Description
The Seventy Sevens (a.k.a. Pray Naked) is the fifth studio album by the American rock band The Seventy Sevens, released on Brainstorm Artists International in 1992, manufactured and distributed by Word. The album was recorded by band member David Leonhardt at Mom’s Sewing Room in Sacramento, California; with the band producing. Mixed by the band at Mom’s Sewing Room, except tracks 1, 9, 10, 11, and 12 mixed by Steve Griffith of Vector fame.
The album’s tentatively title, Pray Naked, was rejected by Word because executives for the label “did not feel the title was appropriate for this retail market.” Without consulting with the band, the record company altered the packaging and marketing of the album, which was issued without a title (thus making it the second self-titled album by the band) and with the name of what was supposed to be the title track – “Pray Naked” – blacked out in order to avoid offense in the conservative Christian music marketplace. (As well, on their next album Word had “Dave’s Blues,” a track originally recorded to include the line “this ol’ world has kicked my ass,” remixed and the offending line replaced with that section of the vocal track played in reverse.)
It was the band’s first album after reforming with two members of The Strawmen, guitarist David Leonhardt and bassist Mark Harmon. The new incarnation of The 77s recorded a power pop album featuring a definite winter feel, with the big pop hooks in songs like “The Rain Kept Falling in Love” and “Look” drenching the record in cold air and melancholy. The album runs the gamut of musical styles. It has bluesy rockers (“Woody”), jangly pop (“Phony Eyes”), stormy alt-rock (“Self-Made Trap”), and a couple of truly heartfelt, beautiful ballads (“Kites Without Strings”, “The Rain Kept Falling in Love”). But thanks to the band’s stellar musicianship and performance – as well as lead vocalist Michael Roe’s soulful voice – they all feel part of a cohesive whole.
After the live recording of Eighty Eight, Mark Tootle (keyboardist, rhythm guitarist and a major contributor compositionally), broke with the band, and although bassist Jan Eric performed at subsequent performances, he also left to become more involved in managing the band, as well as Charlie Peacock for a time, and later Margaret Becker. Since that time, Michael Roe, with the faithful and talented Aaron Smith on drums, continued as the 77’s along with David Leonhardt and Mark Harmon, who both contributed in minor ways on Eighty Eight. The live album, in song selection, leaned in favor of the works of Roe rather than Tootle, and in that regard only points toward the 77’s current direction. While Leonhardt and Harmon bring significant talent to the new, and some might say, improved 77’s, their contributions differ significantly from the funkier pop sensibility that came from the pen of Tootle making Seventy Sevens the offering of a new band with a familiar lead voice.
Roe & Co. kick off here with a Led Zeppelin-like rocker, «Woody», representative of the album’s several hard rocking numbers. «Nuts for You» offers up some Jerry Lee Lewis piano, but «Pray Naked» is full-on bluesy rock rant, complete with “What’s that spell” cheerleading of the song’s admonition. Throughout these tracks Roe proves to have more than a few ironies in the fire, while asking the big questions of life’s staggering realities with little confidence that the answers that come will be ones that satisfy.
The Brian Wilson-influenced sentiments of «Smiley Smile», with its simple confession “I still believe in you…,” may reveal more about Roe’s current state of affairs than he intends. Playing the rather cheery message straight, it draws attention finally to that “still.” To still believe, one would seem to be indicating that the basis of belief has been challenged, that the foundation of one’s faith and perception of reality has been shaken badly.
Throughout some of the slower, often broken-hearted songs that make up the bulk of the album, Roe writes of a romantic relationship that is coming apart, and a picture of himself as disillusioned, disappointed and struggling to make sense of it all. “Tangled in you / I aimed for the wild blue / And I hit the ground / What a bitter earth I’ve found,” he sings amid the jangly guitars of «Kites Without Strings». «Happy Roy» finds the antagonist begging for his lover to return “Back into my arms,” while «Look» mourns the relationship’s inevitable demise.
Elsewhere, Roe writes of his own «Self Made Trap»: “Help comes fast, prides goes slow / Could be free if I choose / Born to win, dyin’ to lose.” «Nuts for You» and «Holy Hold» (probably the strongest single for Christian radio the 77’s have ever had) look beyond human frailty and disappointment to God’s faithful healing touch. «Deep End» suggests the impossible wisdom that it’s only going to take “Time, soothing time / Take this misery from my mind.”
«Pray Naked» suggests that we have to be real, completely transparent and honest with God and each other if what we say is going to mean anything. We have to strip down to that which is closest to us, that which means the most, and then God can guide us to the point where we know “It’s worth it all,” even when “They say I’m nuts,” is the popular perception.
At times textured and tender, at others raw and ruthless, Roe and Leonhardt let their guitars rule the day. Drummer Aaron Smith maintains his stature as one of the great underrated musicians of our day, while Harmon is just as versatile on bass.
This is a difficult and musically challenging album, with lyrics that express an uncharacteristic amount of human brokenness and honest yearning for a release aimed at the Christian market. Here the hurt finds some healing in honest expression and passionate delivery. Like the blues music and free-wheeling rock ‘n’ roll that inspire much of this recording, when the wounds are exposed they can heal. [Brian Q. Newcomb, CCM, November 1992]
This album has been causing a bit of controversy over the pond, where the original title has been removed and the erstwhile title track has been blanked out on the track listing (although they have left the cover picture of three Maharishi lookalikes covering their dignity with a picture of the band!). So is this the Christian equivalent of Prince’s notorious ‘Black Album’? Hardly. “Pray Naked” is either a call for naturists to have a spiritual life or an exhortation for us to be honest before God in our prayer life. Anyone who doesn’t want a safe version of a secular band should start here – pigeonholing this group is nigh impossible, although they are probably best described as a mainstream band with alternative leanings. The band have grown their hair to mosh length and the first track, «Woody» (a tribute to the Cheers barman, perhaps?!) is probably their heaviest to date. But thereafter the album settles back into a much quieter vein, recalling the tone of previous songs such as «Nowhere Else» and the ‘7 & 7 Is‘ tracks contained on the ‘Stick And Stones‘ compilation. «Nuts For You» is the son of «U U U U» if ever there was one, and the (ex)title track begins with an extended jam with a heavy Indian influence (Bengali not Apache). Personal faves are «Woody» and «Self Made Trap». On the first listen I didn’t know quite what to make of this album, but on subsequent plays it has wriggled into my brain and looks set to become one of my personal albums of 1993 even with over half a year of releases still to come. Mike Roe‘s wry sense of humour is ever-present, the opening lines of the album are “I’m staring headlong into the Jaws of Death (alright)/ Big teeth, big mouth and bad, bad breath (yecch)”, and his levity is a welcome change. The bad news is that to get hold of this you’ll have to either make a special order from Word Record Club or visit your favourite record shop in Soho as Word don’t intend at the moment to distribute it over here. Write a petition to them and then buy this. [James Lewis, Cross Rhythms, June 1993]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/pray-naked-2016-remaster/1233335010)
CD tracklist:
01. Woody – 5:19
02. Smiley Smile – 1:06
03. Phony Eyes – 4:52
04. Kites Without Strings – 5:31
05. Happy Roy – 4:10
06. Deep End – 4:07
07. The Rain Kept Falling in Love – 4:57
08. Holy Hold – 3:56
09. Look – 3:34
10. Nuts for You – 4:38
11. Pray Naked – 7:53
12. Self-Made Trap
Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and CD by Brainstorm. Remastered and re-issued on CD by Lo-Fidelity Records in 2015 featuring two bonus tracks; Holy Hold (Rough Mix) – 3:53, and Self-Made Trap (Rough Mix) – 6:01. Released on 12-inch vinyl LP for the first time by Lo-Fidelity Records in 2016 (as a double album featuring a deluxe gatefold jacket). Available at Bandcamp: https://the77s.bandcamp.com/album/pray-naked-naked-prey
The original CD backside: Without consulting with the band, the record company altered the packaging and marketing of the album, which was issued without a title and with the name of the original title track – Pray Naked – blacked out in order to avoid offense in the conservative Christian music marketplace.
The 77s – 1992 line-up (L-R): David Leonhardt, Mark Harmon, Michael Roe, and Aaron Smith.
In 2016 the album was released on vinyl for the first time by Lo-Fidelity Records through a Kickstarter campaign. Released as a double album featuring a deluxe gatefold jacket. Pressed as ultra-clear 180 gram 12-inch vinyl, as Limited Edition Gold/Black (A-Side/B-Side swirl pressing) 180 gram vinyl limited to 100 copies, and as Limited Edition White/Gold/Black heavy splatter 180 gram vinyl limited to 100 copies.
“Nuts for You” (MUSIC VIDEO)
The Seventy Sevens, Lo-Fidelity Records 2016 Re-issue
I’ve been diving into an album from 1992, one that I’ve heard dozens of times in the last 25 years. The album in question is Pray Naked, the fifth album by the 77s, and if you’ve read this column for any length of time, you have heard me talk about Michael Roe and the 77s. They’re quite possibly the best rock band you’ve never heard, and Pray Naked is one of their very best records. Jeffrey Kotthoff and Lo-Fidelity Records have just released an incredible remaster of this album on CD and vinyl, and I admit I’ve been lost in it for a while.
But it’s worth getting lost in. I brought my lovely clear-white vinyl copy of Pray Naked in to my local record store and played it for the owners (and a couple customers), and it got rave reviews. The sound of the new remaster is amazing – the bass pops for the first time, the ringing guitars sound better than they ever have, Roe’s voice is crystal clear, and the harmonies just burst out. Even the thunder sounds on «The Rain Kept Falling in Love» sound fantastic.
The album itself is a transitional one: the original 77s dissipated after their self-titled album in 1987, and Roe tapped members of fellow California band the Strawmen to form a new 77s. Mark Harmon and David Leonhardt would become vital members of the band, with Harmon still one-third of the current lineup and Leonhardt joining for tours. This is their first appearance on record, and man, it’s a great introduction. The album explodes to life with the powerful Zeppelin-influenced «Woody», then settles in for a long run of sparkling, gorgeous acoustic pop numbers.
It’s hard to pick favorites from those, but «Kites Without Strings» has been a touchstone for me for years, its glistening guitar notes dancing around Roe’s falsetto to haunting effect. «Happy Roy» is exactly what it promises – a danceable, memorable tune about lost love in the style of Roy Orbison. «Phony Eyes» is wonderful, as is «Deep End». The album gets heavier as it goes, with the boogie of «Nuts For You» giving way to the instrumental maelstrom of the title track, and finally the oppressive «Self-Made Trap». It’s a fascinating journey.
And it’s one that only a few thousand people have ever taken, which is a damn shame. The 77s always pushed hard against the expectations of the Christian label they were on, preferring to write songs about life and pain and anger and doubt, and it was with this record that the relationship truly started to fray. The label did not allow them to actually call the record Pray Naked, and blacked out the title track on the cover, apparently refusing to buy into the band’s intention – they meant emotionally naked, of course, but were very happy with the double entendre. (The title is restored on this new version, naturally.)
This tension has always cost the band. They’re too church-y for the radio and too radio for the church, so they exist in a no-man’s land between the two. I’ve been on a crusade for two decades to get more people interested in the 77s, and gorgeous remasters like this one help the cause immeasurably. This new Pray Naked comes with two CDs of bonus material, much of it capturing this lineup of the band live, and a DVD of a concert from 1990. [Andre Salles, Tuesday Morning 3 a.m., 2/28/2017]
CREDITS. Produced by The 77’s. Recorded by David Leonhardt (with David Houston on track 1 and 9 to 11). Mixed by The 77’s, except track 1 and 9 to 12 mixed by Steve Griffith. Recorded and mixed at Mom’s Sewing Room, Sacramento, CA. (Special thanks to Cliff and Carol Leonhardt for the continued abuse of their home.) Additional Recording at Audio Production Group, Sacramento, CA, and at The Late Great Strawmen Studio, Rocklin, CA. Mastered by George Horn at Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA. Photographs, Album Concept, and Layout by David Dobson. Art Direction and Design by George Holden. All songs written by The 77’s, except track 3 and 6 co-written with Bill Harmon.
Musicians: The 77’s – Mike Roe (Voice, Guitar), David Leonhardt (Guitar), Mark Harmon (Bass, Voice, Electronic Percussion), Aaron Smith (Pounding & Thrashing Into Oblivion). Additional Musicians: Bongo Bob Smith (Ethnic & Orchestral Percussion on track 4 and 11), Roger Smith (Piano on track 10), Bill Harmon (Guitar and Voice on track 3 and 6).
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