John Cafferty And The Beaver Brown Band - Tough All Over (1985)

John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band is the name of an American rock band from Rhode Island which began its career in the 1970s and achieved mainstream success in the 1980s. Originally known as simply Beaver Brown, who they got their name from longtime friend William Bosworth. classic lineup of the group (consisting of John Cafferty on vocals and guitar, Gary Gramolini on lead guitar, Pat Lupo on bass, Kenny Jo Silva on drums, Bobby Cotoia on keyboards, and Michael "Tunes" Antunes on saxophone) started out as a New England bar band based in Narragansett, Rhode Island and established a following up and down the Northeast corridor with strongholds in the beach resort towns of Narragansett and Misquamicut, Rhode Island; New York City; New Haven, Connecticut; Boston, Massachusetts; and Asbury Park, New Jersey.
“Tough All Over” was first released in 1985 and was Cafferty's first attempt to pull his band away from the Eddie and the Cruisers franchise; however, it was later re-released with a different album cover and "The Voice of Eddie and the Cruisers" added to the title.
On the strength of the double platinum soundtrack to Eddie and the Cruisers, John Cafferty And The Beaver Brown Band were able to record “Tough All Over”, an album of their original songs, and release it under their own name. Released in the summer of 1985 at the tail-end of Eddie-mania, the record managed to spawn hard-rocking Top 40 hits, "C-I-T-Y" and "Tough All Over," which strongly recalled Springsteen, much like the rest of Cafferty's songs. Besides the two hits, “Tough All Over” lacked material that ranked with the best of the Eddie and the Cruisers soundtrack.
This album does have some nice songs on it and is a pleasant change of pace from many other 80s albums.
The first four songs and sixth song on "Tough All Over" are the best songs. The album kicks off with a song called "Voices of Americas Sons". Sylvester Stallone had become a Cafferty fan during this period as well. He had Cafferty contribute an excellent song to the Rocky IV soundtrack called "Hearts on Fire". He had also had Cafferty do the theme song for the movie "Cobra" - and that song was "Voices of Americas Sons". Like many Cafferty songs, this song has a Bruce Springsteen flare to it Cafferty has great vocals, but it is the keyboards of Bob Cotola and drums of Kenny Jo Silva that shouldn't go unnoticed on this song. I was surprised this song didn't chart better - it is one of the best songs I've heard Cafferty do.
The second song, "Tough All Over" was a song that did garner radio airplay. This song has more of an early 80s feel to it - but Cafferty's vocals also show how the music trend in the 80s was going to more of a classic Rock sound. Once again, kudos to Bob Cotola and Kenny Jo Silva - they really provide some nice keyboards and drumming to compliment the Cafferty vocals.
"C-I-T-Y" is third song. It did get some limited airplay, but not nearly as much as "Tough All Over" got. The Beaver Brown Band once again shines with Cafferty and this time its guitarist Gary Gramolini that deserves a lot of credit. This song has a combination of Blues/R&B and Bruce Springsteen feel to it. This song features some catchy chorus vocals and some nice female background vocals by Janice Pendarvis, Dolette McDonald, and Deborah Malone.
The fourth song is "Where the Action is". This time some nice Bass action by Pat Lupo compliments Gramolini's guitar work. This song has a very different feel. It has much more of a 50s feel to it. In addition, it reminds me a lot of a Cliff Richard song. Songs like this are another reason why Cafferty was able to reach people - he found an audience in an older generation and at the same time connected with the current 80s generation.
Another nice song that is forgotten about on this album is "Strangers in Paradise". While this song has a similar feel to "Voices of Americas Sons", this one shows that Cafferty is a solid songwriter. This song tells a story of someone named 'Billy' as he ages from his teen years (in which he leaves his town) to his young adulthood (when he eventually comes home). This song is another song where I am surprised it didn't get airplay.
The remaining songs are not nearly as strong as the first four songs, but do have their moments. "Dixieland" has very much of a "Dixie" feel to it. "Small Town Girl" is an ok song with another 50s feel to it - I do like the sax intro by Michale Antunes. "More Than Just One of the Boys" is another 50s song that has some nice keyboards by Cotola. This song almost could have been on the "Grease" soundtrack. The weakest song is "Tex Mex" - this almost has a country-like feel to it. It isn't as catchy as the other songs, but it continues to show the diversity that the band brings to this album.

Track listing

01. "Voice of America's Sons" - 4:35
02. "Tough All Over" - 4:31
03. "C-I-T-Y" - 3:28
04. "Where the Action Is" - 2:52
05. "Dixieland" - 3:55
06. "Strangers in Paradise" - 4:23
07. "Small Town Girl" - 4:14
08. "More Than Just One of the Boys" - 3:17
09. "Tex-Mex (Crystal Blue)" - 4:39

All songs written by John Cafferty

Credits
John Cafferty - vocals, guitar
Deborah Malone, Kenny Vance, Janice Pendarvis - vocals, background vocals
Philip Namanworth - vocals
Gary Gramolini, Gary Gramoli - guitar
Michael Antunes - saxophone
Bob Cotoia - keyboards
Kenny Jo Silva, Jimmy Bralower - drums
Crusher Bennett, Jerry Gonzalez - percussion
Dollette McDonald - background vocals

Audio Mixers - Michael Getlin; Karl Rasmussen.
Engineer [Assistant] - Bruce Buchhalter, Fletcher, Michael Sauvage, Paul Hamingson, Tom Soares
Management - Arnold Freedman
Mastered By - George Marino
Mixed By - Karl Rasmussen, Mike Getlin
Recorded By . Mike Getlin
Producer - Kenny Vance

Notes
Recording information: Normandy Sound Studios, Warren, RI; RCA Studios, New York, NY; The Power Station, New York, NY.
Liner Note Author: Catherine Farley.
Genre: Rock, Heartland Rock
Length: 36:43

© 1985 Scotti Bros. Records