"Olias Of Sunhillow" by JON ANDERSON of YES – July 1976 UK and USA Debut Solo Album on Atlantic Records (April 2021 UK Esoteric Recordings CD + DVD-A Reissue with a 2020 Ben Wiseman Remaster for CD and 5.1 Surround Mix and High Resolution Stereo Mix for the DVD-A) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...One Clear Hand..."

Encouraged by the brilliance of "Relayer" in 1974 (with Patrick Moraz at the keyboards instead of Rick Wakeman) - like most YES fans at the time - I awaited the inevitable Solo albums in the mid Seventies with a sense of excitement. And while Bassist Chris Squire and Guitarist Steve Howe had their moments of glory with November 1975's "Fish Out Of Water" and October 1975's "Beginnings" respectively - most of us somehow knew that Lead Singer and Leading Light in the Yes Multiverse JON ANDERSON and his debut vinyl LP of 1976 would be the Proggy Humdinger to get. And - "...one clear hand..." (lyrics from "Flight of The Moorglade") - it was and still is. 

Released in July 1976 on Atlantic K 50261 in the UK and Atlantic SD 18180 in the USA - "Olias Of Sunhillow" even peaked at Number 8 in good old Blighty (No. 47 in the USA) and has been a treasured work by Prog Rock fans ever since. But its odyssey onto digital has been one of expensive hits and cheap-assed misses - mostly misses.

First came the German/Europe version from February 1996 with an unreadable four-page inlay badly repro'ing the stunning original artwork and sporting un-remastered dull sound (Atlantic 7567-80273-2 - Barcode 075678027321). Two followed that improved things - the October 2011 Japan-Only edition Warner Brothers/Atlantic/Arcangelo ARC-8061 (Barcode 4988044390614) - a SHM-CD in Repro Artwork and America's Audio Fidelity issue from January 2014 - a 24-Carat Gold CD Remastered by noted engineer KEVIN GRAY (Audio Fidelity AFZ 156 - Barcode 0780014215620). But both of those have been deleted years and subsequently acquired very nasty price tags on auction sites. In January 2020 Music On CD out of The Netherlands simply reissued the 1996 version in a Super Jewel Case (Music On CD MOCCD13846 - Barcode 8718627230459) but without any mastering details and some were suckered into buying that. Which brings us to pandemic year plus one - 2021...

UK released Friday, 9 April 2021 (delayed from Friday, 29 March 2021) - "Olias Of Sunhillow" by JON ANDERSON [of YES] on Esoteric Recordings QECLEC22748 (Barcode 5013929474888) is a CD + DVD-A Reissue and New Remaster (by Ben Wiseman) that plays out as follows (the CD and DVD-A have the same tracks as listed below - 44:22 minutes):   

1. Ocean Song [Side 1]

2. Meeting (Garden Of Geda)/Sound Out The Galleon

3. Dance Of Ranyart/Olias (To Build The Moorglade)

4. Qoquaq En Transic/Naon/Transic To

5. Flight Of The Moorglade

6. Solid Space [Side 2]

7. Moon Ra/Chords/Song Of Search

8. To The Runner

Those who bought the original record will of course remember not just the fabulous dense music contained within but also the full-on glory of the sleeve designed and painted by DAVID FAIRBROTHER ROE. A gatefold cover with an extra leaf inside and a same-design inner lyrics sleeve - it was dazzling as a package. Although Roger Dean ad been approached first and proved too busy to help, Roe had done Nazareth's "Hair Of The Dog" album in late 1973 and prior to that designed striking posters for three Isle of Wight Festivals in 1968, 1969 and 1970. Anderson saw the returned artwork and was duly taken aback. 

His space-tale of Magician Olias who lives on the doomed planet of Sunhillow features four tribes and two other characters in his journey to the safe world of Asgaurd - a second magician Ranyart who becomes the navigator of the spaceship 'Moorglade Mover' and a trance-singer Qoquaq who lulls sceptical tribes onto the ship with melodies of peace and love before their world explodes into millions of tears. As you imagine and see from the photos I've provided - the staggeringly elaborate artwork and equally beautiful inner sleeve and its writing font seemed more like a Tolkien book art-plate than an LP record. Esoteric are clearly aware of this and have tried to reproduce that impact and (largely) succeeded. 

A clever move has been to put the lyrics that were originally on both sides of the inner sleeve into a separate booklet (in the right inner flap) and print them to such a degree that you can actually read them. Unfortunately, they have not done the same to the 'story' of Olias that is spread across four inner flaps - most of which is barely legible. Clearly, they should have done the same for the story part of this. 

There is a separate 20-page booklet in the left flap that fills out the album's making - a new in-depth interview with JA by MALCOLM DOME (dated Oct 2020). Rumours of Vangelis playing keyboards on the album (which have persisted for years) and RCA doing their nut at the same are quickly quashed as untrue - though Vangelis was one of the first to hear the finished product and mightily approved (Anderson saw him as a mentor as well as musician friend). 

We also learn that "Olias Of Sunhillow" was a truly 'solo' project, Anderson playing 'everything' - as much as 30 instruments with a recording time of a gruelling three to eight-months (project gestation had been almost five years since the "Fragile" LP in 1971). Amidst the text and illuminations of how maddening the recording actually was - there are pictures of memorabilia supplied by fan David Watkinson - but I have to admit they are strangely muted and badly rendered to a point where you can see what they are but not read them. 

Presentation-wise - this Esoteric Recordings reissue is a damn good fist at it - the rare American Promo 7" single with Titled Picture Sleeve for "Flight Of The Moorglade" b/w "To The Runner" is pictured as are Trade Adverts, Reviews, Times articles etc. And the sepia-feel paper even mimics the texture of the original release. But I would have to be honest and say that that mistake with the story being unreadable is kind of dumb. I should also add that the new remaster from BEN WISEMAN says all the right things on the printed tin (first gen tapes, stereo masters etc) - but the result has left me slightly underwhelmed. 

For sure when you hear those Harp Scales in "Dance Of Ranyart" and that massive crescendo of voices and instruments during Track 4 on Side 1 - the effect is powerful. But I would say that this is a Remaster that needs a bit of welly on your Volume Dial to lift that veil. I also demo'd the 5.1 Surround Mix and the High Definition Stereo Mix on a mate's system (I don't have 5.1 myself) and the Audio was magnificent - the clarity is there that I feel is still a tad muffled on the CD version. 

I've waited decades for this album to be properly remastered and available as such at a reasonable price - so I will congratulate Esoteric Recordings for that. But the lack of anything new (demos, outtake passages etc) is a bit of a disappointment if I'm brutally honest and that packaging faux pas irritates. But then I played the gorgeous Acoustic/Synth intro to "Flight Of The Moorglade" and I shed a wee Proggy tear of joy (I bought that single in Dublin back in the day). So someone is doing something right here. 

"Olias Of Sunhillow" has quite rightly built up a bit of a rep as a genuine Prog Rock, Art Rock, Symphonic Rock masterpiece. And while I still don’t quite know what your four tribes of Sunhillow are actually about (can’t tell my Oractaniom from my Nordranious man) – I love this record. Dense, layered, articulate without being too fay – it is a beautiful thing. And at last a good reissue label has done it a solid space retain.  

"Cha! Cha!" Anderson chants as he finishes the wicked album closer "To The Runner". Couldn't agree more my Topographic son...

"Futurama" by BE-BOP DELUXE – May 1975 UK Second Studio Album on Harvest Records - featuring Bill Nelson, Charles Tumahai of Alta Mira and Simon Fox of Hackensack with guests Andy Evans and The Grimethorpe Colliery Band conducted by John Berryman (May 2019 UK Esoteric Recordings 2CD Expanded Edition – Ben Wiseman Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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Music Of 1975 to 1979 

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"...Futurist Manifesto..."

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With a solid rawk debut in July 1974's "Axe Victim" in the bag and in the shops – Bill Nelson's band eclectic sounding Be-Bop Deluxe toured with Cockney Rebel in the UK to something of a rude awakening. 

Things were not working out down at the oh-so-tight-on-stage farm. The first album's four-piece band worked well in the studio, but still the overall soundscape wasn't coming together as Bill had hoped. At the insistence of his record-company EMI - Nelson auditioned and quickly found two musicians that gelled perfectly – a Mauri bassist with a huge Afro who had played with cult band Alta Mira called Charlie Tumahai and the Drummer from Hackensack – Simon Fox. And the classic Be-Bop Deluxe line-up was born. 

Bill Nelson and Harvest Records now had the power trio with the sympatico feel to go to the next stage, studio album number-two - "Futurama" - and then on to their breakthrough album in January 1976 - "Sunburst Finish" that finally saw the band chart in both the UK and America. 

Which brings us to the superlative 'Be-Bop Deluxe Remasters Series' from Esoteric Recordings of the UK (part of Cherry Red) – the British home to all things Progtastic, Glam and Art Rock. You could look at CD2 and of course notice that it is (aside from some unreleased) little more than a Remix of CD1 masquerading it would appear as a 'Bonus'. But then if you've been used to the original version – this new Stereo beauty will feel like a Steve Wilson remaster of say Crimson or Tull or Yes - revelatory. It really is great and having that bloody rare 45 tagged onto the end of both discs is an actual 'Bonus' too. 

For those who want to the full Dreamland - there is even a Deluxe Edition of "Futurama" with 3CDs+1DVD issued on the same day, 31 May 2019 – search Esoteric Recordings PECLEC 42670 on Barcode 5013929477049 to get the Box Set skinny on that one. But for the futuristic manifesto digipak we do have, let's deal with this 2CD Expanded Edition...

UK released 31 May 2019 - "Futurama" by BE+BOP DELUXE on Esoteric Recordings PECLEC 22672 (Barcode 5013929477247) is a 2CD Expanded Edition of their Second Studio Album from May 1975 that plays outs as follows: 

CD1 "Futurama" The Original Stereo Mix (41:46 minutes):
1. Stage Whispers [Side 1]
2. Love With The Madman
3. Maid In Heaven 
4. Sister Seagull 
5. Sound Track 
6. Music In Dreamland [Side 2]
7. Jean Cocteau 
8. Between The Worlds 
9. Swan Song 
Tracks 1 to 9 are their second album "Futurama" – released May 1975 in the UK on Harvest Records SHSP 4045 and May 1975 in the USA on Harvest/Capitol ST-11432. Produced by ROY THOMAS BAKER (Engineered by Pat Moran) – it didn't chart in either country. The band was credited as BE+BOP DELUXE at this point because of the artwork, but would become their more commonly used moniker BE-BOP DELUXE when they reached "Sunburst Finish" in 1976. 

BONUS TRACKS: 
10. Between The Worlds (Single Version)
11. Lights
Tracks 10 and 11 are a February 1975 UK 45-single on Harvest HAR 5091 with the B-side "Lights" being non-album. The A-side "Between The Worlds" is a different version to the one on the LP and was withdrawn in the UK (copies in either Demo or Stock form are very hard to find). In June 1975 EMI UK decided to issue the popular "Maid In Heaven" track from the LP as a 45-single instead – Harvest HAR 5098 also using the non-LP "Lights" as its flipside. October 1975 then saw the US 45-single of "Maid In Heaven" on Harvest Records 4151 with "Sister Seagull" from the LP on its B-side. 

CD2 "Futurama" New Stereo Mix (50:45 minutes): 
1. Stage Whispers [Side 1]
2. Love With The Madman
3. Maid In Heaven 
4. Sister Seagull 
5. Sound Track 
6. Music In Dreamland [Side 2]
7. Jean Cocteau 
8. Between The Worlds 
9. Swan Song 
BONUS TRACKS:
10. Between The Worlds (Single Version)
11. Lights 
12. Music In Dreamland (Phonogram Studios Version) *
13. Between The Worlds (Alternate Single Version) *
* Previously Unreleased

A four-flap foldout card digipak offers colour galore - that great George Hardie artwork very similar in fact to Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" hands logo that would appear in September 1975 - colour photos of the three-piece in varying weird garb (don't get me started on that suit and tie) - tape boxes pictured beneath the see-through CD trays and a properly informative 28-page booklet. It opens with five or so pages of reminiscences from Nelson (penned January 2019) that give insights straight from the horse's mouth - the text peppered with period memorabilia - gig posters (supporting Cockney Rebel on June 13th, 1974) - Harvest promo photos and even one of Bill smiling outside a record shop with a copy of "Futurama" in hand whilst the entire window is filled with the band's second album (bet those freestanding card cut-outs of the album artwork are worth a few quid now). To satiate that lust, Esoteric have put a foldout poster of the beautiful "Futurama" PECLEC 22672 artwork in one of the flaps (booklet in the other). 

As if that's not enough, head honcho and co-ordinator MARK POWELL gives it six more pages of even deeper detail - all sided with unpublished photos and so forth. People integral to the album's feel and sound like Audio Engineer Pat Moran at Rockfield Studios and hot-from-Queen-success Producer Ray Thomas Baker get more than honorary mentions – Nelson praising Moran expertly splicing in edits into the tapes at a time when computers were not around. Weird then (having sung its praises) that the booklet and digipak would leave out the original LP's inner sleeve with the lyrics (could have been put on the back of the poster - perhaps Nelson didn't want printed?)

But the big news is the newly remastered AUDIO - transfers from original master tapes done the vastly experienced BEN WISEMAN. And if you'll forgive the obvious pun - they don't 'alf Art-Rock and Roll man. I have to say too that I'm more partial now to the CD2 Mix than the original - it's like someone has done it right. To the tales of tomorrow...

Coming over like King Crimson mated with Rush before either band ever existed - it's clear from the immediate density of ideas swirling around the opening minute of "Stage Whispers" that "Futurama" isn't going to be a Christmas sing-along record tailored to everyone’s pallet. Nelson sings in that weirdly neither here nor there voice of his "...this guitar does not lie..." - yeah man - but it sure does make for some jagged-edged rhythms. Suddenly the fuzzed-up Aladdin Sane sounding guitars of "Love With The Madman" have a power - his keyboard work way better than Nelson ever gives it credit. 

In his mind BN rates "Maid In Heaven" and it's easy to hear why - that difficult-to-fully-embrace Be-Bop Deluxe sound given a sudden accessibility by the song. Riffage upon riffage upon guitar licks fill up ever second of "Sister Seagull" - will you meet me there - he asks - might do Buffalo Bill if yer bird keeps his poop off the bonnet of my car. "Sound Track" ends Side 1 with some welcome keyboard tinkling – a joyful little tune where those drums and high hats are clearer than they were before – an accomplished Be-Bop Deluxe sounding like Todd Rundgren meets Sparks meets Queen circa A Night At The Opera.

"...Maybe we'll make music in dreamland tonight..." gushes the rather oddly romantic Prog Rock of Side 2's "Music In Dreamland" where The Grimethorpe Colliery Band give the tune old-fashioned horns. I've always found it a little too melodramatic but I know there are fans who see it as brilliant, just another BBD mishmash that needs time and repeated listens. Acoustic Salsa now sails out of your speakers in the shape of "Jean Cocteau" - the Remix version amazing in its clarity (what playing chops they had even then). 

Back to wild rhythms and density, the very Sheer Heart Attack sounding "Between The Worlds" seems like a bloody odd choice for an album lead-off single, but maybe Harvest must have thought that its slightly Sparks "This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Us" loony-sounding-Rock-meets-pantomime vibe would carry it with the public - it didn't. Huge chords and even bigger keyboard-washes fill your Siamese-twins speakers - an epic piece that talks of staying a while in Bill's dreams as he sings for you his swan song. And on it goes...

Even now in the Prog Revival of these last five years (right into 2020) - for absolutely sure, Be-Bop Deluxe and their dense soundscapes will not be for everyone looking for a chart topper. But re-visiting these albums has been something of an eye-opener for me - far better than I remember them and now sounding like perhaps Wakefield's weird man of Rock was cool all along. 

Impressive and recommended...

"A Place In The Sun: The Complete Jason Crest" by JASON CREST – Five UK 45’s from 1968 and 1969 on Philips Records plus Rare and Unissued Acetate Tracks and Radio Sessions from 1968 and 1969 – featuring Terry Clark, Terry Dobson, Paul Siggery, Derek Smallcombe, Ron Fowler and more (May 2020 UK Grapefruit Records 2CD Anthology – Ben Wiseman Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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CADENCE / CASCADE 

PROG ROCK, PSYCH, AVANT GARDE...
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Exceptional CD Remasters

Covering 1967 to 1977 - It Also Focuses On

Fusion Rock, Acid Folk, Art Rock and Underground 

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"...Turquoise Tandems..."

Now here's an obscure one with splinters that went off in every which way. 

Formerly known first as The Spurleeweeves then The Good Thing Brigade between 1965 and 1966 – British Psych darlings JASON CREST were quickly renamed and signed to Philips in 1967, thereafter managing to usher out five singles between 1968 and 1969 (but no album). 

Thereafter they morphed yet again, this time into the Island Records act called High Bloom. You will remember Toploader's year 2000 poppy cover version of High Broom's ''Dancing In The Moonlight" - originally an August 1970 UK 45-single on Island WIP 6088. Once High Broom had had its day (again no album), three former members of the five-piece (Roger Siggery, Derek Smallcombe and Terry Clark) went into a band called Holy Mackerel who managed a single self-titled album on CBS Records UK in 1972 (not to be confused with the American group of the same name who had an album on Reprise Records in 1968 that featured "Classical Gas" hitmaker Mason Williams). A tangled web indeed... 

Grapefruit's typically exemplary anthology "A Place In The Sun: The Complete Jason Crest" gathers together all 10 of those non-album single sides, further outtake rarities and even finds some previously unreleased radio sessions - lumping the lot onto a 2CD set that will surely act as the definitive document for a band's whose 45s now command big bucks (if you can find them). Here are the turquoise tandems...

UK released Friday, 20 September 2020 - "A Place In The Sun: The Complete Jason Crest" by JASON CREST on Grapefruit Records CRSEG078D (Barcode 5013929187825) is a 28-Track 2CD Anthology that plays out as follows: 

CD1 (59:42 minutes):
1. Turquoise Tandem Cycle 
2. Teagarden Lane 
3. Patricia's Dream 
4. A Place In The Sun 
5. My House Is Burning
6. King Of The Castle 
7. The Collected Works Of Justin Crest 
8. Black Mass 
9. Charge Of The Light Brigade 
10. (Here We Go Around The) Lemon Tree 
11. You Really Got A Hold On Me 
12. Two By The Sea 
13. Juliano The Bull 
14. Education 
15. Waterloo Road 
16. Good Life 
17. Black Mass (Dubious Mix Version) 
Tracks 1 and 16 are the non-album A&B-sides of their January 1968 UK debut 45-single on Philips BF 1633
Tracks 13 and 12 are the non-album A&B-sides of their April 1968 UK second 45-single on Philips BF 1650
Tracks 10 and 3 are the non-album A&B-sides of their August 1968 UK third 45-single on Philips BF 1687
Tracks 15 and 14 are the non-album A&B-sides of their February 1968 UK fourth 45-single on Philips BF 1752
Tracks 4 and 8 are the non-album A&B-sides of their August 1968 UK fifth and final 45-single on Philips BF 1809
Tracks 2, 6, 7, 9 and 11 first appeared on the July 1993 UK Various Artists LP "Syde Trips Three" on Tenth Planet TP006 
Track 5 is copyright 1994 Tenth Planet 
Track 17 is Previously Unreleased, Copyright 2020

CD2 (35:23 minutes):
1. Hold On 
2. A Hazy Shade Of Winter 
3. Fresh Garbage
4. California Dreamin' 
5. Paint It Black 
6. What's It Like 
7. Come Together 
8. It's A Way To Pass The Time 
9. Good Times, Bad Lines 
10. Better By You, Better Than Me
11. Percy's On The Run 
Tracks 1 to 11 first appeared 1999 on the UK Jason Crest LP "Radio Sessions 1968-1969" on Tenth Planet TP041, a numbered limited edition of 1000 copies. Tracks 1 to 5 recorded in November 1968, tracks 6 to 11 in November 1969 - both radio sessions. 

The chunky three-way foldout card digipak is pretty in resplendent orange and red day-glow images as is the typically jam-packed 24-page booklet. The memorabilia pictured includes a flyer for a July 1965 gig in The Bromel Club (Bromley, Kent) – the embryonic Spurleeweeves set up for Thursday the 19th. 

DAVID WELLS employs help from all sources as he pieces together the band’s progress – promo photos, acetate labels, a two-page display of trade gig adverts where Jason Crest share stages with Elmer Gantry, Kipperton Lodge, The Skatalites and Desmond Dekker. There is even a photo of them as High Broom and loads of other juicy factoids (it is a great read and an informative one too). 

BEN WISEMAN does his usual job of wickedly good remastering even if some of the acetate stuff is a tad ropey around the edges. 

Disc 1 offers us the singles and a wad of outtakes that first saw light of day in 1993 on the cult label Tenth Planet – and what an eclectic rattle they all make. Faves for me include "Juliano The Bull" and "Two By The Sea" whilst the boys got a little Rock-Soulful with their unissued cover of the Smokey Robinson & The Miracles classic "You Really Got A Hold On Me". In fact out of only one other cover version on CD1 - Roy Wood's 1968 "Move" debut album track "(Here We Go Round The) Lemon Tree" - Vocalist Terry Clark alongside Lead Guitarist Terry Dobson provided all of the songs. 

Which makes the strange cackle of covers on Disc 2 seem like some other project Jason Crest were pursuing in order to get noticed or even paid. After Disc 1, it is weird to hear The Mamas & The Papas, The Rolling Stones and Simon & Garfunkel covers even if their genius shows through on the Spirit classic "Fresh Garbage". There are intriguing contributions too from Drummer Paul Siggery and other guitarist Derek Smallcombe in "It's A Way To Pass The Time" – Smallcombe getting heavy too on his "Good Times, Bad Lines". 

You would not call this kind of Psych an easy listen by any means, but this JASON CREST 2CD Anthology is yet another reason why Grapefruit are so liked by collectors – they tread where others won't go and deliver every time...

"Roadhawks" by HAWKWIND – April 1976 UK Album Compilation with Exclusively Remixed Rarities and Previously Unreleased - featuring Dave Brock, Nik Turner, Lemmy [later with Motorhead], Del Dettmar, Simon King and more (May 2020 UK Esoteric Recordings/Atomhenge Remastered Edition CD Reissue in Gatefold Card Repro Artwork With A Replica Poster – Ben Wiseman Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 324 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites
CADENCE / CASCADE 

PROG ROCK, PSYCH, AVANT GARDE...
And Others Genres Thereabouts
Exceptional CD Remasters

Covering 1967 to 1977 - It Also Focuses On

Fusion Rock, Acid Folk, Art Rock and Underground 

Just Click Below To Purchase

Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

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"...You Should Do That..."

When the mop-up compilation "Roadhawks" was issued on vinyl in April 1976 on United Artists UAS 29919 - it made sense. 

But at just over thirty-nine and half minutes total playing time in May 2020 for a Hawkwind CD (you wot!) - a body can't help feeling a tad short-changed. Even with its restored gatefold card sleeve artwork, replica foldout poster and new Ben Wiseman Remasters from original UA master tapes and first time on CD status – you could argue that this is an unnecessary buy if you have all the August 2001 CD Remasters from EMI? And what Hawklord nutter wouldn't...

But – as always with the mighty Space Rockers - there is still much Hawkwind fun to be had here and several exclusives too. In the meantime, here is a breakdown of the head-banging details...

UK released Friday, 22 May 2020 - "Roadhawks" by HAWKWIND on Esoteric Recordings/Atomhenge QATOMCD1045 (Barcode 5013929634527) is a Remastered Edition of an April 1976 UK compilation LP (United Artists UAS 29919) that plays out as follows (39:36 minutes):

1. Hurry On Sundown [Side 1]
2. Paranoia (Excerpt) 
Both tracks from the debut LP "Hawkwind" released August 1970 in the UK on Liberty LBS 83384. The track "Paranoia" was released in two parts on the debut LP; this is Part 2 of the song edited down from 4:11 minutes to 4:00 minutes here. 

3. You Shouldn't Do That (Live)
Previously Unreleased - recorded live 22 December 1972 at The Liverpool Stadium)

4. Silver Machine [Side 2]
Originally the A-side of a non-album UK 7" single released June 1972 on United Artists UP 35381. "Silver Machine" was recorded live 13 February 1972 at The Roundhouse in London and its non-album studio-track B-side "Seven By Seven" can be found on the August 2001 Expanded Edition CD Reissue and Remaster of "X In Search Of Space" (Barcode 724353003029 will locate that CD). The version offered on "Roadhawks" is a Remixed one.

5. Urban Guerilla 
Originally the A-side of a non-album UK 7" single released 22 June 1973 on United Artists UP 35566. Its superb non-album studio-track B-side "Brainbox Pollution" can be found on the August 2001 Expanded Edition CD Reissue and Remaster of "Doremi Fasol Latido" (Barcode 724353003128 will locate that CD). 

6. Space Is Deep 
From their third studio album "Doremi Fasol Latido" - released November 1972 in the UK on United Artists UAG 29364.

7. Wind Of Change 
From their fourth studio album "Hall Of The Mountain Grill" – released August 1974 in the UK on United Artists UAG 29672. 

8. The Golden Void From their fifth studio album "Warrior On The Edge Of Time" – released May 1975 in the UK on United Artists UAG 29766. 

Compiled and Remixed by band-member Dave Brock in November 1975 - first up you had a newly remixed version of the hugely popular 1972 "Silver Machine" 45-single making its first appearance on an LP. Added to that was the brilliant riffage of the quickly withdrawn 1973 British 7" single "Urban Gorilla" again debuting on a vinyl album (the BBC had banned the song two weeks after it charted at No. 34 because it coincided with terrorist bombings in London and they felt (wrongly) that its lyrics promoted urban warfare rather than condemned it). 

Third came a Previously Unreleased live version of the "X In Search Of Space" riff monster and huge fan fave "You Shouldn't Do That" - recorded 22 December 1972 at the Liverpool Stadium. The five others as you can see from the list above were choice cuts from four studio albums ranging from the "Hawkwind" debut in 1970 to "Warrior On The Edge Of Time" released May 1975. "Roadhawks" originals also came in Barney Bubbles-inspired gatefold artwork and had a cool (and huge) foldout poster too. 

This May 2020 Reissue (CD and LP) on their Esoteric Recordings label imprint ATOMHENGE reproduces the lot for the first time on CD and they have even pressed a 180gram vinyl album for the first time since a budget release in 1984. To the music... 

"Roadhawks" may be short on either format, but man does this sucker rock, and in my ears offers a genuine audible reason as to why people loved the no-nonsense heads-down sonic assault that was/is Hawkwind. You could of course argue that had Atomhenge thrown in the non-album studio B-sides "Seven By Seven" and especially "Brainbox Pollution" as extras in an 'Expanded Edition' and perhaps included something from the destroyer that is the "Space Ritual" live double from May 1973 – then this reissue would have been five to six stars. But there is also something about less is more at work here and how these eight choices focus the listen better. Plus it looks cool too. 

Fans will have to own it whilst the casual buyer will enjoy its cheap-as-chips ethos enough to go back to Side 1 and replace the needle/choose Track 1 on the remote. And I can just hear Lemmy say, damn the torpedoes you putz - you should do that...

"Living On The Hill: A Danish Underground Trip 1967-1974" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – featuring Beefeaters, Day Of Phoenix, Burnin' Red Ivanhoe, Young Flowers, The Savage Rose, Alrune Rod, Delta Blues Band, Rainbow Band, Ache, Pan, Blast Furnace, Culpeper's Orchard, The Old Man & The Sea, Midnight Sun, Thor's Hammer, Secret Oyster, Hurdy Gurdy and Dr. Dopo Jam (October 2020 UK Esoteric Recordings 3CD Clamshell Mini Box Set – Ben Wiseman Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 324 Others Is Available In My

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PROG ROCK, PSYCH, AVANT GARDE...
And Others Genres Thereabouts
Exceptional CD Remasters

Covering 1967 to 1977 - It Also Focuses On

Fusion Rock, Acid Folk, Art Rock and Underground 

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"...Mind Movies..."

I like to pride myself on knowledge when it comes to music (I used to run the Mail Order and Rarities department in Reckless Records London, a busy joint in the West End of London) - but I'd admit openly that looking at the band names on this extraordinary trawl through Denmark's underground music scene between 1967 and 1974 - I know only five of these wildly obscure bands - Day Of Phoenix, The Savage Rose, Burnin' Red Ivanhoe, Hurdy Gurdy and Midnight Sun - all of whom had limited UK albums releases - and I do mean ltd. 

I mention this because collectors of Sixties and Seventies Underground and beyond should be looking at this 3CD Clamshell Mini Box Set as a torch light shone under a very, very dark bush indeed. Know these acts - I can barely pronounce most of the titles of their songs. And I can tell you now that the album covers repro'd in the typically cool 36-page booklet that accompanies Esoteric's "Living On The Hill..." are not exactly growing on Record Fair trees. 

Content - Esoteric Recordings of the UK have once again dug deep and trumped up European LPs and 45-single goodies on Sonet Records, Polydor, Parlophone and Philips – stuff we've either forgotten and didn't know existed in any musical universe. So, onwards and backwards my hairy children of Thor's big Hammer (if you know what I'm saying)... 

UK released Friday, 30 October 2020 - "Living On The Hill: A Danish Underground Trip 1967-1974" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC32733 (Barcode 5013929473386) is a 3CD Clamshell Mini Box Set that plays out as follows: 

CD1 The Savage Rose pictured on the card sleeve (78:52 minutes): 

1. Night Flight - BEEFEATERS (from the 1967 Danish LP "Beef Eaters" on Sonet SLPS 1242)

2. Tell Me - DAY OF PHOENIX (A-side of a 1968 Danish 45-single on Sonet T 7255, a Dave Cousins of The Strawbs cover version)

3. Ouverture/Take Warning - YOUNG FLOWERS (from the 1968 Danish LP "Blomsterpistolen" on Sonet Records SLPS 1258)

4. Long Before I Was Born - THE SAVAGE ROSE (from the 1968 Danish LP "In The Plain" on Polydor SLP HM 46 292)

5. Ksilioy - BURNIN' RED IVANHOE (from the 1969 Danish 2LP-set "M 144" on Sonet Records SLPS 1512)

6. Natskyggevej - ALRUNE ROD (from the 1969 Danish LP "Alrune Rod" on Sonet Records SLPS 1516)

7. Kragerne Vender - YOUNG FLOWERS (from the 1969 Danish LP "No. Two" on Sonet Records SLPS 1511)

8. Opus 1 - DELTA BLUES BAND (from the 1969 Danish LP "Delta Blues Band" on Parlophone E 062-37038)

9. Wide Open N-Way - DAY OF THE PHOENIX (from the 1970 Danish LP "Wide Open N-Way" on Sonet Records SLPS 1519 - reissued 1971 in the UK with altered track listing on Greenwich Gramophone Company GSLP-R 1002)

10. B.M. - RAINBOW BAND (from the 1970 Danish LP "Rainbow Band" on Sonet Records SLPS 1523)

11. Jingle Jangle Man - BURNIN' RED IVANHOE (1969 Recording, No Details)

CD2 Culpeper's Orchard pictured on the card sleeve (79:41 minutes):

1. De Homine Urbano - ACHE (from the 1970 Danish LP "De Homine Urbano" on Philips PY 841 906)

2. To Get Along - PAN (from the 1970 Danish LP "Pan" on Sonet Records SLPS 1518)

3. Rainbow Song - RAINBOW BAND (from the 1970 Danish LP "Rainbow Band" on Sonet Records SLPS 1523)

4. Toytown - BLAST FURANCE (from the 1971 Danish LP "Blast Furnace" on Polydor 2380 013)

5. Mountain Music (Part One) - CULPEPER'S ORCHARD (from the 1971 Danish LP "Culpeper's Orchard" on Polydor 2380 006)

6. Living Dead - THE OLD MAN & THE SEA (from the 1972 Danish LP "The Old Man And The Sea" on Sonet Records SLPS 1539)

7. Tapiola - THE SAVAGE ROSE (from the 1971 Danish LP "Your Daily Gift" on Polydor 2380 004)

8. Living On The Hill - RAINBOW BAND/MIDNIGHT SUN (from the 1971 Danish LP "Midnight Sun" on Sonet Records SLPS 1523)

9. Shadow Of A Gypsy - ACHE (August 1970 45 and also from the 1971 Danish LP "Green Man" on Philips Records 6318 005) 

CD3 Burnin' Red Ivanhoe pictured on the card sleeve (78:36 minutes):

1. Equatorial Rain - ACHE (from the 1971 Danish LP "Green Man" on Philips Records 6318 005) 

2. Avez Vous Kaskelainen? - BURNIN' RED IVANHOE (from the 1971 Danish LP "W.W.W." on Sonet records SLPS 1530 - UK-issued by John Peel's British label in 1971 on Dandelion 2310 145)

3. Paradox - DAY OF PHOENIX (from the 1972 Danish LP "The Neighbour's Son" on Sonet SLPS 1549)

4. A La Turca - MIDNIGHT SUN (from the 1972 Danish LP "Walking Circles" on Sonet SLPS 1536)

5. Mexico - THOR'S HAMMER (from the 1971 Danish LP "Thor's Hammer" on Metronome 15412)

6. Ginger Cake - BLAST FURNACE (from the 1971 Danish LP "Blast Furnace" on Polydor 2380 013)  

7. Going Blind - THE OLD MAN & THE SEA (from the 1972 Danish LP "The Old Man And The Sea" on Sonet Records SLPS 1539)

8. Fire And Water - SECRET OYSTER (from the 1973 Danish LP "Secret Oyster" on CBS Records CBS 65769)

9. Lost In The Jungle - HURDY GURDY (from the 1971 Danish and 1972 UK LP "Hurdy Gurdy" on CBS Records S 64871)

10. Spring Theme - Summer Theme - Dr. DOPO JAM (from the 1973 Danish LP "Entree" on Zebra 2949 007)

11. Classified Ads - CULPEPER'S ORCHARD (from the 1972 Danish LP "Second Sight" on Polydor 2380 018)

12. Mind Movie - SECRET OYSTER (from the 1974 Danish LP "Sea Son" on CBS Records S 80489)

A glossy clamshell mini box set houses three singular picture card-sleeves and a chunky 36-page booklet stuffed to the European tariffs with factoids, rare album cover art and peace sign photos of bands that rarely get a foot into any discography. Head honcho MARK POWELL has annotated this set with each artist and their recording history examined in alphabetical order - their country's counterculture explored and explained too. The genres work their way up from late 60ts Ten Years After swirling Blues Rock into wildly un-commercial Pop and more. But it is early 70ts Euro Prog Rock that dominates, some Psych guitars, Jazz flute and saxophones joining the proceedings on many occasions – with most tracks reassuringly long (as you can see from above, the near 80-minutes playing time of each CD is generous too). 

BEN WISEMAN has remastered the original tapes that concentrate a lot on Sonet Records and its eclectic output. I had expected wildly varying soundstages, and sure enough some of the tracks on CD1 betray crude productions. But as it progresses, the sound gets stronger and better. Wiseman has an enviable resume when it comes to transferring these kinds of recordings and like Andy Pearce and Matt Wortham (other top Audio Engineers), is a name I find I can rely on. It is so here. To the savage roses...

Farfisa Organ and grungy Guitar combine to open "Night Flight" by Beefeaters on CD1 – a shortish instrumental that features some gibberish spoken-words as it whirls to its homemade finish. Next up is Day Of Phoenix who is given two shots on Disc One. Back in September 2012, Esoteric CD-reissued their Danish LP "Wide Open N-Way" with Ben Wiseman Remasters (from original tapes) that tagged on both sides of their rare 45-single "Tell Me" b/w "I Think It's Going To Rain Today" as Bonus Tracks to ECLEC 2331 (Barcode 5013929433144). Both 7" single sides were covers - the A being a Dave Cousins song from the first Strawbs LP in 1969 with a famous Randy Newman track on the B. This Box Set returns to the A-side of the single first and then later on the lengthy "Wide Open N-Way" album title track. The eleven and a half minute title track is a tad meandering but in its better moments at times also feels like early Kraut Rock. Produced by Colosseum's Tony Reeves (later with Greenslade too) - "Wide Open N-Way" was also one of only a handful of Danish LPs issued in the UK (early 1971 saw it pressed on Chapter 1's Progressive Rock imprint label Greenwich Gramophone Company in a slightly altered track form). So along with Burnin' Red Ivanhoe - Day Of Phoenix have at least been seen by British genre fans from time to time in record shop racks and their tune here is a highlight. 

Young Flowers do a nightmarish Psych drone intro for "Ouverture/Take Warning" that quickly becomes a cool Rock groove, their album title "Blomsterpistolen" being Danish for 'Flower Pistols'. Anisette Hansen and her distinctive lead vocals for The Savage Rose comes on like Grace Slick's slightly demented younger sister – while the intriguing mishmash of styles displayed by Burnin' Red Ivanhoe encompasses American Harmony Vocals and Blodwyn Pig via Flute Rock. Members of The Maxwells and Burnin' Red Ivanhoe joined Young Flowers for the Kraut Rock drone of "Kragerne Vender". Not sure I thought much of the plodding Thor's Hammer song, strangulated vocals ahoy. 

One of Denmark's most respected underground groups Rainbow Band - would eventually morph into Midnight Sun as a Canadian act of the same name forced a change in moniker. Rainbow Band/Midnight Sun's four cuts across the three CDs are more than warranted, their genuinely brilliant and cool "B.M." sounding not unlike Pentangle with its heavy reliance on double-bass and Jazz floating rhythms. And you can so hear why their two British MCA Records albums "Midnight Sun" and "Walking Circles" from 1971 and 1972 (complete with Roger Dean artwork) are worth so much dosh. 

Disc 2 mellows down the mood a lot with the Hammond M3 Organ sound of Ache soon joined by fuzzed-up guitars while Pan could be Spooky Tooth meets the more trippy ethereal Blues side of John Mayall circa "Bare Wires" or "Blues From laurel Canyon". And despite the industrial warehouse cauldron of a name, Blast Furnace feels like a mid-tempo Wishbone Ash love song, Neils Vangkilde giving it some superb treated guitar until its fade-out ending. The Old Man And The Sea LP reputedly saw only 500 copies pressed by an unsure Sonet Records – hence the uber-rare cover art of a shark with its jaws on display on Page 26 of the booklet is a new one on me. And on the strength of the Grateful Dead meets Budgie track by Culpeper's Orchard on Disc 3 (Cy Nicklin on guitar), I'm looking forward to Esoteric's "Mountain Music: The Polydor Recordings 1971-1973" vaults reissue on the Danish band come 26 November 2020. And on it goes...

For sure I was expecting this listen to be arduous and perhaps too doomy for my aging tastes, but it wasn't. And furthermore, I am certain that lovers of 60ts and 70ts Psych, Euro Prog, Jazz Rock and even the trippy side of Blues Rock are going to love the discoveries offered in here. I know this sort of Prog and Jazz Rock won't be everyone's cup of herbal tea, but you absolutely have to say that Esoteric have done it again – finding gems on that yellow brick road of old we should give a second look at. 

Want a bit of Alrune's Rod shoved up your Kragerne Vender by Dr. Dopo's Jam - then look no further my fluffy friends (now isn't that a comforting thought)...