"In Search Of The Lost Chord" by THE MOODY BLUES (July 2008 Universal/Deram CD 'Expanded Edition' Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Best Way To Travel..."

The Moodies 3rd studio album "In Search Of The Lost Chord" saw the Blighty light of day in late July 1968 in Stereo (followed in the USA in October 1968) and has always been a firm fan fave.

Part Prog, Part Acid Trip, yet seriously melodic and lyrically reaching - their poppy debut "The Magnificent Moodies" of July 1965 must have seemed a long musical way back - because this Mellotron, Guitars and Flutes fusion saw the group embrace the far-out artwork of Philip Travers and the floating-on-astral-plains ideals of the day (gardens of delight baby, ultra violet lights and the earth turning slowly around as we all chant ‘om’ –if you know what I’m saying).

Shadows of "Revolver" and "Sgt. Peppers" collide with Ravi Shankar and Donovan and Island’s Nirvana to produce music that is dated in places for sure – but is still as innovative and beautiful as it was when first released. And this gorgeous sounding 40th Anniversary CD Remaster from 2008 only hammers home just how innovative it was. Here are the Voices In The Sky...

UK released July 2008 - "In Search Of The Lost Chord" by THE MOODY BLUES on Universal/Deram 530 706-9 (Barcode 600753070697) is an 'Expanded Edition CD Reissue with the 12-Track 1968 Stereo Albums plus Nine Bonus Tracks that plays out as follows (75:59 minutes):

1. Departure [Side 1]

2. Ride My See-Saw

3. Dr. Livingstone, I Presume

4. House Of Four Doors (Part 1)

5. Legend Of The Mind

6. House Of Four Doors (Part 2)

7. Voices In The Sky [Side 2]

8. The Best Way To Travel

9. Visions Of Paradise

10. The Actor

11. The Word

12. Om

Tracks 1 to 12 are the album "In Search Of The Lost Chord" - released July 1968 in the UK in Stereo on Deram SML 711 and October 1968 in the USA on Deram DES 18017. Produced by TONY CLARKE – it peaked at No. 5 in the UK and No. 23 in the USA LP charts.

BONUS TRACKS:

13. A Simple Game (Justin Hayward Vocal Mix)

14. The Best Way To Travel (Additional Vocal Mix)

15. Visions Of Paradise (Instrumental Version)

16. What Am I Doing Here? (Original Version)

17. The Word (Mellotron Mix)

18. Om (Extended Version, 6:07 minutes)

19. Doctor Livingstone I Presume

20. Thinking Is The Best Way To Travel

21. A Simple Game - Non-Album B-side to "Ride My See Saw", UK released 25 October 1968 on Deram DM 213)

The 20-page booklet is a surprisingly decent affair – MARK POWELL of Esoteric Recordings providing the hugely illuminating and enthusiastic liner notes. There are period colour photos of the five lads – Justin Hayward, John Lodge, Mike Pinder, Graeme Edge and Ray Thomas – as well as a Deramic Stereo Sound trade advert for the album, rare Euro pictures sleeves for singles like "Ride My See-Saw" and "Voices In The Sky" and of course the original LP artwork.

The Remaster of the Stereo Album by ALBERTO PARODI and JUSTIN HAYWARD has been taken from original Decca master tapes with MARK POWELL being the Audio Engineer on the Extra Tracks. This CD sounds amazing – real care taken – warm and kicking for all the right reasons. To the music...

Once you get past "Departure" (Graeme Edge's opening 44 seconds of spoken piffle) - you're greeted by the rocking John Lodge song "Ride My See-Saw" – a clear winner that screamed period 45 (and that’s what they did). After the American release of the album in October 1968, the Moodies returned to Decca's Studios in the UK to record Mike Pinder's "A Simple Game" (Track 21) - a song that was popped onto the B-side of the decidedly commercial "Ride My See-Saw" and rush-released (Deram DM 213 was issued 25 October 1968).

The fantastically hippy six thirty-six minutes of "Legends Of A Mind" tells us you can't take a trip on Astral Plains because Timothy Leary is dead (the 3CD Decca Underground Box Set of 2008 took its name from this trippy track - see separate review). The remaster is gorgeous really bring out those Hayward 12-String Guitar moments abled helped by Ray Thomas on Flute while Pinder brings up the Mellotron rear. After the magic of "The Best Way To Travel" with its clever stop-start melodies and far-out-man lyrics - "Visions Of Paradise" with its Flutes, Voices and subtle Sitar notes feels positively peaceful and beautiful. Side 2 ends on what I think is the records high point – the fabulous Nirvana vs. Donovan "Om" – nearly six minutes of the band layering Sitars, Flutes and Violins with gorgeously orchestrated voices – the whole clouds passing by my head thing floating on a soft Tabla beat. Heaven indeed...

An exemplary CD Reissue and for under five quid (if you’ll forgive the British Railways lost and found pun) – a bit of a aural find...

"In The Land Of The Grey And Pink" by CARAVAN (February 2001 Universal/Decca 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue - Paschal Byrne Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Grumbly Grimblies..."

It seems strange even now that in midst of spring 1971 (April to be exact) when all things Prog Rock really began to explode - that the release of Caravan's third and most beloved of album's "In The Land Of Grey And Pink" effectively tanked.

In fact Canterbury's finest (and Decca for that matter) would have to wait until album number seven "Cunning Stunts" to see some chart action - and even then it did so for one week in August 1975 at No. 50 and then buggered off again (they made a similarly anaemic entry in the States managing only No. 134 with the same LP). The band had played huge festivals in Europe after their second delightfully-titled platter from September 1970 "If I Could Do It All Again, I'd Do It All Over You" and built up a steady and fiercely loyal following at home in Blighty.

And while the Side Two 23-minute opus "Nine Feet Underground" is most definitely Proggy in nature - parts of Side One are more Pop than Avant Garde and even (dare we say it) 'pleasant'. Which is I suspect why the album has stuck in so many people's hearts ever since and remained on Decca and Universal's catalogue for nearly five decades now. So a little like Camel – Caravan have always skirted around the danger zones of success instead of kicking the doors in like Yes, ELP and Genesis did in those halcyon years of the early Seventies.

So what do you get? This quietly uplifting album still sounds poignant and wonderfully eccentric in a very English kind of way – here given a storming CD Remaster, genuinely decent Bonus Tracks and a hefty playing time. As the original Deram LP sleeve note royally pronounced on the 'Deluxe Edition' gatefold inner (the boys ambling over some hill somewhere with their hands raised in the air like some drugged-up pied-pipers) - "...Those of you who haven't heard the group before are in for a very enjoyable initiation." Amen to that baby - let's get to the grumbly grimblies...

UK released February 2001 - "In The Land Of Grey And Pink" by CARAVAN on Universal/Decca 8829832 (Barcode 042288298328) is a Reissue CD Remaster of their third album from 1971 with Five Bonus Tracks and plays out as follows (74:45 minutes):

1. Golf Girl [Side 1]

2. Winter Wine

3. Love To Love You (And Tonight Pigs Will Fly)

4. In The Land Of Grey & Pink

5. Nine Feet Underground [Side 2]

A 22:40-minute track consisting of the following sections:

Nigel Blows A Tune/Love's A Friend/Make It 76/Dance Of The Seven Paper/Hankies/Hold Grandad By The Nose/Honest I Did!/Disassociation/100% Proof 

Tracks 1 to 5 are their third studio album "In The Land Of Grey And Pink" - released April 1971 in the UK on Deram SDL-R 1 and July 1971 in the USA on London PS 593. Produced by DAVID HITCHCOCK – it didn’t chart in either country.

BONUS TRACKS:

6. I Don't Know Its Name (alias "The Word")

7. Aristocracy

8. It's Like To Have A Name Next Week (Instrumental of "Winter Wine")

9. Group Girl (First Version of "Golf Girl" with Different Lyrics)

10. Disassociation/100% Proof (New Mix)

Tracks 6 to 10 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

CARAVAN was:

RICHARD SINCLAIR - Bass  and Acoustic Guitar and Vocals

PYE HASTINGS - Electric and Acoustic Guitars and Vocals

DAVID SINCLAIR - Organ, Piano, Mellotron, Harmony Vocals

JIMMY HASTINGS - Flute, Tenor Sax and Piccolo

DAVE GRINSTEAD - Cannon, Bell and Wind

RICHARD COUGHLAN - Drums and Percussion

The 12-page booklet features all the relevant original LP/reissue CD details these Decca reissues do - illuminated even further by superb MARK POWELL liner notes (he runs the Prog and Avant Garde specialist reissue label 'Esoteric Recordings' for Cherry Red) alongside Trade adverts for the album, a Scarborough concert poster from December 1971 with guests Hookfoot and DJ Compere John Peel, period photo and a repro of the inner sleeve's liner notes. Powell's liner notes detail the band's history from 1968 up to the fourth album "Waterloo Lily" and includes contributions from band members Pye and Hastings. It's all very well done - as is the wonderfully clear and meaty Remaster from original tapes by PASCHAL BYRNE. Those Sinclair keyboard flourishes as you get into the first nine-minutes of the epic "Nine Feet Underground" over on Side 2 are really punchy - the notes rising and falling with clarity as they sail out of your speakers. To the music...

The opening salvo of Canterbury whimsy "Golf Girl" was used as a Caravan representative track on the superb 2002 Universal Box Set "Legend Of A Mind - The Underground Anthology" (see separate review) and it's easy to hear why. With his preppy voice and lyrics about girls handing out cups of tea as he fancies a swing at her putting area - it's five minutes of cool swinging Mellotron-Rock-Pop. The acoustic guitar and vocal combo that opens the near eight-minutes of "Winter Wine" is gorgeous (a great transfer) and when the band kick-in - the punch is huge. Dragons roamed the land and knights in armour saved damsels in distress - "Winter Wine" has always been a smoking dream of a tune - nymphs dancing as the high-hats patter - young men dreaming of things to come (and don't you just love those piano roles as he sings 'you're close to me' followed by that brilliant-sounding organ solo). The 3-minute ditty "Love To Love You (And Tonight Pigs Will Fly)" is alarmingly Pop - like Caravan had suddenly become Marmalade by way of Sparks and 10cc.

Those mumbling voices that open the title track "In The Land Of Grey & Pink" are a little clearer now - Acoustic Guitars then introducing nasty grumbling grimblies climbing down your chimney - a lovely piano solo soothing your worst 'there are monsters in the stacks' fears. Speaking of which - you would think that a 22:40-minute song consisting of large amounts of keyboard soloing would test even the most committed - but the monster that is "Nine Feet Underground" confirms the flashes of brilliance evident in the instrumental passages of "Winter Wine" and more on Side 1. And it just has that 'Caravan' sound that I love so much - brilliant stuff.

I'm amazed at the quality of the Unreleased Material - great saxophone work on "I Don't Know Its Name..." - a six-minute ambler tune similar to "Winter Wine" recorded December 1970 at AIR Studios in London. "Aristocracy" opens with a few words of studio banter - another outtake recorded 14 December 1970 - falsetto vocals making them sound like The Moody Blues sniffing helium gas. But for me (and fans) the instrumental variant of "Winter Wine" is so damn cool - Sinclair humming the melody in lieu of actual lyrics - clashing symbols and shivering notes trundling along as they flesh out the tune - a fab keyboard solo awaiting you as it boogies to a finish. It's eight minutes of Caravan composing - at work - and its genuinely fascinating stuff.

Great album, fond memories, kicking audio and a cheap-as-chips price tag. Yummy. In the pink on this one - yes...

The UK and Europe 2000 to 2002 Universal CD

'Extended Edition' Reissues and Remasters for CARAVAN include:

1. "Caravan" (February 1969 Debut LP)

Released April 2002 on Universal/Verve Forecast 8829522 (Barcode 042288295228) - features Mono and Stereo LP Versions and A Bonus Track

2. "If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You" (September 1970)

Released February 2001 on Universal/Decca 8829682 (Barcode 042288296829) with Four Bonus Tracks

3. "In The Land Of Grey And Pink" (April 1971)

Released February 2001 on Universal/Decca 8829832 (Barcode 042288298328) with Five Bonus Tracks

4. "Waterloo Lily" (May 1972)

Released February 2001 on Universal/Decca 8829822 (Barcode 042288298229) with Three Bonus Tracks

5. "For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night" (October 1973)

Released February 2001 on Universal/Deram 8829802 (Barcode 042288298021) with Five Bonus Tracks

6. "Caravan & The New Symphonia" (April 1974)

Released February 2001 on Universal/Decca 8829692 (Barcode 042288296928) with Four Previously Unreleased

7. "Cunning Stunts" (July 1975)

Released February 2001 on Universal/Decca 8829812 (Barcode 042288298120) with Three Bonus Tracks

8. "Where But For Caravan Would I"

A 2CD Anthology Covering 1968 to 1975 - released July 2000 on Decca 524 755-2 (Barcode 731452475527) includes Previously Unreleased material

"(Music Inspired By) The Snow Goose" by CAMEL - May 1975 UK LP on Decca/Gama Records (June 2002 UK Universal/Decca 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue - Paschal Byrne Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Rhayder Takes Flight..."

Camel's self-titled debut album from February 1973 had clocked up modest sales of 5000 within its first year of UK release (MCA Records MUPS 473) and their better recorded and presented second platter "Mirage" from March 1974 (Deram SML 1107) did considerably better - even denting the Top 200 in the USA at No. 149 in November of that year (prompting a US tour).

But it was their third LP "The Snow Goose" - an instrumental concept album with 'music inspired by' Paul Gallico's 1941 short story and presented in a classy laminate sleeve (with insert) that turned them into genuine Prog Rock stars and saw Camel finally make a chart presence in the UK (albeit at a modest No. 22). Let's allow the caged bird to sing...

UK released June 2002 - (Music Inspired By) "The Snow Goose" by CAMEL on Universal/Decca 8829302 (Barcode 042288293026) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue and Remaster of the 1975 album with Five Bonus Tracks that plays out as follows (67:54 minutes):

1. The Great Marsh [Side 1]

2. Rhayder

3. Rhayder Goes To Town

4. Sanctuary

5. Fritha

6. The Snow Goose

7. Friendship

8. Migration

9. Rhayder Alone

10. Flight Of The Snow Goose [Side 2]

11. Preparation

12. Dunkirk

13. Epitaph

14. Fritha Alone

15. La Princesse Perdue

16. The Great Marsh

Tracks 1 to 16 are their third studio album (Music Inspired By) "The Snow Goose" - released May 1975 in the UK on Decca/Gama Records SKL-R 5207 and July 1975 in the USA on Janus Records JXS 7016 (reissued in 1977 on Passport Records PB 9856). Produced by DAVID HITCHCOCK - the album peaked at No. 22 on the UK charts and No. 162 in the USA.

BONUS TRACKS:

17. Flight Of The Snow Goose (Single Edit - 2:05 minutes)

18. Rhayder (Single Edit)

Tracks 17 and 18 are the A&B-sides of a May 1975 UK released 7" single on Decca F R 13581

19. Flight Of The Snow Goose (Alternate Single Edit - 2:49 minutes)

20. Rhayder Goes To Town

21. (a) The Snow Goose (b) Freefall

Tracks 20 and 21 recorded live at The Marquee in London, September/October 1974 - Tracks 17 to 21 all Previously Unreleased on CD

CAMEL was:

ANDREW LATIMER - Acoustic, Electric and Slide Guitars, Flute and Vocals

PETER BARDENS - Organ, Electric Piano, Piano, Mini Moog Synthesiser, Pipe Organ, Acoustic Piano, ARP Odyssey and Vocals

DOUG FERGUSON - Bass

ANDY WARD - Drums, Vibes and Percussion

The first UK CD incarnation of "The Snow Goose" came on Deram 800 080-2 as a Digital Remaster in July 1988 and I had that issue for years - here the audio is notably uplifted - the keyboards and David Bedford orchestral arrangements on "La Princesse Perdue" just beautifully rendered. PASCHAL BYRNE - an Audio Engineer of serious experience - has done the honours here and it's a sweetly warm and musical job done. The 8-page booklet has liner notes from MARK POWELL (later of Esoteric Recordings) that features the usual period photos, an advert for the American issue that dropped the moniker 'Music Inspired By' for just "The Snow Goose", a Decca advert for the album and a tour with guitarist Michael Chapman and the whole thing dedicated to Peter Bardens who had only just passed away in late January 2002 as the reissue was going to press. It's nicely done and the Bonus Tracks are just that - genuine Extras for Camel fans - the period live tracks and the rare single-edits all new-to-CD. Let's get to the music...

The album was conceived and written in a cottage in Devon and in the autumn of 1974 the band toured the new material culminating in two shows at London's Marquee in September and October. Decca recorded some of those performances and they appear as Bonus Tracks on this CD for the first time.

Camel's "Snow Goose" is an album that requires listening - a slice of Prog that creeps up on you with its beauty. David Hitchcock's production values shine as we fade into "The Great Marsh" - floating ethereal like the magnificent birds near water and reeds. "Rhayder" and "Rhayder Goes To Town" are the first flourishes of brilliance from guitarist Andrew Latimer - the latter allowing gorgeous Spanish Acoustic guitar passages to flow into complimentary Mini Moog moments from Peter Bardens (I'm so reminded of Dave Greenslade's band here and especially "Bedside Manners Are Extra".

And as "Fritha” segues into "The Snow Goose" that lead electric guitar sounds amazing - the bass and organ that follow warm and clear too.  Over on Side 2 both "Flight Of The Snow Goose" with its very Prog keyboard fade-in alongside the floating guitars, flutes and ooh-voices of the gorgeous "Preparation" stake out the album's greatness - melody swirling around inside all that birdy concept stuff - music that sounds as beautiful as its subject matter.

A quality album then given an even better lease of life on this exceptional CD Reissue and Remaster - and it's only four squid. Time to fly indeed...

"Let The Electric Children Play: The Underground Story Of Transatlantic Records 1968-1976" by VARIOUS ARTISTS (August 2017 Esoteric Recordings 3CD Box Set) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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CADENCE /CASCADE 

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"...Tear Down The Wall..."

For those of us who wouldn't know a Belgian 'Marsupilami' from a Mushrump 'Gryphon' or indeed a Marxist 'Humblebum'  - thank God there's Cherry Red Records of the UK and their Satanically loony as a Buckled-Pentangle label offshoot – Esoteric Recordings.

Men of twisty beards and impeccable taste, ladies of dangerously short skirts and Laura Ashley Saleswoman of the Year Awards and paisley-trousered accountants who really should stop doing Peruvian dancing dust in the bijou toilet area - have put together the 3CD Mini Box Set that is "Let The Electric Children Play: The Underground Story Of Transatlantic Records 1968-1976".

It's the kind of barmy musical journey that will have your partner wondering why she married you - and as she listens over Sunday's Brisket to The Deviants rabbiting on about a "Metamorphosis Explosion" or CMU waffling omnipotent about a "Song From The 4th Era" (what happened to the other three you ask) worry that maybe the mercury that's been in your teeth all these years really does need to finally come out. It's all a bit mad and very eccentric and fantastically tear-down-the-barriers adventurous stuff - if you feel my planetary drift man. Let's get to the English Underground before the Eurocrats in Brussels tell us it’s the wrong shape and colour...

UK released Friday, 25 August 2017 - "Let The Electric Children Play: The Underground Story Of Transatlantic Records 1968-1976" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 32600 (Barcode 5013929470040) is a 39-Track 3CD Clamshell Box Set of Remasters that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (77:31 minutes):

1. We Can Swing Together - ALAN HULL (non-album A-side of a December 1969 UK 7" single on Big Tree Records BIG 129, B-side is Track 8)

2. 11 B.S. - CIRCUS (from their 1969 UK debut LP "Circus" on Transatlantic Records TRA 207)

3. Midsummer Nights Happening - THE SALLYANGIE [with Mike & Sally Oldfield] (from their 1968 UK debut LP "Children Of The Sun" on Transatlantic Records TRA 176)

4. Light Flight - PENTANGLE (from their 1969 third UK LP "Basket Of Light" on Transatlantic Records TRA 205)

5. Billy The Monster - THE DEVIANTS (from their 1969 UK debut LP "The Deviants" on Transatlantic Records TRA 204)

6. Paint It Black - JODY GRIND (from their 1969 UK debut LP "One Step On" on Transatlantic Records TRA 210, a Rolling Stones cover)

7. Norwegian Wood - CIRCUS (from their 1969 UK debut LP "Circus" on Transatlantic Records TRA 207, a Beatles cover)

8. Obadiah's Grave - ALAN HULL (non-album B-side of a December 1969 UK 7" single on Big Tree Records BIG 129, A-side is Track 1)

9. Lucifer's Cage - GORDON GILTRAP (from his 1969 UK LP "Portrait" on Transatlantic Records TRA 202)

10. Once I Had A Sweetheart - PENTANGLE (from their 1969 third UK LP "Basket Of Light" on Transatlantic Records TRA 205)

11. Metamorphosis Explosion - THE DEVIANTS (from their 1969 UK debut LP "The Deviants" on Transatlantic Records TRA 204)

12. Saturday Roundabout Sunday - THE HUMBLEBUMS [Billy Connolly and Gerry Rafferty] (non-album A-side to a 1969 UK 7" single on BIG T Records BIG 122 (B-side was "Bed Of Mossy Green")

13. Makin' Time - LITTLE FREE ROCK (from their 1969 UK debut LP "Little Free Rock" on Transatlantic Records TRA 208)

14. Mona (A Fragment) - MICK FARREN [of The Deviants] (from his 1970 UK debut solo LP "Mona - The Carnivorous Circus" on Transatlantic Records TRA 212, a Bo Diddley cover)

15. Plastic Shit - JODY GRIND (from their 1970 UK 2nd LP "Far Canal" on Transatlantic Records TRA 221)

Disc 2 (78:34 minutes):

1. All In Your Mind - STRAY (from their 1970 UK debut LP "Stray" on Transatlantic Records TRA 216)

2. Born To Be Free - MARSUPILAMI (from their 1970 UK debut LP "Marsupilami" on Transatlantic Records TRA 213)

3. We've Had It - JODY GRIND (from their 1970 UK album "Far Canal" on Transatlantic Records TRA 221)

4. Mice And Rats In The Loft - JAN DUKES DE GREY (from their 1971 UK album "Mice And Rats In The Loft" on Transatlantic Records TRA 234)

5. Homage To The God Of Light - PETER BARDENS (from his 1970 UK album "The Answer" on Transatlantic Records TRA 222)

6. Around The World In 80 Days - STRAY (from their 1970 UK debut album "Stray" on Transatlantic Records TRA 216)

7. Mendle - MR. FOX (from their 1971 UK album "The Gypsy" on Transatlantic Records TRA 236)

8. Prelude To The Arena - MARSUPiLAMI (from their 1971 UK album "Arena" on Transatlantic Records TRA 230)

9. Don't Ever Give Up Trying - UNICORN (from their 1971 debut album "Uphill All The Way" on Transatlantic Records TRA 238)

10. Reflection - PENTANGLE (from their 1971 UK album "Reflection" on Transatlantic Records TRA 240)

11. Skin Valley Serenade - SKIN ALLEY (from their 1972 UK album "Two Quid Deal" on Transatlantic Records TRA 260)

Disc 3 (73:33 minutes):

1. Tear Down The Wall - PETER BARDENS (from his 1971 UK debut LP "Peter Bardens" on Transatlantic Records TRA 243)

2. Son Of The Father - STRAY (from their 1971 UK LP "Suicide" on Transatlantic Records TRA 233)

3. Don't Count Me Out - GERRY RAFFERTY (from his 1971 UK debut solo LP "Can I Have My Money Back" on Transatlantic Records TRA 241)

4. Rick's Seven - SKIN ALLEY (from their 1972 UK LP "Two Quid Deal" on Transatlantic Records TRA 260)

5. Song From The 4th Era - CMU

6. A Distant Thought, A Point Of Light - CMU (tracks 15 and 16 from their 1973 UK LP "Space Cabaret" on Transatlantic Records TRA 259)

7. The Ungodly - DECAMERON (from their 1975 UK LP "Third Light" on Transatlantic Records TRA 304)

8. Fair Fortune's Star - CAROLANNE PEGG [of Mr. Fox] (from her 1973 UK debut LP "Carolanne Pegg" on Transatlantic Records TRA 266)

9. Move It - STRAY (non-album version on the A-side of a 1973 UK 7" single on Transatlantic/Big T BIG 516 - B-side was "Crazy People")

10. Shelter - RENIA (from the 1973 UK LP "First Offenders" on Transatlantic Records TRA 261)

11. Opening Move - GRYPHON (from their 1974 3rd UK LP "Red Queen To Gryphon Three" on Transatlantic Records TRA 287)

12. Journey's End - DECAMERON (from their 1975 UK LP "Third Light" on Transatlantic Records TRA 304)

13. Criminal World - METRO [featuring Duncan Browne] (from their 1976 UK LP "Metro" on Transatlantic Records TRA 340)

The Mini LP Sized Clamshell Box contains a jam-packed 48-page booklet where compiler, co-ordinator and researcher MARK POWELL deals with each artist and band in alphabetical order (taking a leaf from the booklets within the Decca. Deram and Vertigo box sets from Universal). Paragraph after paragraph provides deep insider detail and all of it sided by stacks of repro'd memorabilia- album covers, UK, US and European Trade Adverts, concert tickets and even hand-written bills on headed Transatlantic Records paper. It's beautifully done and must have involved serious amounts of research hours (well done to all involved). Long-time label associate and Audio Engineer BEN WISEMAN has done the transfers - each Remaster full of air and muscle. The sources as you can imagine vary, but little of it feels underwhelming - stuff like the Hard Rock of Stray vs. the delicacy of Unicorn by way of the full-on Prog of Peter Bardens - it's all strong and most times belies the labels limited Production budgets. To the mixed-up confusion...

Disc 1 opens with Lindisfarne's Alan Hull issuing a solo 45 in 1969 on Transatlantic's 'Big T Records' - "We Can Swing Together" (the B-side is Track 8 on Disc 1 "Obadiah's Grave"). The lyrics are angry - the law breaking down doors, county judge sending the boys to jail, laughing as they walk towards the cell - all of it acting as a defiant-attitude opener. Just as you were about to get comfortable with all that witty Newcastle swinging from the rafters in natty pubs - in creeps Circus with six and a half minutes of the challenging "11 B.S." - a very Prog-Jazz instrumental featuring Mel Collins on Saxophone (he would shortly after depart for King Crimson). English countryside prettiness come sin the shape of the dreadfully twee yet sweet "Midsummer Right's Happening" by The Sallyangie - famous for housing Sally and Mike Oldfield - one of them dreaming of bells and ridges etc. Far better is the sexy swing of "Light Flight" from Pentangle followed neatly by two wild covers - Jody Grind going hell for leather at the Stones' "Paint It Black" - a version mad enough that surely Jagger would approve of it - and then Circus giving us seven minutes of Rubber Soul's "Norwegian Wood" like you've never heard it (fuzzed-up guitars ala Crimson saxophone) - nice. Other Disc 1 goodies include Gordon Giltrap's wonderful acoustic slasher "Lucifer's Cage" where he lays into what sounds like a twelve-string - virtuosity and Bert Jansch flourishes coming at you from every angle. Tim Hinkley of Jody Grind guests on "Makin' Time" by Little Free Rock - easily one of the weakest cuts here. Better is Mick Farren of The Deviants going at Bo Diddley's "Mona" in a suitable grungy shimmering guitar manner accompanied by clever Cello slashes ("hey Mona, let me run away and lie with you..."). It ends on the very Punky "Plastic Sh**" from Jody Grind where our boy goes all Stooges-angry on environmental destruction (wicked raw guitar). 

Disc 2 is the longest playing time of all three so Stray's "All In Your Mind" may run to over eight minutes - but don't let that fool you into thinking its some Prog-tastic minuet - it's a straight-up rawk tune with more than a few elements of Stooges Punk in its effected guitar solos - very impressive stuff. Things return to trippy on the excellent "Born To Be Free" by Marsupilami - great musical ideas abounding. Acoustic Guitars and English madrigal melody greet us on "We've Had It" - Holland's melodious instrumental beginning then becoming a sort of early Gryphon meets Genesis Prog Rock moment. "...Moonbeams danced on the night..." we're informed in a high-pitched voice during "Mice And Rats In The Loft" - Jan Dukes De Grey giving it some nine-minute guitar-and-drums wig out. Camel's Peter Bardens gets to show his inner doom on "Homage To The God Of Light" - another fast-paced Prog number where guitars vs. keyboards battle it out for thirteen and half minutes (Van Der Graaf Generator fans will eat this up). Things calm with Stray's mellow "Around The World In 80 Days" - together on our magic carpet ride. Other highlights include the melodic acoustic Folk-Rock of "Don’t You Ever Give Up Trying" by Unicorn – a proper-tunes band (like say Badfinger) admired by Pink Floyd’s Dave Gilmour who would go on to produce Unicorn’s next three albums - "Blue Pine Trees" in 1974 on Charisma and two on Harvest - 1976's "Too Many Crooks" and 1977's "One More Tomorrow". And don’t get me started on the genius of "Reflection" – the title track to their fifth and last album for Transatlantic Records where Pentangle use violins and Danny Thompson’s Double Bass in what could be described as a Prog Rock ethereal drifter (all eleven minutes-plus of it). Skin Alley tidy up Disc 2 with the very Jethro Tull flute-driven "Skin Valley Serenade".

Disc 3 brings us from 1973 onwards and the production values increase even though Peter Barden's opener "Tear Down The Walls" flanges your speakers to a point where it grates the listen. Better is Stray's "Son Of The Father" which starts out like an anti-war chant but soon becomes enveloped in Mellotron and Guitars (yeah baby). Stepping out of his Humblebums duo - Gerry Rafferty shows an early sign of melody-writing brilliance in his "Don't Count Me Out" - a cut off his debut LP. Skin Alley gives us "Rick's Seven" sounding not unlike early Rush with a restrained Steve Marriott at the microphone. Contemporary Music Unit (CMU to you and I) are probably the most 'out there' melodic Prog outfit on here (which is saying something) and their brilliant and imaginative twofer "Song From The 4th Area" and "A Distant Thought, A Point Of Light" are full of bodies changing, astral travelling through the Universe and generally becoming one with galactic consciousness (as you do at the cosmetics counter in Boots on a Saturday). Folkies Decameron follow with "The Ungodly" – questioning authority types and ‘may God forgive them’ unholy decision-making. Carolanne Pegg of Mr. Fox gives us ten minutes of "Fair Fortune’s Star" – a master in the woods tale of woe and warning that feels like Fairport Convention giving it some "Tam Lyn". Another ten-minute extravaganza of playing virtuosity screams of out your speakers in gorgeous remastered form in the shape of Gryphon and one part of their four-piece Chess Suite "Red Queen To Gryphon Three" – very Greenslade meets Genesis meets – well Gryphon. It all ends on the odd Folk-Pop of Metro – a Duncan Browne band that is held in affection to this day – their Brian Protheroe Eighties sounding music defying its 1976 recording date.

What a ride – even though I'm fairly sure some will say of bands on here - what a pile of indulgent tut. But isn't that the point. "Let The Electric Children Play: The Underground Story Of Transatlantic Records 1968-1976" is aimed at those who want to explore – remember days when music like this could be recorded – when we actually did tear down the walls - when we reached for it and sometimes got 'there'.

"...Flowers...coming into bloom again...as lovers and as friends...there’s no reason now to be afraid..." – Decameron sing on the lovely "Journey's End". This stuff should be remembered and I for one will welcome Electric Play 2...

"Dragonfly by STRAWBS - February 1970 UK Second Studio LP on A&M Records featuring Dave Cousins, Tony Hooper, Rick Wakeman and Paul Brett (2008 UK A&M Records/UMC 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue - Paschal Byrne and Ben Wiseman Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Delicate, Tranquil and Tender..."

The first two STRAWBS albums - the self-titled "Strawbs" debut in June 1969 and its more accomplished follow up - February 1970's "Dragonfly" highlighted a band very much on the up - growing in stature with each rapid release - receiving critical acclaim and a fattening fan base - but still finding chart action elusive.

As a rarities buyer in Reckless (London) for nearly 20 years - I can count on one hand the number of times I saw Tan A&M label UK originals of either vinyl LP. Both are forgotten gems filled with music that's daring and reaching. So it's with some pleasure that I come to this superb 2008 CD Remaster - expanding the original 9-track LP with 4 Bonus Tracks. Here are the Visionary Ladies in the Lake...

UK released August 2008 - "Dragonfly" by STRAWBS on A&M Records/UMC 5302680 (Barcode 600753026809) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster with Four Bonus Tracks and plays out as follows (49:29 minutes):

1. The Weary Song

2. Dragonfly

3. I Turned My Face To The Wind

4. Josephine, For Better Or Worse

5. Another Day

6. Til The Sun Comes Shining Through [Side 2]

7. Young Again

8. The Vision Of The Lady In The Lake

9. Close Your Eyes

Tracks 1 to 9 are their 2nd studio album "Dragonfly" - released February 1970 in the UK on A&M Records AMLS 970 (no USA release). Produced by TONY VISCONTI - it failed to chart in the UK. All tracks written by Dave Cousins except "Young Again" by Tony Hooper.

BONUS TRACKS:

10. We'll Meet Again Sometime [Recorded at Trident Studios, London in June 1969]

11. Forever [Non-Album Track, A-side to a UK 7" single on A&M AMS 791 - released July 1970 with the LP cut "Another Day" as the B-side]

12. Another Day

13. We'll Meet Again Someday [Tracks 12 and 13 recorded for the BBC's John Peel 'Top Gear' Radio Show on 7 September 1969]

STRAWBS was:

DAVE COUSINS - Vocals, Guitars, Piano, Dulcimer, 'Chinese Piano' and Percussion

TONY HOOPER - Vocals, Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Tambourine and Percussion

RON CHESTERMAN - Double Bass

CLAIRE DENIZ - Cello

Guests:

TONY VISCONTI - Recorder on "Dragonfly" and "Young Again"

RICK WAKEMAN – Piano, PAUL BRETT - Lead Guitar and BJARNE ROSTVOLD - Drums - all on "The Vision Of The Lady In The Lake"

The 16-page booklet is a lovely thing to behold and pleasingly in-depth and a nice touch is the Tan Label for the CD aping the original English LP rarity. MARK POWELL of the quality reissue label Esoteric Recordings (part of Cherry Red UK) provides the superb new liner notes chronicling the band's history from 1968/1969 darlings of Progressive Folk with Sandy Denny before she jumped ship for Fairport Convention to the re-jiggered Strawbs on the cusp of 'a new musical rebirth' with 1971's "From The Witchwood". The rare lyric insert that came with original 1970 British LPs has its words reproduced on Pages 8 to 14 - there's a photo of the stand-alone British 45 for "Forever" (a session outtake released one week after the new line-up had recorded the 11 July 1970 Queen Elizabeth Hall gig that would become the live LP "Just Another Collection Of Antiques And Curios") as well as repro of a rare A&M Records trade advert trying to drum up interest in their 'new one'. The beautiful 'Dragonfly' painting/logo done by Roger Saunders that so elevated the artwork of the original LP crops up throughout the text - as do black and whites of Dave Cousins - all neatly wrapped up with the usual re-issue credits.

PASCHAL BYRNE and BEN WISEMAN (of Audio Archiving) did the Remaster and these hugely experienced Audio Engineers have pulled off a winner. Those slightly Psych-sounding keyboards of Rick Wakeman (before he joined the ranks of Yes and helped out David Bowie sessions in 1971) have amazing clarity on the epic 10-minute "The Vision Of The Lady In The Lake". And that loose English Folk Band 'live in the studio' feel to the Danish sessions (recorded in Copenhagen) is captured so well on tracks like "I Turn My Face To The Wall" and the gorgeous opener "The Weary Song" – Chesterman's Double Bass and Claire Deniz's Cello leaping out the speakers in all the right ways.

Musically I'm reminded of The Incredible String Band experimenting with and bending the barriers of Rock with string instruments and wondering why this superb album didn’t make The Strawbs huge. The musical lushness of "The Weary Song" and the Dulcimer beauty of "Dragonfly" that soon expands into an Acid-Folk dream are both utterly brilliant – the remaster beautifully accenting those heavily drawn string notes and percussive bell tinkles – our Dave lying awake at night waiting for those North winds to blow. The piano/string combo of "I Turned My Face To The Wind" has traces of The Moody Blues and Procol Harum in its melody and slightly sad 'mist rolled down the countryside' lyrics. And even though it's a mere 2:36 minutes long - "I Turned My Face To The Wind" manages to feel more epic than its playing time. Back to the sublime with one of Cousins' loveliest airs – the nuptials/betrothing ballad "Josephine, For Better Or Worse". The Remaster on this track is astounding – as clear as I've ever heard this song. Side A ends with "Another Day" where its jolly upbeat nature makes it the most poppy of tracks on a Folk-Rock LP - like they were aiming for a single.

Side 2 gives us the first trace of hiss with "'Til The Sun Comes Shining Through" - a split-vocal peach that floats like Nick Drake or John Martyn over on Island Records. It's hugely romantic 'my love a primrose fair' lyrics are complimented by sweet acoustic guitars and that soaring cello - Visconti making certain to accentuate the lot. "...Laughing as they run..." go the words to "Young Again" - a gorgeous Tony Hooper song that sounds like its sentiments - where simple pleasures make you and I "...young again...". The lyrics to the mammoth "The Vision Of The Lady In The Lake" take up two pages – but if I'm completely honest I've always found the noises in the background as the verses pass more intrusive than complimentary – and that drums/guitar break about six minutes in kills it for me. Others of course will view it as Prog Folk/Acid Folk at its expressive wild best (one man's poison etc). By way of melodic compensation for the indulgence that just went before – we get the 49-second "Close Your Eyes" ditty that ends Side 2 – leaving the listener panting for more (of the same).

All four of the Bonus Tracks have much to recommend – the Lindisfarne bop of the outtake "We'll Meet Again Sometime" would have been a very cool signal with its 'look upon your loveliness' vibe. An acoustic guitar opening quickly followed by Bowie Cello notes introduces the stand-alone British 45 "Forever" - a good song that is perhaps too overly busy for its own good – and stylistically too similar to The Moody Blues. But I must admit it's an amazing piece of well-produced melodrama and a huge fan rarity finally on CD. The two BBC Sessions are pleasingly well recorded – those duet vocals very clear as are the strings and acoustic guitars. But for me it's the version of "We’ll Meet Again Sometime" that feels special – stripped of that over-production – it makes you concentrate on The Hollies vocals and the 'my love reflected in your eyes' the-boy's-in-love lyrics. Very nice...

London's Psych-Folk-Rockers would have to wait until John Ford and Richard Hudson joined the line-up in June 1970 and recorded what would be November 1970's live album "Just A Collection Of Antiques And Curios" to chart in Blighty - a modest No. 27 - but a start nonetheless. July 1971 would give us "From The Witchwood" and February 1972 the breakthrough album "Grave New World" which finally saw them go Top 20 peaking at an impressive No. 11 (see separate review).

Overlooked – unfairly forgotten – a bit of a friggin' masterpiece frankly – The Strawbs' second album "Dragonfly" is all of these things. And how good is it to hear this amazing CD Remaster do that flirting moment of musical brilliance a proper solid. Big respect to all involved...