"The Ultimate Staple Singers – A Family Affair 1955-1984" by THE STAPLE SINGERS (2004 Ace/Kent Records 2CD Compilation) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)…"

Like most people I came across the Staple Singers through their fabulous run of Stax and Curtom sides in the Seventies (although their career stretched back to Gospel roots in the early Fifties). This truly impressive double CD by Ace Records of the UK (using their Kent Soul logo) is a thorough and deeply satisfying retro for one of the most underrated Soul acts of all time. It even includes four properly storming Previously Unreleased cuts and a chunky 28-page fact-filled booklet (pretty much typical of Ace's quality).

UK released September 2004 - "The Ultimate Staple Singers: A Family Affair 1955-1984" by THE STAPLE SINGERS on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEN2 240 (Barcode 029667224024) offers up 44 tracks across 2 CDs covering their record label stays with Riverside, Vanguard, Epic, Stax, Curtom and Warner Brothers - with 4 previously unreleased thrown in. Disc 1 roughly deals with 1955 up to 1971 while Disc 2 covers everything after that. Here's a breakdown...

DISC 1: (76:07 minutes)

1. Hammer And Nails

2. Nobody's Fault But Mine

3. Too Close

4. Uncloudy Day

5. Won't You Sit Down (Sit Down Servant)

6. I Wish I Had Answered

7. A Hard Rain's Gonna Fail

8. Swing Low

9. This May Be The Last Time

10. For What It's Worth

11. Be Careful Of The Stones You Throw

12. Why (Am I Treated So Bad)

13. It's Been A Change

14. Will The Circle Be Unbroken

Tracks 1 to 14 feature their Gospel years with the Riverside, Vanguard and Epic labels.

15. The Ghetto

16. Long Walk To DC

17. God Bless The Children

18. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay

19. The Gardener

20. When Will We Be Paid For The Work We Did

21. Who Took The Merry Out Of Christmas

22. John Henry [Pops Staples]

23. You're Gonna Make Me Cry

24. Solon Bushi

Tracks 15 to 24 touch on the Stax issues from 1968 to 1971

DISC 2: (78:14 minutes)

1. I Have Learned To Do Without [Mavis Staples]

2. Respect Yourself

3. Tryin' Times [Pops Staples]

4. Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha Na Boom Boom)

5. I'll Take You There

6. You've Got To Earn It

7. The Only Time You Ever Say You Love me [Mavis Staples]

8. Oh La De Da

9. If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)

10. City In The Sky

11. I Got To Be Myself

12. Touch A Hand, Make A Friend

13. Trippin' On Your Love

14. Let's Do It Again

15. New Orleans

16. Love Me, Love Me, Love Me

17. I Honestly Love You

18. Slippery People

19. H-A-T-E (Don't Love Here Any More)

Of the 20 singles they charted between 1971 and 1985 on the US Billboard R&B charts (group and solo) - an impressive 14 are here (on Disc 2) - they are "Heavy Make You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom)" (1971), "You've Got To Earn It" (1971), "Respect Yourself" (1971), "I'll Take You There" (1972), "This World" (1972), "Oh La De Da" (1972), "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)" (1973), "Touch A Hand, Make A Friend" (1973), "City In The Sky" (1974), "Let's Do It Again" (1975), "New Orleans" (1976), "Love Me, Love Me, Love Me" (1976) and "Slippery People" (1984). There's also the solo Mavis Staples torch ballad single "I Have Learned To Do Without You" from 1970.

What is even more shocking than the classiness of the released material (which still manages to raise a smile to this day) is the quality of the unreleased stuff - how have these gems remained in the can until now? First up on Disc 1 is the Traditional song "John Henry" given a harmonica/guitar driven John Lee Hooker boogie - it's nearest approximation is "Keep On Chooglin'" by Creedence Clearwater Revival - fabulous stuff. Then there's "Tryin' Times" on Disc 2 - also by POPS STAPLES (an unreleased alternate version of Stax 0064). It was co-written by Donny Hathaway and Leroy Hutson and first recorded by Roberta Flack in 1969 on her "First Take" album (Donny did is own version of "Everything Is Everything in 1971). Pops goes with the slower Flack interpretation and it's a socially aware bluesy winner. I've played both tracks many times on the shuffle play in the record shop and they've always elicited a customer response. Then on Disc 2 are "The Only Time You Ever Say You Love Me" by MAVIS STAPLES (a gorgeous slow ballad) and a version of "Oh La De Da" without the fake audience participation that appeared on the Stax 0156 single. Both of these are superb too. Not a lot of unreleased stuff I know, but man the quality is good...

The mastering has been handled by DUNCAN COWELL at Sound Mastering (it's uniformly excellent throughout - especially on the Fifties and Sixties material), while the chunky 28-page colour booklet is jammed with pictured 45's and adverts and has detailed and informative liner notes by noted Soul writer and aficionado TONY ROUNCE. Between them - they've handled large numbers of Ace and Edsel soul reissues throughout the 2000's - see a TAG above for each giving pictorial displays of their work...

I love The Staples Singers - "I'll Take You There" (lyrics above), "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)" and the wonderful number one R'n'B hit "Let's Do It Again" - every song imbibed with their lifelong creed of positive action, love and racial harmony - and music as a healer. Quite possibly one of the best Kent-Soul reissues for me - a hugely impressive listen from start to finish and it has great audio quality too...

"The Ultimate Staples Singers - A Family Affair 1955-1984" is a fantastic overview of their extraordinary career - buy it and thoroughly enjoy...

PS: see also reviews for the following - "Be Altitude: Respect Yourself" (1972 album on Stax) now 2011 reissued and remastered with bonus tracks as part of the "Stax Remasters" series, the "We'll Get Over" album reissue on CD, the compilation "This Time Around" from 1981 with the fabulous "Trippin' On Your Love" song and finally the 2015 Stax Box Set "Faith & Grace" (4CDs) which boasts awesome audio but awkward packaging...

"The Ry Cooder Anthology: The UFO Has Landed" by RY COODER - Studio Album and Movie Soundtrack Themes from October 1970 to June 2008 (November 2008 UK Warner Brothers/Rhino 2CD Compilation with Handpicked Tracks by The Artist and New Bernie Grundman Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…Why Don't You Try Me Tonight?"

I wanted to point out something about this 2CD retro that many seem to be ignoring - or not mentioning at all - the TRULY STUNNING SOUND QUALITY.

Fans of the wonderful Ry Cooder will know that apart from an occasional CD here and there and an 8-album campaign in Japan in 2007 - there have been NO remasters of his huge catalogue anywhere. Nearly 40 years of recording and no decent reissues to speak of (Tom Waits and Prince are 2 others that jump to mind on that front). The Japanese versions are just that - Japan only - and are costly as imports. There is the "Ry Cooder 1970-1987" 11CD Box Set from November 2014 (which I've reviewed) but not everything on that is remastered either.

Which brings me to Rhino/Warner Brothers 8122-79891-9 (Barcode 081227989194) released November 2008. "The Ry Cooder Anthology: The UFO Has Landed" by RY COODER is a superlative 34-track 2CD reissue that covers his entire Warner Brothers and Reprise career - as well as his soundtrack work in the last 3 decades. It plays outs as follows:

Disc 1 (63:58 minutes):

1. Get Rhythm

2. Low Commotion

3. Available Space

4. On A Monday

5. Do Re MI

6. Which Came First

7. The Very Thing That Makes You Rich [Makes Me Poor]

8. Down In Hollywood

9. Smells Like Money

10. Let's Work Together *

11. I Got Mine

12. Cherry Ball Blues

13. Jesus On The Mainline

14. Tattler

15. Teardrops Will Fall

16. Maria Elena

17. Jesse James

Tracks 3 and 5 from "Ry Cooder" (October 1970)

Tracks 4 and 15 from "Into The Purple Valley" (February 1972)

Tracks 12 and 16 from "Boomer's Story" (November 1972)

Tracks 13 and 14 from "Paradise And Lunch" (April 1974)

Track 11 from "Chicken Skin Music" (August 1976)

Tracks 7 and 8 from "Bop Till You Drop" (July 1979)

Track 17 from "The Long Riders O.S.T." (April 1980)

Track 6 from "The Slide Area" (April 1982)

Tracks 1 and 2 from "Get Rhythm" (November 1987)

Track 9 from "Johnny Handsome O.S.T." (October 1989)

Track 10 is Previously Unreleased *

Disc 2 (70:41 minutes):

1. Paris, Texas

2. Theme From Southern Comfort

3. Tap 'Em Up Solid

4. Billy The Kid

5. Crazy 'Bout An Automobile (Every Woman I Know)

6. Drive Like I've Never Been Hurt

7. Feelin' Bad Blues

8. Boomer's Story

9. How Can You Keep Moving (Unless You Migrate Too)

10. Alimony

11. Always Life Him Up/Kanaka Wai Wai

12. Theme From Alamo Bay

13. Dark End Of The Street

14. Why Don't You Try Me

15. Poor Man's Shangri-La

16. Going Back To Okinawa

17. Little Sister

Tracks 4 and 9 from "Into The Purple Valley" (February 1972)

Tracks 8 and 13 from "Boomer's Story" (November 1972)

Track 3 from "Paradise And Lunch" (April 1974)

Track 11 from "Chicken Skin Music" (August 1976)

Track 17 from "Bop Till You Drop" (July 1979)

Tracks 5 and 14 from "Borderline" (October 1980)

Track 2 from "Southern Comfort" (September 1981) - first issued on "Music From Ry Cooder" 2CD set August 1995, the track then Previously Unreleased on CD)

Track 1 from "Paris, Texas O.S.T." (February 1985)

Track 12 from "Music From Alamo Bay O.S.T." (August 1985)

Track 7 from "Crossroads O.S.T." (July 1986)

Track 16 from "Get Rhythm" (November 1987)

Track 15 is from "Chavez Ravine" (June 2005)

Track 6 from "I, Flathead" (June 2008)

The award-winning sound engineer BERNIE GRUNDMAN has mastered "The UFO Has Landed" from the original tapes and he's done a beautiful job - especially given the differing recording dates (the Seventies stuff in particular sounds incredible). The 2nd point is the alignment of the songs themselves; chosen by Ry and his son, they're not in release date order, but as you can see from the track lists above mixed up so that one decade seamlessly flows into the next and back again. A nice idea - but in reality hard to get right - and they have. As a listen it really works. It opens with 1987's "Get Rhythm", then tracks from "Ry Cooder" from 1970 - skip to 1979's "Bop Till You Drop" - skips back to 1974's "Paradise And Lunch" on to 1985's "Paris, Texas" and so on. It gives the play list a fresh feel - and as the remaster quality hammers you, it's like hearing his material anew.

Speaking of sound quality - there's one particular example on here I'd recommend. Many fans will know that 1972's "Boomer Story" is one of those album gems few know anything about - but should. It's a criminally forgotten beauty and luckily its featured on here with 4 tracks - "Cherry Ball Blues", "Boomer's Story", the cover of the James Carr hit "Dark End Of The Street" and the truly beautiful instrumental "Maria Elena". If you've never heard this gorgeous Mexican-style soulful instrumental (sounding like it was recorded in 2006 and not 1972), then go to iTunes and download it for 80p - fabulous stuff.

The DDD recording of "Bop Till You Drop" has always been somehow dull and subdued on CD - but here at least it has more subtle muscle - even if you have to crank "The Very Thing That Makes You Rich (Makes Me Poor)" a little too much (lyrics above). There's also that terrible hiss on "Paris, Texas" - but the remaster has also accentuated just how brilliantly menacing the slide guitar work is - it's all 'feel'... very, very cool. Another lovely track is the theme to "Alamo Bay" and the huge slide sound on "Feelin' Bad Blues" from the 1986 "Crossroads" soundtrack. And on it goes...

Niggles - they've called it after the quirky "UFO Has Landed In The Ghetto" track from 1982's "The Slide Area" and haven't included the track, there's soundtrack stuff aplenty on here when there was the much-praised "Music From Ry Cooder" double CD compilation of 1995 for that - and the liner notes in the 40-page booklet by Ry on each track are often short, cryptic and generally useless. Worse - as you can see from the rather lax playing times on both discs above - there was room for plenty more. We could have had goodies like "All Shook Up", "Teardrops Will Fall", "Ditty Wah Ditty", "Fool For A Cigarette/Feelin' Good" and "I Think It's Going To Work Out Fine". The previously unreleased cover of Wilbert Harrison's "Let's Work Together" is good rather than great.

Having said all of that - I've played this double to death - it's brilliant in so many ways. And every time I feature "Maria Elena" in the shop shuffle it brings a customer to the counter asking after it. They know its Ry Cooder - they just don't know which track it is. I can see it in their faces - making a mental note - forgot how much I loved this guy - I must buy this. You should too.

Recommended like a shoeshine boy getting’ some badly needed rhythm...

“Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong For Lovers” by ELLA FITZGERALD and LOUIS ARMSTRONG (2005 and 2010 Verve CD Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"…As Far As I’m Concerned… It’s A Lovely Day…"

The 11-tracks on "For Lovers" by ELLA FITZGERALD and LOUIS ARMSTRONG (Verve 0602498807989) weigh in at a surprising 53:38 minutes and the sound quality is BEAUTIFUL.

Originally released on CD in June 2005 - this budget-priced August 2010 reissue features all Fifties Mono recordings remastered to perfection by one of Universal's top engineers - ELLEN FITTON.

I've raved about her work before in many reviews - the 14 volumes of "The Complete Motown Singles" - The Marvelettes "Forever" 3CD set -"This Is The Story…" 3CD Box set by The Supremes etc - and her remastering here is right up to those standards.

The 8-page foldout inlay gives full recording credits with a short set of liner notes and the band on several tracks featured such luminaries as OSCAR PETERSON (Piano), HERB ELLIS (Guitar), RAY BROWN (Bass) and LOUIE BELLSON and BUDDY RICH (Drums). Most of the tracks were recorded in August 1956 (some in 1950, 1951 and 1957) and it makes for a lovely listen – the two jazz giants playing off each other’s vocal styles.

The sonic delight of “The Nearness Of You” open proceedings very nicely and “Isn’t This A Lovely Day” is as pretty as they’re combined talents produced (lyrics above). The songs are all smoochy in that ‘dinner suit and cocktails’ kind of a way - and I suppose you could argue that the disc could have been filled out more, but the compilers have gone for an ‘album’ feel – and they were right - it works precisely because less-is-more.

A lovely disc and a very sweet listen indeed – recommended.

“Pride & Prejudice” – A Review Of The 2005 Film Now Reissued On A 2010 BLU RAY.

"…So This Is Your Opinion Of Me…"

In order to have this movie in High Definition, I’ve had the HD-DVD format of it for a few years now – but it’s an America issue and has the awful US ending. Now at last it arrives on BLU RAY in the UK (May 2010) and it’s just as gorgeous a transfer. It uses exactly the same elements that the HD-DVD did – even the same menus – and the extras from the DVD are all intact also (with the US ending tagged on as an Alternate).

The improvement in picture quality is immense over the rather blurred DVD experience. As it opens with a misty dawn and the twitter of birds, we see the young and feisty Elizabeth Bennet (played with a magical touch and staggering assurance by Kiera Knightly) walking with a book. But it’s not until she crosses the courtyard of her home that the real quality kicks in – and it’s a wow. The picture takes you aback – it wasn’t this good in the cinema I can tell you…

It isn’t perfect throughout by any means though. Because they were going for authenticity, a lot of the early evening and dark night sequences are shot in candlelit rooms (as they would have lived), so you get fuzziness in the definition… But once you get out into the countryside or inside one of the great halls of stately homes – where proper lighting prevailed - the picture quality is beautiful. There is one famous dream sequence where only Kiera’s closed eyes fill the screen – she is dreaming of standing on the cliff edge - the clarity is gobsmacking. You also notice the weave of the clothing, the dirt on the hemlines, the ever so slightly unkempt hair – the attention to detail is great.

Directed by Joe Wright and released in late 2005, the film version was living in the shadow of the legendary 6-part BBC production from 1995 – so the movie had a lot on its shoulders and admirably rose to the task. Another trump card was Dario Marianelli’s lush piano score (Oscar nominated) swirling around the scenes like a graceful swan.

In the cinema, it was a delight to look and experience - but sitting at home and watching it in real definition is a far more rewarding and illuminating experience. The acting chops on display is right across the board and apart from a slightly jarring ending, it had the hallmarks of a shoot that was fun and supremely confident in its delivery. I know others will cite the BBC production as definitive – but I think there’s more than enough room on my shelf for both.

Matthew MacFadyen, Brenda Blethyn, Rosamund Pike, Carey Mulligan, Judy Dench, Tom Hollander – they were a cleverly chosen cast – and Rupert Friend won the heart of the lovely Kiera (which might explain the ethereal beauty of her performance). But it’s the stunning adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel by DEBORAH MOGGACH that is the real hero of the day. There is a sequence when Elizabeth and Darcy finally face off against each other in the rain – the dialogue is to die for – and should have been Oscar rewarded. As a dabbler in screenplays myself, I can’t stress enough just how good the work here is – dazzling stuff.

It’s under a tenner, the DVD extras are all intact, the picture quality is much improved and in some cases unbelievably so – and its eminently re-watchable. To sum up - if you’re a fan of the film or Austen, then you must own “Pride & Prejudice” on this format.

A Blu Ray gem and highly recommended.

“Cry Tough” by NILS LOFGREN. A Review Of His 1976 Album Now Remastered & Reissued On A 2009 Hip-O Select CD.

NILS LOFGREN is part of my Series "SOUNDS GOOD: Exceptional CD Remasters 1970s Rock And Pop" Download Book available to buy on Amazon to either your PC or Mac (it will download the Kindle software to read the book for free to your toolbar). Click on the link below to go my Author's Page for this and other related publications:

                       http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B00LQKMC6I

"…Doctor Feelgood Said…Calm Your Soul…You Just Need Another Shot Of Rock'n'Roll…"

Nils Lofgren’s self-titled 1975 debut album on A&M Records made all the right noises for the ex Crazy Horse and Grin lead guitar player - but its 1976 follow up “Cry Tough” really made everyone sit up and take notice (especially for his astonishing fretwork on the title track). But what makes this release so exciting for fans who’ve waited decades for a decent version of the whole album on CD - is the massively improved sound. It’s a new ERICK LABSON REMASTER and is sparkling in its sound quality (has over 900 mastering and audio restoration credits to his name and is one of Universal’s top engineers).

“Cry Tough” was Lofgren’s 2nd album released April 1976 on A&M SP-4573 in the USA and A&M AMLH 64573 in the UK – and this CD is a straightforward 37:02 minute reissue of that LP (Hip-O Select B0013205-02). Released on their own site in September, it received a late October 2009 release date in the States (no UK release date as yet).

The original album had the musician and recording details on the back sleeve – here it’s wisely been taken off that unreadable 5” space and put into a 4-way fold out inlay where you can clearly work out who played what on where. Produced by AL KOOPER, the band featured Nils and his brother Tom Lofgren on Lead and Rhythm Guitar, Wornell Jones on Bass with the Drums shared by Jim Gordon and Aynsley Dunbar. “It’s Not A Crime” also featured some great backing singers – Immediate label soul singer P.P. ARNOLD, BUDDY MILES (of the Electric Flag) and CLAUDIA LENNEAR (who inspired “Brown Sugar” by The Rolling Stones).

The album opens on an absolute high – the speaker spanning keyboards of Al Kooper on the title track “Cry Tough” – a slinky, funky guitar-layered rock gem. To this day the guitar solo in the later part of the song is a truly awesome thing – building, building all the time - it hits you with these fabulous licks and pinging harmonics that literally make you double take. And best of all – it’s five minute duration now sounds just HUGE. Other highlights include the mean sounding acoustics of “Share A Little”, the opener of Side 2 and the drums and upright bass of Scott Ball on “Mud In Your Eye” – so clear. The warmest sounding track is the lovely “Can’t Get Closer (WCGC)” and the only moment of weakness is the crass lyrics of “Jailbait” which don’t sit well with anything. The remaster has also brought out the piano and drums on “Incidentally… It’s Over” and the only cover on the album – Ed Townsend’s “For Your Love” - now has that floating organ bit to the fore, the blistering guitars and galloping bass parts towards the end of the track all sound lucid too – but in a subtle way.

Downsides - it’s shame there isn’t more in the foldout inlay - which settles for what it can get away with - and there could have been some outtakes or even demos. But alas…

To sum up – this Hip-O Select version of “Cry Tough” doesn’t pretend to be anything other than a straightforward reproduction of the original album, but it’s big time recommended for the great new sound quality.

PS: I’ve also reviewed the 2007 Hip-O Select remaster of his solo debut “Nils Lofgren” (1975) and his 3rd album for the label “I Came To Dance”. There’s also a TAG above for both Erick Labson and Hip-O Select to see more of his work and their titles.

PPS: check out his sublime guitar-playing on “Shot At You” from 1992’s “Crooked Line” and “Driftin’ Man” on the double 2003 live set “Nils Lofgren Band Live” – blissful stuff