"Ahead Rings Out" by BLODWYN PIG (2006 UK EMI 'Expanded Edition' 1CD Reissue - Peter Mew Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Nicking Handbags And All That..." 

Jethro Tull's first album "This Was" was released on the now legendary Island label in October of 1968 with MICK ABRAHAMS on lead guitar. Dissatisfied with the result, Abrahams left and was replaced by the brilliant MARTIN BARRIE. Abrahams then roped in JACK LANCASTER on Sax, Flute & Violin, ANDY PYLE on Bass and RON BERG on Drums and formed the delightfully named and much revered BLODWYN PIG (Abrahams himself handling lead guitar, vocals and all the principal song writing).

In the middle of 1969 - they popped into Morden Studios in Willesden in London and with Producer Andy Johns (brother of the famous Glyn Johns) promptly produced this much-loved gem. The "Blods" or The "Pig" as they're affectionately known over here in Blighty made only two albums before Abrahams finally went solo. 

Blodwyn Pig's "Ahead Rings Out" was their UK debut album in August 1969 on Island Records ILPS 9101 (Stereo Only). The America equivalent went out on A&M Records SP-4210 on their famous Tan label but with a different track line up on Side 2. 

This 'Expanded Edition' EMI CD Reissue and Remaster (as I outline below) will allow fans to finally sequence either configuration (64:44 minutes total playing time). The original vinyl album was housed in the now famous and revered 'head and headphones' gatefold sleeve on both sides of the pond (slight variant in the USA) and the album's witty and detailed liner notes are also reproduced in the excellent booklet of this June 2006 EMI Reissue CD (Catalogue No: 357 6852 - Barcode 094635768527).

Vinyl Versus CD:

Initial runs of the record were on the hugely desirable "Pink" Island Label Design here in the UK - followed by a second press on the "Pink Rim" Label. Both have been difficult to find across the years ("Ahead" was followed in the UK in April 1970 by their second and last proper album, "Getting To This" on Chrysalis Records ILPS 9122). "Ahead" was pressed up on a slab of a record for the time - I'd say about 200 grams. And while that felt meaty, unfortunately, like the mottled effect label, the vinyl here in the UK reflected the same. It’s an album (like Crimson, Traffic and Tull) that is notoriously difficult to find a good pressing of - pits in the surface etc... So to hear it after all these years in this stunning remastered CD sound quality is a genuine thrill.

UK LP track List with CD track numbers:

Side 1: It's Only Love (1), Dear Jill (2), Sing Me A Song That I Know (3), The Modern Alchemist (4)

Side 2: Up And Coming (5), Leave It With Me (6), Change Song (7), Backwash (16), Ain't Ya Comin' Home, Babe? (9)

USA LP track list with CD track numbers:

Side 1: It's Only Love (1), Dear Jill (2), Sing Me A Song That I Know (3), The Modern Alchemist (4)

Side 2: See My Way (8), Summer Day (12), Change Song (7), Backwash (16), Ain't Ya Comin' Home, Babe? (9)

Note: "See My Way" was released on their 2nd album in the UK "Getting To This" in April 1970

If I were to categorise how they sound, it would be early Tull but with a jazzier feel provided by Lancaster's superb sax playing. As a gangly teenager in Dublin, I was suckered into buying the album by the bluesy feel of their initial single "Dear Jill", but that song doesn't actually reflect what most of the album sounds like - rocking Tull with a jazz tint. I was a bit disappointed at first, but on replays their unique sound grew on me - to a point where I wore the record out - and would replace it sporadically through the years with VG copies - just to have a copy to play. The 2006 remaster is glorious - HUGE SOUND without ever being overbearing - just in your face and rocking. PETER MEW did the remaster at Abbey Road and his work here is fabulous. The Cockney Thief dialogue at the beginning of "Change Song" still makes me laugh (title above).

Track 10 is "Sweet Caroline", the non-album B-side to "Dear Jill" - their first UK 7" single on Island WIP 6059 in May 1969. Tracks 11 and 12 are "Walk On The Water" and "Summer Day", their 2nd 7" single in the UK on Island WIP 6069 in October 1969 and both were non-album tracks for UK buyers. Tracks 13 and 14 are "Same Old Story" and "Slow Down", their 3rd 7" single on Chrysalis/Island WIP 6078 from January 1970 and again are non-album tracks ("Slow Down" is a Larry Williams cover version). Track 15 is "Meanie Mornay" - a fantastic inclusion - it's a previously unreleased outtake from the "Getting To This" sessions while track 16 is the short "Backwash" (explained above). I'd have to say that ALL of the bonus tracks are just that - genuine bonuses - and for collectors - a thrill to hear after all these years languishing in obscurity.

The booklet has liner notes by the now 65 year-old Mick Abrahams - they're witty, humble and very informative. The artwork of the original album is faithfully reproduced along with some tasty European picture sleeves of rare 7" singles. There's even a photo beneath the see-through tray.

Abrahams made 3 solo albums immediately after Blodwyn Pig folded - first up was "A Musical Evening With Mick Abrahams" on Chrysalis Records in 1971 (ILPS 9147, often just referred to as "Mick Abrahams"), followed by "At Last" in 1972 (Chrysalis CHR 1005) and finally "Have Fun Learning Guitar With Mick Abrahams" on the privately pressed SRT Records in 1975. "Evening" and "At Last" are available on CD as are subsequent releases through the years. Of note to this re-issue is the excellent 2CD mini box set in 2004 which is called "All Said & Done" where he re-visits several tracks on "Ahead" with superb rocking results, including the great "Dear Jill".

Like Taste's "On The Boards" (1970), Free's "Fire And Water" (1970) and Fleetwood Mac's "Then Play On" (1969) - "Ahead Rings Out" is a classically great ROCK album of the period with tints of blues and jazz thrown in for good measure. I only have to see the cover and I get mushy. Buy this superb and alarmingly cheap reissue with confidence - and a top-notch job done PETER MEW and EMI...

"This Was" by JETHRO TULL (April 2008 EMI 'Collector's Edition' 2CD Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This review and hundreds more like it can also be found in my 

SOUNDS GOOD Music Book: 
1960s and 1970s MUSIC Volume 2 
- Exceptional CD Remasters 

It contains over 210 in-depth reviews (a whopping 2400+ e-Pages) 
And is available to buy/download at Amazon at the following link...

"…Won't Somebody Tell Me Where I Lay My Head Last Night…"

This April 2008 40th Anniversary 2CD 'Collector's Edition' of Jethro Tull's explosive 1968 debut album "This Was" on EMI/Chrysalis 206 4972 (Barcode 5099920649722) has been a long time coming - but the wait has been so worth it. 

Sound-wise this peach is simply off the charts good and as a reissue has breathed new life into a long forgotten and largely dismissed album. I suspect that even people who don't like Tull (and they are derided in certain circles) will enjoy this and be duly impressed. There's a lot on here, so here's a detailed breakdown first... 

Disc 1 (71:28 minutes):

1. My Sunday Feeling

2. Someday The Sun Won’t Shine

3. Beggar’s Farm

4. Move On Alone

5. Serenade To A Cuckoo

6. Dharma For One [Side 2]

7. It’s Breaking Me Up

8. Cat’s Squirrel

9. A Song For Jeffrey

10. Round

Tracks 1 to 10 are the MONO VERSION of the album "This Was" released 25 October 1968 in the UK on Island ILP 985. February 1969 saw the album released in the USA on Reprise RS 6336 but in Stereo only - the Stereo mix is on Disc 2.

BONUS TRACKS:

11. So Much Trouble

12. My Sunday Feeling

13. Serenade To A Cuckoo

14. Cat’s Squirrel

15. A Song For Jeffrey

Tracks 11 to 15 are live-in-the-studio recordings made for John Peel's "Top Gear" Radio program on BBC 1, recorded 23 July 1968 in London (broadcast August & September 1968)

16. Love Story

17. Stormy Monday

18. Beggar’s Farm

19. Dharma For One

Tracks 16 to 19 are more live-in-the-studio recordings as per 11 to 15...recorded 5 November 1968 in London (broadcast December 1968)

Disc 2 (55:18 minutes):

Tracks 1 to 10 are the STEREO VERSION of the album "This Was" released 25 October 1968 on Island ILPS 9085 [credited here as a "New Stereo Mix"]

BONUS TRACKS: 

Tracks 11 and 12 are ADDITIONAL NEW STEREO MIXES of "Love Story" and "Christmas Song" [New to this set]

Tracks 13 to 16 are ORIGINAL MONO RECORDINGS (UK Singles)

13 is "Sunshine Day", their debut UK 7" single issued 16 February 1968 on MGM Records 1348 [miscredited as Jethro Toe]

14 is "One For John Gee", non-album B-side to "A Song For Jeffrey", 2nd UK 7" single issued September 1968 on Island WIP 6043

15 is "Love Story", November 1968, Non-Album Track, A-side of their 3rd UK 7" single on Island WIP 6048

16 is "Christmas Song", also a non-album track on release, B-side to 15

PETER MEW at Abbey Road has expertly remastered the 1st generation original masters tapes and the results are stupendous - the clarity is now unbelievable on both the old MONO MIX and the newly constructed STEREO MIX. Getting your hands on an original UK MONO vinyl copy of this album has always been an expensive and difficult affair - the STEREO version a little less so. So it's great to finally have both on a good CD.  The 12-page booklet is a little crammed (pictures of 45's you can barely make out due to their tiny size), but it does features new notes from both Ian Anderson and Mick Abrahams.

Highlights - the opening track "My Sunday Feeling" (lyrics above) is classic Tull - rock with a flute jazz tint. Speaking of which - the track "Serenade To A Cuckoo" first appeared on Rahsaah Roland Kirk's 1964 album "I Talk With The Spirits". Kirk's flute technique of humming and mouthing as you play the instrument clearly blew away the young Ian Anderson, because he's been aping that style ever since (it's also the only time a cover version has appeared on a Jethro Tull album).

The bluesy "Beggar's Farm" is so clear now as are Clive Bunker's drums on "Dharma For One". The Stereo Mix of "Some Day The Sun Won't Shine" absolutely leaps out of the speakers, while the harmonica and guitar duo intro on "It's Breaking Me Up" perfectly compliments the slinky bass line by Glenn Cornick. "Cat's Squirrel" just rocks like a monster too.

The additional BBC stuff is very good (the band was still fresh) as are the properly remastered versions of the early Tull singles (most of which were non-album until the 2LP set "Living In The Past" in 1972).

I'd have preferred a far more expanded booklet, but it's the great remaster that makes me come back to this reissue time and time again... Onwards from here to Mick Abraham's Blodwyn Pig and their stunning 1969 debut "Ahead Rings Out" (see separate review).

EMI are to be praised for this - an absolute winner - recommended big time.

PS: for Peter Mew's work see also Dr. Feelgood's "Down By The Jetty" DELUXE EDITION and Kevin Ayers' "The Confessions Of Dr. Dream And Other Stories" – both reviewed in my download book SOUNDS GOOD: 1970’s Rock and Pop…