"Now Yearbook '71" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Featuring Elton John, Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart, T.Rex, Cat Stevens, Diana Ross, Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, Tami Lynn, The Delfonics, The Tams, Al Green, Middle Of The Road, The Sweet, The Kinks, Neil Diamond, New Seekers, Judy Collins, Lobo, Marmalade, Olivia Newton-John, Elvis Presley, Gilbert O'Sullivan, Lynn Anderson, John Denver, Peter Noone, Cher, Dawn with Tony Orlando, Titanic, Deep Purple, Badfinger, Curved Air, The Who, Free, Redbone, Janis Joplin, Family, Three Dog Night, Mungo Jerry, Slade, Clive Dunn, C.C.S, Atomic Rooster, Bill Withers, The Elgins and many more (August 2026 UK Sony Music/EMI 80-Track 4CD Deluxe Edition Hardback Book Sleeve Version with 45-Single and Album Remasters) – A Review by Mark Barry…

Amazon UK Purchase Link for the Deluxe Edition Hardback Sleeve Version

https://link.amazon/B01XCsVIp

----------------------------------------------------------

This Review Along With 378 Others Is Available 

In My SOUNDS GOOD E-Book (on all Amazon sites)

GET IT ON - 1971

Your All-Genres Guide To

Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters  

A HUGE 3,136 e-Pages 

All Details and In-Depth Reviews From The Discs Themselves 

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

Just Click Below To Google, Purchase or See My Author Page

For the SOUNDS GOOD Music Books Series (32 Titles in all)

"…You Stole My Heart…Couldn't Leave You If I Tried…"

As ever with these 4CD Sony Music/EMI Yearbook releases – 1971 presents genius and drivel sat uncomfortably alongside each other on every disc. 

Thankfully being such a pivotal year for the Seventies – 1971 has way more good than bad - even if the stingy playing times of 58-and-64-minutes and absences on Discs 2 and 4 rancour. Here are the track-by-track details, noting remasters where they're used and playing times from the CDs (the companion volume 'Extra' Set arrives with 61 More 1971 Tracks (3CDs) on Friday, 9 October 2026 which I will also review shortly (for 1971 Now Discography, see list below)…

UK released Friday, 28 August 2026 - "Now Yearbook '71" [aka Now Yearbook 1971] by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Sony Music/EMI CDYBXNOW71 / 00199584531922 (Barcode 199584531922 ) is an 80-Track 4CD Deluxe Edition Hardback Book Version that plays out as follows (track timings from the CDs):

CD1: 70:14 minutes (20 Tracks) 
1. Your Song – ELTON JOHN (January 1971 UK 45-single on DJM Records DJS 233, A-side – 4:02 minutes)

2. Another Day – PAUL MCCARTNEY (February 1971 UK Debut Solo 45-single on Apple Records R 5889, A-side - 3:41 minutes - 2001 Remaster)

3. Maggie May (Single Version) – ROD STEWART (July 1971 UK 45-single on Mercury 6052 097, B-side of the Album Version of "Reason To Believe" (a Tim Hardin cover). The song "Maggie Mae" was originally a B-side until UK and US DJs flipped the single and began only playing "MM" which made 'Mae' the undisputed hit (it famously went to No.1 in both the USA and UK). The British single, however, was never officially issued or reissued at the time with "Maggie Mae" as the actual 'A' despite what many claim 55 years later - 3:42 minutes) - for the A-side "Reason To Believe" (Album Version) see Track 1 on CD4

4. Get It On – T. REX (July 1971 UK 45-single on Fly Records BUG 10 - 4:24 minutes)
5. Sweet Caroline – NEIL DIAMOND (February 1971 UK 45-single on Uni Records UNS 531, A-side - 3:21 minutes)
6. Take Me Home, Country Roads – JOHN DENVER with Fat City (September 1971 UK 45-single on RCA Victor RCA 2118, A-side 3:10 minutes)
7. Rose Garden – LYNN ANDERSON (January 1971 UK 45-single on CBS Records 5360, A-side 2:56 minutes)
8. If Not For You – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (February 1971 UK 45-single on Pye International 7N 25543, A-side - a Bob Dylan cover - 2:49 minutes)
9. Wild World – CAT STEVENS (January 1971 US 45-single on A&M Records 1231, A-side - "Wild World" and its flipside "Miles From Nowhere" (both tracks from the 1970 LP "Tea For The Tillerman") was not issued as a 7" single in the UK - 3:20 minutes)
10. That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be – CARLY SIMON (June 1971 UK 45-single on Elektra Records Ek 47524, A-side - 4:16 minutes)
11. I'm Still Waiting – DIANA ROSS (July 1971 UK 45-single on Tamla Motown TMG 781, A-side - 3:45 minutes)
12. I'll Be There – JACKSON 5 (August 1970 US 45-single on Motown M-1171, A-side - November 1970 UK 45 on Tamla Motown TMG 758, A-side - it went to No. 4 in the UK but hit No.1 in their native USA with Michael Jackson on Lead Vocals - 3:58 minutes)
13. La-La Means I Love You – THE DELFONICS (June 1971 UK 45-single on Bell Records BLL 1165, A-side - it was a reissue of a December 1967 US 45 originally on Philly Groove NS 1001 - also their 60s debut 45 in the UK in September 1968 on Bell BLL 1005 - but didn't chart then. In 1971 the reissue made No. 19 in the UK Pop charts - 3:20 minutes)
14. Tired Of Being Alone – AL GREEN (August 1971 UK 45-single on London HLU 10337, A-side - 2:51 minutes)
15. Indiana Wants Me – R. DEAN TAYLOR (February 1971 UK 45-single on Tamla Motown TMG 763, A-side - 3:47 minutes)
16. The Banner Man – BLUE MINK (May 1971 UK 45-single on Regal Zonophone RZ 3034, A-side - 3:29 minutes)
17. Freedom Come, Freedom Go – THE FORTUNES (August 1971 UK 45-single on Capitol CL 15693, A-side - 3:19 minutes)
18. Co-Co – THE SWEET (May 1971 UK 45-single on RCA Victor RCA 2087, A-side - 3:10 minutes)
19. Apeman – THE KINKS (November 1970 UK 45-single on Pye International 7N 45016, A-side - hit No 5. in January 1971 - 3:51 minutes - 2014 Remaster)
20. She's A Lady – TOM JONES (January 1971 UK 45-single on Decca F 13113, A-side - 2:50 minutes)

CD2: 58:48 minutes (20 Tracks)
1. Amazing Grace – JUDY COLLINS (November 1970 UK 45-single on Elektra Records 2101 020, A-side - February 1971 at No. 5 - 4:06 minutes)
2. Oh You Pretty Things – PETER NOONE (April 1971 UK 45-single on RAK Records RAK 114, A-side - Produced by Mickie Most - a David Bowie cover version - 3:05 minutes)
3. Something Tells Me (Something's Gonna Happen Tonight) – CILLA BLACK (November 1971 UK 45-single on Parlophone R 5924, A-side - 2:27 minutes)
4. Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves – CHER (September 1971 UK 45-single on MCA Records MU 1142, A-side - 2:35 minutes)
5. Jack In The Box – CLODAGH RODGERS (March 1971 UK 45-single on RCA Victor RCA 2066, A-side - 3:00 minutes)
6. Knock Three Times – DAWN (featuring TONY ORLANDO) (March 1971 UK 45-single on Bell Records BLL 1146, A-side - 2:57 minutes)
7. The Pushbike Song – THE MIXTURES (December 1970 UK 45-single on Polydor 2058 083, A-side - 2:31 minutes)
8. Rupert – JACKIE LEE (November 1970 UK 45-single on Pye International 7N 45003, A-side - Theme Song from the 'Rupert' TV Show - 2:16 minutes)
9. Me And You And A Dog Named Boo – LOBO (May 1971 UK 45-single on Philips 6073 801, A-side - 2:57 minutes)
10. (Where Do I Begin) Love Story – ANDY WILLIAMS (February 1971 UK 45-single on CBS Records S 7020, A-side - Theme Music To The 'Love Story' film starring Ryan O'Neal and Ali Mac Graw - 3:08 minutes)
11. It's Impossible – PERRY COMO (January 1971 UK 45-single on RCA Victor RCA 2043, A-side - 3:15 minutes)
12. You Don't Have To Say You Love Me – ELVIS PRESLEY (January 1971 UK 45-single on RCA Victor RCA 2046, A-side - 2:31 minutes)
13. Till – TOM JONES (October 1971 UK 45-single on Decca FR 13236, A-side - 2:18 minutes)
14. I Did What I Did For Maria – TONY CHRISTIE (April 1971 UK 45-single on MCA Records MK 5064, A-side - 3:29 minutes)
15. Keep On Dancing – BAY CITY ROLLERS (June 1971 UK 450-single on Bell Records BLL 1164, A-side - 2:07 minutes)
16. No Matter How I Try – GILBERT O'SULLIVAN (November 1971 UK 45-single on MAM Records MAM 53, A-side - Non-LP Release - 45-Only - 3:00 minutes)
17. Cousin Norman – THE MARMALADE (August 1971 UK 45-single on Decca F 13214, A-side - 3:11 minutes)
18. Tom-Tom Turnaround – NEW WORLD (June 1971 UK 45-single on RAK Records RAK 117, A-side - 3:18 minutes)
19. Don't Let It Die – HURRICANE SMITH (May 1971 UK 45-single on Columbia DB 8785, A-side - 2:33 minutes)
20. I Believe (In Love) – HOT CHOCOLATE (August 1971 UK 45-single on RAK Records RAK 118, A-side - 3:52 minutes)

CD3: 71:30 minutes (20 Tracks)
1. What's Going On – MARVIN GAYE (May 1971 UK 45-single on Tamla Motown TMG 775, A-side - 3:53 minutes)
2. Theme From "Shaft" (Remastered 1991 Album Version) – ISAAC HAYES (November 1971 UK 45-single on Stax 2025 069, a-side - 3:16 minutes)
3. Proud Mary – IKE & TINA TURNER (Creedence Clearwater Revival cover version, No. 4 US hit, but didn't chart UK (January 1971 US 45-single on Liberty 56216, A-side - January 1971 UK 45-single on Liberty LBF 15432, A-side - 4:56 minutes)
4. Spanish Harlem – ARETHA FRANKLIN (September 1971 UK 45-single on Atlantic 2091 038, A-side - 3:30 minutes)
5. Remember Me – DIANA ROSS (March 1971 UK 45-single on Tamla Motown TMG 768, A-side - 3:30 minutes)
6. If I Were Your Woman (Single Version) – GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS (June 1971 UK 45-single on Tamla Motown TMG 765, A-side - 3:15 minutes)
7. Sultana – TITANIC (May 1971 UK 45-single on CBS Records 5365, A-side – 4:13 minutes)
8. Strange Kind Of Woman – DEEP PURPLE (February 1971 UK 45-single on Harvest HAR 5033, A-side - 3:51 minutes)
9. No Matter What – BADFINGER (November 1970 UK 45-single on Apple Records APPLE 31, A-side - Peaked at No. 5 in February 1971 - 3:00 minutes)
10. Won't Get Fooled Again – THE WHO (Single Mix Remaster – Doesn't Say On Rear Or In The Booklet – June 1971 UK 45-single on Track Records 2094 009 - 3:38 minutes)
11. Joy To The World (Single Version) – THREE DOG NIGHT (April 1971 UK 45-single on Probe Records PRO 523, A-side - a Hoyt Axton cover version - a USA No.1 for 6-weeks - 3:15 minutes)
12. Back Street Luv – CURVED AIR (July 1971 UK 45-single on Warner Brothers K 16092, A-side - 3:34 minutes)
13. In My Own Time – FAMILY (July 1971 UK 45-single on Reprise K 14090, A-side - 3:34 minutes)
14. Tap Turns The Water – C.C.S. (2013 Remaster) (August 1971 UK 45-single on RAK Records RAK 119, A-side - John Cameron and Alexis Korner song with Alexis Korner on Lead Vocals - 3:42 minutes)
15. Devil's Answer – ATOMIC ROOSTER (June 1971 UK 45-single on B&C Records CB 157, A-side - 3:27 minutes)
16. The Witch Queen Of New Orleans – REDBONE (August 1971 UK 45-single on Epic Records EPC 7351, A-side - 2:44 minutes)
17. My Brother Jake – FREE (April 1971 UK 45-single on Island WIP 6100, A-side - 2:49 minutes)
18. Soldier Blue – BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE (April 1971 UK 45-single on RCA Victor RCA 2081, A-side - 3:18 minutes)
19. The Night They Drove Dixie Down – JOAN BAEZ (September 1971 UK 45-single on Vanguard VRS 35138, A-side - a cover version of The Band classic - 3:24 minutes)
20. Me And Bobby McGhee – JANIS JOPLIN (February 1971 UK 45-single on CBS Records CBS S 7019, A-side - a Kris Kristofferson/Fred Foster cover version from her final album "Pearl" in 1971 - 4:31 minutes)

CD4: 64:50 minutes (20 Tracks)
1. Reason To Believe (Album Version) – ROD STEWART (A-side, Tim Hardin cover, Dick Powell on Violin - for Catalogue Number, "Maggie Mae" History and Details, see Track 3 on CD1 - 4:07 minutes)
2. Hot Love (Album Version) – T. REX (February 1971 UK 45-single on Fly Records BUG 6, A-side (Edited to 3:20 minutes) - First LP appearance on the May 1972 compilation album "Bolan Boogie" on Fly Records HIFLY 8 - 4:57 minutes)
3. Funny Funny – THE SWEET (January 1971 UK 45-single on RCA Victor RCA 2051, A-side - 2:45 minutes)
4. Coz I Luv You – SLADE (October 1971 UK 45-single on Polydor 2058 155, A-side - 3:24 minutes)
5. Baby Jump – MUNGO JERRY (January 1971 UK 45-single on Dawn Records 7N 2505, A-side - 4:12 minutes)
6. Double Barrel – DAVE AND ANSEL COLLINS (August 1970 UK 45-single on Techniques TE 901, A-side - Reggae No.1 in May 1971 - 2:45 minutes)
7. Hey Girl Don't Bother Me – THE TAMS (July 1971 UK 45-single on Probe Records PRO 532, A-side - Originally Issued 1964 in the USA and a No.1 Soul hit there - Reissued in England during 1971 to meet demand by UK fans for Northern Soul dancers - This Reissue reached No.1 in the UK - 2:29 minutes)
8. A Simple Game (Single Version) – THE FOUR TOPS (September 1971 UK 45-single on Tamla Motown TMG 7865, A-side - 2:58 minutes)
9. Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) – THE TEMPTATIONS (May 1971 UK 45-single on Tamla Motown TMG 773, A-side - 3:52 minutes)
10. Ain't No Sunshine – BILL WITHERS (September 1971 UK 45-single on A&M Records AMLS AMS 858, B-side of "Harlem". While the British 45 for this famous B-side didn't chart in the UK, DJs flipped to play the B-side "Ain't No Sunshine" which when released in June 1971 on Sussex SUX 219, it reached No. 4 on the Billboard R&B charts - 2:05 minutes)
11. Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time) – THE DELFONICS (March 1970 UK 45-single on Bell Records BLL 1099, A-side - charted May 1971 and rose to No. 22 - was first issued December 1969 in the USA on Philly Groove 161 - 3:22 minutes)
12. Never Can Say Goodbye (Single Version) – JACKSON 5 (July 1971 UK 45-single on Tamla Motown TMG 778, A-side - Michael Jackson Lead Vocals - 2:58 minutes)
13. Stoned Love (Single Version) – THE SUPREMES (January 1971 UK 45-single on Tamla Motown TMG 760, A-side - 2:55 minutes)
14. Heaven Must Have Sent You (Album Version) – THE ELGINS (April 1971 UK 45-single on Tamla Motown TMG 771, A-side - 3:08 minutes)
15. I'm Gonna Run Away From You – TAMI LYNN (April 1971 UK 45-single reissued on Atlantic 2092 001, A-side (Issued for Northern Soul Music Fans) - originally released February 1966 in the UK as a 45 on Atlantic AT 4071 - 2:47 minutes)
16. Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep – MIDDLE OF THE ROAD (January 1971 UK 45-single on RCA Victor RCA 2047, A-side - 2:58 minutes)
17. What Are You Doing Sunday – DAWN (featuring TONY ORLANDO) (July 1971 UK 45-single on Bell Records BLL 1169, A-side - 2:32 minutes)
18. Never Ending Song Of Love – THE NEW SEEKERS (June 1971 UK 45-single on Philips 6006 125, A-side - Delaney Bramlett song of Delaney & Bonnie - 3:10 minutes)
19. Grandad – CLIVE DUNNE (October 1970 UK 45-single on Columbia DB 8726, A-side - January 1971 chart entry - Clive Dunne was an elderly actor in the popular TV show "Dad's Army" and this half-spoken/half-sung song was a one-off novelty that went to No. 1 - 3:24 minutes)
20. Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West) – BENNY HILL (October 1971 UK 45-single on Columbia DB 8833, A-side - Another TV Comic with a novelty hit that went to No. 1 also - 3:51 minutes)

The fold-out card sleeves of the Basic Editions offer zip, so I suspect like many audio-and-presentation fans, I opted for the Deluxe Edition Hardback Book set and I'm glad I did. MICHAEL MULLIGAN (with a nod to The Official Charts) is the man who does the Text which offers about four of five lines to each entry - pictures of 45s or Artists and even a Pop Quiz at the end of the 24-page booklet (with Answers) to test your chart-placing mettle. It's very pretty to look at, tactile to the touch and heavy on the chart details - connections later up the Eighties line - and so on. Retailing initially at about eighteen to nineteen quid - it's usually almost a tenner more than the standard card version at ten or eleven quid - but worth it. Tunes...

CD1: For a release that barely mentions Remasters (let alone dates applied) - the audio is uniformly glorious (and remember, this is 1971). Take the opening "Your Song" by Elton John - give it a bit of volume welly and the audio sings - strings, piano, vocals - just gorgeous presence. Paul McCartney's "Another Day" and The Kinks witty muscle-bound anthem "Apeman" are the only tracks that mention Remasters on CD1 (2001 and 2014). But you move to Rod Stewart's "Maggie Mae" Bolan's Bang A Gong magic of "Get It On" (T.Rex with the teeth of the hydra upon them never mind your HubCap Diamond Star Halo) and again the audio whomps. There is a small amount of hiss at the opening of Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline", but again, you're in doubt that you're in the presence of an Erick Labson Remaster that is full and in yer face (probably from the fab "Play Me: The Complete Uni Recordings" 3CD set on MCA - see separate review). 

After the cool opening five we get Country and Pop cheeseball with John Denver's cloying "Take Me Home, Country Roads" and "Rose Garden" by Lynn Anderson. Gorgeous audio quality though on Olivia Newton-John's slide-acoustic cover of the Dylan classic "If Not For You" (his fabulous "Watching The River Flow" graces CD2 of the 'Extra' 3CD set for 1971). Clever and timely inclusion comes in the shape of a gorgeous-sounding "Wild World" from Cat Stevens' breakthrough album "Tea For The Tillerman" in late 1970 (on Island Records). You can so hear why so many covered this 'hope you make a lot of nice friends out there' song - touching and catchy. In sails Carly Simon singing of cigarettes glowing in the dark and her mother reading magazines on the still moving "That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" - a stunning tale of Simon observing her parents while her lover asks her to move in and start a family of their own (again I'd swear this is a Remaster from the "Clouds In My Coffee" 3CD Book Set - lovely sound). A nice segue into the 'shy' growing up song - Diana Ross giving advice to that little girl in "I'm Still Waiting". Better is the first of Blighty's Northern Soul obsessions - The Delfonics giving it the velvet-suit-shuffle as they croon through a gorgeous "La-La Means I Love You" - a 1967 Soul nugget getting an airing in 1971 after the success of "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)" which is in itself featured on Disc 4 (Track 11). 

But now we enter the sublime, Al Green slinking into your speaker den with his sexy loneliness - "Tired Of Being Alone" sounding the moaning bomb 55-years after its release on Hi and London (US and UK) - dig those complimentary backing vocals. Could really do without hearing R. Dean Taylor's "Indiana Wants Me" ever again and the mock thumping of "The Banner Man" by Blue Mink is the same. I would imagine the Roger Greenaway, Albert Hammond and Roger Cook penned "Freedom Come, Freedom Go" by The Fortunes is the kind of irrepressibly upbeat 1971 Pop hit that will tickle memories of Pubs and Tele and The Beano Comic down at your local Newsagent. "Co Co" is not The Sweet's finest hour (even if it does sound amazing here) - but the dual finishers of "Apeman" and "She's A Lady" by two hip Brits - The Kinks and Tom Jones - rock. Ray Davies worries about Homo Sapiens and doesn't want to die in a Nuclear War so he wants to swing in trees while Tom just wants to take a winner to dinner (what a set of lungs on both of these fine specimens of humanity). 

CD2 opens with a Rock Gospel anthem in Judy Collins having a ladylike go at "Amazing Grace" - a superb 45-single lift from her "Whales & Nightingales" album on Elektra Records (such was its power that apparently it recharted seven different times over the course of fifteen months). Sneaking in Bowie via Peter Noone with his RAK Records cover version of the Hunky Dory winner "Oh You Pretty Things" which famously featured the mighty DB guesting on Piano (Mickey Most producer). Two popstrel legends show up in the guise of Cilla Black and Cher - Gemini people making it in Cilla's happy-wappy "Something Tells Me (Something Gonna Happen Tonight)" while unhappy residents spit at "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" (born in the wagon of a travelling-show) - both cracking songs remastered to perfection. Unfortunately "Jack In The Box" by Clodagh Rodgers was the kind of jaunty insufferable Euro entry while "Knock Three Times" brings me out in an overdone rash (body swaying or not). Sounding like a Kazoo-wired Mungo Jerry, you could be forgiven for confusing Australia's Mixtures with Ray Dorset - their catchy-as-flu Pop ditty "The Pushbike Song" being an identikit take on MJ's "In The Summertime". 

But there has to be a special place in Hades for "Rupert" by Jackie Lee - a theme to a kid's programme that is yuck-central. America's Lobo had a one-hit wonder with his love-and-wanderlust song "Me And You And A Dog Named Boo". The schlock assault continues with the Love Story film theme - Andy Williams bawling into his cardigan at Ryan O'Neal and Ali Mac Graw and their preppy affair (that movie and this song was huge). At least the velveteen Perry Como makes good use of the strings on a cocaine bender of "It's Impossible" - a song that for many is (indeed) impossible to not go to mush to (ask me to get the Moon and somehow I'd get it). Elvis unfortunately sounds sappy on the leaden "You Don't Have To Say You Love Me". The mush-inducing horror continues with Tom Jones, Tony Christie and worst of all - the Bay City Rollers. At last - a brief moment of reprieve - Gilbert O'Sullivan's lovely "No Matter How I Try" sounding amazing and lyrically cool. Junior Campbell's band Marmalade surprise with a rather good "Cousin Norman" (a No.5) and he would nab some great 45s on Deram in 1973 and 1974 when he launched his solo LP "Second Time Around". Those brief slices of goodness is then drowned by the saccharine "Tom-Tom Turnaround" from New World. Hurricane Smith and Errol Brown's Hot Chocolate bring CD2 to a close with "I Believe (In Love) being the better of the pair. To sum up CD2 - some may find the nostalgia Easy Listening trip fun, but I found most of it painful with only patches of light. Not so the next disc...

CD3 comes close to being the best of 1971 in terms of spread genres - for sublime openers you get the majestic Marvin Gaye anthem "What's Going On" followed by Blaxploitation's beginning - Isaac Hayes getting all John Shaft on yo ass (damn right!) - gorgeous Remastered audio on both. Two Motown winners from Diana Ross and the classy Gladys Knight follow Aretha going all castanets in the night for "Spanish Harlem" while Ike & Tina Turner take on the slow roll of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary" - a hit in the States but not in Blighty. Disc 3 now throws up a surprise - a long forgotten clever inclusion being "Sultana" by Titanic - an instrumental with some vocals towards the end. "Sultana" is sort of a mix of Osibisa jamming with Carlos Santana via a French Euro-Port Tabla/Organ Convention (Nice, and I don't mean the city). From Tracks 8 to 17, you're properly hammered with a very welcome wall of Rock Goodies - Family, Free, Badfinger, The Who (rare single edit that isn't credited as such), Three Dog Night's ebullient take on the Hoyt Axton "Joy To The World" song which managed a six-week stint at the top slot in the States - never mind Atomic Rooster and Curved Air (oh Sonja do call) giving it a bit of Prog with their Rawk. Unfortunately the Buffy Sainte-Marie song from the movie of the same name "Soldier Blue" is incredibly hissy and detracts from the listen a lot. But as it tapers out CD3 is saved by some Country Rock from Joan Baez and Janis Joplin doing covers by The Band and Kris Kristofferson - driving old Dixie down while we get hippie with Bobby McGhee. 

CD4 dips back into Soul and Easy Listening by way of Brixton Market rhythms. The Reggae explosion that had begun with the first two volumes of the "Tighten Up" Sampler LPs on Trojan Records (January and November) had been setting the scene for Skinheads and Dancers alike. Part of those vanguard artists, Dave and Ansel Collins might have had to wait many months for their Techniques 7" single to eventually get to No.1 in Blighty - but the immortality of the fabulous "Double Barrel" was set in stone (as the booklet liner notes quite rightly point out) when the hugely popular Ska-Rock band Madness stole its opening line for their "One Step Beyond" debut single in October 1979 on Stiff - "This is the heavy, heavy monster sound!"

Sixties and Seventies Soul rub shoulders for a stretch - The Tams delightful 1964 vibes of "Hey Girl Don't Bother Me" thrilling Northern Soul aficionados once again and I will be in the dirt before I ever get over my love for the truly gorgeous groove in The Temptations "Just My Imagination(Running Away With Me)" - what a song. Not to be outdone, Philly Groove turns up in the shape of The Delfonics and their much-used-in-movies high-vocals moment of Soul genius - "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind This Time)". Even the twin finishing moments of saccharine despair that is "Grandad" by Clive Dunne and "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West)" by Benny Hill cannot dampen my spirits (admittedly the Benny Hill tune about a randy brew deliverer is a bawdry laugh needed in these horribly woke times). 

MISSING/IDEAS: Fans will spot that there are kind of obvious exclusions across these seven CDs for 1971 - most likely due to licensing difficulties or band blocks - "Brown Sugar" by The Rolling Stones, "It's Too Late" by Carole King ("Tapestry" was one of the biggest albums of 1971 or any year), "Stay With Me" by Faces, "Oye Como Va" by Santana, "Get It On" by T.Rex, "Dragonfly" by Fleetwood Mac, either of the John Kongos storming singles "He's Gonna Step On You Again" and "Tokoloshe Man" from May and November 1971, John Lennon's "Imagine" which was a US No.1 on Apple even though it never did get a release as a UK 7" single in 1971 - a fact that still amazes people. John Barry's "Theme From The Persuaders" would have been perfect fodder here never mind there being no David Bowie ("Changes" was issued December 1971 in the States). How about The Staple Singers doing Soul righteousness with their magnificent "Respect Yourself" groove - The Undisputed Truth hitting that same personal exploration vein with their fab "Smiling Faces Sometimes". Jean Knight's hugely popular Stax hit "Mr. Big Stuff" is not here, nor is Eugene Record's Chi-Lites getting lonesome-mellow with "Have You Seen Her" or Betty Wright and Aretha Franklin's funky duo - "Clean Up Woman" and "Rock Steady". And on it goes (you get the picture).

Also, when I think of classic singles in the Seventies where the B-side was often easily as good as the more famous A (maybe even non-album) – perhaps one day the 'Now Yearbook Series' will tackle Seventies Flipsides in two 3CD outings - say 1970 to 1975 and 1976 to 1979. Check out the B-side of "Devil's Answer" by Atomic Rooster - a stunning instrumental called "The Rock" - same goes for "Samba Pa Ti" by Santana, flipside of "Oye Como Va" or the funky boogie of "The Purple Dancer" by Fleetwood Mac, non-LP B-side of "Dragonfly" or Ronnie Lane, Rodders and Ron Wood at their melodic collaborative best with "Debris" by Faces - flipside of "Stay With Me". There are probably a hundred more. Just a thought...

Still - you have to say that Audio/Presentation-wise - Now Yearbook 1971 Deluxe Edition is a winner. You may reach for the skip button more often than you like on CD2 - but those songs in-between have lasted 55 years (here in 2026) - burnt their melodious way into our hearts and are still amazeballs to millions of us. 

"Now Yearbook 1971" may not all be a 'Stairway To Heaven' (Zeppelin IV hit the shops in November 1971) - but I dig it When The Levee Breaks. Recommended...

NOW YEARBOOK '71 (1971) UK Discography

"Now Yearbook '71" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Sony Music/EMI CDYBXNOW71 / 00199584531922 (Barcode 199584531922) – released Friday, 28 August 2026 as a 4CD 80-Track 28-Page Special Edition Hardback Book

"Now Yearbook '71" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Sony Music/EMI CDYBNOW71 - 0199584531823 (Barcode 199584531823) – released Friday, 28 August 2026 as a 4CD 80-Track Eight-Panel Card Sleeve Standard Edition

"Now Yearbook '71" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Sony Music/EMI LPYBNOW71 / 0199584531717 (Barcode 099584531717) – release delayed until Friday, 2 October 2026 as a 3LP BRIGHT YELLOW VINYL Edition with 50-Tracks Truncated down from the 80-Track 4CD edition

"Now Yearbook Extra '71 - 61 More Essential Hits From 1971" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Sony Music/EMI CDYBENOW71 / 0199584439228 (Barcode 199584439228) – released 9 October 2026 as a 3CD 61-Track Companion Volume in a Three-Panel-Gatefold Card Sleeve

"Original Album Series" by CHARLES WRIGHT & THE WATTS 103rd STREET RHYTHM BAND – Including the US Stereo Albums "The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band" (April 1968), "Together" (April 1969), "In The Jungle, Babe" (November 1969), "Express Yourself" (June 1970) and "You're So Beautiful" (June 1971) (August 2010 UK Warner Brothers/Rhino 5CD Capacity Wallet of Remasters in Mini LP Card Repro Sleeves) - A Review by Mark Barry…

Amazon UK Purchase Link

(Long Since Deleted - Shop Around for Best Prices)

https://link.amazon/B04dGMk5H

---------------------------------------------------

This Review Along With 230 Others Is Available in my

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

"SOUL GALORE!" 

60ts Soul, R&B, Northern Soul

Mod, New Breed, Funk, Rare Grooves

Atlantic, Chess, Motown, Stax Labels and many more...

 

Your Guide To The Best CD Reissues and Remasters 

Thousands of E-Pages

All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

"…Express Yourself…"

As none of these American albums ever received a UK issue on original vinyl and the Rhino Expanded CD remasters of 2007 are long gone - this 2010 5CD mini box set in Warner Brothers ongoing "Original Album Series" is a smart reissue. It makes available desirable Sixties and Seventies Funk, Soul & R'n'B - even if the music isn't all genius. Here are the street-smart details...

UK released August 2010 - "Original Album Series" by CHARLES WRIGHT & THE WATTS 103rd STREET RHYTHM BAND on Warner Brothers/Rhino 8122 79833 5 (Barcode 081227983352) breaks down as follows:

Disc 1 (32:49 minutes):

1. Caesar's Palace [Side 1]

2. Yellow Submarine

3. Brown Sugar

4. Soul Concerto

5. Fried Okra

6. Spreadin' Honey

7. A Little Class & A Little Trash [Side 2]

8. The 103rd St. Theme

9. The Girl From Ipanema

10. Bring It On Home To Me

11. Whole Hog, Or None At All

12. Watts Happening

Tracks 1 to 12 are their debut album "The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band" - released April 1968 in the USA on Warner Brothers W 1741 (Mono) and WS 1741 (Stereo) - Stereo Mix Used. The album was also known as "Hot Heat And Sweet Groove" because of these words on the rear sleeve.

Disc 2 (46:48 minutes):

1. Sorry Charlie

2. Something You Got

3. 65 Bars And A Taste Of Soul

4. Papa's Got A Brand New Bag

5. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction

6. A Dance, A Kiss And A Song

7. Phuncky Bill

8. Get Ready [Side 2]

9. Stormy Monday

10. Giggin' Down 103rd

11. My Summer's Gone

12. Knock On Wood

13. I Wake Up Cryin'

14. Do Your Thing

Tracks 1 to 14 are their 2nd album "Together" - released April 1969 in the USA on Warner Brothers WS 1761 (Stereo). The album is split between studio and live recordings. Tracks 1, 3 and 10 are Studio Instrumentals while 11 and 13 are Studio Tracks with Vocals - the remainder are mostly cover versions all recorded Live At The Haunted House, Hollywood in California in May 1968

Disc 3 (35:24 minutes):

1. Till You Get Enough

2. I'm A Midnight Mover

3. Light My Fire

4. Comment

5. Everyday People

6. Must Be Your Thing [Side 2]

7. Love Land

8. Oh Happy Gabe (Sometimes Blue)

9. Twenty-Five Miles

10. The Joker (On A Trip Through The Jungle)

Tracks 1 to 10 are their 3rd album "In The Jungle, Babe" - released October 1969 in the USA on Warner Brothers WS 1801 (Stereo).

Disc 4 (45:35 minutes):

1. Road Without An End

2. I Got Love

3. High As Apple - Slice 1

4. Express Yourself

5. I'm Aware [Side 2]

6. Tell Me What You Want Me To Do

7. High As Apple Pie - Slice II

Tracks 1 to 7 are their 4th album "Express Yourself" - released June 1970 in the USA on Warner Brothers WS 1864 (Stereo). Albums 1 to 3 were credited to The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band - this is the first credited to Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band

Disc 5 (28:30 minutes):

1. Express Yourself II

2. Let's Make Love Not War

3. Just To Settle My Nerves

4. What Can You Bring Me? [Side 2]

5. Your Love Means Everything To Me

6. You're So Beautiful

7. I Got Your Love

Tracks 1 to 7 are their 5th album "You're So Beautiful" - released June 1971 in the USA on Warner Brothers WS 1904 - credited to Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band

As anyone who has bought one of these sets will know - you get 5 skinny card repro sleeves inside a flimsy card wrap - in this case gathering together their first five albums (Rhino also did "Rhythm And Poetry" from 1972 on an expanded CD remaster in 2007). Speaking of remasters - having had 4 of these albums on the 2007 CD versions - it's clear to me that those remasters have been used here (no new upgrades). The sound is punchy if not a little hissy (especially on the first two albums). The card sleeves are lovely to look at - while the CDs themselves carry a track list with basic songwriter credits but naught else.

Relistening to these albums is a mixed experience - parts of them are great while others are dire - especially the dreadfully limp "You're So Beautiful" album where he ruins his own "Express Yourself" by doing a Part II that sucks. On the plus side as you go through the earlier album you stumble on storming album cuts to savour - the funky instrumental "Oh Happy Gabe (Sometimes Blue)" where Trumpeter Gabe Flemings does the coolest instrumental. There's also the fab "Fried Orka" track - a funky instrumental that sounds like Booker T & The M.G.'s meets War. I also quite like their unusual take on Sly Stone's "Everyday People" which they turn into a monster JB's groove without the lyrics.

"Together" has always been a bizarre album to me - yet one that actually works. Half studio and half live - it opens with the cool studio instrumental "Sorry Charlie" that then segues into a bluesy live cover of Chris Kenner's "Something You Got". That in turn is followed by wickedly funky studio instrumental "63 Bars And A Taste Of Soul" (it was used as the B-side to the non-LP "Bottomless" - put out as a 45 in 1968 on Warner Brothers 7222). The Meters stabbing brass and guitar of "Giggin' Down 103rd" turned up in 2000 on the "Right On! Volume 2" CD compilation - a superb WEA gathering up of rare grooves for collectors. And complimenting the irrepressible "Express Yourself" you also get their other big groove chart hit - "Your Love Means Everything To Me" - an improvisation that sounds like The JB's working out a bad backbeat before their overlord comes into the studio and fines them for missing a beat.

Wright never had the greatest of voices and he would regularly butcher ballads with his stoned whine (their cover of The Doors "Light My Fire" is the lamest I've ever heard - a song that's genuinely hard to ruin). But his band had a fantastic rhythm section - and when they hit that funky groove - you begin to realise why they charted four of these five albums on the American R&B charts. So - good and bad...but man when they were good...

This Review Along With A HUGE 356 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

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

Just Click Below To Purchase for £4.95 (2026 Update)

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

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

"Collected" by GERRY RAFFERTY and STEALERS WHEEL (and THE HUMBLEBUMS with Billy Connolly and Joe Egan) - Featuring 1969 to 1995 Tracks from Albums by The Humblebums - "The New Humblebums" (1969) and "Open Up The Door" (1970) – Tracks from albums by Stealers Wheel - "Stealers Wheel" (1972), "Ferguslie Park" (1973) and "Right Or Wrong" (1975) and Gerry Rafferty solo albums "Can I Have My Money Back Please" (1971), "City To City" and "Night Owl" (1978) and more – Featuring Billy Connolly and Joe Egan (February 2011 GERMANY Universal Music 3CD Compilation Of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

Amazon UK Purchase Link for "Collected"

https://link.amazon/B012XwMly

---------------------------------------------------------

"…Get It Right Next Time…"

I've noticed a rather odd phenomenon that's taking place with Universal out of Europe (in this case I think it's Germany). Their compilations seem to be remastered when they don't say so - or just better mastered than those in the UK, USA and even (dare we say it) - Japan. So I took a £10/$15 chance on their STEELY DAN "Collected" 3CD set (see separate review) - and lo and behold - it sounds better. 

Now I'm onto another fave rave of mine – GERRY RAFFERTY – and I'm digging big time what I'm hearing on "Collected". As you can see from the detailed track-lists provided below - each of these three jam-packed CDs is a mishmash of time frames and bands (56 songs in total). But actually that only makes the listens on each a bit more diverse and interesting. And the Audio is better than anything I've heard before. So, here are the details...

EU released February 2011 - "Collected" by GERRY RAFFERTY and STEALERS WHEEL (and THE HUMBLEBUMS) on Universal 533 279-4 (Barcode 600753327944) is a 3-Disc 56-Track Compilation of Remasters (1969 to 1995) that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (76:44 minutes):

1. Late Again

2. Stuck In The Middle With You

Tracks 1 and 2 are from their debut album "Stealers Wheel" (1972)

3. Everything Will Turn Out Fine 

4. Star

Tracks 3 and 4 are from their 2nd LP "Ferguslie Park" (1973)

5. Found My Way To You

6. Go As You Please

7. Right or Wrong 

Tracks 5 to 7 are from their 3rd and final album "Right Or Wrong" (1975)

8. The Ark 

9. Baker Street 

10. Right Down The Line 

11 City To City 

12. Stealin' Time 

13. Whatever's Written In Your Heart 

Tracks 8 to 13 are from his 2nd Solo LP "City To City" (1978)

14. Night Owl

15. Get It Right Next Time 

Tracks 14 and 15 are from his 3rd LP "Night Owl" (1978)

16. Bring It All Home 

17. The Garden Of England 

Tracks 16 and 17 are from his 4th LP "Snakes And Ladders" (1980)

NOTES: Tracks 1 to 7 by STEALERS WHEEL featuring Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan.

Tracks 8 to 17 by GERRY RAFFERTY.

Disc 2 (79:01 minutes):

1. Sleepwalking 

2. As Wise As A Serpent 

Tracks 1 and 2 are from his 5th album “Sleepwalking" (1982)

3. The Way It Always Starts 

Track 3 is by MARK KNOPFLER from his Soundtrack Album "Local Hero" (1983)

4. Hearts Run Dry 

5. A Dangerous Age

6. On A Night Like This 

7. Moonlight And Gold 

8. Shipyard Town 

9. Tired Of Talking 

Tracks 4 to 9 are from his 6th album "North And South" (1988)

10. Love And Affection 

11. Don't Give Up On Me 

12. Time's Caught Up On You

Tracks 10 to 12 are from 7th album "On A Wing And A Prayer" (1993)

13. The Girl's Got No Confidence 

14. Over My Head 

15. Down And Out 

16. A New Beginning 

Tracks 13 to 16 are from his 8th album "Over My Head" (1995)

NOTES: all tracks by GERRY RAFFERTY except "The Way It Always Starts" by GERRY RAFFERTY and MARK KNOPFLER

Disc 3 (70:00 minutes):

1. Her Father Didn't Like Me Anyway 

2. Rick Rack 

3. Look Over The Hills And Far Away 

4. Please Sing A Song For Us

Tracks 1 to 4 from the album "The New Humblebums" (1969) by THE HUMBLEBUMS

5. Shoe Shine Boy 

6. Steamboat Row

Tracks 5 to 6 are from their album "Open Up The Door" (1970)

7. Mary Skeffington

8. Can I Have My Money Back?

9. Didn't I 

10. New Street Blues

11. Don't Count Me Out 

12. To Teach And Everyone

13. One Drink Down

Tracks 7 to 13 are from his debut Solo album "Can I Have My Money Back Please" (1971)

This Review Along With 378 Others Is Available 

In My SOUNDS GOOD E-Book (on all Amazon sites)

GET IT ON - 1971

Your All-Genres Guide To

Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters  

A HUGE 3,136 e-Pages 

All Details and In-Depth Reviews From The Discs Themselves 

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

Just Click Below To Google, Purchase or See My Author Page

For the SOUNDS GOOD Music Books Series (32 Titles in all)

14. Johnny's Song

15. You Put Something Better Inside Me

16. Gets So Lonely 

17. Next To Me 

Tracks 14 to 17 are from their debut album "Stealers Wheel” (1972)

18. Blind Faith 

19. Who Cares 

20. Good Businessman

Tracks 18 to 20 are from their 2nd LP "Ferguslie Park" (1973)

21. Benediction

Track 21 is from their 3rd and final album "Right Or Wrong" (1975)

NOTES: Tracks 1 to 6 by THE HUMBLEBUMS featuring Gerry Rafferty and Billy Connolly. 

Tracks 7 to 13 by GERRY RAFFERTY and Tracks 14 to 21 by STEALERS WHEEL featuring Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan 

The 3-way foldout card digipak houses an inlay in the left wallet with the 3 CDs spread across the other flaps. It doesn't say who wrote the liner notes in the rather tasteful 12-page mini booklet and the only reference to sound is 'Mastering: QS Sound Lab'. However, listening to my old EMI versions – the sonic upgrade is noticeably better on the "Night Owl" tracks – especially the fabulous slink of "Get It Right Next Time". The "Baker Street" version is the full "City To City" album cut at six-minutes plus (so the edited single mix remains a tad elusive) and the Stealers Wheel tracks have great muscle in them too (lovely clarity on the classic "Stuck In The Middle With You").

Fans will also notice that the set is 'not' chronologically lined-up and I'd argue that it’s so much the better for it. All 3 discs cleverly offer up what feels like mini compilations – with Disc 3 being the oddest as it features the stuff he did with Billy Connolly when they were comedy folk duo The Humblebums. And while the October 1971 Transatlantic Records debut album "Can I Have My Money Back Please" is interesting – I would have much preferred remastered tracks from the "City To City" 1979 follow up "Night Owl". There's the underrated brilliance of 1982's "Sleepwalking" (just how good is "As Wise As A Serpent") and lesser-heard later stuff like the lovely "Over My Head" title track.

What a songwriter and what a loss. Give this Euro 3CD set a go – it contains that rare double whammy - quality and quantity…

PS: Artists in this Universal Euro Series are:

The Allman Brothers, The Band, J.J. Cale, The Carpenters, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Cuby + Blizzards, Fairport Convention, Golden Earring, John Hiatt, Joe Jackson, The Moody Blues, Gerry Rafferty Stealers Wheel and The Humblebums, Shocking Blue, Steely Dan, Cat Stevens, 10cc., Thin Lizzy and Gino Vannelli.

I've bought the 10cc set which just sounds like the 1997 remasters and is filled out with a lot of crap solo stuff  - but I hear the J.J. Cale triple has great sound too...