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Exceptional CD Remasters
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Exceptional CD Remasters
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"...Mrs. Grundy Doesn't Comprehend..."
Released
in December 1967 and charting quickly in January 1968 - PLASTIC PENNY scored a
lone UK 45 hit with "Everything I Am" - a cover version of a Box Tops
B-side penned by those two dapper white dudes of Southern Soul-Rock - Dan Penn
and Spooner Oldham. It peaked at No. 6 in Blighty on Larry Page's 'Page One'
Records and despite two albums in 1968 and 1969 (also on Page One Records) -
that was their lot in terms of success – one single.
But
the quickly assembled five-piece boasted Vocalist Brian Keith of The
Congregation in its ranks along with Keyboardist Paul Raymond later of Chicken
Shack and Savoy Brown, Lead Guitarist Mick Grabham later of Cochise, Procol
Harum and Bandit and Drummer Nigel Olsson who would of course become Elton
John's defacto rhythm man for the best part of the Seventies on DJM Records.
Bassist Tony Murray would slide into The Troggs after Plastic Penny faded. They
might have been young (Olsson was only 18) and that singer an acquired deadpan
taste - but they made some racket while it lasted.
Hardly
surprising then that with two albums (one in both Mono and Stereo), twelve-sides
of six rare singles, a Foreign language version, a compilation track from an LP
that's listed at £100+ and a shed load of unreleased BBC material – those savvy
dudes over at Cherry Red's cult label Grapefruit Records have been able to
conjure up a 58-Track 3CD box set for what was essentially a one-hit-wonder
band. Let's flip that coin and see what lies underneath...
UK
released 22 February 2019 - "Everything I Am: The Complete Plastic
Penny" by PLASTIC PENNY on Grapefruit Records CRSEGBOX053 (Barcode
5013929185302) is a 3CD 58-Track Clamshell Box Set of Remasters that plays out
as follows:
CD1
"Two Sides Of A Penny" LP in MONO Plus Bonuses (49:04 minutes):
HEADS
[Side 1]
1.
Everything I Am
2.
Wake Me Up
3.
Never My Love
4.
Genevieve
5.
No Pleasure Without Pain My Love
6.
So Much Older Now
TAILS
[Side 2]
7.
Mrs. Grundy
8.
Take Me Back
9.
I Want You
10.
It's A Good Thing
11.
Strawberry Fields Forever
Tracks
1 to 11 are their debut album "Two Sides Of A Penny" - released April
1968 in the UK on Page One Records POL 005 in MONO
BONUS
TRACKS:
12.
Everything I Am (Single Version)
13.
No Pleasure Without Pain My Love (Single Version)
Tracks
12 and 13 are the A&B-sides of their December 1967 debut 7" single on
Page One Records POF 051 (peaked at No. 6 in the UK charts)
14.
Nobody Knows (Single version)
15.
Happy Just To Be With You (Single Version)
Tracks
14 and 15 are the A&B-sides of a March 1968 UK 7" single on Page one
Records POF 062
16.
Guarda Nel Cielo (Nobody Knows It)
17.
Tutto Quel Che Ho (Everything I Am)
Tracks
16 and 17 are the A&B-sides of an ITALIAN-only Italian language 7"
single from May 1968 on Ricordi International SIR 20.067
CD2
"Two Sides Of A Penny" LP in STEREO Plus BBC Sessions (72:47
minutes):
Tracks
1 to 11 as per CD1
Tracks
1 to 11 are their debut album "Two Sides Of A Penny" - released April
1968 in the UK on Page One Records POLS 005 in STEREO
BONUS
TRACKS:
12.
Turning Night Into Day
13.
Everything I Am
14.
Take Me Back
Tracks
12 to 14 BBC Session for Top Gear recorded 10 January 1968, broadcast 14
January
15.
Everything I Am
16.
No Pleasure Without Pain My Love
17.
It's A Good Thing
Tracks
15 to 17 are BBC Session for David Symonds, recorded 22 January 1968, broadcast
29 February
18.
It's A Good Thing
19.
Nobody Knows It
20.
So Much Older Now
Tracks
18 to 20 BBC Session for David Symonds, recorded 19 March 1968, broadcast 25
March
21.
Your Way To Tell Me To Go
22.
The Shelter Of Your Arms
23.
Give Me Money
Tracks
21 to 23 BBC Session for David Symonds, recorded 12 July 1968, broadcast 22
July
24.
Killing Floor
25.
Strawberry Fields Forever
Tracks
24 and 25 BBC Session for David Symonds, recorded 17 February 1969, broadcast 1
March
CD3
"Currency" LP in STEREO Plus Bonuses (57:41 minutes):
1.
Your Way To Tell Me To Go [Side 1]
2.
Hound Dog
3.
Currency
4.
Caledonian Mission
5.
MacArthur Park
6.
Turn To Me [Side 2]
7.
Baby You're Not To Blame
8.
Give Me Money
9.
Sour Suite
Tracks
1 to 9 are their second and last album "Currency" - released February
1969 in the UK on Page One Records POLS 014 in Stereo-only
BONUS
TRACKS:
10.
Your Way To Tell Me To Go
11.
Baby You're Not To Blame
Tracks
10 and 11 are the A&B-sides of a July 1968 UK 7" single on Page One
Records POF 079
12.
Hound Dog
13.
Currency
Tracks
12 and 13 are the A&B-sides of a November 1968 UK 7" single on Page
One Records POF 107
14.
Celebrity Ball
Track
14 is a Mid-1969 LP outtake first issued on the April 1970 UK compilation LP
"Heads I Win - Tails You Lose" on Page One Records POS 611
15.
She Does
16.
Genevieve
Tracks
15 and 161 are the A&B-sides of a July 1969 UK 7" single on Page One
Records POF 146
The
28-page booklet is the usual feast of period memorabilia – sheet music, promo
photos, 60ts charts, press clippings and concert posters supporting The Love
Affair, the artwork for the two LPs and a collage page of Euro and Worldwide
picture sleeves for the singles. Liner-notes King DAVID WELLS does a thoroughly
in-depth job of describing how the debut single was made by a bunch of
sessionmen – became a hit – and then the mad scramble began to form a band to
back it up with TV appearances and tours. But the momentum of the catchy
"Everything I Am" proved impossible to follow, finally getting to a
point where their slowed-down grunge cover of Presley's 50ts exciter
"Hound Dog" elicited a Chris Welch review that advised members of the
band to avoid motorcyclists coming to their gigs to avenge Elvis and do things
to the ribcages of Plastic Penny (I personally think its a rip-roaring success
but what would I know). It's a great read and with contributions from Paul
Raymond and Brian Keith touching on subjects like his real name (O'Shea, a Scot
with an Irish surname) and the trouble it caused him with journalists and
meeting Phil Lynott of Thin Lizzy during the recording of their debut – there
is much to enjoy in its 5,000+ words.
Oddly
there are no mastering credits – but I suspect Simon Murphy or Ben Wiseman or
Paschal Byrne did the Remasters. The MONO MIX of the Debut LP is hissy for sure
but clear nonetheless (there is lovely separation on the Stereo mix and real
power too). Even those BBC Sessions - that can be very mixed audiowise
depending on the source – are shockingly good. And with both LPs clocking in at
over £100 and £150 on the collector’s market, this reissue is welcome-news for
die-hards and genre fans. To the music...
The
1968 debut split Side 1 and 2 into themes - Heads and Tails. Of the eleven
songs – impressively seven were Brian Keith and Paul Raymond originals – with the
other four being covers - the Penn/Oldham/Box Tops B-side "Everything I
Am", the Addrisi Brothers song "Never My Love", "I Want
You" by John Group of the Graham Bond Organization and finally - the
Beatles classic "Strawberry Fields Forever". I have to say I'm quite
at a loss as to why "Everything I Am" did such huge business. Both
"Wake Me Up" (sung by Paul) and "Never My Love" (sung by
Brian) are dominated by the very Nice-sounding keyboards of Paul Raymond with a
touch of Procol Harum doom swimming around "Genevieve".
Side
1 brings the overall smooch feel to an end with "So Much Older Now" –
Keith's voice not up the expressiveness needed. Side 2 opens with the very
Psych-Underground "Mrs. Grundy" – a rather nasty little beasty about
a neighbour who does not get it (one of the album's genuine period highlights).
The boys try Pop with the cheesy "Take Me Back" but it feels so 60ts
but not in a good way. Better territory is the cover of "I Want You"
– a chugger that feels like early Traffic. A very competent harmony vocal
version of "Strawberry Fields Forever" ends the album but overall you
feel the debut is good rather than being great despite all that collective
(admittedly young) talent.
Once
again album number two "Currency" from 1969 had that combo of
originals and covers – Lieber and Stoller's "Hound Dog" made famous
of course by Big Mama Thornton and Elvis, Robbie Robertson's "Caledonian
Mission" from The Band's 1968 debut LP "Music From Big Pink",
Jimmy Webb's "MacArthur Park" - a hit for actor Richard Harris also
in 1968 - and the never-released on one of his own albums "Turn To
Me" from the 1969 pen of Elton John and Bernie Taupin - a genuine rarity
in EJ's voluminous catalogue. The other five are originals with "Your Way
To Tell Me To Go" being the leadoff single as far back as July 1968 -
nearly nine months before the LP arrived in February 1969. Immediately the
power of the remaster on the Stereo "Your Way To Tell Me To Go" is
fantastic and the songwriting chops obviously immeasurably improved since the
debut.
With
Brian Keith out of the picture, Raymond takes the lead and his vocals on both
"Your Way To Tell Me To Go" and the infamous "Hound Dog"
(with Nigel Olsson on Lead Vocals) suit the very Small Faces rocking-out feel
to both of the tunes. Given the quality of "Your Way..." and the very
Nice-Prog-Psych to the instrumental "Currency" - it's easy to see why
the second LP is so much more desirable on the collector's market. "She
reads the leaves and she leads the life..." they sing on a credible
rocking up take on The Band's "Caledonian Mission" but my ears are
drawn to the seldom heard "Turn To Me" - an Elton John and Bernie
Taupin turn to me when you're lonely ballad (it was also covered by Guy
Darrell, a Page One Records label mate). Fans have also loved the very Who/Move
influenced "Give Me Money" where it could very well be Pete Townshend
trashing away at that guitar while Olsson goes all Moon. I'll admit I've never
heard the compilation rarity "Celebrity Ball" but its a cracker and
should really have been on the "Currency" LP. Disc 3 ends with a very
cool stand-alone almost Allman Brothers rocker in "She Does" in
Stereo b/w the single mix of "Genevieve" described here as a 'Stereo
Single Version 2'.
"...They
say your baby doesn't love you, but she does...” the band pleads on the
excellent but ignored single "She Does" - a little like Plastic
Penny's short but productive stay – people misconstrued and just plain never
saw them and thereafter gave them a chance.
For
sure, not everything on here will thrill even 60ts nutters to the core,
especially the overall slapped-together feel of that underwhelming debut. But
that cool second LP and those BBC Sessions (that show the growing confidence of
the band as they went from 1968 into 1969) will be enough to warrant a dip into
this wickedly diverse money pit. And again Grapefruit make it impossible to
resist...
