"Rock 'N Roll Again/Flying Dreams" by COMMANDER CODY– 1977 and 1978 US Albums on Arista Records – featured guests include Buzzy Feiton, Jeff Baxter, Danny Gatton, Neil Larson, Norton Buffalo, Abraham Laboriel, Jennifer Warnes, Nicolette Larson, Delaney Bramlett, Vanetta Fields, Shirlie Matthews and Clydie King (August 2021 UK Beat Goes On Compilation – 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD – Andrew Thompson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Snooze You Lose..."

Early-to-mid Seventies artists seemed lost after 1976 - and never is that more evident on this BGO twofer for Commander Cody. Much of this is awful and hasn't stayed the distance unfortunately. To the details first...

UK released 6 August 2021 (13 August 2021 in the USA) - "Rock 'N Roll Again/Flying Dreams" by THE NEW COMMANDER CODY BAND and COMMANDER CODY on Beat Goes On BGOCD1456 (Barcode 5017261214560) Remasters two albums he issued on Arista Records in 1977 and 1978 onto 1CD (70:47 minutes, 20-tracks). 

The outer card slipcase and 20-page booklet (excellent JOHN O'REGAN liner notes, original artwork and lyrics to the second LP) adds class to these British BGO reissues - but the big news for fans is the superb new audio courtesy of ANDREW THOMPSON remasters. This CD sounds fabulous - if only the listen was worth it. 

Even though the material on "Rock 'N Roll Again" is mostly originals, the cod Rock 'n' Roll vibe and his knackered voice don't help at all. The LP barely made No. 163 on the US album charts whilst his second didn't chart at all. "Flying Dreams" features attempts at The Band's "Life Is A Carnival", The Beatles "Cry Baby Cry" amongst the originals and has guitar whizzes Buzzy Feiton, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and Danny Gatton with Neil Larson on Keyboards, Norton Buffalo on Harmonica, Delaney Bramlett on Male Vocals, Nicolette Larson and Jennifer Warnes too - whilst that trio of other superstar girly backing vocalists pumped up many of the tunes - Venetta Fields, Sherlie Matthews and Clydie King. The production values are ace too, but it all feels like cocaine-fuelled nonsense and apart from moments in "Stranger In A Strange Land" - the whole listen is a struggle. 

Fans will love it; BGO has done him and these records a solid with great Audio and Presentation. But anyone else should definitely grab a listen first...

"Can I Be A Witness: Stax Southern Groove" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Featuring Little Milton, Eddie Floyd, R.B. Hudmon, Eric Mercury, The Soul Children, The Nightingales, The Sweet Inspirations, Jean Knight, The Emotions, Major Lance, Jeanne & The Darlings, Members of Con-Funk-Shun and more (September 2021 UK Ace/Kent Soul CD Compilation – Nick Robbins Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Trouble I Had..."

In my chequered past as a dodgy reviewer of sorts, I've done all four volumes of the huge Stax Singles Box Sets in track-by-track details and every one of the 'Stax Remasters' series of singular CDs (as well as other Kent-Soul compilations). Southern Soul Grooves and I'm a happy bunny too. So I got more than a little hot under the Covid-19 matching collar, tie and mask ensemble when I heard of this wee September 2021 CD beauty. 

11 new Stax tracks - yum city - and if it’s not too offensive (or dangerous) to raise my white-privileged hand at a Labour party conference - count me in mama. Lots to witness, so let's have at the Southern Soul Groove details...

UK released Friday, 24 September 2021 - "Can I Get A Witness: Stax Southern Groove" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 507 (Barcode 029667104029) is a 20-Track CD compilation with 11 Previously Unreleased Tracks that plays out as follows (72:57 minutes):

1. Bad Water - PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED (Probably recorded 1971, a cover of The Raeletts' US 45-single A-side issued October 1970 on Tangerine TRC-1014 – July 1971 UK as The Raelettes on Tangerine 6121 002, A-side)

2. Can We Talk This Over - EDDIE FLOYD (First issued on the 1998 UK CD compilation "5000 Volts Of Stax" on Stax CDSXD 116)

3. How Can I Be A Witness - R.B. HUDMON (September 1975 US 45-Single on Truth TRA-3230, B-side of "If You Don't Cheat On Me (I Won't Cheat On You)")

4. Love Is Taking Over (August 1973 Us 45-single on Enterprise ENA-9080, A-side)

5. Burning On Both Sides - THE NIGHTINGALES (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

6. Forever And A Day - MEL & TIM (August 1974 US 45-single on Stax STN-0224, B-side to "That's The Way I Want To Live My Life" - also on the 1973 "Mel & Tim" US LP on Stax STS 5501)

7. I Wanna Make Up (Before We Break Up) - MAJOR LANCE (April 1972 US 45-single on Volt VOA-4079, A-side)

8. You Ain't Playin' With No Toy - THE SOUL CHILDREN (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

9. I Got To Be Myself - THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP (April 1973 US 45-single on The Gospel Truth GTA-1208, A-side - also on the 1973 US LP "Brothers" on Gospel Truth GTS-3502 - March 1976 UK LP on Stax STX 1034)

10. Passing Thru/World Keeps Turning - FREDERICK KNIGHT (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED 'Extended Version' of "Passing Thru" issued June 1974 as a US 45-single on Truth TRA-3202, A-side - this mix runs to 10:54 minutes)

11. Ain't Enough Hours - THE EMOTIONS (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

12. Changes - JEANNE & THE DARLINGS (first issued in 1998 on "5000 Volts Of Stax" on Ace/Stax CDSXD 116)

13. Slow Down - THE NIGHTINGALES (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

14. Soul Groove - ART JERRY MILLER (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

15. Don't Fight The Feeling - THE SWEET INSPIRATIONS (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

16. Three's A Crowd - THE TEMPREES (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

17. Helping Man - JEAN KNIGHT (July 1972 US 45-single on Stax STA-0136, A-side)

18. True Love Don't Grow On Trees - VEDA BROWN (first issued on the Judy Clay/Veda Brown CD compilation "The Stax Solo Recordings" on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 302 in 2008)

19. The Natural You - OLLIE & THE NIGTINGALES (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

20. Leaning On Your Undying Love - SHACK (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

NOTES: 

Tracks 7, 14, 17, 19 and 20 in MONO, all others are STEREO  

Tracks 1, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19 and 20 are PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED (11 in total) 

Long-time collaborator with Ace and Kent Soul - DEAN RUDLAND provides the typically in-depth and knowledgeable liner notes while Audio Engineer whizz NICK ROBBINS does his magic again with the Master Tapes. The 16-Page booklet gives a track-by-track breakdown by Soul aficionado Rudland whilst siding all that info with promo photos of The Soul Children, The Emotions, The Rance Allen Group, Jeanne & The Darlings, The Temprees and a cool cover shot of Stax stalwarts Isaac Hayes and Eddie Floyd enjoying a natter. And already noted - eleven of the twenty tracks are UNISSUED which is a hefty chunk. It's typically cool stuff from Ace Records of the UK.  

The listen is very Seventies Stax rather than 60ts – some of the titles veering into Strings and Funk and hints of the burgeoning Disco scene – but most are more mellow than that – downbeat as they say in dance circles. It opens with a great Little Milton find – his unreleased cover version of "Bad Water" written by Jackie DeShannon, Jimmy Holiday and Randy Myers and first issued late 1970 by Ray Charles' lady backing group The Raeletts (or Raelettes as they were known in the UK). That's followed by Eddie Floyd using Con-Funk-Shun as his backing band for "Can We Talk This Over" – itself unissued until the "5000 Volts Of Stax" British CD compilation in 1998. A 'baby let me talk to you this morning' song where Eddie has been a bad boy and is pleading for mercy – "Can We Talk This Over" is produced by Al Bell in his inimitable flick-guitar Funky fashion (a grower that sounds stunning too).  

The compilation's title track "How Can I Be A Witness" is a gorgeous shuffler that was hidden away as a B-side on an obscure Truth Records 45 in late 1975 - a very clever and warm upbeat inclusion. Little black and white children playing together act as the positivity theme to the chipper "Love Is Taking Over" - Eric Mercury sounding convincing in front of those Memphis strings and brass as he sings of giant steps being taken to see hate banished (it don't live here no more). Perhaps less convincing is the strained Funk of "Burning On Both Ends" - The Nightingales givin' it some "...baby your love is so electrifyin'..." - the second of the Previously Unreleased (fabulous production values though). I know there are those who worship at the feet of this Stax Seventies Vocal Group, so they'll be thrilled to see that Ollie Hoskins and The Nightingales feature two mores time on this CD and again in unreleased form - "Slow Down" and "The Natural You".

A very cool Stax dancer comes in the shape of the Fuzz Guitar/Bass Funk of Major Lance's "I Wanna Make Up (Before We Break Up)" where the Major wants to tighten up with his baby before emotional catastrophe strikes his happy home (dig that 1972 distorted keyboard solo that tail-ends this great inclusion). On any other day "You Ain't Playin' With No Toy" by The Soul Children would have been a hit - its unreleased 'Mr. Big Stuff' groove later reworked by writer Mack Rice into a US A-side for the Treasures in 1976 on Mercury 73838. The Rance Allen Group have their fans and they'll enjoy "I Got To Be Myself" - a tune The Staple Singers returned to with great effect in 1981 on their "This Time Around" LP on Stax. 

The near eleven-minutes of "Passing Thru..." has its moments of brilliance when the 'Extended Version' kicks in about 3:26 minutes, but soon looses its complicated way towards the end. Speaking of dodgy ends, one of the singers in The Emotions literally starts giggling towards the finish of "Ain't Enough Hours" only to say 'this is terrible' as she realises she's not put in her best performance. Towards the second half of the CD we get obscure cuts - one by Keyboardist Art Jerry Miller (a regular player with Willie Mitchell and Ike Turner) whose "Soul Groove" sounds like Burt Bacharach goes Stax goes rude Blaxsploitation - a quite cool and funky instrumental. Far funkier is the down and dirty groove of "Three's A Crowd" where an unreleased chune by The Temprees laments the lady's penchant for more than one baby (this sucker will fill a dancefloor near you soon). 

Amongst the others are Jean Knight's "Helping Man" from 1972, Veda Brown's funky "True Love Don't Grow On Trees" and the clavinet dancer "The Natural You" by Ollie & The Nightingales - but you can unfortunately hear why they were canned - good but not really great. 

Missing the full five-star mark more times than a body would like, there is still much on "Can I Be A Witness: Stax Southern Groove" to be savoured. And CDKEND 507 is a very timely reminder that even in September 2021 – decades and decades after the event – and just like the Motown label - such was the magnificence of their songwriter/artist roster - Stax Records the label still seems to have riches to offer the faithful. Dig in and enjoy...

"Psychedelic Soul Produced by Norman Whitfield" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Featuring Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Edwin Starr, The Undisputed Truth, David Ruffin, Gladys Knights, Mammatapee, Masterpiece, Rose Royce, Willie Hutch, Rare Earth, Spyder Turner, Stargard and more (August 2021 UK Ace Records CD Compilation – Duncan Cowell Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Mama Hung Her Head..."

Bit of a misnomer this one (three stars out of five). Should really be called Normal Whitfield does smooch Soul schlock. 

The words 'Psychedelic Soul' combined with the name Norman Whitfield was enough to get more than a tad excited, but this August 2021 UK Ace Records CD compilation (Ace CDTOP 504 - Barcode 029667103121 - 77:28 minutes - 18 Tracks) falls flat on its face more than it lifts you up. More than half of the cuts are mid Seventies to early Eighties smoochers that have little to do with the Funk meets Psych meets Soul that the title hints at. 

The most famous tracks associated with Whitfield are of course "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye (the first of two Mono single mixes on the CD, the other is "Psychedelic Shack" by The Temptations - PS with the listen intro), "War" by Edwin Starr and "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone" by The Temptations. The Gaye classic somehow sounds wrong to me (not sure why), but Starr's "War" has lost none of its astonishing power musically or lyrically. The Temps version of "Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone" is the single edit - a clever choice, as it’s down to 6:57 minutes and damn near NW perfection in this form (it stands out like a beacon of arrangement and musical brilliance compared to all of the others). But stuff like "The Look Of Love" by Gladys Knight, the preacher shuffler "It Should Have Been Me" by Yvonne Fair and especially "Good Lovin'" by Mammatapee (with its talk verses) feel clunky and terribly dated.

Better is David Ruffin's fabulous brass-funky groove of "Me And Rock & Roll (Are Here To Stay)" - a track I would have started this set with - blistering and what fans are looking for. Another gem comes in the shape of The Undisputed Truth and their 1975 slink-paced "I Saw You When You Met Her" - all wild fuzzed-up guitars, brass and bass and accusation echoed lyrics (great stuff). They deliver again with the single version of "You + Me = Love" from 1976 - a gettin' it on funk marathon aimed firmly at the newly emerging Disco dancing floorboards of America and Europe. 

But tracks like "Love Is What You Make It" by Masterpiece, "Ooh Boy" by Rose Royce and "I've Been Waitin'" by Spyder Turner feel like they should be on a 70ts Disco Divas Box Set. Far cooler is guitarist Willie Hutch giving it initial sexy slither on "And All Hell Broke Loose" before he launches (two-minutes in) into slap-bass Funk and takes it like the DJ requested to the floor. "Wishing On A Star" is always lovely to me, but by the time you get to Stargard giving it some elevator saxophone instrumental smooch in "Just One Love" and Rare Earth's unnervingly ordinary soft Soul of "Come With Me" - the play is already is lost to you. 

Inside this 18-track 77-and-a-half-minute muddle is a great CD compilation trying desperately to get out. There are quality moments dotted about the Various Artists CD compilation "Psychedelic Shack: Produced by NORMAN WHITFIELD" (it sports a fact-filled 20-page booklet by Bob Stanley and Duncan Cowell Remasters too). 

But those expecting a Psych-Funk marathon with some rollin' papa layin' his hat wherever he roams and callin' it home - should grab a listen first. Sadly this effort to chronicle one of Motown's true Production/Writing geniuses just isn't that brilliant...

"The Lexicon Of Love" by ABC – June 1982 UK Debut Album on Neutron Records – Featuring Martin Fry (Lead Vocals), Mark White (Guitars and Keyboards), Stephen Singleton (Saxophones) and David Palmer (Drums) with Guests Anne Dudley and JJ Jeczalik on Keyboards, Brad Lang and Mark Lickley on Bass, Kim Wear and Andy Gray on Horns, Tessa Webb and Gaynor Sadler-Harp on Backing Vocals with Production by Trevor Horn (November 1998 UK Mercury/Neutron CD Reissue – Dick Beetham Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Rich Cargo..."

80ts Music used to be the whipping boy of every hipster reviewer casually slagging off all those terminally earnest young men in lurid makeup trying to look dangerous behind a keyboard that looked like a Woolworth's toy. 

But I was there - stuck in - hungry for the next notch up. Some of that vitriol was deserved of course - the big hair - the big videos - the planet-sized egos telling you of their genius. But then I bought ABC's alarmingly cool-sexy Rock-Funk debut album "The Lexicon Of Love" (like everyone else in June 1982) produced to within an inch of its bow-tied life by the digital dandy of the underworld Trevor Horn of ZTT fame. And indeed the word genius did again pop into my tiny 33⅓ addled brain.

In June 2022 (it’s now September 2021), "The Lexicon Of Love" will enjoy a 40th Anniversary (can it really be that far back) and rehearing it on this spiffy 1998 remaster only hammers home what we instantly knew back in the day – it was a barnstormer - even something of a game-changer. So my cinematic drama queens waiting dewy-eyed by the stage door with a revolver, a bouquet of fading lilies and a broken heart - let's get poisoned once again by its 11-arrows of tears and many happy returns...

UK released November 1998 (October 1998 in the USA) - "The Lexicon Of Love" by ABC on Mercury/Neutron 538 250-2 (Barcode 731453825024) is a straight no-extra-tracks 1CD Reissue and Remaster of their 1982 debut UK LP (originally on Neutron Records) that plays out as follows (42:13 minutes):

1. Show Me [Side 1]

2. Poison Arrow 

3. Many Happy Returns

4. Tears Are Not Enough 

5. Valentine's Day 

6. The Look of Love (Part One) 

7. Date Stamp

8. All Of My Heart 

9. 4 Ever 2 Gether 

10. The Look Of Love (Part Four)

11. Theme From "Mantrap" 

Tracks 1 to 11 are their debut album "The Lexicon Of Love" - released June 1982 in the UK on Neutron Records NTRS 1 and July 1982 in the USA on Mercury Records SRM-1-4059 as a 10-track LP minus "Theme From "Mantra"" at the end of Side 2. As "The Look Of Love (Part Four)" is only 56-seconds long, the UK LP has 10 full tracks while the US has only 9. 

ABC was: 

MARTIN FRY - Lead Vocals 

MARK WHITE - Guitars and Keyboards 

STEPHEN SINGLETON - Alto and tenor Saxophones 

DAVID PALMER - Drums and Percussion 

Guests: 

ANNE DUDLEY (of Art Of Noise) wrote both "Tears Are Not Enough" and "4 Ever 2 Gether" - also played keyboards and arranged orchestration

MARK LICKLEY played Bass on "Poison Arrow", "Tears Are Not Enough" and both parts of "The Look Of Love"

BRAD LANG played Bass and J.J. JECZALIK (of Art Of Noise) was the Fairlight Synth Programmer 

GAYNOR SADLER played Harp and LOUIS JARDIN played Additional Percussion 

KIM WEAR played Trumpet and ANDY GRAY played Trombone (on "Tears Are Not enough" only)

TESSA WEBB - Additional Vocals

The 12-page booklet is a strangely underdeveloped curio with new additions from Lead Singer and ABC leading light MARTIN FRY and GILES SMITH. But there are none of the four single sleeves pictured - Tears Are Not Enough (October 1981), Poison Arrow (February 1982), The Look Of Love (May 1982) and All Of My Heart (August 1982) – not one bonus track either. We get both sides of the inner sleeve that squeezed out the lyrics for each song in one long angry diatribe, but naught from Trevor Horn who was such a huge part of this album – especially its sound. Martin Fry gives a good stab at their early all-encompassing belief in themselves desperately trying to convince Trevor Horn to produce their debut – he bored into a stupor by the Muzak on the jukebox of the cafe they were inhabiting. Fry explains how their musical interests danced between Chic and The Clash (which so totally makes sense now) and that they genuinely set out to record a world-beater – England's answer to "Thriller" if you like which would appear the following year. 

At least the DICK BEETHAM Remaster (done at Tape To Tape) gives us his huge career of Audio experience because this CD sounds fabulous. The perfect Bass runs, those plucked/swirling strings, whacked drums, punctuating synth notes – the sheer melodrama of it all – Beetham has captured it expertly. It’s meaty rather than overly loud and when Side 1 ends on the fantastically over-the-top "Valentine's Day" – the sheer muscle will probably deliver a tear to many any eye. Despite or perhaps even because of its so-Eighties vibe - "All Of My Heart" still sounds like Martin is going to wet his emotional underwear with the pain – but what a blast. And although that 56-second Part Four of The Look Of Love is oh so short – I wished they’d put "Alphabet Soup" (the B-side of "Tears Are Not Enough") on here or Part Three as a Bonus (it was the B-side of a rare Japanese issue of "Valentine's Day"). It's also weird now to know that American copies of the LP on Mercury dropped the "Mantrap" theme song on Side 2 altogether – so I suppose they're calling it a bonus track here?

Their second album "Beauty Stab" would fall like a brick hod tumbling onto your bare feet when it was issued in 1983 - a huge disappointment. But "The Lexicon of Love" was and is a great album – and Neutron NTRS 1 still sounds like it came roaring out of another world snarling and ready to impress...

"Choctaw Ridge: New Fables Of The American South 1968-1973" by VARIOUS ARTISTS [Bob Stanley and Martin Green Present] – Featuring Lee Hazlewood, Chris Gantry, Jerry Reed, Jeannie C. Riley, Hoyt Axton, Tom T. Hall, Dolly Parton, Charlie Rich, Kenny Rogers, Bobby Gentry, Jim Ford, Tony Joe White and more (July 2021 UK Ace Records CD Compilation – Nick Robbins Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Shavings Of Your Mind..."

Blame it all on "Ode To Billie Joe" – Bobbie Gentry's 1967 Southern Country Rock anthem to infidelity, appetite loss, sawmills and death by Tallahatchie bridges. 

Coming on like a really, really good Lee Hazlewood album that you haven't yet heard – compilers Bob Stanley and Martin Green have pulled out a genuine winner with Ace Records' 2021 compilation "Choctaw Ridge..."

Available as a CD and 2LP Vinyl Album (24-tracks for both, see below for catalogue numbers and barcodes) - there is much to savour on here that even diehard collectors will not have heard. So let's return to the back side of Dallas, Logan courthouses, summer coming early to Strawberry Farm and marooned pregnant girls longing for wayward straw-hatted beaus chasing other unwedded pageant queens with pedal steel guitars down in Dover...

UK released Friday, 30 July 2021 - "Choctaw Ridge: New Fables Of The American South 1968-1973" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace Records CDCHD 1585 (Barcode 029667102322) is a 24-Track CD and 2LP VINYL compilation (Ace Records XXQLP2 078 – Barcode 029667012911) that plays out as follows (76:51 minutes): 

1. The House Song – LEE HAZLEWOOD (June 1968 US 45-single on Reprise 0699, B-side of "Morning Dew" – also on the 1968 US Stereo LP "Love And Other Crimes" on Reprise RS 6297)

2. If Only She Had Stayed – CHRIS GANTRY (from the 1968 US Stereo LP "Retrospection" on Monument SLP 18100)

3. Endless Miles Of Highway - JERRY REED (from the 1972 US LP "Smell The Flowers" on RCA Victor LSP 4660)

4. The Back Side Of Dallas - JEANNIE C. RILEY (from the 1969 US Stereo LP "Things Go Better With Love" on Plantation PLP 3)

5. Way Before The Time Of Towns - HOYT AXTON (from the 1969 US Stereo LP "My Griffin Is Gone" on Columbia CS 9766)

6. Strawberry Farms - TOM T. HALL (from the 1969 US Stereo LP "Homecoming" on Mercury SR 61247)

7. Down From Dover - DOLLY PARTON (from the 1970 US Stereo LP "The Fairest Of Them All" on RCA Victor LSP 4288)

8. July 12, 1939 - CHARLIE RICH (from the 1970 US Stereo LP "The Fabulous Charlie Rich" on Epic BN 26516)

9. What Am I Doing In L.A.? - NAT STUCKEY (July 1970 US MONO 45-single on RCA Victor 47-9884, B-side of "Whiskey, Whiskey" – Stereo Version also on the 1970 US LP "Country Fever" on RCA Victor LSP 4389)

10. Mr. Stanton Don't Believe It - ROB GALBRAITH (from the 1970 US Stereo LP "Nashville Dirt" on Columbia CS 1057)

11. Saunders' Ferry Lane - SAMMI SMITH (August 1971 US 45-single on Mega 615-0039, A-side - also from the 1970 US Stereo LP "He's Everywhere" on Mega Records M31-1000 - renamed "Help Me Make It Through The Night" with the same catalogue)

12. Four Shades Of Love - HENSON CARGILL (March 1970 US 45-single on Monument MN45-1198, B-side to "The Most Uncomplicated Goodbye I've Ever Heard" - and from the 1970 US Stereo LP "The Uncomplicated Henson Cargill" on Monument SLP 18137)

13. Drivin' My Nails In The Wall - WAYLON JENNINGS & THE KIMBERLYS (from the 1969 US Stereo LP "Country-Folk" on RCA Victor LSP 4180)

14. Ruby, Don't Take My Love To Town - KENNY ROGERS & THE FIRST EDITION (May 1969 US 45-single on Reprise 0829, A-side - also from the 1969 US Stereo LP "'69" on Reprise Records RS 6328)

15. Why Can't I Come Home - ED BRUCE (from the 1968 US Stereo LP "If I Could Just Go Home" on RCA Victor LSP 3948)

16. Mr. Walker, It's All Over - BILLE JO SPEARS (February 1969 US 45-single on Capitol 2436, A-side - also from the 1969 US Stereo LP "Mr. Walker, It's All Over" on Capitol ST 224)

17. Harlan County - JIM FORD (August 1969 US 45-single on Sundown SD-115, A-side - also on the 1969 US Stereo LP "Harlan County" on Sundown JHS 1002)

18. Widow Wimberly - TONY JOE WHITE (from his 1970 3rd US Stereo LP "Tony Joe" on Monument SLP 18142)

19. Belinda (Alternate Take) - BOBBIE GENTRY (recorded in 1970, first issued on the September 2018 UK/Europe 8CD Box Set "The Girl From Chickasaw County (The Complete Capitol Masters)" on Universal/UMC 5383971) 

20. Joanne - MICHAEL NESMITH & THE FIRST NATIONAL BAND (from his 1970 US Stereo LP "Magnetic South" on RCA Victor LSP 4371)

21. Mr. Jackson's Got Nothing To Do - JOHN HARTFORD (from his 1969 US Fifth Stereo LP "John Hartford" on RCA Victor LSP 4156)

22. Alone - LEE HAZLEWOOD & SUZI JANE HOKOM (November 1969 Promo-Only MONO US 45-single on LHI Records LHI 19, B-side to "Same Old Songs")

23. Fabulous Body And Smile - SIR ROBERT CHARLES GRIGGS [aka Bobby Charles] (1973 US 45-single on Capitol 3714, A-side - also from his 1973 US Stereo LP "The Legend Of Sir Robert Charles Griggs" on Capitol St-11234)

24. I Feel Like Going Home - CHARLIE RICH (August 1973 US 45-single on Epic 5-11040, B-side of "The Most Beautiful Girl")

NOTES: All Tracks in STEREO except 9 and 22 in MONO

The 24-page booklet is a thoroughly satisfying feast of knowledge and affection from compiler BOB STANLEY (with nods to friends who helped) that's also jam-packed with rare US 45/LP artwork with the occasional trade adverts (full pages to Michael Nesmith and Charlie Rich). Top quality Audio is by Ace's long-standing and mucho-experienced NICK ROBBINS - 22 Stereo cuts with only Nat Stuckey and the Lee Hazelwood/Suzi Jane Hokom duet in Mono. VINYL collectors should also note that all Ace Records issues of the double are black vinyl, but there's a rare GREEN VINYL variant of 500 copies (with the same catalogue number) on Rough Trade, which was available direct from their mail order. To the chunes... 

The underling menace/relationship-sleaze inherent in the song "Ode To Billie Joe" acts as an idea springboard for this collection of lesser-heard 60ts and 70ts Country and Folk Rock from Southern States USA (not surprisingly most of these songs were on RCA Victor or Columbia - two principal homes of Country). What comes as something of a surprise though is how this compilation proves the extraordinary reach of that song - its unusual structure, words, weirdly downbeat yet intriguing story - all of it – beguiling and inspiring. Five tracks in and it's pretty clear that huge swathes of great artists had heard Bobby Gentry and her stunning 'Son Of A Preacher Man' type-tune and had been duly blown away (Tony Joe White practically started writing his own material because of it). Seizing the sluice-gates day, they too began aping its searing lyrical honesty and between 1968 and 1970 (especially) tackled subjects usually off-limits to a three-minute radio song appealer. 

But amongst these knowing tales of serial cheaters, guitar-case railroad-track walkers and swamp-rocking widows are surprisingly touching odes to genuinely tremulous hurt and loss. It opens with a gorgeous remastered Stereo cut from Lee Hazlewood (the king of deadpan drama, lyrics from it title this review) where a tempestuous marriage puts the house up for sale every Wednesday morning only to see it taken off the market that afternoon once their even hastier make-up kicked in. Dolly Parton too – so often seen as a bubble-headed Barbie Doll in mock Cherokee tassels singing about good old Kentucky gals – stuns with her open-wound pain story of a pregnant girl hiding her smock bump - abandoned by a huckster in "Down From Dover". Bob Stanley quite rightly calls it brave at a time when so many in her genre wouldn’t have gone near such real-world nastiness with a barge pole. And just how early-morning God-of-life beautiful is Hoyt Axton's "Way Before The Time Of Towns" – a stunning soft-as-silk orchestrated acoustic epic from a writer normally associated with Rock stuff like Three Dog Night's keyboard-upbeat chart-topper "Joy To The World" and Steppenwolf's hard-hitting anti-drug song "The Pusher".

Gentry herself gets a showing with an Alternate Acoustic rendering of "Belinda", a song that turned up on her fifth and final album "Patchwork" for Capitol Records in 1970. Its first appearance came on CD7 of the exemplary and seriously sought after September 2018 8CD Box Set "The Girl From Chickasaw County". Sat on the front-door steps of some large house in her patchwork dress, tasselled hair and wicker basket of oh-so-darlin' flowers - it's a pared-back acoustic rendering is a clever choice over the issued version – this brute starker and darker and better for it. Before the Nancy Sinatra duets, Lee Hazlewood over on his Lee Hazlewood Industries LHI label had been pairing with Suzi Jane Hokom and their Jack Nitzsche-arranged "Alone" makes for another slyly dark sleeper (a Promo-only 7" in the USA). Other genius inclusions are the hard-to-find-on-CD B-side "I Feel Like Going Home" by Charlie Rich (flip of the Silver Fox's huge hit "The Most Beautiful Girl") and anything from the Country-Soulful Jim Ford album "Harlan County" is a doozy in my books. And on it goes...

"Choctaw Ridge..." is the kind of compilation that's rare in the 2020s - the listen is good (discoveries galore); it sounds great and has on-the-money annotation that will make you dig deeper and explore. And all of it collated by British men sporting brave trouser choices - decent chappies proffering us American Country Music cultural-less Neanderthals with tunes and artists we really need to pay more attention to/reappraise. Top stuff and well done to all involved...