Michael Owen Bruce - in My Own Way

In My Own Way

It was around this time (1973-1974) that Bruce began working on his own recordings with a group of musicians that included: Mick Mashbir (guitars and vocals), Bob Dolin (keyboards and vocals), Frank Crandall (bass and vocals) and Don Lindley (percussion and vocals); Mashbir and Dolin had performed as members of the touring band on the Billion Dollar Babies tour. This line-up recorded and produced four songs ("If I was King", "As Rock Rolls On", "Oh, My Love" and "Nothing On Earth") that Jack Douglas mixed.

When Bruce decided to leave Connecticut in 1974 and move to Lake Tahoe, Crandall and Lindley did not follow. Bruce, Dolin and Mashbir were then faced with finding a new rhythm section. Drummers, such as William "Curly" Smith (of Jo Jo Gunne) and John Barbata (of The Turtles and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) came to play and record at Bruce's Nevada home. However, they never could find a steady bass player.

Bruce's album, In My Own Way was recorded over the course of three months in 1975 with producers, Gene Cornish and Dino Danelli of The Rascals. Many different musicians came down to the Record Plant and participated in the sessions for the album; Gerry Beckley (America), Jackie Lomax (The Undertakers, The Lomax Alliance and Badger (band)), Ricky Fataar (The Flames, The Beach Boys & The Rutles), Keith Moon (The Who), Brian Garofalo (session bassist), David Foster (Skylark & Airplay), Hunt Sales (Todd Rundgren, Paris, Iggy Pop, Tender Fury and Tin Machine), Tony Sales (Todd Rundgren, Iggy Pop and Tin Machine), Mylon LeFevre, Lynn Carey and many more. American fashion photographer, Francesco Scavullo, did a shoot for Bruce that yielded the cover of In My Own Way.