Taking their name
from a 1963 Stax single by Booker T & The MG's – JELLYBREAD were...
PETE WINGFIELD on
Piano and Vocals
PAUL BUTLER on
Guitar
JOHN BEST on Bass
CHRIS WATERS on
Drums
JELLYBREAD did 3
albums and 6 singles for the cult UK blues label - which throws up an
unintentional glitch in this CD's claim to be "The Complete Blue Horizon
Sessions" - it isn't. What this
15 September 2008 UK released 24-track reissue covers is only the first album
and 3 of the 7" singles that surrounded it. The anomaly lies in
distribution rights - then and now. "65 Parkway", their 2nd album,
came out in 1971 on Blue Horizon 2431 002, while their 3rd and last album
"Back To The Beginning Again" followed in 1972 on Blue Horizon 2931
004. Unfortunately their issue and distribution was handled by the Polydor
group at the time - and still is. Therefore those albums and the other three
singles are out of the scope of this Sony/CBS release. They may be issued at
some point in the future by Universal - but that remains to be seen. However
there are plenty of other goodies on this unassuming little nugget that more
than compensate...
UK released
September 2008 - here's the full layout for Sony/Blue Horizon 88697192182
(Barcode 886971921823) by JELLYBREAD (78:51 minutes):
1. River’s Invitation
2. I Pity The
Fool
3. Never Say No
4. Chairman Mao’s
Boogaloo
5. Evening
6. I’ve Got To
Forget You
7. Boogie
Sandwich
8. Rusty Blade
9. No Brag Just
Facts (Pts. 1 & 2)
10. No One Else
11. Don’t Pay
Them No Mind
Tracks 1 to 11
make up the album "First Slice" issued early 1970 on Blue Horizon S
7-63853 in the UK and Blue Horizon BH 4801 in the USA
(Tracks 2 and 10
off the album, "Chairman Mao's Boogaloo" b/w "No One Else",
were issued as their first UK 7" single on Blue Horizon 57-3162 in late
September 1969. The A is a piano-driven instrumental; both tracks are
Butler/Wingfield originals)
Tracks 12 and 13
are "Comment" b/w "Funky Wasp", which was their 2nd UK
7" single on Blue Horizon 57-3169 issued in January 1970 - both songs are
non-album. "Comment" is a Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street
Rhythm Band cover version, an obscure B-side to the "Must Be Your
Thing" 7" single from 1969 on US Warner Brothers; the B-side to
"Comment" is a rocking original, a New Orleans styled instrumental
peppered with superb piano playing by Pete Wingfield.
Tracks 14 and 15
are "Rockin' Pneumonia & The Boogie Woogie Flu" b/w "Readin'
The Meters", which was their 3rd UK 7" single on Blue Horizon 57-374
issued in April 1970 - and again both songs are non-album. The A is a cover of
the 1957 Huey Smith classic while the B is a funky wah-wah guitar instrumental
written by the whole band
Tracks 16 and 17
are "Old Man Hank" b/w "Faded Grace", which was their 4th
UK 7" single issued 4 December 1970 on Blue Horizon 57-3180 - again, both
tracks were non-album at the time (Butler and Wingfield originals) and are more
pop than blues.
Then comes a
genuine treat for blues collectors....
Tracks 18 to 22
are five of the six songs issued on their privately pressed mini-LP
"Jellybread", issued March 1969 on Liphook Records LIPHOOK 1. Due to
time restraints on this CD, the Royce Swain song "Evening" has been
left off (their excellent re-recording of it is Track 5 on the album anyway).
Featuring covers of Jimmy Roger's "That's Alright", Don Robey's
"Don't Want No Woman", Roosevelt Syke's "Drivin' Wheel",
Percy Mayfield's "Never Say No" and Sonny Boy Williamson's
"Sugar Mama" - 99 copies only were pressed up and given a stamped
handmade sleeve. It was sold at gigs and in specialist shops and used as a
showcase for the band. Impossible to find (I've never seen one) and with a
£100+ rarity value, its inclusion here is a genuine bonus for collectors of
rare blues. Their superb cover of Percy Mayfield's "Never Say No" is
actually ballsier than the re-recorded version on the album for my money and
given the rocking bluesy nature of the other recordings - it's easy to see why
BH signed them.
The original
tapes are remastered to the usual SUPERB standard by DUNCAN COWELL at Sound
Mastering, the detailed 12-page booklet has a stylish and informative essay on
the group by label boss MIKE VERNON, all of it supplemented with advert
reproductions, band photos, the record sleeves, session details etc. Finally, a
tasty card wrap covers the outside jewel case - and even the tracks are typeset
on the cover as the album in the left column, and the bonuses in the right - so
you can see where the natural break is - all of it typical of the excellence
that has surrounded every BH release to date.
Highlights
include a slow and brassy version of Bobby Bland's 1961 Duke Records classic
"I Pity The Fool" and the epic seven-minute "Evening" which
could have been a moody Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac classic in the hands of
someone else (Gary Moore did a wonderfully slow and evocative cover of it on
his excellent "Close As You Get" album from last year).
Which brings me
to another anomaly as I listen to the excellent slow blues of "No One
Else" - from my days as Mail-Order/Rarities Manager in Reckless Records in
both their Islington and Soho branches, I recall Jellybread not being held in
the highest regard by BH collectors anywhere. It isn't that the album is awful;
it's just perceived as a little dull and lifeless - white boys doing lackluster
versions of black man's blues. I think this superb release may well change that
- because like the Christine Perfect album and CD reissue in this series (see
separate review), this is essentially a 3-star album pushed up to a bona-fide
4-star release by its genuinely excellent bonus tracks and quality audio presentation.
There's excellent
stuff on this reissue and I hope it will lead to a reappraisal of this
forgotten but rather cool and funky British blues band...
