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The Cleavers : Television Mind
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With an electic array of influences from The Beatles and Crowded House to Donald Fagen and even Harry Chapin, Television Mind is literate pop for the masses, combining solid playing with hefty hooks, humor and harmonies.
Genre: Pop: Beatles-pop
Release Date: 2004
Television Mind
The Cleavers
Record Label: Allright! Records
  • Buy CD - $7.99
  • Download Album (MP3) - $7.99

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Preview Song Name Time Buy
1. A Little Success 3:01 + MP3 $0.99
2. Repossess My Heart 3:53 + MP3 $0.99
3. Picture Perfect 3:57 + MP3 $0.99
4. William Blake 5:42 + MP3 $0.99
5. The Writing On The Wall 3:47 + MP3 $0.99
6. Jungle of Love 3:27 + MP3 $0.99
7. Television Mind 3:39 + MP3 $0.99
8. Love Came Knockin' 3:46 + MP3 $0.99
9. Russian Roulette 4:01 + MP3 $0.99
10. Only Way Home 4:09 + MP3 $0.99
11. Jungle of Love (alternative version) 3:34 + MP3 $0.99
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Album Notes

"Shining pop-rock - the '70s kind. That's what the Cleavers deliver, and in spades. Not only that, but the pristine production and sophisticated arrangements (including brash horns) contribute to distinguish Television Mind as an intelligent album that demands more from its listener than your standard three-chord new school punk. Echoes of Todd Rundgren, 10cc, Wings, Queen and Styx abound on this classy effort." Kevin Mathews, Going Underground Dec. '04, nighttimes.com.

"Television Mind is upbeat pop music. You might call this intelligent pop rock. If I do a top ten list for 2004, this CD will be near the top of it." Dave Howell, fmsound.net.

Take the melodic sophistication of latter-day Beatles, add the instrumentation of Steely Dan, and mix it up with the pop sensibilities of Squeeze and Crowded House, and you'll come up with Television Mind, the debut CD by The Cleavers. But that's only half the story. Combining meaningful lyrics with humor and a little punch of satire, The Cleavers have produced a collection of sonic portraits that are truly "Picture Perfect."

Listen to each song and a drama - or a sitcom - plays inside your "Television Mind." The opening cut, "A Little Success," cautions all who are trying to hit the big time. "William Blake," a Harry Chapin-like song, tells how a college kid uses the poet to get the girl (yes, the story has a feel-good ending!). The last cut, "Jungle of Love," no doubt could be the theme song for the movie version of "Sex in the City."

This is classic American songwriting - literate pop for the masses! - written by Dick Eastman, a former staff songwriter for MCA Music. With pop icon, Bobby Hart, Dick has co-written and co-produced songs for the New Edition, The Monkees and Robbie Nevil. Dick has also worked with artists such as Sugarloaf and Jim Peterik of The Ides of March.

Now fronting The Cleavers, Dick has been able to draw on the great strengths of some of the finest musicians in Chicago - Bobby Diamond on lead guitar, Dave Leeds on bass, Mike Kroell on keyboards and drums and Ron Kaplan on drums - to produce these "mini-movies" of pop music. Television Mind, released in May 2004, has already been sold throughout the United States, and in England, Australia, Japan and even Iceland!

Leave it to The Cleavers to get you to spend more time inside your television mind ...

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REVIEWS

Extremely Tight & Professional
author: Tom Delany
                            
When a former staff writer from MCA Records assembles eclectic songs and top-notch players you cannot lose. Chicago session ace Bobby Diamond uses taste & melodic chops to add a wide array of parts, along with Michael Kroell's fat & full-blown orchestrations. This CD could have been made in LA or NYC: go get yourself some!

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It’s simply a masterpiece!!
author: Kevan R. Craft
                            
The Cleavers "Television Mind" is an album containing an outstanding collection of expertly and beautifully crafted songs by genius Dick Eastman. The musical arrangements and production are top-notch and the musician’s performances are all knockout! The clever interplay, juxtaposition and counterpoints in Dick's songs are wonderful. The song "Picture Perfect" reminds me of a ‘Steely Dan’ classic. The catchy "Love Came Knockin'" brings flashbacks of the British band ‘It Bites’!

When you listen to "Television Mind" you get the strange impression you've heard these songs before – well you haven't! Like every great artist, songs are meant to be immediately recognizable, contain a catchy hook, feel sing-along-able and most of all, enable you to identify with the lyrics and although you'll get the feeling you've heard songs like these before on your radio, this album is fresh, vibrant, alive and bursting with originality. It’s simply a masterpiece!!

Do yourself a favor; get this album because it’s the one missing from your collection of classics!

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Very refreshing!!!
author: Cleaverfan
                            
What a fine blend of music.  I found a song for every mood. I can sit back and relax or belt out a tune in the car. I have a few favorites but you really need to listen. After seeing The Cleavers live I was excited to be able to play "their" tunes at home. Enjoyin it   ;)

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Wow! Awesome! And related adjectives ...
author: T.V. Mind (a Cleavers enthusiast)
                            
You don't need to be a rocket scientist -- or even a professional musician -- to recognize talent when you hear it.  And listening to TELEVISON MIND ... I hear talent!!!  The Cleavers are awesome.  And their new CD is ... well, they haven't invented the appropriate adjective to fully describe it.  Awesome?  Super?  Great?  No.  It's ... FAN-TASTICAL!!!  Yes, five big stars for The Cleavers and TELEVISION MIND.  To coin a phrase:  Bring ... them ... on!!!

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