Mama Lion was an American soul-rock band that released the 1972–73 albums Preserve Wildlife and Give It Everything I’ve Got on Family Productions. Singer Lynn Carey and bassist Neil Merryweather worked beforehand, both as a duo and with blues-rockers Ivar Avenue Reunion. The musicians (without Carey) cut two concurrent albums as Heavy Cruiser. Keyboardist James […]
Heavy Cruiser was an American hard-rock/psych band that released the 1972/73 albums Heavy Cruiser and Lucky Dog on Artie Ripp’s Family Productions label. Canadian bassist Neil Merryweather formed the band in Los Angeles with keyboardist James Newton Howard, later a noted film composer. Heavy Cruiser also recorded as Mama Lion behind Merryweather’s then-partner, singer Lynn […]
Ivar Avenue Reunion was a blues-rock-soul sextet, formed in Los Angeles by Canadian bassist Neil Merryweather and his American girlfriend, singer Lynn Carey. They released Ivar Avenue Reunion on RCA in 1970, backed by musicians Merryweather used on a prior album. In 1971, the couple cut the duo album Vacuum Cleaner, then formed Mama Lion […]
Neil Merryweather (Dec. 27, 1945 — March 29, 2021) was a Canadian bassist, vocalist, and songwriter who emerged on the mid-’60s Toronto scene in a sequence of bands. After moving to Los Angeles, he fronted Merryweather for two 1969 albums on Capitol. Merryweather partnered with singer Lynn Carey for the 1970/71 projects Ivar Avenue Reunion […]
Kryptonite is an album by Canadian rock bassist Neil Merryweather, released in 1975 on Mercury. The album is the second of two back-to-back psych/space-rock LPs that he cut for the label during the mid-1970s. Tracklist: A1. “Kryptonite” (3:23) A2. “Star Rider” (5:25) A3. “Always Be You” (3:30) A4. “Give It Everything We Got” (5:27) B1. “The […]
Space Rangers is an album by Canadian psych-rock bassist/vocalist Neil Merryweather, recorded with his titlesake backing band and released in 1974 on Mercury. Tracklist: A1. “Hollywood Blvd.” (5:32) A2. “Step in the Right Direction” (3:41) A3. “Eight Miles High” (3:36) A4. “King of Mars” (3:32) A5. “Neon Man” (4:01) B1. “Sunshine Superman” (3:50) B2. “Road […]
