"Rollin' And Tumblin' - American Electric Blues 1965-1971" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Featuring Howlin' Wolf, Bo Diddley, Slim Harpo, The Butterfield Blues Band (with Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop), Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Otis Redding, Magic Sam, John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Albert Collins, Johnnie Taylor, Freddie King, Aretha Franklin, Canned Heat, The Lovin' Spoonful (with John Sebastian), Etta James, John Hammond, Kaleidoscope, The Shadows Of Knight, Captain Beefheart, The Electric Flag, Johnny Winter, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Blood, Sweat & Tears, The J. Geils Band, Janis Joplin in the Big Brother Holding Co., J.J. Cale, Ry Cooder, Buddy Miles Express, Tony Joe White, Johnny Jenkins, Dr. John, ZZ Top and more (July 2025 UK Cherry Red/Strawberry 63-Track 3CD Clamshell Box Set with a 40-Page Booklet, Three Compilation Mini LP Card Sleeves and Alec Palao Mastering) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://amzn.to/4d4IHIJ

RATINGS:

Overall: ****

Presentation: *****

Audio: **** to *****

"...500% More Man..."

June and July 2025 saw Strawberry Records of the UK (one of Cherry Red's label imprints) produce two Themed Clamshell Box Set humdingers. Each came with over 60-tracks, 40-page booklets and Mini LP sleeves. And man are they good...

The first was "Feelin' Alright? Mod Rock, Funky Prog & Heavy Jazz 1967-1972" (reviewed elsewhere) and the second is this little beauty given over to all things American and Bluesy on a white-boy's influentially drawn-in tip. So much great stuff here to love - time for a deep dive - so to the details straight away... 

UK released Friday, 18 July 2025 - "Rollin' And Tumblin' - American Electric Blues 1965-1971" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Cherry Red/Strawberry CR3JAMBX46 (Barcode 5013929434639) is a 63-Track 3-CD Clamshell Box Set Compiled and Annotated by JOHN HARRINGTON covering Black Blues, R&B, Soul, Rock and Psych being discovered by largely white audiences and bands of the period. It comes with a 40-Page Booklet, Three Mini LP Card Sleeves, ALEC PALAO Mastering and plays out as follows:

CD1 (78:27 minutes, 25 Tracks)

John Lee Hooker, Etta James and Paul Butterfield pictured on the cover

1. Killing Floor - HOWLIN' WOLF (March 1965 US 7" 45-single on Chess 1923, A-side - sessions included Hubert Sumlin and Buddy Guy on Guitars with LaFayette Leake on Piano)

2. 500% More Man - BO DIDDLEY (October 1965 US 7" 45-single on Checker 1123, A-side - an update on his "I'm A Man" classic from 1955 on Chess - real name Elias McDaniel)

3. Baby Scratch My Back - SLIM HARPO (December 1965 US 7" 45-single on Excello 45-2273, A-side - real name James Moore)

4. Born In Chicago - THE PAUL BUTTERFIELD BLUES BAND (from the 1965 US Various Artists Elektra Records label sampler LP "Folksong '65" on Elektra S-8 - this earlier version is exclusive to this album and includes Paul Butterfield on Harmonica, Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop on Guitars with Howlin' Wolf band members Jerome Arnold and Sam Lay on Bass and Drums with Organist Mark Naftalin)

5. Snatch It Back And Hold It - JUNIOR WELLS CHICAGO BLUES BAND (from the November 1965 US Debut LP "Hoodoo Man Blues" on Delmark DS-9612 in Stereo - features Buddy Guy on Guitar credited as 'Friendly Chap' - LP recorded live in the studio across two days in September 1965)

6. Rock Me Baby - OTIS REDDING (from the September 1965 US LP "Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul" on Volt 412 - a B.B. King cover version)

7. Leave My Girl Alone - BUDDY GUY (July 1965 US 7" 45-single on Chess 1936, A-side)

8. Night Owl Blues - THE LOVIN' SPOONFUL (from the November 1965 US LP "Do You Believe In Magic" on Kama Sutra KLPS 8050 in Stereo - band featuring John Sebastian - the instrumental 'Night Owl Blues' is a tribute Blues about a cafe of the same name in Greenwich Village, New York)

9. Spoonful - DION (May 1965 US 7" 45-single on Columbia 4-43293, A-side - a Willie Dixon song done by Howlin' Wolf at Chess Records in 1960)

10. My Babe - THE EVERLY BROTHERS (from the 1965 US LP "Beat & Soul" on Warner Brothers WS 1605 in Stereo - Don and Phil Everly covering a countryfied version of the Willie Dixon penned song made famous by Harmonica legend Little Walter on Chess Records in 1955)

11. Plum-Nellie - BOOKER T. & THE MG's (Originally a June 1963 US 7" 45-single on Stax S-137 in Mono, B-side of "Chinese Checkers" - here as the March 1965 US LP version on "Soul Dressing" in Stereo - band featured Booker T Jones on Organ, Steve Cropper on Guitar and Al Jackson on Drums)

12. One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer - JOHN LEE HOOKER (from the October 1966 US LP "The Real Folk Blues" on Chess LPS-1508 in Stereo - an Amos Milburn cover with Eddie Burns on Guitar)

13. Light Bulb Blues - THE SHADOWS OF KNIGHT (from the May 1966 US LP "Gloria" on Dunwich S-666 in Stereo - also B-side of their May 1966 US 2nd 7" 45-single "Oh Yeah" on Dunwich 45-122)

14. Sno Cone (Part II) - ALBERT COLLINS (June 1965 US 7" 45-single on TCF/Fox Family/Hall TCF-104, B-side of "Sno Cone (Part I)" - also on his debut album "The Cool Sound Of Albert Collins" on TCF/Fox Family/Hall Records TCF-8002 in Mono)

15. I Had A Dream - JOHNNIE TAYLOR (February 1966 US 7" 45-single on Stax 45-186, A-side - written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter)

16. 32-20 - THE CHARLATANS (October 1966 US 7"45-single on Kapp K-779, A-side - a Robert Johnson cover - Mike Wilhelm plays Lead Slide Guitar on this cover)

17. I Wish You Would - JOHN HAMMOND (December 1965 US 7" 45-single on Red Bird RB 10047, A-side in Mono - First Stereo Release on the "I Can Tell" LP on Atlantic Records SD 8152 in 1967 - Session included Robbie Robertson pre The Band on Guitar with Rolling Stones Bassist Bill Wyman)

18. Shake Your Hips - SLIM HARPO (June 1966 US 7" 45-single on Excello 45-2278, A-side - Session included Lazy Lester on Percussion, Katie Webster on Organ, Willie 'Tomcat' Parker on Tenor Sax - The Rolling Stones famously covered this dancefloor shuffler song for their 1972 double-album "Exile On Main St.")

19. Sure 'Nuff 'N Yes, I Do - CAPTAIN BEEFHEART & HIS MAGIC BAND (from the August 1967 US Debut LP "Safe As Milk" on Buddah BDM 1001 - band featured Ry Cooder on Slide Guitar)

20. Rollin' And Tumblin' - CANNED HEAT (June 1967 US 7" 45-single on Liberty 55979, A-side - First Stereo release on the July 1967 US Debut LP "Canned Heat" on Liberty LST-7526 - a cover version of the Muddy Waters 1950 Blues classic) 

21. I Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes - THE BLUES PROJECT (from the November 1966 US LP "Projections" on Verve Folkways FTS-3008 in Stereo - band featured Tommy Flanders on Vocals, Danny Kelb on Guitars, future Blood, Sweat & Tears singer/songwriter and solo artist Al Kooper with Guitarist Steve Katz - song is a reinterpretation of a 1920's Blind Willie Johnson song called "Lord I Just Can't Help From Crying")

22. Think It Over - B.B. KING (April 1967 US 7" 45-single on Bluesway 45-61004, A-side - First Stereo release on the 1968 US LP "His Best: The Electric B.B. King" on Bluesway BLS-6022) 

23. I'd Rather Go Blind - ETTA JAMES (October 1967 US 7" 45-single on Cadet 5578, B-side of "Tell Mama" - British Blues Rock legends Chicken Shack (on Blue Horizon Records) famously covered "I'd Rather Go Blind" with Christine Perfect on Lead Vocals. She later of course became Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac when she married the band's Bassist John McVie. Chicken Shack's cover of the "I'd Rather Go Blind" torch ballad hit No. 14 in 1968 in England and launched a long career for Stan Webb's Blues Boogie band) 

24. You Don't Love Me - KALEIDOSCOPE (from the November 1967 US LP "A Beacon From Mars" on Epic BN 2633 in Stereo - a sort of 60ts Psych version of Willie Cobb's song - Chester Crill (Max Buda) plays Harmonica)

25. Work Song - THE BUTTERFIELD BLUES BAND (from their 1966 US Second LP "East-West" on Elektra Records EKS-7315 in Stereo - A Nat Adderley cover)

CD2 (79:25 minutes, 20 Tracks):

Bob 'The Bear' Hite of Canned Heat, Taj Mahal and Janis Joplin pictured on cover

1. I Feel So Good (I Wanna Boogie) - MAGIC SAM BLUES BAND (from the September 1968 US Debut LP "West Side Soul" on Delmark DS-615 in Stereo - real name Samuel Maghett)

2. Going Up The Country - CANNED HEAT (November 1968 US 7" 45-single on Liberty 56077, A-side - band featured Bob 'The Bear' Hite with Alan 'Blind Owl' Wilson)

3. Statesboro Blues - TAJ MAHAL (from the January 1968 US Debut LP "Taj Mahal" on Columbia CS 9579 in Stereo - is a cover version of a Blind Willie McTell Blues classic and Taj's band featured both Ry Cooder and Jesse Ed Davis on Guitars)

4. Twisted - JOHN KAY & THE SPARROWS (from the 1969 US LP "John Kay & The sparrow" on Columbia CS 9758 in Stereo - pre Steppenwolf band)

5. Piece Of My Heart - BIG BROTHER & THE HOLDING COMPANY (from their August 1968 second US album "Cheap Thrills" on Columbia KCS 9700 in Stereo - this 'LP Version' features JANIS JOPLIN on Lead Vocals and is an Erma Franklin cover)

6. Killing Floor - THE ELECTRIC FLAG (from the March 1968 US LP "A Long Time Comin'" on Columbia CS 9597 in Stereo - a cover of the Howlin' Wolf classic - band featured guitarist Mike Bloomfield ex-Paul Butterfield Blues Band with Nick Gravenites)

7. Tom Cat - MUDDY WATERS (from the October 1968 US LP "Electric Mud" on Cadet Concept LPS 314 in Stereo - features future Miles Davis band member Pete Cosey on Guitar)

8. Mean Town Blues - JOHNNY WINTER (from his March 1969 US Debut LP "The Progressive Blues Experiment" on Imperial LP 12431)

9. Gambler's Blues - OTIS RUSH (from the April 1969 US Debut LP "Mourning In The Morning" on Cotillion SD 9006 in Stereo - Produced by Mick Bloomfield and Nick Gravenites of The Electric Flag - Other Guests included Duane Allman and Jimmy Johnson on Guitars with Ronnie Hawkins on Drums - it is a B.B. King cover version)

10. Born To Be Wild - WILSON PICKETT (from the January 1969 US LP "Hey Jude" on Atlantic SD 8215 in Stereo - Duane Allman on Guitar with The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section as the backing band - a cover version of the Steppenwolf hit from the 'Easy Rider' movie)

11. Funk 48 - THE JAMES GANG (from their September 1969 US Debut LP "Yer' Album" on Bluesway BLS 6034 in Stereo - band featured songwriter, singer and guitarist Joe Walsh, later went solo and then from 1976 for 50 years with Eagles)

12. Hoochie Coochie Man - STEPPENWOLF (from their January 1968 US Debut LP "Steppenwolf" on Dunhill DS-50029 in Stereo - a Willie Dixon song made famous by Muddy Waters)

13. Stop - MIKE BLOOMFIELD and AL KOOPER (from the August 1968 US LP "Super Session" on Columbia CS 9701 in Stereo - credited to Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper and Stephen Stills - three already legendary guitarists of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band and The Electric Flag, Al Kooper of Bob Dylan sessions and Blood, Sweat & Tears with Stephen Stills of Buffalo Springfield - "Stop" is a Howard Tate Soul song cover and features only Bloomfield and Kooper of the three)

14. Roberta - LONNIE MACK (from the March 1969 US LP "Glad I'm In The Band" on Elektra EKS-74040 in Stereo - a cover of the Huey 'Piano' Smith New Orleans hit by Guitarist Lonnie McIntosh)

15. Pack Fair And Square - THE J. GEILS BAND (from the 1970 US Debut LP "The J. Geils Band" on Atlantic SD 8275 in Stereo - band featured John J. Geils on Guitar with Richard 'Magic Dick' Salwitz on Harmonica - a Big Walter Price cover version)

16. Speak My Mind - J.B. HUTTO & HIS HAWKS with SUNNYLAND SLIM (from the 1969 US Debut LP "Hawk Squat" on Delmark DS-617 in Stereo - guitarist Lee Jackson also features)

17. Who Do You Love Part 1 - QUICKSILVER MESSENGER SERVICE (Excerpt from the March 1969 US 2nd LP "Happy Trails" on Capitol ST-120 in Stereo - Part 1 is an excerpt from a Side-long 'suite' of over 23 minutes that covers Bo Diddley's famous Chess Records anthem 'Who Do You Love' - band featured John Cipollina and Gary Duncan on Guitars with Dave Freisberg on Bass)

18. I'll Love You More Than You'll Ever Know - BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS (from the February 1968 US Debut LP "Child Is Father To The Man" on Columbia CS 9619 in Stereo - band featuring Guitarist Steve Katz (ex-Blues Project), Songwriter, Guitarist and Vocalist Al Kooper with Saxophonist Fred Lipsius and Drummer Bobby Colomby - the song is an Al Kooper tribute to Otis Redding who had only recently died)

19. Parchment Blues - BLUE CHEER (from the February 1968 US LP "Vincebus Eruptum" on Philips PHS 600-264 in Stereo - a Moses Allison cover version - band featured Leigh Stephens on Guitar who would later have a solo career)

20. Motor City Is Burning - MC5 (from their February 1969 US debut live album "Kick Out The Jams" on Elektra EKS-74042 in Stereo - band featured Wayne Kramer on Guitar - is a John Lee Hooker cover version)

CD3 (78:09 minutes, 18 Tracks):

B.B. King, Duane Allman of The Allman Brothers and Aretha Franklin are pictured

1. The Hunter - IKE & TINA TURNER (from the October 1969 US LP "The Hunter" on Blue Thumb Records BTS 11 in Stereo - is a cover version of an Albert King song)

2. Whipping Post - THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND (from the November 1969 US Debut LP "The Allman Brothers Band" on Atco/Capricorn SD 33-308 in Stereo - band featured Gregg and Duane Allman and Dickey Betts on Guitars)

3. Why I Sing The Blues - ARETHA FRANKLIN (from the August 1970 US LP "Spirit In The Dark" on Atlantic SD 8265 in Stereo - a B.B. King cover version)

4. Yonder Wall - FREDDIE KING (from the January 1970 US LP "My Feeling For The Blues" on Cotillion SD 9016 in Stereo - LP produced by King Curtis - song is an Elmore James cover version)

5. Evil - HOWLIN' WOLF (from the February 1969 US LP "The Howlin' Wolf Album" on Cadet Concept LPS-319 in Stereo - Guitarists included Hubert Sumlin, Phil Upchurch and Pete Cosey - album featured Psychedelic re-workings of his Chess Records Blues catalogue from the Fifties for a new audience and famously came with a disclaimer on the front cover that the Wolf hated the record - which appears to have been true)

6. The Thrill Is Gone - B.B. KING (from his December 1969 US LP "Completely Well" on Bluesway BLS 6037 in Stereo - a Roy Hawkins cover version originally issued 1950 - King's LP was Produced by Bill Szymczyk who would later have huge success with Joe Walsh's Barnstorm and the Eagles. "The Thrill Is Gone" gave B.B. his highest Billboard 45-charting in 1969 and became his signature tune ever after)

7. Call Me The Breeze - J.J. CALE (from his December 1971 US Debut LP "Naturally" on Shelter Records SW-8908 in Stereo - this famous Bluesy shuffle song used an early version of a Drum Machine and was memorably covered by Southern Rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd fro their "Second Helping" album in 1974 - Eric Clapton also covered it and cited the man as a huge 'style' influence on EC and would later couple up with John J. Cale for Studio albums and live dates)

8. Blues And Trouble - MUDDY WATERS (from the May 1969 US LP "After The Rain" on Cadet Concept LPS-320 in Stereo - Guests included Guitarists Phil Upchurch and Pete Cosey with Pianist Otis Spann and Harmonica from Paul Oscher. "After The Rain" was Muddy's 'preferred' follow-up LP to the divisive "Electric Mud" Psych-Blues album on the year before)

9. Elephant Man - BO DIDDLEY (from the June 1970 US LP "The Black Gladiator" on Checker LPS 3013 in Stereo)

10. Boom Boom - TONY JOE WHITE (from his July 1970 third studio LP "Tony Joe" on Monument SLP-18142 in Stereo - a Swamp Rock re-working of the famous John Lee Hooker Blues tune)

11. I Walk On Gilded Splinters - JOHNNY JENKINS (from the July 1970 US LP "Ton-Ton Macoute!" on Atco/Capricorn SD 33-331 in Stereo - a Dr. John cover version - Band featuring three members of The Allman Brothers Band - Duane Allman, Butch Truck and Jaimoe)

12. Alimony - RY COODER (from the October 1970 US Debut LP "Ry Cooder" on Reprise RS 6402 in Stereo - a Tommy Tucker cover version)

13. Train - BUDDY MILES EXPRESS (from the November 1968 US Debut LP "Expressway To Your Skull" on Mercury SR 61196 in Stereo - band featured ex The Electric Flag Drummer an Vocalist Buddy Miles, Guitars by Jim McCarty of Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels with Production by Jimi Hendrix - Miles would later play with Hendrix's backing group Band Of Gypsys before his passing in late 1970)

14. Whole Lotta Love - KING CURTIS & THE KINGPINS (September 1970 US 7" 45-single on Atco 45-6779, A-side - a Funky Saxophone and Brass cover of Led Zeppelin's signature tune from October 1969's "Led Zeppelin II" - itself a hybrid of a Muddy Waters Blues tune called "You Need Love")

15. Chairman Of The Board - CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARD (January 1971 US 7" 45-single on Invictus IS-9086, A-side - Blues-Funk Song Written by Motown's Brian Holland & Lamont Dozier with Lead Vocals by Harrison Kennedy)

16. Where Ya At Mule - DR. JOHN, THE NIGHT TRIPPER (from the September 1971 US LP "The Sun, The Moon & Herbs" on Atco SD 33-362 in Stereo - real name Mac Rebennack - Band featured Singers Bobby Whitlock and Doris Troy, Horns from Bobby Keys (long-time associated with The Rolling Stones), British Saxophonist Chris Mercer with Brass Section provided by The Memphis Horns)

17. (Somebody Else Been) Shaking Your Tree - ZZ TOP (October 1970 US 7" 45-single on London 45-138, A-side - also the opening track on Side 1 of their January 1971 US Debut LP "ZZ Top's First Album" on London PS 584 in Stereo - this famous Texan three-piece band featured Billy Gibbons on Guitar, Dusty Hill on Bass and Frank Beard on Drums and would achieve huge global status during the 1980s and the MTV era - also featured in the third 'Back To The Future' film)

18. Going Down - FREDDIE KING (from the April 1971 US LP "Getting Ready" on Shelter Records SHE 8905 in Stereo - Produced by Leon Russell (of Shelter Records) with Don Nix - the band included Leon Russell on Piano and members of Booker T. & The MG's - song written by Don Nix)

The 40-page booklet can only be described as a 'feast' - knowledgeable and fact-jammed liner notes by compiler and annotator JOHN HARRINGTON that feature a blow-by-blow account of each song/artist and heaps of archive, trade advert, promo photos and concert artwork in-between the text - it's superbly done and must have taken months to sequence. Archivist, Soul & Mod aficionado and true believer ALEC PALAO has done the Mastering and these official licenses sound like 90s and 00s Remasters - all of it sparkling. By the time you get to Disc 2 and 3 - you may have to turn your combo down to simmer - as tune after tune feels audibly chunky (and for all the right clarity reasons). The first CD being older Blues has a few rough spots as you can imagine and some of the material is over familiar - but you get it - in keeping with the theme - these huge influences are here for a reason. But what makes "Rollin' And Tumblin'..." and Strawberry Clamshells like this such a pleasure is the Coolsville discoveries on every CD (re-acquaintances too) - songs maybe you saw on lists or heard in movies. I like the three Mini LP card sleeves too - cleverly picturing three shakers and makers on each front (see lists above for details) - while the Box Set cover and booklet show another important trio - Howlin' Wolf, Mike Bloomfield and Tina Turner. Nice. To the music...

CD1 sets the scene with five original influences on young white tomboys (Howlin' Wolf through to Otis Redding) before we get to The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Lovin' Spoonful, The Shadows Of Knight, John Hammond et al - American lads redigesting the Blues. Least not of all amongst these were those naughty boys from England who took all this raw American Blues and R&B and morphed it into Blues Rock, Hard Rock, Soul Rock, Garage and Freakbeat. You can feel the eager-beavers all over this Box Set even if they're not actually here (probably due to licensing) - bands like The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, Manfred Mann, The Animals and of course then into heavier incarnations like Cream, Zeppelin, Staus Quo and everybody who followed. 

"Killing Floor" opens proceedings in 1965 - the same year The Stones had The Wolf on the American TV show 'Shindig' - a pivotal crossover moment in the mid-Sixties when such things were still dangerous. Buddy Guy's Chicago Electric Blues Guitar sound is given pride of place on his own "Leave My Girl Alone" but also in subtle session plays for Howlin' Wolf, Junior Wells and as part of the Muddy Waters ensemble over at Chess Records. Most British R&B and Soul fans know the Booker T & The MG's tune "Plum-Nellie" from mod darlings Small Faces - the tune turning on Decca's naughty June 1965 compilation album "From The Beginning" which the band didn't want issued. Here we get Booker's Stereo version from the 1965 LP (and not the 1963 Mono B-side) with Steve Cropper lending blistering guitar while Mr. Jones pushes that Organ sound (very clever choice linking the US influence with a British outcome). 

The genre-moving-forward subtleties continue with the inclusion of B.B. King's "Think It Over" on Bluesway in 1967. Smart enough to catch the zeitgeist - Blues Boy King played alongside coolsters like Moby Grape and The Steve Miller Band at the famous San Francisco Fillmore venue in February of that 'Sgt. Peppers' year - 1967 - thus winning a whole new legion of dude white men fans and converts (B.B. King left the Chitlin' Circuit for good just after). White boys like The Everly Brothers, Captain Beefheart and especially Canned Heat nod towards R&B with cool covers of Chess Classics while The Charlatans and John Hammond show why they are such cult-faves with their great choices too. CD1 jaunts home with brilliance from Etta James, Psych-Blues nutters Kaleidoscope on Epic Records and the monstrously influential Paul Butterfield Blues Band having a go at Bluesing-up a Nat Adderley jazz tune called "Work Song" - Eastern Mysticism meeting Western Blues - such a smart move forward from the strictly interpretative 1965 debut album that honoured Chicago Blues. 

CD2 - while I never could in all honesty stand the weedy "Going Up The Country" of Canned Heat (when they did so much better) - the Taj Mahal and Magic Sam choices are genius - great fusions of Blues and Rock that accept the old but push onwards towards the future. Speaking of unsuspecting brilliance - Steppenwolf's front man and principal songwriter John Kay has always been a go-to for me. His solo LPs "Forgotten Songs And Unsung Heroes" (1972) and "My Sportin' Life" (1973) on Dunhill (USA) and Probe (UK) are reviewed elsewhere on a fab Beat Goes On (BG) CD compilation from 2008. Here we get his first outings Pre-Wolf as the band Sparrow and what a winner his own "Twisted" is - great discovery that Columbia issued after the success of the first two Steppenwolf albums. Ballsy and possessed of a set of pipes many would have killed for - Texan firebrand Janis Joplin fronted the San Francisco Rock-Psych band Big Brother & The Holding Company for two studio LPs before going solo with "Pearl" in 1970. "Her cover of the Erma Franklin soul ballad "Piece Of My Heart" was almost a trauma song by the time Janis was done with. And then sadly 'the greatest white Blues singer' left altogether shortly afterwards. The advert on Page 17 of the booklet shows the amazing Columbia LP cover artwork to "Cheap Thrills" with the words "They're Going To Wipe You Out..." beside it - which she and the band had promptly done at The Monterey International Pop Festival in 1967. 

We return to the Wolf's influence with The Electric Flag's Vietnam War version of his "Killing Floor" preceded by a Radio Voice quoting ominous loss statistics. Ex Paul Butterfield Blues Band guitar wizard Mike Bloomfield headed up the band with Guitarist and Vocalist Nick Gravenites who would provide Janis with "Buried Alive In The Blues" on her second solo LP "Pearl" (1971) - a voiceless instrumental that never got vocals because of her passing. Speaking of stunners and tie-ins - both Bloomfield and Gravenites of The Electric Flag produced the late-coming debut album for Otis Rush - "Mourning In The Morning" - which is represented here with a fab cover of B.B. King's "Gambler's Blues". Both Duane Allman and Tommy Johnson are said to feature as guitarists on this ballsy drivin' rendition. The Wicked Pickett was looking for songs to suit his rasp and manic delivery and few delivered better than Steppenwolf's monster counter-culture motorbikin' hit "Born To Be Wild" - the sessions recorded at Rick Hall's Fame Studios in Alabama with guitar legend Duane Allman jobbing alongside The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section as Pickett's storming backing band. Ideally, I would have wanted both "Sookie Sookie" (by Don Covay) and Muddy's "Hoochie Coochie Man" from the stunning "Steppenwolf" 1968 debut LP - but here we get only Hoochie. Still - it's a barnstormer and a clever way of showing the fusion taking place in Rock Music in the late Sixties. These American bands didn't just dig the Blues; they were taking it to a new place. I wonder how many of the old stars saw their faded careers revived by long-haired galoots with Gibsons and Fenders and an adoring look in their eye. 

Brilliant and a great compilation inclusion is the trio of guitarists (Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper and Stephen Stills) doing their cool cover version of Howard Tate's Soul song "Stop". The "Super Session" LP of 1968 on Columbia's '360 Sound' label is the stuff of Audiophile wet dreams - great music and fabulous production values combine with effortless cool and genre forward momentum - nice. And so it is here - an album that reached No. 12 on the US Billboard charts and is remembered with a heap of affection. CD2 races to the finish line with fantastic rip-roaring inclusions - The J. Geils Band doing an obscure Big Walter Price Blues while the brassy boys of Blood, Sweat & Tears lay on a heart-rendered tribute to the fallen Otis Redding with Al Kooper's "I'll Love You More Than You'll Ever Know" (what a tune). And it ends with two heavy sets of Yanks - Blue Cheer and MC5 kicking everything out of the pram never mind cities on fire. 

CD3 moves into 1969 when the Heavy Rock sound changes were everywhere - so a smart starter in Ike & Tina Turner's "The Hunter" - a song that literally feels like a musical prowler. Duane and Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts and Butch Truck stop sessioning for everyone else for a 'minute' to make their own debut album and give us "Whipping Post" - a tune they would turn into a monster on the 1971 Capricorn Records live-double "...At Fillmore East". Two mavericks now show up in the form of Lady Soul herself Aretha Franklin offering a song from her brilliant "Spirit In The Dark" LP of 1970, and Freddie King  gettin' all sliding Elmore James on "Yonder Wall" (King Curtis producing). The remake of "Evil" by Howlin' Wolf is something I skip to be truthful, but not so B.B. King's renaissance song "The Thrill Is Gone" - sounding just fab and amazingly fresh since its appearance in 1969 on Bluesway. 

The new groovers start to beckon - perhaps none more important than Tony Joe White and the wonderful J. J. Cale. The classic shuffler "Call Me The Breeze" features an early version of a Drum machine - while it could be argued that J.J. Cale, Clapton, Dire Straits, John Mayer - all knicked some of Tony Joe White's languid cool Southern swampboy style. Lynyrd Skynyrd would cover the Al Kooper produced "Call Me The Breeze" Cale song (as a finisher) on their 1974 second studio platter "Second Helpings" with Brass and fantastic pizzazz. Tony Joe White had the cool and suave of a hundred Rock Stars as he covered John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom" by making it into an 8-minute Rock Funk-a-thon. And just as the new kids on the block are about to swamp all that went before, along comes Forties and Fifties originators Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley re-polishing and re-inventing - Muddy getting back to basic Blues (the "After The Rain" LP) while Eugene Daniels tries his luck with the Shaft gold-chains audience for his underrated "The Black Gladiator" album in 1970. 

By the time we reach the second half of CD3 - King Curtis is covering Led Zeppelin who were covering Muddy Waters ("Whole Lotta Love") and even Soul songwriters Holland and Dozier (after exiting Motown) are angling for a catchy Rock-Soul hook with Chairmen Of The Board on their own Invictus Records. And on it goes to The Night Tripper (Dr. John), the bearded boys of ZZ Top shaking other people's trees and back like a returning sixpence to the updated Blues of Freddie King. 

"Rollin' And Tumblin'..." is a very cool release and retailing at about £22 to £25 quid on a helpful site near you - a purchase you should treat yourself too. Top marks to all involved...

"Feelin' Alright? Mod Rock, Funky Prog & Heavy Jazz 1967-1972" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Featuring Deep Purple, Sharon Tandy, The Spencer Davis Group, The Love Affair, The Creation, Traffic, Love Sculpture, Spooky Tooth, The Lion Tamers, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, Small Faces, Jethro Tull, The Alan Bown!, Jeff Beck (with Rod Stewart on Lead Vocals), Chicken Shack, The Attack, Wynder K. Frog, Free, Blodwyn Pig (with Mick Abrahams), George Fame, Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity, Savoy Brown, Mighty Baby, Mott The Hoople, Keef Hartley, Terry Reid, The Open Mind, Manfred Mann Chapter Three, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Affinity, Clouds, Killing Floor, Caravan, Juicy Lucy, Faces, The Kinks, Status Quo, East Of Eden, Walrus, Norman Haines Band, Mick Abrahams (ex-Jethro Tull and Blodwyn Pig), Brian Auger's Oblivion Express, Satisfaction, Galliard, Fuzzy Duck, MacDonald And Giles (ex-King Crimson), Graham Bond With Magick, CCS and more (June 2025 UK Cherry Red/Strawberry 64-Track 3CD Clamshell Box Set with a 40-Page Booklet, Three Compilation Mini LP Card Sleeves and Simon Murphy Mastering) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://amzn.to/4dfPZdS

RATINGS:

Overall ****

Presentation *****

Audio **** to *****

"...Sunshine Help Me..."

As a bona-fide old fart in body and addled mind, I only had to catch a glimpse of the title "Feelin' Alright? Mod Rock, Funky Prog & Heavy Jazz 1967-1972" and its scope of 64-tracks and I was there like a Gull to a Trawler Wake. There is much to unpack in this wee Boogie 'n' Environs Beasty from Cherry Red's label imprint Strawberry Records – so let's have at it…

UK released Friday, 20 June 2025 - "Feelin' Alright? Mod Rock, Funky Prog & Heavy Jazz 1967-1972" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Cherry Red/Strawberry CR3JAMBX44 (Barcode 5013929434431) is a 64-Track 3CD Compilation with a 40-Page Booklet and Themed Mini LP Sleeve CDs that plays out as follows:

CD1 (79:06 minutes) - 23-Tracks from January 1967 to October 1968 

Deep Purple feature on the cover
1. Hush (Mono Mix) - DEEP PURPLE (June 1969 UK 7" 45-Single on Parlophone R, 5708, A-side - Rod Evans on Lead Vocals)
2. Hold On - SHARON TANDY (August 1967 UK 7" 45-Single on Atlantic 584124, B-side to "Stay With Me" - Lead Electric Guitar by Bryn Haworth of Fleur De Lys)

3. I'm A Man (Mono Mix) - THE SPENCER DAVIS GROUP (January 1967 UK 7" 45-single on Fontana TF 785, A-side - Lead Vocalist Steve Winwood)

4. So Sorry - THE LOVE AFFAIR (from the December 1968 UK LP "The Everlasting Love Affair" on CBS Records S 63416 in Stereo - with Steve Ellis on Lead Vocals)

5. Sunshine Help Me - SPOOKY TOOTH (January 1968 UK 7" 45-single on Island WIP 6022, A-side, and on the Debut LP "It's All About" on Island ILPS 9080 in Stereo - featured Lead Vocalists Mike Harrison and Gary Wright)

6. Tinker, Tailor - TERRY REID (from his December 1968 US Debut LP "Bang, Bang, You're Terry Reid" on Epic Records BN 26427 in Stereo - Produced by Mickie Most - for his 1969 UK Debut LP "Terry Reid" on Columbia Records see also Track 20 on CD2)

7. Midway Down (Mono Mix) - THE CREATION (April 1968 UK 7" 45-Single on Polydor 56246, A-side)

8. Think Of Love - LOVE SCULPTURE (November 1968 UK 7" 45-Single on Parlophone R 5744, B-side to "Sabre Dance" - featuring Dave Edmunds on Lead Guitar)

9. Speak Your Mind - THE LION TAMERS (September 1968 UK 7" 45-Single on Polydor 56283, A-side)

10. Suspicions (Part One) - JOHN MAYALL'S BLUESBREAKERS (October 1967 UK 7" 45-Single on Decca F 12684, A-side Non-LP Track - featuring Mick Taylor on Guitar, Paul Williams on Bass, Keef Hartley on Drums with Dick Heckstall-Smith and Chris Mercer on Saxophones)

11. Feelin' Alright? - TRAFFIC (September 1968 UK 7" 45-Single on Island WIP 6041, A-side, also on the LP "Traffic" from September 1968 on Island Records ILPS 9081 in Stereo - featuring Steve Winwood, Dave Mason (song written by him), Jim Capaldi and Chris Wood)

12. Shake Your Moneymaker - (Peter Green's) FLEETWOOD MAC (from their February 1968 UK Debut LP "Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac" on Blue Horizon Records S7-63200 in Stereo)

13.  San-Ho-Zay - CHICKEN SHACK (from the June 1968 UK Debut LP "Forty Blue Fingers Freshly Packed And Ready To Serve" on Blue Horizon Records S 7-63203 in Stereo - featuring Stan Webb on Guitar, Mike Vernon Production)

14. Song Of A Baker (Mono Mix) - SMALL FACES (from the May 1968 UK LP "Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake" on Immediate Records IMLP 012 in Mono - featuring Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Ian McLagan and Kenney Jones)

15. Feel Like Flying - THE ATTACK (recorded in March 1968 as a planned fifth Uk 45-single, finally released in 1990 on the LP "Magic In The Air" on Reflection MM08)

16. Baby I Need You - CURIOSITY SHOPPE (November 1968 UK 7" 45-Single on Deram DM 220, A-side)

17. Jumping Jack Flash (Mono Mix) - WYNDER K. FROG (August 1968 UK 7" 45-Single on island WIP 6044, A-side - a Cover of The Rolling Stones classic - Wynder K. Frog is Mick Weaver and the song features heavy Hammond organ grooves)

18. Trouble On Double Time - FREE (from their October 1969 UK 2nd studio LP "Free" on Island Records ILPS 9104 in Stereo - featuring Paul Rodgers, Paul Kossoff, Andy Fraser and Simon Kirke)

19. Let Me Love You - JEFF BECK (from the November 1968 UK LP "Truth" on Columbia Records SCX 6293 in Stereo - features Rod Stewart on Lead Vocals)

20. Friends In St. Louis - THE ALAN BOWN! (from the February 1970 UK LP "The Alan Bown!" on Deram SML 1049 in Stereo)

21. Walking In The Park - COLOSSEUM (from the May 1969 UK Debut Album "Those About To Die Salute You" on Fontana Records STL 5510 in Stereo)

22. Sing Me A Song That I Know - BLODWYN PIG (from the July 1969 UK Debut LP "Ahead Rings Out" on Island Records ILPS 9101 in Stereo - features Guitarist Mick Abrahams (ex-Jethro Tull) and Saxophonist Jack Lancaster)

23. Serenade To A Cuckoo - JETHRO TULL (from the October 1968 UK Debut LP "This Was" on Island Records ILPS 9085 in Stereo - features Ian Anderson on Vocals and Flute with original guitarist Mick Abrahams)

CD2: (79:20 minutes) 22-Tracks from March 1967 to Oct 1970 

Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity feature on the cover

1. I'm Alive - DON FARDON (August 1969 UK 7" 45-Single on Youngblood YB 1003, A-side - Fardon was with The Sorrows, a Tommy James And The Shondells cover version, Mod song later featured in a '5-Alive' Juice Drink advert in the UK)

2. Somebody Stole My Thunder - GEORGIE FAME (May 1970 UK 7" 45-Single on CBS Records S 5035, A-side - Produced by his former Animals band mate Alan Price, was also on the December 1969 UK LP "Seventh Son")

3. The Eagle Flies On Friday - THE EXCEPTIONS (March 1967 UK 7" 45-Single on CBS Records 202632 - Written and Sung by Drummer Alan Eastwood, the Bassist was Dave Pegg later of Fairport Convention and Robert Plant (then pre Led Zeppelin) plays Tambourine)

4. One Way Glass - MANFRED MANN CHAPTER THREE (from the November 1969 UK LP "Manfred Mann Chapter Three" on Vertigo VO 3 / 847 902 VTY - Vocals by Mike Hugg, band featured Peter Thomas and of course keyboardist Manfred Mann)

5. Flesh Failures (Let The Sunshine In) - JULIE DRISCOLL, BRIAN AUGER & THE TRINITY (from the May 1969 UK LP "Streetnoise" on Marmalade 608005/6 in Stereo - Driscoll on Vocals, Auger on Hammond Organ - song originally featured in the musical "Hair")

6. Emmaretta - DEEP PURPLE (February 1969 UK 7" 45-Single on Parlophone R 5762, A-side, Non-LP Track - Rod Evans on Lead Vocals)

7. Skillet - GALLIARD (from the January 1970 UK Debut LP "Strange Pleasure" on Deram SDN 4 in Stereo)

8. Waiting In The Bamboo Grove - SAVOY BROWN (from the November 1969 UK LP "A Step Further" on Decca SKL 5013 in Stereo - band featured Guitarist Kim Simmonds, Keyboardist Bob Hall, Chris Youlder on Vocals with Lonesome Dave and Roger Earl on Bass and Drums who would later form Foghat)

9. You Really Got Me - MOTT THE HOOPLE (from the November 1969 UK Debut LP "Mott The Hoople" on Island ILPS 9108 in Stereo - band featured Ian Hunter)

10. Magic Potion - THE OPEN MIND (August 1969 UK 7" 45-single on Philips BF 1805, A-side)

11. Egyptian Tomb - MIGHTY BABY (from the November 1969 UK LP "Mighty Baby" on Head Records HDLS 6002 in Stereo - band featured former members of The Action)

12. Conversationally Making The Grade - BLONDE ON BLONDE (from the June 1969 UK Debut LP "Contrasts" on Pye Records NSPL 18288 in Stereo) 

13. Blue Mink - BLUE MINK (1969 UK 7" 45-Single on Morgan Blue Town BTS 3, A-side - Instrumental featuring Alan Parker on Guitars and Herbie Flowers on Bass)

14. Don't Be Afraid - KEEF HARTLEY BAND (from the January 1970 UK 2nd LP "The Battle Of North West Six" on Deram SML 1054 in Stereo - band featured Mick Weaver [aka Wynder K. Frog], Spit James on Lead Guitar with Miller Anderson on Vocals)

15. Mona Lose - BOBAK, JONS, MALONE (from the late 1969 UK LP "Motherlight" on Morgan Blue Town BT 5003 in Stereo - band was Mike Bobak (Guitar), Andy Johns (Engineer) and Wilson Malone (formerly Orange Bicycle) on Vocals, Keyboards and Drums)

16. My Babe - THE SHADOWS (from the October 1970 UK LP "Shades Of Rock" on Columbia SCX 6420 in Stereo - band featured Guitarist Hank Williams and Drummer Brian Bennett - song is a Willie Dixon-penned Chess Records classic made famous by Blues Harmonica legend Little Walter)

17. If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You - CARAVAN (October 1970 UK 7" 45-Single on Decca F 13063, B-side of "Hello Hello" - track also on the LP of the same name from September 1970 on Decca SKL 5052 in Stereo)

18. My Mind Can Ride Easy - KILLING FLOOR (from the June 1969 UK LP "Killing Floor" on Spark Records SRLP 102 in Stereo - band member and pianist Lou Martin would go on to have a long career and be a part of Rory Gallagher's studio and touring band in the early Seventies on Polydor Records)

19. Born In The City - ROCK WORKSHOP (June 1970 UK 7" 45-Single on CBS Records S 5046, Non-LP B-side to "You To Lose" - Band featured Scottish Rock legend Alex Harvey on Lead Vocals alongside Horn Players Harry Beckett, Bob Downes, Tony Roberts and Derek Wadsworth)

20. Marking Time - TERRY REID (from his October 1969 UK debut LP "Terry Reid" on Columbia Records SCX 6370 in Stereo - his US debut LP "Bang, Bang, You're Terry Reid" had been issued in 1968 by Epic Records - it was not given a UK issue and the "Terry Reid" album is different)

21. G.E.A.B. - PUSSY (from the March 1969 UK Debut LP "Pussy Plays" on Morgan Blue Town BT 5002 in Stereo - instrumental)

22. For Your Love - ACE KEFFORD STAND (March 1969 UK 7" 45-Single on Atlantic 584 260, A-side - Kefford is ex-Move and the song is a cover of the Graham Gouldman-penned hit by The Yardbirds - the Ace Kefford Stand also featured drummer Cozy Powell with Dave Ball on Guitar)

CD3 (79:48 minutes) - 19 Tracks from May 1969 to February 1972

Faces on the cover

1. Fill Your Head With Laughter - BRIAN AUGER'S OBLIVION EXPRESS (from the 1971 UK LP "A Better Land" on Polydor 2383 062)

2. Call You Liar, Liar - SATISFACTION (from the January 1971 UK Debut LP "Satisfaction" on Decca SKL 5075)

3. I Am And So Are You - AFFINITY (from the June 1970 UK Debut LP "Affinity" on Vertigo 6360 004 - band featured Lead Vocalist Linda Hoyle)

4. Cold Sweat - CLOUDS (from the July 1971 UK LP "Watercolour Days" on Chrysalis Records ILPS 9151)

5. Extract From Tomorrow's People - The Children Of Today - MacDONALD AND GILES (first issued on the May 1971 UK 2LP label Sampler "El Pea" on Island IDLP 1 - original full version appeared on the November 1970 UK LP "MacDonald And Giles" on Island ILPS 9126 - both ex-King Crimson)

6. Pineapple & The Monkey - FACES (Instrumental from the March 1970 UK Debut LP "The First Step" on Warner Brothers WS 3000 - band featured Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, Ronnie Lane, Kenny Jones and Ian McLagan)

7. Tomorrow, Today - HARDIN-YORK (May 1969 UK 7" 45-Single on Bell Records BELL 1064, A-side - Eddie Hardin (Singer/Organist) and Pete York (Drummer) were ex Spencer Davis Group)

8. Nadine - JUICY LUCY (from the November 1969 UK Debut LP "Juicy Lucy" on Vertigo VO 2 / 847 901 VTY - band featured Glenn Ross Campbell on Lead Guitar (ex-Misunderstood), Chris Mercer on Saxophone, Guitarist Neil Hubbard (ex-Bluesology), Vocalist Ray Owen and Bassist Keith Ellis (ex-Koobas) - the song is a Chuck Berry cover version)

9. More Than I Am - FUZZY DUCK (from the September 1971 UK Debut (and only) LP on MAM Records MAM-AS 1005 - featured Mick Hawksworth of Five-Day Week Straw People and Andromeda)

10. Solar Level - JOHNNY ALMOND MUSIC MACHINE (from the July 1969 UK LP "Patent Pending" on Deram SML 1043 in Stereo - Produced by Mike Vernon of Blue Horizon Records fame - Multi-Instrumentalist, Session Player and Keyboardist Johnny Almond would go on to form the band Mark-Almond with Guitarist Jon Mark) 

11. Variations On Nainos - BLODWYN PIG (from their second and last studio album "Getting To This", April 1970 on Chrysalis ILPS 9122 - featuring Guitarist Mick Abrahams, originally with Jethro Tull for "This Was" Debut LP, and Saxophonist Jack Lancaster)

12. Lola (Instrumental) - THE KINKS (from the March 1971 UK LP "Percy - Original Soundtrack" on Pye Records NSPL 18365 - featuring Ray and Dave Davies)

13. (April) Spring Summer And Sundays - STATUS QUO (from the August 1970 UK LP "Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon" on Pye Records NSPL 18344 - featuring Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt, Alan Lancaster and John Coghlan)

14. Marcus Junior - EAST OF EDEN (May 1970 UK 7" 45-single on Deram DM 297, B-side of "Jig A Jig" - featuring Dave Arbus on Violin and Ron Caines on Alto Saxophone - "Marcus Junior" also appeared on East Of Eden's second studio LP "Snafu" albeit as the middle section of a longer song called "Leaping Beauties For Rudy")

15. Who Can I Trust? - WALRUS (August 1970 UK 7" 45-Single on Deram DM 308, A-side - written by Steve Hawthorn - also appeared on their debut (one and only) LP "Walrus" in January 1971 on Deram SML 1072)

16. I Really Need A Friend - THE NORMAN HAINES BAND (from the August 1971 UK Debut LP "Den Of Iniquity" on Parlophone PCS 7130 in Stereo - Haines was a Keyboardist in Birmingham band Locomotive)

17. Greyhound Bus - MICK ABRAHAMS (from his May 1971 UK Debut solo LP (ex-Jethro Tull and Blodwyn Pig) "Mick Abrahams" on Chrysalis ILPS 9147 - Abrahams' band featured ex- Blodwyn Pig Saxophonist Jack Lancaster alongside Keyboardist Bob Sargeant)

18. I Put My Magick On You - GRAHAM BOND WITH MAGICK (from the August 1971 Debut album "We Put Our Magick On You" on Vertigo 6360 042 - features Diane Stewart on Vocals)

19. Brother - CCS [aka C.C.S.] (February 1972 UK 7" 45-single on RAK Records RAK 126, A-side - CCS is Collective Consciousness Society and featured Alexis Korner, John Cameron and Peter Snape with Production by RAK Records owner Mickie Most)

Compiled by good men and true (well maybe good occasionally and true only as industry bribery demands) JOHN HARRINGTON and JOHN REED – Harrington brings a huge amount of info to each entry – band leading lights – pictures of the 45s from foreign territories – British demos – LP sleeves – trade adverts – promo photos (check out the Atlantic Records shot of Sharon Tandy on Page 5) – and at 40-pages it’s a feast and a typically brilliant job done. JOHN REED knows these kinds of compilations well – a vastly experienced Brit who has been giving punters the CD reissue goods for decades at Sanctuary and Universal. SIMON MURPHY of Another Planet (a very experienced dude) does the Mastering and it all Boogies along very nicely indeed. You will indeed (please forgive the pun) be feeling all right as you listen, each disc offering toppermost playing times too – the equivalent to three double-albums worth and more (Deep Purple, Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity and Faces get the cover art for CDs one, two and three respectively). But it’s the discoveries and the dip-ins that thrill. To the tunes…

CD1: I hold no truck with Deep Purple's "Hush" as an opener - I can understand its grunge guitar inclusion - but I find it second fiddle to what should have opened the Box - the utterly fantastic 1967 freakbeat-groover "Hold On" - chanteuse Sharon Tate ably assisted by grinding wild geetar from Bryn Haworth of Fleur De Lys. The follow-up is just as 'groovy chick' - The Spencer Davis Group smashing it with one the great drivers of the lates Sixties - "I'm A Man" - a Steve Winwood-sung winner that's probably shown up in a 100 movies. Young Mod and About-The-Town Turk Steve Ellis takes lead vocals for The Love Affair's "So Sorry" - a sexy mover dancers love to bits even if the band has admitted that all musicians were professionals and not them (and that certainly applies to the ladies giving it aah-aah-aah). The cool goes on with a very smart choice - Spooky Tooth's "Sunshine Help Me" - the Island Rock Act bolstered up by Vocalists Mike Harrison and Gary Wright as the Harpsichord and Guitar do so-Sixties battle. 

Blighty's Terry Reid shows up and immediate displays why Zeppelin and everyone else wanted his fantastic geezer rasp on the microphone - the "Tinker Tailor" tune is good but his voice is fabulous. Bearded ladies turn up in the Bass-Ballsy "Midway Down" - a so-cool groove from Mod darlings The Creation first issued in April 1968 (few quid to acquire that one). Great pounding piano and guitar audio for Love Sculpture's "Think Of Love" - future Swan Song label Rock 'n' Roller Dave Edmunds twinning his singing with blistering guitar. By comparison The Lion Tamers sound like Popsters with their "Speak Your Mind" - a girl who give an answer to her pining sutor. October 1967 sees John Mayall's Bluesbreakers going crazy - dodgy things hanging around their doors in "Suspicions (Part One)" - a great brassy groover by this tight band of professional R&B rockers (clever choice by the compilers). At last we get a song that could be featured on here three times - Traffic's gem and Box Set title piece "Feelin' Alright" - a Dave Mason winner that Joe Cocker would only make better on A&M Records in 1969. If I had my way, I would have included Cocker's stunner as well - check out its use in the Denzel Washington drunk-pilot movie "Flight".  

Just in time to save us from too much thinking, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac comes roaring in with their tale of 'a gal who lives up on the hill' - a lady of amplitude they are urging to "Shake Your Moneymaker". This is cleverly followed by the second Blue Horizon Records chart act - Chicken Shack giving it some "San-Ho-Zay" - Stan Webb's big guitar amped up to the nines by Producer Mike Vernon for this Freddie King instrumental cover version (wow audio). Back to grunge and grind and Blighty types singing about non-Blighty things - the Small Faces going all Sufism with their fantastic "Song Of A Baker" packing a kick-in-the-spiritual nuts (Mono mix or not). Time to go deep and speaker-grungy with the greasy but brill "Feel Like Flying" - it's a March 1968 that was apparently scheduled to be their fifth 45-single but got shelved only to see light of day on a 1990 compilation. What a discovery! Not surprisingly, it's time to get Psych and Acid weird with Curiosity Shoppe trying their best to emulate the Small Faces circa Autumn Stone - turning down the night with heavy organ and driving drums. Mick Weaver in his Wynder K. Frog alter-ego gets seriously and brilliantly groovy with his Organ-Driven instrumental cover version of The Rolling Stones "Jumping Jack Flash" - killing it in stunning Hammond solos for four-minutes - the kind of Mono-Clean Aural Explosion that is bound to put a smile on the most jaundiced of expressions. 

We start to hit the home stretch for a stunning CD1 - a great piece of programming placement giving us Free's forgotten groover "Trouble On Double Time" from their second Island Records LP from 1969 - "Free". It is hard to believe the sound they made - mind-blowingly accomplished - Rodgers slaying it as one of the truly great Rock voices of the century - and of course - Koss - Paul Kossoff only a lad and already gifted in his delivery (the Remaster is astounding). Determined to impress you, we now get that other god-given set of pipes - Rod Stewart fronting a heavy-heavy Jeff Beck Band line-up. "Let Me Love you" is a wild Rawk adaptation of a 1961 Buddy Guy Blues called 'Let Me Love you Baby' and my God is it grooving heavy. Time to calm a little into the almost Pop feel of "Friends in St. Louis" - The Alan Bown! blessed with the pipes of Jess Roden for the excellent Brass and Funk goer (this will be a genuine surprise to those who don't know its fab 2:30 minutes). Keeping up the frantic horny horns, Colosseum come on all Blood, Sweat & Tears on an R&B Boogie tip with their driving "Walking In The Park" - Vocalist and Guitarist James Litherland smashing it alongside Keyboardist Dave Greenslade and Bassist Tony Reeves (both later with Greenslade). Cannot get enough of Blodwyn Pig's "Ahead Rings Out" 1969 debut album (that Pig's head and Headphones shot slays me every time) - so Abrahams' "Sing Me A Song That I Know" is a very smart inclusion - Funky Prog with some Bluesy vibes. And Disc One jaunts home with the big daddies Jethro Tull - Ian Anderson sauntering to a chilled finish with "Serenade To A Cuckoo" - the only cover on their 1968 Debut LP "This Was" (a Roland Kirk song). Cool...

CD2: Fuzz Guitar, Drum Whacks and Big Brass open the Don Fardon August 1969 single "I'm Alive" - an interpretation of a Tommy James & The Shondells tune that kicks booty. The Minister of Suave weighs in with his Mod-Popular anthem "Somebody Stole My Thunder" - Georgie Fame produced by his fellow Animals cohort Alan Price (what a cool groover). Vibes open the lesser-heard Exceptions groove of "The Eagle Flies On Friday" - a can't take no more groove that sets collectors alight. In August 2017 RPM Records named an entire 3CD compilation box set after the next Manfred Mann Chapter Three track - "One Way Glass: Dancefloor Prog, Brit Jazz & Funky Folk 1968-1975"  - suitably groovy. Far better is the short-of-breath "Flesh Failures (Let The Sunshine In)" - an organ groover from the "Hair" musical done by the sexy Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity (you can so hear why their albums go for money - Marmalade and Jam). Rockers Deep Purple get entry number two - "Emmaretta" not much better in my books than "Hush" - Rod Evans still on lead vocals. Next up is a Deram Records whig-out in the shape of "Skillet" by Galliard - guitars and brass gettin' funky by the ovens. On to a more untypical Blues-Funk groove from boogie merchants Savoy Brown in the shape of "Waiting In The Bamboo Grove". Guitarist Kim Simmonds has a soloing field day, but I can't say I like the track. 

It's decidedly weird to hear Mott The Hoople get heavy on The Kinks punkish "You Really Got Me" (never worked for me) - better is the driving guitars of The Open Mind on the more convincing "Magic Potion". Speaking of better, up pops the darlings of underground Mighty Baby with their "Egyptian Tomb" - a shockingly melodic outing about a silly subject. Blonde On Blonde are one of those second-tier bands that didn't make much of an impression and their anti-USA "Conversationally Making The Grade" shows why - it's good rather than great - and even feels derivative of something if you could only remember what it is. Unlikely addition but a clever choice is Popsters Blue Mink and their Funky-Weird instrumental A-side of the same name "Blue Mink" - Guitarist Alan Parker letting rip as an Organ anchors the backbeat. Ever so slightly Allman Brothers is how you might describe "Don't Be Afraid" by Keef Hartley's Band - a funky be-there-with-you groove that chugs along very nicely indeed. The obscure seemingly handmade "Motherlight" LP by Bobak, Jons, Malone on the collectable Morgan Blue Town label was the kind of LP we initially couldn't sell at Reckless Rarities back in the Nineties - then it exploded on the Psych scene and is now a hugely expensive ticket-item. Those old farts The Shadows put in a stellar and clever cover of Little Walter's Chess Records classic "My Babe" by pairing up guitar in the left speaker with organ in the right while the soloing goes onto the center soundstage. 

Three goodies follow after that slightly lacklustre run - Killing Floor and Terry Reid put two infectious move-baby-move winners up in the shape of "My Mind Can Rise Easy" (rocking guitar and brass boogie) while "Morning Time" has Reed's fantastic rasp accompanied by Organs and Guitars going at it in the background. Rock Workshop benefitted from Scottish legend Alex Harvey at the vocal helm for the B-side "Born In The City". A slightly less-convincing CD2 (than CD1) comes to an end with two obscures - the provocatively monikered Pussy giving us the bucket-recorded "G.E.A.B." - an impressive instrumental that pushes along with guitars and organs. Finally - a Yardbirds cover - "For Your Love" given a restructured whack by Ace Kefford Stand - but the poor production kind of does for what is a damn good stab at the Graham Gouldman song.  

CD3: Clever choice to open the lead into the early Seventies with Brian Auger's Oblivion Express - the purveyor of so many Rock-Funk-Fusion albums on RCA Records. "Fill Your Head With Laughter" is a cool groover while Decca Records act Satisfaction makes a good follow-on with their Brass-Funker "Call You Liar, Liar" even if the lyrics are a little too cliched for comfort. Fuzzy Guitar ahoy as Linda hoyle of Affinity tells us she's a singer of songs and a bringer of joy in the Brass-Prog holy-roller of "I Am And So Are You". Island Records' Clouds tell us about shivering up a "Cold Sweat" as a manic organ works the background rhythms. Ian MacDonald And Michael Giles [ex-King Crimson] echo the vocals of "Extracts From Tomorrow's People..." - an edit that was exclusive to the Island's fourth sampler outing - the 2LP set "El Pea" in May 1971. I will admit it's not quite my cuppa Darjeeling but I know there are those who love its trippy Flute and Bongos 3:57 minutes. Better for me by a Country Mile is a band I adore - Rodders and The Two Ronnies and Co - the Small Faces just become Faces. Very clever compilation choice in "Pineapple & The Monkey" - a throwaway Keyboard-driven instrumental from their debut as Faces in 1970 (on Warner Brothers) that in place bears slight resemblances to the Small Faces "Collibosher" from The Autumn Stone period.

Up next is Singer and Organist Eddie Hardin and Drummer Pete York advising us that yesterday may have been sour but today is sugary sweet - "Tomorrow, Today" benefitting from the ladies going all 'Hair' choir as the piano-and-organ churches its way onwards. Clever switch to the fabulous Slide Gee-tar of Glenn Ross Campbell in Juicy Lucy for their snotty cover of Chuck Berry's "Nadine" - campaign shouting like a Southern Diplomat. Ross Campbell would amaze again with his blistering slide axe-work on "Who Do You Love" in February 1970 (also on Vertigo) - a cover of the Bo Diddley R&B classic. MAM Records was the home of teen-aimed Popsters Gilbert O'Sullivan and Lindsey De Paul - so finding the decidedly Fuzzed-Up Fuzzy Duck on that label with their grungy groover "More Than I Am" was a surprise - a chugger about doing all I can. Back to CCS-type Brass jabbing accompanied by Piano punctures for "Solar Level" - a very cool neck-swaying instrumental from Keyboard sessionman Johnny Almond (he buffed up Fleetwood Mac and Chicken Shack albums on Blue Horizon Records too).  Love that fab Blodwyn Pig groove Mick Abrahams and Co. got for the second LP highlight "Variations On Nainos" - the band sounding like the love child of Jethro Tull and some hippie minstrel just in from Europe. Many might laugh at the decidedly less cool 'instrumental' version of "Lola" by The Kinks coming like a Top Of the Pops copy - but with its organ-led sound and good guitar-groove - I can see why someone thought it a good idea to include it here (it's not the brilliance of the original with those lyrics, but as an Organ-led groover it works).  

Quo were starting their 12-Bar Boogie assault on their August 1970 Pye Records album "Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon" – the riffage and organ of "(April) Spring Summer And Wednesdays" making for a smart feel-change but still in keeping with the sets themes. Absolute gem comes in the shape of the East Of Eden "Jig A Jig" 45 B-side - "Marcus Junior" – an instrumental where both Dave Arbus and Ron Caines play blinders (Violinist Arbus of course later making such an impact on The Who Side 1 opener "Baba O'Reilly" on their 1971 masterpiece "Who's Next"). Time to get heavy with Walrus and their "Who Can You Trust?" - a bit of a plodder with the requisite chugging guitars and brass jabs to include it on CD3. Very big bucks indeed to acquire the Norman Haines LP "Den Of Iniquity" on original vinyl - the organ, bongos and high voices of "I Really Need A Friend" vey much of 1970. "Greyhound Bus" is probably the best song and groove on Mick Abrahams' debut solo LP in May 1971 (Track 1 on Side 1) - while both Graham Bond and the mighty Blues Brother Alexis Korner and his big-brassy vehicle C.C.S. bring proceedings to a fabulous bopping "Brother" ending (don't give me no jive talk brother, stay loose). 

For sure CD2 and some of CD3 dip a bit - hence the four stars - but there is no doubt that what this wee besty offers is a fantastic array of goodies that would cost you an arm-and-a-leg to acquire on individual digital sets let alone original vinyl. 

A Possible Volume 2 Box Set called "Bootie Cooler" might include other deep dive LP and 45 genre slayers like "Collibosher" by The Small Faces, "Rumplestiltskin" by Rumplestiltskin, "Bootie Cooler" by Shuggie Otis, "Fire Eater" by Three Dog Night, "Space Child" by Spirit, "Slunky" by Eric Clapton, "Coronarias Redig" by Deep Purple, "Midnight Moodies" by Joe Walsh - I have a list as you can imagine for a double-album's worth. We'll see...

"Feelin' Alright? Mod Rock, Funky Prog & Heavy Jazz 1967-1972" is a 3CD 64-Track toe-tapping discovery winner and well done to Harrington and Reed and all at Strawberry Records for delivering once again...

"Deep In The Woods: Pastoral Psychedelia & Funky Folk 1968-1975" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Featuring Fat Mattress, Knocker Jungle, Duffy Power, Meic Stevens, Paul Brett, Open Road, The Woods Band, Dando Shaft, Arrival, Jade Warrior, Linda Hoyle, Bridget St. John, Mellow Candle, Amber, Fuchsia, Miller Anderson, Heron, Sunforest, Friends, The Occasional Word, Alan James Eastwood, Wizz Jones, Zior, Yvonne Elliman, Linda Lewis, Bill Nelson, Jade, The Occasional Word and more (November 2022 UK Strawberry 3CD 54-Track Compilation with Simon Murphy Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Deep-Woods-Pastoral-Psychedelia-1968-1975/dp/B0BF5NJDG1?crid=1NQBDENV2Q1UZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.U-YBbh7a7O7TW8WYehcMOw.0IX1kgqVN2ANIyYUlRhtOCYT4MrXzWj-B2y5f63-XaY&dib_tag=se&keywords=5013929431232&nsdOptOutParam=true&qid=1731778247&sprefix=5013929431232%2Caps%2C85&sr=8-1&ufe=INHOUSE_INSTALLMENTS%3AUK_IHI_3M_AUTOMATED&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=8260194879da4284cd640b86b18179c2&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

RATINGS 

Overall **** to *****

Presentation ***

Audio **** to *****

"...Face From The Past..."

Despite a lot of gushing 5-star reviews everywhere you look on the Net - initially, I had to dig in deep to actually like this themed mishmash from UK reissue label Strawberry (part of the Cherry Red label roster). It's more of a 4-star experience for me. But I'm glad I did. 

I kept replaying "Deep In The Woods..." because it's been collated by compilation-forming genius JOHN REED – a man of major pressed-trousers class who knows his onions like only a handful of others in the UK would do (John literally formed the first Record Collector Rare Records Price Guides back in the 90s day - all entries). John's knowledge is legend and Reed knows what collectors crave (John ran Sanctuary Records, formed probably in excess of 150 compilations from their vast catalogue, did liner notes, licensing, photos, unearthed unreleased etc). So you expect brilliance, and more often than not, thankfully, that's what you get. 

But it took me time to hear it and I suspect others of my dotage may feel the same. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of unknown and forgotten brilliance on "Deep In The Woods: Pastoral Psychedelia & Funky Folk 1968-1975" for sure, but there's also evidence as to why many of these artists remained obscure. And the clumsy-to-touch dull-looking fold-out DigiPak-packaging with its strangely underwhelming lesser booklet is not doing "Deep In The Woods..." any favours either. 

This thing looks and feels clunky when it should ooze reissue-class like any number of 3CD Clamshell Box Sets from Grapefruit or Esoteric or Universal that I have reviewed and loved this last decade or so. Still, the Audio is uniformly great for such a disparate number of sources and there are tremendous discoveries worth owning - the kind of compilation that will inform and send you down paths you didn't know or have ignored. 

There's a lot to unpack, so here's to the Funky Folks, the Faces from the Past, the Wooden Ships that pass in the smoke-swirling night and your common-as-muck Sitar-driven right-on Faerie Lore...

UK released 18 November 2022 - "Deep In The Woods: Pastoral Psychedelia & Funky Folk 1968-1975" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Strawberry CRJAM012T (Barcode 5013929431232) is a 3CD 54-Track Compilation of Remasters that plays out as follows (I've provided release dates and catalogue numbers, not in the book):

CD1 (78:08 minutes):

1. Lady Jane - FAT MATTRESS (from their second and last album "Fat Mattress II", UK released October 1970 on Polydor 2383 025)

2. Not Even A Letter - KNOCKER JUNGLE (from the 1970 UK LP "Knocker Jungle" on Ember NR 5042)

3. I Need You - DUFFY POWER (from the 1973 UK LP "Duffy Power" on Spark SRLM 2205)

4. Face From The Past - MIKE HURST [ex The Springfields with Dusty Springfield] (from his debut solo LP "Home", US released 1969 on Capitol ST 619)

5. I Wanna Stay Here - RAY FENWICK (from the July 1971 UK LP "Keep America Beautiful, Get A Haircut" on Decca SKL 5090)

6. Natural Gas - HARDIN & YORK [Eddie Hardin and Peter York] (from the July 1971 UK LP "For The World" on Decca SKL 5095)

7. Mother Earth - OPEN ROAD [Donovan's Backing Band] (from the August 1971 UK LP "Windy Daze" on The Greenwich Gramophone Company Records GSLP 1001)

8. Motherless Child On A Merry-Go-Round - PAUL BRETT (from his 1973 debut album "Paul Brett" on Bradley's Records BRADL 1001)

9. Noisey Johnny - THE WOODS BAND (from the December 1971 UK Debut LP "The Woods Band" on Greenwich Gramophone Company Records GSLP 1004 - featuring Gay and Terry Woods - Terry later with The Pogues, Gay with Auto Da Fe - and Tony Reeves of Colosseum and Greenslade)

10. Yorric - MEIC STEVENS (from the June 1970 UK Debut LP "Outlander" on Warner Brothers WS 3005)

11. You Just Can't Believe What You See - MARC ELLINGTON (from the July 1975 UK LP "Marc Time" on XTRA Records XTRA 1154)

12. Crystal Blue - ALAN JAMES EASTWOOD (from the 1971 UK LP "Seeds" on President PTLS 1037)

13. La Virra - ARRIVAL (from their debut LP "Arrival", UK released August 1970 on Decca SLK 5055)

14. Cold Wind - DANDO SHAFT (from their July 1970 UK Debut LP "An Evening With Dando Shaft" on Young Blood SSYB 6)

15. Hymn To Valerie Solanas - LINDA HOYLE [of Affinity] (from her November 1971 UK Debut Solo LP "Pieces Of Me" on Vertigo 6360 060)

16. Nova Sketch - NIRVANA (from the February 1972 UK LP "Songs Of Love And Praise" on Philips 6308 089)

17. Castle Sand - BRIAN DAVISON'S EVERY WHICH WAY [ex The Nice] (from the October 1970 UK Debut LP "Brian Davison's Every Which Way" on Charisma CAS 1021 - band featured singer Graham Bell, ex Skip Bifferty)

18. Yellow Eyes - JADE WARRIOR (from the December 1971 UK LP "Released" on Vertigo 6360 062)

19. Buffalo - WRITING ON THE WALL (June 1973 UK 45-single on Pye 7N 45251, Non-LP B-side of "Man Of Renown")

CD2 (77:36 minutes):

1. Wooden Ships - CHRIS (Christine) HARWOOD (from the March 1973 Debut (and only) LP "Nice To Meet Miss Christine" on Birth Records RAB 1 - a Buffalo Springfield cover version - features Dave Lambert of Strawbs, Roger Sutton of Jody Grind, Tommy Eyre of Joe Cocker's Grease Band and more)

2. Fly High - BRIDGET ST. JOHN (from the June 1972 third album "Thank You For..." on Dandelion/Polydor 2310 193 - John Martyn guests on treated electric guitar)

3. Rain - DANDO SHAFT (from their July 1970 UK Debut LP "An Evening With Dando Shaft" on Young Blood SSYB 6 featuring Polly Bolton, Martin Jenkins and Dave Cooper)

4. Lord And Master - HERON (from their November 1970 UK Debut LP "Heron" on Dawn Records DNLS 3010 featuring guitarist Gerald Moore later of G.T. Moore & The Reggae Guitars)

5. Silversong - MELLOW CANDLE (from the April 1972 UK Debut LP "Swaddling Songs" on Deram SDL 7 featuring Clodagh Simonds, Alison and David Williams, Frank Boylan and William Murray - "Silversong" was also on a UK 7" single in February 1972 on Deram DM 357, the B-side of "Dan The Wing") 

6. Murdoch - TREES (from their February 1971 UK Second and Last Studio Album on CBS Records S 64168 - featuring Celia Humphris, David Costa, Tobias 'Bias' Boshell, Barry Clarke and (Stephen) Unwin Brown)

7. Foothills - KEITH CHRISTMAS (from his October 1974 Fourth UK LP "Brighter Day" on Manticore Records K 53503 - featuring Ian McDonald of King Crimson on Keyboards, Pete Solley of Paladin on Synths with Production by Greg Lake of ELP)

8. Morning Way - TRADER HORNE (from the March 1970 UK Debut LP on Dawn Records DNLS 3004 - featuring Jackie McAuley of Them and Judy Dyble of Fairport Convention with Guests Ray Elliott of Them and John Godfrey

9. Shadows 'Cross My Wall - MILLER ANDERSON (from the June 1971 UK Debut LP "Bright City" on Deram SDL 3 (Anderson was later with The Keef Hartley Band) - featuring Guitarist Neil Hubbard of The Grease Band and Juicy Lucy, Lyn Dobson on Flute with String Arrangements by Junior Campbell of Marmalade)

10. Time Is My Enemy - THE GHOST (from the 1970 UK Debut (and only) LP "When You're Dead - One Second" on Gemini Records GME 1004 - featuring Paul Eastment of Velvet Fogg, Terry Guy of The John Bull Breed and Jazz Vocalist Shirley Kent) 

11. Flowering Cherry - KEVIN COYNE (September 1972 UK 45-single on Dandelion 2001-357, Non-LP B-side of "Cheat Me")

12. Hangin' On An Eyelid - SECOND HAND (from their April 1971 UK Debut LP "Death May Be Your Santa Claus" on Mushroom Records 200 MR 6 - featuring Ken Elliott and Kieran O’Connor later with Seventh Wave)

13. Shoes And Ships - FUCHSIA (from their November 1971 UK Debut LP "Fuchsia" on Pegasus Records PEG 8 - featuring Tony Durant of Punchin' Judy and Madeline Brand)

14. Place In The Country - MIKE HURST (from his June 1971 UK Second LP "In My Time" on Capitol ST 21819 featuring Ray Fenwick of Quiver)

15. Swan In The Evening - AMBER (1971 UK recording issued 2000 on the Limited Edition 10" LP "Pearls Of Amber" on Shagrat Records ENT 008 - featuring Ray Cooper of Elton John's Band, Julian McAllister, Mac MacLeod of B.B. Brothers with Keith Relf Producing)

16. The Inevitable Fate Of Ms. Danya Sox - GLOBAL VILLAGE TRUCKING COMPANY (from the March 1975 UK Debut (and only) LP "Global Village Trucking Company" on Caroline Records C 1516 featuring James Lascelles and Jon Owen)

17. Jug Of Love - MIGHTY BABY (from their second and final studio album "A Jug Of Love" - released October 1971 in the UK on Blue Horizon Records 2931 001 - Produced by Mike Vernon - band featured Ian Whiteman, Martin Stone, Alan 'Bam' King (later with Ace), Michael Evans and Roger Powell)

CD3 (76:24 minutes):

1. Magician In The Mountain - SUNFOREST (from the Debut (and only) LP "Sound Of Sunforest" released January 1970 on Deram Nova DN 7 (Mono) and SDN 7 (Stereo) - Stereo Mix Used)

2. Crying To Be Heard - CHRISTINE HARWOOD (from the March 1973 Debut (and only) LP "Nice To Meet Miss Christine" on Birth Records RAB 1 - a Traffic/Dave Mason cover - features Dave Lambert of Strawbs, Mike Maran, Peter Banks, Ian McDonald of King Crimson, Jeff Matthews of Design, Peter York of Hardin & York)

3. City Of The Angels - WIZZ JONES (from his June 1972 UK fourth LP "Right Time" on CBS Records S 64809 - featuring Pete Berryman of Famous Jug Band, Andy Fernbach and John Renbourn of Pentangle)

4. Lady Of The Lake – JADE WARRIOR (from the December 1972 UK Third LP "Last Autumn's Dream" on Vertigo 6360 079)

5. Oh To Be Free – KNOCKER JUNGLE (from the 1970 UK LP "Knocker Jungle" on Ember NR 5042)

6. Silver Coin – BRIDGET ST. JOHN (from her June 1972 third album "Thank You For..." on Dandelion/Polydor 2310 193 - written by Terry Hiscock of Hunter Muskett - Gordon Huntley of Matthews Southern Comfort plays Pedal Steel Guitar)

7. In The Morning – FRIENDS (1972 recording originally only on a commercially unreleased Acetate Album called "Fragile" – finally CD issued 2005 on Acme ACLN1007CD – band featured Bill Aitken, Peter Howell and John Ferdinado)

8. Lotus Child – ALAN JAMES EASTWOOD (from his 1971 UK Debut LP "Seeds" on President Records PTLS 1037 – issued as "Alan James Eastwood" in the USA on Bang Records BLPS 225)

9. Bun – THE DEVIANTS (from the June 1968 UK Debut LP "Ptooff!" on Impresarios IMP 1 – featuring Mick Farren)

10. Amongst Anenomies – JADE (from the August 1970 UK Debut (and only) LP "Fly On Strangewings" on DJM Records DJLPS 407 – featuring Marianne Segal and Dave Waite, James Litherland of Colosseum, Pete Seers (later with Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship) with Terry Cox of Pentangle)

11. The Death Of Don Quixote – PRINCIPAL EDWARDS MAGIC THEATRE (from their August 1969 UK Debut LP "Soundtrack" on Dandelion Records S 63752)

12. Hawaii – YVONNE ELLIMAN (from her November 1973 UK LP "Food Of Love" on Purple Records TPS 3504 - Produced by RUPERT HINE - guest musicians included Pete Townshend of The Who, Mick Grabham of Bandit and Cochise, Simon Jeffes of The Penguin Cafe Orchestra, Caleb Quaye and Ray Cooper of Hookfoot and Elton John's Band, Peter Robinson of Quatermass and Brand X, Ann Odell of Blue Mink, Chopyn and Roger Glover's Band with Rupert Hine of Quantum Jump)

13. The Evil Venus Tree – THE OCCASIONAL WORD (from the 1969 UK Debut (and only) LP "The Year Of The Great Leap Sideways" on Dandelion Records S 63753)

14. Goblets And Elms – IAN A. ANDERSON (from the November 1970 UK LP "Royal York Crescent" on The Village Thing Records VTS 3)

15. Rejoice – BILL NELSON (later Be-Bop Deluxe) (from his November 1971 UK Debut Solo LP "Northern Dream" on Smile Records LAF 2182)

16. Time Is The Reason – ZIOR (from their early 1973 German LP "Every Inch A Man" on Global/Interchord Records 26009-1 – had been called Monument and their debut LP "The First Monument" was released October 1971 in the UK on Beacon Records BEAS 15)

17. New Horizon – CURTIS KNIGHT with ZEUS (from their 1973 Debut (and only) German LP "Sea Of Time" on Philips 6305 208)

18. Reach For The Truth – LINDA LEWIS (from her October 1972 UK Second LP "Lark" on Reprise Records K 44208)

Co-ordinated and Project-Managed by JOHN REED and RICHARD NORRIS - the 28-page booklet nestles in the left flap and has photos of the artists and bands that have always hovered around all-things Folk-Rock, Acid-Folk, Funky-Folk, Pastoral-Psych and so on. Not surprisingly the three to four-figure album names are here – Mellow Candle (an advert for their lone Deram LP on Page 4), Trader Horne and their "Morning Way" album on Dawn, an orange-label CBS original of "Right Now" by Wizz Jones. There is a scene-setting preamble by RICHARD NORRIS (written August 2022) that recalls CND marches, LSD popping, getting it together in the country in children-of-the-soil-communes, the London UFO club, the cultural explosion that started in 1967 with the Flower-Power Summer Of Love and all that Transcendental Meditation searching for meaning in an increasingly violent world.

Beginning on Page 9, Norris then does artist-by-artist paragraphs as they appear on the compilation (it can mean that when there are two tracks by bands like say Dando Shaft, Bridget St. John, Knocker Jungle and more - you must flick back to the details which is a bit of a pain). Every entry though has some kind of representation of the artist - a photo woven alongside the text – the Duffy Power album by promo photos of say Tim Renwick or Paul Brett or Welsh folky Meic Stevens. There’s a collage two-page spread in the centre pages that shows you stuff like a Hastings Pier gig for Global Village Trucking Company or the rare Euro LP artwork for the Curtis Knight with Zeus LP. Although some will no doubt say this is perfectly acceptable - I still think unfortunately that Strawberry should avoid using this DigiPak Card Flap format for future releases because it feels naff and flimsy when the effort involved warranted something more akin to a Clamshell Box Set with three individually pictured card sleeves. The Audio by SIMON MURPHY – a name very familiar to us that buy these things – is shockingly good given the disparate sources. To the tunes…

CD1 kicks off with the Noel Reading Polydor Records vehicle Fat Mattress talking about wearing no shoes and walking down leafy lanes where he stumbles upon a girl with a ribbon in her hair (top class audio). The Acoustic Folk-Funk starts proper with the Knocker Jungle LP from 1970 on Ember Records – their "Not Even A Letter" full of strangulated vocals and lingering flute. Uptempo a notch with Duffy Power – great audio on his by-my-side "I Need You" – but the plinking-plonking clavinet pastoral stop-and-start Mike Hurst is trying to be groovy and just about getting there (lyrics from it title this review). The compilation then throws up its first real gem in my books - "I Wanna Stay Here" by Ray Fenwick of The Spencer Davis Group and Quiver (later with The Sutherland Brothers) – the acoustic strums lining you up for a cool flanged chorus – sort of like Terry Reid on a six-string tip. 

Time to rightly Funk things up with Hardin & York (Eddie Hardin and Peter York) searching for "Natural Gas" – a very sexy and cool groove – gonna make it on one of Funky-Funky CD comps with a bullet. Continuing a slightly Santana-does-Latin vibe – the backing band for Donovan called Open Road give us "Mother Earth" – a call-to-arms for a planet hurting – environmental sun sinking down into the sea. Guitarist Paul Brett (worked with Strawbs, Al Stewart, Roy Harper and many more) utilizes Mike Piggott on Violin (good track rather a great one) while a huge array of acoustic instruments fill your living room for The Woods Band instrumental "Noisey Johnny" – gorgeous audio. Time to go Sitar, Tabla and Flute tripping-out with what has to be one of the musical prizes offered on "Deep In The Woods…" – Welsh folky Meic Stevens and his highly sought-after "Outlander" on Warner Brothers – his "Yorric" sounding astonishingly contemporary a full 54-years after the event. More gorgeous guitar and even better production values for Marc Ellington sounding uncannily like Mark Knopfler in 1975 (American Ellington living in the UK at the time was a backing vocalist on the Fairport Convention album "Unhalfbricking"). His "You Just Can't Believe What You See" is surely another highlight on this 3CD set.

Compiler Norris cleverly slows things down with the lovely acoustic-funky jaunt of "Crystal Blue" by Alan James Eastwood [ex Brumbeats and Exception] – the first of two tracks from his sought-after "Seeds" LP of 1971 on President Records. Finally we get proper Pastoral-Prog meets The Nice with the Arrival instrumental "La Virra" -a jagged brute that comes complete with Beefheart jerky beats and yes – a Bass solo. Huge audio for the first of two superb Dando Shaft tracks – the first being "Cold Wind" – that signature acoustic sound they made courtesy of Martin Jenkins with vocals from Kevin Kempsey and Dave cooper (Jenkins would later duet and work with Bert Jansch on the "Avocet" album from 1978). Great stuff. Taking no prisoners either lyrically or musically – Linda Hoyle of Affinity takes on all-comers with her men-out-to-trap-you funk-boogie track "Hymn To Valerie Solanos" – a wee beastie of a song dedicated to the leader of SCUM (The Society For Cutting Up Men) – and in a business dominated by dogy men – you can so hear why Linda dug the rage in this song. 

The run of CD1 ends with some very cool inclusions – first up being a 1:50 minute Piano-and-Tabla funky instrumental by "Nirvana" called "Nova Sketch". Post their Island Records full-on hippy albums, this dinky insert features members of Jade Warrior so is more Trippy-Prog. Next up is Brian Davison and his band Every Which Way (ex The Nice) who managed one LP on Charisma Records in 1970. Sounding not unlike Traffic getting their harmony-vocals together in a Sussex cottage – the flute and guitars play off each other as the tune-amble heads towards six minutes. Back to pretty Prog-Pastoral (complete with gorgeous audio) – Jade Warrior give us more Flute and Acoustic in their "Yellow Eyes". CD1 closes with a huge band on the scene – Writing On The Wall – and their obscure 1973 B-side they did called "Buffalo". All doom-laden Mellotron and Tambourine backbeat – the bass booms before the echoed vocals start – but good as it is – beware - it's very hissy and sounds like it's been dubbed off a well-used record. 

CD3 improves over CD1 and 2 immediately. The very epitome of Funky-Folk - "Magician In The Mountain" by the Vic Smith produced Sunforest turned up on the May 2008 Decca/Deram 3CD Clamshell Box Set "Strange Pleasures: Further Sounds Of The Decca Underground" as an overlooked gem (see separate review for that excellent box). You can so hear why the Christine Harwood album "Nice To Meet Miss Christine" is sought after - a very cool trippy blend of layered Rotary Connection-type voices over a Funky Sax and Piano groove that you might hear in a hip West End cafe bar then rush to the counter wanting to know where this Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and The Trinity track has been all your life. Superb third-track follow-up comes in the brilliant six-minute shape of Wizz Jones (produced by Pentangle's ace guitarist John Renbourn) on how his lady-chasing trip to Los Angeles went while sounding like a Funky-Acoustic guitar showcase version of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young with Graham Nash singing lead. Fantastic stuff.

Track 4 on CD3 then goes Prog-mellow with strummed and treated guitars floating over a Tabla beat and a hippie-swirling flanged vocal for "Lady Of The Lake" from Vertigo darlings Jade Warrior. I kinda like the Mungo Jerry-ish 'oh to be free to do what I want to do' vibe in Knocker Jungle's "Oh To Be Free" (a good discovery for me) but it's whomped by the genuine beauty of a second Bridget St. John contribution to the compilation - "Silver Coin" - an aching ballad about words and good men written by Terry Hiscock of Hunter Muskett with Gordon Huntley of Matthews Southern Comfort playing Pedal Steel to her Nico-voice. Rare and taken from a Remastered Acetate - the Friends track "In The Morning" lets the side down a tad – a forgotten song lost to time for a reason. But then an immediate pick-up in the strings-and-acoustic-acid feel to "Lotus Child" by Alan James Eastwood – our Al getting all Eastern mysticism on our Western Tabla-toned asses. CD3 winds down towards Soulful types like Yvonne Elliman and the ever-popular Folk-Soul of Linda Lewis and her "Lark" album right through to early Prog Rock soundscapes of Bill Nelson pre-Be-Bop Deluxe.

I initially struggled a little with "Deep In The Woods: Pastoral Psychedelia & Funky Folk 1968-1975" - but on repeated listens - the battle very definitely paid off. There is so much to discover here and I'm glad I persevered. Nice one boys - but next time - go for the pride of a Clamshell Box Set because this much effort deserves it…