"Basket Of Light" by PENTANGLE [feat John Renbourn, Bert Jansch, Jacqui McShee, Danny Thompson and Terry Cox] (2001 Essential/Castle Music 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster) - A Review Of Mark Barry...

"...Once I Had A Sweetheart..."

Like their contemporaries Fairport Convention - the sheer numerical talent that made up London's PENTANGLE was always going to produce something special - and a lot. Our motley crew of English tune-weaving gypsies numbered five - technically brill and influential Guitarists John Renbourn and Bert Jansch, a Vocalist in Jacqui McShee that would be mentioned in the same saintly breath as Sandy Denny and a truly dynamite and innovative rhythm section in Bassist Danny Thompson and Drummer Terry Cox.

Both Renbourn and Jansch had been producing much-lauded straight up Folk LPs on Transatlantic Records since 1965 - so by the time they reached their 3rd fusion of Folk and Jazz in Pentangle's "Basket Of Light" - like the Fairports in 1969 - the arrangements - the playing - the production - it all came together. Both bands seemed to be on creative fire. Blighty buyers even rewarded the accomplished but unusual "Basket" LP with a No. 5 chart placing - their highest commercial posting – something none of their other LPs would ever come close to.

And re-listening to "Basket Of Light" on this rather cool Essential/Castle Music CD reissue from 2001 and I'm reminded of the sheer talent on display here. Bit of a forgotten gem that needs to be polished off again methinks. Let's get 'Sally Go Round The Roses' one more time good townsfolk of Surbiton (if the shrubbery will forgive us). Here are the details...

UK released July 2001 (reissued March 2008) - "Basket Of Light" by PENTANGLE on Essential/Castle Music/Sanctuary CMRCD207 (Barcode 5050159120727) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD of the 1969 LP with Four Bonus Tracks and plays out as follows (53:21 minutes):

1. Light Flight (Theme From "Take Three Girls")

2. Once I Had A Sweetheart

3. Springtime Promises

4. Lyke-Wake Dirge

5. Train Song

6. Hunting Song [Side 2]

7. Sally Go Round The Roses

8. The Cuckoo

9. House Carpenter

Tracks 1 to 9 are their 3rd studio album "Basket Of Light" - released October 1969 in the UK on Transatlantic Records TRA 205 and in the USA on Reprise Records RS 6372. Produced by SHEL TALMY - it peaked at No. 5 in the UK LP charts (didn't chart in the USA).

BONUS TRACKS:

10. Sally Go Round The Roses (Alternate Version)

11. Sally Go Round The Roses (Alternate Version)

12. Cold Mountain - non-album B-side of "Light Flight" issued as a UK 7" single February 1970 on Transatlantic BIG 128

13. I Saw An Angel - non-album B-side of "Once I Had A Sweetheart" issued as a UK 7" single May 1969 on Transatlantic BIG 124 (Reprise 0843 in the USA)

The 8-page foldout inlay features in-depth and insightful liner notes from COLIN IRWIN, the LP's original sleeve notes and musician credits (all acoustic guitars baby) and five grainy black and white photos of our unlikely looking heroes. The history of the songs are explained (the poppiness of "Light Flight" and the continuing beauty of "Once I Had A Sweetheart") and even a bit about the long-forgotten "Take Three Girls" BBC TV Series penned by Terence Brady and Charlotte Bingham to which the album opener "Light Flight" was the theme song (first in colour on the BEEB apparently). Best news though is that enriching all of that song info is a warm and expressive ANDY PEARCE CD Remaster. This is a gorgeous sounding CD and the careful digital transfer has only brought that out in spades (Andy Pearce has handled Rory Gallagher, Frankie Miller, Budgie, Bert Jansch, Thin Lizzy, Wishbone Ash and many more CD Remasters and I’ve sung his praises before)...

Clocking in at 3:20 minutes – the sprightly 'Ba Da Do Da' Folk scatting of "Light Flight" was always going to be a single and it's surprising that Transatlantic took until February of 1970 to issue it. A gorgeous and confident vocal from Jacqui McShee is anchored by brilliant acoustic playing from the dynamic duo of Jansch and Renbourn while both Thompson and Cox play a blinder. It's a mark of the chart diversity of 1970 that it went as far at No. 43 in the UK while Reprise in the USA noticed the LP tanking and didn't bother. Renbourn's Sitar playing and Terry Cox's gentle plinking on the Glockenspiel combine with Jacqui's breathy vocals to produce something as lovely and as mad as The Incredible String Band on the Traditional air "Once I Had A Sweetheart". Even now its hippy-dip soundscapes are magical and touching.

A clever switch away from Jacqui to Bert Jansch as lead vocalist for "Springtime Promises" gives us a jaunty acoustic romp similar to "Light Flight”. "Springtime Promises" is a song with infectious rhythms and loveliness at its centre – like sunshine in the English countryside. We get all monk-like with the 'Christ receive my soul' monastery harmonies of Jacqui, John and Terry combining their three voices to brilliant effect on the ancient Traditional "Lyke-Wake Dirge". You can literally hear John Martyn lusting after the sound of the Side 1 finisher "Train Song" (he used Danny Thompson on so many of his LPs) - a genuinely brilliant Pentangle concoction of Acoustic Jazz meets English Folk by way of the 8:15 express to Dorchester. I love this track - the playing - the combo of Jacqui chanting and Bert on the vocals (love is a basket of light) - those slapped and rattling strings – Danny's fantastic double bass bending ending. "Train Song" is a musical concoction where you’re left feeling like something new has just been made right their in your living room - but you just can't nail down what it is...

Side 2 opens with the group-penned "Hunting Song" which is probably just a little 'too busy' for its own good although the musicianship throughout is awesome. The same applies to the frantic "Sally Go Round The Roses" - a British Traditional that once again gets the Pentangle Acoustic Rhythm treatment and comes out as a hybrid of so many genres. Pretty is the word to describe the final two "The Cuckoo" and "House Carpenter" - Traditional airs voiced by Jacqui - both loaded with Acoustic picking and tingling Glockenspiel notes. Both Jansch and Renbourn elevate "House Carpenter" out of the ordinary by switching from Acoustic to Banjo and Sitar respectively. As the American tale of woe builds and builds  - its five and half minutes is split between Jacqui and Bert on vocals - the instruments swirling around you like a menace...

I love it when Extra Tracks on a CD reissue actually turn out to be genuinely complimentary 'bonuses' and just fan-inducing filler. The two Alternate Versions of "Sally Go Round The Roses" both weigh in at 3:42 minutes where the differences are mainly in the Acoustic Guitar soloing going on in the fore and background (both sound awesome too). The "Cold Mountain" B-side is sung by Jacqui and (I think) John and is a blast to hear after all these decades. Better is the strange but brilliant Bert Jansch led "I Saw An Angel" - a very cool combo of Acoustics and Drums with Jacqui wailing her head off in yonder distant studio corner. 

Although it reached No. 5 back in the day - in 2016 you can't but feel that the eclectic and genre-inventing "Basket Of Light" is a hippy artefact that's forgotten and overlooked. Pentangle's 3rd studio album was and is brilliant - and I for one would like to shine new light on its weave of delights...

"It Ain't Easy/Naturally" by THREE DOG NIGHT - March and November 1970 US LPs on ABC/Dunhill Records (July 2009 UK Beat Goes On Records (BGO) Compilation - 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Something Worth Remembering..." 

Talk about criminally overlooked.

Despite their monster chart successes in the USA (gazillions of albums sold - a whopping 21 entries on the 7" singles charts between 1969 and 1975 when many other more famous names struggled to reach five) - THREE DOG NIGHT have always been terminally unhip. Musical history has LA's TDG viewed as little more than a great covers band - clever interpreters of someone else's brilliance – a chart phenomenon with three storming vocalists out front but without any real songwriting ability within their own ranks. But I'd argue that the first flurry of Three Dog Night studio albums were great and the brilliance of the re-arranged covers often made other people's songs sound like TDG tunes anyway. The "It Ain't Easy" and "Naturally" LPs are a case in hand (both issued in the heady days of a new decade - 1970).

"It Ain't Easy" is anchored by their first No.1 single - a cover version of the naughty-naughty Randy Newman song "Mama Told Me Not To Come" sung by Cory Wells. They also premiered Elton John's "Your Song" to an American audience months before anyway knew what a classic it was or who Reg Dwight would become. Even after a gruelling 200 live shows in that busy year - the unstoppable Three Dog Night followed March 1970's "It Ain't Easy" with November's "Naturally" - an equally strong LP set with winners like their kicking cover of Bush's "I Can Hear You Calling", the Funk-Rock instrumental "Fire Eater" and their 2nd number 1 single - their wonderful 'Jeremiah was a bullfrog...' version of Hoyt Axton's "Joy To The World" - Chuck Negron's vocals as famous today as they were 46 years ago. Anyway, there's a ton of detail to wade through so once more my comrades into the doggy position (sorry, couldn't resist)...

UK released July 2009 - "It Ain't Easy/Naturally" by THREE DOG NIGHT on Beat Goes On BGOCD 875 (Barcode 5017261208750) offers 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD and plays out as follows (68:09 minutes):

1. Woman [Free cover - Paul Rodgers and Andy Fraser song]
2. Cowboy [Randy Newman cover]
3. It Ain't Easy [Ron Davies cover]
4. Out In The Country [Paul Williams/Roger Nicholls song]
5. Good Feeling (1957) [Alan Brackett/John Merrill song]
6. Rock And Roll Widow [Three Dog Night song] - Side 2
7. Mama Told Me Not To Come [Randy Newman cover]
8. Your Song [Elton John cover]
9. Good Time Living [Barry Mann/Cynthia Weill song]
Tracks 1 to 9 are their 3rd studio album "It Ain't Easy" (fourth LP overall) - released late March 1970 in the USA on ABC/Dunhill Records DS-50078 and May 1970 in the UK on Probe Records SPBA 6251. Produced by RICHARD PODOLOR - it peaked at No. 8 on the US LP charts (didn't chart in the UK).

10. I Can Hear You Calling [Bush cover]
11. One Man Band [Thomas Jefferson Kaye co-write with Billy Fox and January Time]
12. Creepin' [Free cover]
13. Fire Eater [Three Dog Night song - Instrumental]
14. Can't Get Enough Of It [Jimmy Miller and Steve Winwood song - Spencer Davis Group cover]
15. Sunlight [Jesse Colin Young song] - Side 2
16. Heavy Church [Anita O'Day cover]
17. Liar [Argent/Russ Ballard cover]
18. I've Got Enough Heartache [Gary Wright song - Spooky Tooth cover]
19. Joy To The World [Hoyt Axton cover]
Tracks 10 to 19 are their 4th studio album "Naturally" - released November 1970 in the USA on ABC/Dunhill Records DSX 50088 and December 1970 in the UK on Probe Records SPBA 6257. Produced by RICHARD PODOLOR - it peaked at No. 14 on the US LP charts (didn't chart in the UK).

For both LPs THREE DOG NIGHT was:
CHUCK NEGRON, DANNY HUTTON and CORY WELLS on shared Lead Vocals
MICHAEL ALLSUP - Guitars
JIMMY GREENSPOON - Keyboards
JOE SCHERMIE - Bass
FLOYD SNEED - Drums

The outer card slipcase on these BGO reissues lends the whole shebang a handsome visage while the 8-page inlay with February 2006 BRUCE EDER liner notes pour on the details in a small amount of space complete with some artwork shots and musician credits. BGO's long-standing Audio Engineer ANDREW THOMPSON has done the Remasters at Sound Performance in the UK and both LPs 'rawk' in all the right ways. Tracks like "Good Time Living" and "Liar" sound great.

On a very cold evening in the Australian outback, an Aborigine hunter would dig a furrow in the ground and bring his dog into the hole with him for bodily warmth. Two dogs were needed for a really bitter night, but the worst night of all was called a THREE DOG NIGHT (that's how they got their name). The band changed Producers for "It Ain't Easy" leaving behind Gabriel Mekler who did their first two 1969 LPs "Three Dog Night" and "Suitable For Framing" (paired on another BGO CD reissue - BGOCD 865). The result was a more punchy delivery and that's immediately evident with the opening stab at Free's "Woman" and Randy Newman's "Cowboy" - both sounding full of beans. However both of these adequate openers are roundly trounced by the title track "It Ain't Easy" - a song with a fabulous musical history. Nashville songwriter Ron Davies wrote "It Ain't Easy" for his 1970 LP "Silent Song Through The Land" (A&M SP-4264) and then witnessed his unknown song name TWO entire albums after it - THREE DOG NIGHT in 1970 and (LONG) JOHN BALDRY in 1971. Many will also be aware of the song through David Bowie's cover on Side 1 of 1972's "Ziggy Stardust". Even Dave Edmunds had a go for his debut album "Rockpile" on Regal Zonophone - also in 1972 (see separate review). "It Ain't Easy" was just one of those cool rock tracks that lent itself to other artists who then somehow made it 'their' song. Three Dog Night's "It Ain't Easy" is the kind of 70ts track I love and place on CD-R comps for home listening.

"Out In The Country" was issued as a 45 in the USA and with its incredibly hooky and pleasing  melody lines - not surprisingly it saw them clock up another Top 20 hit (peaked at No. 15). But their Fifties pastiche "Good Feeling (1957)" that ends Side 1 is God awful - an absolute howler with a screeching vocal - the kind of song that gives Rock a genuinely bad name. Side 2 thankfully opens with their own "Rock And Roll Widow" - a very tasty rocker that in turn is followed by the LP’s big mama - "Mama Told Me Not To Come". Cory Wells fronted the vocal on their first US No. 1 getting across that country boy naiveté at a city party in Randy Newman’s knowing lyrics when he sings "...want some whiskey in your water...some sugar in your tea...what's all these crazy questions they asking me!" It was also the California band's first UK chart showing when Stateside SS 8052 went No. 3 in August 1970.

"Naturally" opens with a genuine blast - their cover of Bush's "I Can Hear You Calling" - co-written by future James Gang guitarist Dominic Troiano. I always thought it would have made a tremendous rocker single and was (and still is) a brilliant choice of song to do. "One Many Band" is one of many songs penned by Thomas Jefferson Kaye who would have his own solo albums on Probe Records and was closely associated with that other stunning Probe Records act - Steely Dan. Three Dog Night thought it strong enough for a 45 and were duly rewarded with a No. 15 chart position. Their version of Free's "I'll Be Creepin'" is better than workmanlike - but that's trounced by a Three Dog Night original - the stunning instrumental "Fire Eater" - another Funk-Rock gem put out by a Rock band. But again the LP is dominated by another huge song and their 2nd No. 1 single - "Joy To The World" - a fantastic version of a Country Rock song penned by Hoyt Axton who also penned "The Pusher" so brilliantly converted into a huge anti-drugs anthem by Jon Kay's Steppenwolf. "Joy To The World" would be their 2nd and last UK chart placing in May 1971 on Probe PRO 523 at a more humble No. 24. 

Both TDG albums fall short of being out-and-out masterpieces - but the good bits are plentiful and still impressive after all these years - and the Audio on this superb BGO remaster lifts both up considerably. Joy To The World indeed...

PS: Three Dog Night recorded 'specific' mixes for most all of their American 7” singles - see my separate review of the superlative April 2004 CD with top audio quality Erick Labson Remasters called "The Complete Hit Singles" on Geffen/UTV Records B0001779-02 (use Barcode 602498614709 to locate it on Amazon).

"The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions" by CHICKEN SHACK [feat Stan Webb and Christine McVie (Perfect)] (2006 Sony/Blue Horizon 3CD Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Freshly Packed And Ready To Serve..." 

Across its 56 tracks and 3CDs - this fantastic February 2006 UK and EUROPE release "The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions" by CHICKEN SHACK on Columbia/Blue Horizon 82876734942 (Barcode 828767349428) offers potential buyers a huge amount of British Blues Rock for not a lot of dosh. You get 4 full albums worth from 1968 to 1970 - a slew of non-LP 7" singles and their rare B-sides - and even 2 Previously Unreleased songs.

The first generation original master tapes were digitally transferred and remastered by DUNCAN COWELL at Sound Mastering in London and overseen by label Supremo MIKE VERNON. And as usual with all the Blue Horizon reissues - the sonic results are just stunning. Every track is clear, warm and fresh sounding. And with each of Chicken Shack's original British vinyl issues pushing £80 to £100 a throw (if you can actually find them in playable condition) - this is a welcome release. Here are the one hundred ton chickens and the roosters in the farmyard:

Disc 1 (74:16 minutes):
1. It's Okay With Me Baby (Christine Perfect song)
2. When My Left Eye Jumps (Willie Dixon song, Buddy Guy cover)
Tracks 1 & 2 are the A&B-side of the band's 1st UK 7" single on Blue Horizon 57-3157 released January 1968 - both songs were non-album with Christine Perfect Lead Vocals on the A and Stan Webb on the B-side (the flipside is a song closely associated with Buddy Guy).

3. The Letter (B.B. King cover)
4. Lonesome Whistle Blues (Freddie King cover)
5. When The Train Comes Back (Christine Perfect song)
6. San-Ho-Zay (Freddie King cover)
7. King Of The World (John Lee Hooker cover)
8. See See Baby (Freddie King cover) [Side 2]
9. First Time I Met The Blues (Eurreal "Little Brother" Montgomery cover)
10. Webbed Feet (Stan Webb song)
11. You Ain't No Good (Christine Perfect)
12. What You Did Last Night (Stan Webb song)
Tracks 3 to 12 are their debut UK album "Forty Blue Fingers Freshly Packed & Ready To Serve" released July 1968 on Blue Horizon S 7-63203 in Stereo

13. Hey Baby (see 20 below)

14. Baby's Got Me Crying (Stan Webb song)
15. The Right Way Is My Way (Stan Webb song)
16. Get Like You Used To Be (Stan Webb song)
17. Pony And Trap (Stan Webb song)
18. Tell Me (Howlin' Wolf cover)
19. A Woman Is The Blues (Stan Webb/Christine Perfect song)
Tracks 14 to 19 are Side 1 of their 2nd studio album "O.K. Ken?" released February 1969 on Blue Horizon S 7-63209 in Stereo (Side 2 is on Disc 2)

20. When The Train Comes Back
NOTE: "When The Train Comes Back" and "Hey Baby" (Track 13) are the A&B-sides of their 3rd UK 7" single released 1968 on Blue Horizon 57-3146 and both songs are non-album. There is a version of "When The Train Comes Back" on the "Forty Fresh Fingers..." LP but it's different to the single release - the 7" version pushes the brass section more into the mix.

Disc 2 (71:52 minutes):
1. Worried About My Woman
2. Six Nights In Seven
Tracks 1 and 2 are the A&B-sides of their 2nd UK 7" single released September 1968 on Blue Horizon 57-3143 - both non-album.
NOTE: Track 1 is the 7" single version that features what you would call a 'guitar' version of the track with Webb's guitar work to the fore. However, Track 19 is the 'album' version of "Worried About My Woman" - wittily tagged with the word "Still" in front of it because although it's the same song - the version is very different. It features Paul Raymond's Organ work far more to the fore of the mix - almost Georgie Fame and The Blues Flames in its feel - and a far louder Webb guitar - he rocks like a mother on this one - fantastic!

3. I Wanna See My Baby (Stan Webb song)
4. Remington Ride (Stan Webb song)
5. Fishing In Your River (Aaron Walker cover)
6. Mean Old World (Herb Remington, Hank Penny cover)
7. Sweet Sixteen (Big Joe Turner cover)
Tracks 3 to 7 are Side 2 of their 2nd UK album "O.K. Ken?" (as per Disc 1)

8. I'd Rather Go Blind
9. Night Life
Tracks 8 and 9 are the A&B-sides of their 4th UK 7" single released May 1969 on Blue Horizon 57-3153. Both tracks were non-album at the time - the A-side is an Etta James cover - the B a Willie Nelson cover

10. The Road Of Love (Clarence Carter cover)
11. La Ma, I'm Cryin' (Freddie King cover)
12. Evelyn (Stan Webb song - Instrumental)
13. Reconsider Baby (Lowell Fulson cover)
14. Weekend Love (Clarence Carter cover)
15. Midnight Hour (Clarence Brown cover) [Side 2]
16. Tears In The Wind (Stan Webb song)
17. Horse & Cart (Stan Webb song)
18. The Way It Is (Stan Webb song)
19. Still Worried About My Woman (Stan Webb song) [see Note on 1 & 2]
20. Anji (Davey Graham cover)
Tracks 10 to 20 are their 3rd UK studio album "100 Ton Chicken" released November 1969 on Blue Horizon S 7-63218 in Stereo

Note: "Tears In The Wind" was also their 5th UK 7” single released September 1969 on Blue Horizon 57-3160. Its non-album B-side is "The Things You Put Me Through" – Track 3 on Disc 3

Disc 3 (51:08 minutes):
1. Smartest Girl In Town (Stan Webb song)
2. Hideaway (Freddie King cover)
Tracks 1 and 2 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED - recorded May 1969 with the line-up of Stan Webb (Guitar), Paul Raymond (Organ), Andy Silvester (Bass) and David Bidwell (Drums) featured on both studio outtakes.

3. The Things You Put Me Through
Tracks 3 is the non-album B-side to the UK 7” single of "Tears In The Wind" (Track 16 on Disc 2)

4. Diary Of Your Life (Stan Webb song)
5. Pocket (Stan Webb song)
6. Never Ever (Stan Webb/Paul Raymond song)
7. Sad Clown (Stan Webb /Paul Raymond song)
8. Maudie (Stan Webb /Paul Raymond song)
9. Telling Your Fortune (Stan Webb song)
10. Tired Eyes (Stan Webb song) [Side 2]
11. Some Other Time (Stan Webb /Paul Raymond song)
12. Going Round (Stan Webb /Paul Raymond song)
13. Andalucian Blues (Stan Webb /Paul Raymond song)
14. You Knew You Did You Did (Stan Webb song)
15. She Didn't Use Her Loaf (Stan Webb /Paul Raymond song)
Tracks 4 to 15 are "Accept Chicken Shack" - their 4th and last album for Blue Horizon released July 1970 on S 7-63861 in Stereo

Track 16 "Maudie" is the non-album A-side to their 6th UK 7" single released January 1970 on Blue Horizon 57-3168

NOTES: 
Track 13 "Andalucian Blues" is the B-side to "Maudie" their 6th UK 7" single
Track 7 "Sad Clown" and Track 10 "Tired Eyes" make up the A & B side of their 7th and last Blue Horizon 7" single (57-3176) from 1970
This 3CD set allows you to sequence all 14 tracks on their seven UK Blue Horizon singles

Featuring Stan Webb (Guitar & Lead Vocals), Christine Perfect (Keyboards and Lead Vocals), Paul Raymond (Piano), Andy Silvester (Bass) and Dave Bidwell (Drums) - England's CHICKEN SHACK was always about the blues and the bar-brawling boogie that came out of that tradition (they took their name from a 50's R&B tune by Amos Milburn). Mixing raucous cover versions with equally impressive originals, the first 3 albums featured shared vocals/song-writing credits between blues-nutter Stan Webb and a young Female Singer of the Year, Christine Perfect. (Christine married John McVie in 1969 and later joined Fleetwood Mac - retaining the McVie surname to this day).

As you can see from the track lists provided above - the first album is a fest of the Kings - B.B. and Freddie with some John Lee Hooker thrown in. These are allied with an impressive quad showing of Stan Webb and Christine Perfect originals (two each). "See See Baby" is just fantastic - the great mixture of rocking Blues done by Blues enthusiasts feeling it in every corpuscle. By album two Webb has firmly taken over the songwriting reins with strong Bluesy R'n'B like "Baby's Got Me Crying" sounding not unlike John Mayall does Buddy Guy via B.B. King.

The Shacks albums also featured guest Sax work from Johnny Almond and Paul Raymond and his Organ/Piano work came on board from "100 Ton Chicken" onwards. The music is infectious blues based rock with the occasional funky moment (the instrumental "Evelyn" is a good example). What is surprising is how little interest was shown in their rocking "Accept" album from mid 1970 - only released later that year in the States on the back of a tour with savoy Brown. Mainly featuring Webb originals co-written with Paul Raymond - I often think it's a bit of a lost 1970 classic like "Kiln House" or the Humble Pie debut on A&M. Check out the blistering rocking on "Perfect" that then slows down (wicked). Stan Webb kept Chicken Shack going after Blue Horizon to do two more rawk albums for the Deram label - "Imagination Lady" in 1972 and "Unlucky Boy" in 1973 - both of which I love.

If I was to say there was a downside - it's the lack of unreleased material. And it's a damn shame that these four Chicken Shack albums didn't receive the Fleetwood Mac Blue Horizon Box Set treatment - I would love to have seen all of them in Repro Card Sleeves (gatefolds in some cases) - each topped up with bonus tracks. But alas...

As it stands "The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions" by CHICKEN SHACK is another jewel in the Blue Horizon crown. Never less than brilliant on any of the discs - and at a few squid above a ten-spot - this superb release is a steal, a deal, Sale of the Century etc...

"Dave Mason & Cass Elliot" by DAVE MASON & CASS ELLIOT (2008 Rev-Ola CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Walk To The Point Of No Return..."

Sometimes an album is misunderstood - and the harmony pairing of Traffic's Dave Mason (the Englishman) with one quarter of The Mama's And The Papa's vocal powerhouse Cass Elliot (the American Lady) is a case in point.

I had a British copy of the 1971 album on the pink Probe label in its cool stippled gatefold sleeve and used to play "Walk To The Point" - but not much else. In no time I got rid of it and haven’t played the whole thing for the guts of 40 years. But this 2008 CD by 'Rev-Ola' - resplendent with truly amazing Audio quality - has changed my duo tune. Here are the factoids first...

UK released June 2008 - "Dave Mason And Cass Elliot" by DAVE MASON and CASS ELLIOT on Rev-Ola CD REV 255 (Barcode 5013929455528) is a straightforward CD Remaster of their 1971 10-track LP and plays out as follows (34:10 minutes):

1. Walk To The Point

2. On And On

3. To Be Free

4. Here We Go Again

5. Pleasing You

6. Sit And Wonder [Side 2]

7. Something To Make You Happy

8. Too Much Truth, Too Much Love

9. Next To You

10. Glittering Facade

Tracks 1 to 10 are his 2nd solo LP "Dave Mason & Cass Elliot" - released February 1971 in the USA on Blue Thumb BTS-8825 and May 1971 in the UK on Probe Records SPBA 6259. Produced by DAVE MASON and CASS ELLIOT - it peaked at No. 49 on the USA LP charts (didn't chart in the UK).

The foldout inlay spreads into six squares on either side – one whole side taken up with the American ABC-Dunhill/Blue Thumb advert for the LP which also plugs the "Waitin' On You" 45 on Blue Thumb 7122 (with "Just A Song" from the 1970 "Alone Together" LP as its B-side). DUGLAS T STEWART provides the April 2006 liner notes that explain how their pairing arrived (Mama Cass had just put up new mum Leah Kunkel (her sister) in her California apartment when Mason and Elliot were introduced - playing songs together thereafter). But the big news here is the 'Sound Recreation' Remaster by NORMAN BLAKE and JOE FOSTER done at Studio 3 in Glasgow. This CD sounds glorious - beautiful sound on every track...

Instead of leading off with the brilliant and touching "Walk To The Point" (a Dave Mason original) - Blue Thumb decided instead on the rather sappy Mama's & Papa's identikit pop of "Something To Make You Happy" as the album's first 7" single in late December 1970. There's a rare Promo-Only titled sleeve for the American 45 where Dave and Cass are announced as 'newly married' - shame Rev-Ola didn't use it in the inlay (the album cut "Next To You" was on the flip-side). Funky-Soulful songwriter Ned Doheny would make solo album inroads himself in 1976 with his own "Hard Candy" LP that contained the wicked "Get It Up For Love" track (see separate review) - here Doheny gets an early writer's credit for the very CSNY-sounding "On And On" - a quality song. Dave Mason throws in composition number two with "To Be Free" - a typically upbeat 'in love with love' summery song. Better is the Bryan Garo (Bassist on the sessions) and Cass Elliot penned "Here We Go Again" - an album highlight with great vocals and string arrangements that work rather than overload. Side 1 ends with "Pleasing You" where Paul Harris and that chunky organ sound of his (later with Stephen Stills' Manassas) add a lot to the song.

Side 2 opens with a lovely melody - "Sit And Wonder" - a searching for meaning song. One of the album's prettier melodies "Too Much Truth, Too Much Love" was chosen as a Blue Thumb 45 with the equally good "Walk To The Point" on the flipside - but the 'i want everyone to feel fine' melody didn't chart. The impressive axe work on "Next To You" tries hard to move your feet but doesn't quite convince. But the album does end on the excellent "Glittering Facade" - a sort of mid-tempo keyboard and acoustic guitar funk where Mason lets fly up and down the frets while once again Paul Harris adds hugely to proceedings with those keyboard fills.

Is this Dave Mason and Mama Cass Elliot duet album as good as the preceding "Alone Together" set with the mighty trio of "Only You And I Know" (covered by Rita Coolidge and Joan Osbourne), "Can't Stop Worrying, Can't Stop Living" (covered by Steve Ellis of The Love Affair) and "Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave" - the answer is unfortunately no.

It’s not a masterpiece for sure - but of Seventies Rock and CSYN/America type harmonies – then that good stuff is more than worth checking out (and the Audio will impress too).

PS: I have the Rev-Ola June 2008 CD Remaster of his solo debut LP from 1970 "Alone Together" and it sounds just as awesome too...

"I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight" by RICHARD and LINDA THOMPSON (2004 Island Remasters 'Expanded Edition' CD) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...A Butterfly For A Day..."

There's an argument that 'anything' on Island Records (no matter which decade) has musical value and should be in your collection as a matter of necessity - and a real man (that's me) would shed a big girl's blouse full of puffy Laura Ashley tears if this were not the case (I’m baring my gorilla-like chest as I type this). Sat proudly amidst those wise musical decisions would of course be the first two albums from 1971 and 1972 by Fairport Convention and Fotheringay's vocalist Sandy Denny - and Richard Thompson's own "Henry The Fly" from 1972.

But somehow the three albums this staggeringly good British guitarist and songwriter made in the mid Seventies with his then wife Linda (nee Peters) - "I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight" (1974), "Hokey Pokey" and "Pour Down Like Silver" (both from 1975) – weren't so much publicly overlooked at the time of release - but as I recall - almost outright ignored - and on both sides of the pond. As with the two LPs that followed "I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight" - the critics raved about them but the public just stayed away...

But time has changed all that - seeing both the influential and terminally hip Mojo and Rolling Stone magazines including "Bright Lights" in their '100 Greatest Albums Ever Made' lists. And returning to it and Island Records in general in the sunny halls of 2016 - a full 42 years after the event - I'm down with those retro-periodical assessments. I'd truly forgotten just how good "I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight" is as an album. And it has to be said this 2004 'Island Remasters' CD Reissue has done that criminally overlooked LP a proper solid on all fronts (a big audio improvement too on the March 1993 version).

Let's wipe away the condensation - here are the details...

UK released April 2004 - "I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight" by RICHARD and LINDA THOMPSON on Island Remasters IMCD 304 / 981 790-7 (Barcode 602498179079) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster of the 1974 10-track LP with Three Bonus Tracks added on and plays out as follows (53:24 minutes):

1. When I Get To The Border

2. The Calvary Cross

3. Withered And Died

4. I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight

5. Down Where The Drunkard's Roll

6. We Sing Hallelujah [Side 2]

7. Has He Got A Friend For Me

8. The Little Beggar Girl

9. The End Of The Rainbow

10. The Great Valerio

Tracks 1 to 10 are his 2nd solo LP "I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight" - released April 1974 in the UK and USA on Island Records ILPS 9266. Produced by RICHARD THOMPSON and JOHN WOOD - it failed to chart in either country.

BONUS TRACKS (Previously Unreleased):

11. I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight (Live)

12. Together Again (Live)

13. The Calvary Cross (Live)

Tracks 11 to 13 recorded live at The Roundhouse, London on 7 September 1975. As well as Richard & Linda Thompson - the band included John Kirkpatrick, Pat Donaldson and Dave Mattacks.

Musicians:

RICHARD THOMPSON - All Guitars and Lead Vocals (Backing and Duet Vocals on "Down Where The Drunkards Roll" and "The Little Beggar Girl")

LINDA THOMPSON - Lead Vocals on "Withered And Died", "I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight", "Down Where The Drunkards Roll", "Has He Got A Friend For Me?", "The Great Valerio" and Duet Vocals with Richard on "The Little Beggar Girl"

SIMON NICOL - Dulcimer

JOHN KIRKPATRICK - Anglo Concertina and Accordion

BRIAN GULLAND and RICHARD HARVEY - Klummhorn

PAT DONALDSON - Bass

DAVE MATTACKS - Drums

ROYSTON WOOD, TREVOR LUCAS and CWS (Manchester) SILVER BAND - Backing Vocals

Original April 2004 issues of this CD came in a natty-looking card slipcase (reissues just have the jewel case) - both issues have a 12-page booklet with the lyrics from the original LP's inner sleeve, musician credits and short but heartfelt and informative set of liner notes by DAVID SUFF of Fledg'ling Records - a reissue label with a long Fairport Convention history. The only slightly stupid and obvious glitch is the Pink Island label with the Black and Orange ‘Eye’ logo on the CD itself – a label variant that's only found on late Sixties Island LPs in the UK - it should be the Pink-Rim Palm-Tree Island records logo to repro the original 1974 LP. It doesn't say who did the remaster (maybe Denis Blackham at Skye Mastering) or where - but my God is it good. Every track on this Folk-Rock masterpiece feels new and in your face for all the right reasons. Tons of presence and a huge sound...

It opens with the upbeat Folk-Rock of "When I Get To The Border" - Thompson's guitar chopping and chiming like a goodun as the melody ambles on. The magnificent "Calvary Cross" has the most amazing warbling electric lead guitar - a sort of tremulous English Blues Folk-Rock chug that feels so heavy as it plays - ten-ton bricks in its hurting guts (hardly surprising to see a live cut of this fan-fave included as a Bonus Track). "Withered And Died" is beautiful and sad - a butterfly for a day tale. Not surprisingly this lilting song was chosen as the album's representative on the 2006 Island Records Folk-Rock 3CD Box Set "Meet Me On The Ledge". Those Klummhorns provided by Royston Wood and Trevor Lucas on the title-track "I Want To See The Bright Lights" gives it a colliery brass band feel – it’s rhythm playfulness - like it’s a debutante at a ball itching to dance. It's also at this point that you notice the lyrics - earthy, fun, working man observant - they floor you. Side 1 ends with such a feeling as the gorgeous "Down Where The Drunkards Roll" with Linda on Lead Vocals. I’ve always thought it a masterpiece – lonely yet moving.

Thompson opens Side 2 starts with a very Fairport vocal on "We Sing Hallelujah" - a rowdy-dowdy old-fashioned melody that feels hundreds of years old (very clever doubled voices). In direct contrast comes the 'Saturday night and I'm all alone' sadness of "Has He Got A Friend For Me" where Linda sounds like a lost teenager rather a happily married woman. With big acoustic guitars and a concertina as its base - the song has a sound Paul Brady would get on his magnificent Irish Folk LP "Welcome Here Kind Stranger" (September 1978 on Mulligan Records) - another winner when it comes to melodies. "The Little Beggar" At times BL feels like the great album Fairport Convention should have made in 1974 but never did. Taking money off snobs sings "The Little Beggar Girl" - the most Traditional Folk song on the album - mandolins and jaunt abound. Another one of the album secret gems is the desperately bleak social commentary of "The End Of The Rainbow" - a song sung by Richard about a child subject to a brutish father - only half protected by a mother who is trying her hardest - but Richard only sees an inevitable hurting future for the kid. The album ends with Linda doing the ballad "The Great Valerio" - a high-wire walker - we the people watching from below as this balancing hero keeps his eye on the target of the other side.

Amidst the three Bonus Tracks is a sharply recorded ten-minute version of "Calvary Cross" – the live band in fine form as Richard stretches out on those solos to the clear delight of the crowd. But even better is Linda's lusty vocal on the Buck Owens Country classic "Together Again" – her Patsy Cline vocals followed by great guitar playing from RT - these two alone making the extras feeling like real bonuses and not just reissue filler...

I've always thought that Richard and Linda Thompson's "I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight" was part Fairport Convention on top form combined with that second album Fotheringay never made - and that's a combo I'll take any day of any week. 

And at under a fiver online in 2016 - "I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight" by RICHARD and LINDA THOMPSON is a big old classic for very small change...

"One More River To Cross" by CANNED HEAT (2016 Beat Goes on 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...You Are What You Am..." 

After a flourish of nine kicking LPs with Liberty Records and United Artists between 1968 and 1973 (not included Hits sets and retro packages) - CANNED HEAT were burnt out physically and emotionally - and their public were pretty much the same. October 1971's sprawling "Living The Blues" double album had barely managed to scrape No. 182 on the Billboard Top 200 - and while March 1972's "Historical Figures And Ancient Heads" managed a little better with a No. 87 placing - their final platter for United Artists - September 1973's "New Age" didn't bother charts on any side of any pond. Even in the month that “New Age” hit the shops – our 'Sterno' heroes were down South recording for another label...

Hoping for a renewal by signing with the then mighty and powerful Atlantic Records - Canned Heat set about recording the much maligned "One More River To Cross" LP in Muscle Shoals in September of 1973 with uber-professional Producers BARRY BECKETT and ROGER HAWKINS at the controls. It seemed like a good marriage - a slicker sound - a rejiggered band - professional sessionmen and the MS Horns in tow...what was not to like and look forward to. But come January 1974 when the album was finally released Stateside (March 1974 in the UK) - the hoped for comeback LP bombed big time and every since has been seen as a bit of a 3-star turkey in a 10-star chicken run.

"One More River To Cross" isn't 'that' bad to my ears. While I'd readily admit it isn't a meisterwork by any stretch of the imagination - I suspect the gatefold LP tanked more because of growing public indifference to a genre that had been turning them on since 1966 - Blues Rock. However - I'd say a reappraisal is due (there's good stuff on here) - and that's where this superb-sounding 2016 Beat Goes On CD Reissue comes in - resplendent here with a gorgeous new remaster, tasty card slipcase presentation and two relevant Bonus Tracks that actually bolster up the reissue a lot. I'm a hog for you baby indeed - let's get to the bagful of boogie...

UK released July 2016 - "One More River To Cross" by CANNED HEAT on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1233 (Barcode 5017261212337) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster with Two Bonus Tracks (non-album 7" single sides) and plays out as follows (43:01):

1. One More River To Cross

2. L.A. Town

3. I Need Someone

4. Bagful Of Boogie

5. I'm A Hog For You, Baby

6. You Am What You Am

7. Shake, Rattle & Roll

8. Bright Times Are Comin'

9. Highway 401

10. We Remember Fats:

Introduction (a) The Fat Man (b) I'm In Love Again (c) I'm Walkin' (d) Whole Lotta Love (e) Let The Four Winds Blow (f) I'm Ready (g) So Long

Tracks 1 to 10 are their 10th studio album "One More River To Cross" - released January 1974 in the USA on Atlantic SD 7289 and March 1974 in the UK on Atlantic K 50026.

BONUS TRACKS:

11. The Harder They Come

12. Rock 'n Roll Show

Tracks 11 and 12 are the non-album A&B-sides of a USA-only 7" single released January 1975 on Atlantic 45-3236. The A-side is a Jimmy Cliff cover version while the flip-side is an Ed Beyer and James Shane original.

CANNED HEAT was:

BOB "The Bear" HITE - Vocals (Tracks 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 10) and Harmonica

JAMES SHANE - Vocals (Tracks 1, 4 and 6), Rhythm Guitar and Bass on Track 7

RICHARD HITE - Vocals on Track 9, Bass and Rhythm Guitar on Track 7

HENRY VESTINE - Lead Guitar

ED BEYER - Keyboards

ADOLFO "Fito" DE LA PARRA - Drums and Percussion

Horns:

Harrison Galloway - Trumpet, Charles Rose - Trombone, Ronnie Eades - Baritone Saxophone and Harvey Thompson - Tenor Saxophone

The card slipcase that is now standard with all BGO CD reissues since 2008 lends the release a real classy feel and the 16-page booklet reproduces the gatefold artwork (Drew Struzan's painting) and there's new liner notes from noted writer and music buff JOHN O'REGAN. But the big news for fans is a 'Mastered In High Definition Audiophile Recording From The Original Master' by ANDREW THOMPSON that indeed lives up to the hype on the card slipcase. This beauty sounds amazing and on tracks like the funky "You Am What You Am" lifts the whole thing up - making it feel new again...

22 February 1974 saw the title-track - Daniel Moore's "One More River To Cross" - precede the British LP on 7" single with "Highway 401" on the flipside (Atlantic K 10420) on of those lovely orange and green 45 labels - not that anyone noticed. The Bear steps up to the microphone for the Piano boogie of "L.A. Town" - a reasonably good stroller clearly influenced by Fats Domino Imperial sides from the Fifties. Better is the slinky slide guitar of Hite's "I Need Someone" - Henry Vestine getting room to let rip on the axe – which he does with impressive gusto (great audio on this). Things start to finally sound like actual fun with "Bagful Of Boogie" (James Shane on Lead Vocals) penned by the foursome of De La Parra, Beyer, Shane and Hite. With a pocketful of Rhythm 'n' Blues Canned Heat have been 'poking round' Hollywood in their Illinois duds wearing holes in their shoes whilst they play Harmonica and Guitar for bewildered passers-by. Side 1 ends with that same sense of play when they follow with their cover of Leiber and Stoller's "I'm A Hog For You, Baby" - originally the B-side of The Coasters "Poison Ivy" in 1959. Maybe Wilko Johnson was secretly listening to the Heat's version because that 'guitar sound' Dr. Feelgood specialised in comes screaming out of this track (check out the 2CD Collector's Edition of "Down By The Jetty" where the Feelgood's cover of "I'm A Hog For You, Baby" is one of the Mono and Stereo studio outtakes for their 1975 debut LP).

I've always had a thing for Rock-Funk and this most quintessential of Blues Boogie bands suddenly discovers its inner Allen Toussaint with James Shane's "You Am What You Am" - a fantastic Funk groove that could easily have been on The Meters August 1975 LP masterpiece "Fire On The Bayou". I've always been amazed that Atlantic (the most Soulful and Funky of labels) didn't sense the 'Pick Up The Pieces' Rock-Funk explosion that was literally on the musical horizon in November of that year (AWB) and take Canned Heat's "You Am What You Am" as a 45 and run with it? Maybe the band's history was too deeply rooted in Blues - but I know Soul Boys who buy the record cheap just for that track. They follow that high with a rather functional cover of "Shake, Rattle & Roll" - a Charles Calhoun R&B masterclass done by Joe Turner on Atlantic in 1954, Bill Haley & His Comets on Decca in 1955 and Elvis Presley on RCA Victor in 1956.

Their original "Bright Times Are Comin'" is a mellow 'give something to someone else' song that's pumped up with Organ and those huge MS horns but again it's feels leaden instead of inspired. Things improve with the old time CH boogie of "Highway 401" where Richard Hite's lone vocal on the album feels like a spiritual return to "On The Road Again". Reviews at the time made much of the five-minute Fats Domino 'Fat Man' Medley that finishes the record - but to me like "Shake, Rattle & Roll" - it feels derivative instead of being a tribute. The single sides are surprisingly good - Canned Heat goes Reggae Soulful in a Rock Boogie way for Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come" (if you can imagine such a thing) - while the B-side "Rock & Roll Show" is better than it had any divine right to be.

Even die-hard fans would admit that the album is hardly the gem you would get your knickers in a knot over - but with that much-improved sound - classy presentation and decent extras - "One More River To Cross" is remembered well by BGO and fans should dig in...