Title:  A Day In Paradise
Company: Source
Catalog: 2
Year: 1985
Country/State: Louisville, Kentucky
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: still in shrink wrap (opened)

Ah, Merrell Fankhauser ... one of my favorite rock and roll enigmas. There's a film waiting to be made about Fankhauser's colorful life so I'm not going to even try to cover it - besides there are already a couple of books that discuss his career. If you're interested, I'd suggest you check out Unknown Legends of Rock 'n' Roll by Ritchie Unterberger. The book includes a chapter on Fankhauser. Enough to say that after the breakup of his band Mu, the late-1970s and early-1980s found Fankhauser living and working in Hawaii.

Recorded in Los Angeles and Hawaii, 1985's Fankhauser produced "A Day In Paradise" was released by the small Vermont-based Source label. Credited to Fankhauser and the Maui Band, the album featured material that had been recorded in the mid-1970s following Mu's breakup. The sessions featured support from a slew of local musicians and a couple of big names including Steve Miller drummer Gary Malabar and the late Quicksilver Messenger Service lead guitarist John Cipollina. Here's what Fankhauser's own website has to say about the set:

"In 1977, Merrell returned to Hollywood to record several songs with Gary Malabar, drummer from Steve Miller's Band: studio guitarists Ben Benay and Art Munson: and bassist Colin Cameron. One of the songs, "Calling From A Star" featured Peter Noone singing with Merrell. "

Musically the album served as a perfect showcase for Fankhauser's strengths and weaknesses. The strengths - Fankhauser had a great voice that was exceedingly versatile, yet warm and likeable, and quite commercial. He had a knack for crafting catchy and commercial melodies. He wrote some of the weirdest lyrics you've ever heard - tales full of extraterrestrials, UFO encounters, lost civilizations (Mu), and other sci-fi staples. The weaknesses - well those unconventional lyrics certainly weren't for everyone, nor was his hippy-dippy persona.
- 'Calling From a Star' was a perfect example of Fankhauser's ability to blend a quirky lyric (the science fiction title and lyrics speak for themselves), with a highly commercial and catchy melody. I would have loved to have seen Peter Noone trying to make sense of the lyrics. The only blemish on this one came in the form of the cheesy synthesizer washes. YouTube has a copy of a homemade 1978 video partially filmed at Haleakala Crater on the island of Maui: The UFO segments are worth your time alone. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pll4QbQZW4 rating: **** stars- A breezy acoustic ballad, 'I Saw Your Photograph' wad one of the nicer mainstream efforts with Mary Lee providing a violin solo which actually improved the song. rating: *** stars
- Returning to tales of UFO citings and extraterrestrial adventures, 'On Our Way To Hana' may have sported some of his most bizarre lyrics, but musically this was one of Fankhauser's prettiest compositions with Quicksilver guitarist Cipollina turning in a great guitar solo. Beats me why, but this one always makes me smile. YouTube also has a clip of this one. The hippy chick dancers are hysterical and the man even had a Volkswagen bus !!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NBXi7IPH0w&feature=related rating: ***** stars- The first disappointment, 'Sail It Over the Ocean' was one of the album's most conventional compositions. A pretty, but bland ballad, this one actually sounded like Fankhauser had written it specifically for radio airplay. Maybe that very commerciality is what sinks it for me. rating: ** stars
- Opening up with some cheesy sound effects and synthesizers, 'The Mothership' was a nice summary of Fankhauser's view of mankind's roots (blame the aliens for all of our collective issues). With another pretty melody and some of Fankhauser's nicest vocals, it was a shame this one couldn't have been slotted into the soundtrack for Close Encounters of the Third Kind. rating: **** stars
- In spite of the touchy-feely new age lyric, 'Dharmic Connection' served as side one's hardest rocker and one of the best performances. Folks tend to forget that Fankhauser started out in a surf band so he's got the chops required to write and handle a straight-ahead rock song. Another YouTube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnLAhE1tfS4&feature=related
rating: **** stars
- 'Waterfall' was another pretty ballad, but with the exception of Cipollina mock Hawaiian slat key guitar solo, really didn't have a great deal going for it. Well, at least the video he did in 2001 for the song was nice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW-MwTJ7Bk8&feature=related
rating: ** stars
- Well, in the case of the short instrumental 'Jungle Drums' the title was an apt description of the song itself. rating: * star
- Hum, Irish bar band-meets-Hawaiian hippies ... yeah, I guess that's a pretty good description of the oddly titled instrumental 'LaLa Does the Boo Ru'. rating: ** stars
- A nice country-rocker, 'Some Them Escaped It All' sported another stereotyped '70s hippy lifestyle lyric , but was saved by a killer Fankhauser guitar solo. rating: *** stars
- Sporting plenty of twin lead electric guitar and a bluesy rock edge, 'Money Hungry Woman' was an atypical song for the set, but one of the standout performances. About as down-and-dirty as Fankhauser got on this one. rating: **** stars
- Strange even for Fankhauser, the swing-flavored 'Daddy's Song' sounded like something off of a Commander Cody album. Based on the baby laugh at the end of the track, I'm guessing it was written for one of Fankhauser's young children. rating: ** stars
- With a great AOR rock melody that wouldn't have sounded out of place on a Journey album and some of his sweetest vocals, 'Oceans of Intelligence' was one of the best songs on the album. You could even overlooked the typically bizarre lyrics on this one. rating: **** stars
- The album ended with a brief instrumental reprise of 'Calling From a Star'. Excellent Cipollina guitar solo on this one, if the spoken word segment at the end was goofy. rating: **** stars

I'll readily admit that this isn't anywhere near as good as H.M.S. Bounty, or his Me catalog, but with five strong songs it was well worth checking out.

"A Day In Paradise" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Calling From a Star (Merrell Fankhauser) - 3:12
2.) I Saw Your Photograph (Merrell Fankhauser)- 2:54
3.) On Our Way To Hana (Merrell Fankhauser) - 3:17
4.) Sail It Over the Ocean (Merrell Fankhauser) - 2:57
5.) The Mothership (Merrell Fankhauser) - 4:12
6.) Dharmic Connection (Merrell Fankhauser) - 2:55
7.) Waterfall (Merrell Fankhauser) - 3:24

(side 2)
1.) Jungle Drums (instrumental) (Merrell Fankhauser) - 1:35
2.) LaLa Does the Boo Ru (instrumental) (Merrell Fankhauser) - 2:00
3.) Some Them Escaped It All (Merrell Fankhauser)- 3:39
4.) Money Hungry Woman (Merrell Fankhauser) - 4:32
5.) Daddy's Song (Merrell Fankhauser) - 2:59
6.) Oceans of Intelligence (Merrell Fankhauser) - 3:56
7.) Calling From a Star (reprise) (Merrell Fankhauser) - 2:00

For anyone interested Fankhauser has a fascinating website at:
http://merrellfankhauser.com/frames.html