Spider-Man Rock Reflections of a Superhero

Well thanks to my cousin Steve I was able to finally hear the songs from this 70's era album. He put it on hold for me at the Public Library. I have not heard all the songs yet but so far I like what I hear. Sure the songs dated to todays younger music fans but to older fans they will be welcome musical guests in the house. The front and back cover art are by John Romita Sr. I had seen the art work before but forgot about the back cover art. I remember thinking it was pretty cool how they had the other Marvel heros as the backup musicians. The Silver Surfer on keyboards brought a smile but why does he have his back to the camera?
According to the liner notes by Mike Ragogna it was a Marvel executive's idea to do this album and maybe a series of them featuring others like the Fantastis Four, the Hulk etc. Mr. Ragogna was 17 at the time and got to be involved because he was a big Spider-Man fan, that he was part of the age group they were trying to appeal to and because the co-owner of Lifesong Records saw a connection between his awkward adolescense and Peter Parker's. At 17 Mike Ragogna wrote a song for the album that they recorded and released called "Peter Stays and Spider-Man Goes." When I was 17 I wrote songs and that would have been a dream come true for me if one of my songs got recorded. So I am happy that it happened for Mr. Ragogna. Many top studio musicians fo that day were involved from the group Crack the Sky to David Sanborn. Another group of studio musicians that were involved in the production was Jonah. I found this interesting since Jonah Jameson is a supporting cast member of the Spider-man books. The song Spider-Man was actually released as a single. The songs are a variety of styles from from rock to swing to regge. The most surprising part of the CD is Stan Lee's narration. Now Mr. Lee has done many narrations over the years. Usually I feel that he is shouting at me on recent recordings. FACE FRONT TRUE BELIEVERS! IT'S STAN LEE HERE! But this one from the early 70's is more subdued and every word is weighed before it is said. If I needed a narrator I would hire the 1970's Stan Lee. He did a wonderful job. This 25th anniversary edition of the album is worth searding for. No matter if you have to pay for it at a store or wait for it to come back in stock at the local public library.