"Strangers Almanac" by WHISKEYTOWN featuring Ryan Adams, Caitlin Cary, Phil Wandscher, Jeff Rice and Steven Terry - July 1997 US Second Album (March 2008 UK Geffen 2CD 'DELUXE EDITION' Reissue with Previously Unreleased Bonus Material and Ted Jensen Remasters ) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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"...All Wrapped Up..."

WHISKEYTOWN were:

(David) RYAN ADAMS - Acoustic, Electric Guitars, Piano, Banjo, Percussion, Lead Vocals and Principal song Writer

PHIL WANDSCHER - Electric Guitar, Organ, Percussion and Backing Vocals

CAITLIN CARY - Violin and Lead/Backing Vocals

JEFF RICE - Bass Guitar

STEVEN TERRY - Drums, Percussion and Backing Vocals

"Strangers Almanac" was the 2nd album for North Carolina country-rock band Whiskeytown and first appeared to warm acclaim in the summer of 1997. "Faithless Street" from two years earlier had been their excellent and promising debut and the messy release of "Pneumonia", their 3rd and last album recorded in 1997, but not released until April 2001 was a few years away yet. (They actually disbanded in 1999 and both Ryan Adams and Caitlin Cary went solo). Produced, engineered and mixed by JIM SCOTT, "Strangers Almanac" sounded like a band not just finding their feet, but a group arriving - and big time.

Issued 31 March 2008, this UK/Euro 2CD 'DELUXE EDITION' of "Strangers Almanac" by WHISKEYTOWN on Geffen 0602517398603 (Barcode 602517398603) is a major overhaul of that record (it's been available Stateside since January 2008). And for my money it's already a strong contender for REISSUE OF THE YEAR.

A few things came together in 1997 - Ryan Adams' gifted songwriting had really begun to flourish into something special, the band was talented and playing beautifully, while producer Scott seemed to know exactly how to tap into the band's psyche and get their 'Whiskeytown' sound. Jim Scott would turn out to be a big part of the album's 'feel' and success. His truly beautiful production job on Tom Petty's "Wildflowers" from 1994 had won him an Engineering Award - and combining that same loose, gritty 'live' playing with a sympathetic sound engineer gave every track on the album a very real power and emotional punch.

I mention the production a lot because the original CD I've had all these years has always sounded superb - but this TED JENSEN master is something else. Although the difference in the mastering is ever so subtle, the effect isn’t. The sound is now simply awesome. The album literally explodes out of the speakers in the most fully crystal clear manner ever. And listening to the acoustics of "16 060251Days" or the twin rough and ready electric guitars of the magnificent "Everything I Do" now, is like hearing them anew - it feels like there's an improvement in every instrument. You can suddenly hear them all. It seems that this time around, a gentle tweaking has brought out how well recorded they were in the first place. I don't think I've heard an album more perfectly improved on as this one is. And if that's not enough, there's 24 Previously Unreleased tracks thrown in too. Let's get to that...here's a detailed breakdown:

Disc 1 (70:36 minutes):

1. Inn Town

2. Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight

3. Yesterday’s News

4. 16 Days

5. Everything I Do

6. Houses On The Hill

7. Turn Around

8. Dancing With Women At The Bar

9. Waiting to Derail

10. Avenues

11. Losering

12. Somebody Remembers The Rose

13. Not Home Anymore

Tracks 1 to 13 are the original album "Strangers Almanac" from 31 July 1997, released on CD as Outpost Recordings/Mood Food Records OPD 30005

BONUS TRACKS:

14. Houses On The Hill

15. Nurse With The Pills

16. I Don’t Care What You Think About Me

17. Somebody Remembers The Rose

18. Turn Around

Tracks 14 to 18 are 5 previously unreleased live performances from 10 September 1997, recorded/broadcast for "Brave New World" on KCRW-FM Radio in Santa Monica, California

Disc 2 (77:13 minutes)

1. Indian Gown (Non-LP Track)

2. 16 Days (Acoustic)

3. Somebody Remembers The Rose (Acoustic)

4. Avenues (Acoustic)

5. Excuse Me While I Break My Own Heart Tonight (Acoustic)

6. Houses On The Hill (Early Version)

7. My Heart Is Broken (Non-LP Track)

8. I Still Miss Someone (Acoustic) [a Johnny Cash cover]

9. Kiss & Make-Up (Non-LP Track)

10. Barn's On Fire ((Non-LP Track)

11. Dancing With The Women At The Bar (Early Version)

12. Dreams (Non-LP Track) [a Fleetwood Mac cover]

13. Breathe (Non-LP Track)

14. Wither, I'm A Flower (issued on the promotional-only "In Your Wildest Dreams" EP in 1997 and then on the Soundtrack to "Hope Floats" in 1998)

15. Luxury Liner (Non-LP Track) [a Gram Parsons cover]

16. Theme For A Trucker (issued on the Soundtrack to Wim Wender's film "The End Of Violence" in 1997)

17. Streets Of Sirens (Non-LP Track)

18. Turn Around (Alternate Early Version)

19. 10 Seconds (Non-LP Track)

20. Ticket Time (Alternate Early Version)

21. The Rain Won't Help You When It's Over (Early Version)

[Track 21 is an Alejandro Escovedo song, who also sang backing vocals on 3 tracks on the album, "Excuse Me While I Break My Heart Tonight", "Dancing With The Women At The Bar" and "Not Home Anymore"]

Disc 1:

Recorded for US Radio, the 5 previously unreleased tracks tagged onto the end of Disc 1 are a mixed bag. Both the performance and sound quality of "Houses On The Hill" and "Nurse With The Pills" seem dull, like the band is disinterested somehow. Not the best. But things improve considerably with "I Don't Care What You Think About Me", a new song that features great duet vocals with Caitlin Cary. The other two are good too, but for me, the real meat'n'potatoes starts on Disc 2... 

Disc 2:

Excepting the two already released soundtrack songs, all tracks on Disc Two are Previously Unreleased and were recorded in two studio stints known as the "Barn On Fire" sessions (Tracks 1, 3, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21) and the "Baseball Park" sessions (Tracks 2 and 5). The "Barn On Fire" sessions were recorded in Durham in North Carolina and acted as a run-through and rehearsal for the "Strangers Almanac" album, while the "Baseball Park" sessions were put down in Modern Recording studios in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

(There were further recordings at Chapel Hill and tracks from that session turn up on the 1998 extended version of "Faithless Street" put out on Outpost OPRD-30002 (it has 9 added tracks to the 1995 album's initial 12 and is a good starting point after this album).

Thankfully the superb quality of sound on the album continues on the double-album's worth of unreleased material on Disc 2. As you can see, there are three cover versions, one ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO song and the rest of the tracks are written solely by RYAN ADAMS. (Tracks 6, 7 and 18 are co-written with CAITLIN CARY, while 1, 3, 19 and 20 are co-written with PHIL WANDSCHER).

The acoustic nature of about half of the tracks on Disc 2 make it feel like an extended 'unplugged' session at times. And this is not a bad thing at all, because these aren't poorly recording home demos or half-finished rough versions - they're properly recording studio pieces, so the sound quality that came through on the album does so here too - and it makes a huge difference to the listen. If anything some of the tracks are all the more beautiful for being stripped down like this - they have an almost eerie "Nebraska" feel to them - real and of the moment. The production quality is fantastic. I'm reminded of Rick Rubin's stunning work on the five Johnny Cash American Recordings albums.

Track 2 is typical - just when I thought that, ”16 Days" couldn't get any more touching, this initial 'acoustic take' of the song - in my opinion - almost aces the finished version - it's just breathtaking and fans will adore it (lyrics above). The brilliant "Breathe" and the FACES feel to "The Rain Won't Help When It's Over" are rocking highlights, as is "Barn's On Fire". Both "10 Seconds" and "Ticket Time" kick ass as well - great band efforts. The opener is a pretty little song about a pretty little girl in an "Indian Gown" with really tasty guitar work featured - a quality track most bands would kill a close relative to have. The band's cover version of Fleetwood Mac's "Dreams" isn't great, but the solo acoustic take of Johnny Cash's "I Still Miss Someone" is lovely. The full on countrified "Kiss & Make-Up" and "Luxury Liner" are impressive too with Bill Ladd's complimentary pedal steel work on "Kiss & Make-Up" being particularly sweet. It's astonishing really that the quality across all the tracks is so damn good - I'll be listening to these a lot - I know it - and not treating them like they were 'interesting' - play them once and then leave them on the shelf.

To sum up - this is a brilliant album given a stunning sonic upgrade and a shed load of previously unreleased material you will want to hear again and again. There have been some truly superb DELUXE EDITION releases in Universal's catalogue, but this is really something special. Buy with confidence and I envy you the journey...

"Wanda Rocks" by WANDA JACKSON. A Review Of The 2002 Bear Family CD Compilation.

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

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

BLUES, VOCAL GROUPS, RHYTHM 'n' BLUES and ROCK 'n' ROLL ON CD   

Just Click Below To Purchase for £3.95

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

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

"…Start Getting' With It Baby…You’re Acting Like A Square To Me…"

Released December 2002 on Bear Family BCD 16631 AR - "Wanda Rocks" by WANDA JACKSON offers up 35 slices of Wanda's sexy Rockabilly and Rock 'n' Roll – and not surprisingly it's a peach. "Rocks" covers 1956 to 1963 on the Capitol label and at a crammed 79:58 minutes - doesn't scrimp it on content or value for money.

Like all the titles in this extensive series, "Rocks" comes in a 3-way foldout card digipak with a large detachable booklet in the centre (48-pages for this one). The CD label itself repros the 45” for "Fujiyama Mama" – a big hit for her in 1957 - complete with its Capitol Records label bag - and that's again repro’d in full on the flap beneath the see-through tray (a nice touch).

The substantial booklet features extensive liner notes from Page 5 to 26 by noted musicologist COLIN ESCOTT with a Discography for all 35 tracks from Page 35 to 42 by ROSS WAPENSKY and Bear Family’s owner RICHARD WEIZE. Photos of Wanda with admirers GENE VINCENT, ELVIS PRESLEY and Producer KEN NELSON pepper the rest of the booklet – as well as in-studio-recording snaps with Country stars MERLE HAGGARD and HANK THOMPSON (provides an Intro on Page 2). There are black and white publicity shots, trade adverts and sheet music - and all of it rounded off on the last few pages with full track-listings for two of their extensive Box Sets on her – "Right Or Wrong" (4CDs) and "Tears Will Be The Chaser For Your Wine" (8CDs). A typically top job done by Bear Family - as befits their reissue legend.

The remastered sound is by one of their best tape engineers JURGEN CRASSER. Crasser handled the stunning "Blowing The Fuse" series from 1945 to 1960 (I've reviewed all 16 volumes) and the "Sweet Soul Music" series from 1961 to 1975 (all 15 volumes reviewed too). Alive, clean and full of well-recorded Capitol Records class - the sound is wonderful.

Tracks from her big albums are featured as follows:

1. "Wanda Jackson", 1957 Mono LP on Capitol T-1041 (7, 8, 9, 10)

2. "Rockin' With Wanda", 1958 Mono LP on Capitol T-1384 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12)

3. "There's A Party Goin' On", 1961 Stereo LP on Capitol ST-1511 (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25).

4. "Right Or Wrong", 1961 Stereo LP on Capitol ST-1596 (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)

5. "Wonderful Wanda", 1962 Stereo LP on Capitol ST-1776 (32)

6. "Two Sides Of Wanda", 1964 Stereo LP on Capitol ST-2030 (34, 35)

The 3 remaining tracks are "Riot In Cell Block No. 9" and "Funnel Of Love" (tracks 20 and 21) that first appeared as unreleased tracks on Bear's "Right Or Wrong" 4CD box set of 1993 - while her own "You Bug Me Bad" (track 33) was a 7" single on Capitol F 4833 in 1962.

Musically – Wanda Jackson came across like a female Gene Vincent – like Elvis' mischievous little sister – and her less-than wholesome image beloved her to Rock 'n' Rollers everywhere. Not for Wanda to be standing on the porch of her mid Fifties suburban home with an apron around her bluster dress waving at hubby as he comes home from work with a pipe in his mouth – Wanda was all big hair, big chest and big lips – Wanda was in the hotel bar with the boys in the band - downing whiskeys and socking any local in the jaw who got fresh. “Cool Love” (lyrics above) give a good indication of her attitude that virtually set up a template for decades to come as to how women ‘rocked’.

Being Capitol, her band consisted of top session men - Buck Owens and Roy Clark on guitar, 'Skeets' McDonald on Bass with Merrill Moore and 'Big' Al Downing on Piano. And when she got her Country-tinged croaky voice behind great material like “Money Honey” and “Let’s Have A Party” - she made it her own. On Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally” she sings “…let’s have some fun tonight…” like she meant it. As the years moved on and styles changed, she did too (but with her trademark rockin’ vibe still in tow). The superb “Fallin’” is so early Sixties Presley, while “Tongue Tied” is great fun as well as boppin’ like the old days (and in handsome Stereo).

Like a force of nature, like life itself, just looking at a photo of the ballsy Wanda Jackson makes me smile. And this little cracker from those nice reissue people in Germany – does her legacy proud.

And it’s such good fun too...

PS: The "Rocks" Series by Bear Family features the following artists:

1. Chuck Berry [see REVIEW]

2. Pat Boone

3. Johnny Burnette [see REVIEW]

4. The Cadillacs [see REVIEW]

5. Eddie Cochran

6. Bobby Darin

7. Fats Domino

8. Connie Francis

9. Don Gibson

10. Glen Glenn

11. Bill Haley

12. Roy Hall

13. Slim Harpo [see REVIEW]

14. Dale Hawkins

15. Ronnie Hawkins

16. Screamin' Jay Hawkins [see REVIEW]

17. Wanda Jackson [see REVIEW]

18. Sonny James

19. Buddy Knox and Jimmy Bowen with the Rhythm Orchids [see REVIEW]

20. Sleepy LaBeef

21. Brenda Lee

22. Jerry Lee Lewis [see REVIEW]

23. Smiley Lewis [see REVIEW]

24. Little Richard

25. Bob Luman [see REVIEW]

26. Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers

27. Carl Mann

28. Amos Milburn [see REVIEW]

29. Ella Mae Morse [see REVIEW]

30. Ricky Nelson

31. Carl Perkins

32. Roy Orbison

33. Lloyd Price [see REVIEW]

34. Piano Red (aka Dr. Feelgood) [see REVIEW]

35. Charlie Rich [see REVIEW]

36. Jack Scott

37. Shirley and Lee

38. The Treniers

39. Big Joe Turner [see REVIEW]

40. Conway Twitty

41. Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps

42. Rusty York [see REVIEW]

The Bear Family "Rockin' Rollin'" Series features:

1. Johnny Horton

2. Marvin Rainwater

3. Marty Robbins Vol.1

4. Marty Robbins Vol.2

5. Marty Robbins Vol.3 

“Rocks” by ELLA MAE MORSE. A Review Of The 2010 Bear Family CD Compilation.

"…Just Love Me…All Night Long…"

Released November 2010 on Bear Family BCD 16672 AR, "Rocks" offers up 34 slices of Ella Mae Morse’ varying styles – Easy Listening, Jazz Vocals, pumping Rhythm 'n' Blues and even Rock ‘n’ Roll – and it’s a peach. “Rocks” covers 1942 to 1957 on the Capitol label and at a stonking 84:33 minutes - doesn't scrimp it on content or value for money.

Like all the titles in this extensive series, "Rocks" comes in a 3-way foldout card digipak with a large detachable booklet in the centre (52-pages for this one). The CD label itself repros the 78” for “House Of Blue Lights” – a big hit for her and Freddie Slack in 1946 - complete with its Capitol Records label bag - and that's again repro’d in full on the flap beneath the see-through tray (a nice touch).

The substantial booklet features extensive liner notes from Page 2 to 30 by KEVIN COFFEY with a Discography for all 34 tracks from Page 31 to 45 by Kevin Coffey, LAWRENCE J. ZWISOHN and Bear Family’s owner RICHARD WEIZE. Especially worth noting is that the 40-page album-sized booklet which came with Bear’s extensive 5CD box set (from way back in 1997) was a dull black & white pictures affair… “Rocks” has considerably improved on that – there are lovely full-page colour shots of her two important album covers, “Barrelhouse, Boogie, And The Blues” (1954) and “The Morse Code” (1957). Added to that are in-studio-recording snaps which are new, trade adverts, sheet music and many of her American Capitol singles are pictured throughout - a typically top job done by Bear.

The remastered sound is by one of their best tape engineers JURGEN CRASSER – he handling the stunning “Blowing The Fuse” series (1945 to 1960 - I’ve reviewed all 16 volumes) and the “Sweet Soul Music” series (1961 to 1970 – all reviewed too). Alive, clean and full of well-recorded Capitol Records class - the sound is wonderful.

Musically - although Morse looked like some squeaky-clean 20-year old usherette serving popsicles in the movie theatre during World War II, musically this belied her vocal delivery. Ella was like a female Louis Jordan or a Bessie Smith, a white gal from Texas often mistaken for a black singer because of her slightly raunchy delivery when she got her hands on good R’n’B material (covers of Atlantic artist like Ruth Brown and LaVern Baker). A good case in point for this is the 10” LP of “Barrelhouse, Boogie, And The Blues” which to my mind is a criminally forgotten R’n’B masterpiece - and I’m glad to report that someone has been smart enough to put 7 of its 8 tracks on here. It opens with “Rock Me All Night Long” (lyrics above). Don’t get me wrong – not every track on here is rocking by any means – there are easy moments too - but they’re really good also. It just depended on the material she was given.

Speaking of history – when Capitol launched its first nine 78"s on 1 July 1942, Ella Mae Morse was there on Day 1. She sang lead with Freddie Slack and his Orchestra on the A-side of Capitol 102 - "Cow-Cow Boogie". It was a huge hit and quickly climbed to Number 1 - putting the fledgling label on the map. By 1946 Capitol had shifted 46 million records, by the mid Fifties they boasted two of the best selling singers in the Universe (Nat "King" Cole and Frank Sinatra) and by the mid Sixties they'd acquired some band from Liverpool in England (who also shifted some records - apparently). So you could say with confidence that Nick Tosche's assertion that she was one of 'the great unsung heroes of rock 'n' roll' is right. A musical chameleon, a sassy vixen, or just a good old gal with a nice voice – take your pick - but the world owes Ella Mae Morse for what her breakthrough led to.

Another cracker from those nice reissue people in Germany - and such good fun too.

In the vernacular - recommended the most...

PS: The "Rocks" Series by Bear Family features the following artists:

1. Pat Boone
2. Johnny Burnette
3. The Cadillacs
4. Eddie Cochran
5. Bobby Darin
6. Fats Domino
7. Connie Francis
8. Don Gibson
9. Glen Glenn
10. Bill Haley
11. Roy Hall
12. Dale Hawkins
13. Ronnie Hawkins
14. Screamin' Jay Hawkins
15. Wanda Jackson
16. Sonny James
17. Buddy Knox & Jimmy Bowen with the Rhythm Orchids
18. Sleepy LaBeef
19. Jerry Lee Lewis
20. Smiley Lewis [see REVIEW]
21. Bob Luman
22. Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers
23. Carl Mann
24. Amos Milburn [see REVIEW]
25. Ella Mae Morse
26. Ricky Nelson
27. Carl Perkins
28. Roy Orbison
29. Lloyd Price
30. Piano Red [see REVIEW]
31. Charlie Rich
32. Jack Scott
33. Shirley & Lee
34. The Treniers
35. Conway Twitty
36. Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps
37. Rusty York

The Bear Family "Rockin' Rollin'" Series features:

1. Johnny Horton
2. Marvin Rainwater
3. Marty Robbins Vol.1
4. Marty Robbins Vol.2
5. Marty Robbins Vol.3

PPS: I’ve reviewed the box set separately with attached 78”, 45” and LP discographies

“Rocking & Crying – The Complete Singles 1951 – 1954 Plus” by THE FIVE KEYS. A Review Of The 2CD Jasmine Compilation (2010).

"…Got The Most Coast To Coast…She The Most…"

Offering up a huge 58-tracks - this 2CD set covers the 78" and 45" output for the American vocal group THE FIVE KEYS on the Aladdin, Groove and Capitol labels between 1951 and 1954 (not all of it as the title suggest, but close enough).

UK released May 2010 - "Rocking & Crying - The Complete Singles 1951-1954 Plus" by THE FIVE KEYS on Jasmine JASCD 555 (Barcode 604988055528) is a 2CD reissue that plays out as follows…

Disc: 1
1. With A Broken Heart
2. Too Late
3. Hucklebuck With Jimmy
4. Glory Of Love, The
5. It's Christmas Time
6. Do I Need You
7. Old Macdonald (Had A Farm)
8. Yes Sir That's My Baby
9. Goin' Downtown
10. Darlin'
11. Red Sails In The Sunset
12. Be Anything But Be Mine
13. How Long
14. Mistakes
15. Hold Me
16. I Hadn't Anyone 'Til You
17. I Cried For You
18. Serve Another Round
19. Can't Keep From Crying
20. Come Go My Bail Louise
21. There Ought To Be A Law
22. Mama (Your Daughter Told A Lie On Me)
23. I'll Always Be In Love With You
24. Rocking And Crying Blues
25. These Foolish Things (Remind Me Of You)
26. Lonesome Old Story
27. Teardrops In Your Eyes
28. I'm So High

Disc: 2
1. My Saddest Hour
2. Oh Babe
3. Someday Sweetheart
4. Love My Loving
5. Deep In My Heart
6. How Do You Expect Me To Get It
7. Why Oh Why
8. My Love
9. Story Of Love
10. When Will My Troubles End
11. I'll Follow You
12. Lawdy Miss Mary
13. Ling Ting Tong
14. Close Your Eyes
15. Verdict, The
16. I Wish I'd Never Learned To Read
17. She's The Most
18. I Dreamt I Dwelt In Harlem
19. My Pigeons Gone
20. Out Of Sight Out Of Mind
21. Wisdom Of A Fool
22. Let There Be You
23. It's A Cryin' Shame
24. Emily Please
25. Handy Andy
26. One Great Love
27. From The Bottom Of My Heart
28. Gypsy, The
29. Who Do You Know In Heaven (That Made You The Angel You Are)
30. To Each His Own

Disc 1 (78:33 minutes):
1 and 2 are Aladdin 3085 (April 1951)
3 and 4 are Aladdin 3099 (July 1951)
5 and 6 are Aladdin 3113 (December 1951)
7 and 8 are Aladdin 3118 (January 1952)
9 and 10 are Aladdin 3119 (Unissued)
11 and 12 are Aladdin 3127 (April 1952)
13 and 14 are Aladdin 3131 (May 1952)
15 and 16 are Aladdin 3136 (July 1952)
17 and 18 are Aladdin 3158 (October 1952)
19 and 20 are Aladdin 3167 (January 1953)
21 and 22 are Aladdin 3175 (March 1953)
23 and 24 are Aladdin 3182 (Unissued)
25 and 26 are Aladdin 3190 (May 1953)
27 and 28 are Aladdin 3204 (September 1953)

Disc 2 (77:33 minutes):
1 and 2 are Aladdin 3214 (December 1953)
3 and 4 are Aladdin 3228 (February 1954)
5 and 6 are Aladdin 3245 (May 1954)
7 and 8 are Aladdin 3263 (May 1955)
9 is the A-side of Aladdin 3312 (January 1956)
10 is an un-issued track on RCA/Groove Records recorded July 1954
11 and 12 are RCA/Groove 0031 (August 1954)
13 is Capitol 2945 [A] (October 1954)
14 is Capitol 3032 [A] (January 1955)
15 is Capitol 3127 [A] (May 1955)
16 is Capitol 3185 [A] (July 1955)
17 and 18 are Capitol 3392 (April 1956)
19 is Capitol 3455 [A] (June 1956)
20 is Capitol 3502 [A] (August 1956)
21 is Capitol 3597 [A] (November 1956)
22 is Capitol 3660 [A] (February 1957)
23 is Capitol 3830 [A] (November 1957)
24 and 25 are Capitol 4009 (July 1958)
26 is Capitol 4092 [A] (November 1958)
27 is Capitol 4828 [A] (August 1962) (see also below for 27)
27, 28, 29 and 30 are from the 1957 LP “The Five Keys On Stage” on Capitol T 828

The compilation and annotation have been put together by BOB FISHER (small liner notes in the fold-out inlay) with the CD Mastering done by TALL ORDER of the UK.

Hailing from Virginia, The Five Keys have long been considered by collectors as a class act and often compared to the big boys of Doo Wop and Rhythm ‘n’ Blues – The Flamingos, The Orioles and The Moonglows (with a little bit of the rocking Clovers thrown in for good measure). Their most famous lead vocalist was Rudy West and yet up until now, their material has only sporadically turned up on CD.

Given the vintage, the sound varies from good (the Aladdin Years) to superb (the later Capitol releases). Being a major label with decent equipment for the time, their Capitol sides were beautifully recorded - hence the excellent sound quality on Disc 2. Also, as you can see from the list above, the flip-sides to the Capitol releases are not here (despite the word “Complete” being in the title). However, if you want more of that period, some are on the excellent “Collector Series” CD put out by Capitol in 1989 – a disc I’ve treasured for two decades now.

The Aladdin material tended to be all pleading ballads, while the Capitol stuff rocked it up a bit (the years had moved on). Highlights for me include their fantastic Murray Berlin bopper “She’s The Most” (lyrics above) and the sheer smooth-as-silk class of “Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind” written by Ivory Joe Hunter and Clyde Otis (a beautiful vocal by Rudy West).

Lot of tracks, very good sound and it’s cheap too. Until Bear Family does a more comprehensive box set one day covering the later stuff and solo releases – this is a rather lovely release to be getting on with. Recommended.

PS: Jasmine have also done "The Flamingos" in a similar 2CD set (see separate review)

“Love Songs” – THE DELFONICS. A Review Of The 2005 Legacy CD Compilation.

"…Isn’t This Moment What It’s All About…"

The truly cheesy artwork that graces the paltry gatefold inlay of this CD compilation might put you off entirely, but don’t let it – “Love Songs” wins out where it really matters - in the sound department.

Released in early 2005, Arista/Legacy 82876 66931 2 breaks down as follows (44:26 minutes):

1. Somebody Loves You
2. La-La Means I Love You
3. Can You Remember
4. Ready Or Not Here I Come (Can’t Hide From Love)
5. Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time)
6. Trying To Make A Fool Of Me
7. Everytime I See My Baby
8. Over And Over
9. When You Get Right Down To It
10. Break Your Promise
11. Hey! Love
12. I’m Sorry
13. I Gave To You
14. Hot Dog (I Love You So)

Tracks 1, 4, 7 and 14 are from their debut album “Sound Of Sexy Soul” released February 1969 on Philly Groove Records PG-1151 in the USA and September 1969 on Bell Records SBLL 121 in the UK

Tracks 2, 3, 10 and 12 are from the album “La La Means I Love You” released May 1968 on Philly Groove Records PG-1150 in the USA and September 1968 on Bell Records SBLL 106 in the UK

Tracks 5, 6, 8, 9 and 13 are from the album “The Delfonics” released August 1970 in the USA on Philly Groove Records PG-1153 and January 1971 on Bell Records SBLL 137 in the UK

Track 11 is from the album “Tell Me This Is A Dream” released June 1972 in the USA on Philly Groove Records 1154 and February 1973 on Bell Records BELLS 217 in the UK

As you can see from the playing time above, it could easily have had 10 more tracks - especially from the hard-to-find latter albums (there are no tunes for instance from 1974’s “Alive & Kicking” on Philly Groove), but being a 'Legacy' remaster, what is on here sounds great.

The Delfonics were a Soul trio from Philadelphia - Randy Cain with brothers William and Wilbert Hart. Almost all of their music was written by the legendary duo of Thom Bell and Lead Vocalist & Founder of the band William Hart. After 1971 the line-up also included Atlantic Records singing star Major Harris.

The Delfonics produced a sort of high-drama high-octane vocal Soul that some love, but others find too affected – even coy. It’s very much of its time, but once you get into it – you grow to love it. Highlights for me are the Rotary Connection feel of “Ready Or Not Here I Come…” and the cool orchestral arrangements on “When You Get Right Down To It” (lyrics above). Quentin Tarantino famously used “La La Means I Love You” and “Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time)” in his 1997 movie “Jackie Brown” to great effect.

It’s an acquired taste for sure, but if you’ve a hankering for some smoochy shagpad lyrics like "…I gave my heart and soul to you girl…didn't I do it baby…” - then this unassuming little CD is where to get a good stiff breeze up your flared-trousers.

“Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”. A Review of the 2010 Reissue - A New Benchmark In Transfer Quality For BLU RAY.

"...You're The Apple Strudle Of Mine Eyes..."

Little prepares you for the print on this - it's simply extraordinary.

It’s been frame-by-frame restored using the Lowry Digital Restoration process - which was used on all 20 of the Bond films, the three Godfather movies, the original Star Wars Trilogy, the Indiana Jones films and even the transfer of Avatar.

But this 2010 Blu Ray/DVD Combination pack reissue of 1968's "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" has to be a benchmark – even for them.

After the excellent 2DVD set issued a few years back, I didn't think that much more improvement could be wrenched out of the negative, but it has been. This transfer is practically faultless - BEAUTIFUL to look at for the whole duration of the movie. Directed with style and flair by Ken Hughes and filmed in Super Panavision Technicolor – it’s a sumptuous feast of colours - you see their period clothes anew, the details in the inventions inside Caractacus Pott’s hillside home, the uncluttered English countryside, the Scrumptious Sweet Factory, the seaside scenes, the two bumbling spies, the toy dance at the King’s Birthday Party in the Palace where their love shines out and almost gets them caught - all of it - gorgeous to look at. There’s old and ‘New Extras’ also…

Sally Ann Howes looks suitably wholesome and lovely, Dick Van Dyke is as likeable as ever (a much underrated leading man) and the songs are excellent if not a little twee in places. The quirks of Sixties movies remain intact too - the patience-sapping Overture at the beginning where a black screen sits there with only the roaring of car engines before the picture finally appears – the “Intermission” break in the middle (so you could go and buy sweets) where Chitty goes over the cliff-edge and you don’t find out what happens until the film starts up again and you’re back in your seats – all there – as it was in the cinema – and the original aspect retained too.

The child-catcher is still the scariest monster ever created in cinema (with Benny Hill being strangely creepy too) and the interplay between Gert Frobe and Anna Quayle as the bickering King and Queen of Vulgaria is still pricelessly funny. All this and Stanley Unwin speaking “…horribold…” English to Lionel Jeffries - which always makes me pine for The Small Faces 1967 masterpiece ‘Ogden’s Nutgone Flake’ (he spoke in between tracks on Side 2).

Sure it’ll be too saccharine for our “Call Of Duty” teenagers to enjoy nowadays, but there’s something timeless and lovely about this ‘magical car’ movie - and that beautifully evocative “Hushabye Mountain” melody always renders me a quivering mush whenever I hear it.

This 2010 BLU RAY of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” is a superlative reissue of a family classic. Ian Fleming would indeed be shaken - and possibly even stirred.

Recommended like a duet with your wife on "Chu-Chi Face".

PS: for other superb restorations on BLU RAY, see also my reviews for "The Italian Job", "Saturday Night, Sunday Morning", "The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner", "North By Northwest", "Cool Hand Luke", "The Dambusters", "The Prisoner - The Complete (TV) Series In High Definition", "Braveheart", "Snatch", "The Ladykillers" and “The African Queen”

"Ass" by BADFINGER - November 1973 Fourth Album on Apple Records USA (March 1974 in the UK) - featuring Todd Rundgren (October 2010 UK Apple CD Reissue and Remaster with Bonus Tracks) - A Review by Mark Barry...ple Label in 1973/1974 – Now Reissued Onto A 2010 Extended CD.

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"…I'm Sorry But It's Time To Move Away…"

By the time the British band BADFINGER had reached 1974 - and despite a fresh signing to the mighty Warner Brothers - no one was really listening.

 

Hence their last album for The Beatles Apple label "Ass" - which snook out just before their self-titled Warners debut - got lost in a confusing mix of conflicting material and contractual shenanigans (November 1973 US release, but it would have to wait until March 1974 in their own UK). That doesn't mean to say that there isn't great music on worth checking out…

UK released Monday 25 October 2010 - "Ass" by BADFINGER on Apple 5099964243924 is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster and breaks down as follows (53:46 minutes):

1. Apple Of My Eye

2. Get Away

3. Icicles

4. The Winner

5. Blind Owl

6. Constitution [Side 2]

7. When I Say

8. Cowboy

9. I Can Love You

10. Timeless

Tracks 1 to 10 are the LP "Ass" released 26 November 1973 in the USA on Apple SW-3411 and 8 March 1974 on Apple SAPCOR 27 in the UK (it reached number 122 on the American Billboard Top 100).

Tracks 11 to 15 are bonus tracks exclusive to this 2010 CD reissue:

"Do You Mind (Previously Unreleased Version)" is a Joey Molland song (11)

"Apple Of My Eye (Previously Unreleased Early Mix)" is a Pete Ham song (12)

"Blind Owl (Previously Unreleased Version)" is a Tom Evans song (13)

"Regular (Previously Unreleased)" is a Joey Molland song (14)

"Timeless (Previously Unreleased Version)" is a Pete Ham song (15)

Requiring extra payment, there are also 5 more tracks available via Digital Download from iTunes or Amazon – "Get Away (Bonus Track Version)", "I Can Love You (Bonus Track Version)", "Piano Red (Previously Unreleased)", "When I Say (Bonus Track Version)" and "The Winner (Bonus Track Version)" (see either site for cost details).

BOOKLET/PACKAGING:

The front & rear of the original vinyl LP sleeve is reproduced on the gatefold card sleeve (with the black and white 'Ass' inner bag on the inside of the gatefold), while noted writer and music lover ANDY DAVIS does the new liner notes for the booklet (they're all a disappointingly weedy 12 pages long - EMI pushes the boat out again people). But with what little text he has been afforded, Davis does at least fill it with properly informative details - and there are black & white studio shots of the band - PETE HAM, TOM EVANS, JOEY MOLLAND and MIKE GIBBINS.  It's cute, but you do wish there was more...

SOUND:

The same team that handled the much-praised 09/09/09 Beatles remasters have done this too - GUY MASSEY, STEVE ROOKES, SAM OKELL and SIMON GIBSON. The audio quality is BEAUTIFUL - a massive improvement - makes you reassess a lot of the songs.

PLAYERS/CONTENT:

The album was produced by CHRIS THOMAS except for "The Winner" and "I Can Love You" - which had TODD RUNDGREN at the controls (Todd also produced their preceding album "Straight Up"). The 'bonus tracks' were self-produced by the band.

It opens well with Pete Ham and Joey Molland double – the melodic "Apple Of My Eye" (lyrics above) followed by the rocking "Get Away". "Apple Of My Eye" was in fact chosen as the album's lone single (March 1974 in the UK on APPLE 49, Apple 1864 in the USA) both with "Blind Owl" on the B-side. "Icicles", "The Winner" and "Constitution" are all Joey Molland songs and aren't great – typically dull mid-Seventies rock fare. The pretty "When I Say" by Tom Evans lifts things a bit, while "Cowboy" sounds like a poor man's Ozark Mountain Daredevils or McGuinness Flint looking for a hit they couldn't find. The last two tracks, however, finish the album with conviction – Joey Molland’s world-weary "I Can Love You" and Pete Ham's epic "Timeless". On here twice (a superb final bonus track), "Timeless" drags out its near eight minutes duration like "I Want You" that ends Side 1 of "Abbey Road" by The Beatles - it's huge in every way with equally impressive multi-layered instrumentation.

Their 2nd album "No Dice" from 1970 is a gem, but Badfinger surpassed even that with their 3rd from 1972 "Straight Up" - leagues ahead of their patchy 1969 debut "Magic Christian Music" both in terms of songwriting quality and sheer polish. "Ass" was their last album for Apple and even then seemed like an afterthought. Perhaps with more Pete Ham compositions… It dribbled out in late November 1973 in the USA and early March 1974 in the UK - and even as it was released - they'd moved on to Warner Brothers and begun recording for them. “Ass” also used to be the easiest one of Badfinger's valuable catalogue to find in dollar bins. In order words, it’s a good album rather than a great one.

Niggles – in order to give a fuller review, I paid for the extra 5 downloads – and typically their quality is superb. When you add their 18 minutes or so onto the 54:36 minutes playing time, you see that they could all have easily fitted onto 1CD. I've Bear Family titles that regularly push past 85 minutes with no deterioration in sound for God's sake, so it's a crappy scam to have us fork out five more pounds for versions EMI know fans will want – and badly. There’s also a MONO MIX on the promo 7" single of "Apple Of My Eye" that is nowhere to be seen.

The gatefold card sleeve is nice to look at for sure, but the booklet and overall packaging feel lightweight (what EMI could get away with). The CD should also have one of those gauze inner bags to protect it - a problem that no record company seems to want to acknowledge (scuffing and damage). The packaging issues are minor points I know, but this least desirable of their albums could have been made into something superb with 5 more quality bonuses (there's a 2CD set called "Complete Ass" which has 37 tracks!).

One Star or Five - Badfinger have always divided people - many calling them one of the great overlooked bands of the period - others calling them lightweight (most of the first album, bits of the second and some parts of this – their 4th). But there’s still so much on here to genuinely admire and love.

To sum up – I still recommend it - especially given the massive improvement in sound quality and those shockingly good bonus tracks. Shame about those downloads though…

PS: see also my reviews for other releases in this October 2010 series:

"That's The Way God Planned It" (1969) and "Encouraging Words" (1970) by Billy Preston, "Doris Troy" (1970), "James Taylor" (1968), "Is This What You Want?" (1969) by Jackie Lomax, “Magic Christian Music” (1969), “No Dice” (1970) and “Straight Up” (1972) by Badfinger

"Straight Up" by BADFINGER (October 2010 Apple 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 300+ Others Is Available In My

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"...A Game We've Been Playing For So Long..."

Monday 25 October 2010 in the UK saw 14 of the 'Apple' label Sixties and Seventies albums remastered and reissued (see list below) - alongside a first-time-ever label 'Best Of' compilation CD not surprisingly called "Come And Get It" (named after a huge BADFINGER hit penned by Paul McCartney specifically for the band). This zippy little expanded CD reissue of their 3rd album "Straight Up" is one of them.

UK released October 2010 - "Straight Up" by BADFINGER on Apple 5099964244020 is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster and breaks down as follows (61:50 minutes):

1. Take It All

2. Baby Blue

3. Money

4. Flying

5. I'd Die Babe

6. Name Of The Game

7. Suitcase

8. Sweet Tuesday Morning

9. Day After Day

10. Sometimes

11. Perfection

12. It's Over

Tracks 1 to 12 are the Stereo LP "Straight Up" released late December 1971 in the USA on Apple SW-3387 and 4 February 1972 on Apple SAPCOR 19 in the UK (it reached number 31 on the American Billboard Top 100).

Tracks 13 to 18 are bonus tracks exclusive to this 2010 CD reissue:

13. "I'll Be The One" is a band composition that was once muted as a possible UK Apple single (no number allocated), but never released

14. "Name Of The Game" (a Pete Ham song) was also considered for a single (Apple 35), but again never issued

15. "Baby Blue" (a Pete Ham song) was also considered for a UK single (Apple 42), but again withdrawn. It was, however, released in the USA on Apple 1844 in April 1972 and rose to number 14 on the Billboard charts. With added reverb on the drums, it's presented here as the `US Single Mix' - its B-side is the album track "Flying"

16. "Baby Please" (Pete Ham/Joey Molland/Mike Gibbins song) is previously unreleased

17. "No Good At All" (Tom Evans song) is previously unreleased

18. "Sing For The Song" (Tom Evans song) is previously unreleased

Requiring extra payment, there are also 7 more tracks available via Digital Download from iTunes or Amazon - "Money (Earlier Version)", "Flying (Earlier Version)", "Perfection (Earlier Version)", "Suitcase (Earlier Version)", "Sweet Tuesday Morning (Earlier Version)", "Mean Mean Jemima" and "Loving You"  (see either site for cost details).

BOOKLET/PACKAGING:

The front & rear of the original vinyl LP sleeve is reproduced on the gatefold card sleeve, while noted writer and music lover ANDY DAVIS does the new liner notes for the booklet (they're all a disappointingly weedy 12 pages long - EMI pushes the boat out again people). But with what little text he has been afforded, Davis does at least fill it with properly informative details - and there are black & white studio shots of the band - PETE HAM, TOM EVANS, JOEY MOLLAND and MIKE GIBBINS.  It's cute, but you do wish there was more...

PLAYERS/CONTENT:

Studio wizard TODD RUNDGEN famously produced the album except for "I'd Die, Babe", "Name Of The Game" and "Suitcase" - these had GEORGE HARRISON at the controls (he also played Guitar on "I'd Die, Babe"). The `bonus tracks' were produced by GEOFF EMERICK of Beatles/Abbey Road fame - except for "Baby Blue (US Single Mix)" which was Rundgren.

SOUND:

The same team that handled the much-praised 09/09/09 Beatles remasters has done this too - GUY MASSEY, STEVE ROOKES, SAM OKELL and SIMON GIBSON. The audio quality is BEAUTIFUL - a massive improvement - makes you reassess a lot of the songs.

Their 2nd album "No Dice" from 1970 is a gem, but Badfinger surpassed even that with "Straight Up" - leagues ahead of their patchy 1969 debut both in terms of songwriting quality and sheer polish. This is immediately evident on the two Pete Ham openers - "Take It All" and "Baby Blue" - the Todd Rundgren production values on the guitars and drums now so clear. "Money" with its "buys you freedom" lyrics has great chunky guitars and harmony vocals, while "Flying," sounds not unlike 10cc circa "The Original Soundtrack". The liner notes tell us that Beatle George was literally dancing in the studio during the recording of "I'd Die, Babe" - it's easy to hear why - it's a catchy little ditty and similar to own songwriting style.

Joey Molland's keyboard funk of "Suitcase" opened Side 2 of the original album and talks of the weariness of being on the road forever without too much success (lyrics above). The lovely America-type acoustic tune "Sweet Tuesday Morning" follows - it was the B-side to the only single issued off the album in the UK ("Day After Day" - 7 January 1972 on APPLE 42). But then you're hit with a triple-whammy of Badfinger songwriting excellence - "Day After Day", "Sometimes" and "Perfection". All three offer up different facets of the band's capabilities - the lovely "Day After Day" is essentially a mid-tempo ballad from Pete Ham and that it wasn't a huge UK chart hit is sort of inexplicable, "Sometimes" is a Joey Molland rocking gem that sounds like The James Gang on a roll, while the thinking man's strum of "Perfection" comes closest to that Big Star comparison of out-and-out genius. As if that isn't enough, you get superb guitar playing on the Tom Evans album finisher "It's Over" - it's all so shockingly good, it really is. And like almost all of the releases in this series, the bonus tracks are impressive too rather than being superfluous. Very, very good indeed...

Niggles - in order to give a fuller review, I paid for the extra 7 download alternate versions - and typically their quality is superb - must haves. I burned them onto a CD-R and they clocked in at 23:59 minutes - when you add that onto 61:50, you see that they could all have easily fitted onto 1CD. I've Bear Family titles that regularly push past 85 minutes with no deterioration in sound, so it's a crappy scam to have us fork out seven more pounds for versions EMI know fans will want - and badly. The gatefold card sleeve is nice to look at for sure, but the booklet and overall packaging feel lightweight (what EMI could get away with). The CD should also have one of those gauze inner bags to protect it - a problem that no record company seems to want to acknowledge (scuffing and damage). The packaging issues are minor points I know, but this otherwise brilliant reissue is docked a star for creaming fans on the download front.

One Star or Five - Badfinger have always divided people - many calling them one of the great overlooked bands of the period - others calling them lightweight (most of the first album and bits of the second). You will not call them the latter after hearing "Straight Up" - it's a crafted gem.

To sum up - recommended - especially given the brilliance of the album itself, the massive improvement in sound quality and those shockingly good bonus tracks. Shame about those downloads though...

The October 2011 Apple CD Remasters are (I've reviewed most):

1. Magic Christian Music - BADFINGER (January 1970)

2. No Dice - BADFINGER (November 1970)

3. Straight Up - BADFINGER (1972)

4. Ass - BADFINGER (1974)

5. Postcard - MARY HOPKIN (1969)

6. Earth Song - Ocean Song - MARY HOPKIN (1971)

7. Is That What You Want? - JACKIE LOMAX (1969)

8. Under The Jasmine Tree / Space - THE MODERN JAZZ QUARTET (1968 and 1969 - 2LPs on 1CD)

9. That's The Way God Planned It - BILLY PRESTON (1969)

10. Encouraging Words - BILLY PRESTON (1970)

11. The Radha Krishna Temple - THE RADHA KRISHNA TEMPLE (1971)

12. The Whale / Celtic Requiem - JOHN TAVENOR (1970 and 1971 - 2LPs on 1CD)

13. James Taylor - JAMES TAYLOR (1968)

14. Doris Troy - DORIS TROY (1970)