“The Imperial & Minit Years” by CLYDIE KING (November 2007 EMI/Stateside/Minit 22-Track CD Compilation of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"…Ready Willing And Able…To Give You My Love…"

Best known as one of 'the' great Backing Vocalists (especially in the Seventies) - Texan CLYDIE KING had her own stab at Solo fame in the mid to late Sixties on the Stateside and Minit Record labels in the USA. 

Not that anyone noticed - none of these 45s made the Top 40 in the US R&B charts despite the fact that her singles are beloved amongst Soul collectors. Even the presence of the mighty JIMMY HOLIDAY on the wonderful and chipper "Ready, Willing & Able" failed to move.

This fab little November 2007 CD Remaster called "The Imperial & Minit Years" by CLYDIE KING on EMI/Stateside 5099950958122 (Barcode 5099950958122) sets out to prove the chart-buying public were wrong to ignore her - and makes a damn good 22-Track point of doing so. Here are the in-depth details…

1. The Thrill Is Gone

2. If You Were A Man

1965, A&B-sides of USA 7" single on Imperial 66109

3. Missin' My Baby

4. My Love Grows Deeper

1965, A&B-sides of USA 7" single on Imperial 66139

5. He Always Comes Back To Me

6. Soft And Gentle Ways

1966, A&B-sides of USA 7" single on Imperial 66172

7. Ready, Willing And Able [Jimmy Holiday & Clydie King]

8. We Got A Good Thing Goin' [Jimmy Holiday & Clydie King]

1967, A&B-sides of USA 7" single on Minit 32021

9. One Of Those Good For Crying Over You Days

10. My Mistakes Of Yesterday

1967, A&B-sides of USA 7" single of Minit 32025

11. I'll Never Stop Loving You

12. Shing-A-Ling

1968, A&B-sides of USA 7" single on Minit 32032

13. One Part, Two Part

14. Love Now Pay Later

1968, A&B-sides of USA 7" single on Minit 32054

15. Good Kind Of Hurt

16. I'm Glad I'm A Woman

17. If You Love Me Like You Say

18. Ode To Billie Joe

19. Something To Remember You By

20. The Way I Love My Man

21. When In Rome

22. You Can't Make Me Love You

Tracks 15 to 22 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Much of the Imperial stuff is actually very Phil Spector sounding because the recordings reflect that wall of sound feel. The Minit label material features Jimmy Holiday both on duet vocals and in song-writing credits - and are pure Sixties Soul bliss – full of "...sock it to me…and dig this…" lyrics. Check out "Shing-A-Ling", a Van McCoy song relegated to the B-side of "I'll Never Stop Loving You" - absolutely sensational – like discovering a great unheard Motown gem. And there's also her most famous song - the uptempo duet with Jimmy Holiday - "Ready Willing And Able" (lyrics above) – a lovely tune. It was featured in 1986 on a Jimmy Holiday reissue album called "Everybody Needs Help" when EMI first started dipping their toes in Old School Soul reissues.

As a session vocalist, the list of rock and soul luminaries Clydie has played is almost ludicrous - The Doors, Bob Dylan, Joe Cocker, B.B. King, The Supremes, The Rolling Stones, America, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon and my first introduction to her - via Steely Dan. Clydie King sang on Steely Dan albums - mother of God!

The Bonus Tracks all turn out to be properly produced studio recordings (all from 1968) - and they're uniformly excellent - especially "Good Kind Of Hurt" and the wicked "You Can't Make Me Love You".

This is what a Soul CD reissue should be about - ludicrously rare Soul gems given a new remastered airing - topped up with a primo haul of previously unreleased goodies from those heady times - and that's exactly what you get here. Buy this beautiful Soul compilation and you'll know why her vocals were and are - so revered. And it's less than a fiver from most sellers…very nice indeed…

"Couldn’t Stand The Weather" by STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN and DOUBLE TROUBLE. A Review Of The 2010 2CD 'Legacy Edition' Reissue.

"…Rain Or Shine…It’s Always Here To Stay…"

It's hardly surprising that Stevie Ray Vaughan's 2nd album has become a 2CD 'Legacy Edition' - it was his breakthrough record and is still a huge fan favourite. But re-listening to it now a full 26 years after the event, you're clobbered with his astonishing fretwork, his effortless cool and what a tragic loss to music he was - taken away from us at only 35 in 1990. 

But to the details of this reissue first... 

“Couldn’t Stand The Weather” by STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN and DOUBLE TROUBLE on Epic/Legacy 88697559432 was released 26 July 2010 - a 2CD ‘Deluxe Edition’ Remaster (by VIC ANESINI) that breaks down as follows:

Disc 1 (79:02 minutes):

Tracks 1 to 8 are the original LP "Couldn't Stand The Weather" released May 1984 in the USA on Epic FE 39304 and June 1984 in the UK on Epic EPC 25940

BONUS TRACKS

Tracks 10, 11, 13 and 14 are 4 of the 5 bonus tracks that appeared on the 1999 Expanded CD remaster of "Couldn't Stand The Weather" (the missing track is a short 'SRV Interview')

Tracks 12, 15 and 19 are 3 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED versions of "The Sky Is Crying", "Boot Hill" and "Stang's Swang"  

Tracks 9, 16, 17 and 18 are from the posthumously released album "The Sky Is Crying" (1991)

Disc 2 (75:56 minutes):

Tracks 1 to 13 are a live concert recorded 'The Spectrum' in Montreal on 17 August 1984 (late show) and are listed as PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (see below).

Eagle-eye fans will notice that of the 11 bonus tracks on Disc 1, only THREE are actually previously unreleased (the rear packaging clearly states this) - the rest are on other CDs fans will already own. Which leaves the live stuff on Disc 2, but that too has been made available via another label. This will mean that dedicated fans will feel they're being asked to fork out for only 3 songs, but I feel for the rest of us - this set is a feast of studio and live brilliance worth every penny. 

The 3-way foldout digipak is nice and there's a photo-festooned 24-page booklet with great liners notes by ANDY ALEDORT, Associate Editor of the "Guitar World" magazine. The mastering is by VIC ANESINI and the sound quality is fantastic - big, ballsy and clear. 

Niggles - there's no footage and there should be. There was a visual excitement about SRV - and I don't just mean that he looked the part - he literally exuded the Blues in his every flourish on the fret-board and growl into the microphone (check out the DVD of "Live At The El Mocambo" from 1983 for such fireworks). The wonderful 'Legacy Edition' of Jeff Buckley's "Grace" was a 3-disc set with a DVD in it and far better for it. 

I batter on about the visuals because it’s one thing to hear Stevie Ray Vaughan make that Stratocaster talk, its another matter entirely witnessing him do it. On film you can graphically 'see' his musicality and fluency. Another thing all really great guitar players have (Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana, Tommy Emmanuel) is that they can rock it out one moment, but do the beautiful the next. Check out YouTube for videos of "Couldn't Stand The Weather" (lyrics above) and then follow it with "Lenny" - excite and sway - SRV could do both.  

I've loved rehearing this album and the extra tracks are an absolute blast. Ok, there is duplicity and diehard fans will already have much of it, but for the rest of us mere mortals, this is a timely reminder of just how blisteringly good Stevie Ray Vaughan was. 

If you haven't succumbed before, then this is the place to start - there's a whole lot of genius on here for not a whole lot of money. Probably the only guitar player who made all the greats 'nervous' - and that's saying something. 

"Lie Back And Enjoy It" by JUICY LUCY (2010 Esoteric Recordings 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This review is part of my Series "SOUNDS GOOD: Exceptional CD Remasters 1970s Rock And Pop" Download Book available to buy on Amazon to either your PC or Mac (it will download the Kindle software to read the book for free to your toolbar). Click on the link below to go my Author's Page for this and other related publications:

                       http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B00LQKMC6I

"…Ain't Going Down That Lonesome Road All By Myself…"

Released in September 1969 – JUICY LUCY’s self-titled debut LP was only the second album on the then new progressive rock label VERTIGO Records. And on the back of their blistering UK 7” single “Who Do You Love” which was lifted off the record and released in February 1970 - the "Juicy Lucy" album finally charted in the UK in April 1970. And that’s where this cool little CD reissue kicks in. "Lie Back And Enjoy It" was their hurriedly recorded follow-up LP (featuring a radically altered band line-up) – and it’s mid-price expanded CD reissue by the renowned Esoteric Recordings Label (part of Cherry Red) is a welcome boogie blast from my distant past…

UK released August 2010 (reissued June 2015) – "Lie Back And Enjoy It" by JUICY LUCY on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC2216 (Barcode 5013929731646) is an ‘Expanded Edition’ CD Remaster and breaks down as follows (39:08 minutes):

1. Thinking Of My Life

2. Built For Comfort

3. Pretty Woman

4. Whisky In My Jar

5. Hello L.A. Bye Bye Birmingham

6. Changed My Mind, Changed My Sign

7. That Woman’s Got Something

8. Willie The Pimp/Lie Back And Enjoy It Medley

Tracks 1 to 8 are the album "Lie Back And Enjoy It" released October 1970 in the UK on Vertigo 6360 014. The album charted at number 53 on the UK LP charts for one week in November 1970. Their next two albums were on the 'Bronze' and 'Polydor' labels ("Get A Whiff A This" from 1971 and "Pieces" from 1972).

Track 9 "I'm A Thief" (Mono) is the non-album B-side to their second 7" single "Pretty Woman" (Track 3 on Side 1). It was released September 1970 in the UK on Vertigo 6059 015 (also on the Spiral label) but failed to chart.

Boasting a new 24-bit remaster by BEN WISEMAN at Audio Archiving in London (it was first put out by Repertoire in 1994) - it's also available digitally at www.losttunes.com.

The 5-piece for this LP featured PAUL WILLIAMS on Lead Vocals, Congas & Piano [ex Zoot Money’s Big Band] with GLENN ROSS CAMPBELL on Lead Guitar, Mandolin and Vocals [ex The Misunderstood], MICKY MOODY on Guitars [ex Tramline, Mike Cotton Sound - later with Snafu, Whitesnake & duet work with Paul Williams], CHRIS MERCER on Saxophones & Keyboards [ex John Mayall's Bluesbreakers], KEITH ELLIS on Bass & Vocals [ex Koobas and Van Der Graaf Generator] and ROD COOMBES on Drums and Percussion.

Building on the greasy slide-guitar boogie-band feel of their self-titled debut, “Lie Back And Enjoy It” went down the same road – only this time they’d replaced Ray Owen as Lead Vocalist with Paul Williams and Neill Hubbard’s guitar work with that of Micky Moody. Like the first album it’s a mixed batch of the great and the ordinary. The Paul Williams penned “Pretty Woman” was released as the album’s only single and you can instantly hear why – catchy as a cold in Margate. The cover of the Willie Dixon song he gave to Howlin' Wolf "Built For Comfort" is less successful as is the awful version of Zappa’s “Willy The Pimp” (although it redeems itself at about 5 minutes 34 seconds in as it fades out and suddenly turns into a lovely 2-minute long piano instrumental - not surprisingly called “Lie Back And Enjoy It”). But the track I dig the most is “This Woman’s Got Something” which was co-written by Moody, Campbell and William (lyrics above) – it’s a bluesy builder with great guitar work and has graced more than a few 70’s FEST CDs I’ve made up for shop play.

Sound - like Esoteric’s 2010 reissue of "Juicy Lucy" the audio quality is incredibly clean and crisp, full of power and a massive improvement over what I had before - a really great job done. The 16-page booklet features a really detailed account by MARK POWELL of their transition from The Misunderstood of 1966 to Juicy Lucy of 1969 and onwards into 1970 and their many line-up changes. The original album artwork was an elaborate 4-way foldout poster affair that is reproduced in parts here. There are also full-page colour-plates for each member of the band, Vertigo adverts for the group and a foreign picture sleeve of the “Pretty Woman” single. Like its predecessor, it's all very nicely done.

There are some Seventies bands I go dolally over and JUICY LUCY is one of them. And although some of the tracks on here don't quite live up to the image and promise of the elaborate sleeve - there's tunes on here that do. I've loved re-hearing this long-forgotten album.

A wicked little reissue really...

PS: Their 1st Vertigo album from September 1969 "Juicy Lucy" has also been remastered and reissued by Esoteric in 2010 with a bonus track (see separate review).

“Juicy Lucy” by JUICY LUCY (2010 Esoteric Recordings 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

JUICY LUCY are part of my Series "SOUNDS GOOD: Exceptional CD Remasters 1970s Rock And Pop" Download Book available to buy on Amazon to either your PC or Mac (it will download the Kindle software to read the book for free to your toolbar). Click on the link below to go my Author's Page for this and other related publications:

                       http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B00LQKMC6I

"…Walked 47 Miles Of Barbed Wire…Used A Cobra Snake For A Necktie…"

Sandwiched between "Valentyne Suite" by Colosseum (VO 1) and "Chapter Three" by Manfred Mann (VO 3) - "Juicy Lucy" by JUICY LUCY was only the 2nd album ever released on the then fledgling progressive rock Vertigo Label (famous for its Spiral label design). This reissue is 24-bit newly remastered reissue of that fab boogie-woogie debut LP (it was first put out by Repertoire in 1994) and features a relevant bonus track. It's also available digitally at www.losttunes.com. The quality remaster on this mid-price CD is by BEN WISEMAN at Audio Archiving in London. Here are juicy fruity details...

UK released August 2010 on CD  - "Juicy Lucy" by JUICY LUCY on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC2215 (Barcode 5013929731547) is an ‘Expanded Edition’ CD Remaster and breaks down as follows (41:07 minutes):

1. Mississippi Woman

2. Who Do You Love?

3. She’s Mine, She’s Yours

4. Just One Time

5. Chicago North-Western

6. Train

7. Nadine

8. Are You Satisfied

Tracks 1 to 8 are the album "Juicy Lucy" released September 1969 in the UK on Vertigo VO 2 (874 901 VTY)

Track 9 “Walking Down The Highway” is the non-album B-side to their debut 7" single "Who Do You Love" (Track 2 on Side 1). It was released 6 February 1970 in the UK on Vertigo V 1 and entered the UK singles chart in late March 1970 at number 28 - eventually rising to Number 14 in mid April. On the strength of that popular rocker the album also belatedly charted in the UK in April 1970 - rising to Number 41.

The 5-piece featured RAY OWENS on Lead Vocals with GLENN ROSS CAMPBELL on Lead Guitar, Mandolin and Vocals [both ex The Misunderstood], NEIL HUBBARD on Guitars, CHRIS MERCER on Saxophones & Keyboards [ex John Mayall's Bluesbreakers], KEITH ELLIS on Bass & Vocals [ex Koobas and Van Der Graaf Generator] and PETE DOBSON on Drums and Percussion.

Sporting one of those gatefold sleeves you never forget - a nude Zelda Plum covered from head to toe in soggy fruit (she turned up at some of the early gigs and danced with the boys as they played the tune) - it promised sleazy Rock’n’Roll your mother would disapprove of. And it delivered in places too - especially when Ray Owens was at the microphone.

But therein lay the problem with this record and this band. With him to the fore, they had the kind of attention-grabbing growling vocalist they needed with a voice that sounded like a cross between Captain Beefheart and the US DJ Wolfman Jack. But of its 8 tracks only "Mississippi Woman" and "Who Do You Love" featured Owen on Lead Vocals. Glenn Ross Campbell handled the others ("Just One Time" and "Chicago North-Western") with Keith Ellis ("She's Mine, She's Yours", "Train", "Nadine" and "Are You Satisfied") - who was nowhere near as good. It meant that those who'd bought the single and expected more of the same felt short-changed.

Having said that - there's absolute gems on here. Their own "Mississippi Woman" is a cracking rock track while the eerie slow-paced menace of "Just One Time" has graced many of my Shop Play CD compilations - it's hard to categorize but its utterly brilliant. Their cover versions of Chuck Berry's "Nadine" and Buddy & Herb Rich's "Train" are good rather than great and "Chicago North-Western" sounds like sub-standard Allman Brothers. But it ends well on the mandolin-driven Dr. John voodoo of "Are You Satisfied". The non-album B-side is excellent too - far better than it had any right to be. 

But then you're back to their rip-roaring incendiary cover of Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love" - it's the album's ace-in-the-hole (lyrics above). Loud, manic and positively dangerous for hip joint replacements - it sounds utterly astonishing even now - a full 40 years after the event. Half way through its radio-rattling 3-minute duration, Campbell just goes ape on the slide steel guitar and combined with Owen's fantastic vocal delivery, it often brings customers to our counter asking - "who the f**k is this!"

The sound quality is incredibly clean and crisp - full of power - while the 16-page booklet features a really detailed account by MARK POWELL of their transition from The Misunderstood of 1966 to Juicy Lucy of 1969. The UK inner gatefold is also reproduced, Chris Welch's original liner notes, there's pictures of the alternate Dutch, Mexican and New Zealand album artwork (more variations on a woman in fruit), the 7" single (UK Demo and Foreign Picture Sleeves) and Vertigo adverts for the album and the band. It's all very well done indeed.

There are some bands you're soppy for - and JUICY LUCY is one of them. And although some of the tracks on here don't quite live up to the wanton promise of that unbelievable single and that saucy-as-sin album cover - there's much that does...

PS: Their 2nd Vertigo album from October 1970 "Lie Back & Enjoy It" has also been remastered and reissued by Esoteric in 2010 with a bonus track - as has their 3rd LP on Bronze "Get A Whiff A This" (reissued in April 2013)

"The Ultimate Staple Singers – A Family Affair 1955-1984" by THE STAPLE SINGERS (2004 Ace/Kent Records 2CD Compilation) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)…"

Like most people I came across the Staple Singers through their fabulous run of Stax and Curtom sides in the Seventies (although their career stretched back to Gospel roots in the early Fifties). This truly impressive double CD by Ace Records of the UK (using their Kent Soul logo) is a thorough and deeply satisfying retro for one of the most underrated Soul acts of all time. It even includes four properly storming Previously Unreleased cuts and a chunky 28-page fact-filled booklet (pretty much typical of Ace's quality).

UK released September 2004 - "The Ultimate Staple Singers: A Family Affair 1955-1984" by THE STAPLE SINGERS on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEN2 240 (Barcode 029667224024) offers up 44 tracks across 2 CDs covering their record label stays with Riverside, Vanguard, Epic, Stax, Curtom and Warner Brothers - with 4 previously unreleased thrown in. Disc 1 roughly deals with 1955 up to 1971 while Disc 2 covers everything after that. Here's a breakdown...

DISC 1: (76:07 minutes)

1. Hammer And Nails

2. Nobody's Fault But Mine

3. Too Close

4. Uncloudy Day

5. Won't You Sit Down (Sit Down Servant)

6. I Wish I Had Answered

7. A Hard Rain's Gonna Fail

8. Swing Low

9. This May Be The Last Time

10. For What It's Worth

11. Be Careful Of The Stones You Throw

12. Why (Am I Treated So Bad)

13. It's Been A Change

14. Will The Circle Be Unbroken

Tracks 1 to 14 feature their Gospel years with the Riverside, Vanguard and Epic labels.

15. The Ghetto

16. Long Walk To DC

17. God Bless The Children

18. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay

19. The Gardener

20. When Will We Be Paid For The Work We Did

21. Who Took The Merry Out Of Christmas

22. John Henry [Pops Staples]

23. You're Gonna Make Me Cry

24. Solon Bushi

Tracks 15 to 24 touch on the Stax issues from 1968 to 1971

DISC 2: (78:14 minutes)

1. I Have Learned To Do Without [Mavis Staples]

2. Respect Yourself

3. Tryin' Times [Pops Staples]

4. Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha Na Boom Boom)

5. I'll Take You There

6. You've Got To Earn It

7. The Only Time You Ever Say You Love me [Mavis Staples]

8. Oh La De Da

9. If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)

10. City In The Sky

11. I Got To Be Myself

12. Touch A Hand, Make A Friend

13. Trippin' On Your Love

14. Let's Do It Again

15. New Orleans

16. Love Me, Love Me, Love Me

17. I Honestly Love You

18. Slippery People

19. H-A-T-E (Don't Love Here Any More)

Of the 20 singles they charted between 1971 and 1985 on the US Billboard R&B charts (group and solo) - an impressive 14 are here (on Disc 2) - they are "Heavy Make You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom)" (1971), "You've Got To Earn It" (1971), "Respect Yourself" (1971), "I'll Take You There" (1972), "This World" (1972), "Oh La De Da" (1972), "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)" (1973), "Touch A Hand, Make A Friend" (1973), "City In The Sky" (1974), "Let's Do It Again" (1975), "New Orleans" (1976), "Love Me, Love Me, Love Me" (1976) and "Slippery People" (1984). There's also the solo Mavis Staples torch ballad single "I Have Learned To Do Without You" from 1970.

What is even more shocking than the classiness of the released material (which still manages to raise a smile to this day) is the quality of the unreleased stuff - how have these gems remained in the can until now? First up on Disc 1 is the Traditional song "John Henry" given a harmonica/guitar driven John Lee Hooker boogie - it's nearest approximation is "Keep On Chooglin'" by Creedence Clearwater Revival - fabulous stuff. Then there's "Tryin' Times" on Disc 2 - also by POPS STAPLES (an unreleased alternate version of Stax 0064). It was co-written by Donny Hathaway and Leroy Hutson and first recorded by Roberta Flack in 1969 on her "First Take" album (Donny did is own version of "Everything Is Everything in 1971). Pops goes with the slower Flack interpretation and it's a socially aware bluesy winner. I've played both tracks many times on the shuffle play in the record shop and they've always elicited a customer response. Then on Disc 2 are "The Only Time You Ever Say You Love Me" by MAVIS STAPLES (a gorgeous slow ballad) and a version of "Oh La De Da" without the fake audience participation that appeared on the Stax 0156 single. Both of these are superb too. Not a lot of unreleased stuff I know, but man the quality is good...

The mastering has been handled by DUNCAN COWELL at Sound Mastering (it's uniformly excellent throughout - especially on the Fifties and Sixties material), while the chunky 28-page colour booklet is jammed with pictured 45's and adverts and has detailed and informative liner notes by noted Soul writer and aficionado TONY ROUNCE. Between them - they've handled large numbers of Ace and Edsel soul reissues throughout the 2000's - see a TAG above for each giving pictorial displays of their work...

I love The Staples Singers - "I'll Take You There" (lyrics above), "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)" and the wonderful number one R'n'B hit "Let's Do It Again" - every song imbibed with their lifelong creed of positive action, love and racial harmony - and music as a healer. Quite possibly one of the best Kent-Soul reissues for me - a hugely impressive listen from start to finish and it has great audio quality too...

"The Ultimate Staples Singers - A Family Affair 1955-1984" is a fantastic overview of their extraordinary career - buy it and thoroughly enjoy...

PS: see also reviews for the following - "Be Altitude: Respect Yourself" (1972 album on Stax) now 2011 reissued and remastered with bonus tracks as part of the "Stax Remasters" series, the "We'll Get Over" album reissue on CD, the compilation "This Time Around" from 1981 with the fabulous "Trippin' On Your Love" song and finally the 2015 Stax Box Set "Faith & Grace" (4CDs) which boasts awesome audio but awkward packaging...