"Help For My Brother: The Pre-Funk Singles 1963-68" by BOBBY BYRD – US Mono and Stereo 45-Singles on Federal, Smash and King Records - Guests Include Anna King, Nat Jones, Ted Wright, Bud Hobgood, James Crawford and James Brown (September 2017 UK Ace Records/Beat Goes Public (BGP) CD Compilation of Remasters – Nick Robbins Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...I Found Out..."

Pals since they'd first met in 1953 at a local baseball game (a full three years prior to the start of Mr. Dynamite's career on Federal in 1956) - James Brown aficionados will know the name Bobby Byrd and smile. 

Singer and Band Leader - Byrd was with JB until 1973 and was the first to get solo releases off of JB Productions. And like all things James Brown associated (Vicki Anderson, Lyn Collins, Fred Wesley and so on) – those Funk outings were and are hugely sought-after to this day (2021). Byrd has been famously sampled too by acts as diverse at The Stone Roses, Eric B. & Rakim and Jay Z. 

But it appears outside of those renowned 70ts Funk 45s, the starter part of career in the 60ts (and some would say, he himself) appear to have been largely ignored. Unfortunately on hearing this compilation of earlier sides – it’s easy to hear why. They try hard and at times they even succeed (mostly the shuffling ballads mind) and the at-times stunning audio/original production values lift things way up too. But most never get near greatness – they are good and at times even pretty – but never great. And those enticed by the word ‘Funk’ in this compilation’s title should consider it a misnomer and look away now – because almost all of this excepting Funky Soul No. 1 towards the end of the disc are R&B based songs – like middling James Brown R&B but stubbornly without the tunes.  

So what do you get? CDBGPD 309 gathers up all the US A&B-sides Byrd did on Federal, Smash and King Records between 1963 and 1968 including a rare duet with Anna King and one two-sided unreleased 45 - with four of these cuts even presented here in hip-swinging Stereo. To the concertos...

UK released 29 September 2017 - "Help For My Brother: The Pre-Funk Singles 1963-1968" by BOBBY BYRD on Ace Records/Beat Goes Public (BGP) CDBGPD 309 (Barcode 029667085427) is a 24-Track CD Compilation that plays out as follows (65:33 minutes):  

1. I Found Out 

2. They Are Sayin' 

Tracks 1 and 2 are the A&B-sides of Federal 45-12486, released May 1963; A-side by Bobby Byrd, Johnny Terry and James Brown; B-side by James Brown

3. I'm Just A Nobody Parts I & II

Track 3 is the combined A&B-sides of Smash S-1868, released January 1964; both sides by BB and JB credited as Jim Jam

4. Baby Baby Baby 

Track 4 is the A-side of Smash S-1884 by ANNA KING and BOBBY BYRD, released March 1964

B-side was an Instrumental of the A (not included here); both sides by BB and JB credited as Jim Jam

5. I Love You So 

6. Write Me A Letter 

Tracks 5 and 6 are the A&B-sides of Smash S-1903, released May 1964; A-side by Bobby Byrd and Ted Wright; B-side is by Howard Diggs and Joseph Ricks 

7. I've Got A Girl 

8. I'm Lonely 

Tracks 7 and 8 are the A&B-sides of Smash S-1928, released September 1964, both sides written by Bobby Byrd and Ted Wright

9. We Are In Love

10. No One Like My Baby 

Tracks 9 and 10 are the A&B-sides of Smash S-1964, released January 1965, both sides written by Bobby Byrd and Ted Wright

11. Time Will Make A Change 

12. The Way I Feel 

Tracks 11 and 12 are the A&B-sides of Smash S-1984, released May 1965, both sides written by Bobby Byrd and Ted Wright

13. Let Me Know 

14. You're Gonna Need My Lovin'

Tracks 13 and 14 are the A&B-sides of Smash S-2003, released September 1965, both sides written by Bobby Byrd and Ted Wright

15. Oh, What A Night 

16. Lost In The Mood Of Changes 

Tracks 15 and 16 are the A&B-sides of Smash S-2018, released January 1966, A-side is a cover version of The Dells hit originally on Vee-Jay Records in 1956, B-side is a Nat Jones song

17. Ain't No Use 

Track 17 is the A-side of Smash S-2052, released September 1966, A-side is a Nat Jones song, B-side used "Let Me Know" (see Track 13)

18. I Found Out

19. I'll Keep Pressing On 

Tracks 18 and 19 are the A&B-sides of King 45-6069, released 1967, A-side is a 'New Version' of "I Found Out" (Track 1 originally released May 1963 on Federal). Both sides are in STEREO; B-side by James Brown and Nat Jones 

20. Funky Soul No. 1 Part 1

21. Funky Soul No. 1 Part 2

Tracks 20 and 21 are the A&B-sides of King 45-6126, released September 1967, both sides by James Brown, Bud Hobgood and James Crawford 

22. I'll Lose My Mind 

Track 22 is the B-side of King 45-6151, released February 1968, by Bobby Byrd. A-side was "You've Got To Change Your Mind" by Bobby Byrd and James Brown - the track isn't included here but can be found on the February 2008 2CD set "The Singles Volume 5: 1967-1969" by James Brown on Hip-O Select. 

23. My Concerto 

24. You Gave My Heart A Song To Sing 

Tracks 23 and 24 were to be the A&B-sides of King 45-6165 sometime in 1968, but were never released.  

All songs in MONO except Tracks 18, 19, 22 and 23 which are in STEREO

The 16-page booklet features superbly detailed and rightly affectionate DEAN RUDLAND liner notes - all the text sat beside US 45-label repros, publicity photos of Bobby solo and with The Famous Flames, trade paper reviews, while a gorgeous black and white publicity snap adorns Page 12 of the beautiful Anna King and a suited 'n' booted Bobby Byrd standing beside the white Miami DJ Rick Shaw - the trio beaming proudly - and why wouldn't they. 

A classy affair bolstered up by NICK ROBBINS Remasters - Ace's long-standing Audio Engineer - a man with thousands of transfer credits to his name. And given the sheer quality of the original production values back in the day, it's clear that the tapes have stood the test of time because these Remasters are lovely - fresh and kicking in all the right ways – even shocking at times in their clarity. 

Highlights include two versions of "I Found Out" – the original groover in Mono where his voice is shockingly good and a Stereo remake that is beautiful to listen too but perhaps trowels on the strings too much. A pleader very much in the vein of "It's A Man's Man's Man's World" – the smoocher "I'm Just A Nobody" impresses too with an Organ presence that is weird but works in a lo-fi way. "I've Got A Girl" is lovely Soul - a forgotten shuffler similar to Dan Penn's "I'm A Puppet" while his duet with Anna King is a bopper very much in the style of Otis & Carla having a shout-off about who loves the other the most. Top Audio accolade has to go to "We Are in Love" - where our hero is making wedding plans no matter what the people might say. And on it goes to the winner that is "Funky Soul No.1" – the only real tune on here that does what it says on the tine... 

Bobby Byrd married Vicki Anderson and parted ways with JB in 1973. Byrd passed in September 2007 (JB had gone the year earlier) with his and Vicki’s daughter Carleen carrying on the singing-soulful torch in The Young Disciples. But of course his influence stretches so much further and will continue to do so (the man behind James Brown, and what a legacy that is). 

You could and should argue that this is a period of Bobby Byrd that Funk fans in general will not really want (especially those wanting Rare Groove 70ts cuts). 

But 60ts Soul boys and gals, Mods and R&B New Breed lovers should investigate and I suspect they will find more than enough to enjoy...

"I'm Not Talkin' - The Song Stylings Of Mose Allison 1957-71" by MOSE ALLISON (October Ace/2016 BGP CD Compilation of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Swingin' Machine..."

Like myself (and so many others I suspect) - I became aware of the mighty American Jazz swinger Mose Allison via England's Modfather Georgie Fame.

In fact in a 2016 interview, Fame admits that in 1964 an introduction by a musician friend to one of Allison's imported US Hard Bop LPs, Georgie initially nicked Moses' scat vocal styles/cadences to such a point that it was hard at times to tell the two apart! Only three songs into this uber-groovy UK CD compilation brought to us hipsters by those cool types over at Ace Records on their Beat Goes Public imprint label (BGP) - and you can so hear how true that is. Lifetime fan Georgie boy was (you have to say) always on the style money – seventh son of a seventh son indeed – he knew the one.

Culling tracks from Allison albums on Prestige (Fifties) and Columbia, Epic and Atlantic (Sixties and Seventies) - you get 18 cuts in glorious Stereo and 6 in pin-sharp Mono - Allison on Piano and Vocals throughout. Let's get to the Swingin' Machine...

UK released Friday, 28 October 2016 (4 November 2016 in the USA) - "I'm Not Talkin' - The Song Stylings Of MOSE ALLISON 1957-1971" by MOSE ALLISON on Ace/Beat Goes Public (BGP) CDBGPD 304 (Barcode 029667077828) is a 24-Track CD Compilation of Remasters that plays out as follows (61:32 minutes):

1. I'm Not Talkin' (from the 1964 US LP "The Word From Mose" on Atlantic SD 1424 in Stereo)

2. Parchman Flying (from the 1958 US LP "Young Man Mose" on Prestige PRLP 7121 in Mono)

3. Foolkiller (from the 1964 US LP "The Word From Mose" on Atlantic SD 1424 in Stereo)

4. If You Only Knew (from the 1971 US LP "Western Man" on Atlantic SD 1584 in Stereo)

5. Baby, Please Don't Go (from the 1960 US LP "Transfiguration Of Hiram Brown" on Columbia CS 8240 in Stereo)

6. The Seventh Son (from the 1958 US LP "Creek Bank" on Prestige PRLP 7152 in Mono)

7. I'm Smashed (from the 1970 US LP "...Hello There, Universe" on Atlantic SD 1550 in Stereo)

8. Wild Man On The Loose (from the 1966 US LP "Wild Man On The Loose" on Atlantic SD 1456 in Stereo)

9. If You're Goin' To The City (from the 1963 US LP "Swingin' Machine" on Atlantic SD 1398 in Stereo)

10. Everybody Cryin' Mercy (from the 1968 US LP "I've Been Doin' Some Thinkin'" on Atlantic SD 1511 in Stereo)

11. I Love The Life I Live (from the 1960 US LP "I Love The Life I Live" on Columbia CS 8365 in Stereo)

12. Young Man's Blues (from the 1957 US LP "Back Country Suite For Piano, Bass And Drums" on Prestige PRLP 7091 in Mono)

13. Back On The Corner (from the 1962 US LP "Takes To The Hills" on Epic BA 17031 in Stereo)

14. You Can Count On Me To Do My Part (from the 1966 US LP "Wild Man On The Loose" on Atlantic SD 1456 in Stereo)

15. Lost Mind (from the 1958 US LP "Young Man Mose" on Prestige PRLP 7121 in Mono)

16. Eyesight To The Blind (from the 1959 US LP "Autumn Song" on Prestige PRLP 7189 in Mono)

17. Your Mind Is On Vacation (from the 1962 US LP "I Don't Worry About A Thing" on Atlantic SD 1389 in Stereo)

18. Jus Like Livin' (from the 1968 US LP "I've Been Doin' Some Thinkin'" on Atlantic SD 1511 in Stereo)

19. If You Live (from the 1958 US LP "Creek Bank" on Prestige PRLP 7152 in Mono)

20. V-8 Ford Blues (from the 1962 US LP "Takes To The Hills" on Epic BA 17031 in Stereo)

21. Your Molecular Structure (from the 1968 US LP "I've Been Doin' Some Thinkin'" on Atlantic SD 1511 in Stereo)

22. Hello There, Universe (from the 1970 US LP "...Hello There, Universe" on Atlantic SD 1550 in Stereo)

23. Western Man (from the 1971 US LP "Western Man" on Atlantic SD 1584 in Stereo)

24. Swingin' Machine (from the 1963 US LP "Swingin' Machine" on Atlantic SD 1398 in Stereo)

Track 11 by The Mose Allison Trio, all other tracks by Mose Allison

Tracks 1, 3 to 5, 7 to 11, 13, 14 and 17, 18 and 20 to 24 are in STEREO - Tracks 2, 6, 12, 15, 16 and 19 are in MONO

Compiled and Annotated by long-time Ace Records associate DEAN RUDLAND - the 16-page booklet features informative liner notes and all those oh-so cool 50ts and 60ts album covers - Mose sat in a wicker chair for "Young Man Mose" and our Al looking a bit more man-about-town and with-it for "The Word From Mose" - a 1964 album that contains two of his most popular tunes in Blighty - "I'm Not Talkin'" and "Foolkiller" - covered by The Yardbirds and Brian Auger & The Trinity. Those rare Esquire Records British EPs for "Back Country Suite" and "Mose Allison" are pictured as are label repros for American 7" singles you never see either like "Parchman Farm" (Prestige PR 295) and "The Seventh Son" (Prestige 150). Very tasty...

DUNCAN COWELL has done the Audio Mastering and all sounds tickety-boo (as you would expect from labels like Prestige, Columbia and Atlantic).

I’ve always loved his suave covers of the Joe Williams, Willie Dixon and Sonny Boy Williamson Blues and R&B classics "Baby Please Don't Go", "The Seventh Son" and "Eyesight To The Blind" - and the way he makes the witty lyrics sound like he penned them all along. He also gives Percy Mayfield a whirl on his version of "Lost Mind", but just in case you’re thinking he can’t cut a laugh himself – try out the sexy "Your Molecular Structure" or the deprecating "Wild Man On The Loose" or sly jabbing in "Your Mind Is On Vacation". Even in the early Seventies when he was wearing Afghans, tie-dye shirts and beads – he still managed to feel hip and swinging on cuts like "Hello There, Universe" and "I'm Smashed".

For sure his style of vocals and almost tripping-over-itself deadpan delivery may not be to everyone’s tastes, but if ever a CD compilation was an ample advertisement for why so many thought Mose Allison so influential and worthy of worship – them "I'm Not Talkin'" is it. Yeah baby and nice job done...

“The New Folk Sound Of…” by TERRY CALLIER. A Review of his Sixties debut album on Prestige now reissued on a 2003 CD Remaster with Three Bonus Tracks.

"…Better Days Coming…You And Me Brother…We Can Make It So…”

There are now TWO CD issues of this album…

The first was released in 1995 in the UK on one of Ace Records label imprints - Beat Goes Public CDBGPM 101 (second image above). It was a straightforward reissue of the US vinyl album on Prestige PR 7383. It ran to 37:46 minutes and had no mastering or remastering credits. The sound quality was ok, but it has been made redundant by…

This 2nd issue (first image above) – an upgraded 2003 remaster that adds three previously unreleased outtakes from the original session to the album’s eight tracks (55:01 minutes).

This new version on Beat Goes Public CDBGPM 156 has been transferred by JOE TARANTINO at the Fantasy Studios in California – and if I was to describe what’s better - it’s the vocals – they’re far more amplified and to beautiful effect. Unfortunately, it’s still a gatefold slip of paper that provides no history of the record (the original May 1965 liner notes are reproduced, but it’s the usual vague Sixties babble that doesn’t actually inform you of anything).

Aged only 23, “New Folk Sound Of…” was recorded by SAMUEL CHARTERS in the Webb Recording Studios in Chicago in just one day – 29 July 1964 – and released in the late summer of the following year. There are only 3 musicians – TERRY CALLIER on Guitar and Vocals, TERBOUR ATTENBOROUGH on Bass and JOHN TWEEDLE also on Bass. Another surprise is that all the songs are covers – five being Public Domain Traditionals while the other three were from songwriter catalogues of the time.

Side 1 opens with the lovely and lonesome “900 Miles” which sets up his style and the album’s overall feel. Although it’s just him on Acoustic Guitar with his voice high up in the mix and the other instruments behind him, the effect is more FOLK-SOUL than just Folk or Roots. It’s beautifully atmospheric – the kind of album you’d play on a quiet Sunday morning when you just want something soothing on the ear and brain.

Some tracks work better than others. It’s difficult to hear “Oh Dear What Can The Matter Be” now without thinking of a schoolyard song we used to sing which rudely rhymed a “Lavatory” with “Matter Be”. But things get better with the quietly lovely “Johnny Be Gay If You Can Be” and “Cotton Eyed Joe”. The difference on the remaster of “Cotton Eyed Joe” is stark – the vocals soar out of the speakers.

One of the album’s true masterpieces is Side 2’s opener - the plea for racial equality and an end to all war - “It’s About Time” (lyrics above). Written by a beat poet and a female US songwriter (Kent Foreman and Lydia Wood) and running to a mere 3:33 minutes, it features a lovely guitar strum, but this time it has the added double bass of TERBOUR ATTENBOROUGH which lifts the song out of it’s folk-roots feel into something so much more powerful and substantial. It still sounds awesome to this day – as meltingly relevant then as it is now. It’s followed by “Promenade In Green” which is a Negro song from Alabama copyrighted by Robert Kaufman and Len Chandler in 1961 (a year before Callier started singing) – it’s heart-meltingly lovely. “I’m A Drifter” is excellent too, but probably overstays its welcome at just short of nine minutes.

The extras are a revelation. It’s easy to see why they were left off the album – it’s not that they’re sub-standard it’s just that they were more of the same and something had to give. Which is good news for us some 45 years later because the gambling song “Jack O’ Diamonds” is superb, but the real winner is his cover of the Judy Collins song “The Golden Apples Of The Sun” which incorporated the poetry of William Butler Yates into the words. It’s gorgeous. What a find!

As you’ve no doubt gathered, I’ve been soppy about Terence Orlando Callier for years, so perhaps my review is overly gushing – but once your weary lugs actually hear this criminally forgotten gem, you’ll understand why…

Despite the lack of notes and an appreciation of the man’s legacy – this is a great reissue of a soft and graceful start – and a philosophy to life that continues to inspire to this day.

I strongly urge you to get this superb CD reissue into your life.

PS: see also my reviews for the two albums he followed “Folk Sound” with - “Occasional Rain” (1972 on Cadet) and “What Color Is Love” (1973 on Cadet).