Charlie - Good Morning America (1981)

Continuing their corporate wanderings, 1981's "Good Morning" found the band signed domestically by RCA Victor.  This time the album was co-produced by Terry Thomas and guitarist John Verity.  A former member of The Kinks and Phoenix. Verity was supposedly brought in to 'toughen up' the band's sound and ended up joining the line-up on guitar.  He also handled lead vocals on 'Roll the Dice' and 'Heading for Home'.  Fellow Kinks/Phoenix alumnus Bob Henrit came along on drums. 
Partnering with a big label should have opened the door for mega success ('course the deal with Arista should have done that), but as is often the case, it didn't happen.  In fact, this was the first Charlie effort that I'd describe as a major disappointment.  While the band's sound remained instantly recognizable, this time around Thomas and company seemed to have opted for a more AOR attack with an occasional shot of new wave angst (the group-penned 'I'm Angry with You'). 
While it may have been a right marketing move and was clearly intended to break the band in the States, the unfortunate result was that material like 'I Can't Get Over You' (with a strange reggae undercurrent), 'Heading for Home' and 'Saturday Night' was competent, but largely forgettable. 
If I had to pick a favorite track - well none of them were great, but at least the title track (featuring Thomas' dry humor), and All My Life' had some nice harmony work. 
To be honest, Thomas and company seem to have simply run out of creative steam.  Perhaps not a major shock given the amount of material they'd churned out over the past five years, or recent problems on the business end.  

Track listing

01.  "Good Morning America"  (Terry Thomas)  - 5:23 
02.  "I Can't Get Over You"  (Terry Thomas)  - 3:40 
03.  "Roll The Dice"  (Chris Couchois, Mike Couchois)  - 3:58 
04.  "Heading For Home " (Terry Thomas)  - 4:11 
05.  "Saturday Night"  - 3:16 
06.  "All My Life"  - 3:43 
07.  "Fool For Your Love"  - 4:11 
08.  "My Perfect Lover"  - 3:34 
09.  "I'm Angry With You"  (Steve Gadd, Robert Henrit, Terry Thomas, John Verity)  - 3:04 
10.  "Just One More Chance"  (Terry Thomas)  - 3:46 
11.  "The Girl Won't Dance With Me"  (Terry Thomas)  - 3:43 

Credits
Bass, Vocals – John Anderson
Drums – Bob Henrit, Steve Gadd 
Guitar, Vocals – John Verity, Terry Thomas
Producer – Terry Thomas
Producer, Engineer – John Verity

Notes
Recorded at Livingstone Studios, London
Genre: Pop, Rock
Length: 43:00
Label: RCA Victor Records

© 1981

Charlie - Fantasy Girls (1976)

The jazz-inflected, London-based group Charlie was as well known for the sexy babes on their album covers as they were for their close, smooth harmonies and slick, catchy singles like "Turning" and "Watching TV." The band's core lineup consisted of vocalist/guitarist Terry Thomas (who had also been in a band with Free and Bad Company's Simon Kirke), bassist/vocalist John Anderson (formerly of Axe), and drummer Steve Gadd, and a wide array of supporting players, including keyboardist Julian Colbeck, guitarist Martin Smith, auxiliary drummer Shep Lonsdale, and former Argent members Bob Henrit and John Verity. Their radio-friendly sound debuted in 1976 with "Fantasy Girls" and the group managed a steady stream of moderate FM hits in the U.S.  The guitars are compressed and the arrangements are quite similar to their contemporaries, specifically that of Boston (especially on "Miss Deluxe"), but the quality on this ten-song session is erratic at best and shows a group just starting to get its footing and identity together. To Charlie's credit, they take bits and pieces of their contemporaries and take only what really works, but when listened to as a whole, "Fantasy Girls" can be inconsistent but wonderful for those looking for no-frills rock & roll.

Track List

01.  Fantasy Girls  (4:38)
02.  Miss Deluxe  (4:01)
03.  TV Dreams  (3:07)
04.  Prisoners  (6:00)
05.  First Class Traveller  (2:53)
06.  Greatcoat Guru  (5:12)
07.  Please Let Me Know  (4:04)
08.  Don't Let Me Down  (2:27)
09.  It's Your Life  (5:32)
10.  Summer Romances  (5:04)

Released:  1976
Label:  Columbia
Genre:  Rock
Lenght:  42:58
Producer:  Mike Stone
Engineer:  Mike Stone