"Original Album Series" by AMERICA (June 2012 Warner Brothers/Rhino 5CD Mini Box Set with Singular Sleeve Card Repro Artwork) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Ventura Highway In The Sunshine..."

I never did quite get why America and their Seventies albums are so derided in some quarters – they made a beautiful racket when they hit that CSNY Harmony Vocals sweet spot. Sure the later stuff could be a tad schmaltzy on occasion – but this dinky little treasure trove offers seekers of Soft Rock an awful lot of good over bad. And "Holiday" from 1974 and "Hearts" from 1975 had the steer-ship of fifth Beatle George Martin at the Producer controls – both huge records - Top 5 albums in their native USA.

There are a lot of miles to cover so once more my nameless horses unto the Ventura Highway...

UK released 11 June 2012 - "Original Album Series" by AMERICA on Warner Brothers/Rhino 8122797457 (Barcode 081227974572) is a 5CD Mini Box Set with Five Single Card Repro Sleeves. Some Remasters - Some Not – it plays out as follows:

Disc 1 "America" (46:43 minutes):

1. Riverside

2. Sandman

3. Three Roses

4. Children

5. A Horse With No Name

6. Here

7. I Need You [Side 2]

8. Rainy Day

9. Never Found The Time

10. Clarice

11. Donkey Jaw

12. Pigeon Song

Tracks 1 to 4, 6 and 7 to 12 are their debut 11-track album "America" - released December 1971 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2576 and December 1971 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 46093. When the song "A Horse With No Name" (originally a stand alone 7" single) became a US hit in early 1972 (eventually went to No. 1 as did the album) - "America" the LP was repressed using the same American catalogue but with that track slotted in on Side 1 between "Children" and "Here" making it a 12-track LP. It is this version that is represented here (the UK 11-track LP and even later represses never featured "A Horse With No Name"). Produced by AMERICA, IAN SAMWELL and JEFF DEXTER - it peaked at No. 1 on the US LP charts and No. 14 in the UK.

Disc 2 "Homecoming" (33:20 minutes):

1. Ventura Highway

2. To Each His Own

3. Don't Cross The River

4. Moon Song

5. Only In Your Heart

6. Till The Sun Comes Up Again [Side 2]

7. Cornwall Blank

8. Head & Heart

9. California Revisited

10. Saturn Nights

Tracks 1 to 10 are their second studio album "Homecoming" - released November 1972 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2655 and December 1972 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 46180. Produced by AMERICA - it peaked at No. 9 in the USA and No. 21 in the UK.

Disc 3 "Hat Trick" (41:35 minutes):

1. Muskrat Love

2. Wind Wave

3. She's Gonna Let You Down

4. Rainbow Song

5. Submarine Ladies

6. It's Life

7. Hat Trick [Side 2]

8. Molten Love

9. Green Monkey

10. Willow Tree Lullaby

11. Goodbye

Tracks 1 to 11 are their 3rd studio album "Hat Trick" - released November 1973 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2728 and November 1973 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 56016. Produced by AMERICA - It peaked at No. 28 in the USA and No. 41 in the UK.

Disc 4 "Holiday" (32:56 minutes):

1. Miniature

2. Tin Man

3. Another Try

4. Lonely People

5. Glad To See You

6. Mad Dog

7. Hollywood [Side 2]

8. Baby It's Up To You

9. You

10. Old Man Took

11. What Does It Matter

12. In The Country

Tracks 1 to 12 are their 4th studio album "Holiday" - released July 1974 in the USA on Warner Brothers W 2808 and July 1974 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 56045. Produced by GEORGE MARTIN - it peaked at No. 3 in the USA (didn't chart in the UK)

Disc 5 "Hearts" (36:17 minutes):

1. Daisy Jane

2. Half A Man

3. Midnight

4. Bell Tree

5. Old Virginia

6. People In The Valley

7. Company [Side 2]

8. Woman Tonight

9. The Story Of A Teenager

10. Sister Golden Hair

11. Tomorrow

12. Seasons

Tracks 1 to 12 are their fifth studio album "Hearts" - released April 1975 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2852 and April 1975 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 56115. Produced by GEORGE MARTIN - it peaked at No. 4 in the USA (didn't chart in the UK).

AMERICA was:

DEWEY BUNNELL - Lead Vocals and Guitars

GERRY BECKLEY - Guitars and Vocals

DAN PEEK - Bass, Acoustic Guitars and Vocals 

The elaborate tri-gatefold that came with "Homecoming" and the inners and inserts that came with "Hat Trick" and the others are all AWOL in the single sleeve card sleeves and apart from track lists on the generic coloured CDs - there is bugger all by way of info with these multiple packs. But that’s how all these "Original Album Series" sets are – cheap and cheerful. And as luck with have it – Warners have used the second pressing of "America" from 1972 so it includes the huge No. 1 hit "A Horse With No Name".

The Audio is a mixed bag of superlative vs. extremely good. Take "I Need You" on "America" or "To Each His Own" on "Homecoming" - I've had Remasters of these and the audio here is pretty much the same - very clear - beautiful really. However I have Remasters from the "The Definitive Collection" of "Muskrat Love" and the lovely "Sister Golden Hair” and it has to be said that the Remasters are way better than what's on offer here. If I were to break it down - I'd say the first two CDs sound exceptional while the final three are merely very good. But don't let that put you off – you're essentially getting an awful lot of quality here for a very small outlay – roughly of course two quid per album. To the music...

SIngles:

Excepting the non-album track "Everyone I Meet Is from California" (the B-side to "A Horse With No Name" on both sides of the pond) - this 5CD set gives you the A&B-sides of a whopping thirteen American singles - eight of which did the business in the Rock Charts. First up is the song that broke them - "A Horse With No Name" from January 1972 - that was followed in April 1972 with the ballad "I Need You" featuring the equally musical "Riverside" on the flipside – a No. 9 hit. "Ventura Highway" b/w "Saturn Nights" came in September 1972 and went one further to No. 8 (the A-side is surely one of their finest moments) - while "Don't Cross The River" b/w "To Each His own" reached a miserly No. 35 in February 1973.

The third album "Hat Trick" should have been a triumph but it produced a series of 4 x 7" single misses - beginning in March 1973 with "Only In Your Heart" b/w "Moon Song" - the first 45 to not chart. Given the hooky and commercial nature of "Muskrat Love" (paired with "Cornwall Blank" from the second album "Homecoming" on the B-side) - it's odd that the melody didn't light up the top ten in June 1973. Strike three came in November 1973 with "Rainbow Song" b/w "Willow Tree Lullaby" - another non-charter. Last was "Green Monkey" in March 1974 b/w "She's Gonna Let You Down" - but it marked loser number four.

But they were all quickly forgotten for July 1974's "Tin Man" from the new "Holiday" LP. With the album cut "In The Country" on the flipside - the annoyingly simple yet wildly catchy "Tin Man" was perfect American Radio fodder and gave them a rightful No. 4 chart hit. "Lonely People" b/w "Mad Dog" was released November 1974 and with time made No. 5 in early 1975. Their second Number One came with the much-loved "Sister Golden Hair" b/w "Midnight" - a huge hit in April 1975. "Daisy Jane" b/w "Tomorrow" from June 1975 went to No. 20 - but "Woman Tonight" b/w "Bell Tree" from October 1975 failed to ignite.

But where this 5CD set comes into it’s own is with those album tracks you 'never' hear. The debut alone has loads - the 'stop and see what I'm on about' song "Three Roses" - a wickedly infectious acoustic melody that still sounds amazingly fresh 46 years after the event. The strummed "Here" – the piano love song "I Need You" and the gorgeous "Never Found The Time" (very Mercury Years Rod Stewart in its own way) – will all probably elicit tears amidst men of a certain age. And that acoustic guitar build-up intro to "Donkey Jaw" sounds beautiful - and if it had the moniker Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on the LP label instead of America – would have been declared a ‘quit ravishing the land’ masterpiece by every journo for miles around.

Amongst the other four albums is the impossibly pretty familiar faces of "To Each His Own", the David Crosby vibes of "Moon Song" and the sheer soul-warming peacefulness of their John Martyn cover of "Head And Heart" on "Homecoming" (it was on Martyn's masterpiece "Solid Air" in February of 1973). They would even re-write "Everyone I Meet Is From California" as "California Revisited" although I prefer the simpler original (that song is available as a Remaster on "The Definitive Collection" 2CD set). The hankering "Wind Wave" from "Hat Trick" could easily have been a single (love those harmony vocals) and "Submarine Ladies" feels so Neil Young lonesome with that treated Harmonica. 

"It's Life" has one of the most ethereal and beautiful synth/guitar openings to any of their songs - while I've always liked the gorgeous string-instrumental "Miniature" that opens the "Holiday" album - very "Cinny's Waltz" on Tom Waits' 1977 Asylum album "Foreign Affair". And that strange guitar in the 'drinks on me' song "Hollywood" gives you a surprisingly sinister element – like hurt is lurking in that Californian clarion call to all naïve youngsters. And the so damned depressed "Sister Golden Hair" still strikes a chord - how many weddings has this been played at...

Alligator lizards in the air – hit by purple rain – thanks a lot son... With lyrics like this - America the Band was never cool or hip. And for sure even die-hard fans would have to admit that as the albums went on an uneasy easy-listening schmaltz started to creep in amidst those immaculate Production values and sweet Harmony Vocals.

But like Bread and the Eagles - they made music that reached out to millions of people - and on the evidence presented here - it's obvious why. Pick up this 5-disc "Original Album Series" reissue and discover why you still need Ventura Highway in the sunshine...

"America" (1971 and 1972 Debut LP) by AMERICA - Inside "Original Album Series" (2012 Warner Brothers/Rhino 5CD Mini Box Set of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT 1971... - Exceptional CD Remasters  

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Their 1971 Debut Album "America" on Warner Brothers BS 2576

(Reissued in 1972 with "A Horse With No Name" Added) 

"...Living On The Riverside..." 

I never did quite get why America and their Seventies albums are so derided in some quarters – they made a beautiful racket when they hit that CSNY Harmony Vocals sweet spot.

Sure the later stuff could be a tad schmaltzy on occasion – but this dinky little treasure trove offers seekers of Soft Rock an awful lot of good over bad. And "Holiday" from 1974 and "Hearts" from 1975 had the steer-ship of fifth Beatle George Martin at the Producer controls – both huge records - Top 5 albums in their native USA.

However for today – we’re going to concentrate on their rather stunning and now wildly overlooked debut – "America" – launched on an unsuspecting world at the tail end of 1971. Some are calling it a forgotten gem – quiet possibly the follow up to "Deja Vu" Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young never made. Anyway - time to name those horses and flush out that Sandman...

UK released 11 June 2012 - "Original Album Series" by AMERICA on Warner Brothers/Rhino 8122797457 (Barcode 081227974572) is a 5CD Mini Box Set with Five Single Card Repro Sleeves – it plays out as follows:

Disc 1 "America" (46:43 minutes):

1. Riverside

2. Sandman

3. Three Roses

4. Children

5. A Horse With No Name

6. Here

7. I Need You [Side 2]

8. Rainy Day

9. Never Found The Time

10. Clarice

11. Donkey Jaw

12. Pigeon Song

Tracks 1 to 4, 6 and 7 to 12 are their debut 11-track album "America" - released December 1971 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2576 and December 1971 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 46093. When the song "A Horse With No Name" (originally a stand alone 7" single) became a US hit in early 1972 (eventually went to No. 1 as did the album) - "America" the LP was repressed using the same American catalogue but with that track slotted in on Side 1 between "Children" and "Here" making it a 12-track LP. It is this version that is represented here (the UK 11-track LP and even later represses never featured "A Horse With No Name"). Produced by AMERICA, IAN SAMWELL and JEFF DEXTER - it peaked at No. 1 on the US LP charts and No. 14 in the UK.

Disc 2 "Homecoming" (33:20 minutes):

1. Ventura Highway

2. To Each His Own

3. Don't Cross The River

4. Moon Song

5. Only In Your Heart

6. Till The Sun Comes Up Again [Side 2]

7. Cornwall Blank

8. Head & Heart

9. California Revisited

10. Saturn Nights

Tracks 1 to 10 are their second studio album "Homecoming" - released November 1972 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2655 and December 1972 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 46180. Produced by AMERICA - it peaked at No. 9 in the USA and No. 21 in the UK.

Disc 3 "Hat Trick" (41:35 minutes):

1. Muskrat Love

2. Wind Wave

3. She's Gonna Let You Down

4. Rainbow Song

5. Submarine Ladies

6. It's Life

7. Hat Trick [Side 2]

8. Molten Love

9. Green Monkey

10. Willow Tree Lullaby

11. Goodbye

Tracks 1 to 11 are their 3rd studio album "Hat Trick" - released November 1973 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2728 and November 1973 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 56016. Produced by AMERICA - It peaked at No. 28 in the USA and No. 41 in the UK.

Disc 4 "Holiday" (32:56 minutes):

1. Miniature

2. Tin Man

3. Another Try

4. Lonely People

5. Glad To See You

6. Mad Dog

7. Hollywood [Side 2]

8. Baby It's Up To You

9. You

10. Old Man Took

11. What Does It Matter

12. In The Country

Tracks 1 to 12 are their 4th studio album "Holiday" - released July 1974 in the USA on Warner Brothers W 2808 and July 1974 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 56045. Produced by GEORGE MARTIN - it peaked at No. 3 in the USA (didn't chart in the UK)

Disc 5 "Hearts" (36:17 minutes):

1. Daisy Jane

2. Half A Man

3. Midnight

4. Bell Tree

5. Old Virginia

6. People In The Valley

7. Company [Side 2]

8. Woman Tonight

9. The Story Of A Teenager

10. Sister Golden Hair

11. Tomorrow

12. Seasons

Tracks 1 to 12 are their fifth studio album "Hearts" - released April 1975 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2852 and April 1975 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 56115. Produced by GEORGE MARTIN - it peaked at No. 4 in the USA (didn't chart in the UK).

AMERICA was:

DEWEY BUNNELL - Lead Vocals and Guitars

GERRY BECKLEY - Guitars and Vocals

DAN PEEK - Bass, Acoustic Guitars and Vocals 

The elaborate tri-gatefold that came with "Homecoming" and the inners and inserts that came with "Hat Trick" and the others are all AWOL in the single sleeve card sleeves and apart from track lists on the generic coloured CDs - there is bugger all by way of info with these multiple packs. As you can see from the front and rear album cover photos provided for "America" – the credits are barely legible and at this price that’s to be expected.

But the Audio is superb throughout – really great. Take "To Each His Own" on "Homecoming" or "Muskrat Love" on "Hat Trick" or "I Need You" on here - I've had Remasters of these and the audio here is pretty much the same - very clear - beautiful really. Now let’s talk about the debut in full...

It seems funny now to think that the British got the drop on America. The whole of their 11-track self-titled debut album "America" was recorded at Trident Studios in London with Dewey Bunnell's "A Horse With No Name" recorded later at Morgan Studios (in North London). Perhaps suspecting that its incessant hook was a chart winner – Warners decided to issue it as a stand-alone single prior to the album. So 21 November 1971 saw the UK 7" Demo for "A Horse With No Name" appear on Warner Brothers K 16128 as a 3-track EP - the non-album "Everyone I Meet Is From California" being A2 and the album's "Sandman" on the flipside. There is even a very rare Promo-Only picture sleeve for this issue interestingly with the tracks on the wrong order on the P/S.

The album appeared post Christmas December 1971 in both the USA and UK minus "A Horse With No Name". But when American DJs got hold of Warner Brothers WB 7555 in February 1972 (the release date for the US 45) they began playing that 'Neil Young' song listeners were asking for (Bunnell's nasal whine was similar to NY's voice). "A Horse With No Name" quickly began to build massive momentum - so much so that it eventually made the No. 1 spot (the LP did the same). Warner Brothers USA repressed the "America" LP with the same catalogue number as a 12-track reissue with the hit single slotted into Side 1 between "Children" and "Here". In fact the song had such legs that they pressed up a third variant of the vinyl LP which actually says 'Includes The Hit Single "A Horse With No Name"' in boxed print on the front cover lest you didn’t twig what goodies lay within. As a by the way – with Neil Young’s "Harvest" tearing up the US LP charts from the moment it was released in February 1972 – many American buyers thought America’s single was a song by him. It went as far apparently as one clever DJ dubbing the debut America album as "A Horse With No Neil" (he haw).

Speaking of bum notes - it's a bit of a shame that the jaunty and quite brilliant non-album B-side "Everyone I Meet is from California" isn't on Disc 1 as a further bonus. But what you do get is the similarly structured "Riverside" - as lovely a song as has ever opened an LP and a huge fan fave (Warners UK put it on the flipside of "I Need You" in August 1972 – Warner Brothers K 16178). I've always cringed at the drone of "Sandman" if I’m completely honest (and those nonsense lyrics). I'd rather be listening to the 'stop and see what I'm on about' song "Three Roses" - a wickedly infectious acoustic melody that still sounds amazingly fresh 46 years after the event.

The strummed "Here" – the piano love song "I Need You" and the gorgeous "Never Found The Time" (very Mercury Years Rod Stewart in its own way) – will all probably elicit tears amidst men of a certain age. And that acoustic guitar build-up intro to "Donkey Jaw" sounds beautiful and if it had the moniker Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young before it instead of America – would be declared a ‘quit ravishing the land’ masterpiece by every journo for miles.

"America" is a wonderful debut album – tunes – playing – top quality Production values – a pigeon named Fred - it was all there and still is... 

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"Original Album Classics" by AL KOOPER (September 2015 Sony/Columbia/Legacy 5CD Mini Box Set Of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...It's A Brand New Day..."

Having 'played the organ' on Bob Dylan's 1965 and 1966 masterpieces "Highway 61 Revisited" and "Blonde On Blonde" on your resume is probably not a bad start for most musicians. You then meddle about with Steve Katz and The Blues Project for more LPs. After that you form "Blood, Sweat & Tears" and punch out their equally stunning debut album "Child Is Father To The Man" in early 1968. You follow those accolades by having a "Super Session" with guitar wonder-kids Mike Bloomfield of The Electric Flag/Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Stephen Stills of Buffalo Springfield. Then you do a live double-album of that. And it's still only late 1968. So far so legendarily good. But then you get all bolshy and decide to do the dread deed - go 'solo'...

If I'm absolutely truthful and having bought them all down through the years (nine or ten albums in all if I recollect correctly) - I've always found Al Kooper's solo career somewhat patchy. There are moments of genius for sure but never a cohesive whole - expect maybe the criminally underrated and forgotten "Easy Does It" double-album from 1970 and 1972's "New York City (You're A Woman)".

And despite having charted oodles of LPs Stateside - his back-catalogue has always seemed to have had availability issues on CD - some making Columbia Remasters while others have only ever been reissued on expensive Japanese CD imports. But at last in 2015 – Sony's Columbia/Legacy branch sorts out a big chunk of it by giving us five of his most popular records between 1969 and 1972 clumped together in one handy "Original Classic Albums" buy-pack. And while there are no bonus tracks or annotation – we get a reasonable price tag, remastered audio and dinky repro singular card artwork. And with one of the CDs being a double-album onto one disc - you’re effectively getting six LPs worth of music for your 5-disc outlay.

There is a lot to process so let's get friendly once more with our favourite naked New Yorker - Al Kuperschmidt...

UK released 4 September 2015 (11 September 2015 in the USA) - "Original Album Classics" by AL KOOPER on Sony/Columbia/Legacy 88875099072 (Barcode 888750990723) is a 5CD Set of Remasters In A Card Slipcase and plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (41:32 minutes):
1. Overture
2. I Stand Alone
3. Camille
4. One
5. Coloured Rain
6. Soft Landing On The Moon
7. I Can Love A Woman [Side 2]
8. Blue Moon Of Kentucky
9. Toe Hold
10. Right Now for You
11. Hey, Western Union Man
12. Song And Dance For The Unborn, Frightened Child
Tracks 1 to 12 are his debut LP "I Stand Alone" – released February 1969 in the USA on Columbia CS 9718 and March 1969 in the UK on CBS Records S 63596. Produced by Al Kooper – it peaked at No. 54 on the US LP charts (didn't chart UK).

Disc 2 (44:10 minutes):
1. Magic In My Socks
2. Lucille
3. Too Busy Thinkin' 'Bout My Baby
4. First Time Around
5. Loretta (Union Turnpike Eulogy)
6. Blues, Part IV
7. You Never Know Who Your Friends Are [Side 2]
8. The Great American Marriage/Nothing
9. I Don't Know Why I Love You
10. Mourning Glory Story
11. Anna Lee (What Can I Do For You)
12. I'm Never Gonna Let You Down
Tracks 1 to 12 are his 2nd studio album "You Never Know Who Your Friends Are" – released October 1969 in the USA on Columbia CS 9855 and November 1969 in the UK on CBS Records S 63651. Produced by Al Kooper – it peaked at No. 125 in the US LP charts (didn't chart UK).

Disc 3 (62:30 minutes):
1. Brand New Day [Side 1]
2. Piano Solo Introduction
3. I Got A Woman
4. Country Road
5. I Bought You The Shoes
6. Introduction [Side 2]
7. Easy Does It
8. Buckskin Boy
9. Love Theme From "The Landlord"
10. Sad, Sad Sunshine [Side 3]
11. Let The Duchess No
12. She Gets Me Where I Live
13. A Rose And A Baby Ruth
14. Baby, Please Don't Go [Side 4]
15. God Sheds His Grace On Thee
Tracks 1 to 15 are his 4th studio set – the double-album "Easy Does It" – released September 1970 in the USA on Columbia G 30031 and November 1970 in the UK on CBS Records S 66252. Produced by Al Kooper – it peaked at No. 105 on the US LP charts (didn't chart UK). Note: his 3rd US studio set "Kooper Session – Al Kooper Introduces Shuggie Otis" from January 1970 is not included in this package.

Disc 4 (43:00 minutes):
1. New York City (You're A Woman)
2. John The Baptist (Holy John)
3. Can You Hear It Now (500 Miles)
4. The Ballad Of The Hard Rock Kid
5. Going Quietly Mad
6. Medley: Oo Wee Baby, I Love You/Love Is A Man's Best Friend [Side 2]
7. Back On My Feet
8. Come Down In Time
9. Dearest Darling
10. Nightmare #5
11. The Warning (Someone’s On The Cross Again)
Tracks 1 to 11 are his 5th studio album "New York City (You're A Woman)" – released June 1971 in the USA on Columbia C 30506 and July 1971 in the UK on CBS Records S 64340. Produced by Al Kooper – it peaked at No. 198 on the US LP charts (didn't chart UK).

Disc 5 (37:15 minutes):
1. (Be Yourself) Be Real
2. As The Years Go Passing By
3. Jolie
4. Blind Baby
5. Been And Gone
6. Sam Stone [Side 2]
7. Peacock Lady
8. Touch The Hem Of His Garment
9. Where Were You When I Needed You
10. Unrequited
Tracks 1 to 10 are his 7th studio album "Naked Songs" - released November 1972 in the USA on Columbia KC 31723 and in the UK on CBS Records S 65193. Produced by Al Kooper - it didn't chart in either country. His sixth studio album was "A Possible Projection Of The Future/Childhood's End" from April 1972 (not included in this set).

It doesn't say where or 'who' remastered these albums (Vic Anesini maybe) - but given the versions I had before - these new Stereo transfers have been done very well indeed. Each of these albums has renewed punch and I'm thrilled to find that "Easy Does It" sounds amazing - as do the heavy-on-the-arrangements songs on his "I Stand Alone" debut. That keyboard funk on "New York City..." and "Naked Songs" – it's all good frankly...

As you can imagine across five albums there's a wad of choice and eclectic session-players - his cover of Traffic's "Coloured rain" on the debut album "I Stand Alone" features the Don Ellis Orchestra - falsetto backing vocalist Robert John is on "Lucille" and "You Never Know Who Your Friends Are" and Trumpeter Marvin Stamm guests on "I'm Never Gonna Let You Down". The "Easy Does It" double-album alone has a wad of guests - Fred Lipsius of Blood, Sweat & Tears fame gives a Saxophone solo on the Ray Charles cover "I Got A Woman" - Southern guitar rocker Charlie Daniels and Bassist Charlie McCoy of Area Code 615 and Barefoot Jerry are both on "Let The Duchess No" - future New Waver Peter Ivers blows Harmonica on the cover of James Taylor's "Country Road" - not to mention percussionist Milt Holland and uber-drummers Rick Marotta and Earl Palmer and Guitarists Dave Bromberg and Tommy Tedesco. Roger Pope and Caleb Quaye of Hookfoot play on the "New York City (You're A Woman)" album - as does Sneaky Pete Kleinow of The Flying Burrito Brothers while Barry Bailey of Atlanta Rhythm Section features on the "Naked Songs" LP.

The debut is a part Rock, part Psychedelic, part 60ts Pop smorgasbord where the pointless instrumental/noises "Overture" irritates - but that's soon replaced by his signature Brass and Melody sound on "I Stand Alone". He co-wrote "Camille" with Tony Powers - a wildly overproduced piece of echoed melodrama. Better is his cover of Nilsson's "One" - Jimmy Wisner arranged those lovely strings for the loneliest number. We go Psych for Traffic's "Coloured Rain" with every manner of instrument invading a flanged mix that feels very "Magical Mystery Tour". Columbia stuck the weird and cultish keyboard-instrumental "Soft Landing On The Moon" on the B-side of "You Never Know Who Your Friends Are" from the next album when they released it as a 45 in July 1969 (Columbia 4011).

A cop-car siren opens "I Can Love A Woman" - an ominous beginning to what turns out to be a happy tune complete with strings and backing ladies (lovely arrangements in the brass) and a train departing ending. It segues into a Rockabilly cover of Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" made more famous by Elvis - in fact the tract feels like Al is channelling his inner Presley in a big way. Penned by Stax writing geniuses Isaac Hayes and David Porter - Johnnie Taylor's "Toe Hold" gets a funked-up work-over that sounds like a cool one which could easily have been on BS&T's "Child Is Father To The Man" debut in early 1968. Gunfire opens his own "Right Now For You" where he goes all Joe Meek on the keyboard with Nilsson acoustic guitars racing alongside the lyrics (neighbours hiding behind fences, howling at the moon). Proving his love of good Soul - he covers Jerry Butler's "Hey, Western Union Man" - another lovely groove (great bass on the transfer) that Columbia tried as a 45 in July 1969 (Columbia 4160) with "I Stand Alone" on the flipside. It ends on another Magical Mystery Tour sounding carnival - the very 60ts "Song And Dance For The Unborn, Forgotten Child" - where a woman's screams and a child-crying invade the strings. Personally it does my head in and I find it hard going...

We’re still very much in 60ts mode with the "You Never Know Who Your Friends Are" album that opens with the brassy "Magic In My Socks" - a tune that features some very Zappa guitar passages. Charlie Calello, Lou Christie, Mike Gately and Robert John provide the four-strong wall of Beach Boys backing vocals on "Lucille" - a beautifully inventive song with amazing vocal arrangements (conducted and arranged by Charlie Calello). This quartet - this wall of Spector-esque voices inform almost every song on the album. I can't quite make my mind up about his cover of The Temptations and Marvin Gaye classic "Too Busy Thinkin' 'Bout My Baby" - I prefer Marvin's beauty. The side ends on the 'would you tighten your foot' organ smooch of "Blues, Part IV" - my kind of improvised studio jam that produces an instrumental you return to again and again. Side 2 opens with the piano joviality of the album's title track where our Al sounds like he's The Monkees singing happy with the wildly upbeat music but actually waxing miserable. We go Scott Walker for the melodrama of "The Great American Marriage/Nothing" (all strings and strained words) which is followed by a Stevie Wonder cover of "I Don't Know Why I Love You" - an 'always treats me like a fool' song where our hero is resigned to his heart's fateful choices. Just like "One" on the debut album - the chorus of voices on "Mourning Glory Story" (yet another Nilsson cover) suit the song so well - even if its kind of ruined by too-clever-clever breaks in-between the wonderful Beach Boys voices.  The album closes on the impressive combo of "Anna Lee" and "I'm Never Gonna Let You Down" which sounds like our Al has been listening to The Band and Bacharach and David - in that order.

Before his next solo move - Kooper pushed out the Blues and R&B album belter "Kooper Session – Al Kooper Introduces Shuggie Otis" in January 1970 where he was involved in the songwriting of four cuts (Shuggie's own debut proper "Here Comes Shuggie Otis" hit the US shops in February 1970 – both stormingly good LPs on Epic Records that mixed Funk with Blues and Rock-Soul). They seemed to change Kooper. His sound suddenly matured. Or maybe it's because he gets to stretch out on September 1970's "Easy Does It" - or his sound feels instantly 70ts and not 60ts even though its only the decade's first year - or that its got so much going on - a dip in and find something new event - whatever it is – I've always loved this forgotten and underrated double-album.

"Easy Does It" opens with a theme to "The Landlord" film which itself had been released on United Artists in 1971 (the UAS 5209 album also featured Soul artists The Staple Singers and Lorraine Ellison). There's an edited 45 of "Brand New Day" - but here you get the fabulous 5:19 minute full album version that feels like a rejuvenated Al Kooper telling us it's alright (yes it is children). A melodic solo grand-piano intro tinkles for a few minutes before introducing a truly wonderful stringed-up Soulful take on Brother Ray's Atlantic Records smash "I Got A Woman". Drummer Rick Marotta, Bassist Stu Cook with Peter Ivers on Harmonica liven up another clever cover – James Taylor's “Country Road” – a song Merry Clayton also did justice too over on Ode 70 Records that same year (see my review for her wonderful "Gimme Shelter" LP remastered for CD by Repertoire). David Bromberg plays Pedal Steel on the strictly Country "I Bought You Shoes" – an Al Kooper song that sees our hero discover what Bob Dylan felt about Leopard Skin Pill-Boxed Hats (only this it's her footwear).

Side 2 opens with a minute of studio chatter that leads into a big brassy guitar rendition of the title track – a ballsy guitars 'n' trumpets song that feels like a bit of 50ts 'shapely legs' naughtiness updated to 1970 with Kooper really letting rip on Guitar (could even be an outtake from the "Kooper Session" LP). A very cool chug comes at you for "Buckskin Boy" - a great little album rocker about 'robbed native Americans' that could have been a great 45 with a relevant message. It segues into a 2001: A Space Odyssey of voices giving you the decidedly film-epic "Love Theme From Landlord" - a superb little song that Columbia used as a B-side to the "Brand New Day" 7" edit in March 1971 on Columbia 5146). On Side 3 I love "Let The Duchess No" which was written by John Gregory of The Mystery Trend and the plucked-strings of "She Gets Me Where I Live". Took time but I also dig The Velvet Underground feel to "A Rose And A Baby Ruth" - a teenage quarrel waltz that sounds like acidic Lou Reed beneath all that prettiness. But best of all is his magnificent cover of the Big Joe William's old R&B classic "Baby, Please Don't Go". Covered by everyone from Muddy Waters to Them - here its 1970 twelve-minutes takes up most of Side 4 and is a very Traffic version - all keyboards - Kooper working that piano and organ like a man lost in his groove. It's Soulful, Blue Note Jazzy and Trippy with flanged Keyboards, Bass solos and Scat vocals – only to return to the famous lyrics as it crescendos. It's an indulgence for sure but one that works - what a blast.

The British LP for "New York City (You're A Woman)" adds on 'Excerpt From "New York City: 6 AM To Midnight" - A Symphony In Progress' as its full title (the US LP hasn't got this). But any idea that his opening salvo is going to be a homage to the ladylike delights of his home city goes out the window when he calls his hometown something that rhymes with twitch (and cold-hearted at that). Still he's drawn to NYC like a moth to a flame. Rita Coolidge and Clydie King are amongst the vocalists on the very Band-influenced "John The Baptist (Holy John)". The album was famously recorded in the USA and the UK (thanks to the band Spring for the lend of the Mellotron) and it shows. The wild slide-guitar playing of "The Ballad Of The Hard Rock Kid" sounds like Juicy Lucy returning to "Who Do You Love" (Vertigo 1970) while the gorgeous "Going Quietly Mad" sounds like a melodious Joe Walsh in The James Gang circa 1970's "Rides Again" or even 1972's "Barnstorm". His two covers are more obscure and better for it - Elton John's "Come Down In Time" - a slow/fast rival for the "Tumbleweed Connection" original - while Bo Diddley's "Dearest Darling" is given a spoken intro and a righteous Soulful treatment - like Bonnie and Delaney Bramlett giving it some white people on Stax (I gotta play for you now baby - it's alright). It then ends on a clever one-two of big melodies - the 'two days in my flat' pretty misery of "Nightmare No. 5" while we go full bombast on "The Warning (Someone's On The Cross Again)" which may or not be about a second coming that's a fraud.

The final album here "Naked Songs" picked up where "New York City..." left off but didn't even scrape Top 200 in the USA - apparently a contractual obligation album to Columbia. Maybe this explains the styles - he simply doesn't care what he's recording. But actually - it works. The Peppermint Harris cover "As The Years Go Passing By" is gorgeous Guitar Blues that feels like Gary Moore has been transported from 1989 into 1973 - a very cool song. Jazz Giant Annette Peacock gets a suitably synth outing on "Been And Gone" - a far more Soulful take than you would expect with weird vocal samples as it fades out. His version of Sam Cooke's "Touch The Hem Of His Garment" is a good old 'in church on Sunday morning' rendition - all piano and organ before the sisters take it to the rafters. Kooper then goes contemporary country with John Prine's amazingly realistic "Sam Stone" - a soldier coming home song - a wounded man with shrapnel in his knee and morphine in his veins. Typically brilliant in the lyrical department - "...there's a hole in Daddy's arm where all the money goes...Jesus died with nothing I suppose..." - Kooper gives it his best Richard Manuel impression on vocals and pulls it off - sounding not unlike a sincere 00's Springsteen but in 1972. Columbia even tried it as the album's lone 45 in September 1972 with the opener "Be Real" as the B-side (Columbia 45691) - but no one was listening. Had either the poopy "Where Were You When I Needed You" or the ballad "Unrequited" finishers turned up on Todd Rundgren’s "Something/Anything?" double- album in 1972 - we would be pulling adjectives out of our ass in a frenzy of genuine musical affection. But not for NYC Al which don’t seem right.

For sure you can't say that everything on "Original Album Classics" is out-and-out magic - but when Al Kooper is good like on "Easy Does It" and "New York City (You're A Woman)" and even those glints on "Naked Songs" - you can't help but think that his solo career is ripe for rediscovery and renewed praise.

It's a brand new day people...and having spent some time with this wicked New Yorker...I'm up for it. Recommended...

"Original Album Series" by AL STEWART (January 2014 Parlophone/Warners 5CD Mini Box Set of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...A Small Fruit Song..."

As a clearly befuddled and out-of-his-depths Emperor Joseph II (played by Jeffrey Jones) tries to reply to Mozart in Milos Forman's "Amadeus" when asked if he liked Wolfgang's new symphony – the Emperor quickly babbles - "...There's too many notes! Yes that's it! Too many notes!" Mozart tries in vein to advise the clearly ignorant European deity that his masterful musical composition has absolute no superfluous notes of any kind (you twat) – but Mozart's pleas for an enlightened audience fall on deaf ears and some seriously caked-on rouge.

Al Stewart is the same. His high-pitched almost effeminate voice and particularly wordy songs (like a college professor who can't stop himself giving you a history lesson - too many syllables Al) has the same effect. He's a Bovril artist - not everyone likes the Glaswegian Folky but if you do you're thinking our Alistair may very well be a misunderstood genius and then some. But what about the icky Bovril you say. I for one am down with both opinions when it comes to Al Stewart (he's good and bad). I find the first two LPs period-fey and at times unbearably hard to take - but the gorgeous Nick Drake vibe of "Zero She Flies" from 1970 has always seemed like a forgotten gem to me - and the last two LPs on RCA are simply quality work from a classy and accomplished songwriter. Here are the Small Fruit Songs...

UK released January 2014 - "Original Album Series" by AL STEWART on Parlophone/Warners 2564636168 (Barcode 825646361687) is a 5CD Mini Box Set of Remasters (four are) that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 "Bedsitter Images" (41:40 minutes):

1. Bedsitter Images

2. Swiss Cottage Manoeuvres

3. The Carmichaels

4. Scandinavian Girl

5. Pretty Golden Hair

6. Denise At 16

7. Samuel, Oh How You've Changed! [Side 2]

8. Cleave To Me

9. A Long Way Down From Stephanie

10. Ivich

11. Beleeka Doodle Day

Tracks 1 to 11 are his debut LP "Bedsitter Images" (cover has the LP title as "Bed Sitter Images" but the label and song is "Bedsitter Images") - released October 1967 in the UK on CBS Records BPG 63087 (Mono) and CBS Records S BPG 63087 (Stereo) - the STEREO version is used for this CD Remaster which was done in 2007. His debut was also reissued in June 1970 in the UK on CBS Records S 64023 with different artwork under the title "The First Album" - the card sleeve here uses the original 1967 artwork (there was no US issue).

Disc 2 "Love Chronicles" (43:09 minutes):

1. In Brooklyn

2. Old Compton Street Blues

3. The Ballad Of Mary Foster

4. Life And Life Only

5. You Should Have Listened To Al [Side 2]

6. Love Chronicles

Tracks 1 to 6 are his second studio album "Love Chronicles" - released January 1969 in the UK on CBS Records S 63460 (Stereo) and June 1970 in the USA on Epic BN 26564. The original British LP was a gatefold sleeve with a profile photo of Al in a fur coat on the front sleeve with a photo of him and his girlfriend wrapped in blanket sat on grass on the rear. The US LP in 1970 on Epic Records dropped the gatefold to a single-sleeve and reversed the cover art (him and the girl on the front and not on the rear). The card sleeve here uses the UK artwork and the 2007 CD Remaster is used.

Disc 3 "Zero She Flies" (37:16 minutes):

1. My Enemies Have Sweet Voices

2. A Small Fruit Song

3. Gethsemane, Again

4. Burbling

5. Electric Los Angeles Sunset

6. Manuscript [Side 2]

7. Black Hill

8. Anna

9. Room Of Boots

10. Zero She Flies

Tracks 1 to 10 are his third studio album "Zero She Flies" - released March 1970 in the UK on CBS Records S 63848 (Stereo) - No US Issue. 2007 CD Remaster used.

Disc 4 "Year Of The Cat" (39:14 minutes):

1. Lord Grenville

2. On The Border

3. Midas Shadow

4. Sand In Your Shoes

5. If It Doesn't Come Naturally, Leave It

6. Flying Sorcery [Side 2]

7. Broadway Hotel

8. One Stage Before

9. Year Of The Cat

Tracks 1 to 9 are his seventh studio album "Year Of The Cat" - released October 1976 in the UK on RCA Records RS 1082 and in the USA on Janus Records JXS 7022. Peaked at No. 38 in the UK and No. 5 in the USA.

Disc 5 "Time Passages" (44:38 minutes):

1. Time Passages

2. Valentina Way

3. Life In dark Water

4. A Man For All Seasons

5. Almost Lucy [Side 2]

6. Palace Of Versailles

7. Timeless Skies

8. Song On The Radio

9. End Of The Day

Tracks 1 to 9 are his eight studio album "Time Passages" - released September 1978 in the UK on RCA PL 25173 and in the USA on Arista AB-4190 - peaked at No. 39 in the UK and No. 10 in the USA.

By now most know the gig with these 'Original Album Series' Mini Box Sets - five CD albums in single card sleeves with front and rear cover repro artwork that looks nice but is impossible to read. There's no booklet and the only real info is the track lists on the CD labels. The original gatefold sleeves of "Love Chronicles", "Zero She Flies", "Year Of The Cat" and the inner sleeve of "Time Passages" are all AWOL. The repro sleeves are best described as adequate at best and you do need to be careful of the easily crushed flimsy card slipcase that scuffs easily too.

But there's good news where it matters - on the Audio front. Other reviewers have noted that the first three albums presented here - his 1967 debut "Bedsitter Images" - its follow-up "Love Chronicles" from 1969 - and the wonderful 1970 effort "Zero She Flies" are all 2007 Remasters - so the Audio is toppermost of the poppermost. His huge 1976 chart breakthrough LP "Year Of The Cat" is a 2001 Remaster - but no-one seems to know when 1978's equally melodious "Time Passages" was mastered (or remastered for that matter). As all three of the 2007 versions are deleted and costing a pretty penny ever since and the other two not easy to nail down either - this 5CD Mini Box Set with repro art card sleeves for all 5 LPs represents good value for money and a reasonable way to explore a singer well worth checking out.

The first album is a victim of dates – despite great lyrics about 'panelled patterns on the door' the title track for "Bedsitter Images" is given strings and heavy-handed drums to make it bop – the results are ham-fisted. The same applies to "Pretty Golden Hair" – a forced happy-wappy vibe trying to make the song CBS chart material - while a clavinet gives "A Long Way Down From Stephanie" a sort of Simon & Garfunkel feel but not in a good way. His second studio outing pulls back on the musical clutter but goes nuts with the words. "The Ballad Of Mary Foster" is 8:02 and almost all of Side 2 is taken up with the 18:04 minutes of "Love Chronicles" - but at least that feyness that blighted the first LP is gone. Christine gets kissed at ten - joints come in in his late teens - and "Love Chronicles" does well to retain your interest for such a time. But my fave on here is the simple, sad and 'don't get things for nothing' weariness of  "Old Compton Street Blues" where an impressionistic girl smiles - sadly slipping off her dress for the sailor or the clerk in one of London's most notorious haunts. The "Love Chronicles" LP was a huge leap forward but I think his next was even better.

"...I was playing brag in Bedlam and the doctor would not deal..." he sings on the brilliant "My Enemies Have Sweet Voices" - a funky little opener for the fab "Zero She Flies" LP from 1970. For the beginning of the decade Al Stewart seemed to have discovered his inner Funky South Kensington Donovan as the Harmonica and Georgie Fame organ Funk-Folk their way throughout the astute lyrics of "My Enemies Have Sweet Voices". As the bent-notes of a high-string acoustic chug along to an Old Grey Whistle Test Theme harmonica - Stewart sings "...I was blindside to the gutter...and Merlin happened by...asking me why do you lie down there bleeding...I answered him magician as a matter of fact...I was jumping to conclusions and one of them jumped back..." The audio on opener and the lovely follow on "A Small Fruit Song" are utterly stunning - clean and full - as the strings rattle around your speakers. In fact CBS used "A Small Fruit Song" as one of the tracks on the famous 1970 2LP label sampler "Fill Your Head With Rock" - it's acoustic simplicity as pretty as any song they had over on Nick Drake's and Cat Stevens' Island Records. An affectionate rumination on the soppiness and humanity of Jesus ("Gethsemane, Again") is followed by a gorgeous acoustic instrumental called "Burbling" which sounds like its playful-water title. "...Waiting for the ambulance and the cops to come..." come the world-weary lyrics to "Electric Los Angeles Sunset" chronicling the end of the hippy-dream as Cadillacs move snakelike through the haze of smoke from once hip cafes.

His storytelling brilliance can often floor you - take the words to the Eleanor Rigby elegant "Manuscript" as he recalls an old lady remembering - "...And my grandmother sits on the beach in the days before the war...a young girl writing her diary...while time seems to pause...watching the waves as they come one by one to die on the shore...kissing the feet of England..." More acoustic dexterity comes in the shape of "Black Hill" which quickly turns into a mandolin ballad with a few short lines and then it's gone. Beautiful and sad are words to describe "Anna" - a lady listening for the echo of his foot on the stair - the sound of a man who only took flesh from her bones and left little else. It ends on a duo of accomplished acoustic songs - like Leo Kottke with words - "Room Of Boots" and "Zero She Flies" - small wonder the album made No. 40 on the UK LP charts (he wouldn't taste chart success until 1976).

We then skip three albums on CBS ("Orange" in 1972, "Past, Present & Future" in 1973 and "Modern Times" in 1975) to when he signed to RCA Victor and saw his biggest chart success and the album/song he's most remembered for - 1976's "Year Of The Cat". It opens with the slow but majestic "Lord Grenville" with its 'voices on the wind' - followed by the equally sweeping piano-frantic "On The Border" with those acoustic-guitar flourishes sounding so sweet. The electric keyboard shimmer of "Midas Shadow" sounds sweet too as does the almost seaside vibe to "Sand In Your Shoes" where Al sings goodbye to his lady of the island. Side 1 ends with "It Doesn’t Come Naturally, Leave It" where some lady bends his back and many other things too. The Audio for "Flying Sorcery" is pleasingly full as he sings of a lady on the tarmac waiting for another shot at wind-in-her-hair. And then we get the big one – the full album cut of "Year Of The Cat" at 6:48 minutes with its extended piano intro – as sophisticated now as it was then.

The follow-up album "Time Passages" yielded more class in the almost Pink Floyd guitar swirl of "Like In Dark Water" and that catchy title track. It's true that tracks like "A Man For All Seasons" and that other saxophone hit "Song On The Radio" could do with an Audio brush up - but the sound here is still more than acceptable. The combo of Acoustic Guitars and Strings on "End Of The Day" is impressive too.

Sure the Sixties Hippy-Dip first two albums are hard to swallow nowadays - but the other three are worth the price of admission alone - especially the brilliant and unfairly forgotten "Zero She Flies" from 1970 - one for Nick Drake lovers out there.

"...You're on my mind...like a song on the radio..." Bovril or no - Al Stewart is a melody taste worth acquiring. Get this songsmith in your home...

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