Robin Batteau - guitar, mandolin, violin, vocals; David Buskin - organ, synths, guitar, piano, vocals; Bobby Chouinard - drums; Werner Fritzching - guitar, mandolin, vocals; Jeff Kent - keyboards, vocals; Doug Lubahn - bass
Pierce Arrow should have been a massively popular U.S. band during their brief two-year run in 1977 and 1978. Consisting of top NY and LA studio musicians, the group made two exceptional records for Columbia and embarked on a tour of the U.S., but the band failed to find the substantial audience that would make them a household name.
Featuring top session players Robin Batteau, Jeff Kent, and David Buskin, along with former Cactus guitarist Werner Fritzching, former Robert Gordon drummer Bobby Chouinard, and former Doors bassist Doug Lubahn, Pierce Arrow had both the songs and the musical chops to be an important American band. Unfortunately, their technical prowess overshadowed the band's ability to develop a few key members who were charismatic stage personalities. Columbia Records had great hopes for them, positioning Pierce Arrow as a cross between The Eagles, the Band and Bruce Springsteen. Radio programmers felt otherwise and failed to embrace either of the band's two excellent albums, Pierce Arrow or Pity the Rich.
The material from this Bottom Line radio broadcast was mostly from the band's debut album, Pierce Arrow, with tracks including "Take This Heart," and the band's only radio track, "You Got To Believe." Werner Fritzching's blues rock guitar drives most of the songs, and the ballad, "Ain't The Sky Just Like A River," is as good as any of the late '70s era ballads recorded by the chart-topping Eagles. They end with a rousing version of "Hot Summer Night."