"The Pretender" by JACKSON BROWNE - November 1976 Fourth Studio Album on Asylum Records (July 2004 UK Asylum CD Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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1976

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"...Out Into The Cool Of The Evening Strolls..."

Some records actually scare you - emotionally that is. Back in 1976 and well into 1977 I was 'too' into "The Pretender". I was lonely I suppose and this album hooked into that lonesome pain like no other. Even now I find certain tracks hard to listen to – a downer LP I'd rather avoid in some ways.

And as it's 40th anniversary has come and gone in 2016 with no Deluxe Edition reissue/fanfare from Asylum or WEA (it shifted over two million copies for God's sake) - we're still left with this rather boring looking 80ts type CD reissue in a standard jewel case complete with a gatefold slip of paper for an inlay. Presentation wise – you get a big fat zip. But then you play the plain-looking CD and the Remaster is absolutely astounding.

The only mastering credit on the inlay for CD is GREG LADANYI who mixed some of the album back in the day and it doesn't advise a date or what was used. Fans will know that revered audio engineer Steve Hoffman remastered the LP for his DCC Compact Classics audiophile label in 1993 (DCC Compact Classics GZS-1047 - Barcode 010963104721) and I can't help but think that that CD variant is what has been used here (without saying so). I'm open to correction on this of course - but what can't be argued away is that you get gorgeous audio on what looks like the most boring of CD reissues ever. Anyway - here are the bright baby blues...

UK released 19 July 2004 - "The Pretender" by JACKSON BROWNE on Asylum 8122-78912-2 (Barcode 081227891220) is a straightforward CD transfer of the 1976 Asylum Records 8-track LP and plays out as follows (35:25 minutes):

1. The Fuse [Side 1]

2. Your Bright Baby Blues

3. LInda Paloma

4. Here Come Those Tears Again

5. The Only Child [Side 2]

6. Daddy's Tune

7. Sleep's Dark And Silent

8. The Pretender

Tracks 1 to 8 are his fourth studio album "The Pretender" - released November 1976 in the Asylum 7E-1079 and in the UK on Asylum K 53048. Produced by JON LANDAU - it peaked at No. 5 in the USA and No. 23 in the UK.

Musicians:

JACKSON BROWNE - Lead Vocals on all plus Acoustic Guitar on Track 2

FRED TACKETT (of Little Feat) - Guitars on Tracks 4, 5, 6 (Left Chanel), 7 and 8

DAVID LINDLEY - Slide Guitar on Tracks 1 and 6 with Violin on Track 5

LOWELL GEORGE (of Little Feat) - Slide Guitar and Harmony Vocals on Track 2

JOHN HALL (of Orleans) - Guitar Solo on Track 4

ALBERT LEE (of Heads, Hands & Feet) - Guitar on Track 5

WADDY WATCHELL - Guitar (Right Chanel) on Track 6

ROBERT GUTIERREZ - Guitaron, Violin and Backing Vocals on Track 2

LUIS F. DAMIAN - Vijuella, Guitar and backing Vocals on Track 2

CRAIG DOERGE - Keyboards on Tracks 1, 6, 7 and 8

BILL PAYNE (of Little Feat) - Keyboards on Tracks 2, 4 and 5

ROY BITTAN (of Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band) - Piano on Track 2

MIKE UTLEY - Organ on Track 4

ARTHUR GERST - Harp and Backing Vocals on Track 2

JIM HORN (Arranger), CHUCK FINLEY, DICK HYDE and QUITMAN DENNIT - Horns on Track 6

LELAND SKLAR - Bass on Tracks 1, 6, 7 and 8

CHUCK RAINEY - Bass on Tracks 2 and 5

BOB GLAUB - Bass on Track 4

RUSS KUNKEL - Drums on Track 1

JIM GORDON - Drums on Tracks 2 and 4

JEFF PORCARO (of Toto) - Drums on Tracks 5, 6, 7 and 8

GARY COLEMAN - Percussion on Track 5

BONNIE RAITT and ROSEMARY BUTLER - Harmony Vocals on Track 4

DON HENLEY (of Eagles) and J.D. SOUTHER - Harmony Vocals on Track 5

DAVID CROSBY and GRAHAM NASH (of The Byrds, The Hollies, CSNY) - Harmony Vocals on Track 8

DAVID CAMPBELL – Arranged Strings on Track 8

Although it doesn't directly mention the event that shaped the music - the album was recorded amidst horrible personal circumstances (his wife Phyllis had taken her own life in March 1976) and you can feel that bleakness seep out through the darkness of the lyrics. The LP's artwork displayed the range of emotions a heart feels. As he crosses a street in his clean white teeshirt - Browne looks like someone planted him there from another world - an outsider striding amidst pedestrians who don't seem to notice what's going on inside him. You flip the cover over and a naked child of three is giggling on a beach - playing in the sand and the sunset light as the tide goes out. It shows that there is also joy amidst the pain - hope - a continuance no matter what.

Musically Jackson Browne's fourth studio album was a very class affair. And as you can see from the extensive list provided above - the session players were the best. You get most of Little Feat, members of Toto, The Eagles, David Crosby and Graham Nash of CSNY, John Hall of Orleans, Albert Lee of Heads, Hands & Feet and Roy Bittan of Springsteen's E-Street Band – as well as his how own core players - David Lindley and Craig Doerge. Harmony Vocalists feature Don Henley, Bonnie Raitt, Rosemary Butler and J.D. Souther. An embarrassment of riches really.

It opens with David Lindley providing sweeping slide guitar notes for "The Fuse" as lyrics about 'years in the wilderness' slowly turn into a positive romp towards the end of the song - 'the walls come tumbling down'. And just as it’s fading - Lindley does those brilliant harmonics on his guitar - Craig Doerge providing a gorgeous counter on the piano. But for me "Your Bright Baby Blues" represents the album's first moment of true greatness. A lethal combo of musicians contribute to the "...I can't seem to get away from me..." hurt in the words - Chuck Rainey on Bass, Billy Payne of Little Feat on Organ with Roy Bittan of The E-Street Band and especially Lowell George whose guitar slide solo is the very epitome of brevity and impact combined. I've always hated the cod Mariachi rhythms of "Linda Paloma" though I know others love it. Asylum used it as the B-side to the Side 1 finisher "Here Come Those Tears Again" - an American No. 23 hit single in February 1977 on Asylum E-45379.

Side 2 offers up a stunning run of four. A song to his son of three (who'd just lost his mum) - "The Only Child" is both sad and beautiful and lyrically deep. He warns his boy that the world may make him hard and wild but to let the disappointments pass and remember to be kind. And one day he may meet that Soul that sees into his own (Henley and Souther nail those harmony vocals). "Daddy's Tune" is a 'so hard to talk to you' paternal plea that oddly starts to rock out towards its awkward end. Way better is the beautiful and intensely sad "Sleep's Dark And Silent Gate" - a short homage to missed chances - a song filled with longing for simple love - lying awake at night. Those final string notes will crush you. And it ends with the epic title track - that piano as clear as a bell. Asylum edited the album cut of 5:50 down to 4:47 minutes and with "Daddy's Tune" on the flip-side - Asylum E-45399 was rewarded with a lowly No. 58 placing in May 1977. The guy goes to work - comes home from work - goes out - gets wasted - staggers home - gets up in the morning - only to do it all over again. "...Ah the lovers as they run through the night...while the ships bearing their dreams sail out of sight..." – how many of us felt that in dead-end jobs...

Sure it’s depressing in places and too dark at times to deliberately inflict on yourself - but forty years after its release - Jackson Browne's "The Pretender" still has the power to floor me. And something that powerful and moving will always draw me back. And it sounds great too...

"Life, Love And Faith/Southern Nights/Motion" by ALLEN TOUSSAINT (November 2015 UK Beat Goes On (BGO) Compilation - 3LPs from 1972, 1975 and 1978 emastered onto 2CDs) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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70ts Soul, R'n'B, Funk, Jazz Fusion
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"...Soul Brother..." 

In November 2009 me and 'she who must be paid on Fridays' went to see The Blind Boys Of Alabama do a one-off gig at the Barbican Theatre in London. We took our cheap-as-politicians £10 seats and out came a lone 'Southern gentleman' who sat down at his beautiful Steinway piano and smiled at the shuffling crowd. Most were there to hear The Blind Boys do 'The Wire' theme song (their wickedly good cover of Tom Waits' "Down In The Hole") – but some were more excited about this support act – ALLEN TOUSSAINT. He began in on his staggering repertoire that goes back to his days with Fats Domino in the Fifties and then as a writer with Minit Records from 1960 onwards.

After several recognizable classics (hits from Clarence Frogman Henry, Ernie K Doe and the lovely "With You In Mind" which Art Neville made a feature in 1991 on his "Warm Your Heart" album) – he smiled and said "...here's another song you might know..." A slow buzz began going around the hall - this New Orleans tunesmith guy is a bit special and goes 'way back'. And he was special. I couldn't believe my luck. Ten quid for this double dose of genius! Toussaint was typically brilliant – chatty, humble, steeped in decades of musical history. It was magical really. The Blind Boys and him even signed CDs after the gig in the foyer (old school class). Allen Toussaint sadly passed in November 2015 – one of the great 'backroom boys' of Soul & New Orleans R&B. And that’s where this fab Beat Goes On twofer comes in. Here be the gentlemanly details...

UK released Friday, 27 November 2015 (December 2015 in the USA) – "Life, Love And Faith/Southern Nights/Motion" by ALLEN TOUSSAINT on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1211 (Barcode 5017261212115) offers 3LPs Remastered onto 2CDs and plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (74:22 minutes):
1. Victims Of The Darkness
2. Am I Expecting Too Much?
3. My Baby Is The Real Thing
4. Goin' Down
5. She Once Belonged To Me
6. Out Of The City (Into Country Life)
7. Soul Sister – Side 2
8. Fingers And Toes
9. I've Got To Convince Myself
10. On My Way Down
11. Gone Too Far
12. Electricity
Tracks 1 to 12 are his 2nd album "Life, Love And Faith" – released July 1972 in the USA on Reprise Records MS 2060 and in the UK on Reprise K 44202.

13. Last Train
14. World Wide World Wide
15. Back In Baby's Arms
16. Country John
17. Basic Lady
18. Southern Nights
19. You Will Not Lose
20. What Do You Want The Girl To Do?
21. What The Party's Over
22. Cruel Way To Go Down
Tracks 13 to 22 are his 3rd album "Southern Nights" – released May 1975 in the USA on Reprise MS 2186 and in the UK on Reprise K 54021

Disc 2 (39:46 minutes):
1. Night People
2. Just A Kiss Away
3. With You In Mind
4. Lover Of Love
5. To Be With You
6. Motion – Side 2
7. Viva La Money
8. Declaration Of Love
9. Happiness
10. The Optimism Blues
Tracks 1 to 10 are his 4th album "Motion" – released July 1978 in the USA on Reprise BSK 3142 and in the UK on Reprise K 56473.

As befits a maverick of his stature – the 24-page booklet is properly chunky and Mojo’s principal Jazz/Soul writer CHARLES WARING is enjoying himself recounting Toussaint's many (largely unheralded) achievements. There are album credits for all three LPs, discussions of his long history in the American Music business and it even reproduces the Lee Hildebrand liner notes for his 1972 Reprise Records debut album "Life, Love And Faith" on Pages 3 to 5. ANDREW THOMPSON has carried out the new 2015 Remasters/Transfers and they sing like a Dixie Band stepping lively behind a casket on a sunny afternoon. These CDs sound fabulous...and on many of the groovy passages in songs like "Out Of The City (Into Country Life)" or the busy changes in the album cut of "Country John" (which has a flanged "Southern Nights" refrain) – all pack a really great sonic punch.

A bit of history first. Although not covered by this BGO compilation - Toussaint’s debut album "Toussaint" from 1970 on Scepter Records got him accolades as a songwriter of repute. That knack for penning a melody/groove also got his songs covered by a huge array of musical luminaries with Soul tingling in their Souls. British vocalist Frankie Miller gave a whole album over to his songs in "High Life" from 1974 on Chrysalis. Robert Palmer did "Night People" on his "Double Fun" LP in 1974 – Bonnie Raitt covered "What Do You Want The Girl To Do?" on her "Home Plate" album in 1975, one of the outtakes that turned up on the 2CD Rhino reissue of Little Feat's magnificent live album "Waiting For Columbus" was Toussaint's "On My Way Down" - and as recent as 2000 Mavis Staples did "Last Train" on her gorgeous "You Are Not Alone" album with Jeff Tweedy of Wilco. The strutting Guitar-Funk-Fest that is "Goin' Down" has turned on no less than three hip WEA compilations for Rare Groove tracks – "Right On! Volume 3" (2001), "Funk Drops 2" (2002) and the wickedly good "What It Is!" 4CD Rhino box set from 2006 (see my detailed review).

As is witnessed by the credits on the rear of the 1972 vinyl LP – "Life, Love And Faith" featured a huge ensemble of musicians – members of his family and most especially members of the New Orleans Funk band The Meters (George Porter, Jr., Joseph Modeliste and Leo Nocentelli). Toussaint sang, played keyboards, acoustic guitar, harmonica and wrote/arranged all the songs. Reprise tried the slinky 'bad boots' Side 2 opener "Soul Sister" b/w "She Once Belonged To Me" as a 7” single in September 1975 on both sides of the pond (Reprise REP 1109, USA – Reprise K 14200, UK) – but it didn't make too much of an impact (good but not memorable enough for either pallet). They made the big mistake of not choosing the relentless funk of "Goin' Down" as the lead off single (now a darling of Rare Groove CD compilations), but alas. Apparently "Am I Expecting Too Much" made promo-stage on 7" in the States (Reprise REP 1132) but despite the fantastic funk in the tune – it didn't take either.

His 3rd album 1975's "Southern Nights" is probably his most popular. The productions values certainly shot through the roof – "Last Train" feeling a little the Average White Band with a different vocalist - while the mid-tempo Sax strut of "Worldwide" has more than a shade of The Meters. "Back In My Baby's Arms" is properly lovely – a sweet lilt that soothes - Arthur Neville on Organ with Deborah Paul, Joan Harmon and Sharon Neborn tearing up the backing vocals with some Soulful harmonising. The title track has always been a barnstormer whenever he did it live – a very pretty melody – and I'd swear John Lennon nicked that treated vocal sound for "Beautiful Boy" on his "Double Fantasy" album in 1980.

A West Coast stellar cast came together for 1978's "Motion" album – Larry Carlton on Guitar, Richard Tee on Piano, Chuck Rainey & Pops Popwell (of The Crusaders) on Bass, Jeff Porcaro on Drum with Bonnie Raitt, Rosemary Butler and Chess Records legend Etta James leant backing vocals to five songs (Tracks 1, 3, 6, 7 and 8). The brilliant New Orleans Funk of "Night People" opens the album on a stormer. The piano-funky "Country John" was edited for 7" single release in the USA on Reprise RPS 1334 with the chipper "When The Party's Over" on the flipside – but despite two strong sides – it failed to chart. A gorgeous album nugget is the six-minute title track "Motion" – a sweetheart of a song that swings along so sweetly and sounding just superb here (an impressive trio of ladies Etta James, Bonnie Raitt and Rosemary Butler bring up the "I love you" harmonies). And how gorgeous is "With You In Mind" - the kind of melody/lyric that sends the chills up the arms...

So if Toussaint was 'so good' you say - why wasn't he huge? Like Bill Withers or Al Green - Toussaint could pen the tunes and get those grooves but unlike them - he arguably hadn't the greatest of voices (good rather than being memorable). Perhaps that's why he always seemed on the fringes...other people/top voices making his great songs shine...

Whatever way you look at it - this is a fantastic release. In fact I also bought the Raven 2CD set "Toussaint: The Real Thing 1970-1975" from August 2015 that lines up the first three albums – so it includes "Toussaint" from 1970 as well as "Life, Love And Faith" and "Southern Nights" (Raven RVCD-386 - see separate review). It has a 12-page booklet and gorgeous audio too care of Remaster Engineer Warren Barnet. Whichever 2CD reissue you buy - you're quid's in – wonderful music and presentation in both instances. 

 

The great man deserved to be remembered this well and both Beat Goes On of the UK and Raven of Australia have done so...and with real style...