"Hot Hits & Hot Ones: Is This The Way That You Get Your High?" By THE STANDELLS (1993 Ace/Big Beat CD - Duncan Cowell Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Young Barracudas..." 

Los Angelinos hipsters THE STANDELLS pioneered 60ts Garage and Punk (although they probably didn't see it as such) - and this old (1993) but wickedly to-the-point CD compilation from England's Ace Records (using their Big Beat label imprint) is a near-perfect stab/reminder of that 'so cool' frenzied brilliance. This little sucker rocks - it really does. Here are the White Guys painting it black...

UK released June 1993 – "Hot Hits & Hot Ones: Is This The Way You Get Your High?" by THE STANDELLS is a 21-track CD compilation on Ace/Big Beat CDWIKD 114 (Barcode 029667411424) and plays out as follows (62:49 minutes):

1. Dirty Water (1965 US 7" single on Tower 185, A)

2. Rari (1965 US 7" single on Tower 185, B-side of “Dirty Water”)

3. Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White (1966 US 7" single on Tower 257, A)

4. Medication (from their June 1966 debut LP "Dirty Water" on Tower ST 5027, Stereo)

5. There Is A Storm Comin' (from their June 1966 debut LP "Dirty Water" on Tower ST 5027, Stereo)

6. 19th Nervous Breakdown (from their June 1966 debut LP "Dirty Water" on Tower ST 5027, Stereo)

7. Why Did You Hurt Me (1966 US 7” single on Tower 257, B-side of "Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White")

8. Why Pick On Me? (1966 US 7" single on Tower 282, A)

9. Paint It Black (from their December 1966 2nd LP "Why Pick On Me – Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White" on Tower ST 5044, Stereo)

10. Black Hearted Woman (1967 US 7" single on Tower 314, B-side of "Riot On Sunset Strip")

11. Mainline (from their December 1966 2nd LP "Why Pick On Me – Sometimes Good Guys Don't Wear White" on Tower ST 5044, Stereo)

12. Mr. Nobody (1966 US 7" single on Tower 282, B-side of "Why Pick On Me?")

13. Wild Thing (from their 3rd LP "The Hot Ones" on Tower ST 5049, Stereo)

14. Riot On Sunset Strip (1967 US 7" single on Tower 314, A)

15. Try It (1967 US 7" single on Tower 310, A)

16. Barracuda (from their 4th and final LP "Try It" in 1967 on Tower ST 5098, Stereo)

17. Poor Shell Of A Man (1967 US 7” single on Tower 310, B-side of "Try It")

18. Can't Help But Love You (1967 US 7" single on Tower 348, A)

19. Ninety-Nine & A Half (1967 US 7" single on Tower 348, B-side of "Can't Help But Love You")

20. Animal Girl (1967 US 7” single on Tower 398, A)

21. Soul Drippin' (1967 US 7” single on Tower 398, B-side to "Animal Girl")

Bar 2-sides (entry No. 4) - the rest of THE STANDELLS US 45s on Tower Records can be sequenced from this CD as follows [8] = Track 8 etc:

1. Dirty Water [1] b/w Rari [2] – December 1965, Tower 185

2. Sometimes Good Guys Wear White [3] b/w Why Did You Hurt Me [7] – August 1966, Tower 257

3. Why Pick On Me [8] b/w Mr. Nobody [12] – October 1966, Tower 282

4. Don't Tell Me What To Do b/w When I Was A Cowboy – January 1967, Tower 312

5. Riot On Sunset Strip [14] b/w Black Hearted Woman [10] – February 1967, Tower 314

6. Try It [15] b/w Poor Shell Of A Man [17] – May 1967, Tower 310

7. Can't Help But Love You [18] b/w Ninety-Nine & A Half [19] – October 1967, Tower 348

8. Animal Girl [20] b/w Soul Drippin' [21] – February 1968, Tower 398

The 8-page inlay features liner notes from noted writer and long-time Ace Records associate and CD compiler ALEC PALAO. There are photos of the four band members Dick Dodd, Tony Valentino, Larry Tamblyn and Dave Burke alongside snaps of them with The Rolling Stones (acted as their opening act). The potted history goes into their formation in the bars of Los Angeles and break-up after album No.4 "Try It" appeared in late 1967 (Lowell George of Little Feat joined them for a brief period as their live guitarist but they never recorded with this line up and he soon split after differences). The snap of the Standells on the rear of the booklet looking dapper with Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Bill Wyman at an airport somewhere is the epitome of 60ts cool but it's a real shame that none of the three gorgeous and rare US pic sleeves to "Riot On Sunset Strip", "Try It" and "Can't Help But Love" aren't reproduced (a booklet upgrade is due methinks)...

The DUNCAN COWELL Stereo Remasters are from original tapes and sound ballsy and full of menace and life. Each of the four Tower Records albums was issued in both MONO and STEREO – Ace has used the STEREO versions. If you wanted the first album "Dirty Water" in its gritty Mono entirety – buy the CD Ace CDWIKD 110 which gives you "Dirty Water" in Mono and the follow up "Why Pick On Me..." in Stereo lumped together onto 1CD (52:15 minutes).

Essentially "Hot Hits & Hot Ones..." offers you the A & B-sides of their eight Tower Records 45s frantically issued between late 1965 and early 1968 (only "Don't Tell Me What To Do" b/w "When I Was A Cowboy" is missing) – along with a smattering of seven LP sides in Stereo. For me every track is a blast - fresh still. The lyrics for the brilliant "Some Times Good Guys Don't Wear White" are radical and articulate - reflecting the changing and turbulent times - "...good guys, bad guys, which is which...the white-collar worker or the digger in the ditch..." Not surprisingly you get sly druggy references in "Medication" – a kind of 1966 love song that is back-dropped by the sinister fuzz-guitar of Tony Valentino. That edgy stabbing nature permeates "There's A Storm Comin'" too – and their cover version of "Paint It Black" may as well be The Stones its so faithful to the sound of the original.

The hard-hitting Standells trademark sound is never far away - the bright lights, the pretty girls, the long-haired dudes and scared parents all clashing with the 'heat' make "Riot On Sunset Strip" feel well - riotous. The thrashing drums of Dick Dodd, that Doors organ of Larry Tamblyn lingering in the background and the raging vocals in "Black Hearted Woman" still thrills as does the irresistible 'get my kicks' on the old "Mainline" (stunning sound quality). But my crave on here is the brilliant "Barracuda" where we were told that our excitable boy is "...a mean Barracuda...don't you mess with me...I'm lonely and I'm starved for some of your love...ah sweet thing...you're just what I've been thinking of..." (look out ladies). Even their cover of "Wild Thing" by The Troggs from the much derided "Hot Ones" album has the groovy edge of the original and pre-dates Hendrix's incendiary version. I also love those brilliant B-sides like "Poor Shell Of A Man" and "Ninety-Nine & A Half" (great brass fills) - both rocking like The Stones and melodic like The Byrds...

A fantastic sounding CD with uber-cool 60ts music...genius baby yeah...and that’s just the left leg...

"Here’s One You Didn’t Know About: From The RPM & Kent Vaults" by B.B. KING (2015 Ace CD Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...You May Want To Release It..." 

Hardly surprising that following Blues Boy’s passing in May 2015 aged 89 - the market was flooded with myriad compilations of material out of copyright. But typical of Ace Records – they honour the great Bluesman memory with an absolute stormer! 25-tracks, 23 of which are Previously Unreleased, a near 80-minute playing time, properly copious and intelligent liner notes and 12 of these suckers in glorious STEREO! Here are the Bluesy details...

UK released 27 November 2015 (December 2015 in the USA) – "Here's One You Didn't Know About: From The RPM & Kent Vaults" by B.B. KING on Ace Records CDTOP 1457 (Barcode 029667074322) is a 25-track CD compilation of mainly Previously Unreleased material and plays out as follows (79:52 minutes):

1. Catfish Blues (aka Fishin' After Me) – Alternate Version of Kent 351

2. Be Careful Baby

3. Growing Old – Take 2 of Kent 470

4. Gotta Find My Baby (aka They Call The Blues) – 1960s Version, Take 8

5. Long Nights (The Feeling They Call The Blues) – Take 4 of Kent 389

6. Loving you In Vain (aka Heartache And Pain) – Alternate Take To a version That First speared on the UK CD compilation "Blues In My Heart" by B.B. KING released 2004 on Ace CDCHM 966

7. Shut Your Mouth – Take 1 of RPM 430

8. Sweet Little Angel – Version 1 – Alternate of RMP 468

9. Sweet Little Angel – Version 2 – Take 1 of a track on 1957's "Singin' The Blues" LP on RPM 3005

10. Bad Case Of Love – Take 6 of Kent 362

11. Talkin' The Blues – Take 2 of RPM 435

12. Whole Lot Of Lovin' (1963 Re-Record) – Take 1 of Kent 388

13. You Know I Go For You – Alternate of Kent 301

14. You’ve Been An Angel – Take 1 of Kent 315

15. Be Careful With A Fool – Take 1 of RPM 494

16. When My Heart Beats Like A Hammer – Take 1 of RPM 412

17. Don't You Want A Man Like Me – Take 3 of RPM 411

18. Early In The Morning – Take 2 of RPM 486

19. I Wonder Why – Take 4 of Kent 447

20. Partin' Time – Take 3 of Kent 346

21. Soul Beat (aka Powerhouse) – Take 1 of Kent 475

22. Why Not – Take 8-A of a track that first appeared on the 2002 4CD Box Set "The Vintage Years" by B.B. KING on Ace ABOXCD 8

23. The Woman I Love (Copper Colored Mama) – Take 3 of RPM 408

24. Whole Lotta Meat (aka Hey Little Girl) – Take 10 of a Track that first appeared on the 1987 UK LP "One Nighter Blues" on Ace CHD 201

25. Going Down Slow (1959 Version) – Take 2 of a track on the 1963 US LP "16 Of The Best Of B.B. King" on Galaxy G-8202

NOTES:

All Tracks are 2015 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Except Tracks 9 and 17 which appeared in 2014 on "Speak Easy: The R.P.M. Records Story Volume 2 – 1954-57" on Ace CDTOP 1421

Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 12, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24 and 25 are STEREO

Tracks 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 23 are MONO

Compiled and researched by ROGER ARMSTRONG and DICK SHURMAN - the 16-page booklet features wonderfully detailed new liner notes by DICK SHURMAN whose knowledge and affection for B.B. seems to know no bounds. And on the audio evidence presented here – his joy is hardly surprising. This is a quality release for King fans and Shurman knows it. In between the text are wickedly evocative pictures of Scotch Magnetic Tape Master Boxes along with some snaps of his backing band in the studio.

It’s the usual classy presentation from a label that’s been doing this for 40 years – but you have to say that Sound Engineer DUNCAN COWELL has excelled himself here. The audio on this baby is awesome – and never more so that on the 12 cuts that come at in glorious STEREO – each version filled with a huge in-your-living- room vibe to the sound and genuine excitement to the listen. Not only is B.B.'s playing fluid and impressively cool – the band is cooking and you can literally feel they know it. We’ll done to all involved...

The title of the compilation comes from dialogue B.B. speaks at the beginning of "Catfish Blues" – clearly enjoying his mojo and the band's company in the studio. The Version 1 of "Sweet Little Angel" on here shows his best playing too. Some great "...pulse is weak..." studio patter at the beginning of the infectious "Bad Case Of Love" – boogie-woogie in fabulous Stereo. We get a tad Elmore James slasher side for "Whole Lot Of Lovin'" where B.B. tells us of his gal's "dreamy eyes" which are clearly affecting the man's mental stability and other parts of his manly frame (fab Stereo too). Gutsy Blues comes at you for the Mono "When My Heart Beats Like A Hammer" – and even though its Take 1 – it seems finished to me (gorgeous piano playing too). It ends on the near eight minutes of "Going Down Slow" where the vocal is a tiny bit rough – but the power of the playing and the sympatico band more than win the day. 

A wonderful reissue for B.B. KING fans and surely one of the 'Blues CD Reissues Of 2015'...nice one boys...

"Visions Of A New World" by LONNIE LISTON SMITH & THE COSMIC ECHOES - October 1975 US, January 1976 UK Album on Flying Dutchman Records and RCA Victor (July 2015 UK Ace/Beat Goes Public CD Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 145 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

MORE THAN A FEELING 

1976

Your All-Genres Guide To 

Exceptional CD Reissues & Remasters

Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs

Just Click Below To Purchase (No Cut and Paste Crap)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/MORE-THAN-FEELING-All-Guide-Exceptional-ebook/dp/B0BGT69MVZ?crid=1RTTPB6MEK9Y7&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.aCLqQD_0x4Xc4Kd7CEKllFnbfqhZ11PdMT_72etNzX9uk4_p_dYzE7ix7BD2qIIrl8-pAv90HElKfIB-_ZesIaS7TKJ-pDCFTgEP2k9aFX6a08GeBKgOKqyKHE6gcf0WacJEY4AKfVHlvo1EyZXb-psq6hf7c8WNvfvSSQUcNdP73WQfDavTWOHn5u81XeWCHJ47XMXWJqovt2Cx2c7BHgnvhCDYy23xFnpilpsAe90.T6uf-EhIxX_KJ8LfLu5E7Pk739m39vwP0A9sw0LfGno&dib_tag=se&keywords=more+than+a+feeling+mark&qid=1717663975&sprefix=more+than+a+feeling+mark%2Caps%2C78&sr=8-4&linkCode=ll1&tag=mabasreofcdbl-21&linkId=02abe7807076077061be2311e2d581b1&language=en_GB&ref_=as_li_ss_tl

"...Soul Flow..." 

Jazz Funk and Fusion has a bedrock of superstar albums like Donald Byrd's "Spaces And Places", Herbie Hancock's "Headhunters", The Crusaders "Free As The Wind", George Benson's "Breezin'" and even Grover Washington Jr.'s "Winelight" from 1980. High on that list has to be Lonnie Liston Smith's April 1975 masterpiece "Expansions" which preceded "Visions Of A New World" by only five months ("Visions..." was released Stateside in October 1975). The tendency then is to overlook the albums after and before those smashes and Lonnie's wonderful follow up to "Expansions" is a case in point. "Visions Of A New World" is a melodic, mellow and Soulful Jazz Funk and Fusion gem and has had the heart of genre lovers for four decades since its release. And now Ace Records of the UK (through their Beat Goes Public label imprint) has given it a new 2015 CD remaster and reissue and the bugger only sounds gorgeous - properly ripe for rediscovery by a new generation. Here are the stellar details...

UK released 31 July 2015 (August 2015 in the USA) - "Visions Of A New World" by LONNIE LISTON SMITH & THE COSMIC ECHOES on Ace/Beat Goes Public CDBGPM 294 (Barcode 029667529426) is a straightforward mid-price CD transfer in their 'Flying Dutchman Jazz Classics' Reissue Series and breaks down as follows (33:57 minutes):

1. A Chance For Peace

2. Love Beams

3. Colors Of The Rainbow

4. Devika (Goddess)

5. Sunset [Side 2]

6. Visions Of A New World (Phase I)

7. Visions Of A New World (Phase II)

8. Summer Nights

The 8-track album was originally released October 1975 in the USA on Flying Dutchman Records BDL1-1196 and January 1976 in the UK on RCA Victor SF 8461.

Lonnie Liston Smith plays keyboards on every track, Donald Smith puts in vocals on three – "A Chance For Peace", "Colors Of The Rainbow" and "Visions Of A New World (Phase I)" and also contributes Flute and Horns on "Love Beams", "Sunset", "Visions Of A New World (Phase II)" and "Summer Nights". The band includes Clifford Adams on Trombone, Cecil Bridgewater on Trumpet, Reggie Lucas on Guitar, Greg Maker on Bass, Wilby Fletcher on Drums with Ray Armando, Angel Allende and Lawrence Killan on Percussion.

NICK ROBBINS has carried the CD Remaster at Sound Mastering in London (an Engineer of long-standing and skill) and it sounds beautiful – bringing out the superb Bob Thiele Production values applied to all his Flying Dutchman releases (LLS co-produced this LP with him). The inlay is a four-part foldout – with new liner notes by noted writer DEAN RUDLAND, label repros, trade advert and the original LP credits. Its functional but highly informative.

It opens with the sublime "A Chance For Peace" – a track beloved by adventurous DJs, Funk lovers and CD compilation compliers. But what gets me is that I'd forgotten how perfect the 'whole' LP is - giving you moods and rare grooves – funky one moment – Soulful and smoochy the next – all Cosmic and peaceful thereafter. In fact its even commercial if you think about it (it charted at a healthy 14 in the USA). RCA Victor in the UK gave "A Chance For Peace" an airing in March 1976 on a British 45 (RCA 2668) but amazingly it sank without a trace (the LP was deleted in early 1977 too). We get all trippy on "Colors Of The Rainbow" as Donald Smith sings with abandon about Mother Nature smiling tears of joy. But we then get hit with the other mellow masterpiece on here "Devika (Goddess)" written by Soprano Saxophone player David Hubbard (with Sarina Grant). It grooves along to his lovely flourishes and is 5:16 minutes of pure Jazz Funk sexiness. Side 2 opens with a sensual piano intro to the wonderful "Sunset" – the track sounding and feeling like you’re witnessing the title – a Sunset. The two parts of “Visions” are piano-heavy Fusion with Donald Smith handling the spacy vocal on Phase I until it goes into George Duke Funk territory for Phase II. The LP ends on a swirling "Summer Nights" – again with cool Audio as its bedtime sexiness caresses your speakers...

A fabulous Reissue then - and if you don’t have the album – waste no time – it’s a steal at twice its mid-price...

Titles in the 'Flying Dutchman Jazz Classics' Series of CD Reissues 

by Ace/Beat Goes Public of the UK include:

1. Fenix - GATO BARBIERI (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 268)

2. The Third World - GATO BARBIERI (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 272)

3. El Pampero – GATO BARBIERI (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 283)

4. Cesar 830 – CESAR (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 261)

5. Friends And Neighbors: Ornette Live At Prince Street – ORNETTE COLEMAN (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 266)

6. Afrique – COUNT BASIE (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 271)

7. Barefoot Boy - LARRY CORYELL (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 269)

8. George Russell Presents… - THE ESOTERIC CIRCLE (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 284)

9. Small Talk At 125th & Lenox - GIL SCOTT-HERON (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 290) - see REVIEW

10. Pieces Of A Man – GIL SCOTT-HERON (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 274)

11. Free Will – GIL SCOTT-HERON (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 281)

12. Astral Traveling – LONNIE LISTON SMITH & THE COSMIC ECHOES (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 273)

13. Cosmic Funk - LONNIE LISTON SMITH & THE COSMIC ECHOES (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 278)

14. Expansions – LONNIE LISTON SMITH & THE COSMIC ECHOES (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 263)

15. Visions Of A New World – LONNIE LISTON SMITH & THE COSMIC ECHOES (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 294)

16. Reflections Of A Golden Dream – LONNIE LISTON SMITH & THE COSMIC ECHOES (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 296)

17. Cosmic Funk And Spiritual Sounds; The Best Of The Flying Dutchman Years – LONNIE LISTON SMITH (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 254)

18. Newport News, Virginia – ESTHER MARROW (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 264)

19. Swiss Suite: Recorded Live At The Montreaux Jazz Festival - OLIVER NELSON (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 279)

20. Soul Is… - PRETTY PURDIE (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 282)

21. Head Start – BOB THIELE EMERGENCY (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 265)

22. Spirits Known And Unknown – LEON THOMAS (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 262)

23. The Leon Thomas Album - LEON THOMAS (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 270)

24. Blues And The Soulful Truth – LEON THOMAS (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 277)

25. The Creator: The Best Of The Flying Dutchman Masters – LEON THOMAS (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPD 257) 

"Reflections Of A Golden Dream" by LONNIE LISTON SMITH & THE COSMIC ECHOES (2015 Ace/Beat Goes Public CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 100s Of Others Is Available in my

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

SOUL, FUNK and JAZZ FUSION - Exception CD Remasters  

Just Click Below To Purchase for £3.95

Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

"...Journey Into Space..."

Using their Beat Goes Public imprint (BGP) - Ace Records of the UK continue their wonderful reissue of Lonnie Liston Smith's trio of Jazz-Funk meisterworks with his 'Cosmic Echoes' band on Bob Thiele's Flying Dutchman Records back in the mid Seventies – albums that collectors and lovers of the genre have lusted after on more than a few Funky occasions.

April 2013 saw Smith’s hugely popular "Expansions" album from May 1975 get a 5-star CD reissue – while the second LP "Visions Of A New World" from October of that same year came our CD way in July of 2015. And now in November 2015 – the third and forgotten nugget in his initial cannon – April 1976's "Reflections Of A Golden Dream" with the massively popular Soul-Funk smash "Get Down Everybody (It's Time For World Peace)". All three reissues are part of Ace's 'Flying Dutchman Jazz Classics' CD Remasters Series. Here are the dreamscapes for Volume 3...

UK released 27 November 2015 (December 2015 in the USA) - "Reflections Of A Golden Dream" by LONNIE LISTON SMITH & THE COSMIC ECHOES on Ace/Beat Goes Public CDBGPM 296 (Barcode 029667529624) is a straightforward mid-price CD transfer in their ‘Flying Dutchman Jazz Classics’ Reissue Series and plays out as follows (38:57 minutes):

1. Get Down Everybody (It’s Time For World Peace)

2. Quiet Dawn

3. Sunbeams

4. Meditations

5. Peace And Love

6. Beautiful Woman [Side 2]

7. Goddess Of Love

8. Inner Beauty

9. Golden Dreams

10. Journey Into Space

The 10-track album was originally released April 1976 in the USA on Flying Dutchman Records BDL1-1460 and July 1976 in the UK on RCA Victor RS 1053.

Lonnie Liston Smith plays keyboards and 'funky electronic textures' on every track while singing lead on "Get Down Everybody (It's Time For World Peace)". As was the case on the "Visions Of New Worlds" LP earlier that year (1975) - Donald Smith puts in lead vocals on three songs – "Peace And Love", "Beautiful Woman" and "Inner Beauty" and also contributes Flute on three more - "Quiet Dawn", "Sunbeams" and "Golden Dreams". The band includes David Hubbard and Arthur Kaplin on Saxophones, Joe Shepley and Jon Faddis on Trumpets, Al Anderson on Bass, Wilby Fletcher on Drums with Guilherme Franco and Leopoldo Fleming on Percussion - while Maeretha Stewart, Patti Austin and Vivian Cherry sang Backing Vocals on tracks 1 and 5.

NICK ROBBINS has carried out the CD Remaster at Sound Mastering in London (an Engineer of long-standing and skill) and it sounds beautiful – bringing out the superb Bob Thiele Production values applied to all his Flying Dutchman releases (LLS co-produced this LP with him). The 8-page inlay features new liner notes by noted writer DEAN RUDLAND, label repros of Side 1 and 2 of the original Flying Dutchman LP and the US 7" single for "Get Down Everybody..." with "Goddess Of Love" on the B-side (Flying Dutchman JB 10616). There's also a two-page spread which repros the musician credits from the gatefold sleeve. It’s functional but highly informative.

It opens with the album’s most famous track – Lonnie Liston Smith giving it some rare vocals on the Jazz-Funk Rare Groove monster "Get Down Everybody (It's Time For World Peace)" – an anthem in clubs that pumps out the Brass and Rotary Connection vocals with a rapid backbeat. And again like "Visions Of A New World" from 1975 which I reviewed a few months back (also reissued by Ace’s BGP) - I'd forgotten how good the 'whole' LP is - giving you bedroom moods like the beautiful piano instrumental "Quiet Dawn" and then zither-slick grooves like the funky "Sunbeams" which feels like Dexter Wansel or Donald Byrd at their Philly International/Blue Note best. Swirling keyboard and vibe beauty follows once again with the gorgeous textures of "Meditations" - while the side ends on the Acoustic Bill Withers funk of "Peace & Love" – another stab at the vocal commercial hit of "Get Down Everybody" that even has a slightly Brazilian sway to it. It’s a winner and the label put it out as a 45 on Flying Dutchman DB-10702 with the wicked "Quiet Dawn" as its B-side. 

Side 2 opens with the good but slightly less convincing shuffle of "Beautiful Woman" which I always skipped for the far better chunky-funk of “Goddess Of Love” – a flute-driven mid-tempo number that sounds sexy and sweet. The swirling “Inner Beauty" is the kind of ethereal Fusion I love – all spacey and magical somehow yet you can’t quite define why. I personally would have followed with "Golden Dreams" as another slick 45 – the spoken vocals and that slinky rhythm would surely have had some DJ spinning that bad mother. It ends on “Journey Into Space” – a trippy instrumental that sounds like our Lonnie has been listening to the percussion opening parts in Santana's "Caravanserai" just once too often...

Another fabulous reissue then by Ace’s BGP of Lonnie Liston Smith's Cosmic Echoes trio of albums - and if you don’t have the album "Reflections Of A Golden Dream" – then waste no time – it’s a steal at twice the mid-price...

PS: Titles in the "Flying Dutchman Jazz Classics" Series of CDs includes:

1. Fenix - GATO BARBIERI (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 268)

2. The Third World - GATO BARBIERI (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 272)

3. El Pampero – GATO BARBIERI (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 283)

4. Cesar 830 – CESAR (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 261)

5. Friends And Neighbors: Ornette Live At Prince Street – ORNETTE COLEMAN (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 266)

6. Afrique – COUNT BASIE (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 271)

7. Barefoot Boy - LARRY CORYELL (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 269)

8. George Russell Presents… - THE ESOTERIC CIRCLE (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 284)

9. Small Talk At 125th & Lenox - GIL SCOTT-HERON (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 290) - see REVIEW

10. Pieces Of A Man – GIL SCOTT-HERON (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 274)

11. Free Will – GIL SCOTT-HERON (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 281)

12. Astral Traveling – LONNIE LISTON SMITH & THE COSMIC ECHOES (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 273)

13. Cosmic Funk - LONNIE LISTON SMITH & THE COSMIC ECHOES (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 278)

14. Expansions – LONNIE LISTON SMITH & THE COSMIC ECHOES (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 263)

15. Visions Of A New World – LONNIE LISTON SMITH & THE COSMIC ECHOES (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 294)

16. Reflections Of A Golden Dream – LONNIE LISTON SMITH & THE COSMIC ECHOES (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 296)

17. Cosmic Funk And Spiritual Sounds; The Best Of The Flying Dutchman Years – LONNIE LISTON SMITH (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 254)

18. Newport News, Virginia – ESTHER MARROW (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 264)

19. Swiss Suite: Recorded Live At The Montreaux Jazz Festival - OLIVER NELSON (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 279)

20. Soul Is… - PRETTY PURDIE (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 282)

21. Head Start – BOB THIELE EMERGENCY (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 265)

22. Spirits Known And Unknown – LEON THOMAS (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 262)

23. The Leon Thomas Album - LEON THOMAS (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 270)

24. Blues And The Soulful Truth – LEON THOMAS (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPM 277)
25. The Creator: The Best Of The Flying Dutchman Masters – LEON THOMAS (Ace/BGP Records CDBGPD 257)

The Revenant on BLU RAY - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...You Speak Of Honour When You Don't Know What It Is..." 

The Revenant on BLU RAY

Balls-to-the-wall, visceral, epic filmmaking - I haven't seen an audience glued to the screen and engaged both mentally and physically with a movie since the halcyon days of "Gladiator" way back in 2000. Make no mistake - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's "The Revenant" will make you bleed-baby-bleed and more than earns it mighty 12 Oscar nominations by way of sheer bravura and the amazing visual feast your presented with from the first frame to the last. All this and you sit there thinking - I know they're only piddly nancy-boy ‘actors’ in the real world - but the cast must have gone through physical Hell to get this level of ‘real’ in the can...

Having said that – 2015’s “The Revenant” from the Oscar-winning Director of last year's "Birdman..." has its minor problems for sure. At 2 hours 40 minutes it’s overly long (feels more like three hours) – and in a bid to make you feel like you're in the moment - the dialogue comes at you off-screen at times as characters shout and scuffle - but I'm not sure if that trick works. Plus you could argue that you spend 70% of the movie watching Leonardo DiCaprio crawling around in mud and on icy ground (a lot) and Tom Hardy's Jeff Bridges "True Grit" mouth-full-of-marbles mumbling can be very difficult to decipher at times too. And that last shot stills puzzles. But overall - these are trivial things given that I noticed many people holding in wee-wee because they couldn't bear to miss twenty seconds of it.

And then there's the scenery brought to you by Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki – a malevolent beast one moment - soul-stirring the next. You get 1820’s fur-trading British Columbia in the fall and winter – a relentless snowy wilderness with muck and more muck – creaking bare trees – icy breathes broken up by life-giving campfires – arrows in the neck – muskets blasting... Scene after scene seers its way into your brain - DiCaprio plunging into the icy waters of a river where he’s built a rock nook to trap fish swimming upstream – grabbing one of them with his bare hands and proceeding to munch into with ravenous teeth and starvation gusto – removing the innards and squatting naked inside of a felled horse to survive the night - buried in a clay grave dug for him by the greedy trapper John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) and left for dead – an Indian he befriends that builds a tepee of branches and furs as the blizzard rages so that the wounded and collapsed Glass can let his wounds recover - and the final knife battle with Hardy’s curmudgeon character as the snow turns a different colour than white.

But even more memorable than those is one of the film's centrepieces. Out scouting the woodland one morning - the two-prong attack on DiCaprio's character Glass by a three-ton grizzly bear (defending her two cubs) left the audience breathless and coiled in their seats in genuine horror. How they filmed this sucker I will never know – but if this is CGI's capability in 2015 - then it’s amongst the best I’ve ever seen – period. Ryuichi Sakamoto and Alva Noto's instrumental music is haunting throughout too – huge string chords that feel as epic as the landscape and pack a mighty punch. Smartly Inarritu also does well to not let the rivers and mountains and forests dominate everything by having scenes of real emotion as DiCaprio's character talks to his Indian wife's ghost in their native tongue – mumbling to his son that everything's going to be all right - love transcending the elements that seem to want to kill you at every moment.

The huge and seriously dedicated ensemble cast is uniformly stunning and must be mentioned. Leonardo DiCaprio plays hunter and trapper Hugh Glass who has married an Indian girl (actress Grace Dove, herself a Shuswap Indian) and fathered a son Hawk (a breakthrough performance from Forest Goodluck). But soldiers raised their village to the ground (as they did much of the indigenous population) and murdered his wife who now comes to him in whispers and dreams. Trapper Glass therefore protects his boy with a near heathen tenaciousness as his half-breed origins and burnt face (from the initial village attack) are ridiculed by another force of nature – Pelt Trader John Fitzgerald (a towering performance from England’s Tom Hardy). Trying to keep all the savagery at bay is Captain Andrew Henry played by Ireland's Domhnall Gleason (Brendan Gleeson's son) – another properly brilliant performance after his superb turns in "About Time", "Ex Machina" and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens". But even more impressive is the young British actor Will Poulter who plays the cherub-faced Bridger - a frightened and gullible boy in a cunning man's world - he is magnificent here. The huge array of real Red Indians are cast from varying surviving tribes and are suitably ferocious and giving in their different guises – scalping the devil white man in one scene and trying to negotiate ‘honour’ with a bunch of drunken French trappers in another. The rage of what was done to them and their women and children permeates throughout the entire film.

But its DiCaprio and Hardy who hold the whole thing together – both putting in huge performances that deserve statues. Their warring duo dynamic reminds me of “Jeremiah Johnson” (1972) and “Seraphim Falls” (see reviews) where two frontier men fight it out in the elements with knives and hatchets and anything else that comes to hand. There’s a scene by a night time fire where Hardy’s character talks of his starving father in the wilderness who discovers God in a cluster of trees – Hardy’s chilling survivalist instincts are the stuff of budding actor’s dreams and will surely be used at the Oscar ceremony by way of demonstrating what a powerhouse he’s become. And if Leo doesn’t bag a statue for this film – then someone in the Academy needs to be led to the nearest snowdrift and dropped there in their Sears and Roebuck underpants...

When it’s released - the BLU RAY will be a feast for both the eyes and ears – and I’m pre-ordering that home-cinema monster today.

Besides - as the credits rolled I noticed that two of the real Red Indian Actors used (portraying a Pawnee Prostitute and an Arikara Warrior) were called  'Mariah Old Shoes' and 'Cody Big Tobacco'. This is my kind of movie.

“The Revenant” isn’t Laura Ashley cutesy or Daniel Boone sappy for damn sure – and not everyone will enjoy its hurting storyline and our even darker treatment of the indigenous population of such a breathtaking landscape. But it is an astonishing piece of ‘event’ cinema that demands your attention.

And when you think about the sheer amount of fluff and lazy sequels out there in 2015 (and yet to come in 2016) - that’s an achievement worth supporting with my comfy ass on them there wilderness seats...

"Moonshadows/Yesterday's Dreams/Spellbound" by ALPHONSO JOHNSON (2015 Beat Goes On 2CD Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"…To Thine Own Self Be True…"

Philly-born virtuoso ALPHONSO JOHNSON was only 23 when he replaced Weather Report’s Miroslav Vituos on Bass in early 1974 and was soon after to also play with Fusion Giants George Duke and Stanley Clarke on their solo projects. By the time he got to 1976 - and with a little help from Weather Report stalwarts like Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter (Zawinul once described Johnson as "...disciplined…could lay down a groove that hurt…") – Columbia Records gave him a shot and he promptly popped out three Funk-Fusion LPs on their Epic Records imprint – "Moonshadows" and "Yesterday's Dreams" (both from 1976) and "Spellbound" (from 1977). The hugely revered first two were never issued in the UK (the 3rd was) and have been elusive on CD for decades. And that's where this gorgeous-sounding Beat Goes On 2CD Remaster comes in. Here are the funk-that-hurts details…

UK released 27 November 2015 (December 2015 in the USA) – "Moonshadows/Yesterday's Dreams/Spellbound" by ALPHONSO JOHNSON on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1220 (Barcode 5017261212207) offers 3LPs on 2CDs and plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (40:48 minutes):

1. Slump

2. Involuntary Bliss

3. Cosmoba Place

4. Pandora's Box

5. Up From The Cellar [Side 2]

6. Amarteifio

7. On The Case

8. Unto Thine Own Self Be True

Tracks 1 to 8 are his debut album "Moonshadows" – released 1976 in the USA on Epic Records PE 34118 (no UK release)

Players included:

ALPHONSO JOHNSON – Basses, Electric Stick and Vocals

DAWILLI GONGA – Keyboards & Vocals

PATRICE RUSHEN – Keyboards

IAN UNDERWOOD – Keyboards & Synth Programming

ALPHONSE MOUZON – Orchestron Voice Choir Keyboard

GARY BARTZ – Soprano Saxophone

DAVID AMARO, LEE RITENOUR, CHRIS BOND and BLACKBIRD McKnight – Guitars

FLORA PURIM – Backing Vocals on "Involuntary Bliss", "Up From The Cellar" and "Upon Thine Own Self Be True" with Lead Vocals on "Amarteifio"

BENNIE MAUPIN – Reeds

ALEJANDRO ACUNA and AIRTO MOREIRA – Percussion

NARADA MICHAEL WALDEN – Drums & Keyboards

NDUGU LEON CHANCLER – Drums

Disc 2 (71:34 minutes):

1. Love's The Way I Feel 'Bout Cha

2. As Little As You

3. Scapegoat

4. Show Us The Way

5. Balls To The Wall [Side 2]

6. Tales Of Barcelona

7. Flight To Hampstead Heath

8. One To One

Tracks 1 to 8 are his second album "Yesterday's Dreams" – released 1976 in the USA on Epic PE 34364 (no UK release)

Players included:

ALPHONSO JOHNSON – Basses, Electric Stick, Acoustic Guitar and Vocals

FLORA PURIM, JON LUCIEN, PHILIP BAILEY & DIANNE REEVES - Vocals

RAY GOMEZ and LEE RITENOUR – Electric & Acoustic Guitars

PATRICE RUSHEN – Keyboards

MARK JORDAN and DAVID FOSTER – Keyboards

IAN UNDERWOOD – Synths

SHEILA ESCOVEDO – Congas & Percussion

RUTH UNDERWOOD - Harpophone, Orchestra Bells, Marimbas & Vibraphone

GROVER WASHINGTON, JR., ERNIE WATTS & ERNIE FIELDS – Saxophones

CHUCK FINDLEY and GARY GRANT – Trumpets

GEORGE BOHANON and GARNETT BROWN – Trombones

CHESTER THOMPSON and MICK CLARK – Drums

9. Summer Solstice (First Movement)

10. Follow Your Heart

11. Bahama Mama

12. Nomads

13. Moonlight Conversations

14. Face Blaster [Side 2]

15. Feelings Are… (The Hardest Words To Say)

16. Earthtales Suite: Intro – Winter Solstice

I - Release From Bondage

II – Why

III – Voice Of Authority

IV Rushing Of The Wind

V – Sword And The Scepter

VI – Summer Solstice (Second Movement)

Tracks 9 to 16 are this third album "Spellbound" – released 1977 in the USA on Epic Records JE 34869 and in the UK on Epic S EPC 82197

The outer card slipcase lends the release a classy feel, the 24-page booklet is packed with album-by-album credits and new liner notes from noted writer CHARLES WARING – a regular contributor to Mojo and Record Collector. ANDREW THOMPSON has carried out the new 2015 Remasters licensed from Sony and the Audio here is stupendous – beautifully clear and reflecting the original top-class production values of Skip Drinkwater (Johnson did the 3rd set himself).

As you can see from the 'Players' lists given above – the guest names of talent featured for each record is astonishing – a virtual who's who of Jazz Funk talent with Johnson providing the Funky Bass backdrop. And they’re not just window-dressing either. The debut album opens with "Strump" and "Involuntary Bliss" – Funk workouts on a Jazz-tip that feel amazingly 'now' rather than 1976. Entering the territory of sublime Jazz/Soul/Fusion is the gorgeous sea-and-gulls ballad "Amarteifio" – the only song on the album with lyrics that Flora Purim slays in her path with her Soulful swoops and phrasing (lyrics reproduced in the booklet). It's a true highlight on a great album. It gets seriously funky with the bass-led "On The Case" where Johnson goes all slap stick wild in the first passage followed by Lee Ritenour letting rip on his axe for the second part (wonderful playing). It ends on a piece of joyous fusion that’s so Narada Michael Walden – Flora singing the title as a backing refrain while Dawilli Gonga plays a blinder on various keyboards.

Wisely trying for a more commercial angle - the number of vocalists increased for album number two "Yesterday's Dream" – released at the end of 1976. "Love's The Way I Feel 'Bout Cha" might as well be Con Funk Shun with Dianne Reeves and Philip Bailey on Vocals (lyrics in the booklet). Keyboard genius Patrice Rushen fills up both "As Little as You" and "Scapegoat" with her skills - while Grover Washington Jr. plays his horn. Jon Lucien adds his deep voice to "Show Us The Way" as Ritenour skilfully plucks the Acoustic Guitar. But my fave on here is the beautiful instrumental "Flight To Hampstead Heath" – a mid-tempo builder that feels more Prog Jazz than Fusion.

Prog dominates the opening "Summer Solstice (First Movement)" and for that matter much of the "Spellbound” album - sounding more like Jon Anderson has gone Jazz (but not in a good way). Guitarist Pat Thrall provides the Guitar Solos for "Follow Your Heart", "Bahama Mama", "Face Blaster" and "Feelings Are…" But it was a big mistake to forego the various quality vocalists that made the first two albums so good for his larynx on album number three. Johnson's voice is decidedly ordinary compared to what went before – and this is never more evident than on "Nomads" – a nice tune rendered impotent by his flat delivery. The short but pretty instrumental "Moonlight Conversations" features lovely playing from the other featured guitarist on the album – Kevin Shireve. It ends on the near nine-minute "Earthtales Suite" – a complicated but ultimately boring piece that unfortunately sums up the whole LP – virtuosity without any heart or tunes…

Jazz Fusion and Funk fans will love the first two albums – especially as neither received a UK release – but that third record rather lets the side down. Still – with its superb presentation and gorgeous Audio quality – this is a must buy for fans…and so good to see Johnson be given some well-deserved limelight at last...

"Infatuation: Singles & Demos 1966-1968" by THE SECRETS [featuring Clifford T Ward] (2015 Grapevine CD) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"…See It Through…"

Before schoolteacher CLIFFORD T. WARD went all solemn singer-songwriter in the early Seventies with sensitive album classics like "Mantle Pieces" in 1972 on John Peel's Dandelion Records and especially "Home Thoughts" from 1973 on Charisma which featured his best known songs "Gaye" and "Wherewithal"  – he had a stab at Pop stardom with THE SECRETS in the 60ts. And that's what this feature-packed CD compilation from Grapevine of the UK gathers together – the ten sides of their five 7" single releases (last two credited to SIMON’S SECRETS) - adding on 18 other demos and other rarities from long deleted compilations – five of which see the CD light of day for the first time. Here are the embryonic details…

UK released December 2015 – "Infatuation: Singles And Demos 1966-1968" by THE SECRETS featuring CLIFFORD T. WARD on Grapevine CRSEG031 (Barcode 5013929183124) is a 28-track CD and plays out as follows (76:22 minutes):

SINGLES:

1. Infatuation (A-side of a UK 7" single on CBS 202585, released February 1967)

2. I Think I Need The Cash (B-side of "I Intend To Please" - UK 7" single on CBS 2818, released 23 June 1967)

3. She's Dangerous (B-side of "Infatuation" - a UK 7" single on CBS 202585, released February 1967)

4. Such A Pity (B-side of "I Suppose" – a UK 7" single on CBS 202466, released 2 December 1968)

5. Naughty Boy (A-side of a UK 7" single on CBS 3406, released April 1968)

6. I Know What Her Name Is (A-side of a UK 7" single on CBS 3856, released December 1968)

7. Keeping My Head Above Water (B-side of "I Know What Her Name Is" - a UK 7” single on CBS 3856, released December 1966)

8. I Suppose (A-side of a UK 7" single on CBS 202466, released 2 December 1966)

9. Sympathy (B-side of "Naughty Boy" - a UK 7" single on CBS 3406, released April 1968)

10. I Intend To Please (A-side of a UK 7" single on CBS 2818, released 23 June 1967)

Tracks 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 and 10 credited to THE SECRETS

Tracks 5, 6, 7 and 9 credited to SIMON'S SECRETS

DEMOS and OUTTAKES

11. Path Through The Forest

12. What A Nice Surprise

13. The Gloria Bosom Show

14. I’ll Keep On Closing My Eyes

15. Looking Down The Glass

16. The Same Applies To You

17. Teacher

18. Coathanger (Demo Version No. 1)

19. Naughty Boy (Demo Version No. 1)

20. The Session Singer (Demo Version)

21. The Mule

22. Poor Johnny

23. Sympathy (Demo Version)

24. I Know What Her Name Is (Demo Version)

25. Keeping My Head Above Water

26. Coathanger (Demo Version)

27. Naughty Boy (Demo Version)

28. Path Through The Forest (Demo Version)

Track 11 first released 2001

Tracks 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 20, 21, 24 to 28 were released 2009 on the 2CD compilation "Path Through The Forest: The Secret World Of Clifford T. Ward 1964-1971" on Wooden Hill WHCD028

Tracks 15, 18, 19, 22 and 23 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

The 12-page booklet is nicely laid out with new liner notes from noted writer DAVID WELLS – label repro’s of those CBS 7” single demos – trade magazine mentions and even a signed sheet from a dapper-looking Cliff Ward and the Cruisers. The Audio is a very mixed bag indeed (remastered by Simon Murphy) with the liner notes admitting that master tapes (especially for the demo stuff) are 'extant'. But what is on here sounds really good given the limitations of the sources. The singles are in Mono and pack a punch - but the rest of it has to be taken as is...

Those looking for "Gaye" or "Wherewithal" should immediately look elsewhere – this is more 60ts Pop than 70ts singer-songwriter – although you can hear the cleverness of the lyrics already – the intelligence behind them. There's even a few moments of Beatles "I Am The Walrus" madness in the very rough sounding "Path Through The Forest" and rude humour in the ample "Gloria Bosom Show". Of the five 45s – I'm digging the Hollies/Love sounding "Such A Pity" and the Tremeloes pop of "I Suppose". Signs of his mellow future are evident in "Poor Johnny" and "The Same Applies Toy You" – if you can get past the ropey Audio and the slightly lacklustre nature of the material…

Not genius by any means and surely one that's for Clifford T. Ward fans and purists only – but at least Grapevine have presented it to them with real style and class...

"Method To The Madness/Smokin'" by THE UNDISPUTED TRUTH - 1977 and 1979 US Albums on Whitfield Records (November 2015 UK Robinsongs Compilation - 2LPs Remastered onto 2CDs) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Get Ready To Get Down..."

The American Seventies-Soul-Funk group THE UNDISPUTED TRUTH has been ill served for decades now by CD – with only a few entries out there in the digital ether. I’ve already reviewed "Face To Face With The Undisputed Truth" – their 1972 album on Tamla put out by Universal in Europe in 2003 on one of their 'Original Funk LP Series' CDs – but at last - there’s some really good news...

Normally the preserve of 'Hip-O Select' out of the USA who have had the run of all things Motown and Chess for years now – up steps 'Robinsongs' of the UK (part of Cherry Red's set of labels) - and fast cementing a rep that's being building amongst Soul fans – they've pulled off a bit of a Reissue Scoop here with this clever 2CD set. It gathers together the last two LPs the Soul/Funk group did with Producer Norman Whitfield in 1977 and 1979 on his own Whitfield Records (distributed by Warner Brothers) - the pair being sought-after vinyl pieces on the collector's market for years now. It helps too that both are utterly wicked slices of Seventies P-Funk/Soul. Here are the Cosmic Details y'all...

UK released Friday, 20 November 2015 - "Method To The Madness/Smokin'" by THE UNDISPUTED TRUTH on Robinsongs WROBIN2CDD (Barcode 5013929950221) is a 2CD set (no Bonus Tracks) and plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (48:50 minutes):

1. Cosmic Contact [Side 1]

2. Method To The Madness

3. Sunshine

4. You + Me = Love

5. Hole In The Wall [Side 2]

6. Loose

7. Life Ain't So Easy

8. Take A Vacation From Life

9. Let's Go To The Disco

Tracks 1 to 9 are their 7th studio album "Method To The Madness" – released January 1977 on Whitfield WH 2967 in the USA and Whitfield K 56289 in the UK. Produced by NORMAN WHITFIELD – the band was JOE HARRIS, TAKA BOOM, TYRONE 'Lil Tye' BARKLEY and CALVIN 'Dhaakk' STEPHENSON with an array of various other musicians – mostly from ROSE ROYCE.

Disc 2 (40:46 minutes):

1. Show Time [Side 1]

2. Talkin' To The Wind

3. Atomic Funk

4. I Can't Get Enough Of Your Love

5. Space Machine [Side 2]

6. Tazmainian Monster

7. Sandman

8. Misunderstood

Tracks 1 to 8 are their 8th and last studio album "Smokin'" – released 1979 USA LP on Whitfield WHK 3202 and Whitfield K 56497 in the UK. Produced by NORMAN WHITFIELD – the band was JOE HARRIS, LLOYD WILLIAMS, MARCY THOMAS and MELVIN STEWART and an array of various other musicians – many of whom are ROSE ROYCE.

The 12-page booklet has succinct and informative liner notes from long-time Mojo contributor CHARLES WARING sided by album credits and label repros and discusses Norman Whitfield’s involvement with the group (freeing them from the tyranny of the 3-minute Motown tune imposed by Berry Gordy and letting them rip on socially conscious material about segregation, war and inner city poverty). The remasters are from licensed Warner Brothers tapes and were carried out by ALAN WILSON at Western Star Studios in Bristol. The Audio here rocks – this is fabulous layered funked up Soul from 1977 and 1979 – so the Production values are second-to-none - a gorgeous transfer (the cover to "Method" depicts a flying saucer beaming up the band for some cosmic probing - yum yum).

The influence of heavy-hitting P-Funk that dominated 1975's affectionately remembered "Cosmic Truth" continues on "Method To The Madness". It opens with a few minutes of synthesized nonsense - voices talking about beaming 'earthlings aboard' – aliens that question them and the group replies by saying "...we are The Undisputed Truth...and we've been waiting for a new world..." After that spoken cosmic claptrap – it's good to feel things return to slap-bass Funky normality with the brilliant title track "Method To The Madness" – a genius groove that feels like Graham Central Station firing on all sixes. We go mellow with the lovely "Sunshine" – a return to Whitfield's love-song roots of the early 70ts. But the Side (and indeed the whole album) is dominated by the near 11-minute Funkathon of "You + Me = Love" – a brilliant Rufus-like winner fronted by Chaka Khan’s sister Taka Boom (an edited version peaked at 37 on the American R&B charts in August 1976). What a blast this tune is...

Side 2 opens with another fantastic group effort – "Hole In The Wall" – where all four provide lead and harmony vocals behind a grooving guitar and brass Funk. With its 'dance all night long' mantra and wicked 'mother sucker' Chaka Khan shouts from Taka - it's the kind of neck-jerking dancer that used to have customers in Reckless run to the counter and demand to know 'whose playing!' The impossibly catchy "Loose" hits the same booty nerves - but another real crave of mine on this album is "Life Ain't So Easy" which returns to those deep-voiced Undisputed Truth masterpieces like "Smiling Faces Sometimes" in 1971. Mental smooch follows "Take A Vacation From Life (And Visit Your Dreams)" – a 'take a break from reality' mellow tune that Taka sings with tenderness while the backing vocals and acoustic guitar give it a beauty that makes you want to play it over and over again. It ends with commercial Funk on "Let's Go Down To The Disco" – a tune that is far better than its hip-with-the-dance-craze-of-the-moment title would suggest (great shared vocals).

After the high of "Method To The Madness" – thankfully "Smokin'" doesn’t let the side down. It opens with the near mine-minute shuffle Funk of "Show Time" – a typically brilliant groove written by Whitfield and fronted by the superlative vocals of (uncredited) Taka Boom (lyrics from it title this review). "Talkin' To The Wind" is very Rose Royce 'lurve' song fronted by the wonderfully expressive voice of long-standing band member Joe Harris. Equally good as the opener is "Atomic Funk" where Taka once again kicks the Funk ball out of the park (DOMU sampled this song for his "Springbreak" House 12" single on Tru Thoughts in 2009). 

We get a bit Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers CHIC slick with "I Can't Get Enough Of Your Love" - while the near seven-minutes of "Space Machine" is another brilliant builder of a song that feels like a cross between Soul and Rock (a wicked groove that plinks its way into your heart). "Tazmainian Monster" sees Whitfield get Prince dirty with the Funk - where wolf whistles assure us that wildly attired lady "...make all the other girls look like toys..." Gentle chimes lead in the love song "Sandman" written by Miles Gregory of Rose Royce – probably not the strongest tune on here. It ends on Marcy Thomas' "Misunderstood" which she sings with conviction and Soul and tried as a solo single years later.

It's a damn shame Robinsongs didn't include the two-part single edits of the brilliant "Show Time" as Bonus Tracks - as the 2011 Wounded Bird CD did. But apart from that minor moan – this is an exciting release – and for me a definite 'Soul CD Reissue Of 2015'.

THE UNDISPUTED TRUTH and the incredible contribution Norman Whitfield made to Sixties & Seventies Soul and Funk in general are long overdue a major Box set offensive – they really are. But until such time - I'll be grooving to this fabulous twofer from Robinsongs until my cosmic booty drops. And that can only be a good thing Space Peopleoids of Plutonia...