"Staircase To The Day" by GRAVY TRAIN – Fourth And Final UK Studio Album From July 1974 on Dawn Records – Guests including Bobby Harrison of Juicy Lucy and Snafu, Peter Solley of Paladin, Procol Harum and Snafu with Jim Frank of Fox, Mary Zinovieff (sessioned for Fox), Vic Smith and Soul Singer P.P. Arnold (October 2016 UK Esoteric Recordings Expanded Edition CD Reissue with Two Bonus Tracks from 1975 – Ben Wiseman Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...The Last Day..."

Lancashire's hard rocking Progressive Rock act GRAVY TRAIN managed four albums across two labels between 1970 and 1973. 

First out of the blocks came their self-titled debut "Gravy Train" on Vertigo 6360 023 in December 1970 (a listed £500 rarity), the follow-up "(A Ballad Of) A Peaceful Man" on Vertigo 6360 051 in November 1971 (now a £1000 listing) and their third outing in the shape of "Second Birth" from March 1973 on Dawn Records DNLS 3046 (newly signed to the label). 

This superb-sounding October 2016 British CD reissue deals with their fourth and final Prog Rock outing "Staircase To The Day" from July 1974 - their second and last album with England's Dawn Records. In fact excepting dodgy bootlegs and a rare deleted 2007 Repertoire issue in a card digipak (itself a limited edition of 3000) - this flying creature Roger Dean artwork album has long been unavailable on an official CD remaster - until now. 

Typically, Esoteric Recordings (part of Cherry Red in the UK) have done the audio business on this rarity – chunky booklet and quality audio. Here are the tales of quick ones in the evening of life...

UK released 28 October 2016 (November 2016 in the USA) - "Staircase To The Day" by GRAVY TRAIN on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2565 (Barcode 5013929466548) is an Expanded Edition CD Reissue and Remaster of their final 1974 studio album with Two 1975 Bonus Tracks. It plays out as follows (51:00 minutes):

1. Starbright Starlight [Side 1]
2. Bring My Life On Back To Me 
3. Never Wanted You
4. Staircase To The Day
5. Going For A Quick One [Side 2]
6. The Last Day
7. Evening Of My Life
8. Busted In Schenectady
Tracks 1 to 8 are their fourth and final studio album "Staircase To The Day" - released July 1974 in the UK on Dawn Records DNLH 1 (didn’t chart UK and was unissued in the USA). Produced by VIC SMITH - all songs written by Norman Barratt except "Going For A Quick One" by Candy Carr and Vic Smith and "Evening Of My Life" which is a co-write between Norman Barratt and John Hughes. 

BONUS TRACKS: 
9. Climb Aboard The Gravy Train (And Get On To A Good Thing)
10. Sanctuary 
Tracks 9 and 10 are the non-album A&B-sides of a 25 July 1975 UK 45-single on Dawn Records DNS 1115 (both sides written by Norman Barratt and Produced by Vic Smith). 

NOTE: "Good Time Thing" was a non-album B-side to the 8 February 1974 UK 45-single for "Starbright Starlight" on Dawn Records DNS 1058, that A-side being a track taken from the "Staircase To The Day" LP. That exclusive B-side is not on this CD, but is on the CD Reissue and Remaster for "Second Birth" as a Bonus Track – see Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2562 (Barcode 5013929466241).

GRAVY TRAIN was: 
NORMAN BARRATT – Electric and Acoustic Lead Guitar and Vocals
(JOHN) J.D. HUGHES – Keyboards (Piano, Organ etc) and Flute
GEORGE LYNON – Electric and Acoustic Guitar 
LES WILLIAMS - Bass Guitar
RUSSELL CORDWELL - Drums and Percussion on all tracks except Jim Frank on three (see Guests below) 

Guests: 
BOBBY HARRISON (of Juicy Lucy and Snafu) – Backing Vocals on "Bring Back My Life To Me", "Going For A Quick One" and "Busted In Schenectady"
PETER SOLLEY (of Paladin, Procol Harum and Snafu) – Synthesiser on "Starbright Starlight" and "Going For A Quick One"
MARY ZINOVIEFF – Synthesiser of "Staircase To The Day" and Electric Violin on "Busted In Schenectady"
JIM FRANK (of Fox) – Drums on "Starbright Starlight" and "Going For A Quick One" and Harp on "Never Wanted You"
VIC SMITH – Cowbell on "Going For A Quick One"
FAY & DORIS of THE GOSPEL AYERS – Backing Vocals on "Starbright Starlight" and "Going For A Quick One"
P.P. ARNOLD (as Pat Arnold) – Backing Vocals on "Busted In Schenectady"

Compiled and co-ordinated by Mark and Vicky Powell - the very "Close To The Edge" shaped logo that gave the album its title but was almost unreadable – now clearly centres Page 2 of the wonderfully indepth 16-page booklet. Alongside those photos of the five lads (the ones used inside the original gatefold), that striking Roger Dean artwork is also featured throughout the booklet, on the picture disc and on the inlay beneath the see-through CD tray. Long-time writer for Esoteric and other reissue labels, MALCOLM DOME provides the new liner notes that also include lyrics and song-writing reminiscences from band members John Hughes and Bassist Les Williams plus older quotes from founder member and principal songwriter Norman Barratt. It’s an entertaining and affectionate read for what the band clearly felt was their best album, albeit one that like the single that followed in 1975, was all but ignored. But the big news is a BEN WISEMAN Remaster from original tapes that really rocks. To the music...

Sounding not unlike a less strangulated version of Uriah Heep - Barratt takes the lead for the well-recorded "Starlight Starbright" – a chugging rocker about ultraviolet ultra-cosmic death-defying rays of light (yeah baby). Things mellow into an almost Neil Young Harvest vibe with "Bring My Life Back To Me" where our hero wanders through streets of pain as an organ and piano hammer home the anguish (feel like I’m almost dead). The pumping Harmonica and guitar-driven "Never Wanted You" makes you feel like you’ve stumbled on Savoy Brown who have just discovered anger and Prog at the same time (nice turn on the chorus). Seven and half minutes of the album title track ends Side 1 on a high - "Staircase To The Day" containing Fruupp, Genesis and even Gentle Giant in all their melodic complexity – flutes soothing treated guitars. 

Central control has been attacked in the very Heavy Metal Kids of "Going For A Quick One" over on Side 2 - where Gravy Train suddenly sounds like a mash-up of Foghat and Nazareth at times. It’s a great groove and the Bass in it jumps out of the mix. And again not a million miles away from the guitar-Rock of say Michael Chapman - "The Last Day" returns to Prog as that flute joins the guitars and cleverly introduced acoustic strums. The short three-minutes of "Evening Of My Life" opens with mournful piano and echoed vocals that hurt – our man feeling old and down – not wanting to make a sound. The album ends on the eight-minute-plus of "Busted In Schenectady" – the long-haired boys of Gravy Train not really welcome – gotta move on lads as the slide guitars get mean. And again it feels almost Rush – Rock meets complexity and comes out on top (both Soul Singer P.P. Arnold and Bobby Harrison of Snafu provide backing vocals). The two single cuts are cool too. 

A huge step up from the rather ordinary "Second Birth" album in 1973 that preceded it, "Staircase To The Day" is a very good 1974 Rock meets Prog Elements album and Esoteric Recordings have done this unfairly forgotten beast proud. Nice one...

"Maid In Ireland: The Best Of Fruupp" by FRUUPP – Nine Tracks - Eight featured on Four Albums and One Stand-Alone UK 45-Single - All Originally on Dawn Records between 1973 and 1975 (August 2020 UK Esoteric Recordings CD Compilation – Card Digipak – Ben Wiseman Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Heaven's Eyes..."

Northern Ireland's wonderfully titled FRUUPP (they took their name from a mistyped Letraset sheet) put out four albums between 1973 and 1975, all of them on England's Dawn Records - home of many such hairy-men Prog Rock acts hitting the UK in those creative years. 

Esoteric Recordings of the UK (part of Cherry Red) have been heavily involved in reissuing their entire catalogue (in conjunction with the band) - their brand of Celtic-influenced Storytelling Folk-Prog-Rock put out as four CD Remasters in February 2009 – two of them with Bonus Tracks. 

And last year in August 2019 - they lumped all four together in one neat and handy Clamshell Box Set called "Wise As Wisdom: The Dawn Albums 1973-1975" with Mini LP Repro Art Card Sleeves (see reviews for all five). 

"Maid In Ireland" is a 2020 CD Best Of culled from all four LPs with a rare stand-alone 45-single track throw in at the end. Here are the wise as wisdom details...

UK released 24 July 2020 - "Maid In Ireland: The Best Of" by FRUUPP on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2728 (Barcode 5013929472884) is a 9-Track CD compilation using the 2009 Remasters and plays out as follows (57:44 minutes):

1. Janet Planet 
2. Decision 
3. Three Spires 
4. Sheba's Song 
5. White Eyes 
6. Wise As Wisdom 
7. Knowing You 
8. Graveyard Epistle 
9. Prince Of Heaven 

Tracks 1 and 4 from their fourth and final UK album "Modern Masquerades", February 1975 in the UK on Dawn Records DNLS 3070 - produced by and featuring Ian McDonald ex Giles, Giles & Fripp and King Crimson 

Tracks 2 and 8 taken from their debut album "Future Legends", October 1973 on Dawn Records DNLS 3053

Tracks 3, 5 and 6 from their second UK studio album "Seven Secrets", April 1974 on Dawn Records DNLS 3058 

Track 7 from their third UK studio album "The Prince Of Heaven's Eyes", November 1974 on Dawn Records DNLH 2

Track 9 was a stand-alone non-album UK 45-single not on "The Prince Of Heaven's Eyes" LP, released October 1974 on Dawn DNS 1087, A-side

The gatefold card digipak houses a colourful 20-page booklet with new liner notes from one-time Manager and Collaborator with the Ulster band - PAUL CHARLES. There are photos of the four album sleeves with their love Peter Farrelly artwork, a few photos of the boys in questionable period clothing, witty remembrances of gigs, tours, song-writing and loyal supporters (they backed up some big names of the day, Supertramp, Man, ELO and the Peter Gabriel line-up of Genesis at their peak). 

The Remasters are the 2009 BEN WISEMAN transfers and are full of life, beans and details. LP highlights like "Knowing You" and deep album cuts like "Decision" and "Wise As Wisdom" are clever choices and I like the way it ends on that lovely single - a short but sweet moment to finish the compilation as its a song all four band-members had a hand in writing. 

FRUUPP have always been an acquired taste, sometimes brilliant, sometimes a bit fay and twee but always touching. It could have been longer for sure, but this is an unusual compilation and so nicely put together. Recommended...

"Seven Secrets" by FRUUPP – Second UK Studio Album from April 1974 on Dawn Records (February 2009 UK Esoteric Recordings CD Reissue – Ben Wiseman Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Wise As Wisdom..."

While common consensus (even amongst die-hard fans) declares that the second FRUUPP studio platter "Seven Secrets" from April 1974 wasn't quite as good as its illustrious debut predecessor "Future Legends" from October 1973 – time has told us that with six reasonably good Folk/Progtastic tracks and one ditty over at the end of Side 2 to make up the 'seven' mystical numbers in the title – door number two still holds up. 

Organised and Co-ordinated by MARK POWELL - the double centre-page spread of the 16-page booklet reproduces the album's lovely green insert - the four boys pictured beneath all those dense lyrics about Neptune sleeping as chickens wept (they do that a lot around his mitre) while Kelpie hold court and Elizabeth placidly captures your mind (saucy cow). There are other period shots of reviews, trade adverts advising that the album arrives 19 April 1974, gig posters (one of which is with Genesis in early May for the princely sum of 60p) and even an advert for the defunct format of four-tracks cartridges for both their debut and the newest instalment. 

PAUL CHARLES did the liner notes in January 2009 (the CD along with the other three arrived end of February 2009) and with new interviews and deep level knowledge – provides us with a very comprehensive look inside one of the Emerald Isle’s more unusual bands. Charles was their "Manager and general fixer" at the beginning and is today a published author of the Christy Kennedy mystery books (Charles in fact wrote the original liner notes for the debut LP "Future Legends"). There is also a nod towards the Stephen Houston Fruupp website. Speaking of band history...

Hailing out of Northern and Southern Ireland's notorious show-band circuit – Guitarist and Vocalist Vince McCusker of Co. Derry dreamed of bigger and better arrangements. So he turned his back on cover versions of insipid chart hits and formed his very own Progressive Rock unit delightfully called FRUUPP - taken from a Letraset Sheet that didn't have the letters FRUP used (he added the extra U and P). Don't ask me why, but I kinda like FRUUPP as a band name and always have. 

"Seven Secrets" has been hard to find on original Dawn Records British vinyl for years; the second of four albums FRUUPP made for England's Dawn Records (see list below). All their albums are held in Proggy affection by those who bought the platters at the time or witnessed FRUUPP as a band in their impressive live form (they backed up huge Progressive acts like Supertramp, Queen, ELO, Man, Focus, Hawkwind and the Peter Gabriel line-up of Genesis as well as headlining gigs themselves). To the details...

UK issued Friday, 23 February 2009 - "Seven Secrets" by FRUUPP on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2102 (Barcode 5013929720220) is a straightforward CD Reissue and Remaster of their second LP from 1974 that plays out as follows (45:45 minutes):

1. Faced With Shekinah [Side 1]
2. Wise As Wisdom
3. White Eyes
4. Garden Lady [Side 2]
5. Three Spires
6. Elizabeth
7. The Seventh Secret
Tracks 1 to 7 are their second studio album "Seven Secrets" – released April 1974 in the UK on Dawn Records DNLS 3058 (no US issue). 

FRUUPP were:
VINCENT McCUSKER – Guitars and Vocals
PETER FARRELLY – Bass and Lead Vocals
STEPHEN HOUSTON – Keyboards, Oboe and Vocals
MARTIN FOYE – Drums and Percussion

The big news here is a BEN WISEMAN remaster from original master tapes that brings out the dense playing and upgrades the David Lewis Production which many have long felt was not up to the par of the debut.

There is an almost 10cc or even Be Bop Deluxe feel to the clever opener "Faced With Shekinah" whilst the seven-parter "Garden Lady" has impressive guitar antics as it opens Side 2. McCusker & Paul Charles also provided "Three Spires" – a returning rambler's romantic reappraisal of a hometown (Magherafelt in Northern Ireland) where I keep seeing that picture of the boys looking like an Elizabethan quartet ready for the ball as the instruments dilly and dally. You can even at times hear the influence of Man (from Wales) in "Elizabeth" whilst the short final cut "The Seventh Secret" probably seemed like a good idea at the time but now feels silly and wildly out-of-place. Overall – a good album then – and certainly accomplished. 

Hairy Ulstermen and Celtic Legends ahoy – FRUUPP were/are an acquired taste for sure. But if you were a fan – this fab-sounding CD remaster will remind you and your receding hairline why you loved em in the first place. If this isn't available at a reasonable sum, see the "Wise As Wisdom: The Dawn Albums 1973-1975" 4CD Box Set mentioned in the list below...

The four albums in the 23 February 2009 BEN WISEMAN Digital Remaster 

CD Reissue Series for FRUUPP by Esoteric Recordings are: 

"Future Legends" – Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2104 (Barcode 5013929720428) – One Bonus Track (47:25 minutes) – Debut Album released October 1973 in the UK on Dawn Records DNLS 3053

"Seven Secrets" – Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2012 (Barcode 501392972022) – No Bonus Tracks (45:45 minutes) – Second Studio Album released April 1974 in the UK on Dawn Records DNLS 3058 

"The Prince Of Heaven's Eyes" - Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2103 (Barcode 5013929720329) – Two Bonus Single Sides (48:40 minutes) – Third Studio Album released in the UK November 1974 on Dawn Records DNLH 2

"Modern Masquerades" - Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2105 (Barcode 5013929720527) – No Bonus Tracks (48:59 minutes) – Fourth Studio Album released February 1975 in the UK on Dawn Records DNLS 3070 (Produced by Ian McDonald of Giles, Giles & Fripp and King Crimson 

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30 August 2019 also saw "Wise As Wisdom: The Dawn Albums 1973-1975" on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 42686 (Barcode 5013929478602). This 4CD Mini Clamshell Box Set gathers up the four 2009 Remastered albums above (including the Bonus Track on "Future Legends” and the two on "The Prince Of Heaven's Eyes") and puts them in four card repro sleeves inside the glossy box - "Future Legends” being the only gatefold as per the original 1973 vinyl artwork. 

There is a foldout six-leaf insert with the group’s three different line-ups pictured on one side and the album/cd reissue credits pictured and featured on the other side. There are no liner notes or memorabilia pictured as there are in the individual CD reissues from 2009 and there is nothing new on this release with regard to unreleased material. But the audio is the Ben Wiseman Remasters of 2009 and with all four individual CD reissues deleted and having become expensive in some cases since – this August 2019 4CD Box Set is a reasonably priced way to get their catalogue in good presentation and quality audio transfers.

"Baron Von Tollbooth & The Chrome Nun" by PAUL KANTNER, GRACE SLICK and DAVID FREIBERG – June 1973 US Album on Grunt Records featuring John Barbara, Jack Casady, Jorma Kaukonen and Papa John Creach of Jefferson Airplane, Craig Chaquico of Jefferson Starship, Jerry Garcia and Micky Hart of The Grateful Dead, David Crosby of The Byrds and CSNY, Chris Ethridge of The Flying Burrito Bros and The Pointer Sisters (March 2020 UK Esoteric Recordings - Newly Remastered Edition – Ben Wiseman Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Riders Of The Rainbow...."

David Crosby nicknames for Paul Kantner and Grace Slick as an album title - very cool idea. 

As I recall Jefferson Airplane and most of its solo offshoots were all but dead in the water by the time this album was released Stateside in June 1973 on their own Grunt Records. It peaked at a low No. 120 on the US Billboard LP charts - starting a decline from his first solo album "Blows Against The Empire" from December 1970 at No. 20 to the "Sunfighter" album from December 1971 at No. 89. In Blighty and Ireland as I recall, this triple-credited solo album barely registered – also turning up in shops June 1973 to a bit of curiosity in the artwork and odd name – but a yawn at most else.

Which is a damn shame because what's contained within is one of their better almost hidden solo-gems in a long cannon of Airplane/Starship works - a transition LP between the sound of old Airplane morphing into the new Starship (David Freiberg had been a Vocalist, Guitarist and Songwriter with Quicksilver Messenger Service). And Esoteric Records of the UK (part of Cherry Red) seem to think so too giving the wee uppity litter runt of the litter a properly tasty reissue that restores the weird original artwork (all that physical and mental health stuff) and uses first generation Grunt master tapes for a reasonably improved audio go-round to an album that hasn't done well on digital before. Let's get chromium, healthy and restore posterity's noble heritage...

UK released 27 March 2020 (delayed from 4 March) - "Baron Von Tollbooth And The Chrome Nun" by PAUL KANTNER, GRACE SLICK and DAVID FREIBERG on Esoteric Recordings QECLEC 2713 (Barcode 5013929481381) offers a straightforward Remaster of the 1973 album and plays out as follows (40:25 minutes):

1. Ballad Of The Chrome Nun [Side 1]
2. Fat 
3. Flowers Of The Night 
4. Walkin' 
5. Your Mind Has Left Your Body 
6. Across The Board [Side 2]
7. Harp Tree Lament 
8. White Boy 
9. Fishman 
10. Sketches Of China 
Tracks 1 to 10 are the album "Baron Von Tollbooth & The Chrome Nun" - released June 1973 in the USA and UK on Grunt Records BFL1-0148 (same catalogue number for both countries). Produced by PAUL KANTER, GRACE SLICK and DAVID FREIBERG - it peaked at No. 120 in the US LP charts (didn't chart UK). 

PAUL KANTNER - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Glass Harmonica on "Harp Tree Lament" and "White Boy" 
GRACE SLICK - Lead Vocals, Piano on all tracks except "Ballad Of The Chrome Nun" and "Harp Tree Lament"
DAVID FREIBERG - Lead Vocals, Keyboards, Piano on "Ballad Of The Chrome Nun" and "Harp Tree Lament"

Guests:
JERRY GARCIA (of The Grateful Dead) - Guitar on all tracks except "Flowers Of The Night" and "Harp Tree Lament" - Steel Guitar on "Ballad Of The Chrome Nun" and "Your Mind Has Left Your Body" - Banjo on "Walkin'" 
JORMA KAUKONEN (of Jefferson Airplane) – Lead Guitar on "Your Mind Has Left Your Body"
CRAIG CHAQUICO (of Jefferson Starship) – Lead Guitar on "Ballad Of The Chrome Nun", "Flowers Of The Night" and "Fishman"
JACK TRAYLOR – Acoustic Guitar and Vocals on "Flowers Of The Night" - Vocals on "White Boy" and "Sketches Of China"
PAPA JOHN CREACH (of Jefferson Airplane) – Electric Violin on " Walkin'"
CHRIS ETHRIDGE (of The Flying Burrito Bros) – Bass Guitar on all tracks except "Your Mind Has Left Your Body", "White Boy" and "Fishman"
JACK CASADY (of Jefferson Airplane) – Bass Guitar on "Ballad Of The Chrome Nun", "Flowers Of The Night" and "Fishman"
JOHN BARBATA (of Jefferson Airplane) – Drums and Percussion 
MICKEY HART (of The Grateful Dead) - Gongs on "Your Mind Has Left Your Body" and "Sketches Of China" - Water Phones on "Your Mind Has Left Your Body"
DAVID CROSBY (of The Byrds and CSNY) - Vocals on "Ballad Of The Chrome Nun"
THE POINTER SISTERS – Vocals on "Fat"

The gatefold card digipak and picture CD reproduce the 1973 LP artwork whilst the 16-page booklet gives the artwork of the inner sleeve a placing too. You get lyrics to all the songs, the three faces behind skulls and two skeleton paintings of the inner sleeve as well as those Hippocrates, Aristotle, Da Vinci etc drawings that adorned the top of the inner plus that gobbledygook about ‘good health’ – now spread strikingly across the booklet’s centre pages. 

Instead of the separate insert which came with original LPs that gave track-by-track musician breakdowns as well as vocal credits, Esoteric have compiled a who-played-on-what list themselves on Page 7 of the booklet. There are new liner notes entitled 'Find Out What And Who You Are' by MIKE METTLER that feature interviews with Jorma Kaukonen and Craig Chaquico about their Lead Guitar solo contributions (which lifted up so many of the better tracks) and there are the usual reissue credits. A good read then, with a favourable reappraisal of the album in the grand scheme of JA/JS things. 

The remaster boasts first generation Grunt Records master tapes but as anyone who knows the 'love it or lump it' production values of this LP, the audio even in the hands of BEN WISEMAN (a very experienced Audio Engineer) is better but never great. Audiophile fans should look away immediately. Having said that and having had this album for near on 50 years now - the Remaster is better on more cohesive and less cluttered tracks like the guitar-driven "Flowers Of The Night" and the expansive grunge drone guitars of the head-game "Your Mind Has Left Your Body" are way meatier than I've ever heard them. When its good - it's good - but when stuff like Grace Slick's angry "Across The Board" comes on or that intrusive Mellotron sound that hunkers down in the background of "Harp Tree Lament" - there is only so much you should expect from this. I like the improvements and am glad I have them. To the tunes and players...

Lonesome Piano and Guitar open Side 1's "Ballad Of The Chrome Nun", Grace Slick taking the first lead vocal, lyrics about 'not needing to be baptised' - while Craig Chaquico's guitar notes make themselves known. Axeboy Chaquico had been around the JA camp since his notice-me-right-now solo for "Earth Mother" on Kantner's 1971 effort "Sunfighter". Prodigy Chaquico would of course get better and better and I can vividly recall watching the Old Grey Whistle Test on British TV as Bob Harris told his audience to note Chaquico's stunning playing on "Ride The Tiger" from the "Dragon Fly" LP in late 1974. Speaking on cool guests and their excellent contributions, David Crosby does a Harmony Vocal over the guitar that is so subtle and sweet too. I didn't like "Fat" at first, but typically it's the kind of song that grows in stature although the Remaster hasn't made the intrusive Mellotron sound any better (The Pointer Sisters guest as Backing Singers). 

A member of the obscure West Coast band Steelwind, guest and pal to the band Jack Traylor wrote and sings "Flowers Of The Night" - once again CC providing genuinely notable guitar work. Traylor also had an album on Grunt in 1973 co-credited to him and Steelwind called "Child Of Nature" (Grunt Records BFL1-0194) - not a vinyl you see every day of the week. Papa John Creach lends his violin to "Walkin'" - a good tune - while Side 1 ends on what I think is the album's best cut - the mind melding ever-so-spaced-out Pink Floyd feel to "Your Mind Has left Your Body". Jorma Kaukonen lets his lead guitar shimmer in the grunge, while Kantner sings about riders of the rainbow and other mad let it grow hippie lyrics. There is a huge and magnificent feel to this lengthy Side 1 finisher - like they were on to something soundwise and were riding the waves as they came crashing out through the speakers. 

Side 2 opens with Grace being angry at both women and men on "Across The Board" – and especially women who need men for their dimensional skill sets.  David Hunter of The Grateful Dead fame lends his lyrics to the David Freiberg song "Harp Tree Lament" – a tune that hasn’t dated well really. Soundwise, again Kantner comes on all Pink Floyd circa "Animals" or even "The Wall" with the ominous and brooding "White Boy" subtitled in brackets on the record label as "Transcaucasian Airmachine Blues". It floats and uplifts in that strange Floyd Prog Rock kind of way as Kantner name-checks races and colours and creeds – the guitar drenched in a very cool sustain. I find both the cod rocker "Fishman" and the murky warlords in "Sketches Of China" to be both overwrought – JA just not knowing when to stop with the layer after layer of instruments. 

There are those who rate "Baron Von Tollbooth..." as a five-star forgotten gem. I would proffer three stars elevated up to four for this tasty 2020 reissue. Whatever you remember, I was a little taken aback at how much I enjoyed revisiting this audio-compromised mishmash. Nice one again boys...

"Fields Of People: The Elektra and Atlantic Recordings 1968-1969" by ARS NOVA – Featuring Their Two US Albums, the Debut "Ars Nova" from April 1968 on Elektra Records and Their Second And Final Album "Sunshine & Shadows" from June 1969 on Atlantic Records – Both in Stereo (February 2020 UK Esoteric Recordings 2CD Compilation – Paschal Byrne Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Temporary Serenade..."

In August 2020 - few people know of, let alone care about, New York's student ensemble ARS NOVA (Latin for 'New Art'). Unfortunately, it was pretty much the same when they were a new band in the late Sixties.

Formed in the melting pot of 1967, the musically ambitious six-piece popped out two Blood, Sweat & Tears/Chicago-type albums that fused Psych with Sixties Rock, Blues, Jazz, Classical and even a wee bit of Latin-Spanish where principal players Wyatt Day and Jon Pierson had holidayed and absorbed local influences during a European summer of love (Spain and France). Ars Nova even opened for The Doors at the Fillmore East in March 1968 (albeit not every successfully) just before the release of their Elektra Records debut a month later. Typically, Esoteric Recordings of the UK doesn't care about our foolish indifference and has given these forgotten troubadours a fat digipak and a digital mouthwash.

"Fields Of People..." combines their two stereo albums - the "Ars Nova" debut from April 1968 on Elektra Records and its equally unheard-of follow-up "Sunshine And Shadows" from June 1969 on Atlantic Records - remastering both to splendid new heights and tickling our fusion appetites in the process. It may not be all genius and there is a non-album B-side missing that could easily have been included, but there is still enough to enjoy and rediscover (and it sounds the biz-schnizz). Here are the Enacte Pavans, Ibiza Ribbons and Temporary Serenades...

UK released 28 February 2020 - "Fields Of People: The Elektra And Atlantic Recordings 1968-1969" by ARS NOVA on Esoteric Recordings QECLEC22711 (Barcode 5013929481183) is a 2CD Remastered compilation that plays out as follows:

CD1 "Ars Nova" (34:38 minutes):

1. Pavan For My Lady (Fall, Winter, Summer and Spring) [Side 1]

2. General Clover Ends A War (Enacte: Le Messe Notre Dame (Guillaume de Machaut arr. Ars Nova) 

3. And How Am I To Know (Enacte: Dancer)

4. Album In Your Mind

5. Zarathustra

6. Fields Of People [Side 2]

7. Automatic Love

8. I Wrapped Her In Ribbons (After Ibiza)

9. Song To The City

10. March Of The Mad Duke's Circus

Tracks 1 to 10 are their debut album "Ars Nova" - released April 1968 in the USA on Elektra EKS-74020 in Stereo and June 1968 in the UK on Elektra EKL 4020 (Mono) and Elektra EKS 74020 (Stereo). Produced by PAUL A. ROTHCHILD - it didn't chart in either country. This CD uses the STEREO Mix.

For their debut ARS NOVA was:

JON PIERSON - Lead Vocal and Bass Trombone

WYATT DAY - Piano, Organ, Rhythm Guitar and Vocals

GIOVANNI PAPALIA - Lead Guitar

BILL FOLWELL - Trumpet, String Bass and Vocals

JONATHAN RASKIN - Bass Guitar and Vocals

MAURY BAKER - Percussion and Organ

CD2 "Sunshine & Shadows" (38:55 minutes):

1. Sunshine And Shadows [Side 1]

2. I Was Once

3. Temporary Serenade

4. She Promises Everything

5. Well, Well, Well

6. You Had Better Listen

7. Round Once Again [Side 2]

8. Walk On The Sand

9. Rubbish

10. Please Don't Go Now

Tracks 1 to 10 are their second and final studio album "Sunshine & Shadows" - released June 1969 in the USA on Atlantic SD 8221 (US Promo-Copies were Mono) and July 1969 in the UK on Atlantic 588 196 in Stereo. Produced by ARTHUR GORSON and ARS NOVA - it failed to chart in either country

For their second album ARS NOVA was:

SAM BROWN - Lead Guitar

WYATT DAY - Guitar and Vocals

JON PIERSON - Bass Trombone and Vocals

JIMMY OWENS - Trumpet

WARREN BERNHARDT - Keyboards

ART KOENING - Bass

JOE HUNT - Drums and Percussion 

The three-way foldout card digipak reproduces the 'life masks' artwork of the debut album on the inner flaps while both CDs are picture discs reflecting the respective 1968 and 1969 LPs. The 20-page booklet has the lyrics to the debut (not the second LP), artwork, a colour photo of the six-piece band and new liner notes from Esoteric's knowledgeable MARK POWELL (compiled and co-ordinated the release). Powell details their US beginnings in an Upper West Side of Manhattan college through to exploratory sojourns in Spain (Jon Pierson and Wyatt Day) followed by a return to New York for a hook-up with Maury Baker to absolve all those Psych/Latin/Rock influences. It even reproduces the Jon Borgzinner (Life Magazine) liner notes for the "Sunshine & Shadows" LP. It's very nice to look at (if not a little light on any new images) and explains how bad luck and management decisions saw the band loose any real chance of momentum (the second LP's material was almost a year old when it finally surfaced in June 1969, so already dated to some degree).

The 24-bit Remastered Audio comes courtesy of PASCHAL BYRNE at Audio Archiving and has been licensed from Rhino and feels huge even if their youthful enthusiasm for the material outweighs their technical capabilities of the day. To the music...

Anyone who bought the stunning "Forever Changing: The Golden Age of Elektra Records 1963-1970" Multiple -Disc Box Set on Rhino in 2006 will have liked the huge Sunshine Pop musicality of "Fields Of People" by ARS NOVA - the band's lone representation on that behemoth. Elektra saw its commerciality at the time too and issued "Fields Of People" as a cool 45 in both the USA and UK (the first of only two singles issued for them in Blighty). Elektra put another debut album track on the flipside - "March Of The Mad Duke's Circus". The A-side sang of the awakening times - strange new ideas of love – worlds beginning again – fields of positive people losing their seeds of hatred. The same clever musicality flows through "General Clover Ends A War" and there is a very definite Byrd’s guitar-jangle in "And How Am I To Know" - a finger to my lips ballad that cries out to be covered.

"Album In Your Mind" is a parody on worried parents (I went through the same thing at your age) that was probably hip in 1968 but feels terribly dated 50 years after the smug event. The instrumental "Zarathustra" is a Maury Baker composition that feels like a backing track in need of lyrics (in need of something). Over on Side 2 "Automatic Love" tells of computers where you pay only four dollars to find the right girl as trombones blast like a vaudeville nightmare. Best on that side is "I Wrapped Her In Ribbons" - a pretty melody that far outshines "Song To The City" and "March Of the Mad Duke's Circus" that end the album. Elektra UK tried a second 45 in the shape of "Pavan For My Lady" with the non-LP "Zoroaster" on the flipside in late October 1968 (Elektra EKSN 45029) but to no avail (it had been their first 45 in the USA in February 1968 on Elektra EK-45627). The problem with the debut is that you can 'feel' good ideas and clever melody structures trying to break through but their youth combined with perhaps a bit more time polishing the material would actually have produced a debut as good as say "Child Is Father To The Man" (B, S & T).

Despite a reinvigorated line-up that added Sam Brown on Lead Guitar and Warren Bernhardt on Keyboards - the second albums feels like songs from "Hair" - Trumpets and Trombones on stuff like "Temporary Serenade" - neither good nor bad. Wyatt Day provided the guts of the tunes except for three – two of them "Sunshine & Shadows" and "She Promises Everything" were co-written with Gail Collins who would become Gail Pappalardi, the wife of Felix Pappalardi of Mountain and Cream fame while number three "Temporary Serenade" was a co-write with songwriter Greg Copeland who would eventually have his debut album "Revenge Will Come Back" on Geffen Records produced by Jackson Browne as far ahead as 1982. "You Had Better Listen" is the only cover on the LP – a Jimmy Owens song – one-time trumpeter with Dizzy Gillespie's Big Band.

Atlantic pre-empted the second LP with a taster 45 in April 1969 - Atlantic 45-2625 combining the hungry title track "Sunshine & Shadows" on the A-side with Side 2's Wyatt Day song "Walk On The Sand" (and smell the sea) on the flip. At least there's some punch and life to "You Had Better Listen" but Side 2's "Round Once Again" is typical of the record - good but never really great.

For sure the music of Ars Nova is a very dated business indeed 52 years after the event (2020) - but lovers of late Sixties Rock will find enough to interest and the presentation/audio is top notch...