"Wonderful Deeds And Adventures" by SUSAN CARTER - May 1970 US LP on Epic Records - Guests Include include much of BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS (Trumpeter RANDY BRECKER, Saxophonist FRED LIPSIUS and Trombonist DICK HALLIGAN) with ELLIOTT RANDALL, Polydor Records Solo Artist and later a Guest Guitarist for Steely Dan on "Can't Buy A Thrill" (August 2008 UK Rev-ola CD Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…Young Girl Blues…"

Susan Carter's first album "Wonderful Deeds And Adventures" was released in the USA in early May 1970 on Epic Records BN 26510 and is subtitled "A Collection Of Stirring Scenes and Moving Accidents". It featuring heavy involvement from three  members of the BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS Horn Section (including touches from Trumpeter Randy Brecker) and ace guitarist Elliott Randall who had solo albums on Polydor Records and in 1972 famously featured on Steely Dan's stunning debut "Can't Buy A Thrill". 

A few US trade papers reviewed it at the time (May 1970 - Reno Evening Gazette and Down Beat Magazine comparing her to a poor man's Laura Nyro with Jazz leanings) - but major publicity in Billboard and Cashbox eluded her and it disappeared into obscurity sales-wise. It didn't help that only two songs were originals done with her husband Les Carter - the rest a plethora of covers - other people's great songs - a major no-no to reviewers hungry for originality at the beginning of that most explosive decade. Every latest wannabe/old timer looking for a new hipper audience - piggy-backed on someone else's songwriting genius back in those days - but that doesn't stop the 'Wonderful Deeds...' Album from having its moments worth remembering and seeking out in the retro-loving now. 

UK-released 25 August 2008 (September 2008 in the USA) on Rev-ola CR REV 260 (Barcode 5013929456020) - this fantastic sounding CD Reissue and Remaster is a straightforward transfer of Susan Carter's rare and unfairly forgotten Californian-esque curio LP - "Wonderful Deeds And Adventures".

Duglus T. Stewart's informative and honest liner notes admit to the excessive hippy claptrap that infuses some of the album's Laurel Canyon vibe (it's very much of its time). But he also quite rightly raves about the collaborative brilliance that permeates through other tracks (it's Jazz-Rock'd up with the bolstering presence of Blood, Sweat & Tears and their fantastic Brassy rhythm section) - and happily the goodies outweigh the naff stuff. There really is so much on here to enjoy.

Here's the breakdown (40:13 minutes):

1. Bluebird (Buffalo Springfield/Stephen Stills cover) [Side 1]

2. Young Girl Blues (Donovan cover)

3. Temptation 'Bout To Get Me (The Knight Brothers cover, 1965)

4. Medley For Billie Holiday 

(a) Billy's Blues (Laura Nyro cover)

(b) Lady Sings The Blues (Billie Holiday cover)

(c) Lonely Women (Laura Nyro cover)

5. Brighten Your Night With My Day (James Taylor cover) [Side 2]

6. I Need A Good Man Bad (Les and Susan Carter original)

7. I'm So Tired (Beatles cover)

8. Old Country (Nat Adderley cover)

9. Illinois (Randy Newman cover)

10. Jam Session: Cruising With The Blues (Les & Susan Carter original)

Stylistically, Carter's album "Wonderful Deeds And Adventures" sounds like Laura Nyro meets Bonnie Dobson meets a hint of Joni Mitchell with LAURA NYRO winning out. If you then superimpose that vocal onto the second Blood, Sweat and Tears album - you get a pretty good idea of how this May 1970 US record sounds. 

RANDY BRECKER features on Trumpet, FRED LIPSIUS on Saxophone and DICK HALLIGAN on Trombone (all from BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS) with Halligan overseeing all of the arrangements, which are uniformly fabulous and elevate the album's better tracks into something special more than a few times. TERRY PLUMERI plays really tasteful upright bass on the album's straight-up jazz piece, Nat Adderley's "Old Country" with Randy Brecker blowing sweetly throughout - very nice indeed. And the sound quality is FANTASTIC throughout. 

As you can see from the list above, there are 8 cover versions and only two originals and their quality range from the sublimely soulful and jazzy "Medley For Billie Holiday" to the awful - the White Album's sinister "I'm So Tired" turned into a sub Bacharach schmooze fest with wild guitar at the end just so that you know they're "with it man". It's almost funny how awful the guitar bit is that ends it! Her version of James Taylor's "Brighten Your Night With My Day" fares better - it's lovely - so Laura Nyro circa "Christmas & The Beads Of Sweat". ELLIOTT RANDALL puts in superb guitar work on her excellent original "I Need A Good Man Bad" with Dick Halligan's brass arrangements delivering a killer punch too. (Two years later, Randall would supply the stunning guitar work on Steely Dan's "Reelin' In The Years" - the Side 2 opener for their brilliant and much-praised debut album "Can't Buy A Thrill" on ABC Records). The "Wonder Deeds And Adventures" album closer is a kind of funky, jazz, rock workout and I love it - Carter and her crew sounding a little like C.C.S. circa 1970 and their stunning Brass-Rock self-titled debut album on RAK Records.

Special mention must be made of the sound, the remaster quality is EXCEPTIONAL - beautiful work done by NORMAN BLAKE and JOE FOSTER at Studio 3 in Glasgow. The opening track has a 30 second acapella passage and Carter's voice is clear, warm, and has very little hiss surrounding it and when the instrumentation does kick in - you feel all of it - great stuff. It's like a really good Blood, Sweat & Tears transfer - fans of the album will be thrilled and Revola have done the lady justice.

I've seen the vinyl version of this rare and long-forgotten Laurel Canyon period album maybe once or twice in 50 years - so for those who love their Californian ladies and their 1970s records - this is very sweet reissue indeed. 

A job well done Revola and highly recommended…