taps Tremors and Time Steps, with her fourth, Mary C. Brown and the Hollywood Sign. But On My Way to Where wasn't released in England until after the others, and BGO bloody-mindedly decided to follow the British release schedule, first releasing a twofer of Mary C. Brown and the Hollywood Sign with On My Way to Where, then following with this disc containing Mythical Kings and Iguanas and Reflections in a Mud Puddle (the second part of the album's title is not listed on this release).

1998 Louie Shelton Hot & Spicy

2009-12-09T19:17:00.000-08:00

1998 Hot & Spicy
Louie Shelton
Louie Shelton - Synthesizer, Programming, Multi Instruments, Engineer, Drum Programming, Track Programmer

1998 The Monkees Anthology

2009-12-09T19:11:00.000-08:00

1998 Anthology
The Monkees
Louie Shelton - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Guitar (Electric)

Rhino's Listen to the Band box set was for the collectors, and their terrific 20-song Greatest Hits was for the casual fans. Their third attempt at a Monkees compilation, the double-disc Anthology falls somewhere in between. Over the course of an exhausting 56 tracks, all of the group's hits are hauled out again, with such fine album tracks as "She," "Take a Giant Step," "Your Auntie Grizelda," "You Just May Be the One," and "What Am I Doing Hangin' Round" added for good measure. On the surface of things, this seems like a good thing, but the set is padded out with lesser album cuts and latter-day tracks from their three reunion albums that makes Anthology more of a chore than a pleasure.

1997 The 5th Dimension Up Up and Away: The Definitive Collection

2009-12-09T19:08:00.000-08:00

1997 Up Up and Away: The Definitive Collection
The 5th Dimension
Louie Shelton - Guitar (Electric)

The subtitle on this anthology is correct: this is truly the definitive collection of the 5th Dimension's music, including all the hits and most of the album cuts that anyone could want. The 20-bit digital mastering provides a crisp, bright audio experience, and the joyous harmonies bring back the positive side of the late-'60s/early-'70s era in which the songs were recorded. The megahits are all here: Jimmy Webb's "Up, Up and Away," Laura Nyro's "Stoned Soul Picnic" and "Wedding Bell Blues," the Bacharach/David opus "One Less Bell to Answer," the beautiful "(Last Night) I Didn't Get to Sleep at All," and the Grammy-winning number one smash from the spring of 1969, "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" from Hair.

1997 Frank Sinatra My Way: The Best of Frank Sinatra [1 CD]

2009-12-09T18:54:00.000-08:00

1997 My Way: The Best of Frank Sinatra [1 CD]
Frank Sinatra
Louie Shelton - Coordination

Although there are many who feel that Frank Sinatra's greatest material was recorded in the 1950s, there are others who hold that his best studio singing really came during his time with Capitol and with his own label, Reprise, in the '60s and '70s. It is probably an unsolvable debate, but as this 24-track set of key cuts from his Capitol and Reprise years shows, Sinatra grew comfortably into his voice and phrasing during these years, learning to stay away from his limitations and work steadily toward his strengths, all with a clear sense of his public image.

1997 Boz Scaggs My Time: The Anthology (1969-1997)

2009-12-09T18:51:00.000-08:00

1997 My Time: The Anthology (1969-1997)
Boz Scaggs
Louie Shelton - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar

In his liner notes to the double-disc, two-and-a-half-hour Boz Scaggs compilation My Time: The Anthology (1969-1997), Ben Fong-Torres writes, "There are those who, charting Boz's career, identify specific phases: rock and roll with [Steve] Miller; the early solo albums, which were as much country and blues, and pop and jazz, as they were rock; the Slow Dancer/Silk Degrees stage, of Boz as sweet soul singer; the nearly decade-long retrenchment and semi-retirement, and the return to rootsy blues and R&B in Some Change and Come On Home." Fong-Torres goes on to say that this is not an incorrect way to describe Scaggs' career, but that there is more unity than it would imply: "in every phase of his career, he has remained faithful to his musical instincts."

1996 The Hondells Vol. 2: 1965-1970

2009-12-09T18:28:00.000-08:00

1996 Vol. 2: 1965-1970
The Hondells
Louie Shelton - Guitar

1996 Bread Retrospective

2009-12-09T18:26:00.000-08:00

1996 Retrospective
Bread
Louie Shelton - Guitar

Retrospective is the definitive compilation of Bread, perhaps the definitive soft rock group of the '70s. If anything, it may be too comprehensive for most listeners. Covering the entire course of Bread's career, plus selected highlights from David Gates in the late '70s and early '80s, the compilation spans two very full compact discs. For those who want more than the hits but are unwilling to delve into individual albums, the collection is ideal.

1996 The Monkees Missing Links, Vol. 3

2009-12-09T18:23:00.000-08:00

1996 Missing Links, Vol. 3
The Monkees
Louie Shelton - Guitar

Rhino treats the Monkees' catalog with a seriousness akin to the Beatles' Anthology series, but it's nonsense to pretend that the group's outtakes and rarities are deserving of such fanatical scrutiny. There are a lot more than anyone suspected, though, and Missing Links, Vol. 3 presents 24 more, again proving that the bottom of the Monkees' barrel has the same mixture of fun and boredom as hiding in a barrel as a stowaway.

1996 Neil Diamond In My Lifetime

2009-12-09T18:20:00.000-08:00

1996 In My Lifetime
Neil Diamond
Louie Shelton - Musician

In My Lifetime is a triple-disc, 71-track box set spanning Neil Diamond's entire career, from his early Bang hits, through his heyday at MCA, to his latter-day adult contemporary hits for Columbia. Demos, alternate takes, and live cuts are interspersed throughout the box. Not all of Diamond's greatest songs are here, obscurities like "Two-Bit Manchild" would have been welcome, but all of the classics are present.

1996 Louie Shelton Guitar

2009-12-09T18:17:00.000-08:00

1996 Guitar
Louie Shelton
Louie Shelton - Guitar, Keyboards, Producer, Engineer

This is a well-crafted album from longtime studio ace Louie Shelton. As the title suggests, the emphasis is on Shelton's guitar work, and this man can play. Though obviously tailored for the contemporary/smooth jazz market, Guitar has much more oomph than is typical in this genre. The arrangements are tight and consistently hold the listener's attention with a variety of textures and rhythms, and the guitarist displays dazzling technique across a broad stylistic range. He plays octaves à la Wes Montgomery and single-note runs that put most hot-shot rock guitarists to shame.

1995 The Monkees Greatest Hits [Rhino]

2009-12-09T18:02:00.000-08:00

1995 Greatest Hits [Rhino]
The Monkees
Louie Shelton - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar

Twenty-song collection including all of their big chart hits, as well as key album tracks like "(Theme From) The Monkees" and "Mary, Mary," and the ace B-side "Goin' Down." The slightly more extensive Arista anthology still has the edge, due to the inclusion of two good cuts ("Take a Giant Step" and "She") that are somehow omitted from this Rhino compilation. On the other hand, if you're still in the market for just one Monkees album, this will do just fine.

1995 The Monkees Greatest Hits [Rhino Deluxe Edition]

2009-12-09T17:59:00.000-08:00

1995 Greatest Hits [Rhino Deluxe Edition]
The Monkees
Louie Shelton - Guitar

This 20-song collection includes all of their big chart hits, as well as key album tracks like "(Theme From) The Monkees" and "Mary, Mary," and the ace B-side "Goin' Down." The slightly more extensive Arista anthology still has the edge, due to the inclusion of two good cuts ("Take a Giant Step" and "She") that are somehow omitted from this Rhino compilation.

1993 Art Garfunkel Up 'Til Now

2009-12-09T17:56:00.000-08:00

1993 Up 'Til Now
Art Garfunkel
Louie Shelton - Producer

Art Garfunkel gives his "deepest thanks to Mitchell Cohen at Columbia for the concept of this album." But what is the concept? It contains everything from the original Simon & Garfunkel recording of "The Sound of Silence" (from their Wednesday Morning, 3 AM album) to tracks from previous Garfunkel solo albums, stray songs apparently intended for albums never made, movie and TV themes, a live performance, and even a comedy routine with Paul Simon called "The Breakup", you name it.

1993 Boz Scaggs Starbox

2009-12-09T17:54:00.000-08:00

1993 Starbox
Boz Scaggs
Louie Shelton - Guitar

1993 Best of Joe Cocker [Capitol]

2009-12-09T17:51:00.000-08:00

1993 Best of Joe Cocker [Capitol]
Joe Cocker
Louie Shelton - Guitar

Although Cocker's Capitol material wasn't as consistent as his A&M work, this compilation successfully distills the highlights, including the splendid "When the Night Comes," onto a single CD.

1992 Hitsville USA, Vol. 1: The Motown Singles Collection

2009-12-09T17:37:00.000-08:00

1992 Hitsville USA, Vol. 1: The Motown Singles Collection
Various Artists
Louie Shelton - Guitar

Instead of following Stax/Volt's pattern and delivering an exhaustive box set containing all of their singles, Motown decided to limit their singles box, Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971, to four discs that concentrated on the hits. There are a handful of wonderful lesser-known songs here, such as the Contours' "First I Look at the Purse," but the main strength of the 103-track box is that it features all of the biggest songs from Motown's golden era in one place.

1991 The Monkees Listen to the Band

2009-12-09T17:35:00.000-08:00

1991 Listen to the Band
The Monkees
Louie Shelton - Guitar

The very idea of a Monkees box set would have seemed inconceivable at any time before the 1990s, and probably still would to any label other than Rhino Records. Yet, this four-CD, 83-song compilation manages to justify itself very nicely, despite the existence of heavily expanded editions of most of the group's albums on CD, and the Missing Links volumes. Those individual CDs gathered together are for the true musical completists, whereas this is the documentary overview for the fan who wants five hours of fun and adventure.

1990 Atlantic Jazz: Singers

2009-12-09T17:31:00.001-08:00

1990 Atlantic Jazz: Singers
Various Artists
Louie Shelton - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric)

Spotlighting both jazz singers and R&B-minded vocalists on the jazz tip, Atlantic Jazz: Singers delivers a mostly generous and stunning mix spanning the late '40s to the mid-'80s. From the traditional jazz camp, top songbirds Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McCrae, Helen Merrill, Chris Connor, Peggy Lee, and Betty Carter all hit their spots in fine fashion. Showing they had also heard a few Ella Fitzgerald sides in their formative years, such R&B chanteuses as Ruth Brown, Esther Phillips, LaVern Baker, and Aretha Franklin roll out a smooth line or two as well.

1986 Lionel Richie Dancing on the Ceiling

2009-12-09T17:28:00.001-08:00

1986 Dancing on the Ceiling
Lionel Richie
Louie Shelton - Guitar

Lionel Richie wasn't necessarily emboldened by the success of Can't Slow Down, after all, he had experienced huge success since the Commodores, but there is nevertheless a sense of swagger on its 1986 successor, Dancing on the Ceiling. This isn't entirely a good thing, since it means he indulges in silliness (the title track) and sappiness ("Ballerina Girl") in equal measure, seemingly without quite realizing how ridiculous either extreme is. Maybe that's because he still has a strong sense of popcraft, something that makes "Dancing in the Ceiling" stick in the head even if its lyrics are awful, something that makes "Ballerina Girl" work for a slow dance even if it is awfully sugary.

1985 Whitney Houston

2009-12-09T17:25:00.000-08:00

1985 Whitney Houston
Whitney Houston
Louie Shelton - Performer

The legend of Whitney Houston began with this self-titled album. It marked her shift away from the experimental songs she did with the group Material and a move into heavily produced, very slick urban contemporary and adult pop. Although Houston had learned her craft working in New York nightclubs and singing in a Baptist church in Newark, she was steered into radio-friendly ballads that emphasized style over substance.

1983 Michael Franks Previously Unavailable

2009-12-09T16:51:00.000-08:00

1983 Previously Unavailable
Michael Franks
Louie Shelton - Musician

1983 Lionel Richie Can't Slow Down

2009-12-02T23:04:00.000-08:00

1983 Can't Slow Down

Lionel Richie

Louie Shelton - Guitar

On Can't Slow Down, his second solo album, Lionel Richie ran with the sound and success of his eponymous debut, creating an album that was designed to be bigger and better. It's entirely possible that he took a cue from Michael Jackson's Thriller, which set out to win over listeners of every corner of the mainstream pop audience, because Richie does a similar thing with Can't Slow Down -- he plays to the MOR adult contemporary audience, to be sure, but he ups the ante on his dance numbers, creating grooves that are funkier, and he even adds a bit of rock with the sleek nocturnal menace of "Running With the Night," one of the best songs here. He doesn't swing for the fences like Michael did in 1982; he makes safe bets, which is more in his character. But safe bets do pay off, and with Can't Slow Down Richie reaped enormous dividends, earning not just his biggest hit, but his best album.

1983 Lionel Richie Can't Slow Down [Deluxe Edition]

2009-12-02T23:00:00.000-08:00

1983 Can't Slow Down [Deluxe Edition]

Lionel Richie

Louie Shelton - Guitar

1981 Sarah Vaughan Songs of the Beatles

2009-12-02T22:57:00.000-08:00

1981 Songs of the Beatles

Sarah Vaughan

Louie Shelton - Guitar

1980 Seals & Crofts The Longest Road

2009-12-02T22:51:00.000-08:00

1980 The Longest Road

Seals & Crofts

Louie Shelton - Guitar (Acoustic), Bass, Guitar, Guitar (Electric), Producer, Soloist

Several unreleased songs were recorded during the sessions for THE LONGEST ROAD: "Another Night In the City," "Girls On the Beach," "Baby It's You," "Never Live Without Your Love" and "Can't Say No." "Never Live Without Your Love" was played in concert, however.
Recording Engineer - Jospeh Bogan; Mixed By - Louie Shelton; Assistant Engineers - Deborah Thompson, Brian Behrns, Bob Bullock, Michael Bell; Production Assistant - Johnnie Holmes; Technical Assistant - Bob Moore; Recorded at Dawnbreaker Studio; Mixed at Dawnbreaker Studio and Rhumbo; Mastered at A&M Records By Bernie Grundman; Dear Brian, thank you for your contributions, friendship and your spirit; Special thanks to Robin Rothman, Lenny Waronker, Ed Rosenblatt amd Mo Ostin for their continuing faith and support; Management - Marcia Day, Day 5 Productions; Photography - Luis Lizarraga; Art Direction - Peter Whorf; Design - Eddie Herch. Produced by Louie Shelton

1980 Jose Feliciano [1980]

2009-12-02T22:49:00.000-08:00

1980 Jose Feliciano [1980]

José Feliciano

Louie Shelton - Guitar

1980 Boz Scaggs Hits!

2009-12-02T22:45:00.000-08:00

1980 Hits!
Boz Scaggs
Louie Shelton - Guitar

Released in 1980, Hits! capitalized on the end of the decade as well as Boz Scaggs' commercial success from 1976-1980. That's not to say everything is here. The 1972 classic "Loan Me a Dime" is missing, as this concentrates on Scaggs' more radio-friendly efforts. From the pre-Silk Degrees era, "Dinah Flo" and "You Make It So Hard to Say No" are here. Not surprisingly, this set takes a few tracks from Scaggs' best-selling album Silk Degrees. While the sleek and funky "Lowdown" is no doubt here, the underrated "What Can I Say" strangely didn't make this overview.

1980 Jane Olivor Best Side of Goodbye

2009-12-02T22:41:00.000-08:00

1980 Best Side of Goodbye

Jane Olivor

Louie Shelton - Arranger, Producer

Jane Olivor was a stranger in a strange land crafting albums in the '70s which never reached the potential of Love Decides, her Varese Sarabande compact disc released in 2000. The Best Side of Goodbye (1980) comes close with its sensitive settings for Olivor's thoughtful vocals. Producer Jason Darrow creates a subdued Barry Manilow-type production with the title track, while Michael Masser produces what is arguably the definitive version of his collaboration with Linda Creed, the George Benson hit from 1977 "The Greatest Love of All." Whitney Houston would take it to number one in 1986, but in Jane Olivor's care the song enjoys a different nuance, perhaps one that its co-creator had in mind to begin with.

1979 Paul Parrish Song for a Young Girl

2009-12-02T22:38:00.000-08:00

1979 Song for a Young Girl
Paul Parrish
Louie Shelton - Bass, Guitar, Guitar (Electric), Producer

1979 Art Garfunkel Fate for Breakfast

2009-12-02T22:33:00.000-08:00

1979 Fate for Breakfast

Art Garfunkel

Louie Shelton - Guitar, Guitar (Electric), Producer

For his fourth solo album, Art Garfunkel opted to make a light contemporary pop record on the order of Breakaway, but for the most part the material was mediocre and the backup slick and unfeeling. "Since I Don't Have You" was an obvious choice for a singer who had scored with a similar '50s oldie, "I Only Have Eyes for You," but it was the album's only chart single, and Fate for Breakfast was as disappointing at the cash register as it was on the turntable.

1978 Seals & Crofts Takin' It Easy

2009-12-02T22:30:00.000-08:00

1978 Takin' It Easy

Seals & Crofts

Louie Shelton - Guitar, Arranger, Guitar (Electric), Vocals, Producer, Horn Arrangements, Soloist

1978 Alessi Brothers Driftin'

2009-12-02T22:27:00.000-08:00

1978 Driftin'

Alessi Brothers

Louie Shelton - Guitar, Producer

The Alessi Brothers are an American pop singer-songwriter duo, best known for their 1984 hit "Savin' the Day" And Also their 1977 hit "Oh Lori". The duo are identical twin brothers, Bill (Billy) Alessi and Bob (Bobby) Alessi (born 12 July 1953, Long Island, New York).
In 1977, they climbed to number seven in the UK Singles Chart with "Oh Lori", and in 1982 they reached number 71 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 with "Put Away Your Love". This made them one-hit wonders on both sides of the Atlantic, albeit with different hits

1977 Seals & Crofts One on One

2009-12-02T22:24:00.000-08:00

1977 One on One
Seals & Crofts
Louie Shelton - Producer

Produced by Louie Shelton and Charles Fox; music composed, arranged and conducted by Charles Fox; lyrics by Paul Williams; liner photo by Louie Lizarraga.
01. My Fair Share (Love Theme From One On One) 02. This Day Belongs To Me 03. Janet's Theme 04. John Wayne 05. Picnic 06. Flyin' 07. Reflections 08. Love Conquers All 09. It'll Be Alright 10. Hustle 11. Time Out 12. The Party 13. The Basketball Game 14. This Day Belongs To Me (Reprise)

1976 Dirk Hamilton You Can Sing on the Left or Bark on the Right

2009-12-02T22:21:00.000-08:00

1976 You Can Sing on the Left or Bark on the Right

Dirk Hamilton

Louie Shelton - Guitar (Electric)

After moving to Los Angeles from Stockton, CA, Dirk Hamilton attracted the attention of Steely Dan producer Gary Katz, who in turn helped him sign a deal with ABC Records. The result, the Katz-produced You Can Sing on the Left or Bark on the Right, is a quirky if occasionally misguided work, with moments of brilliance. Katz brought in a host of session pros, including Chuck Rainey, Elliott Randall, and Jeff Porcaro, all of whom had previously worked with him on various Steely Dan projects, to flesh out Hamilton's idiosyncratic, acoustic-based tunes. And while these great players are perfect for Steely Dan's sophisticated pop/rock, they don't really do much for the material here.

1976 Dirk Hamilton You Can Sing on the Left or Bark on the Right [Bonus Track]

2009-12-02T22:15:00.000-08:00

1976 You Can Sing on the Left or Bark on the Right [Bonus Track]

Dirk Hamilton

Louie Shelton - Guitar (Electric)

This is a welcome reissue for this sumptuous 1976 set, an album that defines the softer side of the '70s. In fact, in one way or another, You Can Sing on the Left or Bark on the Right showcases the whole spectrum of the rock arena that never quite rocked out. Here's Bruce Springsteen sneaking out of Asbury Park to skewer the "Little Big-Time Man," there's Bob Dylan reminiscing about a long gone love on "Wasn't That One Night Good," and isn't that the Rolling Stones dancing through "You Can't Always Get What You Want" in "Palova's Shoes"? And it's not just those artists' styles that Dirk Hamilton captures so adroitly, but their vocal inflections and lyrical tweaks to boot.

1976 Seals & Crofts Sudan Village

2009-12-02T22:11:00.000-08:00

1976 Sudan Village

Seals & Crofts

Louie Shelton - Guitar, Vocals, Producer

1976 Boz Scaggs Silk Degrees [Bonus Tracks]

2009-12-02T22:07:00.000-08:00

1976 Silk Degrees [Bonus Tracks]
Boz Scaggs
Louie Shelton - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Slide Guitar

More than 30 years after the fact, Boz Scaggs' classic Silk Degrees still lives in musical-cultural language as his "disco album." For some who had been following the singer/songwriter's career since the late '60s when he left the Steve Miller Band and became an R&B shouter in the grand tradition of his home state of Texas, this was a sellout. Many others had either never heard of Scaggs or knew his work marginally at best because he'd released four previous albums under his own name, and Silk Degrees became his pop signifier. The real truth of Silk Degrees, and why in 2007 it sounds perhaps more revelatory than it did in its heyday, is that its songs, arrangements, and production feel timeless.

1976 Boz Scaggs Silk Degrees (Columbia)

2009-12-02T22:04:00.000-08:00

1976 Silk Degrees (Columbia)

Boz Scaggs

Louie Shelton - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Slide Guitar

Both artistically and commercially, Boz Scaggs had his greatest success with Silk Degrees. The laid-back singer hit the R&B charts in a big way with the addictive, sly "Lowdown" (which has been sampled by more than a few rappers and remains a favorite among baby-boomer soul fans) and expressed his love of smooth soul music almost as well on the appealing "What Can I Say." But Scaggs was essentially a pop/rocker, and in that area he has a considerable amount of fun on "Lido Shuffle" (another major hit single), "What Do You Want the Girl to Do," and "Jump Street." Meanwhile, "We're All Alone" and "Harbor Lights" became staples on adult contemporary radio.

1976 Melanie Photograph

2009-12-02T22:00:00.000-08:00

1976 Photograph

Melanie

Louie Shelton - Guitar

Quietly and with little fanfare, in 1976 Melanie made her strongest record in years. Photograph was written over a number of years; Melanie had been shoring up her strongest compositions and withholding them from her previous Neighborhood collections. Her new home at Atlantic brought in fresh players (many of the session musicians soon to be Toto), and the Edwin Hawkins Singers, who had made "Candles in the Rain" such a treat, were back on hand. But Photograph was very much Melanie's own victory, her material was a revelation, and more sophisticated than anything she'd ever accomplished before.

1976 England Dan & John Ford Coley I Hear Music

2009-12-02T21:56:00.000-08:00

1976 I Hear Music

England Dan & John Ford Coley

Louie Shelton - Bass, Guitar, Sitar

England Dan & John Ford Coley was an American pop rock duo composed of Dan Seals (born February 5, 1948, McCamey, Texas - died March 25, 2009, Nashville, Tennessee) and John Ford Coley (born John Colley, October 13, 1948, Dallas, Texas). The duo released eleven albums and nine singles in their career, and are best known for their 1976 debut single, "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight". This song was a #2 pop hit and #1 Adult Contemporary hit that year. After disbanding, Seals began a solo country music career which lasted throughout the 1980s.

1976 Seals & Crofts Get Closer

2009-12-02T21:53:00.000-08:00

1976 Get Closer

Seals & Crofts

Louie Shelton - Guitar, Vocals

Produced by Louie Shelton; Recorded at Dawnbreaker Studio; Engineering By Joseph Bogan; Sound Consultant – Michael Fraser; Cover Photography – Norman Seeff; Photography of Musicians on Sleeve – Louie Lizarraga; Art Direction & Design – Lockart; Guitar – James Seals, Larry Carlton, Louie Shelton, Ray Parker and Lee Ritenour; Mandolin – Dash Crofts; Keyboards – David Paich; Bass – David Hungate and Wilton Felder; Drums – Jeff Porcaro and Ed Greene; Tablas – Milt Holland; Electric Piano – Jope Sample; Alto Sax – Jim Horn; Background Vocals – Carolyn Willis, Merna Matthews, Shirley Matthews, Carl Carmichel and Donnie Shelton; Arrangement of “Get Closer” by Gene Page; Strings Arrangements on “Red Long Ago” and “Don’t Fail” by David Paich.

1976 Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart

2009-12-02T21:49:00.000-08:00

1976 Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart
Dolenz, Jones, Boyce & Hart
Louie Shelton - Guitar

Most music fans showed no interest in this album when in it was released in 1976, it was most certainly their loss. Though lightweight and fluffy, this album ended up being the most consistent Monkees-related release since Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, the fourth Monkees album from 1967. With top-notch songs from the pens of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart and even a few outstanding tracks from Mickey Dolenz, this album was destined to be a cult classic. Kicking off with the mid-tempo balladry of "Right Now," sung by Davy Jones and featuring a few Lennon-esque chord changes, it was obvious that this was not the latest Deep Purple album.

1976 Deardorff & Joseph

2009-12-02T21:43:00.000-08:00

1976 Deardorff & Joseph

Deardorff & Joseph

Louie Shelton - Bass, Guitar, Arranger, Guitar (Bass), Producer

Deardorff & Joseph were not widely heard or remembered, but that doesn't mean they were forgotten or even felt. Their 1976 debut became a cult item for collectors of soft Californian '70s pop, and it also marked the first time Jeffrey Comanor's "We'll Never Have to Say Goodbye Again" was heard (a few years later, England Dan & John Ford Coley brought it into the Top Ten). At the time, the album was largely ignored, even if it was a first-class professional production firmly within the Californian commercial sound of the mid-'70s and featured musical support by such luminaries as Dan Seals, Jeff Porcaro and his brothers Mike and Joe, Dean Parks, Jim Horn, and David Paich.

1975 Seals & Crofts I'll Play for You

2009-12-02T21:40:00.000-08:00

1975 I'll Play for You
Seals & Crofts
Louie Shelton - Guitar, Vocals, Producer

Produced by Louie Shelton; Horn and String Arrangements – David Paich; Vocals – Jim Seals and Dash Crofts; Guitars and Banjos – Jim Seals and Louie Shelton; Keyboards – David Paich and Jack Lenz; Drums – Ed Green, Jeff Porcaro on “Golden Rainbow,” Jim Varley on “I’ll Play For You”; Percussion – Antoine Dearborn; Trumpet – Larry Ford, Ron King, Paul Hubinon and Bobby Shew; Reeds – Bob Crosby, Jim Horn, Steve Leeds, Gebe Cipriano and Henry Sigismondi; Trombone – Dick “Slyde” Hyde, John Leys, Lew McCreary; Bass – Wilton Felder, Mike Porcaro on “I’ll Play For You” and “Castles In the Sand”; Slide Guitar – Ovid Stevens; Flute – Jack Lenz on “I’ll Play For You”; Arp Synthesizer – Jack Lenz on “Fire and Vengeance”; Engineers – Tom Knox and Joe Bogan; Second Engineer – Marcus Joseph; Studio – Dawnbreaker Studios, California; Special thanks to Jerry Spry; Art Direction and Design – Robert Lockart; Photography – Ivan Nagy.

1975 Seals & Crofts Greatest Hits

2009-12-02T21:37:00.000-08:00

1975 Greatest Hits

Seals & Crofts

Louie Shelton - Producer

According to Billboard ratings, GREATEST HITS was ranked #38 among all albums charted during 1976.
Produced by Louie Shelton. Design and photography by Tom Wilkes Prod., Inc.
01. When I Meet Them 02. Diamond Girl 03. Hummingbird 04. Castles In the Sand 05. East of Ginger Trees06. I'll Play For You 07. Ruby Jean and Billie Lee 08. King of Nothing 09. Summer Breeze 10. We May Never Pass This Way (Again)

1975 Art Garfunkel Breakaway

2009-12-02T21:34:00.000-08:00

1975 Breakaway

Art Garfunkel

Louie Shelton - Guitar

The second time around, Art Garfunkel turned to pop producer Richard Perry, who liked to record in studios rather than cathedrals and who replaced the angelic style of the first album with a lush pop approach. The result was Garfunkel's best-selling album. The title track and a cover of "I Only Have Eyes for You" reached the Top 40 (the latter topped the U.K. charts), though the most prominent song was the Simon & Garfunkel reunion single "My Little Town."

1974 T-Bone Walker Very Rare

2009-12-02T21:31:00.000-08:00

1974 Very Rare

T-Bone Walker

Louie Shelton - Guitar

T-Bone Walker (May 28, 1910 — March 16, 1975 was an American blues guitarist, singer, pianist and songwriter who was one of the most important pioneers of the electric guitar. His electric guitar solos were among the first heard on modern blues recordings. He was ranked #47 in Rolling Stone magazine's Sept. 2003 list of The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.

1974 Seals & Crofts Unborn Child

2009-12-02T21:27:00.000-08:00

1974 Unborn Child
Seals & Crofts
Louie Shelton - Guitar, Guitar (Electric), Vocals, Producer

After a string of hits, Unborn Child was a mistake coming from the Seals & Crofts camp when it did. Blatantly anti-abortion, it did little to help their careers and nothing in the way of chart success. But one must consider that it does hold good music in its grooves, and with today's attitudes changing, perhaps this isn't as harsh as it first appeared to be.

1974 The 5th Dimension Soul & Inspiration [Bonus Tracks]

2009-12-02T21:22:00.000-08:00

1974 Soul & Inspiration [Bonus Tracks]

The 5th Dimension

Louie Shelton - Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Guitar (Electric)

Not only was Soul & Inspiration (1974) the 5th Dimension's last outing on Bell Records, it served as the penultimate long-player to feature the original quintet of Lamonte McLemore, Ron Townson, Billy Davis Jr., Marilyn McCoo, and Florence Larue. Behind the scenes, band politics as well as the power structure at the record label ultimately led to a parting of ways between the 5D and their longtime producer Bones Howe. Even though the project is replete with good to above-average performances, it undeniably lacks the sonic cohesion that had become their collaborative calling card.

1973 Michael Franks

2009-12-02T21:20:00.000-08:00

1973 Michael Franks

Michael Franks

Louie Shelton - Guitar

An enormously popular performer in the late '70s and early '80s, Franks performed folk/rock songs while in high school, then became a literature student at UCLA and a part-time performer. He taught undergraduate music courses in the early '70s at both UCLA and Berkeley, then provided scores for the films Count Your Bullets and Zandy's Bride.

1973 Lulu

2009-12-02T21:15:00.000-08:00

1973 Lulu

Lulu

This pretty much forgotten effort by Lulu is a beauty. Though there is no single gem like "Oh Me Oh My (I'm a Fool for You Baby" from her New Routes album or "I Could Never Miss You More Than I Do" from her self-titled Lulu album on Alpha Records (this album on Chelsea/RCA is also self-titled), these tracks show the former Mrs. Maurice Gibb at the top of her game. "A Boy Like You," a cover of the Rascals tune with gender change, is over the top. The production by Wes Farrell is just magnificent. Hal Blaine's drums are bigger than usual, and everyone sounds like they are having a great time reinventing this Felix Cavaliere classic. "Groovin'" also gets the treatment, but it is, of course, more subtle. Lulu's voice is an engima in pop music.

1973 The 5th Dimension Living Together, Growing Together

2009-12-02T21:11:00.000-08:00

1973 Living Together, Growing Together
The 5th Dimension
Louie Shelton - Guitar

For their eighth album of new studio material, the 5th Dimension were sticking to essentials while attempting to stay modern and relevant. As styles and trends in pop and R&B were becoming more flamboyant and expressive, Lamonte McLemore, Ron Townson, Billy Davis, Jr., Marilyn McCoo, and Florence LaRue Gordon remained as solid and somewhat predictable as ever. Living Together, Growing Together (1973) marked the "beginning of the end" for the vocalists reign of non-stop hits, although three of the album's 11 cuts would make it onto the charts.

1973 Marvin Gaye Let's Get It On

2009-12-02T21:05:00.000-08:00

1973 Let's Get It On

Marvin Gaye

Louie Shelton - Guitar

After brilliantly surveying the social, political, and spiritual landscape with What's Going On, Marvin Gaye turned to more intimate matters with Let's Get It On, a record unparalleled in its sheer sensuality and carnal energy. Always a sexually charged performer, Gaye's passions reach their boiling point on tracks like the magnificent title hit (a number one smash) and "You Sure Love to Ball"; silky and shimmering, the music is seductive in the most literal sense, its fluid grooves so perfectly designed for romance as to border on parody.