"Safe As Milk" by CAPTAIN BEEFHEART and THE MAGIC BAND (1999 BMG/RCA/Buddah Expanded CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Came Upon A Tornado..."

Few artists can genuinely have the mantle of genius festooned around their mad foreheads in a garland of Californian daisies – but Captain Beefheart is one of them. His 1967 debut is still a bit of a beast to digest in 2015 – but my admiration for it and him only grow as the years pass. Nothing about this album is "safe" let alone a comforting and warm glass of milk come those night-time tremors - which is of course what makes it so good and groundbreaking. Here goes with the Abba Zaba and the Dropout Boogie...

US released June 1999 (September 1999 in the UK) – "Safe As Milk" by CAPTAIN BEEFHEART and THE MAGIC BAND on BMG/RCA/Buddha Records 74321 69175 2 (Barcode 743216917525) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster with Seven Bonus Tracks and breaks down as follows (71:13 minutes):

1. Sho 'Nuff 'N Yes I Do

2. Zig Zag Wanderer

3. Call On Me

4. Dropout Boogie

5. I'm Glad

6. Electricity

7. Yellow Brick Road [Side 2]

8. Abba Zaba

9. Plastic Factory

10. Where There's Woman

11. Grown So Ugly

12. Autumn's Child

Tracks 1 to 12 are his debut album "Safe As Milk" – released September 1967 in the USA on Buddah BDM 1001 (Mono) and Buddah BDS 5001 (Stereo) and February 1968 in the UK on Pye International NPL 28110 (initially in Mono only). A Stereo version finally showed in 1970 in the UK on Buddah 623 171 – this CD Remaster uses the STEREO mix.

BONUS TRACKS:

13. Safe As Milk (Take 5)

14. On Tomorrow

15. Big Black Baby Shoes

16. Flower Pot

17. Dirty Blue Gene

18. Trust Us (Take 9)

19. Korn Ring Finger

Tracks 13 to 19 are all Previously Unreleased, Recorded Oct to Nov 1967 with Alex St. Clair Snouffer and Jeff Cotton on Guitars instead of Ry Cooder. Captain Beefheart, Jeff Handley and John French as per the LP line-up.

The 12-page booklet (in a rather dull black and white) has a history of the album and the genre-bending talents of Don Van Vliet of Glendale, California (alias Captain Beefheart) written by JOHN PLATT with help from Mike Barnes and Gary Marker. There are reissue credits and a repro of the 'Baby Jesus' bumper sticker. On the rear of the booklet there’s a gorgeous colour photo of the band as a four-piece – Alex St. Clair Snouffer (Guitar), John French (Drums), Captain Beefheart (Vocals, Harmonica and Bass Marimba) and Jerry Handley (Bass). There are also long notes on the CD Bonus Tracks ("Mirror Sessions" outtakes etc).

The remasters are by ELLIOTT FEDERMAN and come with a warning that "sonic imperfections exist due to the condition of the master tapes". He’s unfortunately proven right about this. Some tracks are fantastic – others very hissy and even corrupted in the top end. There’s also a very definite audio chasm between the album and the bonus tracks – the LP has its rough moments but the Bonus tracks (later 1967 recordings for the second album done just a month after the release of "Safe As Milk") are fantastic sounding - and in truth would probably have sat better as "Trout Mask Replica" outakes. It’s a case of taking the rough with the smooth – but luckily because there isn't that much rough - I'd say they’ve done a superb job with what they had...

It opens with the Howlin’ Wolf/Johnny Winter guitar blues of "Sure 'Nuff 'N Yes I Do" - a genius hybrid track with ex Rising Sons guitar wizard RY COODER providing lead guitar. We then get into real Beefheart songscapes with the decidedly rough recording of "Zig Zag Wanderer" – a jagged irksome little monster like the "adaptor...adaptor" distorted guitar chug of "Dropout Boogie" (both tracks benefitting from the percussive drums of Milt Holland). Unfortunately there are heavy hiss levels on "I'm Glad" where Don comes on like some Street Corner vocal group pleading "so sad baby". But as always with the Captain - he can blindside you with how pretty a song he can write when he stops pushing the musical boundaries with the rest of the album. The Byrds-ish "Call My Name" could have been a single too with its "free love" coda ideal for the time.

But if one track practically defines the jagged songwriting strangled-vocals genius of Captain Beefheart it would be the stunning "Electricity". Described as a variant of 'Blues' by some more scholarly than I – it comes at you like a sonic beast from another world and could only be a product of the hyper-inventive super-productive and mad-as-a-dingbat-on-acid 60ts counter-culture. Throughout its jerk-rhythms and weird-sounding guitars - Sam Hoffman plays a thing called a 'Theremin' - an early variant of an electronic Moog instrument that had been used to create those scary outer-space noises in films like "The Day The Earth Stood Still". Combined with Beefheart giving it his best strangling-a-cat voice – its astonishing stuff even now. Pye actually reissued "Electricity" in June 1978 as a British 7” single on Buddah BDS 466 - the audio bosom-buddy B-side to "Sho 'Nuff 'N Yes I Do". Not sure if either was entirely Thursday night 'Top Of The Pops' material but I’d pay good money to see Pans People do an interpretive dance routine for either (yum yum). 

Speaking of singles - Pye UK tried the jaunty Side 2 opener "Yellow Brick Road" b/w "Abba Zaba" on Pye International 7N 25443 in January 1968 but not surprisingly it tanked and is now a £50-plus rarity (Taj Mahal plays percussion on "Yellow Brick Road"). His fantastic Bluesy Harmonica gives the brilliant "Plastic Factory" a real Paul Butterfield edge. "Where There's Woman" and "Grown So Ugly" are suitably touching and poisonous at the same time but the album finishes on a total winner. Russ Titelman plays guitar while Sam Hoffman twiddles his Theremin on the brilliant Side 2 finisher "Autumn's Child" – a song where you actually feel like you're listening to a new kind of music being created as you listen.

The BONUS TRACKS are part of the "Mirror Sessions" which were essentially going to be a double-album follow-up for Buddah Records (their 2nd album). Parts of it turned up on the "Mirror Man" LP issued by Buddah in May 1971. "Trout Mask Replica" fans will love the near seven-minute guitar instrumental rampage that is "On Tomorrow". Even better is "Big Black Baby Shoes" – another five-minute sliding guitar instrumental which is discordantly musical in that way only Captain Beefheart can be. "Flower Pot" is brilliant too and my fave bonus amongst the seven – the band boogieing in that jagged "Trout" way through four minutes of Beefheart Funk.

The equally good/strange "Strictly Personal" would follow in 1968 and the epoch-making game-changing double "Trout Mask Replica" in late 1969 – but this is where all that discordant yet melodious jerky-motion started. 

An animal-sculpting child prodigy TV star at the age of 10 – Don Van Vliet was always a bit special and a just bit bonkers in the temporal lobe area. Captain Beefheart famously walked off stage once and collapsed into the grass face first – later claiming he stopped the band mid-song (fixed his tie first before he left stage) because he saw a woman in the audience turn into a 'goldfish'. Now that’s my kind of visionary...

"Love" by LOVE (October 2001 UK Elektra Expanded CD Reissue – Andrew Sandoval, Dan Hersch and Bill Inglot Remasters - Mono & Stereo Mixes of the 1966 LP and Two Bonus Tracks) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Coloured Balls Falling..."

By common consensus West Coast 'Rock Music' began for the formerly Folk-orientated Elektra Records with the self-titled debut of LOVE - issued onto a rapidly changing musical landscape in the Summer of 1966 in a snazzy new non-paste-back sleeve (the first of its kind apparently). Yet in 2015 (and fast approaching a staggering 50-year distance) – that quietly momentous achievement is all but forgotten now - and of course overshadowed even further by the band's more illustrious follow-ups - "Da Capo" (1967) and especially "Forever Changes" (1968). Time to re-examine that extraordinary beginning methinks - presented to us here in real style on this cool little 2001 Expanded CD Remaster. Here are the little red details...

UK released October 2001 – "Love" by LOVE on Elektra/Warner Strategic Marketing 8122 73567-2 (Barcode 081227356729) is an Expanded CD Remaster that offers Both the Mono and Stereo Mix of the Debut LP as well as Two Bonus Tracks (one is Previous Unreleased). It plays out as follows (77:54 minutes):

1. My Little Red Book [Side 1]

2. Can't Explain

3. A Message To Pretty

4. My Flash On You

5. Softly To Me

6. No Mater What You Do

7. Emotions

8. You'll Do The Following [Side 2]

9. Gazing

10. Hey Joe

11. Signed D.C.

12. Coloured Balls Falling

13. Mushroom Clouds

14. And More

Tracks 1 to 14 are the MONO MIX of their debut album "Love" – released July 1966 in the USA on Elektra EKL-4001 (September 1966 in the UK on the same catalogue number)

Tracks 15 to 28 are the STEREO MIX of their debut album "Love" on Elektra EKS-74001 (release dates as above)

BONUS TRACKS:

29. Number 14 – the non-album B-side to "7 And 7 Is" – a stand-alone 45 issued August 1966 in the USA on Elektra EK 45605 and September 1966 in the UK on London HLZ 10073.

It made No. 33 in the USA – didn't chart UK.

30. Signed D.C. – Alternative Version, Previously Unissued

The 12-page booklet has jam-packed liner notes by ANDREW SANDOVAL that stretches their story from Arthur Lee's early incarnation of the band as The Grass Roots (changed their name to Love after the other Grass Roots hit the charts) on into the 21 hours it took to record the album on then onwards to its release by Elektra in the Summer of 1966 (eventually rose to 57 on the American LP charts – didn’t chart in the UK). The reissue is dedicated to Guitarist and Vocalist BRYAN MacLEAN and Bassist KEN FORSSI (ex Surfaris) who both passed away in 1998. Inbetween the dense text (which includes quotes from original producer Jac Holzman and guitarist Johnny Eccles) are fantastic repro picture sleeves of French EPs and Italian Picture Sleeves of "My Little Red Book" - a Bacharach David song also covered by Manfred Mann (it was Love's debut 45 in March 1966).

But the big news is Sound Production and Remastering by a trio of trusted names – ANDREW SANDOVAL and long-time Rhino associates DAN HERSCH and BILL INGLOT. This CD sounds incredible on 'both' mixes. Original Co-Producer JAC HOLZMAN (the album was Engineered by BRUCE BOTNIK) is said to have favoured the STEREO mix – but what’s noticeable here is the marked differences between the two. If I was to sum up - the faster songs have more attack on the Mono variant - but the more melodic pieces are quitely beautiful in the Stereo transfer.

Heavily influenced by the sound of The Byrds both "My Little Red Book" and "Can't Explain" set the jangling-guitar tone of the album. The Stereo stage on "Can't Explain" is very marked but the guitars seem more lost in the mix than the more straightforward punch of the Mono version. I love the Stereo take on the gorgeous "A Message To Pretty" – the Audio is beautifully clear and Arthur Lee’s wobbling vocal is right out front. The choppy guitar of "My Flash On You" is again twice as powerful to my ears on the Stereo version as he roars "...all I want in this world is to be free..." – and when he goes into that fuzzed-up solo rammed right over to the left channel – it properly rocks.

"Softly To Me" is the first real sign to me of the band’s genius coming through – not slavish to the Byrds or The Lovin' Spoonful – it's Love finding their strange melodic way. Issued as a 45 on Elektra Records EKSN 45016 in the UK (pictured on Page 10 of the booklet) – it’s a gorgeous and tuneful Bryan MacLean song (his first lead vocal on the album - "Hey Joe" is the second). We're back to angst with Lee's "No Matter What You Do" while the co-write with Johnny Eccles on the Duane Eddy-ish instrumental "Emotions" is again a blinding track and I think one of the album's great unsung heroes (once more I'm favouring the Stereo take – beautifully transferred from the tapes). Side 1 ends with the very Byrds "You I'll Be Following" – another potential single.

I've never liked their frantic version of "Hey Joe" (written by Dino Valenti of Quicksilver Messenger Service and of course made famous by Jimi Hendrix). Far better is the "...my soul belongs to the dealer..." aching masterpiece of "Signed D.C." – and again that haunting Harmonica sounds stunning in the Stereo mix especially. The song is about Love's Drummer Don Conka who deteriorated from California girls and a happy-go-lucky lifestyle into heavy drug addiction. Lee would return to the song on "Out Here" in 1970 but in heavier Steppenwolf's "The Pusher" mode while the bare bones Alternate Take (Track 30) of "Signed D.C." is one of the highlights on this CD – chilling stuff.

Some say Love's debut album is a derivative of The Byrds – and I suppose in some respects many of Arthur Lee's early songs are. But that emerging songwriting brilliance was already there and would come to full fruition with the "Da Capo" and "Forever Changes" albums that followed. I still think it's fabulous stuff and in places shockingly moving (even after nearly 50 years).

If you want some 60ts cool and an earful of a genuinely innovative and ahead-of-its-time debut album then "Love" is a must buy. And well done to all at Rhino for getting the Audio so beautifully right on both versions...

"Original Album Series" by DAVE EDMUNDS [including LOVE SCULPTURE] (September 2015 UK Parlophone/Warners/Swan Song 5CD Capacity Wallet Set with Five Mini LP Repro Artwork Sleeves and Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Here Comes The Weekend..."

It feels like I've been waiting for this mini box set peach-a-rooney for years. There's something about Dave Edmunds Rock 'n' Roll fixation throughout the whole of the Seventies that I've always loved. He rocked and his records were fun listens too. But what's perhaps forgotten is that his LPs mixed in his 50ts and 60ts obsessions with the New Wave songwriting genius of Rockpile's Nick Lowe and Billy Bremner - not to mention the acidic tongues of Elvis Costello and Graham Parker. The result is albums - that although retro in feel - are also contemporary. 

Oddly though - availability has always been an issue. Outside of Rhino's superb 1993 2CD "Anthology" career-overview – Remasters of his primo full-album catalogue have remained off the general CD availability radar until now. Well – here at last – is a salty 5CD set to sort my DE needs right out – and it’s a humdinger too. Here are the 'Twangin' details...

UK released September 2015 – "Original Album Series" by DAVE EDMUNDS (including LOVE SCULPTURE) on Parlophone/Warners/Swan Song 0081227952006 (Barcode same number) is a 5CD Mini Box Set and breaks down as follows:

Disc 1 (41:03 minutes):

1. In The Land Of The Few [Dave Edmunds, Mike Finesilver and Peter Ker song]

2. Seagull [Paul Korda cover]

3. Nobody’s Talking [Mike Finesilver and Peter Ker song]

4. Why (How-Now) [Mike Finesilver and Peter Ker song]

5. Farandole (L’Arlesienne) [George Bizet, classical cover]

6. You Can’t Catch Me [Chuck Berry cover] - [Side 2]

7. People, People [Mike Finesilver and Peter Ker song]

8. Sabre Dance [Aram Khatchaturian cover, Russian composer]

Tracks 1 to 8 are the 2nd studio album "Forms And Feelings" by LOVE SCULPTURE (featuring Dave Edmunds) – released February 1970 in the UK on Parlophone PCS 7090 and in the USA on London/Parrot PAS 71035.

The second and last LOVE SCULPTURE album "Forms And Feelings" is the EMI Remaster that came out in a natty card digipak in 1999 – minus any bonus material. I say this because fans will know that "Forms And Feelings" was originally released in Britain as an 8-track LP - but American 9-track copies on Parrot Records had an extra song – a two-minute cover of "Mars" by Holst slipped inbetween "People, People" and "Sabre Dance" on Side 2. Unfortunately this CD reissue sticks to the strict British LP configuration. Also there were as many as 6 x 7" single MONO mixes and Edits around the LP in the UK on Parlophone Records ("Sabre Dance" and "Farandole" were edited for 45 – that kind of thing). If you want to get the lot (including the missing "Mars" track) – buy the superb Esoteric Recordings Expanded CD from 2008 (Esoteric Recordings are a part of Cherry Red of the UK – Catalogue Number ECCLEC 2016). It's a Ben Wiseman Remaster from original first generation master tapes and can be found on Amazon at Barcode 5013929711624 (just cut and paste that number and it will give you the right issue).

Disc 2 (31:44 minutes):

1. Get Out Of Denver [Bob Seger cover]

2. I Knew The Bride [Nick Lowe cover]

3. Back To School Days [Graham Parker cover]

4. Here Comes The Weekend [Dave Edmunds & Nick Lowe song]

5. Worn Out Suits, Brand New Pockets [Dave Edmunds song]

6. Where Or When [1937 Rodgers & Hart song – Roy Heatherton & Mitzi Green cover]

7. Ju Ju Man [Jim Ford cover] – [Side 2]

8. Git It [Bob Kelly song – Gene Vincent & His Blue Caps cover]

9. Let's Talk About Us [Otis Blackwell song – Jerry Lee Lewis cover]

10. Hey Good Lookin' [Hank Williams cover]

11. What Did I Do Last Night? [Nick Lowe song]

12. Little Darlin' [Dave Edmunds & Nick Lowe song]

13. My Baby Left Me [Arthur Crudup song – Elvis Presley cover]

Tracks 1 to 13 are the album "Get It" – released April 1977 in the UK on Swan Song SSK 59404 and in the USA on Swan Song SS 8418.

Disc 3 (34:11 minutes):

1. Trouble Boy [Billy Bremner song]

2. Never Been In Love [Nick Lowe & Rockpile song]

3. Not A Woman, Not A Child [Billy Bremner song]

4. Television [Nick Lowe song]

5. What Looks Best On You [Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe song]

6. Readers Wives [Noel Brown song]

7. Deborah [Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe song] - [Side 2]

8. Thread Your Needle [Brenda Lee Jones and Welton Young song – Dean and Jean cover]

9. A.I. On The Jukebox [Dave Edmunds/William Birch (of The Kursaal Flyers)]

10. It's My Own Business [Chuck Berry cover]

11. Heart Of The City [Nick Lowe song]

Tracks 1 to 11 are the album "Trax On Wax 4" – released April 1978 in the UK on Swan Song SSK 59407 and in the USA on Swan Song SS 8505

Disc 4 (34:40 minutes):

1. Girls Talk [Elvis Costello song]

2. Crawling From The Wreckage [Graham Parker song]

3. The Creature From The Black Lagoon [Billy Bremner song]

4. Sweet Little Lisa [Donovan and Martin Cowart and Hank DeVito song]

5. Dynamite [Mort Garson. Tom Glazer song - Brenda Lee cover]

6. Queen Of Hearts [Hank DeVito cover] – [Side 2]

7. Home In My Hand [Ronnie self cover]

8. Goodbye Mr. Good Guy [Billy Murray and Pat Meagre song]

9. Take Me For A Little While [Trade Martin cover]

10. We Were Both Wrong [Billy Bremner song]

11. Bad Is Bad [Huey Lewis & The News cover – feature Huey on Harmonica]

Tracks 1 to 11 are the album "Repeat When Necessary" – released June 1979 in the UK on Swan Song SSK 59409 and July 1979 in the USA on Swan Song SS 8507

Disc 5 (30:25 minutes):

1. Something Happens [John Hiatt cover]

2. It's Been So Long [Ian Gomm cover]

3. Singin' The Blues [Melvin Endsley song – Guy Mitchell cover]

4. (I'm Gonna Start) Living Again If It Kills Me [Carlene Carter, Nick Lowe and Dave Edmunds song]

5. Almost Saturday Night [John Fogerty cover]

6. Cheap Talk, Patter And Jive [Donovan Cowart and Hank DeVito song – features The Chesterfield Kings on Harmonica] – [Side 2]

7. Three Time Loser [Don Covay and Ronald Miller song – Wilson Pickett cover]

8. You'll Never Get Me Up (In One Of Those) [Mickey Jupp cover]

9. I'm Only Human [Nick Lowe and Rockpile song]

10. The Race Is On [Don Rollins cover – George Jones cover - features The Stray Cats]

11. Baby Let's Play House [Arthur Gunter song – Elvis Presley cover]

Tracks 1 to 11 are the album "Twangin..." – released April 1981 UK 7” single on Swan Song SSK 59411 and May 1981 in the USA on Swan Song SS 16304

Everyone knows the visual story with these "Original Album Series" Mini 5CD Box sets – five single card sleeves with the original artwork front and rear – look nice but you can’t read the details. At least the CDs themselves have the track credits on each. It doesn’t say who remastered the four Swan Song albums or indeed if they’ve been even been redone (the Love Sculpture CD is the 1999 EMI Remaster) – I doubt it. The sound is great but there's no doubt in my mind that the Rhino Remasters of 1993 on the "Anthology" 2CD set are infinitely better. Having said that - as the bulk of these albums are late 70ts and early 80s recordings – the audio was on the money anyway – so for most casual listeners these CDs will sound just dandy.

Although I'm a huge DE fan – I’ve always had a hard time with Love Sculpture who seemed to spend way too much of their time pissing about with dodgy cover versions. Paul Korda’s soppy "Seagull" is awful, classical composer Bizet's "Farandole" from the Opera "L'Arlesienne" is ok, Chuck Berry's "You Can't Catch Me" is oddly unexciting (especially given Edmunds knack with Rock 'n' Roll) and the eleven minute "Sabre Dance" has awesome guitar work for sure but overstays its welcome past four minutes. The best tracks on the record are written by Mike Finesilver and Peter Ker – the hard rocking "Nobody's Talking" and the James Gang-ish contemplative feel to "Why (How-Now)" - both of which sound fabulous on this remaster. "People, People" too sounds so hippy 1967 and could be The Association or The Monkees (it's a pretty tune).

Typical of Edmunds – he seemed to always know what song suited him and how to re-arrange it into his own updated DE style. For example - a genius choice on 1978's "Tracks On Wax 4" is an ultra-obscure B-side on Rust Records of the USA called "Thread Your Needle". It was put out by Dean and Jean in 1966 as the flipside to "You're The Love Of My Life" and penned by Brenda Lee Jones and Welton Young – both of whom authored "The Majestic" for Dion in 1961. It's the kind of Eddie Cochran-ish guitar rocker that just comes in – does the business – and leaves – no muss - no fuss. It's followed by the hugely likeable "A.I. On The Jukebox" which feels like old-time Fifties Rock 'n' Roll but is actually a modern 1978 co-write between Dave Edmunds and William Birch of The Kursaal Flyers. It was issued as a UK A-side 45 on Swan Song SSK 19417 in February 1979 with the fab rocker "It's My Own Business" as its flipside – but despite the strength of both tracks – it tanked (yet you’ll find yourself replaying these little nuggets over and over again). His instincts to record Nick Lowe's brilliant and incendiary "Heart Of The City" 'live' pays off (no venue or date provided) because it gives the tune that Punky punch it warrants. In fact I can’t help thinking that "Tracks On Wax 4" is the forgotten nugget in his long cannon of enjoyable albums.

Next up and two huge faves among fans – "Repeat When Necessary" and "Twangin..." – both of which provided him with much-needed hit singles and chart exposure. Elvis Costello's brilliant "Girls Talk" was the first single off the "Repeat" album coupled with "Bad Is Bad" in June 1979 on Swan SSK 19419 – it did the chart business by climbing to 4 (the B-side is a Huey Lewis & The News cover version which features the great American Rocker guesting on Harmonica). That was followed by the other obvious winner on the album "Queen Of Hearts" – a fabulous Eddie Cochran type Acoustic Rocker that virtually screamed repeat radio play. It was penned by Henry DeVito of The Hot Band and became a hit again for Juice Newton on Capitol Records in 1981. But I love its Rockpile-sounding B-side "The Creature From The Black Lagoon" – a typically hooky tune from the witty pen of Billy Bremner who would later play with Rockpile and even guest for The Pretenders (the single landed a respectable No. 11 position on the UK charts). Graham Parker's wickedly acidic "Crawling From The Wreckage" was then coupled with the non-LP "As Lovers Do" on SSK 19240 which hit the lower end of the singles chart (59) in November 1979 (the album had run its course). Other favourites of mine are his electrifying cover of Brenda Lee’s “Dynamite” and the Phil Spector sounding 60ts melodrama of "Take Me For A Little While" originally written by teen-idol Trade Martin who put it out as a US 45 on RCA Victor in 1967. Albert Lee plays guest guitar on "Sweet Little Lisa".

After the brilliance of 1980’s ROCKPILE reunion album "Seconds Of Pleasure" on F-Beat Records (with Nick Lowe, Billy Bremner and Terry Williams) in 1980 - "Twangin..." was a welcome sight in 1981. Again you get that killer mix of the new – John Hiatt's New Wave yet Funky "Something Happens" and Billy Bremner's witty anti-airplane song "You'll Never Get Me Up (In One Of Those)" – sitting alongside familiar 50ts rhythms of "Singin' The Blues" (Guy Mitchell) and John Fogerty's wicked "Almost Saturday Night". Album nuggets include his superb cover of Wilson Pickett's "Three Time Loser" (written by Don Covay) which Edmunds somehow turns into a Rock 'n' Roll song and the double-trouble Rockabilly pairing of "The Race Is On" (with The Stray Cats) and the Sun Records echo-laden Presley homage of "Baby Let's Play House". Way to go baby...

I suppose you could argue that if this mini box had the fab "Seconds Of Pleasure" album by Rockpile from 1980 – then retro perfection would have been achieved. As it is – this is a great listen and a top-notch addition to an increasingly cool CD series...

PS: see also my reviews for Brinsley Schwarz, Terry Reid, Jimmy Webb and The Groundhogs in the "Original Album Series"...and Dave Edmund's solo albums - "Rockpile" (1972) and "Subtle As A Flying Mallet" (1975) both on expanded CDs...

This review and hundreds like it are available in my SOUNDS GOOD Music Book Series. Check them out by clicking this Amazon link...

"John Stevens' Away/Somewhere In Between/Mazin Ennit" by JOHN STEVENS’ AWAY [feat JOHN MARTYN and TERRI QUAYE] (2015 Beat Goes On 2CD Set – Andrew Thompson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Mazin Ennit..."

Free-form Jazz is hard to take at the best of times and pushing out two albums on the largely Prog Rock ‘Vertigo’ label in the middle and end of 1976 practically guarantees both of those records instant obscurity. And that’s what happened. Checking back on my old Phonogram release supplements for accurate release dates for this review – I notice that neither of the first two albums even managed a cassette or cartridge release and were deleted in a matter of months.

But over the years the English drummer and former bandleader with the Spontaneous Music Ensemble has come back into vogue. On the first two records in particular - you can sense who was influencing him at the time (Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers and Curtis Mayfield) and how they lent a tangible Funky Soulfulness to the album’s free-form lengthy instrumentals – especially tracks like “Anni” and “Spirit Of Peace”. Bung in some rare UK singles – one of which features the genius talent of John Martyn (a man who loved to improvise his Folk-Rock in the live environment) – and I might almost ‘like’ these expertly played but essentially wild musical noodles. Here are the not-so free form details...

UK released 25 September 2015 (5 October 2015 in the USA) – “John Stevens’ Away/Somewhere In Between/Mazin Ennit” by JOHN STEVENS’ AWAY on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1198 (Barcode 5017261211989) offers fans 3 full albums onto 2CDs and four UK 7” single-sides as Bonus Tracks. It plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (59:57 minutes):

1. It Will Never Be The Same

2. Tumble

3. Anni

4. C. Hear Taylor

5. What’s That?

Tracks 1 to 5 are the self-titled debut album for “John Stevens’ Away” – released June 1976 in the UK on Vertigo 6360 131. The band was: John Stevens on Drums, Peter Cowling on Electric Bass, Steve Hayton on Electric Guitar and Trevor Watts on Alto Saxophone.

6. Can’t Explain

7. Follow Me

8. Chick Boom

Tracks 6 to 8 are Side 1 of their 2^nd album “Somewhere In Between” – released October 1976 in the UK on Vertigo 6360 135

Disc 2 (78:50 minutes):

1. Spirit Of Peace (Tribute To Elvin Jones)

2. Now

Tracks 1 and 2 are Side 2 of their 2^nd album “Somewhere In Between” – released October 1976 in the UK on Vertigo 6360 135. The band was: John Stevens on Drums, Nick Stephens on Electric Bass, Ron Herman on Acoustic Bass, Robert Calvert on Soprano & tenor Saxophones, David Cole on Electric Guitar (Breno T’Fordo did Percussion on “Now”).

3. Away

4. Sunshine!! Sunshine

5. Mazin Ennit

6. Whoops A Daisy

7. Touch Of The Old

8. Still Here

9. Light Relief

10. God Bless

11. Temple Music

Tracks 3 to 11 are their 3^rd and final album “Mazin Ennit” – released May 1977 in the UK on Vertigo 6360 141. All songs on the three LPs are John Stevens originals. The band was the same line up as “Somewhere In Between”

BONUS TRACKS:

12. Anni Part I

13. Anni Part II – A&B-sides of a June 1976 UK 7” single on Vertigo 6059 140

14. Can’t Explain (Part 1)

15. Can’t Explain (Part 2) – A&B-sides of an October 1976 UK 7” single on Vertigo 6059 154

There’s an outer card slipcase that lends these BGO releases a visual classiness, a substantial 22-page booklet with liner notes by noted writer and genre-expert CHARLES WARING (principal Jazz columnist with the MOJO Magazine) along with artwork, production credits, photos of the band etc. Long-time Audio Engineer ANDREW THOMPSON has carried out the 2015 transfers (first time to CD for all three albums) and the sound quality is amazing – beautifully clear and reflecting the professional production values of the original producers - John Stevens and Terry Yason. There are quiet passages (the opening section of “Tumble”) and wild drum-flourishes (centre of “C. Hear Taylor”) and both offer gorgeous Audio results.

It opens with the twelve-minute Buddy Rich drums and cymbals feel of “It Will Never be The Same” where Hayton and Watts do a Funky shuffle on Guitar and Saxophone respectively. “Tumble” opens with the band settling quietly before they go into a mad Jazz riff that goes on for eight minutes and I suspect is going to be hard work even for the most enthusiastic free former. Far better is the drum solo vehicle of “C. Hear Taylor” where Stevens goes all John Bonham on his kit for five minutes. Undoubtedly the best track on here is near ten-minutes of “Anni” which opens with a wicked guitar solo that settles into a Soulful Funky Jazz groove (very nice) - while the album ends of the Guitar/Sax driver of “What’s That?”

Like they suddenly discovered Jeff Beck’s “Blow By Blow” – the opening “Can’t Explain” feels far funkier than anything on the rather ramshackle debut. Equally good is the slinky and marching-into-war sinister groove of “Follow Me” – a crawling guitar riff ominously plays in tandem with a funereal Black Sabbath drone on bass and drums - later into guitar and sax solos – its fabulous stuff. After all that doomy darkness - “Chick Boom” lightens up proceedings considerably with a Jazz Fusion piece that again feels like Jeff Beck and Jan Hammer having a blast.

As if the Away band had been listening to the Danny Thompson’s Double Bass work on John Martyn’s “Solid Air” from 1973 – the 18:32 minutes of “Spirit Of Peace” is a magnificent slice of Double Bass Jazz Funk. Anchored by Stevens’ Cymbals and Drums, Ron Herman’s Double Bass and a repeated saxophone coda by Robert Calvert – the build up to the David Cole’s guitar soloing doesn’t feel forced – but instead feels like really great musicians finally being given the canvas to hang their individual talents on. This brilliant piece is surely worth the price of admission alone and “Spirit Of Peace” easily has the most amazing Audio for both discs. The album ends on a Funk ditty “Now” which again feels like John Martyn meets The Mahavishnu Orchestra meets Billy Cobham.

The Soulful Fusion style on “Somewhere In Between” continues on the final offering “Mazin Ennit” (a British slang pun on ‘amazing ain’t it’). At a frankly stick-thin 3:16 minutes - “Away” almost sounds like a useable 7” single (Heaven’s forbid) - while “Sunshine!! Sunshine” utilizes that Double Bass again to great effect sounding not unlike Guitar Prog. “Mazin Ennit” is a Fusion piece that feels discordant in the worst possible Jazz-noodling way. Sweeter is the lonesome prettiness of “Still Here” where it feels like Guitarist David Cole is channelling a jagged John Williams by way of Django Reinhardt on this almost entirely Acoustic instrumental. But the album’s centrepiece is “God Bless” – 13:43 minutes of flicking Guitar, Soulful Sax and Funky Fusion.

The four BONUS TRACKS are an absolute blast – the first two immeasurably improved by the Funky Soulful presence of JOHN MARTYN on Lead Vocals accompanied by his echoplex Guitar (very cool stuff and rare). But UK Jazz Funkers will flip for the vocalized versions of “Can’t Explain”. Part 1 opens with Robin Trower-like guitar circa his late 70ts “In City Dreams” and “Caravan To Midnight” Funky Rock phase. “...Can’t explain the way I feel...” British Female Jazz Singer and Pianist TERRI QUAYE sings on Part 1 continued in full Funky mode for Part 2 (she related to both Caleb Quaye of Hookfoot and the Elton John Band as well as Finlay Quaye of “Maverick A Strike” album fame). Part 2 goes into fabulous vocal passages as the driving rhythm moves her...

John Stevens’ Away did little to trouble the charts at the time and given the difficulty of some of the music – it’s hardly surprising. But this is a smart and worthy release by BGO especially as all three albums are first time on CD.

Parts of the first and third platters are well worth revisiting – but that 2^nd album may indeed be a bit of a Rock Fusion masterpiece. Well done to all involved...

This review and hundreds more like it are part of my SOUNDS GOOD Music Books Series. 

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