In the mid-1970s, Wall was one of the founding members of Spyro Gyra. Through the years, he was with the group as a keyboardist and composer. This was his first solo album; he released a second in 1992. I bought Cool Running because I'm a fan of Spyro Gyra. This music sounds somewhat like that group but not quite as good - more instrumental easy listening than smooth jazz. Plus, there's a slight John Tesh feel to the whole thing. My complaints: a bad mix which often loses the piano melodies, over-production, and overblown arrangements that often include needless background vocals (more isn't always better). It's a shame because the songwriting and Wall's soloing are good. I never seek this album out to play, but occasionally a track will come up on a shuffle.
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| CashBox magazine |
As of this writing, Wall is an associate professor at SUNY Oneonta where he teaches courses in music industry and songwriting. I'd definitely enroll in his courses.
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart
Tracks: Riverrun is nice as are Their Hands Are Blue and the title track, the latter of which features guitarist Grant Geissman and percussionist Dave Samuels. The song Global Village is skippable even with a tasteful contribution from Lew Soloff.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None. I would mock the mullet featured on the cover, but those that knew me around 1985 would be quick to point out that I had a similar mullet during that time in my life (in my defense, I was trying to be David Bowie).
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