WARMTH AND OCCASIONAL SHADOW - A Poem from my new book "Sick Kittens To Warm Bricks" - January 2026 120-Page Paperback of Poems Available on Amazon - No. 6 in the Left Luggage Series...

 

A QUICK SHUFTY...And Other Popular Outdoor Activities by MARK BARRY (January 2026 Paperback of 134-Pages on Amazon - Words and Phrases Given A Saucy Seaside Card Going Over)

https://amzn.to/4bqIZu3

A QUICK SHUFTY...And Other Popular Outdoor Activities

Moist Interpretations of Words and Phrases from A to Z

(Each letter of the alphabet preceded by a Saucy Seaside Card Photo in the book)

AU NATUREL: cologne in a French Nudist Colony
BANGERS AND MASH: staff conduct an orgy at a Maris Pipers potato depot
BUM DEAL: Andrew Mountbatten is advised by Ghislaine Maxwell on prison etiquette
CARAVAN: Van Morrison covers himself in Caramel
CLOUD NINE: an After Eight Mint describes exceptional coitus with a Turkish Delight
DAMNED ATTRACTIVE: Lucifer admires his new bespoke fiery red suit in the mirror
DON'T WALK ON THE GRASS: customised doormat outside Bob Marley's house
EPSOM SALTS: a packet of SAXA goes to the racetrack 
FELLATIO: receptionist's name at a Roman Baths
GANGRENE: an Irish Drug Cartel
HAN SOLO: a space mercenary has a hand shandy in a galaxy far, far away
IN THE MOOD: Glenn Miller's wife texts her husband that she’s ready to swing
JOHNNY ON THE JOB: a sensitivity tester in a Durex Factory
KING KONG: Gorilla admires his undercarriage during a relaxing NYC holiday
LIBIDO: an outdoor swimming pool in Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion
MARS BARS: a notorious set of saloons on the Red Planet
MING DYNASTY: Transgender Rock Band goes shopping for delph
NAVAL CADET: a young bellybutton
ORIGINAL SIN: first man Adam wears the wrong foliage on his debut date with Eve
PARAZONE: a clean-cut Irish Army Boy Band tribute act
POLISHED FINISH: a Helsinki Diplomat admires his expertly dusted pippeli
QUARTERLY ACCOUNTS: a misgendered number 4 speaks its mind on Breakfast TV
RASPBERRY RIPPLE: Delia Smith's blouse has a wardrobe moment on Celebrity Chef
ROBIN: a self-awareness course for Burglars
RUMPY PUMPY: a Dildo in the Arnold Schwarzenegger gift shop
SACRED BOND: British Agent 007 points to his crown jewels during a physical
STARK NAKED: Iron Man in a Turkish Bath
THICK AS THIEVES: rejected Mensa applications rob a bank
TOP PRIORITY: editor of The Sun tabloid explains pictorial policy during staff meeting
UNDERACHIEVER: lip service given beneath a desk at a Be Your Best Self Seminar
VALUE ADDED TAX: a Soho Lady demands a tip from the Chancellor of the Exchequer
WELL ENDOWED: a watering hole with huge pumps
WIDELY HELD BELIEFS: 1000 Cream Cakes get religion and hug
X-RAY SPECS: a set of Ray Charles's discarded sunglasses
YARDBIRD: a lady convict strolls past the men's section
YARDIRON: male convicts watch her stroll past
ZEBRA: a stripped brassiere in Germany

Book 10 in the Left Luggage Series

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"RESONATOR" by MARK BARRY (2 November 2025 Book of Poems - Number 4 in a Series - 114 Pages of Poems, Rhymes, Limericks, Funnies and Photos - Available on all Amazon Sites - Part of the 'Left Luggage' Series)

My new book RESONATOR 

Published today, Sunday, 2 Nov 2025

Available On Amazon for £9.95 

- Enjoy The Reads...

https://amzn.to/490ig4L

MULL OF BIN-DIRE (Hair-Raising Decisions)

CIGARETTES AND ALCOHOL (Re-Cooling Britannia)

BAZ AND FRANKLIN INADVERTENTLY GO BANANAS

(Laughing With Each Other And Not At Each Other)

MARY WHITEHOUSE WORRIES ABOUT MASHED-POTATO CONSISTENCY

THE PROBLEM WITH BEING OLD (Monster-Winning Dread)

FRANKENSTEIN HAS AN EPPY

PISSED IN THE TRENCHES (Some Like It Hot in the Rose In June)

LISTENING TO KINGFISHR

FIXTURES AND FITTINGS (The Proximity Of Stars)

IN THE END, I JUST WANT PEACE

POEMS YOU CAN AND CANNOT TRUST (For Your Own Protection)

LEXI, CHARLIE & BEA

DISNEY TAKES THE PISS (Alarmingly Minimalistic)

AN EVER-FIXED MARK

COOL IN OUR ENSEMBLE SINS (Energizing My Wardrobe)

KATIE JOHNSON'S ONLY FAN

WONDROUS NEW PATHS SHOWN (The Song Inside)

DEAFENING SILENCE, CALLING ITSELF SOUND

MAKING CAR BOMBS WITH AYATOLLAH KHOMEINI

(Have The Dogma Dogs Already Won?)

CHEMTRAILS

HORNPIPE MELODY FOR BASSOONS AND FLUTE (Ping's The Thing)

THE LOADED LAUNDRY BASKET (In Your Corner)

BEGUILE OF THE SLAP PILE (Lad Bible Dogs)

SHAMROCK A'HEM TO THE SOUND OF JE T'AIME

JANE AUSTEN'S HOUSE

BÓTHAR CHLUAIN TARBH, BAILE ÁTHA CLIATH (Clontarf Road, Dublin)

LIKE NO OTHER

CROIX DE GUERRE (Maid Of Honour) (for Elaine Marie Madden)

EXCITING DEVELOPMENTS IN CONSTRUCTION DOWN TIME

THE CORRECT AMOUNT OF TIME SPENT IN A TOILET

DEAFENING SILENCE CALLING ITSELF SOUND

QUIET JOY OF LIFE (Better Part Of Ourselves) (for Alan Rickman and Rima Horton)

NO ONE'S CALLED EUSTACE ANYMORE

THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF LONG TROUSERS

Book 4 of 12 in the Left Luggage Series

"Woken-Up Flutter" by MARK BARRY from 'Significant Others' - Book 2 of 9 Poetry and Rhyme Books in the 'Left Luggage Series' (on Amazon sites in Paperback)

From my Book 'Significant Others'

Available on Amazon UK as a Paperback for £9.95

https://amzn.to/4m7IDdM

"Swamp Music: The Complete Monument Recordings" by TONY JOE WHITE – Featuring His First Three Studio Albums - "Black And White" and "…Continued" from June and October 1969 plus "Tony Joe" from July 1970 - All on Monument Records in Stereo. Extras Include Non-Album Singles, Album Outtakes and Previously Unreleased Live Material (on Disc 4) Recorded at The Isle Of Wight Festival in 1970 - Guest Cozy Powell on Drums (September 2006 USA Rhino Handmade 4CD Flip-Lid Box Set with Mini LP Repro Artwork Card Sleeves – Bill Inglot and Dan Hersch Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Swamp-Music-Complete-Monument-Recordings/dp/B000JJ3QTY?crid=Y52XC28A0RO6&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.WXUxuETjD-TxAGLUzObBmw.i82d7OVfdJO_YH4lrxwgcTtwjv5K74dkgm5k8u3IYOE&dib_tag=se&keywords=603497773121&qid=1756911506&sprefix=603497773121%2Caps%2C104&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=73e2fe5c082bbea8439bbb788dacd0d1&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

This Review and Over 394 More Like It

Are Available In My E-Book 

 

GIMME SHELTER!

CLASSIC 1960s ROCK ON CD 

And Other Genres Thereabouts 

 

Your All-Genres Guide To 

Exceptional Reissues and Remasters 

All Reviews From The Discs 

No Need To be Nervous!

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

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This Review and 354 More Like It 

Are Available in my e-Book...

 

ALL THINGS MUST PASS
1970

Your All-Genres Guide To

Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters 

Classic Albums, 45-Singles, Compilations 

ALL GENRES

Over 2,880 E-Pages of Reviews from the discs themselves

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

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"...Funky Fingers..."

Born in 1943 Louisiana as the seventh son (literally) in the White Family and reared on a weekly diet of Gospel and Church music – one fateful day Daddy White brought home a Lightnin' Hopkins album and the young Tony Joe was solid gone. 

Cut to the Union Chapel in Islington, London in 2014 (me and the missus present) and that young boy now walks on stage as a man with an electric guitar and a voice that rattles a church to its core as TJW simply says - "Evening Y'all!" Minutes later as he launches into his one-man Soul Francisco vibe – his loud boogie feels like the beginning of J.J. Cale morphing into a one-man ZZ Top. The effect as you can imagine is quite awesome… But then, amongst certain circles (especially within the industry) – Tony Joe White has always been a little bit special in the Mojo stakes. 

This fantastic September 2006 US 4CD Brick Block set from those fab dudes and dudettes over at Rhino Records offers up the first part of his career on Monument Records from 1968 to 1970 before he went for broke with Warner Brothers in 1971. If you find your neck jerking throughout in a Creedence Clearwater Revival meets J.J. Cale manner - then welcome to the vibe of Tony Joe White. To the swamp-mess details…

"Swamp Music: The Complete Monument Recordings" by TONY JOE WHITE was put out Stateside in September 2006 by Rhino Handmade on RHM2 7731 (Barcode 603497773121). Across 4 CDs and 83 tracks - it offers three full albums, the A&Bs of 10 x US 7" 45-singles (many non-album) and a whopping 41 Previously Unreleased. There are a lot of details to get through - so here are the dangerously well endowed Sheriff's Daughters and Dusty Marshmallows…

Disc 1 (75:37 minutes):
1. Willie And Laura Mae Jones [Side 1]
2. Soul Francisco
3. Aspen Colorado
4. Whompt Out On You
5. Don't Steal My Love
6. Pork Salad Annie
7. Who's Making Love [Side 2]
8. Scratch My Back
9. Little Green Apples
10. Wichita Lineman
11. The Look Of Love
Tracks 1 to 11 are his debut album "Black And White" released June 1969 in the USA on Monument Records SLP 18114 (Stereo Only) and June 1969 UK on Monument LMO 5027 (Mono) and SMO 5027 (Stereo) – Stereo Mix Used. Produced by Billy Swan. The LP first charted in the USA 26 July 1969, rose to a height of No. 51 with a 16-week chart run. In March 2021 and mastered by revered Sound Engineer KEVIN GRAY - "Black And White" by TONY JOE WHITE was reissued as a Limited Edition US-Pressed VINYL LP (of 1,000) on Analogue Productions AAPP 129 (Barcode 753088129315) - mastered from original tapes onto 180 Grams Audiophile Vinyl and featuring inserts plus a new interview with Original Producer BILLY SWAN. 

12. Willie And Laura Mae Jones (Alternate Version)
13. I Protest
14. A Man Can Only Stand Just So Much Pain (13 and 14 are the A&B-sides of a May 1968 US 7" single on Monument 45-1070)
15. Toil & Trouble (Early Version)
16. Georgia Pines (A-side of his March 1967 debut USA 7" single for Monument on Monument 45-1003, Produced by Ray Stevens)
17. It's Not What You Got
18. Prison Song
19. Hung up On You
20. Ten More Miles To Louisiana (B-side to "Georgia Pines", see 16)
21. Let The Party Roll On
22. Watching The Trains Go By (Alternate Version)
23. Georgia Pines (Alternate Version)
24. Baby Please Don't Go
Tracks 12, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23 and 24 are Previously Unreleased; Track 24 is the Big Joe Williams song made famous by Van Morrison's Them in the Sixties

Disc 2 (78:30 minutes):
1. Elements And Things [Side 1]
2. Roosevelt And Ira Lee (Night Of The Mossacin)
3. Woodpecker
4. Rainy Night In Georgia
5. For Le Ann
6. Old Man Willis [Side 2]
7. Woman With Soul
8. I Want You
9. I Thought I Knew You Well
10. The Migrant
Tracks 1 to 9 are his 2nd LP "…Continued" – released October 1969 in the USA on Monument SLP-18133 (Stereo) and February 1970 in the UK on Monument LMO 5035 (Mono) and SMO 5035 (Stereo) – Stereo Mix Used

11. Watching The Trains Go By (Single Version)
12. Old Man Willis (Single Version) (Tracks 11 and 12 are the A&B-sides of a February 1968 USA 7" single on Monument 45-1053)
13. Funky Fingers
14. Soul Britches
15. Dusty Marshmallow
16. Toil & Trouble
17. What Does It Take
18. This Guy's In Love With You
19. Woodpecker (Alternate Version)
20. Laying Out All Night
21. I Want Your Sweet Love
22. Keep A Movin' Train
Tracks 13 to 22 inclusive are Previously Unreleased

Disc 3 (73:30 minutes)
1. Stud Spider [Side 1]
2. High Sheriff Of Calhoun Parrish
3. Widow Wimberly
4. Conjure Woman
5. Save Your Sugar For Me
6. Hard To Handle [Side 2]
7. What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)
8. My Friend
9. Stockholm Blues
10. Boom Boom
Tracks 1 to 10 are his 3rd album "Tony Joe" - released July 1970 in the USA on Monument SLP-18142 in Stereo and August 1970 in the UK on Monument SMO 5043 in Stereo

11. Groupy Girl (B-side of the February 1970 USA 7" single "High Sheriff Of Calhoun County" on Monument MN-45-1193)
12. Prisoner
13. Do You Want My Love
14. Gospel Singer
15. I Hate To See You Cry
16. Dusty Marshmallow
17. I Can't Stand It
18. Mississippi River
Tracks 12 to 18 are all Previously Unreleased

Disc 4 (76:30 minutes):
1. Mississippi Delta
2. Chain Of Fools
3. Woodpecker
4. The Ballad Of Hollis Brown
5. Blue Monday
6. Tobacco Road/Dead End Street
7. Caress Me Babe?
8. Dusty Marshmallow
9. Just Look At You
10. Skinny Legs And All
Tracks 1 to 10 recorded at Barclay Studios March 1969 – all Previously Unreleased

11. Boom Boom (Live)
12. Roosevelt And Ira Lee (Night Of The Mossacin) (Live)
13. I Want You (Live)
14. Groupy Girl (Live)
15. Stud Spider (Live)
16. Pork Salad Annie (Live)
17. Save Your Sugar For Me (Live)
Tracks 11 to 17 recorded live at the Isle of Wight Festival 28 August 1970 - guest COZY POWELL on Drums

TONY JOE WHITE US Singles (UK follows below):

This Box set will allow fans to sequence all of the following American singles:

1. Georgia Pines b/w Ten More Miles To Louisiana (March 1967, Monument 45-1003 - Produced by RAY STEVENS - recorded October 1966)

2. Watching The Trains Go By b/w Old Man Willis (February 1968, Monument 45-1053)

3. I Protest b/w A Man Can Only Stand Just So Much Pain (May 1968, Monument 45-1070)

4. Soul Francisco b/w Whompt Out On You (August 1968, Monument MN 45-1086)

5. Pork Salad Annie b/w Aspen Colorado (October 1968, Monument MN45-1104)

6. Willie And Laura Mae Jones b/w Scratch My Back (27 June 1969 UK 45-Single on Monument MON 1036 in Stereo)

7. Roosevelt And Ira Lee (Night Of The Mossacin) b/w The Migrant (October 1969, Monument MN45-1169)

8. High Sheriff Of Calhoun County b/w Groupy Girl (February 1970, Monument MN 45-1193)

9. Save Your Sugar For Me b/w My Friend (May 1970, Monument MN45-1206)

10. Old Man Willis b/w Scratch My Back (October 1970, Monument MN45-1227)

TONY JOE WHITE UK 45-Singles Discography for Monument Records:

1. Soul Francisco b/w Whompt Out On You (September 1968, Monument MON 1024)

2. Pork Salad Annie b/w Aspen Colorado (February 1969, Monument MON 1031)

3. Willie And Laura Mae Jones b/w Scratch My Back (June 1969, Monument MON 1036)

4. Roosevelt And Ira Lee b/w The Migrant (October 1969, Monument MON 1040)

5. Groupy Girl b/w High Sheriff Of Calhoun Parish (June 1970, Monument MON 1043)

6. A Night In The Life Of A Swamp Fox b/w The Daddy (June 1971, Warners Brothers WB 6129)

Compiled by BILL INGLOT and MASON WILLIAMS with Tape Research and Mastering done by BILL INGLOT and DAN HERSCH – the mini box set features a flip-back lid with 4 repro sleeves and a booklet contained within. The quality of the oversized card sleeves is superb with most of the rear liner notes and credits perfectly readable (even on the hard-to-read rear sleeve of the "Tony Joe" album). The sepia-feel 36-page booklet is numbered on the rear page to 5000 and features detailed liner notes by BEN EDMONDS and interviews with Tony Joe White, Friend and Musical Advisor Bob Beckham and Producer Billy Swan. Interspersed between the dense texts are full-page shots of several Monument 7" singles (some demos) and comprehensive reissue details at the rear. The remasters are fantastic – bringing out that deeply funky groove and far better than what I had before. 

His debut LP "Black And White" has huge fan-craves like "Soul Francisco" ("...some of those children got something to say…") and the equally cool "Pork Salad Annie". The racist-realistic "Willie And Laura Mae Jones" proved just too gritty for US radio. Side 1 gems too include the rarely heard "Don't Steal My Love" - a fantastic groover. After the hammerblow of originality and sheer TJW personality that hits you on Side 1 of the "Black And White" LP - Side 2 sounds something like another planet - Glen Campbell-light - and not in a good way. Having clearly run out of originals - Side 2 is almost all cover versions. The tail end of these is the undoing for me – saccharine versions of "Little Green Apples" and "The Look Of Love" where you can feel his cool wincing. 

Far better is his "right there!" take on Slim Harpo's "Scratch My Back" and amongst the previously unreleased are great discoveries like "Prison Song" ("...breaking up rocks in the hot, hot sun…"). It is not all good. The Mickey Newbury cover "A Man Can Only Stand Just So Much Pain" is a poppy brass-jabber that is awful and the early 45 "Georgia Pines" and its B-side sound like a Monkees-wannabe looking to jump on their bandwagon. The alternate "Willie And Laura Mae Jones" has great brass jabs and a spoken go-for-it pep-talk from Swan that sets up the take. An early take with wild guitar for "Toil And Trouble" is fabulous stuff - gruff and funking (be glad of what you got) and a have-at-it go at "Baby Please Don't Go" that sounds like Them on speed. I must also reiterate how good this Remaster of "Black And White" sounds - no wonder renowned Remaster Engineer KEVIN GRAY did an Audiophile LP version for Analogue Productions in 2021. 

Produced by Billy Swan (who would later have huge hits of his own on Monument Records in the mid Seventies) – the "…Continued" album did what it said on the tin – more Swamp Music tales of strange families ("Roosevelt And Ira Lee (Night of The Mossacin)", leery moonshiners ("Old Man Willis", a great guitar-and-brass groover) and perplexing ladies ("I Thought I Knew You Well"). Other nuggets include "I Want You" - a fantastic groove with chugging guitar and Mike Utley putting in some funky organ. But it's strange now from the distance of 2025 to think that two of his most famous songs "Willie And Laura Mae Jones" and "Rainy Night In Georgia" never made it onto a US 45-single - "Willie And Laura Mae Jones" came out in the UK. Both Brook Benton and Eddie Floyd did fabulously soulful versions of "Rainy Night In Georgia" in 1970 - while Randy Crawford would make it a worldwide hit in 1981 (and probably paid a few TJW bills in the meantime). Fans of that groove are gonna die for the double-whammy of "Funky Fingers" and "Soul Britches" amongst the previously unreleased tunes – cool groovers with fabulous brass and organ backing. And as they play you can just see nattily dressed go-go dancers giving it some serious hip swivelling in some hip 6t's nightclub. Yeah baby…

Amongst its ten tracks the 3rd album "Tony Joe" harbours six originals and four superbly chosen covers – Otis Redding's "Hard To Handle", Jr. Walker & The All Stars "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)", John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom" and a new one from Donnie Fritts and Dewey Oldham called "My Friend". Like Dan Penn, Spooner Oldham and Eddie Hinton - Alabama-born white soul boy Donnie Fritts has been an underground hero for over 40 years – he would in fact record his own version of "My Friend" on the "Prone To Lean" album on Atlantic Records in 1974.

For fans Disc 4 is a total treat – the studio tracks are basically him playing funky solo renditions of songs he likes in his own inimitable way – Bobby Gentry’s "Mississippi Delta", Don Covay's "Chain Of Fools", a jagged "Ballad Of Hollis Brown" by Dylan and Joe Tex's "Skinny Legs And All". But best for me are the TJW originals called "Blue Monday" and "Caress Me Babe?" where he gets closest to his slyly sexy Lightnin' Hopkins roots. The 1970 "Isle Of Wight" stuff is live and rough - but you can hear the crowd grooving to his passionate Swamp Funk on "I Want You" where TJW goes at it with bravado. And with his Fogerty growls and Harmonica on "Stud Spider" - he sounds like a funked-up Dylan determined to shock his audience.

I've long been of the reasoning that J.J. Cale nicked his sound from Tony Joe White, Clapton nicked it from J.J. Cale and Mark Knopfler nicked it from all three for his Dire Straits debut. Tina Turner would take TJW's rock-groovy "Steamy Windows" and make another sexy worldwide hit too. Whatever way you look at it – this is a fabulous (if not illusive) box set. And while Rhino Handmade did not do the same for his fabulous Warners Brothers albums that quickly followed his termination with Monument Records - the Rhino-associated Real Gone Music did just that in February 2015 with their "The Complete Warner Brothers Recordings" 2CD set. It includes the Albums "Tony Joe White" (1971), "The Train I'm On" (1972), "Homemade Ice Cream" (1973), Single Sides and More (see my separate review).

In the meantime "Swamp Music" is the very best of starting points and a cool way to sample why so many followed/half-inched Tony Joe White's Crocodile shoes. Swamp Rock, Americana, Rock-Funk - Creedence meets J.J. Cale via Clapton and early Dire Straits - tis all here brother...

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"Echoes Of You" by ANNA BODICOAT ELYARD - A Book Zine of Poems from June 2025 - A Review by Mark Barry...

"Echoes Of You" by ANNA BODICOAT ELYARD

A Book of Poems - June 2025

(Illustrations by Vivian Meadowes And Rowan & Fern Bodicoat Elyard)

As the author of nine books of poems and purchaser of one-too-many pamphlets and mini-books of poetry that don't quite cut it - it's a pleasure and something else to stumble on a writer that reminds me of Wendy Cope and Sophie Hannah - nice author company to be keeping any day of your rhetorical week.

"Echoes Of You" by ANNA BODICOAT ELYARD is only 20-pages long - a poetry zine if you like. But each piece is accompanied by related pencil drawings and what I love about it is the warmth of the works. Too many writers try to impress - come off all deep and aloof - Anna's mini-book is about becoming a parent and staying the course. You can feel the personal growth - the awe - the pride - the physical weariness that accompanies such a lifetime commitment. 

Everything changes when you have kids (we've got three - 34, 30 and 27) and pieces like "Skylark" and "You Start School Tomorrow" with their screaming songs and food-allergy-likes shopping lists nail that feeling. I won't spoil it for you by indepthing all of the work - suffice to say - this is a great start and a name you want to remember. I purchased two copies at an open-mic night at the '101 Social Club' in Northdown Road in Cliftonville, Margate on Wednesday 6 Aug 2025.  

Nice work Anna and keep on keeping on...

"Baz And Franklin Inadvertently Go Bananas" - A Poem for FRANKLIN KWAWU who passed July 2022 by Mark Barry - for a Friend and His Family...

For our Friend and his family - FRANKLIN KWAWU
Who passed 31 July 2022
A Poem by Mark Barry

          BAZ AND FRANKLIN INADVERTENTLY GO BANANAS

             (Laughing With Each Other And Not At Each Other)

A pasty-faced midriff Irishman and chubby-cheeked African American

Enter the South Woodford Odeon in 2008 with no idea of what’s on

Yet, in a flash-flood moment of on-the-go Mensa-level decision making

They settle on a movie poo-pooed by critics, but publicly beloved

Redoing the minor fleapit rounds. Yes folks – back by popular demand

It's Mamma Mia – a feature film with a lot of ABBA songs in it

A movie where a dungaree-clad Meryl Streep mulls over a Greek Island

Tragedy and the kind of fanny-fulfilling quandary that all ladies dread

(especially post the have-at-it-goer-years of old)

How do I navigate the triple-lock Shagathon that will be bonking senseless

Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgärd (yet again)

Without any of these three-possible-fathers knowing of their lost progeny

Who turned out to be an even bigger sea-and-sandals-sexpot than their mum…

Armed with triple-scoops of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream and Coke cartons

Bigger than Paraguay's national debt and King Kong's loving derriere

We quickly seat our late asses in the bat-blind disconcerting pitch black

But the moment the dappled-sea of the Mediterranean hits the screen

We notice that the small crowd of thirty or so are all Men decked out

In truly garish Seventies-period ABBA outfits complete with sequined 

Pink-heart belly-button cut-out crush-velvet onesies, feather boas

Handmade skinny knob-stems (as mikes) and PRIDE colour schemes…

Up comes the lyrics to the first song with a bouncing ball across the words

And the entire audience goes into mini-microphone waving routines

As they start laying into a full-throated Sound of Music Leicester Square

Type thing, because that's what it is, a Sing-Along Showing of Mamma Mia

Both Chunky Monkey and Banana Ripple Boys titter at their good luck

As we join in on what soon becomes an all-comers Disco Hootenanny…

I have many memories of Franklin like that, the two of us on the raz

Having a laugh, indulging in our dual passion for big-screen movies

And cool food accoutrements that sported way too many calories

And now he's gone, after years of cholesterol and heart complications

His grown-up kids Lauren and Selase mourning his loss on Facebook

Me sat there, with tears running down my face

But not like the tears of fun we had that night

When we were welcomed into their world and laughed ourselves silly

Alongside Trans Pop Music fans praising how well Frida and Agnetha

Have aged and aren't the music and fashion of Sweden just the best…

Originally from Ghana, and returned home to Africa in his final years

I have many memories of Franklin Kwawu, my unlikely pal, like that…

So, here's to the people who travel across oceans to better their lot

Who raise a family through thick and thin

Trek into work in the miserable rain, despite being worse for the wear

Here's to the risk-takers and mistake-makers and diversity jawbreakers

With their fuck-adversity determination to be true to themselves

Here's to friends chatting on a WhatsApp Video Call across continents

One now in a wheelchair, relearning speech after the first hobbling stroke

Here's to two very Hetro Types singing along with a troupe of very Gay Men

Laughing with each other and not at each other

The Dancing Queens and Super Troopers shaking their tailfeathers

Loving a Voulez Vous moment of pleasure 

So unexpected and acceptance divine

Here's to breaking down barriers, instinctive forward motion

To bringing cheer, to reaching out, remembering life at its best

Going loco, going nuts, going bananas with the best audience ever

Shedding skin in our drab picket-fence sexual stodginess

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"Hot Buttered Singles Volume 2: 1972-1976" by ISAAC HAYES – Twenty 45-Single Sides on Enterprise, Stax Records and Hot Buttered Soul/ABC Records in their 7" Single Edited Forms – Musicians Include The Bar-Kays, The Isaac Hayes Movement and a Duet with David Porter (April 2025 UK Ace Records CD Compilation of Nick Robbins Remasters – Volume 2 of a Series) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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HIGHER GROUND 
70ts Soul, R'n'B, Funk, Jazz Fusion
Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters  

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RATINGS: 

Content **** 

Audio and Presentation *****

"…Ike's Mood 20…"

Second Volume from those terribly with-it chappies over at Ace Records for the Singles Discography of all thangs Isaac Hayes on Enterprise, Hot Buttered Soul and ABC Records. 

Volume 1 hit us in October 2024 (Single CD, 2LP Vinyl set – the same here) and was something of an instant classic with fans and collectors alike. 

But - despite the NICK ROBBINS Remasters delivering big time and containing Enterprise and HBS/ABC single-sides that are difficult to find on CD – even the most die-hard shafting enthusiast would have to contend that Hayes pursued that Disco Dollar just a little too much in the later years (the "Juicy Fruit..." stuff isn't exactly my cup of Darjeeling) - so some of Volume 2 (like Volume 1) has not dated well. And there was the "Wonderful" 9-Track CD compilation that gathered up much of this stuff in Phil De Lancie Remastered form back in September 1994 (issued both in the USA and UK/Europe) which any self-respecting IH fan would already have. But here in April 2025 - that was more than 30-years ago – so updates ahoy.

This gold-chain-clanking beastie contains things like the sought-after B-side "Type Thang" that was featured in the Blaxploitation movie "Shaft's Big Score" but not on the vinyl album, the two single-edits of "Joy Pt 1" and "Joy Pt 2" that will allow fans to hear a more manageable eight-minutes of this wickedly good groove rather than the overdone near 16-minute LP version and the B-side instrumental 45-edit to "Hung Up On My Baby" from the "Tough Guys" Soundtrack of 1974. 

Fans and buyers alike should also note that although Volume 1 was dated 1969 to 1972 – space restrictions did not allow Ace to include his last 45 for that year in Volume 1. Thus Ike's last 45 of 1972 opens Volume 2 (September 1972 in the USA and November 1972 in the UK) - the rest concentrating on 1973 to 1976 on Enterprise Records and his own Hot Buttered Soul label (issued via ABC Records). 

So – and as it is with so many compilations - "Hot Buttered Singles Volume 2: 1972-1976" by Isaac Hayes has its highs and lows - but even the slips are not that bad. The UK VINYL 2LP Set (also issued 25 April 2025) on Ace Records HIQLP2 154 (Barcode 029667026116) offers the full 20-tracks/liner notes and will surely become a sought-after double. To the damn-right-baby details…

UK released Friday, 25 April 2025 - "Hot Buttered Singles Volume 2: 1972-1976" by ISAAC HAYES on Ace Records CDTOP 1660 (Barcode 029667112628) is a 20-Track Remastered CD Compilation of 45-Single Side Edits And Non-LP Material that plays out as follows (this review provides both US and UK 45-Single Discography details - 77:12 minutes total playing time):

1. Theme From The Men (Instrumental) (4:00 minutes)
2. Type Thang (3:49 minutes)
USA: released 18 September 1972, Enterprise ENA-9058, A&B-sides
UK: released 3 November 1972, Stax Records 2025 146, A&B-sides
A-side is a Leon Ware and Jacqueline Hilliard song. Later recorded by Third Creation and issued (Promo-only) in the USA on Motown M 1250F in 1973. The B-side Type Thang was featured in the "Shaft's Big Score" film but not on the soundtrack album.

3. Rolling Down A Mountainside (4:18 minutes)
4. (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right (4:43 minutes)
USA: March 1973, Enterprise ENA-9065, A&B-sides as above
UK: 20 April 1973, Stax 2025 117, sides reversed, A-side was (If Loving You…)

5. Joy Pt 1 (4:35 minutes)
6. Joy Pt 2 (3:41 minutes)
USA: released November 1973, Enterprise ENA-9085, A&B-sides
UK: released 8 February 1974, Stax Records 2025 220, A&B-sides
Note: A&B-sides is an Isaac Hayes song – the full length 15:55 minute album cut is on the October 1973 US LP "Joy" on Enterprise ENS-5007 (October 1973 UK on Stax 2325 111, reissued UK on Stax STX 1016 in August 1974)

7. Wonderful (3:37 minutes)
8. Someone Made You For Me (4:00 minutes)
USA: released March 1974, Enterprise ENA-9095
UK: no UK issue
Note: Non-LP track in the USA at the time of release. A -side by Isaac Hayes, B-side by Henry Glover (both produced by IH). Finally released on a US compilation CD album called "Wonderful" in September 1994 on Stax SCD-8585-2 (Stax CDSXE 112 in the UK). The 9-track "Wonderful" CD compilation gathered up seven of his Non-LP Enterprise US singles and added in two Live Songs from the "Wattstax/The Living Word" two double-albums - "Ain't No Sunshine" (a Bill Withers cover at 17:38 minutes) and a longer live take of "Rolling Down A Mountainside" at 5:27 minutes – both recorded in Los Angeles, 20 August 1972 (from Volume 1 and 2 respectively)

9. Title Theme (2:32 minutes)
10. Hung Up On My Baby (Instrumental) (3:37 minutes)
USA: released July 1974, Enterprise ENA-9104, A&B-sides
UK: released 30 August 1974, Stax STXS 2004, A&B-sides
Note: the A-side is the same length as the "Tough Guys" Soundtrack LP cut to the Paramount film "Three Tough Guys" – but the B-side is an edit to the full-length LP version of 6:15 minutes

11. Chocolate Chip (Vocal) (3:45 minutes)
12. Chocolate Chip (Instrumental) (4:05 minutes)
USA: released August 1975, Hot Buttered Soul/ABC Records ABC-12118, A&B-sides
UK: released 22 August 1975, ABC Records ABC 4076, A&B-sides
Note: written by IH, both tracks from the 1975 US LP "Chocolate Chip" on Hot Buttered Soul/ABC Records ABCD-874 - LP versions are 5:30 and 5:32 minutes respectively

13. Come Live With Me (3:24 minutes)
14. Body Language (3:45 minutes)
USA: released October 1975, Hot Buttered Soul/ABC Records ABC-12138, A&B-sides
UK: no UK issue
Note: written by IH, both tracks from the 1975 US LP "Chocolate Chip" on Hot Buttered Soul/ABC Records ABCD-874 – LP versions are 6:35 and 5:31 minutes respectively

15. Disco Connection (3:38 minutes)
16. St. Thomas Square (4:39 minutes)
USA: released 15 February 1976, Hot Buttered Soul/ABC Records ABC-12171, A&B-sides
UK: released 19 March 1976, Hot Buttered Soul/ABC Records ABC 4100, A&B-sides
Note: credited to ISAAC HAYES MOVEMENT – both tracks on the 1975 US LP "Disco Connection" on Hot Buttered Soul/ABC Records ABCD-923 – LP versions are 6:14 and 5:52 minutes respectively

17. Rock Me Easy Baby (Pt.1) (3:32 minutes)
18. Rock Me Easy Baby (Pt.2) (3:55 minutes)
USA: released April 1976, Hot Buttered Soul/ABC Records ABC-12176, A&B-sides
UK: released 11 June 1976, Hot Buttered Soul/ABC Records ABC 4111, A&B-sides
Note: from the 1976 US LP "Groove-A-Thon" on Hot Buttered Soul/ABC Records ABCD-925 – full LP version is 8:17 minutes

19. Juicy Fruit (Disco Freak) Pt. I (3:43 minutes)
20. Juicy Fruit (Disco Freak) Pt. II (3:07 minutes)
USA: released August 1976, Hot Buttered Soul/ABC Records ABC-12206, A&B-sides
UK: released 10 September 1976, Hot Buttered Soul/ABC Records ABC 4136, A&B-sides
Note: from the 1976 US LP "Juicy Fruit (Disco Freak)" on Hot Buttered Soul/ABC Records ABCD-953 – full LP version is 6:15 minutes

As it was with Volume 1 - the 16-page booklet of Volume 2 features fantastically detailed liner notes from Ace's long-standing Soul Expert and Scribe – TONY ROUNCE – a sure sign of quality – and clearly a big fan of the mighty Hayes. All pages are sided with US, UK and European label repros and rare picture sleeves (dig the Pic Sleeves for "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right" and "Joy" on Pages 5 and 7). By the time we get to 1974, 1975 and 1976 – most territories have dispensed with anything as elaborate as a picture sleeve and instead the booklet pops for 45 Promo Copies on the Hot Buttered Soul/ABC Records labels. A good read and fabulous Remasters from long-time Audio Engineer for Ace - NICK ROBBINS – this period featuring super clear Production values and a band in the pocket every time – even if the material does not reach the pinnacle of his earlier Stax output. To the tunes…

For 1972, "Theme From The Men" sounds like Disco four years before the charts caught on to its rhythms – gorgeous audio as those strings and brass jabs kick in. Loving the wah-wah and arrangement that has the slightest touch of 007 about its swagger. Followed by one of my fave-raves - you're a square type-thang if you're feet ain't moving to the so-period Soundtrack-meets-Soul of "Type Thang". Strings feature heavily before the Big Ike comes in with his winners-and-losers chocolate éclair vocals - "Rolling Down A Mountainside" – the Movement funking with those brass and strings backing up by a driving beat. I doubt there a wrong version of the right love song that is "(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right" – a fabulous Homer Banks, Carl Hampton and Raymond Jackson song made famous by Luther Ingram and others. Many countries probably played this over the official A. 

You can feel the sophistication and era changes in "Joy" – a fabulous groove on an admittedly patchy album (of the same name). Whittled down from its marathon 16-minutes on the LP – Hayes cleverly gives Part 2 to DJs on the flipside so with two copies they could cue-in Part II as punters got into the groove they did not want to end. This joyful Funky pairing is my current go-to combo on this compilation. "Wonderful" is another cool groove even if the lyrics are a tad cheesy – a Non-LP 45 with the Bacharach/David-embracing smoocher "Someone Made You For Me" on the flipside. No such lurve shenanigans with the wild guitars and very Blaxploitation vibe to "Title Theme" (the movie Two Tough Guys) – warbling high-hats, fuzz licks and brass – the production though has always bothered me and still does. Way better is the high-stepping instrumental "Hung Up On My Baby" which feels like George Benson and Phil Upchurch with something funky going on in a sensual guitar way (brass joins the soloing about one and half-minutes in to fab effect, followed by a fuzzed-up Isley Brothers type guitar solo). You can so hear why this cut is sought after – all business and no bollox.

Both cuts of "Chocolate Chip" have a relentlessly Funky backbeat that must have torn up dancefloors - James Brown and Isaac Hayes melted into one brass-driving gem. Time to lurve baby - Ike has done a lot of playing around (big cities and smaller towns) but now he's found a girl he wants to settle with and she needs to "Come Live With Me". Gorgeous production values for sure and a clear Remaster - but this kind of soppy smooch is hard to hack in 2025. Better is the guitar, high hat and piano slink in "Body Language" where her action produces satisfaction (steady now Ike). And again - really great audio with presence and power as the strings lift things up about 1:25 minutes in. 

For me the ever-so-slight rot started in on "Disco Connection" - a half-decent groove but one that still feels somehow uninspired. But I had forgotten how good the instrumental B-side "St. Thomas Square" was - a pleasant surprise. 1976 and we're embracing a combo of Disco and Funk with (mostly) great results - his "Rock Me Easy Baby" and "Juicy Fruit (Disco Freak)" singles filled with loverman lyrics and sexy-lexy 'long as you please me' grooves (check out Part 2 of Rock Me Easy Baby – heavy on the Tablas and Heavy breathing). For sure "Juicy Fruit..." is the lesser of the two – but I know genre lovers who swear it's a forgotten deep cut that should be revisited. And again - fantastic audio filling your overheating speakers.

Like its predecessor Volume 1 - despite its occasional dips - I am going to keep coming back to "Hot Buttered Singles Volume 2: 1972-1976". This is another win-win compilation for Ace - suave Symphonic Soul and Funk making me dig it...easy baby...

This Review Along With 310 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

TUMBLING DICE - 1972
- Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters 

Just Click Below To Purchase for £4.95

Thousands and Thousands of E-Pages of Real Info

All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs Themselves

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1976 - MORE THAN A FEELING - Your All-Genres Guide To Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters - A SOUNDS GOOD MUSIC BOOK by Mark Barry...

1976

MORE THAN A FEELING 

Your All-Genres e-Book Guide To 

Exceptional CD Reissues & Remasters

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

Just Click Below To Purchase (No Cut and Paste Crap)

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* A Huge 1,243 e-Pages of information in your e-Book
* 151 in-depth reviews for quality CD Reissues and Remasters across many genres

* Spring 2025 Draft

* Formats included - CD, SACD [Super Audio CD], HDCD [High Density Compatible Digital], Japan SHM-CD and Japan Platinum SHM-CD  [Super High Materials] 

* Major Label Box Set Retrospectives from – EMI, Sony/Legacy, Universal and WEA

* Best Independent Reissue Labels highlighted...

– Ace, Audio Fidelity, Bear Family, Beats Goes On, Big Break Records (BBR), Cherry Red, Craft Recordings, Earth, Edsel, Esoteric Recordings, Grapefruit, Hip-O Select, Lemon, Light In The Attic, Mobile Fidelity, Raven, Repertoire, Rev-Ola, Rhino, Salvo, Soul Music Records, Sundazed and Panegyric 

* Technical data from the discs themselves (total playing times and more)

* Release Date, Catalogue No and Barcode to locate the correct issue

* CD Track lists and Details on Bonus material (if any)

* VINYL Discographies referencing CD Box sets (track numbers to sequence singles and albums from the discs – huge number of record labels covered

* UK and US catalogue numbers and release dates for original vinyl albums, 7" singles and EPs within each review

* Remaster/Tape Transfer Engineers highlighted 

* Packaging descriptions, size of booklets, what's contained within, who wrote the liner notes, repro artwork explained 

* Reference to the Audio Quality of the CD - analysis of songs 

* Guest Musicians highlighted – Cover Versions noted

Having worked for RECKLESS RECORDS in London for over 20 years as one of their principal Vinyl and CD buyers (one of the best secondhand record shops in the West End) and having been an Amazon Hall Of Fame Reviewer six times - as you can imagine - I come across a huge number of reissues - some far more worthy than others. 

To that end I've collated together these SOUNDS GOOD MUSIC BOOKS as guides to Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters offering up in-depth reviews on a wide range of titles. And it doesn't have to cost the earth to Sound Good either – you just need to know which CD is the right issue to buy. 

Like my e-Books for the Seventies first five years proved (1970 to 1975) - the Rock Music is King onslaught continued full pelt in 1976 (especially American Rock) with elements of Disco, Soul and Jazz Funk beginning also to dominate. But this equally productive year also showed music lovers continuing to spread their listening wings – embracing genres many thought conservative ears would never give the time of day to (Reggae, Country, Blues Rock, Avant Garde, Jazz Fusion and Prog and Disco in 1976 - that would eek out a niche amongst fans and dancers until 1980 and years beyond. And while you'll undoubtedly see some well-known titles in here - others were obscure even then and remain so to this day (if they're worth a digital revisit, I like to champion them all). 

Many entries in this large and unique book cost less than £10 too, while others are under a fiver. And even if some Box Sets/Deletions have acquired a price tag - because they’re the best I've included them along with artists/titles that deserve your attention…

Enjoy The Reads - MARK BARRY (2025)

PS: in this series, see also

1968 - VOODOO CHILE

1969 - WHOLE LOTTA LOVE 

1970 - ALL THINGS MUST PASS

1971 - GET IT ON

1972 - TUMBLING DICE 

1973 - US AND THEM 

1974 - PICK UP THE PIECES

1975 - CAPT. FANTASTIC

1976 - MORE THAN A FEELING

1977 to 1979 - PROVE IT ALL NIGHT