"Across The Great Divide: Getting It Together In The Country 1968-74" by VARIOUS ARTISTS (25 October 2019 UK Grapefruit Records 3CD Clamshell Box Set of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Getting-Together-Country-1968-74-Clamshell/dp/B07WFJB6N9?crid=Z6LNDQFD8P4V&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.6Fs2UtXfdxRyl0Jhu1jdGA.vqzpx428HkmHXiy9Ym6qpHL6h-E5GqcHqasHFKr0VKA&dib_tag=se&keywords=5013929186101&qid=1715277715&sprefix=5013929186101%2Caps%2C79&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=ed3c84829990996b6aa071f8979e1134&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

"...After The Gold Rush..."

Deeply disturbed muso-types like me have been gobbling up truckloads of those natty little 3CD clamshell box sets by England's Grapefruit Records like its Christmas for The Grinch and time once again to spike the oat-bags of Santa's reindeers. Everything I do – I do it for you – Grapefruit keep telling me. And not wanting to upset their obvious passion for Bryan Adams and his Canadian lugnuts – I foolishly believe them.

So when I spotted this newly minted scalp on their release sheets, I got a little Theresa May in the trouser area - hopefully aroused at what's to come (don't get me started on crossing divides, it could get legal). Unfortunately and despite a huge longing within for "Across The Great Divide: Getting It Together In The Country 1968-74" to be the crossover motherlode – too many on each disc is good rather than great (hence the four stars).

But before Bercow and Letwin issue an amendment to the addendum to the appeasement of the Dead Sea obfuscation appendixes (and then call in the thought-police for good measure), let us praise the truly amazing influence Americana has had on Blighty via Bob Dylan, The Band and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. With a monster 64-tracks (four of which are Previously Unreleased), there's a hell of a lot of hip mellow-fellows presented to us here in this still-brill little smoozer, so here goes...

UK released Friday, 25 October 2019 - "Across The Great Divide: Getting It Together In The Country 1968-74" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Grapefruit Records CRSEGBOX061 (Barcode 5013929186101) is a 3CD clamshell box set of 64-tracks that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 "Teatime On The Trail" (78:32 minutes):

1. Warming Up The Band - HEADS, HANDS & FEET (Non-Album November 1971 UK 7" single on Island WIP 6115, A-side)

2. Cajun Woman - FAIRPORT CONVENTION (from the July 1969 UK LP "Unhalfbricking" on Island ILPS 9102)

3. Home Is Where I Want To Be - MOTT THE HOOPLE (from the March 1971 UK LP "Wildlife" on Island ILPS 9144 - sung by Guitarist Mick Ralphs)

4. Devil's Whisper - MIGHTY BABY (August 1971 UK 7" single on Blue Horizon 2096 003, A-side)

5. Desert Island Woman - CHILLI WILLI & THE RED HOT PEPPERS (from the November 1974 UK LP "Bongos Over Balham" on Mooncrest CREST 21 - the name used for CD 1 "Teatime On The Trail" was the working title for "Bongos Over Balham")

6. Willowing trees - SHAPE OF THE RAIN (from the July 1971 UK LP "Riley, Riley, Wood & Waggett" on RCA Neon NE 7)

7. Abbot Of The Vale - TONY HAZZARD (from the October 1971 UK LP "Loudwater House" on Bronze ILPS 9174)

8. Louisiana Man - THE HOLLIES (not originally issued, recorded September 1969 - first appeared on the November 1988 LP/CD compilation "Rarities" on EMI)

9. Fading - MASON (September 1973 UK 7" single on Dawn DNS 1040, A-side)

10. Sleep Song - UNICORN (from the August 1974 UK LP "Blue Pine Trees" on Charisma CAS 1092)

11. Boy, You've Got The Sun In Your Eyes - OPEN ROAD (from the August 1971 UK LP "Windy Daze" on Greenwich GSLP 1001)

12. Cousin Norman - THE MARMALADE (August 1971 UK 7" single on Decca F 13214, A-side)

13. Clifftop - RICHMOND (from the March 1973 UK LP "Frightened" on Dart ARTS 65371)

14. Lady Came From The South - STARRY EYED AND LAUGHING (from the October 1974 UK LP "Starry Eyed And Laughing" on CBS Records 80450)

15. Oil Fumes And Sea Air - STRAY (from the May 1973 UK LP "Mudanzas" on Transatlantic TRA 268)

16. Redman - RARE BIRD (from the March 1974 UK LP "Born Again" on Polydor 2383 274)

17. The Pie - THE SUTHERLAND BROTHERS BAND (January 1972 UK 7" single on Island WIP 6120, A-side)

18. Touch Her If You Can - MATTHEWS SOUTHERN COMFORT (not originally issued, recorded June 1970, a Dillards cover version - first appeared on the 1991 CD compilation "Orphans & Outcasts - A Collection Of Demos Volume 1" on Dirty Linen CDL 102)

19. Empty Street, Empty Heart - QUICKSAND (October 1973 UK 7" single on Dawn DNS 1046, B-side of "Time To Live")

20. Ooh La La - FACES (from the April 1973 UK LP "Ooh La La" on Warner Brothers K 56011)

Disc 2 "Before The Goldrush" (78:22 minutes):

1. Country Girl - BRINSLEY SCHWARZ (30 October 1970 UK 7" single on Liberty LBF 15419, A-side)

2. When I'm Dead And Gone - McGUINNESS FLINT (October 1970 UK Debut 7" single on Capitol CL 15662, A-side)

3. Roamin' Thru' The Gloamin' With Forty Thousand Headmen - TRAFFIC (February 1968 UK 7" single on island WIP 6030, B-side of "No Face, No Name And No Number" - appeared on their October 1968 second LP "Traffic" simplified to "Forty Thousand Headmen")

4. New Day Avenue - BRONCO (from the June 1971 UK LP "Arc Of Sunlight" on Island ILPS 9161, featured Jess Roden and Robbie Blunt)

5. Try Again - TRANQUILITY (from the January 1972 debut album "Tranquility" on Epic Records EPC 64729)

6. Velvet Mountain - COCHISE (from the July 1970 debut album "Cochise" on United Artists UAS 29177)

7. A Souvenir Of London - PROCOL HARUM (from the March 1973 UK LP "Grand Hotel" on Chrysalis CHR 1037)

8. Cinnamon Girl - THE DEEP SET (Non-Album track, December 1970 Irish 7" single on Target 7N 45018, A-side - cover version of the Neil Young song from his second LP "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere". Guitarist Gus Guest later in Horslips)

9. Day The World Ran Away - STEPHEN JAMESON (from the March 1973 debut album "Stephen Jameson" on Dawn DNLS 3044)

10. I'll Just Take My Time - BYZANTIUM (from the March 1974 privately-pressed LP "Live & Studio" on Byzantium BYZL/S - 100 copies only)

11. It's A Way To Pass The Time - HIGH BROOM (not originally issued, recorded early 1970)

12. Going To The Country - HOLY MACKEREL (from the December 1972 UK debut album "Holy Mackerel" on CBS Records S 65297)

13. Liquor Man - MONTAGE - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (recorded January 1972)

14. Jesus Is Just Alright - SHELAGH McDONALD (not originally issued, recorded February 1970 - first appeared on the 2005 2CD set "Let No Man Steal Your Thyme" on Castle Music CMDDD 1065)

15. We Both Need To Know - GRANNY'S INTENTIONS (from their March 1970 debut and only album "Honest Injun" on Deram SML 1060 in Stereo - album featured Noel Bridgeman and Gary Moore, Moore later with Skid Row, Thin Lizzy a huge solo career)

16. Bye And Bye - HERON (April 1971 UK 7" single EP on Dawn DNX 2509, Track 1 on Side 1)

17. Country Dan And City Lil - TIMEBOX (not originally issued, recorded circa August 1968 - first appeared on the 1998 CD compilation "The Deram Anthology")

18. And A Button - THE SEARCHERS (October 1971 UK 7" single on RCA Victor RCA 2139, B-side to "Love Is Everywhere")

19. Take Me To The Pilot - THE ORANGE BICYCLE (January 1970 UK 7" single on Parlophone R 5827, A-side - a cover of an Elton John song that would appear before his own second LP version on "Elton John" in April 1970)

20. The Jailer - NATURAL GAS - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (Recorded October 1971)

21. So Nice - CURTISS MALDOON (from the October 1971 UK debut album "Curtiss Maldoon" on Purple Records TPS 3501)

22. Million Times Before - JAWBONE (from the June 1970 UK debut LP "Jawbone" on Carnaby CNLS 6004)

Disc 3 "Urban Cowboys" (79:01 minutes):

1. Open The Door - CAROLANNE PEGG (from the April 1973 UK LP "Carolanne" on Transatlantic Records TRA 266 - ex Mr. Fox)

2. Country Comfort - ROD STEWART (from his June 1970 second UK album "Gasoline Alley" on Vertigo 6360 500)

3. Home For Frozen Roses - NORTHWIND (from the August 1971 UK LP "Sister, Brother, Lover..." on Regal Zonophone SLRZ 1020)

4. Nice - BRIDGET ST. JOHN (from her June 1972 third album "Thank You For..." on Dandelion Records 2310 193)

5. Country Road - THE PRETTY THINGS (from the November 1972 UK LP "Freeway Madness" on Warner Brothers K 46910)

6. Home Grown - ANDY ROBERTS (from the March 1970 UK LP "Home Grown" on RCA Victor SF 8086)

7. Sheriff Myras Lincoln - EDWARDS HAND (from the March 1971 UK LP "Stranded" on RCA Victor SF 8154)

8. Circle Round The Sun - MARIAN SEGAL [ex Jade] (not originally issued, recorded 1971 - first appeared in 2017 on the 3CD Box Set "Fly On Strangeways: The Anthology" on Cherry Tree CRTREE021T)

9. Pretty Haired Girl - THE PARLOUR BAND (from the May 1972 UK LP "Is A Friend?" on Deram SD 10)

10. Hello Buddy - THE TREMELOES (June 1971 UK 7" single on CBS Records CBS 7294, A-side)

11. Tallawaya - GREASY BEAR (not originally issued, recorded 1970 - first appeared on the April 2016 Record Store Day LP "Is Adrian There?" limited to 500 copies on Vinyl Revival VL 008)

12. My Name Is Jesus Smith - MAN (from their October 1969 UK second album "2 Ozs Of Plastic With A Hole In The Middle" on Dawn DNLS 3003 – featuring guitarists Micky Jones and Deke Leonard)

13. Metropolis - KEITH CHRISTMAS (from the November 1969 UK LP "Stimulus" on RCA Victor SF 8059)

14. Country Heir (Edit) - DEEP FEELING (October 1971 UK 7" single on DJM Records DJS 257, A-side)

15. Johnson Boy - PRELUDE (from the October 1973 UK LP "How Long Is Forever" on Dawn DNLS 3502)

16. Cottage Made For Two - PAUL BRETT'S SAGE (from the July 1971 UK LP "Jubilation Foundry" on Dawn DNLS 3021)

17. See How They Run - DAVE COUSINS [of Strawbs] and DAVE LAMBERT [of Fire, Strawbs] (not originally issued, recorded 1972 - first appeared November 2006 in the 5CD Box Set "A Box Of Strawbs" on Witchwood Media WMBS 2036)

18. Clear Blue Sky - MOTHER NATURE (non-album track, April 1972 UK 7" single on Kingdom KV 8003, B-side of "Once There Was A Time")

19. Dancing Flower - IDLE RACE (from the May 1971 UK LP "Time Is" on Regal Zonophone SLRZ 1017)

20. Wheel Of Fortune - THE ILLUSIONS - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (Recorded November 1969)

21. My Little One - GORDON, ELLIS & STEEL [Rick Gordon, John Steel and Ross Ellis] - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (Recorded 1972)

22. I'll Fly Away - PLAINSONG (not originally issued, short A Cappella version recorded early 1972)

It was Traffic who came up with the notion of 'getting it together in the country' (man) and they did so at Aston Tirrold, a village at the foot of the Berkshire Downs. I mention this because that collector-appealing nugget is the kind of deep-level factoid that peppers every paragraph in the fabulous 44-page booklet - annotated and compiled by the lithesome and obviously well endowed DAVID WELLS. There are rare publicity shots (colour and black and white), album covers and euro pic sleeves for 45s you just don't see every day of the week. The centre pages have a spread of period posters, NME adverts, ticket stubs, gig flyers for The Marquee, Lyceum, Roundhouse and other legendary depositories. For some of us nodding off at a certain age, looking at these multiple band bills is enough to make our pacemakers short-circuit - an October 8th admission fee of 50p to see Quintessence, Heads Hands & Feet, Ian Matthews' Plainsong, Bond & Brown and Supersister (with stalls, food and a bar). Or how about David Bowie, Bridget St. John and the Alan Skidmore Quintet at the Extension Building in Little Titchfield Street near Oxford Circus for ten schillings (what a out-and-out rip off). In fact I think the presentation here and sheer research hours that went into this may warrant awards being handed out come the season...

As you can imagine with such a myriad of audio sources, the SIMON MURPHY mastered sound varies from amazing to really good to acceptable with thankfully not too many downsides in-between. In fact, I found most of kicking. To the tunes...

I can just see the beams on people’s faces as they play the opener "Warming Up The Band" by Heads, Hands & Feet – the kind of early 70ts stand alone single that reminds you of 45-brilliance like "Standing in The Road" by Blackfoot Sue or "Journey" by Duncan Browne – Albert Lee rocking it out in that very British-does-American kind of way. Other CD1 highlights include the Michael Nesmith-produced "Desert Island Woman" by Chilli Willi & The Red Hot Peppers from the album "Bongos Over Balham" (apparently this CD's moniker takes it name for that LP's unused working title). Sheffield's Shape Of The Rain had the press on their side in 1971 but their lone LP on the cult RCA Neon label "Riley, Riley, Wood & Waggett" (the title is each band member's surname) barely registered with the public. But on the strength of Traffic-meets-Badfinger "Willowing Trees" – I think we probably missed a trick there (excellent stuff).

Fresh from providing backing vocals on Elton John's "Tumbleweed Connection" – Tony Hazzard gives us a Bronze Records album named after his Hertfordshire estate (Loudwater House) and a song about his favourite Greene King tipple Abbot Ale (here called "Abbot Of The Vale"). Hookfoot's Guitarist Caleb Quaye is in there as is the Pedal Steel Guitar of Cochise's B.J. Cole along with the girly dulcet tones of Lesley Duncan with Sue & Sunny – all of it combining to give the tune a backwoods feel. Can't say I'm a fan of The Hollies cover of "Louisiana Man" and the Mason track feels like sub Hollies but not in a good way. But then there's Unicorn. Despite great melodies and accomplished tunes, the story of America's Big Star and England's Unicorn unfortunately tread the same public indifference boards. I mention this because Unicorn's "Sleep Song" is the only time they get to shine in this box set, when I'd have included three more including "Electric Night" (two members of the band played on a young Cathy Bush’s demo recordings for God's sake and yet few know how good Unicorn were at melodies). Didn't much care for the terrible vocal on the Open Road cut nor the trite Red Indian ballads by Stray and Rare Bird, but the Ian Sutherland song "The Pie" is a gem that deserves attention and a very smart choice by Wells. And I'm genuinely shocked at how good the Jimmie Davies song "Empty Street, Empty Heart" is for Quicksand – both he and Jeff Hooper layering on the acoustic guitars beautifully (Davies would go on to be in Alcatraz). And even now in late 2019, Ronnie Lane's truly fabulous "Ooh La La" from the Faces fourth and last LP (of the same name) that bookends CD1 makes mincemeat of all that preceded it. Poor old Grandad – gobsmacked and bewildered – his words coming through in a song about the mystery of women that still somehow manages to feel young and so 'British' in that most brill of ways...

Even after near fifty years, the sheer musicality of the October 1970 McGuinness Flint single and album track "When I'm Dead And Gone" raises a smile while the jolly crew of Traffic's "Forty Thousand Headmen" dream of small ships sailing into shore to raid stashed loot. Their are gorgeous guitar strums and swoonsome harmonies in Bronco's disarmingly lovely "New Day Avenue" - ex Band Of Joy guitar-boys Jess Roden, Robbie Blunt and Kevyn Gammond providing the melody. Other highlights on Disc 2 include three rather cool covers - Dublin's Deep Set doing a very cool and punchy riffage-take on Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" (is there any cover of this song that isn't brilliant), Orange Bicycle doing Elton John's "Take Me To The Pilot" proud where they sound like early Frankie Miller (praise indeed) and best of all for me Holy Mackerel coming on some rocking Hollies as they harmonise on The Steve Miller Band's brilliant "Going To The Country". Not a fan though of the sub-Byrds Jawbone, the lightweight Byzantium or Curtiss Maldoon - all pleasant enough but never anything more than that.

Disc 3 opens on what will be a genuinely great find even for us old-fogies and Smart Alec heard-it-all types - another cool cover - Caroline Pegg of Mr. Fox doing the Judy Collins song "Song For Judith (Open The Door)" now shortened to just "Open The Door". Sounding at times not unlike a young Kate Bush, her impressive vocals in the sunshine-when-we're-together song are bolstered up with licks from Heads, Hands & Feet master guitarist Albert Lee (he's pictured on Page 6 of the booklet - see photos provided below) while Keith Nelson from Matthews Southern Comfort adds backing on a Banjo. Rod Stewart shows his uncanny knack in picking a great song and somehow making it his own when he does his turn on Elton John's "Country Comfort" - Ron Wood of the Faces and three members of Silver Metre being his backing band (it was their publishing demo version of EJ's song that RS heard first and not Reggie's). Disappointments on Disc 3 - the Edward Bear track is dull as is the Keith Christmas cut and I'd have chosen maybe "John The Revelator" for Andy Roberts. But the Pretty Things song "Country Road" brings together the talents of two wildly different but much admired pickers - the Pedal Steel Guitar of Gordon Huntley from Matthews Southern Comfort (remember his contributions to the number 1 single "Woodstock") and accompanying maestro supreme Pete Tolson. 

The early Man cut is a clever melodious choice, "Tallawaya" by the mysterious Greasy Bear too, as is the 36-second A Capella cover of "I'll Fly Away" that Iain Matthews and Andy Roberts in Plainsong brings the disc to an end with it. But for me the real find here is the Prelude track "Johnson Boy" - the band that gave us that gorgeous cover of Neil Young's "After The Gold Rush" (and charted it too). Prelude's album from 1973 "How Long is Forever" on Dawn Records was the kind of LP that used to turn up regularly when people were selling in collections to Reckless back when I was manager there - I'd forgotten about that one...

For sure some may find the overall selection of material to be a teeny weeny bit a let down and with a Gatling gun spread of 64 acts, how could it not be (too many names that didn't make it and for good reason). But make no mistake, there is still so much to wallow in here that's revelatory and the presentation of "Across The Great Divide..." is world-class.

The staggering musical shadow of The Band by way of The Byrds vs. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young is quite something to behold (Americana/Country Rock melodies we're still emulating fifty years post). A smart and timely idea for a CD box set and well done to all involved...