"The Polydor Years" by ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION – Eight US Albums Plus Twenty Bonus Tracks from September 1974 to August 1980 including "Third Annual Pipe Dream" (September 1974), "Dog Days" (September 1975), "Red Tape" (May 1976), "A Rock And Roll Alternative" (January 1977), "Champagne Jam" (January 1978 USA), "Underdog" (June 1979 USA), "Are You Ready!" (October 1979 USA 2LP Live Set) and "The Boys From Doraville" (August 1980) (May 2019 UK Caroline Records 8CD Clamshell Box Set featuring Eight Albums in Mini LP Repro Card Sleeves Plus Twenty Bonus Tracks – Tony Dixon Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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RATINGS:

Overall ****

Presentation ****

Audio ****

"...Georgia Rhythm..."

Arising out of the ashes of Roy Orbison's Candymen and Sixties hit makers The Classics IV (Keyboard player Dean Daughtry and Drummer Robert Nix) - Atlanta Rhythm Section (ARS to their fans) hailed out of Doraville in Georgia. 

In the early days, they were a Country Rock act with strains of Lynyrd Skynyrd moving quickly into more commercial Chicago Funky Rock territory in the mid to late Seventies. As this retrospective is entitled The Polydor Years - their first two platters from 1972 and 1973 on Decca Records called "Atlanta Rhythm Section" and "Back Up Against The Wall"  are not covered here – just album number three through to album number ten – September 1974 to August 1980.

A superb-sounding 8CD Clamshell Box Set, you get a great deal of bang for your Euro-anaemic Buck – 8 albums remastered across 8CDs in Mini LP Repro Artwork Card Sleeves (collectors love these things) plus a whopping 20 Bonus Tracks – most of which are Single Edits, Promo-only Mono Mixes, Live versions etc. Their 1977 US FM Radio smash "So In To You" from the "A Rock And Roll Alternative" album is here too - as is everything else your average ARS nutter needs. To the Champagne Jams...

UK released 31 May 2019 - "The Polydor Years" by ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION on Caroline CAROLR073CD (Barcode 600753866603) offers 8LPs Remastered onto 8CDs Plus Twenty Bonus Tracks (Single Edits, Mono Promo Cuts and Live Versions) and breaks down as follows:

CD1 "Third Annual Pipe Dream" (47:31 minutes):
1. Doraville [Side 1]
2. Jesus Hearted People
3. Close The Door
4. Blues In Maude's Flat
5. Join The Race (To Inner Space)
6. Angel (What In The World's Come Over Us) [Side 2]
7. Get Your Head Out Of Your Heart
8. The War Is Over
9.  Help Yourself (You Gotta Help Yourself)
10. Who You Gonna Run To (When You're Thru Walkin' On Me)
Tracks 1 to 10 are their 3rd album "Third Annual Pipe Dream" - released September 1974 in the USA on Polydor PD-6027 and February 1975 in the UK on Polydor 2391 136. Produced by J.R. COBB and DON NIX – peaked at No.74 on the US Billboard LP charts (didn't chart UK)

BONUS TRACKS:
11. Angel (What In The World's Come Over Us) – Mono Edit
12. Angel (What In The World's Come Over Us) – Single Edit
13. Doraville (Mono Edit)
14. Get Your Head Out Of Your Heart (Mono Edit)

CD2 "Dog Days" (39:36 minutes):
1. Crazy [Side 1]
2. Boogie Smoogie
3. Cuban Crisis
4. It Just Ain't Your Moon
5. Dog Days - [Side 2]
6. Bless My Soul (Instrumental)
7. Silent Treatment
8. All Night Rain
Tracks 1 to 8 are their fourth studio album "Dog Days" - released September 1975 in the USA on Polydor PD-6041 and November 1975 in the UK on Polydor Super 2391 179. Produced by BUDDY BUIE - it peaked at No. 113 in the USA (didn't chart in the UK)

BONUS TRACKS:
9. Crazy (Mono Edit)

CD3 "Red Tape" (39:42 minutes):
1. Jukin/San Antonio Rose[Side 1]
2. Mixed Emotions
3. Shanghied
4. Police! Police!
5. Beautiful Dreamers [Side 2]
6. Oh What A Feeling
7. Free Spirit
8. Another Man's Woman
Tracks 1 to 8 are their fifth studio album "Red Tape" - released May 1976 in the USA on Polydor PD-6060 and July 1976 in the UK on Polydor 2391 223. Produced by BUDDY BUIE - it peaked at No. 146 in the USA (didn't chart in the UK)

BONUS TRACKS
9. Free Spirit (Mono Edit)
10. Jukin (Mono Edit)

CD4 "A Rock And Roll Alternative" (44:06 minutes):
1. Sky High [Side 1]
2. Hitch-Hikers' Hero
3. Don't Miss The Message
4. Georgia Rhythm
5. So In To You [Side 2]
6. Outside Woman Blues
7. Everybody Gotta Go
8. Neon Nites
Tracks 1 to 8 are their sixth album "A Rock And Roll Alternative" - released January 1977 in the USA on Polydor PD-1-6080 and March 1977 in the UK on Polydor 2391 255. Produced by ROBERT NIX, J.R. COBB and BUDDY BUIE – it peaked at No.11 on the US LP charts (didn't chart in the UK)

BONUS TRACKS:
9. So In To You (Mono Edit)
10. So In To You (Single Edit)
11. Neon Nites (Single Edit)

CD5 "Champagne Jam" (53:32 minutes):
1. Large Time [Side 1]
2. I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me
3. Normal Love
4. Champagne Jam
5. Imaginary Lover [Side 2]
6. The Ballad Of Lois Malone
7. The Great Escape
8. Evileen
Tracks 1 to 8 are their seventh album "Champagne Jam" – released January 1978 in the USA on Polydor PD-1-6134 and June 1978 in the UK on Polydor 2391 319. Produced by BUDDY BUIE and ROBERT NIX – it peaked at No.7 on the US LP charts (didn't chart in the UK)

BONUS TRACKS:
9. Champagne Jam (Stereo Edit)
10. Imaginary Lover (Mono Edit)
11. Imaginary Lover (Single Edit)
12. I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me (Mono Edit)
13. I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me (Single Edit)

CD6 "Underdog" (52:04 minutes):
1. Do It Or Die [Side 1]
2. Born Ready
3. I Hate The Blues / Let's Go Get Stoned
4. Indigo Passion
5. While Time Is Left [Side 2]
6. It's Only Music
7. Spooky
8. My Song
Tracks 1 to 8 are their eight album "Underdog" – released June 1979 in the USA on Polydor PD-1-6200 and July 1979 in the UK on Polydor 2391 398. Produced by BUDDY BUIE, J.R. COBB and RODNEY MILLS – it peaked at No.26 on the US LP charts (didn't chart in the UK)

BONUS TRACKS:
9. Indigo Passion (Single Edit)
10. Large Time (Single Edit)
11. Back Up Against The Wall (Single Edit)
12. Spooky (Single Edit)

CD7 "Are You Ready!" (76:16 minutes, 2LP Live Set):
1. Prelude/Tara's Theme - Sky High [Side 1]
2. I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me
3. Large Time
4. Back Up Against The Wall [Side 2]
5. Angle (What In The World's Come Over Us)
6. Conversation
7. Imaginary Lover
8. Doraville [Side 3]
9. Another Man's Woman
10. Georgia Rhythm [Side 4]
11. Imaginary Lover
12. So In To You
13. Long Tall Sally
Tracks 1 to 13 are their ninth album "Are You Ready!" – released October 1979 in the USA on Polydor PD-2-6236 as a 2LP set – a combination of live recordings and live-in-the-studio sessions – it was their first Live Set (no UK issue). Produced by BUDDY BUIE and RODNEY MILLS – it peaked at No.51 on the US LP charts (didn't chart in the UK)

CD8 "The Boys From Doraville" (42:45 minutes):
1. Cocaine Charlie [Side 1]
2. Next Year's Rock & Roll
3. I Ain't Much
4. Putting My Faith In Love
5. Rough At The Edges [Side 2]
6. Silver Eagle
7. Pedestal
8. Try My Love
9. Strictly R&R
Tracks 1 to 9 are their tenth album "The Boys From Doraville" (ninth studio album overall) – released August 1980 in the USA on Polydor PD-1-6285 and September 1980 in the UK on Polydor 2391 467. Produced by BUDY BUIE – it peaked at No.65 on the US LP charts (didn't chart in the UK)

BONUS TRACK:
10. I Ain't Much (Single Edit)

ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION was:
RONNIE HAMMOND - Lead Vocals
DEAN DAUGHTRY - Keyboards
BARRY BAILEY - Guitars
J.R. COBB – Guitars and Backing Vocals
PAUL GODDARD - Bass
ROBERT NIX – Drums (BOB YEAGER for "The Boys Of Doraville")

Compiled by Michael Cobb - the glossy Clamshell Box Set for "The Polydor Years" by ATLANTA RHYTHM SECTION is cool enough and collectors will dig the eight Mini LP Repro Artwork Card Sleeves (front and rear covers, all single sleeves, no inners nor gatefolds, bonus tracks are not super-imposed on the artwork). The 20-page colour booklet comes with new liner notes by long-time writer and music buff MALCOLM DOME (done August 2018) filling in all the milestone blanks alongside snaps of the six-piece band in varying stages of their career (they campaigned for President Jimmy Carter in 1976 and appeared on the White House lawn in a gig for the son of the Georgia POTUS). Even though ARS had British LP variants on Polydor Records UK for most of their albums (even attended Knebworth Festival) - Atlanta Rhythm Section were very much a US phenomenon - all their LPs charted in the USA (their sort of trademark Fish & Guitar Logo is on Page 4). 

I have to say though that the final two-pages of credits at the rear of the booklet are barely readable because of the tiny font and blurry colouring (song titles, writers credits and not a lot else) – there is more info in my Discography above than you get here. But what punters and fans will want is the sweet-as-a-nut Audio – the set mastered by TONY DIXON at Masterpiece in the UK. These were well-recorded albums in the first place and the beefy/clean transfers reflect that. Time for some Country Rock and a few genre-stops in-between…

CD1 – Released September 1974 in the USA - "Third Annual Pipe Dream" pays homage to the city that made them with the commercial Country Rock opener "Doraville". They talk of it being a breakthrough in the booklet. With "Who You Gonna Run To" on its flip, it was put out a US single in late 1974 on Polydor PD 14248 and January 1975 in the UK on Polydor 2066 488. It did no business in the UK but managed a very healthy chart placing of No.35 in the States in November 1974. It put them on the map and people tuned in. Polydor tried again with "Get Your Head Out Of Your Heart" and "Angel (What In The World's Come Over Us)" on both sides of the pond (Polydor PD 14273 in the USA, May 1975 in the UK on Polydor 2058 560) but neither side of the water took to it. A cool funky Rock tune is "Help Yourself (You Gotta Help Yourself") which I've put on many 70's FEST compilations. Christian rocker Mylon LeFevre sang backing vocals on "Jesus Hearted People" alongside Hugh Baby Jarret of The Jordanaires. Peaking at No.74 on the US Billboard charts – their third album "Third Annual Pipe Dream" saw ARS start an impressive chart run of albums which saw the following seven titles in this Box Set make good numbers also.

CD2 - The "Dog Days" album of September 1975 gets off to A Pop-Rock start with "Crazy (Times)" – but then things get seriously dirty Southern Boogie with the wickedly groovy grunge of "Boogie Smoogie" - a song about a dive filled with hookers, greasy chicken and beer-swilling clientele throwing their cans at the bar band trying to make a buck. The Audio is superb for this huge fan fave. Their commercial 'let's write one that will be played on Country radio' streak kicks in for the jaunty "Cuban Crisis" - the kind of song Little Feat would have made a better fist of. "It Just Ain't Your Moon" is good old boy Rock 'n' Roll and sounds chunky - a sweet-sounding transfer. Things mellow into the big smooch of "Dog Days" - a power ballad that doesn't really ignite. The instrumental "Bless My Soul" is a funky little Southern Boogie number that sounds more 1977 dancefloor than 1975 chicken coup. Another fave is surely "Silent Treatment" - a wickedly catchy groove with 'honky tonk' harmonica where our boys are captured by a quiet lady (Ronnie struck out). It ends on the warmth of "All Night Rain" where ARS do their best Eagles impression.

CD3 - You really hear the quality of the Remaster with the first 45 lifted off the "Red Tape" LP of May 1976 - the Boogie Rock of "Jukin" - Buie and Nix delivering a wickedly good Rocker - the kind of song Jo Jo Gunne would have killed for. "Mixed Emotions" is the same - another clever ZZ Top type groover with Hammond's vocals sounder better than ever and those dual guitars tearing it up. "Shanghied" is another Rocker as the album begins to sound more and more like "Tres Hombres" with a commercial funk. Not surprisingly "Police! Police!" opens with arriving sirens, doors slamming and then a huge guitar riff (another travelling late at night - got hassled - song). The ballad "Beautiful Dreamers" is at least more convincing than the previous LP's attempts - a piano chord tells us that blue jean friends have faded. Again, back to hard-hitting boogie - a huge guitar sound on "Oh What A Feeling" - and the single "Free Spirit" is the same - amazing clarity.

CD4 – January 1977's "A Rock And Roll Alternative" still sees Ronnie Hammond on Lead Vocals and their sound is Funky Boogie Rock exemplified by "Don't Miss The Message" and the rocking Skynyrd vibe of "Outside Woman Blues". But the album is dominated by the huge hit "So In To You" - the kind of Boz Scaggs commercial song that would make you double take if you heard it even now coming out of a radio  - asking - who's that? "Neon Nites" tries to get close to its sound and succeeds with its plucked guitars and slinky beat. Piggybacking on the popularity of the hit single "So In To You", the LP "A Rock And Roll Alternative" was a smash also – peaking at No.11 on the Billboard album charts. It even sparked a March 1977 reissue on MCA Records MCA2-4114 of their self-titled debut (1972) and second album "Back Up Against The Wall" (1973) as a 2LP package simply called "Atlanta Rhythm Section". Even that charted, peaking at No.154 for a 4-week run.

CD5 – January 1978's "Champagne Jam" came one year after its career-changing predecessor and didn't just keep the winning formula tight but improved on it. In October of 1977, half of the ultimate guitar heroes band Lynyrd Skynyrd were killed in a plane crash – a huge blow to anyone around Southern Rock. ARS responded with an ebullient guitar-boogie tribute song "Large Time" which takes pride of place as the opener for Side 1 – the band rocking out as many fans wanted (glad to be living in the USA). And while the preceding album "A Rock And Roll Alternative" from 1977 was seriously popular - the "Champagne Jam" LP of 1978 took ARS Top Ten – rightly peaking at No.7 on the back of a damn good album (it would be their most commercially successful album). And in "Imaginary Lover" and "I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me" – they clocked up two more 45-single hits (peaking at No. 7 and 14 respectively). While I find the ballad "Normal Love" just a little too piano-plinking soppy and the b-word lyrics in "Evileen" cringeworthy, other goodies include the wickedly catchy good-time beat in "Champagne Jam" (me and the boys staying out late) and the very Lynyrd Skynyrd drank-like-a-fish and cussed-like-a-sailor Southern crawl in "The Ballad of Lois Malone".

CD6 – Coming one year after its upbeat commercially savvy predecessor – June 1979's "Underdog" is something of a disappointment. Opening with the very Eagles-sounding mellow of "Do It Or Die" (not my cup of Rosie) that is followed fast by another infernally hooky tune "Born Ready" that could easily have been another winner-45. The awkwardly titled and seven-minute long "I Hate The Blues" sees our lead singer craving a crank-up rhythm so he can let it rip (the Ashford/Simpson song "Let's Go Get Stoned" comes in towards the end). "Indigo Passion" is awful, plinking-plonking filler. At least "While Time Is Left" has some good guitar licks but again the strings and overall lack-lustre do for the song. "It's Only Music" restores the confidence – cute girl shaking like a maniac. The album gave ARS two American Billboard hits "Do It Or Die" that peaked at No.19 and a remake of a song that Cobb and Buie made famous with The Classics IV – the mighty "Spooky" (God knows how many cover versions there are of that slinky gem). Time to go to the masses…

CD7 – October 1979's 2LP live set "Are You Ready!" came in the same year as their seventh studio album "Underdog" and featured an interesting mix of Live American Tour recordings vs. new Live-in-the-Studio jams. To a backdrop of Lara Theme playing over the monitors, the compare hits the mike and shouts the album title "Are You Ready!" ARS are then announced as being from Georgia and the crowd erupts as they rip into an electric version of "Sky High" – lead guitarist making his plank bleed. The Funk-Rock of the hugely popular "Champagne Jam" cements a fab double-whammy opener. Things are mellowed by a mid-tempo groove - another single – the ignoring pain and injustice around the world stepper "I'm Not Gonna Let It Bother Me". The crowd loves Hammond saying, "This one is for Lynyrd Skynyrd…" as the band launch into a tight-rocking version of "Large Time" that not for the first time has ARS sounding like the younger brother of ZZ Top. Sentenced to hard labour and on the wrong side of the law, ARS dig back into their catalogue to let the crowd have the good-old-boys character in "Back Up Against The Wall".

A smart choice from album three "Angel (What In The World's Come Over Us)" allows the boys to showcase harmonies, melodious arrangements and geetar playing. They dig out the acoustic shuffle of "Conversation" (from the second album of 1973) – remembering a friend and lover where communication broke down and time did the destructive rest. Hit single "Imaginary Lover" is ok – but their early breakthrough hit "Doraville" is alive – you feel the band enjoying themselves. Keeping up the reach back, ARS hit the crowd with a first album rocker "Another Man's Woman(It's So Hard)" – the guitars and piano both snarling. Time to revisit a sleeper on 1977's "A Rock And Roll Alternative" – the mellow "Georgia Rhythm" which unfortunately has an in-the-distance feel to the tapes. Not surprisingly the live tour proceedings are ended with the mega-hit "So In To You" and a rollicking cover version of Little Richard's incendiary "Long Tall Sally". In the grand pantheon of Classic Double Live Albums of the Seventies "Are You Ready!" by ARS is forgotten these days (2024) - but its charms deserve a return to.

CD8 – Heading into a new decade with "The Boys From Doraville" (their last album on Polydor released August 1980) and Atlanta Rhythm Section are in a return-to-basics mood whilst reaching for the commerciality of yesteryear. "Cocaine Charlie" immediately hits you with that familiar ARS sound – their Southern-Rock Country-Pop swagger – strong and muscular – a tale of a fool chasing ecstasy but now a slave to sniffing fairy dust. The audio is superb. More than a passing nod to their sound of old follows - "Next Year's Rock & Roll" commenting on Disco and New Wave with a slight smirk. "I Ain't Much" is a bopper but it feels old and not particularly fresh nor does "Putting My Faith In Love". The cowboy hero Joe Bob Kinsey and Satin Ladies of Saturday Night get mixed up into "Rough At The Edges" but again it feels like reaching for fun instead of feeling it. Pure Eagles-sung-by Glenn Frey territory shows up in the shape of "Silver Eagle" – carry me away from endless Holiday Inns. The guitar-chug of "Try My Love" and the play-too-loud piano-boogie of "Strictly R&R" feel like the best two tunes on a strangely deflating album. And on it goes with all those edits and single sides hammering home their sound. 

You wouldn't call any of these albums 'masterpieces' - hardly anything ARS ever did could hold a candle to Lynyrd Skynyrd, Little Feat or even The Allmans - bands with real chops and tunes that moved. Having said that - if you're a fan or even partial to Southern Rock – then this superb-sounding ARS Clamshell love-fest is an absolute 8CD must-own...

Atlanta Rhythm Section's brand of Country Rock won't be everyone's cup of Horlicks nowadays and a lot of it feels lightweight with the passing of time (they had neither the integrity of Skynyrd or the sheer balls-to-the-wall Blues Boogie of Foghat) - but those slinky moments in between are worth the purchase (and that top audio quality). 

"...Captured by your style..." Hammond sings on "So In To You". You may feel the same...

"Magic Carpet Ride: The Dunhill/ABC Years 1967-1971" by STEPPENWOLF – Includes 8 Albums issued January 1968 to November 1971 in the USA (May 1968 to November 1971 in the UK on RCA Victor, Stateside and Probe Records) – featuring John Kay, Michael Monarch, Goldy McJohn, Rushton Moreve, Jerry Edmonton, Mars Bonfire, Nick St. Nicholas, Larry Byrom, Kent Henry and George Biondo (November 2021 UK Esoteric Recordings 8CD Clamshell Box Set with Mini LP Repro Artwork Card Sleeves and Paschal Byrne Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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"...Heading Off Down The Highway..."

 

British reissue label Esoteric Recordings (a part of Cherry Red) has fast been carving out a place in the hearts of collectors these last few years and a total winner like "Magic Carpet Ride: The Dunhill/ABC Years 1967-1971" amply shows why – it screams class. And in October 2022 – it's priced at just over forty-quid and not the initial sixty – so is properly great value for money (for years you could only get expensive Japanese SHM-CD Remasters that at one point were clocking in at £400 for what you get here at a tenth of the cost).

 

In a nutshell, you get 8 Steppenwolf albums in Stereo - six studio sets, the full compliment of one live US-double which was only released as a single LP in the UK and a single live set of early 1967 wolf recordings when they were called The Sparrow. On top of that there's a tasty 26 Bonus 45-single Sides (most in their original and rare Mono form), a beautifully presented 52-page chunky-monkey booklet, a fold-out memorabilia-strewn poster, 8 Mini LP card repro sleeves (five of which are gatefolds) and Brand New 2021 Paschal Byrne Remasters from original Dunhill/ABC master tapes. Frankly Frank and don't step on the grass Sam, but that's a whole lot of primo Howlin' Wolf, if you know what I'm barking on about.

 

Always somehow in the second tier of great Rock Bands, Steppenwolf rocked and ever since I heard their angry, but utterly brilliant take on drug-addiction "The Pusher" complete with John Kay's larger-than-life persona dealing with everything from the intrusiveness of The Man and the Vietnam War to snowblind friends - I have loved the mad buggers dearly. Time to come out of the cave man; get wild, tighten up your wig and hop on long motorbikes and suspect carpets. Here is the Sookie-Sookie detail...

 

 

UK released Friday, 26 Nov 2021 - "Magic Carpet Ride: The Dunhill/ABC Years 1967-1971" by STEPPENWOLF on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC82777 (Barcode 5013929477780) is an 8CD Clamshell Box Set with Mini LP Card Sleeve Repro Artwork, a 52-Page Booklet, Fold-Out Poster, 26 Bonus Tracks and New 2021 Remasters that play out as follows:

 

CD1 "Steppenwolf" – 1968 Debut LP (74:29 minutes): 

The LP's STEREO MIX ONLY is used on this CD; the 8 Bonus Single Sides are in MONO.

1. Sookie Sookie [Side 1]

2. Everybody's Next One 

3. Berry Rides Again

4. Hootchie Kootchie Man 

5. Born To Be Wild

6. Your Wall's Too High 

7. Desperation [Side 2]

8. The Pusher 

9. A Girl I Knew

10. Take What You Need 

11. The Ostrich

Tracks 1 to 11 are their debut album "Steppenwolf" - released January 1968 on Dunhill D-50029 (Mono) and Dunhill DS-50029 (Stereo) and May 1968 in the UK on RCA Victor RD-7974 (Mono) and RCA Victor SF-7974 (Stereo). Produced by GABRIEL MEKLER - it peaked at No. 6 in the US Billboard Rock LP charts (didn't chart UK).

 

BONUS TRACKS: 

12. Sookie Sookie (Mono Single Version) - February 1968 US 45-single, Dunhill D-4123, A

13. Born To Be Wild (Mono Single Version) - May 1968 US 45-single, Dunhill D-4138, A

14. Everybody's Next One (Mono Single Version) - May 1968 US 45-single, Dunhill D-4138, B

15. Take What You Need (Mono Single Version) - Feb 1968 US 45-single, Dunhill D-4123, B

16. A Girl I Knew (Mono Single Version) - Oct 1967 US debut 45-single, Dunhill D-4109, A 

17. The Ostrich (Mono Single Version) - Oct 1967 US debut 45-single, Dunhill D-4109, B

18. The Pusher (Mono Single Version) - August 1970 UK 45-single, Stateside SS 8056, A

19. Berry Rides Again (Mono Single Version) - December 1969 US 45-single, Dunhill D-4221, B-side of "Monster"

 

CD2 "The Second" – 1968 Second LP (46:33 minutes): 

The LP's STEREO MIX ONLY is used on this CD; the 2 Bonus Single Sides are in MONO.

1. Faster Than The Speed Of Life [Side 1]

2. Tighten Up Your Wig 

3. None Of Your Doing 

4. Spiritual Fantasy 

5. Don't Step On The Grass Sam 

6. 28 [Side 2]

7. Magic Carpet Ride

8. Disappointment Number (Unknown)

9. Lost And Found By Trial And Error 

10. Hodge, Podge, Strained Through A Leslie

11. Resurrection

12. Reflections

Tracks 1 to 12 are their second studio album "The Second" - released October 1968 in the US on Dunhill DS-50037 (Stereo-only) and December 1968 UK on Stateside SL 5003 (Mono) and Stateside SSL 5003 (Stereo). Produced by GABRIEL MEKLER - it peaked at No. 3 in the USA on the Billboard Rock LP charts (didn't chart UK)

 

BONUS TRACKS: 

13. Magic Carpet Ride (Mono Single Version) - Sept 1968 US 45-single, Dunhill D-4161, A

14. Spiritual Fantasy (Mono Single Version) - Aug 1970 US 45-single, Dunhill D-4248, B-side of "Screaming Night Hog"

 

CD3 "At Your Birthday Party" – 1969 Third LP (53:30 minutes):

The 13-Track album is in STEREO; the 4 Bonus Single Sides are in MONO.

1. Don't Cry [Side 1]

2. Chicken Wolf

3. Lovely Meter 

4. Round And Round 

5. It's Never Too Late 

6. Sleeping Dream 

7. Jupiter Child [Side 2]

8. She'll Be Better

9. Cat Killer 

10. Rock Me

11. God Fearing Man 

12. Mango Juice

13. Happy Birthday

Tracks 1 to 13 are their third studio album "At Your Birthday Party" - released March 1969 in the US on Dunhill/ABC DSX-50053 (Stereo) and May 1969 in the UK on Stateside SSL 5011 (Stereo. Produced by GABRIEL MEKLER - it peaked at No. 7 in the US Billboard Rock LP charts (didn't chart UK)

BONUS TRACKS: 

14. Rock Me (Mono Single Version) - Feb 1969 US 45-single, Dunhill D-4182, A

15. Jupiter Child (Mono Single Version) - Feb 1969 US 45-single, Dunhill D-4182, B

 

CD4 "Early Steppenwolf" - 1969 Fourth LP (43:44 minutes):

Recorded Live at The Matrix in San Francisco, May 14, 1967 (as The Sparrow)

1. Power Play [Side 1]

2. Howlin' For My Baby 

3. Goin' Upstairs 

4. Corina, Corina

5. Tighten Up Your Wig 

6. The Pusher (21:36 minutes) [Side 2]

Tracks 1 to 6 are their fourth album "Early Steppenwolf", a collection of six live recordings as THE SPARROW made in May 1967 with MARS BONFIRE on Lead Guitar - released July 1969 in the US on Dunhill/ABC Records DS-50060 in Stereo and November 1969 in the UK on Stateside SSL 5015 in Stereo (it peaked at No. 27 in the US Billboard Rock LP charts, didn't chart UK).

 

CD5 "Monster" – 1969 Fifth LP (44:53 minutes):

The 7-Track album is in STEREO; the 3 Bonus Single Sides are in STEREO and MONO.

10 Tracks

1. Monster/Suicide/America [Side 1]

2. Draft Resister 

3. Power Play 

4. Move Over [Side 2]

5. Fag

6. What Would You Do (If I Did That To You) [Side 2]

7. From Here To There Eventually 

Tracks 1 to 7 are their fifth album (fourth studio) "Monster" - released November 1969 in the US on Dunhill/ABC Records DS-50066 in Stereo and February 1970 UK on Stateside SSL 5021 in Stereo. Produced by GABRIEL MEKLER - it peaked at No. 17 on the US Billboard Rock LP charts and became their first LP to chart in the UK peaking at No. 43.

 

BONUS TRACKS:

8. Monster (Single Version, Edit, Stereo) - December 1969 US 45-single, Dunhill D-4221, A

9. Move Over (Mono Single Version) - August 1969 US 45-single, Dunhill D-4205, A

10. Power Play (Mono Single Version) - August 1969 US 45-single, Dunhill D-4205, B

 

CD6 "Steppenwolf 'Live'" – 1970 Sixth Album (78:25 minutes):

The 13-Track Live-Double is in STEREO on this CD; the 3 Bonuses are MONO

1. Sookie Sookie [Side 1]

2. Don't Step On The Grass Sam

3. Tighten Up Your Wig

4. Monster [Side 2]

5. Draft Resister

6. Power Play 

7. Corina, Corina [Side 3]

8. Twisted

9. From Here To There Eventually 

10. Hey Lawdy Mama [Side 4]

11. Magic Carpet Ride 

12. The Pusher 

13. Born To Be Wild

Tracks 1 to 13 are their sixth album (second live set) issued June 1970 as a 2LP vinyl double-album in the USA on Dunhill DSD 50075 in Stereo only. On the original US issue the opening tracks "Hey Lawdy Mama" and "Magic Carpet Ride" of Side 4 are configured on the label as one-song hence giving the double a 12-track count. Here they have been separated as two songs, hence the 13-track count on CD. Produced by GABRIEL MEKLER - it peaked at No. 7 in the US Billboard Rock LP charts and No. 16 (as a single LP) in the UK

 

In the UK, "Steppenwolf 'Live'" was issued July 1970 on Stateside SSL 5029 as an 11-Track Single LP in Stereo. You can sequence that version using the following tracks:

Side 1: Sookie Sookie, Don't Step On The Grass Sam, Tighten Up Your Wig, Hey Lawdy Mama, Magic Carpet Ride, The Pusher

Side 2: Corina-Corina, Twisted, From Here To There Eventually, Draft Resister, Born To Be Wild

 

BONUS TRACKS: 

14. Hey Lawdy Mama [Live] (Mono Single Version) - April 1970 US 45 on Dunhill D-4234, A

15. Twisted [Live] (Mono Single Version) - April 1970 US 45 on Dunhill D-4234, B

16.Corina, Corina [Live] (Mono Single Version) - August 1970 US 45 on Dunhill D-4248, B-side of "Screaming Night Hog"

 

CD7 "Steppenwolf 7" – 1970 Seventh Album (50:28 minutes):

The 12 Tracks are all in STEREO 

1. Ball Crusher [Side 1]

2. Forty Days And Forty Nights 

3. Fat Jack 

4. Renegade

5. Foggy Mental Breakdown [Side 2]

6. Snow Blind Friend 

7. Who Needs Ya

8. Earschplittenloudenboomer

9. Hippo Stomp

Tracks 1 to 9 are their seventh album (fifth studio) "Steppenwolf 7" - released November 1970 in the US on ABC/Dunhill DSX-50090 and January 1971 in the UK on Probe Records SPBA 6254. Produced by RICHARD PODOLOR - it peaked at No. 19 on the US Billboard Rock Lp charts (didn't chart UK). 

BONUS TRACKS:

10. Screaming Night Hog - August 1970 US 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-4258, A

11. Snow Blind Friend - February 1971 US 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-4269, A

12. Hippo Stomp - February 1971 US 45-single on Dunhill/ABC D-4269, B

 

CD8 "For Ladies Only" – 1971 Eight Album (61:13 minutes):

Tracks 1 to 12 in STEREO, Track 13 is MONO

1. For Ladies Only [Side 1]

2. I'm Asking 

3. Shackles And Chains 

4. Tenderness

5. The Night Time's For You [Side 2]

6. Jaded Strumpet 

7. Sparkle Eyes 

8. Black Pit 

9. Ride With Me 

10. In Hopes Of A Garden 

Tracks 1 to 10 are their eight album (sixth studio set) "For Ladies Only" - released November 1971 in the US Dunhill/ABC DSX-50110 in Stereo and November 1971 in the UK on Probe Records SPBA 6260 in Stereo. Produced by RICHARD PODOLOR - it peaked at No. 54 on the US Billboard Rock LP charts (didn't chart UK) 

 

BONUS TRACKS:

11. For Madmen Only - June 1971 US 45-single on Dunhill D-4283, B-side of "Ride With Me"

12. For Ladies Only (Single Version, Stereo Version) - October 1971 US Promo-Only US 45-single on Dunhill D-4292, B-side of "For Ladies Only (Mono Version)"

13. Ride With Me (Mono Single Version) - June 1971 US 45-single on Dunhill D-4283, A

 

"Magic Carpet Ride..." is a looker of a CD Box Set - the glossy Clamshell giving it a feel of event. The Matt-booklet of 54-pages has reams of MALCOLM DOME liner notes interspersed with LP credits and loads of period photos, while the fold-out memorabilia poster showing stuff like their involvement in the "Candy" soundtrack is a great touch. PASCHAL BYRNE did the new Remasters from original tapes and it absolutely rocks - the lyrically awful "Jaded Strumpet" on "For Ladies Only" might make you wince, but the in-yer-face Audio won't. 

 

My only thing would be that many of the Mono single mixes feel too often like an Audio compromise rather than a Bonus. The fact that the last four card sleeves are gatefolds thereby keeping to their original designs is well tasty too - but the silver foil feel of the debut is missing as is the die-cut of "At Your Birthday Party" - for that level of Mini LP Sleeve detail you have to go to the Japanese SHM-CD reissues of April 2013 and they'll cost ya. But what we do have is superbly done and cleanly presented.  

 

The much-loved self-titled 1968 debut album is balls-to-the-wall brilliant - not surprising then that a whopping eight of its eleven tracks made it onto the 2CD "Gold" compilation put out to universal praise in September 2005 (Erick Labson Remasters - see separate review). So many tracks like their fantastic cover of Don Covay and Steve Cropper's "Sookie Sookie", Hoyt Axton's viscerally brutal "The Pusher" and their own reach for personal freedom "Born To Be Wild" that would lead the "Easy Rider" movie charge the following year. I would have to admit that the filler started to creep in by the time we reach platter number three - "At Your Birthday Party" feeling like its reaching all the time, but killer Kay tunes like "Rock Me" and "Jupiter Child" saving the day.

 

Rock-genius and So-Steppenwolf-Sounding-Riffage courses through the veins of "Don't Step On The Grass Sam" - both John Kay and Joey Edmonton sharing the vocals and those incendiary 'you'll pay if you disagree with me' lyrics. It's of the times for sure, but at a distance of nearing on 60-years - its crafty melody/production turns still amazes and manages to feel contemporary. There are times too when the band's musical reach surprises - even thrills - the gorgeous and cleverly orchestrated string arrangements in "Spiritual Fantasy" - just a song that dreams and hopes - John Kay searching for the supreme. The sexy guitar and piano Blues lurch of "Disappointment Number (Unknown)" is not just a fabulous deep album cut, but the Audio on the Remaster is fantastically clear - Mekler's original Production values shining through. And despite its hippy almost Jazz Fusion feel (or perhaps because of it) - I've been a tad partial to the three-minute instrumental "Mango Juice" on the patchy "At Your Birthday Party" album. 

Other deep dive dips include the slide-guitar shuffle of "Shackles And Chains" on Side 1 of the mixed-bag "For Ladies Only" album - their last for Dunhill/ABC in 1971 before they joined Mums Records for 1974's comback platter "Slow Flux". "Shackles And Chains" is another hooky John Kay message song (funky too) and this time we finally get to hear the great production values from Richard Podolor (guitarist Kent Henry playing a blinder). And I used to put "Tenderness" from the same album on 70's-Fest CD-Rs I made for Shop Plays - its Mars Bonfire-written acoustic/keyboard/guitar shuffle disarmingly touching (gorgeous Audio too). The guitar/keyboard groove of the instrumental "Black Pit" is one for Soul-Rock 'Funky Funky' compilations as well. 

 

While you might think its cool to have the Mono Single Mixes, the version of the lovely "Spiritual Fantasy" in Mono fares fairly well, but "Magic Carpet Ride" in Mono is too muffled for my tastes (guess I'm too used to that great Stereo clarity). Collectors will love the oddities - the decidedly eerie B-side "For Madmen Only" where the band seems to channeling Stephen King on a bad day. But then you play "Ride With Me" as either a 1971 Mono Single or its Stereo LP counterpart - with John Kay at his rumbunktious blazing best - and the rawk racket that Steppenwolf made was/is just fantastic. And on it goes...

 

There is so much on "The Dunhill/ABC Years 1967-1971", we could have it for days, but this Esoteric Recordings 8CD Mini Box Set for STEPPENWOLF hits home on all the right fronts - Presentation, Audio and Musical Surprises for a band so pigeonholed by their 60ts sound. 

 

A Magic Carpet Ride indeed...

 

PS: see also my review for "Gold" and "Slow Flux etc" both by Steppenwolf and the John Kay solo albums from 1972 and 1973 on Beat Goes On Records - "Forgotten Songs..." and "My Sportin' Life"

"Olias Of Sunhillow" by JON ANDERSON of YES – July 1976 UK and USA Debut Solo Album on Atlantic Records (April 2021 UK Esoteric Recordings CD + DVD-A Reissue with a 2020 Ben Wiseman Remaster for CD and 5.1 Surround Mix and High Resolution Stereo Mix for the DVD-A) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...One Clear Hand..."

Encouraged by the brilliance of "Relayer" in 1974 (with Patrick Moraz at the keyboards instead of Rick Wakeman) - like most YES fans at the time - I awaited the inevitable Solo albums in the mid Seventies with a sense of excitement. And while Bassist Chris Squire and Guitarist Steve Howe had their moments of glory with November 1975's "Fish Out Of Water" and October 1975's "Beginnings" respectively - most of us somehow knew that Lead Singer and Leading Light in the Yes Multiverse JON ANDERSON and his debut vinyl LP of 1976 would be the Proggy Humdinger to get. And - "...one clear hand..." (lyrics from "Flight of The Moorglade") - it was and still is. 

Released in July 1976 on Atlantic K 50261 in the UK and Atlantic SD 18180 in the USA - "Olias Of Sunhillow" even peaked at Number 8 in good old Blighty (No. 47 in the USA) and has been a treasured work by Prog Rock fans ever since. But its odyssey onto digital has been one of expensive hits and cheap-assed misses - mostly misses.

First came the German/Europe version from February 1996 with an unreadable four-page inlay badly repro'ing the stunning original artwork and sporting un-remastered dull sound (Atlantic 7567-80273-2 - Barcode 075678027321). Two followed that improved things - the October 2011 Japan-Only edition Warner Brothers/Atlantic/Arcangelo ARC-8061 (Barcode 4988044390614) - a SHM-CD in Repro Artwork and America's Audio Fidelity issue from January 2014 - a 24-Carat Gold CD Remastered by noted engineer KEVIN GRAY (Audio Fidelity AFZ 156 - Barcode 0780014215620). But both of those have been deleted years and subsequently acquired very nasty price tags on auction sites. In January 2020 Music On CD out of The Netherlands simply reissued the 1996 version in a Super Jewel Case (Music On CD MOCCD13846 - Barcode 8718627230459) but without any mastering details and some were suckered into buying that. Which brings us to pandemic year plus one - 2021...

UK released Friday, 9 April 2021 (delayed from Friday, 29 March 2021) - "Olias Of Sunhillow" by JON ANDERSON [of YES] on Esoteric Recordings QECLEC22748 (Barcode 5013929474888) is a CD + DVD-A Reissue and New Remaster (by Ben Wiseman) that plays out as follows (the CD and DVD-A have the same tracks as listed below - 44:22 minutes):   

1. Ocean Song [Side 1]

2. Meeting (Garden Of Geda)/Sound Out The Galleon

3. Dance Of Ranyart/Olias (To Build The Moorglade)

4. Qoquaq En Transic/Naon/Transic To

5. Flight Of The Moorglade

6. Solid Space [Side 2]

7. Moon Ra/Chords/Song Of Search

8. To The Runner

Those who bought the original record will of course remember not just the fabulous dense music contained within but also the full-on glory of the sleeve designed and painted by DAVID FAIRBROTHER ROE. A gatefold cover with an extra leaf inside and a same-design inner lyrics sleeve - it was dazzling as a package. Although Roger Dean ad been approached first and proved too busy to help, Roe had done Nazareth's "Hair Of The Dog" album in late 1973 and prior to that designed striking posters for three Isle of Wight Festivals in 1968, 1969 and 1970. Anderson saw the returned artwork and was duly taken aback. 

His space-tale of Magician Olias who lives on the doomed planet of Sunhillow features four tribes and two other characters in his journey to the safe world of Asgaurd - a second magician Ranyart who becomes the navigator of the spaceship 'Moorglade Mover' and a trance-singer Qoquaq who lulls sceptical tribes onto the ship with melodies of peace and love before their world explodes into millions of tears. As you imagine and see from the photos I've provided - the staggeringly elaborate artwork and equally beautiful inner sleeve and its writing font seemed more like a Tolkien book art-plate than an LP record. Esoteric are clearly aware of this and have tried to reproduce that impact and (largely) succeeded. 

A clever move has been to put the lyrics that were originally on both sides of the inner sleeve into a separate booklet (in the right inner flap) and print them to such a degree that you can actually read them. Unfortunately, they have not done the same to the 'story' of Olias that is spread across four inner flaps - most of which is barely legible. Clearly, they should have done the same for the story part of this. 

There is a separate 20-page booklet in the left flap that fills out the album's making - a new in-depth interview with JA by MALCOLM DOME (dated Oct 2020). Rumours of Vangelis playing keyboards on the album (which have persisted for years) and RCA doing their nut at the same are quickly quashed as untrue - though Vangelis was one of the first to hear the finished product and mightily approved (Anderson saw him as a mentor as well as musician friend). 

We also learn that "Olias Of Sunhillow" was a truly 'solo' project, Anderson playing 'everything' - as much as 30 instruments with a recording time of a gruelling three to eight-months (project gestation had been almost five years since the "Fragile" LP in 1971). Amidst the text and illuminations of how maddening the recording actually was - there are pictures of memorabilia supplied by fan David Watkinson - but I have to admit they are strangely muted and badly rendered to a point where you can see what they are but not read them. 

Presentation-wise - this Esoteric Recordings reissue is a damn good fist at it - the rare American Promo 7" single with Titled Picture Sleeve for "Flight Of The Moorglade" b/w "To The Runner" is pictured as are Trade Adverts, Reviews, Times articles etc. And the sepia-feel paper even mimics the texture of the original release. But I would have to be honest and say that that mistake with the story being unreadable is kind of dumb. I should also add that the new remaster from BEN WISEMAN says all the right things on the printed tin (first gen tapes, stereo masters etc) - but the result has left me slightly underwhelmed. 

For sure when you hear those Harp Scales in "Dance Of Ranyart" and that massive crescendo of voices and instruments during Track 4 on Side 1 - the effect is powerful. But I would say that this is a Remaster that needs a bit of welly on your Volume Dial to lift that veil. I also demo'd the 5.1 Surround Mix and the High Definition Stereo Mix on a mate's system (I don't have 5.1 myself) and the Audio was magnificent - the clarity is there that I feel is still a tad muffled on the CD version. 

I've waited decades for this album to be properly remastered and available as such at a reasonable price - so I will congratulate Esoteric Recordings for that. But the lack of anything new (demos, outtake passages etc) is a bit of a disappointment if I'm brutally honest and that packaging faux pas irritates. But then I played the gorgeous Acoustic/Synth intro to "Flight Of The Moorglade" and I shed a wee Proggy tear of joy (I bought that single in Dublin back in the day). So someone is doing something right here. 

"Olias Of Sunhillow" has quite rightly built up a bit of a rep as a genuine Prog Rock, Art Rock, Symphonic Rock masterpiece. And while I still don’t quite know what your four tribes of Sunhillow are actually about (can’t tell my Oractaniom from my Nordranious man) – I love this record. Dense, layered, articulate without being too fay – it is a beautiful thing. And at last a good reissue label has done it a solid space retain.  

"Cha! Cha!" Anderson chants as he finishes the wicked album closer "To The Runner". Couldn't agree more my Topographic son...