- James Bordy -- guitar, vocals (1987)

- Dennis Bouch -- drums, percussion (1987)

- Ross Inden -- bass, guitar (1987)

- Dennis Pash -- vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion,

  harmonica (1977-87)

- Roy McDonald -- drums, percussion (1987)

- Kevin Sanders -- (1977-)

- Ray Symzcyk -- lead guitar (1987)

- Things (Roy McDonald)

Genre: rock

Rating: 4 stars ****

Title:  Kansas City Slickers

Company: Moon

Catalog: MLP-300

Year: 1977

Country/State: Kansas City, Kansas

Grade (cover/record): VG / VG

Comments: --

Available: 1

GEMM catalog ID: 5125

Price: $150.00

I was at a party and a hardcore collector friend played this album without telling anyone who the band was.  My immediate thought was Ray Davies and the Kinks.  Most of the guests didn't care one way or the other, but being the anal fool that I am, imagine my surprise learning it was Kansas City's The Leopards ...

Skip forward a couple of weeks later when I had time to check out some reviews and information about the band.  Turns out virtually every other article made the same Kinks comparison.

Fronted by Dennis Pash and Kevin Sanders The Leopards were simply a lost treasure.  Released on their own Moon label, 1977's "Kansas City Slickers" found the pair managing to out-Kink The Kinks.  Mind you I'm not talking mid-1970s comeback Kinks, rather mid-1960s primetime Kinks!  These guys managed to nail Davies and company's magical mid-1960s sound without coming off like mindless clones. Their energy and enthusiasm for this material simply exploded across the album.  Showcasing all original material (penned by Pash and Sanders), tracks like 'Mind of My Own', '57 Chevy' and 'Bugle Boy' were catchy, clever and effortlessly evoked Davies at his creative best.  For cryin' out loud they even managed to capture The Kinks' very English delivery including music hall influences ('It Must Be Love').  Don't believe it?  Check out the opener 'Road To Jamaica' or 'Dancing in the Snow'. And they were from Kansas to boot ... This is one of those albums where it's simply hard to pick a favorite performance, but if pushed into a corner I'd give the nod to 'Recess' or 'the pretty ballad 'I Wonder If I'll Ever See You Again'.

"Kansas City Slickers" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Road To Jamaica   (Dennis Pash) - 3:17

2.) Mind of My Own   (Kevin Sanders) - 2:48

3.) Dancing In the Snow   (Dennis Pash) - 3:12

4.) 57 Chevy   (Dennis Pash) - 2:23

5.) Bugle Boy   (Kevin Sanders) - 1:53

6.) I Wonder If I'll Ever See You Again   (Dennis Pash) - 2:28

(side 2)
1.) Recess   (Dennis Pash) - 2:58

2.) It Must Be Love   (Dennis Pash) - 2:33

3.) I'm On My Way   (Dennis Pash) - 2:06

4.) Raggedy Andy Raggedy Ann   (Dennis Pash) - 3:16

5.) Summer's Gone   (Kevin Sanders) - 2:25

I've never seen or heard them (looking), but there were also a series of Moon 45s.  I'm aware of three, but there may be more:

- 'I Wonder If I'll Ever See You Again' b/w 'It Must Be Love' (Moon catalog ??)

- 'They All Play Loud' b/w 'I'm Living In a Jungle' (Moon catalog ??)

- 'Don't Go Away' b/w 'The Only Girl for Me' (Moon catalog ??)

Genre: rock

Rating: 5 stars *****

Title:  Magic Still Exists

Company: Voxx

Catalog: VOXX-200.048

Year: 1987

Country/State: Kansas City, Kansas

Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+

Comments: cut out hole bottom right corner; still in shrink wrap; includes original inserts

Available: 1

GEMM catalog ID: 5136

Price: $80.00

If you think finding a decent copy of The Leopard's 1977 debut is hard, then try looking for the band's sophomore LP.  

After the release of The Leopards' 1977 debut the band relocated to Los Angeles, but couldn't make a go of it subsequently returning to their native Kansas City.  A second shot at L.A. proved equally unsuccessful.  In the early-1980s frontman Dennis Pash finally moved to L.A. where he put together a new Leopard's line-up, recording a series of demos while trying to interest a record label in his wares  Unfortunately in an era of new wave and disco madness, interest in Pash's English inspired power pop was non-existent.  Luckily Pash's persistence paid off.   Having sent Los Angeles DJ Rodney Bingenheimer copy after copy of a 12 track demo tape they'd recorded, Bingenheimer took an interest in the song 'Psychedelic Boy'.  The resulting airplay caught the attention of the Greg Shaw's Voxx label which promptly released the song as a single ('Psychedelic Boy' b/w 'If You Come Back' (Voxx catalog number 16)).  

Encouraged by the single's local success Voxx agreed to finance 1987's "Magic Still Exists".  Coming a decade after the band's debut, the self-produced LP was every bit as good as the debut. Exemplified by Pash-penned material such as the autobiographical career retrospective 'Back On the Track', 'Last Night' and the earlier single (a sly stab at the Paisley Underground scene) Pash's long-standing Kinks fetish remained firmly in place, though this time around he tempered it with a selection of out-and-out rockers (the lead off 'Block Party' and 'I'm Drowning') and equally enjoyable Paisley underground/new wave influenced numbers ('Harlean's House' and ''Maggie Lane). Personal favorites included the should've been a hit 'It Can Happen To You' and the goofy 'Chief Red Scar's World Famous Herbal Cure Show'.  Fun through and through you had to shake your head and wonder why this wasn't a mammoth commercial hit.  

"Magic Still Exists" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Block Party   (Dennis Pash) - 

2.) Back On the Track   (Dennis Pash) - 

3.) Empty People   (Dennis Pash) - 

4.) Last Night   (Dennis Pash) - 

5.) Harlean's House   (Dennis Pash) - 

6.) Psychedelic Boy   (Dennis Pash) - 

(side 2)
1.) Chief Red Scar's World Famous Herbal Cure Show   (Dennis Pash) - 

2.) It Can Happen To You   (Dennis Pash) - 

3.) I'm Drowning   (Dennis Pash) - 

4.) Waiting   (Ross Inden) - 

5.) Crying   (Dennis Pash) - 

6.) Dusty Treasures (instrumental)   (Dennis Pash) - 

7.) Maggie Lane   (Dennis Pash) -