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"...Time
For Another..."
England’s
ACE made three respected albums for Anchor Records in the Seventies (1974, 1975
and 1977) before principal songwriter, front man and lead singer Paul Carrack
jumped ship to session with the mighty Frankie Miller, did work with Roxy Music
before a short lived spot in England’s Squeeze – one of the great bands of the
Punk and New Wave era.
Carrack's
debut solo album "Groove Approved" finally appeared in 1979 on
Chrysalis Records. Thereafter he moved on to a huge career and Number 1 chart
greatness with Mike Rutherford of Genesis and his Mike & The Mechanics band
and from there onto a steady 10 to 15 album solo career that sees him gigging
still and doing shows and a UK tour in 2019. If anything, with social media
outlets like YouTube, Facebook and the downloading giant Spotify – Paul
Carrack's light has never been higher – a truly wonderful British Rock singer
with a Soulful voice and a knack for penning a fab tune – the kind of quality
artist people keep rediscovering and passing on the good news (Carrack has
rabid fans who go to see him gig everywhere he touches down).
Let's
get to the band ACE. CD reissues for our hero pub-rockers have been a very
mixed bag. But after years of crap sounding budget compilations (deleted and
ludicrously expensive into the bargain) - along came Cherry Red Records of the
UK in June 2011 finally reissuing the three platters by ACE in proper style –
all with unreleased BBC sessions and the occasional outtake. But they in turn
have been deleted and again have started to procure high prices. Which brings
us to this timely 2018 reminder of the much-loved band and Carrack’s songwriting
beginnings. Time For Another indeed – here are the details…
UK
released Friday, 26 October 2018 - "Five-A-Side + Bonus Track/Time For
Another/No Strings" by ACE on Beat Goes On Records BGOCD 1360 (Barcode
5017261213600) offers 3LPs and a Bonus Track Remastered onto 2CDs and plays out
as follows:
Disc
1 (60:56 minutes):
1.
Sniffin' About [Side 1]
2.
Rock And Roll Runaway
3.
How Long
4.
The Real Feeling
5.
24 Hours
6.
Why [Side 2]
7.
Time Ain't Long
8.
Know How It Feels
9.
Satellite
10.
So Sorry Baby
Tracks
1 to 10 are the band's debut album "Five-A-Side" - originally issued
November 1974 in the UK on Anchor ANCL 2001 and March 1975 in the USA using the
same catalogue number but entitled "An Ace Album" (peaked at No. 11
in the US LP charts). Despite the front sleeve title "An Ace Album",
the first US LPs actually have the title "Five-A-Side" on their
labels.
BONUS
TRACK:
11.
Tastes Like A Fish – A "Five-A-Side" album outtake (instrumental)
which first appeared on the June 2011 UK 2CD reissue of "Five-A-Side"
on Cherry Red CDBRED 493 (Barcode 5013929149328)
12.
I Think It's Gonna Last
13.
I'm A Man
14.
Tongue Tied
15.
Does It Hurt You
15.
Message To You
Tracks
12 to 16 are Side 1 of their second studio album "Time For Another" -
released November 1975 in the UK on Anchor Records ANCL 2013 and December 1975
in the USA with the same catalogue number (it peaked at No. 153 in the USA,
didn't chart UK).
Disc
2 (61:09 minutes):
1.
No Future In Your Eyes
2.
This Is What You Find
3.
You Can't Lose
4.
Sail On My Brother
5.
Ain't Gonna Stand For This No More
Tracks
1 to 5 are Side 2 of their second album "Time For Another" (for
details see Disc 1)
6.
Rock And Roll Singer [Side 1]
7.
You're All That I Need
8.
Crazy World
9.
I'm Not Takin' It Out On You
10.
Movin'
11.
Gleaming In The Gloom [Side 2]
12.
Let's Hang On
13.
Why Did You Leave Me
14.
Found Out The Hard Way
15.
C'est La Vie
Tracks
6 to 16 are their third and final studio album "No Strings" -
released January 1977 in the UK on Anchor Records ANCL 2020 and February 1977
in the USA with the same catalogue number (peaked at No. 170 on the US LP
charts, didn't chart UK)
The
band retained the same line-up through the three releases - Paul Carrack on
Lead Vocals and Keyboards (ex Warm Dust), Phil Harris on Lead Guitar (ex The
Action, formed the band as Ace Flash and the Dynamos), Alan 'Bam' King on
Rhythm Guitar (ex The Action, Mighty Baby and B.B. Blunder), Terry 'Tex' Comer
on Bass (ex Warm Dust) with Dubliner Fran Byrne on Drums (ex Bees Make Honey). American
Guitarist Jon Woodhead joined the band for the "No Strings" LP
replacing Phil Harris.
The
card slipcase for these BGO reissues lends the release a classy feel whilst the
new August 2018 liner notes from JOHN TOBLER acknowledges input from Michael
Heatley who did the wordy-deed for the 2011 Cherry Red issues. The inner
'football cards' artwork from "Five-A-Side" is here as are the lyrics
for the "How Long" album (neither of the other two original LPs came
with lyrics so unfortunately they're not here) and other photos of our boys
looking suitably pub-rocking, standing dodgy by a dartboard with a pint of Ale
in hand and a ciggie hanging out of their working-class gobs. But what most
will love is the new AUDIO by BGO's longstanding Engineer ANDREW THOMPSON -
Fabulous stuff that equals if not betters the 2011 issues.
Musically
this is a London white boy's Rock band with a Soulful twist - not unlike Cado
Belle who would join Anchor in 1976. There's a lovely J.J. Cale lilt to the
rhythms too and Carrack's voice has always been one of the band's strong points
(not to mention his quality songwriting). The only British single off the album
was of course the fabulous Carrack original "How Long" - UK issued as
a 45 in October 1974 on Anchor ANC 1002 with "Sniffin' About" on the
flip. It hit a respectable peak of 20 in the British single charts in November
(just as the album came out).
But
its US equivalent issued in March 1975 on Anchor ANC-21000 went Top 5
eventually gaining Number 3. The 45 "How Long" was a huge radio hit
Stateside and saw the LP (known as "An Ace Album" over there) push
its way up to Number 11 in March 1975 (it didn't even dent the top 50 in the
UK). Despite the warmth given "How Long" in good old Blighty - oddly
the newly established Anchor Records didn't release a follow up single that
surely cost the album momentum. Anchor America did try "Rock & Roll
Runaway" b/w "Know How It Feels" in the USA on Anchor ANC-21002
- but it stalled at Number 71. A further 7" came out March 1975 in the UK
ahead of the second album "Time For Another" - it was "I Ain't
Gonna Stand For This No More' with Five-A-Side's "Rock And Roll
Runaway" as it's B-side (Anchor ANC 1014) - but again despite a strong A -
it went nowhere. Let's get to the album...
Produced
so sweetly by JOHN ANTHONY (of Queen, Genesis, Rare Bird and Van Der Graaf
Generator fame) - "Five-A-Side" opens with the catchy "Sniffin'
About" and gets even better with the piano funky jaunt of "Rock &
Roll Runaway". But then you're hit with absolute magic - the standout
"How Long". To this day it sends me and to hear it sound this good is
a proper blast. We're back to Katy Lied Steely Dan keyboard Funk with "The
Real Feeling" (nice guitar too) and the superb "24 Hours" (both
Carrack tunes).
Side
2 opens with what should have been the 2nd single - the killer groove of
"Why?" - sounding like the Average White Band on a Rock tip.
"Time Ain't Long" is about family, parents and their passing - and to
this day its lyrics don't seem to sit comfortably with the upbeat soulful
melody. Things slow down and get better with the Soulful "Know How It
Feels". The TV song "Satellite" gets piano funky again while the
finisher "So Sorry, Baby" could also have been a great single (a Paul
Harris original). The good news is that the lone outtake "Tastes Like A
Fish" is a wee gem - the bad news is that it's minus an obvious vocal - so
what you get is a Funky Instrumental of about 3 minutes.
Compared
to the perk of the debut - the other two albums felt ever so slightly ordinary -
mediocre single sleeve artwork for both platters not helping their profile
either. By the time the 1977 final studio album came around and even with a new
producer of repute – Punk was making ACE seem like a sideshow with the
Rock-Soul fun of 1974 and 1975 a distant memory. Anchor UK released singles
like "I Ain't Gonna Stand For It" in April 1975 (Anchor ANC 1014 with
"Rock & Roll Runaway" from the debut on the flipside) and "No
Future In Your Eyes" in November 1975 (Anchor ANC 1024 with the LP’s "I’m
A Man" on the B) to try to sell the second LP "Time For Another"
- but neither was successful. They tried two more for the "No Strings"
LP too - "You’re All I Need" in February 1977 (Anchor ANC 1036 with "Crazy
World" on the other side) and "Found Out The Hard Way" in May
1977 (Anchor ANC 1040 with "Why Did You Leave Me?" on the flip) – but
few were listening and their initial "How Come" fame and fortune was
spent. The band split soon after...
You
wouldn’t call these three albums by ACE masterpieces by any stretch of the
imagination – but there is still a lot to love here. And with quality
presentation combined with great new audio - if you’ve been on the Pub Rock fence
with a tepid beer lollygagging sadly in your aging arthritic hand thinking it
is indeed "Time For Another" – then dig in - before this 2018 2CD Trio
on BGOCD1360 gets deleted too…
