"Room To Roam: Collector's Edition" by THE WATERBOYS (August 2008 EMI/Chrysalis 2CD Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"…In Search Of Rose…"

The Waterboys much-loved and acclaimed fifth album from 1990 gets a proper overhaul on this 2008 2CD ‘Collector’s Edition’ - and typically this superb reissue yields just as much goodies in the outtakes on Disc 2 - with the original album given a much-needed Audio upgrade on Disc 1. Here are the Raggle Taggle details…

UK and EUROPE released 11 August 2008 - "Room To Roam: Collector’s Edition" by THE WATERBOYS on EMI/Chrysalis 228 4092 (Barcode 5099922840929) is a 2CD Reissue and Remaster with Seventeen Previously Unreleased Additional Recordings that breaks down as follows:

Disc 1 - Original Album (42:43 minutes):

1. In Search Of Rose [Side 1]

2. Song From The End of The World

3. A Man In Love

4. Kaliope House

5. Bigger Picture

6. Natural Bridge Blues

7. Something That Is Gone

8. The Star And The Sea

9. A Life Of Sundays

10. Islandman [Side 2]

11. The Raggle Taggle Gypsy

12. How Long Will I Love You?

13. Upon The Wind And Waves

14. Spring Comes To Spiddal

15. The Trip To Broadford

16. Further Up, Further In

17. Room To Roam

Tracks 1 to 17 are the album "Room To Roam" released September 1990 in the UK on Ensign Records CHEN 16

Disc 2 - Additional Recordings (49:03 minutes):

1. In Search Of A Rose (Full Band)

2. My Morag (The Exile’s Dream)

3. A Man In Love (including Calliope House) (Alternate)

4. The Wyndy Wyndy Road

5. Three Ships

6. Sunny Sailor Boy

7. Sponsored Pedal Pusher’s Blues

8. The Wayward Wind

9. Danny Murphy/Florence

10. The Raggle Taggle Gypsy (Live)

11. Custer’s Blues (Live)

12. TWA Recruitin’ Sergeants (Live)

13. A Reel And A Stomp In The Kitchen

14. Down By The Sally Gardens

15. A Strathspey In The Rain At Dawn

16. A Song For The Life

17. The Kings Of Kerry (Outdoors)

Tracks 1 to 17 include 14 studio outtakes and 3 live recordings

Mike Scott has overseen the booklet, the first half produces the original album credits, lyrics etc - the second half does the same for Disc 2 - including full session details and lyrics - a nice touch. A well thought out re-issue.

The WATERBOYS Band and Session Players for the LP were:

MIKE SCOTT on Lead Vocals, Guitars & Keyboards (principal songwriter)

ANTO THISLETHWAITE on Baritone Saxophone, Mandolin

COLIN BLAKEY on Whistle, Flute, Hammond Organ and Piano

STEVE WICKHAM on Fiddle, Hammond Organ and Backing Vocals

TREVOR HUTCHINSON on Double Bass and Bouzouki

NOEL BRIDGEMAN on Drums, Percussion and Backing Vocals

SHARON SHANNON guest player on Accordion and Fiddle

Recorded in Galway in the West of Ireland over many months, "Room..." follows on from the `Traditional Irish Folk Meets Rock' of "Fisherman's Blues" in 1988; it's simply more of the same. But what's improved most here is the SOUND. The remaster is beautiful, clean and clear - loads of space and warmth around the instruments - my 1990 original CD is a bit haggard compared to this. Steve Wickham's lovely fiddle playing on "A Man Is In Love" sails out of the speakers. The bass on all tracks is warm and backdrops everything with a real sweetness. A team has attacked the tapes – PHILIP TENNANT, TIM CHACKSFIELD, ROBBIE ADAMS and DICK BEETHAM.

Many of the songs are now LOUD too, but not in that overbearing way, more live-in-your-living-room - and wonderful for it. Improvements would include the fiddle jaunt of "Natural Bridge Blues" which is now so clear - the sax break on "Something That I Lost" - the whack of the drums on the Traditional Irish Air made famous by Planxty, "The Raggle Taggle Gypsy" - all fabulous work done with the master tapes. And the album's best track "A Life Of Sundays" with Noel Bridgeman's great backing vocals is now just HUGE - a wow!

But the biggest surprise is DISC 2, which I feared would be rammed full of worthy but dull filler. It isn't. It does of course have some clinkers - the 3 live tracks are ok, but full of drunken crowd shouts that detract too much and could have been dropped, while the cassette quality of "Florence" in "Danny Murphy/Florence" is unlistenable. But the rest of it is excellent - proper studio out-takes - and some that would make you wonder why they didn't make the finished album. "Three Ships" sounds like something that came off "This Is The Sea" - a trippy instrumental jaunt with Celtic overtones - excellent stuff. "Sunny Sailor Boy" is gorgeous - a genuine bonus track. "A Strathspey In The Rain At Dawn" is simply SHARON SHANNON and her accordion with Irish rainfall and birds tweeting as her backdrop - very pretty. A real rarity, however, is the lovely Irish-Only 1989 single release of "Down By The Sally Gardens" which features the wizened and emotive lead vocals of TOMAS MacEOIN. And as the slow air of "A Song For The Life" draws Disc 2 to a close, it's hard not to be moved.

MIKE SCOTT has always been a magical songwriter to me - an artist who pens a tune that nails you - moves you impossibly - and then you find yourself backtracking - buying up everything that he and his band have ever done and waiting for the new stuff with the thrill of a child running into Daddy's arms as he comes up the driveway from work!

To sum up, I've come back to this album not expecting much, but this great re-issue is making me love it all over again. Sure with a bit of judicious pruning on Disc 2, it would have made an excellent single CD and saved us punters a few bob, but I won't begrudge THE WATERBOYS a sausage- anything new by them is good news in my book and worth paying for.

"Room To Roam" COLLECTOR'S EDITION is a nice album made a whole lot better - and a top REMASTER too. Highly, highly recommended... 

"Walrus" by WALRUS - January 1971 UK Debut Album/LP on Deram Records SML 1072 in Stereo (July 2008 UK Esoteric Recordings CD Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review and 100s of Others Like It Are Available In My e-Book:

"…Coloured Rain…"

"Walrus" by Walrus was released in January 1971 on Deram in the UK (their lone album on the label). Like so many LPs on Deram (Decca's progressive rock label imprint) - it sold precious little at the time but in hindsight has become something of a sought-after rarity. 

I've seen "Walrus" command sums way into three figures sterling - much more than its guide price - and the two 7" singles that surrounded the release are impossibly rare and hard to get too.

So this superb July 2008 UK-released CD of "Walrus" by WALRUS on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2071 (Barcode 5013929717121) giving you the whole - is a welcome reissue (44:20 minutes). Here are the giant-sized blubbery entrails…

1. Who Can I Trust [Side 1]

2. (a) Rags And Old Iron (b) Blind Man (c) Roadside

3. Why?

4. (a) Turning (b) Woman (c) Turning Reprise [Side 2]

5. Sunshine Needs Me

6. (a) Coloured Rain (b) Mother's Dead Face In Memorium (c) Coloured Rain (Reprise)

7. Tomorrow Never Comes

Tracks 1 to 7 make up the album "Walrus" - issued January 1971 on Deram SML 1072 in the UK only (there is another Walrus by Walrus in the USA - but it's not the same band).

BONUS TRACK:

8. Never Let My Body Touch The Ground - a non-album A-side to a UK 7” single issued on Deram DM 323 in January 1971 with "Why" as its 7" B-side (Track 3 off the album). The first and only other UK single issued around the album was "Who Can I Trust" b/w "Tomorrow Never Comes" (Tracks 1 and 7 on the LP) - released December 1970 on Deram DM 308.

The 8-man band consisted of:

STEVE HAWTHORN on Bass Guitar (founder member)

JOHN SCATES on Lead & Rhythm Guitar

BARRY PARFITT on Piano and Organ

NICK GARB and ROGER HARRISON on Drums

NOEL GREENAWAY on Vocals

DON RICHARDS on Trumpet, ROY VACE on Tenor Sax and BILL HOAD on Alto & Baritone Saxophones and Flutes

Most deep progressive rock actually bores me rigid, but this album is different. An Irish collector friend of mine who actively seeks out rock bands with a soulful/funky tint put me onto it - or more specifically the single he owned, which was "Who Can I Trust". It's a cracking good rock tune with a funky almost brassy edge to it. If I was to describe Walrus musically, think BLOOD, SWEAT and TEARS meets CHICAGO meets SPIRIT meets the rocking side of Britain's BLODWYN PIG and especially the Blods 1969 Island masterpiece "Ahead Rings Out". If anything, given the quality and reasonably commercial nature of the singles, it's odd that they never did the business chart wise.

The booklet reproduces the front and rear sleeve and there's informative sleeve notes by MARK POWELL. The remastering by PASCHAL BYRNE at the Audio Archiving Company from the original Deram analogue master tapes is FANTASTIC - great drums, muscular brass center stage, rocking guitars in the left with piano and organ on the right - clear vocals - all of it - really good.

The tunes are sometimes a little over complicated for their own good and the lyrics to "Why" are cringingly awful hippy lore, but I just love the Blood, Sweat & Tears feel on almost all of the tracks which they combine with that Mick Abrahams/Blodwyn Pig background of sound. A particular highlight is "Coloured Rain", a seven-minute Traffic cover version done instrumental style in three parts - it's had customers coming to the counter of our second-hand record shop asking "whose this?" 

There’s even a piano-pounding jazz improv section. Speaking of Jazz - the Oscar Brown, Jr. cover of “Rags And Old Iron” sounds like Dr. John fronting a Prog band who think they’re Jethro Tull. Things get CBS Rock Buster heavy with the brilliant bonus track “Never Let My Body Touch The Ground” where Noel Greenaway’s growling vocal gets his teeth into a really great Rock/Drums groove – a real discovery.

Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings have been putting out brilliant CD Remasters like this for years now – Bands and Artists like Juicy Lucy, Mellow Candle, Keef Hartley, Decameron, Roger Ruskin Spear (of The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band), Man, Marc Brierley, Ellis, Fruupp, Help Yourself, Tir na N'Og, Spooky Tooth and East Of Eden (I’ve reviewed the lot) – people worth remembering and deserving of a second shot at affection.

A very cool CD reissue really...

"John David Souther" by JOHN DAVID SOUTHER - October 1972 Debut Album on Asylum Records (August 2008 UK Rhino 'Encore Series' CD Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This review and hundreds more like it can also be found in my 

SOUNDS GOOD Music Book: 
1960s and 1970s MUSIC Volume 2 
- Exceptional CD Remasters 

It contains over 210 in-depth reviews (a whopping 2400+ e-Pages) 
And is available to buy/download at Amazon at the following link...

"...Room Enough For Pain..."

Texas-raised JOHN DAVID SOUTHER saw his self-titled debut vinyl album issued October 1972 on Asylum Records SYL 9003 in the UK and on Asylum SD 5055 in the USA. 

This August 2008 CD of "John David Souther" by JOHN DAVID SOUTHER on Rhino Encore 8122-79906-1 (Barcode 081227990619) is a bare-bones straightforward reissue on their 'Encore' label imprint of that warmly revered but criminally forgotten Seventies Country-Rock LP (35:06 minutes).

1. The Fast One [Side 1]

2. Run Like A Thief

3. Jesus In ¾ Time

4. Kite Woman

5. Some People Call It Music

6. White Wing [Side 2]

7. It’s The Same

8. How Long

9. Out To Sea

10. Lullaby

Stylistically - Souther is like Jackson Browne meets Gram Parsons meets David Blue with a huge dollop of The Eagles in-between. Think Glenn Frey circa 1972 and 1973 doing a good solo album - and you’re musically there. In fact - Souther’s association with the EAGLES then - is an on-going thing to this day. He co-wrote "Doolin' Dalton" on "Desperado" and co-penned three off the 3rd Eagles album "On The Border" - "You Never Cry Like A Lover", "James Dean" and "The Best Of My Love". Other co-writes followed also on their later albums ("New Kid In Town", "Sad Café"). The Eagles now include "How Long" (off this debut album) in their live repertoire because they covered it on the 2CD "Long Road Out Of Eden" set in 2007 (Grammy nominated).

But for his debut, Souther penned all 10 of its tracks on his own and they're well-written country rock songs served up by a lovely, heartfelt expressive voice and great musicians complementing the melodies (Glenn Frey plays Guitar on “The Fast One”, “Jesus In ¾ Time” and “Kite Woman”, Ned Doheny plays Guitar on “The Fast One”, “Some People Call It Music, “White Wing”, “It’s The Same” and “How Long” while Wayne Perkins puts in some Bottleneck Guitar on “Out To Sea”). I've loved this album for yonks now and my vinyl copy has graced more than a few turntables over the years. Speaking of comparisons - it's uncanny just how like RYAN ADAMS Souther sounds - or vice-verse - and I mean that as compliment to both artists. If Adams and his first band WHISKEYTOWN were making an album in 1972 - “John David Souther” is what it might sound like.

This re-released remaster is unfortunately a bit of a mixed bag soundwise. Disappointingly, some tracks have a very audible amount of hiss on them, while on others you don't notice it so much and they country-rock along sweetly. A plus is the bass and drums - very, very clear now - while Joe Tepp's slinky harmonica work on "White Fang" is up-front too. The achingly sad "It's The Same" is my favourite track and it's a treat to hear it sound so good (lyrics above). You can so hear the Eagles in “How Long” it’s uncanny and “Out To Sea” feels like a long-lost Jackson Browne outtake from his 1972 “Jackson/Browne/Saturate Before Use” debut album.

The packaging is all but non-existent. Rhino have issued this album on their new "Encore" label imprint and while the sound is good, the trade off for the £5 price tag is a gatefold inlay which lists only the tracks and no other info of any kind - not even who played on what. The label on the disc, however, reflects its US vinyl original - the Asylum Cage In The Sky logo.

Still, it's wonderful to hear this gem again - and at this price, a bona fide bargain. The later Souther-Hillman-Furay Band albums may follow in the next batch too.

Highly recommended.

PS: The RHINO ENCORE SERIES:

For info purposes, this CD is part of Rhino's "ENCORE" series - reissues of classic albums from the huge WEA catalogue. All 37 titles listed below were issued Monday 11 August 2008 and are based on the US versions of the albums; there's more promised in the forthcoming months. The label on each CD reflects the original American LP release, the Warner Brothers Tan label design for Curved Air in 1970, while the Burbank Avenue Of Trees label is on the McGarrigle disc of 1975, the pink Bearsville on Bobby Charles and so on. I've provided year of release and label for reference - and as you can see, some are re-releases, but there's also plenty of great titles seeing the light of day for the first time.

1.   Solid Bond by GRAHAM BOND [1970 on Warner Brothers, a 2LP set on 1CD)

2.   Byrds by BYRDS (1973 on Asylum)

3.   Bobby Charles by BOBBY CHARLES (1972 debut on Bearsville)

4.   3614 Jackson Highway by CHER (1969 on Atco)

5.   Pretties For You by ALICE COOPER (1969 debut on Straight)

6.   Easy Action by ALICE COOPER (1970 on Straight)

7.   Air Conditioning by CURVED AIR (1970 debut on Warner Brothers)

8.   Second Album by CURVED AIR (1971 on Warner Brothers)

9.   Hand It Over by DINOSAUR JR. (1997 on Blanco Y Negro)

10. A Minute To Pray, A Second To Die by THE FLESH EATERS (1981 on Initial)

11. Aretha Arrives by ARETHA FRANKLIN (1967 on Atlantic)

12  Let Me In Your Life by ARETHA FRANKLIN (1974 on Atlantic)

13. The J. Geils Band by THE J. GEILS BAND (1971 debut on Atlantic)

14. All To Bring You Morning by JOHNNY HARRIS (1973 on Warner Brothers)

15. The Living End by HUSKER DU (Live, 1994 on Warner Brothers)

16. Jobriath by JOBRIATH (1973 debut on Elektra)

17. Jo Jo Gunne by JO JO GUNNE (1972 debut on Asylum)

18. Glorious Fool by JOHN MARTYN (1981 on WEA)

19. Well Kept Secret by JOHN MARTYN (1982 on WEA)

20. Kate & Anna McGarrigle by KATE & ANNA McGARRIGLE (1975 on Warner Brothers)

21. Graham Nash and David Crosby by GRAHAM NASH & DAVID CROSBY (1972 on Atlantic)

22. Innocent Eyes by GRAHAM NASH (1986 on Atlantic)

23. GP by GRAM PARSONS (1973 solo debut on Reprise)

24. Grievous Angel by GRAM PARSONS (1974 on Reprise)

25. Third Eye by REDD KROSS (1990 on Atlantic)

26. Love Man by OTIS REDDING (1969 on Atlantic)

27. Doug Sahm And Band by DOUG SAHM and BAND (1973 on Atlantic)

28. Tarzana Kid by JOHN SEBASTIAN [of The Lovin' Spoonful] (1974 on Reprise)

29. John David Souther by JOHN DAVID SOUTHER (1972 debut on Asylum) [See REVIEW]

30. Sparks by SPARKS (This is their 1971 "Halfnelson" debut album reissued as "Sparks" in 1972 on Bearsville under their new name, Sparks)

31. A Woofer In Tweeter's Clothing by SPARKS (1973 2nd LP on Bearsville)

32. God Bless Tiny Tim by TINY TIM (1968 on Reprise)

33. Zero Time by TONTO'S EXPANDING HEAD BAND (1971 on Atlantic)

34. Orange Crate Art by BRIAN WILSON and VAN DYKE PARKS (1995 on Warner Bros)

35. I've Got My Own Album To Do by RONNIE WOOD [Faces & The Rolling Stones] (1974 on Warner Brothers)

36. Now Look by RONNIE WOOD (1975 on Warner Brothers)

37. Mr. Bad Example by WARREN ZEVON (1991 on Giant) 

“Tighten Up (Volume 1): Deluxe Edition” by VARIOUS ARTISTS - A Review Of The Iconic 1969 Budget-Priced Reggae LP Now Reissued And Remastered Onto A 2008 Universal 2CD Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This review and hundreds more like it can also be found in my 
SOUNDS GOOD Music Book: 1960s and 1970s MUSIC Volume 2 
- Exceptional CD Remasters 

It contains over 210 in-depth reviews (a whopping 2400+ e-Pages) 
And is available to buy/download at Amazon at the following link...

"…Come On And Dance…"

By the time the iconic first "Tighten Up" LP was released in early 1969 (and only operating since July of 1968) - Trojan Records of the UK had released a staggering 108 singles and 25 albums to a voracious cosmopolitan British public. But Trojan knew that they needed a way to expand the nation's knowledge of their excellent catalogue - so they hastily put-together this 12-track ragbag of British 7" singles as a compilation. Trojan then priced it cheap (14 schillings and 6 old pence) - put a fetching cover on it of a rather lovely Caribbean lady and plopped it into the racks of every Woolworths Store the length and breath of England.

Named after the opening song on Side 1 by THJE UNTOUCHABLES - by their own admission - Trojan Records hadn't expected much of "Tighten Up". Happily for them and us they were wrong. It sold in large quantities and was hugely influential in introducing reggae music not just to the youth of Britain but to many other countries as well. It became a genuine phenomenon - spurning 7 more volumes up to Vol. 8 in 1973 where it simply ran out of steam and Volume 9 was shelved.

UK released Monday, 11 August 2008 - "Tighten Up (Volume 1): Deluxe Edition" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Universal/Sanctuary/Trojan 1775154 (Barcode 602517751545) is a massive 2CD overhaul of that legendary 1969 LP - and what a peach it is too. The album was made up entirely of 7" singles – so I’ve provided hose catalogue numbers after each entry…

DISC 1 (66:04 minutes):

1. Tighten Up - THE UNTOUCHABLES (October 1968, Trojan TR-613, A)

2. Kansas City - JOYA LANDIS (November 1968, Trojan TR-620, A)

3. Spanish Harlem - VAL BENNETT (September 1968, Trojan TR-611, A)

4. A Place In The Sun - DAVID ISAACS (November 1968, Trojan TR-616, A)

5. Win Your Love For Me – GEORGE A. PENNY (November 1968, Trojan TR-625, A)

6. Donkey Returns - BROTHER DAN ALL STARS (July 1968, Trojan TR-601, A)

7. Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da - JOYCE BOND [Side 2] (November 1968, Island WIP 6051, A)

8. Angel Of The Morning - JOYA LANDIS (November 1968, Trojan TR-622, A)

9. Fat Man - DERRICK MORGAN (November 1968, Trojan TR-626, A)

10. Soul Limbo - BYRON LEE & THE DRAGONAIRES (November 1968, Trojan TR-624, A)

11. Mix It Up - THE KINGSTONIANS (November 1968, Trojan TR-627, A)

12. Watch This Sound (For What It’s Worth) - THE UNIQUES (October 1968, Trojan TR-619, A)

Tracks 1 to 12 are the original UK LP "Tighten Up" released January 1969 on Trojan Records TTL

BONUS TRACKS – are the B-sides of the 12 UK 7” singles listed above:

13. Good Ambition - ROY SHIRLEY

14. Out The Light [Aka Mommy Out De Light) - JOYA LANDIS

15. If I Didn’t Know - ROY SHIRLEY

16. Handy Cap - THE UPSETTERS

17. It’s All In The Game - VAL BENNETT

18. Tribute To K.B. _BROTHER DAN ALL STARS

19. Robin Hood Rides Again - AUBREY ADAMS & THE HIPPY BOYS

20. Love Letters - ALTON ELLIS & PHYLLIS DILLON

21. South Parkway Rock - VAL BENNETT

22. I Was Kaiser Bill’s Batman (Aka The Whistling Song) - BYRON LEE & THE DRAGONAIRES

23. I’ll Be Around - THE KINGSTONIANS

24. Out Of Love - THE UNIQUES

Tracks 13 to 24 are the B-sides of Tracks 1 to 12 in exact order

(it should be noted that many of the B-sides were by different artists to those on the A, a common practice for reggae 7"s at the time)

DISC 2 (66:33 minutes):

Called "Tighten Up - The Alternatives" - Disc 2 is the A-sides of 24 UK 7" singles released between July and November of 1968. ISLAND RECORDS collectors should also note that 8 of the 24 listed below are from the coveted "WI" series (3126 to 3159) appearing here on CD for the first time anywhere to my knowledge.

1. Eastern Organ – BROTHER DAN ALL STARS (July 1968, Trojan TR-602, A)

2. Jackpot – THE PIONEERS (August 1968, Amalgamated AMG-821, A)

3. Penny For Your Song – THE FEDERALS (July 1968, Island WI-3126, A)

4. Memories By The Score – THE PARAGONS (August 1968, Island WI-3138, A)

5. Teardrops Falling – THE VERSATILES (August 1968, Island WI-3142, A)

6. Combination – KEELING BECKFORD (August 1968, Island WI-3144, A)

7. The Fiddler – NEHEMIAH REID (August 1968, Blue Cat BS 125, A)

8. Take Five [Aka "The Russians Are Coming"] – VAL BENNETT (August 1968, Island WI-3146, A)

9. Born To Love You – DERRICK MORGAN (August 1968, Island WI-3147, A)

10. Way Of Life – GLEN BROWN, JOE WHITE & TREVOR SHIELD (September 1968, Blue Cat BS 131, A)

11. Train To Soulsville – COOL STICKY (September 1968, Amalgamated AMG-825, A)

12. Intensified Girls – ANDERSON’S ALL STARS (September 1968, Blue Cat BS 132, A)

13. Bookie Man – THE RACE FANS (October 1968, Trojan TR-610, A)

14. Uncle Charlie – THE MELLOTONES (October 1968, Trojan TR-612, A)

15. Na Na – GEORGE AGARD [as JOHNNY MELODY & THE SLICKERS] (October 1968, Blue Cat BS 134, A)

16. Good Time Rock – HUGH MALCOLM (October 1968, Amalgamated AMG-827, A)

17. Rent Too High – RANNY WILLIAMS & GEORGE REGENT (October 1968, Trojan TR-621, A)

18. My Argument – LLOYD & JOHNNY [Lloyd Terrell and George Dekker] (October 1968, Island WI-3158, A)

19. A.B.C. Rock Steady – THE GAYLADS (November 1968, High Note HS-001, A)

20. In Like Flint – BYRON LEE & THE DRAGONAIRES (November 1968, Trojan TR-623. A - Instrumental)

21. Lady With The Starlight – KEN BOOTHE (November 1968, High Note HS-003)

22. Catch The Beat – THE PIONEERS (November 1968, Amalgamated AMG-828, A)

23. Dance With Me – DELANO STEWART (November 1968, High Note HS-004, A)

24. Hold Your Jack – DERRICK MORGAN (November 1968, Island WI-3159, A)

PACKAGING:

Each of the two foldout flaps has colour adverts on both sides - they’re very cool and fantastically evocative of the period while the 20-page fact-filled booklet is penned by LAURENCE CANE-HONEYSETT. Both he and MICHAEL de KONINGH co-authored the fabulous book "Young, Gifted And Black - The Story Of Trojan Records" (see my review). They did extraordinary work on the Trojan label's full discography - most of it published in the public domain for the first time anywhere. So this knowledge of both the album and the record label means the booklet’s liner notes are properly in-depth  - filled with pictures of tasty 7" singles, promo-photos of the artists, discussions of each song, producers of the tracks, catalogue numbers, release dates... really great stuff.

SOUND:

Mastered by NICK WATSON at Fluid Mastering, the liner notes don't mention what tapes (if any) the songs were mastered from. This is not surprising. Reggae music was invariably recorded on a shoestring budget - and that's what you get here - extreme lo-fi - most of the tracks sound like they were recorded in a bucket with someone holding a microphone over it! But that is of course what makes them so magical and charming. There is no pretension to audiophile here. This is party music - it's meant to be blasted out over a dancehall stack - pumped out of your stereo with a beer in your hand and your friends out back dancing in the sunshine! It's not all bad - it isn't - it's just that the sound does vary wildly, great one second, muddy and crackly the next. But I'm not sure that fidelity matters with this lovely album or indeed reggae music in general, because I'm sitting here grooving to "Soul Limbo" by BYRON LEE and THE DRAGONAIRES and it's hard to believe that any human being could resist this brilliantly joyful calypso/reggae groove - no matter what the sound quality is! Disc 2, as I said, is better sounding than Disc 1, but it's all about `feel' and once you accept that, there's so much goodness on offer here...

SONGS:

The album is heavy on cover versions - The Beatles, Ben E. King, Wilbert Harrison, PP Arnold and ""Watch This Song"" which is Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth" under another name. "I'll Be Around" by The Kingstonians is a slow and fabulous song - one I suspect soul lovers will want to investigate. Island collectors should also note that tracks 7 and 19 on Disc 1 are the A & B of Island WIP 6051 and to my knowledge make their CD debut here. Disc 2 simply offers up more of the same - discovery after discovery...and for those who already own the excellent 2002 Sanctuary version with 25 tracks, thankfully there's little duplication on either disc.

To sum up, I've loved hearing this album again and its cleverly chosen additions. "Tighten Up DELUXE EDITION" is fun, evocative and a warm reminder of days when music seemed new and life changing. It transported me back to a time when I played sampler albums like this to death - when my sister and me bopped around the Dansette in the front room of our home and just couldn't get enough - going back to flip it over to Side One again once we'd finished! This is a great re-issue and about time that reggae music in general got the DELUXE EDITION treatment from a major label that it deserves. Mash it up indeed...

PS: To those at Universal - it would be nice to see "Club Ska '67" on Island given the same deluxe treatment as this - and what about "You Can All Join In", "Bumpers", "El Pea", "Nice Enough To Eat" and....

PPS: Along with "Strangers Almanac" by WHISKEYTOWN and the two ELTON JOHN sets "Elton John" and "Tumbleweed Connection" (see separate reviews), this is without doubt the best issue in the DELUXE EDITION series so far in 2008 – in my opinion this a REISSUE OF THE YEAR.

PPPS: see also a separate review for "Skinhead Moonstomp" by SYMARIP on 2CD DELUXE EDITION in Sept 2008