Tim Rice That's My Story CD

Any number of U.K. musical performers who found fame in the 1970s did so after apprenticeships of one kind or another in the '60s -- Elton John most famously, with acts like Simon Dupree. His Lion King lyrical collaborator Tim Rice plowed similar furrows, as well as producing and songwriting before Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ Superstar helped make his and Andrew Lloyd Webber's names. That's My Story is an overview of his late-'60s work, both on his own and working for and with others, including a number of other soon-to-be-familiar names such as Lloyd Webber and Murray Head. Rice's professional solo debut , a 21-track collection, opens and closes with the title track, with the latter appearing in Spanish! -- showing that Rice himself was a fine enough singer, though his slightly downbeat vocals don't quite jibe with the polite post-Beatles rock & roll backing. But both his efforts and more notably, those of other performers here show that he had an aptitude for the kind of theatrical pop/rock that acts like the Walker Brothers and Paul & Barry Ryan helped make famous, and which makes his later musical successes understandable in context. Nothing on the disc is truly a lost classic as such, but it's a disc of enjoyable moments, including the two tracks that Head wrote and performed -- one called, with sunny spite, "You Bore Me" -- and six collaborations with Lloyd Webber, most famously the splashy, Mike Leander-produced Ross Hannaman single "Down Thru Summer," which was much later reworked into Evita's "Buenos Aires." With Rice himself providing enjoyable liner notes reflecting on his wood-shedding days, That's My Story is a footnote more than a crucial career collection for all involved, but a sometimes striking one nonetheless. ~ Ned Raggett

As co-author of some of the world’s most famous musicals, Tim Rice needs no introduction to music lovers. But before fame and fortune beckoned, his formative years were spent learning his craft at EMI, where he rose to become assistant to legendary producer Norrie Paramor. During this period, Rice produced singles by an array of 1960's artists, ranging from harmony pop and girly ballads to funk, freakbeat and psychedelic rock. The best of them are collected here for the first time along with rare photographs and extensive liner notes from Rice himself, making this collection a treat for all fans of more obscure 1960's music.

Recording information: 1969-1965.

Author: Tim Rice.

Arrangers: Mike Leander; Mike Vickers; Tony Meehan; Nick Ingman; Andrew Lloyd Webber.