Up Down Lovin'

Daystorm Music marks the 40th Anniversary of the recording of Gary Tanin’s Otto & The Elevators with the 40th Anniversary Edition Vinyl/CD release - created from the original master tapes of the critically acclaimed 1975 recording.

“Even by today's standards, the music here is bright and bold, Tanin sticking his grubby fingers in every possible piece of genre pie: "everything from polka rythyms to blues guitar licks, cool jazz soloing, Tin Pan Alley melodies and Stax-Volt soul.” Mark Wong - BigO / Singapore

“The lyrics are simple, ...the kind most difficult to write. Tanin shows his ability to make the transition from nonsense songs to love songs to what we’re now calling country rock. His versions are pure - rather simple - really well done.”
Carol Line - Bugle American

“Tanin’s music has a remarkable lasting power and tends to sound as viable today as when it was first recorded. Tanin, an incurable romantic at heart, sings about sun and rain, love and happiness, just as he always has, putting sincere feeling into the words linked to his memorable tunes.” Gary Peterson - Milwaukee Sentinel

"Tanin's got some of the Beatles quirky cheekiness mixed into his over-the-top whiteboy boogie-woogie pop rock. Highlights include the overwrought, string-laden ballad "Up Down Lovin'," the funky "Boss Rat," and the blaring bar-rocker
"Help Me." For fans of not-so-serious rock like Zappa or Commander Cody. - GROUND LIFT MAGAZINE

Otto & The Elevators is the great, lost Milwaukee album from the ’70s. On this 40th anniversary reissue of the vinyl LP (with a CD tucked into a plastic sleeve), the most remarkable thing—aside from the A-plus songwriting—is the timelessness. Gary Tanin’s writing and production synthesized many influences into a coherent style—a seamless construction made from The Beatles, blues, gospel, soul, country and classical music. It’s a gorgeous pop record from a rock perspective, with Tanin singing songs of hope, humor and loss in a bell-like voice. Otto & The Elevators doesn’t sound like 1973. In many ways, it sounds like today.

With remarkable ambition for a young artist, Tanin assembled some of the area’s ace musicians, including a pair of violinists, a couple of horn players and a pedal steel guitarist, programed an ARP synthesizer (a rarity in these parts in those days) and recorded with a sonic clarity that didn’t sacrifice power for polish. In recent years, he has been heard more in connection with other people’s music than his own. Perhaps Tanin was always more comfortable in the studio than on stage. Otto & The Elevators is an album that should have put his name on marquees. - David Luhrssen - Shepherd Express