"Full House" [5th LP from June 1970] by FAIRPORT CONVENTION (October 2001 Universal/Island 'Island Folk Remasters' CD Reissue – Suha Gur Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...A High Consumption Of Mandrake-Root..."

After the quite awesome album-trio of "What We Did On Our Holidays", "Unhalfbricking" and "Liege And Lief" (January, July and December 1969 – the Fairports being one of less than 15 artists to release three albums of original material in the same country in the same year) - I always thought July 1970's "Full House" was a wee bit of a 7-track disappointment what with the kerfuffle surrounding the fabulous "Poor Will & The Jolly Hangman" song (dropped at the eleventh hour).

In fact, band member and long-time Fairport inner historian Simon Nicol tells us in his informative and witty liner notes that Lead Guitarist Richard Thompson and Producer Joe Boyd were so late replacing "Poor Will..." with "Flowers Of The Forest" that the first 5000 cover arts of the UK LP actually have "Poor Will & The Jolly Hangman" listed on the rear and had to be pasted over in gold lettering to state "Flowers Of The Forest" (now there is a vinyl rarity if ever there was one). Personally I can't help feel that the album would have been infinitely better with both on it and something lesser like the step-we-gaily-as-we-go romp of "Dirty Linen" had been dropped instead. But that's why I give this wickedly good 'Island Folk Remasters' CD reissue five stars - it contains five superb bonus cuts that will allow you to sequence the album you want - rather than the one we were given almost five decades ago.

And the CD remaster sounds bloody good too, especially given the notorious recorded-on-two-continents (UK and USA) ramshackle nature of the recordings. Nicol even suggests the sound may not be audiophile but it's a band gelling, bursting with heart and the new blood of Dave Pegg who had replaced Sandy Denny (gone off to Fotheringay) – and I think hindsight has proven him right. Hell – we might even be able decipher RT's loony liner notes apparently loosely based on some hallucinogenic Tolkien-esque games almanac (gotta say no to that mandrake-root Richard). Let the mediaeval games commence...

UK released 1 October 2001 - "Full House" by FAIRPORT CONVENTION on Universal/Island IMCD 285/586375-2 (Barcode 731458637523) is an Expanded Edition CD Reissue (Five Bonus Tracks) in the 'Island Folk Remasters' Series that plays out as follows (59:03 minutes):

1. Walk Awhile

2. Doctor Of Physick

3. Dirty Linen

4. Sloth

5. Sir Patrick Spens

6. Flatback Caper

7. Poor Will & The Jolly Hangman

8. Flowers Of The Forest

Tracks 1, 3 and 4 make up Side 1 of the original July 1970 UK LP "Full House" on Island ILPS 9130 - whilst Tracks 5, 6, 2 and 8 make up Side 2 (same tracks for the September 1970 USA LP on A&M Records SP 4265). Track 7 is the song dropped from the album at the last minute and is a Bonus.

BONUS TRACKS (Five including Track 7):

9. Now Be Thankful (Mono)

10. Sir B. McKenzie's Daughter's Lament For The 77th Mounted Lancers Retreat From The Straits Of Loch Knombe, In The Year Of Our Lord 1727, On The Occasion of The Announcement Of Her Marriage To The Laird Of Kinleakie

Tracks 9 and 10 are the non-album A&B-sides of a UK 7" single released 9 October 1970 on Island WIP 6089

11. Bonny Bunch Of Roses - album outtake recorded May 1970 at the Gold Star Studios in Hollywood, California, USA - but not used. Returned to and re-recorded as the title song to their 13th UK album "Bonny Bunch Of Roses" issued February 1977 on Vertigo Records 9102 015 

12. Now Be Thankful (New Stereo Mix) - February 1998 SUHA GUR Mix

FAIRPORT CONVENTION was:

DAVE MATTACKS – Drums, Harmonium and Bodhran

SIMON NICOL – Vocals, Electric, Acoustic and Bass Guitars, Dulcimer

DAVE PEGG – Vocals, Bass Guitar and Mandolin

DAVE SWARBRICK – Vocals, Fiddle, Viola and Mandolin

RICHARD THOMPSON – Vocals and Lead Electric Guitar

A very nice touch is that the beautiful textured gatefold sleeve of the ILPS 9130 LP is ever-so-slightly repro’d in the hessian feel of the six-leaf-per-side foldout liner notes – the text peppered with those gorgeous mediaeval cartoons of the five band members (done by a mysterious crowd called Superwives). While most of us know the 7-track configuration I've outlined above – the liner notes tell us that Tracks 1 to 8 constitute the ‘original’ album – clearly as the remaining band now wants us to see it. It doesn't say who did the Remaster but Audio Engineer SUHA GUR is a name I actively seek out - he's done the James Brown Singles Collections on Hip-O Select, Luther Allison, Richie Havens, Joe Cocker's "Mad Dogs...", The Allman Brothers, Kansas and many more. The Audio is great and what an absolute find "Poor Will & The Jolly Hangman" is - never mind the beautiful Stereo mix of the Swarbrick/Thompson single "Now Be Thankful". Let's get to the music...

The Side One opener "Walk Awhile" offers up a Swarbrick/Thompson continuation of the Fiddle/Guitar Folk Rock of "Liege & Lief" - a fun start and a very confident here's-a-new-genre get-used-to-it statement of intent. The track would It's followed by the Traditional "Dirty Linen" - a step-we-gaily instrumental with a guitar break half way through its drunken charlady jaunt around your living room. Far better for me is the fabulous almost Bluesy-Folk vibe to the nine-minute "Sloth" - another sozzled historical slowy where lyrically the right thing is suddenly the wrong thing - where "...just a roll on your drum and a war is begun..."

Side 2 offers up four in the shape of "Sir Patrick Spens" (a Fiddle and Guitar tale of mermaids warning sailors that they won't see dry land even if Pat has different ideas), "Flatback Caper" (an instrumental Traditional that has a Swarbrick/Pegg Mandolin battle),  "Doctor Of Physick" (a Swarbrick/Thompson composition where dodgy types come to steal purses in the dead of night and maidens lose their head) and finally the sophisticated and brilliant "Flowers Of The Forest" - all the harmony vocalists in this Folky Boy Band doing the song proud. And of course a fab find in the long and winding "Poor Will & The Jolly Hangman" - a slow piece of Thompson genius (so shows the way his solo career would unfold) where our protagonist sings a health to the Jolly hangman who'll string you up the best he can (what a guy). The A-side of the stand-alone single is great too - long a stalwart in their live repertoire while the impossibly monikered B-side makes a dash for The Guinness Book Of Records as the longest name in a song.

Those five extras have lifted this reissue of "Full House" (Fairport's fifth) into a much better place for me. And for less than a five-spot to the right jailer, this 'Island Folk Remaster' CD can be in your home before you can say, impeach that mediaeval rascal and his bonny bunch of ring-dum-a-do-da roses. Nearly 50 years on and those goodies still get to me. Great stuff and recommended...

"At Fillmore East" by THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND (September 2003 Universal/Mercury/Chronicles 2CD Reissue - Suha Gur Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Six In The Morning..." 

Jetlagged and bleary after a 10-hour transatlantic flight from Paris the day before (itself a spur of the moment thing after bad weather in Europe freaked him out) – Producer Tom Dowd phoned the offices of Atlantic Records in New York the following afternoon to see what was occurring. A panicked secretary reputedly advised him in no uncertain terms that he'd better wake up pronto (or partake of some Peruvian dancing dust) because he was urgently required for a recording gig in less than 24-hours. The Allman Brothers would be headlining at Bill Graham's Fillmore East – an old vaudevillian New York theatre house on 2nd Avenue where they'd played four times before but always as a support act to the likes of Blood, Sweat & Tears. Unfazed – the revered Producer who'd been shaping Atlantic's distinctive Soul and Rock sounds for over 20 years - witnessed the Southern Rockers take the stage on the opening Thursday night with a less than well rehearsed brass section. Dowd was duly appalled.

Legend has it that he bawled out the band backstage – calling it sloppy and unprofessional – roaring at them – demanding they drop the peripheral crap and get back to boogie basics – a set made up of new material and Blues standards from Elmore James, Willie Cobbs, T-Bone Walker and Blind Willie McTell. Now most hairy-assed slide-guitar Southern diplomats would have broken a bottle of Jack Daniels over his nancy New Yorker's head and used words not necessarily in the Webster Dictionary as they pointed his grizzled rump towards the stage door. But this was TOM DOWD and they knew of his incredible track record and professional 'ear'. The Allmans listened – respected – and acted. And across the remaining three shows over two nights (8:00 pm and 11:30 pm on 12 and 13 March) – Dowd caught lightning in a bottle – one of the most famous and revered live doubles ever put to tape. The fourth show had been interrupted by a bomb scare but they played into the early hours regardless – huge 30-minute jams – a tight rhythm section – Duane's inspired lead – a band ready to take on the world.

Dowd got 20 reels of tape – mostly favouring the fourth show where (perhaps because of the scares) he felt the band was most fluid - 'cooking' even. Seven tracks made the final July 1971 2LP set with "You Don't Love Me" and "Whipping Post" taking up residency as all of Side 2 and 4 respectively. "Trouble No More" and the humungous 33-minute "Mountain Jam" were set aside for use on the "Eat A Peach" double released February 1972 - as was "One Way Out" taped 27 June 1971 at further Fillmore East gigs. "Don't Keep Me Wonderin'" turned up on the appeared-too-fast "Duane Allman Anthology" twofer in November 1972 - released after his passing from a motorcycle accident October 1971 during the Peach Sessions aged only 24. Another straggler from the 27 June 1971 shows "Midnight Rider" eventually showed on "Duane Allman Anthology, Volume 2" in August 1974. Last but by no means least – with dawn's light already broken - "Drunken Hearted Boy" was an encore that saw Elvin Bishop join the band on stage at six a.m. on the 13th of March 1971 – itself finally appearing in the 4CD/6LP Retrospective Box Set "Dreams" in July 1989. It’s also safe to say that "At Fillmore East" put the Capricorn Records label and Southern Rock in general on the world map – paving the way for The Marshall Tucker Band, Elvin Bishop, The Outlaws, Z.Z. Top and of course Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Which brings us to this 23 September 2003 Deluxe Edition reissue that draws all of those disparate sources together in one ace remastered bundle – here are the six-in-the-morning details...

UK released 23 September 2003 (24 September 2004 in the USA) – "The Allman Brothers Band At Fillmore East: Deluxe Edition" by THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND on Universal/Mercury/Chronicles 0044007735329 (Barcode 044007735329) is a 2CD 'Deluxe Edition' Remaster that plays outs as follows (the USA issue is B0000401-02 - Barcode 044007735329):

Disc 1 (65:12 minutes):

1. Statesboro Blues [4:17 minutes]

2. Trouble No More [3:43 minutes]

3. Don't Keep Me Wonderin' [3:27 minutes]

4. Done Somebody Wrong [4:33 minutes]

5. Stormy Monday [8:48 minutes]

6. One Way Out [4:56 minutes]

7. In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed [13:04 minutes]

8. You Don't Love Me [19:16 minutes]

9. Midnight Rider [2:55 minutes]

Disc 2 (68:51 minutes):

1. Hot 'Lanta [5:20 minutes]

2. Whipping Post [22:53 minutes]

3. Mountain Jam [33:39 minutes]

4. Drunken Hearted Boy [6:57 minutes]

Tracks 1, 4, 5, 8 on Disc 1 and Tracks 1 and 2 on Disc 2 make up the original July 1971 2LP set as follows:

Side 1:

1. Statesboro Blues [Blind Willie McTell cover]

2. Done Somebody Wrong [Elmore James cover]

3. Stormy Monday [T-Bone Walker cover]

Side 2:

1. You Don't Love Me [Willie Cobbs cover]

Side 3:

1. Hot 'Lanta [Allman Brothers song]

2. In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed [Dickey Betts of The Allman Brothers song]

Side 4:

1. Whipping Post [Gregg Allman song]

"The Allman Brothers Band At Fillmore East" was released July 1971 in the USA on Capricorn Records SD-2 860 and Capricorn 2659 005 in the UK. Produced by TOM DOWD - it peaked at No. 13 in the US LP charts (didn't chart UK).

Tracks 2 and 6 on Disc 1 originally appeared February 1972 on the US 2LP set "Eat A Peach" on Capricorn Records 2CP-0102

Track 3 on Disc 1 originally appeared November 1972 on the US 2LP set "Duane Allman Anthology" on Capricorn Records 2CP-0108

Track 9 on Disc 1 originally appeared August 1974 on the US 2LP set "Duane Allman Anthology, Volume 2" on Capricorn Records CPN-2-0139

Track 4 on Disc 2 originally appeared July 1989 on the 4CD/6LP/4MC Box Set "Dreams" on Polydor 422 839 417-2

The Band:

DUANE ALLMAN – Lead and Slide Guitars

GREGG ALLMAN – Organ, Piano and Vocals

DICKEY BETTS – Lead Guitar

BERRY OAKLEY – Bass

JAIMOE – Drums, Congas and Timbales

BUTCH TRUCKS – Drums and Tympani

Guests:

Thom Doucette – Harmonica on "Don't Keep Me Wonderin'", "Done Somebody Wrong", "Stormy Monday" and "You Don't Love Me"

Elvin Bishop - Guitar and Vocals on "Drunken Hearted Boy"

Steve Miller - Piano on "Drunken Hearted Boy"

Bobby Caldwell - Percussion on "Drunken Hearted Boy"

The outer plastic 'Deluxe Edition' slipcase lends these reissues a real touch of substance - while the 28-page features classy black and white photos of the boys making history and individual plates of each band member. The original album's inner gatefold photos of the band live now take up either side of the opened digipak. A nice touch is an alternate outtake of the famous 'five roadies' photo on the back cover of the original double (still on the back of the digipak). The booklet's last page uses a moments-earlier outtake photo where there's suddenly six of them (the iconic shot was actually done at the Capricorn Studios in Macon, Georgia and not as people presumed against the walls of The Fillmore East in New York). DAVE THOMPSON stumps up an entertaining and enlightening set of liner notes - filling in the factual stuff while at the same time wearing his affection for the album firmly on his sleeve. He also quite rightly points out that the release practically kick-started the ‘Live Double-Album’ as a vinyl phenomenon that still exists to this day and dominated the whole of the Seventies.

But the big news is a new SUHA GUR Remaster. As you can see from the track line-up above – this 2CD DE lines up the tracks as they were played –giving you a feel for progression. When he says ‘we got an Elmore James number for you’ at the beginning of "Done Somebody Wrong" or the intro to "Whipping Post" where someone from the audience shouts for it – you can feel the intensity of the band live in your living room. There is also that discernable feeling that these are recordings unleashed – much like the band as they rip through solo and solo...

As that slide guitar comes screaming in on "Statesboro Blues" – they already sound like your favourite bar band – only writ larger. Introducing the new Elmore James cut "Done Somebody Wrong" (said with a Southern twang). The audience gets a real taste of the playing when they launch into a fabulous version of T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday" - those solos and that organ support - all of it so sweet. The put-your-hands-together Willie Cobbs winner "You Don't Love Me" lifts the crowd into boogie heaven. To this day when I hear a bar-band lay into its great chords to get a crowd neck-jerking - I think of what it must have been like for Allmans fans at that show – all 19-minutes of it.

"Hot 'Lanta" feels almost early Little Feat in places or even Santana - the band swinging and swaying - the whole thing just so beautifully together. The Dickie Betts instrumental "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed" changes the tempo into a sexy almost Latin sway - while at the same time allowing the two lead guitars to indulge. You get well-rehearsed virtuoso playing - in fact this is one of my faves on the double precisely because it shows the Allmans could 'groove' with the best of them (I'd swear Carlos would approve).  The 5:22 minutes of "Whipping Post" from their November 1969 self-titled debut album gets cranked up to eleven on the 23-minute live version in 1971. And again there's that Santana thing going on as the band slow it down half way through - all that sweet Bass and crashing cymbals.

The 1955 Muddy Waters Chess classic "Trouble No More" gives the boys another chance to shine on the Boogie front and frankly you can't help think it should have been on the original double album - but what would you drop (sports fabulous remastered sound here and feel). Another Elmore James stomper "One Way Out" only adds to that foot-tapping bank balance. The 33 and a half-minute bruiser that is "Mountain Jam" takes its central theme from a 1967 Donovan single "There Is A Mountain" and is surely one of the prizes here. And there’s Steve Miller and Elvin Bishop helping out on the raucous finisher "Drunken Hearted Boy" – how cool.

When I think about the landslide of Southern Rock that followed after this landmark live set - I look at my battered vinyl copy (its spine split) and smile. I'm fairly certain this truly excellent 2CD DE version of "At Fillmore East" will elicit the same response once it's in your latest rig...

"Mad Dogs & Englishmen: 35th Anniversary DELUXE EDITION" by JOE COCKER (2005 Universal/A&M 2CD Reissue - Suha Gur Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Feelin' Alright..."

Absolutely everyone loved "Mad Dogs & Englishmen" - Joe Cocker's blistering live double-album released September 1970 on both sides of the pond (and everywhere else for that matter). It capturing lightning in a bottle - a humungous band at their lead-swinging freshest recorded across two venues and nights in March and April of that decade’s first year. A&M Records loved it (went to No. 2 in the USA and sold a million copies) - the public and press alike frenzy-fought for tickets to see the 43-piece extravaganza as it made its way across America until the final show on the 16th of May. Everybody loved it – everyone except Joe Cocker.

By the end of the tour the freshness and excitement was gone – and so was he. A massive ego-clash between him and Leon Russell had ripped the happy heart out of the merry band – and all that palatable joy in those first shows so evident on the 2LP set – had evaporated in a haze of drugs, recrimination and bitterness. Legend has it that the feud was so grim it wouldn't be discussed for decades on end. Worse - despite nationwide fame, adoration and a single in the American charts for the first time - Cocker had just under $900 in his pocket with his hard-won LP royalties' unavailable - years and years away. He wound up broke and bruised in California with an itch he needed to scratch. Joe later said it took him years to fully recover from the aftermath of that fateful tour...

None of this post-mortem however detracts from the reissue brilliance of this very cool '35th Anniversary Deluxe Edition' – Joe Cocker’s ground-breaking live double-album "Mad Dogs & Englishmen" finally given the stunning Remastered Audio its always deserved - quality presentation and some shockingly brill Previously Unreleased tracks alongside other B-side rarities. They even sort-of mimic that wonderful foldout many-leaved sleeve that came with original vinyl issues. Nice. Here are the muscular details...

UK released 24 October 2005 (18 October 2005 in the USA) - "Mad Dogs & Englishmen: 35th Anniversary DELUXE EDITION" by JOE COCKER on Universal/A&M 0602498860069 (Barcode 602498860069) is a 2CD Reissue and Remaster with Eight Previously Unreleased Tracks and other Rarities and plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (57:23 minutes):
1. Honkey Tonk Women
2. She Came In Through The Bathroom Window
3. The Weight
4. Sticks And Stones
5. Bird On A Wire
6. Cry Me A River
7. Superstar - Performed by RITA COOLIDGE
8. Feelin' Alright
9. Something
10. Darling Be Home Soon
11. Let It Be - Performed by CLAUDIA LENNEAR
12. Further On Up The Road - Performed by DON PRESTON

Tracks 3, 9, 10 and 12 on Disc 1 are Previously Unreleased - all recorded Saturday, 28 March 1970 at the Fillmore East
Track 11 is the non-album 7" single B-side to "The Ballad Of Mad Dogs & Englishmen" released April 1971 in the USA on A&M 1253 (1st time on CD)

Disc 2 (79:30 minutes):
1. Let's Go Get Stoned
2. Space Captain
3. Hummingbird - Performed by LEON RUSSELL
4. Dixie Lullaby - Performed by LEON RUSSELL
5. The Letter
6. Delta Lady
7. Give Peace A Chance
8. Blue Medley: I'll Drown In My Own Tears/When Something Is Wrong With My Baby/I've Been Loving You Too Long
9. With A Little Help From My Friends
ENCORE:
10. Girl From The North Country
STUDIO SESSIONS for SINGLES:
11. Warm-Up Jam including Under My Thumb - Performed by LEON RUSSELL and THE SHELTER PEOPLE
12. The Letter (Studio Single Version) - Performed by JOE COCKER with LEON RUSSELL and THE SHELTER PEOPLE
13. Space Captain (Studio Single Version) - Performed by JOE COCKER with LEON RUSSELL and THE SHELTER PEOPLE
14. The Ballad Of Mad Dogs & Englishmen - Performed by LEON RUSSELL

Tracks 3, 4, 9 and 11 on Disc 2 are Previously Unreleased
Live Tracks 3 and 4 recorded Friday, 27 March 1970 at the Fillmore East - Track 9 recorded Saturday, 28 March 1970
Studio Track 11 recorded 17 March 1970 and 3 April 1970 at A&M and Gold Star Studios respectively
Tracks 12 and 13 are First Time STEREO Mix – released April 1970 in the USA on 7” single as A&M 1174 and June 1970 in the UK on Regal Zonophone RZ 3027. It was subsequently re-issued using the same catalogue number but replaced the studio versions with the 2LP live cuts.
All songs sung by JOE COCKER except where stated

Lovers of the original will immediately notice that Universal in their corporate wisdom have decided to place the songs across this 2CD reissue as they were recorded - arguing that it gives the gigs used better context (March 27 and 28th at The Fillmore East and April 17th at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium). Some have already commented on how much they love it - personally I'm not that keen. But if you do want to configure the US and UK 2LP set as originally released – use the following as your playlist:

Side 1:
1. Introduction
2. Honky Tonk Women (Track 1, Disc 1)
3. Introduction
4. Sticks And Stones (Track 4, Disc 1)
5. Cry Me A River (Track 6, Disc 1)
6. Bird On A Wire (Track 5, Disc 1)

Side 2:
1. Feelin' Alright (Track 8, Disc 1)
2. Superstar - Performed by RITA COODLIDGE  (Track 7, Disc 1)
3. Introduction
4. Let's Go Get Stoned (Track 1, Disc 2)

Side 3:
1. Blue Medley:
I'll Drown In My Own Tears
When Something Is Wrong With My Baby
I've Been Loving You Too Long (Track 8, Disc 2)
2. Introduction
3. Girl From The North Country (Track 10, Disc 2)
4. Give Peace A Chance (Track 7, Disc 2)

Side 4:
1. Introduction
2. She Came In Thru The Bathroom Window (Track 2, Disc 1)
3. Space Captain (Track 2, Disc 2)
4. The Letter (Track 5, Disc 2)
5. Delta Lady (Track 6, Disc 2)
The double-album "Mad Dogs & Englishmen" was released September 1970 in the USA on A&M Records SP-6002 and September 1970 in the UK on A&M Records AMLS 6002. Produced by DENNY CORDELL and LEON RUSSELL - it peaked at No. 2 on the US album charts and No. 16 in the UK.

THE BAND was:
JOE COCKER - Lead Vocals
LEON RUSSELL - Guitar and Piano
CHRIS STAINTON - Piano and Organ
DON PRESTON - Rhythm Guitar (Lead Vocals on "Further On Up The Road")
BOBBY KEYS - Tenor Saxophone
JIM PRICE - Trumpet
CARL RADLE - Bass
BOBBY TORRES - Conga
JIM KELTNER - Drums
JIM GORDON - Drums
CHUCK BLACKWELL - Drums and Percussion
THE CHOIR - Don Preston, Rita Coolidge, Claudia Lennear, Daniel Moore, Donna Weiss, Pamela Polland, Matthew Moore, Donna Washburn, Nicole Barclay and Bobby Jones

The four-way foldout card digipak has an info page attached to the rear and the 24-page booklet has new liner notes from JP BEAN of Sheffield along with random cartoons in-between the text. There’s a two-page colour photo for a massive Sunset Blvd. billboard advert using the ‘All Elements Of The Truth’ lines from the album sleeve. Niggles - "Cry Me A River" b/w "Give Peace A Chance" was issued as a 45 in the USA (A&M 1200, September 1970) and in the UK (Fly Records BUG 3, October 1970) and both came with different picture sleeves - but neither is featured here - so a trick missed there.

But all of that goes by the wall when you hear the amazing new Audio care of a team of two - HEATH CONDIOTTE who did the transfers while long-time Universal Engineer SUHA GUR did the mastering. It's like the record has been given renewed power - and at least four of those Previously Unreleased live tracks with Don Preston and Leon Russell are absolutely storming. Fans will also know that the fabulous pairing of the non-album tracks "The Letter" b/w "Space Captain" turned up on The Long Voyage Home Box and subsequent CDs as ‘Mono’ Singles Mixes. Here they’re given first-time STEREO versions and all I can say is WOW! Fans are going to chew these up...even if the "Space Captain" track has some weird echoes and spaces all of a sudden.

While I understand the thinking behind the line-up of the tracks on the DE – I quickly assembled the original double on my iTunes set up and I’d still maintain it’s a better edit and a far better listen. Opening with "Honky Tonk Women" and "Sticks And Stones" (The Rolling Stones and Ray Charles) – you’re immediately struck by the sheer power the Remaster has given the band who now seem to be occupying your living room with intent on doing some serious party damage to your carefully arranged Feng Shui. Julie London gets Funkified to a point where her signature tune "Cry Me A River" is unrecognisable – but it’s the Leonard Cohen bawler "Bird On A Wire" that moves – given a hugely Soulful take that ends Side 1 on a real high.

Dave Mason’s Traffic song "Feelin’ Alright" opens Side 2 with a elongated belter - while the Bonnie Bramlett/Leon Russell song "Superstar" is the first to feature a guest – this time Rita Coolidge. Rita's vocal range is similar to Karen Carpenter who would cover the song on their self-titled A&M album the following year (1971) – almost making it feel like The Carpenters owned the tune all along. Bobby Keys - the default Saxophonist for The Rolling Stones - requests, gets and is featured on the Ray Charles cry for a mental blitz "Let's Go Get Stoned". By now the band is simply cooking – the choir adding soulful backing vocals at choice points throughout the eight-minute work out.

But the 2LP literally goes up in live flames with the three-song Soul Medley that opens Side 3 – Brother Ray's Atlantic hit "I'll Drown In My Own Tears" - Sam & Dave's "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby" (written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter) and finally the Otis Redding Stax classic "I've Been Loving You Too Long" - all rolled into one powerhouse performance. Russell intros Bob Dylan's "Girl From The North Country" which he shares with Joe as that plays fast yet soulful. We get all 'church-on-Sunday' righteous with "Give Peace A Chance" - a Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell song that feels like The Staples Singers having a rave up with the Lord while James Brown conducts the funky choir. Side 4 introduces what many wanted to hear - Joe do The Beatles - the Abbey Road nugget "She Came In Thru The Bathroom Window". But even that crowd-pleaser is trumped by a lethal three-song finale that genuinely thrills as it builds - Matthew Moore's "Space Captain", The Box Tops' "The Letter" and the Leon Russell hit that practically broke Joe Cocker - "Delta Lady" – all sounding unbelievably good on this Remaster. What a winner...

I wasn't expecting the unreleased stuff to be as good as it is - but genuine standouts include Don Preston doing a truly fantastic rocking version of the old Blues classic "Further On Up The Road" while Russell delivers the goods on both "Hummingbird" and "Dixie Lullaby" and the near mine-minute "With A Little Help From My Friends" is a virtual tour-de-force.

Universal has done some dubious DE versions over the years and some nuggets too (check out Howlin Wolf, Whiskeytown, John Martyn to name but a few) - expanded editions that genuinely bring more to the feast. "Mad Dogs & Englishmen" is one of them.

"...Learning to live together..." Joe croaks on the brilliant "Space Captain". We're just learning to live without you mate. God bless wherever you may be...and thanks to all the players for such great memories...

"The Singles Volume 1: The Federal Years 1956-1960" by JAMES BROWN featuring The Famous Flames and Bea Fords (September 2006 US Hip-O Select/Polydor 2CD Set - Suha Gur Remasters) - No. 1 in a Series of 11 - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…Please, Please, Please…" 

A million miles removed from his Sixties Soul and Seventies Funk - this gorgeously produced and presented 2CD set concentrates on the beginning - James Brown And His Famous Flames as a Rhythm 'n' Blues belter (his first 19 singles). Here are the drop-to-your-knees details...

US released 26 September 2006 - "The Singles Volume 1: The Federal Years 1956-1960" by JAMES BROWN is the first of 11 Volumes of double-CDs covering his entire singles output between 1956 and 1981. Hip-O Select/Polydor B0007029-02 (Barcode 602517000575) breaks down as follows (all entries are American singles unless otherwise stated):

Disc 1, 21 tracks, 53:41 minutes:

1. Please, Please, Please

2. Why Do You Do Me (tracks 1 and 2 are the A&B-sides of his debut 7" single on Federal 12258 released March 1956 - a USA R&B No.5)

3.I Don't Know

4. I Feel That Old Feeling Coming On (tracks 3 and 4 are the A&B-sides of Federal 11264 released June 1956)

5. No, No, No, No

6. Hold My Baby's Hand (tracks 5 and 6 are the A&B-sides of Federal 12277 released July 1956)

7. I Won't Plead No More

8. Chonnie-On-Chon (tracks 7 and 8 are the A&B-sides of Federal 12290 released October 1956)

9. Just Won't Do Right

10. Let's Make It (tracks 9 and 10 are the A&B-sides of Federal 12289 released January 1957)

11. Gonna Try

12. Can't Be The Same (tracks 11 and 12 are the A&B-sides of Federal 12292 released March 1957)

13. Message With The Blues

14. Love Or A Game (tracks 13 and 14 are the A&B-sides of Federal 12295 released May 1957)

15. You're Mine, You're Mine

16. I Walked Alone (tracks 15 and 16 are the A&B-sides of Federal 12300 released July 1957)

17. That Dood It

18. Baby Cries Over The Ocean (tracks 17 and 18 are the A&B-sides of Federal 12311 released November 1957)

19. Begging, Begging

20. That's When I Lost My Heart (tracks 19 and 20 are the A&B-sides of Federal 12316 released February 1958

21. Try Me (Demo Version)

[Notes: 1 to 12 credited to JAMES BROWN With The Famous Flames

13 and 14 credited to JAMES BROWN

Remainder credited to JAMES BROWN And The Famous Flames]

Disc 2, 20 Tracks, 51:51 minutes:

1. Try Me (I Need You)

2. Tell Me What I Did Wrong (tracks 1 and 2 are the A&B-sides of Federal 12337 released October 1958 - a USA R'&B No.1)

3. I Want You So Bad

4. There Must Be A Reason (tracks 3 and 4 are the A&B-sides of Federal 12348 released February 1959 - A USA R&B No.20)

5. I've Got To Change [Mono Version]

6. It Hurts To Tell You [Mono Version] (tracks 5 and 6 are the A&B-sides of Federal 12352 released April 1959)

7. I've Got To Change [Stereo Version]

8. It Hurts Me To Tell You [Stereo Version] (tracks 7 and 8 are the A&B-sides of Federal S-12352 released May 1959)

9. Double Bee

10. Bucket Head (tracks 9 and 10 are the A&B-sides of Federal 12360 released July 1959)

11. It Was You

12. Got To Cry (tracks 11 and 12 are the A&B-sides of Federal 12364 released August 1959)

13. Good Good Lovin'

14. Don't Let It Happen To Me (tracks 13 and 14 are A&B-sides of Federal 12361 released October 1959)

15. I'll Go Crazy

16. I Know It's True (tracks 15 and 16 are the A&B-sides on Federal 12369 released January 1960 - A USA R&B No. 15)

17. Think

18. You've Got The Power (tracks 17 and 18 are the A&B-sides of Federal 12370 released April 1960 - a USA R&B No. 7 - B-side No. 14 R&B)

19. This Old Heart

20. Wonder When You're Coming Home (tracks 19 and 20 are the A&B-sides of Federal 12378 released August 1960 - A USA R&B No. 20)

[Notes: all tracks are Mono except where stated, all tracks James Brown And The Famous Flames except "You've Got The Power" which is James Brown And The Famous Flames - Duet Vocals with Bea Ford]

The 28-page sepia-feel booklet is gorgeous - jam-packed with detail by fan/world authority and keeper of the famous flame - ALAN LEEDS. You get song-by-song histories, cool trade adverts and Federal singles pepper the text and there's a detailed Sessionography on the last pages. HAREY WEINGER and PAT LAWRENCE produced while SUHA GUR did the superlative remasters from original Mono Single mixes (except "Bucket Head" restored from 45). The audio is fantastic and I've sung this Engineer's skills before (Howard Tate, Eddie Kendricks, Grace Jones, Joe Cocker, Kool & The Gang, John Mayall, Cat Stevens, Cream - the Suha Gur list is long).

However - despite opening strongly with "Please, Please, Please" and its equally tasty B-side - you couldn't describe much of Disc 1 as 'classic' - it fact its plodding in places and downright uninspired in others. And outside of "Please, Please, Please", "Try Me (I Need You)" and "Think" - it's all too easy to see why much of it didn't chart or elicit interest from DJs. That's not to say there aren't gems in here like the groovy dancer "Tell Me What I Did Wrong" where Brown finally finds something of that legendary mojo. The STEREO VERSION of the "It Hurts To Tell You" single is an amazing entry - quite extraordinary sound and a genuine rarity. 

The "Try Me (Demo Version)" is dubbed off a 78" Acetate and sounds awful - a historical curio tagged onto the first 10 singles of his career on Disc 1. The largely instrumental "Bucket Head" is fun as is the boppin' "Good Good Lovin'" - one of his underground classics and a tune that should have charted. The pleader "I'll Go Crazy" is typical of his "if you leave me" type songs and I dig the Bluesy duet with Bea Ford on "You Got The Power" (the B-side to "Think"). Another cool tune is "You're Mine, You're Mine". The whole compilation is good rather than being great - but there is that audio and presentation...

Born in 1933 - passed in 2006 - James Brown changed the world of music forever - and so much for the better. The Godfather would hit his Soul stride with the arrival of the Swinging Sixties - but this is where that unbelievable career started to cook...

"Leftoverture" by KANSAS (2001 Epic/Legacy 'Expanded Edition' CD - Darcy Proper and Suha Gur Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 100s Of Others Is Available in my

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CLASSIC 1970s ROCK On CD - Exception Remasters  

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"...More Than I Can Measure..."

Prog Rock - and American Prog Rock at that - wasn't supposed to have the words 'monster chart hit' written anywhere on its dense playlist. And yet after three 'crawling-up-the-lower-200' albums and many years of touring slog - Topeka's KANSAS finally broke through in 1976 with a bona-fide radio-friendly bruiser "Carry On Wayward Son" – a very Boston-sounding complex rocker that's played today - 41 years after the event.

Signed stateside to Kirshner Records - their self-titled debut "Kansas" troubled the US charts in June 1974 at No. 174 while March 1975's "Song For America" did better at No. 57 - but December 1975's "Masque" dipped back down to No. 70. It was time for a do-or-die change - and with Guitarist and Principal songwriter Steve Walsh suffering from writer's block - up stepped KERRY LIVGREN who penned five of Leftoverture's songs and co-wrote the other three. And it worked. The hit single made a hit album (both doing a storm of business) which meant that their next and even better platter "Point Of Know Return" went one higher to No. 4 in October 1977 - impressive statistics for an American Prog Rock band in the late Seventies.

Which brings us to this fab-sounded CD remaster on Sony’s Legacy imprint. Let's "Carry On Wayward Son" to the Magnum Opus details...

UK released June 2001 (May 2001 in the USA) - "Leftoverture" by KANSAS on Epic/Legacy 502479 2 (Barcode 5099750247921) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster of their 4th studio album plus Two Previously Unreleased Bonus Tracks and plays out as follows (55:21 minutes):

1. Carry On Wayward Son
2. The Wall
3. What's On My Mind
4. Miracles Out Of Nowhere
5. Opus Insert [Side 2]
6. Questions Of My Childhood
7. Cheyenne Anthem
8. Magnum Opus
(a) Father Padilla Meets The Perfect Gnat
(b) Howling At The Moon
(c) Man Overboard
(d) Industry On Parade
(e) Release The Beavers
(f) Gnat Attack
Tracks 1 to 8 are their 4th studio album "Leftoverture" - released October 1976 in the USA on Kirshner JZ 34224 and December 1976 in the UK on Epic S EPC 82718 (reissued February 1977 on Kirshner S KIR 82718). Produced by JEFF GLIXMAN - the LP peaked at No. 5 on the US Rock charts (didn't chart in the UK).

BONUS TRACKS (Previously Unreleased):
9. Carry On Wayward Son (Live, 1977 at Pine Knob in Wisconsin)
10. Cheyenne Anthem (Live, December 1977 at The Palladium in New York)

KANSAS was:
BOBBY STEINHARDT – Lead and Backing Vocals, Violin and Viola
STEVE WALSH – Lead and Background Vocals, Organ, Piano, Vibes and Synths
KERRY LIVGREN – Lead Guitar, Piano, Moog, Clavinet, Oberheim and ARP Synth
RICH WILLIAMS – Lead Guitar and Acoustic Guitar
DAVE HOPE – Bass
PHIL EHART – Drums and Percussion

The 10-sided foldout inlay has excellent and informative liner notes from DAVID WILD (Contributing Editor to Rolling Stone) – lyrics to all the songs – a live snap of the boys in full-on serious-musician mode and the six portrait photos of the band that came with original Kirshner LPs (facsimile artwork front and rear too). But all that is small beer to the gorgeous sound...

There’s a 'Producer's Note' from Jeff Glixman about the transfers and Remaster. He advises that the original vinyl format left audio compromises with an album running to nearly forty-five minutes - no such problem with the freshened-up CD. Done by DARCY PROPER and SUHA GUR from original master tapes - the Audio is a huge improvement - the synth-and-piano-bop of "Questions Of My Childhood" now leaps out of your speakers - those violin moments and girly chorus on "Cheyenne Anthem" - it's all so good. But it's a damn shame someone didn't think to include the obvious 7" single edit of "Carry On Wayward Son" - at 3:26 minutes - there was plenty of room. Still there is that 'live' version from the period that’s new...

When the voices sing "...don’t you cry no more..." as "Carry On Wayward Son" slithers in – you’re in no doubt about the clarity of the Remaster. At 5:25 minutes as opposed to 3:26 minutes - I can never make up my mind whether or not I prefer the full album version to the zippy 7” single edit (it rose to No. 11 on the US singles chart in February 1977 but would have to wait for a reissue in the UK in May 1978 on Kirshner S KIR 4932 to chart at a lowly 51). And I guess you would have to argue that songs like "Frankenstein" by the Edgar Winter Group (from way back in 1973 – another band on Epic) and more recently "More Than A Feeling" and "Long Time" by BOSTON – had smashed down the Prog Rock door for Kansas. The people were ready for dense guitar Rock. And don’t you just love those funky guitar breaks towards the end – brilliant.

Livgren wants to break down the dark barrier in relationships that is "The Wall" - while Kansas try for another guitar-hit with the catchy "What's On My Mind". That acoustic beginning to the 'dew drops' of "Miracles Out Of Nowhere" is very clear as are those synth-flourishes from Walsh. Side 2 is dominated by the near nine-minute "Magnum Opus" which looms in ominously before going into full-on Genesis - sounding at time like those big moments in "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway". As the guitar then grunges before softly segueing into piano plinkers - you're reminded of the musicality of Rush. "...Music is all for you..." he sings during the "Howling At The Moon" portion before they go all Gentle Giant on yer ass...

In truth the music of Kansas will not be for everyone in 2017 - but loyal fans will devour the transfer here and newcomers will see where modern day Prog acts got their inspiration/information from... Onwards my wayward sons to the "Point Of Know Return"...