"Please Re-Adjust Your Time: The Early Blues & Psych-Folk Years 1967-72" by IAN A. ANDERSON (November 2021 UK Cherry Tree 4CD 65-Track Anthology in a Clamshell Box Set with Four Mini LP Repro Card Sleeves, a 24-page booklet, Almost Six LPs Worth of Material Plus Three Previously Unreleased - Simon Murphy Masters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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Overall: ****

Material: *** to *****

Audio: *** to *****

Presentation: *****

"...Singer Sleeps On As Blaze Rages..."

Taking its title from a song on his second studio album "(Royal York Crescent)" on his own The Village Thing Records – this 4CD 65-Track Anthology gives us a hefty overview of Somerset Folkie and Acoustic Guitar Virtuoso IAN A. ANDERSON (not to be confused with Tull mainman Ian Anderson). 

When I worked at Reckless Records in Islington and Soho as the Rarities guy (twenty years of RPM servitude) – Ian A. Anderson albums were thin on the ground throughout those two decades to say the least, and now as the decades have passed into five and half hence – they have started clocking up ghoulish price tags in places. There is a lot to unpack here, so once more my pirates of audio hazard waste unto the crazy fool mumbles of Stereo yore. Here are the Somerset details…

UK released Friday, 21 November 2021 - "Please Re-Adjust Your Time: The Early Blues & Psych-Folk Years 1967-72" by IAN A. ANDERSON on Cherry Tree CDTREEBOX025 (Barcode 5013929692503) is a 4CD 65-Track Anthology Clamshell Box Set. It contains four full UK Studio Albums on Liberty and Village Thing Records (June 1968 to December 1972), eight songs of a twelve-track fifth album on Fontana Records from April 1970, Exclusive 45-Single EP Tracks, a Sampler LP duo, Songs from a Collaboration LP with Mike Cooper (all on Saydisc/Matchbox Records), a Live September 1969 Folk Festival Rarity and three Previously Unreleased outtakes from 1973 (Anderson with his band Hot Vultures).
Housed in a Mini-LP Sized Clamshell Box Set, Each Card Sleeve is a Replica of the Four Original British Albums and each CD has Bonus Tracks. The 24-Page Booklet sports new liner notes by ELIZABETH KINDER (July 2021) and features input from Anderson about his formation of Village Thing Records and beyond. Project managed by JOHN REED of Cherry Red and approved by Anderson with Remasters are by SIMON MURPHY at Another Planet. It plays out as follows...

CD1 (76:14 minutes):
1. Get In That Swing [Side 1]
2. Litte Boy Blue
3. (My Baby Ain't Nothing But A Doggone) Crazy Fool Mumble
4. New Lonesome Day
5. Short Haired Woman Blues
6. Hot Times
7. Stereo Death Breakdown [ Side 2]
8. When I Get To Thinking
9. Way Up Your Tree
10. Bring 'Em Down
11. That's Alright
12. Baby Bye You Bye
Tracks 1 to 12 are the June 1968 UK Debut Solo LP "Stereo Death Breakdown" on Liberty Records LBS 83242E, Stereo only release credited to Ian Anderson’s Country Blues Band

CD1 BONUS TRACKS:
13. Put It In A Frame
14. Stop And Orange
Tracks 13 and 14 from the April 1970 UK Second Solo LP "Book Of Changes" by Ian Anderson on Fontana STL 5542 in Stereo (Musician Credits in Booklet) – see also CD2 for two more (Tracks 13 and 14) and CD3 (Tracks 11 to 14) for four further cuts from this LP (eight out of a total of twelve)

15. Louise
Track 15 is from the 1969 UK 5-Track LP-Speed EP "Anderson Jones Jackson" on Saydisc 33SD 25 in Stereo. Credited to Ian Anderson, Alun Jones and Elliot Jackson – it is a cover version of a Johnny Temple Blues song on Decca Records from 1946 originally called "Louise, Louise Blues" – Alun Jones would go on to be large part of the Cats Stevens band on Island Records

16. Cottonfield Blues
17. Big Road Blues
18. Tom Rushen Blues
Tracks 16, 17 and 18 are from the 1968 UK 4-Track 45-Single EP "Almost The Country Blues!" on Saydisc SD134 in Stereo. Credited to Ian Anderson with Elliot Jackson. The missing fourth track is "Shake Em On Down" which is Track 10 on the debut solo LP "Stereo Death Breakdown" credited as "Break Em Down" (see Track 10 above)

19. Friday Evening Blues
20. West Country Blues
Tracks 19 and 20 are from the 1968 UK Label Sampler LP "Blues Like Showers Of Rain" on Saydisc/Matchbox SDL 142 in Stereo – Anderson had two tracks featured on this famous Various Artists album

21. West Country Blues
22. Don't You Want To Go
23. The Inverted World
Tracks 21, 22 and 23 are from the 1968 UK LP "The Inverted World (The Country Blues Of Mike Cooper and Ian Anderson)" on Saydisc/Matchbox SDL 159in Stereo. A shared LP credited to Mike Cooper and Ian Anderson with seven songs to each artist on each side of the LP. The song "The Inverted World" is the last song by Mike Cooper on his Side 1, but it also features Ian A. Anderson in a song-writing credit and on Guitar. Three other songs (credited to Anderson) on Side 2 of that shared album were "Cottonfield Blues", "Big Road Blues" and "Tom Rushen Blues" – but these were also on the "Almost The Country Blues!" EP (Tracks 16, 17 and 18) so are not duplicated here. The final two songs on the shared "The Inverted World" LP by Ian Anderson are two Traditional Song cover versions called "Little Queen Of Spades" and "Beedle Um Bum" – both feature Anderson on Guitar and Vocals – but are not included in this set

CD2 (50:38 minutes):
1. That's No Way To Get Along [Side 1]
2. Please Re-Adjust Your Time
3. Goblets And Elms
4. Shining Grey
5. The Worm
6. Hero
7. Silent Night No. 2 [ Side 2]
8. Mr. Cornelius
9. The Maker/The Man In The High Castle/The Last Conjuring
10. Ginger Man
11. Working Man
Tracks 1 to 11 are the November 1970 UK Third Solo LP "(Royal York Crescent)" on The Village Thing VTS 3, Stereo only release credited to Ian A. Anderson. The Village Thing Records was formed by Anderson and part of the Saydisc group of labels from Gloucestershire specialising in Folk and Acoustic Blues

CD2 BONUS TRACKS:
12. Get Back Into Town (Live)
13. Sleepy Lynne
14. Internal Combustion Rag
Track 12 was recorded live at Farnham Folk & Blues Festival in September 1969 and first appeared on the May 2016 UK Expanded Edition Reissue CD "Almost The Country Blues: EPs And Extras 1966-1969" by Ian Anderson on Ghosts From The Basement GFTB 7050

Tracks 13 and 14 "Sleepy Lynne" and "Internal Combustion Rag" were recorded Autumn 1969 at Chapel Studios in London and appeared on the April 1970 UK Second Solo LP "Book Of Changes" by Ian Anderson on Fontana STL 5542 in Stereo (see also two tracks from that LP on CD1 and four more on CD3 - eight songs out of twelve in total)

CD3 (50:37 minutes): 14 tracks
1. One More Chance [Side 1]
2. Black Uncle Remus
3. Policeman's Ball
4. Edges
5. The Survivor
6. Well…All Right [Side 2]
7. Time Is Ripe
8. Wishing The World Away
9. One Too Many Mornings
10. Number 61
Tracks 1 to 10 are the December 1971 UK Fourth Solo LP "A Vulture Is Not A Bird You Can Trust" on The Village Thing VTS 9, a Stereo only release credited to Ian A. Anderson. The Village Thing Records was formed by Anderson and part of the Saydisc group of labels from Gloucestershire specialising in Folk and Acoustic Blues. All songs are Anderson originals except "Black Uncle Remus" which is a Loudon Wainwright III cover version, "Well…All Right", a Buddy Holly cover and "One Too Many Mornings", a Bob Dylan cover.

CD3 BONUS TRACKS:
11. Boof Changes
12. Anthem (You Can Go On Forever)
13. Mouse Hunt
14. Galactic Wings (And Other Tales)
Tracks 11 to 14 "Book Of Changes", "Anthem (You Can Go On Forever)", "Mouse Hunt" and "Galactic Wings (And Other Tales)" appeared on the April 1970 UK Second Solo LP "Book Of Changes" by Ian Anderson on Fontana STL 5542 in Stereo (see also two further tracks from that LP on CD1 and two more on CD2)

CD4 (50:30 minutes): 14 tracks
1. Hey Space Pilot [Side 1]
2. Marie Celeste On Down
3. Spider John
4. A Sign Of The Times
5. Paper And Smoke
6. Paint It, Black [Side 2]
7. Pretty Peggyo
8. The Western Wind
9. Out On The Side
10. Shirley Temple Meets Hawkwind
Tracks 1 to 10 are the December 1972 UK Fourth Solo LP "Singer Sleeps On As Blaze Rages" on The Village Thing VTS 18, Stereo only release credited to Ian A. Anderson. The Village Thing Records was formed by Anderson and part of the Saydisc group of labels from Gloucestershire specialising in Folk and Acoustic Blues. Les Calvert of Machine Gun and Graphite plays Bass and Organ. All tracks by Anderson except Track 6 which is a Rolling Stones cover version

CD4 BONUS TRACKS:
11. Baby Let Me Dance With You
12. Dan Scaggs
13. London Blues
14. You Can't Judge A Book By The Cover
Tracks 11 to 14 are Demos recorded by his band HOT VULTURES in 1973 – Tracks 12, 13 and 14 are Previously Unreleased – Ian A. Anderson on Guitar and Vocals with Maggie Holland on Bass – Track 12 is an Al Jones song, Track 13 is a Chris Thompson song while Track 13 is Willie Dixon cover version – the song most closely associated with Muddy Waters

The Clamshell Box Set features four Mini LP Card Repro sleeves – the albums "Stereo Death Breakdown" (June 1968 – CD1), "(Royal York Crescent)" (November 1970 – CD2), "A Vulture Is Not A Bird You Can Trust" (December 1971 – CD3) and "Singer Sleeps On As Blaze Rages" (December 1972 – CD4) – with all four discs containing copious extras (as listed above). The rear of the card sleeves also mimic original rear cover art when they can. Unmentioned on the outside tracks lists, the fifth LP "Book Of Changes" has eight of its twelve tracks spread across three CDs (not pictured in the booklet) and as you can see from the lists above – the other extras practically represent a sixth LP in terms of sheer content. The 24-Page Booklet provides a seriously indepth overview of the five or six years dealt with – ELIZABETH KINDER providing photos, memorabilia (concert posters, trade reviews, fliers) and Album/EP artwork where possible as well as interviewing Anderson for this deep dive. Page 18 for instance has Anderson with friends gathering for the Royal York Crescent cover shoot in 1970 – another photo has him with Maggie Holland in 1974 when they were called Hot Vultures – playing acoustic in 1968 on the Serpentine river watching a circle of duffle-coated admirers and so on. The final pages give album credits, tracks, production, players etc for all 4 CDs – the whole project managed by longtime associate to Cherry Red and all-round-good-guy – JOHN REED (always a name associated with thorough releases). 

And as most of the recordings are Acoustic Guitars in varying 6-and-12 string guises (lots of slide), the SIMON MURPHY Masters do a stellar job at bringing out pings and things as you travel across the huge amount of material on the four discs. My only complaint (if you could call it that) is that the Psych-Folk label in the title is what Cherry Red know will appeal to punters - but there are very few tracks I could point to displaying anything that’s Psych-Folk!

Box Sets like this allow you to dip, dive and discover - "The Worm" for instance on his third album "(Royal York Crescent)" is the kind of three-minute-plus Bongo and Acoustic Guitar funky ditty that would have not looked out of place on a Led Zeppelin or Roy Harper LP as an inbetween instrumental. "Sleepy Lynne" (another instrumental) from the 1970 "Book Of Changes" LP features Slide Acoustic that will appeal to Bryn Haworth fans. His Funky Harmonica and Fast-Strummed Acoustic cover version of the Loudon Wainwright III briar patches classic "Black Uncle Remus" is very Area Code 615 circa "Stone Fox Chase". 

CD3 offers the excellent December 1971 album "A Vulture Is Not A Bird You Can Trust" – an accomplished set of songs that opens with the melodious "One More Chance". Keith Warmington provides the Lead Harmonica for the big chiming cover of "Black Uncle Remus" – a fast off the block take on a tune that would come to define Loudon Wainwright III. Straight up Acoustic Boogie Blues comes a sliding across your speakers with the manic instrumental "Policeman’s Ball". Pretty and substantial is what you would call the band-effort of the eco-vested "The Survivor" – ruins of cities – humans like a wayward child – crops failing. A cover of the Buddy Holly classic "Well Alright" is good rather than great. Better is the well-recorded "Time Is Ripe" – almost like an acoustic interlude song on a Jethro Tull album from 1971. I really like "Wishing The World Away" – a trying-to-write-this-song melody that our hero is struggling with (go away world). Dylan gets a cover in a truly lovely and simple acoustic guitar take on "One Too Many Mornings" with John Turner providing Double-Bass notes accompaniment. The equally quiet and slyly majestic "Number 61" talks of a long blond-haired woman he worships from afar. 
Recorded in 1969, the "Book Of Change" Acoustic songs (with very clean remastered audio) featured Al Jones on Guitar, John Turner on Double Bass, Keith Christmas on Bongos with Max on Flute. The Flute and Acoustics do battle in the lovely John Martyn-esque "Anthem (You Can Go On Forever)" while a very Gordon Giltrap set of virtuoso guitar runs opens "Mouse Hunt" – a song that jaunts like its title suggests. Earth man moves out to the unknown spaces in "Galactic Wings (And Other Tales)" once again features flute from Max. Speaking of this album…

For some reason eight of the twelve songs on the Second Solo LP "Book Of Changes" from April 1970 on Fontana Records are spread across three CDs without any real reference as to why or where the other four cuts are? (see Notes on CD1, 2 and 3 above for those eight songs). Shame too that the duo of missing cuts from "The Inverted World" shared LP with Mike Cooper and the four from the "Book Of Changes" LP are not here - because there was room to include the six (one can only presume licensing difficulties). Still, what you are getting from "Please Re-Adjust Your Time: The Early Blues & Psych-Folk Years 1967-72" by Ian A. Anderson is the guts of five very hard-to-find albums in the Acoustic Folk /Acoustic Blues/Folk Psych genres and some straggler EP change into the not-so-moneyed bargain. And all of it in more than tasty sound. 

After the first two CDs of purely Folk-Acoustic and Blues - those looking for the Psych-Folk genre casually thrown into the title will be wondering when that genre shows – truthfully, I think for the most part it doesn’t. The fourth LP "Singer Sleeps On As Blaze Rages" (from December 1972) for instance with story songs like Dave Peabody’s "Spider John" and Anderson’s own "A Sign of The Times" are purely Acoustic – Jug Band at times – little Bluesy in the playing – but it sounds more Ralph McTell or John Martyn than Trees or Mellow Candle. Only on Mike Cooper’s "Paper And Smoke" does something resembling a band show – Bill Boozman on Leslie’d guitar with Mike Cooper on Slide – but again it’s more Folksy Faces than anything like Psych. There’s even a Country ye-ha shuffle to his jaunty cover of The Rolling Stones classic "Paint It, Black" – not too far from Mungo Jerry on Dawn Records. Bryn Haworth slide twelve-string fans will dig the Bluesy Traditional "Pretty Peggyo" – a tale of a Captain who falls in love with a local Louisiana beauty (Anderson is accompanied by Maggie Holland on Guitar). Even better is the echoed speaker-panned 12-string bottleneck of "The Western Wind" – a swirling number Anderson describes as a ghost story – great playing with muscular audio. Acoustics dance across both speakers for the noisy-human-race song "Shirley Temple Meets Hawkwind" – a witty ditty on travelling to Venus with the child actress possibly never flying back home.

The three 1973 Hot Vultures demos featuring a Slide 12-String Blues Traditional in the shape of "Baby Let Me Dance With You" (very professionally recorded) followed by three Previously Unreleased - a slightly rough-edged cover of the Al Jones song "Dan Scaggs" and two excellent Acoustic and Bass Guitar tales in "London Blues" (by Chris Thompson) and the Willie Dixon Chess Records R&B classic "You Can’t Judge A Book By The Cover" turned into a race-past-the-post Acoustic. Lots of great moments…

Somerset’s Ian A. Anderson (more than a few times confused with Tull’s mainman) continued in the late 70s with Folk-Blues groups like Hot Vulture, and into the Eighties with The English Country Blues Band and Tiger Moth. He even teamed up with his old mucker Mike Cooper in 1984 for the "The Continuous Preaching Blues" LP on the obscure Appaloosa Records.

But this dinky 4CD 65-Track little bruiser from Cherry Tree (part of Cherry Red) is where his journey started. "Please Re-Adjust Your Time: The Early Blues & Psych-Folk Years 1967-72" by Ian A. Anderson will not be for everyone, but those in love with Folk, Acoustic Blues and a few genre side-dishes along the way will eat it up. Top marks to all involved…

"Little Feat" by LITTLE FEAT - April 2026 UK Warner Records/Rhino '2CD DELUXE EDITION' Reissue of Their January 1971 US Debut Album/LP - Features Eight Previously Unreleased Alternate Versions on CD2 Plus Four Rarities From The Sessions Originally Released On The 4CD September 2000 "Hotcakes & Outtakes" Set - New 2026 Bill Inglot and Dan Hersch Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 384 Others Is Available In My

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Overall Rating: ****

Presentation: ***

Audio: **** to *****

"…Snakes On Everything…"

With zero hoopla let alone (it appears) fan awareness – Rhino and Warner Records continue their Little Feat reissue series here in April 2026 by having a go at the American band's patchy January 1971 self-titled debut album. Some series history first…

To date - Rhino/Warner Records have had five of these new multiple-CD Deluxe Edition reissues for LITTLE FEAT – a June 2023 2CD set for both "Sailin' Shoes" (second LP from February 1972) and "Dixie Chicken" (third studio platter from January 1973), a 3-CD Deluxe Edition for "Feats Don’t Fail Me Now" in June 2024 (fourth Studio platter from August 1974) while the October 1975 fifth studio LP "The Last Record Album" got a 4CD set in November of 2025 (last year). All have outtakes and performance material with much of the live stuff remastered from bootlegs. This fifth reissue in the series offers a 2026 New Remaster of the 11-track January 1971 Debut LP on CD1 and 12 Outtakes on CD2 (no live material) – four of which were issued in 2000 making the other eight, previously unreleased. See photo below for their spines and the Rad Gumbo Box Set...

Having said all that good stuff - you would have to say that calling a gatefold card sleeve and a three-way six-sided fold-out inlay a 2CD Deluxe Edition on the Hype Sticker (has not got any liner notes nor history) is stretching credulity. Mine even arrived bent in the post. But be that as it may – it is good to have any new Little Feat from the Seventies and sounding damn fine too (new Remasters). And thankfully the eight new previously unreleased cuts on Disc 2 (added to the four outtakes that first appeared on the September 2000 4CD retrospective "Hotcakes & Outtakes") beef up proceedings to a 12-track alternative second disc that pushes way past any visual disappointment (I'm diggin' it so much more than the album). To the snakelike details…

UK released Friday, 17 April 2026 - "Little Feat" by LITTLE FEAT on Warner Records/Rhino R2 728638 – 603497808397 (Barcode 603497808397) is a 2-CD Deluxe Edition of the January 1971 US Debut Studio Album on Warner Brothers Records (eventually issued January 1975 in the UK). Featuring a four-piece band line-up of Lowell George (Guitars), Bill Payne (Keyboards), Richard Hayward (Drums) and Roy Estrada (Bass) with Guests Ry Cooder (Guitars), Sneaky Pete Kleinow (Pedal Steel), Russ Titelman (Piano, Backing Vocals and Production) and Kirby Johnson (Horns and String Arrangements) – this version includes a second CD with 12 tracks – eight of which are Previously Unreleased Alternate Versions and Four Other Previously Issued Rarities. It plays out as follows:

CD1 Little Feat 2026 Remaster (33:19 minutes):

1. Snakes On Everything (Bill Payne) [Side 1]

2. Strawberry Flats (Bill Payne, Lowell George)

3. Truck Stop Girl (Bill Payne, Lowell George)

4. Brides Of Jesus (Bill Payne, Lowell George)

5. Willing (Lowell George, Roy Estrada)

6. Hamburger Midnight (Lowell George, Roy Estrada)

7. Forty-Four Blues/How Many More Years (Howlin' Wolf Covers) [Side 2]

8. Crack In Your Door (Lowell George)

9. I've Been The One (Lowell George)

10.Takin' My Time (Bill Payne)

11. Crazy Captain Gunboat Willie (Bill Payne, Lowell George)

Tracks 1 to 11 are their debut studio album "Little Feat" – released January 1971 in the USA on Warner Brothers WS 1890 – reissued February 1971 with the same catalogue number but with a lyrics-instead-of-photos rear sleeve. Their debut studio album "Little Feat" remained un-issued in the UK until January 1975 on Warner Brothers K 46072 using the Burbank Colouring label (their tour of the UK and Europe with The Doobie Brothers and Tower Of Power created huge interest in the band). 

Produced by RUSS TITELMAN – it didn't chart in either country. Ry Cooder plays Bottleneck Guitar on Tracks 5 and 7 and Sneaky Pete Kleinow plays Pedal Steel Guitar on Track 9. Russ Titelman plays Piano, sings Backing Vocals and Percussion on Track 9 - while Kirby Johnson provided String and Horn Arrangements on Tracks 4 and 10. Track 7 is a double-track cover-version of two Howlin' Wolf songs originally on Chess Records in 1954 and 1951

CD2 Hotcakes, Outtakes, Rarities (40:30 minutes):

1. Wait Till The Shit Hits The Fan (Bill Payne/Lowell George) – 2:48 minutes

2. Doglines (Bill Payne) – 2:47 minutes

3. Strawberry Flats – Alternate Version with Count In and a False Start (Bill Payne, Lowell George) – 3:03 minutes

4. Hamburger Midnight – Alternate Version with Studio Chatter (Lowell George, Roy Estrada) – 4:13 minutes

5. Snakes On Everything – Alternative Version (Bill Payne) – 3:11 minutes

6. Crack In Your Door – Alternate Version (Lowell George) – 2:22 minutes

7. Crazy Gunboat Willie – Alternate Version with a Second Vocal (Bill Payne, Lowell George) – 2:00 minutes

8. Rat Faced Dog (Bill Payne, Lowell George) – 4:54 minutes

9. Forty-Four Blues/How Many More Years (Howlin' Wolf Covers) – Alternate Version – 6:26 minutes

10.Truck Stop Girl – Alternate Version (Bill Payne, Lowell George) – 2:36 minutes

11. Willin' – Alternate Version (Lowell George) – 2:31 minutes

12. Jazz Thing In 10 (Lowell George, Bill Payne, Richard Hayward) – 3:29 minutes

Tracks 3 to 7 and 9 to 11 are EIGHT PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED Alternate Versions – Tracks 1 and 2 and Tracks 8 and 12 are four "Little Feat" outtakes that first appeared September 2000 on the 4CD retrospective "Hotcakes & Outtakes" on Rhino R4 79912 (all four were also featured on Disc 13 of the 13CD Box Set "Rad Gumbo: The Complete Warner Bros. Years 1971 to 1990" issued in 2014).

SOUND:

Rhino once again use two hugely experienced Audio Engineers who have had their sweaty paws on vast swathes of the Warner Brothers legacy for over 30-years now – DAN HERSCH and BILL INGLOT. "Little Feat" never impressed me as an audio experience and even the 90s Warner Archives CD that boasted a Remaster struggled to rise above a starter LP with on-the-go production values. Here (in 2026) – the new Remaster is very clear and about as good as the album is ever going to sound and the extras finally give the release that extra poke up into four-stars. "Sailin' Shoes", "Dixie Chicken", "Feats Don't Fail Me Now" and "The Last Record Album" are far better Deluxe Editions overall – but here we get something that at last elevates their debut. Fans are going to love the fact that the Disc 2 Alternative Versions all (bizarrely) sound better than the album cuts (prepped as Remasters as far back as August 2024) and often contain studio chatter – the talking that stops "Hamburger Midnight" for instance is now clearer and comes as quite a shock after all these decades. 

ARTWORK/REVIEWS:

The six-leaf three-way fold-out inlay offers up five new black and white photos of the band, the lyrics to all songs (except the Howlin' Wolf covers), album credits and reissue details. But there is no recap, no essays, no other details and the fact that you can’t get either the original or reissue artwork on this version is kind of ridiculous. It’s a functional inlay, but you wanted so much more. The gatefold card sleeve also has a band (playing live) photo stretching across the inside in black and white (see above) – but not much else. If it wasn’t for the Hype Sticker on the front cover declaring this a 2-CD DELUXE EDITION OF THE 1971 DEBUT – you might pass the entire thing by.

Fans will know that "Little Feat" was preceded by a 16 September 1970 US-only 45-single - "Hamburger Midnight" b/w "Strawberry Flats" on Warner Brothers 7431. White label promos exist (not pictured either), but I've never seen a stock copy, so response must have been lame - as it was to the LP itself (said to have sold as little as 11,000 copies when it finally made US record stores in early January 1971). The first pressings came with four individual photos of the boys and a band photo beneath on the rear sleeve and a rare lyric insert. Billboard Magazine first reviewed "Little Feat" in their 5 December 1970 issue giving it a special merit, but no picture nor was there even an advert from Warner Brothers.

Rolling Stone Magazine wouldn't get to "Little Feat" until early February 1971 after its rear-sleeve artwork re-release with the lyric insert transferred to the rear cover. There is also a 1973 back-cover variant that has the original photo of the band made smaller and squashed into the lyrics (three rear sleeve versions in total then - none of these are shown). Bizarrely, if you want the actual original issue cover, the Mini LP Card Sleeve in the "Rad Gumbo: The Complete Warner Bros. Years 1971 to 1990" 13CD Box Set from 2014 faithfully uses the first original artwork with only band-photos and no lyrics on the rear. To the New 2026 Remasters...

The debut opens with "Snakes On Everything" and "Strawberry Flats" – Billy Payne and Lowell George delivering two great starter stings (Bill sings the first, Lowell the second) – huge power in the slide guitars and the strangulated vocals. There is also stunning muscular clarity on the churning Rock-Funk of "Hamburger Midnight" (dig that Harmonica too), but I have to say (hand on heart) that the remake of "Willing" on "Sailin’ Shoes" is the better version. The debut first go-round of "Willing" plays it quicker and the snatching pace kind of does for the loveliness of the melody even if his slide guitar playing is fabulous – there is a great song trying desperately to get out but it will take until LP2 for it to realise itself. Same old crowd is hanging out for "Truck Stop Girl", Little Feat feeling like a funked-up Allman Brothers – while the noticeable hiss on "Bride Of Jesus" is softer now – the Kirby Johnson string arrangements sweet as they bolster up this sad tale of loss. Side 1 ends will the brilliant "Hamburger Midnight" – the first time Little Feat sounds like it has an identifiable groove – a cross between the Funk Rock of the James Gang and Captain Beefheart – both of which are all right by me.

Album gems come in the shape of the double-headed Howlin' Wolf splash of Fifties Chess Records Blues - "Forty-Four Blues/How Many More Years" (the only cover on the album) being a six-minute-plus crowd pleaser that thankfully shows up in powerhouse alternate form on CD2 as well. Don’t let the wind in through - "Crack In Your Door" tells us (such good audio here, making me appreciate it more than I used too) - while the duo of "I've Been The One" and "Takin' My Time" are again open for rediscovery when I used to kind of dismiss them. I make no bones about the fact that for me "Crazy Captain Gunboat Willie" is a rubbish Lowell George song and I don't know why he ended the LP with it – gives off a very jarring and disappointing half-assed vibe when the debut needed to stun. The Alternate on Disc 2 is no better even if it does sound great.

CD2 is called "Hotcakes, Outtakes, Rarities" and offers the listener twelve songs as a sort of Alternate Version of the Debut LP – and I for one am loving it. The sequencing is very clever – three groover songs in "Wait Till The Shit Hits The Fan", "Doglines" and "Strawberry Flats" open proceedings like they are an actual LP run while the ever popular "Hamburger Midnight" punches up another goody as Track 4. 

You can see why they put the weakest at the end-  "Jazz Thing in 10" being an instrumental with Lowell George on Saxophone (unusually) with Bill Charlton on Bass and is about as far removed from Little Feat as it can get (and thank God, it isn’t very good). "Rat Faced Dog" (Take 1) sees George complain (not for the first time) of being a smoking fool in this excellent near five-minute rocker – the keyboards supplemented by some fantastic and mean guitar from LG (Lowell also plays Dulcimer). The shorter beers in the icebox, throw on some records "Doglines" (2:47 minutes) has Bill taking Lead Vocals while the slide-shuffler LF backbeat is provided by George – a genuinely great archive find in 2000 and so worth repeating here in 2026. George takes Lead Vocals on "Wait Till The Shit Hits The Fan" - a cheerleader song that is trying to find a tune but not quite getting there. There are girly singers on one or two of the outtakes but they get no credits (their voices sound like friends rather than professional vocalists and aren’t very good). But for me the others - "Snakes On Everything" and "Forty-Four Blues/How Many More Years" are fab stuff with shockingly good audio – reach punch and muscle - nice. 

 

The "Little Feat" 1971 debut album is good rather than great - an opening account to the brilliance that would quickly follow on LPs 2 and 3 in 1972 and 1973. It is an acquired taste for sure, but the Remaster on CD1 and the deep dives on CD2 are making me reach for this twofer more than any of the others and I am kind of shocked by that. Those extras have only added to my admiration and the feeling that with a little more thought and better choices – the forgotten debut might have had a better chance on release all those 55-years ago. Still, what a band. 

Formerly with Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention (like Lowell), Bassist Roy Estrada would leave the band after the debut and die in prison in 2025 for horrible offences committed between 1977 and 2012. The mighty (in so many ways) lead guitarist and Little Feat shining light Lowell George left us too early in 1979 after one patchy solo album and is beloved to this day. Their live shows with him at the helm are the stuff of legend. Drummer Richard Hayward who had been in The Fraternity Of Man before he joined Little Feat in 1970 passed in 2010. But Keyboardist and founder-member of Little Feat Bill Payne is still with us in April 2026 as I review this on release aged 77, and with credits on probably hundreds of LPs for stellar session work.

Once you get past the visual let-down and the kind-of throwaway feel of this supposed 2CD Deluxe Edition - "Little Feat" by Little Feat kicks butt where it matters (audio and content) – and I for one am thrilled with that…

CLEARING UP AHEAD - Poems - By MARK BARRY (March 2026 UK Paperback on all Amazon Sites for £9.95)

CLEARING UP AHEAD

A Compendium of Poems

Book 11 in my Left Luggage Series

Titles Include...

Balustrades And Pencils

Hurt Shovels (Digging Down, Digging Deep)

Uncle Moxie In The Cheap Seats

Einstein After The Event

The Things We've Handed Down

The Ocean

Time For Bulls

Waiting For The Kingfisher

Leaning Into Corners

Virgin VS 181

Banana Skin In The Flux Capacitor

I Like That

A Sense Of Spitfires

Replacing Longing Unsaid

Mull Of Bin-Dire (Hair-Raising Decisions)

Casanova's Codpiece

Baz And Franklin Inadvertently Go Bananas

(Laughing With Each Other And Not At Each Other)

Mary Whitehouse Worries About Mashed Potato Consistency

Floor Plan For Sophia Loren

Where Men Are Men And Sheep Worry (The Pipes Are Calling)

Fuck Fear, Look After Your Teeth And Buy Property

Things Aren't So Bad After All (The Wonder Of Men, Part 1)

Delayed Awhile

Bigger Than Worlds

Sharp Inhale

Cool In Our Ensemble Sins

Sick Kittens To Warm Bricks (Helpful Facts For The Over Shufties)

Warmth And Occasional Shadow

Recalibrating A Better Play

Homemaker

Woken-Up Flutter

Anticipating Blood

Clue Me, One To Two (Maybe Even Moved)

Fame Is Not The Light

Quiet Joy Of Life (The Better Part Of Ourselves)

Where The Light Gets In

Book 11 in the Left Luggage Series

See Full List at - https://amzn.to/41D6VV4

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"Rainbow/C'est La Vie" by McGUINNESS FLINT – December 1973 and September 1974 UK Third and Fourth Studio Albums with Two Bonus Tracks On Bronze Records featuring Tom McGuinness, Hughie Flint, Dixie Dean, Lou Stonebridge and Jim Evans with Guests Tony Ashton, Big Jim Sullivan and John Weider (13 March 2026 UK Beat Goes On (BGO) Compilation – 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD with Two Bonus 45-Single Non-LP B-Side Tracks) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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Musical Content: *** 

Presentation *****

Audio ****

"….Siren Sadie…"

The British Folk-Country-Rock five-piece McGUINNESS FLINT popped out four albums between 1970 and 1974 on Capitol and Bronze Records and a fifth mid-stream (June 1972 on DJM Records) called "Lo & Behold" credited to the surnames of four original band members – COULSON, DEAN, McGUINNESS & FLINT. 

Always a part of that 'British' Ronnie Lane and Slim Chance via Sutherland Brothers & Quiver kind of Seventies Country-Rock Folk-Rock sound that paid more than a passing tribute to Americans like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and The Flying Burrito Bros – McGF had occasionally good melodies, and like Lindisfarne, an ornery sense of humour too. But in truth - neither album rises above 4 (maybe 5) stars on a scale of 10 – so both being ignored and dismissed ever since is perhaps understandable in the overall scheme of singer-songwriter top-heavy bands (there were so many back then).

By way of a historical band backdrop... McGuinness Flint's first two albums were "McGuinness Flint" from December 1970 on Capitol EA-ST 22625 and its follow-up "Happy Birthday, Ruthy Baby" from July 1971 on Capitol EA-ST 22794. The public's curiosity wetted by the lovely ramshackle of their debut 45-single "When I'm Dead And Gone" in October 1970 (Capitol CL 15662 went all the way up to No. 2 in the UK and even hit No. 47 in the US charts) – their self-titled December 1970 Debut Album (complete with a cool stippled-effect gatefold sleeve) subsequently broke the British top ten – peaking at a healthy No.9 in 1971. They were off to an excellent start.

The stand-alone UK 45-single follow-up "Malt And Barley Blues" from April 1971 on Capitol CL 15682 was another catchy McGuinness Flint/Gallagher & Lyle winner – making an impressive No. 5 in the UK. But because their second platter "Happy Birthday, Ruthy Baby" did not have that song on it (stand-alone 7" singles was a thing back then) – it sank LP No. 2 (didn't chart) and effectively the commercial future of the band. Ace songwriters Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle jumped ship in 1972 to form and continue with GALLAGHER & LYLE (signed to A&M Records) who finally struck chart gold in 1976 (after four LPs and serious slog) with the massive "Breakaway" album.

With a splintering of the original group and new signing to DJM Records (home of Elton John, Hookfoot and Phillip Goodhand-Tait) – a third platter came out called "Lo & Behold" - a June 1972 UK LP credited to Coulson, Dean, McGuinness, Flint on DJM Records DJLPS 424 - but sadly it went largely unnoticed. 

So - and rounding up - what we have here is what followed - two rarely mentioned McGuinness Flint Seventies albums of British/American Country-Rock on Bronze Records - "Rainbow" from December 1973 and their final studio offering "C'est La Vie" from September 1974. Tom McGuinness, Hughie Flint and Dixie Dean had supplemented their latest five-piece line-up with two like-minded newcomers - Lou Stonebridge on Vocals, Guitars and Keyboards and Jim Evans on Guitar. Neither album charted, and have been horribly difficult to find on CD anywhere outside of expensive Ltd Edition Japanese imports (on Air Mail Archive, March 2006) and suspect Korean issues. That is until today Friday the 13th of March 2026 - and Beat Goes On Records of the UK (BGO) have finally fulfilled our McFlinty cravings. Here are the multi-coloured details…

UK released Friday, 13 March 2026 (delayed since January) - "Rainbow/C'est La Vie" by McGUINNESS FLINT on Beat Goes On Records BGOCD1566 (Barcode 5017261215666) offers 2LPs Plus Two Bonus Tracks Remastered onto 1CD and plays out as follows (82:35 minutes):

1. Ride On My Rainbow (Dean/McGann) [Side 1]
2. If You Love Me (Flint)
3. High Again (McGuinness)
4. Berry Blue Tuesday (Dean/Evans)
5. Rocking Chair (Stonebridge)
6. Take It Down (Dean) [Side 2]
7. Dear Folks At Home (Stonebridge)
8. Bye Bye Baby (McGuinness)
9. Just One Woman (Dean)
10. This Song (Evans)
Tracks 1 to 10 are their fourth album overall "Rainbow" (third as McGuinness Flint) – released December 1973 in the UK on Bronze Records ILPS 9244 (no US issue). Produced by TONY ASHTON (of Ashton, Gardner & Dyke) – it did not chart. Songwriter credit McGann is Michael McGann of The Levee Breakers

11. Catfish (McGuinness) [Side 1]
12. C'est La Vie (McGuinness)
13. Ride That Horse (McGuinness)
14. (I Don't Like Your) Country Music (Dean/McGann)
15. Please Give Me (Dean)
16. Fast Eddie (McGuinness) [Side 2]
17. Siren Sadie (Dean)
18. Union Hall (Stonebridge)
19. Rabbitt Isle (Stonebridge)
Tracks 11 to 19 are their fifth album overall "C'est La Vie" (fourth and final as McGuinness Flint) – released September 1974 in the UK on Bronze Records ILPS 9302 (no US issue). Produced by BIG JIM SULLIVAN – it did not chart. Songwriter credit McGann is Michael McGann of The Levee Breakers. Extra players on "(I Don't Like Your) Country Music" include Keith Nelson (of Country Cream) on Banjo, Big Jim Sullivan on Mandolin with John Weider (of Family and Gulliver) on Violin

BONUS TRACKS
20. Virgin Mary (McGuinness) – Non-LP B-side of "Ride On My Rainbow", November 1973 UK 45-Single on Bronze BRO 8
21. Poppadaddy (McGuinness) - Non-LP B-side of "C'est La Vie", July 1974 UK 45-Single on Bronze BRO 12

McGUINNESS FLINT for both albums was:
Tom McGuinness – Lead Vocals, Guitar, Banjo and Mandolin (Dobro on LP2)
Hughie Flint – Drums and Vocals
Dixie Dean – Vocals, Bass, Horns and Harmonica
Lou Stonebridge – Vocals, Keyboards, Guitars and Harmonica (Accordion on LP2)
Jim Evans – Vocals, Guitar and Pedal Steel Guitar (Fiddle on LP2)

As ever the outer card-slipcase lends the single-CD compilation a classy look and feel – the 16-page booklet featuring new liner notes from JOHN O'REGAN (dated October 2025 - I believe the CD was due Jan 2026 but was delayed to 13 March 2026). The original Vinyl LP for "Rainbow" was afforded a gatefold sleeve while "C'est La Vie" was a single sleeve album but with an elaborate inner sleeve – neither is reproduced here nor lyrics. Instead, you get a solid 13-pages of text, a band history and beyond (with net references too quoted on the last page). And as you can see, the full playing time at 82:35 minutes is not exactly scrimping it either – a very tasty touch being those two Non-LP B-sides – "Virgin Mary" and "Poppadaddy" first appearing in March 2006 on rare Air-Mail Archive Records Japanese CD reissues for the "Rainbow" and "C'est La Vie" albums as a Bonus Track on each. Fans will appreciate them being given an official British release here.

The new Digital Remaster has no details or transfer studio listed - odd for BGO (ANDREW THOMPSON probably) – but the sound quality is lovely, nonetheless. As this is all Cochise/Brinsley Schwarz/Mungo Jerry/The Band Folk-Rock meets Country-Rock meets Pub-Rock meets Jug Bands territory – the largely Acoustic Instruments and layered Vocals and Keyboards come over clear and full. The slide steel-string, strummed acoustic guitar and brass jabs for instance on The Kinks-sing-along-sounding "Just One Woman" are great – so too the Area Code 615-type Harmonica soloing on "This Song". Audio and Presentation spot on, but that's where the good news ends.

I wish I could say these albums represent nuggets you need in your living room – and in places they are – but too often the weak-assed non-distinctive vocals and ordinariness of the writing makes it all feel decidedly second-tier. Highlights on the debut are the opening cut "Ride On My Rainbow" which Bronze paired with the non-LP "Virgin Mary" in November 1973, a month before the LP appeared for Christmas. 

While the "Rainbow" LP from 1973 tried to hide its Country-Rock leanings – their final record "C'est La Vie" from September 1974 leans into it big time. The "C'est La Vie" LP opens like a Duster Bennett LP on Blue Horizon Records – all Harmonica, slide steel guitar and more than a nod at the Ozark Mountain Daredevils slipping and sliding right on back to you babe ("Catfish"). The pub-crawling sing-along title track is a happy enough ditty (and an obvious single which Bronze put out in July 1974) but the mistreat you/cheat you anti-drug-dealer "Ride That Horse" is plodding - while the fey-funny yee-haw "(I Don't Like Your) Country Music" is a bizarre slag-off of a genre they espouse throughout the album. Far better is the big Bluesy crawl of "Please Give Me" – a pleader for love with great Production values. 

Back to mock-Boogie with "Fast Eddie" where our boys take on the law – great Production – but the tune feels like it's trying too hard. Dixie Dean now provides one of the better moments – vocals and guitars swirling and boardwalk-smooching in "Siren Sadie". Things try to go Funky-Rock with the chugga-chugga of "Union Hall" – local girls dancing and boys trying to romance them to a backdrop of a fiddle band. The seven-minutes-plus of the "C'est La Vie" LP closer is called "Rabbitt Isle" – a Stonebridge song that creeps in like the band tried mushrooms and went a little Prog Rock. It settles into a Crazy Horse groove with layered guitars and keyboards – but again feels out-of-place and like it's from a lesser world. 

Ex John Mayall and Manfred Mann chappy Tom McGuinness penned the two Non-LP B-sides tagged on at the end as Bonuses – and after the poor finish to the "C'est La Vie" LP - "Virgin Mary" comes to restore the faith. The Mandolin-strummer "Poppadaddy" is almost back to the charm of the self-titled first LP and better for it. With a guitar for his wife, "Poppadaddy" sings the Blues so good. 

To sum up - with the best will in the world, you could not call either of these McGuinness Flint albums necessities – too many dullards and those dead-from-the-waist-up vocals do not help much either. But for fans of the band and this kind of precursor to the Pub Rock sound (1973 to 1975), this is a fantastic reissue of material punters feared would languish on the expensive-imports file forever. Well presented, a stacked playing time and sounding spiffing. And BGO are to be thanked for that...

"Eternal Journey: The Arrangements And Productions Of Charles Stepney" by CHARLES STEPNEY and Various Artists – 20 Tracks (17 in Stereo, 3 in Mono) from August 1967 to October 1973 Featuring Ramsey Lewis, Minnie Riperton, The Dells, Billy Stewart, The Meditation Singers, The Rotary Connection (with vocalists Minnie Riperton, Sidney Barnes, Kitty Haywood, Shirley Wahl and Dave Scott plus Guitarist Phil Upchurch, Drummer Maurice White with Saxophonist Donald Myrick, both later with Earth, Wind & Fire), Terry Callier, Marlena Shaw, Little Milton, Phil Upchurch (with Donny Hathaway on Piano), Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Junior Wells and Buddy Guy (February 2026 UK Ace/Beat Goes Public (BGP) CD and 2LP VINYL 20-Track compilation with Nick Robbins Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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This Review Along With 349 Others Is Available In My

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

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Overall: ****

Presentation/Booklet: ****

Audio: *****

"….The Love We Have, Stays On My Mind…"

I'd been looking forward to this release for months. When I worked the Rarities Counter at Reckless Records in Islington and Soho for almost two decades - us Rock laddies who also loved Soul Music had two pet hero worships - Norman Whitfield over at Motown, Tamla and Rare Earth (Temptations, Four Tops, Rare Earth, The Undisputed Truth) alongside the mighty Charles Stepney helming the funkier subsidiaries of Chess Records - Cadet, Cadet Concept and Checker. Soul meets Psych-Soul meets Folk-Soul - oh yes and yum yum. 

As a veteran of over 4,000 reviews - most to do with CD reissues - I'd petitioned people like Ace and Edsel and BGO to do a Charles Stepney Box Set as a pride of place in their catalogues. Now after ten to fifteen years - we finally get something approximating it - but (and I say this with a heavy heart) - this Single CD (and 2LP Vinyl Set) is not without its track choice problems. It's still four solid stars overall - but I wanted five and more (maybe we will get a Volume 2 that makes up).

The artists covered on this Feb 2026 Ace/BGP compilation are Ramsey Lewis, Minnie Riperton, The Dells, Billy Stewart, The Meditation Singers, The Rotary Connection (see following sentence), Terry Callier, Marlena Shaw, Little Milton, Phil Upchurch (with Donny Hathaway on Piano), Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Junior Wells and Buddy Guy. The Rotary Connection was a multiracial seven-piece group specifically created by Charles Stepney with Marshall Chess (of Chess Records) to feature the labels version of Psych-Soul. Throughout its 1967 to 1971 timespan, the band famously featured vocalists Minnie Riperton, Sidney Barnes, Kitty Haywood, Shirley Wahl and Dave Scott with Guitarists Phil Upchurch and Peter Cosey and founders of Earth, Wind & Fire, Drummer Maurice White with Saxophonist Donald Myrick. 

There is much to discuss and much to adore, so let's have at The Love That Stays - here are the technical details...

 

UK released Friday, 27 February 2026 - "Eternal Journey: The Arrangements And Productions Of Charles Stepney" by CHARLES STEPNEY and VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace/Beat Goes Public CDTOP 320 (Barcode 029667115223) is a 20-Track 1CD and 20-Track 2LP VINYL compilation featuring his Productions at Chess, Cadet, Checker and Cadet Concept Records in the USA between 1967 and 1973. The 2LP VINYL Set of "Eternal Journey: The Arrangements And Productions Of Charles Stepney" is released the same day (also 20-Tracks) on Ace/Beat Goes Public BGPX2 320 (Barcode 029667028714) and is a Limited Edition (priced at £30 from Ace). The CD plays out as follows (71:03 minutes):

1. Dear Prudence – RAMSEY LEWIS (from the March 1969 US LP "Mother Nature's Son" on Cadet Records LPS 821 in Stereo – May 1969 in the UK on Chess/Cadet CRS 4545 in Stereo – Whole LP is made up of Beatles cover versions from the 2LP set "The Beatles" (aka The White Album) recorded only weeks after that famous double-LP release worldwide in November 1968)

2. Les Fleur – MINNIE RIPERTON (from the September 1970 US Solo Debut LP "Come To My Garden" on GRT Records GRT 30001 in Stereo)

3. It's All Up To You – THE DELLS (from the August 1971 US LP "Freedom Means" on Cadet Records CA 50004 (no UK issue) – see also Track 13 from the same album – both songs written by Terry Callier and Larry Wade)

4. By The Time I Get To Phoenix – BILLY STEWART (January 1970 US 45-Single on Chess 2080, A-side (no UK issue) – a Jimmy Webb song made famous by Glen Campbell – Produced by Charles Stepney)

5. Stand Up And Be Counted – MEDITATION SINGERS (from the August 1968 US Third Studio LP "The Bad Apple" on Checker LPS 10044 in Stereo – song written by Gene Barge, Production by Ralph Bass with Lead Vocals by Secular Singer Laura Lee Newton - MONO)

6. Love Has Fallen On Me – THE NEW ROTARY CONNECTION (from their August 1971 sixth and final studio LP "Hey, Love" on Chess/Cadet Concept CC 50006 (October 1971 in the UK on Chess 6310 105) – track features Minnie Riperton on Lead Vocals)

7. What Color Is Love – TERRY CALLIER (from his December 1972 US third studio LP "What Color Is Love" on Chess/Cadet CA 50019 (no UK release) – track features Charles Stepney on Keyboards and Production, Phil Upchurch on Guitar, Donald Myrick of E, W & F on Saxophone and Flute with Arthur Hoyle of Sun Ra Arkestra on Trumpet)

8. Brother Where Are You – MARLENA SHAW (August 1967 US 45-single on Cadet 5571, Non-LP B-side of "Waiting For Charlie To Come Home" – an Oscar Brown Jr. song)

9. More And More – LITTLE MILTON (October 1967 US 45-single on Checker 1189, A-side – Produced by Billy Davis)

10. Eternal Journey – RAMSEY LEWIS (from the July 1968 US LP "Maiden Voyage" on Chess/Cadet Records LPS 811 in Stereo and September 1968 in the UK on Chess CRLS 4539 in Stereo – a co-write between Stepney and Lewis)

11. California Soul – MARLENA SHAW (from the November 1969 US LP on Cadet Records LPS-833 in Stereo – An Ashford & Simpson song featuring Production and Arrangements by Charles Stepney)

12. Can't Catch The Train – TERRY CALLIER (from his October 1973 US Fourth Studio Album "I Just Can’t Help Myself" on Cadet Records – Featuring Producer, Arranger and Musician Charles Stepney with Phil Upchurch, Richard Evans of The Soulful Strings and Don Myrick of The Pharaohs and Later Earth, Wind & Fire on Alto Sax)

13. The Love We Have (Stays On My Mind) – THE DELLS (from the August 1971 US LP "Freedom Means" on Cadet Records CA 50004 (no UK issue) – see also Track 3 from the same album – both songs written by Terry Callier and Larry Wade)

14. Teach Me How To Fly – ROTARY CONNECTION (from the October 1968 US Second Studio LP "Aladdin" on Cadet Concept Records LPS 317 in Stereo (May 1969 in the UK on Chess CRLS 4547 in Stereo) – a Sidney Barnes song with Sidney Barnes and Minnie Riperton on Lead Vocals)

15. More And More – PHIL UPCHURCH (from the May 1969 US LP "Upchurch" on Cadet LPS 827 in Stereo – features Chess Records session Bassist Louis Satterfield and future Atlantic Records Soul star Donny Hathaway on Piano)

16. I'm High Again – BO DIDDLEY (June 1968 US 45-single on Checker 1200, A-side – written by Sidney Barnes of Rotary Connection with Production sharded by Gene Page and Charles Stepney - MONO)

17. Let's Spend The Night Together – MUDDY WATERS (from his October 1968 US LP "Electric Mud" on Cadet Concept LPS 314 in Stereo, January 1969 UK on Chess Records CRLS 4542 in Stereo – a Rolling Stones cover version done in Psych-Blues style, produced by Stepney)

18. Smokestack Mountain – HOWLIN' WOLF (from his January 1969 US LP "The Howlin' Wolf Album" on Cadet Concept LPS 319 in Stereo – a re-make of his old Chess Records classic in a Psych-Blues vein (like the Muddy Waters LP, see Track 17) features members of Rotary Connection, Guitarists Phil Upchurch and Hubert Sumlin with Gene Barge on Saxophone and Don Myrick on Flute)

19. Girl, You Lit My Fire – JUNIOR WELLS (September 1968 US 45-single on Blue Rock B-4062, A-side – October 1968 UK 45-single on Mercury MF 1056, A-side - Produced by Eugene Daniels with Arrangements by CS - MONO)

20. I'm Gonna Keep It To Myself – BUDDY GUY (September 1967 US 45-single on Chess 2022, B-side of "I Suffer With The Blues" (no UK release) – Produced by Gene Barge and CS)

NOTES:

All Tracks in STEREO except Track 5, 16 and 19 in MONO

DEAN RUDLAND does his usual bang-up job in the liner notes of the 20-Page booklet - artists in alphabetical order rather than track order - photos of notables like The Dells, Rotary Connection, Terry Callier, Muddy in that silly priest's smock while Howlin' Wolf smiles from a house balcony. There is a small history of the artist for each entry and session-players (when known). I'm going to quote details from Rudland's stellar work extensively...

In some respects, Chicago-born Jazzer Charles Stepney was all but forgotten amongst Soul Boys until (typically) The English/Acid Jazz Obsessives started digging into the names surrounding the music they loved as they explored in secondhand record shops and LP crates in dark leery passages. In fact - the offshoot label of Cadet and Cadet Concept (a go-to name for collectors of Psych-Soul) had been on Marshall Chess' mind for some time, when he married it with the Genius that was Charles Stepney (Marshall waxed lyrical about Stepney on the Charlie Gillett Show on Radio London in the 90s - Born in Chicago in March 1931, multi-instrumentalist Stepney would pass far too early at only 45 in May 1976). 

Rudland's superb liner notes paints the picture of a meeting of minds that would move the genre needle forward massively. Marshall Chess and Stepney meet over dinner to discuss what would become Rotary Connection and Stepney arrives with an Entire Symphony in his briefcase. Marshall knew this was the guy. Stepney had already established himself too with the Chess Producers (Gene Barge, Billy Davis and Bobby Miller) for his speed and innovation. His mentoring of the Drummer with the Ramsey Lewis Trio - Maurice White and his Saxophonist Donald Myrick - would lead to Maurice forming the mighty Earth, Wind & Fire and the global success of Kalimba Productions (a name I remember reading in the EWF liner notes back in the Seventies day). Stepney also later pulled Soul Ladies The Emotions from a failing career at Stax and ditto to Deniece Williams' by Producing and Arranging the monster US & Worldwide R&B Soul smoocher "Free" for her - a Number 2 in the USA and No. 1 in the UK in 1976 on Epic Records (Free also featured Sidney Barnes of Rotary Connection on Vocals). Interestingly, Rudland's notes also mention a 4CD Box Set lingering across the decades for CS and that the "Eternal Journey..." compilation I am reviewing was first gathered in 2016 - and only through a 10-year perseverance - is it with us at all! (Radiohead namechecked the great man in 2016 on their "A Moon Shaped Pool" album). 

But the really great news is stunning audio from NICK ROBBINS Remasters - the best I've heard to date of Cadet material. Let's get to the meat and potatoes... 

Norman Whitfield over at Motown and Charles Stepney at Chess were at the very forefront of Progressive Soul between 1968 and 1974 – genres like Psych-Soul and Folk-Soul that have attained near mythical connotations amongst Soul and Rock collectors and music lovers. This compilation isn't perfect – I mean where is there a photo of the main man? We get Howlin Wolf, Terry Callier, The Rotary Connection, The Dells and so on – all the big artist names associated with CS - but none of Stepney himself? The album collage on the front cover is a nice touch too – hip albums amongst those in-the-know like The (New) Rotary Connection's "Hey, Love", Marlena Shaw's "The Spice Of Life" and Muddy Waters' mad Psych-Blues LP "Electric Mud". 

It opens so strongly with Ramsey Lewis and his band getting their grubby paws on "The Beatles" (White Album) only days after its release in November 1968 so they could do an entire album of covers from it which they aptly named "Every Mother's Son". The Audio quality on their Funky-Piano-Driven instrumental of "Dear Prudence" is fantastic - drums, bass, those swirling Stepney string arrangements going ape as the 4:37 minute neck-jerker builds to a fab finish. Door No. 2 and in sails Minnie Riperton with Rotary Connection for the huge Acid Jazz fave "Les Fleur" - and again you're whomped with gorgeous audio as the ladies and gents raise it up to the heavens (love that Trumpet and Glockenspiel break at 1:40). Two album stunners came out of the Cadet Concept camp in 1971 - Rotary's "Hey, Love" and The Dells giving it some 'always be happy' "Freedom Means" (Track 3 is The Dells). Written by Terry Callier and Larry Wade - The Dells tune "It's All Up To You" is more old-skool swirling Soul than Psych-Soul and Rudland quite rightly emphasises this in his superb liner notes. The British vinyl variants of either LP (on Chess) are so hard to find - and as a rarities guy in a busy West End store - I could count on one hand how many times I saw copies. Lovely stuff. 

I could honestly do without the Jimmy Webb cover of "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" (a song made famous of course by Glen Campbell) coming from Billy Stewart - good rather than great. Righteous preaching by way of that Staple Singers sound comes in the shape of The Meditation Singers – lead vocalist Laura Lee Newton telling us to "Stand Up And Be Counted". Speaking of great lady-lead vocal group ensembles, collectors will wallow in the Piano-Funky feel-so-good vibes in "Love Has Fallen On Me" Minnie Riperton and Kitty Haywood wailing and harmonizing in such a magical almost ethereal way.

More genius song choices come in the shape of the sexy Jazz-Soul-Psych of the compilation title track "Eternal Journey" (written by Stepney with Ramsey Lewis) with Minnie Riperton giving it some glass shattering vocal gymnastics (like a violin note being drawn across a rusty fret) only to later hah like she’s having an orgasm. While all this is signifying, Ramsey Lewis plinks on his Piano like the chugga-chugga Funkmeister he undoubtedly was. It is fantastic stuff – anchored by stunning Bass from Cleveland East with Maurice White on shuffling Drums. That is followed by Marlena Shaw's every popular cover version of Ashford & Simpson's "California Soul" – a huge Acid Jazz tune for over three decades now. The sheer class of Soul Vocal Groups at the top of their game comes screaming through with The Dells doing their gorgeous "The Love We Have (Stays On My Mind)". The final cut by Buddy Guy is a forgotten gem – brilliant Stepney Brass arrangements elevating a standard R&B and Blues Boogie into something better – it may only be three-minutes but it kicks longer butt. 

But there are missteps for me – the manic rhythm, scat vocals and warbling sax of the Terry Callier track "Can't Catch The Train" do my brain in – and nothing on that front has changed when I re-listen to it here. And I know it has been done to death over the last fifteen years especially, but where is the Phil Upchurch and Rotary Connection anthem "I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun" that Nuyorcian Soul made famous again in the Nineties. Or why choose the lesser sub-5th Dimension sounding "Teach Me How To Fly" by The Rotary Connection over Terry Callier’s magnificent songwriting contribution to their "Hey, Love!" album with "Song For Everyone" – an absolute barnstormer and VERY Charles Stepney. Or how about the stunning string arrangements on "Looking Through The Eyes of Love" where Stepney goes all Petula Clark meets Bacharach & David while Minnie soars uncredited in the background hitting those ludicrous octaves. 

I would have placed both Dave Scott lead-vocal barnstormers "Hanging Round The Bee Tree" and the title track on the August 1971 US "Hey, Love" album as stunning examples of Stepney and his arrangement skills not just with strings but vocal charts. And despite being penned by Sidney Barnes of The Rotary Connection with Production Values from heroes like Gene Page and Stepney – the Bo Diddley Checker 45 A-side "I'm High Again" is very average fare. The my-heart-is-not-in-it Muddy Waters cover of The Rolling Stones classic "Let's Spend The Night Together" sounds wildly out-of-place. The Howlin Wolf remake of his own "Smokestack Lightning" just about pulls it off – but again – feels out of place somehow here. However, the last two tracks - the 45s for Junior Wells and Buddy Guy are great entries and very clever choices. And - it must be noted with some strength that these are the Best Remasters I've heard of this material to date - and that is a joy to behold - so five stars on the Audio Remasters.

To sum up - a tad disappointing perhaps in track choices, songs that should have been on here and that omission of a photograph of Stepney is a clumsy goof - but "Eternal Journey..." is still a huge feather in Ace's Reissue cap and for me - a reissue to savour in early 2026...(I've ordered the 2LP set too as a collectable)...