BILLBOARD Album Picks

First Time Around

LOZ NETTO' Bzar, 21 Records T1-1-9003 (Polygram). Produced by Colin Thurston. Singer/songwriter Loz Netto is well familiar with the dance groove and the clever use of synthesizers, but you can tell he has aspirations beyond that, both musically and lyrically. You can hear his accomplishments falling short of his ambitions. He is in search of a Gary Numan type apotheosis, and his quest may attract a cult.

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BILLBOARD

Dave Sholin's Personal Picks

Fade Away -Loz Netto (21/Polygram)

Intro grabbed my attention right away (a feat in itself) and held it through the entire

3 ½ minutes of this first rate production. Catch the vocal slurring of the line "Fade Away" as if it were one word. Simply a great radio record from the former guitarist in Sniff 'n; the Tears (Driver's Seat).

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Billboard, July 2, 1983

Billboard's Recommended LPs

LOZ NETTO

Now that Loz Netto has hit the charts, he doesn't have to run away from home anymore. The singer/songwriter, whose debut single, 'Fade Away', moves to 82 on the current Hot 100, tried valiantly to escape his native Coventry, England, as a teen, only to return, penniless, some months later. But rock star dreams aren't easily daunted, and Netto finally scored as a guitarist with sniff 'N the Tears, which scored a worldwide hit last year with 'Driver's Seat'.

'Loz Netto's Bzar', his debut album for 21 Records, marketed by Polygram, features 'Fade Away', with synthesized effects coordinated by producer Colin Thurston, who has guided David Bowie and, more recently, Duran Duran. Players on the disk include bassist Ian Maidman, drummer Luigi Salvoni and keyboardist Johnathan Cole.

'I wrote the lyrics with an awareness of video' says Netto, who believes 'the new breed of musicians will be actors, too'.

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BMG Music, Canada, October 21st 1988

Hi Loz,

Just wanted to let you know that Gene Simmons was in town and gave me the pleasure of hearing some great refreshing new music. I heard about 6 or 7 tracks of your sound and I must tell you it has been a very long time since I was blown away right from the first listen ! I can't wait until we get the pleasure of turning on all of Canada to your music.

Keep up the great work. This material is better than fantastic. I look forward to meeting you soon. Take care.

Ken Bain

National Video/Artist Relations MGR.

CASHBOX

Reviews

BZAR 'Loz Netto '21 Records/Polygram TL-1-9003 'Producer: Colin Thurston ' List: 8.98

Starting off with a fast-paced stepper called 'Fade Away', Loz Netto proceeds on this LP to take his audience on trips tro the Orient in 'Show Me' ('I love you when you're full of Eastern promise,' goes one line) and around the world to Martinique on 'Rhythm Boys' ('A Latin lover does the peacock dance for a French girl but there's no chance.') Along the way are mysterious threats, ambushes, blackmail, waves of passion and other intense situations. Tailor made for DOR and alternative programmers, 'BZAR' offers a weird 'special effects' sheen through the use of synths, sorted rhythm boxes and bizarre backing vocals.

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Melody Maker, April 28, 1984

LOZ NETTO: 'You Are Rhythm' (21).

A man called Mark Berry has produced this, and he's given it the works. In an orgy of knob-twiddling, he sends it out of the speakers amid a hail of electronics, furious percussive wars and strange growling vocals. Behind all that the song scarcely seems to matter, but the title is repeated a lot, the power relentless and the impact not inconsiderable. With the requisite number of brandies inside me, I might even be persuaded to shake a tail-feather to this one.

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Albums Of The Week

Reviewed by Ron Fell

"Bzar"-Loz Netto (21 Records/Polygram)

As lead guitarist in Sniff 'n' the Tears (DRIVER'S SEAT), Loz was there when modern music was still in it's pubescent period. S 'n' T was accepted as a novelty. In the three years since, modern music has become an entire format. "Bzar" exceeds his previous work and my expectations with a set of whole songs, rounded-off at the edges just enough to penertrate formats like conventional Top 40, where only the strong survive.

Guitar World, July 1983

Loz Netto

BZAR, 21 Records

From Brian Wilson and David Bowie to Roxy Music and the Cars, rock and roll history has embodied the spirit of neo-romanticism. At its ironic peak, the post-modern static angularity of a Lou Reed or John Cale screams out for love amidst the ruins in very spite of itself.

In his capacity as lead guitarist for mid-seventies semi-smash London undergrounders Sniff'n The Tears, Loz Netto displayed a distinct ability to flash clean and tuff within a framework of spartan funk, not unlike Carlos Alomar's or Earl Slick's work with David Bowie. With an impressionist nod to Phil Manzanera, Loz had that uncanny intuitive ability to perceive the right spot for the perfect fill. After Sniff's disbanding and a couple years recuperation from a nearly fatal cycle accident, Netto has sailed forth with an impeccable solo debut produced by Bowie's Colin Thurston. The flanged snake-work of 'Scenario' attests to his ax inspiration, while the sinuous synthetic syncopations of 'Fade Away' or 'Slow Dancing' (covered by Chaka Kahn joined by Rick James on her upcoming album) displays a stark lyricism reminiscent of Bowie's most fruitful Station to Station period (cf 'TVC15').

Bruce Malamut

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Billboard

Recommended Listening

'Fade Away' 'LOZ NETTO (21)

Look for Album Radio to be deluged with efficient and catchy pop tunes. Now that programmers are becoming more responsive toward revitalizing their playlists, previously unknown acts like Loz Netto stand a fair chance of getting their product heard by shrapneled American listeners. In this case, it's equally the singer and the song. The success of music like this will depend on how snugly the song lends itself toward creative video production and technological excitement.