"Eternal Journey: The Arrangements And Productions Of Charles Stepney" by CHARLES STEPNEY and Various Artists – 20 Tracks (17 in Stereo, 3 in Mono) 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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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 - 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 Volume 2... 

There is much to discuss, so let's get to 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 artists covered on this BGP compilation are Ramsey Lewis, Minnie Riperton, The Dells, Billy Stewart, The Meditation Singers, The Rotary Connection (a seven-piece group specifically created by Charles Stepney with Marshall Chess to feature both Minnie Riperton and the labels version of Psych-Soul – the band featuring vocalists Minnie Riperton, Sidney Barnes, Kitty Haywood, Shirley Wahl and Dave Scott with Guitarists Phil Upchurch and Peter Cosey and founder of Earth, Wind & Fire, Drummer Maurice White with Saxophonist Donald Myrick), 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 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)...

"The Zebra That Slept In A Fishtank" by NIAMH LYNCH - A Review of her Debut Book/Memoir - Published 29 January 2026 by Pegasus Publishers/Vanguard Press in Paperback...

The Zebra That Slept In A Fishtank by NIAMH LYNCH

Published 29 Jan 2026 by Pegasus Publishers/Vanguard Press

Review of Niamh Lynch's Debut Paperback Book - £9.99 (UK)/$14.99 (USA)

The Zebra That Slept In A Fishtank - the debut paperback from Irish writer Niamh Lynch (published 29 Jan 2026 by Pegasus Publishers/Vanguard Press) - is a brave biographical tale and at times (especially for any parent coping with children in real mental and physical difficulty) - a harrowing read. But its pages of nerve-touching is shot through with grit and determination - and that power-source that even oceans dare not try to fathom let alone tame – a mother's love for her child.

I will readily confess that I was drawn to ZEBRA by our own family history - our first-born Dean has had severe autism since birth 35-years ago and we in turn (my wife and I and our other two now grown-up healthy kids) – have been through the proverbial wringer every day since his beautiful face made its way into our hearts. Niamh – who has two daughters – one with Down Syndrome (the least of her worries strangely enough) – documents her oldest girl (now a young lady) and her struggles with weight, abandonment, isolation, self-image and physical exhaustion that manifested itself in almost day-long sleeps (hence the reference to shuteye in the title). There are two types of horses in the world (cart-horses and racing-types) someone once explained to Niamh as a young mum trying to get to an answer – only to realise that her troubled daughter is a Zebra. In other words, this is a story of the different, the difficult stripy ones that need space and time and love and a dug-in Mum who won't stop until she gets to the bottom of that lingering pong that's hit the fan where the clean laundry is supposed to be.

There's a danger of self-indulgence with books like this – the endless poor me poured over us like treacle to elicit sympathy – but I'm glad to say that her admirable honesty stretches out in all directions. The style of writing and the telling of this tale also reflects the sheer years she's put in - the graft it takes to rise above the inescapable crippling self doubt that rides roughshod alongside any decision you make (or don't make) when you're on a life-journey like this. Personal soul-searching comes on heavy and thick as Niamh struggles to deal with a school-age teen losing weight, hair, self-confidence, friends, a social life, peer acceptance and even the ability to mingle or talk to kids of her own age. In other words – the essential building blocks of a life and a functioning human being. Misinterpretation is everywhere even amongst family and those supposedly support-adjacent. Don't get me wrong - her daughter is not slow nor precocious, but fiercely intelligent and witty, and yet, her questioning of everything that moves or slithers is perceived by some as combative. Of course, this incurs the wrath of those who want conformity and will avoid confrontation of any kind at all costs. A series of early school rejections and hate campaigns from other bullies does its insidious damage – impossible to get her out of bed – absences becoming frequent – referrals to the school boards and social welfare bodies and the inevitable intervention of authority.

Lingering throughout the pages of details and facts and painful milestones is that feeling that despite a writer's objectivity, Mummy is tearing herself apart inside with recrimination – the kind of mind-fuck that coping with Special Needs inflicts on all of us in the thick of such an ongoing battle. But there's also hope, the odd laugh and tentative bud of progress – angels and villains amidst the struggle to pay the London bills and stay afloat. We meet the Irish grandmother mucking in and shoring up, friends visiting or babysitting to give the principal carer a well-earned break, the estranged divorced father away in a foreign country living the life of film-Reilly, and the ever-helpful/not-really-helpful authorities trying to be a sympathetic ear as they run on resource and personnel shortages that make your blood boil. England is a great country, but like my own native Ireland, has had a woeful Governmental boots-on-the-ground contribution track record (for decades now) when it comes to the needs of those who are broken and will therefore cost money. At least here in the UK, the NHS model of care-for-all has that backbone no political party can screw with – a duty of care - an obligation to those who need it most written into the law - instead of just relying all the time on the Christian decency that's hardwired into every parent's DNA.

Chapter after chapter passes as the CAMHS system (Child And Adolescent Mental Health Services) tries to get to the bottom of the mental struggles manifesting itself in insular behaviour and an alarming physical deterioration. With the weight issues, there is also the inevitable suggestion of the big 'A' word (and I don't mean Autism) and worries from their point of view that something untoward is going on (it isn't, but if it looks that way). And whether we like it or not (as parents), from their point of view, authorities must rule that out, pronto and definitively. The struggle for societal acceptance has plagued every generation since Eve explained to Adam about apples and ribs and future trips to IKEA, but in our present-day swirl of social media and instant lambasting should you get anything wrong – the pressure on the young in the 2020s is suffocating. And yet as setbacks in 'teen concerts not attended' and alcohol-induced behaviour at other people's celebratory weddings pile up - all the time you are touched by a Mum who looks for the positive that will transform – believes there is a higher source watching over us even if the crafty git is unavailable for comment much of the time. You root for them both as a three-to-four-day sleeping week becomes progress over the six-day-variant – the small mercies that bolster up the soul. And on the overseeing steership goes - parents with their hurt shovels, digging down and digging deep…

I won't lie nor reveal outcomes but this was a tough read for me. But – and this as they say in Sumo Wrestler shower rooms - is the big butt – I put The Zebra That Slept In The Fishtank in the category of 'difficult watches worth the difficulty'. And that right there is uplifting and heroic.

Seek this book out and marvel at parents of children who look at muddy water and see clear blue skies…

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

 

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

https://amzn.to/4bqIZu3

A QUICK SHUFTY...And Other Popular Outdoor Activities

Moist Interpretations of Words and Phrases from A to Z

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

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

Book 10 in the Left Luggage Series

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

My new book RESONATOR 

Published today, Sunday, 2 Nov 2025

Available On Amazon for £9.95 

- Enjoy The Reads...

https://amzn.to/490ig4L

MULL OF BIN-DIRE (Hair-Raising Decisions)

CIGARETTES AND ALCOHOL (Re-Cooling Britannia)

BAZ AND FRANKLIN INADVERTENTLY GO BANANAS

(Laughing With Each Other And Not At Each Other)

MARY WHITEHOUSE WORRIES ABOUT MASHED-POTATO CONSISTENCY

THE PROBLEM WITH BEING OLD (Monster-Winning Dread)

FRANKENSTEIN HAS AN EPPY

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

LISTENING TO KINGFISHR

FIXTURES AND FITTINGS (The Proximity Of Stars)

IN THE END, I JUST WANT PEACE

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

LEXI, CHARLIE & BEA

DISNEY TAKES THE PISS (Alarmingly Minimalistic)

AN EVER-FIXED MARK

COOL IN OUR ENSEMBLE SINS (Energizing My Wardrobe)

KATIE JOHNSON'S ONLY FAN

WONDROUS NEW PATHS SHOWN (The Song Inside)

DEAFENING SILENCE, CALLING ITSELF SOUND

MAKING CAR BOMBS WITH AYATOLLAH KHOMEINI

(Have The Dogma Dogs Already Won?)

CHEMTRAILS

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

THE LOADED LAUNDRY BASKET (In Your Corner)

BEGUILE OF THE SLAP PILE (Lad Bible Dogs)

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

JANE AUSTEN'S HOUSE

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

LIKE NO OTHER

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

EXCITING DEVELOPMENTS IN CONSTRUCTION DOWN TIME

THE CORRECT AMOUNT OF TIME SPENT IN A TOILET

DEAFENING SILENCE CALLING ITSELF SOUND

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

NO ONE'S CALLED EUSTACE ANYMORE

THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF LONG TROUSERS

Book 4 of 12 in the Left Luggage Series

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

From my Book 'Significant Others'

Available on Amazon UK as a Paperback for £9.95

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

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"...Funky Fingers..."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TONY JOE WHITE US Singles (UK follows below):

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Echoes Of You" by ANNA BODICOAT ELYARD

A Book of Poems - June 2025

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

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

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

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

Nice work Anna and keep on keeping on...

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

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

          BAZ AND FRANKLIN INADVERTENTLY GO BANANAS

             (Laughing With Each Other And Not At Each Other)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In truly garish Seventies-period ABBA outfits complete with sequined 

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

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

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

And the entire audience goes into mini-microphone waving routines

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

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

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

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

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

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

And cool food accoutrements that sported way too many calories

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

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

Me sat there, with tears running down my face

But not like the tears of fun we had that night

When we were welcomed into their world and laughed ourselves silly

Alongside Trans Pop Music fans praising how well Frida and Agnetha

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

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

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

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

Who raise a family through thick and thin

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

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

With their fuck-adversity determination to be true to themselves

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

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

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

Laughing with each other and not at each other

The Dancing Queens and Super Troopers shaking their tailfeathers

Loving a Voulez Vous moment of pleasure 

So unexpected and acceptance divine

Here's to breaking down barriers, instinctive forward motion

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

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

Shedding skin in our drab picket-fence sexual stodginess

Here's to the young-at-heart and up-for-it friends, enjoying life's mess

Swimming towards the all-encompassing umbrella of Love

Stretching out to a no-chains-horizon

In a limitless sea...

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