"Spectromorphic Iridescence: The Complete Ffolly" by RAINBOW FFOLLY - featuring their May 1968 UK Debut Album "Sallies Fforth" on Parlophone Records in Both Mono and Stereo, Period Rarities and Their 2016 "Ffollow Up" Album (February 2019 UK Grapefruit Records 3CD Clamshell Box Set – Simon Murphy Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Ffollow Up..."

You have to love the sheer hutzpah of England's Grapefruit Records – I had to do a spellcheck on Spectromorphic Iridescence, let alone rack my brains on whether or not I actually remember 'Rainbow Ffolly' in my advanced dotage (hard to remember anything at 62). Turns out, these reissue madmen want me to hear a whole lotta Rainbow, and in the best moments, I can now hear why...

Born out of the burgeoning Psych musical explosion consuming 1967 and beyond - Buckinghamshire's Force Four were in a studio recording song appetisers when they realised they needed a hipper identity and so became RAINBOW FFOLLY. Slinging their demo album at the behemoth that was all things Electrical and Musical Industries - EMI's label imprint Parlophone (home of The Beatles) figured why not - "Peppers" and "Magical Mystery Tour" had blown the world open the year prior – so had the Floyd with "Pipers" and people raved about the Pretties and their curate's egg "SF Sorrow" (even if it didn't shift copies by the crate-load like the Fabs did).

And so in May 1968 (and the whole LP apparently still in all but demo form), our heroes get their one Beach Boys-sounding platter of the period "Sallies Fforth" to appear in Blighty in Mono and Stereo – all sexy pants in its appropriately far out sleeve. But despite favourable press reviews about original material and great ideas ("Drive My Car" is their own and not a Beatles cover), the public felt they had other things to do on the King's Road.

Flash-forward to 2016 and remaining members of the 60ts band put together a 'belated' second LP cleverly called "Ffollow Up" on their own Footprints Vinyl label (500 copies only) that featured similar drawn artwork to their much prized and expensive 60ts original LP (at times in the last few years, "Sallies Fforth" has reached four figures on auction sites). Always ones to do something wildly un-commercial and naughtily over-the-top, Grapefruit Records of the UK (part of Cherry Red) decided in 2019 to damn the lysergic mushrooms and clump the whole shebang into one place along with a wad of rare and previously unreleased accompaniments. So my pimply iridescent lava-lamp types - let's board the p-p-p-purple bus and multi-coloured sailing ship to yesteryear...

UK released 1 February 2019 – "Spectromorphic Iridescence: The Complete Ffolly" by RAINBOW FFOLLY on Grapefruit Records WCRSEGBOX052 (Barcode 5013929185203) is a 3CD Clamshell Box Set of Remasters that plays out as follows:

CD1 "Sallies Fforth (Stereo)" – May 1968 UK Debut LP on Parlophone PCS 7050 in STEREO (52:18 minutes):

1. She's Alright [Side 1]

2. I'm So Happy

3. Montgolfier '67

4. Drive My Car

5. Goodbye

6. Hey You

7. Sun Sing

8. Sun And Sand

9. Labour Exchange

10. They'm

11. No

12. Sighing Game

13. Come On Go

BONUS TRACKS:

14. Drive My Car (Single Mix)

15. Go Girl

Tracks 14 and 15 are their debut UK 45 from May 1968 on Parlophone R 5701

16. Sun Sing (Early Demo)

17. Come On Go (Early Demo)

18. The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill (Studio Demo)

Tracks 16 and 17 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED Studio Demos recorded May 1967 as FORCE FOUR

Track 18 is a PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED Studio Demo recorded circa December 1968 as RAINBOW FFOLLY

CD2 "Sallies Fforth (Mono)" – May 1968 UK Debut LP on Parlophone PMC 7050 in MONO (75:23 minutes):

Tracks 1 to 13 as per the LP on CD1

BONUS TRACKS:

14. Hospital Radio Jingle No. 1

15. Sunshine Of Your Love 16. Hospital Radio Jingle No. 2

17. Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds 18. Hospital Radio Jingle No. 3

19. Gimme Little Sign 20. Hospital Radio Jingle No. 4

21. I Can't Let Maggie Go 22. Hospital Radio Jingle No. 5

23. Sabrosa 24. Hospital Radio Jingle No. 6

25. The Bells Of Rhymney 26. Hospital Radio Jingle No. 7

27. Bonita 28. Hospital Radio Jingle No. 8

29. I Can Hear The Grass Grow 30. Hospital Radio Jingle No. 9

31. Something Else 32. Hospital Radio Jingle No. 10

33. Hold Me Tight 34. Hospital Radio Jingle No. 11

35. I'm So Happy (Part) 36. Hospital Radio Jingle No. 12

37. She's Alright 38. Hospital Radio Jingle No. 13

Tracks 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25 and 27 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED Home Demos recorded 1968

Tracks 29, 31, 33, 35, and 37 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED BBC Radio Broadcasts recorded December 1968

Tracks 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36 and 38 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED Hospital Jingles recorded late 1967 and early 1968 

CD3: "Ffollow Up" - July 2016 UK LP on Footprints Vinyl Records FV 16002 (58:34 minutes):

1. Single Cell Amoeba

2. Postcard

3. My Love Has Gone

4. White Swan

5. Cars

6. Sky Angels

7. Noah

8. Slow Down Zone

9. Countdown

10. Shoes

11. Is It Over?

12. Wot Do They Know?

13. Crazy Woman

14. All We Have Left

15. Parcel of Pigs

16. Nonesuch Sweetness

17. Tour De Fforce

18. Bathers Of The Lost Ark

Tracks 1 to 11 and 17 and 18 are the 2016 LP

Tracks 3, 6 and 10 were Subsequently Remixed 

Tracks 12 to 16 are Extras and PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

RAINBOW FFOLLY was:

JOHN DUNSTERVILLE - Lead Guitar and Vocals

RICHARD DUNSTERVILLE - Rhythm Guitar and Vocals

ROGER NEWELL - Bass and Vocals

STEWART OSBORN - Drums and Percussion

The 20-page booklet inside the clamshell box set features new liner notes from Grapefruit's DAVID WELLS, period photos, London Evening News cuttings from October 1968, seven-inch single demo and French picture sleeve for their "Drive My Car" 45, live photos, gig posters from 1968 where they shared stages with artists as diverse as The Skatalites, Keef Hartley and Edwin Starr and an uppercoming bunch of Glam Rockers called The Sweet. It is informative and affectionate and the mastering is care of long-time Audio Engineer associate SIMON MURPHY over at Another Planet. The audio is a mixed bag - the STEREO variant superb (I prefer it over the Mono) but those Dave Cash Show and seven Previously Unreleased home demos on Disc 2 betray a lo-fi recording process. Then I dare say, if you're buying a Box Set like this, you know to take the rough with the smooth when it comes to 60ts fidelity...

Excepting three songs - "Sun And Sand", "No" and "Sighing Game" which were co-writes - the majority of the tunes were solely provided by the Lead Guitarist part of the Dunsterville brothers - John. "She's Alright" opens the English whimsical proceedings with a French voice lead-in followed by Beach Boys harmonies that sound like an outtake from "Pet Sounds" - I think that she's fine. Immediately followed by the dooby-dooby-do of "I'm So Happy" where the Rainbows sound like The Beatles meets Buddy Holly meets an embryonic 10cc - such is the fiendishly clever melodies cascading out of your speakers. Two tunes in and already you're thinking 'forgotten and overlooked masterpiece'. Yellow, blue and green - the finest colours ever seen in "Montgolfier '67" is brilliant and you really wish they had been given the benefit of a decent production by EMI (it's good but could have been so much more). Other winners include the pretty acoustic ballad "Goodbye" (your eyes betray the setting sun) while the fuzzed-up geetar of "Hey You" is mad Psych that feels like Jeff Beck having a stop-start whig-out on his Fender. By the time you get to "Labour Exchange" where our boys bemoan the English dole system and the very Byrds/Association vibe to "Sighing Game" - you're beginning to be very impressed indeed by the musical breaks in each tune - not just copyist but original and harmonious. I have to say I love the STEREO version of this, which brings out those fab and groovy harmony vocals more.

Fans are going to go after the cover-versions fest that is most of Disc 2 - very crude (but acceptable) versions of Cream's "Sunshine Of My Love" and The Beatles "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" (from "Peppers") and the White Album's whimsical "The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill". Better is their 60ts R&B cover of Brenton Wood's wonderful "Gimme Little Sign" and The Move's "I Can Hear The Grass Grow". For sure most of the six and seven-second jingles will test your patience and its arguable they should have stayed in the can - but they can easily be forgotten when you hear their frantic Freakbeat cover of Eddie Cochran's "Something Else".

Amongst collectors with deep pockets and much love for the period and its genres - the core album of "Sallies "Fforth" commands big money for a reason (its so bloody good). So it’s cool to hear both variants of this unfairly forgotten LP (Mono and Stereo) be given a tasty brushing-up on this exemplary box set. For sure, the average listener will never need much of the rest, but I for one am a tad chuffed to see such a missed opportunity in 1968 be given its proper due all these decades later. 2019 followed up rather well really...

"Gathered From Coincidence: The British Folk-Pop Sound Of 1965-66" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – featuring Donovan, The Searchers, Marc Bolan, The Hollies, Peter and Gordon, Chad and Jeremy, The Kytes, Tony Jackson, The Chosen Few, Beverley, Folk Blues Incorporated, Barbara Ruskin, The Kinks, Manfred Mann, Davey Graham, Mick Softley, Murray Head, Heinz and more (June 2018 UK Grapefruit Records 3CD 78-Track Mini Clamshell Box Set – Simon Murphy Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Jingle Jangle Morning..."

In the chock-a-block 44-page booklet that accompanies this superb little theme trek through our jingle jangle mornings of old - there's an advert for the Rickenbacker Guitar as endorsed by John Lennon (The Beatle Backer they cleverly tell us) above a photo of The Uglys making grimace-faces and sticking out their tongues at the camera – a shot that mimics their band name and a promo session they undoubtedly had a hoot doing. Only in one of these Grapefruit Records 3CD Box Sets do you get such detail - and bluntly - images we old farts haven't generally seen before.

Three discs with seventy-nine tracks (last song on Disc 3, Track 27, is hidden and not documented on the box or in the booklet) and all of it compiled by good men and true with faded Donovan tattoos on their willies, radioactive hair on their chests and passports to non-extradition countries – JOHN REED and Grapefruit's own DAVID WELLS. Fans of the humble 45 will also notice that almost every entry here is a 7" single from years that are largely underrepresented (many rare B-sides seeing the digital light of day for the first time) - so they too will be looking at "Gathered From Coincidence..." with a lusty eye.

It’s not all plain sailing however. 1965 and 1966 were about innovators – Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, The Stones, The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Love, Buffalo Springfield and especially Bob Dylan. The problem with this set is that so many copyists slipped quickly into their wake and at times, "Gathered From Coincidence: The British Folk-Pop Sound Of 1965-66" feels like a collection of those that followed – those that jumped on a bandwagon – even slagged it off at times because it might get them some chart action. Some of this music is great, but there is fair whack of it that feels derivative and you can so hear why much of it was forgotten and makes for an uncomfortable listen now.

Still, there is a sunset mountain of info to wade through, wind to catch, mornings to call and times that had the sheer audacity to be changin' - so let's have at it...

UK released 29 June 2018 – "Gathered From Coincidence: The British Folk-Pop Sound Of 1965-66" on Grapefruit Records CRSEGBOX043 (Barcode 5013929184305) is a 3CD 79-Track Mini Clamshell Box Set of Remasters that plays out as follows (note: the box has 26 tracks listed on each disc, so a visual total of 78, but Disc 3 has a hidden Track 27, hence 79-tracks in total):

CD1 "In The Jingle Jangle Morning" (66:18 minutes):

1. Take Me For What I'm Worth - THE SEARCHERS (November 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15992, A-side)

2. Morning's Calling - PETER and GORDON (September 1966 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 8003, B-side of "Lady Godiva")

3. Come And Stay With Me - MARIANNE FAITHFULL (February 1965 UK 7" single on Decca F 12075, A-side)

4. Follow Me - THE TONY JACKSON GROUP (September 1966 UK 7" single on CBS 202297, A-side)

5. It's Your Turn To Cry - TERRY KENNEDY and JOHN CARTER (June 1966 UK 7" single on Piccadilly 7N 35324, B-side of "Doesn't Anybody Make Short Movies Any More)

6. Rejected - THE FENMEN (August 1966 UK 7" single on CBS 202236, A-side)

7. I Love Her Still - THE POETS (July 1965 UK 7" single on Decca F 12195, B-side of "I Am So Blue")

8. Frosted Panes - THE KYTES (September 1966 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17179, A-side)

9. Golden Lights - TWINKLE (February 1965 UK 7" single on Decca F 12076, A-side)

10. I Won't Be Round You Anymore - THE CHOSEN FEW (30 July 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15905, A-side)

11. Absolutely Sweet Marie - THE FACTOTUMS (November 1966 UK 7" single on Piccadilly 7N 35355, B-side of "I Can't Give You Anything But Love")

12. Hey Woman - KENNY BERNARD (December 1966 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17233, A-side)

13. Hey Mama You've Been On My Mind - THE CARAVELLES (January 1967 UK 7" single on Polydor BM 56137, A-side)

14. Don't Go Away - THE ZOMBIES (November 1965 UK 7" single on Decca F 12296, B-side of "Is This The Dream")

15. Now The Sun Has Gone - THE BEATMEN (March 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15792, A-side)

16. Think About The Times - THE TIMES (January 1966 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 7804, A-side)

17. Penny Arcade - MICHAEL LESLIE (August 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15908, A-side)

18. Beyond The Risin' Sun - MARC BOLAN (November 1965 UK 7" single on Decca F 12288, B-side of "The Wizard")

19. Till You Say You'll Be Mine - OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN (May 1966 UK 7" single on Decca F 12396, A-side)

20. Go Away - THE MIRAGE featuring GRAHAM NASH (not originally issued Demo version, recorded circa September 1965)

21. It's All Leading Up To Saturday Night - THE KNACK (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED, Recorded July 1966)

22. You've Cooled - FIVE STEPS BEYOND (not originally issued, recorded August 1966)

23. There's Just No Pleasing You - THE EPICS (April 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15829, A-side)

24. Splendor In The Grass - GULLIVER'S PEOPLE (April 1966 UK 7" single on Parlophone R 5435, A-side)

25. Mr. Smith - THE FORESTERS (December 1966 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 8086, A-side)

26. It's All Over Now Baby Blue - THE COPS 'N ROBBERS (August 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15928, A-side)

Track 21 is PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED  

CD2 "Too Many Protest Singers, Not Enough Protest Songs" (71:40 minutes):

1. Like A Rolling Stone - THE OTHER SIDE (March 1966 Swedish 7" single on Karussell KFF 664, A-side)

2. Well, How Does It Feel? - BARBARA RUSKIN (October 1965 UK 7" single on Piccadilly 7N 35274, A-side)

3. Lovers Of The World Unite - DAVID and JONATHAN (June 1966 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 7950, A-side)

4. Catch The Wind - DONOVAN (March 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15801, A-side)

5. Age Of Corruption - ALAN KLEIN (November 1965 UK 7" single on Parlophone R 5370, A-side)

6. Blessed - GUY DARRELL (June 1966 UK 7" single on CBS 202082, B-side of "I've Been Hurt")

7. That Man's Got No Luck - GARY BENSON (January 1966 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17032, A-side)

8. It's Good News Week - HEDGEHOPPERS ANONYMOUS (September 1965 UK 7" single on Decca F 12241, A-side)

9. The Bells - DAVE HELLING (December 1965 UK 7" single on Planet PLF 101, B-side of "Christine")

10. Very Last Day - THE HOLLIES (from their September 1965 UK debut LP "The Hollies" on Parlophone PMC 1261 in Mono)

11. Sometime Never Day - BILL FAY (not originally issued, recorded circa mid-1966)

12. Don't You Cry Over Me - THE SLADE BROTHERS (October 1965 UK 7" single on Piccadilly 7N 15966, A-side)

13. When The Ship Comes In - FOLK BLUES INCORPORATED (August 1966 UK 7" single on Eyemark EMS 1006, A-side)

14. Wake Up My Mind - THE UGLY'S (May 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15858, A-side)

15. Please Don't Switch Off The Moon Mr. Spaceman - NICHOLAS HAMMOND (March 1966 UK 7" single on Piccadilly 7N 35302, A-side)

16. The Protest Singer - MICHA (October 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15982, A-side)

17. Square Peg - THE FOUR PENNIES (June 1966 UK 7" single on Philips BF 1491, B-side of "Keep The Freeway Open")

18. Gotta Make Their Future Bright - FIRST GEAR (January 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15763, B-side of "The 'In' Crowd")

19. The Bells Of Rhymney - MURRAY HEAD (November 1965 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 7771, A-side)

20. Don't Talk To Me Of Protest - JONATHAN KING (November 1965 UK 7" single on Decca F 12286, B-side of "Where The Sun Has Never Shone")

21. Dejection - FIVE'S COMPANY (not originally issued Demo version, recorded December 1965)

22. That's Not My Kind Of Love - MICK SOFTLEY with THE SUMMER SUNS (December 1966 UK 7" single on CBS 202469, B-side of "Am I The Red One")

23. Don't Sing No Sad Songs For Me – THE SORROWS (from their November 1965 UK LP "Take A Heart" on Piccadilly NPL 38023 in Mono)

24. Rattle Of A Toy - TOMMY YATES (November 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15980, A-side)

25. Talkin' Denmark Street - JOHN CASSIDIE (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, recorded late 1965)

26. The Times They Are A-Changin' - THE IAN CAMPBELL FOLK GROUP (March 1965 UK 7" single on Transatlantic TRA SP 5, A-side)

Track 25 is PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

CD3 "Gather Round, All You Clowns" (70:50 minutes):

1. You've Got To Hide Your Love Away - THE SILKIE (September 1965 UK 7" single on Fontana TF 603, A-side)

2. Wait Till The Summer Comes Along - THE KINKS (from the September 1965 "Kwyet Kinks" UK 4-Track EP on Pye NEP 24221, Track 1 on Side 1)

3. Don't Make Promises (You Can't Keep) - PETER NELSON (April 1966 UK 7" single on Piccadilly 7N 35314, A-side)

4. Cheryl's Going Home - ADAM FAITH (October 1966 UK 7" single on Parlophone R 5516, A-side)

5. If You Gotta Go, Go Now - MANFRED MANN (September 1965 UK 7" single on HMV POP 1466, A-side)

6. I'm Looking Through You - DAVEY GRAHAM (from the July 1966 UK LP "Midnight Man" on Decca LK 4780 in Mono)

7. Night Comes Down - JON-MARK (February 1965 UK 7" single on Brunswick 05929, B-side of "Baby I Got A Long Way To Go")

8. Early Morning Rain - THE SETTLERS (May 1966 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17104, A-side)

9. Sadness Hides The Sun - GRETA ANN (June 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15856, A-side)

10. Thank You Boy - DANA GILLESPIE (October 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15962, A-side)

11. Love Minus Zero No Limit - THE COMPROMISE (March 1966 UK 7" single on CBS 202050, B-side of "You Will Think Of Me")

12. Day Must Come - JUSTIN HAYWARD of The Moody Blues (December 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17014, B-side of "London Is Behind Me")

13. The Clown In The Alley - MEIC STEVENS (not originally issued, recorded September 1965)

14. I'm On Your Side - THE FRUGAL SOUND (June 1966 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17129, B-side of "Just Outside The Door")

15. London Town - THE PRETTY THINGS (from the August 1965 "Rainin' In My Heart" UK EP Four-Track single on Fontana TE 17442, Track 2 on Side 1)

16. Picking Up The Sunshine (aka "Bert's Blues") - BEVERLEY [later became Beverley Martyn, John Martyn's wife] (not originally issued, recorded March 1966)

17. Corrina Corrina - THE NIGHTSHIFT (May 1965 UK 7" single on Piccadilly 7N 35243, A-side)

18. Listen People - SARAH JANE (May 1966 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17114, A-side - written by Graham Gouldman of 10cc)

19. Four Strong Winds - CHAD and JEREMY (from the January 1965 US LP "Sing For You" on World Artists WAM 2005 in Mono)

20. So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad) - THE GREENBEATS (April 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15843, A-side)

21. Don't Think Twice It's Alright - HEINZ with THE WILD BOYS (30 April 1965 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 7559, A-side)

22. Today Is The Highway - THE RAMBLERS TWO (November 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15989, A-side)

23. Love Is Strange - THE OVERLANDERS (from the December 1966 UK LP "Go With The Overlanders And The Settlers" (shared with The Settlers) on Pye NPL 18163 in Mono)

24. Subterranean Homesick Blues - CHAS McDEVITT and SHIRLEY DOUGLAS (from the August 1965 UK LP "Sixteen Big Folk Hits" on Columbia 33SX 1738 in Mono)

25. Mary Anne - THE SHADOWS (February 1965 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 7476, A-side)

26. The Carnival Is Over - THE SEEKERS (October 1965 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 7711, A-side)

BONUS TRACK (unannounced, undocumented):

27. Crossroads – TONY HATCH SOUND (September 1966 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17169, A-side, Theme Music to the Famous British TV show)

There are two catalogue number errors in the otherwise exemplary booklet - The Caravelles single on Disc One is listed as Polydor BM 13657 when it's BM 56137 and the Dave Helling B-side on Disc Two is listed as Planet PLF 001 when its PLF 101. Outside of that you page-after-page of fabulous cover art, promo photos, trade adverts, concert posters, flyers and even Beat instrumental magazine covers. Every single song is embellished with the kind of in-depth info that can only come from research that borders on mental instability - or worse - people in the music business who gives a damn. It's a properly informative and entertaining read and fantastic to look at. The individually crafted card sleeves have rear artwork that's made to look like a British flip-back LP sleeve of the mid 60ts and feature The Searchers pictured on Disc 1, Donovan on Disc 2 with Chad & Jeremy on Disc 3 (well done ANDY MORTEN).

As you can imagine, the largely Mono Audio is a wildly varied affair - swaying between glorious and just ok - but always better than expected - with the SIMON MURPHY Remasters impressing more times than not. To the pop folks...

With "Bringing It All Back Home" and "Highway 61 Revisited" in 1965 and the mighty double-album "Blonde On Blonde" in the spring of 1966 - the long shadow of Bob Dylan's titanic influence is everywhere. Cops 'N Robbers did "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" - The Other Side interpreted "Like A Rolling Stones" - Folk Blues Incorporated attacked "When The Ship Comes In" and Manfred Mann had a lash at "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" to name but a few. And even if it wasn't a Zim-cover (The Nightshift dug deep and covered Dylan's "Corrina Corrina") - Bob's style and political leanings are so inherent in the catch-that-trend musings of Barbara Ruskin, Guy Darrell, Heinz and so many others. The Sorrows went one further and slyly slagged him off in their "Don't Sing No Sad Songs For Me" - not that I think the Bobster was listening somehow.

That other huge sound (always unfairly overlooked too) is the chiming guitar-jangle of America's The Byrds and the melodious beauty so often found in England's own Donovan and his best work (his own "Catch The Wind" s on Disc 2 while John Martyn's future wife Beverley has a go at "Picking Up The Sunshine" on Disc 3). Even the Beatles, who's more easy-to-interpret tunes like "I'm Looking Through You" and "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" got a swinging Acoustic makeover by the likes of Davey Graham and The Silkie. Covers of American Folkies too include Gordon Lightfoot (The Settlers on Disc 3), Tim Hardin (Peter Nelson on Disc 3), Pete Seeger (Murray Head on Disc 2), Peter, Paul & Mary (The Hollies on Disc 2), Jackie DeShannon (Gulliver's People on Disc 2), Ian Tyson (Chad & Jeremy on Disc 3) and even Mickey & Sylvia (The Overlanders on Disc 3) - all get a feature here.

Highlights and discoveries for me include ex Searchers Lead Singer and Bassist Tony Jackson and his excellent "Follow Me", the unbelievably pretty John Carter B-side "It's Your Turn To Cry" while pastoral-string lovers will dig The Kytes doing "Frosted Panes". The Kenny Bernard song "Hey Woman" will be instantly recognised as he claimed Chas Chandler nicked it for Hendrix who would of course change the word woman to Joe and do a note-for-note copy. The Times and Michael Leslie channel their inner Monkees and Herman’s Hermits for "Think About The Times" and "Penny Arcade". I wasn’t expecting much from The Mirage demo with Graham Nash clearly singing and strumming but it’s a pleasant discovery and I dig the Eric Burdon and The Animals raw vibe to "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" by The Cops ‘N Robbers (lyrics from the song give this box set its name).

Cook and Greenway supplied the irrepressibly chirp "Lovers Of The World Unite" for David & Jonathan (great audio) but it's trounced by a song of genuine beauty – Donovan doing his (try and) "Catch The Wind". Alan Klein speaks some staggeringly uncomfortable truths about deliberately recorded records you hope will be banned from the airwaves, infamy gained through obscure lyrics and politico-themes directed at the youth in his brilliant and Alien-acidic "Age Of Corruption" – as vicious a song as you've ever heard about singers and the music business. Countering that is "It's Good News Week", a genuinely heartfelt and sincere appraisal of a screwed-up world - while future Judas Iscariot vocalist ("Jesus Christ Superstar") Murray Head worries about vandals and social dropouts in Cardiff. Unable to resist parodying the real deal - John Cassidie is practically aping every Dylan nuance is his fab guitar/harmonica commentary on all things Bob - "Talkin' Denmark Street" And on it goes...to a hidden track on Disc 3, Tony Hatch and His Orchestra doing the theme music to the famous British TV show "Crossroads" (UK hotels do Folk and Protest as well you know).

For sure not everything here is going to make folks dance for joy and the argument that lots of it is derivative and hence not of value is a valid one (hence the three stars).

But you have to hand it to Grapefruit Records – they know how to dig deep and show us a corner of music and its staggering canopy we’d forgotten about and should shelter under again. And ain't that best, baby blue... 

"The Sonet Anthology" by BRETT MARVIN AND THE THUNDERBOLTS featuring Terry Dactyl And The Dinosaurs and Jona Lewie – Featuring The Albums "Brett Marvin And The Thunderbolts" (May 1970), "12 Inches Of..." (May 1971), "Ten Legged Friend" (December 1973) as well as May 1970 BBC Sessions and Terry Dactyl And The Dinosaurs Material from 1971 to 1973 with Jona Lewie Solo Material from 1971 to 1977 and more (February 2020 UK Grapefruit Records 6CD Clamshell Box Set – Simon Murphy Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Ten Legged Friend..."

When I worked as a Rarities buyer at Reckless Records in Soho, London (a 20-year stretch) - Brett Marvin and The Thunderbolts albums didn't sell. Even in the 2018 Rare Record Price Guide, the first is listed at £15 and the second at £20 - peanuts really for albums spewed forth in 1970 and 1971 - 50 years ago. A strong contender for a top-ten placing in the worst artwork ever issued, the third LP called "Ten Legged Friend" from 1973 isn’t listed at all - even though I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve actually seen a copy across 40-50 years of collecting on all formats.

But here's the point - and it's one that's made in the 36-page booklet that accompanies this surprisingly brill 6CD box set. Although the music rocked and is a discovery many will thoroughly enjoy making in 2020 - the made-up-name of 'Brent Marvin and The Thunderbolts' complete with the cheesy artwork on their debut album that looked like some bad budget calypso compilation (the likes of which you used to see in Woolworth's for 69p) - did for the band. The music was ace - the presentation, a complete misfire. You look at that name and these records and think cheapo Rock 'n' Roll revivalists - when this British five-piece Blues Boom ensemble was one of the best good-time Boogie bands on the scene (and on vinyl records, damn good too). Hell, the first LP even has the magical Jo Ann Kelly giving it some downhome duet vocals - masquerading under the pseudonym of 'Memphis 'Lil'.

So what are we dealing with here musically – for the first three LPs think of the homemade percussion-stick-with-bells Jug Band stomp and fun of Mungo Jerry combined with the chromatic Harmonica of Canned Heat meets the Bluesy slide guitar of Duster Bennett on Blue Horizon records and then add the three-string gutbucket modern-day geetar-sound of Seasick Steve - and you get an idea of what's on offer here. Tony McPhee of The Groundhogs caught them in their natural live habitat, liked what he heard and with an invite (recorded June 1969), both founder members Graham Hine and Jim Pitts and the band all got some first-audio-outing tracks on the Blues Rock Sampler LP "I Asked For Water, She Gave Me GASOLINE" issued in October 1969 (Liberty LBS 83252 is in itself a collectable these days). They then signed to the Blues and Folk orientated Sonet Records of Sweden in early 1970, recorded the debut and it was in the shops by May.

They then morph into a sideshow group called 'Terry Dactyl & The Dinosaurs' for a one-off novelty track that was issued on Sonet in 1971 and dies. But talent hunter Jonathan King at UK Records smells a hit, licenses it for a July 1972 re-launch on UK R 5 and suddenly they have a huge No. 2 chart smash with "Sea Side Shuffle". From this two-band identity, John Lewis turns into the alter ego of Jona Lewie and goes into a solo career on Sonet until 1977 (he finally has a solo hit with "You'll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties" on Stiff Records in 1980 - unfortunately outside the remit of this Box Set).

So it's all a bit mad really and actually rather brilliant too. With six discs, there's a boatload of seaside shuffles to wade through, so let's have at it...

UK released 28 February 2020 - "The Sonet Anthology" by BRETT MARVIN and THE THUNDERBOLTS featuring Terry Dactyl and The Dinosaurs and Jona Lewie on Grapefruit CRSEGBOX064 (Barcode 5013929186408) is a 6CD Clamshell Box Set of Remasters that plays out as follows:

CD1 (50:49 minutes):

1. Dust My Boom [Side 1]

2. Too Many Hot Dogs

3. Haven't Got Any Hay

4. Walking Blues

5. Eyesight To The Blind

6. Shave 'Em Dry

7. Drop Down Mama [Side 2]

8. Calcutta Got Beggar

9. Don't Start Me Talking

10. Cincinnati Cream

11. Highway 61

12. Hairy

13. Bye Bye Baby

Tracks 1 to 13 are their debut album "Brett Marvin And The Thunderbolts" - released May 1970 in the UK on Sonet Records SNTF 616. The album version of "Shave 'Em Dry" is 7:42 minutes and features duet vocals by 'Memphis 'Lil' who is JO ANN KELLY

BONUS TRACKS:

14. Shave 'Em Dry (Single Edit, 3:08 minutes) - 1970 French-Only 45 single on Barclay 061388 ("Too Many Hot Dogs" was the B-side)

15. Standing On The Platform - 1970 UK Non-Album 45 single on Sonet SON 2011 ("Too Many Hot Dogs" was the B-side)  

CD2 (45:15 minutes):

1. Take Your Money [Side 1]

2. I'm Coming

3. Southbound Lane

4. Love In Jest

5. Thoughts Of You

6. I'm Ready

7. Milk Cow Blues [Side 2]

8. County Jail

9. Little Red Caboose

10. Come On In My Kitchen

11. Goin' Back

Tracks 1 to 11 are their second studio album "12 Inches Of Brett Marvin And The Thunderbolts" - released May 1971 in the UK on Sonet Records SNTF 619

BONUS TRACK:

12. Coming Back - 1971 UK Non-Album 45 B-side to "Thoughts Of You" on Sonet SON 2015 ("Coming Back" is an Alternative Version of "I'm Coming" on the second album)

CD3 (57:55 minutes):

1. Thunderbolt Rag [Side 1]

2. Bank Holiday

3. Bye Bye Baby

4. Wrong Man

5. Bay Roller

6. Drinking Song

7. She Walked Right Out Of The Blue [Side 2]

8. You Got Me On The Hook

9. Doo-Dah-Doo-Dah

10. The Clown

11. Make It To The Woods

12. Boys In The Band

Tracks 1 to 12 are their and final studio album of the period "Three Legged Friend" - released December 1973 in the UK on Sonet SNTF 651.

BONUS TRACKS:

13. Thunderbolt Rag (Alternative Version)

14. Caribbean Zob-Rock

Tracks 13 and 14 are the non-album A&B-sides of a March 1974 UK 45 Single on Sonet SON 2038

15. Blow Me Down

Track 15 is the non-album A-side of a May 1975 UK 45 on Sonet SON 2053 ("Take Your Money" from the 2nd LP was its B-side)

16. Hawaiian Honeymoon

17. If You Need Somebody Call On Me 

Tracks 15 and 16 are the non-album A&B-sides of an August 1975 UK 45 Single on Sonet SON 2062

CD4 (62:35 minutes):

1. Roll And Tumble

2. Short Woogie

3. Nervous

4. Walking Blues

5. Don't Start Me talking

6. Cincinnati Underworld Woman

7. Milk Cow Blues

8. Come On In My Kitchen

9. Little Red Caboose

10. Take Your Money And Go Down The Road

11. I'm Ready

12. Hot Weather

13. Too Many Hot Dogs (aka "Chicken A La Blues")

14. Walking Blues

15. Make It To The Woods

16. Spoonful

17. Phonograph Blues

Tracks 1 to 17 issued as the CD compilation "Vintage Thunderbolts" in October 1999 on Mooncrest CRESTCD 041Z (Barcode 766126804129)

BONUS TRACKS:

18. Brian Matthew trailer

19. Brian Matthew intro

20. Goin' Back

21. Too Many Hot Dogs

Tracks 18 to 21 are a May 1970 BBC Radio 1 Session with Brian Matthew – taken from Top Of the Pops Transcription Disc 291 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (2020)

CD5 "Boogie Street" (69:48 minutes):

1. Crossroads

2. No Worries

3. Be Ready When He Comes

4. Hurry Up Train

5. How Many More Years

6. You're Gonna Need Somebody By Your Side 

7. Little Red Rooster

8. Big City Beat

9. Free Again

10. Phonograph Blues

11. Greedy Woman

12. Devil And The Deep Blue Sea

13. Lost Lover Blues

14. Tough Times

15. A Change Is Bound To Come

16. Big City Beat (Remix)

Tracks 1 to 16 are the CD "Boogie Street" released 1993 on Habana HABCD 201 (Barcode 0045395000327)

17. King Bee

18. Hurry Up Train

19. Miss You

20. Dust Me Broom

Tracks 17 to 20 are the 1981 UK 4-Track EP "Brett Marvin And The Thunderbirds" on Sun House EJSP 9586

CD6 (47:26 minutes):

1. Sea Side Shuffle

2. Ball and Chain - TERRY DACTYL AND THE DINOSAURS 

Tracks 1 and 2 are the A&B-sides of a 1971 UK 45 Single on Sonet SON 2027 (its rare Picture Sleeve is shown on Page 30 of the booklet). Reissued July 1972 on UK Records UK R 5 in a UK Records label bag - that variant charted and rose to No. 2 in the UK Singles Charts. Originally non-album, both tracks were finally issued on the 1972 LP "Alias Terry Dactyl & The Dinosaurs" on Sonet SNTF 630. The two sides were reissued again as a single in May 1976 on UK Records UK 133.   

3. On A Saturday Night

4. Going Around The World - TERRY DACTYL AND THE DINOSAURS

Tracks 3 and 4 are the non-album A&B-sides of a November 1972 UK 45 issued on UK Records UK R 20 - it entered the charts in January 1973 and peaked at No. 45 some weeks later

5. She Left I Died

6. Too Self-Centred - TERRY DACTYL AND THE DINOSAURS Featuring JONA LEWI

Tracks 5 and 6 are the non-album A&B-sides is a May 1973 UK 45 on UK Records UK R 39 (it didn't chart)

7. Piggy Back Sue

8. Papa Don't Go - JONA LEWIE

Tracks 7 and 8 are the non-album A&B-sides of a 1974 UK 45 Single on Sonet SON 2048

9. The Swan

10. Custer's Last Stand - JONA LEWIE

Tracks 9 and 10 are the non-album A&B-sides of an October 1975 UK 45 Single on Sonet SON 2056

11. Hallelujah Europe (Parts 1 and 2)

Track 11 is the non-album A&M sides of a July 1976 UK 45 on Sonet SON 2081 (Part 1 is Side 2, Parts 1 & 2 is Side b)

12. Come Away (Bate O Pe)

13. Cherry Ring

Tracks 12 and 13 are the non-album A&B-sides of an October 1977 UK 45 on Sonet SON 2115

14. Rocking Yobs

15. After We Swun

Tracks 14 and 15 are the non-album A&B-sides of a December 1977 UK 45 on Sonet SON 2117

Grapefruit Records is known for their in-depth and chunky booklets and with six CDs to explain, this is no different. Compiled and Annotated by DAVID WELSS with support from reissue specialist JOHN REED – there is new input from the leading BM light and Lead Guitarist GRAHAM HINE as well as the usual slew of rare photos (the boys doing the Abbey Road crossroads shoot) as well as 60ts shots of The Corsairs with John Lewis/Jona Lewie. There is a Sonet Records advert for the debut LP and single whilst a collage shot of concert posters (a double-page spread) shows their legendary support of Derek & The Dominoes (Clapton wanted to buy the National Steel but Hine wouldn’t sell), gigs with Caravan, tours as Terry Dactyl when Sea Side Shuffle became a huge hit - and most famous of all – headlining a 10 December 1975 (Vegetarian Buttery) gig at the City Polytechnic in London with some reprobates third on the bill called The Sex Pistols. The future Anarchists had only been together a month or so and it was their sixth or seventh gig – but their first (I believe) mention on a concert poster is enough to make that 70p admission piece of paper worth a bloody fortune. The Mastering is by SIMON MURPHY for Another Planet and the three studio albums sound great – with Number Two for me – sounding the best. To the music...

The debut is a mix of Blues Rock and Jug Band with a few touch points in-between. Bizarre and almost Beefheart in its nuttiness – imagine the keyboard intro to "Baba O'Riley" by The Who stretched out into a song and given muffled words and strange Indian-esque boogies. You get an idea of what "Calcutta Got Beggar" has in store for you as Jona Lewie almost goes Psych with the synths. We then get the utterly extraordinary Harmonica-nasty Blues Boogie cover of "Don't Start Me Talking" - a near eight-minute tour-de-force for the Sonny Boy Williamson infidelity classic. Like its Side 1 predecessor "Shave 'Em Dry" (minus the decidedly fruity lyrics) - it feels like Canned Heat with The Bear on vocals – but a CH that has gone all Mungo Jerry Jug Band whilst still rocking that piano, guitar and Harmonica. It is either genius or taking the piss and part of me thinks it's both.

Sonet issued the Pete Gibson-penned piano and guitar slow Chicken Shack Blues of "Thoughts On You" in early 1971 as a 45 with the album cut "Coming Home" on the B-side but it unfairly disappeared despite some glowing reviews. Just when you think they're dwelling too much on the Jug Band schtick - they hit you with an Acoustic Blues shuffling gem - "Southbound Lane". I love this track where Gregory Hine shows his playing prowess as he sings of a band at two in the morning travelling down the motorway - "Been playing up north trying to build ourselves a name...seen a hundred miles of cat's eyes in the road...every mile we travelled is a copy of a record we sold..."

By the time we get to album number three, the Jug Band sound has instead overstayed its welcome somewhat. Better than the cover versions are the original goodies like the Graham Hine written "Bank Holiday" and "Wrong Man" and the Pete Gibson lay all your love light on me "Bay Roller". Vaudeville and knees up Mother Brown codology comes in the shape of "Drinking Song", "She Walked Right Out Of The Blue" and "Doo-Dah-Doo-Dah" where they sound like The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band but not in a good way. Pete Gibson channels his inner Satisfaction as he Mick Jagger’s "The Clown" and sounds unconvincing when he sings of touring joy in "Boys In The Band". The singles give us the Scott Joplin entertainer piano romp "Thunderbolt Rag" while "Caribbean Zob-Rock" name-checks the Skiffle-type instrument called the Zob Stick that used to be once known as a lagerphone. Best of the bunch is the Foghat-ish Rock of "Blow Me Down" – slow ride slide guitars over a likeable rhythm. The Graham Hine guitar rocker B-side "If You Need Somebody Call On Me" is a good barroom boogie that redeems an otherwise disappointing Disc 3.

The "Rare Thunderbolts" CD compilation offers unidentified live recordings of Meade Lux Lewis covers alongside Willie Dixon, Robert Johnson and Sonny Boy Williamson - best of which is the muffled-vocals slide-guitar "Walking Blues" and "Come On In My Kitchen". If feels like some semi-bootleg recording for some better than average bar band - but no more. "Hello...do you dig the blues...well dig this!" Brian Matthew gives it some groovy Top Of The Pops intros for 50 and 20 seconds before the boys go into a grungy version of Leadbelly's "Goin' Back" - and actually the sound is excellent as in the fantastic lead-guitar. Bringing back the band for another intro - we get the band's original "Too Many Hot Dogs" which sounds great too.

Being 1993, the upgraded sound quality of the "Boogie Street" CD compilation comes as a blessed relief after much of Disc 3. It kicks off with a superb interpretation of Robert Johnson's "Crossroads" - our heroes flagging a raucous ride. The Gospel of the Lord comes sailing in like The Blind Boys Of Alabama on the cool groove that is "Be Ready When He Comes". All seven members of the ensemble wrote "Hurry Up Train" but better is the warbling gritty Harmonica of Howlin' Wolf's "How Many Years" - dogging me around - rather be six feet in the ground - a great boogie rendition. Equally slick is the electric slide menace in "Little Red Rooster" - too lazy to crow for days. The Blues Band comparisons continue with the 4-Track EP that tail ends Disc 5 - Slim Harpo and Elmore James covers doing the business even if the original "Hurry Up Train" doesn't quite work.

After all the Mungo Jerry Jug Band Blues and Seasick Steve slide guitar – the last disc with Terry Dactyl and Jona Lewie feels like a creature from another planet - albeit a welcome one. The big accordion-driven single "Sea Side Shuffle" by Terry Dactyl and The Dinosaurs sounds good in Remastered form as does its boozy 'you are driving me insane' B-side "Ball And Chain". I can't even remember the follow-up "On A Saturday Night" as a single, but its very obvious effort to reproduce what made "Sea Side Shuffle" great feels a little too contrived - Part 2 but not as good as Part 1. Better is the Fats Domino piano-boogie shuffle of the B-side "Going Around The World" where a catchy chorus is doubled with a slide-guitar – great little number and the Remaster rocks. The Jona Lewie solo stuff comes on like Jerry Lee Lewis – a chicken shack pumping piano is soon joined by a New Orleans band on "Piggy Back Sue" – while its B-side "Papa Don't Go" taps into "Going Up The Country" by Canned Heat both musically and vocally (top stuff and a cool Remaster). The rest are a combo of weird and quirky rhythms that kind of amaze and impress in equal quirky measure.

For sure, six discs of some unknown group from the early Seventies that can't decide whether they're Mungo Jerry's uppity younger brother or Canned Heat's mellowed whiskey older uncle will probably not get the knees a-shakin' in 2020. But there is so much to love here and that second album is a wee bit of a lost diamond in my book while the Lewie solo stuff, something of a pleasant discovery. 

Grapefruit Records of the UK go the hog once more for the musical underdogs, and we old bowsers are the ones to benefit...