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"…Running Down Deep…"
Having not sold in quantity
at the time - HELP YOURSELF albums have become pricey suckers on the auction
circuit over the last few years and this superlatively presented 2CD set on
Esoteric Recordings of the UK (part of Cherry Red) is a great way of accessing
their British Country Rock/Prog leanings for a reasonable cost. It has fab
presentation and quality remastering too. Here are the Electric Fur Trappers
and Strange Affairs…
Released July 2014 –
"Reaffirmation: An Anthology 1971-1973" by HELP YOURSELF on Esoteric
Recordings ECLEC 22459 (Barcode 5013929455948) is a 2CD retrospective and
breaks down as follows:
Disc 1 (77:30 minutes):
1. Running Down Deep
2. I Must See Jesus For
Myself
3. Paper Leaves
4. Old Man
5. Deborah
6. Street Songs
Tracks 1 to 6 are from their
debut album "Help Yourself" released April 1971 in the UK on Liberty Records
LBS 83484
7. Strange Affair
8. Brown Lady
9. Heaven Row
10. The All Electric Fur
Trapper
11. Many Ways Of Meeting
12. Deanna Call And Scotty
Tracks 7 to 12 are from
their 2nd studio album "Strange Affair" released April 1972 in the UK on United
Artists UAS 29287
13. Alabama Lady
14. Reaffirmation
15. Passing Through
Tracks 13 to 15 are from
their 3rd studio LP "Beware The Shadow" released November 1972 in the UK on
United Artists UAS 29413
Disc 2 (69:14 minutes):
1. She's My Girl
2. American Mother
Tracks 1 and 2 are from
their 3rd studio LP "Beware The Shadow" released November 1972 in the UK on
United Artists UAS 29413
3. Mommy Won't Be Home For
Christmas
4. Johnny B. Goode
Tracks 3 and 4 are the
A&B-sides of a UK 7" single released December 1972 on United Artists UP
35466 – both tracks non-album
5. Candy Kane
6. Who Killed Paradise?
7. It Has To Be
8. Man, We're Glad We Know
You
9. Blown Away
Tracks 5 to 9 are from their
4th studio album "The Return Of Ken Whaley" released July 1973 in the UK on
United Artists UDG 4001. It was paired at the time of release with a free
album called "Happy Daze" on United Artists FREE 1. See Tracks 10 and 11
10. Virginia
11. I've Got Beautiful You
Tracks 10 and 11 are from "Happy Daze" – see 5 to 9 above
12. Eddie Waring (Live)
Track 12 appeared on the MAN
and FRIENDS (Various Artists) 2 x 10" live album "Christmas At The Patti" released
in the UK July 1973 on United Artists UDX 205/6
Tastefully housed in a card
slipcase – the compilation has been put together with obvious affection by MARK
POWELL and TIM FRASER-HARDING (Powell has been involved in hundreds of quality
reissues). The 16-page booklet has superb liner notes by MICHAEL HEATLEY
featuring reminiscences on Malcolm Morley's songwriting and the band’s
struggles sided with trade adverts, band photos and publicity shots, ticket
stubs, Posters of 1971 Festival appearances and a rare advert for the first
album on Liberty Records. But the great news for fans is a BEN WISEMAN remaster
from original master tapes at Audio Archiving in London. I’ve had an old CD of
their stuff from years back and the improvement here is immense – clear
instruments, vocals upfront, power and subtlety on every track – top notch job
done.
Although associated with
guitar workouts – in the beginning HELP YOURSELF were often more British
Country Rock via the USA than stoner boogie. Tunes like the lovely piano-soft
“Deborah” on their debut and “Brown Lady” on their second LP come on like
America circa “A Horse With No Name” in 1972. Then they get a bit boogie with
excellent “Running Down Deep” and “Old Man” which sounds like Matthews Southern
Comfort meets Neil Young – a languid chugger that lasts just under seven
minutes – at times feeling like “Southern Man” off “After The Gold Rush” – very
cool. Ken Whaley’s bass and the swirling fuzz-guitars on “The All Electric Fur
Trapper” are so clear – beautiful job done with the transfer (bit of a tune
too). The band had a genius in MALCOLM MORLEY who penned the bulk of these
across-the-board songs flitting from Country to Funky to Boogie in a heartbeat.
Ex British hard rockers SAM APPLE PIE and later a member of MAN – Morley’s
guitar and moods dominates the albums. Light and rocking one moment (“Blown
Away”) then acidic and lyrically heavy the next (“Who Killed Paradise?”) – he
could be both soft (“She’s My Girl”) and creepy at one and the same time
(“Candy Kane”).
The Yuletide single “Mommy
Won’t Be Home For Christmas” is a broken-home slice of festive reality with
kids who saw mommy “went away in October…Christmas sure is looking black…”)
while its great B-side sees them get all Foghat on Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B.
Goode” – it’s a rarity on 7” and its inclusion here is a smart move. Things go
all 12-minute Prog with the brilliant “It Had To Be You” – Morley’s Keyboard
work layering synths and piano and trippy Man/Hawkwind moments. The same
feeling comes with the compilation’s driving title track “Reaffirmation” –
another near 13-minute slowy that builds into a sort of Deke Leonard funky
guitar groove and just keeps going (bit of a discovery this one). In fact the
live fourteen-minute “Eddie Waring” is just that – a Deke Leonard composition
that wouldn’t have been out of place on say Man’s superb live set “Maximum
Darkness” from 1975.
Ken Whaley went on to be
with pub-rockers DUCKS DELUXE and sadly passed away in 2013 – Richard Treece
and Malcolm Morley still gig occasionally to this day.
A stormingly good reissue
for a band that deserves one – HELP YOURSELF to a slice of these forgotten
English heroes…
