"Legend Of A Mind: The Underground Anthology" by VARIOUS [Decca and Deram Labels] featuring Bill Fay, The End, Bulldog Breed, T2, Caravan, Leafhound, Granny’s Intentions, Johnny Almond Music Machine, Trapeze, Moody Blues, Savoy Brown, Daryl Way and more (January 2003 Universal/Decca 3CD Mini Clamshell Box Set – Paschal Byrne Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With Over 310 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites
CADENCE /CASCADE 

PROG ROCK, PSYCH, AVANT GARDE...
And Others Genres Thereabouts
Exceptional CD Remasters

Covering 1967 to 1977 - It Also Focuses On

Fusion Rock, Acid Folk, Art Rock and Underground 

Just Click Below To Purchase

Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

"…Voodoo Forest…"

With a hefty 40-tracks stretching from 1967 to 1976 - as I recall this was the first of those dinky little 3CD mini box set label-retrospectives that UNIVERSAL began putting out with alarming regularity at the beginning of the Naughties. But what it oddly doesn’t say in the Legend Of A Mind: The Underground Anthology title (or anywhere on the box for that matter) is that 29 of those slices of Psych/Prog/Hard Rock madness come from Decca’s Progressive Rock label imprint DERAM. So it’s essentially a DERAM retrospective (the other 11 tracks are on Decca and the Threshold label).

And with the experienced compiling team of MARK POWELL and engineer PASCHAL BYRNE behind the overall presentation – you get clever track choices, fantastically knowledgeable liner notes and uniformly great sound. There’s so much to discover on here and it isn’t all unlistenable proggy knob either. So here are the details for the Voodoo Forest, Granny’s Intentions and Cheerful Insanity. And just to wash those all down - a Nymphenburger on the Hellbound Train while you Jig-A-Jig with a Funky Nomad Tribe (if you know what I mean)…

UK-released January 2003 – "Legend Of A Mind: The Underground Anthology" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Universal/Decca 5857832 (Barcode 0731458578321) is a 3CD Mini Clamshell Box Set that breaks down as follows:

Disc 1 – card sleeve pictures The Bulldog Breed (77:04 minutes):

1. Legend Of A Mind [1974 Remix] – THE MOODY BLUES (originally a track on their 3rd album from July 1968 "In Search Of The Lost Chord" on Deram SML 717 – this version is the 1974 remix from the double-album compilation "This Is The Moody Blues" released November 1974 in the UK on Threshold MB 1-2)

2. Screams In The Ears – BILL FAY (August 1967 UK 7" single on Deram DM 143, A-Side. Note: the non-album B-side "Some Good Advice" is on the "Strange Pleasures" 3CD Box from 2008 – see separate review)

3. Suite No. One – GILES, GILES & FRIPP on the LP "The Cheerful Insanity Of Giles, Giles & Fripp" released September 1968 in the UK on Deram DML 1022 (Mono) and SML 1022 (Stereo) - Stereo mix used. The track is written by Robert Fripp and along with Pete and Michael Giles later became KING CRIMSON)

4. Introspection – Part One – THE END (on the UK album "Introspection" released November 1969 on Decca LK-R 5015 (Mono) and SKL-R 5015 (Stereo) - Stereo mix used.)

5. I Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes – TEN YEARS AFTER (on their debut LP "Ten Years After" released October 1967 on Deram DML 1015 (Mono) and SML 1015 (Stereo) - Stereo mix used.)

6. Austin Osmanspare – BULLDOG BREED (on the UK album "Made In England" released January 1970 on Deram Nova DN 5 (Mono) and SDN 5 (Stereo) - Stereo mix is used. Band featured BERNARD JINKS and KEITH CROSS who went on to form T2 (see track 11 on Disc 1). Cross also teamed up with Peter Ross and produced a lovely folky type album on Decca Records called "Bored Civilians" (see separate review))

7. The Song Of McGuillicudie The Pusillanimous – EGG (on the UK album "Egg" released March 1970 on Deram DN 14 (Mono) and SDN 14 (Stereo) - Stereo mix used.)

8. Voodoo Forest – JOHNNY ALMOND MUSIC MACHINE (on the UK album "Patent Pending" released July 1969 on Deram DML 1043 (Mono) and SML 1043 (Stereo) - Stereo mix used.)

9. Nymphenburger – EAST OF EDEN (on their 2nd UK LP "Snafu" released February 1970 on Deram DML 1050 (Mono) and SML 1050 (Stereo) – Stereo mix Used)

10. Once Upon A Hill/Put That In Your Pipe & Smoke It – AARDVARK (on their only album "Aardvark" released March 1970 on Deram DN 17 (Mono) and SDN 17 (Stereo) – Stereo mix used)

11. No More White Horses – T2 (on the UK album "It'll All Work Out In Boomland" released July 1970 on Decca SKL 5050 (Stereo). Bernard Jenkins and Keith Cross of T2 were formerly in Bulldog Breed – see track 6 Disc 1)

12. Hello Hello – CARAVAN (the B-side of "If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You" – a UK 7" single released August 1970 on Decca F 13063. It's a non-album 7" single mix – the album version is on their 2nd UK LP "If I Could Do It All Again, I'd Do It All Over You" released September 1970 on Decca SKL 5052 (Stereo) – later reissued in 1971 on Deram SDL-R 1)

13. Freelance Fiend – LEAFHOUND (on their lone UK LP "Grower Of Mushrooms" released October 1971 on Decca SKL-R 5094. On the rarest Hard Rock Progressive albums ever – listed at £2500 – sells for more)

14. Nutmeg, Bitter Sweet – GRANNY'S INTENTIONS (an instrumental on their lone UK LP "Honest Injun" released March 1970 on Deram SML 1060 (Stereo))

15. The Witch – THE RATTLES (A-side of a July 1970 UK 7" single on Decca F 23050)

16. Still As Stone – THE ALAN BOWN (June 1969 UK 7" single on Deram DM 259, A-side. The band featured JESS RODEN on Lead Vocals)

Disc 2 – card sleeve pictures The Keef Hartley Band (77:17 minutes):

1. Maybe Someday – HUMAN BEAST (on their lone UK album "Volume One (Instinct)" released August 1970 on Decca LK 5053 (Mono) and SKL 5053 (Stereo) – Stereo mix used)

2. Chauffeur – BLACK CAT BONES (on their UK LP "Barbed Wire Sandwich" released February 1970 on Deram DN 15 (Mono) and SDN 15 (Stereo) – Stereo mix is used. Featured members of Leafhound (Pete French, Derek Brooks, Mick Halls and Keith Young) and Foghat Guitarist Rod Price as well as Brian Short on Vocals. The original line-up of the band featured Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke of Free but they departed before the album was recorded)

3. Tomorrow Morning – PACIFIC DRIFT (on their lone UK LP "Feelin' Free" released January 1970 on Deram DN 13 (Mono) and SDN 13 (Stereo) – Stereo mix is used)

4. The Unknown Years – ZAKARRIAS (their only UK LP "Zakarrias" released October 1971 on Deram SML 1091 – rare LP – listed at £800)

5. Free To Be Stoned – CLARK-HUTCHINSON (on their album "Retribution" released October 1970 on Deram SML 1076. Features Andy Clark on Keyboards and Lead Vocals and Mick Hutchinson on Guitar)

6. Cemetery Junction Part One and Two – ROOM (on the LP "Pre-Flight" released November 1970 on Deram SML 1073. Listed at £900)

7. Roundabout – KEEF HARTLEY BAND (on the LP "Overdog" released April 1971 on Deram SDL 2)

8. Question [Full Album Version] – THE MOODY BLUES (on the album “A Question Of Balance” released August 1970 on Threshold THS 3)

9. Love Like A Man [Full Album Version] – TEN YEARS AFTER (on their 5th album “Cricklewood Green” released April 1970 on Deram SML 1065)

10. Jig-A-Jig – EAST OF EDEN (May 1970 UK 7" single on Deram DM 297. Charted April 1971 – non-album track – an instrumental. Its B-side "Marcus Junior" is on the "Strange Pleasures" 3CD Box Set from 2008 – itself a non-album version)

11. Golf Girl – CARAVAN (on the UK album "In The Land Of Grey And Pink" released April 1971 on Deram SDL- 1)

12. Boulders On My Grave – MELLOW CANDLE (on their lone LP "Swaddling Songs" released April 1972 on Deram SDL 7. Listed Rarity £2000+)

13. Theme Song/En Route/Theme Song (Reprise) – KEEF HARTLEY BAND (as per 6)

Disc 3 – card sleeve pictures Savoy Brown (77:02 minutes):

1. Hellbound Train – SAVOY BROWN (on the UK album "Hellbound Train" released February 1972 on Decca TXS 107)

2. Stranded (Including Effervescent Psycho Novelty No. 5) – KHAN (on the UK album "Space Shanty" released June 1972 on Deram SDL-R 11. Band features STEVE HILLAGE and DAVE STEWART of GONG)

3. The Rise And Dear Demise Of The Funky Nomadic Tribes – THIN LIZZY (on their 2nd album "Shades Of A Blue Orphanage" released March 1972 on Decca TXS 108. Phil Lynott, Eric Bell, Brian Downey Jr. line-up)

4. Seafull – TRAPEZE (on their 2nd UK LP "Medusa" released November 1970 on Threshold THS 4)

5. C'Lu Thlu – CARAVAN (on the UK album "For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night" released October 1973 on Deram SDL-R 12)

6. Whisky In The Jar – THIN LIZZY (their 2nd UK 7" single released November 1972 on Decca F 13355 and known as the 'full version' at 5:48 minutes. Both the A&B-side "Black Boys On The Corner" were non-album at the time. The A (no 'e' in the whiskey) is based on a Traditional Irish air from 1729)

7. Lady Fantasy: Encounter/Smiles For You/Lady Fantasy – CAMEL (on their 2nd UK LP "Mirage" released March 1974 on Deram SML 1107)

8. Spend My Nights In Armour – PETE BROWN & FRIENDS (recorded 25 February 1974 at Decca Studios – remixed and remastered for this release in 2001 – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED. Track features both JEFF BECK and JACK BRUCE. [Note: there is a ‘mix’ on the UK double LP "Before Singing Lessons 1969-1977" released in 1987 on Decal Records KIKD 7 – but it's a different version])

9. Propositions – CURVED AIR (on the album "Curved Air Live" released February 1975 on Deram SML-R 1119)

10. Air Born – CAMEL (on the album "Moonmadness" released April 1976 on Decca TXS 115)

11. The Enjoy – DARYL WAY’S WOLF (on the album "Night Music" released November 1974 on Deram SML 1116)

The 3CDs are housed in individual colour card sleeves within a clamshell box – but what most impresses is the fabulous 48-page mini booklet crammed with publicity photos, trade adverts for LPs and singles (28 schillings and 6 pence! for an LP in early 1970), those great sleeves with their whacky artwork etc. Each artist is dealt with in alphabetical order (rather than how they’re laid out on the CDs) – Mark Powell's essays on Irishmen Granny Intentions (who once boasted Skid Row guitarist Gary Moore) or the obscure Bulldog Breed for instance mix facts with warmth. It’s properly in-depth and imbibes the music with a newfound respect. And the PASCHAL BYRNE remasters are just superb – familiar stuff like Savoy Brown, Thin Lizzy and East Of Eden all sounding spiffing. A lot of this is new to CD too…

Musically it flits all over the place – one minute you're in the presence of Jazz Guitar scales with Giles, Giles & Fripp – properly grungy hard rock like Leafhound (you can so see why its worth all that dosh), slow and slick Blues boogie with Ten Years After on the stunning "I Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes" and then trippy Saxophone and Vibe moods with Johnny Almond Music Machine. God help us there’s even a chart hit on Disc 1 with "The Witch" by The Rattles – a German band fronted by screaming vocalist Herbert Hildebrandt. It sold over a million copies across Europe and the UK – reaching number 11 on our charts. Yum yum…

Things begin to get seriously interesting on Disc 2 with a double-whammy of musical brilliance – "Tomorrow Morning Brings" by PACIFIC DRIFT and “The Unknown Years” by ZAKARRIAS both sounding like acoustic Aphrodite’s Child – very good indeed and cool too. The Zakarrias album is impossibly rare (listed at £800). There’s then a serious piece of rocking brilliance – the wild "Free To Be Stoned" by CLARK-HUTCHINSON when guitarist Mick Hutchinson just lets it Ted Nugent rip for eight minutes – it's unbelievably good as Andy Clark stutters and moans through it (check out You Tube footage of this). I love the funky as Tom Selleck’s moustache Thin Lizzy cut "The Rise And Dear Demise Of The Funky Nomadic Tribes" (another Phil Lynott winner). It runs to 7:06 minutes - but I edit it to begin at 1:20 and end at 5:52 thereby isolating that fantastic Eric Bell Funk-Rock portion in its centre. And shockingly good too is Curved Air's "Propositions" off the lesser-heard "Live" set – Fusion Rock at its brilliant best (reminds of the Mahavishnu Orchestra live set from 1973 "Beyond Nothingness And Eternity"). And how good is to hear bands like Trapeze (on the Moody Blues label Threshold) finally get a bit of airtime – their slow groove guitar fest "Seafull" is excellent. And what can you say about the utterly extraordinary Mellow Candle album "Swaddling Songs" – a genius fusion of Irish Folk with Rock and Kate Bush vocals/arrangements. "Boulders On My Grave" sent collectors into frenzies. Esoteric reissued the whole album on a beautiful remaster CD in 2008 (see my separate review).

So there you have – mad, bad and frightfully dangerous to know. Only people as mad as the English and the Irish would produce music this interesting and arresting – still grabbing us by the short and curlies all these decades later.

A fantastic reissue - you feel real care went into the compiling and making of "Legend Of A Mind…" and I for one am glad they took the time to expand my addled mind…