This Review Along with many others are available in my e-Book
For sale on Amazon
"...Through The Lanes..."
For sale on Amazon
"...Through The Lanes..."
Now here's an obscuro. And
once again England's Beat Goes On Label (BGO) has done our unsung hero a Welsh
Guitar Picker solid (if that's not too rude).
Stretching from 1970 to 1975
– you get full four albums originally on Transatlantic Records in the UK remastered
in 2017 by long-standing Audio Engineer Andrew Thompson onto 2CDs – the first
two containing some vocals but the last two strictly instrumental with genres
crossing between straight-up Acoustic Folk to Bluegrass, Dixieland Jazz and
Ragtime (all on Acoustic Guitar). Here are the skies in the pie...
UK released 16 June 2017 (23
June 2017 in the USA) - "Morning Brings The Light/John James/Sky In My
Pie/Head In The Clouds" by JOHN JAMES on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1301 (Barcode
5017261213013) offers 4 full LPs originally on Transatlantic Records (UK) in
1970, 1971, 1972 and 1975 newly remastered in 2017 onto 2CDs and plays out as
follows:
Disc 1 (75:05 minutes, 22
Tracks):
1. If Only I [Side 1]
2. One Long Happy Night
3. Pickles And Peppers
4. Liverpool Lullaby
5. Hogan's Alley (Black Eyed
Blues)
6. Once I Lived By The Sea
7. Picture Rag [Side 2]
8. A Little Blues
9. So Long Since I Was Home
10. Ostrich Walk
11. Lampeter
12. Morning Brings The Light
Tracks 1 to 12 are his Debut
album "Morning Brings The Light" – released August 1970 in the UK on
Transatlantic Records TRA 219 (produced by Chris Golby).
13. To Meet You I Hurry Down
[Side 1]
14. Original Rags
15. Jazzbo's Holiday
16. Evening Comes Quickly
17. Three Through The Lanes
18. Tim E Whay
19. Song Around A Square
[Side 2]
20. Rolling On Down
21. Stoptime
22. Daughter Of The Wind
Tracks 13 to 22 on Disc 1
and Track 1 on Disc 2 are his second album "John James" - released
November 1971 in the UK on Transatlantic Records TRA 241 (produced by John
Whitehead).
Disc 2 (79:56 minutes, 27
Tracks):
1. Listening To That Old
Rag/Ragtime Dance
Tracks 13 to 22 on Disc 1
and Track 1 on Disc 2 are his second album "John James" - released
November 1971 in the UK on Transatlantic Records TRA 241 (produced by John
Whitehead).
2. And Sam Came Too [Side 1]
3. Sailor's Farewell
4. Mammy O'Mine
5. Easy Street
6. Out On The Rolling Sea
7. Sky In My Pie
8. Conquistador
9. Bach Goes To Town [Side
2]
10. Kicking Up The Dust
11. Nola
12. Quiet Days
13. Weeping Willow
14. Blap Bam Boom
15. Be Mine Or Run
16. Turn Your Face
Tracks 2 to 16 are his third
album "Sky In My Pie" (credited to JOHN JAMES and DAVE BERRYMAN) –
released 1972 in the UK on Transatlantic Records TRA 250 (produced by Stephan
Grossman).
17. Georgemas Junction [Side
1]
18. Black And White Rag
19. Head In The Clouds
20. Slow Drag
21. Wormwood Tangle
22. Stranger In The World
23. Rags To Riches [Side 2]
24. Blues For Felix
25. Heliotrope Bouquet
26. Secrets In The Sky
27. Stretching Of A Young
Girl’s Heart
Tracks 17 to 27 are his
fourth album "Head In The Clouds" – released November 1975 in the UK
on Transatlantic Records TRA 305 (produced by Ritchie Gold).
The outer card slipcase
lends these BGO reissues a classy feel whilst long-time associate to the label
JOHN TOBLER has penned the new 12-page liner notes and interviewed John James
especially for the project. Anyone who knows the original vinyl platters –
their rear sleeves had a few words but little by way of any meaty info (the
1970 and 1971 Jeremy Gilbert and Robin Denselow original liner notes are here
nonetheless). I say this because James now enlightens of many of the tunes and
their genesis and his collaborations with Berryman on the 3rd LP and John
Renbourn on the fourth. The ANDREW THOMPSON Remasters are quietly lovely –
strings pinging - sweetly done – the original tapes clearly in very good shape.
To the music...
Songs like on "Once I
Loved By The Sea" and "A Little Blues" are like pretty John
Renbourn or Bert Jansch vignettes - plaintive, lovely and peaceful on the ear
and head. Scott Joplin is never far from James' thoughts either - his own
"Picture Rag" a beautifully gut-string-picked nod to the great
Ragtime man - whilst "Ostrich Walk" is another instrumental but this
time more in the Dixieland style. On the second self-titled album his then wife
Jo James joins him on two tunes in duet vocals - the awful hippy claptrap of
"Rolling On Down" which is rescued by "Daughter Of The
Wind" - a James original Ralph McTell might have looked at with envy. Pete
Berryman who would share a credit on the third album "Sky In My Pie"
turns up on album two having written the playful travelling song "Jazzbo’s
Holiday".
The third LP "Sky In My
Pie" is a co-credit with another guitarist – PETE BERRYMAN (don’t you just
love that gorgeous John Ashcroft artwork). JOHN RENBOURN of Pentangle guests as
Second Guitarist on three songs (all instrumentals) – two by James called
"Georgemas Junction" and "Stranger In The World" and a
Renbourn original called "Wormwood Tangle". Parts of the melody in
the fab "Stranger In The World" almost come across as Acoustic Prog
while the Charlie Byrd cover of "Blues For Felix" feels very Leon
Redbone without the voice. Scott Joplin turns up once again in the lazy
afternoon mint-juleps-on-the-lawn feel to "Hellotrope Bouquet" – the
very accomplished fourth album then ending in four and half minutes of
"Stretching Of A Young Girl’s Heart" where some of the playing
actually mimics such young hurt.
So hard to find on original
vinyl now and unlikely to see reissue on the format (even in these vinyl is
cool days of 2019) – this BGO 2CD twofer is a superb reissue and welcome too.
John James will probably never be a household name – but this is a sweetly
stacked reminder of what we all missed first time around...
