“Tir na n'Og” by TIR na n’OG (2012 Esoteric Records 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Our Love Will Not Decay..."

Being a Dubliner I instantly knew what "Tir na n'Og" referred to – translated, it's Gaelic for "Land Of The Young" (locally pronounced Tier Nah Nogue). We had the stories rammed down our willing throats in History class in school. It comes from the ancient Irish tales of warrior king Ossian (or Oisin in Gaelic).

I've had this Prog-Folk duo's debut album on vinyl for decades (as well as the other two they did for Chrysalis - "A Tear And A Smile" from 1972 and "Strong In The Sun" in 1973) and loved them all to bits. In truth though - some of the hippy-dippy fay lyrics ("Aberdeen Angus") might make even the strongest constitution cringe 40 years on. So why bother? Because in-between all that mythology are strangely beautiful melodies and tunes wrapped up in strings and acoustic guitars that are fabulous - as sophisticated as Roy Harper on Harvest and just as cleverly constructed. In fact in places they sound like Tyrannosaurus Rex and what they might have become if Bolan hadn't gone completely Rock - or even the acoustic side of early Seventies Jethro Tull with a little Nick Drake string arrangements thrown in for colour. Guitarists and singers Sonny Condell and Leo O'Kelly made a lovely racket. Here are the mushroom and fairy details...

UK released November 2012 - "Tir na n'Og" by TIR na n'OG on Esoteric Records ECLEC2357 (Barcode 5013929435742) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster and plays out as follows (51:54 minutes):

1. Time Is Like A Promise

2. Mariner Blues

3. Daisy Lady

4. Tir Na Nog

5. Aberdeen Angus

6. Looking Up

7. Boat Song

8. Our Love Will Not Decay

9. Hey Friend

10. Dance Of Years

11. Live A Day

12. Piccadilly

13. Dante

Tracks 1 to 13 are the album "Tir na n'Og" UK released May 1971 on Chrysalis/Island ILPS 9153. 

BONUS TRACKS: 

14. I'm Happy To Be (On This Mountain) 

15. Let My Love Grow

Tracks 14 and 15 are a UK 7" single on Chrysalis/Island WIP 6090 issued in 1970 (both non-album tracks at the time). The 16-page booklet features liner notes by noted writer TREVOR BOYD and reproduces the lovely gatefold sleeve of the original LP, pictures that rare 7" picture sleeve (out of Europe) - features music mag reviews and even sheet music.

A word about the sound - the remaster handled by MARK POWELL and PASCHAL BYRNE is truly gorgeous - clear instruments, warmth on every track with the top quality original production values of Bill Leader now fully on display. It really is a fantastic job done. I've done tags on both of these guys before (pictorial lists of their work).

SONNY CONDELL plays Guitar, Mandolin, Moroccan Pottery, Drums, Tabla, Jews Harp and sings while LEO O'KELLY plays Guitar, Electric Bass, Dulcimer, Tin Whistle and alternates lead vocals with Condell. All songs excepting "Hey Friend" (by Dolan) are original compositions.

It opens with the mid Sixties Simon & Garfunkel folk of "Time Is Like A Promise" (features ANNIE CROZIER on Psaltry) and progresses very nicely into "Mariner Blues" which is where Condell's quirky chord changes first come into focus. The title track even has UK Folk hero BARRY DRANSFIELD on Fiddle. "Looking Up" is superb because it leaves much of the mythology behind and becomes sophisticated Acoustic Rock. But Side 2 opens with probably the most haunting song on the album - O'Kelly's "The Boat Song". It sounds beautiful with its Nick Drake string arrangements (done by Nick Harrison who later did work on The Rolling Stones "Angie") and stories about leaving (lyrics from it title this review). Harrison's work also turns up on the pretty "Piccadilly". The album finisher is another wonderfully off-the-cuff Condell melody "Dante". But you can see why the A of the single failed (nice to finally see it on CD). But its B-side is a gem - a lovely air by Condell called "Let My Love Grow".

They morphed in the late Seventies in the affectionately remembered SCULLION who made 5 albums in Ireland (none are on CD to my knowledge) including the fab "Balance And Control" in 1980 produced by the mighty JOHN MARTYN. Condell even made a CD album in 2013.

TIR NA NOG would definitely be an acquired taste for some. But for me there was always something magical in those hooks and songs - and now their albums have the properly beautiful sounding remasters their catalogue has always deserved.

"Home Free/Souvenirs" by DAN FOGELBERG - 1972 and 1974 Debut and Second Studio Albums featuring Guests Joe Walsh, Eagles (Henley, Meisner and Frey), Graham Nash, Members of Stephen Stills' Manassas and more (May 2006 UK Beat Goes On (BGO) Compilation - 2LPs onto 2CDs - Andrew Thompson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...When Faced With The Past...The Strongest Man Cries…"

Dan Fogelberg’s particular way with a melody has always tugged at my heart strings – and this genuinely classy Beat Goes On 2CD reissue of his first two albums from the early Seventies – only hammers home that great way he had with words about hurt and love – and all of it wrapped up in a fiendishly hooky Eagles-like Country Rock tune. Here are the hickory groves, changing horses and songs from half mountain…

UK released May 2006 - "Home Free/Souvenirs" by DAN FOGELBERG on Beat Goes On BGOCD 709 (Barcode 5017261207098) offers two albums from 1972 and 1974 (USA) remastered onto two CDs and breaks down as follows:

Disc 1 (46:58 minutes):

1. To The Morning

2. Stars

3. More Than Ever

4. Be On Your Way

5. Hickory Grove

6. Long Way Home ((Live In The Country) [Side 2]

7. Looking For A Lady

8. Anyway I Love You

9. Wysteria

10. The River

Tracks 1 to 9 are his debut album “Home Free” issued in the USA in October 1972 on Columbia KC 31751 and 1974 in the UK on Epic S EPC 31847 (re-issued in July 1976 on Epic 80697 in the UK).

[Note: earlier CD issues of this album have tended to use a ‘remixed’ version of the album that was done in the Eighties. This CD uses the original master tape - so is the album as heard on release].

Disc 2 (43:29 minutes):

1. Part Of The Plan

2. Illinois

3. Changing Horses

4. Better Change

5. Souvenirs

6. The Long Way

7. As The Raven Flies [Side 2]

8. Song From Half Mountain

9. Morning Sky

10. (Someone’s Been) Telling You Stories

11. There’s A Place In The World For A Gambler

Tracks 1 to 11 are his 2nd LP released December 1974 in the USA on Full Moon Records PC 35872 and March 1975 in the UK on Epic EPC 80623.

His debut is good rather than being great but already had his melody strengths on show - a sort of singer-songwriter lone Eagles persona. Tracks like the piano opener “To The Morning” and the largely acoustic “Be On Your Way” are melancholic but also beautiful in their way. It’s been years since I first heard these songs (now sounding crystal clear) and a full forty years plus - it’s impressive stuff (like a male Judee Sill). But things took a quantum leap with LP number two...

With guest appearances on illustrious albums like “So What” by Joe Walsh, “Late For The Sky” by Jackson Browne and “Peace On You” by Roger McGuinn of The Byrds – Dan Fogelberg was already moving in elevated circles when he went to make the gorgeous “Souvenirs” album. Packed with catchy tunes and even a chart hit or two - this hugely polished effort put the album into the Top 50 charts in late 1974. “Part Of The Plan” was even lifted as a 7” single and did reasonably well.

Produced by JOE WALSH - “Souvenirs” featuring most of the Eagles (Henley, Meisner, Frey), Graham Nash, Kenny Passarelli, Russ Kunkel, Joe Lala and Al Perkins - the musician credits reads like a whose who of what was hot at the time. In the USA it was issued as a gatefold sleeve but in the UK as a single sleeve with a lyric insert. This CD reproduces the inner American artwork (a painting of his) and the lyrics for both LPs. The John Tobler liner notes are excellent (features an interview with Joe Walsh).

But the big news for me is the sound. I had “Souvenirs” on a 2007 Japanese remaster and 5” card repro sleeve - and that was good - this remaster is light years better. ANDREW THOMPSON did the remaster at Sound Mastering in London (he handles large numbers of BGO’s reissues) and his transfer here has brought out Walsh’s accomplished original production values. You can hear the squeaking of strings, air around the instruments - even the normally muddied “Part Of The Plan” sounds more open. There are so many goodies on here - a plaintive “The Long Way” and the gorgeous title track “Souvenirs” (lyrics from it title this review). “Song From Half Mountain” where he plays all the instruments himself is so pretty and the chugging Eagles Rock of “Someone’s Been telling You Stories”. “Changing Horses” and “Better Change” still stand up as great melodies - only the countrified “Morning Sky” lets the side down. All in all - moving stuff.

I posted a note on Fogelberg’s website when he sadly succumbed to cancer in December 2007 - yet another teenage hero of mine gone to the great gig in the sky.

“There’s a song in the heart of a woman...that only the truest of loves can release. Set it free...” These lyrics from the album finisher “There’s A Place In The World For A Gambler” get me to this day - nearly 40 years after the event. My younger sister Cathy even described him once as ‘beautiful’.

Well - now Dan is free - and this beautiful-sounded 2CD does his memory proud...

“Taking No Prisoners (With Gypie 1977-1981)” by DR. FEELGOOD (July 2013 EMI 4CD and 1DVD Book Set of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Night Club...I Paid In...Got A Stamp On My Skin..."

I'm in Hog Heaven - I really am. I know fan affection lies firmly with the original Wilko Johnson line-up of the mighty Dr. Feelgood (Britain's best Pub Rock and R'n'B band) - but for me the John 'Gypie' Mayo line-up was even more mind-blowing than its superlative predecessor. And this truly fantastic jam-packed 5-disc EMI Box Set only hammers that home in spades. Here's the soiled beer mats...

"Taking No Prisoners (With Gypie 1977-1981)" by DR. FEELGOOD is a 4CD/1DVD hardback book-shaped box set issued July 2013 in the UK on EMI 5099901954029 (Barcode 5099901954029) and breaks down as follows:

Disc 1 - STUDIO (77:45 minutes):

Tracks 1 to 12 are the album "Be Seeing You" - UK released in September 1977 on United Artists UAS 30123

Tracks 13 to 22 are the album "Private Practice" - UK released in September 1978 on United Artists UAS 30184

Tracks 23 and 24 are the non-album single "As Long As The Price Is Right" and "Down At The (Other) Doctors".

The A is a 'Second Version' and was issued as a UK 7" single in April 1979 on United Artists UP 36506 (the original mix is on the "Be Seeing You" LP).

Track 25 is "Riding On The L&N (Demo Version)" and is Previously Unreleased.

Disc 2 - STUDIO (76:25 minutes):

Tracks 1 to 10 are the album "Let It Roll" - UK released September 1979 on United Artists UAG 30269

Tracks 11 to 22 are the album "A Case Of The Shakes" - UK released September 1980 on United Artists UAG 30311

Tracks 23 and 24 are their final 7" single on UA - "Waiting For Saturday Night" and "Eileen"  - UK released October 1981 on EMI/Liberty BP 404 (with Johnny Guitar).

Disc 3 - LIVE (77:51 minutes):

Tracks 1 to 12 are Previously Unreleased - recorded live "The Paddocks" in Canvey Island on 10 June 1977.

Tracks 13 to 25 are the live album "As It Happens" - UK released June 1979 on United Artist UAK 30239 (with a Free EP - see Disc 4)

Disc 4 - LIVE (68:59 minutes):

Tracks 1 to 4 are the FREE EP given with initial copies of the "As It Happens" LP

Tracks 5 to 11 are Previously Unreleased - recorded live at The Pavilion in Hemel Hempstead 18 October 1978

Tracks 12 to 23 are the live album "On The Job" - UK released August 1981 on Liberty LBG 30328

DVD:

BBC Sight And Sound Concert Recorded and Broadcast December 1977 (Tracks 1 to 11)

Top Of The Pops Broadcasts - 5 songs from 1977 to 1979

6 Video Clips for 6 songs

Tyne Tees Television clip from "Alright Now" Program July 1980

The South Bank Show recorded June 1981 - Interviews etc

PETER MEW has done the peerless remasters - a man I've raved about on many occasions and an engineer whose handled hundreds of reissue projects. The sound quality here is FABULOUS - punchy, great power and never too amped up to be over trebled. And the full colour 72-page booklet is incredible - full of adverts, single sleeves, live shots, memorabilia, outtakes from album covers - even the 4 discs ape the band-member Toby Jugs on the front cover of "Let It Roll".

Niggles

For such a beautifully laid out and annotated booklet - it's a little sloppy in places. There's mistaken credits - two same catalogue numbers to "Be Seeing You" and "Private Practice" and a wrong catalogue number to "On The Job" (the right one is supplied above). And the mechanism for getting the disc in and out of their clip positions is more than awkward. They even provide you with a page to tell you how - but I almost broke one or two trying to get them out - so I put them in separate paper CD bags for ease of use - and I advise you to do the same. But these are only minor irritations (worth pointing out though).

I saw this line up in Dublin with The Specials on the same bill - both at the height of their live power. It's a gig I rave about to this day. And I've lost count of the number of "Private Practice" copies I have on vinyl. How good is it to finally hear these superlative albums in truly great sound. I'd admit that the live stuff can become tedious after a while (as it did back in the day when we bought them) - but the unreleased tracks are fantastic - the band clearly relishing a second coming. And the DVD stuff brought tears to my eyes - so many great memories of a band I loved.

As Number 2 said to Number 6 in "The Prisoner" TV Series - "Be Seeing You".

You're too damn right.

The absolute business folks - buy it and enjoy. (I've also reviewed the Wilko Johnson Box Set "All Through The City")

PS: There's an obituary in the Christmas 2013 issue of The Record Collector Magazine for John Mayo who sadly died (aged 62) in October 2013. RIP you rockin' genius.

MADBID.COM. A REVIEW. AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE - HIDDEN CHARGES ARE A RIP OFF AND COST YOU MORE THAN YOU GAIN.

The internet is awash with scamsters and MADBID is probably the best of them.

After signing in - you have to buy credits to bid - say £30 or £50 or more.

What this crafty penny bid system doesn't tell you is that EACH BID YOU MAKE COSTS CREDITS TO MAKE THE BID (bids on eBay are free) - and you can spend hours endlessly bidding on tasty items and getting nowhere. Soon the £30 or £50 you bought dwindles down to nothing and you wasted your time.

The counters keep going to zero but then keep popping back up to say an 8-second countdown because someone else has bid. They even have credits themselves on auction so you end up chasing your tail.

REMEMBER - you are not bidding a penny at a time - you are using credits you paid considerably more for - with a hugely unlikely chance that you'll win those tempting and expensive Apple products.

I closed the account immediately and LOST MY MONEY.

"I Feel Like Dynamite: The Early Chimneyville Singles And More 1970-1974" by KING FLOYD (2013 Ace/Kent Soul CD Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Let's Get Down With The Groove…" 

Forever seen as a one-hit wonder ("Groove Me") - this typically superb Ace CD reissue will go a long way to changing minds on that count. It also offers fans of the mighty Atlantic label and its more obscure offshoots (like Chimneyville Records) a lot of good Seventies Soul to savour - most of it new to CD.

UK released September 2013 - "I Feel Like Dynamite: The Early Chimneyville Singles And More 1970-1974" by KING FLOYD on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 404 (Barcode 029667240420) is a 24-track CD compilation of Remasters and breaks down as follows (77:18 minutes):

1. What Our Love Needs

2. Groove Me (Tracks 1 & 2 are the A&B-sides of Chimneyville CH-435, September 1970)

3. Baby Let Me Kiss You

4. Please Don't Leave Me Lonely (Tracks 3 & 4 are the A&B-sides of CH-437, March 1971)

5. Got To Have Your Lovin'

6. Let Us Be (Tracks 5 & 6 are the A&B-sides of Chimneyville CH-439, July 1971)

7. Let Me See You Do That Thing

8. It's Wonderful (Tracks 7 & 8 are the A&B-sides of Chimneyville CH-442, November 1971)

9. Everybody Needs Somebody

10. Woman Don't Go Astray (Tracks 9 & 10 are the A&B-sides of Chimneyville CH-443, July 1972)

11. What Our Love Needs

12. Here It Is (Tracks 11 & 12 are the A&B-sides of Chimneyville CH-446, February 1973)

13. Messing Up My Mind

14. So Glad I Found You

15. A Day In The Life Of A Fool

16. My Girl

17. Do Your Feeling

18. It's Not What You Say

19. Thank You

20. Hard To Handle

21. You’ve Got Me (Tracks 13 to 21 inclusive are from 2 LPs - see list below)

22. So Much Confusion (Track 22 is the A-side of Chimneyville CH-1779, November 1973)

23. I Feel Like Dynamite

24. Handle With Care (Tracks 23 & 24 are the A&B-sides of Chimneyville CH-10202, July 1974)

You can also sequence two whole 70t’s albums from this CD compilation using the following track numbers [6 = track 6 etc]:

"King Floyd" - 1971 LP on Atco/Chimneyville SD 9047 (USA) and 2466014 (UK)

Side 1:

1. Groove Me [Track 2]

2. Let Us Be [6]

3. Woman Don’t Go Astray [10]

4. Baby Let Me Kiss You [3]

5. Messing Up My Mind [13]

Side 2:

1. It's Wonderful [8]

2. So Glad I Found You [14]

3. Don’t Leave Me Lonely [4]

4. Day In The Life Of A Fool [15]

5. What Our Love Needs [1]

"Think About It" - April 1973 LP on Atco/Chimneyville SD 7023 (USA) and Atlantic Records K 40490 (UK)

Side 1:

1. My Girl [16]

2. Here It Is [12]

3. Do Your Feeling [17]

4. It’’s Not What You Say [18]

5. Woman Don’t Go Astray [10]

Side 2:

1. Think About It [11]

2. Thank You [19]

3. Hard To Handle [21]

4. You’ve Got Me [20]

5. Everybody Needs Somebody [9]

The 12-page booklet features fantastically detailed liner notes by noted Soul expert TONY ROUNCE - every page picturing those elusive American Chimneyville labels (courtesy of Giles Petard). The excellent sounding remaster has been done by DUNCAN COWELL at Sound Mastering in London whose handled literally hundreds of this reissues.

Most people know King Floyd through "Groove Me" which was originally a B-side played at a party when the crowd went nuts (it charted as an A in October 1970 in the USA and rose into the Top 5 by year’s end) - and I’m afraid you could accuse too many tracks here of trying to emulate that hugely popular and successful groove. But I found on second listen that belters like "I Feel Like Dynamite" (lyrics above) where he does his best James Brown mid Seventies Funk impression - backed with the lovely "Handle With Care" - is a bit of wee gem frankly. It’s also cool to see so many of these rare single sides make their CD debut after nearly 4 decades in the wilderness. But although “You’ve Got Me” is a lovely ballad - his voice lets the side down a tad and I’m not so sure about his 6 and half minute Isaac Hayes style re-working of “My Girl”. Floyd’s cover of “Hard To Handle” (Otis Redding) is far better - cracking stuff - as is The Staple Singers funky feel to “Thank You”.

To sum up - another quality release from Ace and their Kent/Soul imprint - who remain heroes to all of us Soul reissue junkies. There’s a lot on here worth checking out...

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"Mannish Boy - The Stax, Volt & Truth Recordings 1969-74" by THE NEWCOMERS. A Review Of The 2013 Ace/Stax CD Remaster - A Limited Edition Of Only 1500 Copies.

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

Hailing out of Memphis - I've had only three tracks by the Vocal Soul group The Newcomers to my name - all of which turned up on "The Complete Stax/Volt Singles Volume 2" 9CD Box Set in 1993 - over 20 years ago. So being a voracious Stax Records collector/fan  - this CD caught my eye - and I'm so glad I bought it.

Released 30 September 2013 as a limited edition of 1500 copies, Ace/Stax CDLUX 010 (Barcode 029667056120) runs to a generous 77:48 minutes and breaks down as follows:

Track 2 and 1 "Open Your Heart (Let Me In)" and "Girl, This Boy Loves You" make up the A&B sides of their debut 45 on Volt VOA-4022 (issued September 1969).

Tracks 3 and 4 "You Put The Sunshine In My Heart" and "Still A Boy In My Heart" make the A&B sides of their 2nd 45 on Volt VOA-4049 (issued October 1970).

Tracks 5 and 6 "Pin The Tail On The Donkey" and "Mannish Boy" are the A&B sides of their 3rd 45 on Stax STA-0099 (issued September 1971). It was also their first of only two 45s in the UK - it was issued on Stax 2025 063 in 1972.

Tracks 7 and 8 "The Martian Hop" and "Humpty Dumpty" are their 4th 45 on Stax STA-0186 (issued 1973). It was also issued as the second 45 in the UK on Stax STXS 2023 in 1975.

Track 9 is "Keep An Eye On Your Close Friends" - the A-side is their 5th 45 on Truth TRA-3204 (issued September 1974). The 'Instrumental' B-side is not included on here.

Tracks 10 and 11 "(Too Little In Common To Be Lovers) Too Much Going To Say Good-Bye" and "The Whole World;s A Picture Show" are their 6th single on Truth TRA-3213 (issued January 1975).

They had one other 45 on Mercury in 1978 which is not within the reaches of this CD. They never made an album.

Track 12 is "Betcha Can't Guess Who" which was unissued until the Ace/Kent Soul CD compilation "More Perfect Harmony - Sweet Soul Groups 1967-1975" (CDKEND 252) in 2005.

Track 13 is "See Saw Lovin'" which was unissued unto the Ace/Stax CD "5000 Volts Of Stax" (CDSXD 116) in 1998.

Tracks 14 to 24 are all previously unreleased (14, 15, and 21 are Mono, the rest Stereo)

The group were made up of several accomplished singers all of whom auditioned at Stax for their parts - Bertram Brown, Terry Bartlett, Homer Garis, Carl Lloyd and Randy Brown were the original line-up. William Sumlin, Terry Bartlett and Randy Brown made up the core of the new line-up. The song-writers included Allen Jones, Bobby Manuel, Marshall Jones, Melvin Davis, Homer Banks and many others.

This compilation feels like a tale of two cities - the singles and the unreleased stuff. I say this because Stax clearly thought of The Newcomers as their answer to Tamla's Jackson 5 and therefore pitched some terrible A-sides to that effect ("Put The Tail On The Donkey"). And their B-sides were so much better than the A - which is probably why the opener here is "Girl, This Boy Loves You" - a glorious slab of high-vocals Sweet Soul - the kind of tune Northern Soul fans would throttle a close relative for. But stuff like their awful reworking of The Ran-Dells 1963 novelty hit "The Martian Hop" backed by the sickly "Humpty Dumpty" fail terribly. But then just when you're getting worried - you get the fantastic "Mannish Boy" and the truly aching "(Too Little In Common To Be Lovers) Too Much Going On To Say Good-Bye" which is properly gorgeous Slow Soul.

But what's most shocking is the sheer quality of the unreleased stuff - mostly consisting of slower ballads. Tony Rounce's typically superb liner notes point out that the six-minute slow stew of "The Exit" is the toppermost - and he's right. In fact listening to these tracks feels like some long lost smoocher album that somehow slipped through the net. Many of the songs feature The Bar- Kays as the backing band too (their cover of Steve Mancha's "I Don't Want To Lose You" is a highlight). Another nugget is the vocal harmonies achieved by Stax stalwarts Bettye Crutcher and Marvell Thomas on "What A Girl I've Got (Lovin' Me)" - 'so' good. The demos are not fluffs either but fully recorded tracks - and even they sound great. In fact the audio quality is superb throughout (typically top transfer work done by NICK ROBBINS at Sound Mastering).

Ace Records of the UK is beloved among fans and collectors - and this kind of release is testament as to why. You couldn't imagine a major label giving a monkeys about this stuff - but Ace have made the effort and made it available to Soul lovers everywhere.

Fabulous stuff - and easily one of my Soul reissues of the year for 2013.