Genre: rock
Rating: 2 stars **
Title:  Come On People
Company: Rare Earth
Catalog: RS 513
Year: 1970
Country/State: Rochester, New York
Grade (cover/record): VG / VG+
Comments: small cut out notch on edge
Available: 1
Catalog ID: 6086
Price: $15.00

Outside of their native Rochester, New York it's unlikely many folks will remember The Rustix. That's unfortunate since they were a rather talented blue-eyed soul outfit who also happen to have been one of the first rock bands signed by Motown (well, signed by Motown's short-lived, rock-oriented Rare Earth subsidiary).

Showcasing the talents of drummer Bobby Bladino (replaced by former Invictas drummer David Colon Jr.), singer Chuck Brucato, former Invictas drummer David Colon Jr., lead guitarist Bob D'Andrea, singer Albin Galich, bassist Kit Nelson, and keyboardist Vince Strenk, the group became quite popular throughout New York state, eventually scoring a one-shot contract with Chess' Cadet subsidiary resulting in the release of:

-1968's 'Leaving Here' b/w 'When I Get Home' (Cadet catalog number 5628)

While the single did little outside of upper New York, manager/Rochester DJ Ferndinand Jay Smith III was responsible for getting the band signed by Motown's newly formed Rare Earth subsidiary as part of the label's attempt to dip it's corporate toe in rock and roll.

Like the band's debut album, fellow Motown artist R. Dean Taylor produced their sophomore release - 1970's "Come On People". This time out the creative spotlight was clearly focused on the band with Brucato responsible for penning seven of the ten tracks. That said, musically the album featured a modest change in direction compared to their debut. Gone was most of the blue-eyed soul that characterized the debut. In its place the band could be heard pursuing a more blues-rock oriented sound. Elsewhere exemplified by the title track and 'Hey Mose', the set had a distinctive activist flavor (course what else would you have expected from an early-1970s band ...). Curiously, while Bobby Brucato and Albin Galich were both talented singers, I can't say I particularly enjoyed their vocal interplay. On tracks like 'Mississippi Woman' and '' their voices seemed to clash; it was almost as if they brought out the worst aspects in each other's performances.

- Showcasing Brucato and Galich on twin lead vocals, 'Mississippi Woman' was a decent bluesy-rocker that would have been even better if the hook had been a bit stronger. For what it's worth, the song faded out somewhat abruptly. rating: ** stars
- 'Do Right Woman - Do Right Man' opened up with some tasty Bob D'Andrea fuzz guitar and then morphed into a pleasant, but forgettable blues flavored cover of the Aretha Franklin classic tune. rating: ** stars
- 'Hey Mose' was a social commentary number exhibiting the same level of subtlety as a train wreck. With Brucato and Galich literally yelling out the lyrics, this one actually reminded me of something out of The Three Dog Night catalog. Colon's pounding tribal drums and D'Andrea's fuzz guitar provided the song's highlights. rating: ** stars
- Complete with accordion, 'Dress Colored Lavender Blue' was an atypical acoustic ballad. Complete with angelic backing choir, this one was quite strange in a bad, MOR kind of way. Hum, easy-listening meets bad Irish bar band ... rating: ** stars
- Much like Norman Whitfield's work with The Temptations, 'Come On People' featured a mixture of psychedelic moves and social statement. Easy to see why Rare Earth tapped this one as a single. rating: *** stars
- 'Billie's Gone' took the Norman Whitfield styled psych sound and added a country tinge to the mix ... Doesn't sound like it would be very good and while I can't explain it, this was one of the album's standout performances. Great
melody and it was one of the few tracks where Brucato and Galich's vocals actually meshed. rating: **** stars
- Opening up with flamenco guitar followed by some of the year's oddest vamping over a Latin beat, the result was one of the oddest Otis Redding covers you've ever heard. Once again, I'm not sure how they made it work, but their cover of 'Hard To Handle' was goofy enough to hit my turntable time after time. rating: *** stars
- 'Maple Shade Country Day' was a throwaway 'good time' ramble. rating: * star
- 'Cry Another Day Away' found the band falling victim to top-40 MOR ... very commercial in a Dennis Yost / Tom Jones fashion. Curiously, Brucato's vocal was extremely rough and barely in tune. rating: ** stars
- Closing with a snippet of Dale Evans' 'Happy Trails' (complete with flushing toilet sound effect), was probably one of those concepts that sounded better on paper than the end product. Waste of vinyl ... rating: * star

As mentioned above, the album also spun off a single in the form of:



- 1970's 'Come On People' b/w 'Free Again (Non C'est Rien)' (Rare Earth catalog number R 5014)



"Come On People" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Mississippi Woman (Chuck Brucato) - 2:51
2.) Do Right Woman - Do Right Man (Dan Penn - Chips Moman) - 5:21
3.) Hey Mose (Chuck Brucato) - 4:52
4.) Dress Colored Lavender Blue (Chuck Brucato) - 4:22

(side 2)
1.) Come On People (Chuck Brucato) - 3:14
2.) Billie's Gone (Chuck Brucato) - 2:57
3.) Hard To Handle (Otis Redding - A. Isbell - A. Jones) - 5:00
4.) Maple Shade Country Day (Chuck Brucato) - 2:35
5.) Cry Another Day Away (Chuck Brucato) - 2:59
6.) Finale: Happy Trails (Dale Evans) - 0:47

The band toured extensively in support of the album, but it did little commercially. Over the next year they released a pair of non-LP singles for Rare Earth:


- 1971's 'My Piece Of Heaven' b/w 'Down Down' (Rare Earth catalog number R 5034F)
- 1971's 'We All End Up in Boxes' b/w 'Down Down' (Rare Earth catalog number R 5037F)

The band persurvered on through 1972 even recording a third album that was promptly shelved. They subsequently called it quits, but reformed in 1979 for what was a one-shot reunion concert.

Brucato turned his attention to advertising and education, teaching at Nazareth College. He has a MySpace site at:

http://www.myspace.com/chuckbrucato


Bassist Collins son TW Collins has a small Rustix-related Flickr site at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/twcollins/sets/72057594077213882/comments/