Around the mid-seventies, Canadian singer/songwriter Bruce Miller released a few country/rock singles as well as Rude Awakening, an album on A&M Records. The album was co-produced by the late Canadian songwriter/guitarist Gaye De Lorme (1947-2011) and David Foster, who was just starting his career as a session man in Los Angeles. As a matter of fact, Foster was responsible for De Lorme’s move to L.A. when Foster offered De Lorme to become Skylark’s new guitar player.

Rude Awakening was recorded in 1974 at the legendary Sound City Studios with the late, famed producer/engineer Keith Olsen (1945-2020) in the control room. The mood of the album follows the acoustic, country-fueled atmospheres of big names like Jackson Browne and James Taylor.  Rude Awakening was delivered with an impressive line-up of studio stars including Jim Keltner at the drums, bassist Lee Sklar and Tom Scott on saxophone. The first single off the album was “Summer Of Our Love” and was released in June 1975. Like most of Rude Awakening, this soft-rock composition was written by Miller and featured Foster on electric piano, Airto Moreira on percussion and Scott signing in on tenor saxophone. This catchy composition with its smooth arrangement made some waves in Canada and received good radio airplay. “Summer Of Our Love” and the rocking title-track, previously reviewed here and eventually covered in 1979 by Pure Prairie League, were the tracks on the album that sound close to Foster’s future works.

We asked The Hitman to listen to this track and here’s what he told us:

“Yea, I remember those sessions. Bruce Miller was great, but after listening today, I don’t think I was the right choice for him. Bruce was earthy and raw and it seems like I tried to make him sound like some kind of Al Jarreau. The sound just doesn’t hold up. I’d like to remember Keith Olsen that worked on this album and went on to do a lot of great productions including Fleetwood Mac and Foreigner.”

In the early eighties, Miller released a second album, this time on Capitol records and titled Magic Night. Two other Canadian musicians, Lindsay Mitchell and Claire Lawrence, produced Magic Night. Mitchell was the leader of the popular rock band Prism while Lawrence played and fronted several bands, among them The Collectors that scored a few hit records in Canada in the late sixties. Miller would go on to write songs for several acts including the aforementioned Prism, Reba McEntire and Bryan White. The title-track from Magic Night was included in the 1985 movie Perfect starring John Travolta and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Listen

• Lead Vocal & Acoustic Guitar: Bruce Miller
• Keyboards: David Foster
• Bass: Lee Sklar
• Drums: Jim Keltner
• Electric Guitar:  Gaye De Lorme
• Percussion: Airto
• Tenor Saxophone: Tom Scott
• Backing Vocals: Cathy, Nette & Carmen

• Arranged by David Foster, Gaye De Lorme & Bruce Miller
• Background Vocals Arranged by David Foster
• Produced by David Foster & Gaye De Lorme

Lyrics

No Lyrics

In 1974 Skylark disbanded and David Foster immediately began his career as a top studio keyboard player in L.A. During those first years he played on albums by Lynyrd Skynard, Keith Moon of the Who and George Harrison. In 1975 he was given the chance to co-produce Bruce Miller’s “Rude Awakening.” Miller was a Canadian singer/songwriter whose folk/rock music was following the footsteps of acts like the Eagles, Poco and Jackson Browne. Foster co-produced “Rude Awakening” with another compatriot, Gaye De Lorme, a very talented guitar player. Though the album remains a best kept secret, Foster’s arrangements for the record clearly show his developing talents.

Miller co-wrote the bulk of the album. He sang the songs with conviction while playing the acoustic guitar and fiddle. Among the songs there’s the nice opening number, “Summer Of Our Love,” that features some fine sax work by Tom Scott. The title track sports a good beat and an effective refrain with interesting guitar work by De Lorme and Foster on clavinet. There are other big names in the lineup including Poco member Rusty Young, famous Brazilian percussionist Airto Moreira, bassist Lee Sklar and drummer Jim Keltner who played with Foster in the group Attitudes. “Rude Awakening” was engineered by Keith Olsen who would become another top-notch music maker. He enlisted Foster to play on several of his productions of that era. After “Rude Awakening.” Miller continued his career in the music biz, co-writing hit songs for big country names like Reba McEntire and the Dixie Chicks.

Listen

[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/archives/clips/rude_awakening.mp3|titles=Rude awakening|artists=Bruce Miller]

Lead Vocal & Acoustic Guitar: Bruce Miller
Keyboards: David Foster
Electric Guitar: Gaye De Lorme
Bass: Lee Sklar
Drums: Jim Keltner
Background Vocals: Cathy, Nette & Carmen
Arrangements by Bruce Miller, David Foster & Gaye De Lorme
Produced by Gaye De Lorme & David Foster

Lyrics

NO LYRICS