"Gonna Make You An Offer: The Complete Cube Recordings 1972-1975" by JIMMY HELMS (2015 Cherry Red Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Lady Blue..." 

Essentially a one-hit wonder in the UK in late February 1973 – Florida Soul Singer Jimmy Helms didn't seem to be able to capitalise on his No. 8 hit – but man what a tune. Even now that opening falsetto (any higher and we might worry about the tightness on his spandex trousers) is pure Seventies Soul joy. And while the rest of this jam-packed CD doesn't quite climb those lofty heights – it still has much to enjoy and recommend (including two previously unreleased songs – one a very cool unheard Biddu cover). So - with its title inspired by the persuasive words of Don Vito Corleone in "The Godfather" movie of 1972 ("...I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse...) - here is a great mumbling mouthful of reissue details...

UK released Friday, 25 September 2015 (October 2015 in the USA) – "Gonna Make You An Offer...The Complete Cube Recordings 1972-1975" by JIMMY HELMS on Cherry Red Records CDMRED667 (Barcode 5013929166738) breaks down as follows (78:35 minutes);

1. So Long Love

2. Dream Merchant – tracks 1 & 2 are the A&B-sides of a UK 7" single on Cube Records BUG 21 in July 1972

3. Gonna Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse

4. Words And Music – tracks 3 & 4 are the A&B-sides of the original UK 7" single on Cube Records BUG 27 released 2 February 1973 (peaked at No. 8 on the UK charts in late February). It was issued on MGM Records K 14540 in the USA with the same B.

[Note: In certain European territories "Gonna Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse" had the non-album "Lady Blue" [19] as its B-side – it was also used in Europe as the B-side to 1974's "There'll Be Another Night". The song "Gonna Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse" was reissued twice in the UK on Cube Records after 1973. October 1975 on Cube Records BUG 60 with 2 tracks on its B-side – "So Long Love" [1] and "There'll Be Another Night" [10] – and January 1984 on Cube Records BUG 98 with "Words And Music" [4] on the flip.]

5. Jack Horner's Birthday

6. What'll I Do With My Mind - tracks 5 & 6 are the A&B-sides of his 3rd UK 7" single on Cube Records BUG 30 in May 1973

7. I'll Take Good Care Of You

8. Fly Away - tracks 7 & 8 are the A&B-sides of his 4th UK 7" single on Cube Records BUG 33 in October 1973

9. When Can Brown Begin

10. There'll Be Another Night - tracks 9 & 10 are the A&B-sides of a UK 7" single on Cube Records BUG 36 in February 1974

Fans can sequence his 1975 UK album "Gonna Make You An Offer!" on Cube Records HIFLY 21 (reissued in March 1978 with the same catalogue number) using the following CD track numbers (including 11 to 18):

Side 1

1. Gonna Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse [3]

2. Brother Sunshine [11]

3. It Don't Matter To Me [12]

4. Could It Be Love [13]

5. And I Don't Wanna Lose You [14]

6. Jack Horner's Holiday [5]

Side 2

1. When Can Brown Begin [9]

2. Live My Life [15]

3. Like Sister And Brother [16]

4. Pretty Faces [17]

5. Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer [18]

19. Lady Blue – non-album B-side to "Gonna Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse" in many European territories in 1973.

20. The Poor Side Of Town

21. Come On Down – tracks 19 and 20 are Previously Unreleased - 20 is a Biddu cover, 21 is writer unknown

ANDY DAVIS takes a good stab at the career of this lesser appreciated Soul singer in the pleasingly indepth 12-page booklet – bolstered up by recent interviews with both the artist and his Writer/Producer – John Worth. There are photos of chart placing and DJ notes, various European picture sleeves and even a fetching Cube Records publicity still. The Audio is fabulous – digital transfers handled by ROB KEYLOCH and Remasters by SIMON MURPHY at Another Planet Music. Every song sounds wonderful – full of life and properly good Production values.

Throughout this compilation you hear the songwriting hand of JOHN WORTH who not only penned the mighty "Gonna Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse" (inspired by Marlon Brando's mumbled line in "The Godfather" movie) but also stumped up Tracks 1, 5, 10, and 19. Helms wrote Tracks 2, 4, 6, 8, 11 and 13 and co-wrote tracks 14, 15 and 17 with MIKE MORAN. The others are covers – "I'll Take Good Care Of You" written by Jerry Ragovoy & Bert Berns for Garnet Mimms, "When Can Brown Begin" written by Jimmy Webb, "It Don't Matter To You" written by David Gates of Bread, "Like Brother And Sister" written by Geoffrey Stephens, Roger Greenaway & Roger Cook for The Drifters while "Never Dreamed You'd Leave Me In Summer" is a Stevie Wonder cover. Interesting amongst their number is "The Poor Side Of Town" – an unheard Biddu Appiah song.

The melodrama of "So Long Love" is a little too close to Tony Orlando schmaltz for comfort – better is the Helms penned flipside "Dream Merchant". Even now the truly gorgeous "Gonna Make You An Offer You Can't Refuse" sends a chill up my spine – the kind of song that instantly transports you back to Saturday Nights in sweaty dancehalls - looking and longing on the sideline for that girl that's just out of reach. The lyrics still amazingly poignant - "...Now I'm putting about the fevered word...what must be must be...didn't you know you belong to me..." – genius. It's rarely heard British B-side “Words And Music" is good but left in the dust by the A. Better is the Euro flip "Lady Blue". His fabulous falsetto vocals lift "Jack Horner's Holiday" into something really sweet while the Funky flip "What'll I Do With My Mind" is a bit of a discovery. His cover of Garnet Mimms' "I'll Take Good Care Of You" is a very clever choice – the kind of torch ballad that suits his pleading vocals - while equally surprisingly is the top quality of his own "Fly Away" on the flipside.

"When Can Brown Begin" finally sees him inject something of his true self into a tune – a Jimmy Webb plea for racial equality. Helms' vocals are heartfelt and beautiful – the lovely remaster highlighting the soft guitars and piano accompaniment. "...If white is right and black is beautiful...tell me people...when can brown begin..." Of the album tracks the keyboard funk of "Could It Be Love" impresses while the Stevie Wonder cover of "Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer" is a gorgeous song anyway. But I wasn't expecting the Soulful strings of "The Poor Side Of Town" to be so good – a Previously Unreleased studio recording of a Biddu song – something that may indeed end up on a Northern Soul compilation soon.

It's not all Soul genius for sure – but those JIMMY HELMS nuggets inbetween the cracks are worth seeking out. And well done to all at Cherry Red for getting these forgotten Soul sides out there once again...

This review and hundreds more like it are available in my SOUNDS GOOD Music Books Series available to download (over 2000 e-Pages worth) in my SOUL, FUNK and JAZZ FUSION Book at the following link...

"Forever Changes: Remastered & Expanded" by LOVE (October 2001 Elektra/Rhino 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Movies From Tomorrow..."

After their West Coast 'Rock Music' self-titled debut album in July 1966 - LOVE progressed rapidly for Elektra Records to the more accomplished "Da Capo" in November 1966. But it was their third album "Forever Changes" released Stateside in late November 1967 (February 1968 in the UK) that fully realized the band’s songwriting magic and is the 'one' LP in their fractured canon of work that has stayed in people's hearts - even grown in stature.

Yet in hallowed hindsight of 2015 - it seems strange now to think of "Forever Changes" as a commercial disaster on its 1967 release - when for nearly three decades it has regularly topped the 'best albums ever' lists. In 2005 it was even given the prestige of true cult status by making the "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" book. Yet "Forever Changes" crawled onto the American charts – making it to a lowly No. 154 in the first week of 1968 (months after release) – worse than the No. 80 placing of "Da Capo" in February 1967. Over here in Blighty when it was belatedly released in February 1968 where it did far better – rising to 24 in that same month. Those canny Brits andmoreagain eh. Here are the 'movies from tomorrow'...

UK released October 2001 – "Forever Changes: Remastered & Expanded" by LOVE on Elektra/Rhino/Warner Strategic Marketing (R2 73537) 8122-73537-2 (Barcode 081227353728) is a single CD that offers the Stereo mix of the LP as well as seven bonus tracks (five Previous Unissued). It plays out as follows (74:22 minutes):

1. Alone Again Or

2. A House Is Not A Hotel

3. Andmoreagain

4. The Daily Planet

5. Old Man

6. The Red Telephone

7. Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale [Side 2]

8. Live And Let Live

9. The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This

10. Bummer In The Summer

11. You Set The Scene

Tracks 1 to 11 are their third album "Forever Changes" – released November 1967 in the USA on Elektra EKL-4013 (Mono) and Elektra EKS-74013 (Stereo) and February 1968 in the UK with the same catalogue numbers. The Stereo mix is used for this CD.

BONUS TRACKS:

12. Hummingbird (Demo) – Early Version of "The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This"

13. Wonder People (I Do Wonder) (Outtake)

14. Alone Again Or (Alternate Mix)

15. You Set The Scene (Alternate Mix)

16. Your Mind And We Belong Together (Tracking Sessions Highlghts)

Tracks 12 to 16 are Previously Unissued

17. Your Mind And We Belong Together

18. Laughing Stock

Tracks 17 and 18 are the A&B-sides of a June 1967 US 7" single on Elektra EK-45633

There’s a tasty outer card slipcase which lends the whole release an air of class - while the substantial 24-page booklet has jam-packed liner notes by BEN EDMONDS with major contributions from David Housden and Mark Linn who publish the LOVE fanzines “The Castle” and “The Love Society”. There are photos of the band’s classic line-up – Guitars and Lead Vocals by ARTHUR LEE, Lead Guitar by JOHN ECHOLS, Rhythm Guitar and Vocals on "Alone Again Or" and "Old Man" by BRYAN MacLEAN, Bass by KEN FORSSI (ex Surfaris) and Drums by MICHAEL STUART (both MacLean and Forssi passed away in 1998). Inbetween the dense text (which includes quotes from original producer Jac Holzman and guitarist Johnny Eccles) are fantastic colour snaps of the boys in San Francisco and there's even a rare Billboard advert for the album describing it as ‘the third coming of’ under the see-through plastic tray. The liner notes discuss Bob Pepper's gorgeous 'coloured faces' psych-collage artwork too. It's all very pleasingly indepth...

But the big news is a new Remaster by two of Rhino’s most trusted names – DAN HERSCH and BILL INGLOT (done at Digiprep). Like 1966's "Love" and early 1967's "Da Capo" in this series of reissues - this CD sounds incredible and has clearly had Audio care lavished on it. 

Producer JAC HOLZMAN and Engineer BRUCE BOTNIK now have their original work come shining through - especially on those lavish string and brass arrangements. There's also real bottom end clarity in the Bass and Drums – very warm and present on tracks like "The Daily Planet" and "Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale".

"Forever Changes" opens with the wonderful "Alone Again Or" voiced by Bryan MacLean. It’s short 3:16 minutes of beautiful string and brass arrangements were in fact edited for a US 45 in April 1968 on Elektra EK-45629 with "A House Is Not A Hotel" as the flipside (bit of a storming two-sider). Lee takes over Lead Vocals for the utterly brilliant "A House Is Not A Hotel" which opens with layered acoustic guitars but then breaks into left-speaker Electric Guitars. I've always loved the wild soloing guitars ripping across the speakers as strange voices whoop and holler in the background. I’m always amazed at the arrangements on "Andmoreagain" which to this day still sounds so 'Love' in a way that no other band could have produced this weirdly beautiful song (you can hear its influence in so much 70ts British Folk Rock like Decameron, Magna Carta and Audience). There's a real punch now to the rhythm sections for both "The Daily Planet" and "Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale" – while Bryan MacLean's delicate vocal on "Old Man" is almost quivering in its frailty – and those strings remind me of Nick Drake's "Five Leaves Left" debut in 1969.

"Live And Let Live" opens with the delightfully acidic lyrics "...oh the snot has caked against my pants...it has turned into crystal..." - and imagine the flattery his lady feels as sits on the couch opposite and he "...recognises your artillery..." More weird song subject matters come with "The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This" – a ditty of a song that is trounced by the brilliant "Bummer In The Summer" – a fantastic song that sounds like The Lovin' Spoonful on a rhythm roll. The near seven-minute monumental finisher "You Set The Scene" feels like several songs run into one with brilliant Audio on the Bass, Strings and Acoustic Guitars. What an accomplished work...

The Bonus Tracks opens with a voice in the control room "...Arthur Lee and his Psychedelic Band – Track 16 – Are we rolling?" We then get "Hummingbirds" - a genuinely pretty acoustic instrumental take of "The Good Humor Man Sees Everything Like This" in Demo form. Just as good is the brassy "Wonder People (I Do Wonder)" – a jaunty track that would have made an excellent stand-alone single. The Alternate Take of "Alone Again Or" isn't that different from the finished article - but the 7:02 minutes of "You Set The Scene" has a different vocal arrangement deleted from the final album cut. The "...Michael Stuart this is your take..." version of "Your Mind And We Belong Together" turns out to starts and false starts from Take 22 through to 33 and offers a rare glimpse of Arthur Lee doing his best Brian Wilson in the studio. It finishes on the cool non-album single "Your Mind And We Belong Together" sounding edited and well - together - with the Doors-weird "Laughing Stock" on the B-side. "...Fred in bed and ride, ride, ride..." Whatever you say Arthur - yeah baby...

I suspect as the years pass music fans will keep on rediscovering this rich tapestry of sounds and melodies – and like "Sgt. Peppers" from months earlier in 1967 – "Forever Changes" is fast approaching a 50th Anniversary – and still remains shockingly ahead of its time. 60ts cool indeed – and well done to all at Elektra and Rhino for getting the Audio so beautifully right...

This review and hundreds more like it are available in my SOUNDS GOOD Music Books Series. Click the link to download COOL 1960s MUSIC from Amazon...

"Pet Sounds" by THE BEACH BOYS (2001 UK Capitol HDCD Stereo & Mono Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Made For These Times..."

On Page 6 of the chunky 28-page booklet accompanying this 2001 CD Remaster of the mighty "Pet Sounds" both Beatle Paul McCartney and their Producer George Martin gladly admit to what many fans have known for decades – that without this 1966 vinyl meisterwork there would have been no game-changing "Sgt. Peppers" in 1967 and our world would have a drabber place indeed. That's heavy-duty praise from two heavy-hitters to say the least...

And as I listen back to this amazing record for the umpteenth time I'm still struck by its beauty and innovation – presented to us here in truly gorgeous Remastered Audio. Man does this HDCD reissue step up to the sonic plate – you can hear the staggering care taken in these Mono and Stereo Transfers (this thoughtfully presented CD sparkles – it really does). So with that said – it’s once more unto the bottle-fed does and deer’s. Here are the Sloop John B's...

UK released August 2001 – "Pet Sounds: The Complete Album In Stereo And Mono" by THE BEACH BOYS on EMI/Capitol 526 2662 (Barcode 724352626625) is a HDCD reissue that offers the 13-track album in both Mono and Stereo mixes and comes with one bonus track. It plays out as follows (76:50 minutes):

1. Wouldn't It Be Nice

2. You Still Believe In Me

3. That's Not Me

4. Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulders)

5. I'm Waiting For The Day

6. Let's Go Away For Awhile

7. Sloop John B

8. God Only Knows [Side 2]

9. I Know There's An Answer

10. Here Today

11. I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times

12. Pet Sounds

13. Caroline No

Tracks 1 to 13 are the MONO mix of "Pet Sounds" – released May 1966 in the USA and UK on Capitol Records T 2458

14. Hang On To Your Ego – an outtake from the sessions (alternate version of "I Know There's An Answer") originally issued as a bonus track on the June 1990 CD remaster

Tracks 15 to 27 are the album "Pet Sounds" in STEREO – released May 1966 in the USA and UK on Capitol Records ST 2458

At 28-pages the booklet is a fantastic feast of info starting (not surprisingly) with notes from principal songwriter Brian Wilson on his revered baby. It then moves onto a massive essay by DAVID LEAF on the technological challenges of recording such a densely layered album (Leaf penned the booklet for the huge 6CD Box Set "The Pet Sounds Sessions") and even goes into song-by-song breakdowns. There are colour photos from the album artwork photo-shoot (the boys with all manner of animals) and repro’s of some key American 45s – "Wouldn't It Be Nice", "Sloop John B" and "Caroline No". But the big news is the Remaster done by MARK LINETT and JOE GASTWIRT from 2, 4 and 8-track original mastertapes using the HDCD Process to get the best fidelity. I think both mixes offer different things – but both are beautifully clear. It's probably sacrilege to one-channel purists – but I find the Stereo mix to be utterly beguiling. I keep going back to it...

The album opens with the familiar pings of "Wouldn't It Be Nice" – a soundtrack favourite for five decades now. I find the Stereo mix is far better - taking the density of the soundstage out of that 'Wall Of Sound' mode it has in Mono. Al De Lory's Harpsichord on the impossibly pretty "You Still Believe In Me" compliments those lush and beautifully arranged harmony vocals – the boys following Brian's Falsetto Lead. "...I wanted to show how independent I'd grown now...but that's not me..." - Wilson sings on "That's Not Me" – another winner with Carl Wilson on Guitar and Dennis on the Drums (the Tambourine is either Terry Melcher or Alan Jardine – no one really seems sure). The drums pack a real punch now in "I'm Waiting For The Day" - but I've a soft spot for the Burt Bacharach-sounding instrumental "Let's Go Away For Awhile". It's beautifully clear in the Stereo version – all those Saxophones matching the Acoustic Guitars of Al Casey and Barney Kessel. Hitsville USA ends Side 1 with the 'drunk first-mate' song "Sloop John B" – an impossibly catchy Beach Boys tune with stunning intricate vocal arrangements.

Where would Richard Curtis be without the wonderfully touching "God Only Knows" (he used it to great effect in the airport sequence of "Love Actually") – or indeed hundreds of Summer CD compilations for that matter? The carnival comes to town with "I Know There's An Answer" where Brian gets deep with his lyrics "...they come on like they're peaceful but inside they're so uptight..." With almost childlike charm Wilson then explores brand new love affairs on "Here Today" (the Carol Kaye Bass is very clear) - followed hotfoot by what many feel is his inadvertent signature song about searching for a peaceful place in this world. "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times" is also probably the most Phil Spector of tunes on the album. The second instrumental on the record and the album's title track ("Pet Sounds") precedes the records truly lovely finisher - "Caroline No". And again in each case – you’re struck by the stunning Remaster – swirling melodies and layers of instruments unfolding...

"...I know you're going to lose the fight..." - Brian Wilson sang on the Bonus Track "Hang On To Your Ego" - an Alternative Lyric Version of "I Know There's An Answer". And subsequently (as we all know) Brian almost lost his mind for this slice of genius - not a price many of us would be willing to pay. 

But at least we have this affectionate and respectful reissue to celebrate that musical high. "Wouldn't It Be Nice" - well this HDCD reissue is a whole lot more than that...

"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...