Tom DeLuca - Down To The Wire

geovian

Probably going to offer 'bugger all' in terms of background about Tom DeLuca, apart from his rust-belt origins in Pittsburgh, before moving to Florida.

ARTIST: Tom DeLuca
ALBUM: Down To The Wire
LABEL: Epic
SERIAL: E 40283
YEAR: 1986
CD REISSUE: 2009, Sony Music (Europe)/Yesterrock, 88697634882

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
LINEUP: Tom DeLuca - vocals, guitars, harmonica * Derek O'Neil - guitars * Mickey Feat - bass, vocals * Danny Schogger - keyboards * Taylor Rhodes - keyboards, vocals * Gary Barnacle - saxophone * Martin Ditcham - percussion * Jamie Lane - drums

TRACK LISTING: 01 57 Chevy * 02 Runaway Hearts * 03 Chasing Shadows * 04 Dirty Fingers * 05 Fire In The Night * 06 Down To The Wire * 07 Going The Distance * 08 Stone In Your Heart * 09 Betrayed * 10 Reunion

Background

Probably going to offer 'bugger all' in terms of background about Tom DeLuca, apart from his rust-belt origins in Pittsburgh, before moving to Florida. His musical history starts off in Nashville, where he became a songwriter. His two-album deal with Epic, which kicked off with this release, and ended with 1987's unreleased 'Captured' album.

Of note, was DeLuca's assistance to Molly Hatchet on their 1984 album 'The Deed Is Done'. Tom contributes a co-write on the song 'Satisfied Man', and along with Jimi Jamison, provides backing vocals on the album. Tom also worked with Aldo Nova on his 1985 'Twitch' album, contributing three songs.

He must have impressed someone at MH's label Epic, because they signed him, and sent him over to England to record his debut album 'Down To The Wire' with noted British producer James Guthrie (Judas Priest, Ambrosia) at the helm. The recording session took place between October 1985 and January 1986, the album released later that year.

The Songs

Musically, it's a bit of everything. A melting pot of Bruce Springsteen, Jude Cole, Jimmy Davis. It's a bit rough-house in places, with an edge that keeps it out of commercial reach. On other parts it's very melodic.

DeLuca's vocal isn't a smooth voice to be honest. It has a harsh edge like Robin McAuley, but it's not too bad either. Surprising that Guthrie didn't stamp his mark on this album as it doesn't have a British 'feel' at all. This is particularly obvious on the opener '57 Chevy', a barnstorming made-for-US radio anthem. 'Runaway Hearts' has more of a poppy edge, lightweight fare at best.

Of the other songs, there are a handful that stack up very well. 'Fire In The Night' is a real stormer, played in that late 80's style that Petra occupied. The title track is a pretty cool tune too. 'Going The Distance' has this power-ballad thing going on, as does 'Stone In Your Heart' - this one is quite classy actually.

In Summary

Not sure what the stats were on this album, but as mentioned, Tom was fortunate enough to work on a second album called 'Captured' which was recorded in 1987, though I understand it was never officially released. I haven't seen that one as yet, hopefully soon.

Beyond that, the man has disappeared off the map. Not even a google search can help the situation. Anyone with more information about Tom DeLuca feels free to drop us a line. In the meantime, a reasonable slice of melodic rock with an edge.

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jefflynnefan

Does anybody here have this on CD? I need to see if I can find it. I was shocked that I didn't have it today when on looked for it. I thought for sure I had it on vinyl or something.

gdazegod

I can probably track down a fileshare. I'm certain there will be one at close hand. Give me a few hours.

DEMONAOR

Tom DeLuca – Captured: The Sessions 2016

jefflynnefan

I went ahead and bought the cd. It was released on Yesterrock.

PatrickHemming

Been a long while since I’ve included something from this album. Gonna fix that next week. Thanks for the reminder Geovian.

gdazegod

Melodic Rock Classics gave recently released a 2022 CD from Tom called 'Street Rock'. One of the bonus tracks is his version of 'Satisfied Man' which Molly Hatchet performed, as mentioned in the article above.