There's Something About 1970...

Thursday, 20 January 2022

"Tea For The Tillerman: 2CD Deluxe Edition" by CAT STEVENS – November 1970 UK Fourth Studio Album (And Second) on Island Records (January 1971 USA on A&M Records) – Featuring Alun Davies on Guitar, John Ryan on Double Bass, Harvey Burns on Drums, Jack Rostein on Violin, Paul Samwell-Smith on Backing Vocals and Production with Del Newman String Arrangements (4 December 2020 UK Universal UMC/Cat-O-Log/Island Records 50th Anniversary Reissue 2CD Deluxe Edition with 14 Bonus Tracks – Geoff Pesche Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Coming To Win Us..."

To date I've purchased two of these 50th Anniversary Reissues - "Mona Bone Jakon" and "Tea For The Tillerman" - both albums originally issued in 1970.

They are part of an ongoing series of reissues entitled The Yusuf / Cat Stevens Cat-O-Log Collection. But in order to get a lay of the land on this new version of "Tea For The Tillerman", we need to backtrack a little.

Not surprisingly and following on from the bare-bones single CD remaster of 2000, Universal subjected both November 1970's "Tea For The Tillerman" and its popular September 1971 follow-up album "Teaser And The Firecat" (UK release dates) to their chunky 2CD DELUXE EDITION Series in November 2008 – another Ted Jensen Remaster with eleven new Previously Unreleased bonus tracks on CD2 of "Tillerman".

You would therefore think that they would all turn here in December 2020 on this New 2CD Deluxe Edition Remaster along with more for our audio delectation – but actually – no. Six have survived the transfer - Wild World (Demo Version, Recorded 1969), Miles From Nowhere (Demo Version, Recorded 1969), Longer Boats (Live At The Troubadour, Recorded 1970), Into White (Live At The Troubadour, Recorded 1970), On The Road To Find Out (Live at KCET-TV, Recorded in Los Angeles, 1971) and Tea For The Tillerman (Live At The BBC, Recorded 1970 for BBC Radio 1's "Sounds Of The Seventies" at the Playhouse Theatre). Not even the Super Deluxe Edition 5CD Box Set has the remaining five – one live track recorded in Japan in 1976, two from the Majikat Earth Tour of 1976 and two more recorded 2006 at Yusuf's Café.

So any fan wanting the lot will need to keep that 2008 2CD Deluxe Edition – which frankly seems a bit lax. But given the gorgeous new Audio on this 2020 version, new Unreleased actually worth owning and its rather spiffing presentation, there is still oodles to be gleeful about. Let's deal with what we have...

UK released 4 December 2020 - "Tea For The Tillerman: 2CD Deluxe Edition" by CAT STEVENS on Universal UMC/Cat-O-Log/Island Records 0602508395253 (Barcode 602508395253) is a 2CD Reissue and Remaster with 14 Bonus Tracks (on CD2) that plays out as follows:

CD1 "Tea For The Tillerman, 2020 Remaster" (36:51 minutes):

1. Where Do The Children Play? [Side 1]

2. Hard Headed Woman

3. Wild World

4. Sad Lisa

5. Miles From Nowhere

6. But I Might Die Tonight [Side 2]

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.

CD2 "Tea For The Tillerman, Demos, Alternate Versions, Bonus Tracks, Live Recordings" (45:21 minutes):

1. Wild World (Demo)

2. Miles From Nowhere (Studio Demo)

3. But I Might Die Tonight (Deep End Movie Version)

4. Can This Be Love? (Album Out-Take)

5. Honey Man (Duet with Elton John recorded October 1967, first issued October 2001 on the "On The Road To Find Out" 4CD Long Box Set, Reissued June 2008 in a smaller Digibook Format as "Cat Stevens")

6. If You Want To Sing Out Sing out (Demo)

7. Don’t Be Shy (Demo)

8. Wild World (Live At The Troubadour, December 1970)

9. Longer Boats (Live At The Troubadour, December 1970)

10. Into White (Live At The Troubadour, December 1970)

11. On The Road To Find Out (Live at KCET-TV Studios, Los Angeles USA, 8 June 1971)

12. Where Do The Children Play? (Live at KCET-TV Studios, Los Angeles USA, 8 June 1971)

13. Father And Son (Cat Stevens In Concert, 27 November 1971)

14. Tea For The Tillerman (BBC Live Recording, 16 June 1970)

The hardback book with embossed front-cover artwork that precisely mimics the original British LPs that comes with these 2CD Deluxe Editions is gorgeous and of course the same generic artwork will make a row of titled spines stretching right up his last album on Island Records "Back To Earth" in December 1978. To date (January 2022), there have been three (see list below). Unfortunately once the shrink-wrap is torn open, the titled sticker has nowhere to go and worse, the credits page on the rear simply falls off (don't know why they can't simply paste these bloody things on).

But once inside, those minor niggles fade. There is a newly laid out 28-page booklet with notes from Yusuf, guitarist Alun Davies and Producer Paul Samwell-Smith that replaces the 12-page inlay of the old 2000 CD version. Anyone who had the original UK and US LPs on Island and A&M Records will remember fondly the Gatefold Sleeve with that cauldron photo on the inside and the lyrics in tiny print on the rear. The looking down photo is now on the inside flaps and the lyrics smartly abutting text that deals with every song.

There are some tasty touches – the titled US 45-single sleeve for Where Do The Children Play? On A&M Records AM 1291 siding the text for that Side 1 song opener – a French face-profile picture sleeve for Sad Lisa that was backed with Wild World on Island 6014 042 – a rare Dutch picture sleeve for Father And Son with Moonshadow on the flipside on Island 10 485 AT. There are publicity photos, live shots of Cat with his right-hand man Alun Davies on acoustic guitars, two of the British Mastertape Boxes, the album artwork, sheet music and even a rare Dutch split photo issue 45 for Wild World that shows and tells us Jimmy Cliff sings it, while Cat Stevens wrote it (Island 6014 024). It’s very pretty (see photos provided) and well thought out. Let downs (as it is with all these 2CD sets) – those missing tracks - CD2 merely listing its bonuses in the booklet but with no discussion at all – a lazy approach. Also be careful removing the actual CDs (both entirely Pink in colour to reflect the original famous British label on Island Records) – they are tucked in tight into pouches built into the walls of the hardback sleeves so are too damn easy to rip.

Ted Jensen - a long-standing Audio Engineer of WEA catalogue renown – mastered both the 2000 single CD reissue series and the 2CD Deluxe Edition in 2008 – and lovely they were too. Here we get technology advanced by 20 years and GEOFF PESCHE at Abbey Road having another go round in 2020. These '50th Anniversary' Reissues are gorgeous – the liquid watery sound of the piano on "Sad Lisa" (recorded through a Lesley) comes pounding out of your speakers like never before, the acoustic clarity on the opening to "Father And Son" feeling bigger and more spacious. John Ryan and his Double Bass on the flying saucers song "Longer Boats" thumping away like a goodun. All the instruments are in your face and in a clarity-way you would actually want. Impressive...

Not surprising that CD2 opens with the Demo of "Wild World" that first appeared in 2008 – it has huge audio presence and even in its purely acoustic state – packs a serious punch. From there we go to piano for "Miles To Nowhere" – his playing just fantastic and featuring different fills to that of the recording version (it also has Acoustic doubled onto it – great). Things dip dramatically with a seriously overwrought "But I Might Die Tonight" done for the "Deep End" movie – a far heavier and uglier version that you can’t help feel has been dubbed from something other than a mastertape.

But things kick into the stratosphere with a gorgeous unreleased outtake called "Can This Be Love?" – what a discovery – acoustic, piano and double bass, drums – its fully formed and would have been a stunning B-side to say "Father And Son" in both tone and theme. The duet with Elton John "Honey Man" first showed on the 2001 4CD Box Set "On The Road To Find Out" and is probably best forgotten by both great men. Far better is a 2:59 minute Demo Version of "If You Want To Sing Out Sing Out" – a finished version of which recorded in February 1971 made its way onto the "Harold And Maude" film. Another winner from that film is "Don’t Be Shy" (also recorded proper in February 1971) which again turns up here in crystal clear 2:41 minute Demo form – a beautiful little melody fans will thrill too.

Smartly that’s followed by "Wild World" played live at the Troubadour in LA in December 1970 – a month after the album came out in the UK – its audio almost mimicking that of the "Don’t Be Shy" demo. Very well recorded, "Longer Boats" follows which he announces is about spaceships. He carries on with a thing called "Into White" – as pretty and as delicate as the LP version – and again – well recorded for the day. And on it goes...

His first album for Island Records "Mona Bone Jakon" issued in April 1970 was a good start - a three-star effort 'getting' to the genuine five-star greatness of "Tea For The Tillerman". In September 1971 when he issued "Teaser And The Firecat" – there would be no doubt – Cat Stevens became a household name and one of the artists carrying the burgeoning singer-songwriter flag of excellence.

So, despite a few minor whinges, anywhere beneath or around a British ten-spot for this new 2020 "Tea For The Tillerman" 2CD Deluxe Edition and it quickly becomes an absolute must buy for fans and unconverted alike.

Now, if I could only afford that Super Deluxe Box Set, I’d put the kettle on...again...

Titles in The Yusuf/Cat Stevens/Cat-O-Log Collection Series

50th Anniversary Reissues - Geoff Pesche Remasters at Abbey Road

1. Mona Bone Jakon (April 1970 UK Original LP)

All 50th Anniversary Formats UK/EU released 4 December 2020

On Universal UMC/Cat-O-Log Records/Island Records

Single CD Version is 0602508820298

2CD Deluxe Edition Version is 0602508395260

4CD/LP/12”/BLU RAY Super Deluxe Box Set Version is 0602508395178

VINYL LP Version is 0602508820304

2. Tea For The Tillerman (November 1970 UK Original LP)

All 50th Anniversary Formats UK/EU released 4 December 2020

On Universal UMC/Cat-O-Log Records/Island Records

Single CD Version is 06025088203598

2CD Deluxe Edition Version is 0602508395253

5CD/LP/12”/BLU RAY Super Deluxe Box Set Version is 0602508395086

VINYL LP Version is 0602508820311

3. Teaser And The Firecat (September 1971 UK Original LP)

All 50th Anniversary Formats UK/EU released 19 November 2021

On Universal UMC/Cat-O-Log Records/Island Records

Single CD Version is 0602435513188

2CD Deluxe Edition Version is 0602435513126

4CD/BLU RAY Super Deluxe Box Set Version is 00602435949628

VINYL LP Version is 0602435513218

Monday, 2 March 2020

"Celestial Blues: Cosmic, Political & Spiritual Jazz 1970-74" by VARIOUS ARTISTS (July 2016 UK Beat Goes Public CD Compilation of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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70ts SOUL, FUNK and JAZZ FUSION On CD

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"...Let It Take Your Mind..."

In a crowded marketplace - the 'Various Artists' compilation is something of an endangered beast - especially if it's even slightly 'jazzy', 'progressive' or 'experimental' - and 2016's utterly brilliant "Celestial Blues" from Ace's 'BGP' label imprint is all three and more.

I review a lot and I'll admit that I have a 'thing' for Ace Records of the UK in all their varying reissue magnificence - Kent-Soul, Beat Goes Public (BGP), the 'Hip Pocket' Series, their amazing Rock 'n' Roll and Blues LP and CD reissues that stretch back 40 years and more. So it's not something new that I say Ace is really good at 'this sort of thing' - but holy crap - they really are. I love my Soul, Funk and Jazz Fusion (check out my 'Sounds Good: Exceptional CD Remasters for SOUL, FUNK and JAZZ FUSION' e-Book available on Amazon with over 1000 pages and a reasonable price tag) - but even with a real knowledge and love for the fields - I'll admit I don't know 90% of what's on here - and yet I'm digging most of it and wondering how I missed so much of this. And isn't that the best after all these years in the musical trenches. Let's get to the cosmic details...

UK released Friday 29 July 2016 (5 August 2016 in the USA) - "Celestial Blues: Cosmic, Political And Spiritual Jazz 1970 to 1974" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace/Beat Goes Public CDBGPD 300 (Barcode 029667530026) is a single-CD 10-track compilation of mainly Milestone and Prestige labels Jazz and Fusion tracks that play out as follows (79:10 minutes):

1. Celestial Blues - GARY BARTZ NTU TROOP (from the 1970 US LP "Harlem Bush Music - Uhuru" on Milestone MSP 9032)

2. Fire - JOE HENDERSON and ALICE COLTRANE (from the 1974 US LP "The Elements" on Milestone M 9053)

3. Warriors Of peace – AZAR LAWRENCE (from the 1974 US LP "Bridge Into The New Age" on Prestige P-10086)

4. Brown Eyes – CHARLES EARLAND, FREDDIE HUBBARD and JOE HENDERSON (from the 1974 US LP "Leaving This Planet" on Prestige P-66002)

5. The Free Slave – ROY BROOKS (from the 1972 US LP "The Free Slave" on Muse MR 5003)

6. The Almoravid – JOE CHAMBERS (from the 1974 US LP "The Almoravid" on Muse MR 5035)

7. Let Us Go (To Higher Heights) – CARLOS GARNETT (from the 1974 US LP "Journey To Enlightenment" on Muse MR 5057)

8. Let It Take Your Mind – BAYETE UMBRA ZINDIKO (from the 1973 US LP "Seeking Other Beauty" on Prestige PRST 10062)

9. Josie Black – HAMPTON HAWES (from the 1972 US LP "Universe" on Prestige P-10046)

10. Aftermath – OLIVER NELSON (Previously Unreleased 'Edited Version' from the 1970 LP "Black, Brown And Beautiful" on Flying Dutchman FDS 116)

As you can see from the track list and generous near 80-minute playing time - "Celestial Blues..." gives you 10 lengthy Jazz and Fusion tracks from 1970 to 1974 (one of which is a Previously Unreleased edit) mostly culled from the Milestone and Prestige sets of labels with some Fling Dutchman and Muse thrown in. The 16-page booklet has superbly detailed and informative liner notes from DEAN RUDLAND - a name known to every lover of Soul, Funk and Fusion compilations. He's written for Ace, Edsel and many more and smartly accompanies the paragraphs with repros of the LP artwork so you can get a visual lay of the land too. Above all the text is musician credits and discography info for each entry and Ace's long-time Audio Engineer NICK ROBBINS has carried out the stunning remasters. Beautifully recorded and produced in the first place - this is an amazing-sounding CD reissue - huge presence as all that expert playing fills your room. Test drive the busy Joe Chambers track "The Alomoravid" to see what I mean - wonderful stuff...

It opens with the Gil Scott-Heron moaning of Andy Bey on Vocals while Gary Bartz gives it some backing Saxophone on "Celestial Blues" – an 'expand your mind' track I do recognise from other Jazz-Funk compilations on vinyl - very cool stuff. Tenor Saxophonist Joe Henderson penned the instrumental "Fire" - 11:07 minutes of instrument sparring between him and Alice Coltrane (Piano, Harp, Tamboura and Harmonium) and Michael White on Violin. A funky groove is set up right from the start - Charles Haden on Bass, Ngudu on Drums with Kenneth Nash on varying Percussion - that allows Joe to counter with the other soloists. But the big draw is his partnership with the amazing Alice Coltrane – a musical journey that started on the 1970 Milestone LP ""Ptah, The El Daoud" - an album that graced the Reckless Records CD shuffle play on many an occasion. The title track to the album "Bridge Into The New Age" by Tenor and Soprano Saxophonist Azar Lawrence has provided the title for another CD compilation in this series of reissues - Beat Goes Public CDBGPD 203 from late August 2009. Ex McCoy Tyner and Elvin Jones' bands - Azar Lawrence is described as a 'spiritual Jazz musician' and his frantic but disciplined soloing with Pianist Joe Bonner will test many people's faith for the eight minute duration of "Warriors Of Peace" (too manic for my delicate palette). Far better is the very hip organ sound that Charles Earland eases out on "Brown Eyes" – a cut from the "Leaving This Planet" LP he did with Freddie Hubbard and Joe Henderson in 1974. You get the three great soloists giving it slices of their magic for 11:45 minutes of mellow and mid-tempo Jazz Funk – slinky Moogs meshing Henderson's Trumpet, Dave Hubbard's Alto Flute and Harvey Mason's expert drumming.

Things liven up with the Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloupe" feel to "The Free Slave" where Detroit Drummer Roy Brooks (toured with Yusef Lateef and was part of Horace Silver's 1950 group) lets Woody Shaw and George Coleman take the Trumpet and Tenor Saxophone leads while Hugh Lawson plinkers on the old Joanna. "The Free Slave" is a fabulous groove that doesn't seem to overstay its considerable 12:14 minute duration and is a shoe-in for a 'cool' CD-R compilation as fast as I can make one. The sexy and rather trippy sleeve art to the rare Carlos Garnett album "Journey To Enlightenment" is given the whole of Page 12 in the booklet. Coming over like the sophisticated but musical mid-section of Steely Dan's "Aja" track from 1977 - "The Alomoravid" by Drummer Joe Chambers is stunning stuff. Ray Mantilla is on Congas while David Friedman gives it some sublime Marimbas as Cedar Walton plays Piano and Richard Davis anchors it with tasteful Bass lines.

A part of the Miles Davis ensemble - reed player Carlos Garnett clearly had his eye on the dancefloors of the USA in 1974 because he took Stevie Wonder's clavinet sound and gave his "Let Us Go (To Higher Heights)" track a seriously funky edge. It's that wonderful mixture of great music meets (dare we say it) commercial appeal - all 'peace brother' shouts, football game whistles, clavinet Funk, driving Saxophone and a backbeat that just won't quit for its six-minutes plus (a 12" of this sucker would go for such money). The 2:44 minutes of the decidedly Graham Central Station/Sly Stone fuzzed-up Funk of "Let It Take Your Mind" by Bayete Umbra Zindiko (Todd Cochran to you and I) is completely new to me - a furious little thing that half works (he played on Peter Gabriel's 2nd LP and is associated with Santana's drummer Michael Shrieve). The two finishers elevate things - "Josie Black" - an eight-minute slinky Funk Out by Keyboardist Hampton Hawes where wah-wah guitars do battle with his Fender Rhodes - and finally "Aftermath" by Saxophonist Oliver Nelson - a beautifully orchestrated filmic piece that's been edited down to 3:09 minutes - its melodramatic strings against an aching Saxophone (written about MLK's assassination) is both beautiful, difficult and exciting - all at the same time (great compiling choice).

Looking at its rather nondescript quarter-moon artwork and its hipster 'space' title - I hadn't expected much from "Celestial Blues". But as Joan Armatrading said two years after most of these 1974 tracks were recorded - 'I'm open to persuasion'. A brilliant CD compilation and well done to all involved...

Other CD compilations like this on Beat Goes Public include:

1. Bridge Into The New Age: Funky Afro-Centric Spiritual Sounds From Jazz’s Forgotten Decade

July 2009 CD on Beat Goes Public CDBGPD 203

2. A Loud Minority: Deep Spiritual Jazz From Mainstream Records 1970-1973 May 2010 on Beat Goes Public CDBGPD 215

3. Liberation Music: Spiritual Jazz And The Art Of Protest On Flying Dutchman Records 1969-1974

March 2013 CD on Beat Goes Public CDBGPD 259

"One-Way Glass: Dancefloor Prog, Brit Jazz & Funky Folk 1968-1975" by VARIOUS ARTISTS (August 2017 RPM Records 3CD Box Set) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Out Of Nowhere..."

Weird, adventurous, cool, surprising yet forgotten, brilliant yet often unknown, sometimes crap and even risible - but at other times as Funky as a loved-up Bishop Curry on biblical-speed at a Royal Wedding. I love Box Sets like "One Way Glass..." – it’s not all undiluted James Brown vs. Deep Purple crossover genre-genius for sure - but when its Funky Breaks are good – man they’re shockingly so...

Spanning 1968 to 1975 and offering 58 tracks across 3CDs - "Dancefloor Prog, Brit Jazz & Funky Folk" is a catchall that goes so deep that even fairly knowledgeable types like yours truly here might look at the artist names on any of these near-eighty-minute CDs and shout 'who the hell are they?' Most are British Rock bands with great players that tapped into their Bad Soulful American Selves on throwaway B-sides and album fillers – getting down with the Groove be it on Mellotron or Wah Wah Pedal. Some are well known names but most were very much on the fringes and get a long overdue outing here.

But for me that's what makes this superb RMP Records anthology such a winner is the dip and discover factor - and all of it presented with knowledge, enthusiasm and even glee (a 42-page jam-packed booklet) and Audio that does well with ancient tapes. There is a heap of Hard Stuff to wade through - so once more my Burning Red Ivanhoes unto the Fat Mattress, Skin Alley and Jody Grind (and that's just the Pesky Gee)...

UK released 25 August 2017 (1 September 2017 in the USA) - "One Way Glass: Dancefloor Prog, Brit Jazz and Funky Folk 1968-1975" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on RPM Records RPMBX 537 (Barcode 5013929553705) is a 58-Track 3CD Clamshell Box Set of Remasters with a 42-Page Booklet and plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (79:04 minutes):

1. One Way Glass - TRIFFLE (from the December 1970 UK LP "First Meeting" on Dawn DNLS 3017 – a Manfred Mann Chapter Three cover version – for Triffle see also Track 11, Disc 3)

2. Elegy - COLOSSEUM (from the November 1969 UK LP "Valentyne Suite" on Vertigo VO1)

3. Man From Afghanistan - CURTISS MULDOON (from the October 1971 UK LP "Curtiss Muldoon" on Purple Records TPS 3501)

4. 3D Mona Lisa - PAUL BRETT'S SAGE (from the October 1970 UK LP "Paul Brett Sage" on Pye NSPL 18347)

5. Home Is Where I Belong - QUICKSAND (from the 1973 UK LP "Home Is Where I Belong" on Dawn DNLS 3056)

6. Somethin' You Got - SECOND HAND (from the April 1971 UK LP "Death May be Your Santa Claus" on Mushroom 200 MR 6)

7. Get One Together - PALADIN (from the April 1972 UK LP "Charge!" on Bronze ILPS 9190 - see also Track 2 on Disc 3)

8. Cold Wall Of Stone - FAT MATTRESS (Recorded 1969 and Previously Unreleased at the time - first appeared in 1992 on Sequel NEX CD 192 as a Bonus Track - a UK CD Reissue of their 1969 Polydor Records debut album "Fat Mattress" - see also Track 5 on Disc 3)

9. Libel - HARD STUFF (from the March 1973 UK LP "Bolex Dementia" on Purple TPSA 7507)

10. Sanctuary - GRAVY TRAIN (Non-album B-side to "Climb Aboard The Gravy Train (And Get On To A Good Thing)", a stand-alone July 1975 UK 7" single on Dawn DNS 1115)

11. City Of Darkness - THE WEB (from the August 1968 UK Stereo LP "Fully Interlocking" on Deram SML 1025 - see also Track 15 on Disc 3)

12. Out Of Nowhere - PATRICK CAMPBELL-LYONS (from the February 1973 UK LP "Me And My Friend" on Sovereign SVNA 7258)

13. The Bitch - THE GASOLINE BAND (from the May 1972 UK LP "The Gasoline Band" on Cube HIFLY 9)

14. I Saw An Angel - PENTANGLE (B-side to the May 1969 UK 7" single "Once I Had A Sweetheart" on Big T Records BIG 124)

15. Ricochet - JONESY (and abridged edit of a track on their "On This New Day" LP issued as an A-side in January 1973 on Dawn DNS 1030)

16. Revolution's Death Man - EDWARDS HAND (from the 1970 UK LP "Stranded" on RCA Victor SF 8154)

17. Macumbe - BOND & BROWN [Graham Bond and Pete Brown] (Track 2 on Side 1 from the July 1972 UK 3-Track 7" EP "Lost Tribe" on Greenwich Gramophone Company GSS 104)

18. Henry - CMU (from the June 1971 UK LP "Open Spaces" on Transatlantic TRA 237)

19. Sunburnt Virgin Trousers - KNOCKER JUNGLE (from the 1970 UK LP "Knocker Jungle" on Ember NR 5042)

20. Cubano Chant - CLIMAX CHICAGO BLUES BAND (from the November 1969 UK Stereo LP "Plays On" on Parlophone PCS 7084)

21. She's My Sister - OPEN ROAD (from the August 1971 UK LP "Windy Daze" on The Greenwich Gramophone Company GSLP 1001)

22. The Lord Doesn't Want You - THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN (Recorded 1969, Previously Unreleased at the time)

Disc 2 (79:29 minutes):

1. I've Got My Mojo Working - MELANIE (from the October 1975 UK LP "Sunset And Other Beginnings" on Neighborhood NBH 69168)

2. Eyeballs - BLUE MINK (from the April 1974 UK LP "Fruity” on EMI Records EMC 3021)

3. Celebration - CHILLUM (Recorded 1971, not originally released)

4. Confusions About A Goldfish - JOHN KONGOS (from the 1969 UK LP "Confusions About A Goldfish" on Dawn DNLS 3002 - see also Track 1 on Disc 3)

5. Skin Alley Serenade - SKIN ALLEY (from the December 1972 UK LP "Two Quid Deal?" on Transatlantic TRA 260 - see also Track 10 on Disc 3)

6. Little Message - JODY GRIND (from the November 1969 UK LP "One Step On” on Transatlantic TRA 210)

7. Weren't Born A Man - DANA GILLESPIE (from the December 1973 UK LP "Weren't Born A Man" on RCA Victor APL1 0345)

8. Drinking My Wine - HARDIN & YORK (from the November 1969 UK Stereo LP "Tomorrow Today" on Bell SBLL 125)

9. She's Mine, She's Yours - JUICY LUCY (from their November 1969 debut UK LP "Juicy Lucy" on Vertigo VO 2 - see also Track 12 on Disc 3)

10. Avez-Vous Kaskelainen? - BURNIN' RED IVANHOE (from the November 1971 UK LP "W.W.W." on Dandelion 2310 145)

11. Message To Mankind - DEMON FUZZ (from the November 1970 UK LP on Dawn DNX 2504)

12. Closer To The Truth - ALAN JAMES EASTWOOD (A-side of a September 1972 stand-alone UK 7" single on President PT 379)

13. Wake Up My Children - SIREN (from the December 1969 UK LP "Siren" on Dandelion S 63755)

14. The Devil Made Me Do It - CURTIS KNIGHT ZEUS (A-side of January 1974 UK 7" single on Dawn DNS 1049 - also on the German-only LP "Sea Of Time")

15. Hilary Dickson - ATLANTIC BRIDGE (Track 2 on Side 1 of the 3-Track January 1971 UK 7" EP "I Can't Lie To You” on Dawn DNX 2507)

16. Sly Willy - BLUE BEARD (from the 1971 UK LP "Blue Beard” on Durium D 30-214)

17. Mean Old Man - JOAN ARMATRADING (from the November 1972 UK debut LP "Whatever's For Us" on Cube HIFLY 12)

18. Funky - THE SPENCER DAVIS GROUP (from the withdrawn 1970 US LP "Funky" on Date Records TES 4021)

19. In The Beginning - THE FOUNDATIONS (A July 1970 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17956, instrumental B-side to "I'm Gonna Be A Rich Man")

Disc 3 (79:12 minutes):

1. He's Gonna Step On You Again - JOHN KONGOS (from the November 1971 UK LP "Kongos" on Fly Records HIFLY 7, also a UK chart single that peaked at No. 3)

2. Bad Times - PALADIN (from the May 1971 UK LP "Paladin" on Bronze ILPS 9150)

3. Instant Whip- THE TREMELOES (Non-Album B-side of "(Call Me) Number One", an October 1969 UK 7" single on CBS 4582)

4. The Rock - ATOMIC ROOSTER (an Instrumental from their September 1971 album "In Hearing Of" on Pegasus PEG 1 - also the B-side to the No. 3 chart UK 7" single "The Devil's Answer")

5. Margarita - FAT MATTRESS (Recorded 1969 and Previously Unreleased at the time - first appeared in 1992 on Sequel NEX CD 192 as a Bonus Track - a UK CD Reissue of their 1969 Polydor Records debut album "Fat Mattress" - see also Track 8 on Disc 1)

6. Gesolreut (Live) - SOFT MACHINE (from the February 1973 2LP set "Six" on CBS Records S 68214)

7. Some Kind Of Beautiful - BRIDGET ST. JOHN (from her July 1974 UK LP "Jumble Queen” on Chrysalis CHR 1062)

8. House On The Hill - AUDIENCE (from their November 1969 UK Debut LP "Audience" on Polydor 583 065)

9. Indian Rope Man - NOIR (from the November 1971 UK LP "We Had To Let You Have It" on Dawn DNLS 3029 - a Richie Havens cover)

10. So Many People - SKIN ALLEY (from the December 1972 UK LP "Two Quid Deal?" on Transatlantic TRA 260 - see also Track 5 on Disc 2)

11. Alibi Annie - TRIFFLE (from the December 1970 UK LP "First Meeting" on Dawn DNLS 3017 - see also Track 1 on Disc 1)

12. I'm A Thief - JUICY LUCY (Non-Album B-side to "Pretty Woman", a stand-alone UK 7" single released December 1970 on Vertigo 6059 015 - see also Track 9 on Disc 2)

13. Travelling Like A Gypsy - HANSON (from the December 1973 UK LP "Now Hear This" on Manticore K 43507)

14. Looking For The Red Label - FAIR WEATHER (B-side to "Lay It On Me", a May 1971 UK 7" single on RCA Neon NE 1001)

15. I'm A Man - THE WEB (1968 Recording Previously Unreleased at the time - a Spencer Davis Group cover - see also Track 11 on Disc 1)

16. Pigs Foot - PESKY GEE (from the August 1969 UK LP "Exclamation Mark" on Pye NSPL 18293)

17. One Way Glass - JOHN SCHROEDER ORCHESTRA featuring Chris Thomas (a November 1971 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 45108, Non-Album Track, A-side, a Manfred Man Chapter Three cover version)

Compiled and co-ordinated by JOHN REED and MARK STRATFORD (with help from good eggs like Dave Timperley over at Cherry Red Records) – the 44-page booklet is amazing – a feast of knowledge, album covers, 45 label repros, trade adverts and of course rare photos of artists who are so underground they may have dirt in their mouths. Fluid Mastering has done the transfers and as Cherry Red has remastered much of this in the last ten years – it’s not surprising to find that the music audio is uniformly great. To the music of hairy-men secretly longing to be the Average White Band...

Disc 1: Triffle and their brass-funky "One Way Glass" give the anthology its name - an in-the-background guitar suitably distant as the backbeat gets laid down. Jon Hiseman and Dick Heckstall-Smith trade licks in the bopping Colosseum track "Elegy" while somebody with an itch in Curtis Maldoon is waiting for the "Man From Afghanistan" - a surprisingly cool 'waiting for the man' groove. Flute-Folk-Rock drives the excellent "3D Mona Lisa" - a guitar-chugger by Paul Brett Sage featuring some great fretwork and frantic Small Faces-type vocals. (Songwriter and Guitarist) Terry Davis features prominently on "Home Is Where I Belong" - a genuine highlight on a jam-packed Disc 1. We enter the valley of weird and silly voices tagged onto a Prog Funky beat with the very Greenslade-sounding Second Hand. Another winner on here is Noel Redding's Fat Mattress and their sexy "Cold Wall Of Stone" - Steve Hammond's guitar and Neil Landon's vocals highlights on an outtake from the first album that only saw the light of day in 1992 as a CD Bonus Track. Other notables are the piano-funky instrumental "Out Of Nowhere" by Nirvana’s Patrick Campbell-Lyons (entirely unrepresentative of the album’s overall singer-songwriter sound – see separate review) and the Folk-Rock cool of Pentangle’s groovy double-bass rhythms in "I Saw An Angel".

Disc 2 opens with a shocker - Melanie Kafka getting Funky as she gets her Mojo working (even if it won't work on the man she wants) - a fantastic groover from 1975 when her albums were probably being ignored. Equally shocking is the hard-hitting Labelle meets Sly Stone Funk of Blue Mink's "Eyeballs" - a truly brilliant Bass-Pounding Beast as inspirational singers Roger Cook and Madeline Bell get up to their eyeballs in backbeats and love. Chillum's "Celebration" is certainly funky but as a five-minute instrumental it feels a tad laboured. South African John Kongos gets the first of two entries - the title track from "Confusions About A Goldfish" being his intro - with lyrics flitting about wildly - from Thalidomide to Thanksgiving to the worries of a goldfish in a room we call the World (it's a good groove but "He's Gonna Step On You Again" over on Disc 3 annihilates it). Skin Alley's "Skin Valley Serenade" also promises much but like Chillum's entry feels overly-long and tired. Jody Grind's "Little Message" on the other hand has a fab organ vs. guitar battle going on throughout its pounding stay. Things also pick up with Dana Gillespie's 'Son Of A Preacher Man' groovy "Weren't Born A Man" - as cool as Lou Reed in 1973. Another Disc 3 highlight surely has to be superbly groovy "Drinking My Wine" by Hardin & York - Eddie Hardin and Pete York - both ex The Spencer Davis Group. And I've always been a sucker for the fantastic slide-guitar Blues Boogie sound of Juicy Lucy - vocalist Ray Owen howling and snarling out those sleazy lyrics while ace-supremo Glenn Ross Campbell goes all Johnny Winter on his guitar to truly hair-raising effect. Other notables include the go-go 60ts throwback chug of "Sly Willy" by Blue Beard – the acoustic attack of a young and angry Joan Armatrading on "Mean Old Man", the Flute-Cool Richie Havens-sounding emotional world of "Closer To The Truth" by Alan James Eastwood and a rare outing for the Chicago/BST sounding Jazz-Rock album you never see by The Spencer Davis Group – the withdrawn "Funky" LP on America's Date Records.

Disc 3 features the fantastic Malo/Santana Latin-Rock Fusion of Paladin's frantic "Bad Times" - a huge nine-minute Funk Monster that starts out slowly in 'Oye Coma Va' mode but then builds into a full-on tearaway Boogie with Drums and Guitars battling it out. Shocker-city comes with a B-side from The Tremeloes of all things - the funky instrumental "Instant Whip" with Drummer Dave Munden letting rip on some strangled Screaming Jay Hawkins yelps whilst guitarist Rick Westwood gives it some fantastic guitar chops throughout. I've raved before about the superb Atomic Rooster B-side "The Rock" (flip to "The Devil's Answer") - an instrumental guitar/keyboard/brass groover that's tucked away on one of the era's biggest Prog Rock LPs - 1971's "In Hearing Of..." Surprises come at you in the shape of Soft Machine finding their inner Mahavishnu Funk on the instrumental "Gesroleut" but Bridget St. John's "Some Kind Of Beautiful" is a tad too fey for its own good. Better is "Indian Rope Man" by Noir - a Richie Havens song from his 1969 double-album "Richie P. Havens, 1983" that seemed to produce a long line of covers that rocked as much as the original. And Skin Alley don’t disappoint with their Focus-sounding Flute-Rock-Funky "So Many People". And on it goes...

A huge haul and even for a know-all like me – some amazing finds in genres I love – music I make CD compilations of when Beelzebub is not looking.

Don’t let the vertigo-inducing up-the-side-of-glass-tower-buildings-artwork put you off – there is so much in here to savour and discover. And I'm thinking that somebody in Royal Circles should drop a sword on John Reed’s shoulder for his musical services to ageing Prog hooligans everywhere and their groove-aroused Zimmer frames. Or better still – punish him with four days chained to the pulpit of Bishop Curry after he’s read the Financial Times. That'll teach the little Funky Folker...

Fabtastic Flutes and then some. Recommended...

"Time Machine: A Vertigo Retrospective" by VARIOUS ARTISTS (April 2005 Universal 3CD Mini Box Set – Paschal Byrne Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 250+ Others Is Available In My

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PROG ROCK, PSYCH, AVANT GARDE
And Others Genres Thereabouts
Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters

Covering 1967 to 1977 - It Also Focuses On

Fusion Rock, Acid Folk, Art Rock and Underground

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Featuring Many Albums from 1970 on Vertigo Records

"…Let It Happen…"

Ah! the VERTIGO Record Label – subject of affection and ridicule in unequal amounts...

So what makes me buy a 41-track 3CD mini box set full of the eclectic and the indulgent? Because on rehearing this much-maligned label's output - there's so much to enjoy on here that isn't crap - especially if you like your Rock with a Funky Fusion kick in the nuts.

Here are the Black Sabbaths having a Warhorse by the Beggars Opera in the Tudor Lodge (if you know what I mean)…

UK released April 2005 – "Time Machine: A Vertigo Retrospective" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Universal/Vertigo 9827982 (Barcode 602498279823) is a 3CD Mini Clamshell Box Set of Remasters that breaks down as follows:

Disc 1 – Vertigo 9827984 - (78:09 minutes):

1. The Kettle – COLOSSEUM (from the album “Valentyne Suite” released November 1969 on Vertigo VO 1. Charted at 15 in the UK. The band featured Drummer JON HISEMAN (ex Graham Bond ORGANization), Saxophonist DICK HECKSTALL SMITH with Keyboard Player DAVE GREENSLADE and Bassist TONY REEVES who later formed GREENSLADE)

2. Who Do You Love? – JUICY LUCY (February 1970 UK 7” single on Vertigo V 1. A Bo Diddley cover – it reached No. 14 on the UK charts)

3. My Heaven – CLEAR BLUE SKY (on the album “Clear Blue Sky” released April 1971 on Vertigo 6360 013)

4. Travelling Lady – MANFRED MANN’S CHAPTER THREE (on the album “Manfred Mann Chapter Three” released November 1969 on Vertigo VO 3)

5. Behind The Wall Of Sleep – BLACK SABBATH (on their debut album “Black Sabbath” released February 1970 on Vertigo VO 6. It reached No. 8 in the UK charts)

6. To Play Your Little Game – CRESSIDA (on the album “Cressida” released February 1970 on vertigo VO 7)

7. Introduction – GRACIOUS! (From the album “Gracious!” released June 1970 on Vertigo 6360 002)

8. Three Sisters – AFFINITY (from the album “Affinity” released June 1970 on Vertigo 6360 004. The band featured LINDA HOYLE who also had a Solo album on Vertigo in 1971 called “Pieces Of Me”)

9. Walking On – BOB DOWNES (from the album “Electric City” released July 1970 on Vertigo 6360 005)

10. I Don’t Know – MAY BLITZ (from the album “May Blitz” released July 1970 on Vertigo 6360 007)

11. Torrid Zone - NUCLEUS (from the album “Elastic Rock” released June 1970 on Vertigo

12. Handbags And Gladrags – ROD STEWART (on his debut album “An Old Raincoat Won’t Let You Down” released February 1970 in the UK on Vertigo VO 4)

13. Nothing At All – GENTLE GIANT (on the album “Gentle Giant” released November 1970 on Vertigo 6360 020. They went on to have a long career on both WWA Records and Chrysalis in the UK and remain highly collectable to this day)

14. The Influence – BEN (on the album “Ben” released August 1971 on Vertigo 6360 052)

Disc 2 - Vertigo 9827985 – (76:58 minutes):

1. Evil Woman's Manly Child – Dr. Z (on the album "Three Parts To My Soul" released August 1971 on Vertigo 6360 048)

2. Borne On The Solar Wind – JADE WARRIOR (on the album "Last Autumn's Dream" released November 1972 on Vertigo 6360 079)

3. The Man – PATTO (on the album "Patto" released November 1970 on Vertigo 6360 016)

4. Thinking Of My Life – JUICY LUCY (on their 2nd album "Lie Back And Enjoy It" released October 1970 on Vertigo 6360 014)

5. Half Baked – JIMMY CAMPBELL (on the album "Half Baked" released August 1970 on Vertigo 6360 010)

6. For Madmen Only – MAY BLITZ (on their 2nd album "Second Of May" released June 1971 on Vertigo 6360 037)

7. The Lady's Changing Home – TUDOR LODGE (on the album "Tudor Lodge" released July 1971 on Vertigo 6360 043)

8. Time Machine – BEGGARS OPERA (on the album "Waters Of Change" released September 1971 on Vertigo 6360 054)

9. Bring Out Your Dead – COLOSSEUM (on the album "Daughter Of Time" released November 1970 on Vertigo 6360 017)

10. Mouthpiece – WARHORSE (on the album "Red Sea" released May 1972 on Vertigo 6360 066)

11. Lady In Black – URIAH HEEP (on the album "Salisbury" released February 1971 on Vertigo 6360 028)

12. Through The Years – FREEDOM (on the album "Through The Years" released August 1971 on Vertigo 6360 050)

13. Midnight Moses – THE SENSATIONAL ALEX HARVEY BAND (on the album "Framed" released December 1972 on Vertigo 6360 081)

14. Lord Of The Ages – MAGNA CARTA (on the album "Lord Of The Ages" released September 1973 on vertigo 6360 093)

Disc 3 – Vertigo 9827983 – (79:17 minutes):

1. Living At The End Of Time – ATLANTIS (on the album "Atlantis" released March 1973 on Vertigo 6360 609)

2. Life Child – RAMASES (on the LP "Space Hymns" released July 1971 on Vertigo 6360 046)

3. McArthur Park – BEGGARS OPERA (on the album "Pathfinder" released July 1972 on Vertigo 6360 073. It's a cover of the Jimmy Webb song made famous by actor Richard Harris and later Disco Diva Donna Summer)

4. Song For The Bearded Lady – NUCLEUS (on the album "We'll Talk About It Later" released February 1971 on Vertigo 6360 027)

5. Patagruel's Nativity – GENTLE GIANT (on the album "Acquiring The Taste" released July 1971 on Vertigo 6360 041)

6. (A Ballad Of) A Peaceful Mind – GRAVY TRAIN (on the album "(A Ballad Of) A Peaceful Man" released September 1971 on Vertigo 6360 051)

7. Powers Of Darkness – RONNO (on the album "Powers Of Darkness" released March 1971 on Vertigo 6360 029. The band featuring ace-guitarist MICK RONSON who went on to Solo stardom and as a sidekick to both David Bowie and Lou Reed)

8. Paper Plane – STATUS QUO (on the album "Piledriver" released 8 December 1972 on Vertigo 6360 082)

9. Little Known – IAN MATTHEWS (on the album "If You Saw Thru My Eyes" released May 1971 on Vertigo 6360 034)

10. Let It Happen – VANGELIS O. PAPATHANASSIOU (from the album "Earth" released 1973 on Vertigo 6499 693)

11. Mwenga Sketch – JADE WARRIOR (exclusive to the double-album Vertigo label sampler "Suck It And See" released May 1973 on Vertigo 6641 116)

12. The Four Horsemen – APHRODITE'S CHILD (on the album "666" released May 1972 on Vertigo 6673 001. The band famously featured keyboard wizard Vangelis and Greek singer DEMIS ROUSSOS)

13. Spiral Architect – BLACK SABBATH (on the album "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" released December 1973 on Vertigo 6360 115)

The mini clamshell box contains a fantastic 48-page booklet with hugely detailed liner notes by reissue hero MARK POWELL – there’s the usual band photos, the album sleeves in miniature (and in colour) – but it’s the trade adverts you’ve never seen that impress most. Better is the PASCHAL BYRNE remastering (done at Audio Archiving in London) which is up to his usual standard of excellence. This guy has been on hundreds of reissues – especially in the Progressive Rock field – so he knows how to handle these tapes. The audio is clear, punchy and if there’s hiss on some tracks – he lets them breath. A great done…

The funkier side of Vertigo is kind of shocking – Affinity's "Three Sisters" from their debut features LINDA HOYLE on lead vocals and comes on like Cold Blood with Lydia Pence (Atlantic Records) – great brass, keys and guitar hooks aligned around a Julie Driscoll type vocalist. It's immediately followed by the even more-catchy "Walking On" from BOB DOWNES sounding not unlike Blood, Sweat & Tears finding their inner Prog. That funky groove continues with "I Don't Know" by MAY BLITZ with a fantastically clever guitar repetition throughout that digs in from the start and only deviates to let the drums and bass battle it out before the guitars rip. At times it sounds like the innovativeness of Zeppelin II. We then firmly enter the area of Rock Fusion with the stunning NUCLEUS instrumental "Torrid Zone" – a near 9-minute fest of IAN CARR's trumpet sounding like Miles Davis discovering his inner bop. It's easy to see why Jazzers and even Soul Boys want this so much – it's undeniably brilliant and the remaster is fabulous highlighting the amazing speaker-to-speaker musicianship.

After all the Hard Rock, Metal, Jazz Fusion and general mayhem – Rod Stewart's gorgeous cover of Mike D'Abo's "Handbags & Gladrags" comes as a melodic surprise – and as ever – a heart-warming one. We return to more familiar Genesis-like Prog territory with GENTLE GIANT's equally lovely "Nothing At All". Produced by Tony Visconti – its nine minutes has beautifully accomplished harmony vocals floating over pretty guitars and keys – and again – it's shockingly good. Like their fellow mates on Vertigo – the obscure BEN fit into the jazzy Nucleus, Affinity and Colosseum bracket. The ten-minute flute and guitar battle that is "The Influence" sounds like its late Sixties Doors doing an instrumental – funky Rock with Jazz leanings – very cool indeed and it ends Disc 1 on a definite high.

Disc 2 opens with a rarity by DR. Z - their album having reputedly sold less than 100 copies. Formed by a Professor of Swansea University - Keith Keyes aped his surname and played a mean set of keyboards. Their lone track has a slightly vaudeville backing and funky piano riff – sounding not unlike the kind of thing you'd hear in a Jesus Christ Superstar stage show. Colosseum's "Bring Out Your Dead" is a fabulous funky instrumental but Uriah Heep's clunky "Lady In Black" is less impressive. Freedom was formed by ex Procol Harum bods Bobby Harrison and Ray Roger and their "Through The Years" is a cracking Rock tune with great lead guitar from Roger throughout. But then things go stellar for me – the utterly brilliant "Borne On The Solar Wind" by JADE WARRIOR – the kind of drifting, floating Prog instrumental I love. I'm forever putting it on 70s FEST CD-Rs and it always elicits a "...whose this!?" response. It sounds not unlike Brian Eno's instrumental "Another Green World" – the theme music used for the British TV program "Arena" (with the logo floating in the bottle). Disc 2 ends with the acoustic whimsy of "Lord Of The Ages" where most of its story of knights, dark forests and black granite is spoken. Genius…

Disc 3 opens with a lesser-heard belter – "Living At The End Of Time" by ATLANTIS - sounding like Graham Bond meets Greenslade. It also reminds me a lot of the title track of Gary Moore's first solo album on CBS called "Grinding Stone" – a sort of Jeff Beck speed guitar thing with a fast funky rock backbeat. Things get hippy-dippy with "Pantagruel's Nativity" by GENTLE GIANT sounding not unlike RUSH on too many mushrooms. We're then hit with a piece of genuine Progressive Rock excellence – Gravy Train's "(A Ballad Of) A Peaceful Man" that opens with classily orchestrated strings and goes a bit Tull for the rest of it seven minutes. Things get Folk-plaintive with "Little Known" from the wonderful ex Fairport Convention songsmith Iain Matthews. But then we get my favourite on the entire box – a true hidden gem – "Let It Happen" by none other than Blade Runner supremo VANGELIS (trading under his full name). The vocals on this funk fusion gem are actually sung by Robert Fitoussi and I can safely say I've seen the "Earth" album maybe twice in my life. Apparently it was big in Europe but Vertigo did little to promote it or him here in Blighty.

So there you have it. Having worked in record shops all my life – I know the resistance this particular record label evokes – almost to the point of being pathological. Well – well done to all involved with this superb box set for making a case. Don’t be put off – dig in and explore the swirl…