"The Bass [aka 'Infinite Space' and 'Mountain In The Clouds'] by MIROSLAV VITOUS (2016 Beat Goes On Reissue - High Definition Andrew Thompson CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Mountain In The Clouds..."

Czech Bass Player MIROSLAV VITOUS is known to most music lovers for co-founding Weather Report with Pianist Joe Zawinul and Saxophonist Wayne Shorter - yet much of his solo career remains shrouded in sideshow mystery. His second album - beautifully transferred here by England's Beat Goes On - is typical – having received two release dates, three differing names and four kinds of artwork across the years.

Recorded in November 1969 in at A&R Studios in New York - it was first issued February 1970 in the USA as "Infinite Space" on Embryo SD 524. It came in a fetching black and white gatefold sleeve with Miroslav’s photo centred and was distributed by the mighty Atlantic Records. Receiving very favourable 4-star reviews in the US trade mags - that initial LP had six tracks (3 on each side) and lined up as follows - "Freedom Jazz Dance", "Mountain In The Clouds" and "When Face Gets Place" on Side 1 with "Infinite Search", "I Will Tell Him On You" and "Epilogue" on Side 2.

However that version was deemed unsatisfactory and in 1972 it was remixed and reissued by Atlantic in November 1972 in Germany on Hor Zu/Atlantic ATL 30 024 now called "The Bass" with an extra unreleased-song - "Cerecka" - and a rejiggered track list. To confuse matters further - the American remixed and expanded version issued November 1972 on Atlantic SD 1622 was given yet another name - "Mountain In The Clouds". A further European issue actually sported yet more different artwork (a fourth variant). This December 2016 single-CD reissue uses the German name, artwork and 1972 WEA Remix. Here are the finite details...

UK released 2 December 2016 - "The Bass" by MIROSLAV VITOUS on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1260 (Barcode 5017261212603) is a straightforward CD transfer of the 1972 Remixed Atlantic Records LP and plays out as follows (47:25 minutes):

1. Freedom Jazz Dance

2. Mountain In The Clouds

3. Epilogue

4. Cerecka

5. Infinite Search [Side 2]

6. I Will Tell Him On You

7. When Face Gets Pale

Tracks 1 to 7 are the 2nd issue of the LP "Infinite Space" now renamed as "The Bass" - released November 1972 in Germany on Hor Zu/Atlantic ATL 30 024 and as "Mountain In The Clouds" in the USA on Atlantic SD 1622. Produced by HERBIE MANN – all tracks are by Miroslav Vitous except "Freedom Jazz Dance" which is an Eddie Harris cover version

THE BAND:

MIROSLAV VITOUS – Bass

HERBIE HANCOCK – Piano

JOE HENDERSON – Tenor Sax

JOHN McLAUGHLIN – Guitars

JOE CHAMBERS – Drums on "Epilogue" only

JACK DeJOHNETTE – Drums on all other tracks

The 12-page booklet pictures the core four of Vitous, McLaughlin, Hancock and DeJohnette and little else (none of the differing artwork – there was even another cover variant in the late Seventies in France) –but that’s more than compensated by the new CHARLES WARING liner notes – a Jazz Columnist for Record Collector and Mojo. On top of that is the stunning ANDREW THOMPSON High Definition Remaster that I’m fairly sure is based on the Rhino Remaster of just a few years back. In short – this CD sounds amazing.

The moment the relentless and wild soloing of "Freedom Jazz Dance" (an Eddie Harris cover) hits your speakers – your room is filled with the kind of playing virtuosity that seems ridiculous even today – and in gorgeous sound quality too. At just short of eleven-minutes the opener is a tour-de-force for Fusion Jazz and is followed by two-minutes of "Mountain In The Clouds" where Miroslav finally takes centre-stage and lets rip on those fret runs. At just over seven minutes "Epilogue" is the smoky nightclub moment – softly plucked fret notes hovering over a vibes and piano backdrop – it’s beautifully realised in the transfer. "Cerecka" was added to the 1972 track list at the end of Side 1 - speeding cymbals doing battle with free-form Jazz from Shorter for just under three minutes.

Side 2 opens with the album's other mellow-yellow tune - the original title track "Infinite Space" - just under seven minutes of vibes underpinned by Miroslav leaning into notes. It's beautifully transferred and has such subtle guitar from McLaughlin. At eleven-minutes plus "I Will Tell Him On You" remains the album's other major piece - a rapid freak out of soloing with DeJohnette working those sticks like a man on speed-dial.

The album in its various forms has always been a celebrated collector's item on vinyl. Beat Goes On is to be congratulated for making the CD variant available again and in such beautiful audio style...

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"In Philadelphia/Don't Knock My Love" by WILSON PICKETT (2016 Edsel CD Remasters Plus 17 Bonuses - Vol. 5 of 5) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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This release features the 1970 US LP "Wilson Pickett In Philadelphia"

"...Fire And Water..." 

England's Edsel Records are no strangers to Soul-reissues. Across the decades they've touched on major retrospectives for Philadelphia International (O'Jays, Billy Paul, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes), Holland-Dozier-Holland's HDH Label and Invictus Records (Chairmen Of The Board, Freda Payne and The Glass House) as well as anthologies for Ann Peebles, The Chi-Lites and Al Green covering their Hi Records label output.

For 2016 - our Demon Group heroes are tackling the whole of Wilson Pickett's ten-album stay between 1964 and 1972 at the legendary Atlantic Records. This fifth and final '2on1' set issued 26 November 2016 in the UK (see full list below) deals with his ninth and tenth studio LPs from 1970 and 1971 and comes bolstered up with a huge seventeen Bonus Tracks on 2CDs.

Across these five digipak-releases (three come with extras – the 1st, 4th and 5th) - you also get exclusive single mixes and many unreleased tracks formerly only available on 2009's "Funky Midnight Mover..." – a 6CD mail-order set from Rhino Handmade – an item that is now long deleted and extremely pricey into the bargain. The booklets also feature new liner notes from noted Soul writer and uber-fan Tony Rounce.

Here are the details for Alabama's finest Midnight Mover...

UK released 26 November 2016 (2 December 2016 in the USA) – "In Philadelphia/Don't Knock My Love" by WILSON PICKETT on Edsel EDSK 7122 (Barcode 740155711238) offers 2LPs Remastered onto 2CDs plus Seventeen Bonus Tracks and plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (63:52 minutes):

1. Run Joey Run

2. Help The Needy

3. Come Right Here 

4. Bumble Bee (Sting Me)

5. Don't Let The Green Grass Fool You

6. Get Me Back On Time, Engine Number Nine [Side 2]

7. Days Go By 

8. International Playboy

9. Ain’t No Doubt About It

Tracks 1 to 9 are his 9th studio album "Wilson Pickett In Philadelphia" - released September 1970 in the USA on Atlantic SD 8270 (Stereo Only) and April 1971 in the UK (with the same tracks) as "Engine No. 9" on Atlantic 2400 026 (Stereo Only).

BONUS TRACKS:

10. International Playboy (Remix) 

Track 10 is the A-side of Atlantic 45-2961 – a US 7" single from 1973

11. Pray For The Rain

12. Let It Come Naturally 

Tracks 11 and 12 are from "Funky Midnight Mover: The Atlantic Studio Recordings (1962-1978)" released 2009 in the USA on Rhino Handmade RHM2 07753

13. Funky Broadway (Live In Ghana)

14. Land Of 1000 Dances (Live in Ghana) 

Tracks 13 and 14 are from the Various Artists LP "Soul To Soul – Music from The Original Soundtrack Recorded Live In Ghana, West Africa" on Atlantic SD 7207 

15. Un' Avventura 

Track 15 is the A-side of a 1969 Italian-only 7" single on Atlantic ATL NP 03097

16. Heaven

17. Can't Stop A Man In Love

Tracks 16 and 17 are from "Funky Midnight Mover: The Atlantic Studio Recordings (1962-1978)" released 2009 in the USA on Rhino Handmade RHM2 07753

18. One Step Away 

19. Funk Factory 

Tracks 18 and 19 are the A&B-sides of a 1972 US 7” single on Atlantic 45-2878

Disc 2 (68:44 minutes):

1. Fire And Water

2. (Your Love Has Brought Me) A Mighty Long Way 

3. Covering The Same Old Ground 

4. Don't Knock My Love (Part 1)

5. Don't Knock My Love (Part 2)

6. Call My Name, I’ll Be There 

7. Hot Love

8. Not Enough Love To Satisfy 

9. You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover 

10. Pledging My Love

11. Mama Told Me Not To Come

12. Woman Let Me Be Down Home 

Tracks 1 to 12 are his 10th studio album "Don't Knock My Love" - released December 1971 in the USA on Atlantic SD 8300 and January 1972 in the UK on Atlantic K 40319. 

BONUS TRACKS:

13. Don't Knock My Love (Part 2) Single Version - 1972 US 7" single on Atlantic 45-2797, B-side

14. If You Need Me (Remake)

15. Don't Forget The Bridge

16. Rock Of Ages

17. Many Roads To Travel

18. Hope She'll Be Happier

19. Believe I'll Shout

Tracks 14 to 19 are from "Funky Midnight Mover: The Atlantic Studio Recordings (1962-1978)" released 2009 in the USA on Rhino Handmade RHM2 07753 - Track 15 mistaken credited as Atlantic 45-2909

Each of these five card digipaks comes in a gatefold with Volume 5 being the only double-disc issue. Like the four others it sports a comprehensive 16-page booklet in the left flap with new liner notes from legendary Soul writer TONY ROUNCE – a man whose name has graced literally hundreds of quality CD reissues. He goes into all the chart statistics for 1970 and 1971 - his Gamble & Huff project "In Philadelphia" with the second LP embracing Rock artists like Free and Randy Newman - the concert at Accra in Ghana that resulted in the "Soul To Soul" Soundtrack LP in 1972 (Atlantic SD 7207) – his progression to RCA Records and recording at Muscle Shoals and finally to Little Richard attending his funeral in 2006 paying homage in his sermon to one of the Soul greats. Mastered by PHIL KINRADE – the tracks are licensed from Warners and are therefore the US 1996 Rhino versions of old and those 2009 Rhino Handmade rarities – full and punchy Bill Inglot and Dan Hersch CD Remasters from original tapes.

The "Wilson Pickett In Philadelphia" LP (called "Engine No. 9" in the UK after the song became a hit) is dominated by two song writing forces – Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff and a team of four other staff writers which included Bunny Sigler. Gamble & Huff threw three tunes into the ring – the opener "Run Joey Run", the two-parter single and hooky-as-Hell Bobby Eli guitar-fuzz of "Get Me Back On Time, Engine Number Nine" (a No. 3 R&B hit in October 1970 for Pickett on Atlantic 45-2765) and the final LP cut "Ain’t No Doubt About It" – a mid-tempo stroller with choppy keyboards and sweet brass accompaniment (could even have been another 45). Bunny Sigler had his hands in the melodrama of "Days Go By", the don’t worry baby pluck of "Come Right Here" (used as B-side to "International Playboy" in May 1973 on Atlantic 45-2961) and one the album’s genuine gems - "Don’t Let The Green Grass Fool You" – co-written with John Bellmon, Reginald Turner and Jerry Akines who also contributed "Bumble Bee (Sting Me)". The LP peaked at a respectable No. 12 on the US R&B charts with Atlantic in fact taking advantage of the hits on it and pumping out "The Best Of Wilson Pickett, Vol. II" in May 1971 – rewarded with an even higher No. 8 placing (the last time Pickett would break the Top 10). 

As you can imagine - the Bonus Tracks are a mixed bag of killer vs. throwaway. It’s not surprising that Atlantic returned to the catchy legend-in-my-own-time "International Playboy" song in 1973 with a remix where Wilson lists ladies in Rome and New Orleans all too willing to cook more than egg fu yung for the Wicked Alabama lad (one of the Bonus Tracks on CD1). It’s very cool to hear the band count-in "Pray For The Rain" (one of the 6CD Rhino Handmade outtakes) but the vocal never quite takes off – better is the six-minutes of "Heaven" – all strings and ‘reach out and touch me’ lyrics. Sung half in Italian and the rest in English "Un Avventura" is clearly dubbed off a disc and is a weird hybrid that’s interesting but not much else. "Can’t Stop A Man In Love" dates from 23 Feb 1972 and is excellent. But best is the non-album track "Funk Factory" that was paired with the ballad "One Step Away" on Atlantic 45-2878 – a No. 11 R&B hit in June 1972. "Funk Factory" is a truly great Pickett groove co-written by him with Brad Shapiro and Luther Dixon – ending Disc 1 on a bit of a high.

You would think with three singles off the "Don’t Knock My Love" LP – one of which was the huge title track and another US No. 1 R&B hit – that the album would have charted higher than No. 23 - but it didn’t - a sign of things to come. Like many of the smarter players of the day Wilson Pickett was quick to take on board Rock acts whose music had a swing and swagger suited to Soul - here he tackles Free by doing "Fire and Water" from their 1970 Island Records LP of the same name and Randy Newman's "Mama Told Me (Not To Come)" which had become a No. 1 rock hit for Three Dog Night. He then mixed these with Brad Shapiro songs like "Call My Name, I'll Be There", "Hot Love" and the huge title track - a co-write on Part 1 with WP. There's even a hint of Area Code 615 and Paul Butterfield in the harmonica-driven "(Your Love Has Brought Me) A Mighty Long Way" - a fantastic brassy groover that follows perfectly after "Fire And Water" (a Jack Avery, Earl Simms and Carlton McWilliams song itself covered by Bonnie Bramlett in 1975 on her "It’s Time" LP on Capricorn Records). This sexy little beast then segues into a set of strings that introduce the ballad "Covering The Same Old Ground" - a George Jackson song Atlantic used as the B-side to the November 1972 US single for "Mama Told Me (Not To Come)". The audio on this is gorgeous - full of warmth and even though the strings and girls threaten to drown the whole thing on occasion - Wilson howls his heart out and saves the day. 

Edsel's decision to not separate the segue continues with the two-part title track which applies also to the lesser and ever so slightly hammy "Call My Name, I'll Be There". Another of the album's cool cuts is the fuzzed-up guitar of "You Can't Judge A Book By Its Cover" - a song with a Stevie Wonder writing credit. The Johnny Ace standard "Pledging My Love" was the B-side to "Fire And Water" which made R&B No. 2 in January 1972 on Atlantic 45-2852. It ends on another B-side with the funky potential of being an A - "Woman Let Me Be Down Home" which Atlantic used as the flipside to "Call My Name, I’ll Be There" on Atlantic 45-2824 in August 1971. Wilson lists off his country-boy complaints – his woman constantly telling him what to do, say and wear (oh dear). 

Collectors are going to love the sheer in-yer-face fuzzed-up funkiness of "Don’t Knock My Love, Pt. 2" in Mono (one of the Bonus Tracks) coming on like a mash-up between a James Brown/Chi-Lites/Sly Stone instrumental – what a Funky Winner! Of the 1971 and 1972 unreleased recordings – and even though the vocal is not quite right - I like the mellow cover of Bill Withers track "Hope She’ll Be Happier" where the highly-polished acoustic guitars and piano make it feel more Carole King "Tapestry" than "Don’t Knock My Love". And the Wilson-penned Jesus song "Rock Of Ages" (another Bonus) is akin to Aretha's passion on the landmark "Amazing Grace" double. 

The original Rhino CDs have been deleted for years and the Rhino Handmade set hard to find and liable to make your bang manager nervous – so this pairing of Pickett’s lesser-heard career is a very welcome reissue indeed. From here he would go on to limited success with RCA... 

"...Start It off!" - Pickett roars to the band as they kick in with the righteous-groove of "Believe I'll Shout" – a holy-roller funk work out with a driving organ backbeat. 

Not everything on these two CDs is unmitigated genius by any stretch – but there are so many great moments like the above that I'm digging it big time. I suggest you dig in too and enjoy the illicit fruit of the wicked man's labours...

Titles in this 26 Nov 2016 Edsel CD Reissue Series for WILSON PICKETT are:

1. In The Midnight Hour/The Exciting Midnight Mover

(1966 and 1967 Stereo 1st and 2nd LPs plus Three Bonus Tracks

Edsel EDSA 3059 - Barcode 740155505936)

2. The Wicked Pickett/The Sound Of Wilson Pickett

(1966 and 1967 Stereo/Mono 3rd and 4th LPs – no bonus tracks

Edsel EDSA 3060 - Barcode 740155506032)

3. I’m In Love/The Midnight Mover

(1968 for both his 5th and 6th LPs – no bonus tracks

Edsel EDSA 3061 - Barcode 740155506131)

4. Hey Jude/Right On

(1969 and 1970 Stereo 7th & 8th LPs with Three Bonus Tracks

Edsel EDSA 3062 - Barcode 740155506230)

5. In Philadelphia/Don’t Knock My Love

(1970 and 1972 9th & 10th Stereo LPs with Seventeen Bonus Tracks

Edsel EDSK 7112 - Barcode 740155711238)

Edsel have also touched on PERCY SLEDGE in this series and his stay at Atlantic Records (three digipak CD reissues):

1. When A Man Loves A Woman/Warm & Tender Soul

(1966 and 1967 Stereo 1st & 2nd LPs plus Four Bonus Tracks

Edsel EDSA 3063 - Barcode 740155506339)

2. The Percy Sledge Way/Take Time To Know Her

(1967 and 1968 Stereo 3rd & 4th LPs with Eight Bonus Tracks

Edsel EDSK 7116 - Barcode 740155711634)

3. My Special Prayer/Singles And Rarities

(1970 fifth and final Atlantic LP - along with a compilation of 27 Bonus Tracks

Edsel EDSK 7113 - Barcode 740155711337)

"Hey Jude/Right On" by WILSON PICKETT (2016 Edsel CD Remasters with Bonus Tracks - Vol. 4 of 5) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 100s Of Others Is Available in my

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SOUL, FUNK and JAZZ FUSION On CD - Exception Remasters  

Just Click Below To Purchase for £3.95

Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-depth Reviews From Discs 

Features the 1970 LP "Right On" 

"...Funky Way..."

England's Edsel Records are no strangers to Soul-reissues. Across the decades they've touched on major retrospectives for Philadelphia International (O'Jays, Billy Paul, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes), Holland-Dozier-Holland's HDH Label and Invictus Records (Chairmen Of The Board, Freda Payne and The Glass House) as well as anthologies for Ann Peebles, The Chi-Lites and Al Green covering their Hi Records label output.

For 2016 - our Demon Group heroes are tackling the whole of Wilson Pickett's ten-album stay between 1964 and 1972 at the legendary Atlantic Records. This fourth of five '2on1' sets issued 26 November 2016 in the UK (see full list below) deals with his seventh and eight studio LPs from 1969 and 1970 and comes bolstered up with three Bonus Tracks and a near 79-minute playing time.

Across these five digipak-releases (three come with extras – the 1st, 4th and 5th) - you also get exclusive single mixes and many unreleased tracks formerly only available on 2009's "Funky Midnight Mover..." – a 6CD mail-order set from Rhino Handmade – an item that is now long deleted and extremely pricey into the bargain. The booklets also feature new liner notes from noted Soul writer and uber-fan Tony Rounce.

Here are the details for Alabama's finest Midnight Mover...

UK released 26 November 2016 (2 December 2016 in the USA) – "Hey Jude/Right On" by WILSON PICKETT on Edsel EDSA 3062 (Barcode 740155506230) offers 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD plus Three Bonus Tracks and plays out as follows (78:52 minutes):

1. Save Me

2. Hey Jude

3. Back In Your Arms

4. Toe Hold

5. Night Owl

6. My Own Style Of Loving

7. A Man And A Half [Side 2]

8. Sit Down And Talk This Over

9. Search Your Heart

10. Born To Be Wild

11. People Make The World (What It Is)

Tracks 1 to 11 are his 7th studio album "Hey Jude" - released February 1969 in the USA on Atlantic SD 8215 (Stereo Only) and February 1969 in the UK on 588 170 (Stereo Only).

12. Groovy Little Woman

13. Funky Way

14. Sugar Sugar

15. Sweet Inspiration

16. This Old Town

17. You Keep Me Hangin' On

18. Lord Pity Us All [Side 2]

19. It's Still Good

20. Woman Likes To Hear That

21. She Said Yes

22. Hey Joe

23. Steal Away

Tracks 12 to 23 are his 8th studio album "Right On" - released March 1970 in the USA on Atlantic SD 8250 (Stereo Only) and April 1970 in the UK on Atlantic 2465 002 (Stereo Only).

BONUS TRACKS:

24. Mini Skirt Minnie (March 1969 US 7" single on Atlantic 45-2611 - non-album A-side – "Back In Your Arms" from the "Hey Jude" LP was the B)

25. Now You See You, Now You Don't (November 1969 US 7" single on Atlantic 45-2682, Non-album B-side to "You Keep Me Hangin' On")

26. Cole, Cooke And Redding (March 1970 US 7" single on Atlantic 45-2722 - non-album A-side - "Sugar Sugar" from the "Right On" LP was the B)

Each of these five card digipaks is a gatefold with Volume 3 sporting a comprehensive 16-page booklet in the left flap with new liner notes from legendary Soul writer TONY ROUNCE – a man whose name has graced literally hundreds of quality CD reissues. He goes into all the chart statistics for 1969 and 1970 - the Cold Grits backing band in Miami - and Gregg Allman is pictured smiling at a laughing Pickett on Page 14. They even reproduce the original Enoch Gregory original liner notes for 1969's "Hey Jude" LP – but I'd have to say though that the inner flap and the space beneath the see-through CD tray being 'blank' and the nondescript colouring of the CD itself let the visual side down somewhat (could have been filled out with pictures and black/red label memorabilia). At least the three non-album single sides are both cool and relevant bonuses. Mastered by PHIL KINRADE – the tracks are licensed from Warners and are therefore the 1995 Rhino versions of old – full and punchy Bill Inglot and Dan Hersch CD Remasters from original tapes.

With US R&B chart positions of No. 15 for the "Hey Jude" LP in February 1969 and No. 36 in March 1970 for "Right On" (it barely scraped 197 on the Rock charts) when all his other albums easily made Top Ten before - Pickett's chart light was fading at this stage of his career. Not for the want of good material though or lack of smart cover version choices. Atlantic tried George Jackson's wonderful "A Man A Half" as a 7" single in November 1968 (Atlantic 45-2575) with the future Bobby Womack-penned LP cut ""People Make The World (What It Is)" as its flipside and were rewarded with a modest No. 20 chart position. Realising the world-dominating power of The Beatles Apple Records stuff - Soul acts began falling over themselves to trump-up Soulful takes of there melodies. Some people love Pickett's take on the Apple single "Hey Jude" which Atlantic pushed out late December 1968 with another George Jackson LP song on its B-side "Search Your Heart" - I'm ambivalent towards it. I tried to love a 2016 Ace Records CD called "Let It Be: Black America Sings Lennon, McCartney & Harrison" but I found it only confirmed my long-held suspicion that Soul artists should avoid The Beatles like a plague. The American public however liked it - giving the long and funkified "Hey Jude" a No. 13 placing on the R&B charts.

Better is the forgotten ballad "Back In Your Arms" penned by a trio of Soul songwriting heroes - George Jackson, Raymond Moore and Melvin Leakes - a belter with guitars (Duane Allman), brass and a powerhouse 'wish I was back' vocal performance from the Wicked P. Isaac Hayes and David Porter put up the fabulous Funk of "Toe Hold" - the in-house band digging in (Barry Beckett on piano as Duane gets funky on his axe). Don Covay's "Night Owl" is a return to the 'looky here' blasters of 1966 and 1967 - a huge dancer with Wilson giving it lots of 'uh' grunts as the band grooves like a congregation possessed of the holy Funky spirit. Duane Allman's playing is very forward in the mix of "My Own Style Of Loving" where Wilson tells us that he can't be beat when he comes top lovin' (men come from miles around hoping to get a lesson). And like so many of the previous WP albums I've reviewed - the mighty presence of Bobby Womack enrich proceedings - here it's on the chugger "Sit Down And Talk This Over" and the final LP ballad "People Make The World (What It Is)".

By the time "Right On" was released in March 1970 - Soul had moved away from Pickett's high-octane dancers to a troubled social consciousness with a nasty backbeat - Motown's Norman Whitfield and James Brown singing about inner cities destroyed with Heroin, rat-infested buildings being burned down for insurances scams, young men faced with Vietnam or unemployment. So in some ways "Groovy Little Woman" and "Funky Way" would have suited 1966 and 1967 - but in early 1970 already sound ever so slightly dated and out of place. Jeff Barry and Andy Kim's "Sugar Sugar" doesn't help matters much either - bubblegum Soul. Far better is Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham's "Sweet Inspiration" and a song that's more closely associated with The Staple Singers - "This Old Town". A Wilson Pickett, Don Covay and William Stevenson co-write - "This Old Town" is the first time the album deals with the 'no faces' that separate the races and warns you don't have to rob and steal just to survive. Side 2 of "Right On" picks up with George Jackson’s good-advice parable "Woman Likes To Hear That" while the duo of covers are very, very good – Tim Rose's "Hey Joe" (Duane giving it a bit of Psych guitar) and the gospel 'God will make things alright' song "Steal Away" where his vocals are backed up by a foursome of righteous ladies that include Cissy Houston and Judy Clay.

The original Rhino CDs have been deleted for years – so this pairing of Pickett’s lesser-heard career is a very welcome reissue indeed.

"...I like it..." - Pickett sings on the chugging guitar Funk of "It's Still Good" - twinkling off-mike as his cooler-than-cool musical ensemble churns out yet another wicked Soul groove he can wrap his extraordinary voice around. I like it indeed. Dig in and enjoy...

PS: Titles in this 26 Nov 2016 Edsel CD Reissue Series for WILSON PICKETT are:

1. In The Midnight Hour/The Exciting Midnight Mover

(1966 and 1967 Stereo 1st and 2nd LPs plus Three Bonus Tracks

Edsel EDSA 3059 - Barcode 740155505936)

2. The Wicked Pickett/The Sound Of Wilson Pickett

(1966 and 1967 Stereo/Mono 3rd and 4th LPs – no bonus tracks

Edsel EDSA 3060 - Barcode 740155506032)

3. I’m In Love/The Midnight Mover

(1968 for both his 5th and 6th LPs – no bonus tracks

Edsel EDSA 3061 - Barcode 740155506131)

4. Hey Jude/Right On

(1969 and 1970 Stereo 7th & 8th LPs with Three Bonus Tracks

Edsel EDSA 3062 - Barcode 740155506230)

5. In Philadelphia/Don’t Knock My Love

(1970 and 1972 9th & 10th Stereo LPs with Seventeen Bonus Tracks

Edsel EDSK 7112 - Barcode 740155711238)

Edsel have also touched on PERCY SLEDGE in this series and his stay at Atlantic Records (three digipak CD reissues):

1. When A Man Loves A Woman/Warm & Tender Soul

(1966 and 1967 Stereo 1st & 2nd LPs plus Four Bonus Tracks

Edsel EDSA 3063 - Barcode 740155506339)

2. The Percy Sledge Way/Take Time To Know Her

(1967 and 1968 Stereo 3rd & 4th LPs with Eight Bonus Tracks

Edsel EDSK 7116 - Barcode 740155711634)

3. My Special Prayer/Singles And Rarities

(1970 fifth and final Atlantic LP - along with a compilation of 27 Bonus Tracks

Edsel EDSK 7113 - Barcode 740155711337)

"Original Album Series" by AL STEWART (January 2014 Parlophone/Warners 5CD Mini Box Set of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With More Than 480 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

CLASSIC 1970s ROCK On CD - Exception Remasters  

Just Click Below To Purchase for £3.95

Thousands and thousands of E-Pages

All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs Themselves

(No Cut and Paste Crap) 

Including the 1970 albums "Love Chronicles" (USA) and "Zero She Flies" (UK)

"...A Small Fruit Song..."

As a clearly befuddled and out-of-his-depths Emperor Joseph II (played by Jeffrey Jones) tries to reply to Mozart in Milos Forman's "Amadeus" when asked if he liked Wolfgang's new symphony – the Emperor quickly babbles - "...There's too many notes! Yes that's it! Too many notes!" Mozart tries in vein to advise the clearly ignorant European deity that his masterful musical composition has absolute no superfluous notes of any kind (you twat) – but Mozart's pleas for an enlightened audience fall on deaf ears and some seriously caked-on rouge.

Al Stewart is the same. His high-pitched almost effeminate voice and particularly wordy songs (like a college professor who can't stop himself giving you a history lesson - too many syllables Al) has the same effect. He's a Bovril artist - not everyone likes the Glaswegian Folky but if you do you're thinking our Alistair may very well be a misunderstood genius and then some. But what about the icky Bovril you say. I for one am down with both opinions when it comes to Al Stewart (he's good and bad). I find the first two LPs period-fey and at times unbearably hard to take - but the gorgeous Nick Drake vibe of "Zero She Flies" from 1970 has always seemed like a forgotten gem to me - and the last two LPs on RCA are simply quality work from a classy and accomplished songwriter. Here are the Small Fruit Songs...

UK released January 2014 - "Original Album Series" by AL STEWART on Parlophone/Warners 2564636168 (Barcode 825646361687) is a 5CD Mini Box Set of Remasters (four are) that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 "Bedsitter Images" (41:40 minutes):

1. Bedsitter Images

2. Swiss Cottage Manoeuvres

3. The Carmichaels

4. Scandinavian Girl

5. Pretty Golden Hair

6. Denise At 16

7. Samuel, Oh How You've Changed! [Side 2]

8. Cleave To Me

9. A Long Way Down From Stephanie

10. Ivich

11. Beleeka Doodle Day

Tracks 1 to 11 are his debut LP "Bedsitter Images" (cover has the LP title as "Bed Sitter Images" but the label and song is "Bedsitter Images") - released October 1967 in the UK on CBS Records BPG 63087 (Mono) and CBS Records S BPG 63087 (Stereo) - the STEREO version is used for this CD Remaster which was done in 2007. His debut was also reissued in June 1970 in the UK on CBS Records S 64023 with different artwork under the title "The First Album" - the card sleeve here uses the original 1967 artwork (there was no US issue).

Disc 2 "Love Chronicles" (43:09 minutes):

1. In Brooklyn

2. Old Compton Street Blues

3. The Ballad Of Mary Foster

4. Life And Life Only

5. You Should Have Listened To Al [Side 2]

6. Love Chronicles

Tracks 1 to 6 are his second studio album "Love Chronicles" - released January 1969 in the UK on CBS Records S 63460 (Stereo) and June 1970 in the USA on Epic BN 26564. The original British LP was a gatefold sleeve with a profile photo of Al in a fur coat on the front sleeve with a photo of him and his girlfriend wrapped in blanket sat on grass on the rear. The US LP in 1970 on Epic Records dropped the gatefold to a single-sleeve and reversed the cover art (him and the girl on the front and not on the rear). The card sleeve here uses the UK artwork and the 2007 CD Remaster is used.

Disc 3 "Zero She Flies" (37:16 minutes):

1. My Enemies Have Sweet Voices

2. A Small Fruit Song

3. Gethsemane, Again

4. Burbling

5. Electric Los Angeles Sunset

6. Manuscript [Side 2]

7. Black Hill

8. Anna

9. Room Of Boots

10. Zero She Flies

Tracks 1 to 10 are his third studio album "Zero She Flies" - released March 1970 in the UK on CBS Records S 63848 (Stereo) - No US Issue. 2007 CD Remaster used.

Disc 4 "Year Of The Cat" (39:14 minutes):

1. Lord Grenville

2. On The Border

3. Midas Shadow

4. Sand In Your Shoes

5. If It Doesn't Come Naturally, Leave It

6. Flying Sorcery [Side 2]

7. Broadway Hotel

8. One Stage Before

9. Year Of The Cat

Tracks 1 to 9 are his seventh studio album "Year Of The Cat" - released October 1976 in the UK on RCA Records RS 1082 and in the USA on Janus Records JXS 7022. Peaked at No. 38 in the UK and No. 5 in the USA.

Disc 5 "Time Passages" (44:38 minutes):

1. Time Passages

2. Valentina Way

3. Life In dark Water

4. A Man For All Seasons

5. Almost Lucy [Side 2]

6. Palace Of Versailles

7. Timeless Skies

8. Song On The Radio

9. End Of The Day

Tracks 1 to 9 are his eight studio album "Time Passages" - released September 1978 in the UK on RCA PL 25173 and in the USA on Arista AB-4190 - peaked at No. 39 in the UK and No. 10 in the USA.

By now most know the gig with these 'Original Album Series' Mini Box Sets - five CD albums in single card sleeves with front and rear cover repro artwork that looks nice but is impossible to read. There's no booklet and the only real info is the track lists on the CD labels. The original gatefold sleeves of "Love Chronicles", "Zero She Flies", "Year Of The Cat" and the inner sleeve of "Time Passages" are all AWOL. The repro sleeves are best described as adequate at best and you do need to be careful of the easily crushed flimsy card slipcase that scuffs easily too.

But there's good news where it matters - on the Audio front. Other reviewers have noted that the first three albums presented here - his 1967 debut "Bedsitter Images" - its follow-up "Love Chronicles" from 1969 - and the wonderful 1970 effort "Zero She Flies" are all 2007 Remasters - so the Audio is toppermost of the poppermost. His huge 1976 chart breakthrough LP "Year Of The Cat" is a 2001 Remaster - but no-one seems to know when 1978's equally melodious "Time Passages" was mastered (or remastered for that matter). As all three of the 2007 versions are deleted and costing a pretty penny ever since and the other two not easy to nail down either - this 5CD Mini Box Set with repro art card sleeves for all 5 LPs represents good value for money and a reasonable way to explore a singer well worth checking out.

The first album is a victim of dates – despite great lyrics about 'panelled patterns on the door' the title track for "Bedsitter Images" is given strings and heavy-handed drums to make it bop – the results are ham-fisted. The same applies to "Pretty Golden Hair" – a forced happy-wappy vibe trying to make the song CBS chart material - while a clavinet gives "A Long Way Down From Stephanie" a sort of Simon & Garfunkel feel but not in a good way. His second studio outing pulls back on the musical clutter but goes nuts with the words. "The Ballad Of Mary Foster" is 8:02 and almost all of Side 2 is taken up with the 18:04 minutes of "Love Chronicles" - but at least that feyness that blighted the first LP is gone. Christine gets kissed at ten - joints come in in his late teens - and "Love Chronicles" does well to retain your interest for such a time. But my fave on here is the simple, sad and 'don't get things for nothing' weariness of  "Old Compton Street Blues" where an impressionistic girl smiles - sadly slipping off her dress for the sailor or the clerk in one of London's most notorious haunts. The "Love Chronicles" LP was a huge leap forward but I think his next was even better.

"...I was playing brag in Bedlam and the doctor would not deal..." he sings on the brilliant "My Enemies Have Sweet Voices" - a funky little opener for the fab "Zero She Flies" LP from 1970. For the beginning of the decade Al Stewart seemed to have discovered his inner Funky South Kensington Donovan as the Harmonica and Georgie Fame organ Funk-Folk their way throughout the astute lyrics of "My Enemies Have Sweet Voices". As the bent-notes of a high-string acoustic chug along to an Old Grey Whistle Test Theme harmonica - Stewart sings "...I was blindside to the gutter...and Merlin happened by...asking me why do you lie down there bleeding...I answered him magician as a matter of fact...I was jumping to conclusions and one of them jumped back..." The audio on opener and the lovely follow on "A Small Fruit Song" are utterly stunning - clean and full - as the strings rattle around your speakers. In fact CBS used "A Small Fruit Song" as one of the tracks on the famous 1970 2LP label sampler "Fill Your Head With Rock" - it's acoustic simplicity as pretty as any song they had over on Nick Drake's and Cat Stevens' Island Records. An affectionate rumination on the soppiness and humanity of Jesus ("Gethsemane, Again") is followed by a gorgeous acoustic instrumental called "Burbling" which sounds like its playful-water title. "...Waiting for the ambulance and the cops to come..." come the world-weary lyrics to "Electric Los Angeles Sunset" chronicling the end of the hippy-dream as Cadillacs move snakelike through the haze of smoke from once hip cafes.

His storytelling brilliance can often floor you - take the words to the Eleanor Rigby elegant "Manuscript" as he recalls an old lady remembering - "...And my grandmother sits on the beach in the days before the war...a young girl writing her diary...while time seems to pause...watching the waves as they come one by one to die on the shore...kissing the feet of England..." More acoustic dexterity comes in the shape of "Black Hill" which quickly turns into a mandolin ballad with a few short lines and then it's gone. Beautiful and sad are words to describe "Anna" - a lady listening for the echo of his foot on the stair - the sound of a man who only took flesh from her bones and left little else. It ends on a duo of accomplished acoustic songs - like Leo Kottke with words - "Room Of Boots" and "Zero She Flies" - small wonder the album made No. 40 on the UK LP charts (he wouldn't taste chart success until 1976).

We then skip three albums on CBS ("Orange" in 1972, "Past, Present & Future" in 1973 and "Modern Times" in 1975) to when he signed to RCA Victor and saw his biggest chart success and the album/song he's most remembered for - 1976's "Year Of The Cat". It opens with the slow but majestic "Lord Grenville" with its 'voices on the wind' - followed by the equally sweeping piano-frantic "On The Border" with those acoustic-guitar flourishes sounding so sweet. The electric keyboard shimmer of "Midas Shadow" sounds sweet too as does the almost seaside vibe to "Sand In Your Shoes" where Al sings goodbye to his lady of the island. Side 1 ends with "It Doesn’t Come Naturally, Leave It" where some lady bends his back and many other things too. The Audio for "Flying Sorcery" is pleasingly full as he sings of a lady on the tarmac waiting for another shot at wind-in-her-hair. And then we get the big one – the full album cut of "Year Of The Cat" at 6:48 minutes with its extended piano intro – as sophisticated now as it was then.

The follow-up album "Time Passages" yielded more class in the almost Pink Floyd guitar swirl of "Like In Dark Water" and that catchy title track. It's true that tracks like "A Man For All Seasons" and that other saxophone hit "Song On The Radio" could do with an Audio brush up - but the sound here is still more than acceptable. The combo of Acoustic Guitars and Strings on "End Of The Day" is impressive too.

Sure the Sixties Hippy-Dip first two albums are hard to swallow nowadays - but the other three are worth the price of admission alone - especially the brilliant and unfairly forgotten "Zero She Flies" from 1970 - one for Nick Drake lovers out there.

"...You're on my mind...like a song on the radio..." Bovril or no - Al Stewart is a melody taste worth acquiring. Get this songsmith in your home...

"Just For Love" by QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE [feat Dino Valenti, John Cipollina and Nicky Hopkins] (December 1992 Beat Goes On CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...It's Alright With Me..."

Recorded in and around the beautiful at-one-with-nature Opaelua Lodge in Hawaii in May and June of 1970 - Quicksilver Messenger Service's 4th album certainly looked the part with its tasty Capitol Records gatefold cover and colour collage of the boys on the inner gatefold giving in some live aloha homage to the Goddess Pele.

I’ve always thought "Just For Love" to be bloody genius - but with the album’s space-filling meandering instrumentals that seemed to be in search of a song amidst the drugs and grass skirts – and those ever-so-slightly irritating echoed vocals by someone clearly just about holding it together - not everyone was so 'peaced out' when it was released. I've always thought "Just For Love" a product of the times – something that must be taken on face value (the Sixties still hanging on in a haze of mind altering substances). But me - I adore that sloppy feel - like QMS has suddenly morphed into a melodic Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young having way too much fun in the studio and not caring about the placing of the microphones (juts play and feel it boys). Here is the world's most reasonable non-druggy review...

UK released December 1992 (reissued many times since including the latest December 2008) - "Just For Love" by QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE on Beat Goes On BGOCD 141 (Barcode 5017261201416) is a straightforward CD Remaster of the 9-track 1970 US LP and plays out as follows (39:31 minutes):

1. Wolf Run (Part 1)

2. Just For Love (Part 1)

3. Cobra

4. The Hat

5. Freeway Flyer [Side 2]

6. Gone Again

7. Fresh Air

8. Just For Love (Part 2)

9. Wolf Run (Part 2)

Tracks 1 to 9 are their fourth album "Just For Love" - released August 1970 in the USA on Capitol SMAS-498 and November 1970 in the UK on Capitol EA-ST 498. Produced by JOHN SELBY - it peaked at No. 27 in the USA (didn't chart UK)

For "Just For Love" QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE was:

DINO VALENTI - Lead Vocals, Guitar, Congas and Flute

GARY DUNCAN - Lead Electric and Acoustic Guitars and Maracas

JOHN CIPOLLINA - Lead Electric and Slide Guitar

DAVID FREIBERG - Bass Guitar, Guitar and Vocals

GREGORY ELMORE - Drums and Percussion

NICKY HOPKINS (Guest) - Piano

The 8-page inlay doesn't feature liners notes (bummer that) but it does reproduce that beautifully laid out Capitol Records gatefold cover art of 1970. The colour-collage is spread across the centre-pages whilst the 'world's most magical brat' and 'world's most rhythmic mystic' annotation is reproduced on the other pages (Dan Healy is the 'wired wizard' Engineer etc). Truth be told – BGO could do with upgrading the presentation of this reissue – I for one think the music deserves such a treat (big booklet, card slipcase etc).

It doesn't say which engineer Remastered the album at Sound Engineering Technology in Cambridge in 1992 (sounds like Duncan Cowell?) – but they did a stomping good job. Always a sloppy recording and perhaps not to everyone's taste – it's this very element that I love most about "Just For Love" and that's been kept in tact sweetly by this tasty transfer.

The re-introduction of the volatile Valenti into the ranks along with the guitar magic of Cipollina (would later form Copperhead) trading off against Gary Duncan while England's Nicky Hopkins adds the whole sound stage a classiness on his old piano - added up to a powerhouse unit.

A Flute and Tabla open Part 1 of the short instrumental "Wolf Run" – a sort of precursor to the who-gives-a-monkeys stuff to come. Then Part 1 of the title track "Just For Love" features Valenti who seems to wander up to and away from the microphone as he warbles on about being "touched softly" and being "free as the wind" (yeah baby). Huge drums introduce the wickedly good slightly country-ish "Cobra" which sounds like Gram Parsons is about to rock out – guitars flicking as a funky piano anchors proceedings. The ten-minute Side1 finisher "The Hat" is the kind of Stephen Stills-Band-Van Morrison acoustic-guitar sloppy work out that I adore. It's loose and feels improvised for sure and of course it overstays its welcome in places - but actually I quite like that and the band's chemistry is incredible as Gary Duncan proves his 'world's most funky saint' moniker in the liner notes while Valenti moans the vocals and Nicky Hopkins earns his stunning piano-playing sessionman reputation.

"...Let's try one more..." comes the count in for the band on the rollicking Side 2 opener "Freeway Flyer" where QMS sound like a drugged out Band letting rip on lyrics like 'dangerous stranger' rhyming with 'Psychedelic stranger'. Freiberg and Elmore keep the Bass and Drums rhythm section tight yet loose as Cipollina wigs out of Electric Guitar (I'm reminded of that in-house-jam feel guitarists Danny Kirwan and Jeremy Spencer got to their "Kiln House" LP for Fleetwood Mac also in 1970). That's followed by the lovely and very Hawaiian-peaceful seven minutes of "Gone Again" - the strummed guitar - the echoed vocals - the distant piano plinking as he sings "...my mind gets lonely...my crazy heart starts to gambling..." - I've always thought this one of this inexplicably gorgeous blissed out songs that feels right on a Sunday morning coming down ("...letting go feels so groovy now..."). There’s an almost Beach Boys quality to the band’s harmony vocal work on the ‘have another hit’ of "Fresh Air" – and dig the stunning piano work from Nicky Hopkins and Valenti’s impassioned ‘take me home with you’ vocals. It ends on two short snippets – Valenti singing of masquerades and the end of charades in the wildly echoed Part 2 of "Just For Love" while Part 2 of "Wolf Run" sounds cool and all hippyish if not a little pointless.

There are many (and will be many) who think much of "Just For Love" is a band faffing about and producing genius amidst the knob with perhaps too much emphasis on the whimsy. But I for one dig it the most.

"...Whatever you're doing...it's alright with me..." - Dino Valenti sings as the mighty ten-minutes of "The Hat" starts to fade out. Amen to that man...

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