"The Cry Of Love" by JIMI HENDRIX - March 1971 Album (September 2014 UK Sony/Legacy/Experience Hendrix CD Reissue - BERNIE GRUNDMAN Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"…Set Her Free…." 

Like so many fans of "The Cry Of Love" - I came to the album via the original March 1971 vinyl LP housed in that tasty gatefold sleeve (Track Records 2408 101 in the UK). Even in cartoon form  - Jimi Hendrix looked like the coolest being on earth. I loved it to bits at the time (especially the leap forward in his songwriting) and across the years I've had battered copies of it rotating on dusty turntables ever since.

When CDs finally arrived - with the exception of a quickly withdrawn Euro version in 1991 on Polydor 847 242-2 - this posthumous album stubbornly refused to show in its original form. 

Then in April 1997 the Hendrix Estate put out the double-album Hendrix had 'probably' intended onto a single CD - calling it "First Rays Of The New Rising Sun". It combined tracks from that other 1971 posthumous album "Rainbow Bridge" and another tampered set "War Heroes" from 1972. But the artwork was different and to me the original 'feel' of "The Cry Of Love" I'd grown up with was completely gone.

But at last in September 2014 - here it is again - and in original 10-track form - a brand new CD Reissue and Remaster for "The Cry Of Love" by JIMI HENDRIX on Sony/Legacy/Experience Hendrix 88843099652 (Barcode 888430996526). 

The August 1970 lyrics from the original artwork are reproduced on the last page of the booklet and this time the reissue comes in a simple see-through jewel case rather than a fancy card digipak. Even through the 12-page booklet features a load of tasty live shots (the inlay beneath the see-through tray is the same) - there's only a credits page at the rear and no new essay on the album's place or its importance in his cannon of work. It's functionary at best when you would have hoped that a company called 'Experience Hendrix' would have actually honoured the man with some words you could 'experience'. 

But the real bee's knees here is a new BERNIE GRUNDMAN remaster from the original tapes and wow is the only appropriate response (40:20 minutes):

1. Freedom [Side 1]

2. Drifting

3. Ezy Ryder

4. Night Bird Flying

5. My Friend

6. Straight Ahead [Side 2]

7. Astro Man

8. Angel

9. In From The Storm

10. Belly Button Window

JIMI HENDRIX - Guitars and Vocals (all songs written by JH)
BILLY COX - Bass
MITCH MITCHELL - Drums 

Guests:
BUZZY LINHART - Vibes on "Drifting"
STEVE WINWOOD and CHRIS WOOD - Backing Vocals on "Ezy Rider"
BUDDY MILES - Drums on "Ezy Rider"
BILLY ARMSTRONG - Percussion of "Ezy Rider"
PAUL CARUSO - Harmonica on "My Friend"
KEN PINE - 12-String Guitar on "My Friend"
JIMMY MAYES - Bass on "My Friend"
NOEL REDDING - Drums of "My Friend"
EMERETTA MARKS - Background Vocals on "In From The Storm" 

Right from the moment "Freedom" leaps out of the speakers - the layered guitars and rhythm section seem so much clearer and not amped up for the sake of it. "Night Flying Bird" (one of my faves) is mind-blowing - those sliding lead in guitars and that funky backdrop - so cool and clever (lyrics from it title this review). Again Mitchell's cymbals and drums throughout "Straight Ahead" sound fabulous and the lovely "Drifting" has always been an equal for me to the more famous and revered "Angel" (which in itself sounds magical). I'd swear there's reduced hiss on "Belly Button Window" without compromising the space around the voice and guitar (which we now know was merely a demo) and that bass rattles at you on "Astro Man" with a renewed power. In facts it's so cool to just have it back as it was - and sounding this good.

"Back from the storm..." - Jimi sings on "In From The Storm". Indeed he is...and how...

"Selected Works 1973-1999" by EAGLES - A Review Of Their 2000 Elektra 4CD Book Set - Now Reissued In 2013 Into A Card Slipcase and Bernie Grundman Remasters...

"…Pretty Maids All In A Row…" 

Originally released as a Long Book in November 2000 - this November 2013 reissue on Elektra 8122796239 reduces that "Selected Works 1973-1999" 4CD retrospective into a manageable card slipcase and keeps the four-themed CDs, the booklet (24-pages) and best of all - the superb Bernie Grundman/Richard Davis remasters. Here are the witchy women, ornery outlaws and dry-roasted desperados...

Disc 1 "The Early Years" (49:44 minutes)
1. Take It Easy ("Eagles", 1972)
2. Hollywood Waltz ("One Of These Nights", 1975)
3. Already Gone ("On The Border", 1974)
4. Doolin'-Dalton ("Desperado", 1973)
5. Midnight Flyer ("On The Border", 1974)
6. Tequila Sunrise ("Eagles", 1972)
7. Witchy Woman ("Eagles", 1972)
8. Tran Leaves Here This Morning ("Eagles", 1972)
9. Outlaw Man ("Desperado", 1973)
10. Peaceful Easy Feeling ("Eagles", 1972)
11. James Dean ("On The Border", 1974)
12. Saturday Night ("Desperado", 1973)
13. On The Border Dean ("On The Border", 1974)

Disc 2 "The Ballads" (58:26 minutes):
1. Wasted Time Reprise
2. Wasted Time ("Hotel California", 1976)
3. I Can't Tell You Why ("The Long Run", 1979)
4. Lyin' Eyes ("One Of These Nights", 1975)
5. Pretty Maids All In A Row ("Hotel California", 1976)
6. Desperado ("Desperado", 1973)
7. Try And Love Again ("Hotel California", 1976)
14. The Best Of My Love ("On The Border", 1974)
8. New Kid In Town ("Hotel California", 1976)
9. Love Will Keep Us Alive (1 of 4 new tracks on "Hell Freezes Over", 1994)
10. Sad Café ("The Long Run", 1979)
11. Take It To The Limit ("One Of These Nights", 1975)
12. After The Thrill Is Gone ("One Of These Nights", 1975)

Disc "The Fast Lane" (69:55 minutes):
1. One Of These Nights Intro
2. One Of The Nights ("One Of These Nights", 1975)
3. Disco Strangler ("The Long Run", 1979)
4. Heartache Tonight ("The Long Run", 1979)
5. Hotel California ("Hotel California", 1976)
6. Born To Boogie (outtake from "The Long Run" sessions - previously unreleased)
7. In The City ("The Long Run", 1979)
8. Get Over It (2 of 4 new tracks on "Hell Freezes Over", 1994)
9. King Of Hollywood ("The Long Run", 1979)
10. Too Many Hands ("One Of These Nights", 1975)
11. Life In The Fast Lane ("Hotel California", 1976)
12. The Long Run ("The Long Run", 1979)
13. Long Run Leftovers (instrumental outtakes from "The Long Run" sessions)
14. The Last Resort ("Hotel California", 1976)
15. Random Victims Part 3 (outtakes from various recordings sessions)

Disc 4 "The Millennium Concert" (59:53 minutes):
1. Hotel California
2. Victim Of Love
3. Peaceful Feeling
4. Please Come Home For Christmas
5. Ol' 55
6. Take It To The Limit
7. Those Shoes
8. Funky New Year
9. Dirty Laundry
10. Funk 49
11. All She Wants To Do Is Dance
12. The Best Of My Love
Recorded live at The Staples Centre, Los Angeles, 31 December1999

When this rather dull looking 4-disc set came out in 2000 - fans were both thrilled and let down. The themes given to the first three CDs were cleverly sequenced for sure - giving the listener an EAGLES song experience that touches well know bases but also throws in some of those forgotten album gems like say "Saturday Night", "Train Leaves Here This Morning", "Try And Love Again" and "Pretty Maids All In A Row". But it doesn't take a genius to look at the total playing times of the CDs (especially Disc 1 and 2) and wonder - why so much empty space? And in 2000 - this sucker wasn't cheap either...

Fast forward thirteen years later - and it's 2013 reissue into a card slipcase (four-way foldout holder inside) whilst boasting on online price tag of just seven pound coins - represents a far better buy (and not just in terms of its more manageable and very pretty 'mini' box set packaging - but in the exclusives that aren't available anywhere else). The booklet has great liner notes by DAVID WILD with interviews, period photos, a note from original Producer Bill Szymczyk and Glenn Frey. Then there's the real deal - the gorgeous Bernie Grundman/Richard F. W. Davis remasters which brings stuff like "Doolin' Dalton", "I Can't Tell You Why" and the full version of "One Of These Nights" to life - warm, clear and beautifully produced.

The live show is good rather than great and suffers from the hugeness of the event - the duelling guitars on "Hotel California" feeling like their way back in the mix and instead of being out front. The "Funky New Year" track is good and "Please Come Home For Christmas" pleasant - but it takes Joe Walsh's "Funk 49" to really liven up things.

Written by Pete Vale, Jim Capaldi and Paul Carrack - "Love Will Keep Us Alive" showed that that melody magic hadn't disappeared and in the Elevens - the Eagles now seem more comfortable with their own legend than ever.

Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Randy Meisner, Don Felder and Timothy B. Schmit - what a line-up of talent. Put this cowboy builder in your ten gallon hat real soon...

"Back Porch Bluegrass / !!!Live!!!Almost!!! / Pickin’ And Fiddlin’" by THE DILLARDS - A Review Of Their First 3 Albums on Elektra Records - Now Remastered By Beat Goes On of the UK onto 2CDs in 2014...

"…Our Part Of The Country…" 

A clever release this - three impossibly rare early Sixties albums on Elektra Records featuring Bluegrass pioneers THE DILLARDS. You get stories about timber and Prairie people, drunken Billy goats, possum-eating bumblebees and peeved women about to go the grave - all of it sung by finger pickin' raconteurs on supersonic stringed instruments and shop-bought fiddles. Let's get deliverance on the duelling banjos right away...

UK released October 2014 - Beat Goes On BGOCD 1167 (Barcode 5017261211675) breaks down as follows:

Disc 1 (75:05 minutes):

1. Old Joseph

2. Somebody Touched Me

3. Polly Vaughn

4. Banjo In The Hollow

5. Dooley

6. Lonesome Indian

7. Ground Hog

8. Old Home Place

9. Hickory Hollow

10. Old Man At The Mill

11. Doug's Tune

12. Rainin' Here This Morning

13. Cold Trailin'

14. Reuben's Train

15. Duelin' Banjo

Tracks 1 to 15 are the album "Back Porch Bluegrass" - released 1963 in the USA on Elektra EKL 232 (Mono) and Elektra EKS 7232 (Stereo) - Stereo Mix Used

16. Black-Eyed Susie

17. Never See My Home Again

18. There Is A Time

19. Old Blue

20. Sinkin' Creek

21. The Whole World Round

22. Liberty!

23. Dixie Breakdown

24. Walkin' Down The Line

25. Jody's Tune

26. Pretty Polly

27. Taters In Sandy Land/Gimme Chaw T'Baccer

28. Buckin' Mule

Tracks 16 to 28 are the album "!!!Live!!!Almost!!!" - released 1964 in the USA on Elektra Records EKL 265 (Mono and Elektra EKS 7265 (Stereo) - Stereo Mix used

Disc 2 (33:44 minutes):

1. Hamilton County

2. Fisher's Hornpipe

3. Paddy On The Turnpike

4. Jazz Bow Rag

5. Apple Blossom

6. Tom and Jerry

7. Cotton Patch

8. Durang's Hornpipe

9. Wagoner

10. Sally Johnson

11. Crazy Creek

12. Drunken Billy Goat

13. Black Mountain Rag

14. Twinkle, Twinkle

15. Wild John

16. Soppin' The Gravy

Tracks 1 to 16 are the album "Pickin' And Fiddlin'" by THE DILLARDS with BYRON BERLINE - released 1965 in the USA on Elektra Records EKL 285 (Mono) and Elektra EKS 7285 (Stereo) - Stereo Mix Used

This 2CD reissue comes in BGO's now standard card slipcase and has a 24-page booklet which reproduces the full liner notes to their first 3 albums (song by song breakdowns and even guitar tunings) and best of all - a superb new 2014 remaster by ANDREW THOMPSON from tapes licenced from WEA. As this is primarily acoustic music with a double-bass rhythm section - the sound is wonderful - and amazingly evocative of their period.

Hailing out of Salem in Missouri - Doug and his brother Rodney Dillard (Doug on Banjo and Rod on Dobro and Guitar) formed the group in 1962 with Roy Webb and Mitchell Hammond on Mandolin and Double Bass. As JOHN O'REGAN'S superb liner notes amply show - their contribution to Bluegrass and American Roots Music is immense - in many ways introducing the genre to whole generations via their regular appearances on the "The Andy Griffith Show". Masquerading as "The Darlings" (a musical family on the prime-time American TV show) - Elektra Records with its long track record for Folk and Country acts were the natural home for the talented players.

Right from the brake-neck pace of the opening instrumental "Old Joseph" - their combined banjo/mandolin playing and the lovely clean production make for a pretty lethal combo. When the vocals arrive it feels like you're on the set of "O, Brother Where Art Thou?" The double-bass opening of "Polly Vaughn" has amazing clarity and they're won't be many who don't recognize "Duelin' Banjo" which Eric Weisberg later made famous on John Boorman's disturbing "Deliverance" movie in 1972 (actually charting the single).

The live album sees the boys chatting about the Ozarks and old men chewing tobacco as a 48 Hudson full of Jehovah Witnesses passes them disdainfully by. And again the sound is fabulous. The storytelling on "The Whole World Round" (lyrics above) about settlers moving from one remote part of the country to the next to get away from 'neighbors' and their 'chopping axes' is brilliant - a song that also showcases their superb Everly Brothers type harmonies (four part). The album I like least is "Pickin' And Fiddlin'" with Fiddle Maestro Byron Berline - which does exactly what it says on the tin - fiddle tune after fiddle tune. It's hard-core traditional Americana and not nearly as charming or as much fun as the Banjo/Mandolin/Guitar battles that preceded it.

"I don't know how many of you know who Bobby Dylan is - but he's probably done more for Folk Music than anybody..." - Mitch Jayne's wonderful preamble before Dylan's "Walkin' Down The Line" to the 1964 audience reels the crowd in (a great talker like Tom Paxton - witty and erudite) and they finish it with a mountain tune "Buckin' Mule" as they sound like an he-haw outtake from a Coens movie that's years ahead of its time. Great stuff. Doug would famously leave the group in 1968 to form DILLARD & CLARK with GENE CLARK of THE BYRDS and have a part in the whole Country Rock revolution...

THE DILLARDS won't be for everyone for sure (especially not that third album) - but the first two records are magical. And I love the way they make you feel like you're eavesdropping on real Americana - and not the hick part neither...

Brilliant...

"The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions by HOWLIN' WOLF [feat Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts] (March 2003 US/UK Universal/MCA/Chess 2CD 'Deluxe Edition' Reissue - Erick Labson Remasters - Reissued EU 2012) - A Review by Mark Barry..

US/UK 2003 ORIGINAL DE PACKAGING VERSION ABOVE

EU 2012 REISSUE VERSION in a 2CD JEWEL CASE BELOW

"…Wang Dang Doodle…" 

Like many avid collectors I've felt that Universal's 2CD 'Deluxe Edition' series has had some dubious expansions of popular albums across the reissue decades - forever chasing our battered debit cards with yet another sonic temptation. But sometimes - just sometimes - you get the perfect blend. You get a forgotten album that shouldn't be - extras actually worthy of the moniker 'bonus tracks' - classy and sympathetic presentation and a Remaster Engineer capable of bringing genuine new life back into old recordings. Ladies and Gentlemen (and those of you who aren't sure) - welcome to one of those 'DE' beauties. Here are the little red roosters and the wang dang doodles...

Released March 2003 - "The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions: Deluxe Edition" by HOWLIN' WOLF on MCA/Chess 088 112 985-2 (Barcode 008811298524) is a 2CD set of Remasters and breaks down as follows (see below re Single Disc ‘Rarities’ Edition):

Disc 1 (56:52 minutes):

1. Rockin' Daddy (Side 1)

2. A Ain't Superstitious

3. Sittin' On The Top Of The World

4. Worried About My Baby

5. What A Woman!

6. Poor Boy

7. Build For Comfort (Side 2)

8. Who's Been Talking?

9. The Red Rooster (False Start And Dialogue)

10. The Red Rooster

11. Do The Do

12. Highway 49

13. Wang Dang Doodle

Tracks 1 to 13 are the album "The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions" - released August 1971 in the UK on Rolling Stones Records COC 47101 and Chess CH-60008 in the USA

14. Goin' Down Slow

15. Killing Floor

16. I Want A Word With You

Tracks 14 to 16 are Bonus Tracks - they originally appeared on the American Muddy Waters & Howlin' Wolf LP "London Revisited" from 1974 on Chess CH 60026. They're Newly Remixed From The Session Multi-Tracks for this reissue

Disc 2 (52:50 minutes):

1. Worried About My Baby (Rehearsal Take)

2. The Red Rooster (Alternate Mix With Alternate Piano)

3. What A Woman (A/K/A/ Commit A Crime) (Alternate Take)

4. Who's Been Talking (Alternate Take With False Start & Dialog)

5. Worried About My Baby (Alternate Take)

6. I Ain't Superstitious (Alternate Take)

7. Highway 49 (Alternate Take)

8. Do The Do (Extended Alternate Take)

9. Poor Boy (Alternate Lyrics Mix)

10. I Ain't Superstitious (Alternate Mix)

11. What A Woman (A/K/A Commit A Crime) (Alternate Mix With Organ Overdub)

12. Rockin' Daddy (Alternate Mix)

(All tracks on Disc 2 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED; Tracks 1 to 8 are newly remixed - Tracks 9 to 12 are the original 1970 mixdown sessions)

It was reissued 2012 in the EU/UK on MCA/Chess 0600753278505 (Barcode 600753278505) in a 2CD jewel case - dropping the 'DE' packaging of a gatefold digipak in a wrap (photos above of the 2003 original and 2012 reissue). 

The first thing that hits you is the awesome sound - remastered by ERICK LABSON. I've sung this man's praises before on many occasions - he's one of Universal's principal sound engineers and has been involved in excess of 1,100 reissues including the vast majority of the huge Chess catalogue. This guy knows his way around tapes like this - and his work here is fabulous - ballsy, clear and full of power. Once of the outer DELUXE EDITION plastic slipcase - the gatefold card digipak offers up a wide and long booklet that is classily put together. You get a revealing interview with NORMAN DAYRON the original engineer, pictures from the period and sessions and a recording credits roll call of ace British and American musicians lining up to play with their hero - ERIC CLAPTON (Guitars), STEVE WINWOOD (Keyboards), BILL WYMAN and CHARLIE WATTS of THE ROLLING STONES (Bass and Drums), HUBERT SUMLIN (Guitar), JEFFREY M. CARP (Harmonica), PHIL UPCHURCH (Bass) and IAN STEWART with LAFAYETTE LEAKE (Piano) to name but some.

Like "Fathers & Sons" with Muddy Waters and The Paul Butterfield Band blowing up a storm in 1969 - I've always felt this "London Session" was one of the most successful of those Blues-Rock collaboration albums precisely because of who was involved (Clapton in particular was in blinding form). Chester Burnett wasn't in the best of health (he would be lost to us in early 1976) - and at times his voice does seem ever so-slightly uncomfortable with the arrangements and the UK surroundings - but Clapton and his adoring boys broke the ice and brought in a formidable project in the end.

Side 1 opens with the Wolf's own "Rockin' Daddy" followed by Willie Dixon's "I Ain't Superstitious" and the joint is jumping right away. We get mean and gritty with a harmonica and piano-driven "Sittin' On Top Of The World" and the horns of Dennis Lansing, Joe Miller and Jordan Sandke back up the band for "Built For Comfort". Clapton tears into "Red Rooster" - really enjoying himself after giving the master the respect he needed by asking the Wolf to lead on guitar. But if was to single out two killers - it's the rocking "What A Woman!" and the unbelievably good Blues Boogie of "Highway 49" (a Joe Williams cover). I've put them on countless Shop Play CDs in Reckless - and it never failed - kids rushing to the counter wanting to know who `the real deal' is...

The 3 extras on Disc 1 are unbelievable - "Goin' Down Slow" featuring blistering slow bluesy harmonica playing from Jeffrey Carp - then his own "Killing Floor" in boogie style with the band sounding in your face and loving it. As if that's not enough - Disc 1 finishes with another storming version of one of the album's highlights "What A Woman!" Wow!

It's arguable that Disc 2 is actually a better album - meaner and grittier - with versions that are complete but rougher around their frayed edges. The slashing slide guitar on "Red Rooster" and the boogie of "What A Woman!" are fantastic stuff. Love the harmonica and shambolic feel to "Worried About My Baby" - razor sharp bass and vocals too in the remaster. And the piano is far more to the fore for "Highway 49" - his presence exuding out of the speakers ("stop by the whiskey store...and get me a jug of wine...").

Hospitalised in late 1975 with liver failure after an automobile accident - he passed away 10 January 1976 - one of the true greats - a Blues force of nature that wouldn't be tamed.

Hit the Blues Highway 49 children and start your journey to the dark side here...

PS: There is a subsequent American-only 2010 single-disc reissue called "The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions (Rarities Edition) - Essential Collector's Tracks" on MCA/Chess B0013720-02 (Barcode 602527256207). It's 15-tracks gather up Tracks 14, 15 and 16 on Disc 1 and Tracks 1 to 12 on Disc 2 of the DELUXE EDITION and clumps them all onto 1CD. 

I mention this because unfortunately if you use the Barcode for that one-disc version (602527256207) - Amazon will bring to what looks like the 2CD DE version when it's not. If you want the 2CD-DE Version either 2003 original and 2012 reissue - you must use the Barcodes provided above in my review...

"Jackson C. Frank" by JACKSON C. FRANK - A Review Of His Lone Folk Album In 1965 On Columbia Records - Now Remastered & Expanded in 2001 by Sanctuary of the UK...

"...My Heart’s True Song…"

New Yorker Jackson Casey Frank produced simple acoustic songs of such beauty and intensity that comparisons to Nick Drake and Tim Buckley immediately jump to mind. And yet this American Folk troubadour had a life so tragic (horrific personal injuries in a fire at the age of 13, loss of a son, mental illness and homelessness) - it threatens to overshadow his recorded legacy. But there is at least this stunning little CD reissue from the good folks at Sanctuary that only hammers home what a loss his passing was. Here are the blues that ran the game...

Originally released 19 November 2001 on CD (reissued in March 2008) - Sanctuary CMRCD366 (Barcode 5050159136629) breaks down as follows (56:16 minutes)

1. Blues Run The Game

2. Don't Look Back

3. Kimble

4. Yellow Walls

5. Here Comes The Blues

6. Milk And Honey

7. My Name Is Carnival

8. I Want To Be Alone (Dialogue)

9. Just Like Anything

10. You Never Wanted Me

Tracks 1 to 10 are his only officially released vinyl album "Jackson C. Frank" - released December 1965 in the UK-ONLY on Columbia Records 33SX 1788

11. Marlene

12. Marcy's Song

13. The Visit

14. Prima Donna Of Swans

15. Relations

Tracks 11 to 15 are Bonuses - Previously Unreleased 1970's Demos

This classy Sanctuary CD reissue and remaster comes housed in a card slipcase - the inner 12-page booklet has superbly detailed and informative liner notes by noted musicologist ALAN ROBINSON. It doesn't say who did the remaster - but the sound is beautiful. Just a voice and guitar, Paul Simon's simple and sympathetic production values and CBS facilities all combine to offer up a warm and atmospheric listen. One or two of the DEMOS are hissy in places but they're a fascinating addition - more emotionally naked acoustic songs waiting to be born...

Introduced by a kind lady called Judith Piepe to both PAUL SIMON and ART GARFUNKEL (staying in her London flat at the time) - Simon liked what he heard so much - he offered to produce Frank's debut album (which he famously did). Frank also befriended a nineteen year-old nurse and singer called SANDY DENNY and in turn another unsigned songwriting talent AL STEWART. When it came to recording the album - he was so scared he hid behind a screen in the studio (so Simon and Stewart wouldn't see him) - recording the whole album on acoustic guitar in less than three hours at the CBS Studios in New Bond Street. Columbia even tried a UK 45 released the same month as the album (December 1965) - "Blues Run The Game" b/w "Can't Get Away From Your Love" on Columbia DB 7795. The non-album B-side is unfortunately not on this CD (see the "Blues Run The Game" compilation).

If you want to know just emotive the opening song "Blues Run The Game" is - check out the SIMON & GARFUNKEL version that first appeared as an unreleased track on their 3CD "Old Friends" Box Set in 1997 - it's unbelievable good (also a bonus track on the 2001 reissue of "Sounds Of Silence"). Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Nick Drake, Eddi Reader and others have all done covers of it - and it's probably the standout track on here. Not to be outdone - "Milk And Honey" is just gorgeous too (lyrics from it title this review) as is the aching "I Want To Be Alone (Dialogue)".

A known rarity (originals regularly sell for £300 plus) - the album was reissued in the UK as "Jackson Frank Again" (with a different cover) in April 1978 on B&C Records BCLP 4 - but the music scene at the time ignored it. A UK 7" single combining "Blues Run The Game" b/w "Milk And Honey" preceded the reissue album in March 1978 on B&C Records BCS 0012 - but sank without a trace.

Listening to "Jackson C. Frank" now in 2014 - it's a little like Springsteen's "Nebraska" or Johnny Cash's "American Recordings" - sometimes you just need to hear simple from-the-heart stuff - a man's voice, his spirit and his guitar. After years of mental health problems and even homelessness - Jackson Frank passed away in 1999 without people noticing. At least this beautiful (and cheap) CD reissue celebrates his superlative debut album with real class and style. One for the desert island in us all...