"Live At Massey Hall 1971" by NEIL YOUNG (March 2007 Reprise/Neil Young Archives (NYA) HDCD and DVD Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...I'm Just Like You...

I Need Someone To Love Me...

...The Whole Day Through..." 

As a veteran of some 3700 reviews most of which are about quality CD reissues - I bow my head in shame on this one. I'll admit that "Live At Massey Hall 1971" slipped past my radar somehow. How did I not get to hear this absolute gem?

Firstly - as pointed out by many others - the audio quality on this release is just incredible.

Released March 2007 there’s two versions of "Live At Massey Hall 1971" by NEIL YOUNG - a stand-alone disc (67:38 minutes) on Reprise 9362-43328-2 (Barcode 093624332824) and this – the CD + DVD version on Reprise 9362-43327-2 (Barcode 093624332725). Both come in gatefold card sleeves.

Clear, warm, present – "Live At Massey Hall 1971" is like an ultra high-quality 90's or 00's 'unplugged' performance. Both JOHN NOWLAND and TIM MULLIGAN worked on the Restoration, Transfers and Mastering of the original Analogue tapes and they have produced what has to be a Grammy-winning result.

1. On The Way Home

2. Tell Me Why

3. Old Man

4. Journey Through The Past

5. Helpless

6. Love In Mind

7. A Man Needs A Maid/Heart Of Gold Suite

8. Cowgirl In The Sand

9. Don’t Let It Bring You Down

10. There’s A World

11. Bad Fog Of Loneliness

12. The Needle And The Damage Done

13. Ohio

14. See The Sky About To Rain

15. Down By The River

16. Dance Dance Dance

17. I Am A Child

The DVD has all 17 of the above as well as Bonus Footage:

18 and 19 are "The Needle And The Damage Done" and "Journey Through The Past" from the "Johnny Cash On Campus TV Show" (Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee)

20 is "Old Man" from "Swingin Mit Neil Young – Dutch TV Documentary"

21 is "Archive Meetings" from "Broken Arrow Ranch"

But best of all is the music and Neil Young's performance. With just guitar and piano - the intimacy of the gig is as beautiful as a singer-songwriter concert gets. And of course - there's the date. Recorded in front of a home crowd on 19 January 1971 at Massey Hall in Toronto, Canada  - Young had the brilliance of both the "After The Gold Rush" and "Harvest" albums to draw on. And with a smattering of CSYN and Buffalo Springfield material thrown in for good measure, the effect is pretty much devastating. After each song - the crowd erupts in genuine pleasure.

Then there's the feeling of eavesdropping on a gig that has gone to that magical place of an Artist and Audience engaged in a shared intimacy. When he sings songs that are now part of culture like "Old Man" (lyrics above) and "Heart Of Gold" (beautifully blended into "A Man Needs A Maid") - he is doing so here with a freshness that is thrilling. His vocals are slightly nervous yet beautiful - his ache is real. And he even tries to sell some of the songs to the audience with story-banter in between tunes. Neil Young gets personal - yikes! And as if this isn't enough - someone only went and filmed it - the DVD is gorgeous - concert footage, lyrics and interviews...wow!

A genuinely sensational reissue in the on-going ‘Neil Young Archives' series (NYA) - get this treat into your life as soon as possible...

"Femme Fatale" by HADDA BROOKS (2006 Ace Records 'Hip Pocket' CD Reissue and remaster in 6" Card Repro Artwork) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...I Let It Linger..." 

In 2008 I did a Listmania List on Amazon UK called "Ace Records Hip Pocket Series..." and have added to it subsequently as further releases turn up. The "Hip Pocket List" pictures 24 releases - 5" card repros of albums covering all types of music in their reissue back catalogue of 35 years - Rock, Pop, Punk, Metal, Soul, Blues, R'n'B, Doo Wop etc. This very rare and obscure American Torch Singer album from the late Fifties is part of that series...

"Femme Fatale" by HADDA BROOKS is a straightforward repro of her 10-track 1956 album originally released on Modern Records MLP-1210 in the USA [Mono]. It was re-released on Crown Records CLP-5010 a year later in 1957. 

This November 2006 CD on Ace Records Hip Pocket CDCHM 1129 (Barcode 029667022125) uses the Crown Records artwork and comes in a "Hip Pocket" card sleeve with no inner (33:53 minutes). 

1. Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere

2. Don't You Think I Ought To Know 

3. Dream

4. How Do You Speak To An Angel

5. My Ideal 

6. My Romance [Side 2]

7. Stolen Love

8. Take Me 

9. There Is No Greater Love

10. The Thrill Is Gone

Musically - imagine a more intense version of Peggy Lee or a huskier Nellie Lutcher or even Frank Sinatra sat at the bar on the cover of "No One Cares" - drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other muttering "rack ‘em up Joe" to the bartender. Then imagine slow blue and boozy tunes with shuffling brush strokes on the snare drums and a low piano tinkling in the background (only with a woman singing) — and you get the idea. It may only have 10 tracks but that's all it needs. It's fabulous stuff and beautifully produced (given the vintage).

Downsides - as other reviewers have pointed out - the repro card sleeve is small and flimsy and the original liner notes on the rear are barely legible. The CD itself does at least have the smarts to list writers credits - but visually it's not a lot to go on - when this is one of those occasions that cries out for an in-depth booklet. But that quickly evaporates once you start playing the music. 

Given the vintage of the original analogue recordings, the listen is helped incredibly by the gorgeous sound quality - her voice to the fore - clear, powerful and full of passion (the Remaster was done at Sound Mastering in the UK - probably by Nick Robbins or Duncan Cowell). Highlights include the opener "The Thrill Is Gone" which sets the sad tone (lyrics above) and the lovely guitar solo on the Rogers & Hart standard "My Romance". Aching female lounge-lizard never sounded so good...

Three other Hadda Brooks compilations are in print by Ace Records - but musically they couldn't be more different. They feature her 'Queen Of The Boogie-Woogie' piano-playing on Modern Records in the Forties and Fifties. With virtually no vocals featured, the tracks are almost all instrumentals dubbed from scratchy 78's - but like Pete Johnson or Amos Milburn tinkering on the keys - each CD is blindingly great fun and hugely evocative of bars jumpin' and people having a ball. The great lady could play too.    

To sum up - I've never seen a copy of the original album and clocking in at hundreds of dollars in rarity value - this is a very clever and brilliantly chosen reissue. Forget the flimsy packaging and concentrate on the wonderful music and sound quality. And dig that great photo of Miss Hapgood (her real name) in her prime. 

Hadda Brooks lived to be 85 and died in 2002 - beautiful and gigging to the end. Ace Records have done her memory and musical legacy proud. I love it...

Titles in Ace Records Mid-Price 'Hip Pocket' CD Series are:

1. DONALD AUSTIN – Crazy Legs (Ace/Westbound CDHP 016, Dec 2006)

2. THE BISHOPS – Cross Cuts (Ace/Chiswick CDWIKM 256, June 2005)

3. HADDA BROOKS – Femme Fatale (Ace CDCHM 1129, Nov 2006)

4. THE CHAMPS – Go, Champs, Go! (Ace CDCHM 1126, Sep 2006)

5. THE DAMNED – Machine Gun Etiquette (Ace/Chiswick CDHP 027, July 2007)

6. THE ESCALATORS [ex Meteors] – Moving Staircases (Ace CDHP 017, Dec 2006)

7. THE EVERLY BROTHERS – The Everly Brothers (Ace CDCHM 1127, Sep 2006)

8. FUNKADELIC – Maggot Brain (Ace/Westbound CDHP 030, Aug 2007)

9. CHUCK HIGGINS – Pachucko Hop (Ace CDHP 024, April 2007)

10. B. B. KING – The Jungle (Ace/Kent CDHP 031, Nov 2007)

11. JOHNNY MOPED – Cycledelic (Ace/Chiswick CDHP 029, Oct 2007)

12. JACKIE LEE – The Duck (Ace/Kent CDHP 032, Dec 2010)

13. LONNIE MACK – The Wham Of That Memphis Man! (Ace CDCHM 1134, Nov 2006)

14. MOTORHEAD – Motorhead [1977 Debut LP] (Ace/Chiswick CDHP 021, Oct 2007)

15. THE OLYMPICS – Something Old, Something New (Ace/Kent CDHP 018, Dec 2006)

16. THE RADIO STARS – Songs For Swinging Lovers (Ace/Chiswick CDWIKM 5, June 2006)

17. THE SONICS – Here Are The Sonics! (Ace/Big Beat CDHP 022, Feb 2007)

18. THE SONICS – The Sonics Boom (Ace/Big Beat CDHP 023, April 2007)

19. ROOSEVELT SYKES [aka 'The Honeydripper'] – Sings The Blues (Ace CDCHM 1132, Nov 2006)

20. VARIOUS – For Dancers Only [Kent's 1st Reissue LP compilation] (Ace/Kent CDHP 019, Feb 2007)

21. VARIOUS – For Dancers Also [Kent's 2nd Reissue LP compilation] (Ace/Kent CDHP 020, April 2007)

22. VARIOUS – Hollywood Rock 'n' Roll [80ts Rockabilly compilation] (Ace CDHP 026, July 2007)

23. VARIOUS – Fool's Gold [70ts Punk compilation] (Ace/Chiswick CDHP 028, August 2007)

24. LINK WRAY – Early Recordings (Ace/Chiswick CDCHM 6, June 2006
25. THE ZOMBIES – Odyssey And Oracle (Ace/Big Beat CDHP 025, June 2007)

"Call My Name with Bonus Tracks" [1967 Cadet Records in Stereo] by ETTA JAMES (October 2011 Ace/Kent-Soul CD Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review is part of my e-Book

"…You Know Where It's At…"

2011 has turned out to be a bumper year for fans of the American Soul legend Etta James. February saw the "Who's Blue" compilation give us 24 elusive tracks on Chess and Cadet Records spanning 1961 to 1976 – whilst 31 October will see her even rarer 1970 album "Losers Weepers" get a long overdue sonic update (with bonus tracks too). And sandwiched between those is this little peach – the first official release on CD of "Call My Name" – a criminally forgotten Cadet Records LP from 1967. Yum yum. But here are the finite details first…

UK released Monday 3 October 2011 - "Call My Name with Bonus Tracks" by ETTA JAMES on Ace Records/Kent-Soul CDKEND 360 (Barcode 029667236237) reissues her 1967 12-Track Soul Music LP originally on Cadet Records (in Stereo) and adds on 12 Bonus Tracks. It breaks down as follows (67:59 minutes):

1. Happiness
2. That's All I Want From You
3. Have Faith In Me
4. I'm So Glad (I Found Love In You)
5. You Are My Sunshine
6. It Must Be Your Love
7. 842-3089 (Call My Name)
8. Don't Pick Me For Your Fool
9. I Prefer You
10. Nobody Loves Me
11. It's All Right
12. Nobody Like You

Tracks 1 to 12 are the US album "Call Your Name" – released 27 January 1967 on Cadet Records LP-4055 [Mono] and LPS-4055 [Stereo] – the STEREO Mix Is Used

Bonus Tracks (13 to 20 are MONO, 21 to 24 are STEREO):

13. Do Right Woman, Do Right Man
14. I Got You Babe
15. You Took It
16. I Worship The Ground You Walk On
17. I've Gone Too Far
18. You Got It
19. Misty
20. Almost Persuaded
21. Slow And Easy
22. The Soul Of A Man
23. Light My Fire
24. Miss Pitiful

Track 13 is a cover of the Aretha Franklin hit "Do Right Man, Do Right Woman" (written by Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham) – unreleased until "The Essential Etta James" 2CD set on Chess CHD2-9341 in 1993

Tracks 14 and 16 are "I Got You Babe" (a cover of the Sonny & Cher hit) and "I Worship The Ground You Walk On" (written by Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham) – released as the A&B-side of a 7” single on Cadet 5606 in May 1968 (CD as per 17)

Tracks 17 and 19 are "I've Gone Too Far" and "Misty" – unreleased until "Tell Mama – The Complete Muscle Shoals Sessions" CD on Chess 088 112 518-2 in 2001

Track 18 is "You Got It" – issued as the A-side of a 7” single on Cadet 5620 in September 1968 (CD as per 17)

Track 20 is a cover of the David Houston Number 1 Country hit "Almost Persuaded" – the A-side of a 7” single issued on Cadet 5630 in December 1968 (CD as per 17)

Tracks 15, 21, 22, 23 are "You Took It" [Disc 2], "Slow And Easy" [Disc 3], "The Soul Of A Man" [Disc 3] and "Light My Fire" [Disc 2] – all previously unreleased until the 3CD set "The Chess Box" on Chess 088 112 288-2 in 2000

Track 24 is a cover of the Otis Redding/Steve Cropper song "Mr. Pitiful" reworked as "Miss Pitiful" – released as the A-side of a 7” single on Cadet 5655 in 1970 (CD as per 15)

Apart from the brassy Northern Soul feel to almost all of the tracks, the first thing that hits you full-in-the-face is the truly GORGEOUS SOUND QUALITY. Remastered by DUNCAN COWELL at Sound Mastering in London – I’ve sung this engineer’s praises before – but he’s outdone himself here. There’s amazing clarity on every song – clean Stereo separation too and a huge presence on instruments - especially the brass and percussion. It’s a blast from start to finish. The 12-page colour booklet is crammed with photos of 7” singles, Cash Box magazine adverts and reviews as well as superbly detailed and affectionate liner notes by noted writers and Soul lovers MALCOLM BAUMGART and MICK PATRICK. A typically classy effort…

CONTENT - die-hard Etta James fans may be slightly disappointed to see that 'all' the bonus tracks (though many are rare) have turned up on previous CD compilations as noted above. However – this is the first commercial CD release for the entire "Call My Name" album – and it’s a worthwhile investment for just that alone.

Produced by legendary writers and musicians MONK HIGGINS and RALPH PARIS at the Chess Tel-Mar studios in late 1966 - highlights include "I Prefer You" and "I'm So Glad (I Found Love In You)" which were paired as a 45 in December 1967 (Chess 5552). Along with the other great writers like MAURICE DOLLISON (aka Cash McCall) and JOYCE WRENCHER, Higgins provided the lion’s share of the songs – and tunes like the torch ballad "Have Faith In Me" and the mid-tempo album finisher "Nobody Loves Me" are so much better for it (lyrics above). Another player in the sessions was BILLY FOSTER whom Etta married and had a son with – he gets a co-write on the jaunty "It Must Be Your Love" and "842-3089 (Call My Name)". Cult hero and song arranger CHARLES STEPNEY is in the band too on Vibes. The cover of Curtis Mayfield's Impressions' classic "It's All Right" is perhaps too fast and a bit heavy-handed, but that’s countered by the warm church Soul feel of "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" - a highlight among the bonus tracks.

To sum up – once again Ace Records have delivered on all fronts – keeping the great lady’s recorded legacy alive for future generations to savour and enjoy. A job well done.

Jamesetta Hawkins folks – accept no less.