"Original Classic Albums" by THE ISLEY BROTHERS (2008 Epic/Legacy 5CD Mini Box Set) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…Go Where You Want To Go…Be What You Want To Be…"

Now here’s a whole stack of fabulous Soul for not a lot of your hard-earned. 

UK issued October 2008 - “Original Classic Albums" by THE ISLEY BROTHERS on Epic/Legacy 88697304842 (Barcode 886973048429) is one of those dinky 5CD Card-Repro Mini Box Sets from Sony and it breaks down as follows:

Disc 1 (30:43 minutes): 

1. I Turned You On

2. Vacuum Cleaner

3. I Got To Get Myself Together 

4. Was It Good To You?

5. The Blacker The Berrie (a/k/a Black Berries)

6. My Little Girl

7. Get Down Off Of The Train

8. Holding On

9. Feels Like The World

Tracks 1 to 9 is the LP "The Brothers: Isley", issued November 1969 in the USA on T-Neck TNS 3002 and June 1970 in the UK on Liberty SSL 10300. All tracks are originals.

Disc 2 (39:48 minutes):

1. Get Into Something

2. Freedom 

3. Take Inventory

4. Keep On Doin'

5. Girls Will Be Girls 

6. I Need You So

7. If He Can You Can

8. I Got To Find Me One

9. Beautiful

10. Bless Your Heart

Tracks 1 to 10 is the LP "Get Into Something", issued February 1970 in the USA on T-Neck TNS 3006. All tracks are originals.

Disc 3 is the LP "Givin' It Back", issued September 1971 in the USA on T-Neck TNS 3008 - all 7 tracks are cover versions (41:56 minutes):

1. Ohio/Machine Gun [Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young/Jimi Hendrix - segued as one]

2. Fire And Rain [James Taylor]

3. Lay Lady Lay [Bob Dylan]

4. Spill The Wine [War]

5. Nothin' To Do But Today [Stephen Stills]

6. Cold Bologna [Bill Withers - also features BW on Guitar]

7. Love The One You're With [Stephen Stills]]

Disc 4 is the LP "Brother, Brother, Brother" (credited to "The Isleys"), issued June 1972 in the USA on T-Neck TNS 3009 (38:03 minutes):

1. Brother, Brother

2. Put A Little Love In Your Heart 

3. Sweet Season/Keep On Walkin'

4. Work To Do

5. Pop That Thang 

6. Lay Away 

7. It's Too Late

8. Love Put Me On The Corner

All 8 tracks are originals - except 1, 3 (Part 1 of) and 7 which are Carole King covers while track 2 is a Jackie DeShannon cover

Disc 5 is the LP "3 + 3", issued September 1973 in the USA on T-Neck KZ 32453 and November 1973 in the UK on Epic S EPC 65740 (43:13 minutes):

1. That Lady (Part 1&2)

2. Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight

3. If You Were There

4. You Walk Your Way

5. Listen To The Music

6. When It Comes Down To

7. Sunshine (Go Away Today)

8. Summer Breeze

9. Highways Of My Life 

All 9 tracks are originals - except track 2 is James Taylor cover, track 5 is a Doobie Brothers cover, track 7 is a Jonathan Edwards cover, track 8 is a Seals & Crofts cover

Track 10 is a CD bonus track, a live version of "That Lady" recorded in 1980

The remastered sound quality is superb throughout and the 5 card sleeves repro the original American 'T-Neck' Records album covers front and rear. TOM RUFF did the 'Legacy Rhythm & Soul Series' Remasters - so that's what's been used here. Unfortunately the card sleeves are too small and blurry to actually read any details off of them. But you can download a full Sessionography for each album from Sony's online site www.musicmadesimple.info (download runs to 9 pages).

In truth I bought this mini box set for the "Givin' It Back" LP - their hard-to-find covers album from 1971. It's one of those fabulous lost soul gems you rarely ever see on vinyl let alone reissue CD (it pushes £25 in places). "Givin' It Back" opens with a dynamite mix of CSYN's "Ohio" with Hendrix's "Machine Gun" and its genius - both songs imbibed with extraordinarily passionate Isley vocals (the Vietnam war and its protests looming everywhere in the lyrics). "Lay Lady Lay" is excellent too, but it does overstay its welcome at ten minutes plus. This is offset against a radically reworked version of James Taylor's "Fire And Rain" which is now brilliantly soulful.  

That the other albums also contain such an embarrassment of riches is of course a blast - a constantly repaying bonus. Check out their stunning cover of Carole King's "It's Too Late" from her wonderful 1971 "Tapestry" album - it's ten minutes long, but this time it works - beautifully soulful with searing guitar work throughout. The brass on "Freedom" too (lyrics above) leaps out at you from the speakers. Another particular favourite of mine is "Work To Do" which the Average White Band practically made their own on the fab "Pick Up The Pieces" Atlantic Records "AWB" album. 

So there you have it - properly great soul music in wonderful sound - and five albums worth of it too - a wee peach of an Isleys thing…

"The Brothers: Isley" by THE ISLEY BROTHERS (1997 'Legacy Rhythm & Soul Series' CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Got To Get Myself Together..."

You take one look at the three monks dressed in lurid pink on the cover on this long forgotten T-Neck Records LP from late 1969 - and you know you're in the presence of some serious dig-the-flowers-in-the-garden hippy-hoppity transcendental psychobabble (with a Funky Soul twist).

But then I think - what's wrong with that. And given the sonic evidence presented on this fantastic-sounding June 1997 CD of "The Brothers: Isley" - I'm down with the boys regardless of their garish garb. As a post Brexit Theresa May would say – bring it on baby. Here are the details...

UK released June 1997 - "The Brothers: Isley" by THE ISLEY BROTHERS on Epic/T-Neck/Legacy 487515 2 (Barcode 5099748751522) is a straightforward CD Remaster and is part of Sony’s 'Legacy's Rhythm & Soul Series'. It plays out as follows (30:41 minutes):

1. I Turned You On

2. Vacuum Cleaner

3. I Got To Get Myself Together

4. Was It Good To You?

5. The Blacker The Berrie (aka 'Black Berries')

6. My Little Girl [Side 2]

7. Get Down Off Of The Train

8. Holding On

9. Feels Like The World

Tracks 1 to 9 are their album "The Brothers: Isley" (their 2nd LP on T-Neck) - released November 1969 in the USA on T-Neck Records TNS 3002 and June 1970 in the UK on Stateside SLS 10300. Produced by Ronald, O'Kelly and Rudolph Isley - it peaked at No. 20 on the USA R&B LP charts (didn’t chart in the UK).

Produced for reissue by Leo Sacks – the 8-page inlay pictures label repro’s of American T-Neck 45s – track by track credits – new liner notes from noted Soul writer DAVID RITZ called 'The Pleasure Of Picking Berries' and the usual reissue credits. The CD itself reflects the T-Neck label of old and the album's rear sleeve is repro'd beneath the see-through CD tray. But the big news is a fantastic CD Remaster by TOM RUFF at Sony Studios from original tapes – every track kicking like a mule and full of energy - if not a little hissy in places (bit only on some tracks).

Prepping the public's appetite - T-Neck pushed three 7" singles in 1969 - all of them months prior to the LP's eventual release in November. First up came the Side 1 opener "I Turned You On" b/w "I Know Who You Been Socking It To" in May 1969 on T-Neck TN 902. The flipside was the opening track on the preceding album "It's Our Thang" which peaked at No. 2 on the USA R&B LP charts in May of that year - 1969.  "I Turned You On" was an obvious choice as a lead-off single - a fabulous funky groove where Ronnie moans that he's 'turned her on' but 'he can't turn her off' - especially when she socks it to him (you gotta feel for the man). The remaster is incredibly muscular - a tiny bit of hiss for sure but nothing that detracts from those amazing brass jabs that accompany the groove right through to its slow fade end.

For the LP's second 7" single issued August 1969 on T-Neck TN 906 - the label took the near six-minute James Brown workout that is "The Blacker The Berrie" and re-christened it "Black Berries - Part 1" and "Part 2". The two-parter peaked at No. 43 on the US R&B charts during an uncharacteristically-short four-week reign. Single number three was "Was It Good For You?" - another neck-jerking groover that's busy with guitars and brass. With "I Got To Get Myself Together" as its flipside - it peaked at a modest No. 33 on the USA R&B charts (T-Neck TN 908). With the same track combo - this was the only UK released 45 from the album - February 1970 on Stateside SS 2162 - but it did no business and was quickly deleted.

Other worthy inclusions include the "My Little Girl" is 'dynamite' Side 2 opener and the mid-tempo "Get Down Off Of The Train" - Ernie's guitar playing prominent throughout. "Holding On" could have been another 'fast' 45 - a very Blood, Sweat & Tears brass arrangement propelling it along its Funky little path (fantastic Ronnie Lead Vocal while the boys chant 'you got me holding on'). The short late 60ts album ends on my fave - "Feels Like The World". It's a slow ballad with great guitars and vocal arrangements - Chris Jasper plinking away on the piano anchoring the Soulful proceedings. I love this song - a slinky IB groove that manages to be both Funky and Soulful at the same time. "Feels Like The World" sounds like a lost classic you want to rave about as soon as possible. I'd admit that in the opening minute the transfer is hissier than I would like - but the Lead Vocal from Ronnie (he let’s rip at the end) and the musicianship quickly make mincemeat of that minor quibble...

"The Brothers: Isley" is not a balls-to-the-wall masterpiece like say - "Givin' It Back" - the covers album from 1971. But it is The Isley Brothers on T-Neck during that hallowed period - and that's all the info I need.

Don the pink ponchos lads and get down with 'The Brothers: Isley'...

"This Year's Model: Deluxe Edition" by ELVIS COSTELLO and THE ATTRACTIONS (2008 Universal 2CD 'DELUXE EDITION' Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"…Pump It Up…"

Coming off the back of an exceptional debut LP only a year earlier  "My Aim Is True" - Elvis Costello's 1978 follow-up album "This Year's Model" made good on that promise and excitement. Hardly surprising that both records have been afforded the praise of a Universal DELUXE EDITION each - bolstered up with new remasters, bonus cuts and previously unreleased goodies. Here are the little triggers...

UK released April 2008 - "This Year's Model: DELUXE EDITION" by ELVIS COSTELLO and THE ATTRACTIONS on Universal 00602517606333 (Barcode 602517606319) is a 2CD set and breaks down as follows:

Disc 1 (69:50 minutes):

1. No Action

2. This Year's Girl

3. The Beat

4. Pump It Up

5. Little Triggers

6. You Belong To Me

7. Hand In Hand [Side 2]

8. (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea

9. Lip Service

10. Living In Paradise

11. Lipstick Value

12. Night Rally

13. Radio, Radio [see NOTE]

Tracks 1 to 12 are the 12-track UK version of the LP "This Year's Model" released March 1978 on Radar RAD 3. The first 50,000 British copies (5000 stickered as Radar XX LP 11) came with a free 2-track 7"single - "Stranger In The House" b/w "Neat, Neat, Neat (Live)" (on Radar SAM 83) - only the B-side is included on this set - see 20 below.

Note: "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea" and "Night Rally" were dropped from the American LP on Columbia JC 35331 (released April 1978) - replaced with "Radio, Radio" as the last track on Side 2. In other words - to sequence the 11-track US version of the original LP use tracks 1 to 6 for Side 1 and tracks 7, 9, 10, 11 and 13 for Side 2.

BONUS MATERIAL: B-sides, Demos, Live Tracks, Alternates, Etc.

14. Big Tears (non-album track, B-side of "Pump It Up" - a UK 7" single released April 1978 on Radar ADA 10 - features MICK JONES of THE CLASH on Guitar. Also the B-side of "This Year's Girl" in the USA released 1978 on Columbia 3-10762)

15. Crawling To The USA (unique compilation track, first released on the US Soundtrack album "Americathon" released 1979 on Columbia JS 36174 - also featured on the US album "Taking Liberties" released 1980 on Columbia JC 36839)

16. Tiny Steps (non-album track, B-side to "Radio, Radio" - a UK 7" single released October 1978 on Radar ADA 24)

17. Running Out Of Angels (Demo Version)

18. Greenshirt (Demo Version)

19. Big Boys (Demo Version) (17, 18 and 19 first issued as bonus tracks on the 2001 2CD reissue of "This Year's Model")

20. Neat, Neat, Neat (Live) - the first 50,000 British copies of the LP (5000 stickered as Radar XX LP 11) came with a free 2-track 7" single - "Stranger In The House" b/w "Neat, Neat, Neat (Live)" (on Radar SAM 83). This is that B-side.

21. Roadette Song (Live)

22. This Year's Girl (Alternate Eden Studios Version)

23. (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea (Alternate Basin Street Studios Version) - tracks 21, 22 and 23 first issued as bonus tracks on the 2001 2CD reissue of "This Year's Model")

Disc 2 - "Live At The Warner Theater, Washington D.C. 28 February 1978" - 62:33 minutes:

1. Pump It Up

2. Waiting For The End Of The World

3. No Action

4. Less Than Zero

5. The Beat

6. (The Angels Want To Wear My) Red Shoes

7. (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea

8. Hand In Hand

9. Little Triggers

10. Radio, Radio

11. You Belong To Me

12. Lipstick Vogue

13. Watching The Detectives

14. Mystery Dance

15. Miracle Man

16. Blame It On Cain

17. Chemistry Class

All tracks on Disc are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED except for "Chemistry Class" - which was first issued on the "Armed Forces" 2CD edition in 2001.

The DE has been produced by Elvis Costello with the help of Universal's Bill Levenson (the original album was produced by NICK LOWE) and features a 4-way foldout card digipak with one of those peel-off DE bandanas across the bottom. The 24-page oversized booklet has lyrics, in-studio photos, publicity shots and discography credits. There's a couple of things that irk though - there's no liner notes (what would it have taken to chuck a couple of paragraphs together especially as the man himself was available for interview) - and where the hell is "Stranger In The House" that came with original British LPs as the A-side to the free single? There was room on the first disc so its absence smacks of sloppiness (it's on the DE on "My Aim is True" if you want it). If this is a definitive DE version - then include what came with the original album. But for me that all goes largely by-the-by because of the remaster and the live set...

The audio has been handled by no less than three experts in their field - all of whom I've praised before - BILL INGLOT (huge swaths of Rhino reissues) and SUHA GUR with ELLEN FITTON (large amounts of Motown and Universal's catalogue). I love the new power they've brought out of tracks like "This Year's Girl" and "You Belong To Me" - where Pete Thomas's drums whack your speakers with force and clarity and Steve Nieve's fairground keyboards squeak in the background with just that little bit more punch.

The album opens with his acidic "No Action" while the "two to tango" jabs of "The Beat" sound amazing. I always thought "Pump It Up" was one of his best ever singles - I used to DJ it back in the Dublin day - and I can still see those `two tone' kids tearing up the dancefloor to its irresistible kick-ass backbeat. Things take a decidedly more mature tone with the brilliant and slyly sexy "Little Triggers" - a great song about a professional tease. That treated guitar has added menace at the beginning of "Hand In Hand" and with an edit - it could have been another killer single. Speaking of pep in its step - the "so attractive" "Lip Service" now sounds fantastic with that backing so much clearer. I always thought American fans were wrongly denied "Night Rally" - a tightly epic album-finisher replaced on their album with the hit "Radio, Radio".

"Big Tears" and "Tiny Steps" are wicked B-sides while the American LP exclusive "Crawling To The USA" is of the same frantic ilk. The clarity of the three demos is shockingly good as are the renditions - acoustic versions complete with the occasional false start - they would make `Unplugged' sessions blush. His live cover of Ian Dury's "Roadette's Song" sounds like an EC song in the first place while Disc 1 is bookended with two excellent (and professionally recorded) alternates of two album highlights - "This Year's Girl" and "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea".

I was wondering if the live set on Disc 2 was just DE filler but its not. Excepting some serious speaker distortion at the beginning - the band is tight and totally on form (like Joe Jackson on a "Get Sharp" bender). Recorded months before the second album even showed up - what makes the American gig rock is the mixture of tracks from `both' the debut and "This Year's Model" - the crowd taking the old and the new in their stride because of how he cleverly placed the songs in the set. The Attractions take the audience with them on "Less Than Zero" and "The Beat" - while they rock "Red Shoes". By the time you get to the fabulous rocking "Blame It On Cain" - you're bopping in the living room - kinda wishing you'd been there.

Fans will know (with a sense of sadness even) that Elvis Costello's catalogue has been done just one too many times to be comfortable - but I'd argue with that this DE of "This Year's Model" with its improved sound and better than average extras - is the one to pump it up in your own living room...

"The Complete Warner Brothers Recordings" by TONY JOE WHITE (2015 Real Gone Music 2CD Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Got A Thing About You..."

Tony Joe White's initial career - his first flourish on Monument Records between 1968 and 1970 - followed by three albums on Warner Brothers between 1971 and 1973 - have always been hard to find on both vinyl and CD in the UK (without paying through the nose for such digital delights).

This rather fantastic 2CD haul from US reissue label 'Real Gone Music' lumps together his hugely collectable and revered three WB albums - "Tony Joe White" from 1971, "The Train I'm On" from 1972 and "Homemade Ice Cream" from 1973 - and throws in six rare non-album 7" single sides (I believe) seeing the first digital light of day anywhere.

I've reviewed about eight 'Real Gone Music' CD reissues most of which have been to do with Atlantic Records Soul Artists of the 60ts and 70ts and every one of them has been exemplary in both sound and presentation. They appear to have arisen out of the ashes of 'Rhino' - picking up their reissue baton with great style. Of late (2014 to 2016) they've begun to issue Rock and Pop Artists too - out-of-print acts originally issued on the WEA umbrella of labels - Loudon Wainwright, Vanilla Fudge, Doug Sahm and this - the fab Tony Joe White. Time to get to the nitty gritty...

USA released February 2015 - "The Complete Warner Brothers Recordings" by TONY JOE WHITE on Real Gone Music RGM-0329 (Barcode 848064003298) is a 40-track 2CD set offering 3 full 70ts albums with six rare single sides and plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (77:02 minutes)

1. They Caught The Devil And Put In Jail In Eudora, Arkansas

2. The Change

3. My Kind Of Woman

4. The Daddy

5. Black Panther Swamps

6. Five Summers For Jimmy [Side 2]

7. A Night In The Life Of A Swamp Fox

8. Travelling Bone

9. I Just Walked Away

10. Copper Kettle

11. Voodoo Village

Tracks 1 to 11 are his fourth studio album "Tony Joe White" (debut for Warner Brothers) - released March 1971 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 1900 and in the UK on Warner Brothers K 46068.  Produced by PETER ASHER – it peaked at No. 167 on the US LP charts (didn't chart UK).  All songs are TJW originals except "Copper Kettle" by Bob Dylan and "Voodoo Village" by Lee Ann White.

12. Lustful Earl And The Married Woman - non-album B-side to "I Just Walked Away" - February 1971 USA 7" single on Warner Brothers 7505

13. Delta Love

14. That On The Road Look - Tracks 13 and 14 are the non-album A&B-sides of a July 1971 USA 7" single on Warner Brothers 7523

Tracks 12, 13 and 14 written by Tony Joe White

15. I've Got A Thing About You Baby

16. The Family

17. If I Ever Saw A Good Thing

18. Beouf River Road

19. The Train I'm On

20. Even Trolls Love Rock And Roll

Tracks 15 to 20 are Side 1 of his fifth studio album "The Train I'm On" (second for Warners) - released April 1972 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2580 and June 1971 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 46147.

Disc 2 (67:21 minutes):

1. As The Crow Flies

2. Take Time To Love

3. 300 Pounds Of Hongry

4. The Migrant

5. Sidewalk Hobo

6. The Gospel Singer

Tracks 1 to 6 are Side 2 of his fifth studio album "The Train I'm On" (second for Warners) - released April 1972 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2580 and July 1972 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 46147. Produced by JERRY WEXLER and TOM DOWD - it didn't chart in either country. All songs written by TJW except "The Family" by Jon Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins, "Take Time To Love" a co-write between TJW and Donnie Fritts and "300 Pounds Of Hongry" written by Eddie Hinton and Donnie Fritts.

7. Saturday Night In Oak Grove

8. For 'Ol Time Sake

9. I Want Love ('Tween You And Me)

10. Homemade Ice Cream

11. Ol' Mother Earth

12. Lazy

13. California On My Mind [Side 2]

14. Backwoods Preacher Man

15. Takin' The Midnight Train

16. No News Is Good News

17. Did Somebody Make A Fool Out Of You

Tracks 7 to 17 are his sixth studio album (final for Warners) - "Homemade Ice Cream" - released June 1973 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2708 and in the UK on Warner Brothers K 46229

18. Sign Of The Lion - non-album A-side of a March 1974 USA 7" single on Warner Brothers WB 7780

19. Don't Let The Door (Hit You in The Butt)

20. Wishful Thinking - non-album A&B-sides of a October 1974 USA 7" single on Warner Brothers WBS 8042

Tracks 18 to 20 written by TJW

This 2CD set will allow fans to sequence all his period US and UK 7" singles as follows:

USA:

1. The Daddy b/w Voodoo Village (February 1971 USA 7" single on Warner Brothers 7468)

2. My Kind Of Woman b/w I Just Walked Away (May 1971 USA 7" single on Warner Brothers 7477)

3. I Just Walked Away b/w Lustful Earl And The Married Woman (July 1971 USA 7" single on Warner Brothers 7505)

4. Delta Love b/w That On The Road Look (September 1971 USA 7" single on Warner Brothers 7523)

UK:

1. A Night In The Life Of A Swamp Fox b/w The Daddy (June 1971 UK 7" single on Warner Brothers WB 6129)

2. I've Got A Thing About You Baby b/w The Gospel Singer (July 1972 UK 7" single on Warner Brothers K 16200)

3. Backwoods Preacher Man b/w Saturday Night In Oak Grove, Louisiana (November 1973 UK 7" single on Warner Brothers K 16294)

4. I've Got A Thing About You Baby/Did Somebody Make A Fool Of You [Side 1]

If I Ever Saw A Good Thing/California On My Mind [Side 2] (1974 UK 4-Track EP on Warner Brothers K 16411)

The 20-page booklet is a very tasty affair - new liner notes from BEN EDMONDS that go into the history of the three albums - full page plates of each LP cover as well as the gatefold and rear artwork - period photos of TJW in colour and black and white, original recording personnel and details and some reissue credits (no lyrics).

I've had the 'Sepia Tone' US CD Remasters of "Tony Joe White" and "The Train I'm On" from 2002 and to my ears - there's virtually no difference in sound quality on either of those titles - that is to say you get gorgeous Audio on the lot. Oddly for a RGM release there are no mastering credits at all - but as I've already said these CDs sound glorious. Taking a track like the magnificent and socially aware "Sidewalk Hobo" off the "Homemade Ice Cream" LP which is just Tony Joe White and his Acoustic Guitar or the lovely electric guitar and keyboard hustle of "The Change" from the first album - the audio is clean yet full of presence. Only the single B-side "Lustful Earl..." and maybe "Did Somebody Make A Fool Out Of You" have more hiss on them than most would like - but the latter is such a good song - you don't notice once the song hits its groove.

Quite why someone in Warner Brothers UK thought that "The Daddy" should have been the B-side and not the A (as it was in the USA) is anybody's guess – but that song is 'pretty'. I mention this because when he’s not Country Funkin' tunes like the guitar-chug of "My Kind Of Woman" and the slightly bitter 'twats at gigs' song "A Night In The Life Of A Swamp Fox" - Tony Joe White could pen a beautiful melody that would stay with you. "Five Summers For Jimmy" is an example - a 'supper table' tale of a woman dreaming of the one she loved who had to 'go off to fight'. It's an acoustic strum with occasional Bob Dylan harmonica jabs and you can 'so' hear Bruce Springsteen's Acoustic forays later on in his career originating here. The same can be said of the Dan Penn soulfulness that seeps through the organ-driven "I Just Walked Away". Despite his obvious dislike for the tag - Swamp Rock was not far away - "Traveling Bone" and the Memphis Horns Funk of the album finisher "Voodoo Village" complete with Meters guitars and Tony Joe doing his best Hog snorts throughout.

But my real poison is his 2nd platter - "The Train I'm On". He seemed to hit his songwriter stride with this record - opening with the gorgeous and infectious "I've Got A Thing About You Baby". Even now it's truly unbelievable that this made-for-Radio and Top Of The Pops smash wasn't just that - a smash. His July 1969 "Pork Salad Annie" would remain his only US chart placing he'd achieve. In a rare cover - he then goes into pure storytelling with John Hurley and Ronnie Wilkins song "The Family" - a boy gone wrong with hard times at harvest time. The kid took the train out of there - and you can't help feeling TJ recognised his need to do so. The Fats Domino roll to "If I Ever Saw A Good Thing" make it a happy tune - but far better is the menacing Jews Harp of Ronnie Hawkins on the chugger "Beouf River Road" - a dirty water rising song that could easily have been 1969 Creedence. Back to organ melody for the languid title track "The Train I'm On" where Tony urges us to shed no tears even if the rolling stock sounds lonesome. Side 1 ends with a slice of TJW genius which he plays to this day - the Funky and Funny "Even Trolls Love Rock And Roll" where Tony Joe and his band are on their way to a local gig and on a wooden bridge are accosted by a 'troll' interested in the boogie. He offers them a few licks and on the evidence presented here - his intervention worked.

Side 2 opens with "As The Crow Flies" which Rory Gallagher covered on his awesome "Irish Tour '74" double album on Polydor Records (a stunning studio variant of this turned up on the posthumous Gallagher CD release "Wheels Within Wheels" from 2003 where RG plays a mean National Steel throughout). As it swanks along you can 'feel' the Funk that underlies so much of TJ's output - a wicked groove that doesn't let up. Even if it is a tad syrupy - the sentiment in "Take Time To Love" is strong and sincere even if it is drowned in too many strings. But then we get a four-song-whammy of brilliance - the overweight "300 Pounds Of Hongry" has turned up on Country Soul CD compilations because of its great Funky groove. But warmth like "The Migrant" and the already mentioned brilliance of "Sidewalk Hobo" are the kind of overlooked album gems that make me want to write reviews till my fingers bleed. It ends of "The Gospel Singer" - a wicked Pops Staples guitar groove about as a less-than-angelic singer who sang to the sick and crippled whilst eyeing the ladies in the audience and the whiskey bottle by the door (the perfect B-side to "I've Got A Thing About You Baby").

Album Number Three opens with the grunting 'comb your hair and put your good clothes on' Funk of "Saturday Night In Oak Grove, Louisiana" where his pals turn with mufflers on the exhausts of their pick-ups - ready for the dancing 'Dairy Queens' who will steal their hearts (and money). There then follows a 'don't walk out on me' pleading ballad where TJ wants her to reconsider freedom "For Ol' Times Sake". Similar pain strums its way through "Takin' The Midnight Train" because 'someone hurt me for no reason' - another tale of the road that is simple but so effective. Just as mellow but prettier is "Ol' Mother Earth" where he talks of the planet as a woman with 'too many scars on her face'. "I Want Love ('Tween You And Me)" is a catchy upbeat piano ditty and the title track "Homemade Ice Cream" feels like America with a Harmonica on an Instrumental tip. But the big songs on the album are the wide-brimmed hat strut of "Backwoods Preacher Man" (beloved on Country Soul Funksters) and the melodious grower "Did Somebody Make A Fool Out Of You" - the kind of song that works its way into your heart like the best of J.J. Cale from the period. And I wasn't expecting the stand-alone single "Sign Of The Lion" to be so Meters Funky. Genius and then some...

At just under twenty squid for three rare albums and six even rarer single sides - "The Complete Warner Brothers Recordings" is a fabulous way of getting this classy artist and his primo music in one place - and sounding like the business too.

"...He built a lot of homes but never had one..." - Tony Joe White sings on the touching "Sidewalk Hobo". Make a home for this in your house...

PS: see also my in-depth review for the stunning 2006 Rhino Handmade 4CD Mini Box Set "Swamp Music: The Complete Monument Recordings" which deals with the 1968-1970 part of Tony Joe White's career...

"The North Star Grassman And The Ravens" by SANDY DENNY (2005 Universal/Island Remasters 'Expanded Edition' CD with a Denis Blackham Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...The Depths Of The Waters..."

Having done her high-profile stints with Fairport Convention and Fotheringay - a lot was expected from Sandy Denny with her 'proper' launch into the murky world of fully-fledged 'Solo Artist'. But with its modest peak-placing of No. 31 on the UK LP charts in October 1971 (and for only two weeks) - Denny's debut for Island Records was considered a let down by some – semi-magical by others.

Despite my four-decade love for her – I’m down with both arguments. “Grassman...” is a patchy album in truth with moments of brilliance nestled uncomfortably alongside material that either seems too ordinary for her incredibly expressive voice or is too often an LP proffering songs that just shouldn’t be here.

But this gorgeous CD Remaster by Denis Blackham from 2005 (issued as part of the 'Island Remasters Series' around all things Fairport Convention) has reminded me of what I loved - hammered home the magic bits – and it’s thrown in a few tasty extras as well in the Bonus Tracks. Let’s read those tealeaves and divine the details...

UK released May 2005 - "The North Star Grassman And The Ravens" by SANDY DENNY on Island Remasters IMCD 313 (Barcode 602498280218) offers up the 11-track 1971 album with Four Bonus Tracks and plays out as follows (57:05 minutes):

1. Late November

2. Blackwaterside

3. The Sea Captain

4. Down In The Flood

5. John The Gun

6. Next Time Around [Side 2]

7. The Optimist

8. Let's Jump The Broomstick

9. Wretched Wilbur

10. The North Star Grassman And The Ravens

11. Crazy Lady Blues

Tracks 1 to 11 are debut solo album "The North Star Grassman And The Ravens" - released September 1971 on Island ILPS 9165 in the UK and February 1972 in the USA on A & M Records SP 4317.

BONUS TRACKS:

12. Late November (El Pea Version) - Recorded for the unfinished 2nd Fotheringay LP - it was first released on the Island Records 2LP 'Sampler' set called "El Pea" on Island Records IDLP 1 in 1971

13. Walking The Floor Over You - an Ernest Tubb cover version recorded during the 1971 'North Star' sessions but not completed until 1973. First issued in 1985 on the compilation "Who Knows Where The Time Goes" on Island SDSP 100

14. Losing Game - recorded during the 1971 'North Star' sessions but not completed until 1976 (written by Richard Clapton – no relation to EC apparently). First issued in 1995 on 'The Attic Tracks 1972-1984' CD compilation on Raven RVCD 46

15. Next Time Around - An alternate take without the Harry Robinson string arrangement - first released in 2004 on the 4CD "A Boxful Of Treasures" on Fledg'ling Records NEST 5002

The outer card slipcase has lent all four of her Island albums a genuinely classy feel (these card slipcases apply to the Richard Thompson and Fairport Convention Remasters - there's an advert slip for them beside the booklet) - and all four can be had for less than a fiver in most cases. True some better 'Deluxe Edition' versions ("Rendezvous" especially) - but it want the simple direct approach - then this is the one for you. The 12-page booklet has informative and affectionate liner notes from noted writer and folk-compiler DAVID SUFF (of Fledgling Records reissue fame) peppered with photos of a young Sandy, hand-written lyrics to the title track and a quirky trade advert for the LP's release. The only boo-boo is the 'Pink Eye' Island Records label on the CD - that colouring only applied to 1968 and 1969 LPs - by 1971 it was the 'Pink Rim' Palm-Tree Logo on all their UK LPs. The album artwork is pictured beneath the see-through CD tray as well...a nice touch.

The two-word secret weapon for this CD remaster is 'DENIS BLACKHAM'. Now based in Skye Mastering in Scotland, his involvement in restoration, mastering and remastering goes back to the late 1960s and his resume now shows over 680 credits to his name across a huge range of genres (including a lot of Folk and into New Wave). Blackham has handled all 4 of the solo albums in this reissue series and as you've no doubt read from other glowing reviews, each remaster has been endowed with truly wonderful sound quality - frankly because care was taken.

Musicians - all the good Fairport associated people are here - Richard Thompson, Pat Donaldson, Gerry Conway, Trevor Lucas and Ian Whiteman. Polydor Folkmill artists Robin and Barry Dransfield also put in violin and vocals on "John The Gun" while long-time session man Tony Reeves plays bass on the Dylan cover "Down In The Flood" and Roger Powell plays drums on the Brenda Lee cover "Let's Jump The Broomstick". But my personal fave is "The Sea Captain" where Richard Thompson's delicate guitar picking perfectly compliments the beauty of her wayfaring love song. For sure there is a dry-as-stale-bread plodding feel to "The Optimist" – but I do like the same strangeness in "Wretched Wilbur" resplendent with strings that make it feel melodrama-epic in a Nick Cave kind of way.

Sandy would go global in November 1971 when her name appeared on the inner sleeve to Zeppelin's "IV" LP – the only person to guest as a vocalist on one of their songs – the beautiful "Battle Of Evermore". But even that, NME poll-topping with Rod Stewart and an American tour in February 1972 – none of it seemed to put a match under the album's sales on either side of the pond. “Grassman” has always been hard to find on original Island or A&M vinyl pressings. In February 1972 to promote the US Tour – A&M Records tried “Crazy Lady Blues” with “Let’s Jump The Broomstick” on the flipside as a 45 on A&M 1331 – but it did no business.

Of the extras – the 'El Pea' version of "Late November" is superb - but the Ernest Tubb cover with its rollicking countrified brass baffles the ear even now. Far better is "Losing Game" – a guitar and horns rocker that would have livened up the duller parts of the album. And her "...it's too fast..." intro to the alternate "Next Time Around" precedes a genuinely interesting alternate version...sans strings - it amplifies the lovely Acoustic guitar and is a Bonus Track actually worth of the moniker.

Of course nowadays "The North Star Grassman..." LP is looked back upon as a flawed masterpiece – good stuff on an album that got lost in massive Rock, Soul and Jazz release schedules of the day. But playing the CD Remaster in 2016 and you keep coming back to the sound quality on those better cuts - a restoration that seems to have lifted the beauty of these folk-rock gems out of their former muddiness. Sweet as...

I once had the privilege of nattering to JOHN WALTERS (John Peel's producer) in a pub in 1994 (I worked for Reckless Records at the time and we were buying his extraordinary record collection - he was even more talkative than I am!) and he relayed to me - his first ever viewing of Sandy Denny.

One of his friends in the music industry had begged him to come see this new English folk singer gigging in some Godforsaken bar somewhere in London - he did - and was duly blown away. I'll never forget the look in John Walter's eyes (who along with Peel must have seen so much stunning talent) - he was misty - like he knew he'd had the chance to glimpse greatness.

On listening to this lovingly restored CD - you can't help but feel that all involved in this project felt exactly the same - and have done this great British lady's memory and musical heritage proud. In flight at last...

PS: see also my reviews for the Various Artists 3CD Island Records Folk-Rock Mini Box Set "Meet On The Ledge" (another Denis Blackham Remaster) – and reviews of three other Sandy Denny CD Reissues - "Sandy Denny", "Rendezvous" and the 2016 Island 2CD Retrospective "I've Always Kept A Unicorn"