Bull Angus -

Bull Angus was an American hard-rock band that released the 1971–72 Mercury albums Bull Angus and Free for All. Singer Franke Previte resurfaced in Eighties yacht-rockers Franke & The Knockouts.

Members: Geno Charles (drums), Larry LaFalce (lead guitar, vocals), Dino Paolillo (lead guitar, vocals), Frankie Previte (vocals, recorder, percussion), Ron Piccolo (organ, piano, vocals), Lenny Venditti (bass)

Background

Bull Angus hailed from Poughkeepsie in upstate New York, where by guitarists Larry LaFalce and Dino Paolillo teamed with singer Frankie Previte, drummer Geno Charles, keyboardist Ron Piccolo (ex-Revells), and bassist Lenny Venditti (ex-Pyramid). They took their name from the Angus cattle that surrounded the rented barn where they rehearsed in Rhinebeck.

Previte (b. May 2, 1946) hailed from New Brunswick, New Jersey, the son of opera singer Franke Previte Sr. In 1969, he fronted The Oxford Watchband, a Rochester psychedelic group that cut one single, “Diagnosis (One Way Empty & Down)” (b/w “Welcome to the World”).

Bull Angus

Bull Angus released their self-titled debut album in November 1971 on Mercury.

The album contains eight originals by assorted member partnerships. Guitarist-vocalists Dino Paolillo and Larry LaFalce drive the front line with interlocked lead figures and tight rhythm accents, while keyboardist Ron Piccolo cascades with Hammond swells, piano fills, and vocal support. Bassist Lenny Venditti and drummer-percussionist Geno Charles lock the backbone and keep the pace firm through each tempo shift, as singer Frankie Previte leads with vocal dominance and harmonic support.

Bull Angus runs on a tight push-pull between twin-guitar leads, Hammond swells, and a rhythm section that holds pace amid structural shape-shifts. “Run Don’t Stop” opens at full charge with pounding rhythm and hard-edged guitar lines, whereas “Mother’s Favorite Lover (Margaret)” leans on organ drive, snarling vocals, and an unexpected recorder break. “Uncle Duggie’s Fun Bus Ride” brings sharper vocal harmonies and a clear lead-guitar focus, while “A Time Like Ours” stretches the frame with longer sections, twin-guitar exchanges, and controlled time shifts.

Side two carries the wider turns: “Miss Casey” packs screaming vocals, gruff organ, heavy bass, and multiple tempo changes across lengthy passages; “Pot of Gold” tightens around a strong guitar pattern and stacked harmonies; “Cy” drops to acoustic guitars, softer phrasing, and a brief scat passage; and “No Cream for the Maid” closes with heavier riff pressure and sectional movement, combining brute force with an intricate layout.

A1. “Run Don’t Stop” (4:23) – Paolillo, Previte, LaFalce
A2. “Mother’s Favorite Lover (Margaret)” (3:43) – Paolillo, Previte, LaFalce
A3. “Uncle Duggie’s Fun Bus Ride” (4:27) – Paolillo, Charles, LaFalce
A4. “A Time Like Ours” (6:24) – Paolillo, LaFalce, Piccolo

B1. “Miss Casey” (7:28) – Paolillo, Previte, LaFalce, Venditti
B2. “Pot of Gold” (3:51) – LaFalce
B3. “Cy” (5:30) – Paolillo, Previte
B4. “No Cream for the Maid” (6:43) – Paolillo, Previte, LaFalce, Piccolo

Sessions took place at Ultra-Sonic Recording Studios in Hempstead, NY, with producer Vinny Testa and engineer John Bradley. The album was mastered by Gilbert Kong and features stereo-separated guitar parts (LaFalce in the left channel, Paolillo in the right). Testa’s production emphasized volume and drive, describing the music as “riff-rock [that] should be played loud.”

The album appeared in a gatefold sleeve with cover art by Dan Clyne: a surreal illustration of a giant Angus bull statue under construction in a central village square. Art direction is credited to Des Strobel, with photography by Ken Glazebrook. Clyne also illustrated the snout-face man on the 1971 folk-rock album by Possum River.

“Run Don’t Stop” backed with “Uncle Duggie’s Fun Bus Ride” appeared as the sole single. Bull Angus supported the release with tour dates alongside Deep Purple, Rod Stewart, and Fleetwood Mac, including a slot at the 1971 Pocono Festival before 300,000 attendees.

Free for All

Bull Angus released their second album, Free for All, in June 1972 on Mercury. The album contains five originals and two covers from the same six-piece lineup.

Guitarist Larry LaFalce supplied both the album’s bookend tracks, “Lone Stranger” and “Train Woman Lee.” Frankie Previte co-wrote three numbers, including “(We’re the) Children of Our Dreams,” co-written with Ron Piccolo and issued as the album’s single. “City Boy” originated from a 1970 Neil Merryweather album and interpolates the Buffalo Springfield chestnut “Hot Dusty Roads.” George Harrison’s White Album contribution “Savoy Truffle” appears in a heavy rock arrangement.

Free for All moves between twin-guitar tracks and slower, keyboard-centered pieces, with piano and Hammond alternating as the main colors across the set. “Lone Stranger” opens with paired guitars, supportive piano, and soaring group harmonies, while “Loving Till End” moves from acoustic guitar and flute into a slower, larger ballad frame with enhanced atmospheric pull.

“Savoy Truffle” rides a boogie pace with a brief Hammond lead, and “Drivin’ Me Wild” pushes heavier riffage, organ breaks, and a denser band sound. “(We’re the) Children of Our Dreams” lowers the intensity with a steadier pace, restrained lead phrasing, and stacked harmonies, then “Train Woman Lee” closes with circular organ lines, rapidfire snare fills, and epic guitar-keyboard exchanges.

A1. “Lone Stranger” (6:49) – LaFalce
A2. “City Boy” (6:50) – originated on the 1970 Kent Records release Neil Merryweather, John Richardson and Boers; co-credited to Merryweather and — due to the interpolation — “Hot Dusty Roads” writer Stephen Stills.
A3. “Loving Till End” (5:40) – LaFalce

B1. “Savoy Truffle” (3:20) – Harrison
B2. “Drivin’ Me Wild” (4:43) – Paolillo, Previte, Charles, LaFalce
B3. “(We’re The) Children of Our Dreams” (5:34) – Previte, Piccolo
B4. “Train Woman Lee” (5:45) – Previte, LaFalce

Free For All was recorded at Ultra-Sonic Studios in Hempstead, New York, with returning producer Vinny Testa and engineer John Bradley. Gilbert Kong mastered the album.

Design work was handled by Madeline Buchholz, with photography by Tom Zamiar. Des Strobel directed the art department. The gatefold sleeve features a reproduction of The Worship of the Egyptian Bull God, Apis (c. 1500) by Florentine Renaissance painter Filippino Lippi.

Mercury issued “(We’re the) Children of Our Dreams” backed with “Loving Till End” as a single (Mercury 73313). Despite regional airplay, Free For All failed to match the buzz of Bull Angus’ debut. The band dissolved later in 1972.

Franke Previte’s Later Career

Eight years after Bull Angus disbanded, frontman Franke Previte resurfaced as the lead vocalist and principal songwriter of Franke and the Knockouts, a polished pop-rock outfit from New Brunswick, New Jersey. The band released three albums on Millennium and MCA between 1981 and 1984 and charted with the hits “Sweetheart” (US No. 10), “You’re My Girl” (No. 27), and “Without You (Not Another Lonely Night)” (No. 24).

Prior to their split, the group cut the original demos of “Hungry Eyes” and “(I’ve Had) the Time of My Life,” both later re-recorded for the 1987 film Dirty Dancing. The latter — a duet between Jennifer Warnes and ex-Righteous Brothers singer Bill Medley — earned Previte an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and a Grammy for Best Original Song.

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