If there is more inauspicious use of "Vol. 1" in an album title, the record would still probably not be as much fun to listen to as this one. It is the only album ever released by the Contenders, so there was never a second volume, nor any material available to put on one barring some kind of major find in the future. Furthermore, the group itself even broke up before the debut album came out in 1977. Two reissues of the material came about a bit less than a quarter of a century later. The 2002 Gadfly set entitled The Contenders folded in three more songs the group worked on for the never-to-follow album. In a perfect world, one of those additional songs would be on this album, as the other two aren't really that great. Of course, in a perfect world a band such as the Contenders would not have broken up after one album. This neglected band was not only a combination of five great talents, it was a combination of talents who were basically neglected by the music business as individuals as well. This at least establishes some consistency in the universe. Light from Carolina is perhaps the best title for the small treasure trove of Contenders documentation, at least in terms of a title representing a group putting its best collective feet forward. This haunting song by Steve Runkle, sung in his trademark Appalachian falsetto, closes out the album so wonderfully that a hole seems to appear in the musical universe, that of course being all the other possible material a group as talented as this could have recorded. At least Walter Hyatt's Lean on Your Mind was set down for posterity. It, along with the title track, establish that these were musical thinkers who had their heads on straight, who had the right priorities, and whose music was thus engraved with absolutely sincere emotion. No surprise, then, that the Contenders band was such a flop in the music business! Other great tracks include the lively Silver Cup, which rushes forward rhythmically like a crowd greeting a train. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi

1		Lean on Your Mind
2		Lack of Love
3		Walking Angel
4		Hollywood Girls
5		Silver Cup
6		Chain of Emotion
7		Dim the Light
8		Smokey Night Life
9		Whatever Reason
10		Talk
11		Light from Carolina