"Lullabies For Catatonics: A Journey Through The British Avant-Pop/Art Rock Scene 1967-74" by VARIOUS ARTISTS (May 2019 Grapefruit 3CD Clamshell Box Set – Simon Murphy Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Tramcar To Frankenstein..."

On Page 3 of the 40-leaf chunky-monkey info fest that is the booklet to this latest 3CD Clamshell Mini Box Set vaults-trawl from those provocative and fruity types over at Grapefruit Records - there's a tiny period advert for the Kevin Ayers, Robert Wyatt, Daevid Allen and Mike Ratledge first line-up of Soft Machine soon to play Edinburgh - entitled "Lullaby For Catatonics". At the bottom it helpfully adds - and for no other reason you suspect than its funny and its going to mess with someone’s establishment head - "Literary Societies Give Me The Shits".

In short - and in their devil-may-care adventurous way - the inexperienced but ballsy London Art House boys were informing a still culturally uptight world that we're playing this Underground Music man (or Prog Rock or Art Rock or Psych or whatever else phrase you want to call it) and if you don't like it son, you can bugger off. Now let’s get the beers in and brush up on the agricultural maintenance of unfeasibly large mushrooms in suburbia.

As you can no doubt tell, I like these sort of catch-all sets and as other collectors like me have noticed in the last few years - Cherry Red's Grapefruit Records label has become rather good at it. Time to don the multi-coloured shirt and hat, put some casters on the Mellotron and head out at dawn to Stonehenge (or some place with camels maybe). Here are the windy song details...

UK released 31 May 2019 - "Lullabies For Catatonics:  A Journey Through The British Avant-Pop/Art Rock Scene 1967-74" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Grapefruit Records CRSEGBOX056 (Barcode 5013929185609) is a 3CD Clamshell Box Set of 49 Remastered Tracks that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 "Spontaneous Underground" (78:47 minutes):

1. I Should've Known - THE SOFT MACHINE (Not originally issued, recorded April 1967)

2. I'm Waiting For The Man - THE RIOT SQUAD featuring DAVID BOWIE (Not originally issued, recorded April 1967)

3. Conquistador - PROCOL HARUM (from the September 1967 US Debut LP "Procol Harum" on Decca DES 18008)

4. Bypass The By-Pass - THE END (not originally issued, recorded October 1967)

5. World War Three - DANTALIAN'S CHARIOT (Not originally issued, recorded January 1968)

6. Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914) - THE ZOMBIES (from the April 1968 debut album "Odyssey & Oracle" on CBS Records S BPG 63280 in Stereo)

7. I Talk To The Wind - GILES, GILES & FRIPP [pre King Crimson] (Not originally issued, recorded September 1968)

8. Tramcar To Frankenstein - THE LIVERPOOL SCENE (from their November 1968 second UK LP "Amazing Adventures Of The Liverpool Scene" on RCA Victor SF 7995 in Stereo)

9. The Battle - THE STRAWBS (Not originally issued alternative version, recorded December 1968)

10. Xoanon Bay - WOODY KERN (from the January 1969 debut album "The Awful Disclosures Of Maria Monk" on Pye Records NSPL 18273 in Stereo)

11. In The Beginning - GENESIS (from their March 1969 debut album "From Genesis To Revelation" on Decca SKL 4990 in Stereo)

12. Wasted Ground (Memento Mori) - THE VELVET FROGS (Not originally issued, recorded mid 1969)

13. Beyond And Before - YES (from their July 1969 UK debut LP "Yes" on Atlantic Records 588 190 in Stereo)

14. Druid One - THIRD EAR BAND (from their July 1969 debut album "Alchemy" on Harvest SHVL 756 in Stereo)

15. Through The Eyes Of A Child - BACHDENKEL (Not originally issued, recorded September 1969)

16. All Over The Country - THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN (Not originally issued, recorded late 1969)

17. Merry Go Round - EYES OF BLUE (from their October 1969 second album "In Fields Of Ardath" on Mercury SMCL 20164 in Stereo)

Disc 2 "Tea On The Lawn" (79:03 minutes):

1. Egyptian Tomb - MIGHTY BABY [ex The Action] (from their November 1969 debut album "Mighty Baby" on Head Records HDLS 6002)

2. Banquet - AUDIENCE (from their December 1969 UK debut LP "Audience" on Polydor 583 065 in Stereo)

3. To Play Your Little Game - CRESSIDA (from their February 1970 UK debut LP "Cressida" on Vertigo VO 7)

4. Parachute - PRETTY THINGS (from their June 1970 fifth studio album "Parachute" on Harvest SHVL 774)

5. Crytallised Petard - RUSTIC HINGE (not originally issued, recorded mid 1970)

6. Vivaldi - CURVED AIR (from their November 1970 debut album "Air Conditioning" on Warner Brothers WS 3012)

7. World Of Ice - SWEET SLAG (from their January 1971 debut and only album "Tracking With Close-Ups" on President PTLS 1042)

8. Mocking Bird - BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST (from their February 1971 second album "Once Again" on Harvest SHVL 788)

9. The Prisoner - COMUS (from their February 1971 UK debut LP "First Utterance" on Dawn DNLS 3019)

10. Home (Reconstruction) - NIRVANA (from their March 1971 third studio album "Local Anaesthetic" on Vertigo 6360 031)

11. Death May Be Your Santa Claus - SECOND HAND (from their April 1971 LP "Death May Be Your Santa Claus" on Mushroom Records 200 MR 6)

12. The Prisoner (Eight by Ten) - SPRING (from their May 1971 debut album "Spring" on RCA Neon NE 6)

13. Don Alfonso - THE COXHILL-BEDFORD DUO [Lol Coxhill and David Bedford - ex Kevin Ayers Band] (from the June 1971 Lol Coxhill double-album "Ear Of Beholder" on Dandelion DSD 8008)

14. Grande Piano - STACKRIDGE (from their August 1971 debut album "Stackridge" on MCA Records MDKS 8002)

15. Saving It Up For So Long - SAMURAI (from their August 1971 debut album "Samurai" on Greenwich Gramophone Co. Records GSLP 1003)

16. No. 2 Psychological Decontamination Unit - BLONDE ON BLONDE (from their October 1971 debut album "Reflections On A life" on Ember Records NR 5058)

17. Me And My Kite - FUCHSIA (from their October 1971 UK debut LP "Fuchsia" on Pegasus Records PEG 8)

Disc 3 "The Wind Sings Winter Songs" (79:50 minutes):

1. Welcome For A Soldier - DEEP FEELING (from their November 1971 debut album "Deep Feeling" on DJM Records DJLP 419)

2. Can I See You - OPEN ROAD (Previously Unreleased recording, early 1972)

3. O Caroline - MATCHING MOLE (from their February 1972 UK debut album "Matching Mole" on CBS Records S 64850)

4. Unhinged - 9.30 FLY (from their June 1972 UK debut LP "9.30 Fly" on Ember Records NR 5062)

5. The Machine Grinds On - GNOME SWEET GNOME (Previously Unreleased, recorded July 1972)

6. No More Sunshine Until May - AS YOU LIKE IT (Previously Unreleased, recorded circa 1972)

7. A Winter's Tale - JADE WARRIOR (from their December 1972 third studio album "Last Autumn's Dream" on Vertigo 6360 079)

8. C.F.D.T. (Colonel Fright's Dancing Terrapins) - BOND & BROWN [Graham Bond and Pete Brown] (from the December 1972 UK LP "Two Heads Are Better Than One" on Chapter One Records CHS-R-813)

9. Ship - GNIDROLOG (from their December 1972 second UK LP "Lady Lake" on RCA Victor SF 8322)

10. Anvils In Fire - RUPERT HINE (from the March 1973 UK LP "Unfinished Picture" on Purple Records TPSA 7509)

11. Upon Composition - RON GEESIN (from the April 1973 self-published LP  "As He Stands" on (No Label) RON 28)

12. Growing Up And I'm Fine - MICK RONSON (from the March 1974 UK debut album "Slaughter On 10th Avenue" on RCA Victor APL-1 0353)

13. Adventures In A Yorkshire Landscape - BE-BOP DELUXE [featuring Bill Nelson] (from their June 1974 UK Debut album "Axe Victim" on Harvest SHVL 813)

14. Somewhere In Hollywood - 10cc (from their May 1974 second UK LP "Sheet Music" on UK Records UKAL 1007)

15. Mother Russia - RENAISSANCE (from their May 1974 US LP "Turn Of The Cards" on Sire Records SAS 7502, issued March 1975 in the UK on RCA/BYM Records BTM 1000)

Compiled and Annotated by DAVID WELLS with Project Management from the legendary JOHN REED – long standing Audio Engineer SIMON MURPHY has done the mastering for Another Planet Music and as you can imagine with so many sources, it’s a mixed bag of gruff vs. gorgeous with thankfully the emphasis more on the latter. The 40-page booklet is a stunning achievement – rammed to the gunnels with facts and memory-jogging details, black and white and colour promo photos of every band and artist (I’ve never seen a photo of the band Woody Kern who featured Rik Kenton, the one-time Bassist for Roxy Music and the one seen as they played “Virginia Plain” on Top Of The Pops in 1972. There are trade adverts from Cream Magazine, NME and Melody Maker - the disastrous reverse-psychology Purple Records campaign for Rupert Hine’s LP advising punters to not buy it if they didn’t like it, and it worked - or an interview with Patrick Campbell-Lyons of Nirvana on their third platter and latest incarnation.

You get lesser-seen LP covers like Samurai, Liverpool Scene and Comus, foreign picture sleeves for obscuro singles from Mighty Baby and their Egyptian Tomb or Procol Harum’s Conquistador in its Yank sleeve. There is a two-page colour spread of gig posters and festival art adorning the centre - famous venues like The Roundhouse in London and Mothers in Birmingham as well as the lowly but cute Adam And Eve Folk Club in Bradford Street where you could ogle The Strawbs on 26 September 1969 for the frankly iMac extortionate fee of six schillings and six pence (who got the six pence gravy, that’s what I want to know). Each CD card is fronted by a band of the time, Giles, Giles & Fripp for Disc 1, Mighty Baby for Disc 2 and 10cc as we enter into 1974. As you can imagine - its fab stuff – now to the music...

Proceedings on CD1 open strongly, two well-recorded and period-groovy unissued recordings from April 1967 - Soft Machine and none other than David Bowie on his short stint with The Riot Squad. The first is even Mod Soulful (should've known it wouldn't last type lyrics) whilst Twig the Wonder Kid does his best Lou Reed drawl on their cover of The Velvet Undergrounds more-dead-than-alive drugs song "I'm Waiting For The Man". While I appreciate its place in musical history (arrangements and sound) - I never want to hear Procol Harum's hammy "Conquistador" ever again. Far better is Bill Wyman's involvement in The End and their surprisingly good unissued "Bypass The By-Pass" - great audio on a tune about people drinking and the authorities downing on them with breathalysers. But then things kick up a real Heavy Psych notch with the "World War Three" from Dantalian's Chariot - future Police guitarist Andy Summers screaming on those effects peddles with thunderous and genuinely exciting effect. Speaking of bizarre, probably because of its war references and pleading "Please let me go home..." lyrics, Epic issued The Zombies "Odyssey & Oracle" track "Butcher's Tale (Western Front 1914)" as a 45 in the USA - whatever you look at the politics behind that - its an extraordinary song on an album that only grows in stature as the decades pass (much like The Pretty Things material over on Disc 2).

Other corkers include an alternate take on the whimsical but sweet pre Crimson version of "I Talk To The Wind" by Giles, Giles & Fripp that would of course re-emerge on their October 1969 debut "In The Court Of The Crimson King" over on Island Records - a landmark LP itself due yet another multi-disc Anniversary issue this October 2019. While the song choices made for obscuro bands like Woody Kern, The Velvet frogs and even the darling Eyes Of Blue leave me a bit cold, no such thing with the genuinely chilling and brilliant "Tramcar To Frankenstein" by The Liverpool Scene (with Andy Roberts) sounding almost like pre Sabbath. A real discovery also comes in "Through The Eyes Of A Child" by Bachdenkel (brilliant) and dare we say it - the weird baroque and almost uncatagorizeable cool of Third Ear Band stringing it up on "Druid One". And you can so hear why bands like Yes and Genesis went on to true genius (even if the Gabriel debut LP only sold 645 copies on Decca) - the greatness and tune-craft was already there right from the start. I would say though that audio-wise the Strawbs alternate for "The Battle" is intrusively hissy and some may find entries on CD1 more noodle than song.

After the slightly disjointed CD1 – the largely Prog-based Disc 2 ups the brilliance level considerably opening with an absolute corker from Mighty Baby - their "Egyptian Tomb" - pictured in its Dutch Philips Records picture sleeve on Page 16 in the booklet. Amazing sound - Eastern and Western influences converging - the ex Action boys did more than good and were surely a strong rival to Yes for syncopated rhythms and sheer musicality. Howard Werth's Audience and the Shakespearian named Cressida trump up two goodies from their debuts - melodies and fine playing (Iain Clark from Cressida later joined Uriah Heep for their 1971 platter "Look At Yourself"). Superb Beach Boys harmonies come next in Phil May's brilliant "Parachute" - The Pretty Things proving that 1968's "P. F. Sorrow" wasn't just a one-off masterpiece. Ex World Of Arthur Brown, its clear Rustic Hinge have been absolutely pigging out on Captain Beefheart's 1969 double-opus "Trout Mask Replica" - their "Crystallised Petard" meshing Stockhausen with the Mighty Beef in no uncertain terms (unreleased at the time, the LP would eventually see UK light of day in 1988 on Reckless Records RECK 3 as "Replicas" - now where do I know that label from - oh yes I worked for the buggers for 20 years). Other corkers include Fuchsia (see my separate review for their self-titled LP) and the amazing debut of Comus - their "First Utterance" horror gatefold artwork completely undermining the Dando Shaft meets Steve Marriott brilliance contained within. Lysergic plant name or not, I can't say I liked Sweet Slag, or the childish misplaced nonsense of Lol Coxhill and David Bedford, nor the three Mellotrons of Spring - already feeling like a wildly dated sound by at least 4 years when issued in 1971.

CD3 comes stomping in with Deep Feeling's musically accomplished take on the Vietnam War in "Welcome For A Soldier" - an A Cappella centre section that will have Harmony Vocals fans nodding a cap. Part of Donovan's musical crew for the 1970 Dawn Records album "Open Road" (incredibly his ninth studio album by that time) – several members of the ensemble including writer John Carr took the name for their own band. After Open Road's "Windy Daze" debut album on Greenwich Gramophone Company Records hit the shops in 1971 – they recruited Bassist and Singer Tony Reeves (soon-to-be the front man for Greenslade) for a completed second album but on TR’s departure, it never got released. Here we get the opening track – the impressive "Can I See You?" Ex Soft Machine, Matching Mole made two revered albums for CBS Records in 1972, with the pretty Robert Wyatt-sung "O Caroline" being a highlight on the April debut (Bob Stanley featured it on the "English Weather" CD compilation he did in 2017 for Ace Records - see my review). Other winners include Jade Warrior with their touching "A Winter's Tale" - Mick Ronson contemplating David Cassidy fame on "Growing Up And I'm Fine" - while 10cc and Renaissance bring it all home with complicated Rock brilliance from their superb "Sheet Music" and "Turn Of The Cards" albums.

I can imagine some will feel that much of "Lullabies For Catatonics:  A Journey Through The British Avant-Pop/Art Rock Scene 1967-74" is interesting noodle, but not much else. I'd argue they'd be wrong (the good far outweighs the dud big time) and once again Grapefruit Records have kicked out another 3CD reissue winner – the kind of catchall Box Set that will have you chasing down those obscuro albums with glee (time to get your Be-Bop Deluxe and Gnidrolog fetishes quenched boys).

If your ears are up for Ealing Art College musical adventures and hairy-bottomed Mellotron romps in the Yorkshire, Canterbury and Gloucestershire landscape with your third-eye tackle out – then look no further...

"Strangers In The Room: A Journey Through The British Folk-Rock Scene 1967-73" by VARIOUS (March 2019 Grapefruit Records 3CD Clamshell Box Set) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Gathering Wild Roses..."

Grapefruit Records have been slowly winning the pickled hearts of collectors these last few years with a steady stream of these 3CD clamshell-type Box Sets - and I suspect they'll be avalanched with quite a few saucy Valentine Cards (even in late March) for this wee buxom beauty.

Sixty genre-bending Folk and Folk-Rock tracks from 1967 to 1973 across three CDs (four Previously Unreleased with many others not stated as being Alternate or Rare Versions) and a Billy Bunter sized 40-page booklet to scoff it all down with. It's off to the Tuck Shop my wassailing lads and lassies of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and any other shire we may drag our non-European musical ruin stones and shillelaghs through. Put your finger-in-the-ear people and hope for the best. Here goes...

UK released Friday, 29 March 2019 (5 April 2019 in the USA) - "Strangers In The Room: A Journey Through The British Folk-Rock Scene 1967-1973" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Grapefruit CRSEGBOX054 (Barcode 5013929185401) is a 60-Track 3CD Clamshell Box Set of Remasters that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 "Raise Your Voice And Sing Sweetly" (79:15 minutes):

1. Stranger In The Room - MICHAEL CHAPMAN (from the March 1970 UK LP "Fully Qualified Survivor" on Harvest SHVL 764)

2. The Blacksmith - STEELEYE SPAN (from the March 1971 UK LP "Please To See The King" on B&C Records CAS 1029)

3. Dangerous Dave (Alternative Version) - SPIROGYRA (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, Recorded February 1972) *

4. Murdoch - TREES (from the February 1971 UK LP "On The Shore" on CBS Records S 64168)

5. Sad Song For Winter - CHIMERA (Recorded November 1970 with a Wil Malone arrangement, not originally issued) +

6. Shoeshine Boy - THE HUMBLEBUMS (March 1970 UK 7" single on Big T Records BIG 130, A-side. Featured the comedian Billy Connolly and singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty later with Stealer's Wheel and a solo career)

7. Martha - HARVEY ANDREWS (from the May 1972 UK LP "Writer Of Songs" on Cube Records HIFLY 10)

8. Hanging Tree - OO BANG JIGGLY JANG (November 1971 UK 7" single on President PT 356, A-side - featuring Peter Bramall and James Roper of The Motors)

9. She's Getting Married In August - ALAN JAMES EASTWOOD [of The Exception] (from the February 1971 UK LP "Seeds" on President PTLS 1037)

10. Amongst Anemones - JADE (from the July 1970 UK LP "Fly On Strangewings" on DJM Records DJLPS 407)

11. I Don't Know Why - KNOCKER JUNGLE (November 1970 UK 7" single on Ember EMBS 293, A-side. Were Tony Coup and Keith Jones of Mandragon)

12. The Sailor - ROBIN SCOTT (August 1969 UK 7" single on Head HDS 4003, A-side - members of Mighty Baby featuring as the backing band)

13. Here Comes The Rain - TRADER HORNE (February 1970 UK 7" single on Dawn DNS 1003, A-side. Featured Judy Dyble of Fairport Convention and Jackie McAuley of Them)

14. My Delicate Skin - DAVE CARTWRIGHT (May 1973 UK 7" single on Transatlantic BIG 510, A-side and the May 1973 UK LP "Back To The Garden")

15. Almost Liverpool 8 - MIKE HART (from the February 1970 UK LP "Mike Hart Bleeds" on Dandelion S 63756)

16. Candy Dora - RICHMOND (January 1973 UK 7" single on D'Art ART 2008, A-side - featuring Chas Seward and Steve Hall)

17. Don't Know Why You Bother Child - GARY FARR (from the December 1969 UK LP "Take Something With You" on Marmalade 608 013)

18. 1917 Revolution - BEAU (August 1969 UK 7" single on Dandelion 4403, A-side)

19. Jesus Was A Carpenter - THE JOHNSTONS (from the November 1969 UK LP "Bitter Green" on Transatlantic Records TRA 211 featuring Paul Brady and Paddy Maloney - Ewan MacColl song)

20. We Can Swing Together - ALAN HULL (December 1969 UK 7" single on Big T Records BIG 129, A-side - later lead singer and songwriter in Lindisfarne)

Disc 2 "Back To The Garden" (78:31 minutes):

1. Woodstock - MATTHEWS SOUTHERN COMFORT (original 8-Track mix but not finally issued version, recorded July 1970) +

2. The Man Who Called Himself Jesus - THE STRAWBS (not originally issued alternative mix, Recorded July 1968) +

3. As I Roved Out - THE WOODS BAND (from the December 1971 UK LP "The Woods Band" on Greenwich Records GSLP 1004 - featuring Gay and Terry Woods - Terry later with The Pogues, Gay with Auto Da Fe)

4. Sir Patrick Spens - FAIRPORT CONVENTION (not originally issued, recorded October 1969 during "Liege & Lief" sessions) +

5. Be Not So Fearful (Demo Version) - BILL FAY (not originally issued demo version, recorded early 1969) +

6. I Loved Her So Long - UNICORN (from the June 1971 UK LP "Uphill All The Way" on Transatlantic TRA 238)

7. Sarah In The Isle Of Wight - AL JONES (from the September 1969 UK LP "Alun Ashworth-Jones" on Parlophone PCS 7081 in Stereo)

8. Song For A Dead Mole - LEA NICHOLSON and STAN ELLISON (from the June 1972 UK LP "God Bless The Unemployed" on Transatlantic TRA 254)

9. There's A Place I Know - BRIDGET ST. JOHN (February 1972 UK 3-Track 7" single on Dandelion 2001, Track 1 of 2 on the B-side of "Fly Away")

10. People Smile With Ghosts In The Land Of Make-Believe - JEREMY HARMER (from the privately pressed 1968 UK LP "Idiosyncratics And Swallow's Wings" on JH Records JH 001 - features David Costa of Trees and Celia Humphris sister Sue) +

11. Pucka-Ri - URBAN CLEARWAY (not originally issued, recorded circa August 1972) +

12. Scranky Black Farmer - C.O.B. [Clive's Own Band - Clive Palmer of The Incredible String Band] (from the November 1971 UK LP "Spirit Of Love" on CBS Records 69010)

13. Lady Of St. Clare - DAYLIGHT (August 1971 UK 7" single on RCA Victor RCA 2106, A-side)

14. Love Has Gone - MARY-ANNE [Mary-Anne Patterson] (from the April 1970 UK LP "Me" on Joy Records JOYS 162)

15. Time Machine - MICK SOFTLEY (August 1970 UK 7" single on CBS Records S 5130, B-side of "Can You Hear Me Now" - features Mike Vickers of Manfred Mann on Keyboards)

16. Fleance - THIRD EAR BAND (from the March 1972 UK LP "Music From Macbeth" on Harvest Records SHSP 4019)

17. Morning Glow - STORYTELLER (from the May 1970 UK LP "Storyteller" on Transatlantic Records TRA 220)

18. Riverboat - DANDO SHAFT (from the May 1971 UK LP "Dando Shaft" on RCA/Neon NE 5)

19. What I Am - FRESH MAGGOTS (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, recorded circa October 1970) *

20. Like A Rolling Stone - CANTICLE (November 1970 USA 7" single on Century Records 36685, A-side)

Disc 3 "Down Into The Moonlight World" (77:21 minutes):

1. Queen Of The Moonlight World - ANDY ROBERTS (from the March 1970 UK LP "Home Grown" on RCA Victor SF 8086 - ex Liverpool Scene, later with Everyone, also with Iain Matthews in Plainsong)

2. The Cuckoo - THE PENTANGLE (from the October 1969 UK LP "Basket Of Light" on Transatlantic TRA 205)

3. Little Woman (Single Version) - MR.FOX (November 1970 UK 7" single on Big T Records BIG 135, A-side - featuring Bob and Caroline Pegg - different mix from the LP, first appearance on CD since release) +

4. Father Forgive Them - RALPH McTELL (from the November 1970 UK LP "Ralph McTell Revisited" on Transatlantic TRA 227)

5. Just As The Tide Was A Flowing - SHIRLEY COLLINS and THE ALBION COUNTRY BAND (from the November 1971 UK LP "No Roses" on Pegasus PEG 7)

6. Oh Did I Love A Dream - THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND (not originally issued, recorded circa mid-1972) +

7. Strange Days - PAPER BUBBLE (not originally issued, recorded October 1970) +

8. Dahlia - PAULK BRETT'S SAGE (March 1973 UK 7" single on Dawn Records DNS 1021, A-side – possibly withdrawn and never released) +

9. Your Lovely Ways (Part One) - MIKE COOPER (May 1970 UK 7" single on Dawn Records DNX 2501, A-side) +

10. River Of Fortune – HERON (not originally issued, recorded July 1970) +

11. Beverley Market Meeting – JUDE (not originally issued, recorded February 1971 – Judith Willie) +

12. All In A Dream - STEVE TILSTON (from the May 1972 UK LP "The Collection" on Transatlantic Records TRA 252)

13. Carry Me – PRELUDE (from the October 1973 UK LP "How Long Is Forever" on Dawn Records DNLS 3052 – Irene Hume on Lead Vocals)

14. City Girl - JOAN ARMATRADING (from the November 1972 UK LP "Whatever’s For Us" on Cube Records HIFLY 12)

15. Furniture – HORSLIPS (from the January 1973 Ireland and UK debut album "Happy To Meet, Sorry To Part" on Oats Records MOO 3)

16. Who Cares - GERRY RAFFERTY (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, recorded mid 1971) *

17. Young Waters - JSD BAND (from the June 1973 UK LP "Travelling Days" on Cube Records HIFLY 14)

18. September - 9.30 FLY (from the June 1972 UK LP "9:30 Fly" on Ember NR 5062)

19. Waxing Of The Moon - LIFEBLUD (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, recorded circa January 1970) *

20. Who Knows Where The Time Goes - SANDY DENNY (not originally issued, recorded July 1967) +

* PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

+ ALTERNATE or RARE VERSION

Put together by the uber-knowledgeable and Baby Driver with-it JOHN REED – his equally sexy co-compiler DAVID WELLS pours on the facts in the multitudinous 40-page booklet – each artist and song given a full appraisal usually sided by period photos, ticket stubs, flyers, trade adverts and those impossibly rare single and LPs pictured throughout. Take the Steve Tilston entry for his "All In A Dream" song on Disc 3. It advises that in late 1972 after the album's release in May, Steve did an interview with Zig Zag magazine ruminating on how fame and fortune might affect his songwriting. None other than John Lennon replied in writing (to his worries) and that was the basis for the rather insipid Al Pacino film vehicle "Danny Collins" – or that Prelude who had a huge hit with their truly gorgeous Acapella version of Neil Young's "After The Gold Rush" sang backing vocals on another huge Folk-ish hit - "Streets Of London" by Ralph McTell. I didn’t know either of those things and I dare say, neither did you. Each entry is full of great name-checks like that. Beautifully laid out and aimed at collectors and novices alike – when I think of the recent miserable 8-page inlay given to Fleetwood Mac and their supposed '50 Years – Don’t Stop' 3CD celebration, it really does show how independents light the way, when the majors seem content with what they can get away with.

Audio is by ALAN WILSON and with so many sources is a mixed bag of the astonishing vs. the muffled with most being way better than that. For sure the audio dips on each of the CDs when it comes to those fast and loose demos and alternate mixes, but the rest of it is impressively presented and in some cases (as I say) will blow your socks off for recordings that are mostly 50+ years old. To the garden of delights...

Across 60 tracks there are those fabulous discoveries - the debut Unicorn LP on Transatlantic Records where the chosen debut album song "I Loved Her So Long" is the link between Matthews Southern Comfort and Plainsong (much of their better material in the mid 70ts on Harvest Records had the same hooky gorgeous melodies) - the beautiful ethereal harmony vocals of Fairport Convention's Judy Dyble and Them's Jackie McAuley in their Trader Horne incarnation for "Here Comes The Rain" (see my separate review of that album reissued by Earth Records on CD). Some of it (as already mentioned) is unfortunately ropey Audio wise - the hissy Billy Fay demo and The Woods Band is disappointingly muddied but on the other hand Dave Cartwright's McGuinness Flint-sounding "My Delicate Skin", Michael Chapman's box-set title song "Stranger In A Room" (see my review for Light In The Attic's stunning reissue of his second album "Fully Qualified Survivor" and Storyteller's early Genesis-like "Morning Glow" all sound superlative - huge acoustic guitars, voices and clever string arrangements.

Only winners are the fabulous Folk-meets-Pastoral union in Dando Shaft's flute-and-acoustic shuffle "Riverboat" - the jolly acoustic jostle of my "Lady Of St. Clair" by the staggeringly collectable Daylight - and even if Jeremy Harmer's self-recorded "People Smile With Ghosts In The Land Of Make-Believe" gives us some 'ships in squalls that change to gurgling laughter' might be a hippy lyric too far - the 99-only copies LP contained David Costa from Trees with their singer Celia Humphris' sister Sue doing harmony vocals (just about as cultish and collectable as it can get). Paul Brady and Paddy Maloney newly attached to The Johnstons transform the Ewan MacColl song "Jesus Was A Carpenter" into a "Woodstock" beautiful moment while Mick Softley gets fully-fledged Audio quality on his impressive "Time Machine" where he sings 'who will they be in 5000 AD' - indeed – a star tripper maybe. Speaking of that famous Joni song, I love the 8-Track Tape Version of the Matthews Southern Comfort UK No. 1 - it's a version that unlike the single has the acoustic and pedal steel guitars much more to the fore. And although it doesn't say it anywhere in the box, I think it's the version that turned up on the "Three's A Charm" privately-pressed CD from Iain Matthews in 1999 for his fans – the mix that was remastered by Bradley Kopp in Boulder, Colorado and is featured in his forthcoming "Orphans And Outcasts" 4CD Box Set. Anyway – it's a keeper, much like this fabulously inventive little box set...

A companion piece to Grapefruit's much praised duo of threesomes - "Milk Of The Tree: An Anthology Of Female Vocal Folk & Singer-Songwriters 1966-73" from June 2017 (see review) and "Gathered From Coincidence: The British Folk-Pop Sound Of 1965-1966" from June 2018 (review to follow) – March 2019’s "Strangers In The Room: A Journey Through The British Folk-Rock Scene 1967-1973" is a deserved Amazon No 1 in the Folk-Rock genre section.

Cadburys Easter Eggs on every desk and big-time kudos to the compilers and everyone else involved...

"Gonna Rock Tonite! The Complete Recordings 1969-1971" by FLAMIN GROOVIES (February 2019 UK Grapefruit Records 3CD Box Set) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gonna-Tonite-Complete-Recordings-1969-71/dp/B07LG1C9GB?crid=XOTDH99H9JQT&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.XP6S8Qfu4w0sUo9zPBu4mg.8JsXE5OLP6ZrudaDIxgpf1nKydX0trYgrZQhDRJwXPY&dib_tag=se&keywords=5013929185104&qid=1714293914&sprefix=5013929185104%2Caps%2C106&sr=8-1&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=d11a8f65d985c31c2f918db0bfd65d1e&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

RATING: *****

"...Pistol Packin' Mama..."

Like most fans of San Francisco's all-partying, all rocking, all greasy FLAMIN GROOVIES – I've had the 2009 Rev-Ola CD that offered up their kicking third and fourth albums on Kama Sutra Records - "Flamenco" from June 1970 and "Teenage Head" from March 1971. They've been snottily leaping around my mancave shuffle plays for years now. And before that - the double-album you used to pick up in secondhand record shops in the late 1970s that paired those two crackers together for our voracious vinyl consumption and my Dustbuster battered Garrard SP25 turntable.

Well reissue heroes ahoy but England's Grapefruit Records have gone and decided to expand into the album prior as well ("Supersnazz" from September 1969) and throw in a whopping seventeen bonuses too – all three albums and extras newly remastered in a cool and tactile pre Brexit mini box set. Why it’s enough to make me wanna rub jam all over my soggy doughnuts (while its still legal like). Here are the Super Snazzy details...

UK released 22 February 2019 (1 March 2019 in the USA) - "Gonna Rock Tonite! The Complete Recordings 1969-71" by FLAMIN GROOVIES on Grapefruit CRSEGBOX051 (Barcode 5013929185104) offers their second, third and fourth albums Remastered onto 3CDs in a Clamshell Box Set with Seventeen Bonus Tracks (Singles and Outtakes) that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 "Supersnazz" Album + Bonus Tracks (47:12 minutes):

1. Love Have Mercy [Side 1]

2. The Girl Can't Help It

3. Laurie Did It

4. Apart From That

5. Rockin' Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu

6. The First One's Free [Side 2]

7. Pagan Rachel

8. Somethin' Else/Pistol Packin' Mama

9. Brushfire

10. Bam Balam

11. Around The Corner

Tracks 1 to 11 are their second studio album "Supersnazz" - released September 1969 in the USA on Epic Records BN 26487 in Stereo (no UK issue). Produced by STEVE GOLDMAN - it didn't chart.

BONUS TRACKS:

12. Rocking Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu (Single Mix) - 18 July 1969 US 7" single on Epic 5-10507, A-side

13. The First One's Free (Single Mix) - 18 July 1969 US 7" single on Epic 5-10507, B-side

14. Somethin' Else (Single Mix) - 31 December 1969 US 7" single on Epic 5-10564, A-side

15. Laurie Did It (Single Mix) - 31 December 1969 US 7" single on Epic 5-10564, B-side

FLAMIN GROOVIES for "Supersnazz" was:

CYRIL JORDAN - Lead Guitar, Vocals and Acoustic Guitar

TIM LYNCH - Lead Guitar, Cello, Vocals and Harmonica

MIKE LANG - Keyboards

GEORGE ALEXANDER - Bass, Vocals and Harmonica

DAVID MIMH - Drums and Percussion

Disc 2 "Flamingo" Album + Bonus Tracks (65:04 minutes):

1. Gonna Rock Tonite [Side 1]

2. Comin' After Me

3. Headin' For The Texas Border

4. Sweet Roll Me On Down

5. Keep A Knockin'

6. Second Cousin [Side 2]

7. Childhood's End

8. Jailbait

9. She's Falling Apart

10. Road House

Tracks 1 to 10 are their third studio album "Flamingo" - released June 1970 in the USA on Kama Sutra Records KSBS 2021 (no UK release, but see Note below).

BONUS TRACKS (Recorded Live in Studio A, 13 January 1971):

11. Shakin' All Over

12. That'll Be The Day

13. Louie Louie

14. My Girl Josephine

15. Around And Around

16. Rocking Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu

17. Going Out Theme (Version 1)

Tracks 11 to 16 first issued on the 1976 US-only vinyl compilation "Still Shakin" on Kama Sutra BDS 5683

Track 17 first issued as one of the six Bonus Tracks on the 1999 'Original Masters' CD Reissue of "Flamingo" on Buddah 74321 71691 2

Disc 3 "Teenage Head" Album + Bonus Tracks (52:07 minutes):

1. High Flyin' Baby [Side 1]

2. City Lights

3. Have You Seen My Baby?

4. Yesterday's Numbers

5. Teenage Head [Side 2]

6. 32-20

7. Evil Hearted Ada

8. Doctor Boogie

9. Whisky Woman

Tracks 1 to 9 are their fourth studio album "Teenage Head" - released March 1971 in the USA on Kama Sutra Records KSBS 2031 (no UK release, but see Note below).

BONUS TRACKS:

10. Scratch My Back

11. Carol

12. Rumble

13. Somethin' Else

14. Walking The Dog

15. Going Out Theme (Version 2)

Tracks 10, 11 and 15 first issued as three of the seven Bonus Tracks on the 1999 'Original Masters' CD Reissue of "Teenage Head" on Buddah 74321 71690 2 (Track 14 was also one of those bonuses)

Tracks 12 and 13 first issued as two of the six Bonus Tracks on the 1999 'Original Masters' CD Reissue of "Flamingo" on Buddah 74321 71691 2

Track 14 first issued on the 1976 US-only vinyl compilation "Still Shakin" on Kama Sutra BDS 5683

FLAMIN GROOVIES for "Flamingo" and "Teenage Head" was:

CYRIL JORDAN - Lead Guitar, Slide Guitar, Percussion and Vocals

TIM LYNCH - Lead Guitar, Cello, Percussion and Vocals

ROY LONEY – Guitar, Lead Vocals and Percussion

GEORGE ALEXANDER – Bass and Percussion

DAVID MIMH – Drums, Percussion, Piano and Organ

Guests:

Commander Cody plays Piano on three "Flamingo" album tracks - Comin' After Me, Keep A Knockin' and Second Cousin

Jim Dickinson plays Piano on three "Teenage Head" album tracks - High Flyin' Baby, City Lights and Have You Seen My Baby?

Note: In August 1971, Kama Sutra in the UK issued both the "Flamingo" and "Teenage Head" LPs for the first time as a belated British double-album package on Kama Sutra 2683 003, simply called "Flamin' Groovies" (it was also issued in Germany entitled "2 Original LP's" on Kama Sutra 2623 101). That 1971 British double album was again reissued in October 1976 (by Pye Records) as "Teenage Head", but in slightly different artwork on Kama Sutra KSMD 101.

DAVID WELLS provides the superb October 2018 liner notes in the new and chunky 24-page booklet. Even though its not part of the remit for this set - the notes explain how the band's self-made 1968 "Sneakers" debut on their own Snazz Records came about - a 7-Track 10" Mini LP of 4500 copies they sold themselves in Tower Records (pressed up in three batches of fifteen hundred). Its artwork (front and rear) is pictured on Page 5. There are trade adverts, a Billboard piece from November 1970, publicity and live photos, rare single artwork and a line of those Epic and Kama Sutra singles (including Promo copies). Interviews with band members Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan are included illuminating the hectic 1969 to 1971 period. Experienced and dedicated names like DAVID WELLS and JOHN REED collated and organised the Box while Remaster Engineer OLI HEMINGWAY of The Waxworks did the audio tweaking. Like the Rev-Ola CD - this baby sounds amazing – huge presence and all the muscle you would want without being over done...and I like the three single card sleeve repros...nice

Apart from the cover versions of Little Richard's Rock 'n' Roll masterpiece "The Girl Can't Help It", the barroom R'n'B of Huey Smith's "Rocking Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu" (which Kama Sutra issued as a US 45) and the Eddie Cochran twofer "Somethin' Else/Pistol Packin' Mama" - most of the "Supersnazz" album sees us bombarded with flashy originals from both Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan. "Love Have Mercy" and another single "The First One's Free" rip and roar while "Bam Balam" and "Around The Corner" round things off very nicely. And I have to admit that I've never heard the single mixes - very nice touch.

"...Ten head hunters...with a buzz saw...and they was comin' after me..." - the boys tell us in the raw and raunchy guitar-pop of "Comin' After Me" - ten state troopers chasin' close behind with meat hooks. But the Proto-Punk edginess really starts to come screaming in on "Headin' For The Texas Border" where the band is headed to New Orleans to get their mojo back. I love the rapid guitars and the transfer gives it serious wallop. It's 1970 for gawd sake but it could be 1976 - so damn sharp. They then cleverly switch to Acoustic Rock 'n' Roll with "Sweet Roll Me On Down" as they Buddy Holly 'ah-ha' through the chorus. I'm reminded of the British band Fumble who also did Little Richard's brilliant "Keep A Knockin'" in the same all out rocking way - letting the inner joy of this Fifties anthem rip. Roy Loney stumps up another rocker in the excellent "Second Cousin" - the lyrics straying dangerously into Jerry Lee Lewis lawsuit territory.

Things finally settle into a Hank Williams saunter with "Childhood's End" - a very witty childhood song from Ron Loney where he sounds amazingly like Mick Jagger circa "Exile On Main St." doing his best Hillbilly impression. "Jailbait" is a cool and snarly blues chugger where he pleads 'baby what you tryin to do!' to a mean guitar barrage. The fantastic "Gonna Rock Tonight" is the kind of out-and-out Rock 'n' Roll homage that Dave Edmunds would have loved when his regal Zonophone 'Rockpile' album was in play over in Blighty - ooh-wee baby indeed (and dig that huge grungy Bass solo too). The weird but utterly wonderful "She's falling Apart" follows - a song that feels wildly out of synch with the rest of the album but actually a song I return to most. It then blasts into a frantic Punk-rocking finish with the trashy "Road House" - rapid guitars a go-go.

For album number four we go Dr. Feelgood with the fabulous slide guitar intro to "High Flyin' Baby" – a superb little Ron Loney and Cyril Jordan rocker. We then return to "Exile On Main St." with the boozy swagger of the acoustic barroom "City Lights" and it’s hard to understand why this wickedly cool Acoustic Blues was slagged off at the time (still sounds so damn good to me). The hard-rocking and deliberately grungy "Have You Seen My Baby?" was probably too much Rock 'n' Roll for delicate minds back in the day - but I love it and "Yesterday's Numbers" that follows it which could have been Brinsley Schwarz or Help Yourself or even Free - stunning acoustic Rock that stays with you. Amidst the bonus stuff you’re clobbered with a fantastic loose cover of Link Wray’s guitar magnum opus – the album outtake of "Rumble". Jordan and the boys are clearly having riffage fun with the famous menace Link’s song exudes – a very cool bonus indeed that even includes giggles at the end from a band that would have worshipped at Wray’s feet in the blink of an eye.

Summing up - how cool is it to see these three storming platters in the one place and with so much excellent bonus material too (Sundazed issued the debut in 1996 as an Expanded CD should you want to check out their beginnings).

The New York Dolls, MC5 and especially The Stooges are constantly name-checked as keeping the wild snotty pure spirit of Rock 'n' Roll alive in the early Seventies - a time when Hard Rock and Prog Goliaths dominated the chart landscape and bedsits of the world threatening to swamp all three-minute blasts of proto-punk with hairy chests, tales of wizards and semi classical pomp. I loved them too (truth be told) - but spare a dime brother for the Bay's FLAMIN GROOVIES – fab, groovy and side burning into the Devilish bargain. Well done to all involved...