Forgotten Songs & Unsung Heroes / My Sportin Life

A pair of decidedly left field detours from Steppenwolf's founder, lead singer, and main driving force. Forgotten Songs & Unsung Heroes and My Sportin' Life are cast in the early '70s singer / songwriter mode, and they both work surprising well, considering John Kay's "heavy metal thunder" reputation with the Wolf. Presented as a two-fer here, the 18 tracks that make up these two originally separately released LPs flow well and play like a solid '70s double LP. Kay's songwriting manages to stand proudly alongside his covers of such classics as Hank Williams' You Win Again, Robert Johnson's Walkin' Blues, Hank Snow's I'm Movin' On, and even Steel Dan's Walter Becker / Donald Fagen's Giles of the River. A very pleasant surprise and highly recommended to fans of early '70s rock.

If you're thinking of John Kay as the vocalist and main force of Steppenwolf; you're right. But these albums aren't about "heavy metal thunder". Forgotten Songs and Unsung Heroes is a quiet record that includes a few written by him, but mostly just what the title says; songs he loved over the years; some well-known at the time, some barely remembered. I ALWAYS loved this album. At the time of its release, I didn't like Sportin' Life as much. It's a bit less moody, a bit more instrumentally, - but not loud. While I have them both on vinyl, I'm guessing most don't. If you loved Steppenwolf, get this to hear what else Kay was up to. If you didn't, these are great singer-songwriter kinda albums. Either way, you'll like it.

I have always been a fan of steppenwolf, in fact I was looking for remastered copies of their albums when I stumbled across this…which I never knew existed. It’s basically got the sound of some of the more mellow steppenwolf song’s but different, it’s got some country songs on it but John makes him his own. It has good sound qualit, it’s says its remastered but I’m confused by the aad designation on it and volume is a bit low, The sound is however, clear and defined. If your a John Kay fan, or a steppenwolf fan this is a must have.

I listened to this material on vinyl for years as it was released in 1972! "Great stuff" from John Kay the frontman from Steppenwolf.I never thought this album would make it to cd. The songs are really great as they vary from blues, country, soft rock, to heavy rock. John wrote a few of the songs and the others are from people who inspired him. The special bonus is "My Sportin Life" this is a John Kay release that came out in 1973. I never saw this album when it came out but it is really great! John uses some great studio musicians on these songs. Larry Knechtel, Russ Kunkel,Lee Sklar, Danny Kortchmar, and George Biondo plays bass on most of the songs. George was with Steppenwolf on several of their later relaeases. This is a BGO release so that should tell you something. They have been releasing several great bands over the past few years. The cd is "digitally remastered" from the original tapes and it sounds really nice! All of you Steppenwolf fans please buy this now!! Crank it up and let that distinct voice of John Kay growl from your speakers. Anyone who loved Steppenwolf or just loves great music will gladly welcome this cd into your collection!!

For years I tried in vain to find John Kay's underrated first solo album "Forgotten Songs and Unsung Heroes" on CD, so I opted for this double release. Why not, right? I would have paid the price for the single CD, so it was like getting 10 bonus tracks. "Forgotten Songs and Unsung Heroes" got my five star rating back in the days of vinyl when it first came out. "My Sportin' Life" gets only three stars because there are simply not enough good songs on the album. So this set, for all its songs, gets four stars.

Great album more folk then rock. his voice is rich and with acoustic guitar is moving . A great bard telling of life's stories .you feel that its real and he's lived it . A more hard biting story of travels but worth the trip

John Kay still is the same bad cat that snarled "Born to be Wild." He lives in Tennessee and has always leaned toward the gut-wrenching, dark emotional side of things. That includes country and folk obscurities he uses to express his angst with corruption, government waste and the ugliness of the human condition. And that is what makes him who he is. He is the same now as he was when he was lip-sinking "Magic Carpet Ride" in very early TV appearances. His "Forgotten Songs & Unsung Heores" is a walk in the slow lane -- the intelligent, dark, eerie lane where each word counts.

John Kay / Forgotten songs & unsung heroes -&- my sporting' life (2 albums on one CD): John Kay, the lead singer of Steppenwolf, made these two solo albums between incarnations of his famous band. These albums however are very different from that band. Here, John is singing in a much more relaxed manner and simply doing the songs he was enamored with at the time, plus a couple of his own new compositions. He even had a minor hit with his version of Hank Snow's "I'm Movin' On". The first album (Forgotten songs & unsung heroes) I would rate at a solid Five Stars. The second album (My Sportin' Life) I rate at a strong Four Stars.This CD I rate at Five Stars.

When Steppenwolf disbanded in 1972 no-one really knew what to expect from the various members of the splintered band. However, as they all had excellent pedigrees playing in bands before the 'Wolf we had high hopes they would record new stuff without delay. John Kay, the lead singer, was quick off the mark with his first solo album 'Forgotten Songs and Unsung heroes' in which he sang in homage to his heroes from the time he played bars and clubs in Toronto and New York. He followed that up with a second solo album, 'My Sporting Life' which was another excellent but eclectic group of recordings. His voice is unique and so suited to the songs on both of these albums. Stand out tracks on both albums include 'Bold Marauder' (originally by the Farinas); 'Giles of the River' (a Steely Dan original; 'heroes and devils'; 'I'm Moving On'; 'Moonshine, friend of mine' and 'Drift Away'. Sadly John was pippped by Dobie Gray with Drift Away which Gray took into the UK charts. I prefer the John kay version. On both albums he was backed by very accomplished musicians. On 'Forgotten Songs' he was backed by the John kay solo band which toured as support to Steppenwolf during the R.I.P. tour of the Uk. They appeared on the Old Grey Whistle Test on the same edition as Steppenwolf who have been captured on the OGWT dvd playing Born to be wild. It would be great to think that the John Kay Band's performance also survived. On 'Sporting Life' John was backed by the premier US session musicians of the day. Two great albums well worth checking out on this package. Only slightly sour note - the liner notes are terrible and rehash more about Steppenwolf than John's solo career which produced another solo album 'All in Good time', 'John Kay and Company' and 'Heretics and privateers' a few years later. John Kay and Steppenwolf started re-touring in the late 80's until just a year ago. John's autobiography (and the new Steppenwolf website at [...]) prove there is enough material about him and his recording career to do a new and illuminating set of liner notes.

Fantastic albums, I have these on Vinyl, could wait to get the CD to play in the car, want to preserve the vinyl copies.

Questo cd, in cui vengono raccolti i due lavori solisti di John Kay, cantante degli Steppenwolf, ci spiega egregiamente perché la musica rock degli anni ’60 e ’70 sia rimasta ineguagliata. C’è in essi uno spiccato gusto dei suoni acustici sapientemente amalgamati a quelli elettrici, e poi c’è un’evidente ispirazione, unita ad una particolare intensità interpretativa, che oggi sopravvive solo in rarissimi casi non commerciali. Basterebbe la prima canzone, Many a mile, per rendere questo cd pregevole. Ma le canzoni notevoli sono tante, per esempio Dance to my song, in cui abbiamo un’intermezzo acustico e ritmico davvero affascinante. Certo l’LSD fece la sua parte, ma il merito non va solo a tale amplificatore della coscienza (che in molti casi distruggeva invece di amplificare). Qualche raro musicista era sobrio. In realtà si trattava di un entusiasmo che permeava l’aria, di una comprensione e dilatazione degli orizzonti coscienziali e a cui tutti attingevano liberamente. Un vampata che è durata un pugno d’anni prima che dilagasse il buio e il chaos.

Loved Steppenwolf; love John on his own. A great rendition of Patrick Sky's, "Many A Mile". Somehow missed this album back when it came out. Glad to discover it 40+ years later.

ottimo