Heavy Cruiser "Lucky Dog" 1972 US/ CAN Hard Blues Rock. <br /> <br />Neil took the band members from Mama Lion into a studio to demo some songs. They recorded half-dozen songs and a few days later, Mama Lion went on a tour and wound up in New York City to play Central Park with Billy Preston. <br />The engineer in LA made an acetate of Neil’s songs and sent it to Neil in care of Famous Music. The band went to a meet and greet at Famous Music and Neil played the acetate at the party. The head of A&R loved the music and bought it from Artie Ripp. <br />Neil called the project “Heavy Cruiser”. When Mama Lion returned to LA, Neil took the band back into the studio and they recorded a few more tracks to complete the “Heavy Cruiser” record. <br />Artie Ripp stopped the band from putting their names on the record cover because he didn’t want it to interfere with his main act, Mama Lion. <br />The same thing happened when Neil did more of his songs with the band and produced a second “Heavy Cruiser” album called “Lucky Dog” – band members’ names were left off the cover. <br /> <br />Neil Merryweather – vocals, bass, acoustic guitar <br />James Newton Howard – organ and piano <br />Coffi Hall – drums and percussion <br />Alan Hertz - guitar <br /> <br />Produced by Neil Merryweather <br />Engineers – Bruce Albertine, John LaSalle, Kerry McNabb, Chuck Johnson, James Vickers <br />Album Design – Neil Merryweather
