"…I'm Gonna Miss You…"
As every Small Faces and
Faces fan knows – Ronnie Lane’s primo and sought-after solo career on GM and
Island Records in the mid to late Seventies has had a ludicrously convoluted
history on CD. It’s involved obscure re-issue labels, followed by quick deletion
and extortion setting in on the price front almost immediately. And most of
these discs have had OK to occasionally better sound quality. Well – at last –
all of that ends with Universal’s big label 2CD reissue "Ooh La La: An
Island Harvest". It's not perfect for sure – but damn close. Here are the
tins and tambourines…
UK released Monday 10 March
2014 on Universal-Island 5345422 (Barcode 600753454220) – "Ooh La La: An
Island Harvest" breaks down as follows:
Disc 1 (74:41 minutes):
Tracks 1, 4, 9, 10, 11 and
15 are all PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED - "Ooh La La (Alternate Studio Take –
Take 4)", "Buddy Can Spare A Dime (Alternate Studio Take – Take
5)", "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down (And Write Myself A Letter) (Alternate
Studio Take)", "You Never Can Tell (Take 1)", "Back Street Boy (Jam Session)",
"Country Boy (Alternate Take)"
Tracks 8, 14, 17 and 18 are
from the 1975 UK album "Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance" (see sequence
below)
Tracks 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 12 and
13 are from the 1976 UK album "One For The Road" LP (see sequence
below)
Track 16 is "What Went
Down (That Night With You)" – the A-side of a non-album UK 7” single
issued February 1975 on Island WIP 6216
Disc 2 (75:26 minutes):
Tracks 1 and 14 are
PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED - "The Poacher (Take 2)" and "Anniversary
(Alternate Mix)"
Tracks 2, 4, 6, 7, 9 and 10
are from the 1975 UK album "Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance" (see
sequence below)
Tracks 3 and 5 are from the
1976 UK album "One For The Road" LP (see sequence below)
Track 8 is "Lovely
(Single Version)" – the Non-Album B-side of Track 16 on Disc 1
Tracks 12 to 19 are
PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED LIVE tracks from a BBC Concert 23 April 1974 - "Last
Orders Please", "Done This One Before", "Flags And
Banners", "Tell Everyone", "How Come", "I Believe
In You", "Debris" and "Ooh La La".
You can sequence 'most' of
both Island LPs as follows (1/18) = Disc 1, Track 18 etc.:
Ronnie Lane & Slim
Chance (July 1975 2nd UK LP on Island
ILPS 9321)
Side 1:
1. Little Piece Of Nothing
(1/18)
2. Stone (2/4)
3. A Bottle Of Brandy (2/6)
4. Street Gang (2/2)
5. Anniversary (1/14)
6. I’m Gonna Sit Down And
Write Myself A Letter
7. I’m A Country Boy
Side 2:
1. Ain’t No Lady (2/9)
2. Blue Monday (2/10)
3. Give Me A Penny (1/8)
4. You Never Can Tell
5. Tin And Tambourine (1/17)
6. Single Saddle (2/7)
One For The Road (July 1976
3rd UK LP on Island ILPS 9366)
Side 1:
1. Don’t Try 'N' Change My
Mind (1/2)
2. 32nd Street (1/7)
3. Snake (1/12)
4. Burnin' Summer (1/13)
5. One For The Road (1/3)
Side 2:
1. Steppin' An' Reelin' (The
Wedding) 1/5)
2. Harvest Home (1/6)
3. Nobody's Listening (2/3)
4. G’morning (2/5)
The 2CDs are housed in a
three-way foldout card sleeve that’s admittedly flimsy with CD1 on the left,
CD2 on the right and the 16-page booklet in the centre (and again no inner bags
for protection – be careful extracting the discs). A nice touch however is that
CD1 repros the Pink-Rim Island Label - while CD2 repros the one after it – the
Blue and Orange mid to late Seventies label. There are hugely affectionate
liner notes by renowned music writer PAOLO HEWITT who also compiled the set
with JOHNNY CHANDLER. We get mini photos of the two album sleeves and UK Island
singles, master tape boxes, concert tickets, gig posters and reissue credits.
But of course the big news is the sound – remastered from original tapes by
ALEX WHARTON at Abbey Road Studios – we finally get to hear these tracks breath
and sound wonderful.
The sonic wallop is
immediate when you get to Track 2 – a rare UK 7" single "Don't Try To
Change My Mind". Last I heard it was on a Neon CD from 2000 (see review)
and its sound quality was good rather than great. Now it’s a revelation. The
accordion and mandolins are so clear – lovely tune. And it seems like I’ve
waited 40 years to hear "Tin And Tambourine" sound this good – what a
blast. And when the band goes into that harmonica jaunt half way through – I’m
bawling like a sappy fool. God I miss this guy…
As fans will have noticed
from the LP lists above there’s bad news and niggles – three of the
"Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance" album cuts from 1975 are AWOL -
replaced with Alternates. However in the case of "Country Boy" – the
Alternate Mix is shockingly good – as pretty as Lane could be – it’s going to
be an absolute highlight for many. The distortion and crackle on "Burnin'
Summer" is unbelievably bad (corrupted tape?).
But in compensation the BBC
In Concert stuff on Disc 2 comes over as a FACES gig done live-in-the-studio in
a ramshackle Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance style (and don’t get me started on
the gorgeous “Debris” – we’ll be here for years). The finisher "Ooh La
La" is joyous stuff. There are one or two of the Takes with small amounts
of studio banter (the Chuck Berry cover "You Never Can Tell") and
Plonk’s infectious laugh that will put a smile on many a weary kisser. Fans of
"The Poacher" will also flip for the "Two, Three, Four…"
count in on Take 2 where I swear he’s changed the words but all the magical
ingredients are there – just slightly different. Another gem for many will be
the sonic upgrade on the lovely "Anniversary" (lyrics above) – it’s
featured in both album and alternate form.
As a long time Amazon
Reviewer (over 1850 posts) – I regularly heap praise on UK independent labels
that keep the flame alive for so many of us (especially on CD). But in 2014
someone somewhere seems to have lit a very large torch under the stodgy bottom of
Universal – because like the brilliant Eric Clapton 2CD set “Give Me Strength”
– for me this is yet another 2014 Reissue of the Year from a major record
company. What is going on!?
Paolo Hewitt writes of
Ronnie Lane, "He had stars in his eyes and he had love in his smile…"
Well after a mere four
decades and his still hurtful/sad passing – fans of Ronnie 'Plonk' Lane finally
have something worth getting weepy about. I raise a Pint of Guinness
to him and to all involved in this superb reissue. Cheers to you all...
