"Have Mercy: His Complete Chess Recordings 1969 To 1974" by CHUCK BERRY (2010 Hip-O Select/Chess 4CD Book Set Of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…She Worked Night And Day To Keep Us Six Kids Alive…"

Chuck Berry's "Have Mercy: His Complete Chess Recordings 1960 to 1974" is the 3rd and final volume of his Chess recordings reissued by the USA's premier Mail-Order label - HIP-O SELECT. And like so much of their product - it’s both a thing of reissue beauty and presentation mediocrity. Here are the merciful details...

Released in the USA via their website in January 2010 (general release March 2010) - "Have Mercy: His Complete Chess Recordings 1960 to 1974" by CHUCK BERRY on Hip-O Select/Geffen B0013790-02 houses 71 tracks across 4CDs, 23 of which are previously unreleased (plus one further track which is previously unreleased in the USA - Track 4, Disc 3). Its packaging consists of a slightly oversized 4-way foldout digipak that is itself tied with a string on a lapel on the front - aping the layout of the two preceding sets (see PS below). It's a non-numbered worldwide limited edition of 6000 copies and Discs 1 to 4 run to 69:23, 71:37, 69:45 and 65:10 minutes respectively.

FRED ROTHWELL and ANDY McKAIE have compiled the set with ROTHWELL handling the 24-page booklet liner notes (he is author of the book "Long Distance Information – Chuck Berry's Recorded Legacy") - while Universal's hugely experienced Audio Engineer ERICK LABSON (who does almost all the Chess material - has over 1000 credits to his name) has handled the expert transfers and Remasters from first-generation master tapes. This 4CD set sounds fantastic - the best I've ever heard this material.   

Pictured beneath the see-through trays and on the final flap are the following 5 albums from that period…

1. "Back Home" (November 1970 on Chess LPS-1550 in the USA, February 1972 on Chess 6310 113 in the UK)

2. "San Francisco Dues" (September 1971 on Chess CH-50008 in the USA, March 1972 on Chess 6310 115 in the UK)

3. "The London Chuck Berry Sessions" (June 1972 on Chess CH-60020 in the USA, July 1972 on Chess 6310 122 in the UK)

4. "Chuck Berry/Bio" [aka "Bio"] (September 1973 on Chess CH-50043 in the USA, October 1973 on Chess 6499 650 in the UK)

5. "Chuck Berry" [released as "Chuck Berry '75" in the UK] (February 1975 on Chess CH-60032 in the USA, March 1975 on Chess 9109 101 in the UK)

The three volumes of "Golden Decade" doubles are not referenced at all in the booklet neither is the "St. Louis To Frisco To Memphis" album from 1972 with The Steve Miller Band live on one side because that was released through Mercury Records. 

Guest are many - the studio side of "The London Chuck Berry Sessions" (Side 1) features Derek Griffiths of The Artwoods and Dog Soldier on Guitar, Rick Grech of Traffic and Family on Bass with Ian McLagan and Kenny Jones of the Faces on Piano and Drums respectively. Side 2 of that album was recorded live in Coventry in England and features the Average White Band as Berry’s backing group. Elliott Randall of Steely Dan's "Reelin' In The Years" guitar-solo fame plays Pedal Steel guitar on "I'm Just A Name" and “Too Late” on Disc 4 - while Jazz Fusion favourite and multi-instrumentalist Phil Upchurch plays Bass on Tracks 1 to 8 on Disc 1. A rarity for US collectors is the UK-only 7" single live version of "South Of The Border" (Chess 6145 027) in that it features Jimmy Campbell of Vertigo Spiral Label fame on Guitar (it's the previously unreleased in the USA track). Let's get to the music...

The A and B-sides of the US 7" single Chess 2090 ("Tulane" and "Have Mercy Judge") start things off strongly on Disc 1 and you immediately hear the quality song-writing and the cool sound upgrade. Although Labson's transfer work is exemplary throughout - there's hiss on a few tunes for sure and the unreleased live stuff is untreated so it sounds very rough. But to get an inkling of the fab sound - there's a wickedly cool instrumental called "Woodpecker" tucked away on Side 2 of "Bio" that I've been trying to get a good CD copy of for years – and here it is at last. Check out iTunes for this - it's (if you'll forgive the pun) ring- ringing like a bell. So too when the British band back up Berry on the T-Bone Walker cover of "Mean Old World" (from "The London Chuck Berry Sessions" LP) – you can really feel and hear that as well – thrilling stuff.

More than a few of the 23 previously unreleased tracks are shockingly good – "Untitled Instrumental" features the fab piano playing of Ellis 'Lafayette' Leake with great harmonica fills from Robert Baldori - while the 9-minute instrumental "Turn On The Houselights" sees Chuck play a blinding lead guitar. It's not all good of course. From the "Chuck Berry" LP sessions in 1975 (all of Disc 4) both outtakes "Jambalaya" and "The Song Of My Love" are truly awful - while the abomination that is "My Ding A Ling" on Disc 3 is on here in its full album length version of eleven minutes and the 7" single edit too and even has an added previously unreleased studio version. But it is to this day quite possibly the worst song ever made – and cringing to listen to (I dare say his bank balance rather enjoyed it though). But overall – the outtakes are excellent – and along with the largely unheard remastered album tracks – it all makes for a rather spiffing listen.

Niggles and speculation – like the other two sets, the packaging is o.k. rather than great and had Bear Family of Germany gotten their hands on this project - we would have had a 12" x 12" Box with a 180-page hardback book for about the same cost – and it would have been complete with visuals that would have taken 2 years to compile rather than two days to dash off. A fantasy reissue I know - but worth making the comparison…

Having said that - as it stands "Have Mercy..." is far better than I thought it would be – his Rock 'n' Roll mojo and lyrical brilliance still intact in the Seventies (the 6-minute poem "My Pad" is deep and prophetic as are the lyrics from "Bio" which titles this review). And if you were to make up a single disc representing the best of what's on this mini box set – then I guarantee you'd shock certain people as to how good it is.

So there you have it - fabulous in places, a let down in others – 2010's "Have Mercy..." does at least see Chuck Berry's Seventies’ legacy be given some proper respect at last. Recommended...

PS: His initial output for the famous label was released in 2008 as "Johnny B. Goode: The Complete 50's Recordings" - then followed in 2009 by the 2nd set - "You Never Can Tell: The Complete Chess Recordings 1960 to 1966" (see separate review for "You Never Can Tell...")

“Someday We’ll All Be Free” by DONNY HATHAWAY (February 2010 Rhino/Warner Brothers (France) 4CD Box Set Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Take It From Me...Someday We'll All Be Free..."

"Someday We'll All Be Free" is the first ever CD Box Set given over to the wonderful American Soul artist DONNY HATHAWAY. It has its good points and bad - so let's get to the details to explain...

Released in February 2010 in Europe only - "Someday We'll All Be Free" by DONNY HATHAWAY on Warner Brothers France/Rhino/Atlantic 8122798076 (Barcode 081227980764) is a 4CD Book Set of Remasters from original master tapes and plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (76:37 minutes):

1. Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything)

2. Je Vous Aime (I Love You)

3. I Believe To My Soul

4. Misty

5. Sugar Lee

6. Tryin’ Times [Side 2]

7. Thank You Master (For My Soul)

8. The Ghetto

9. To Be Young, Gifted And Black

Tracks 1 to 9 are his debut LP "Everything Is Everything" released October 1970 in the USA on Atco SD 33-332 and 1971 in the UK on Atco 2465 019

10. Giving Up

11. A Song For You

12. Little Girl

13. He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother

14. Magnificent Sanctuary Band

15. She is My Lady

16. I Believe In Music

Tracks 10 to 16 are the first 7 of 9 tracks from his 2nd album "Donny Hathaway" released April 1971 in the USA on Atco SD 33-360 and in the UK on Atlantic 2400 143

Disc 2 (66:26 minutes):

1. Take A Love Song

2. Put Your Hand In The Hand

Tracks 1 and 2 are the last two songs on the "Donny Hathaway" album (as per Disc 1)

3. I Love The Lord, He Heard My Cry (Parts I & II)

4. Someday We’ll All Be Free

5. Flying Easy

6. Valdez In The Country

7. I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know

8. Come Little Children

9. Love, Love, Love

10. The Slums

11. Magdelena

12. I Know It’s You

Tracks 3 to 12 are his 5th album (4th studio) "Extension Of A Man" released July 1973 in the USA on Atco SD-7029 and in the UK on Atlantic K 40487

Tracks 13 to 17 are Previously Unreleased - "Jealous Guy (Studio Version)". "No Other One But You [1974 Demo]", "The Essence Of Destiny [1974 Demo]", "Going Down [1974 Demo] and "Make It On Your Own [1975 Demo]"

Disc 3 (78:15 minutes)

Track 1 is "This Christmas", a single-only release from November 1970 in the USA on Atco 45-6799 (see Track 4)

Track 2 is "Little Ghetto Boy", title track from the album "Come Back Charleston Blue" - a USA Soundtrack released July 1972 on Atco SD-7010

Track 3 is "A Dream", a previously unreleased bonus track on the "Everything Is Everything" CD reissue from 1995

Track 4 is "Be There", non-album B-side to "This Christmas" (see Track 1)

Track 5 is "Lord Help Me", a bonus track on the "Extension Of A Man" CD reissue from 1993

Track 6 is "You Were Meant For Me" is from "A Donny Hathaway Collection" from 1990 on Atlantic

Track 7 is "What A Woman Really Wants", a previously unreleased track on the 2006 CD compilation "Atlantic Unearthed: Soul Brothers" (recorded January 1973)

8. What’s Going On

9. The Ghetto

10. Hey Girl

11. You’ve Got A Friend

12. Little Ghetto Boy

13. We’re Still Friends

14. Jealous Guy

15. Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything)

Tracks 8 to 15 are his 3rd album "Donny Hathaway Live" released March 1972 in the USA on Atco SD 33-386 and Atlantic K 40369 in the UK 

Disc 4 (77:35 minutes):

1. To Be Young, Gifted And Black

2. A Song For You

3. I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know

4. We Need You Right Now

5. Sack Full Of Dreams

Tracks 1 to 5 are 5 of the 6 tracks from the 1980 posthumously released live album "In Performance" on Atlantic 

6. He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother

7. Yesterday

8. Superwoman (Where Were You When I Needed You)

9. Flying Easy

10. Valdez In The Country

11. Someday We’ll All Be Free

Tracks 6 to 11 are the 6 previously unreleased live tracks that were featured on the 14-track posthumous CD compilation "These Songs For You, Live!" issued by Atlantic/Rhino in 2004.

Tracks 12 and 13 are "Nu-Po" and "Love, Love, Love" - two previously unreleased live tracks recorded June 1973 in New York

As you can see from the details above, there are 7 previously unreleased tracks on this box set - 5 demos tagged onto the end of Disc 2 and 2 Live Tracks at the end of Disc 4. The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that the "Robert Flack & Donny Hathaway" album from 1972 is entirely absent and only one track appears from the 1972 "Come Back Charleston Blue" soundtrack, but that's available as a separate Rhino Remaster from 2007 should you want it (see my review).

Niggles - although new and shrink-wrapped, my copy arrived with one of its plastic clip teeth rattling around in the cheap cardboard digi box. But that's nothing to the hugely underwhelming booklet, which is entirely in French and is next to useless. Its paltry 16 pages do have album sleeves and 7" singles pictured, but little else (4 of those pages are taken up with barely legible track listings for God's sake!). There is at least a nice touch beneath the see-through CD trays where 4 different label variations are reproduced - including the rare US Quadraphonic Version of "Extension Of A Man". But overall - for such a stellar artist - this is yet another shoddy and cheap set of packaging from Rhino - added to a worryingly growing list of them. The demos are ok, but not great - the best probably being "Make It On Your Own" from 1975. And why oh why wasn't this given a British or American release?

But the really good news, however, is the SOUND. There is a logo on the rear of the box which says HIGH QUALITY MASTERING and its been done by someone called ISAAK JASMIN. Comparing the sound to the 1993 Rhino discs, these 2010 versions are clearer and certainly more `present' than before. At times this ups the hiss levels inherent on the master tapes, but not to a point where it becomes overbearing. Typical would be "Take A Love Song" which opens Disc 2 - the old version was lacklustre, even dull - now it's huge and alive as the girls and strings crescendo. The live "In The Ghetto" is astonishing - a gig I would gladly have given a part of my anatomy to attend.

I've always adored the "Extension Of A Man" LP from 1973 and the opening track "I Love The Lord, He Heard My Cry (Parts I & II)" with its strings, clarinets and oboes is now GLORIOUS. That then segues into the box set's title song - the truly beautiful "Someday We'll All Be Free" (lyrics above) - and I'm in floods of tears! The two instrumentals on the album are huge too - the funky wah-wah guitars and keyboards of "Valdez In The Country" and the monstrous bass line of Willie Weeks in "The Slums". Very cool stuff...

So to sum up - there is an improved sound quality for die-hard fans to enjoy, however, newcomers might be better off with the 5CD mini box "Original Album Series" which is cheaper and offers more.

Donny Hathaway folks. Recommended in any language. But docked a star for a less-than-stellar presentation of this beautiful man’s heartfelt musical legacy...

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"Encouraging Words" by BILLY PRESTON - September 1970 UK Album on Apple Records featuring George Harrison (October 2010 UK Apple 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue and Remaster)

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"…Learn To Live The Golden Rule…Don't You Go Through Life Being A Fool…"

Monday 25 October 2010 has seen 14 of the 'Apple' label albums remastered and reissued alongside "Come And Get It" - a first-time-ever label 'Best Of'. This reissue is one of them.

"Encouraging Words" was the second and last album on Apple Records for long-time friend and sometimes collaborator with The Beatles - American keyboardist and Soul Singer Billy Preston. And along with his excellent debut LP the year before (1969's "That's The Way God Planned It") – it's not just one of the labels better offerings, it's a criminally forgotten Seventies Soul gem and arguably the best album of his long career.

UK released 25 Oct 2010 - "Encouraging Words" by BILLY PRESTON on Apple 5099990823923 (Barcode is the same as catalogue number) is an Expanded Edition CD Reissue and Remaster that breaks down as follows (54:44 minutes):

Tracks 1 to 13 are the LP "Encouraging Words" released 11 September 1970 in the UK on Apple SAPCOR 14 (Stereo only) and on Apple ST-3370 in the USA.

BONUSES:

Tracks 14 and 15 are the 2 bonus tracks given with the 1993 reissue - "As Long As I Got My Baby" (a Preston original) and "All That I Got (I'm Gonna Give It To You)" (a co-wrote with Doris Troy).

"As Long As I Got My Baby" was intended to be the B-side of Preston's version of "My Sweet Lord" on Apple 29 (scheduled for September 1970 release in the UK) but withdrawn.

"All That I Got (I'm Gonna Give It To You)" was co-produced with GEORGE HARRISON and released as a 7" single on 30 January 1970 in the UK on Apple 21. It's B-side "As I Get Older" is on the "That's The Way God Planned It" CD reissue as a bonus (Track 14) – both songs were non-album at the time of release.

Track 16 is a new bonus for this 2010 issue - the previously unreleased fully formed song - "How Long Has the Train Been Gone". It was co-written with Bruce Fisher, recorded in January 1970 and then later re-recorded for Preston’s 1973 album on A&M Records – "Everybody Loves Some Kind Of Music" (he would also re-record "When You Were Mine" for his 1976 A&M album “Billy Preston”).

BOOKLET/PACKAGING:
Noted writer and music lover ANDY DAVIS does the new liner notes for the disappointingly weedy 12-page booklet (EMI pushes the boat out again people). But with what little text he has been afforded, Davis does at least fill it with properly informative details - and it's peppered with some very tasty full-page colour photos of Preston from the time. No UK singles were issued around the record (possibly why it disappeared so quick), but there is a full-page reproduction of an advert for the American single of "My Sweet Lord" on Apple 1826 (it also names Radio Stations supporting the song).

PLAYERS:
The cast is impressive (if not a little vague) – GEORGE HARRISON co-produced the entire album with Preston, ERIC CLAPTON played guitar on 3 tracks – “Right Now”, “Use What You Got” and “Encouraging Words”. RINGO STARR and KLAUS VOORMAN are said to be on Drums and Bass respectively, while DELANEY BRAMLETT also plays guitar on “Encouraging Words” with Eric. The Rhythm Section for THE TEMPTATIONS are on there (Bass, Guitarist, Drums) while members of SAM and DAVE’S band played Drums and Bass too. Both MADELINE BELL and DORIS TROY provided beautiful soulful backing vocals (Doris Troy’s lone album on Apple “Doris Troy” was released the week earlier – 4 September 1970) while the EDWIN HAWKINS SINGERS are on “My Sweet Lord” and “Sing One For The Lord”.

CONTENT:
Six of the 13 are Billy Preston originals with "My Sweet Lord" and "All Things (Must) Pass" being George Harrison compositions. "Let The Music Play", "The Same Thing Again" and "Sing One For The Lord" are co-writes with Jesse Kirkland, James Herndon and George Harrison respectively. Which leaves two cover versions – The Beatles' "I've Got A Feeling" (from "Let It Be") and "You've Been Acting Strange" written by Ronnie Lee Williams (also covered by Merry Clayton on her 1970 "Gimme Shelter" album). Unlike some of the other Apple issues, there are no extra tracks via download. But the really big news is the SOUND...

SOUND:
The same team that handled the much-praised 09/09/09 Beatles remasters have done this - GUY MASSEY, STEVE ROOKES, PHIL HICKS and SIMON GIBSON. I always thought the initial 1993 reissue was dull-as-dishwater soundwise - well not so now because the audio quality here is BEAUTIFUL - a massive improvement. It also makes you reassess a lot of the songs and appreciate more Harrison's excellent production contributions.

"Right On" is a superb opener and sets the tone for the overall funky feel of the album (surely it would have been a hit single). "When You Are Mine" is a sweetheart too as is "Use What You Got" (with great wah-wah guitar from Clapton). Very cool stuff. Conversely - the two most famous 'early versions' of Harrison classics "My Sweet Lord" and "All Things (Must) Pass" are the ones that work the least well for me. Not so the stunning blues-soul of "The Same Thing Again" co-written with the noted Gospel singer James Herndon – it's a monster. It had customers coming to the counter in our shop wanting to know which Ray Charles tune we were playing (praise indeed).

"Encouraging Words" is a brilliantly brassy dancer with a message for the kids to be kind, stay in school and don't get suckered (lyrics above). It really is so good. The brass, the great production and the remaster combine to fill your room with superlative soul-funk. But for me the absolute dog's undercarriage is the fabulous Beatles-meets-Gospel "Sing One For The Lord" - Preston's huge organ playing combines with the choir feel of the backing vocals, George's meaty guitar riff and a lingering Sitar-sounding instrument called the Indian Tamboura which floats over the whole thing – it’s a stunning cross-pollination of cultures and music and as close to post-Beatles magic as you can get.

Although a little hissy - the new song "How Long Has The Train Been Gone" is a slow soulful gem – it's fantastic and I can't believe its been lingering in vaults all these years. And like the new bonus track "Something's Got To Change" on the "That's The Way God Planned It" CD reissue (see separate review) - it's that rarest thing, a genuine must-have bonus track.

Niggles - the gatefold card sleeve is nice to look at for sure, but the booklet and overall packaging feel lightweight (what EMI could get away with). The CD should have one of those gauze inner bags to protect it - a problem that no record company seems to want to acknowledge (scuffing and damage). But these are truly minor points…

To sum up – I've loved rehearing this forgotten peach of an album in this hugely improved sound quality - Seventies Soul lovers need to discover this great record. I’m also reminded of crying uncontrollably when I saw Preston play "Isn't It A Pity" live with Clapton and that fantastic band at the "Concert For George" in 2002 in The Royal Albert Hall - magical. Too many losses man…remember his this way.

A brilliant reissue and recommended big time...

"No Dice" by BADFINGER - November 1970 Second Album on Apple Records (October 2010 UK Apple 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Knock Down The Old Grey Wall...Be A Part Of It All..."

Monday 25 October 2010 in the UK saw 14 of the 'Apple' label albums remastered and reissued (see list below) - alongside a first-time-ever label 'Best Of' compilation CD not surprisingly called "Come And Get It" (named after a huge BADFINGER hit penned by Paul McCartney specifically for the band). This zippy little expanded CD reissue of their 2nd album "No Dice" is one of them. Details...

"No Dice" by BADFINGER on Apple 5099990580727 (Barcode 5099990580727) is a 25 Oct 2010 CD Reissue and Remaster with Five Bonus Tracks that breaks down as follows (57:42 minutes):

1. I Can't Take It [Side 1]

2. I Don't Mind

3. Love Me Do

4. Midnight Caller

5. No Matter What

6. Without You

7. Blodwyn [Side 2]

8. Better Days

9. It Had To Be

10. Watford John

11. Believe Me

12. We're For The Dark

Tracks 1 to 12 are the Stereo LP "No Dice" by BADFINGER released 27 November 1970 in the UK on Apple SAPCOR 16 and on Apple SKAO-3367 in the USA (it reached number 28 on the American Billboard Top 100). Note: "Love Me Do" is not Beatles cover but a Joey Molland original and "Without You" is the song made famous by NILSSON (Number 1 in the UK in February 1972).

Tracks 13 to 17 are all previously unreleased and exclusive to this 2010 reissue:

13. "I Can't Take It" is an Extended Version - 4:14 as opposed to 2:55minutes

14. "Without You" is a Studio Demo Version

15. "Photograph (aka "Friends Are Hard To Find')" is a Previously Unreleased Version

16. "Believe Me" is an Alternate Version

17. "No Matter What" is a Studio Demo Version

Requiring extra payment there are also 2 more tracks available via Digital Download from iTunes or Amazon - an Instrumental Version of "Love Me Do" and an Extended Stereo Version of "Get Down" (see either site for details).

BOOKLET/PACKAGING:

The gatefold sleeve of the original vinyl LP is reproduced while noted writer and music lover ANDY DAVIS does the new liner notes for the booklet (they're all a disappointingly weedy 12 pages long - EMI pushes the boat out again people). But with what little text he has been afforded, Davis does at least fill it with properly informative details - and there are 4 superb colour portraits of the band - PETE HAM, TOM EVANS, JOEY MOLLAND and MIKE GIBBINS.  It's cute, but you do wish there was more...

PLAYERS/CONTENT:

The original album was produced by GEOFF EMERICK of Beatles/Abbey Road fame (except for "No Matter What", "Believe Me" and the bonus tracks from 14 through to 17 which were produced by MAL EVANS). Unlike so many of the sessions of the time, the recordings 'didn't' include a number of The Beatles and their talented friends - so the band got to shine all by themselves.

SOUND:

The same team that handled the much-praised 09/09/09 Beatles remasters have done this too - GUY MASSEY, STEVE ROOKES, SAM OKELL and SIMON GIBSON. The audio quality is BEAUTIFUL - a massive improvement - makes you reassess a lot of the songs.

The album opens strongly with a Pete Ham original "I Can't Take It" - rocking guitars and pumping brass - it sounds really great. It's followed by the Big Star feel of "I Don't Mind" co-written by Tom Evans and Joey Molland - a song that starts out gently and then builds into an impressive melodious tune - it's excellent. Not so I'm afraid with "Love Me Do" (no relation to The Beatles song) - it's a poor man's rocker and doesn't really work. But then you're hit with a double-whammy of Badfinger excellence - "Midnight Caller" and the sublime "No Matter What" (lyrics above). Both stand the test of time - especially "No Matter What" - surely a contender for a Top Ten position in the list 'best 7" single ever released'.

"Without You" would of course be taken by NILSSON and transformed into one of the most extraordinarily powerful cover versions ever made. I heard in a car on the radio a few weeks back in the early morning on the way into work - and to this day it moves me - its opening chords still capable of calling up a shivering memory. "Blodwyn" is a ditty while the excellent "Better Days" turned up as the B-side to the UK 7" single of "No Matter What" (Apple 31) in November 1970 - they used "Carry On Till Tomorrow" as the B on the USA 7" (Apple 1822) - a track off their debut album "Magic Christian Music". The Mike Gibbins penned "It Had To Be" is a lovely song, while the band-composed "Watford John" is a rocker written about an Apple Studio Engineer called John Smith. The last two on the album are huge favourites among fans - Tom Evans' sweet "Believe Me" and Pete Ham's acoustic "We're For The Dark" - accomplished playing, melody builders - both define that certain 'Badfinger' sound. They end the album proper on a definite musical high note.

But like the other issues in this series, the best seems to be kept until last. Having grown used to the short album cut of "I Can't Take It" - I must say that I love the way it's spread out more on the fantastically rocking 'Extended Version'. You can see why it was cut, but in 2010 I'll take the 'indulgent' version any day of the week. Then fellows the 'Demo' of "Without You" which I find more affecting than the finished track - more akin to what Nilsson did with it - it's a gem. "Photograph" is a rough rock song - it's good, but it's eclipsed big time by a sweet-as-honey Alternate Take of "Believe Me" with more Piano and Electric Guitar - what a treat. The 'Demo' of "No Matter What" is close to the finished track, but without that killer electric guitar that made it. I must say that the bonus tracks are impressive rather than being superfluous. Very, very good indeed...

Niggles - the 2 download tracks will be desirable to fans and making them pay extra dollars for them via Download is cheapskate and crappy - and as you can see from the playing time above, there was plenty of room to include them on here (they're available as hardcopy on the double-CD that comes with the "Apple Box Set"). The gatefold card sleeve is nice to look at for sure, but the booklet and overall packaging feel lightweight (what EMI could get away with). The CD should also have one of those gauze inner bags to protect it - a problem that no record company seems to want to acknowledge (scuffing and damage). They're minor points I know, but they're worth making...

One star or Five - Badfinger have always divided people - many calling them one of the great overlooked bands of the period - others calling them lightweight. I'd say that if you're coming to them cold in 2014 then it's probably somewhere in between. But fans will see it differently - they will eat this reissue up big time. To sum up - I still see "No Dice" as a great album - with songmanship that shines through even now. And they repeated that craft and warmth on their next album "Straight Up" too.

Recommended - especially given the massive improvement in sound quality and those shockingly good bonus tracks.

The October 2011 Apple CD Remasters are (I've reviewed most):

1. Magic Christian Music - BADFINGER (January 1970)

2. No Dice - BADFINGER (November 1970)

3. Straight Up - BADFINGER (1972)

4. Ass - BADFINGER (1974)

5. Postcard - MARY HOPKIN (1969)

6. Earth Song - Ocean Song - MARY HOPKIN (1971)

7. Is That What You Want? - JACKIE LOMAX (1969)

8. Under The Jasmine Tree / Space - THE MODERN JAZZ QUARTET (1968 and 1969 - 2LPs on 1CD)

9. That's The Way God Planned It - BILLY PRESTON (1969)

10. Encouraging Words - BILLY PRESTON (1970)

11. The Radha Krishna Temple - THE RADHA KRISHNA TEMPLE (1971)

12. The Whale / Celtic Requiem - JOHN TAVENOR (1970 and 1971 - 2LPs on 1CD)

13. James Taylor - JAMES TAYLOR (1968)
14. Doris Troy - DORIS TROY (1970)