50 YEAR ANNIVERSARY
On September 08, 1976, A&M Records Canada releases SYMPHONIC SLAM's self-titled first album. On the day it was released, CHUM-FM (the major FM station in Toronto) did something unheard of. They had the World Premiere of SYMPHONIC SLAM's first album and played the entire record non-stop. This had never been done before with an unknown recording act. They immediately put the album into medium airplay. CHUM-FM played a role in SYMPHONIC SLAM being signed to A&M as one of their D.J.'s heard SLAM playing at a media showcase at a Toronto nightclub and brought the band in for a live On-Air interview the next day. They played part of SLAM's demo tape On-Air, where the head of A&M Canada heard it and ended up signing SLAM to a major, big budget, long term recording contract. The album would initially be released in 12 countries around the world, Canada, USA, Japan, UK, Germany, Hong Kong, Australia, Holland, Sweden, Portugal, Belgium, and Finland (Timo Laine, the band's leader, was born in Finland). I don't know the international sales, but it almost went gold in Canada, based mainly on sales in Toronto, as that's where SLAM got the most publicity. Twenty five years later it would be released worldwide on CD by French record company – Musea Records.The album entered the 'RPM Top 100 Albums' chart at #85, 'with a bullet' (meaning highest entry for the first week on the charts) on October 2, 1976. It peaked at #56 with a total run of 22 weeks. The self-titled debut was instantly heralded by the critics for “fusing elements of progressive rock and jazz with more psychedelic tones”. The only single, "I Won't Cry" caught some good response from AM radio. Other tracks like the lead off "Universe”, "Let It Grow”, and the edgy "Modane Train", made the album a hit on FM radio in pockets throughout Canada, the USA, Japan, and Europe.
The album was recorded and mixed at Phase One Recording Studios in Toronto, Canada, engineered by George Semkiw, who co-produced it with Timo. The quality of the recording is fantastic for that era. But no matter how well done, it couldn't compare to hearing SLAM live. It was impossible to capture the dynamics of the music on record, that could only be heard live. You couldn't believe the sounds that only 3 people produced, you could feel it in your bones! (with help from Cerwin Vega & BGW power amps – same as the 'Sensurround' that was used for the 'Earthquake' and subsequent movies). Three months later SLAM would be headlining at Toronto's premiere concert hall, Massey Hall
CLICK HERE for more info on the release of this ground breaking album
INTRODUCTION
There's been much written about Symphonic Slam and Timo Laine, I've read at least a dozen or so different Bio's and interviews. None of them have been complete or 100% factual. I think I've read every single one that's on the internet or been released by record companies. It's for this reason I've written the one on this website, I want there to be at least one that's complete, and I have done my best to make this one accurate.
My name is Ray Furlotte, my official title was Road Production Coordinator, aka Road Manager for Symphonic Slam.
SS1 LP back cover credits
Originally I was the band's sole Roadie, Sound and Light man, and progressed to Road Manager. I'm the creator of this website. I also consider myself to be the band's #1 fan. I have refrained from reviewing Slam's music (as much as possible). Reviews are extremely subjective, and I'm kind of biased as you might imagine, I'll leave that for the individual listener. I have included some of the major reviews from music critics and some fan reviews. This site contains the most complete history of Symphonic Slam and Timo Laine on the internet. I created this site in order to present the most accurate and complete record of their achievements. It includes many pictures of the band and friends, as well as a few rare videos. There are various news articles and press releases, but most importantly there is the complete musical catalogue of Timo Laine and Symphonic Slam for your listening enjoyment. Please don't abuse it's availability by downloading, copying, or distributing anything from this website, please support musicians and artists so they can continue to entertain us.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Information on this site, especially the 'Bio' section, has come from my personal experiences as well as information I have received directly from those involved. Timo Laine has provided me with the bulk of this information. It has been garnered from the many interviews he has done in the past and some of it has been published elsewhere. Instead of me spending hours interviewing Timo about history that he has provided over and over again, he's provided me with that material. If you think anything on this website is a violation of your copyright contact me with your complaint. Some of the photographs on this site have been provided to me by Timo Laine, and others I have collected over the years. Some provided to me by A&M Records back in the day, and others collected from the internet. All photographers retain the copyrights to their photos, and I've identified the photographers wherever possible. Some of these pictures have been taken by legendary music photographer John R. Rowlands and I've identified the ones I know for certain are his, there are most likely others but I can't be certain which ones. I'll gladly acknowledge any photographer that can provide proof of copyright, or remove them if demanded, same as for any other material contained in this website. It is not my intent to violate anyone's copyright.
Click To Contact the WebAdmin
Please Note: Some of the pages on this website are quite large and take a bit longer to load due to the amount and size of the images. If you get an error message, just hit the 'reload' button on your browser once or twice until the page loads.
All the music and images on this website are used with the permission of Timo Laine
All Rights Reserved
