Little River Band - Little River Band (1975)

"Little River Band" is the first album by the Australian rock group Little River Band which was released by EMI in November 1975.
The Australian sextet, Little River Band's debut album sounds as American as anything by The Eagles or The Doobie Brothers, and is driven by "It's a Long Way There"  whose eight and a half minutes of crunchy electric guitars, luminous acoustic guitar, and smooth harmonizing is spread across a musically dramatic arc that is worth every second of its running time. This is an astonishingly strong debut album. There aren't any surprises, just seven more eminently enjoyable if slightly looser structured mainstream rock songs in the same vein, inventive where they had to be (like on the solos or the variations on the extended choruses), all more modestly proportioned than the hit and thoroughly enjoyable. Guitarist Graham Goble dominated the songwriting with the single and "I Know It," but singer Glenn Shorrock contributed significantly with the delightfully exuberant "Emma" and the hauntingly beautiful movie-within-a-song "The Man in Black," and guitarist Beeb Birtles showed himself no slouch in the ballad department with "I'll Always Call Your Name," which overstays its welcome by about 30 seconds but is otherwise nice and catchy.

Tracklist

01. "It's a Long Way There" (Graeham Goble)  - 8:39
02. "Curiosity (Killed the Cat)" (Beeb Birtles)  - 3:40
03. "Meanwhile ..." (Glenn Shorrock)  - 3:35
04. "My Lady & Me" (Goble)  - 5:45
05. "I'll Always Call Your Name" (Birtles)  - 4:48
06. "Emma" (Shorrock)  - 3:35
07. "The Man in Black" (Shorrock)  - 5:06
08. "Statue of Liberty" (Shorrock)  - 3:28
09. "I Know It" (Goble)  - 3:21

Personnel
Beeb Birtles - lead vocals, backing vocals, guitars (acoustic, electric)
Ric Formosa - guitars (lead, acoustic, slide)
Graeham Goble - lead vocals, backing vocals, guitars (acoustic, electric), vocal arrangements
Roger McLachlan - bass guitar
Derek Pellicci - drums, percussion
Glenn Shorrock - lead vocals, backing vocals, percussion, harmonica
Stephen Cooney - clavinet , mandolin
Gary Hyde - percussion
Peter Jones - strings (arrangement, conductor), piano
Col Laughnan - saxophone
Ian Mason - piano

Notes
Released:  November 1975
Recorded at:  Armstrong's Studios, Melbourne
Label:  EMI, Capitol
Genre:  Rock
Length:  45:07
Producer:  Birtles, Shorrock, Glenn Wheatley, Goble