"The Atlantic Years – Whole Oats/Abandoned Luncheonette/War Babies…Plus" by HALL & OATES (July 2011 UK Edsel Compilation - 3LPs Remastered onto 2CDs with Bonus Tracks) - A Review Of The 2011 Edsel/Rhino 2CD Reissue.

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"…It’ll Be All Right…When The Morning Comes..."

For an album as beloved and as famous as "Abandoned Luncheonette" to not be on a straightforward CD remaster somewhere in the world at a reasonable price is downright odd. Up until now Hall & Oates fans have had to put up with bits of it on a 'Best Of' or 'Live Versions' on a pricey Box Set. But this superb two-disc reissue from Edsel of the UK which gathers up their first 3 albums on Atlantic (including "Abandoned Luncheonette") - puts an end to that – and how. All three LPs are remastered to great effect and you even get 4 bonus tracks from 2 compilations covering the period. Here are the details…

UK released 25 July 2011 (August 2011 in the USA) – "The Atlantic Albums: Whole Oats/Abandoned Luncheonette/War Babies…Plus" by HALL & OATES on Edsel EDSD2103 (Barcode 740155210335) offers 3LPs Remastered onto 2CDs with Bonus Tracks and breaks down as follows:

Disc 1 (75:35 minutes):

1. I'm Sorry

2. All Our Love

3. Georgie

4. Fall In Philadelphia

5. Waterwheel

6. Lazyman

7. Goodnight And Goodmorning

8. They Needed Each Other

9. Southeast City Window

10. Thank You Are

11. Lily (Are You Happy)

Tracks 1 to 11 are their debut album "Whole Oats", released November 1972 in the USA on Atlantic SD-7242. It was eventually released in the UK on Atlantic K 50306 in September 1976

 

12. When The Morning Comes

13. Had I Known You Better Then

14. Las Vegas Turnaround

15. She's Gone

16. I'm Just A Kid (Don't Make Me Feel Like A Man)

17. Abandoned Luncheonette

18. Lady Rain

19. Laughing Boy

20. Everytime I Look At You

Tracks 12 to 20 are their 2nd album "Abandoned Luncheonette", released November 1973 in the USA on Atlantic SD-7269 and January 1974 in the UK on Atlantic K 40534

 

Disc 2 (57:14 minutes):

1. Past Times Behind - first released on "The Atlantic Collection" CD in 1996 (it's an outtake from the "Whole Oats" sessions from April 1972)

 

2. It's Uncanny

3. I Want To Know You For A Long Time

4. Love You Like A Brother - tracks 2 to 4 were three new songs on the "No Goodbyes" compilation album released March 1977 in the USA on Atlantic SD-18213 and in the UK on Atlantic K 50347

 

5. Can't Stop The Music

6. Is It A Star?

7. Beanie G And The Rose Tattoo

8. You're Much Too Soon

9. 70’s Scenario

10. War Baby Son Of Zorro

11. I'm Watching You (A Mutant Romance)

12. Better Watch Your back

13. Screaming Through December

14. Johnny Gore And The C Eaters

Tracks 5 to 14 are their 3rd album "War Babies", released October 1974 in the USA on Atlantic SD-18109 and November 1974 on Atlantic K 50086

Edsel have been at this reissue game for a very long time so it’s no surprise that even at this price, the 32-page booklet being offered here is superlative – Pages 2 to 7 deal with "Whole Oats", Pages 8 to 13 with "Abandoned Luncheonette" and Pages 14 to 23 with the bonus tracks and "War Babies". Pages 24 to 31 give you a history and appreciation of the albums and that period in their career by noted writer ALAN ROBINSON and in between are pictures of 7” singles, album labels, full-colour artwork and promo stuff. The text even references Ken Sharp’s fantastic work on the 2009 4CD Hall & Oates Box Set "Be What You Want, Be Who You Are" (which I’ve extensively reviewed elsewhere). As I say – it’s impressive stuff. But the real fireworks lie in the sound…

Remastered by PHIL KINRADE at the Alchemy Studios in London, the sound quality is superb. The first album suffers a tiny bit from hiss, but by the time you get to the ARIF MARDIN production values of "Abandoned Luncheonette" and the expertise of TODD RUNDGREN on "War Babies" – the audio quality is gorgeous.

Highlights include "Lilly (Are You Happy)" which even in 1972 showed their soulfulness in a rock context, while it’s easy to see why "Goodnight And Goodmorning" was chosen as their debut 7” single on Atlantic – it’s very upbeat if not a little lightweight. "I'm Sorry" was the follow up 45 in the USA and really should have gotten them noticed - but it tanked (amazingly they didn’t reach the US charts until 1976).

 But what did get them attention was the quantum leap in song-writing and production quality on album number 2 – "Abandoned Luncheonette". Even now its opener "When The Morning Comes" sounds as fresh as a daisy and still brings a smile to many a face – the remaster of it is just lovely (lyrics above). It’s followed by the acoustic guitar opening of "Had I Known You Better Then" which is now very clear - as is its slinky bassline. But that's trumped by the punch of the gambling song "Las Vegas Turnaround…" – its incredibly good and again still sounds bright-as-a-button after all these years. Then there’s the big one and their real breakthrough – "She’s Gone" – the audio here is truly gorgeous – with Chris Bond’s Mellotron even more to the fore (the strings too). It’s also a treat to get the lesser-heard and completely forgotten "Laughing Boy" in great sound – it features Hall on a piano only with a solitary Flugelhorn backing him up (provided by Marvin Stamm) – very nice indeed. 

 Disc 2 opens with 4 lesser-heard sides including the excellent outtake "Past Times Behind" – an acoustic ditty as pretty as anything on the debut album. The upbeat "It's Uncanny" was released as a 7” single in late 1977. The "War Babies" album had Todd Rundgren at the controls and you can hear his influence on the trippy "Is It A Star?" and "Beanie G And The Rose Tattoo" which sounds like a "Hermit At Mink Hollow" outtake. But the air-raid sirens that open "War Baby Son Of Zorro" still sound like they belong to some other band - as does the metal jaggedness of "Johnny Gore And The C Eaters". "70's Scenario" is more melodic and "Better Watch Your Back" is good too, but little gets you away from the feeling that the vast majority of the album is a badly misguided mistake at trying a new direction. They would get their more natural soulfulness back when they signed to RCA in 1975 and released stuff like "Sara Smile".

To sum up – 3 full albums and more, great sound quality, superbly annotated booklet, tunes you love and some worth getting to know…and it’s cheap too. Even if it isn't all genius - "The Atlantic Albums...Plus" by HALL & OATES is a very good 2CD deal indeed...

 

HALL & OATES Discography - this 2CD set will allow Hall & Oates fans to sequence their initial USA and UK 45's as follows:

1. Goodnight And Good Morning b/w All Our Love

(November 1972 USA 7" single on Atlantic 45-2922)

Credited to WHOLE OATS

 

2. I'm Sorry b/w Lilly (Are You Happy)

(January 1973 USA 7" single on Atlantic 45-2939)

Credited to DARYL HALL and JOHN OATES with WHOLE OATS

(Remainder credited to DARYL HALL and JOHN OATES)

 

3. Las Vegas Turnaround b/w I'm Just A Kid (Don't Make Me Feel Like A Man)

(January 1974 UK 7" single on Atlantic K 19422)

 

4. She's Gone b/w I’m Just A Kid (Don't Make Me Feel Like A Man)

(February 1974 USA 7" single on Atlantic 2993 – charted at Number 60

September 1974 UK 7" single on Atlantic K 10502 with "Abandoned Luncheonette" as the B-side.

Reissued in August 1976, USA 7" single on Atlantic 3332 – charted at No. 7

Reissued in the UK as a 4-track EP in September 1976 on Atlantic K 10828

A1. She's Gone A2. When The Morning Comes

B1. War Baby Son Of Zorro B2. Lazyman

Reissued again in July 1981, UK 7" single on Atlantic K 11597 with “When The Morning Comes” on the B-side

 

5. When The Morning Comes b/w Lady Rain

(July 1974 UK 7” single on Atlantic K 10459)

 

6. Can't Stop The Music (He Played It Much Too Long) b/w 70's Scenario

(November 1974 USA 7" single on Atlantic 3239)

 

7. Las Vegas Turnaround b/w Had I Known Better Then

(January 1977 UK 7" single on Atlantic K 10887)

 

8. It's Uncanny b/w Beanie G & The Rose Tattoo

(April 1977 UK 7" single on Atlantic K 10915

The A-side is one of 3 new tracks on the compilation "No Goodbyes" - the B-side is on "War Babies")

“A.I. - Artificial Intelligence”. A Review of the 2011 BLU RAY Reissue.

"…Are You 'The Blue Fairy'?”

I remember the highly respected Empire magazine giving a big spread to "A.I. – Artificial Intelligence" when it was first released in 2001 and duly awarding it their coveted 5-star rating. It was a movie of vision they said – and at the time - I thought they were right. But my oh my - how a decade and a new format can change things…

Re-watching "A.I." on BLU RAY in 2011 is a painful and frustrating experience – not just because the film hasn’t dated at all well - but mostly because for a very large part of the movie the print on this reissue is awful…

Why is the case? Anyone who’s purchased “Minority Report” and especially "Saving Private Ryan" on BLU RAY will know of the 'saturation' technique Spielberg uses sometimes to get a certain look – a gritty, slightly smoked effect. Visually this means that the picture is full of shading and speckles – and 50 to 70% of "A.I." is inflicted with this technique too. And while this may have been ok on DVD (hidden even), the heightening of BLU RAY has made many scenes unwatchable as far as I’m concerned.

Instead of making the picture better - the BLU RAY has only accentuated the speckles and haze and made things worse. At times it feels like you’re looking at a badly transferred video and not a state-of-the-art Sci-Fi film. Combine this with Haley Joel Osment’s now irritating performance as the childlike Mecca David who wants his mother’s love back (Francis O’Connor) and goes ceaselessly searching for a character in Pinocchio (dialogue above), the terrible circus-cum-torture scenes in the middle section with Brendan Gleeson looking like he’s going to break into laughter at any minute and the dreadful sappy ending with Ben Kingsley’s saccharine voiceover – and the whole thing reeks of scripted mess and confused vision. Some sympathy has to go to Spielberg who inherited Stanley Kubrick’s story and had to viably bring his 20-year 'baby' to the screen. But whatever your feelings towards how Kubrick would have done it versus Spielberg's outcome - it is NOT going to be enhanced by this reissue.

Don’t get me wrong – there are sequences that look good – even great – entering the futuristic city at night in the car through the huge heads with open mouths – flying out to Manhattan with the pleasure robot Gigalo Joe (Jude Law) in the flying/amphibious Police car – the discussion William Hurt has at the beginning with his students about making a robot that 'loves' for real – but these are few and far between. As most of the film takes place in the Swinton home (David’s parents) and the headquarters of Cybertronics (the company that makes robots for all sorts of tasks), there seems to be no escaping the washed-out look of the film. The extras are good (the 2DVD set) but if the movie’s unwatchable – then what’s the point.

I liked "A.I." then and still think it has its very definite moments to this day - but let’s be blunt about this – I just spent good money on a BLU RAY reissue of a film that is available on the DVD format for a pittance – and its not better – its worse - and absolutely not worth owning.

It is of course a matter of personal taste and choice, but it has to be said - even if you’re a rabid fan of "A.I." - I’d say hire it first to see what it actually looks like 'before' forking out any money on it.

Another huge disappointment on this increasingly frustrating format…

"Studio Outtakes" by THE EVERLY BROTHERS (February 2006 Bear Family 1CD Mini Box Set) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"…All These Many Years…Kept It Locked Inside…"

Bear Family of West Germany have serviced Everly Brothers fans across two decades with three extensive and sumptuous CD Box Sets – "Classic" was the first in 1991 and it covered their Fifties Cadence Label period (3CDs), "The Price Of Fame 1960-1965" came in January 2006 and covered the first part of the Warner Brothers years (7CDs) - while "Chained To A Memory 1966-1972" came in June 2006 and covered the remaining WB period (8CDs+1DVD). Huge hauls for two artists who thoroughly deserved every bit of it - but this 1CD mini box set seems to have gone unnoticed – and unfairly so...

"Studio Outtakes" was released February 2006 on Bear Family BCD 15931 AR (in Germany) and breaks down as follows (79:42 minutes):

Tracks:
1. Bye Bye Love (Take 1)
2. I Wonder If I Care As Much (Take 3)
3. Wake Up, Little Susie (Take 1)
4. Hey, Doll Baby (Take 4)
5. Brand New Heartache (Take 2)
6. Keep-A-Knockin’ (Take 5)
7. Love Of My Life (Take 1)
8. Leave My Woman Alone (Take 1)
9. Rip It Up (Take 4)
10. Maybe Tomorrow (Take 3)
11. Claudette (Take 1)
12. Poor Jenny [One O’clock Version] (Take 7)
13. Problems (Alternate Take)
14. All I Have To Do Is Dream (Take 5)
15. Take A Message To Mary (Take 7)
16. Bird Dog (Take 1)
17. Oh, What A Feeling (Take 4)
18. (‘Til) I Kissed You (Take 3)
19. Poor Jenny [Ten O’clock Version] (Take 3)
20. This Little Girl Of Mine (Take 2)
21. Be Bop A Lula (Long False Start) (Take 4)
22. Claudette (Take 7)
23. Wake Up, Little Susie (Take 6)
24. Hey, Doll Baby (Take 1)
25. All I Have To Do Is Dream (Take 1)
26. Poor Jenny [One O’clock Version] (Take 5)
27. That Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine (Take 2)
28. Down In The Willow Garden (Take 3)
29. Long Time Gone (Take 3)
30. Oh, So Many Years (Take 4)
31. Rockin’ Alone (In An Old Rocking Chair) (Take 12)
32. Kentucky (Take 7)
33. Who’s Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet (Take 15)
34. I’m Here To Get My Baby Out Of Jail (Take 2)

It’s packaged in a 5” mini card box, which apes the 'Scotch Tape' boxes of old used as Master Tapes in the Fifties. Inside is a single card sleeve which repros the reel-to-reel tape box (inside is a similarly themed CD). A nice touch is the reproduction of original adverts on all parts of the inner box that inform us of the SCOTCH 'magnetic tape' and its 'frequency response'. As well as the great music is the other big prize in a Bear Family release - a fat and beautifully laid out 64-page booklet with fabulously detailed notes by ANDREW SANDOVAL (see the 6 Kinks ‘Deluxe Editions’ issued in 2011 for more of his work). His track-by-track analysis goes from Page 3 to Page 39 while 40 to 57 is a discography referencing all 34 outtakes. It shows that Tracks 1-8, 11, 13-14, 16, 20-25 and 27-34 are ‘Previously Unreleased’ and ‘not’ on the "Classic" 3CD box set from 1991.

Sound - I’ve raved about JURGEN CRASSER and his remasters before - and these are no exception – beautifully rendered sound – clear, warm and detailed – but never without being overbearing. Highlights include the extraordinary harmonies on Take 3 of "Maybe Tomorrow" while Take 1 of their most famous song "All I Have To Do Is Dream" is like eavesdropping on the making of musical history; even at this early stage, their first take is so ridiculously accomplished.
The different versions of classics like "Wake Up Little Susie" and "Bye Bye Love" are nice if not a little 'too' familiar. But for me it’s the lesser-heard tracks that really shine – "Long Time Gone" and "Oh, So Many Years" (lyrics above) are just lovely – and it’s a proper treat to hear these gems (locked away in a box somewhere for over 50 years) in such beautiful clarity today – saved for posterity by a reissue label that genuinely gives a damn.

Bear Family have done Janis Martin (1 CD), Johnny Cash (3 CDs), Billy Riley (2 CDs), Johnny Tilllotson (2 CDs) and Gene Vincent (6 CDs) in the “Outtakes” series – but with the multiple disc sets in particular, the repetition can become a listening chore instead of joy. This one disc set isn’t like that.

A fabulous reissue - and once again, the mighty Bear Family delivers the goodies.

"Spyglass Guest/Time And Tide" by GREENSLADE (May 2011 Edsel/Rhino 2CD Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…Inner Space…"

Like many longhaired spotty-teenagers in the early to mid 70’s - I was completely drawn in by PROG ROCK and its mind-expanding themes. I’d be sat there on a Saturday morning (before Alan Freeman’s Rock Show on Radio 1) with my Garrard SP25 turntable, Dustbuster and Emitex Cleaning Cloth whirling away - whilst I devoured the graphically drawn lyrics on Genesis and Yes gatefold album covers. It wasn’t long before my complex-rhythms addiction spread to Uriah Heap, Gentle Giant and Badger – in fact anything with a Roger Dean album cover on it. It was therefore a natural progression that I would stumble on Dave Greenslade’s keyboard vehicle – GREENSLADE. I thought the first two albums "Greenslade" and "Bedside Manners Are Extra" (both issued in 1973 on Warner Brothers) had good moments - but their 3rd LP "Spyglass Guest" saw a level of sophistication that was undeniably better – and in places – even rather beautiful. Which is where this timely UK 2CD reissue comes in…

UK released May 2011 - "Spyglass Guest/Time And Tide" by GREENSLADE on Rhino/Edsel EDSD 2098 (Barcode 0740155209834) contains Greenslade’s 3rd and 4th studio albums Remastered onto two CDs and mellotrons out as follows:

Disc 1 (38:49 minutes):

1. Spirit Of The Dance [Side 1]

2. Little Red Fry-Up

3. Rainbow

4. Siam Seesaw

5. Joie De Vivre [Side 2]

6. Red Light

7. Melancholic Race

8. Theme For An Imaginary Western

Tracks 1 to 8 are their 3rd album "Spyglass Guest" - originally released August 1974 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 56055 and in the USA on Mercury SRM-1 1015.

Disc 2 (32:33 minutes):

1. Animal Farm [Side 1]

2. Newsworth

3. Time

4. Tide

5. Catalan

6. The Flattery Stakes [Side 2]

7. Waltz For A Fallen Idol

8. The Ass’s Ears

9. Doldrums

10. Gangsters

Tracks 1 to 10 are their 4th album "Time And Tide" – originally released April 1975 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 56126 and in the USA on Mercury SRM-1 1025.

The 20-page booklet is much better than I thought it would be – all the original album artwork is here including the lyrics and inner gatefold pictures; there’s a knowledgeable history on the band and the albums by ALAN ROBINSON and best news of all is the hugely upgraded sound. PHIL KINRADE has done the remastering at Alchemy Studios in London and a superlative job it is too – far better than the dull Eighties CDs I’ve had for years just to have the music. Speaking of which - the music is keyboard-driven Prog Rock with sophisticated Jazz rhythms, chord changes and a lyrical lightness of touch that was even fun at times. Bandleader Dave Greenslade played a huge array of instruments - ARP Synthesisers, Fender Rhodes, Clavinet, Glockenspiel, Harmonium, Mellotron and even Tubular Bells. The band also featured Dave Lawson on Various Keyboards and Lead Vocals, Tony Reeves on Bass with Andrew McCullock on Drums. Ace sessionman and guitarist Martin Briley joined them for "Time And Tide”.

To the music - no matter how much affection I once had for these albums - in 2011 a lot of it sounds horribly dated. Tony Reeves vocals still feel strangulated to me. But there is still wonderful stuff on here nonetheless - in particular the instrumental that ended Side 1 of "Spyglass Guest" - "Siam Seesaw". Alan Robinson’s liner notes describe it as "…thoughtful, elegant and a real gem…" and he's right. I’ve waited decades to hear it sound this good – and I’ll admit that at 52 – a little Proggy tear of joy came out of my eye on rehearing it. "Little Red Fry Up" has the guitar of former Colosseum axeman Dave "Clem" Clemson, while Andy Roberts of Liverpool Scene and Plainsong did acoustic guitar on the lovely "Siam Seesaw". "Joie De Vivre" is excellent (lyrics above) – featuring Violin work from Graham Smith (String Driven Thing) trading off keyboard codas with Greenslade. "Red Light" is the nearest they ever got to a single track – clever lyrics with the keys aping the melody. "Rainbow" opens with rainfall and a sinister piano lead-in – it’s then added to by treated drum and cymbal patterns, which fades into a prettier piano passage halfway through that is beautifully produced by Jeremy Ensor. It’s very Prog, but it’s actually very good. "Spyglass Guest" ends on a cover version of Cream's "Theme For An Imaginary Western". In fact the album saw their only chart action in the UK - 3 weeks - peaking at Number 34.

1975s "Time And Tide" saw collaboration with Patrick Woodroffe on the album artwork (they would work later on 1980s double "The Pentateuch Of The Cosmogony") – Woodroffe’s art bearing more than a passing resemblance to Roger Dean’s iconic work. While it might have looked the part, the opening "Animal Farm" is awful and the bitchy "Newsworth" isn’t much better. The Treverva Male Voice Choir lends itself nicely to "Time" which in turn segues into the full-on Mellotron instrumental "Tide" - as a duo, they're very good. "Doldrums" is nice (like an outtake from "Wind And Wuthering"), but most of the rest sounds wildly out-of-place for 1975 and even tedious. 

1976 would see the arrival of PUNK which would blow away all this Hippy nonsense – and rightly so. But for a brief moment back there - to me and many others who held this band and that period of music in great affection - a 25-minute Mellotron solo seemed like the most natural thing in the world – and even beautiful somehow…

To sum up – this 2CD set is a five-star reissue of three-star material – making available again two rare vinyl LPs with enhanced packaging and really great sound. And at less than a fiver, if you’ve any affection for even parts of them - it’s a deal. 

I’m off now to get a haircut and find a real job… 

PS: their first two albums "Greenslade" and "Bedside Manners Are Extra" are also reissued May 2011 on Edsel as a 2CD set for the same cheap price...