Fantacy Hill - First Step

Fantacy Hill - First Step
Released 1978 on Prodigal Records P7-10022R1

Looking back on the era, it is really hard to categorize bands out of the 70s. One starts to realize how close a lot of these bands ran to each other at times. Unless a band was so deep into a particular style, such as the era of Sweet or classic era of Yes, it is really hard to stick many of the bands of the era into a specific genre. Many of the bands were trying to break it through and would often sample with numerous styles.

So I sit here with an album by the band Fantacy Hill's second album, First Step. Kind of a confusing animal straight from the start. It is their second release, yet it is called First Step. The cover is fairly rough to look at and doesn't give anybody an idea of what to expect. I could only figure that the title came from them having a picture of some stairs and then tried to come up with a title. Musically it could hint to Progressive Rock, or it could also be a Funk. Plus we don't have any pictures of the band to help clue us in on what is to be found in the grooves. Now add to that it is on Prodigal Records, which is an imprint of Motown.

What Fantacy Hill were would be a 70s Hard Rock act that turns out a sound that mixes in a lot of different styles of the era. In fact, so much do they mix in other styles and bands that a few of the songs you would swear you have heard before. From the sounds to the titles, they borrowed from more than a few sources.

At one point Glam, at another Southern, and then at times almost a harder edged Doobie Brothers style rock. They really do cover quite a few grounds. One of my other problems I am having is that they use three different vocalists, so a definite sound and style is never cemented for the listener. I am thinking that the vocalist depends on the writer. So in a way we are given three different bands in this one band. All of these bands, by the way, are pretty good bands.

The album launches with one of our "I've heard this before!" moments, and you would be right if you are a fan of Sweet. Although, it isn't a cover, "Aphrodite" is just similar Sweet. It is almost a mix of "Sweet F.A." and "No You Don't." It is the vocal melody from "No You Don't" while using a part of the "Sweet F.A." riff.

"Lonely Bluebird" is Crosby, Stills and Nash. Or any other band of the sort from that era. Yes, they even have to use a species of bird for their metaphor. Not overly original, kind of so similar to the bands mentioned that it even again seems like one has heard the tune before. It is a nice song, just kind of nothing new.

The final song is the most confusing of all. A tune titled "Stay With Me," and an obvious stab at hitting that adult contemporary suave crowd. This song more than any other on the album sounds like a stereotypical 70s radio hit, complete with the sweeping strings associated with the era. It is without a doubt the most out of place tune on that album. But I do love it for its incredible 70s trappings.

Genre bouncing is understandable from the era. Radio in the 70s wasn't an all or nothing type of creature, nor were the charts. Remember that once upon a time it would not be unusual to hear Led Zeppelin on the same stations that would play Captain and Tennile, and they both stood on the charts. It is only now that people really lay claim to genres. In 1976 it wasn't unusual to listen to both Sabbath and Crosby, Stills, and Nash.

Searching the internet gives us very little information on Fantacy Hill. Even Discogs is very light on information, not even providing us a band photo on the band page. We know there were two albums, this being the second. For the band history the best I could turn up is a review on Amazon. The review tells us that Danny Mullins, one of the guitarists and vocalists, has since passed on. Searching Facebook it appears that other guitarist George Durbin and drummer Doug Golema are still out there. I am guessing it is them as they both look about the right age and both show their instruments. Not very in-depth investigative work here, but I do kind of hate bugging some of these people so for the time have chosen to not message the two gentlemen. Maybe in after finding the first album I will start digging further.

So even with the wacky and drastic bouncing of styles I would recommend Fantacy Hill if it can be found for a reasonable price, which it should be. My copy cost me $2, but it was lacking any kind of inner sleeve, so that may have contributed to the affordable price. But if you like hard rock that can be a little difficult to categorize at times, grab this one if you see it, it is surely worth the time.