SINGLES
Edited by Chuck Taylor

VENICE  The Man You Think I Am (4:28)
PRODUCER: Michael Lennon
WRITERS: K. Lennon, M. Lennon
PUBLISHERS: Grampafrank Music/Kippico Music, ASCAP
Vanguard 742 (CD single)

In case you don't know, Venice has been on the scene for some 19 years.  Comprising four Venice, Calif-based brothers -- Michael, Kipp, Pat and Mark Lennon (the sons of the legendary Lennon sisters from the "Lawrence Welk Show") -- it's been heard on projects ranging from Jackson Browne, Stevie Nicks, David Crosby, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, Dave Koz, and many more.  With this first outing from its fifth album and second on Vanguard, "Spin Art," the quartet works its signature four-part-harmonies into a rousing pop/rock number that could at last open the door to long-deserved mainstream success.   This acoustic track opens with a spitfire of percussion and harmonica, followed by Kipp's compelling lead vocal and a lyric about trying to meet the expectations of a lover who's already sold on him: "It was there on your face, you saw me not just as I am/But the way I've always wanted to be."  Hey, if Hootie could do it, these guys sure as hell should get a shot at adult top 40 and triple-A radio, particularly given how fulfilling "Spin Art" is as a whole.  You've just got to hear those harmonies -- yeah, boy.

1) The four Lennons are not all brothers.  Kipp and Pat are brothers, and Michael and Mark are brothers.  The two pair are cousins.

2) None of them are sons of the Lennon Sisters. Kipp and Pat are their younger brothers.  Michael and Mark, of course, are their cousins.

3) Quartet?  The band never performs with less than six people.

4) The song is not about Kipp wanting to meet the expectations of a lover, it's about him wanting to meet the expectations of his newborn son.  When this reviewer saw that the song was dedicated "To Roman," he obviously jumped to a very wrong conclusion...............