"Bad Day At Black Rock" – the 1955 Film by JOHN STURGES (May 2018 Warners/HMV UK 'Premium Collection' BLU RAY, DVD and Download Reissue) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...The Body Of A Hippo And The Brains Of A Rabbit..."

At times it’s hard not to think that Spencer Tracy was in fact the greatest actor who ever lived. His brooding slow-build performance in John Sturges’ "Bad Day At Black Rock" gave him a fifth Oscar Nomination for Leading Role in 1955 (when he passed in 1967 Tracy had been nominated nine times and had won twice for Captain Courageous in 1937 and Boys Town in 1938 – the first actor to win two years running).

But first a few notes about this new 2018 British-Issued BLU RAY, DVD and DOWNLOAD version...

In June 2018 – the UK Premium Collection Series for Warner Brothers (in conjunction with HMV UK – purchasable in store or online) will reach title No. 65 (I've compiled the full list below with Barcodes so you can locate the right issue). But please note – there is also a Warners 'Premium Collection' out of Europe (Germany I think) where titles come in 'Digibook' form. Most releases in that film series are different to their UK counterparts ("Excalibur" appears to be the only duplicate). Examples of European 'Premium Collection' releases include Troy, A.I., The Matrix, The Butterfly Effect, 10,000 BC, The Golden Compass, John Rambo, The Hurt Locker, Body Of Lies, Shoot 'Em Up and many more. Back to this latest 'UK' reissue...

Numbered on the card spine as 63 in the series - the glossy card slipcase once again lends this 2-disc release a very classy feel and the banded four artcards clipped inside are a very nice touch indeed - even if they are only the pencil drawings of Robert Ryan, Anne Francis and the same one of Spencer standing by the railway track that was used on the cover art (the fourth is the film’s poster art). Beneath the see-through trays that hold the two discs is another poster spread across both sides in Black and White that advertises the 1955 MGM Film in Colour! It’s a 2-Disc Set (BLU RAY and DVD) with no Region Code listing on either disc. From previous issues I’ve found that the BLU RAY is All Regions but the DVD is Region 2 (UK and Europe only) and therefore USA/Sub-Continent buyers will require a multi-region player to play the DVD if they buy this issue. There is no booklet (mores the pity – only a few titles in this series have one) - but there is a digital download code sheet to watch the movie on the go and an advert sheet with the first 60 titles listed (basic details only). Let’s get to the print and extras...

It's a 1080p High Definition Transfer, 16 x 9 – 2:4:1 Screen Ratio, a DTS Master-Audio with English in 2.0 – Subtitle is English for the Hard Of Hearing only. The Special Features are a Theatrical Trailer and a feature-length Commentary on the Film by Movie Historian Dana Polan – a University Professor in Southern California. The commentary may be extremely dry – but it's hugely informative and insightful as to what's happening on screen and why - I enjoyed it a great deal. It is of course crushing that there's no onscreen or off interviews with the stellar cast or Sturges - but the commentary as I say is a genuinely superb extra worth having. To the movie...

Sturges was and became famous for Westerns – "Escape From Fort Bravo" in 1953, "Gunfight At The OK Corral" would follow 1955's "Bad Day..." in 1957, "The Magnificent Seven" in 1960 and later of course a Western of another sort - "The Great Escape" in 1963. So its no surprise that his deliberate choice of Widescreen gives the film an aggressive Western look – dust blowing – used up ramshackle buildings in a town that’s been left behind while the rest of the country ploughs on into a Space Age future. The MGM colour is gorgeous and very clean throughout. There is a natural grain on almost every shot so it’s not pinprick perfect – but (and I can't state this enough) – restoration has been done here and the print has a fabulous vibrancy because of it. You also notice things more. While most of the men wear nondescript hats or none at all - Tracy wears a Black Trilby while Robert Ryan wears a Red Baseball Cap – the two colours stand out – marking them out as opposing forces. When the modern-looking Fifties Southern Pacific train speeds through desert and track in the opening title sequence – again its red-coloured siding is blazing – like a stained bullet hurtling towards its target. As it pulls into the crossroads and stops – we see men all along the porches watch eagle-eyed to see if anyone gets off – and when Spencer does – they grimace - sensing danger or even a reckoning.

Returning to this dark Fifties small-town murder-hunt in 2018 and I'm still marvelling at the extraordinary layering ST gives his John MacCreedy character – a one-armed World War II veteran who faces verbal and physical violence on returning to a modern day town that clearly wishes he’d stayed away or better still lost his life entirely in battle. It’s a clenched-fist place filled with broken men who either drink, skulk on porches or glare from outside the town's one hotel with malevolent intent - themselves under the heel of an even bigger bully - Robert Ryan’s character – Reno Smith – a man who seems to have a grip so tight on them that one look will silence all dissenters mid-sentence. There's only one woman on show – a young but dainty-looking grease monkey in the town's tires 'n' gas garage (Anne Francis) – there are no children anywhere – there's nothing to do but sweat in the unrelenting desert sun. Although it’s supposed to be Modern Day America – Black Rock feels like a declining frontier town you really should have avoided even if you're thirsty and in need of rest.

Thugs come in the shape of Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin – but its Reno Smith who quickly works out that MacCreedy’s unfazed yet determined way will dig out and expose their dirty little secret – a Japanese farmer called Komoko who went missing four years back post Pearl Harbour and all that nationalistic heated blood. Spence checks out his last known address – Adobe Flats – but finds a burnt down house and on the way back into town – Ernest Borgnine tries to run him off the road. This is a place where another hard man drives into town with a dead steer on his bonnet – its once-proud antlers dangling over his dirty radiator grill. If it isn’t implied macho violence – it’s actual cowardice as the local lawman (Dean Jagger) lies drunk in the bed of his own prison cell. In one scene the sheriff is being grilled on what the stranger asked about and is then soundly put in another box by the overbearing Robert Ryan - "...you've the body of a hippo and the brains of a rabbit..." he snarls at the sheriff and sadly the drunk meekly agrees. The only tiny semblance of decency comes in the local Doctor played by Western Movies veteran Walter Brennan who warns MacCreedy to get out of town. Andre Previn's music also amps up the tension as mob rule goes after lone decency.

“Bad Day At Black Rock” is a great film anchored by the mighty Spencer Tracy abled assisted by a troupe of hugely capable acting sidekicks who you suspect knew they were doing good work in a good movie helmed by a Directing great. Dig up the new dirt on this one and enjoy...

PS: Some details about the Warner Brothers 'Premium Collection' BLU RAY Reissue Series In Conjunction With HMV UK (releases 2016 to 2018):

Each 2-Disc Set Contains a BLU RAY, a DVD, a Digital Download Code (with Ultraviolet), an Exclusive Outer Glossy Slipcase and 4 Art Cards (usually one is the movie poster and others are stills from the movie). None of the 56 releases to date have booklets except where noted (11, 27, 31, 40 and 53) and “Casablanca” (No. 48) is the only issue in the Series with Three-Discs. The Entire Series is numbered on the silver spine with the year of the film's release above that number (as per the list below). Begun in October 2016 - releases are ongoing into 2018 and while some have been available in the USA many titles are first time on BLU RAY in the UK and Europe...

2016 RELEASES:

1. Them (1955) - released 3 October 2016 - Barcode 5051892202770

2. Forbidden Planet (1956) - released 3 October 2016 - Barcode 5051892202985

3. The Omega Man (1971) - released 3 October 2016 - Barcode 5051892202763

4. Soylent Green (1973) - released 3 October 2016 - Barcode 5051892202756

5. All The President's Men (1976) - released 3 October 2016 - Barcode 5051892202626

6. Logan's Run (1976) - released 3 October 2016 - Barcode 5051892202718

7. The Shining - Extended Cut (1980) - released 3 October 2016 - Barcode 5051892202206

8. Diner (1982) - released 3 October 2016 - Barcode 5051892202664

9. Little Shop Of Horrors (1986) - released 3 October 2016 - Barcode 5051892202749

10. Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) - released 3 October 2016 - Barcode 5051892202848

2017 RELEASES (except No. 48):

11. King Kong (1933) - released 27 February 2017 - Barcode 5051892206600 (with 32-Page Booklet)

12. The Adventures Of Robin Hood (1938) – released 27 February 2017 - Barcode 5051892206921

13. Excalibur (1981) – released 13 March 2017 - Barcode 5051892206280

14. The Mission (1986) - released 13 March 2017 - Barcode 5051892206877

15. Jason & The Argonauts (1963) - released 13 March 2017 - Barcode 5050349003724

16. The Hunger (1983) - released 17 Apr 2017 - Barcode 5051892207638

17. Performance (1970) - released 17 Apr 2017 - Barcode 5051892207621

18. The Time Machine (1960) - released 8 May 2017 - Barcode 5051892208291

19. Outland (1981) - released 8 May 2017 - Barcode 5051892208215

20. A Scanner Darkly (2006) - released 8 May 2017 - Barcode 5051892208857

21. Gattaca (1997) - released 8 May 2017 - Barcode 5050349523925

22. Donnie Brasco (1997) - released 29 May 2017 - Barcode 5050349609926

23. Blow (2001) - released 29 May 2017 - Barcode 5051892208277

24. Battle Of The Bulge (1965) - released 5 June 2017 - Barcode 5051892208260

25. The Dirty Dozen (1967) - released 5 June 2017 - Barcode 5051892208284

26. Casualties Of War (1989) - released 5 June 2017 - Barcode 5050349145820

27. Gettysburg: Director's Cut (1993) - released 12 June 2017 - Barcode 5051892208321

28. Jeremiah Johnson (1972) - released 12 June 2017 - Barcode 5051892208307

29. Legends Of The Fall (1994) - released 12 June 2017 - Barcode 5050629158823

30. Sex, Lies And Videotape (1989) - released 17 July 2017 - Barcode 5050349292623

31. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) - released 17 July 2017 - Barcode 5051892209236

32. Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958) - released 17 July 2017 - Barcode 5051892209274

33. Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? (1966) - released 17 July 2017 - Barcode 5051892209328

34. White Heat (1949) - released 14 August 2017 - Barcode 5051892209687

35. The Public Enemy (1931) - released 14 August 2017 - Barcode 5051892209656

36. Little Caesar (1931) - released 14 August 2017 - Barcode 5051892209618

37. Point Blank (1967) - released 18 September 2017 – Barcode 5051892209632

38. The Yakuza (1974) - released 18 September 2017 - Barcode 5051892209663

39. Body Heat (1981) - released 18 September 2017 - Barcode 5051892209557

40. Chinatown (1974) - released 18 September 2017 - Barcode 5053083131807

41. Shaft (1971) - released 2 October 2017 - Barcode 5051892209649

42. New Jack City (1991) - released 2 October 2017 - Barcode 5051892209625

43. Pet Sematary (1986) - released 16 October 2017 - Barcode 5053083131814

44. House Of Wax 3D (1953) - released 16 October 2017 - Barcode 5051892209984

45. The Haunting (1963) – released 16 October 2017 – Barcode 5051892209915

46. A Clockwork Orange (1971) - released 16 October 2017 - Barcode 5051892210867

47. The Maltese Falcon (1941) - released 6 November 2017 - Barcode 5051892209922

48. Casablanca (1942) - released 5 February 2018 (delayed release) - Barcode 5051892209816 (Three Disc Special Edition with Booklet)

49. The Big Sleep (1946) - released 6 November 2017 - Barcode 50501892209892

50. Lost Horizon (1937) - released 6 November 2017 - Barcode 5050629028638 (80th Anniversary Reissue/4K Restoration with Booklet)

2018 RELEASES:

51. Amistad (1997) - released 15 January 2018 - Barcode 5053083134747

52. Munich (2005) - released 15 January 2018 - Barcode 5053083134754

53. Badlands (1973) – released 19 March 2018 – Barcode 5051892212724

54. The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953) – released 26 February 2018 – Barcode 5051892212618

55. Valley Of The Gwangi (1969) – released 26 February 2018 – Barcode 5051892212625

56. Clash Of The Titans (1981) – released 26 February 2018 – Barcode 5050189221263

57. (Frank Capra's) Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1946) – released 5 February 2018 – Barcode 5050629038132

58. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) – released 19 March 2018 – Barcode 5051892213189

59. My Own Private Idaho (1991) – released 9 April 2018 (Barcode 5051892212731)

60. The Last Picture Show (1971) – released 9 April 2018 (Barcode 50500629745030)

61. Dark Passage (1947) – released 30 April 2018 (Barcode 5051892215091)

62. The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (1948) – released 30 April 2018 (Barcode 5051892214889)

63. Bad Day At Black Rock (1955) – released 21 May 2018 (Barcode 5051892215015)

64. I Confess (1953) – released 11 June 2018 (Barcode 5051892215022)

65. The Wrong Man (1952) – released 11 June 2018 (Barcode 5051892215084)

PPS: The HMV Mail-Order Website usually offers this series at 2 for £25 (P&P inclusive) - even including the latest titles...

"Do It Yourself" by IAN DURY and THE BLOCKHEADS (March 2015 UK Edsel 'Deluxe Edition Hardback Book Casebound Packaging' 2CD Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"... Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick..."

Edsel of the UK have reissued six of Ian Dury’s albums in these March 2015 Deluxe Edition Hardback Casebound sets – and natty looking things they are too. Here are the reasons to be cheerful...

UK released March 2015 – "Do It Yourself" by IAN DURY and THE BLOCKHEADS on Edsel EDSK 7081 (Barcode 740155708139) is a 'Limited Edition 2CD Deluxe Edition in Hardback Casebound Packaging' that pans out as follows:

Disc 1 (66:21 minutes):

1. Inbetweenies [Side 1]

2. Quiet

3. Don't Ask Me

4. Sink My Boats

5. Waiting For Your Taxi

6. This Is What We Find [Side 2]

7. Uneasy Sunny Day Hotsy Totsy

8. Mischief

9. Dance Of The Screamers

10. Lullaby For Franci/Es

Tracks 1 to 10 are the album "Do It Yourself" - released 18 May 1979 in the UK on Stiff Records SEEZ 14

BONUS TRACKS:

11. What A Waste – April 1978 UK 7" single on Stiff Records BUY 27, A-side ("Wake Up And Make Love To Me" from the "New Boots And Panties!!" album was its B-side)

12. Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick – December 1978 UK 7" single on Stiff Records BUY 38, A – Number 1 Chart Hit)

13. There Ain't Half Been Some Clever Bastards - December 1978 UK 7" single on Stiff Records BUY 38, B – Number 1 Chart Hit)

14. Reasons To Be Cheerful, Part 3 – July 1979 UK 7" single on Stiff Records BUY 50, A

15. Common As Muck – July 1979 UK 7" single on Stiff Records BUY 50, B

16. Reasons To Be Cheerful, Part 3 [12" Version] – July 1979 UK 12" single on Stiff Records BUYIT 50, A

Disc 2 (71:27 minutes)

DEMO VERSIONS (Recorded November 1978 at Ian's House, Rolvendon, Kent)

1. This Is What We Find

2. Boogie Woogie (Duff 'Em Up)

3. Quiet

4. Inbetweenies (Backing Track)

5. Babies Keep Quiet

6. Blow (Instrumental)

FROM THE "STIFF'S LIVE STIFFS" TOUR, 1977

7. Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

8. I'm Partial To Your Abracadabra

9. Wake Up And Make Love To Me

10. Clever Trevor

11. Sweet Gene Vincent

12. Billericay Dickie

13. My Old Man

14. If I Was With A Woman

15. Blockheads

16. Plaistow Patricia

17. Blackmail Man

The 26-page booklet inside the hardback covers features full annotation by known expert WILL BIRCH, lyrics to all the songs (including the stand-alone singles), publicity photos, original artwork (including a few variants of the many wallpaper sleeves), singles and tour memorabilia and so on. These are the 2004 Edsel remasters done at Alchemy Mastering and they sound amazing.

Following on from their huge 1977 album "New Boots And Panties!!" and the number one single "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick" in December 1978 – May and June 1979 saw "Do It Yourself" race up to Number 2 on the UK LP charts. The band had probably hit their peak and the infectious piano-bopping "Inbetweenies" opens the album on a winner. Tight, slick and yet somehow fun and loose – clever rhythms in "Quiet", "This Is What We Find" and "Uneasy Sunny Day Hotsy Totsy" feature lyrics about "...persistent louts and clowns...forty year-old housewives of Lambeth Walk and The Landlord's bent...". But the singles added on a bonus make a peerless run of hits and laughs. To this day I still think the 6:41 minutes of the 12" single "Reasons To Be Cheerful. Part 3" is an absolute masterpiece. The Demos (along with the live stuff was unreleased until 2004) are fun curios (not a lot more) but the Live Stiff material is a band on fire – on a mission - caught on the up and spitting confidence at an audience who are already know something special is going on.

"Up your bum!" our Ian says in "Uneasy Sunny Day Hotsy Totsy". 

Better in your CD stack I think...

PS: the IAN DURY March 2015 Deluxe Edition Hardback Casebound CD Reissues on Edsel are:

1. New Boots And Panties!! (Edsel EDSK 7080, 2CDs – Barcode 740155708030)

2. Do It Yourself (Edsel EDSK 7081, 2CDs – Barcode 740155708139)

3. Laughter (Edsel EDSK 7082, 2CDs – Barcode 740155708238)

4. The Bus Driver's Prayer (Edsel EDSK 7083, 2CDs – Barcode 740155708337)

5. Mr. Love Pants (Edsel EDSA 5034, 1CD, Barcode 740155503437)

6. Warts 'N' Audience [Live] (Edsel 5035, 1CD, Barcode 74015550536)

PPS: Amazon lump all the 2004 and 2015 reviews together in the one place (a nasty habit of theirs) – so if you want the Hardback Book Edition I’ve just reviewed from 2015 – make sure to use the Barcode I’ve provided above to get the right issue...

"Laughter" by IAN DURY and THE BLOCKHEADS - November 1980 Album on Stiff Records (March 2015 UK Edsel 'Deluxe Edition Hardback Casebound Packaging' Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"... Superman's Big Sister..."

Edsel of the UK have reissued six of Ian Dury's albums in these 2015 Deluxe Edition Hardback Casebound sets – and natty looking things they are too. Here are the reasons to be cheerful...

UK released 2 March 2015 – "Laughter" by IAN DURY and THE BLOCKHEADS on Edsel EDSK 7082 (Barcode 740155708238) is a 'Limited Edition 2CD Deluxe Edition in Hardback Casebound packaging' that pans out as follows:

Disc 1 (49:12 minutes):

1. Sueperman's Big Sister

2. Pardon

3. Delusions Of Grandeur

4. Yes And No (Paula)

5. Dance Of The Crackpots

6. Over The Points

7. (Take Your Elbow Out The Soup) You're Sitting On The Chicken [Side 2]

8. Incoolohol

9. Hey, Hey Take Me Away

10. Manic Depression (Jimi)

11. Oh Mr. Peanut

12. F***king Ada

Tracks 1 to 12 are the album "Laughter" - released 28 November 1980 in the UK on Stiff Records SEEZ 30

BONUS TRACKS:

13. I Want To Be Straight - August 1980 UK 7" single on Stiff Records BUY 90, A

14. That's Not All - August 1980 UK 7" single on Stiff Records BUY 90, B

15. You'll See Glimpses – October 1980 UK 7" single on Stiff Records BUY 100 – non-album B-side of “Superman’s Big Sister”

Disc 2 (52:53 minutes)

ALBUM OUTTAKES

 (Recorded October 1980 at The Producer’s Workshop, Fulham, London)

1. Duff 'Em Up And Do 'Em Over (Boogie Woogie)

2. You Are Here

3. Come In No. 9

DEMO INSTRUMENTALS by THE BLOCKHEADS

4. Chicken (Take Your Elbow Out Of The Soup)

5. CC's Rock

6. I Know Your Name

7. Public Party (Dance Of The Crackpots)

8. Black And White [Yes And No (Paula)]

9. Manic Depression

10. More Turns For Everyone

11. Blue Light (That's Not All)

12. Back To Y-Front

13. Fatback

14. On The Spot (Do The Block)

15. Duff 'Em Up And Do 'Em Over (Boogie Woogie) [Oh Mr Peanut]

16. Peter Gunn

The 26-page booklet inside the hardback covers features full annotation by known expert WILL BIRCH (done in 2004), lyrics to all the songs (including the stand-alone singles), publicity photos, original artwork front and rear (including photos of the “Superman’s Big Sister” single and a montage of British trade magazines like NME and Melody Maker) and so on. These are the 2004 Edsel remasters done at Alchemy Mastering and they sound amazing while all of Disc 2 was Previously Unreleased at the time.

Following on from their huge 1977 album “New Boots And Panties!!”, the number one single “Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick” in December 1978 - and the No.2 album placing of “Do It Yourself” in June 1979 – LP number three for Ian’s Blockheads saw the beginning of the end for the band in the public’s eye and affections. “Laughter” scraped into Number 48 on the charts in December 1980 – a far cry from the huge popularity of their two predecessors – even with the involvement of Dr. Feelgood’s wild guitarist WILKO JOHNSON. That’s not to say that the song quality control had slipped in any way - far from it in my book.

"Superman's Big Sister" shows Dury's knack for catchy melodies aligned with witty lyrics and wacky themes. "Delusions Of Grandeur" struggles a bit to take flight for sure - but the wickedly good "Yes & No (Paula)" would have sat comfortably on 1977's "New Boots & Panties!!" with its Ska-Rock rhythms and scat-spoken lyrics. Fun and anger collide on "Dance Of The Crackpots" with Davey Payne's great harmonica playing warbling away in the back of the mix. The band starts to finally sound slightly manic Feelgood on the acidic "Hey, Hey, Take Me Away" while "F***ing Ada" finishes the album half-laughing, half-crying with its angry chorus offset by chorus line strings.

Disc 2 features the full-blown version of "Duff 'Em Up And Do 'Em Over (Boogie Woogie)" (a long sought after fan fave) while the Instrumentals it has to be said feel like good backing tracks but without the lyrics – they're a curio more than anything else.

"I'm sick and tired of taking drugs and staying up late..." - our Ian sang on "I Want To Be Straight". I never tire of Dury's intelligence and wit and the nerd in me is loving these gorgeous looking reissues...

IAN DURY March 2015 Deluxe Edition Hardback Casebound CD Reissues on Edsel are:

1. New Boots And Panties!! (Edsel EDSK 7080, 2CDs – Barcode 740155708030)

2. Do It Yourself (Edsel EDSK 7081, 2CDs – Barcode 740155708139)

3. Laughter (Edsel EDSK 7082, 2CDs – Barcode 740155708238)

4. The Bus Driver's Prayer (Edsel EDSK 7083, 2CDs – Barcode 740155708337)

5. Mr. Love Pants (Edsel EDSA 5034, 1CD, Barcode 740155503437)

6. Warts 'N' Audience [Live] (Edsel 5035, 1CD, Barcode 74015550536)

PPS: Amazon lump all the 2004 and 2015 reviews together in the one place (a nasty habit of theirs) – so if you want the Hardback Book Edition I've just reviewed from 2015 – make sure to use the Barcode I've provided above to get the right issue...

"The Bus Driver's Prayer And Other Stories" by IAN DURY and THE BLOCKHEADS (March 2015 Edsel 'Deluxe Edition Hardback Casebound Book' Packaging) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Poo-Poo In The Prawn..."

Edsel of the UK have reissued six of Ian Dury’s albums in these 2015 Deluxe Edition Hardback Casebound sets – and natty looking things they are too. Here are the reasons to be cheerful...

UK released 2 March 2015 – "The Bus Driver's Prayer & Other Stories" by IAN DURY and THE BLOCKHEADS on Edsel EDSK 7083 (Barcode 740155708337) is a Limited Edition 2CD 'Deluxe Edition Hardback Casebound Book' packaging and pans out as follows:

Disc 1 (47:04 minutes):

1. That’s Enough Of That

2. Bill Haley’s Last Words

3. Poor Joey

4. Quick Quick Slow

5. Fly In The Ointment

6. O’Donegal

7. Poo-Poo In The Prawn

8. London Talking

9. Have A Word

10. D’Orine The Cow

11. Your Horoscope

12. No Such Thing As Love

13. Two Old Dogs Without A Name

14. The Bus Driver’s Prayer

Tracks 1 to 14 are the CD album “The Bus Driver’s Prayer & Other Stories” – released November 1992 in the UK on Demon Records FIEND CD 702

Disc 2 (36:21 minutes)

OUTTAKES / DEMOS

1. Amerlind

2. I Believe

3. Cowboys

4. One Love

5. Grape And Grain

6. The Writer

7. Whale

8. Itinerant Child

The 26-page booklet inside the hardback casebound cover features full annotation by known expert WILL BIRCH (done in 2004), lyrics to all the songs (including the outtakes/demos), unpublished photos, repros of his handwritten ‘5 poems’, original artwork and so on. These are the 2004 Edsel remasters done at Alchemy Mastering and they sound amazing while all of Disc 2 was Previously Unreleased at the time.

The glory days of Number 1 singles (“Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick” in 1978) and Number 2 LPs (“Do It Yourself” in 1979) were long past for IAN DURY by the time 1992’s reunion with Mickey Gallagher, Chaz Jankel, Davey Payne and John Turnball (The Blockheads) took place. Not that the public seemed to notice nor care. The original Demon album didn’t even crack the top 50 and it would be 1998 with “Mr. Love Pants” before Dury would see chart action again. But as expert/fan Will Birch argues (he wrote the liners notes) – “The Bus Driver’s Prayer & Other Stories” is a bit of an overlooked gem in a catalogue of witty winners.

While both openers “That’s Enough Of That” and “Bill Haley’s Last Words” gamely struggle to capture that “New Boots And Panties!!” magic – it’s not until “Poor Joey” comes along (a song about the most typical caged bird in the world – the budgie) that we get Dury’s genius for brilliant words fronting a happy-go-lucky tune. “Old mother nature’s left me right in the lurch...” he drones in that deadpan way of his as one of The Blockheads punctuates the tune with his best strangled Budgerigar voice - “Hello!” My other crave is the fabulously titled “Poo-Poo In The Prawn” – where “if you go swimming in the shite-us...you’ll get worse than dermatitis...” where he waxes lyrical about all manner of turds coming at you through the plumbing and the briny. The lure of Ireland’s beautiful Donegal County floats rather prettily throughout  “O’Donegal” where you will feel a need to holiday in Ireland right quick. Back to home ground and the “rent book/laundry” reality of “London Talking” where paying bills occupies your mind and a Chelsea Bun seems like a good way to soften the depression. It ends on the one-minute “Bus Driver’s Prayer” where he takes the Lord’s Prayer and substitutes every famous line to fit bus destinations like Kingston, Wimbledon and Ealing (short but so damn clever).

But what’s genuinely shocking is the quality of the eight cuts that didn’t make the album – fully finished songs (beautifully produced). To my ears both “Amerlind” and “I Believe” are better than some tracks that made the album. Maybe stuff like “Cowboys” and “The Writer” with their distinctive keyboard sounds was deemed to be too lightweight – but I listen to them more than the CD cuts – and the sheer melody/lyrical power of the quietly-moving and hopeful “Itinerant Child” is just plain brilliant (play this beauty a lot).

“I think my eyes were blurred with tears...” - our Ian sang on “Itinerant Child”. And many of us felt the same way when he sadly passed away in 2000. Take a chance on his genius with this wicked looking casebound reissue...there’s joy in them there hardbacks...

PS: the IAN DURY March 2015 Deluxe Edition Hardback Casebound CD Reissues on Edsel are:

1. New Boots And Panties!! (Edsel EDSK 7080, 2CDs – Barcode 740155708030)

2. Do It Yourself (Edsel EDSK 7081, 2CDs – Barcode 740155708139)

3. Laughter (Edsel EDSK 7082, 2CDs – Barcode 740155708238)

4. The Bus Driver's Prayer (Edsel EDSK 7083, 2CDs – Barcode 740155708337)

5. Mr. Love Pants (Edsel EDSA 5034, 1CD, Barcode 740155503437)

6. Warts 'N' Audience [Live] (Edsel 5035, 1CD, Barcode 74015550536)

PPS: Amazon lump all the 2004 and 2015 reviews together in the one place (a nasty habit of theirs) – so if you want the Hardback Book Edition I’ve just reviewed from 2015 – make sure to use the Barcode I’ve provided above to get the right issue...

"Genesis 1970-1975" by GENESIS (November 2008 Virgin/Charisma 'Hybrid CD, SACD, DVD' Box Set - Tony Cousins and Nick Davis Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With Almost 300 Others Is Available In My

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1960s and 1970s MUSIC ON CD - Volume 3 of 3

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"...It's Been A Long Time...Hasn't It...."

Here are details for the six saintly shrouded men…

UK and Europe released November 2008 - "Genesis 1970-1975" by GENESIS on Virgin CDBOX 14 (Barcode 5099951968328) is the 3rd box set in an extensive reissue campaign. Each of the original five vinyl albums from the Peter Gabriel period are pumped up here into double 2CD issues - whilst the 1974 2LP-set "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" now becomes a 3-Disc CD set. "The Lamb Lies Down Broadway" is presented in a beautiful Book Pack while the other albums are in 2CD jewel cases.

Disc 1 of each issue is the SACD and CD Remaster of the album with both mixes encoded onto the disc, while Disc 2 is a DVD with 5.1 Surround Sound with extras tagged on at the end of each. The sixth and final double is called "Extra Tracks 1970-1975" and features singles, demos and BBC Sessions - again both in Audio and DVD. "Extras' is housed in a 48-page hardback book with an essay, band contributions, photos and celebrity reviews. Here's a detailed breakdown of the sets:

1. Looking For Someone [Side 1]

2. White Mountain

3. Visions of Mountains

4. Stagnation [Side 2]

5. Dusk

6. The Knife

Disc 1 (42:33 minutes) is their 2nd album "Trespass", originally released on LP in November 1970 on Charisma CAS 1020 in the UK and Impulse 9295 in the USA (the original UK issue had the 'Pink Scroll' label design and the CD reflects that). The DVD Audio version also has a 'reissues interview from 2007'.

1. The Musical Box [Side 1]

2. For Absent Friends

3. The Return Of The Giant Hogweed

4. Seven Stones

5. Harold The Barrel [Side 2]

6. Harlequin

7. The Fountain Of Salmacis

Disc 2 (39:36 minutes) is their 3rd album "Nursery Cryme", originally released on LP in November 1971 on Charisma CAS 1052 in the UK and Charisma 7208 552 in the USA (Pink Scroll Label also). The DVD audio version also has the 'reissues interview from 2007'.

1. Watcher Of The Skies [Side 1]

2. Time Table

3. Get 'Em Out By Friday

4. Can-Utility And The Coastliners

5. Horizons [Side 2]

6. Supper’s Ready

Disc 3 (51:20 minutes) is their 4th album "Foxtrot", originally released on LP in October 1972 on Charisma CAS 1058 in the UK and Charisma 7208 553 in the USA (changes now to the `Mad Hatter' label design for 3, 4 and 5 reflecting the original vinyl). The DVD Audio disc has 3 extras - reissues interview 2007, Brussels, Belgium Rock Of The 70's 1972 clip and Rome, Italy, Piper Club 1972 clip.

1. Selling England By The Pound [Side 1]

2. I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)

3. Firth Of Fifth

4. More Fool Me

5. The Battle Of Epping Forest [Side 2]

6. After The Ordeal

7. The Cinema Show

8. Aisle Of Plenty

Disc 4 (53:39 minutes) is their 6th album "Selling England By The Pound", originally released in October 1973 on Charisma CAS 1074 in the UK and Charisma 7208 554 in the USA. (Their 5th album, "Genesis Live", was released in July 1973 on Charisma CLASS 1 in the UK; it was an official release and no explanation is given for its no show in this box set).  The DVD Audio version has 3 extras, reissues Interview 2007, Shepperton Studios, Italian TV, 1973 clip and Batacain, France, 1973 clip.

1. The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway [Side 1]

2. Fly On A Windshield

3. Broadway Melody Of 1974

4. Cuckoo Cocoon

5. In The Cage

6. The Grand Parade Of Lifeless Packaging

7. Back In N.Y.C. [Side 2]

8. Hairless Heart

9. Counting Out Time

10. The Carpet Crawlers

1. Lilywhite Lilith [Side 3]

2. The Waiting Room

3. Anyway

4. Here Comes The Supernatural Anesthetist

5. The Lamia

6. Silent Sorrow In Empty Boats

7. The Colony Of Slippermen [Side 4]

8. Ravine

9. Riding The Scree

10. In The Rapids

11. It

Disc 5 (45:38/48:51 minutes) is their 7th album "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway", originally released in November 1974 as a 2LP set on Charisma CGS 101 in the UK and on Atco 7599 122 in the USA. The DVD has all of the slide show that accompanied the stage shows offering both Surround and standard stereo versions.

Disc 6 "Extra Tracks" (46:44 minutes):

Track 1 is "Happy The Man", a non-album 7" single issued in the UK on May 1972 on Charisma CB 181 ("Seven Stones" is its B-side - a track off "Nursery Cryme")

Track 2 is "Twilight Alehouse", the non-album B-side to "I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)" issued on 7" single in May 1974 on Charisma CB 224

Track 3 is "Sheppard (BBC Nightride 1970)"

Track 4 is "Pacidy (BBC Nightride 1970)"

Track 5 is "Let Us Now Make Love (BBC Nightride 1970)"

Track 6 is "Going Out To Get You (Demo 1969)"

Tracks 7 to 10 are called Genesis Plays Jackson.  Michael Jackson was a painter who put music to a silent film of "Metropolis" and invited Genesis in to score it. Some tracks were done, but the full project was abandoned. These tapes have only recently come to light and the four tracks are; "Provocation", "Frustration", "Manipulation" and Resignation" - "Frustration" would later turn up as "Anyway" on "Lamb" and "Manipulation" became "The Musical Box" on "Nursery Cryme".

NICK DAVIS prepped the 5.1 Surround Mixes and Stereo CD mixes with the remastering carried out by TONY COUSINS at Metropolis Mastering. Both of these guys handled the preceding box sets to both applause and derision in equal measure. While I admittedly don't have a Surround capability at home, I find the sound quality on the Stereo CD mixes to be GORGEOUS - a revelation. "Trespass" & "Nursery Cryme" are hissy in places, but still so much better sounding than the crap 1994 Virgin remasters we've been lumbered with all these years (which in turn were supposed to replace the dire 80's issues). But the great news is "Foxtrot", "Selling" and "Lamb", each of which now has GORGEOUS SOUND. At 8:15 minutes into "Supper's Ready" on Foxtrot when the acoustic guitars kick in, I was in floods, huge sound filling my room... We've been waiting 35 years to finally hear these great works in DECENT AUDIO.

While the DVD and Audio elements are fantastic and the extras fascinating - I find the packaging naff (typical of all things Virgin). The box lid won't close no matter what you do, the individual booklets are simply the original artwork restored, but again they're too small to read and massively underwhelming compared to the beautiful event feel of the original vinyl gatefold sleeves (especially "Lamb"). And with no new essay, no new photos, nor nothing of their history - when they're released as stand-alone CDs, fans are going to feel mightily short-changed – again. And why no "Live" set - nor the 1975 single edit of "Carpet Crawlers" - or its unique B-side, the live in the USA (Evil Jam) version of "The Waiting Room"? Nor is it cheapest of things either…so with the boys now individually credited as Limited Companies on the rear sleeve - the whole thing is beginning to smack a little too much of corporate greed instead of musical celebration.

The Music is truly incredible and still stands up with "Foxtrot", "Selling England By The Pound" and that amazing 1974 double "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" still eliciting gasps – and I’d have to say that the Audio is gorgeous and revealing throughout. "Trespass" and "Nursery Cryme" have their moments for sure – but it’s the final three in the Charisma period that are Proggy Heaven.

Wonderful in some respects and yet strangely disappointing in others - this eagerly awaited box is 4-stars really when it should have been six. And yet I love it and them in all their mad, imaginative and sprawling brilliance. Fans will know what I mean when I say - "...something tells me I’d better activate my prayer capsule…"