These field recordings of Pacific Orchestra; taken from ancient cassettes, third generation studio tapes, and modern digital equipment; vary widely in volume and sound quality. Please be patient. The volume can be adjusted at the speaker symbol to the left of the "play" arrow. Hopefully you will plug your computer into your home stereo unit so you can enjoy the all important bass.
Jim Ward was a monster on the lead guitar. Listen to his solo on this live version of Personality, a song that he wrote with Khan. Richie is on drums, George on percussion, Rick on bass and vocals, Khan on guitar and vocals and John on sax.
Slow Down was written by Rick Fraley. He sang the lead vocal, played the bass and played the lead guitar solo on this recording. Khan was on rhythm guitar, John on the saxes, Charles McFarlan on drums, and Ed Tossing on the organ. Brash, forward and real, this unrelenting rock / reggae fusion is a portrait of Rick as an artist and a young man.
Working in a small studio in Washington, DC, this version of Better Be Good was recorded with John on flute and keyboards, Face on bass and vocals, Khan on vocals and guitar, Joe on lead guitar and vocals, and Nick Ruggieri on drums. Joe and Khan wrote the song.
Open Boat was one of Pacific Orchestra's best loved and most requested songs. Written by John Gladstone, this version features Tracey Williams on the vocals with John on flute, Khan on guitar, Keith on bass, George on percussion and Richie on drums. Face is doing the live special effects mix.
Jay Drury, the director of Key West's Greene Street Theater, asked Pacific Orchestra to compose a piece of music to accompany a highly anticipated performance of an unreleased Tennessee Williams play. Khan composed this instrumental song which Khan (guitar), John (sax), and Rick (bass) recorded onto a cassette player in his bedroom one afternoon during a tropical Key West downpour. Named The Rain Song, the melody was later incorporated into the song "Love Attack."
Night after night, John would thrill the crowd with his solo flute performance Aura. The recording is unfortunately cut short, but it is still a beautiful artifact.
Silver and Gold appeared on the Electricity EP. The players were John Gladstone /Sax and Vocals, Khan/Vocals and Guitar, Danny Miller/Bass and Vocals, Jeremy Wall/Synthesizer, Conga George/Conga, and Richie Ciavolino/Drums.
In 2010, Steve "Face" Fuchs started recording unreleased Pacific Orchestra songs in his home studio. He sent his instrumental mixes to Khan on a disc, to which Khan added his vocals. Steve then mixed the songs with amazing results. Khan's song Down in Babylon was a Pacific Orchestra concert staple which had never been recorded. Face played all the instruments on this version (except the harmonica solo by Khan) aided by Kelly May from the Mighty Parrot band on guitar. Spins Nitely and Michael Greene sweetened the background vocals.
Calling on the Captain, written in the late 1970s by Face and lead guitarist Jim Ward, was also recorded in Face's home studio in 2010. When Face started working up this new version, Khan wrote a new set of lyrics. Ben New from the Mighty Parrot Band played the fine lead guitar solo.
