Dennis Lambert
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1960-) - Dennis Lambert -- vocals, keyboards
supporting musicians (1972) - Artie Butler -- guitar - Ben Benay -- bass - Hal Blaine -- drums, percussion - Jim Gordon- - drums, percussion - Ollie Mitchell -- tenor sax - Bill Perkins -- trumpet - Ray Pohlman -- drums, percussion - Brian Potter -- sax
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- Lambert & Nuttycombe (Dennis Lambert) - West Coast Pop Art Ensemble (Dennis Lambert)
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Genre: pop Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: Bags & Things Company: Dunhill Catalog: DSX
50119 Country/State: Brooklyn, New York Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: gatefold sleeve; promo sticker on cover; white label promo Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $
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If you were to go through the song writing credits for the thousands of on-line album reviews I've posted over the years, you'd see Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter dozens; no hundreds of times. The other funny things is time after time they've been responsible for penning some of my favorite compositions on albums. And in spite of that, I knew virtually nothing about the pair. Shoot, I didn't even know Lambert had recorded some solo material until I stumbled across this album at a yard sale. When I found it, I almost cast it aside given the bland, banal cover.
Lambert's professional musical career started in 1960. He was signed to a recording contract by Capitol. In spite of having a nice voice he doesn't seem to have released any material. By the mid-'60s he'd turned his energies to writing (frequently with Lou Courtney) and production. His successes included Freddie and the Dreamers ('Do The Freddie'), The Nashville Teens ('Find My Way Back Home'). The McCoys ('Up & Down'), and Jerry Butler ('I Dig You Baby'). He joined Mercury Records as an A&R man and was then hired as A&R department head for Don Costa's DCP label, before being drafted into the Army.
Competing his service in 1968, Lambert moved to Los Angeles, teaming up with folk guitarist Craig Nuttycombe. The pair were signed by A&M and teamed with producer Glyn Johns. A&M initially shelved the result album, finally releasing "At Home" (A&M catalog number SP 4250) in 1970.
While visiting London, in 1969 Lambert met English songwriter Brian Potter and the pair began an extended collaboration. Lambert and Potter were signed to Steve Binder's short-lived Bell Records associated T.A. (Talent Associates) label. They served as A&R men scouting for talent (including The Original Caste and Seals & Crofts), producers and songwriters. Lambert also cut the label's first single:
- 1969's 'I'm Coming Back' b/w ' 'I'm Coming Back'' (T.A catalog number 45-185)
T.A.
was subsequently bought by ABC Dunhill which kept the pair on its payroll.
Perhaps spurred on by the pair's success working with The Four Tops ('Keeper
of the Castle' and 'Ain't No Woman (Like the One I Got'), Dunhill executives
green lighted a Lambert solo project, Produced by Steve Barri, 1972's
"Bags & Things" featured a largely original set
of tunes penned by Lambert and long term partner Brian Potter. The one
exception was a cover of the Kenny Loggins and
"Bags
& Things" track listing: 1.) Bags & Things (Dennis Lambert - Brian Potter) - 2:25 rating: ** stars I guess the big singer/songwriter title track ballad was kind of what I was expecting to hear. Lambert's voice was actually far better than I expected, but the life-is-tough-as-a-musician lyrics coupled with Jimmie Haskell's heavy orchestration sounded like any one of thousands of similar efforts. 2.) Ashes To Ashes (Dennis Lambert - Brian Potter) - 3:33 rating: **** stars As someone who grew up with the 5th Dimension's 'Ashes To Ashes' cover, I'd never heard Lambert's version. To be honest I didn't even remember Lambert and Potter had written it The melody was the same, but Lambert's version slowed things way down. His arrangement was quite nice, serving to showcase his nifty, creamy voice, letting you focus on the mournful lyrics. Initially my vote would have gone to Marilyn McCoo and company, but when I played them side by side, the 5th Dimension version sounded overly bright and busy. Not that I don't still love it. Dunhill tapped it as the album's second single:
- 1972's 'Ashes To Ashes' b/w 'Something To Remember You By' (Dunhill catalog number D-4311)
3.) Of All the Things (Dennis Lambert - Brian Potter) - 2:57 rating: *** stars I'm guessing 'Of All the Things' served as the first dance at thousands of wedding parties. It was certainly a pretty and sentimental ballad, but given the sickly sweet lyrics it was not something you want to play around a diabetic. The title was used for a subsequent documentary on Lambert. 4.) Somebody Found Her (Before I Lost Her) (Dennis Lambert - Brian Potter) - 2:55 rating: ** stars Well the title was certain cumbersome. Another piano propelled ballad, 'Somebody Found Her (Before I Lost Her)' sounded like something Bacharach and David might have penned for a television sitcom theme. Certainly commercial, but in a trite, irritating way. The Adrissi Brothers covered the tune, releasing it as a single. Their version was even worse. 5.) I Didn't Sing (In The New York Subway) (Dennis Lambert - Brian Potter) - 3:34 rating: *** stars An atypical rocker (I'm using the term somewhat generically), 'I Didn't Sing (In The New York Subway)' was actually kind of funny for it's anti-California lyrics. The track also revealed Lambert was able to handle more than a big ballad. Nice Artie Butler guitar solo. I'm not sure what the business related maturations were, but in 1974 Lambert and Potter were under contract to Capitol which established the affiliated Haven label for them. A re-release of this track as a promotional single was one of the label's first efforts:
- 1975's 'I Didn't Sing (In The New York Subway)' (mono) b/w ''I Didn't Sing (In The New York Subway)' (stereo) (Haven catalog number P-7017)
For folks interested in stuff like this, there's a great rock cover by the band Björn Skifs & Blåblus (aka Blue Swede): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EK_H_4reM5U
(side
2) First keyboard ballad on side two. Another one with sitcom soundtrack potential, this one's sense of urgency reminded me of something out of Barry Manilow's catalog. 2.) Something To Remember You By (Dennis Lambert - Brian Potter) - 2:26 rating: *** stars Thankfully 'Something To Remember You By' was an upbeat tune. Not exactly a rocker, but a nice pop tune. The song also appeared as the "B" side of Lambert's 'Ashes to Ashes' 45. 3.) So Little Time (Dennis Lambert - Brian Potter) - 3:26 rating: ** stars How about a sappy piano based ballad? Well, the chorus could have sold life insurance ... 4.) Rock & Roll Mood (Kenny Loggins - Michael Omartian) - 3:48 rating: *** stars The lone cover, I actually owned the first Loggins and Messina album ("Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina Sittin' In" so I'd heard this one. The Loggins and Messina original was kind of a bluesy piano ballad. Seemingly perfect material for Lambert. Interestingly, Lambert ditched the bluesy vibe and upped the song's pop/rock quotient. I actually ended up liking the cover better than the original. 5.) Dream On (Dennis Lambert - Brian Potter) - 2:51 rating: *** stars 'Dream On' opened up sounding like it was going to be another patented ballad, but it had a more pop oriented sound with a rockin' refrain. Probably Lambert's best vocal performance. The song was released as the album's first single. Easy to see why The Righteous Brothers covered it, enjoying a top-40 hit with their version.
- 1972's 'Dream On' b/w 'Ashes to Ashes' (Dunhill catalog number D-4314)
I won't bother with a list, but Lambert (with and without Potter) continued to enjoy extensive successes through the '90s. And then things got weird. By the 2000's Lambert was largely out of the music business, living in Boca Raton Florida, working in the real estate business. Who know why, but while 1972's "Bags & Things" bombed in the States, unknown to Lambert the album became a massive hit in the Philippines. Local concert promoters had been trying to get Lambert to tour the country for years and in 2007 he agreed. Taylor Williams and Lamberts' son Jody decided to film the two week, resulting in the release of 2008's "Of All the Things." YouTube has a brief interview with the Lamberts at the American Film Institute's showing of the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-31T8Wbg650
© Scott R. Blackerby May, 2025
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Michael
Omartian rocker 'Rock
& Roll Mood.' Based on their previous work, I guess I was
expecting the album to feature a sound heavy on soul and blue-eyed
soul. Instead material like the title track, 'Of All the Things' and
'Somebody Found Her (Before I Lost Her)' placed Lambert firmly in sensitive
singer-songwriter
territory. Think along the lines of a less pompous Jimmy Webb; a
cooler, less cloying Barry Manilow, or perhaps a less
"sophisticated" Burt Bacharach. The comparisons weren't
perfect; but should give you a feel for the general sound since six of the
ten of the performances were big, syrupy ballads. Some like 'Ashes to Ashes'
were good syrupy ballads, but they were still syrupy ballads and there's a
limit to how many of those any human can digest in an hour. That made
atypical upbeat tunes like 'I
Didn't Sing (In The New York Subway)'
and 'Rock &
Roll Mood' the
standout performances. Not a great album, but certainly not lounge act
schmaltz either. With a couple more up tempo numbers it could have been a
contender. (By the way, the track listing shown on the back cover
doesn't reflect the actual running order.)
