"The Singles Volume 7: 1970-1972" by JAMES BROWN [feat Bobby Byrd and Bootsy Collins] (2009 Hip-O Select 2CD Set - Seth Foster Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"…Feel Like Being A Sex Machine..."

I've been diligently collecting this series of 11 x 2CD sets of JAMES BROWN 'Singles' since they first started being released Stateside in September 2006.

This 7th instalment is one of six volumes to cover his extraordinary Seventies output – a particular favourite period for me. Volumes 6, 8, 9, 10 and 11 are the others - featuring every US 7" single released between 1970 and 1979 including all cancelled 45s and promo variants/remixes in both Mono and Stereo. Volumes 1 to 5 cover everything else prior - starting at 1958 on Federal Records through to his King and Bethlehem output in early 1970.

Volume 7 of "The Singles" picks up where Volume 6 left off (Volume 6 covers March 1969 through to early June 1970). Covering three labels - King, People and Polydor Records – we get pairings of every A&B-side released betwixt late June 1970 through to January 1972. It has the same spectacular Audio and beautifully presented 28-page fact-filled booklet that all volumes have - with a feast of fan-pleasing details and memorabilia provided by a team of experts on all things JB Productions. "The Singles" is a superlative CD series and along with the 'Motown' and 'Chess' Book Set Reissues has gone a long way to emblazoning 'Hip-O Select' as a reissue label dear to collector's hearts. Here are the Superbad details...

USA released 26 May 2009 - "The Singles Volume 7: 1970-1972" by JAMES BROWN on Hip-O Select/Polydor B0012728-02 (Barcode 602527001616) offers 39-tracks Remastered on 2CDs. All catalogue numbers are US 7" singles unless otherwise noted and beneath the discography info are the US R&B and Pop Chart placing (no entry means it didn’t chart). It breaks down as follows...

Disc 1, 18 Tracks, 67:39 minutes:

1. Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine (Part I & 2)

Track 1 is the Promotional Version of King 6318, released June 1970

2. Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine (Part I)

3. Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine (Part 2)

Tracks 2 and 3 are the A&B-sides of King 6318, released June 1970

R&B No. 2 – Pop No. 15

[Note: the version on the 1970 "Sex Machine" vinyl LP is different – re-cut to feature simulated audience applause. The Promotional single is in Mono – the released version in Stereo]

4. Super Bad (Part 1 & Part 2)

Track 4 is the Promotional version of King 6329, released October 1970

5. Super Bad (Part 1 & Part 2)

6. Super Bad (Part 3)

Tracks 6 and 7 are the A&B-sides of King 6329, released October 1970

R&B No. 1 – Pop No. 13

7. Fight Against Drug Abuse

Track 7 is a Public Service Announcement on King PSA-1, released November 1970

8. Hey America (Vocal)

9. Hey America (Sing Along)

Tracks 8 and 9 are the A&B-sides of King 6339, released November 1970

10. Santa Clause Is Definitely Here To Stay (Vocal)

11. Santa Clause Is Definitely Here To Stay (Sing Along)

Tracks 10 and 11 are the A&B-sides of King 6340, released November 1970

12. Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved Pt. 1

13. Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved Pt. 2

14. Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved Pt. 1 (Reverb Version)

15. Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved Pt. 2 (Reverb Version)

Tracks 12 and 13 are the A&B-sides of King 6437, released December 1970. Brown remixed the track shortly after release and added reverb to both sides – these variants are Tracks 14 and 15.

R&B No. 4 – Pop No. 34

16. I Cried

Track 16 is the A-side of King 6363, released January 1971. The B-side was "World Part 2" which is Track 17 on Disc 1 of Volume 5 (originally the B-side for "World Part 1" on King 6258 in August 1969). James Brown and Bobby Byrd originally wrote the A-side "I Cried" in 1963 for Tammy Montgormery who would later become Motown's Tammi Terrell.

R&B No. 15 – Pop No. 50

17. Soul Power Pt. 1

18. Soul Power Pt. 2 & pt. 3

Tracks 17 and 18 are the A&B-sides of the Promotional Version of King 6368, released February 1971. The Promotional Release only features added-on Reverb – the single proper on Disc 2 does not.

Disc 2, 21 Tracks, 69:56 minutes:

1. Soul Power Pt. 1

2. Soul Power Pt. 2 & pt. 3

Tracks 1 and 2 are stock copy release A&B-sides of King 6368, released February 1971

R&B No. 3 – Pop No. 29

3. Spinning Wheel Pt. 1

4. Spinning Wheel Pt. 2

Tracks 3 and 4 are the A&B-sides of King 6366, released March 1971. "Spinning Wheel" is a cover version of the June 1969 Blood, Sweat & Tears hit single on Columbia Records 44871 – a No. 2 Pop hit written by their lead vocalist David Clayton-Thomas.

5. Escape-Ism (Part 1)

6. Escape-ism (Part 2 & 3)

7. Escape-ism (Part 1) (Second Mix)

8. Escape-ism (Part 1) (Second Mix)

Tracks 3 and 4 are the original issue A&B-sides of People 2500, released May 1971. Tracks 5 and 6 are a 'second mix' on People 2500, released June 1971. The letter of explanation he sent to Radio Stations is reproduced on the inner rear inlay.

R&B No. 6 – Pop No. 35

9. Hot Pants Pt. 1 (She Got To Use What She Got To Get What She Wants)

10. Hot Pants Pt. 2 & 3 (She Got To Use What She Got To Get What She Wants)

Tracks 9 and 10 are the A&B-sides of People 2501, released June 1971

R&B No. 1 – Pop No. 15

11. My Brother Pt. 1

12. My Brother Pt. 2

Tracks 11 and 12 are the A&B-sides of People 2502 (as THE J.B.'s), released June 1971

13. Make It Funky (Part 1)

14. Make It Funky (Part 2)

Tracks 13 and 14 are the A&B-sides of Polydor 14088, released August 1971. It was his first single with Polydor Records.

R&B No. 1 – Pop No. 22

15. My Part/Make It Funky (Part 3)

16. My Part/Make It Funky (Part 4)

Tracks 15 and 16 are the A&B-sides of Polydor 14098, October 1971

17. I'm A Greedy Man-Part I

18. I'm A Greedy Man-Part II

Tracks 17 and 18 are the A&B-sides of Polydor 14100, released November 1971

R&B No. 7 – Pop No. 35

19. Just Won't Do Right

Track 19 is by LYN COLLINS and was scheduled three times but canceled - as King 6373, People 2503 and People 503 (there are promo copies of King 6373 on the white variant of the label with an A&B-side). It was officially released as Polydor 14107 in December 1971. The "Wheel Of Life" B-side is inexplicably absent from this CD set even though it was produced and arranged by JB. It's available on the LYN COLLINS "Mama Feelgood: The Best Of" CD from 2005 on Polydor.

20. Talking Loud And Saying Nothing – Part I

21. Talking Loud And Saying Nothing – Part II

Tracks 20 and 21 are the A&B-sides of Polydor 14109, released January 1972.

R&B No. 1 – Pop No. 27

Like all 11 Volumes in this Hip-O Select 2CD series - the 28-page booklet by noted JB expert and former tour manager ALAN LEEDS and is a joy to look at — a hugely informative read that's packed to the gills with track histories, concert posters, trade adverts, magazine covers and a thoroughly detailed recording Sessionography. Produced with affection and firsthand knowledge by HARRY WEINGER and ALAN LEEDS - the inlay beneath the see-through CD tray has a typed-letter from JB on James Brown Productions headed paper about the 'too loud guitar' on "Escape-ism" and that DJs and Soul Brothers should dig the new remix and make it an even bigger hit than "Pop Corn"! It's this cool and yet smart attention to detail that shows that both compilers know what fans want (Alan Leeds is pictured on Page 19 with JB on the road to yet another gig).

And again, as in previous issues, SETH FOSTER has transferred the first-generation master tapes for the single mixes and he's done a truly superlative job — warm, clear and fabulously alive. The Mono and Stereo music jumps out of the speakers at you — gorgeous sound. The word "Limited Edition" is embossed in gold lettering on the rear inlay – numbers are not stated but presumably it's a worldwide limited edition of 5000 copies like its predecessor. Now to the amazing music - all killer and no filler as they say...

Even now – 46 years after the event – "Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine" is a monster groove – an utterly amazing groundbreaking piece of wild Funk. A truly clever inclusion is the 'Promotional' version of the song that gives you the full 5:18 minutes instead of the separated 2:57 and 2:31 of Parts 1 & 2. This allows you to hear the full power of the band and the song uninterrupted. Bobby Byrd is the 'Get On Up!' counter vocal – future Parliament wildman Bootsy Collins is the flying Bass player while Phelps "Catfish" Collins plays that deadly flicked guitar. JB anchors and elevates the whole thing with his fabulous piano interludes. Can I take it to the bridge – hit it and quit – legendary stuff baby...

His seasoned band (now known as The J.B.'s) continued their chart-winning steak with the uber-Funk of "Super Bad" - another black consciousness killer with brains and a beat (it went all the way to No. 1 on the US R&B charts - also managing an impressive No. 13 on the Pop charts). Once again the 5:44 minute full version only available on Promo Copies is featured here - and this time it's not just the guitar and bass that feature but the snare drum and slick whacks of 'Jabo' Sharks on Drums and the three horn players - Clayton 'Chicken' Gunnels and Daryl 'Hasaan' Jamison on Trumpets with Robert McCullough on Tenor Saxophone. The 36-second 'Fight Against Drug Abuse' is him advising the youth of America against the dangers of all narcotics rapped over an instrumental version of "Super Bad" (the hard-to-find 'Public Announcement' 45 and its King label bag are pictured in the booklet). You rarely ever hear the excellent "Hey America" where JB gives voice to Nat Jones' anti-war words asking the listeners and those in power to take note of 'a million peace-signs'. Nat Jones also provided "Santa Clause Is Definitely Here To Stay" - a seasonal gospel groove that's not nearly as musically bad or cheesy as its title suggests.

An obvious answer to 'Get On Up' - his "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved" single is described by Alan Leeds in the liner notes as a 'stream of consciousness jam' and that's accurate - a raucous driving rhythm featuring JB and Bobby Byrd sparring on vocal shouts. One of the joys of a compilation like this is a discovery and the ballad "I Cried" is one – a heartache lurch both JB and Bobby Byrd wrote for a young Tammi Terrell in 1963. It’s a belter of a tune with strings and crooning ladies swaying as JB gives it some 'I made another mistake baby' tearsome.

Ending Disc 1 and beginning Disc 2 is another fabulous and undeniable winner in "Soul Power" where our Funk Overload assures us that his 'rap is strong' (who are we to argue). A surprising disappointment is his instrumental cover version of Blood, Sweat & Tears’ big 1969 hit "Spinning Wheel" which feels weedy to me compared to the undoubted brilliance of the David Clayton-Thomas original. His instincts were right when he remixed "Escape-ism" - the second version (Tracks 7 and 8 on Disc 2) having that 'groove' that moves (JB was rewarded with a No. 6 R&B slot). But for me this compilation's moment of true mastery is the wonderful "Hot Pants" - a groove so down right enjoyable it may very well be issued on the NHS later this year as an antidote to post-operation recuperation blues (and the Audio is sensational). And on it goes with miniskirts and gettin' down...

By the end of the Seventies, James Brown wasn’t troubling the national charts too much - but at its outset (as evidenced here) he was blazing a trail like no other – a sound that would inspire and influence generations to come.

"...Play as hard as you want..." he shouted to his super tight band during the recording of "Super Bad". And on the evidence presented on Volume 7 – they did – nailing that downbeat sucker to the studio wall. Soul and Funk Genius - and then some...

"Tea For The Tillerman: Deluxe Edition" by CAT STEVENS (2008 Universal/Island 2CD Reissue - Ted Jensen Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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                                         "...Longer Boats Are Coming To Win Us..."

*** THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE 2008 'DELUXE EDITION' 2CD REMASTER ***

Some artists have a golden period - a stretch of albums that define them for decades to come.

CAT STEVENS had such a spell with Island Records in the Seventies - starting at the lovely and underrated "Mona Bone Jakon" LP in July 1970 - right through to November 1978's "Back To Earth" when the public had long since stopped listening. In-between this eight-year splurge - London's Steven Demetre Georgiou popped out a series of singer-songwriter albums that found their way into every bedsit and bedroom around the world (a girlfriend in collage had remarked that our Steven had eyes like a cat – hence the stage name).

After a pop start with Deram and Decca in the late Sixties - Cat Stevens switched to Island Records in early 1970 - acoustic-folk-souled his songwriting and the handsome troubadour and across the next five years in particular became huge with the public. Albums like 1972's "Catch Bull At Four", 1973's “Foreigner” and 1974's "Buddah And The Chocolate Box" are still remembered with real affection now in 2016 and charted big at the time – part of the James Taylor, Elton John and Carole King singer-songwriter movement sweeping the world in the early part of that fantastic decade. 

But it was the duo of 1970's "Tea For A Tillerman" and the 1971 follow-up "Teaser And The Firecat" (Island Records in the UK and A&M in the USA) that seared him into the hearts of millions. These two beautifully written and well-recorded albums have always been the jewels in his catalogue crown. It's therefore hardly surprising that both have become recipients of a 2CD 'Deluxe Edition' Remaster from Universal - "Tillerman" in November 2008 with "Teaser" following in May 2009. Here are the Longer Boats coming to win us...

UK released November 2008 - "Tea For The Tillerman: Deluxe Edition" by CAT STEVENS on Universal/Island 00602517870888 (Barcode 602517870888) is a 2CD Expanded and Newly Remastered 'Deluxe Edition' with Eleven Bonus Tracks and plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (36:46 minutes):
1. Where Do The Children Play?
2. Hard Headed Woman
3. Wild World
4. Sad Lisa
5. Miles From Nowhere
6. But I Might Die Tonight
7. Longer Boats
8. Into White
9. On The Road To Find Out
10. Father And Son
11. Tea For The Tillerman
Tracks 1 to 11 are his fourth studio album "Tea For The Tillerman" - released November 1970 in the UK on Island Records ILPS 9135 and January 1971 in the USA on A&M Records SP-4280. Produced by PAUL SAMWELL-SMITH - it peaked at No. 20 in the UK and No. 8 in the USA.

Disc 2 (36:49 minutes):
1. Wild World (Demo Version, Recorded 1969)
2. Longer Boats (Live At The Troubadour, Recorded 1970)
3. Into White (Live At The Troubadour, Recorded 1970)
4. Miles From Nowhere (Demo Version, Recorded 1969)
5. Hard Headed Woman (Live in Japan, Recorded 1976)
6. Where Do The Children Play? (From the Majikat Earth Tour, Recorded 1976)
7. Sad Lisa (from the Majikat Earth Tour, Recorded 1976)
8. On The Road To Find Out (Live at KCET-TV, Recorded in Los Angeles, 1971)
9. Father And Son (from Yusef's Cafe, Recorded 2006)
10. Wild World (from Yusef's Cafe, Recorded 2006)
11. Tea For The Tillerman (Live At The BBC, Recorded 1970 for BBC Radio 1's "Sounds Of The Seventies" at the Playhouse Theatre)

This 'Deluxe Edition' had a plastic wrap (before Universal decided unwisely to ditch them) with 'Classic '70s Album Digitally Remastered...' sticker on the outside and a four-way foldout card digipak within - itself housed a beautifully laid-out 28-page oversized booklet. The inner gatefold photo of the original LP is spread across the flaps of the digipak with sepia photos adorning the other flaps (it's hardly great visually). The booklet is gorgeous. Page 3 has Cat's own ruminations on the album and its life/career changing effect on him - Pages 4 to 6 feature superb in-depth track-by-track explanations by original LP Producer PAUL SAMWELL-SMITH while principal band member and Guitarist ALUN DAVIES gives his eclectic take on the songs (Pages 8 and 9). The rest of the booklet reprints the lyrics alongside live photos and finally track-by-track breakdowns of the Bonus Material. The eleven-track Bonus Disc includes Previously Unreleased - two demos being the real prizes - almost as lovely as the finished articles. Songs from the 'Majikat' Tour have been released on an Eagle Vision DVD and the KCET Concert piece was out on a Weinerworld DVD "Tea For The Tillerman Live" - the rest are Previously Unreleased.

But the big news is a new June 2008 TED JENSEN Remaster done at Sterling Sound Studios in New York from the original two-track analogue master tapes - superseding the version he did on the May 2000 single disc Remaster series. This version is beautiful to listen too - a real Audio treat. Typically the bonus tracks are a mixture of the essential vs. the superfluous. His voice is gone on "Sad Lisa" while the Live At The BBC "Tea For The Tillerman" that ends the disc is less than a minute long and very hissy. The two live 'Yusef's Cafe' tracks are beautifully recorded and feature "Wild World" in both English and a different langue (original album player Alan Davies is part of the band for these sessions). But the real prize here for collectors and uber-fans is the two demos - both sweetly recorded and hugely impressive. There’s a warmth and magic coming off of them and you wish there was a whole album of these. The Troubadour live cuts are good too (just him and Alun Davies on guitars) - very clear and way better than say bootleg quality. As I write this (Thursday, 10 November 2016) - the Sci-Fi movie "Arrival" is opening today about twelve banana-shaped spaceships suddenly turning up on our capitol city lawns itching to communicate in squiggles. I mention this because in his first Troubadour song he announces that "Longer Boats" is about spaceships 'coming to win us' - 46 years before the film event! What a clever boy. But onto to the album...

"...Well I think it's fine building Jumbo planes...switch on Summer from a slot machine...but tell me...where do the children play?" Cat opens the album with an environmental plea and in his May 2008 liner notes he comments that those passionate cries are still falling on 'tone-deaf ears' and unfortunately all present day evidence proves him right. What's not in dispute is the 'Audio'. My 'Pink Island' label 1970 Vinyl LP original and subsequent 1970's  'Pink-Rim Palm Tree Label' reissues always had low audio on "Where Do The Children Play?" - but this CD Remaster has gorgeous clarity and that acoustic bottom end when it kicks in is impressive. The strings on "Hard Headed Woman" are clearer and Harvey Burn's drums are almost 'too' good - a beautiful transfer. That huge piano on "Sad Lisa" fills your room and you forget just how passionate his vocals could be until you re-hear "Miles From Nowhere". Side 2's "Longer Boats" and the anthemic "Father And Son" will leave many tingling - both musically and lyrically.

"...Mary dropped her pants by the sand...and let the parson...come and take her hand...
But the soul of nobody knows...where the parson goes..."
I don’t know where he’s gone either.

"Tea For A Tillerman" is a gorgeous album and the Audio on this 2008 'Deluxe Edition' Remaster has only hammered that home with knobs on. I don't how many times I'll return to Disc 2 in truth - but there are nuggets to be had there as well – period songs that fans will need and enjoy.

If you're not prepared to pay the extra - then simply plum for the May 2000 single CD remaster which has great audio too and can be found for less than three or four pounds in many places.

If however you're after the very best Audio and the fanboy in you wants that tasty presentation and those extras on Disc 2 (some of which are actually worth owning) - then this 2CD 'DE' version of Cat Stevens' "Tea For The Tillerman" is the Father and Son for you...

"Atom Heart Mother" by PINK FLOYD (September 2011 EMI 'Discovery Edition' Remaster AND January 2016 'Pink Floyd Records' CD Reissue) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Funky Dung..."

Emerging from the Syd Barrett-led 60ts phase – PINK FLOYD started the new decade with the frankly bizarre "Atom Heart Mother" – a late 1970 album that signalled the new more Prog sound to come - but in "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" held onto the lunacy of old. And you have to give them credit for the name "Atom Heart Mother" and the wacky utterly unforgettable artwork – a lone moo-moo staring out at us from a field wondering what in God’s name is that man doing pointing a camera at my posterior when I’m just trying to graze some grass here? Curiouser and Curiouser...

Always a task trying to find a decent vinyl copy original – the length of the LP at just over 52 minutes did for its fidelity too. But all of that is thankfully part of the past because this 2011 James Guthrie and Joel Plante CD Remaster is a massive improvement on a dog’s ear of a recording (relaunched January 2016 on Pink Floyd Records). Here are the Holy Cows and the Funky Dung...

UK re-released 8 January 2016 – "Atom Heart Mother" by PINK FLOYD on Pink Floyd Records PFR5 (Barcode 5099902894027) is a straightforward 5-track reissue CD using the Remaster from 2011. It's once again housed in a gatefold card digipak, has a stickered sleeve (on the outer shrink-wrap) with the new catalogue number PFR5, a 12-page colour booklet with photos and lyrics and the same barcode as the 2011 issue (52:06 minutes). The original album gatefold is the centre pages of the booklet while the lyrics (never on the original) are now featured over new photographs of shovels and a pair of boots and other useless and pointless images. It looks nice for sure but informs you of nothing – no history – no liner notes – no updates or insights. It’s a damn shame that 2016 wasn’t used as a way to pump up the booklet into something special from their laughable 'discover nothing' from our 'discovery' editions of 2011. In fact you could argue that this 'Pink Floyd Records' 2016 reissue is in itself 'corporate' – the very thing they raged so much against on "Animals" and "The Wall" in 1977 and 1979. 

The original version of this Remaster was released 26 September 2011 as a 'Discovery Edition' single CD on EMI/Harvest 50999 028940 2 7 (Barcode 5099902894027) – this 2016 version on Pink Floyd Records uses that 2011 remaster and the same artwork. The 'Discovery Edition' sticker is gone as is the horrible 'green and blue Ds' reinvented CD artwork that came with the 2011 issue – that's thankfully been replaced on the CD with the front album cover artwork. 

1. Atom Heart Mother (Suite): 

(a) Father's Shout

(b) Breast Milky

(c) Mother Fore

(d) Funky Dung

(e) Mind Your Throats Please

(f) Remergence 

2. If [Side 2]

3. Summer '68

4. Fat Old Sun

5. Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast 

(a) Rise And Shine

(b) Sunny Side Up

(c) Morning Glory 

Tracks 1 to 5 are their 5th album "Atom Heart Mother" – released 10 October 1970 in the UK on Harvest SHVL 781 and in the USA on Harvest SKAO-382. Produced by PINK FLOYD and NORMAN SMITH – Recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London in 1970 – it peaked at No. 1 in the UK and No. 55 in the USA. 

PINK FLOYD was:

DAVID GILMOUR – Lead Guitar and Vocals

ROGER WATERS – Bass, Guitar and Vocals

RICHARD WRIGHT – Keyboards and Vocals

NICK MASON – Drums 

Guests: JOHN ALLDIS CHOIR on parts of "Atom Heart Mother"

Mastered by JAMES GUTHRIE and JOEL PLANTE at Das Boot Recording Studios in Tahoe in California in 2011 - the original 1st generation master tapes have been given a thorough going over (Guthrie is a Sound Engineer associated with the band since 1978). In fact - each song feels like these experts have spent a staggering amount of time worrying over every single nuance - because the audio result is truly impressive. That 2011 remaster has been reused for the January 2016 reissues. 

The entirely instrumental Side 1 six-part suite "Atom Heart Mother" runs to 23:42 minutes and typically fades in with mad brass and a droning synth note.  Avant Garde artist RON GEESIN being the fifth accredited writer along with the four boys in the band – gives us a cornucopia of sounds - cars starting up – engines turning over – until it all settles down into a "Meddle" like duo of Richard Wright on Organ and Gilmour on Guitar. The clarity as Gilmour solos over that brass and lone organ is impressive – and as the still unidentified leading lady of the John Aldiss Choir comes sailing in – you can so hear where Mike Oldfield got some of his more orchestral ideas for "Tubular Bells" and "Ommadawn" from. When they fade out and we’re in "Funky Dung" – the Remastered Wright/Gilmour combo of Organ and Guitar is superb and certainly more muscular than I’ve ever heard it - and I still can’t make out what the Kate Bush-mad chanting voices are saying (very cool though). 

After the indulgence of Side 1 - Side 2’s "If" comes as an Acoustic relief – Roger Water's delightfully upbeat "...if I go insane...please don't put your wires in my brain..." lyrics feeling like 1977 and not 1970. The audio on Gilmour's guitar is beautiful and even the background Richard Wright Organ/Piano playing is more evident. Richard Wright then stumps up "Summer '68" which feels like the kind of pretty song that would have not been out of place on 1972's "Obscured By Clouds" or even Kevin Ayers 1971 Harvest Records LP "Whatevershebringswesing". The brass and piano are loud and open for all the right reasons. Gilmour vocals his own "Fat Old Sun" but I've always felt it was not a great song. The album ends on the nutty 13-minutes of "Alan Psychedelic Breakfast" where someone babbles on about liking Marmalade and Porridge as they potter about in a kitchen before keyboards take over. After the musical interlude - it returns to our still unidentified hero warbling this time about 'breakfast in Los Angeles' with 'macrobiotic stuff'. It's fun but that's about all and you can't help thinking that they would have been better just allowing those lovely Acoustic Guitars in the centre passage simply play out the album (music boys - remember).

"Atom Heart Mother" is part genius, part knob and very much an example of an experimental time and a label prepared to let their artists go a bit bonkers for the sake of their art. But at least on this 2011/2016 CD Remaster - you can now hear it. And that faucet tap dripping that looped on the Side 2 run-out groove as your needle went over to the label can now be heard too. Moo moo indeed...

"Runt: Deluxe Edition" by TODD RUNDGREN (September 2014 Edsel 'Deluxe Edition' 2CD Reissue/Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Post Hanging Days..."

Back in May 2014 - Edsel of the UK began celebrating TODD RUNDGREN albums with 'Deluxe Edition' packaging upgrades - hardback book editions of key albums in his extensive back catalogue. The first three were "Something/Anything?" (a double-album from 1972), "A Wizard A True Star" (a single album from 1973) and "Todd" (another double from 1974). 

So here's the next batch of three for September 2014 - "Initiation" and "Hermit Of Mink Hollow " from 1975 and 1978 (see reviews) - and this - the forgotten "Runt" album - his 1970 solo debut LP for Ampex Records in the States - now extended into a double-CD edition with a bonus. Here are the details...

UK released 9 September 2014 (23 September in the USA) - "Runt: Deluxe Edition" by TODD RUNDGREN on Edsel EDSK 7075 (Barcode 740155707538) is a 2CD reissue of their October 2011 double that combined "Runt" (both versions) with the album that followed it - "The Ballad Of Todd Rundgren". For this 2014 issue you get "Runt" only in its original 10-track album form on Disc 1 - with a 12-track 'Alternate Runt' on Disc 2 that also boasts a further bonus track. Here are the finite details for both versions:

Disc 1 "Runt" - US-only LP released May 1970 on Ampex A 10105 (40:50 minutes):

1. Broke Down And Busted (4:32 minutes)

2. Believe In Me (2:01 minutes)

3. We Gotta Get You A Woman (3:06 minutes)

4. Who's That Man? (2:59 minutes)

5. Once Burned (2:06 minutes)

6. Devil's Bite (3:52 minutes)

7. I'm In The Clique (4:55 minutes)

8. There Are No Words (2:09 minutes)

9. Baby, Let's Swing / The Last Thing You Said / Don't Tie My Hands (5:25 minutes)

10. Birthday Carol (9:12 minutes)

Disc 2 "The Alternate Runt" - November 1970 Version (51:47 minutes):

1. Broke Down And Busted (Intro: There Are No Words) (4:56 minutes)

2. Believe In Me (Alternate Mix) (1:58 minutes)

3. We Gotta Get You A Woman (Alternate Mix) (3:04 minutes)

4. Who's That Man? (Same as on the original version)

5. Once Burned (Same as on the original version)

6. Hope I'm Around (Early Version - different to the one that's on "The Ballad Of Todd Rundgren" album

7. Devil's Bite (Alternate Mix with extended guitar solo)

8. I'm In The Clique (Same as on the original version)

9. There Are No Words (Same as on the original version)

10. Baby Let's swing (Full Length Song)

11. Say No More (Exclusive to this version)

12. Birthday Carol (With some alterations)

13.Broke Down And Busted (Live At Carnegie Hall, June 8, 1972) - a BONUS TRACK. Originally released on the "Something/Anything" 2CD set in 1998

The attached 12-page booklet within has liner notes by Paul Myers from his superb tome "A Wizard, A True Star - Todd Rundgren In The Studio" and is an excellent read. There are black and white photos of a young and shorthaired Rundgren in the studio as well the hand-written album credits. The lovely Bob Zoell cartoon artwork on the rear of the original Ampex Records album is reproduced on the back of the hardback book gatefold. There is no new remaster that I can hear - this is the Edsel February 2012 version - that in itself was a Peter Rynston UK master using the 1993 American Rhino remasters. Don't get me wrong - the sound is superb. The only upgrade here is the cool-looking book packaging - which is a rather lovely thing to behold...

As a debut after NAZZ - "Runt" showed great promise and tracks like the 3-part "Baby Let's Swing" song (about Laura Nyro) were amazingly complicated and accomplished at one and the same time - and yet the whole album to me always lacked some kind of cohesion. I say this because when you hear the `Alternate' version - it hangs together better. Right from the get go there's the beautiful and ethereal vocals of "There Are No Words" as an opening for about 30 seconds - then it goes into the "Broke Down And Busted" we all know and love. The released album version of the delicate and rather lovely "Believe In Me" is better than the remix which gets too busy with instrument flourishes that distract. I love the inclusion of "Hope I'm Around" - it gives the whole album a more mellow feel and somehow makes "Runt" more about feelings rather than studio trickery. And the extended "Devil's Bite" rocks more. The "Laura" song "Baby, Let's Swing" stretches out and is better for it and the brass-meets-rock of "Birthday Carol" amazes me even to this day. With its hooky melody - "We Gotta Get You A Woman" was an obvious single (lyrics from it title this review) and the gorgeous 2-minute spacey vocal piece that is "There Are No Words" is properly amazing.

So there you have it - remastered and remixed - this is a very cool little reissue really - and a timely reminder of his genius...

"Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon" by STATUS QUO (2003 Sanctuary/Castle Music 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Junior's Wailing..."

Across many decades of record collecting and buying/selling rarities for Reckless Records in London - I can count on one-hand the number of times I've seen a British original of Quo's "Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon" August 1970 LP with it's 'S/Quo' black and white poster inside. I suspect like the poster in The Who's "A Quick One" - the number is under 1000 - possibly even only 500. But it's a measure of how comprehensive and well thought out this superb 2003 CD reissue from England's Sanctuary Records is - that said rarity is pictured in all its hairy-rocker glory on Side 2 of the foldout inlay - along with a huge array of other relevant memorabilia much of which is seriously hard to find.

As all Quo fans know - "Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon" was the band's 'real' beginning. Gone were the garish coats and frilly shirts and the 60ts Psychedelic warbling about Matchstick men and what not - and in came the start of their head's down no-nonsense Rock Boogie that Status Quo became so famous for (and have been continuing into 2016). Along with England's Slade and The Rolling Stones - they can claim to be a band for over 50 years. In fact I'd argue that the "Ma Kelly's..." album is actually more diverse and shows a group maturing rapidly and not just finding their twelve-bar feet - a flowering that would explode on "Dog Of Two Head" in 1971 (their final LP for Pye) and enter British hearts on "Piledriver" in late 1972 (their first LP for Vertigo). Here are the egg and chips...

UK released February 2003 - "Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon" by STATUS QUO on Sanctuary/Castle Music CMQCD 754 (Barcode 5050159175420) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster with ten Bonus Tracks that plays out as follows (71:58 minutes):

1. Spinning Wheel Blues

2. Daughter

3. Everything

4. Shy Fly

5. (April) Spring, Summer And Wednesdays

6. Junior's Wailing [Side 2]

7. Lakky Lady

8. Need Your Love

9. Lazy Poker Blues

10. Is It Really Me/Gotta Go Home

Tracks 1 to 10 are their 3rd studio album "Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon" - released August 1970 in the UK on Pye Records NSPL 18344. The American copy on Janus Records JLS-3018 wasn't released until March 1971 so dropped the last track on Side 2 "Is It Really Me/Gotta Go Home" and replaced it with the single "In My Chair" as Track 1 on Side 2 (followed by 6, 7, 8 and 9 above). The front sleeve was the same but the 'table/menu' photo on the back of the British LP was replaced with a black and white photo of the band as a four-piece (minus Roy Lynes who is shown on the 'S/Quo' poster in UK copies - he officially resigned the band).

BONUS TRACKS:

11. Is It Really Me/Gotta Go Home (Early Rough Mix)

12. Daughter (Early Working Mix)

13. Down The Dustpipe - 6 March 1970 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17987 (B-side was "Face Without A Soul" from the 1969 "Spare Parts" LP)

14. In My Chair - 23 October 1970 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17998 - A-side

15. Gerdundula - 23 October 1970 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17998 - B-side to "in My Chair" - features the 'Original Version' which is different to the cut on the 1971 "Dog Of Two Head" LP

16. Down The Dustpipe (BBC Session)

17. Junior's Wailing (BBC Session)

18. Spinning Wheel Blues (BBC Session)

19. Need Your Love (BBC Session)

20. In My Chair (1979 Pye Promo Flexidisc)

STAUS QUO were:

FRANCIS ROSSI - Guitar and Lead Vocals

ALAN LANCASTER - Guitar and Lead Vocals

RICK PARFITT - Bass and Lead Vocals

JOHN COUGHLIN - Drums

The outer card-wrap/slipcase gives this reissue a classy feel and the 8-squares-per-side foldout inlay is a feast of fan memorabilia that is in itself bolstered up by superlative and seriously detailed liner notes from DAVE OXLEY. Chief moved on the reissue was JOHN REED who has been behind so many great reissues and is a compiler fans trust and admire. SEAN MAGEE at Masterpiece did the Remasters and there's a special thanks to LIAM MOORE at the BBC for the Sessions.

There's a repro of the 'wolf in sheep's clothing' advert for the UK single of "In My Chair" with the brill "Gerdundula" on the B-side (Pye 7N 17998) - it depicts the ludicrously hard-to-find British picture sleeve for "In My Chair" which they wittily refer to as 'a pretty bag' (I've never seen one in 45 years and sure its £45 price tag in the RC 2018 Price Guide is a tad low).

Even though the bopping "Shy Fly" was considered as a 45 - the album actually produced no singles. But the then non-album 45's for "Down The Dustpipe" and "In My Chair" in March and October of 1970 changed everything for the band - getting them radio play and crucial sales. Written by Australian songsmith Carl Groszmann - apparently the initial demo Quo heard for "Down The Dustpipe" was none other than an uncredited MAN - the Welsh Rock Band. Initially ignored by Radio - Quo toured and pushed the catchy "Dustpipe". Two months later it debuted in May 1970 and eventually crept up to a healthy No. 12 on the British charts. And although the non-album follow-up "In My Chair" only made it to No. 21 (hit the charts in November of 1970) - it signalled 'their sound' - a fabulous slow Boogie Rocker with the boppy and unpronounceable "Gerdundula" on the B-side. Their inclusion as 'Bonus Tracks' on this CD ups the listening ante in a big way (Tracks 11 and 12 are Previously Unreleased).

Album tracks like "Spinning Wheel Blues", "Lakky Lady" and "(April) Spring, Summer And Wednesdays" would be used by Pye to sell a "Best Of" in May 1973 after the band had broken huge with their debut Vertigo album "Piledriver" in December 1972 (afforded the luxury of an eye-catching gatefold sleeve) and the single "Paper Plane" which busted the UK Top Ten in January 1973 by landing at No. 8.

British proto-metal band Steamhammer provided the cover version of "Junior's Wailing" and Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac the slow burner cover of "Lazy Poker Blues" - but the rest are band originals. The other great unsung hero of the band in the early years was songwriter and occasional Harmonica player BOB YOUNG who co-wrote "Spinning Wheel Blues",  "Shy Fly", "(April) Spring, Summer And Wednesdays" and "Need Your Love" with Rossi while Lancaster trumped up two in the shape of "Daughter" and "Is It Really Me/Gotta Go Home". Parfitt co-wrote "Everything" and "Lakky Lady" with Rossi.

An often overlooked part of the mighty Quo's career and yet an album held in real affection by true fans. A wolf in sheep's clothing indeed and the beginning of a classic LP run with those 'From The Makers Of' logos on the back on each album sleeve. Ah them was the days...

"In My Life/Wildflowers/Whales & Nightingales" by JUDY COLLINS (2016 Beat Goes On Reissue - 3LPs onto 2CDs - Andrew Thompson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...There Are Places I Remember...With Lovers And Friends..."

"Whales & Nightingales" LP released November 1970 

I'm not quite sure what's going on with the presentation of this gorgeous 2CD reissue out of the UK (August 2016 on Beat Goes On) – but it seems to have disappeared down the numerical rabbit hole that is the Amazon sales system.

If I type in the Barcode for BGOCD 1243 into their search bar (5017261212436) – it should bring me immediately to this new August 2016 reissue (3LPs Remastered in High Definition onto 2CDs from original tapes) – but instead I’m taken to the original American issue of "In My Life" as a stand-alone Rhino CD in the late 1990s? And that applies to both Amazon UK and USA sites? I've dropped them a note to sort this out – because as it stands – you can't actually find this beautiful Beat Goes On set on either side of the pond - which does both this superb reissue label and the gorgeous music presented here a massive disservice. Anyway – here are the wild flowers and the sublime nightingales...

UK and US released August 2016 – "In My Life/Wildflowers/Whales & Nightingales" by JUDY COLLINS on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1243 (Barcode 5017261212436) offers 3LPs from 1966, 1968 and 1970 on Elektra Records Remastered in High Definition onto 2CDs from original tapes and plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (48:16 minutes):

1. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues

2. Hard Lovin' Loser

3. Pirate Jenny

4. Suzanne

5. La Colombe - The Dove

6. Marat/Sade (Homage To Marat: Marat We're Poor, People's Reaction, Poor Old Marat) - Side 2

7. I Think It's Going To Rain Today

8. Sunny Goodge Street

9. Liverpool Lullaby

10. Dress Rehearsal Rag

11. In My Life

Tracks 1 to 11 are her sixth album (fifth studio) "In My Life" - released December 1966 in the USA on Elektra Records EKL-320 (Mono) and Elektra EKS-7320 (Stereo) - the Stereo mix is used. Arranged by JOSHUA RIFKIN and Produced by MARK ABRAHAMSON - it peaked at No. 46 on the US LP charts.

Disc 2 (78:17 minutes):

1. Michael From Mountains

2. Since You Asked

3. Sisters Of Mercy

4. Priests

5. A Ballata Of Francesco Landini (Lasso! Di Donna)

6. Both Sides Now - Side 2

7. La Chanson Des Vieux Amants (The Song Of Old Lovers)

8. Sky Fell

9. Albatross

10. Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye

Tracks 1 to 10 are her seventh album "Wildflowers" - released January 1968 in the USA on Elektra EKL-4001 (Mono) and Elektra EKS-74001 (Stereo) - the Stereo Mix is used. Arranged by JOSHUA RIFKIN and Produced by MARK ABRAHAMSON - it peaked at No. 5 on the US LP charts.

11. Song For David

12. Sons Of

13. The Patriot Game

14. Prothalamium

15. Oh, Had I A Golden Thread

16. Gene's Song

17. Farewell To Tarwathie

18. Time Passes Slowly

19. Marieke

20. Nightingale I

21. Nightingale II

22. Simple Gifts

23. Amazing Grace

Tracks 11 to 23 are her 9th album "Whales & Nightingales" - released November 1970 in the USA on Elektra EKS-75010 and January 1971 in the UK on Elektra K 42059. Arranged by JOHN HAENY and Produced by MARK ABRAHAMSON - it peaked at No. 17 on the US LP charts and No. 37 in the UK (her first chart LP in Britain).

The card slipcase adds a classy feel to all BGO releases and the 16-page booklet features superbly detailed JOHN O’REGAN liner notes rapping affectionate about the three platters in question and her near 50-album career (the text is peppered with black and white period photos as well as album and reissue credits). Regan is right to highlight "In My Life" as a kind of Folk-Rock watershed album in late 1966. In fact when I listen to Bryan Ferry’s cover of "Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues" on his superb 2007 covers project "Dylanesque" – it’s Judy’s slowed down cover version he draws from rather than the Bobster’s original. But the big news here is new 2016 Remasters by ANDREW THOMPSON from original tapes that sound glorious to say the least - those Elektra tapes in seriously good shape. This is a beautiful sounding reissue and BGO is clearly aware of it pronouncing it 'Mastered In High Definition - Audiophile Recording From The Original Masters'. Indeed...

Beautifully Arranged by Joshua Rifkin and Produced by Mark Abrahamson – Judy's sixth album "In My Life" saw Colorado's finest finally leave behind the pure unadorned Folk of her earlier releases on Elektra Records and fully embrace one of the most pleasing of all Sixties sounds – Folk Rock. The eleven cover versions offered here stretch across a gamut of genres and reveal smart choices on the part of a beautiful and clued-in soul – Richard Farina's ho-daddy-haircut-spoonful-of-fun clavinet-manic "Hard Lovin' Loser", Donovan's violent hash smokers in the London hippy-chic "Sunny Goodge Street", Dylan's witty and acidic "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" stripped down to Flute and Voice, Randy Newman's achingly sad "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today" and a double-whammy from the King of Cheer – both Leonard Cohen's "Suzanne" and "Dress Rehearsal Rag" made prettier by acoustic guitars, Judy’s soaring voice and heroes in the seaweed (her album helped launch his career). Alongside these contemporary American and British singer-songwriters sit the European 'Gauloises' cool of the ship-girls in Berholt Brecht's "Pirate Jenny", Jacques Brel's "La Colombe – The Dove" and a homage to the assassination of Jean-Paul Marat by the Marquis de Sade from the adapted German screenplay of 1963 (1966 string-up-the-aristocrats music by Richard Peaslee).

You can also chuck into that stew the Traditional sea-shanty mucky kid of "Liverpool Lullaby" – but a genuine standout has to be the titular Folk-Soul of The Beatles "In My Life". Of all the millions of Fab covers tapping their staggering catalogue – this is surely one of the most affecting – simple and beautiful and making you reminisce about those 'lovers and friends' lyrics. This is a whole album of eclectic period choices sided by songs of warmth and broken humanity that somehow all gel as one coherent whole. In fact as Hippy-Folk as the album is in places - "In My Life" still stands up and you can’t help but feel is an overlooked gem that shouldn't be. And BGO's Andrew Thompson has transferred these wonderful adaptations with skill and warmth...

Disc 2 gives us two whole albums onto 1 CD - the follow-up LP from January 1968 "Wildflowers" (her sixth release) and a jump to January 1971 for her 9th vinyl outing "Whales & Nightingales". 1971's "Whales & Nightingales" contains the global smash "Amazing Grace" – an exquisitely delicate rendition of the hymn and peace anthem – a song that finally charted Judy Collins everywhere else in the world other than just her native USA.

"Wildflowers" opens with one of a Joni Mitchell double - "Michael From Mountains" which would turn up on her 1968 debut and the Side 2 opener "Both Sides Now" which Joni would eventually air on 1969's "Clouds". Both are so damn good and you can literally feel the songwriting magic emanate from their pores. Gasbag Leonard Cohen once again proves to be the perfect foil for Judy's voice and style - both "Sisters Of Mercy" and "Priests" swirling with plucked harps, tubas and carefully chosen double-bass notes (beautifully clear Remasters on these). I can live without the French baroque of "Lasso! Di Donna" but I welcome the commercial harpsichord pop of "Both Sides Now" - a No. 8 placing on 7" single in the USA in October 1968 (Elektra 45639). We return to cello melancholy with Brel's "La Chanson Des Vieux Amants" and two of her own - the heavily orchestrated "Sky Fell" and "Albatross" - both very Joni-delicate. It ends on yet another Leonard Cohen bedroom tale of lost 'love in the morning' - Judy smartly hooking into his uncanny ability to pen melodies that linger in your heart and brain.

"Whales & Nightingales" follows the same form - opening with the acoustic 'waiting by the stony gate' pleading of Joan Baez's "Song For David" that is followed by the piano waltz Jacques Brel's 'child of no complaint' "Sons Of". Brother of the well-known Irish playwright Brendan Behan - his brother Dominic penned "The Patriot Game" - a warning song to young Irishmen considering a career in the ranks of the Republicans. Avant Garde writers Aaron Kramer and Michael Sahl penned the weird-sounding "Prothalamium" where people prepare for the relentless spring by sweeping out the shadows of seasons past (all the mute birds shall sing). Folky Pete Seeger provides the album's first genuinely lovely moment - a simple piano cover of his "Oh, Had A Golden Thread" where Judy sings in earnest and admiration of the bravery of women giving birth – their children of the earth - saving us from ourselves.

Arranged and Conducted by Gene Murrow - "Gene's Song" is a Traditional played as a short instrumental on what sounds like a harmonium. This in turn segues into humped-back whale cries as Judy sings Acapella on another Traditional "Farewell To Tarwathie" to the backdrop of their strangely lonesome cries and sea-splashes. Sounds a tap hippy-dip I know but its amazingly affecting and both her politics and environmental concerns are given air on this album with tracks like this and Behan's ode to Irish pain in "The Patriot Game". Bob Dylan gave her "Time Passes Slowly" - a lovely ballad that got lost on Dylan's own "New Morning" album in 1970. Her own 'I' and 'II' versions of "Nightingales" are piano ballads about God not answering prayers while the Panpipe "Simple Gifts" is a cover of 'The Lord Of The Dance' melody. But the album is dominated by her ethereal rendition of the hymn "Amazing Grace" - her voice soaring in a cathedral echo - the choir joining her as they bring the feelings home. I remember its impact at the time - people would cry – it was almost like she’s recorded a raw nerve and given it a name.

Always a class act but never given the credit she's due - Stephen Stills would pen "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" fro her on the Crosby, Stills & Nash 1969 debut masterpiece. Based on the varied and often moving music presented here - Steve's reaction to her doesn't surprise a jot...