"...Keep It Going..."
When Bonnie Lynn O'Farrell
(from Acton in Illinois) met and married Delaney Bramlett from Pontotoc Count
in Missouri in 1967 – the two Americans thereafter became professionally known
as DELANEY and BONNIE. Separating in late 1972 - both pursued solo careers that
are still going to this day – friends or no.
The first digital reissue of
Delaney's solo efforts came in October 2007 on Acadia ACAM 8171 (Barcode
0805772817128) offering '2 Original LPs On 1CD' and played at 70:12 minutes. I
had that crappy looking CD combo for years just to have the music – but as I
recall it had a gatefold slip of paper for an inlay and worse – muffled sound
from an unnamed mastering engineer.
Fast forward to here (April
2014) and at last we get a decent upgrade. When I compare the audio on both –
there is a definite improvement in this Roger Lomas 2014 Remaster for United
Producers Records (trading as UP Sounds) – licensed from Sony Products. Its
brighter, clearer and has real punch where the songs need it – something the
Acadia issue seriously lacked. Here are the righteous details...
UK released 28 April 2014 –
"Some Things Coming/Mobius Strip" by DELANEY BRAMLETT on United
Producers Records/UP Sounds UPRS 011 CD (Barcode 5060384950112) offers 'Two
Original Albums On One CD' Remastered and plays out as follows (68:56 minutes):
1. Over And Over [Side 1]
2. Thank God
3. Please Accept My Love
4. Keep It Going
5. Some Things Coming
(Heartbeat)
6. Down By The Riverside
[Side 2]
7. Sit Right Down
8. I'm Not Your Lover, I'm
Your Lovee
9. Try A Little Harder
Tracks 1 to 9 are his debut
solo LP “Some Things Coming” – released November 1972 in the USA on Columbia
Records KC 31613 and in the Netherlands on CBS Records S 65131. Produced by
Delaney Bramlett
DELANEY BRAMLETT – Lead
Vocals and Guitars
TED HEDING – Organ
JOE DAVIS, JIM GORDON and
JERRY JUMANVILLE – Saxophones
DARREL LEONARD and LARRY
SAVOIE – Brass
ROBERT WILSON – Bass
RON GRAYSON – Drums
MILT HOLLAND – Percussion
CLYDIE KING, VENETTA FIELDS,
GLORIA JONES and SHIRLEY MATTHEWS – Backing Vocals and Choir
GEORGE BOHANON – String
Arrangements
10. Are You A Beatle Or A
Rolling Stone? [Side 1]
11. What Am I Doin’ (In A
Place Like This)
12. A Young Girl (In Her
Garden)
13. Big Ol’ Piece Of Blues
14. Circles
15. When A Man Is In Need Of
A Woman [Side 2]
16. I’m A M-A-N
17. B.B.’s Blues
18. A Little Bit Of You In Me
19. California Rain
Tracks 10 to 19 are the album
“Mobius Strip” – released September 1973 in the USA on Columbia KC 32420 and in
the Netherlands on CBS Records S 65760.
DELANEY BRAMLETT – Lead
Vocals, Guitars and Percussion
JOHN USSERY and ART MUNSON -
Guitars
RED RHODES of Bamboo and Mike
Nesmith’s International Band – Pedal Steel Guitar
TED HEDING – Organ
CRAIG PORTMAN – Synthesiser
JOE DAVIS, JIM GORDON and
JERRY JUMANVILLE – Saxophones [Jim Gordon also plays Bagpipes]
DARREL LEONARD and LARRY
SAVOIE – Brass
ROBERT WILSON – Bass
RON GRAYSON – Drums
KING ERICKSON – Congas
CLYDIE KING, VENETTA FIELDS,
GLORIA JONES and SHIRLEY MATTHEWS – Backing Vocals and Choir
GEORGE BOHANON – String
Arrangements
The 8-page inlay has liner
notes from BOB FISHER which pictures the front and rear of the original
sleeves, provides musician credits and gives an overview of Bramlett’s career
before (with The Shindigs) and after meeting Bonnie and Friends (Eric Clapton, Leon
Russell, Bobby Whitlock etc). Neither of these Columbia Records albums received
a British pressing – all copies being Dutch and imported into the UK in small
numbers. They weren’t great sellers either (I used to see them prop up
secondhand stores all the time) in their orange label CBS glory) – but that
doesn’t mean there aren’t choice cuts to be had here.
Six cuts made the top and
bottom of three US 45s – September 1972 saw "Over And Over" coupled
with "I'm Not Your Lover, Just Your Lovee" on Columbia 4-45696 -
"Good Vibrations" came next in July 1973 sporting "Are You A
Beatle Or A Rolling Stone" on the B-side of Columbia 4-45897 - while
"You Don't Know (How Glad I Am)" and "California Rain"
became the final A&B pairing in October 1973 for Columbia 4-45950. None
particularly troubled the charts but drummed up some interest in the albums.
I used to put the Funk-Rock
"Keep It Going" on Funky Funky 70s Fest CD compilations in Reckless
(brought customers to the counter enquiring after it) – a fabulous hard-hitting
instrumental groove with guitars and brass punctured by the ladies singing
"...Keep On Singing Your Song...Keep It Going..." every now and then.
The album's title track is a bizarre hybrid of Dr. John and Eugene McDaniels
voodoo rhythms with an Allman Brothers rock centre - the song literally going
off on a geetar tangent half way through only to return to the hoodoo
vibe. "Sit Right Down" is
another album highlight - treated National Steel guitar, shaking tambourines,
the ladies getting Soulful as they sing "...gonna sit right down and talk
about it..." - a fab groove as that Manassas Rock-Funk of his kicks in.
Southern Soul organ opens the terribly titled "I'm Not Your Lover, I'm
Your Lovee" - but don't let the iffy moniker fool you - its a tasty slice
of Rock-Soul. The debut solo LP rocks to a 6:13 minute finish with "Try A
Little Harder" where Clydie King (I think) is the duet-featured vocalist.
The tune also allows the Horn Players to solo and stretch out the Funky
Funky...
Album two "Mobius Strip"
(still don’t know what that title means) opens with The Beatles vs. The Stones
single where some infatuated lady hopes Rock Star Delaney is a bit of both. The
acoustic guitar of "What Am I Doin' (In A Place Like This)" opens up
a very Stephen Stills melody, once again filled with brass and Soulful rhythms.
The first ballad is "A Young Girl (In Her Garden)" - a tale of an
artist and his model trying to work out their dynamic - both tentative - both
hoping to make love the rule and not be about money the fool. We go Piano
Chugging Boogie for "Big Ol' Piece Of Blues" - a cool piece of
Seventies Brass-driven Funk. And on it goes to the pretty acoustic strums of
"California Rain" where the combo of Organ and Strum make it sound
very Faces - a compliment I'm sure DB would relish any day of the week.
I don't know if either album
is a masterpiece in 2019 - but this 2014 UP Sounds CD Remaster has made me
think that maybe we all missed a trick back in the day by not loving these
albums more (they deserve it now). A cool little reissue really of two that
slipped past us and shouldn't have...
