“A’s, B’s & Rarities” by C.C.S. [aka CCS] (2004 EMI Gold CD Compilation Of UK 7" Singles On The RAK Records Label Plus Unreleased) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…Hey Brother…Stay Loose…"

CCS (short for COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUNESS SOCIETY) made 3 studio albums and 7 singles for Mickie Most's RAK Records in the early Seventies before the band finally split up in late 1973. This 2004 EMI compilation offers you the A&B sides of all seven UK singles plus 5 tracks off the albums and 2 newly found previously unreleased recordings from the period.




Their 3 albums are pictured above in release date order

The huge ensemble group was the brain-child of British Blues Boom Godfather ALEXIS KORNER who along with Danish singer PETER THORUP and British arranger JOHN CAMERON pulled together the cream of brass/flute-playing session-men of the time and went after the BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS market for funked-up rock (the liner notes name all 26 of them).

It's a generous set, so here's a detailed breakdown (74:10 minutes):

1 and 2 is "Whole Lotta Love" b/w "Boom Boom", October 1970 on RAK 104
(A is a Led Zeppelin cover ("Top Of The Pops" theme music), B is a John Lee Hooker cover - both tracks are off the 1st album)

3 and 4 is "Walkin'" b/w "Salome", January 1971 on RAK 109
(A is a Donovan cover - B is an Alexis Korner/John Cameron original - both tracks are non-album)

5 and 6 is "Tap Turns On The Water" b/w "Save The World", August 1971 on RAK 119
(A is a John Cameron/Alexis Korner original - B is a John Cameron original - both tracks are non-album)

7 and 8 is "Brother" b/w "Mister What You Can't Have I Can Get", February 1972, RAK 126
(A is an John Cameron/Alexis Korner original - B is a John Cameron original - A is on the second LP - B is non-album)

9 and 10 is "Sixteen Tons" b/w "This Is My Life", October 1972 on RAK 141
(A is a Tennessee Ernie Ford cover - B is a Peter Thorup/Alexis Korner original - B also features a "Tap Turns On The Water" brass beginning and a lead vocal by Peter Thorup - both tracks are non-album)

11 and 12 is "The Band Played The Boogie" b/w "Hang It On Me", June 1973 on RAK 154
(A is a Don Reedman/Jeff Jarratt song - B is a John Cameron original - A is off the 3rd album - B is a non-album track)

13 and 14 is "Hurricane Coming" b/w "Dragster", April 1974 on RAK 172
(A is a Ronnie Scott cover - B is a John Cameron/Hayes original - both tracks are non-album)

15 and 16 are "Sunrise" and "Wade In The Water", both from their debut album "C.C.S.", October 1970 (UK) on Rak SRAK 6751 (Gatefold Sleeve)
(15 is an Alexis Korner original, 16 is a cover version of a Traditional Air - the album was issued in the USA in 1971 as "Whole Lotta Love")

17 and 18 are "Hundred Highways" and "Primitive Love", both from their 3rd and last studio album "The Best Band In The Land", September 1973 on Rak SRAK 504
(17 is a John Cameron original - 18 is a Nicky Chinn/Mike Chapman song)

19 is "I Want You Back", a Jackson 5 cover version is found on their 2nd album, also called "CCS" [aka CCS 2], March 1972 on Rak SRAK 503 (Single Sleeve)

20 and 21 and "Blues" and "If I Never Sing Another Song" - both are previously unreleased and exclusive to this compilation (song authors unknown) - Thorup lead vocals on 20 - Korner/Thorup both on 21, which is live and also features a reprise of "Tap Turns On The Water" towards the end

The 8-page inlay has affectionate and detailed liner notes by ADRIAN BOLTON and the remastered sound quality is SUPERB throughout - warm, clear and given the brassy nature of most tracks - loud.

Highlights include the stunning non-album B-side "Sixteen Tons" (I'm always putting on 70's Fest compilations) and the two new recordings are both eerie and shockingly good. Both "Brother" and "Tap..." sound truly brill - and what top singles they were too.

When CCS folded, both Korner and Thorup teamed up with King Crimson's BOZ BURRELL and IAN WALLACE to form SNAPE who issued some albums in Europe. But if you want to investigate further and discover why CCS are held in such affection, Repertoire (out of Europe) put out the 3 albums in 2000 in digipaks with bonus tracks and they're all worth having. In the meantime, this dirt-cheap compilation is a great place to start.

Recommended - big time.


PS: Other 70's acts in the "A's B's & Rarities" series are:
THE ARROWS, HOT CHOCOLATE (see REVIEW), MUD, PILOT and SUZI QUATRO

"A's B's & Rarities" by HOT CHOCOLATE (2004 EMI Gold CD Compilation of UK 7" Singles Between 1969 and 1975) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"A's, B's & Rarities" by HOT CHOCOLATE pretty much does what it says on the tin. This December 2004 EMI Gold CD compilation (out of the UK) contains 20 tracks from the first six years of Hot Chocolate's extraordinary 30-year long chart career.

Covering 1969 to 1975 - most of the songs on here were released on Mickie Most's hugely successful RAK Records label in the UK. Many of these tunes are non-album and 10 make their CD debut on this release. Here are the non-fattening details...

UK released December 2004 – "A's, B's & Rarities" by HOT CHOCOLATE on EMI Gold 560 2172 (Barcode 724356021723) is a 20-track CD compilation of Remasters and plays out as follows (75:16 minutes):

1. Give Peace A Chance

2. Living With Tomorrow

3. Love Is Life

4. Pretty Girls

5. You Could've Been A Lady (Original Single Version)

6. Everybody's Laughing

7. I Believe In Love (Previously Unreleased Stereo Mix)

8. Caveman Billy

9. Mary-Anne

10. Ruth

11. You'll Always Be A Friend

12. Go Go Girl

13. Brother Louie

14. I Want To Be Free

15. Rumours

16. A Man Needs A Woman

17. Emma

18. Makin' Music

19. Blue Night

20. You Sexy Thing (Original Version)

Tracks 1 and 2 are the A&B-sides of their debut UK 7" single on Apple Records APPLE 18 issued Oct 1969

Tracks 3 and 4 are the A&B of Rak Records RAK 103 issued August 1970

Tracks 5 and 6 are the A&B of Rak Records RAK 110 issued February 1971

Tracks 7 and 8 are the A&B of Rak Records RAK 118 issued August 1971

Tracks 9 and 10 are the A&B of Rak Records RAK 127 issued March 1972

Tracks 11 and 12 are the A&B of Rak Records RAK 139 issued October 1972

Tracks 13 and 14 are the A&B of Rak Records RAK 149 issued April 1973

Tracks 15 and 16 are the A&B of Rak Records RAK 157 issued August 1973

Tracks 17 and 18 are the A&B of Rak Records RAK 168 issued March 1974

Tracks 19 and 20 are the A&B of Rak Records RAK 199 issued April 1975

(Tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 18 and 20 are first time on CD)

Their 1st UK 7" single (credited as HOT CHOCOLATE BAND) is an awful reggae version of John Lennon's "Give Peace A Chance" coupled with a slightly better original Tony Wilson/Errol Brown song on the B. As you can see it's on the highly collectable Beatles label APPLE and is a £60+ rarity. The remaining 18 songs were all issued on RAK and as you scan down the names - many of the huge hits will be familiar.

However there are a few things worth noting. "I Believe (In Love)" is a previously unreleased stereo mix, while "Mary-Anne" and its B-side "Ruth" is one of the only times that the soulful Hot Chocolate ventured into bubble-gum pop! Horrifying for a soul group I know but both tracks are actually pretty good.

In the undiscovered gem corner is "Go Go Girl". With its Kinks-style opening guitar riff and rough 'n' ready production, this completely forgotten non-album B-side has recently been played in some London clubs as a 6T's dancer and beat tune (check it out on iTunes). And the ‘honky' talking lines at the end of "Brother Louie" is spoken by Alexis Korner - with John Cameron doing the superb string arrangements - both from the much-loved and revered C.C.S. of “Tap Turns On The Water” fame (another Rak Records label act).

The last curio is Track 20 - the mid 1975 original version of "You Sexy Thing" (RAK 199) and absolutely not the version hot-wired into your wedding dance routines. It was initially put out as a B-side to "Blue Night" - one of Mickie Most's rare mistakes. But as luck would have it – an American DJ flipped the 45 and immediately realised what a funky cracker “You Sexy Thing" was. On the strength of this radio play and public-driven demand - Hot Chocolate then re-recorded the song and released it as the familiar chart hit we all know and love in October of that year (RAK 221). It's been their signature tune ever since. The original version here is excellent - but you can't help feel they made the right choice with the re-released re-recording. And that is of course a bit of an obvious poo-poo here – the version we all love and want is AWOL. Looking at the playing time – it could have been squeezed in – but alas...

Still - the 12-page booklet has superb and detailed liner notes by PHIL HENDRICKS and the sound quality is up there with all EMI releases - clear, warm and punchy.

It's not all Picasso of course and it may be too lightweight-soul for some - but rehearing "Emma", "Brother Louie" and "You Could Have Been A Lady" and so many others in this superb sound quality has been a blast.

So - at under a fiver including P&P - you have to be asking yourself - am I getting enough of what makes me happy - is there Heaven in the back seat of Errol's Cadillac... did it start with a kiss...will I have a Honky in my house... oh stop it.

Recommended...

PS:

Other 70's acts in the "A's B's & Rarities" series are:

THE ARROWS, C.C.S. (see REVIEW), MUD, PILOT and SUZI QUATRO

(All of these artists were on the RAK label except Pilot who were on EMI)