Audio Autopsy, 1972: Byzantium Debut LP, Warner Bros, US: Career Start for Chaz Jankel, Queen Producer Roy Thomas Baker, a Genesis Producer & a Springsteen Player

2 major labels (Warner Bros. in the States, A&M in EU) couldn't help propel this long-forgotten, influential album into the pop culture zeitgeist, but it jump-started several productive careers.

Left: Green U.S. Warner Bros. Records Side 1 label; right, tan/mustard UK, Europe, and Japan A&M Records Side 2 label.

Boy Band With Guitars

Mr. Peabody sets the Wayback Machine to 1972: This writer is a 17-year-old junior, and the lead singer/flutist in his Houston-area high school rock band, Brimstone.

Among the pile of new promo Warner Bros. releases Dad brings home from the radio station where he’s an ad exec, is this green LP jacket, with a “B” word I may have heard before. A lady’s hands in black leather fingerless gloves is gently holding a massive diamond…for some reason.

It’s the debut self-titled album by a band whose members (and engineers/producers) would go on to produce stadium-filling bands like Queen and Genesis, and play for disparate rockers like Ian Dury, Al Stewart, and Bruce Springsteen.

Just who is this band that no one heard, but whelped future star-making music?

Byzantium, above the River Thames ca. 1972 (l-r): James (Jamie) Rubinstein, Robin Lamble, Shane, Chaz Jankel, Stevie Corduner (seated).

Some CSN&Y harmonies, classic rock’n’blues, an occasional horn section, and catchy melodies might make you wonder, “How did radio manage to ignore this?”

Or, as Timothy Monger of Allmusic scratched his head: “In retrospect, the group’s blend of psychedelia, progressive rock, country-rock, and West Coast pop perhaps predestined the cult status that time eventually bestowed upon them.”

In other words, flexibility and genre-stretching acumen may end up being more of a surprising liability than your record company can even imagine…or desire!

Join me in my suburban Houston teenage bedroom, and discover the album that virtually no one heard, but managed to jump-start the careers of musicians whom millions would come to love!

The complete Byzantium album audio on YouTube, about the only one available on the Web. Pretend this is a math book, and listen to the album while you read. That’s what I did 5 decades ago!👇

From the rare, weekly Warner Bros. Records promotional in-house PR piece, Circular, and, an info/review likely written by one Barry Hansen, eventually known as Dr. Demento.

Hansen worked in the publicity department of The Burbank Bunny (note WB catalog number for the album, BS 2659, in upper right-hand corner…the album was released on A&M Records for the rest of the world), and added this gig to his writing the info-filled liner notes to WB’s “loss leader” mail-order 2-LP/$2 samplers.

It’s Barry’s sly, humorous, and gently irreverent writing for Warners, coupled with several books by humorist, Fran Lebowitz, that influenced this writer’s style at least as much as the arena-full of rock critics and rock mag reviewers I was reading voraciously back in the day.

Massive thanks to Discogs for resurrecting this piece I used to have, but is lost to the ether (or someone in some country who bought it on eBay a couple decades ago)!

Now, you’re back in my bedroom at 5231 Beechnut St.! It may be hard to read (I made it as big as they’d let me), but you’d be well-served to do more than just spot-read this. Whatever might be able to be found on the internet, this is clever writing about this album written organically, precisely in real time (plus, Barry takes you through, track-by-track, even referencing similarities to “A Day in the Life” in his last sentence).

Also notice songwriting credits beneath song titles, right-hand column:

Who Were Byzantium?

Ora, Byzantium precursor: Led by future Byzantium founder Jamie Rubinstein (l), this youthful London quartet recorded their sole album in late 1968, released in a tiny run on Tangerine Records/UK the following summer of ‘69. Also shown: Julian Diggle (center), and Robin Sylvester. They were all under 20. Sylvester, on Ora, from Rory Gallagher fansite, Shadowplays: “We were a 3-piece, loud Hendrix/Cream-style high-school band, in which I played guitar, until James (Rubinstein) started writing prolifically – so I switched to bass and the sound became softer. On the tune you mention and maybe a couple more, we added my roommate of the time on lead guitar to mix it up a bit.”

From H.T. Riekels on ProgArchives: “The seeds of Byzantium were sewn in 1970 [as a school band at London’s University College School], with Jamie Rubenstein and Nico Ramsden (who wouldn’t appear until the second album) as an acoustic duo. Some recording was done with the help of friend Robin Sylvester, but sales were, at best, disappointing.

This is the cover of Live and Studio, the 1973 Byzantium self-released album that was their third and last. Never released to the public, it was band-produced in an (ultimately unsuccessful) effort to attract new label interest.

“Soon they were joined by vocalist Beverly Baxter (who it seems, never actually followed them into the studio), and Robin Lamble on bass. After some success with live gigs, Steve Corduner (a former bandmate of Nico and Robin) joined on drums. Now, they had a viable band assembled. However, Jamie had reservations about the whole thing, and left. Chaz Jankel came along to fill the void.

”With this lineup, they were set for success. They scored a contract with A&M/UK (Warner Bros. picked them up in the States), and it seemed as if the rock and roll dreams were coming true. But, as in every good rock story, problems arose.

“Just as the debut album (on which Jamie does appear as a guest) was released, Nico left, citing ‘musical differences.’ During this time, Jamie had been playing in Ora (Byzantium’s precursor) with Mick Barakan (another friend from school) aka Shane Fontayne, shown here in a photo from 2022:

Shane Fontayne was the guitarist for Bruce Springsteen during the 1992–93 “Other Band” Tour, as Springsteen had disbanded his own E Street Band 3 years earlier. During his career, Fontayne has worked with Ian Hunter, the Van Zant Band (with Johnny and Donnie Van Zant), John Waite, Black Lace, Chris Botti, Joe Cocker, Johnny Hallyday, Marc Cohn, Graham Nash, Mick Ronson and others. Fontayne was associated with Byzantium peripherally, after being in their precursor, Ora.

“Back through the revolving door he went, with Mick in tow.” A second album, Seasons Changing, followed on A&M/UK in 1973 (shown below), but not pleased with the new direction, Chaz left the band. It was this album on which David Hentschel played synthesizer. Hentschel went on to engineer or produce albums by Elton John, Genesis, Ringo Starr, Nazareth, Queen, and a host of others.

A&M soon dropped the band from the label. Warners dropped the band, electing to not even release Seasons Changing in the U.S.

Back to ProgArchives: “They toiled on their own for a while, even pressing another album (Live and Studio), that was unfortunately never available for sale. They toured, and continued to draw crowds. In 1975, they played their last show where they started, at London’s Roundhouse. After that, it was time to call it quits.”

…And, Who’d They Become?

The partial roster for the green 1972 S/T major-label debut album (full listing here), with eventual key career achievements and contributions:

• Acoustic Guitar – Jamie Rubinstein (tracks: A3): Gave up the music business, and shouldn’t be confused with the guitarist of the same name in rap band, Borialis.

• Bass Guitar – Robin Lamble (tracks: A1 to A4, B2 to B4): Had a long career accompanying Al Stewart, but also played with Juice Newton and others.

• Drums – Steve Corduner: later recorded with Nasty Pop, Twist and Nico.

• Electric Guitar – Chaz Jankel (tracks: A1 to A4, B2 to B4): became known for his co-writing with Stiff Records artist, Ian Dury, and performed with his Blockheads, and many other artists; plus, he has a successful solo career, with a new album, Flow, in release. Also electric guitar, Nico Ramsden, who’s played with Mike Oldfield and recorded with Gong, Yes’s Rick Wakeman, Sad Cafe, The Proclaimers, and others.

• Engineer – Roy Thomas Baker: Went on to produce Queen, Devo, Alice Cooper, Cheap Trick, Foreigner, Cars, Journey, and many others.

• Lead Vocals – Chaz Jankel (tracks: B4): Nico Ramsden (tracks: A2, B2), Robin Lamble (tracks: A1, A4 to B2):

• Percussion – Nico Ramsden (tracks: B4), Stephen Corduner (tracks: A1, A2 to B1)

• Piano, Organ – Nico Ramsden (tracks: B2)

• Producer – Stuart Taylor

• Producer, Arranged By [Strings And Brass], Conductor – Robin Sylvester: Was an assistant engineer at Abbey Road Studios, was in 1974 Arista Records pop band, The Movies, engineered many Rory Gallagher albums, played bass for Christine McVie, and played in Bob Weir’s Grateful Dead sideband, RatDog.

Sylvester died in October 2022 at 72:

Sylvester to Shadowplays: “Byzantium was another group of friends from school who performed intricate arrangements of James’s (Rubinstein) tunes (but without him, – at least at first). When they added Chaz Jankel (Blockheads), they became professional, signing with Gaff Management & securing a deal with A&M (UK) and Warner Bros (US). I had produced the demo tapes on a day off, and hence found myself suddenly co-producing a band with a real budget.”

Byzantium released an album of previously unreleased ‘70s live recordings in 2018, and released a 5-CD box set in 2021:

Martin Westwood: This was a demo recorded at Church Farm, Suffolk, home to the Global Village Trucking Co., and has never seen the light of day until May ‘23. Recorded via our Midas 16/2 PA desk on two Akai 4000 reel-to-reel recorders and featuring James Lascelles on Hammond Organ. A Byzantium original written by Robin Lamble: