You know me, I never go into bars. Especially in Norman, OK were you may run into a drunk OU football player, or worse, a gang of fraternity boys looking for a fight. What made me go into that long torn-down (it was on the east side of the Heisman Mall after all) 3.2 beer joint in 1987 is beyond me. Glad I did! The band was on top of a incredibly high stage, smoke was blowing, fans were blasting and I was in heaven. The band sounded like a rock symphony. Baroque pop like the Left Banke, or heavier like Led Zeppelin. They were loud and melodic and I was hooked. The band was Shallow Reign and I found out that there were from Dallas -- Deep Ellum or some such place (like OK City's Brick Town). So, in those days before the internet, I keep an eye out for flyers and posters advertising their return to Sooner country.
Lo and behold . . .
. . . a poster!
My wife and I attended, you betcha! (It was a "grill" or a "pub" so I didn't have to worry about defending the honor of my woman). Sadly, there were only a few of us in attendance. They played this great song called "Paint The Flowers All Black" first. If there were such things as rock 'n' roll singles back then, this would have been it! Who could forget the final chorus of "black, black, black, black, black?" After performing a few more songs, they asked for requests. We asked for more "black, black, black, black, black!" After the performance, we told them how much we enjoyed their songs, to ignore the turnout and please come back, and we bought two t-shirts!
(My white one is long worn-out but my wife's red one is pristine.)The basic problem with SHALLOW REIGN at the time was a lack of product. My good friend Kevin sent me a cassette copy of an album called THE SOUND OF DEEP ELLUM released on Island records and recorded at the Planet Dallas Studio. I'll have to find the cassette to see who else was representin' DE but the main thing is that Shallow Reign's "Paint All The Flowers Black" was on it. Whew!
At least I had that.UPDATE (November 2006): My new best friend Peter send me a CD-R of the DEEP ELLUM album along with a color copy of the cover:
On Wednesday September 6, 1989, the Dallas Morning News printed an article entitled "Shallow Reign on the rebound" by Russell Smith (well, you wouldn't expect me to subscribe to just the local papers would you?) It talked about a new CD (whatever CDs were!) called STRANGE WORLD.
I'll OCR the article in the near future but here's their picture:
In 1993 I found a copy of their first self-titled release:
SHALLOW REIGN
1986 Pool RecordsFlash to 1995 (and Colorado), I found a copy of the STRANGEWORLD CD:
STRANGEWORLD
1989 Reign Drop Records
And, then, because I'm a visual music shopper, I purchased this CD:
TALES FROM THE EDGE, Volumes 5 & 6 (94.5 KDGE)
1992 Alison Broadcast Group, Inc.Reading the liner notes (which is something I still do to this day!) I discovered a song called "Back Against The Wall" by CATERPILLAR. It sounds like, it rocks like, it is . . . two parts SHALLOW REIGN and two parts THE TREES! I don't need to tell you -- but I will -- that "Back" killed the competition! No "back, back, back, back, back" here but still that go-for-baroque heavy sound with a bit more southern rock thrown in for the locals.
Well, there you have it. A one-page profile of a great lost rock band from Dallas. I heard that Bob Watson lives in Kentucky and may have a My Space site but, you know me, I don't go near those things.
Before I go, here's some short sound clips of what we all miss:
PAINT ALL THE FLOWERS BLACK #1
IN YOUR MIND
328 REGRET
WALK WITH ME
DREAMTIME
BACK AGAINST THE WALL
PAINT ALL THE FLOWERS BLACK #2
Black, black, black, black, black!
DISCOGRAPHY
SHALLOW REIGN
(Album)
1986 Pool Records
Produced by Patrick S. Keel for Pool ProductionsA. Celtic/Understanding Kiss/In Your Mind/328 Regret
B. Long Time Ago/Forever/One Last Chance/All Alone/ReflectionBob Watson (guitars, vocals on 328 Regret)
Jan Paul Davidsson (drums, vocals)
Patrick Sugg (lead guitar)
Mark Thomas (bass)Keyboards by Patrick S. Keel
THE SOUND OF DEEP ELLUM
(Compilation Album)
(Island)
1987 Island Records
Executive Producer - Kim BluePaint All The Flowers Black
STRANGEWORLD
(CD)
1989 Reign Drop RecordsWalk With Me/Rainbow/Days Gone By/Dreamchild/Place To Hide/Burn Dandelion/Dreamtime/Mr. Jack/Close Your Eyes/Strangeworld/Precious Mine/Once Too Much
Bob Watson (guitars and vocals)
Brad Robertson (drums)
Mark Thomas (bass)
Kit Chambers (lead guitar)TALES FROM THE EDGE, Volumes 5 & 6 (94.5 KDGE)
(Compilation CD)
1992 Alison Broadcast Group, Inc.CATERPILLAR - Back Against The Wall
Bob Watson (rhythm guitar and vocals)
Pat McKanna (lead vocals)
Mark Thomas (bass guitar)
Robert Anderson (drums)
Matt Swainey (lead guitar)Produced by Caterpillar
TALES FROM THE EDGE, Volumes 5 & 6 (94.5 KDGE)
(Compilation CD)Last Call
Is my Shallow Reign page too shallow? E-mail me!
E-mail Andy!
Copyright 2006 Viable Tangents
