"…Don't Give Me No Jive
Talk Brother…"
CCS or C.C.S. (short for
COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS SOCIETY) made 3 studio albums and 7 singles for Mickie
Most's RAK Records in the UK in the early Seventies, before the band finally
split up in late 1973. This
fantastically clear-sounding Repertoire CD from 2000 is the second of those
three albums - supplemented with two rare and desirable B-sides as bonus
tracks.
The CD digipak mimics the
album's original single sleeve artwork front and rear (the 1st album - the red
covered one - was a gatefold) and has an 8-page booklet with a CHRIS WELCH
essay on the LP and the band's history. The original British pressing of their
second album actually calls the LP simply "C.C.S." like the debut -
but Repertoire have called it 'II' to avoid confusion with the first album from
1970 (also reviewed).
Released April 2000 (reissued
June 2002) - "C.C.S. II" by C.C.S on Repertoire REP 4852 (Barcode
4009910485224) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster that plays out as follows
(51:34 minutes):
1. Brother
2. Black Dog
3. I Want You Back
4. Running Out Of Sky (Sky
Diver)
5. Whole Lotta Rock And Roll
(a) School Day (b) Lucille
(c) Long Tall Sally (d) Whole Lotta Love
6. Chaos/Can’t We Ever get It
Back [Side 2]
7. This Is My Life
8. Misunderstood
9. Maggie's Song
10. City
Tracks 1 to 10 are their 2nd
album - which as well as their 1970 debut - was simply called "CCS"
on the original vinyl LP. Here it's called CCS II for CD purposes. It was
originally released in April 1972 on Rak Records SRAK 503 and on the strength
of the March 1972 UK 7" single "Brother" - the album charted at
23 - the only one of their three LPs to break the Top 50. Great sleeve too.
Tracks 11 and 12 are the
bonus tracks:
11 is "Mister What You
Can't Have" which is the non-album B-side to "Brother" on RAK
126 (it's a John Cameron original - great fun track)
12 is "Sixteen
Tons" which is the non-album A-side of RAK 141 issued in 1972. Its B-side
is the Peter Thorup original "This Is My Life" - it's Track 7 on the
album. However, the single version is shorter and different. It has Thorup
vocals only, while the album version includes both Thorup and Korner. If you
want the single mix (unfortunately not included here), it's on the superb EMI
CD "A's B's & Rarities" which also sports 2 previously unreleased
CCS tracks not on any of these Repertoire issues. Well worth seeking out that.
Back to the A though. I've always thought CCS's version of "Sixteen
Tons" to be one of 'the' great lost Seventies gems - and for soul boys
looking for a funky rock track to fill out that cool 70's CD-R, this is the
place to look. It's a cover version of the Tennessee Ernie Ford 1950's classic
which was followed quickly by a PLATTERS version - this fabulous take on the
famous 'shoveling coal' song borrows a bit from both and it's a song that
whenever we play it in the shop, has customers coming to the counter asking
"who's this, who's this?"
The huge ensemble group CCS
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. Deciding right
from the start to include cover versions ala B, S & T, they did a fantastic
brassed-up take on Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" that not only complimented
the original, but also defined that "CCS" sound. So when the new BBC
pop program "Top Of The Pops" needed a cool new theme song, they took
this winner from their 1970 debut album, dropped the flute intro and the vocal
middle and end - and a theme song legend was born. That mixture of
cover-versions given the CCS treatment alongside JOHN CAMERON and ALEXIS KORNER
originals continued on this LP. "Black Dog" is another Zeppelin cover
from IV, "I Want You Back" was made famous by The Congregation and
The Jackson 5 - while the "Whole Lotta Rock 'n' Roll" track is a
5-part medley of Chuck Berry, Little Richard and a reprise of Zeppelin's
"Whole Lotta Love".
But the best bit is the
SOUND. Repertoire re-issues are always good in my book, but this licensed-from-EMI
remaster is exceptional. I'd expected wads of hiss, but the transfers are very
clean - and given the amount of brass coming at you, muscular to a point where
you have to sometimes reach for the volume control! A really great job done for
a criminally forgotten album (lyrics from “Brother - the opening track on Side
1 of the LP - provide the title of this review).
When C.C.S. 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 that were good too. But my heart is
with the fab C.C.S. Highly recommended to those who love their Seventies with a
bit of balls and a sense of humour.
PS:
For those who want more,
their 1st album from 1970 (also called "CCS" on vinyl - "CCS
Vol.1" for CD purposes) is also available in this series - as is their 3rd
and last album from 1973, "The Best Band In The Land". I've bought
the other two also - and remastered with bonus tracks - they're the business
too. I've also extensively reviewed Esoteric Recordings "Tap Turns On The
Water: The C.C.S. Story" 2CD Anthology from 2013 which has equally
stupendous audio quality...
