Chelsea (American band)

For the English punk rock band, see Chelsea (band).

Chelsea was an early 1970s band from New York City, best known for having drummer Peter Criss before he joined Kiss in 1973. They released one album, the self-titled album Chelsea, in 1970. Shortly after recording their unreleased second studio album, the band broke up.^[2]

Chelsea
Origin	New York City
Genres	Pop rock[1]
Years active	1970
Labels	Decca
Past members	Michael Benvenga Peter Criss Chris Aridas Mike Brand Peter Shepley Stan Penridge

In August 1970, the band became "Lips", a trio consisting of Criss and his Chelsea bandmates Michael Benvenga and Stan Penridge. By the spring of 1972, Lips was just the duo of Criss and Penridge. They eventually disbanded completely. Their sound has been compared to the Moody Blues, Procol Harum, and The Raisins, with whom Criss recorded as a guest musician in 1968.^[1]

In 1973, Pete Shepley and Mike Brand recorded an unreleased album which included a post-Chelsea Michael Benvenga, a pre-Kiss Peter Criss, and (on two songs) Gene Simmons, as session musicians. It was titled Captain Sanity.^[3]

Chelsea

Chelsea
Studio album by Chelsea[4]
Released	1970
Recorded	1970
Genre	Rock
Length	37:54
Label	MCA Records
Producer	Lewis Merenstein

Chelsea is the only album released by the band. Peter Criss is credited as Peter Cris in the liner notes.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mike Brand & Peter Shepley, except where noted.

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Rollin' Along"		2:34
2.	"Let's Call It a Day"		3:05
3.	"Silver Lining"	Aridas, Benvenga	2:49
4.	"All American Boy"		3:55
5.	"Hard Rock Music"		5:10

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Ophelia"		2:38
7.	"Long River"		6:41
8.	"Grace"		3:17
9.	"Polly Von"	Aridas, Benvenga, Brand, Cris, Shepley	5:01
10.	"Good Company"		1:44
Total length:			37:54

Personnel

• Peter Shepley – lead vocals
• Mike Brand – guitar
• Chris Aridas – guitar
• Michael Benvenga – bass, vocals
• Peter Cris – drums, vocals
• John Cale – viola on track 7 and 10
• Steve Loeb – piano on track 8

See also

• Wicked Lester, another pre-Kiss band featuring the future Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley