"Fear Of Flying" by Martin's Dam

Martin's Dam emerged after the demise of the little known 80s AOR outfit called Bricklin. The brothers Bricklin (Scott and Brian) regrouped and shifted their style of music towards more of a singer/songwriter vibe, not far removed from the likes of Toad The Wet Sprocket or Counting Crows.

The band released two albums in the 90s, "The Healing" and "Sky Above," the latter containing a few re-recorded favorites from the former along with a handful of new songs. It is a shame these records didn't put the boys on the charts, as I would have loved to have heard more from them and their fantastic harmonies. Scott Bricklin would move on to a solo career and joined another band called US Rails.

"Fear Of Flying" is one of their best, and I can only find a live version on the net. These guys aren't even on Spotify at the time of this writing. Other favorites include "Mercy Blue," "Come See Julia," and "It Ain't Me."

"Fear of Life" by Bricklin

They came from Pennsylvania in the late 80s - a punchy synth rock band headed by the brothers Bricklin, Scott and Brian. Their debut album is an underground classic in the world of AOR, and quite hard to come by. One listen to the lead-off track, "Fear of Life", and it is easy to see why. What is hard to see is why the band didn't hit the big time. Besides their self-titled debut, they also scored a song called "Walk Away" on the soundtrack to the hit movie from 1989, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure.

The Bricklin boys would resurface in the 90s in a more organic-sounding band called Martin's Dam. We'll get to them in time. Scott Bricklin was also featured in our post on the supergroup 4 Way Street, and he maintains an active solo career. His latest record, "Lost 'til Dawn", came out February 4 of this year.

“Ceremony” by 4 Way Street

Many people are familiar with the acclaimed live album, “4 Way Street”, by folk supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. But you might not be aware of another supergroup of singer-songwriters who were based in Philadelphia and named their band after this CSNY album.

 2003’s “Pretzel Park” is the only album released by Philly-based group 4 Way Street.

4 Way Street marked the convergence of Scott Bricklin, Ben Arnold, Joseph Parsons, and Jim Boggia. While each member is a notable talent in his own right, this collaboration produced a magical chemistry that is hard to find in the music world. Emulating their inspiration, this record boasts no-nonsense songwriting that focuses on melodies and harmonies.

The standout track for me is “Ceremony”, which features lead vocals by Parsons and first appeared on his 1998 solo record, “5am”. This is a haunting yet beautiful song with an inescapable melody made even better with sublime backing vocals.

From the uplifting opener, “Change Gonna Come”, to the sparse eloquence of the closing track, “Barbed Wire”, the record is perfect for a lazy Sunday morning. You also might recognize Jim Boggia’s excellent song, “Several Thousand”, which was on the TV show Men in Trees and later covered by American Idol contestant Constantine Maroulis on his self-titled debut record in 2007.

While some members went back to solo careers, others in the group stayed together to form US Rails.