"Hokey Pokey" by RICHARD and LINDA THOMPSON – March 1975 UK Second Album on Island Records featuring Simon Nicol of Fairport Convention, Pat Donaldson of Poet And The One Man Band and Fotheringay, Ian Whiteman of Mighty Baby, John Kirkpatrick of Steeleye Span and The Albion Band, Timi Donald of Trash and Blue with Aly Bain of The Boys Of The Lough (April 2004 UK Universal/Island Remasters Expanded Edition CD Reissue and Remaster with Five Bonus Tracks) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Ice Cream Songs..."

Following on from their April 1974 debut album as a duo - Richard and Linda Thompson matched "I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight" in my eyes with their first platter of 1975 - "Hokey Pokey" ("Pour Down Like Silver" would make it a trio of album releases in November 1975). Chock full of melodies - fast ones and slow ones that all hooked you in such subtle ways - I also liked that slightly drunk-sodden feel to the tunes. No doubt about it, there was something cool and musical about the pair of them when they hooked up with their natural home - Chris Blackwell's Island Records. 

This 2004 'Island Remasters' Expanded Edition also offers five tasty extras - four of which are Previously Unreleased. There's three from BBC sessions plus two live cuts including one recorded November 1975 at Oxford that first appeared on the Island Records retrospective double-album "Guitar, Vocal" in 1976. They're not exactly Audiophile it has to be said (Linda's vocals especially) – but they do show that the Thompson band dynamic was in raring form on the live front too - RT ripping into his guitar on the title track "Hokey Pokey". The Remaster of the album is lovely. Let's get to the Smiffy's Glass Eye and the Ice Cream Songs...

UK released April 2004 - "Hokey Pokey" by RICHARD and LINDA THOMPSON on Universal/Island Remasters IMCD 305 / 981 790-6 (Barcode 602498179062) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue and Remaster with Five Bonus Tracks that plays out as follows (67:43 minutes):

1. Hokey Pokey (The Ice Cream Song) [Side 1]

2. I'll Regret It All In The Morning 

3. Smiffy's Glass Eye 

4. The Egypt Room 

5. Never Again 

6. Georgia On A Spree [Side 2]

7. Old Man Inside A Young Man 

8. The Sun Never Shines On The Poor 

9. A Heart Needs A Home 

10. Mole In A Hole 

Tracks 1 to 10 are their second album "Hokey Pokey" (as Richard and Linda Thompson) - released March 1975 in the UK on Island Records ILPS 9305 (same release date and catalogue number for the USA). Produced by JOHN WOOD and SIMON NICOL with all songs written by RT except "Mole In A Hole" by Mike Waterson - it didn't chart in either country. 

BONUS TRACKS: 

11. Wishing (Live)

12. I'm Turning off A Memory (Live)

13. A Heart Needs A Home (Live)

Tracks 11 to 13 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, recorded for the John Peel Show 11 February 1975, first transmitted 24 February 1975 

14. Hokey Pokey (Live)

Track 14 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, recorded live at The Roundhouse 

15. It'll Be Me (Live) 

Track 15 recorded November 1975 in Oxford, first issued on the May 1976 UK 2LP compilation "Guitar, Vocal" on Island Records ICD 8 (it was called "Live More Or Less" in the USA with the same catalogue no)

MUSICIANS were:

LINDA THOMPSON – Lead and Duet Vocals 

RICHARD THOMPSON – Lead and Duet Vocals, Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Mandolin, Electric and Hammered Dulcimer and Piano 

SIMON NICOL (of Fairport Convention) – Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Piano and Backing Vocals 

IAN WHITEMAN (of Mighty Baby) – Organ and Piano 

ALY BAIN (of The Boys Of The Lough) – Violin and Fiddle 

JOHN KIRKPATRICK (of Steeleye Span and The Albion Band) – Accordion 

PAT DONALDSON (ex Poet and The One Man Band and Fotheringay) – Bass 

TIMI DONALD (ex Trash, later with Blue) – Drums and Percussion 

The outer card slipcase afforded original April 2004 issues of the three Richard and Linda Thompson CDs lends each release a feel of classiness. The 12-page booklet thankfully reproduces the lyrics that appeared on the UK LP's inner sleeve (inside the Gatefold sleeve of the US issue) while DAVID SUFF of Folk Music Reissue Specialists Fledg'ling Records does the short but hugely informative liner notes. Doesn't say who did the Remaster but it 'feels' like the masterful hand of Denis Blackham at Skye Mastering - either way - whomever transferred these original master tapes did the business by them. 

Aly Bain of Folk Group The Boys Of The Lough provides the fiddle on the wickedly good opener "Hokey Pokey" - but it's Linda's 'shiver down your spine' vocals and RT's fantastic guitar soloing that thrills - the whole shebang just working so sweetly. Things slow down and beautifully so with the whiskey-head hurt that lingers in the slyly acidic "I'll Regret It All In The Morning" - someone succumbing to the wiles of the flesh just once too often. Disfigurement and the cruelty it evokes in smaller crueller minds is the subject of the strangely sad-happy "Smiffy's Glass Eye" - girls laughing - girls not interested - until the heartache became too much. Diamonds flash, ruby rings glitter and bloodshot eyes blink in the lowlife shimmy-dance of "The Egypt Room" - Hobnail Kelly and the Beefcake Kid in town to catch the princess as she beguiles. Side 1 closes on a softer note, "Never Again" sounding so clean and clear as Linda asks who will remember the salt tears of lovers, the whispers of a lover and friend gone too soon - a song that apparently harks all the way back to 1969 when RT lost his then girlfriend Jeannie Franklyn in that infamous Fairport Convention motorway crash. 

Side 2 goes Country Rock with "Georgie On A Spree" - Linda relaying a sad tale of Isabel and her flash beau Georgie - King and Queen - with all the girls mad jealous as he drives his Chevrolet by - Isabel lording it in the passenger seat. Better for me is the fabulous "Old Man Inside A Young Man" - a so-Richard Thompson world-weary tale of old Billy rueing his loveless lot - tired of the madams who know how to extract cash from his loneliness. I know many adore "The Sun Never Shines On The Poor" - but I find its urchins writhing around in the bourgeoisie mud just a little too downtrodden masses for comfort. Having said that those acoustic guitars sound gorgeous on the Remaster. I feel fairly certain that many fans like myself would have raced towards the wistful ballad "A Heart Needs A Home" on this CD Remaster - eyes crying rivers - the world is no place to be in when you're on your own. 

The extras open with two Country rocked-up cover versions - Buddy Holly's "Wishing" and Merle Haggard's "I'm Turning Off A Memory" - both of which are good. Not surprisingly they also do one of the LP's strongest songs "A Heart Needs A Home" and the piano playing is lovely. Two live stints hit you and despite not having the greatest audio in the world, the accordion and guitar work in "Hokey Pokey" both sing (a sure fan pleasing moment). They then do another cover that of Jack Clement's "It'll Be Me" - a bopper in the Crawdaddy tradition - me looking for you - where the lights are blue...

There are some who say that "Hokey Pokey" is actually one of his best albums. I don't know about that in truth, but the musical gems on Island Remasters IMCD 305, the top class audio, the cool enhanced presentation and all of it washed down with a clutch of genuinely interesting extras - make this a proper CD reissue winner in my book. Give this one a lick when the ice cream bell rings out in your street...

"Living Game" by MICK GREENWOOD (June 2001 UK Voiceprint CD Remaster in Jewel Case with Altered Artwork - September 2006 JAPAN Air Mail Recordings ARCHIVE CD Remaster in Mini LP Repro Sleeve with Original Artwork - Denis Blackham and Yoshiro Kuzimaki Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…Truth Seeker…"

Mick Greenwood's debut album "Living Game" was released in the UK in September 1971 on MCA Records MDKS 8003 (November 1971 in the USA on Decca DL 75318) and was the 1st of his 3 albums in the early Seventies. 

The other two are "...To Friends" from October 1972 on MCA MKPS 2026 (March 1973 in the USA on MCA Records MCA-307) and "Midnight Dreamer" from September 1974 on Warner Brothers K 56059 (no USA release).

June 2001 saw all three reissued on CD (straightforward transfers in all cases) by the Voiceprint Label here in the UK with "Living Game" dubbed as Part One of 'The Mick Greenwood Teenage Trilogy' - the other two albums being Part Two & Three. Those 2001 Remasters pan out as follows - "Living Game" is Voiceprint VP222CD (Barcode 604388305629) - "...To Friends" is Voiceprint VP223CD (Barcode 604388305728) and "Midnight Dreamer" is Voiceprint VP224CD (Barcode 604388305827). There was also a box set containing all three CDs - 'The Mick Greenwood Teenage Trilogy' on Voiceprint VPBOX99CD.

As a further addendum – 20 September 2006 saw all three albums reissued again but this time in Repro Mini LP Original Artwork in JAPAN by Air Mail Recordings ARCHIVE – each with an OBI-Band and that 'Paper Sleeve' artwork (they are not SHMs). The "Living Game" Japan edition is a gatefold sleeve and even has the same colouring as the original British LP on the CD label and like the LP - the CD label calls the album "The Living Game" (attention to detail). NOTE: the UK Voiceprint Edition of his second album "...To Friends" features different artwork to the original UK LP while the third LP "Midnight Dreamer" features the original artwork albeit in an altered form. The only way to get the original UK/US album artwork is on these Japanese 2006 reissues - "Living Game" is AIRAC-1251 (Barcode 4571136372508) - "...To Friends" is AIRAC-1252 (Barcode 4571136372515) and "Midnight Dreamer" is AIRAC-1253 (Barcode 4571136372522). 

This review will focus on the September 2006 JAPAN CD Reissue on Air Mail Recordings Archive AIRAC-1251 (Barcode 4571136372508) – 39:20 minutes: 

1. Taxi [Side 1]

2. Friend Of Mine

3. Living Game

4. My Life

5. To The Sea

6. After The First World War [Side 2]

7. To The Farside

8. Truth Seeker

9. Situation Number Four

10. Keep Coming Back

11. Sight

MICK GREENWOOD - Vocals & Acoustic Guitar

JERRY DONAHUE - Electric Guitar

PAT DONALDSON - Bass Guitar

GERRY CONWAY - Drums, Percussion

TONY COX - Piano & Harmonium

(Tony Cox and Martin Cook produced the album with all songs written by Mick Greenwood)

Born in the UK but raised in the States from the age of 12 - Greenwood returned to London in 1970 in his early 20s to make music. He knew members of the FAIRPORT CONVENTION offshoot Folk Rock group FOTHERINGAY so when he went to make "Living Game" he was able to call on three of them - and along with keyboardist/producer Tony Cox - made up the band that feature on the album. 

The album has a quietly impressive list of guests from the Folk and Avant Jazz circuits of the time. Jazz session man and multi-instrumentalist LYNN DOBSON of THIRD EAR BAND adds flute to "Taxi", tenor sax to "Keep Coming Back" and plays sitar on "Sight".  CHRISTINE QUAYLE of the deeply underground DAYLIGHT adds lovely backing vocals to both "Situation Number Four" and "My Life". ANDY SMITH of THE IAN CAMPBELL FOLK GROUP also plays Banjo on "Situation Number Four". DAVE PEGG of FAIRPORT CONVENTION plays bass on "Situation Number Four" and "Sight". Later to appear with ASSAGAI on Vertigo and SPEAR on Virgin - South African avant-garde jazzman DUDU PUKWANA adds alto sax to "Keep Coming Back". KARL JENKINS of CENTIPEDE (would later form NUCLEUS) and his pals DEREK WADSWORTH (GINGER BAKER’S AIRFORCE) and BUD PARKES also play horns on the off-center "Keep Coming Back". 

The artwork on the Voiceprint CD has been altered slightly; the original front cover of the gatefold LP had the name and title of the album in script writing centered in the top window - Mick Greenwood Living Game – on the 2001 Voiceprint version it's been shortened to Living Game with his name removed entirely. The full-face photo that graced the rear of the gatefold sleeve is reproduced under the see-through tray and the same typo style used on the inner gatefold is also used to reproduce the lyrics and band credits in the booklet - nice touches on both counts. But the JAPANESE issue (being sticklers for detail) have gone back to the British LP and Reproduced it exactly as was – including the lyrics on the inside and even the original MCA vinyl catalogue numbers. The extra foldout glossy paper insert is one-sided and has only Japanese writing although it does advise that a 24-Bit Remaster was done in 2006 by YOSHIRO KUZUMAKI at CM Punch in Japan. And it sounds as spectacularly clean as the DENIS BLACKHAM one does for the 2001 UK variant. 

MCA/Decca released no less than three hard-to-find 7" singles in the USA and UK to promote the album, but none did any chart business:

1. "Living Game" b/w "To The Sea" was on Decca 32922 in the USA and MCA MKS 5074 in the UK (November 1971)

2. "Friend Of Mine" b/w "Situation Number Four" was on MCA MKS 5082 in the UK (February 1972)

 3. "After The First World War" b/w "Nobody Knows Me" on Decca 32962 in the USA and MCA MKS 5092 in the UK (May 1972)

As you can see from the album track list and my seven-inch singles discography provided above - "Nobody Knows Me" is a non-album B-side. Unfortunately, it's not featured as a bonus track on either CD variant - a damn shame that.

But the big revelation is the superb sound quality. DENIS BLACKHAM (of Skye Mastering in Scotland) has digitally remastered the first-generation tapes and he's achieved a beautiful job - warm, clean and full - far clearer than the cackles coming off my battered old vinyl copy. The JAPANESE issue is the same – super clean and clear – amazing audio for 1971. To the tunes…

If you were to describe the music, it would be a cross between Matthews Southern Comfort and Elton John circa "Madman Across The Water".  It isn't a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination and the hammy hippy-lifestyle lyrics on some of the songs irritated me then and may make many cringe now - but there's also a lot to love on here and isn't as dated as I feared it might be. 

The flute driven rock of the opener "Taxi" is excellent, the plaintive "Friend Of Mine" very Clifford T Ward, while the opening piano chords of "Living Game" are "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" three years before it was recorded.  For me "My Life" is gorgeous and will be gracing a 70's Fest CD-R somewhere near you soon. It's a truly lovely song and to hear the clarity of Pat Donaldson's bass playing on this excellent remaster is a genuine blast.

Then two lost classics appear, the strange yet funky "To The Farside" and the lovely string-driven ballad "Truth Seeker" - gems awaiting rediscovery for sure. The funky five-piece brass section on "Keep Coming Back" is superb and may even appeal to soul boys who like the funky side of rock, while Lynn Dobson's sitar combined with Ned Balen's Tablas on "Sight" will have you running for the joss sticks on Sunday morning. It ends the album on a lovely trippy up-note. Pretty impressive stuff really - 45 years on and it still sounds good.

To sum up, Mick Greenwood's 1971 Debut Album "Living Game" is a three to four-star Folk Rock album given a five star remaster and is well worth your checking out. 

Recommended to those looking to explore an underrated and forgotten songsmith from the Seventies...and I've also reviewed "Midnight Dreamer" on this Blog...

“The North Star Grassman And The Ravens” by SANDY DENNY. A Review of her iconic 1971 debut album now reissued & remastered onto CD in 2005.

SANDY DENNY is part of my Series "SOUNDS GOOD: Exceptional CD Remasters 1970s Rock And Pop" Download Book available to buy on Amazon to either your PC or Mac (it will download the Kindle software to read the book for free to your toolbar). Click on the link below to go my Author's Page for this and other related publications:

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“…The Depths Of The Waters…”

The two-word secret weapon for this CD remaster is DENIS BLACKHAM.

Now based in Skye Mastering in Scotland, his involvement in restoration, mastering and remastering goes back to the late 1960s and his resume now shows over 680 credits to his name across a huge range of genres (including a lot of folk).

Blackham has handled all 4 of the solo albums in this reissue series and as you’ve no doubt read from other glowing reviews, each remaster has been endowed with truly wonderful sound quality – frankly because care was taken.

Details first - having done her stints with Fairport Convention and Fotheringay - Sandy Denny’s 1st solo album was issued 3 September 1971 on Island ILPS 9165 in the UK and this 2005 remastered version of it (57:05 minutes) features 4 excellent bonus tracks – including the rare “El Pea” double-album sampler version of “Late November” – an alternate version to the album’s opening track (lyrics above).

Musicians - all the good Fairport associated people are here – Richard Thompson, Pat Donaldson, Gerry Conway, Trevor Lucas and Ian Whiteman. Polydor Folkmill artists Robin and Barry Dransfield also put in violin and vocals on “John The Gun” while long-time session man Tony Reeves plays bass on the Dylan cover “Down In The Flood” and Roger Powell plays drums on the Brenda Lee cover “Let’s Jump The Broomstick”. But my personal fave is “The Sea Captain” where Richard Thompson’s delicate guitar picking perfectly compliments the beauty of her wayfaring love song. Gorgeous stuff.

The 12-page booklet has informative and affectionate liner notes from noted writer and folk-compiler DAVID SUFF (of Fledgling Records reissue fame) peppered with photos of a young Sandy, hand-written lyrics to the title track and a quirky trade advert for the LP’s release.

But you keep coming back to the sound quality, which seems to have lifted the beauty of these folk-rock gems out of their former muddiness. Sweet as…

I once had the privilege of nattering to JOHN WALTERS (John Peel’s producer) in a pub in 1994 (I worked for Reckless Records at the time and we were buying his extraordinary record collection - he was even more talkative than I am!) and he relayed to me his first ever viewing of Sandy Denny.

One of his friends in the music industry had begged him to come see this new English folk singer gigging in some Godforsaken bar somewhere in London – he did – and was duly blown away. I’ll never forget the look in John Walter’s eyes (who along with Peel must have seen so much stunning talent) – he was misty – like he knew he’d had the chance to glimpse greatness.

On listening to this lovely and lovingly restored CD, you can’t help but feel that all involved in this project felt exactly the same - and have done the great lady’s memory and musical heritage proud.

Recommended - big time.