Toy Matinee
Encyclopedia
Toy Matinee was a short-lived American
art-pop band, and also the title of their only album. Their sound was an array of mixed influences, including progressive rock
, AOR
and pop
reminiscent of both the Beatles and the Beach Boys.
Toy Matinee was formed by producer/composer/keyboardist Patrick Leonard
in collaboration with singer/lyricist Kevin Gilbert
. Backed by a group of session musicians (drummer Brian MacLeod
, guitarist Tim Pierce, and bassist Guy Pratt
), and with guest appearances from several other musicians including Julian Lennon
, the duo recorded just one self-titled album which was released on Reprise Records
in 1990.
The album was engineered and produced by Bill Bottrell
. Thematically, it covered a rather broad ground; two tracks were dedicated to Czech poet and political figure Václav Havel
and painter Salvador Dalí
, and "Queen of Misery" is about Madonna
. (Leonard was the singer's longtime songwriting and producing partner and Gilbert had recently worked with her as an engineer.) Two of the other songs on Toy Matinee -- "The Ballad of Jenny Ledge" and "Last Plane Out" -- received wide play on album rock stations, both of them peaking at #23 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Despite that, the album's highest U.S. chart position was #129.
After the album was released, Leonard apparently lost interest in the group and Gilbert was left to promote the album on his own. He assembled a promotional band for the album which featured Gilbert's then girlfriend, Sheryl Crow
, on keyboards and Marc Bonilla
on guitar and engaged in a fury of on-air promotions, including most notably frequent appearances on the Mark & Brian
show on Los Angeles
-area station KLOS
.
Gilbert went on to do additional work with Bottrell including Sheryl Crow's debut album as well as his own solo projects. In 1994, Leonard and former Mr. Mister
frontman Richard Page
released the album Meanwhile as Third Matinee
. Gilbert's untimely death in 1996 ended any possibility of a second Toy Matinee album, although a live recording of Gilbert and his touring band performing songs from the album in 1991 was released by his family.
version without bonus tracks was also released in 2001.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
art-pop band, and also the title of their only album. Their sound was an array of mixed influences, including progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, AOR
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
and pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
reminiscent of both the Beatles and the Beach Boys.
Toy Matinee was formed by producer/composer/keyboardist Patrick Leonard
Patrick Leonard
Patrick Raymond Leonard is an American songwriter, keyboardist and music producer, known for his longtime collaboration with Madonna on many different recordings....
in collaboration with singer/lyricist Kevin Gilbert
Kevin Gilbert
Kevin Matthew Gilbert was an American songwriter, musician, composer, producer and collaborator born in Sacramento, California, later living in San Mateo, California where he attended Junipero Serra High School...
. Backed by a group of session musicians (drummer Brian MacLeod
Brian MacLeod
Brian MacLeod is a recording drummer and songwriter. He has been a member of Wire Train, Toy Matinee, and the "Tuesday Music Club" collective along with Sheryl Crow, the genesis of her album Tuesday Night Music Club....
, guitarist Tim Pierce, and bassist Guy Pratt
Guy Pratt
Guy Pratt is a session bassist and also a songwriter, actor and comedian. He is the son of actor Mike Pratt. In Kensington and Chelsea, London, in 1996, Pratt married Gala Wright, the daughter of Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright...
), and with guest appearances from several other musicians including Julian Lennon
Julian Lennon
John Charles Julian Lennon is an English musician, songwriter, actor, and photographer. He is the son of John Lennon and Lennon's first wife, Cynthia Powell. Beatles manager Brian Epstein was his godfather. He has a younger half-brother, Sean Lennon. Lennon was named after his paternal...
, the duo recorded just one self-titled album which was released on Reprise Records
Reprise Records
Reprise Records is an American record label, founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operated through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:...
in 1990.
The album was engineered and produced by Bill Bottrell
Bill Bottrell
Bill Bottrell is an American record producer, songwriter and musician, probably best known for his Grammy Award-winning collaborations with Michael Jackson, E.L.O. and Sheryl Crow.- Biography :...
. Thematically, it covered a rather broad ground; two tracks were dedicated to Czech poet and political figure Václav Havel
Václav Havel
Václav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
and painter Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
, and "Queen of Misery" is about Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
. (Leonard was the singer's longtime songwriting and producing partner and Gilbert had recently worked with her as an engineer.) Two of the other songs on Toy Matinee -- "The Ballad of Jenny Ledge" and "Last Plane Out" -- received wide play on album rock stations, both of them peaking at #23 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Despite that, the album's highest U.S. chart position was #129.
After the album was released, Leonard apparently lost interest in the group and Gilbert was left to promote the album on his own. He assembled a promotional band for the album which featured Gilbert's then girlfriend, Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...
, on keyboards and Marc Bonilla
Marc Bonilla
Marc Bonilla is a guitarist. He has worked with Keith Emerson , Glenn Hughes , David Coverdale and Kevin Gilbert...
on guitar and engaged in a fury of on-air promotions, including most notably frequent appearances on the Mark & Brian
Mark & Brian
The Mark & Brian Show is an American radio talk show hosted by Mark Thompson and Brian Phelps, known on the air as "Mark & Brian." The syndicated program originates weekday mornings from KLOS-FM in Los Angeles, California, and blends comedy sketches, listener phone calls, interviews with in-studio...
show on Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
-area station KLOS
KLOS
KLOS is an FM rock music radio station based in Los Angeles, California, that debuted in 1969. The station is owned by Cumulus Media. It is home to the nationally broadcast Mark & Brian radio show, and Off The Record host Uncle Joe Benson.-History:...
.
Gilbert went on to do additional work with Bottrell including Sheryl Crow's debut album as well as his own solo projects. In 1994, Leonard and former Mr. Mister
Mr. Mister
Mr. Mister is an American pop rock band most popular in the 1980s. The band's name came from an inside joke about a Weather Report album called Mr. Gone where they referred to each other as "Mister This" or "Mister That", and eventually selected "Mr. Mister." Mr. Mister may be considered as...
frontman Richard Page
Richard Page (musician)
Richard Page , is an American musician who is the lead singer and bassist of 1980's US band Mr. Mister and is now a songwriter and solo artist.-Early life:...
released the album Meanwhile as Third Matinee
Third Matinee
Third Matinee was formed by vocalist Richard Page and Patrick Leonard after the breakup of Page's band, Mr. Mister. The band released one album, Meanwhile , a moderately progressive album with pop rock leanings....
. Gilbert's untimely death in 1996 ended any possibility of a second Toy Matinee album, although a live recording of Gilbert and his touring band performing songs from the album in 1991 was released by his family.
Album track listing
The original album Toy Matinee included the first nine tracks listed here. It was remastered and re-released with five bonus tracks in 2001, and then in 2008. The DVD-AudioDVD-Audio
DVD-Audio is a digital format for delivering high-fidelity audio content on a DVD. DVD-Audio is not intended to be a video delivery format and is not the same as video DVDs containing concert films or music videos....
version without bonus tracks was also released in 2001.
- "Last Plane Out" (Kevin Gilbert, Patrick Leonard, Guy Pratt) - 5:13
- "Turn It On Salvador" (Gilbert, Leonard, Pratt) - 4:54
- (a tribute to painter Salvador DalíSalvador DalíSalvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
)
- (a tribute to painter Salvador Dalí
- "Things She Said" (Gilbert, Leonard, Pratt) - 4:57
- "Remember My Name" - 5:19
- (loosely dedicated to Václav HavelVáclav HavelVáclav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
)
- (loosely dedicated to Václav Havel
- "The Toy Matinee" (Gilbert, Leonard, Pratt) - 5:02
- "Queen Of Misery" (Gilbert, Leonard) - 4:31
- "The Ballad Of Jenny Ledge" (Gilbert, Leonard) - 5:50
- "There Was A Little Boy" (Gilbert, Leonard) - 5:35
- "We Always Come Home" (Leonard) - 4:29
- Bonus tracks:
- "eenitaM yoT ehT" (Gilbert, Leonard) - 0:33
- "Blank Page" (Gilbert) - 2:23
- "Things She Said" [alternate version] (Gilbert, Leonard) - 5:13
- "There Was A Little Boy" [early version] (Gilbert, Leonard) - 4:15
- "Last Plane Out" [early version] (Gilbert, Leonard, Pratt) - 5:35