"Strangers In The Room: A Journey Through The British Folk-Rock Scene 1967-73" by VARIOUS (March 2019 Grapefruit Records 3CD Clamshell Box Set) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review and 259 more like it are available 

In my e-Book "There's Something About 1970..."

Your All-Genres Guide To The Best CD Remasters 

(No Cut and Paste Crap - All Reviews from the Actual Discs) 

Containing featuring 7" Single and Album tracks from 1970 by 
Michael Chapman, Chimera, The Humblebums, Knocker Jungle, Trader Horne, 
Mike Hart, Matthews Southern Comfort, Mary-Anne, Mick Softley, Storyteller, 
Fresh Maggots, Canticle, Andy Roberts, Mr. Fox, Ralph McTell, Heron, 
Paper Bubble, Mike Cooper and Lifeblud 

"...Gathering Wild Roses..."

Grapefruit Records have been slowly winning the pickled hearts of collectors these last few years with a steady stream of these 3CD clamshell-type Box Sets - and I suspect they'll be avalanched with quite a few saucy Valentine Cards (even in late March) for this wee buxom beauty.

Sixty genre-bending Folk and Folk-Rock tracks from 1967 to 1973 across three CDs (four Previously Unreleased with many others not stated as being Alternate or Rare Versions) and a Billy Bunter sized 40-page booklet to scoff it all down with. It's off to the Tuck Shop my wassailing lads and lassies of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and any other shire we may drag our non-European musical ruin stones and shillelaghs through. Put your finger-in-the-ear people and hope for the best. Here goes...

UK released Friday, 29 March 2019 (5 April 2019 in the USA) - "Strangers In The Room: A Journey Through The British Folk-Rock Scene 1967-1973" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Grapefruit CRSEGBOX054 (Barcode 5013929185401) is a 60-Track 3CD Clamshell Box Set of Remasters that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 "Raise Your Voice And Sing Sweetly" (79:15 minutes):

1. Stranger In The Room - MICHAEL CHAPMAN (from the March 1970 UK LP "Fully Qualified Survivor" on Harvest SHVL 764)

2. The Blacksmith - STEELEYE SPAN (from the March 1971 UK LP "Please To See The King" on B&C Records CAS 1029)

3. Dangerous Dave (Alternative Version) - SPIROGYRA (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, Recorded February 1972) *

4. Murdoch - TREES (from the February 1971 UK LP "On The Shore" on CBS Records S 64168)

5. Sad Song For Winter - CHIMERA (Recorded November 1970 with a Wil Malone arrangement, not originally issued) +

6. Shoeshine Boy - THE HUMBLEBUMS (March 1970 UK 7" single on Big T Records BIG 130, A-side. Featured the comedian Billy Connolly and singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty later with Stealer's Wheel and a solo career)

7. Martha - HARVEY ANDREWS (from the May 1972 UK LP "Writer Of Songs" on Cube Records HIFLY 10)

8. Hanging Tree - OO BANG JIGGLY JANG (November 1971 UK 7" single on President PT 356, A-side - featuring Peter Bramall and James Roper of The Motors)

9. She's Getting Married In August - ALAN JAMES EASTWOOD [of The Exception] (from the February 1971 UK LP "Seeds" on President PTLS 1037)

10. Amongst Anemones - JADE (from the July 1970 UK LP "Fly On Strangewings" on DJM Records DJLPS 407)

11. I Don't Know Why - KNOCKER JUNGLE (November 1970 UK 7" single on Ember EMBS 293, A-side. Were Tony Coup and Keith Jones of Mandragon)

12. The Sailor - ROBIN SCOTT (August 1969 UK 7" single on Head HDS 4003, A-side - members of Mighty Baby featuring as the backing band)

13. Here Comes The Rain - TRADER HORNE (February 1970 UK 7" single on Dawn DNS 1003, A-side. Featured Judy Dyble of Fairport Convention and Jackie McAuley of Them)

14. My Delicate Skin - DAVE CARTWRIGHT (May 1973 UK 7" single on Transatlantic BIG 510, A-side and the May 1973 UK LP "Back To The Garden")

15. Almost Liverpool 8 - MIKE HART (from the February 1970 UK LP "Mike Hart Bleeds" on Dandelion S 63756)

16. Candy Dora - RICHMOND (January 1973 UK 7" single on D'Art ART 2008, A-side - featuring Chas Seward and Steve Hall)

17. Don't Know Why You Bother Child - GARY FARR (from the December 1969 UK LP "Take Something With You" on Marmalade 608 013)

18. 1917 Revolution - BEAU (August 1969 UK 7" single on Dandelion 4403, A-side)

19. Jesus Was A Carpenter - THE JOHNSTONS (from the November 1969 UK LP "Bitter Green" on Transatlantic Records TRA 211 featuring Paul Brady and Paddy Maloney - Ewan MacColl song)

20. We Can Swing Together - ALAN HULL (December 1969 UK 7" single on Big T Records BIG 129, A-side - later lead singer and songwriter in Lindisfarne)

Disc 2 "Back To The Garden" (78:31 minutes):

1. Woodstock - MATTHEWS SOUTHERN COMFORT (original 8-Track mix but not finally issued version, recorded July 1970) +

2. The Man Who Called Himself Jesus - THE STRAWBS (not originally issued alternative mix, Recorded July 1968) +

3. As I Roved Out - THE WOODS BAND (from the December 1971 UK LP "The Woods Band" on Greenwich Records GSLP 1004 - featuring Gay and Terry Woods - Terry later with The Pogues, Gay with Auto Da Fe)

4. Sir Patrick Spens - FAIRPORT CONVENTION (not originally issued, recorded October 1969 during "Liege & Lief" sessions) +

5. Be Not So Fearful (Demo Version) - BILL FAY (not originally issued demo version, recorded early 1969) +

6. I Loved Her So Long - UNICORN (from the June 1971 UK LP "Uphill All The Way" on Transatlantic TRA 238)

7. Sarah In The Isle Of Wight - AL JONES (from the September 1969 UK LP "Alun Ashworth-Jones" on Parlophone PCS 7081 in Stereo)

8. Song For A Dead Mole - LEA NICHOLSON and STAN ELLISON (from the June 1972 UK LP "God Bless The Unemployed" on Transatlantic TRA 254)

9. There's A Place I Know - BRIDGET ST. JOHN (February 1972 UK 3-Track 7" single on Dandelion 2001, Track 1 of 2 on the B-side of "Fly Away")

10. People Smile With Ghosts In The Land Of Make-Believe - JEREMY HARMER (from the privately pressed 1968 UK LP "Idiosyncratics And Swallow's Wings" on JH Records JH 001 - features David Costa of Trees and Celia Humphris sister Sue) +

11. Pucka-Ri - URBAN CLEARWAY (not originally issued, recorded circa August 1972) +

12. Scranky Black Farmer - C.O.B. [Clive's Own Band - Clive Palmer of The Incredible String Band] (from the November 1971 UK LP "Spirit Of Love" on CBS Records 69010)

13. Lady Of St. Clare - DAYLIGHT (August 1971 UK 7" single on RCA Victor RCA 2106, A-side)

14. Love Has Gone - MARY-ANNE [Mary-Anne Patterson] (from the April 1970 UK LP "Me" on Joy Records JOYS 162)

15. Time Machine - MICK SOFTLEY (August 1970 UK 7" single on CBS Records S 5130, B-side of "Can You Hear Me Now" - features Mike Vickers of Manfred Mann on Keyboards)

16. Fleance - THIRD EAR BAND (from the March 1972 UK LP "Music From Macbeth" on Harvest Records SHSP 4019)

17. Morning Glow - STORYTELLER (from the May 1970 UK LP "Storyteller" on Transatlantic Records TRA 220)

18. Riverboat - DANDO SHAFT (from the May 1971 UK LP "Dando Shaft" on RCA/Neon NE 5)

19. What I Am - FRESH MAGGOTS (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, recorded circa October 1970) *

20. Like A Rolling Stone - CANTICLE (November 1970 USA 7" single on Century Records 36685, A-side)

Disc 3 "Down Into The Moonlight World" (77:21 minutes):

1. Queen Of The Moonlight World - ANDY ROBERTS (from the March 1970 UK LP "Home Grown" on RCA Victor SF 8086 - ex Liverpool Scene, later with Everyone, also with Iain Matthews in Plainsong)

2. The Cuckoo - THE PENTANGLE (from the October 1969 UK LP "Basket Of Light" on Transatlantic TRA 205)

3. Little Woman (Single Version) - MR.FOX (November 1970 UK 7" single on Big T Records BIG 135, A-side - featuring Bob and Caroline Pegg - different mix from the LP, first appearance on CD since release) +

4. Father Forgive Them - RALPH McTELL (from the November 1970 UK LP "Ralph McTell Revisited" on Transatlantic TRA 227)

5. Just As The Tide Was A Flowing - SHIRLEY COLLINS and THE ALBION COUNTRY BAND (from the November 1971 UK LP "No Roses" on Pegasus PEG 7)

6. Oh Did I Love A Dream - THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND (not originally issued, recorded circa mid-1972) +

7. Strange Days - PAPER BUBBLE (not originally issued, recorded October 1970) +

8. Dahlia - PAULK BRETT'S SAGE (March 1973 UK 7" single on Dawn Records DNS 1021, A-side – possibly withdrawn and never released) +

9. Your Lovely Ways (Part One) - MIKE COOPER (May 1970 UK 7" single on Dawn Records DNX 2501, A-side) +

10. River Of Fortune – HERON (not originally issued, recorded July 1970) +

11. Beverley Market Meeting – JUDE (not originally issued, recorded February 1971 – Judith Willie) +

12. All In A Dream - STEVE TILSTON (from the May 1972 UK LP "The Collection" on Transatlantic Records TRA 252)

13. Carry Me – PRELUDE (from the October 1973 UK LP "How Long Is Forever" on Dawn Records DNLS 3052 – Irene Hume on Lead Vocals)

14. City Girl - JOAN ARMATRADING (from the November 1972 UK LP "Whatever’s For Us" on Cube Records HIFLY 12)

15. Furniture – HORSLIPS (from the January 1973 Ireland and UK debut album "Happy To Meet, Sorry To Part" on Oats Records MOO 3)

16. Who Cares - GERRY RAFFERTY (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, recorded mid 1971) *

17. Young Waters - JSD BAND (from the June 1973 UK LP "Travelling Days" on Cube Records HIFLY 14)

18. September - 9.30 FLY (from the June 1972 UK LP "9:30 Fly" on Ember NR 5062)

19. Waxing Of The Moon - LIFEBLUD (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, recorded circa January 1970) *

20. Who Knows Where The Time Goes - SANDY DENNY (not originally issued, recorded July 1967) +

* PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

+ ALTERNATE or RARE VERSION

Put together by the uber-knowledgeable and Baby Driver with-it JOHN REED – his equally sexy co-compiler DAVID WELLS pours on the facts in the multitudinous 40-page booklet – each artist and song given a full appraisal usually sided by period photos, ticket stubs, flyers, trade adverts and those impossibly rare single and LPs pictured throughout. Take the Steve Tilston entry for his "All In A Dream" song on Disc 3. It advises that in late 1972 after the album's release in May, Steve did an interview with Zig Zag magazine ruminating on how fame and fortune might affect his songwriting. None other than John Lennon replied in writing (to his worries) and that was the basis for the rather insipid Al Pacino film vehicle "Danny Collins" – or that Prelude who had a huge hit with their truly gorgeous Acapella version of Neil Young's "After The Gold Rush" sang backing vocals on another huge Folk-ish hit - "Streets Of London" by Ralph McTell. I didn’t know either of those things and I dare say, neither did you. Each entry is full of great name-checks like that. Beautifully laid out and aimed at collectors and novices alike – when I think of the recent miserable 8-page inlay given to Fleetwood Mac and their supposed '50 Years – Don’t Stop' 3CD celebration, it really does show how independents light the way, when the majors seem content with what they can get away with.

Audio is by ALAN WILSON and with so many sources is a mixed bag of the astonishing vs. the muffled with most being way better than that. For sure the audio dips on each of the CDs when it comes to those fast and loose demos and alternate mixes, but the rest of it is impressively presented and in some cases (as I say) will blow your socks off for recordings that are mostly 50+ years old. To the garden of delights...

Across 60 tracks there are those fabulous discoveries - the debut Unicorn LP on Transatlantic Records where the chosen debut album song "I Loved Her So Long" is the link between Matthews Southern Comfort and Plainsong (much of their better material in the mid 70ts on Harvest Records had the same hooky gorgeous melodies) - the beautiful ethereal harmony vocals of Fairport Convention's Judy Dyble and Them's Jackie McAuley in their Trader Horne incarnation for "Here Comes The Rain" (see my separate review of that album reissued by Earth Records on CD). Some of it (as already mentioned) is unfortunately ropey Audio wise - the hissy Billy Fay demo and The Woods Band is disappointingly muddied but on the other hand Dave Cartwright's McGuinness Flint-sounding "My Delicate Skin", Michael Chapman's box-set title song "Stranger In A Room" (see my review for Light In The Attic's stunning reissue of his second album "Fully Qualified Survivor" and Storyteller's early Genesis-like "Morning Glow" all sound superlative - huge acoustic guitars, voices and clever string arrangements.

Only winners are the fabulous Folk-meets-Pastoral union in Dando Shaft's flute-and-acoustic shuffle "Riverboat" - the jolly acoustic jostle of my "Lady Of St. Clair" by the staggeringly collectable Daylight - and even if Jeremy Harmer's self-recorded "People Smile With Ghosts In The Land Of Make-Believe" gives us some 'ships in squalls that change to gurgling laughter' might be a hippy lyric too far - the 99-only copies LP contained David Costa from Trees with their singer Celia Humphris' sister Sue doing harmony vocals (just about as cultish and collectable as it can get). Paul Brady and Paddy Maloney newly attached to The Johnstons transform the Ewan MacColl song "Jesus Was A Carpenter" into a "Woodstock" beautiful moment while Mick Softley gets fully-fledged Audio quality on his impressive "Time Machine" where he sings 'who will they be in 5000 AD' - indeed – a star tripper maybe. Speaking of that famous Joni song, I love the 8-Track Tape Version of the Matthews Southern Comfort UK No. 1 - it's a version that unlike the single has the acoustic and pedal steel guitars much more to the fore. And although it doesn't say it anywhere in the box, I think it's the version that turned up on the "Three's A Charm" privately-pressed CD from Iain Matthews in 1999 for his fans – the mix that was remastered by Bradley Kopp in Boulder, Colorado and is featured in his forthcoming "Orphans And Outcasts" 4CD Box Set. Anyway – it's a keeper, much like this fabulously inventive little box set...

A companion piece to Grapefruit's much praised duo of threesomes - "Milk Of The Tree: An Anthology Of Female Vocal Folk & Singer-Songwriters 1966-73" from June 2017 (see review) and "Gathered From Coincidence: The British Folk-Pop Sound Of 1965-1966" from June 2018 (review to follow) – March 2019’s "Strangers In The Room: A Journey Through The British Folk-Rock Scene 1967-1973" is a deserved Amazon No 1 in the Folk-Rock genre section.

Cadburys Easter Eggs on every desk and big-time kudos to the compilers and everyone else involved...

"Blood, Sweat & Tears 3" by BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS (June 2014 Music On CD Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Emergence and Submergence..."

"Blood, Sweat & Tears 3" album from 1970

I've had a few Music On CD reissues before (Joan Armatrading's "To The Limit" and John Renbourn's "Faro Annie" to be precise) and they come as is - a gatefold slip of paper for an inlay and in this case - an SACD-type jewel case. And while you really do miss a booklet and some decent background details on this 'huge' album (a second US No. 1 for BST) – you do at least get the ‘original album artwork’ inner gatefold that came with 1970 Vinyl originals (not that you can actually read any of the miniaturised wording).

What you don't notice is the Audio. I mention this because I'd swear this is the SACD Remaster done by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab in 2003 – even if it doesn’t mention Remasters or indeed mastering anywhere on the packaging. I could be wrong of course - but I guess what I’m saying is that without costing a small part of your already heavily taxed anatomy - this unassuming and relatively cheap little CD reissue 'sounds damn good' and is only docked a star because of the lazy inlay. Here is the Audio Hi-De-Ho (Lucretia)...

UK released 16 June 2014 - "Blood, Sweat & Tears 3" by BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS on Music On CD MOCCD 13139 (Barcode 8718627221389) is a straightforward Remaster of their third LP originally from 1970 and plays out as follows (42:45 minutes):

1. Hi-De-Ho [Side 1]

2. The Battle

3. Lucretia Mac Evil

4. Lucretia's Reprise

5. Fire And Rain

6. Lonesome Suzie

7. Sympathy For The Devil / Sympathy For The Devil

(i) Emergence - A. Fanfare

(ii) Devil's Game - A. Labyrinth

B. Satan's Dance C. The Demand

(iii) Submergence - A. Contemplation B. Return

8. He's A Runner

9. Somethin' Comin' On

10. 40,000 Headmen

Tracks 1 to 10 are their third studio album "Blood, Sweat & Tears 3" - released July 1970 in the USA on Columbia Records KC 30090 and August 1970 in the UK on CBS Records S 64024. Produced by LOU WAXMAN - the album peaked at No. 1 on the US LP charts and No. 14 in the UK.

BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS were:

DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS - Lead Vocals

STEVE KATZ - Guitars and Harmonica

FRED LIPSIUS - Alto Saxophone, Piano, Electric Piano, Musical Box [Music Box] and Vocals

DICK HALLIGAN - Organ, Piano, Electric Piano, Harpsichord, Celesta, Trombone, Flute, Alto Flute, Baritone Horn and  Vocals

JERRY HYMAN - Trombone, Bass Trombone and Recorder

CHUCK WINFIELD - Trumpet and Flugelhorn

LEW SOLOFF - Trumpet, Flugelhorn and Piccolo Trumpet

JIM FIELDER - Bass

BOBBY COLOMBY - Drums, Percussion and Vocals

Their fabulous April 1968 US debut LP "Child Is Father To The Man" (when Al Kooper was with the band) had been a slow burner – peaking at No. 47 in the States but doing seven better at No. 40 in the UK when released there in July 1968 (on CBS Records). No such dithering with the New York band's second platter - the self-titled "Blood, Sweat & Tears" released in January 1969 that went all the way to No. 1 on the Billboard Rock Albums chart and a healthy No. 15 in the UK (released in Blighty in April 1969). The Jazz-Rock/Blues-Rock band simply compounded that roaring second success with another in 1970 – the third album launched in July with the superbly catchy "Hi-De-Ho" 45 on Columbia Records 45204 (CBS Records 5137 in the UK in August 1970). "Hi-De-Ho" broke the Top Twenty in America peaking at No. 14, and in both countries came with "The Battle" from Side 1 of the LP as its B-side. October 1970 saw the album’s other obvious hooky little winner "Lucretia Mac Evil" get a 7" single release with (not surprisingly) "Lucretia's Reprise" on the flipside. And although Columbia Records 45235 only made No. 29 in the USA – it kept the album in the public's ears and hearts, eventually lasting a whopping 41 weeks on the US Billboard charts.

Three had its fair share of choice cover versions - Laura Nyro's "He's A Runner" sits alongside James Taylor's "Fire And Rain while Richard Manuel's "Lonesome Suzie" from The Band's 1968 debut LP "Music From Big Pink" rubs up against Traffic's Steve Winwood-penned "40,000 Headmen". And of course The Rolling Stones' "Sympathy For The Devil" (one of the Sympathy songs on Side 2 - the other with the same name being by BST's Dick Halligan) dominates much of Side 2. The other nods to quality songwriters comes in the shape of two obscure B-sides - the first is the renamed "Hi-De-Ho" - a Jerry Goffin and Carole King composition given to Dusty Springfield in 1969 - the flip to her cover of Tony Joe White's "Willie And Laura Mae Jones" - called (just to be confusing) "That Old Sweet Roll (Hi-De-Ho)". Blood, Sweat & Tears just kept it simple and renamed it "Hi-De-Ho". The second nod was the B-side to Joe Cocker's 1968 single "With A Little Help From My Friends" on Regal Zonophone Records - a tune called "Somethin' Comin' On" penned by Chris Stainton and Joe Cocker. The rest of the album is original material provided by Steve Katz, David Clayton-Thomas, Fred Lipsius and Dick Halligan.

Right from the get-go you’re blasted with the huge audio and even if it is 1970, the music sounds so hip and happening even in 2019 – almost fifty years after the event. Like so many other bands, BST discovered something Soulful in the music of James Taylor and indeed in Carole King – songs like "Hi-De-Ho" and "Fire And Rain". That’s not to say that guttural vocalist David Clayton-Thomas and his "Lucretia Mac Evil" contribution isn’t in fact one of the best songs on here. The near eight minutes of the double-named "Sympathy For The Devil" Suite over on Side 2 can (it has to be said) test your patience in the stop-start world of 2019, but all that brass and fantastic arrangements by Halligan is still thrilling. And that trio of choice-covers only serve to bring home an already great LP.

Blood, Sweat & Tears would start a slow musical decline after this – Clayton-Thomas issuing some very cool solo LPs in 1972 and 1973 which Repertoire (of Germany) have reissued on Remastered CDs. But there is something wildly special about their initial trio of albums – a band on fire – lightning-in-a-bottle moments from the tail end of one special decade segueing into one even more amazing. Dig in get dancing...

"Gonna Rock Tonite! The Complete Recordings 1969-1971" by FLAMIN GROOVIES (February 2019 UK Grapefruit Records 3CD Box Set) - A Review by Mark Barry...

Featuring the album "Flamingo" from 1970

"...Pistol Packin' Mama..."

Like most fans of San Francisco's all-partying, all rocking, all greasy FLAMIN GROOVIES – I've had the 2009 Rev-Ola CD that offered up their kicking third and fourth albums on Kama Sutra Records - "Flamenco" from June 1970 and "Teenage Head" from March 1971. They’ve been snottily leaping around my mancave shuffle plays for years now. And before that - the double-album you used to pick up in secondhand record shops in the late 1970s that paired those two crackers together for our voracious vinyl consumption and my Dustbuster battered Garrard SP25 turntable.

Well reissue heroes ahoy but England's Grapefruit Records have gone and decided to expand into the album prior as well ("Supersnazz" from September 1969) and throw in a whopping seventeen bonuses too – all three albums and extras newly remastered in a cool and tactile pre Brexit mini box set. Why it’s enough to make me wanna rub jam all over my soggy doughnuts (while its still legal like). Here are the Super Snazzy details...

UK released 22 February 2019 (1 March 2019 in the USA) - "Gonna Rock Tonite! The Complete Recordings 1969-71" by FLAMIN GROOVIES on Grapefruit CRSEGBOX051 (Barcode 5013929185104) offers their second, third and fourth albums Remastered onto 3CDs in a Clamshell Box Set with Seventeen Bonus Tracks (Singles and Outtakes) that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 "Supersnazz" Album + Bonus Tracks (47:12 minutes):

1. Love Have Mercy [Side 1]

2. The Girl Can't Help It

3. Laurie Did It

4. Apart From That

5. Rockin' Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu

6. The First One's Free [Side 2]

7. Pagan Rachel

8. Somethin' Else/Pistol Packin' Mama

9. Brushfire

10. Bam Balam

11. Around The Corner

Tracks 1 to 11 are their second studio album "Supersnazz" - released September 1969 in the USA on Epic Records BN 26487 in Stereo (no UK issue). Produced by STEVE GOLDMAN - it didn't chart.

BONUS TRACKS:

12. Rocking Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu (Single Mix) - 18 July 1969 US 7" single on Epic 5-10507, A-side

13. The First One's Free (Single Mix) - 18 July 1969 US 7" single on Epic 5-10507, B-side

14. Somethin' Else (Single Mix) - 31 December 1969 US 7" single on Epic 5-10564, A-side

15. Laurie Did It (Single Mix) - 31 December 1969 US 7" single on Epic 5-10564, B-side

FLAMIN GROOVIES for "Supersnazz" was:

CYRIL JORDAN - Lead Guitar, Vocals and Acoustic Guitar

TIM LYNCH - Lead Guitar, Cello, Vocals and Harmonica

MIKE LANG - Keyboards

GEORGE ALEXANDER - Bass, Vocals and Harmonica

DAVID MIMH - Drums and Percussion

Disc 2 "Flamingo" Album + Bonus Tracks (65:04 minutes):

1. Gonna Rock Tonite [Side 1]

2. Comin' After Me

3. Headin' For The Texas Border

4. Sweet Roll Me On Down

5. Keep A Knockin'

6. Second Cousin [Side 2]

7. Childhood's End

8. Jailbait

9. She's Falling Apart

10. Road House

Tracks 1 to 10 are their third studio album "Flamingo" - released June 1970 in the USA on Kama Sutra Records KSBS 2021 (no UK release, but see Note below).

BONUS TRACKS (Recorded Live in Studio A, 13 January 1971):

11. Shakin' All Over

12. That'll Be The Day

13. Louie Louie

14. My Girl Josephine

15. Around And Around

16. Rocking Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu

17. Going Out Theme (Version 1)

Tracks 11 to 16 first issued on the 1976 US-only vinyl compilation "Still Shakin" on Kama Sutra BDS 5683

Track 17 first issued as one of the six Bonus Tracks on the 1999 'Original Masters' CD Reissue of "Flamingo" on Buddah 74321 71691 2

Disc 3 "Teenage Head" Album + Bonus Tracks (52:07 minutes):

1. High Flyin' Baby [Side 1]

2. City Lights

3. Have You Seen My Baby?

4. Yesterday's Numbers

5. Teenage Head [Side 2]

6. 32-20

7. Evil Hearted Ada

8. Doctor Boogie

9. Whisky Woman

Tracks 1 to 9 are their fourth studio album "Teenage Head" - released March 1971 in the USA on Kama Sutra Records KSBS 2031 (no UK release, but see Note below).

BONUS TRACKS:

10. Scratch My Back

11. Carol

12. Rumble

13. Somethin' Else

14. Walking The Dog

15. Going Out Theme (Version 2)

Tracks 10, 11 and 15 first issued as three of the seven Bonus Tracks on the 1999 'Original Masters' CD Reissue of "Teenage Head" on Buddah 74321 71690 2 (Track 14 was also one of those bonuses)

Tracks 12 and 13 first issued as two of the six Bonus Tracks on the 1999 'Original Masters' CD Reissue of "Flamingo" on Buddah 74321 71691 2

Track 14 first issued on the 1976 US-only vinyl compilation "Still Shakin" on Kama Sutra BDS 5683

FLAMIN GROOVIES for "Flamingo" and "Teenage Head" was:

CYRIL JORDAN - Lead Guitar, Slide Guitar, Percussion and Vocals

TIM LYNCH - Lead Guitar, Cello, Percussion and Vocals

ROY LONEY – Guitar, Lead Vocals and Percussion

GEORGE ALEXANDER – Bass and Percussion

DAVID MIMH – Drums, Percussion, Piano and Organ

Guests:

Commander Cody plays Piano on three "Flamingo" album tracks - Comin' After Me, Keep A Knockin' and Second Cousin

Jim Dickinson plays Piano on three "Teenage Head" album tracks - High Flyin' Baby, City Lights and Have You Seen My Baby?

Note: In August 1971, Kama Sutra in the UK issued both the "Flamingo" and "Teenage Head" LPs for the first time as a belated British double-album package on Kama Sutra 2683 003, simply called "Flamin' Groovies" (it was also issued in Germany entitled "2 Original LP's" on Kama Sutra 2623 101). That 1971 British double album was again reissued in October 1976 (by Pye Records) as "Teenage Head", but in slightly different artwork on Kama Sutra KSMD 101.

DAVID WELLS provides the superb October 2018 liner notes in the new and chunky 24-page booklet. Even though its not part of the remit for this set - the notes explain how the band's self-made 1968 "Sneakers" debut on their own Snazz Records came about - a 7-Track 10" Mini LP of 4500 copies they sold themselves in Tower Records (pressed up in three batches of fifteen hundred). Its artwork (front and rear) is pictured on Page 5. There are trade adverts, a Billboard piece from November 1970, publicity and live photos, rare single artwork and a line of those Epic and Kama Sutra singles (including Promo copies). Interviews with band members Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan are included illuminating the hectic 1969 to 1971 period. Experienced and dedicated names like DAVID WELLS and JOHN REED collated and organised the Box while Remaster Engineer OLI HEMINGWAY of The Waxworks did the audio tweaking. Like the Rev-Ola CD - this baby sounds amazing – huge presence and all the muscle you would want without being over done...and I like the three single card sleeve repros...nice

Apart from the cover versions of Little Richard's Rock 'n' Roll masterpiece "The Girl Can't Help It", the barroom R'n'B of Huey Smith's "Rocking Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu" (which Kama Sutra issued as a US 45) and the Eddie Cochran twofer "Somethin' Else/Pistol Packin' Mama" - most of the "Supersnazz" album sees us bombarded with flashy originals from both Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan. "Love Have Mercy" and another single "The First One's Free" rip and roar while "Bam Balam" and "Around The Corner" round things off very nicely. And I have to admit that I've never heard the single mixes - very nice touch.

"...Ten head hunters...with a buzz saw...and they was comin' after me..." - the boys tell us in the raw and raunchy guitar-pop of "Comin' After Me" - ten state troopers chasin' close behind with meat hooks. But the Proto-Punk edginess really starts to come screaming in on "Headin' For The Texas Border" where the band is headed to New Orleans to get their mojo back. I love the rapid guitars and the transfer gives it serious wallop. It's 1970 for gawd sake but it could be 1976 - so damn sharp. They then cleverly switch to Acoustic Rock 'n' Roll with "Sweet Roll Me On Down" as they Buddy Holly 'ah-ha' through the chorus. I'm reminded of the British band Fumble who also did Little Richard's brilliant "Keep A Knockin'" in the same all out rocking way - letting the inner joy of this Fifties anthem rip. Roy Loney stumps up another rocker in the excellent "Second Cousin" - the lyrics straying dangerously into Jerry Lee Lewis lawsuit territory.

Things finally settle into a Hank Williams saunter with "Childhood's End" - a very witty childhood song from Ron Loney where he sounds amazingly like Mick Jagger circa "Exile On Main St." doing his best Hillbilly impression. "Jailbait" is a cool and snarly blues chugger where he pleads 'baby what you tryin to do!' to a mean guitar barrage. The fantastic "Gonna Rock Tonight" is the kind of out-and-out Rock 'n' Roll homage that Dave Edmunds would have loved when his regal Zonophone 'Rockpile' album was in play over in Blighty - ooh-wee baby indeed (and dig that huge grungy Bass solo too). The weird but utterly wonderful "She's falling Apart" follows - a song that feels wildly out of synch with the rest of the album but actually a song I return to most. It then blasts into a frantic Punk-rocking finish with the trashy "Road House" - rapid guitars a go-go.

For album number four we go Dr. Feelgood with the fabulous slide guitar intro to "High Flyin' Baby" – a superb little Ron Loney and Cyril Jordan rocker. We then return to "Exile On Main St." with the boozy swagger of the acoustic barroom "City Lights" and it’s hard to understand why this wickedly cool Acoustic Blues was slagged off at the time (still sounds so damn good to me). The hard-rocking and deliberately grungy "Have You Seen My Baby?" was probably too much Rock 'n' Roll for delicate minds back in the day - but I love it and "Yesterday's Numbers" that follows it which could have been Brinsley Schwarz or Help Yourself or even Free - stunning acoustic Rock that stays with you. Amidst the bonus stuff you’re clobbered with a fantastic loose cover of Link Wray’s guitar magnum opus – the album outtake of "Rumble". Jordan and the boys are clearly having riffage fun with the famous menace Link’s song exudes – a very cool bonus indeed that even includes giggles at the end from a band that would have worshipped at Wray’s feet in the blink of an eye.

Summing up - how cool is it to see these three storming platters in the one place and with so much excellent bonus material too (Sundazed issued the debut in 1996 as an Expanded CD should you want to check out their beginnings).

The New York Dolls, MC5 and especially The Stooges are constantly name-checked as keeping the wild snotty pure spirit of Rock 'n' Roll alive in the early Seventies - a time when Hard Rock and Prog Goliaths dominated the chart landscape and bedsits of the world threatening to swamp all three-minute blasts of proto-punk with hairy chests, tales of wizards and semi classical pomp. I loved them too (truth be told) - but spare a dime brother for the Bay's FLAMIN GROOVIES – fab, groovy and side burning into the Devilish bargain. Well done to all involved...

"Down Town Albums Collection, The" by VARIOUS ARTISTS (February 2019 Doctor Bird Reissue - 4LPs Remastered onto 2CDs) - A Review by Mark Barry...

Featuring the albums "Red Red Wine, Volume Two" by Various Artists
and "Dandy Your Musical Doctor" by Dandy Livingstone both from 1970

"...Spreading Love..."

Now here's a doozy worth donning your porkpie hat for. Continuing on from their 50th Anniversary celebrations of all things 'Trojan Records' (see list of reissues below) – this fantastic Doctor Bird Records 2CD set offers up a whopping four period LPs on their offshoot label 'Downtown Records' (two from 1969 and two from 1970) and even throws in three relevant bonus seven-inch cuts. There is a vat of vino to be slurped, so let's get to the vintage inside...

UK released Friday, 8 February 2019 (15 February 2019 in the USA) - "The Down Town Albums Collection" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Doctor Bird Records DBCDD-020 (Barcode 5013929272033) offers 4LPs Remastered onto 2CDs with Three Bonuses and plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (76:08 minutes):

"Red Red Wine" LP by VARIOUS ARTISTS (November 1969)

1. Red, Red Wine - TONY TRIBE (April 1969 UK 7" single on Downtown DT-419, A-side - for the B-side, see Track 25 on Disc 2)

2. Games People Play - THE ISRAELITES (1969 UK 7" single on Downtown DT-421, A-side)

3. Move Your Mule - DANDY (November 1968 UK 7" single on Downtown DT-401, A-side)

4. I'm Your Puppet - DANDY (March 1969 UK 7" single on Downtown DT 416, A-side)

5. Lead Them - DESMOND RILEY

6. Love Me Tonight - AUDREY (February 1969 UK 7" single on Downtown DT-414, A-side)

7. Reggae In Your Jeggae - DANDY (January 1969 UK 7" single on Downtown DT 410, A-side – for the B-side see Track 26 on Disc 1)

8. Lovers Concerto - AUDREY (April 1969 UK 7" single on Downtown DT-418, A-side)

9. Sentimental Reason - GENE RONDO (June 1969 UK 7" single on Downtown DT-431, A-side)

10. Night Train - SONNY BINNS & THE RUDIES (May 1969 UK 7" single on Downtown DT-424, B-side of "Wheels")

11. You'll Lose A Good Thing - AUDREY (July 1969 UK 7" single on Downtown DT-436, A-side)

12. Lovers Question - GENE RONDO (1969 UK 7" single on Downtown DT-422, A-side)

Tracks 1 to 12 are the UK album "Red Red Wine" - released November 1969 on Downtown/Trojan TTL-11. Track 5 first appeared on this compilation

"Red Red Wine, Volume Two" LP by VARIOUS ARTISTS (September 1970)

13. Someday We'll Be Together - AUDREY (February 1970 UK 7" single on Down DT 457, A-side)

14. Got To Come Back - DANDY 

15. Somebody's Baby - DESMOND RILEY [as LITTLE DES] (January 1970 UK 7" single on J Dan JN 4400, A-side)

16. Spreading Love [aka "Spreading Peace"] - GENE RONDO (May 1970 UK 7" single on Downtown DT 459, A-side)

17. I'm Gonna Give Her All The Love I've Got - TONY TRIBE (August 1969 UK 7" single on Downtown DT 439, A-side)

18. Raining In My Heart - DANDY (February 1970 UK 7" single on Down DT 456, A-side)

19. Can't Get Used To Losing You - DANDY (April 1970 UK 7" single on J Dan JN-4410, B-side to "Can't Help From Crying")

20. Song Bird - LYNDON JOHNS (October 1969 UK 7" single on Downtown DT 444, B-side, for A see Track 24)

21. The Boy I Love - BLOSSOM JOHNSON

22. The Way You Move - AUDREY (January 1970 UK 7" single on Downtown DT 452, B-side to "Sweeter Than Sugar")

23. Party Rush - THE MUSIC DOCTORS

24. Don't Gamble With Love - LYNDON JOHNS (October 1969 UK 7" single on Downtown DT 444, A-side)

25. Come Together - THE ISRAELITES (1969 UK 7" single as "Let's Come Together" on Downtown DT 445, A-side)

Tracks 13 to 25 are the UK album "Red Red Wine, Volume Two" - released September 1970 on Downtown/Trojan TBL 116. Tracks 14, 21 and 23 first appeared on this compilation.

BONUS TRACK: 

26. Reggae Shuffle - DANDY (January 1969 UK 7" single on Downtown DT-410, B-side to "Reggae In Your Jeggae")

Disc 2 (71:59 minutes):

"Blow Your Horn" LP by RICO & THE RUDIES (December 1969)

1. Reco's Message

2. Niyah Man

3. Jumping The Gun

4. The Lion [by Dandy]

5. Caribbean Serenade

6. Mighty Dan

7. Quando Quando

8. Session Man

9. Doctor Sure Shot [by Dandy & The Israelites]

10. Muma Muma [by Dandy & The Israelites]

11. Biafra

Tracks 1 to 11 are the UK album "Blow Your Horn" – released December 1969 on Downtown/Trojan TTL-12

"Dandy Your Musical Doctor" LP by DANDY (February 1970)

12. Here I Go Again

13. I'm Gonna Give Her All The Love I Got

14. Run Girl

15. Doctor At Work

16. Running Wild

17. Meeting Over Yonder

18. Voicing Our Choice

19. Everybody Loves A Winner

20. Music Doctor

21. Gumption Feeling

22. Touch Of Poison

23. Come On Home

Tracks 12 to 23 are the UK LP "Dandy Your Musical Doctor" – released February 1970 on Trojan TTL-26

BONUS TRACKS:

24. Won't You Come Home – DANDY (December 1969 UK 7" single on Downtown 453, A-side)

25. Blues - RICO RODRIGUEZ & THE RUDIES as THE RUDIES (April 1969 UK 7" single on Downtown 419, B-side to "Red, Red Wine" - for A-side see Track 1 on Disc 1)

The 16-page booklet is the usual feast of memorabilia, some really great foreign picture sleeves, master tape boxes, trade adverts and reviews and walls of those gorgeous mottled Downtown 45 labels. ANDY LAMBOURN [aka Charlie Chalk) and MARC GRIFFITHS of Bosssounds provide the superb liner notes – deep level info on all four of the albums. With its fourteen schillings and six pence sticker – along with "Tighten Up" Volumes 1 and 2 – the Various Artists compilation "Red, Red Wine" was the second most common British Reggae album you saw in second hand record shops (with the Dandy album probably a close second). But how good is it to see pictures of and details on those other two harder-to-find pieces. Best of all is new mastering by my face Engineer ANDY PEARCE – a gent with a huge Rock catalogue to his name and now many of these new Trojan related releases as well. Best I’ve ever heard these...

While the collection of popular 1969 singles that is the "Red Red Wine" compilation album will tickle many (it even had the first single release on Downtown Records DT-401 – the cool "Move Your Mule") - I’m loving the obscure "Blow Your Horn" album – Rico blasting that trumpet with such feel and dare we say it - Soul. And I’d forgotten just how much Dandy Livingstone contributed in those amazingly productive years too. It’s all so good.

What a winner and a top reissue...recommended big time...

2018 DOCTOR BIRD CD REISSUES covering the TROJAN RECORDS label:

1. BOB & MARCIA - Young, Gifted And Black/Pied Pier (May 2018, Doctor Bird DBCD-014 - Barcode 5013929271432)

2. DAVE & ANSEL COLLINS – Double Barrel (June 2018, Doctor Bird DBCD-016 - Barcode 5013929271630)

3. DESMOND DECKER & THE ACES – Action!/Intensified (August 2018 2CD Set, Doctor Bird DBCD-025 – Barcode 5013929272538)

4. DESMOND DEKKER – You Can Get It If You Really Want (September 2018, Doctor Bird DBCD-015 - Barcode 5013929271531)

5. DESMOND DEKKER – Double Dekker (November 2013, Doctor Bird DBCD-018 – Barcode 5013929271838)

6. PHYLLIS DILLON – One Life To Live (September 2018, Doctor Bird DBCD-021 – Barcode 5013929272132)

7. ETHIOPIANS – Reggae Power/Woman Capture Man (January 2018, Doctor Bird DBCD-10 – Barcode 5013929271036)

8. HARRY J. ALL STARS - Liquidator (June 2008, Doctor Bird DBCD-012 - Barcode 5013929271234)

9. THE MAYTALS – Monkey Man/From The Roots (July 2018, Doctor Bird DBCD-017 – Barcode 5013929271739)

10. THE PIONEERS – Long Shot/Battle Of The Giants (September 2018, Doctor Bird DBCD-019 – Barcode 5013929271937)

11. THE UNIQUES - Absolutely The...Uniques (January 2018, Doctor Bird DBCD-011 - Barcode 5013929271135)

12. THE UPSETTERS – The Upsetter/Scratch The Upsetter Again (October 2018, Doctor Bird DBCD-022 – Barcode 5013929272231)

13. THE UPSETTERS – Return Of Django/Eastwood Rides Again (May 2018, Doctor Bird DBCD-013 - Barcode 5013929271333)

14. VARIOUS ARTISTS – Greater Jamaica Moonwalk Reggae/Reggay At Its Best (October 2018 2CD Set, Doctor Bird DBCDD-030 – Barcode 5013929273030)

15. VARIOUS ARTISTS – King Size Reggae (November 2018, Doctor Bird DBCD-026 – Barcode 5013929272637)

16. VARIOUS ARTISTS [Duke Reid and Treasure Isle Productions] – Soul Of Jamaica/Here Comes The Duke (August 2018 2CD Set, Doctor Bird DBCDD-024 – Barcode 5013929272439)

"Session Guitar Star" by REGGIE YOUNG [Various Artists] (January 2019 Ace Records CD Compilation - Duncan Cowell Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

Featuring "Stranger in My Own Home Town" by ELVIS PRESLEY
From his 1970 Album "Back In Memphis" on RCA Victor Records 

"...Meet Me In Church..."

Despite there being about 3 or 4 clunkers on this CD compilation (in my not-so-humble opinion) - the others are all so damn good, I'm going to resist dropping that final star and keep it a full five. Why? Because this nimble-fingered US contributor (Reggie Young) deserves his hour in the sun and your dosh/attention. Some background first as to why I think this is a properly great Ace Records release (aren't they all you might say)...

In December 2018, Missouri's Reggie Young was a sprightly 82 and yet its odds on that you've never heard of the guy or his sweet guitar picking style and contributions. Or have you? Ace Records UK put out his first official solo album called (not surprisingly) "Forever Young" in May 2017 on Ace CDCHD 1500 (Barcode 029667079822) - a 7-Track CD album of Soul-Rock instrumentals in the vein of J.J. Cale meets Dan Penn meets George Benson - a combo many would gladly scorch their unmentionables to acquire. Actually, the album’s good rather than being great, but it still exudes class.

Anyway, in my review of that late beginning for Reggie Young, I listed a 20-song resume of his work - seriously famous tunes by people like Elvis Presley and Dusty Springfield – all showcasing his knack of playing the right part at just the right time. And lo and behold, from that Hall of Fame potpourri of Soul, Rock and Beat (covering a six-decade career) - some of those name-checks have turned up here. Nice! Let's pick up that Fender and get to church people...

UK released 25 January 2019 - "Session Guitar Star" by REGGIE YOUNG [featuring Various Artists] on Ace Records CDCHD 1537 (Barcode 029667093323) is a CD compilation offering 24-Tracks from 1956 through to 2010 (79:55 minutes):

1. Slip, Slip, Slippin' In - EDDIE BOND and HIS STOMPERS

2. Carol - BILL BLACK'S COMBO

3. A Touch Of The Blues - BOBBY BLAND

4. Dream Baby - JERRY and REGGIE

5. I'm Movin' On - THE BOX TOPS

6. The Champion Pt. 1 - WILLIE MITCHELL

7. Meet Me in Church - SOLOMON BURKE

8. Chicken Crazy - JOE TEX

9. In The Pocket - KING CURTIS and THE KINGPINS (some copies simply credit The Kingpins)

10. More Love - JAMES CARR

11. Don't Forget About Me - DUSTY SPRINGFIELD

12. Stranger in My Own Home Town - ELIVIS PRESLEY

13. I Wanna Roo You - JACKIE De SHANNON

14. Drift Away - DOBIE GRAY

15. Rock 'N' Roll (I Gave You the Best Years of My Life) - SONNY CURTIS

16. Victim of Life's Circumstances - DELBERT McCLINTON

17. Lover Please - BILLY SWAN

18. Morning Glory - JAMES and BOBBY PURIFY

19. Cocaine - J.J. CALE

20. I Think I'll Just Stay Here and Drink - MERLE HAGGARD

21. The Highwayman - THE HIGHWAYMEN [Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson]

22. Griselda - NATALIE MERCHANT

23. Whenever You Come Around - LITTLE MILTON

24. Where Do We Go from Here - WAYLON JENNINGS

From the 1956 pure Rockabilly of "Slip, Slip, Slippin' In" by Eddie Bond & His Stompers through to late soul from Little Milton's "Whenever You Come Around" (2002 on Malaco Records) - you're hit with class over and over again. Interesting Beat instrumentals turn up in the form of a Chuck Berry cover of "Carol" at the hands of Bill Black's Combo and Roy Orbison's "Dream Baby" by our hero and his mate Jerry 'Satch' Arnold trading as Jerry and Reggie (1964 on M.O. Records). Written by Curtis Ousley and Bobby Womack, King Curtis and The Kingpins give us a stunning Funky B-side in the shape of "In The Pocket" - the flip to "Ode To Billy Joe" in September 1967 on Atco 6516.  This is the kind of head-jerking brass-punching guitar-groove that sends my saggy ass into raptures. Throw in James Carr and the gorgeous righteous Southern Soul of "More Love" and even James & Bobby Purify proving they still had a way with a tune in 1975's "Morning Glory" and Soul Music is never far from your ears.

Only when it gets to the truly cheesy rot that is "Rock 'n Roll (I Gave You The Best Years Of My Life)" by Sonny Curtis (Track 15) and a weedy Delbert McClinton effort from 1975 alongside the vastly overrated "Highwayman" LP project with Nelson, Jennings and Cash - does the track run go off the boil. The Natalie Merchant contribution "Griselda" comes from her lesser-seen "Leave Your Sleep" 2010 CD on Nonesuch – a compilation that concentrates on children’s poetry (Reg coughs up a sweet solo). It all ends on a Waylon Jennings Country boogie from 1987 - "Where Do We Go From Here" – Reggie’s guitar (accompanied by Jim Horn's brass, Jim Horn of Rolling Stones fame) giving the bopper real bottom end. I’ll even forgive the overly hissy Solomon Burke song "Meet Me In Church" because what it lacks in fidelity – it tramples all-comers in sheer Soulfulness and feel.

Throw in great mastering from DUNCAN COWELL, a fabulous jam-packed 36-page booklet that out-details this detailed review (courtesy of BOB DUNHAM - includes loads of affectionate recollections from Reggie) and you're on a winner. The only Audio dull moment for me was the wimpy volume to the 1968 Stereo Box Tops cut of Hank Snow's "I'm Movin' On" from their "No Stop" LP on Bell Records - for some reason it has no oomph at all. But any CD compilation that sports Dobie Gray's masterful take on Mentor Williams "Drift Away", J.J. Cale's "Cocaine", the King's yeah baby "Stranger In My Own Home Town" (Elvis getting funky) and Jackie DeShannon's lovely cover of Van Morrison's "I Wanna Roo You" gets my vote. And there's nearly 80 minutes of it too.

"...You know a melody can move me...and when I'm feeling blue...the guitar is coming through to sooth me..." – Dobie Gray sang on 1973's fantastic Soul-Rock single "Drift Away" - a tune Rodders would cover so well on his "Atlantic Crossing" album in 1975. Reggie Young is one of the reasons why we felt that way. Gimme the beat boys and free my soul indeed...

"Morning Brings The Light/John James/Sky In My Pie/Head In The Clouds" by JOHN JAMES (June 2017 Beat Goes On Reissue - 4LPs Remastered onto 2CDs) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along with many others are available in my e-Book
For sale on Amazon 




Features the 1970 Album "Morning Brings The Light" on Transatlantic Records 

"...Through The Lanes..."

Now here's an obscuro. And once again England's Beat Goes On Label (BGO) has done our unsung hero a Welsh Guitar Picker solid (if that's not too rude).

Stretching from 1970 to 1975 – you get full four albums originally on Transatlantic Records in the UK remastered in 2017 by long-standing Audio Engineer Andrew Thompson onto 2CDs – the first two containing some vocals but the last two strictly instrumental with genres crossing between straight-up Acoustic Folk to Bluegrass, Dixieland Jazz and Ragtime (all on Acoustic Guitar). Here are the skies in the pie...

UK released 16 June 2017 (23 June 2017 in the USA) - "Morning Brings The Light/John James/Sky In My Pie/Head In The Clouds" by JOHN JAMES on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1301 (Barcode 5017261213013) offers 4 full LPs originally on Transatlantic Records (UK) in 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1975 newly remastered in 2017 onto 2CDs and plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (75:05 minutes, 22 Tracks):

1. If Only I [Side 1]

2. One Long Happy Night

3. Pickles And Peppers

4. Liverpool Lullaby

5. Hogan's Alley (Black Eyed Blues)

6. Once I Lived By The Sea

7. Picture Rag [Side 2]

8. A Little Blues

9. So Long Since I Was Home

10. Ostrich Walk

11. Lampeter

12. Morning Brings The Light

Tracks 1 to 12 are his Debut album "Morning Brings The Light" – released August 1970 in the UK on Transatlantic Records TRA 219 (produced by Chris Golby).

13. To Meet You I Hurry Down [Side 1]

14. Original Rags

15. Jazzbo's Holiday

16. Evening Comes Quickly

17. Three Through The Lanes

18. Tim E Whay

19. Song Around A Square [Side 2]

20. Rolling On Down

21. Stoptime

22. Daughter Of The Wind

Tracks 13 to 22 on Disc 1 and Track 1 on Disc 2 are his second album "John James" - released November 1971 in the UK on Transatlantic Records TRA 241 (produced by John Whitehead).

Disc 2 (79:56 minutes, 27 Tracks):

1. Listening To That Old Rag/Ragtime Dance

Tracks 13 to 22 on Disc 1 and Track 1 on Disc 2 are his second album "John James" - released November 1971 in the UK on Transatlantic Records TRA 241 (produced by John Whitehead).

2. And Sam Came Too [Side 1]

3. Sailor's Farewell

4. Mammy O'Mine

5. Easy Street

6. Out On The Rolling Sea

7. Sky In My Pie

8. Conquistador

9. Bach Goes To Town [Side 2]

10. Kicking Up The Dust

11. Nola

12. Quiet Days

13. Weeping Willow

14. Blap Bam Boom

15. Be Mine Or Run

16. Turn Your Face

Tracks 2 to 16 are his third album "Sky In My Pie" (credited to JOHN JAMES and DAVE BERRYMAN) – released 1972 in the UK on Transatlantic Records TRA 250 (produced by Stephan Grossman).

17. Georgemas Junction [Side 1]

18. Black And White Rag

19. Head In The Clouds

20. Slow Drag

21. Wormwood Tangle

22. Stranger In The World

23. Rags To Riches [Side 2]

24. Blues For Felix

25. Heliotrope Bouquet

26. Secrets In The Sky

27. Stretching Of A Young Girl’s Heart

Tracks 17 to 27 are his fourth album "Head In The Clouds" – released November 1975 in the UK on Transatlantic Records TRA 305 (produced by Ritchie Gold).

The outer card slipcase lends these BGO reissues a classy feel whilst long-time associate to the label JOHN TOBLER has penned the new 12-page liner notes and interviewed John James especially for the project. Anyone who knows the original vinyl platters – their rear sleeves had a few words but little by way of any meaty info (the 1970 and 1971 Jeremy Gilbert and Robin Denselow original liner notes are here nonetheless). I say this because James now enlightens of many of the tunes and their genesis and his collaborations with Berryman on the 3rd LP and John Renbourn on the fourth. The ANDREW THOMPSON Remasters are quietly lovely – strings pinging - sweetly done – the original tapes clearly in very good shape. To the music...

Songs like on "Once I Loved By The Sea" and "A Little Blues" are like pretty John Renbourn or Bert Jansch vignettes - plaintive, lovely and peaceful on the ear and head. Scott Joplin is never far from James' thoughts either - his own "Picture Rag" a beautifully gut-string-picked nod to the great Ragtime man - whilst "Ostrich Walk" is another instrumental but this time more in the Dixieland style. On the second self-titled album his then wife Jo James joins him on two tunes in duet vocals - the awful hippy claptrap of "Rolling On Down" which is rescued by "Daughter Of The Wind" - a James original Ralph McTell might have looked at with envy. Pete Berryman who would share a credit on the third album "Sky In My Pie" turns up on album two having written the playful travelling song "Jazzbo’s Holiday".

The third LP "Sky In My Pie" is a co-credit with another guitarist – PETE BERRYMAN (don’t you just love that gorgeous John Ashcroft artwork). JOHN RENBOURN of Pentangle guests as Second Guitarist on three songs (all instrumentals) – two by James called "Georgemas Junction" and "Stranger In The World" and a Renbourn original called "Wormwood Tangle". Parts of the melody in the fab "Stranger In The World" almost come across as Acoustic Prog while the Charlie Byrd cover of "Blues For Felix" feels very Leon Redbone without the voice. Scott Joplin turns up once again in the lazy afternoon mint-juleps-on-the-lawn feel to "Hellotrope Bouquet" – the very accomplished fourth album then ending in four and half minutes of "Stretching Of A Young Girl’s Heart" where some of the playing actually mimics such young hurt.

So hard to find on original vinyl now and unlikely to see reissue on the format (even in these vinyl is cool days of 2019) – this BGO 2CD twofer is a superb reissue and welcome too. John James will probably never be a household name – but this is a sweetly stacked reminder of what we all missed first time around...