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"…I'm Rocked To Stony Silence…"
Cado Belle made only two
official releases in the UK - their highly revered self-titled debut album in
late 1976 and a hard-to-find 4-track 12” Single EP in late 1977 (see below).
Across the years there have been two attempts to my knowledge at CD reissue
(2004 and 2008) - both of which are hard-to-find and for years have pulled
extortionate prices on the Net. Well at last in 2014 - Big Break Records of the
UK have gotten hold of the master tapes and interviewed members of the band for
this superb expanded CD remaster that gives us their entire recorded output and
a bit little more thrown in. Here are the wee Scottish Soul details…
UK released 23 June 2014 on
CD (July 2014 in the USA) – "Cado Belle" by CADO BELLE on Big Break Records
CDBBR 0268 (Barcode 5013939056831) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster and plays out as
follows (58:32 minutes):
1. All Too Familiar
2. Infamous Mister
3. Rocked To Stony Silence
4. I Name This Ship Survival
5. Paper In The Rain
6. That Kind Of Fool [Side 2]
7. Airport Shutdown
8. Rough Diamonds
9. Got To Love
10. Stones Throw From Nowhere
Tracks 1 to 10 are their sole
album “Cado Belle” - released October 1976 on Anchor Records ANCL 2015 in the
UK and Anchor Records AN 2015 in the USA
BONUS
TRACKS:
11. It’s Over
12. September
13. Play It Once For Me
14. Gimme Little Sign
Tracks 11 to 14 are "The Cado
Belle E.P." - released November 1977 as a 4-track 12” single in an album
picture sleeve in the UK on Anchor Records AN 1
Track 15 is new - an Ashley
Beedle re-edit of "I Name This Ship Survival" - it remixes and lengthens the
album track from 4:33 minutes to 5:11 minutes
The band arose out of the
ashes of two obscure Scottish groups - Stuart MacKillop’s pop combo called “Joe
Cool” and a jazz-fusion unit called “Up”. They signed to the then little known
Anchor Records Label in the UK (Anchor was home to Paul Carrack’s ACE who had a
huge hit with “How Long” from their wonderful “Five-A-Side” album). Their sound
was a rock-group with soul/funk leanings – a sort of lighter version of the
Average White Band with a Van Morrison feel to the tunes - fronted by a classy
female singer. I remember seeing them live in Dublin with my sister several
times (they were hugely popular there) and was duly blown away.
CADO BELLE was:
MAGGIE REILLY Lead Vocals
STUART MacKILLOP on Keyboards
ALAN DARBY on Guitar
COLIN TULLY on Saxophone
GAVIN HODGSON on Bass
DAVID ROY on Drums
The 12-page inlay pictures
the gorgeous vaudeville artwork of the Cado Belle E.P. as well as the two 7" singles lifted off the album - "Got To Love" b/w "Paper In The Rain" on Anchor
ANC 1033 (released October 1976) and "Stones Throw To Nowhere" b/w "Airport
Shutdown" on Anchor ANC 1038 (January 1977). A bit of a slip up is not
producing the inner sleeve of the LP that had the lyrics to each song on either
side. But balancing that is new interviews with Lead Singer Maggie Reilly and
Saxophonist Colin Tully recalling the album's history, gigs, lack of chart
action and eventual breakup in 1978 when the Anchor label folded leaving them
high and dry. But the big news for fans is the fabulous audio quality - really
beautiful stuff - gorgeous throughout - especially on one of my all-time faves
- the Alan Darby penned "September". It's the second track on Side 1 of the
E.P. and comes on like Gary Moore’s "Parisienne Walkways" from 1978 - all
Soulful guitar and aching lyrics. It’s also nice to hear their covers of “It’s
Over” by Boz Scaggs (a co-write with David Paich of Toto - it’s from the 1976
“Silk Degrees” LP) and the 1967 Soul classic “Gimme Little Sign” by Brenton
Wood. For many fans - the album cuts “Stones Throw From Nowhere” and “Rocked To
Stony Silence” in this beautiful audio quality will thrill - but there's also
the superb Stuart MacKillop tune “Play It Once For Me” on Side 2 of the E.P. -
what gems the lot of them.
Contributing to their Soulful
Rock vibe is the fantastic Glasgow-born Scottish singer MAGGIE REILLY (not to
be confused with Maggie Bell from Stone The Crows). She was similar vocally to
Maria Muldaur in ways, even a touch of Chaka Khan circa Rufus. Maggie later had
duet hits with Mike Oldfield on three occasions "Five Miles Out" in 1982, "Moonlight Shadow" in 1983 and "To France" in 1984. Since 1976 she’s sessioned
as a vocalist on albums by Jack Bruce, George Harrison, Nick Mason of Pink
Floyd, Sisters Of Mercy and Mike Oldfield. Maggie has her own website now and a
few dedicated to her. Maggie's latest album "Rowan" was released in 2006 and
has received huge praise from all quarters (especially her lovely cover version
of "Wild Mountain Thyme").
So why didn't CADO BELLE make
it? As others have noted - I guess they lacked that one killer hit that would
have made people and the charts sit up and take notice - perhaps if they'd
released the epic "Stones Throw From Nowhere" first - things might have been
different.
Still - it's a sign that Cado Belle are still remembered with such
affection today - closing in on 50 years after the event. A stunning BBR (Big Break Records) CD reissue - well done to all involved…
