The Cowsills Announce New Album 'Global'
(MPG) The Cowsills have announced the release of Global, a recovered album from the chart-topping family band whose story was the inspiration for television's The Partridge Family. A piece on Global for NBC's Dateline would not be out of place. The story includes not only the musical siblings, but also Dick Clark, Daryl Dragon ("The Captain" of Captain & Tennille), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a world-famous TV actor, power-pop superstars, and renowned industry figures. Global first appeared in 1998, but was difficult to find; for the few who did, it was a revelation of pure pop greatness. For the many who missed it, it will be a new revelation now. Global will come out on November 8 via Omnivore Recordings on vinyl for the first time ever, and on CD/Digital with three previously unreleased bonus tracks. Along with the announcement, The Cowsills have also shared the album's lead single "What I Believe."
A missing pen... That's the secret reason why this wonderful album exists, and why The Cowsills are still going strong three decades later. In 1990, more than a decade since The Cowsills had worked together, singer/guitarist Bob Cowsill was working on new demos when they were offered a spot on one of Dick Clark's package tours to strictly play their "oldies" hits. They agreed to forgo their new music for the tour but when they went to sign the contract, no writing implement could be found.
"The contract was in front of us, and we were ready to do it," Bob Cowsill recalls. "Nutty as this sounds, they couldn't locate a pen, then Dick had to go do something. It was decided we'd take a break and sign it after lunch. That's when we started talking-Did we really want to do this? Should we take the oldies moniker on now? We felt young for an oldies tour, Susan [the youngest] was only 36. That's when I said 'Well, I got these songs.' So, we walked out of that lunch, said no to Dick Clark and said 'Okay, let's do this.'"
The Cowsills quit their day jobs and were a full-time band again. Those new demos they were working on would ultimately become Global - a batch of 14 tracks written primarily by Bob and his wife Mary Jo, with contributions from Barry and Paul Cowsill. The album was recorded at Rumbo Recorders, owned by Daryl Dragon ("The Captain" of Captain & Tennille). The Cowsills began booking live shows, and anyone who came for nostalgia was in for a surprise.
Unfortunately the record didn't get a major-label release, although it did come close. Atlantic Records A&R Marc Nathan fell in love with the Global track "Is It Any Wonder" and was sure he could get the band signed. Nathan's boss Doug Morris loved what he was hearing but once Nathan revealed it was The Cowsills, he was immediately fired. The funding for the album also disappeared overnight when the band's financier was arrested by the FBI for insurance fraud. The Cowsills were questioned by Federal authorities and identified as victims of this scam artist. The family scattered once again and since they couldn't ransom the tapes, the tracks they had recorded sat at Rumbo for years.
Then the internet came along, and the band had a new way of distribution. Bob rescued the album and brought in mastering legend Doug Sax to work on the DAT rough mixes. The Cowsills created a label, Robin Records, and a website to sell the CD-only album, of which only very few were made. While preparing the release, Bob made the eleventh-hour decision to leave out three of the 14 songs. The missing three are finally reinstated on the new CD and streaming editions of Global.
With full cooperation from the band and Executive Producers Rock Positano and James Ferr, Global has been restored and remastered by multiple Grammy-winner Michael Graves and is definitively back. Bob, John, Paul, and Susan Cowsill, as well as veteran bassist Robby Scharf are joined by guests Vicki Peterson (The Bangles, Continental Drifters), Berton Averre (The Knack), Peter Holsapple (The dB's, Continental Drifters), members of the extended Cowsills family, and even John Stamos, who was one of the biggest names in Hollywood at the time of recording. It's a joyous noise spanning decades of pure pop and songcraft.
Featuring updated artwork, the packaging contains new liner notes from Brett Milano and Bob Cowsill outlining, explaining, and bringing this "lost" album's story to life.
Global tracklist:
1. What About Love
2. Under The Gun
3. She Said To Me
4. You've Got No Time
5. Cross That Line
6. What I Believe
7. I Be Low
8. Far Away
9. Rescue
10. Is It Any Wonder
11. Some Good Years
12. Free Fall*
13. Maybe It's You*
14. Shine*
*bonus tracks for CD/digital version
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