This gem was in the requested over and over again – and it’s a must have: WITNESS, the AOR / Melodic Rock US band fronted by Debbie Davis and their 1988’s self-titled album remastered by YesterRock in all its glory.
As extra, we added 6 bonus tracks appeared in an unofficial release credited as ‘Debbie Davis & Friends’, but in fact, as confirmed later by keyboardist Joey Huffman, these are the songs recorded 1989 -1991 by WITNESS and never released. At the time the band’s record label was considering a second album but as Debbie Davis soloist, hence the working title ‘Debbie Davis & Friends’. All are great songs too, with a very good sound quality.
Originally operating in Georgia under the moniker of Native, this five piece moved to San Francisco after having been signed by Arista Records in 1988. In fact Witness was the vehicle for the pretty Debbie Davis and her powerhouse voice to be presented to the world. So although the band lineup was pretty unstable, the record label anyway suggested the use of pro-session musicians for the debut recording.
Oh, and what a tremendous musician crew; Neal Schon and Steve Smith from Journey, Brad Gillis from Night Ranger, Danny Chauncey from 38 Special and well-known session man Tim Pierce!
Although being band members and got credits on the album, neither Damon Johnson (g) nor Eddie Usher (b) were actually performing.
Partially produced by Bill Drescher (4 tracks) and genius Kevin Elson (6 tracks), “Witness” is regarded as one of the best female fronted melodic rock / AOR albums of all time. Actually it’s into plotn08 Top 10 for this sub-genre.
This is a GEM with capitals with one killer track after track since opener ‘Show Me What You Got’ (check out Brad Gillis’s awesome solo), ‘Do It Till We Drop’, ‘Am I Wrong’, etc – all are killers, no fillers.
A pity the Witness adventure only lasted for one album. And whatever happened to Debbie Davis after the demise of Witness remains a mystery, with this solo album becoming pretty hard to find over the years.
Fortunately YesterRock / Sony finally made justice to this fantastic ’80s piece with this superb remastering – the CD really sounds incredible.
ESSENTIAL
01 – Show Me What You Got
02 – Do It Till We Drop
03 – Am I Wrong
04 – Desperate Lover
05 – Let Me Be The One
06 – You’re Not My Lover
07 – Jump Into The Fire
08 – When It Comes From The Heart
09 – Borrowed Time
10 – Back To You
extras:
11 – Lucky Tonight (Bonus Track)
12 – You’re Never Alone (Bonus Track)
13 – Is It Too Late? (Bonus Track)
14 – Only Love Can Save You (Bonus Track)
15 – Lot To Learn (Bonus Track)
16 – Round And Round (Bonus Track)
Debbie Davis – vocals
Joey Huffman – keyboards, guitars
Eddie Boyd – drums
Damon Johnson – guitars
Eddie Usher, Bill Drescher, Eddie Moody – bass
Neal Schon (Journey) – guitar solos
Brad Gillis (Night Ranger) – guitar solos
Tim Pierce John Waite, Fiona, et all) – guitar solos
Danny Chauncey (38 Special) – guitar solos
Steve Smith (Journey) – drums