"The Thomas Crown Affair". A Review Of The 1999 Film Now Reissued On An 'All-Regions' BLU RAY by 20th Century Fox in 2011.

"…An Elegant Crime… A Worthy Opponent…"

*** THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE 'BLU RAY' VERSION ***

Armed with nothing more sinister than a plain croissant and a nondescript briefcase beneath his seat, billionaire Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan) sits in the Impressionist Gallery of New York’s Metropolitan Museum staring at "Noon: Rest From Work (After Millet)" by Vincent Van Gogh. Approaching from behind comes Bobby the Principal Security Guard (played by Michael Lombard) who then smiles at Crown. It pleases him to see one of the exhibits regular patrons sat in his usual place being no trouble to nobody. But then Bobby is curious...

Immediately to the right of Van Gogh’s 'haystacks' (as his immaculately dressed art-lover calls it) is a painting that would surely appeal to the 42-year old far more – Claude Monet’s "San Giorgio Maggiore At Dusk". But no, Thomas is unmoved. Bobby presses and tells him it’s worth a cool $100 million dollars. But again – Thomas is not impressed. Crown then sighs - and staring with great discipline at the Van Gogh immediately in front of him - he says, "It's nice Bobby. It is. But I like my haystacks…" The Security Guard smiles, shrugs his shoulders and walks away admiring Thomas Crown’s honesty.

A few hours later a 20th Century Greco Asian Horse arrives in a pallet downstairs instead of an Etruscan Sarcophagus – a 'disparity' perhaps? Or perhaps Bobby needs to go to character assessment classes more often…

In 1998 Pierce Brosnan and his production company "Irish Dreamtime" wisely decided to remake the sophisticated 1969 playboy heist movie "The Thomas Crown Affair" which originally starred Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway - cleverly giving Dunaway the part of Crown’s therapist in the new version. It was a genius move. Already beginning to be straight-jacketed by Bond, Brosnan showed that not only could he pull off a leading man in another film, but he could do it with more style and panache than most of Hollywood’s elite. Remake or no - the result was a critical and commercial winner that sizzled with both sex and sexiness.

Containing both of these - and a great deal more – up steps the movie’s other secret weapon – actress Rene Russo playing a super-savvy Insurance Agent called Catherine Banning. The chemistry between her and Brosnan was so sensational it set tongues wagging globally (“Will you get me? Oh I hope so…”). But with all of this loaded dialogue - promptly followed by sweaty shenanigans on the marble staircase - the movie desperately needed some serious grounding and the occasional laugh. For this they added in the wonderful Denis Leary as Detective Michael McCann (…”some of these broads are wearing my salary…”) and Frankie Faison as his partner Detective Paretti. Their sparring with the smarter Russo character (some of her dialogue titles this review) is magical and so deftly handled.

Also blessed with a brilliantly-written and cleverly plotted script by Lesley Dixon and Kurt Wilmer, great original music by Bill Conti and expert Direction by John McTiernan – "The Thomas Crown Affair" was quite rightly hailed as a fantastic piece of cinema.

Which brings us to this BLU RAY reissue. Its default aspect is 2.35:1 (bars on the top and bottom), but even stretched to full screen – it holds its shape, is detailed and clean. I’m also thrilled to say that the picture upgrade is obvious even as the credits roll. It never looks anything less than great and at times (close-ups of suits, faces in restaurants, her slinky gowns) it looks beautiful. Even in the Museum Basement sequences - which are dark and faintly lit – the print is still superbly clear.

Niggles – the Blu Ray is an American-only issue at the moment, but it is an 'all regions' disc – which means it plays on all players. Some have found that this isn’t the case, but it did on my mine without any fuss whatsoever – so check your machine. The other major let down is the complete absence of any extras – not even a trailer. But - by way of small consolation – the disc can be had for less than a tenner…

To sum up - 12-years haven't diminished the entertainment value of this fantastic remake one jot. And despite the disappointing lack of extras – the truly superb upgrade in picture quality and reasonable price - should convince fans and newcomers alike to put this Blu Ray repurchase high on their wish list. Great stuff.

I’m off now to capsize my yacht and run off with that moll from the insurance company with the M25 legs and Mick Jagger lips (as you do)…

BLU RAY Specifications:
Picture: 2.35:1 Aspect ratio
Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Spanish 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English for Hard-Of Hearing, Spanish and French

"Sucker Punch". A Review Of The 2011 Film Now Issued On A Double & Triple Pack BLU RAY.

"...Ask Yourself...Where Is My Mind?"

"Sucker Punch" gets close - it really does. For some of its duration - it absolutely rocks. Employing visuals that borrow heavily from Guillermo Del Toro's "Hellboy" and The Wachowski Brothers' "Matrix" (falling empty shell casings, running up and down walls with big guns and even bigger swords) - it serves up huge action set pieces that come at you with the breathtaking audacity of a Punk band doing their first gig.

The story goes something like this - the principal female character (the permanently soppy-faced Baby Doll played by Emily Browning) has five days to 'escape' before the 'High Roller' comes into town and does whatever that perverted twat does. Baby Doll and her fellow inmates are then instructed by a wise warrior (Scott Glenn) to gather up 5 items from 4 battles - a map, a knife, fire and a Key - the fifth item being an unknown - a mythical thing that will set them free if only Baby Doll can recognize what it is. It helps of course that the heroines look like a SEAL team from St. Trinians - tooled-up twenty-something nubiles with protruding cleavage, laced-up leather bodices, frilly skirts and Cheerleader ponytails.

It all sounds like great fun - and as I say - in parts it is. But all that hard-won admiration goes right out the window when we encounter the real world and the 'other' storyline...

The girls are really in a Vermont Sanatorium - orphaned and under the watchful eye of a violent slimeball called Blue (Oscar Isaac). The Lennox House for the Mentally Insane is a place where cruelty is an institutionalized norm and use of their bodies a lucrative side business. To alleviate all of this authority-ignored abuse of the inmates, Dr. Gorski (Carla Gugino) teaches each pretty young lady how to dance and thereby 'escape' to where there is no fear and they are free. "...That place can be as real as any pain..." she wisely councils them - poncing about the theatre area in her own ludicrously provocative outfit that's a composite of teacher, Madam and slut. And as you can imagine - it's these slyly staged scenes that will sorely test the patience of even the most open-minded of viewers. I hate to come across like an old prude here - but the 'girlpower' theme is so obviously exploitive - and worse - the film is blatantly guilty of voyeuristic sleaze it supposedly abhors.

But that’s not the worst part – there’s sickening cruelty doled out by men on the girls. Instead of empowerment of women we get assaults in kitchens, beatings in offices and lap dancing for grotesque male patrons. And "Sucker Punch" somehow seems to gloat on it too. It smacks of appalling hypocrisy and has of course caused an outcry in the States (as did the graphic violence to children in the sick "Watchmen"). Women's Groups everywhere may quite rightly feel that Director Zack Snyder needs to be taken outside - given a good slap - and told to grow up.

It's a damn shame because you can't help but think that with some obvious rejiggering of the plot - put all the fantasy action sequences together in one go with the Asylum stuff at the end - thereby giving you a big reveal and also giving the girls a freedom of sorts - Snyder might have indeed produced a genre masterpiece that actually said something into the bargain. The actresses themselves could also be accused of being 'suckered' into such an obvious mix of titillation and torture, but they were probably having too much fun swinging around on pulleys to notice.

"Sucker Punch" is not a movie I'm going to watch again willingly - let alone buy – and it’s hard to forgive its staggeringly convenient theme about the empowerment of women through sexy clothes and fighting. But some of those action sequences are great and some may feel it’s worth a rental for that alone.

"The Company Men". A Review of the 2010 Film Now On A 2011 BLU RAY.

"…You're Gonna Have A Rough Time Out There…"

Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck) knots his silk tie, jumps into his silver Porsche Convertible, speeds out of the leafy drive of his seven-figure suburban mansion and heads off into his job as Regional Sales Manager for GTX – an $11 billion dollar ship-building conglomerate based in the plusher part of Boston who employ over 60,000 people nationwide…

In a less conspicuously wealthy part of town Phil Woodward (Chris Cooper) – a man who’s been to Vietnam and then worked himself up from a 60-hour week doing dangerous riveting on the propeller shafts of oil-tankers to a distinguished 30-year managerial career – fixes his dapper cufflinks – albeit a little more wearily.

Out by the waterfront in a palatial monolith too gross for mere adjectives, the Executive Vice President of Global Transportation Services (GTX) Gene McClary (played by Tommy Lee Jones) looks down at a machine that polishes his leather shoes to a mirror-like shine. All three then look into their home mirrors with the faintest whiff of insufferable smugness.

Little do any of them know that Black Friday is about to bring a particularly cruel and detached word into their vocabulary – 'downsizing'…

"The Company Men" deals with the American bank collapses of September 2008 and their devastating knock-on effect on US heavy-manufacturing industries and their already constricting workforces. As you can see from the principal actors outlined above - the cast is to die-for – and John Well's Script and Direction gives them real substance to work with. Another weapon in the movie's favour is the cinematography of the legendary ROGER DEAKINS (“The Shawshank Redemption”, “The Hudsucker Proxy” and “True Grit”). Not only is the Blu Ray image immaculate throughout (he can make a car driving down a snowy road look like poetry) – the pristine sheen of home interiors and top floor offices strewn with Degas Paintings and iMacs is both beautiful and menacing – because beneath all that money, veneer and polish is a very real unspoken threat - poverty is only a corporate axe-swing away.

The story begins by putting all three 'company men' in the firing-line – forcing each to reassess themselves and the promises of people they once thought they could trust. Tommy Lee Jones – an actor with as much gravitas as the Lincoln Memorial – does a stunning job of portraying Gene McClary. You can literally 'feel' his treacle-like slide into the abyss. His lifelong friendship with his boss Jim Salinger (a typically excellent Craig T. Nelson) is poisoned beyond repair as corporate greed callously axes 5000 jobs to meet shareholder’s needs – and keep the big boys and their moneyed lifestyle intact (Bobby Walker is the first of these casualties). As the monetary noose tightens – another 5000 job cuts are called for and the blade comes closer to home. In a brilliantly written scene where they’re deciding who goes and who stays - a lawyer tells Gene "…We’re breaking no laws here…" to which Gene replies "…I guess I always assumed we were trying for a higher standard than that…" And is doesn’t help either that Gene is sleeping with Sarah Wilcox (Maria Bello) – an upper-coming executive who does all the firing in a sexy dress with a concerned look…

Chris Cooper too brings the film some badly-needed heart with a brilliant and unnerving portrayal of a man of a certain age losing his job – and by extension what defines him. In a particularly brutal scene - a tough female Career's Officer (Cady Huffman) tells Phil how it really is (her dialogue titles this review) and she doesn’t mince her words "You're pushing sixty and you look like Hell…" She outlines what has to be axed and what has to be massaged in his old fart’s resume. Sat there in a suit that no longer feels right and with his body crouched forward in an already defeated way, Cooper’s look of puppy-dog bewilderment combined with a barely contained rage is so good that it’s palpable. His disintegration later is both sad and painfully believable. He’s a great actor and such an asset to this movie…

But the whole thing pivots on Ben Affleck's character Bobby Walker and the arc of his painful journey. He starts out as an insufferable motormouth earning $120,000 a year plus incentives with a golf-club membership and eating-out expenses of $600 a month. His wife and two kids want for nothing and have every electrical gadget that screams 'we've arrived'. And when he joins the Jobseeker's club he cockily tells Danny (a huge presence in Eamonn Walker) that he'll have a job in a few days – he completely believes it. Three months later – with his car and possessions gone – their home foreclosed on – 100% of his phonecalls not returned and his severance pay running out - he’s beginning to look and sound like a 37-year old loser who can’t support his family. Luckily his wife Maggie (a superlative Rosemary DeWitt) keeps him and their world from falling apart with a practicality that her husband so clearly lacks (they rediscover each other in the process).

Affleck is often accused of being too pretty boy and too lightweight to be taken seriously, but with his two excellent directorial works "Gone Baby Gone" and "The Town" and past performances in "Hollywoodland" and "State Of Play" – once again he shows here that he can easily stand up with the big boys. There’s a scene in Jack’s house (a wonderfully held-back performance by Kevin Costner – a working man who is incensed at the mere presence of this upstart he clearly feels deserves his comeuppance) when Bobby is looking around the room at the dinner table. He sighs - he’s anticipating lectures about responsibility and prayers for hope - his eyelids weigh about 2000 tons. The slide of despair has begun – but there’s still that arrogance there. It's a spot-on performance by Affleck for his character at that particular moment. By the time his Bobby gets to huffing sheets of timber about on a construction site for his hated brother-in-law – his dirty-faced blister-handed appreciation of having 'any' job is real and complete. It's impressive stuff…

Niggles – despite the A-list cast, the beautiful presentation of the print, the often exceptional writing and the slick direction, there’s a gnawing feeling that you’re being asked to care about smug pricks with too much money – people you want to hit over the head repeatedly with a cricket bat. And worse - the movie slyly concentrates too much on the ‘young’ jobless type and not the men of 40, 50 and 60 who can be all but destroyed by such a loss. But luckily the script is smarter than all that and despite a rather pat happy-ending - the sheer quality of the cast and the material win out.

"The Company Men" probably isn't going to trouble any Oscar Nominations List or fire up critics into spilling out orgasmic soliloquies - but like a good night in with friends where way too many drinks have been taken – what was said in liquored-up truth the night before will stay with you for days afterwards. Mostly it’ll make you think about 'work' - how it traps/frees us - how it even gives us life itself...

And if "The Company Men" makes us appreciate what we have and value it - then it's a job well done. A good movie really...

Put it high on your rental list.

"Barney's Version" - A Review Of The 2010 Film Now On A 2011 BLU RAY.

"…Have I Ever Given Up When It Comes To 'You'…"

Sounding not unlike a child’s software program - "Barney's Version" is a terrible name for a film and nearly put me off renting this 'journey' movie – I'm glad it didn’t.

Produced by Robert Lantos and Directed by Richard Lewis, the screenplay by Michael Konyves is adapted from Mordecai Richler’s 1997 book of the same name. Across 30 eventful years, it tells the story of Barney Panofsky – a Monte Cristo smoking, whiskey guzzling chubby man living in Montreal. Barney is the TV Producing equivalent of "Gregory House" – irascible and loveable at the same time. Like his Dad Izzy Panofsky (a scene-stealing Dustin Hoffman) Barney tells it as it is – loves women impulsively – is headstrong in everything he does but has his heart in the right place. But he has a fatal flaw. It isn’t that Barney is deliberately cruel or mean, he just keeps on making terrible mistakes over and over again (most of which are of his own making) and learns rather painfully as the years pass and happiness fades that the enemy is not others but 'himself'.

It begins in Rome in 1974 when we’re introduced to his motley crew of dead-beat friends – there’s Thomas Trabacchi as Leo Fasoli – an Italian artistic genius who has yet to find an appreciative audience, a black friend who does a terrible deed on Barney (he later forgives this) and his best-friend – Boogie. Young, cocky, handsome and fancy-free – Boogie is a full-on babe magnet (played beautifully by Scott Speedman) who can’t seem to finish his brilliant first novel as he systematically hoovers up every narcotic he can get his sweaty hands on. You sense Barney admires his balls and vicariously lives out his fantasies through Bookie’s wanton bohemian lifestyle – but as life and the years go on – Bookie's drug addiction and stupid waste of a God-given talent stop being funny and even lead to a drunken catastrophe by the lake house.

We are then introducing to Barney’s three women – Clara, Bonnie and Miriam. Each of the actresses get real meat to work with and you can really sense they are relishing good parts in a good film. 1st up is Rachelle LeFevre playing Clara Chambers – a family dysfunctional who is beautiful but bordering on mental illness at every moment. Her performance is short but so astutely done. Barney then meets the equally gorgeous Miriam – a well-connected Jewish lady who can talk to beat the band (has a ‘Master’s Degree’) – dryly played by Minnie Driver to maximum effect. But then his eyes meet with the real deal – Miriam – played by the ethereally beautiful British actress Rosamund Pike. Barney is lost from the moment he sees her and pursues Miriam with the relentlessness of a Tomahawk missile. Their relationship’s up and downs make up the bulk of the movie and Pike is fabulous in the part. More top moments are provided by the rest of the cast...

Hoffman gets some great dialogue which he delivers in that soft understated way of his – regaling a table of elderly po-faced ladies at Barney’s 2nd wedding about his 'cop-on-the-beat' past he tells them "…he came at me with a hard-on the size of a can of hairspray…"
Or when he’s giving his son ludicrously inept parental advice about marriage to Bonnie (a subject he knows nothing about) "…you’re married to a well-bred woman who is loaded, makes a nice Flaky Kugel and has a beautiful rack – many successful marriages have been built on far less…"

Nice supporting roles also go Kate Hopkins and Jake Hoffman who play Kate and Michael (Miriam and Barney’s grown-up children) – Jake Hoffman showing more than a passing vocal and visual resemblance to his famous Dad - and glimpses of his acting chops. Bruce Greenwood is Blair – a handsome vegan who tempts Miriam both mentally and spiritually in the later stages of her rocky marriage to Barney - while Macha Grenon is superb as Solange - an aging TV star in the 30th season of Barney’s daytime soap “Malley Of The North” – a woman who constantly harks back to her looks in the past (her clinging neediness is both protected and derided by Barney in equal measure). England’s Mark Addy is excellent as Detective Sean O’Hearne – a bull-headed cop who is convinced that Barney has literally gotten away with murdering one his friends and has published a book to that effect called “With Friends Like These” (the mystery is brilliantly resolved at the end of the movie). There’s even a great cameo by Saul Rubinek as Clara’s Jewish father who tries to guilt away Clara’s self-destructive past – but not in a way that shows compassion - but embarrassment for what it brought to their family (Barney makes short shift of him).

But the film belongs to Giomatti - who gives his bumbling motormouth of a creation a beating heart – you laugh at Barney’s life-grabbing impulsiveness (a particularly nice scene where he chases after Miriam in a train) up to his heart-breaking remorse at doing what he said he would never do to Miriam (crying into her chest on the side of the bed). With the aid of wigs and make-up, Giomatti flits from one time period to the next – and in each his character is wholly believable. In rolls on to 2010 where Barney is now balding and forgetting where he parked his car – but gets one final meet with his beloved Miriam. They talk openly and honestly and despite differences and irreparable harm - express their true feelings (title above). Giomatti is magnificent in the role and fully deserved of his Golden Globes Award for Best Actor.

To sum up – while it’s a couple of shades short of being a masterpiece - “Barney’s Version” is that rarity – a really good film that you’ve neither seen nor heard of – a little filmic gem that deserves a viewing and will reward you for doing so.

Put it high on your rental list.

"Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get" by THE DRAMATICS. A Review Of Their 1972 Soul Album Now Remastered And Expanded Onto A 2011 "Stax Remasters" CD.

This review is part of my "SOUNDS GOOD: Exceptional CD Remasters Soul, Funk & Jazz Fusion" 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

"…I'm For Real…Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get…"

What this 2011 CD doesn’t advertise too well is that it contains 'two' Stax albums and not just one – and then for good measure - throws in two more bonus tracks as well (and it’s pitched at mid-price too). Here are the details…

Released Monday 12 September 2011 in the UK (reissued 12 Oct 2011), Concord Music Group, Inc 0888072331761 breaks down as follows (59:03 minutes):

Tracks 1 to 8 are their debut album "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get" – released January 1972 in the USA on Volt Records VOS-6018 and April 1972 in the UK on Stax Records 2362 025

Tracks 9 to 16 are their 2nd album "A Dramatic Experience" – released October 1973 in the USA on Volt Records VOS-6019 and April 1974 in the UK on Stax Records STX 1021

Tracks 17 and 18 are "Stand Up Clap Your Hands" and "Hum A Song (From Your Heart)" – two previously unreleased tracks which first appeared on the 1991 CD reissue of "A Dramatic Sensation"

The new 12-page booklet has very knowledgeable and affectionate liner notes by ROB BOWMAN (author of “Soulsville, U.S.A.: The Story Of Stax Records”). You also get the original artwork on the front and rear of the booklet, musician and session details, a collage of 2 photos on the inlay beneath the see-through tray and the disc itself pictures the original LP sleeve (front and rear). But it’s a shame the booklet doesn’t go any further – there’s no new photos, no memorabilia – not even a picture of the title track – their most famous and beloved tune. Surely a promo 45 could have been procured? It makes the inlay feel workmanlike at best – even a little dull – when it should have spread its wings a little. But the big news is the SOUND…

I bought and recently reviewed two other titles in this new "Stax Remasters" series - "Be Altitude: Respect Yourself" by The Staples Singers and “McLemore Avenue” by Booker T. & The M.G.’s and duly raved about the fabulous sound quality on both – especially after years of lacklustre reissues in jewel cases and repro digipaks.
Well this is the same. 24-bit remastered from the first generation tapes at JOE TARANTINO Mastering in Berkeley, California – the audio quality is fantastic – which of course makes you reassess every song – and here it gives incredible clarity to these hugely underrated and largely forgotten Soul albums.

Highlights include "In The Rain" which has a melodrama formula that 'so' works. The song intro is a thunderstorm - rainfall then fills the speakers - only to succumb to a heavily echoed guitar which actually sounds like a man crying. With William "Wee Gee" Howard's pleading vocals and Dennis Coffey on that treated guitar, the public and radio loved it - sending "In The Rain" all the way to the No.1 spot on the US R'n'B charts. The sound quality of the horn player on "Gimme Some (Good Soul Music)" is startling too – so clear – and the tune is reminiscent of The Temptations at their upbeat best.
Even the two bonus tracks don’t disgrace themselves - especially the "…get it together…" message funk of "Stand Up Clap Your Hands".
The title track "Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get" too has been gracing CD compilations for decades – a stone Soul classic (lyrics above).

To sum up – this is as superlative value-for-money reissue with top-notch Seventies Soul and sound quality that trumps everything that’s gone before.

The book of 'Guinness World Records 2012' is launched today (15 Sep 2011) and in it they celebrate Aevin Dugas from New Orleans - who at 4ft 4in. - officially has the world’s biggest Afro Hairdo.

Well - like Aevin - this CD is both impossibly cool and worthy of written celebration. Recommended.

PS: titles in the "STAX REMASTERS" series are:
1. McLemore Avenue - BOOKER T. & THE M.G.'S (1970) [May 2011]
2. Woman To Woman - SHIRLEY BROWN (1975) [September 2011]
3. Whatcha See Is Whatcha Get – THE DRAMATICS (1972) [September 2011]
4. Be Altitude: Respect Yourself - THE STAPLE SINGERS (1972) [May 2011]
5. Tailored In Silk - JOHNNIE TAYLOR (1973) [May 2011]
6. Do The Funky Chicken – RUFUS THOMAS (1970) [September 2011]

"The Story Of Trojan Records" by VARIOUS ARTISTS. A Review Of The 2011 5CD Box Set.

"…The Child Is Black…The Child Is White…A Beautiful Sight…"

Released 29 August 2011, "The Story Of Trojan Records" is a UK Book-Sized Box Set on Universal UMC/Sanctuary 2775354.
Containing 123 tracks across 5 discs (87 are new to CD), you can also use CD1 in your PC or MAC to register the set after purchase which will entitle you to a further 12 tracks exclusive to download.
It breaks down as follows…

Disc 1: "25 Big Ones – UK Hits"
Red & White Trojan Records CD Label, 25 Tracks from 1969 to 1974, 74:56 minutes

Disc 2: "Reggae Greats – The Artists"
Pale Blue Trojan Records CD Label, 25 Tracks from 1967 to 1980, 79:44 minutes
Tracks 2-4, 7, 9-11, 15 and 23 are Previously Unreleased

Disc 3: "The Big Shots – The Producers"
Orange & Yellow Big Shot Records CD Label, 25 Tracks from 1969 to 1981, 79:50 minutes
Tracks 3 and 18 are Previously Unreleased in the UK, 12 is Previously Unreleased, 15 is a Previously Unreleased Version

Disc 4: "A To Z Of Trojan – The Labels"
Red & Yellow Attack Records CD Label, 25 Tracks from 1968 to 1977, 78:25 minutes

Disc 5: "Unreleased Gems, Rarities & Oddities"
Blue & Yellow Blue Cat Records CD Label, 23 Tracks from 1969 to 1975, 73:57 minutes
Tracks 1, 3-7, 10, 16 and 18-22 are Previously Unreleased in the UK; tracks 8-9, 11-15, 17 and 23 are Previously Unreleased

On the inside - each fully loaded CD is housed in a card sleeve with a different Trojan Records logo on the front to reflect the period - while the discs themselves also go into Trojan associated labels (as described above). The 50-page booklet contains extensive liner notes by set compiler and Reggae expert LAURENCE CANE-HONEYSETT (Author of "Young Gifted & Black – The Story Of Trojan Records" – see separate review) with the text peppered by period photos, album covers, trade reviews etc. There are also 4 full-length double-sided colour reproduction postcards featuring adverts for Trojan LPs and 45’s, best-seller 7” single charts from the period, gig flyers etc. Visually the cards are probably the best things in here – they’re really pretty and hugely evocative of the late Sixties and early Seventies. There’s also a small Trojan Window Sticker and even the shaped-well that houses the card sleeves in the base of the box is a repro of a May 1970 Magnetic Tape Box. It’s very nicely done indeed. JARED HAWKES did the tape transfers and the remastering was carried out at Tim Debney and Nick Watson’s FLUID MASTERING in London.

First up is the look of the set – if you look closely at the photos provided above, you will notice a slight smudging on the white and yellow Trojan logo on the front box – with the same effect carried over to the front page of the booklet. It looks like it’s dirtied - smudged with fingerprints and toner ink. I don’t know what bright spark thought this was a good idea because it isn’t. One of our customers who bought the box on the day of release brought it back to the store where he bought it from complaining bitterly that it was 'stained'. When it was pointed out to him that this 'old tape box' look was deliberate – he still didn’t want it! Hardly the effect the makers of this set would want. It may seem like a small pedantic point, but when you actually see the box – it just looks like it needs a good wash (every page in the booklet is back-grounded with the same). It’s a shame, because I wouldn’t want any person put off the real deal here – the actual content and the huge improvement in sound achieved…

A word on that first - the 'sound'. Everybody knows that Reggae and Ska from the late Sixties and early Seventies was recorded in a bucket with a hole at the bottom – it's always lo-fi and that’s part of its charm actually. But to my ears there’s a big improvement on here to what went before. I’ve reviewed 4 of Sanctuary’s DELUXE EDITIONS for Trojan Records - Tighten Up Vol.1 & 2, John Holt and Symarip – and somehow the sound achieved here trumps them all – as if someone made a concerted effort to get as many real tapes as possible. And even on the unreleased stuff like "You Didn’t Answer" by Desmond Dekker on Disc 2 or the superb "Double Barrel Man" by Dandy (a version of "Double Barrel") on Disc 5 – it’s still excellent.

Content - while people will love the improved sound of the hits on Disc 1 (Greyhound's "Black And White" still has a message that resonates to this day - lyrics above), I personally like everything on Disc 4 where the set stretches out to Trojan associated labels and their rare 45's. Stuff like "Chicken Lickin'" by Lloyd Charmers on High Note or the lovely Ska of "Freedom Train" by Brent Dowe on Summit. "Rolling Stone" by Tommy Shakespeare on Disc 5 has been a hard-to-find 45 too (a Jamaican import I believe) – and it sounds great here. The Producers set (Disc 3) has gems on it like "Put It Down, Children" by The Melodians produced by the legendary Leslie Kong in 1970 and unreleased until now. In fact most of it is an embarrassment of riches…

To sum up – with its huge haul of unreleased and first-time-on-CD goodies, this superb box set (despite reservations about how it looks) is clearly aimed at diehard collectors and is not for the faint hearted who would probably find a ten spot spent on the Deluxe Edition of "Tighten Up" will suffice. But if you're prepared to dig a bit deeper and fork out the bit extra – then "The Story Of Trojan Records" will pay dividends for years to come. As Bob Marley said "…Stir it up little darling…"

Easily 'the' Reggae Reissue Of The Year 2011.

"City To City" by GERRY RAFFERTY (September 2011 UK EMI 2CD 'Collector's Edition' Reissue with Previously Unreleased Material and Denis Blackham Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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No Cut and Paste Crap

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"…Time To Cross That Line…"

In truth - I've probably not touched a needle on this vinyl album since I played it to death for the whole of 1978. And re-listening to it now some 33 years after the event on this new 2CD reissue - I'm properly taken aback at just how good "City To City" really is. Musically accomplished and lyrically deep - it's a genuine Seventies melodic masterpiece. 

And while this 2CD Remaster is sorely overdue and to be welcomed, unfortunately it lets the side down in obvious ways discussed later (4-stars when it could have been five). But let's get to the details of this 2011 sonic overhaul first...

UK released Monday 5 September 2011 – "City To City: Collector's Edition" by GERRY RAFFERTY on EMI 5099908726728 (Barcode 5099908726728) is a 2CD Reissue and New Remaster that breaks down as follows:

CD1 (59:09 minutes):

1. The Ark [Side 1]

2. Baker Street

3. Right Down The Line

4. City To City

5. Stealin' Time

6. Mattie's Rag [Side 2]

7. Whatever's Written In Your Heart

8. Home And Dry

9. Island

10. Waiting For The Day

Tracks 1 to 10 are the album "City To City" - released in the UK in January 1978 on United Artists UAS 30104 and April 1978 in the USA on United Artists UA-LA840-G. It reached Number 6 on the album charts in the UK and Number 1 in the USA.

Track 11 is "Big Change In The Weather" - an album outtake that was put on the B-side of the 7" single edit of "Baker Street"

CD2 (28:57 minutes):

Tracks 1 to 8 are all PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED - 4 'Original Demo' versions of album tracks - "Baker Street" (3), "Mattie's Rag" (4), "Stealin' Time" (6) and "City To City" (7), an 'Original Demo' version of the B-side "Big Change In The Weather" (2), an 'Early Studio Version' of "Take The Money And Run" (5) and two new short inclusions - "Instrumental Intro" (1) and "Instrumental Outro" (8).

Housed in a 3-way foldout card pack, the 12-page CD booklet is graced (if you could call it that) by JOHN PATRICK BYRNE'S 'original' album artwork - a gruesome cartoon of some biker with bad teeth and a Gerry Rafferty badge on his leather jacket. It was wisely ditched as 'too' much - thereby leaving United Artists to use Byrne's stunning 'guitar in his lap' painting instead. There are hugely personal liner notes by friend and fellow musician RAB NOAKES with the text peppered by photos of the terminally unhip Rafferty with his trademark tinted glasses and straight hair. In truth, the booklet is massively underwhelming, but its shortcomings are quickly forgotten when you hear the opening 40 seconds of "The Ark" - when you're hit by the SUPERB NEW SOUND QUALITY...

Remastered by DENIS BLACKHAM at Skye Mastering in Scotland - the audio quality is truly spectacular - warm, present and full of details you haven't heard before. And when there's hiss present like on the epic slow builders "Stealin' Time" and "Whatever's Written In Your Heart" - it hasn't been engineered out of existence - it's been allowed to breath. After the squashed grooves of the overcrowded 50-minute-plus vinyl album and the dullard EMI CD that's been on the marketplace for decades - every track suddenly feels like a revelation now. I've raved about Denis Blackham's tape work before - he has over 900+ mastering credits to his name across decades of music - Sandy Denny's "The North Star Grassman And The Ravens", Talk Talk's "The Colour Of Spring", the award-winning 2009 7CD Topic Records Box Set - "Three Score & Ten" - this is up there with those much-praised reissues...

Highlights include the jaunty and sweetly musical "Right Down The Line" and the fantastic train-song "City To City". Every instrument on the iconic "Baker Street" is suddenly in your face and has real power. And I'd forgotten just how beautiful "Stealin' Time" is - and with words that now seem sadly prophetic (lyrics above). His love of Irish music comes out in "Mattie's Rag" and the album finishes on the cool and upbeat "Waiting For The Day". The non-album B-side "Big Change In The Weather" makes its first appearance on CD here - and it's a cracker - a great track.

As you can see from the total playing time above, the 'outtakes' on Disc 2 may be short, but they're shockingly good. Mastered by ANDY PATTERSON in 2007, they are book-ended by two new 30-second instrumentals that would have worked beautifully on the finished album, but time restraints probably meant their exclusion. The fully-instrumented demo of "Baker Street" now shows that Rafferty came up with the famous Sax solo note-for-note while "Mattie's Rag" loses the slightly cod-Irish feel of the finished album cut - and is better for it. The 'Early Studio Version' of "Take The Money And Run" is fantastic - the finished song would turn up on his next album "Night Owl" in 1979, but here it's fully formed and 'so' good - a reminder of how 'hooky' his melodies were. Gem-award goes to "Stealin' Time" - the first to be acoustic only and its gorgeous - pared-back and still as powerful as the church-huge finished item on Side 2 of the original album. And when he sings "...so goodnight...yeah goodnight..." on "City To City" you genuinely wish there was more of this. What an impressive songwriter he was. 

Niggles - when "Baker Street" was released as a 7" single on 3 Feb 1978 in the UK - it caused an absolute radio sensation. Economically paired down for single release, it packed a HUGE PUNCH. The result - it was played daily - and I mean globally. In the USA alone it clocked up over 1 million radio plays in its first year and has been a Rock Radio staple ever since. The point? Track 2 is the full 'album version' running to 6:11 minutes, but the 7" single is an edit at 4:10 minutes and is by far the most commonly known cut - to the point where the full album version may even seem odd to some people. And yet this much-loved single version isn't on a 'Collectors Edition' - a really dumb and sloppy omission. Again the other 2 tracks issued as 7"s off the album were "Whatever's Written In Your Heart" and "Right Down The Line" - also 7" edits at 5:15 and 3:42 minutes respectively - but again a no-show on either. There's ample room for all 3 edits on Disc 1 and they should be on here.

The reproduced John Byrne artwork on the inside of the tri-gatefold card pack is from his 1971 debut solo album "Can I Have My Money Back Please" and is nicely done - but the booklet in thin and mediocre. There are USA and Foreign picture sleeves to most of the singles - not here. The original vinyl album never included the lyrics in the UK - and the new booklet was a perfect opportunity to expand on that - especially as his words were so good and so intelligent. None of the musicians are interviewed - especially HUGH BURNS and RAPHAEL RAVENSCROFT who respectively did the stunning guitar and sax work on "Baker Street". There are no interviews with Billy Connolly his old sparring-partner in The Humblebums or Joe Egan his song-writing collaborator in Stealer's Wheel. 

On the upside - at least we can now read the track-by-track musician credits on Page 11 of the inlay, which were almost indecipherable on the rear of the original LP sleeve. But the packaging smacks way too much of what EMI could get away with - when you could imagine that if Edsel, Ace or Raven had handled this, it would have 24-page minimum affair - and properly annotated to give the great man the respect he is so clearly due. They may be small pedantic points I know, but they're worth making when EMI is charging you full whack on this. Still - there is at least the superb new sound quality to savour...

To sum up - despite the ok-only packaging - there's a superb new remaster of the album on CD1 and outakes on Disc 2 that actually warrant the word bonus.   

Born in Paisley, Scotland in 1947, Gerry Rafferty had indeed been "...stealin' time..." and lost his lifelong battle with alcoholism in January 2011. I wish he could be around today to hear the heaps of praise this superb new sonic overhaul will undoubtedly garnish among fans and musicians alike. And I think I now know why Denis Blackham so 'lovingly' remastered this album - both the music and Gerry Rafferty himself engendered huge affection.

Rest In Peace you wonderful songwriter and I hope the "...goodnight train carried you home..."

The album produced 3 x 7" singles in the UK (none of the 7" edits are on this 2CD set):

1. Baker Street [Edit] b/w Big Change In The Weather

February 1978 on United Artists US 36346 (B-side non-album)

2. Whatever's Written In Your Heart [Edit] b/w Waiting For The Day

May 1978 on United Artists UP 36403

3. Right Down The Line [Edit] b/w Island

September 1978 on United Artists UP 36445

"Night Beat" by SAM COOKE (2005 Sony/RCA/Legacy CD Reissue - Bob Ludwig Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Don't You Love It...Make You Feel Good..."

Recorded across 3 nights in February 1963, "Night Beat" is an unusual album for Sam Cooke in that it features slowed-down, paired-back Blues tunes with a slightly Soul-Gospel tint - and man does it work. Originally released September 1963 in the USA on RCA Victor LSP-2709 - the piano and organ centre a lot of the songs - each with a midnight-lounge languid feel that suited his voice to a tee. And of the 12-tracks there's barely a clunker in sight. In fact it feels like you're listening to "Elvis Is Back" from 1960 - an album that's good all the way through - rather than being just patchy. Here are the CD details...

US-released in September 2005 - "Night Beat" by SAM COOKE on Sony/RCA/Legacy 82876 69551 2 (Barcode 886919858624) is a straightforward transfer/remaster of the original 1963 Stereo LP and comes in a repro card digipak with an attached 11-page booklet (37:57 minutes). PETER GURALNICK (author of the acclaimed "Dream Boogie: The Triumph Of Sam Cooke") supplies the well-written and hugely affectionate liner notes - while the CD itself rather prettily reflects the original coloured 'Dog And Gramophone' RCA Victor label of the original LP - complete with the 'Hugo & Luigi Production' logo just below it (nice touches). The LP's rear sleeve artwork is pictured beneath the see-through CD tray. Pretty as it looks and feels - that's chump change to the astonishing Audio...

BOB LUDWIG remastered the first generation tapes and the sound quality can only be described as BEAUTIFUL. It's always been a famous Audiophile treat on original 'Living Stereo' vinyl (180-gram reissues of it are available to this day) - but little prepares you for the full range and clarity on offer here. Originally produced to perfection by RCA's resident experts Hugo & Luigi, the instruments are razor sharp - as is his angelic voice. His phrasing and holding of notes is classy, effortless and smooth as a newborn's smooth parts. Cooke's voice on this album is fabulous - the stuff of legend - and this CD allows you to enjoy it to the full.

1. Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen

2. Lost And Lookin'

3. Mean Old World

4. Please Don't Drive Me Away

5. I Lost Everything

6. Get Yourself Another Fool

7. Little Red Rooster [Side 2]

8. Laughin' And Clownin'

9. Trouble Blues

10. You Gotta Move

11. Fool's Paradise

12. Shake Rattle And Roll

Highlights include his own three compositions - "Mean Old World", "Laughin' And Clownin'" and "You Gotta Move" all of which feature the wonderful piano-playing of RAY JOHNSON with BILLY PRESTON slinking it up on Organ. There are four Charles Brown cover versions (a Forties & Fifties R&B artist on Aladdin and King Records) - one of which is the gorgeous "Get Yourself Another Fool". The remaster has kept the slight hiss at the beginning and throughout - it's 'not' been compressed out of existence or removed with a no-noise effect - which is good news because it allows the sound to breath - it's 'so' good.

Side 1 keeps it slow and languid (beautiful double-bass clarity on "Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen" and "Lost And Lookin'") while Side 2 ups the tempo only slightly. "Lost And Lookin'" was written especially for Cooke by his SAR Records associates J.W. Alexander and Lowell Jordan and apart from a lone bass line and single cymbal tapping - it's practically Acapella Blues. It's a stunning vocal turn by Cooke. The cooler-than-mister-cool groove achieved in Willie Dixon's classic "Little Red Rooster" (a hit for Howlin' Wolf) is enhanced by Billy Preston wittily aping the sound of dogs barking and hounds howling on his barking organ. The album ends on an upbeat high - a cover of Big Joe Turner's wonderful "Shake, Rattle And Roll" - a version that doesn't dilute down the saucy lyrics of the 1954 Atlantic Records original as Bill Haley's Decca remake did a year later (title above).

"Night Beat" is the kind of album you can play on a Sunday morning and just drift away on its Mad Men cool and Church-like warmth. In 2013 it'll be 50 years old - and yet it still sounds fresh and thrilling. Check out his gorgeous vocals on "Fool's Paradise" set against that sloppy back beat - beautiful stuff.

"Night Beat" is a criminally overlooked classic that should be in your life. No less than Ray Charles called Sam Cooke "...the one and only..." and on the evidence presented here - Brother Ray was right...