"Street Corner Symphonies Volume 2: 1950" by VARIOUS ARTISTS (2012 Bear Family CD – Marcus Heumann Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"…If You See The Tears In My Eyes..."

Hot on the heels of their definitive "Blowing The Fuse" and "Sweet Soul Music" CD Series (15 volumes to each genre of R'n'B and Soul) comes Bear Family’s Vocal Group attack - 15 discs spanning 1939 to 1963. Volumes 1 to 10 hit the shops in May and October 2012 and the last five in the spring of 2013. And while critics will argue that Vocal Group music has already been done to death by Rhino (3 x 4CD Box Sets across the decades) and a mountain of other cheapo labels taking advantage of the 50-year copyright law - this is the first time someone reputable (other than Rhino) have had a go - and typically these German-issued Bear Family CDs are gorgeous in all the right places - presentation and audio. You get 30 tracks and a genre-expanding total playing time of 83:04 minutes. So let’s talk about a 'Cool Saturday Night' where you're so romantically enamoured with your gal that you'll practically beg the boss at the Fire Station to 'Chief, Turn The Hose On Me'...

Released May 2012 in Germany - "Street Corner Symphonies Volume 2: 1950" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Bear Family BCD 17280 AR (Barcode 4000127172808) breaks down as follows (I've provided American 78" catalogue numbers on all tracks – 83:04 minutes):

1. Count Every Star – THE RAVENS (National 9111, A)

2. Turkey Hop, Part 1 – THE JOHNNY OTIS ORCHESTRA – Vocal By: The Robins (Savoy 732, A)

3. I'd Rather Be Wrong Than Blue – THE BEAVERS (Coral 65026, A)

4. Do Something For Me – THE DOMINOES (Federal 12001, A)

5. When You Come Back To Me – THE CLOVERS (Rainbow 122, B-side to "Yes Sir, That’s My Baby")

6. Chief, Turn The Hose On Me – THE CAP-TANS (Dot 1018, A)

7. If You See The Tears In My Eyes – THE DELTA RHYTHM BOYS (Atlantic 900, A)

8. At Night – THE ORIOLES (Jubilee 5025, A)

9. Jumping Jack – THE THREE RIFFS (Apollo 1164, A)

10. I'll Never Love Anyone Else – STEVE GIBSON and The Red Caps (Mercury 5380, A)

11. I've Got No Time – THE WHISPERS (Apollo 1156, A)

12. I Will Wait – THE FOUR BUDDIES (Savoy 769, A)

13. Old Fashioned Love – THE FOUR TUNES (RCA Victor 22-0085, A)

14. Cool Saturday Night – THE STRIDERS (Apollo 1159, A)

15. Do You Love Me – THE CATS and THE FIDDLE (Gotham 239, A)

16. I Don't Mind Being All Alone – THE COLEMANS (Regal 3297, A)

17. Gone (My Baby’s Gone) – THE BLENDERS (Decca 48156, A)

18. I’ll Never, Never Let You Go – THE SHADOWS (Sittin' In With 583, A)

19. She's Gone – THE DOZIER BOYS (Aristocrat 409, A)

20. As Long As I Live – THE FOUR BLUES (Apollo 1160, A)

21. I Don't Have To Ride No More – THE RAVENS (National 9101, A)

22. Mr. Blues – THE MASTERKEYS (Abbey 3017, A)

23. Please Believe In Me – THE CAROLS (Columbia 30210, A)

24. Nevertheless – THE MILLS BROTHERS (Decca 27253, A)

25. My Heart Cries For You – THE 5 LARKS (Apollo 1177, A)

26. Young Girl – THE FLAMES (Selective 113, A)

27. Who Is There To Blame – THE FOUR ACES (4 Star 1408, A)

28. Love Come Back To Me – KING ODOM FOUR (Derby 736, A)

29. Rival Blues – THE RIVALS (Apollo 1166, A)

30. A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes – THE JUBALAIRES (Capitol 845, A)

The 82-page non-detachable booklet is a feast of indepth liner notes on each release by Grammy-winning writer and lifelong fan BILL DAHL. Let's put it this way - there's a 'Photo Captions' index on Page 78 that tells who's who in the black and white publicity shots that accompany most (not all) of the photos. It actually lists the singer's names  - who else but Bear would do this? The text is also peppered with pictures of those old American 78s like Savoy, Derby, Apollo, Abbey, National, Sittin’ In With, Rainbow and Dot and a solitary advert poster for The Cats And The Fiddle. The CD repros the rare "Turkey Hop, Part 1" by The Johnny Otis Orchestra on Savoy and the spine makes up a single photograph of the series name when you line up all 15 volumes alongside each other on a shelf. Long-standing and trusted names like Walter DeVenne, Nico Feuerbach, Victor Pearlin, Colin Escott and Billy Vera have been involved in the research - while Audio Engineer MARCUS HEUMANN did the superb mastering (some Disc/Metalpart transfers by Victor Pearlin and Lothar Blank). The sources (as you can imagine) differ wildly but to my ears the sound quality is improved on everything that I've heard before (including some of the Rhino box sets). The audio and presentation are top-class here (a norm for Bear Family)...

With a huge 30 tracks and a format-busting playing time of 83:04 minutes – you certainly can't accuse this CD of scrimping it. 1950 opens with the "...Da Da Dum..." of "Count Every Star" by The Ravens - the stunning vocals of Louis Heywood out front instead of Jimmy Ricks who provided the Bass lines (classy NYC vocal group sounding gorgeous too). We up a gear for "Turkey Hop" with its R&B shuffle – Bobby Nunn giving it some Bass while the band saxophone shimmies through the later half of this excellent shuffler. Clearly dubbed from a 78" – the audio on the lovely "I'd Rather Be Wrong Than Blue" is still amazing – featuring a beautiful central tenor vocal from Freddy Hamilton that gives us "...you make me tick...you make me tock...just like my grandfather's clock..." Clyde McPhatter sails out of your speakers for "Do Something For Me" while the rest of The Dominoes give it some classy "ooh" in the background. Uber rare flipside "When You Come Back To Me" by The Clovers is a million miles away from their usual rocking Atlantic Records fare – it features the high as a steeple vocals of Johnny 'Buddy' Bailey and came out on the tiny independent Rainbow Records – hardly surprising then that its ballad magic is booked at a cool $1,500. Lead Tenor Sherman Buckner of The Cap-Tan's wants an immediate watering down in "Chief, Turn The Hose On Me" because he’s developed a temperature of 1000 degrees since he kissed his baby (methinks she’s hot).

Old-fashioned harmonies dominate two lovelies in a row – "If You See The Tears In My Eyes" by The Delta Rhythm Boys and "At Night" by The Orioles – both emotionally hopeless pleaders. Time to bop when The Three Rifts want you to do the "Jumping Jack" – and irresistible saxophones and piano boogie will make sure you comply. Worse sounding track has to be "I'll Never Love Anyone Else" by Steve Gibson & The Red Caps clearly taken from a wrecked disc – but it's so rarely ever heard – inclusion is a clever choice. The audio immediately leaps into the startling with "I've Got No Time" by The Whispers where the unknown Lead Vocalist sounds like Brook Benton in full-on wooing mode (what a lovely tune). More audio excellence follows in the charming and innocent "I Will Wait" by The Four Buddies where Leon 'Larry' Harrison puts in a stunning vocal backed by the "oohs and aahs" of his singing pals and a simple guitar (a brilliant choice by the compilers).

Impossible romantic yet not cloying in any way – the gorgeous "Old Fashioned Love" by The Four Tunes is wonderful stuff up until they inexplicably punch up the pace to fast half way through it and ruin the loving vibe created in the first half. The chant of "Ping, ping, ping..." time opens "Cool Saturday Night" where the weather is not on the minds of The Striders - pining like muppets in a local park for their gals. Rough transfer for "I Don't Mind Being All Alone" by The Colemans (still a pretty song though) while romance dominates "I'll Never, Never Let You Go" by The Shadows and the swooning "As Long As I Live" by The Four Blues where the Lead Vocalist assures us that "...love sees with the heart and not the mind..." (so he ain't going nowhere). "...Daddy why should you roam...when everything you want is right here at home..." sings Jimmy Ricks in the saucy "I Don't Have To Ride No More" by The Ravens (I hope that boy’s listening). More bopping fun comes in the shape of "Mr. Blues" by The Masterkeys where the group want Mister Blues to come back and Hucklebuck some more (and shout too if he feels up to it).

Undiluted genius arrives with The Mills Brothers (a colour photo of them adorns Page 57) and a beautifully transferred "Nevertheless" where they croon those immortal opening lines "...Maybe I'm right and maybe I'm wrong and maybe I'm weak and maybe I'm strong...but nevertheless I'm in love with you..." The audio on this truly lovely song is reference – congrats to all involved. And on it goes with more crooners in "Young Girl" by The Flames, "Who Is There To Blame" by The Four Aces and "Lover Come Back To Me" by King Odom Four. It has to be said that the last few cuts mentioned and "Rival Blues" by The Rivals that follows them are all dubbed from badly worn discs – so don't expect miracles on the Audio front. It ends on a real high though - a wistful winner from The Jubalaires called "A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes" where the boys happily advise all to "...have faith in your dreams...and your rainbow will come smiling through..." - I say amen to that.

To sum up – 1950 seemed to be dominated by smoochers and pleaders telling us of their undying fidelity and commitment so this is probably the most out-and-out 'romantic' compilation in the series so far. By the time you get to 1951 and onwards - lewd naughtiness and rambunctious behaviour was creeping in and people were having more fun (thank Gawd). Having said that - the run is broken up nicely with just enough fun R&B dancers to make it enjoyable – even if some of those transfers are rough. Niggles - they're too expensive as singles discs and perhaps they should have been doubles because real collectors will have more than a few titles on offer here. But Bear Family will argue '...not in this sound quality or looking this good...' - and they'd have a point.

Presented to us with love and affection by an independent record company that cares about forgotten voices that shouldn’t be forgotten. What a sweetheart of a compilation and another gold standard from Bear...

"A Third Of A Lifetime" by THREE MAN ARMY [feat Adrian and Paul Gurvitz and Buddy Miles] (2016 Esoteric Recordings 'Expanded CD' Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Take Your Fun While You Can..." 

Sandwiched between late 60ts GUN on CBS Records, the early 70ts solo years of PARRISH and GURVITZ on Regal Zonophone and finally 1974's BAKER GURVITZ ARMY with GINGER BAKER on Vertigo is the completely but unfairly overlooked interim group THREE MAN ARMY featuring the musical link between them all – the dynamic brother-duo of ADRIAN and PAUL CURTIS (or GURVITZ as they became known).

Three Man Army's rather good little debut album "A Third Of A Lifetime" from 1971 on B&C's short-lived offshoot label Pegasus Records has built up a serious rep amongst collectors – so its 2016 CD reissue in real style by England's Esoteric Recordings (part of Cherry Red) is good news for fans and lovers of Classic Seventies Rock. Let's get to those gun-totting Wah Wah Pedals and Moody Mellotrons...

UK released Friday 29 July 2016 (August 2016 in the USA) - "A Third Of A Lifetime" by THREE MAN ARMY on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2558 (Barcode 5013929465848) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster of their 1971 debut LP with Two Bonus Tracks and plays out as follows (59:41 minutes):

1. Butter Queen

2. Daze

3. Another Day

4. A Third Of A Lifetime

5. Nice One

6. Three Man Army [Side 2]

7. Agent Man

8. See What I Took

9. Midnight

10. Together

Tracks 1 to 10 are their debut LP "A Third Of A Lifetime" - released October 1971 in the UK on Pegasus Records PEG 3. Produced by LOU REIZNER - It didn't chart.

BONUS TRACKS:

11. What's Your Name

12. Travellin'

Tracks 11 and 12 are the non-album A&B-sides of a November 1971 UK 7" single on Pegasus Records PGS 1

THREE MAN ARMY was:

ADRIAN CURTIS (GURVITZ) - Guitar, Organ, Mellotron and Vocals

PAUL CURTIS (GURVITZ) - Bass and Vocals

MIKE KELLY - Drums

BUDDY MILES - Drums on "Butter Queen", Bass on "Nice One" and Organ on "Midnight"

Arranged and compiled by MARK and VICKY POWELL - the 16-page booklet repro's the original gatefold artwork of the rare Pegasus vinyl LP across its front and rear (the three black and white photos of the boys playing live that were on the inner gatefold sleeve are also reproduced in the booklet) and features new liner notes of the band's history by noted writer MALCOLM DOME. There's discussion on the brothers beginnings as The Knack which morphed into Gun which went into the self-titled solo Parrish-Gurvitz album in 1971 (produced by George Martin) - through the Three Man Army years and eventually ending up to at The Baker Gurvitz Army where they shared much mayhem and music with Cream's legendary drummer - Ginger Baker. But the big news is a superlative new 24-bit CD Remaster by BEN WISEMAN at Broadlake Studios in Hertfordshire - very clear - full of power and presence without ever feeling over amped for the sake of it...

The 'gun and guitar' artwork of their first platter (care of Terry Pastor) clearly gave a nod back to those early CBS days of GUN – promising mucho Guitar pyrotechnics amidst the occasional Prog-like tune. And that's pretty much what you get here - the new band also benefitting greatly from BUDDY MILES guesting on Drums, Bass and Organ. It opens with a speaker-rattling "Butter Queen" where Curtis seems determined to show how fast he can play guitar whilst Mike Kelly tries to keep up. "Daze" calms things down for a few moments before going into Man-like guitar soloing while "Another Day" is excellent Seventies Rock - funkier than most but still keeping it melodic. The Instrumental Acoustic title track has gorgeous Audio (such a lovely tune) and sees both strings and Mellotron come floating in like they're auditioning for a Procol Harum 45 or the woodwind section of ELO. I also dig "Agent Man" - five minutes of Funky Acoustic Rock where Adrian's prowess isn’t without doubt - but his quest to play in a group is hampered by the so-called professionals he needs to get into a decent band...

My introduction to this album came via a search for Funky Soulful Rock Instrumentals and the fabulous slink of "Midnight" jumped off the album - a kind of Brian Auger meets Jeff Beck guitar work out with sexy Organ passages from Buddy Miles (normally plays the drums and was with Hendrix). The song "Midnight” is a winner but even that cool wonder is trumped by "Together" - a very melodic Prog finale. The six and half-minute tune eases in at first with gentle Acoustic Guitars and a floating Mellotron note - Adrian singing about longing to live on a ship with his lady to escape it all. Way more mellow Moody Blues than hard-hitting Cream - it's the guitar flourishes that kick in at about 3:35 (after a silent Genesis type passage) that impresses hugely - where I'm reminded of Barclay James Harvest in their early Harvest Records days.

Even now THREE MAN ARMY are an obscurity – they sold jack zip on release - their albums have always been hard to find - and of late increasingly pricey. It isn’t undiluted genius – but this Esoteric Recordings CD Reissue and Remaster is typical of their commitment to getting rarities out there is quality form. Both fans and the curious should dive in…

"L.A. Turnaround" by BERT JANSCH (2009 EMI/Charisma 'Expanded & Enhanced' CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Let The Sunshine In..."

After eight years with Transatlantic (1965 to 1971) and a brief flit with Reprise Records for "Moonshine" in 1972 - Pentangle's gifted Guitar Player and perennial folky BERT JANSCH recorded three albums with Tony Stratton Smith's Charisma Records - all beloved, revered and absent from CD for decades - 1974's "L.A. Turnaround", 1975's "Santa Barbara Honeymoon" and 1977's "A Rare Conundrum".

All three of these rare and sought-after UK vinyl originals have been given a digital dust-up by Charisma (now part of EMI) and reissued/remastered with Bonus Tracks and Enhanced CD Video. And what a tasty job they've done too. In fact I'd argue you need the lot (never enough Bert in our house) - but if I was to zero in on just one for the house-is-burning-down arm pile - then you'd have to say that this melodic peach should be singled out. Here's one to let the sunshine in...

UK released June 2009 - "L.A. Turnaround" by BERT JANSCH on EMI/Charisma CASCDX 1090 (Barcode 5099996486306) is an 'Extended & Enhanced' CD Remaster with Four Bonus Tracks and an 'ECD Section' (three of the Bonus and the 13:12 minute movie are Previously Unreleased). It plays out as follows (49:28 minutes):

1. Fresh As A Sweet Sunday Morning

2. Chambertin

3. One For Jo

4. Travelling Man

5. Open Up The Watergate (Let The Sunshine In)

6. Stone Monkey

7. Of Love And Lullaby [Side 2]

8. Needle Of Death

9. Lady Nothing

10. There Comes A Time

11. Cluck Old Hen

12. The Blacksmith

Tracks 1 to 12 are his 9th studio album "L.A. Turnaround" - released September 1974 in the UK on Charisma CAS 1090 (no US release - didn't chart in the UK).

BONUS TRACKS (see Notes for 13, 14 and 15):

13. Open Up The Watergate (Alternate Version)

14. One For Jo (Alternate Version)

15. The Blacksmith (Alternate Version)

16. In The Bleak Midwinter - non-album A-side to a December 1974 UK 7" single on Charisma CB 240 (the album cut "One For Jo" was the B-side). Produced by Ralph McTell

ECD SECTION:

L.A. Turnaround...The Movie (13:12 minutes)

Contains: There Comes A Time, Fresh As A Sweet Sunday Morning, Travelling Man and One For Jo.

Filmed during the making of "L.A. Turnaround" at Tony Stratton-Smith's home, Luxford House in Sussex.

Features Bert Jansch, Mike Nesmith, Red Rhodes and others

NOTES: Tracks 13, 14, 15 and the ECD Section are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

The 8-page booklet shows the lyric insert that came with original British LPs (centre pages) and is complimented by superb and informational liner notes from noted music writer and lover - MICK HOUGHTON. There's even a footnote from the man who signed him and ran Charisma - Tony Stratton Smith. There's a 'mad hatter' Famous Charisma Records repro label on the CD, a shot of Jansch and acoustic guitar during recording beneath the see-through CD tray and stills from the 'boys in the country' film that's part of the ECD Section. But the big news is a gorgeous CD Remaster by BERT JANSCH and PETER MEW at Abbey Road Studios - the whole album (and its previously unreleased outtakes) sounding sublime...

Very Folk orientated with a dash of Acoustic Rock thrown in here and there – surrounded by Yes, ELP, Genesis, Led Zeppelin and Roxy Music - "L.A. Turnaround" was decidedly downbeat and maybe even 'too simple' for late 1974. And yet it’s beautiful because of that. Produced by Pentangle's John Renbourn in Paris in 1972 - the four-minute "Chambertin" with just Jansch on Acoustic Guitar is a good example – the kind of swirling, rolling, finger-picking work-out that gives Instrumentals a good name (beautiful audio on this highlight). Equally tasty is his cover of John Renbourn's "Lady Nothing" – another pretty melody that feels almost spiritual in its 'just the music' warmth. As some of have already mentioned the 'bird chirping' that opens "Fresh As A Sweet Sunday Morning" is AWOL - and without explanation either (couldn't get copyright on nature). But in truth - the song is so lovely, so soothing and bathed in beautiful Pedal Steel Guitar work from Red Rhodes – that bluntly I’m not that bothered.

"One For Jo" feels like an ancient English folk song - but it's a modern-day tale of dreamer that Jo clearly loves despite Bert's worries that he's all mouth and even a bit 'slow'. Politics rears its ugly head in the decidedly upbeat "Open Up The Watergate (Let The Sunshine In)". With Jesse Ed Davies playing  superb slide guitar - Klaus Voorman on Bass and Danny Lane on Drums - it sounds more like Ronnie Lane's Slim Chance than the Bert Jansch we know (it's one of my faves on the album). Mike Nesmith of The Monkees plays Guitar on "Stone Monkey" while Red Rhodes puts in Pedal Steel - it's the kind of song that took me a while to like.

No such problem with Side 2's opener - the beautiful "Of Love And Lullaby" - a gorgeous lilting folk ballad you can't help thinking that both Robert Plant and Jimmy Page would have given up a gonad to pen. Drug abuses seeps off the dark "Needle Of Death" - while the ghosts of a 1970 Matthews Southern Comfort permeate the whole of "There Comes A Time" - again aided and abetted by Mike Nesmith and especially Red Rhodes on the Pedal Steel. Kansas man Byron Berline brings his ex Dillards fiddle and mandolin to "Cluck Old Hen" - a song that feels like a Fairport Convention/Nitty Gritty Dirt Band hybrid. Doc Watson's "The Blacksmith" ends the LP - a wickedly upbeat song dominated by Mike Cohen's beautifully complimentary 'electric' keyboards (Cohen wrote "Mary, Mary" for The Monkees and was part of Mike Nesmith's band).

After a nice album - I wasn't expecting much from the Bonus Tracks - but I agree with Mike Houghton's assessment that the Pedal Steel variant of "Open Up The Watergate" and Mike Cohen's use of Acoustic Piano rather than electric is just as fab as the released version - if not better. Crisply produced by Ralph McTell – Jansch’s 2:22 minute cover of the seasonal Traditional "In The Bleak Midwinter" keeps a beautiful melody simple – bolstering it up towards the end with male and female Christmas voices like a soft-spoken Colliery Choir. Sweet as...

PS: see also reviews for CD Remasters of "Rosemary Lane" (1971) and "Avocet" (1978)

"Alone Together" by DAVE MASON of Traffic [featuring Leon Russell, Rita Coolidge, Delaney & Bonnie and Eric Clapton] (2008 Rev-Ola CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Only You Know And I Know..."

A founder member of Traffic (who'd worked with Kim Fowley and The Spencer Davis Group prior to that) – the man who penned their fabulous "Feelin’ Alright" hit was the first to jump ship due to that internal hairyman virus bands seem to suffer perennially from - 'musical differences'.

Ensconced in the USA with a huge cast of key players – Mason went at his first solo LP with the help of Traffic’s Drummer Jim Capaldi and cool contributions from the likes of Leon Russell, Eric Clapton, Chris Etheridge, Jim Keltner, Rita Coolidge, Claudia Lennear and the Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett band (to name but a few) – producing a humdinger in the process. And that’s where this superb 2008 Rev-Ola CD Reissue and Remaster comes in...

UK released 28 May 2008 (June 2008 in the USA) - "Alone Together" by DAVE MASON on Rev-Ola CD REV 251 (Barcode 5013929455122) is a straightforward CD Remaster of his 8-Track 1970 debut solo LP and plays out as follows (34:54 minutes):

1. Only You Know And I Know

2. Can't Stop Worrying, Can't Stop Loving

3. Waitin' On You

4. Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave

5. World In Changes [Side 2]

6. Sad And Deep As You

7. Just A Song

8. Look At You, Look At Me

Tracks 1 to 8 are his debut solo LP "Alone Together" – released July 1970 in the USA on Blue Thumb BTS 19 and October 1970 in the UK on Harvest SHTC 251. Produced by DAVE MASON and TOMMY LIPUMA (engineered by Bruce Botnik of The Doors fame) - the US issue famously came in two forms – a triple gatefold sleeve with black vinyl and some copies came with die-cut 'kangaroo-pac' triple gatefold sleeve with a splatter–coloured Vinyl LP inside (both had BTS 19 as their catalogue numbers).

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...

Harvest Records took their sweet time in the UK - releasing "World In Changes" b/w "Can't Stop Worrying, Can't Stop Loving" in April 1970 on Harvest HAR 5017. But as the album proper didn’t show until October 1970 in the UK - months of waiting killed any momentum. In-between that they'd issued another 7" single in the shape of the superb "Only You Know And I Know" b/w "Sad And Deep As You" in August 1970 on Harvest HAR 5024 – but again it tanked. Considering how good the four songs were – and how radio catchy too – it's amazing now to think that DJs didn't pick up on either. Mason also contributed to the George Harrison colossus "All Things Must Pass" which saw his work on the 3LP Box Set released late November 1970 - this should have given Dave Mason more profile to the October 1970 UK release of the "Alone Together" LP - but naught happened. In fact when I now replay killers like "Only You Know And I Know" and "Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave" - it's hard to understand why Joe Public in Blighty didn't pay any attention to their native son. "Only You Know And I Know" in particular is one of those songs that gets covered to buggery precisely because its so damn catchy - Rita Coolidge did it on her 1971 A&M Records LP "Nice Feelin'" - Delaney & Bonnie Bramlett tapped it in October 1971 as a 45 in the UK on Atco 2091 151 - then again on their March 1972 LP on CBS Records "D & B Together" - and as recently as 2002 American R&B lover Joan Osbourne did a stunning Funk version of it for her "How Sweet It Is" covers CD album.

The "...best friend I have is me..." lyrics of "Waitin' On You" threaten to derail a great little rock song and Eric Clapton famously puts in what many feel is his best ever 'guitar solo' on the near eight-minute Side 2 finisher "Look At You, Look At Me". Mason's brilliant "Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave" was a featured track on the Harvest Records 4CD expansion of the 1970 2LP label sampler "Picnic: A Breath Of Fresh Air" in 2007 - and check out the superb cover of "Can't Stop Worrying, Can't Stop Loving" by Steve Ellis of The Love Affair (and Ellis) on Disc 3 of the June 2015 "Time Has Changed Us" 3CD retrospective on RPM Records (see separate review). The hurting "Sad And Deep As You" is a piano ballad that is so pretty while "Just A Song" could almost be America or even acoustic Supertramp. I’m finding all I need in this great little album...

Since the advent of CD the album "Alone Together" has become something a darling with audiophile reissue companies like Mobile Fidelity and regularly shown up on Japanese SHM-CD versions with that famous 'head and top-hat' die-cut artwork - each falling over themselves to get out a CD variant out there that will easily trounce the dreadful quality of the original splatter-vinyl LPs. Many are deleted now and cost a hefty chunk of change – but the Rev-Ola reissue and remaster offers superb audio for a reasonable sum and makes accessible a truly great album you will want in your CD player. I'll tip my top hat to that...

PS: Rev-ola have also reissued and remastered his 2nd LP with Mama Cass Elliot called "Dave Mason and Cass Elliot" in 2008 on Rev-ola CD REV 255 (Barcode 5013929455528) – use the Barcode on Amazon to locate my review of this equally good Audio delight.

"Blue Valentine" by TOM WAITS (1993 Elektra CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Take A Rusty Nail And Scratch Your Initials On My Arms..."

Between 1973 and 1980 - Tom Waits put out a string of fabulous albums on Asylum Records - and I'd argue a case for owning the whole damn shooting match. But if I was dragged through a thorn bush packed with wasp nests in my delightful and beautifully proportioned altogether and unless I name a meisterwerk I'll be dragged back again (this time smeared in honey) - 1978's "Blue Valentine" would be my desert island disc.

Everything about this record is magical to me (the trio of "Small Change", "Foreign Affairs" and "Heartattack And Vine" gave it a good run for the money too) because this is where his Bukowski persona gelled in every way - the whimsical tunes - the jagged rhythms - the astonishing and knowing lyrics - even finding space to evoke beauty amidst the rubble, used needles and down-at-heel street types ("Kentucky Avenue"). I love this album and as the vinyl has become a known rarity since its release - the remastered CD at less than five quid is a belter of a deal. Here are the drugstore details...

UK released February 1993 - "Blue Valentine" by TOM WAITS on Asylum 7559-60533-2 (Barcode 075596053327) is a straightforward CD Remaster of the 10-track 1978 LP and plays out as follows (49:37 minutes):

1. Somewhere (From "West Side Story")

2. Red Shoes By The Drugstore

3. Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis

4. Romeo Is Bleeding

5. $29.00

6. Wrong Side Of The Road [Side 2]

7. Whistlin' Past The Graveyard

8. Kentucky Avenue

9. A Sweet Little Bullet From A Pretty Blue Gun

10. Blue Valentines

Tracks 1 to 10 are his fifth studio album "Blue Valentine" (6th LP overall) - released November 1978 in the USA on Asylum Records 6E-162 and December 1978 in the UK on Asylum K 53088. Produced by BONES HOWE - it peaked at No. 181 in the USA but didn't chart in the UK (the lady slumped over the Thunderbird car on the rear sleeve is his then girlfriend Rickie Lee Jones).

For a mid-price CD reissue - the 20-page booklet is a decidedly classy affair - those all-important and all-consuming lyrics to every song - musician credits – CD re-release details - but no photos unfortunately. But we do get a new Remaster from ZAL SCHREIBER done at Atlantic Studios in New York and in keeping with the lush production values Bones Howe gave the album - this transfer sounds beautiful. There's very little hiss but loads of presence and body and at times the intimacy is spine tingling - a gorgeous job done...

It opens with Bernstein's "Somewhere" from West Side Story - strings and his gargled-gravel-for-breakfast vocals - a perfect start to this lounge lizard of an LP. "...There's a dark huddle at the bus stop...umbrellas arranged in a sad bouquet..." - the lyrics to "Red Shoes By The Drugstore" are typical of his observational brilliance - scenes are full of rain-washed sidewalks - dogs baying at the moon and Santa Claus drunk in the ski room. Even better is "Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis" which gives us a pregnant 'lady of the night' living on 9th street above a dirty book store who has quit drinking whiskey (while her old man works out down at the track) but has misplaced her Little Anthony and The Imperials album. Waits songs are like this - you laugh one moment - but the next you think about that someone with all their hopes and dreams and how his conduit music has chronicled their shot at happiness - not laughed at them - but told their story with heart and an admiration that isn't some politician condescending.

"…They all know they could be like Romeo…if they only had the guts…" - Waits croaks admiringly on a sleazy "Romeo Is Bleeding" – a tale about a street rat who puts out cigarettes in his hand but comes a cropper when he tackles the law. Bleeding now in his car – Romeo finally ends up on the balcony of a local movie house that has Jimmy Cagney doing his tough guy Mobster routine on an oldies re-run. Romeo watches in admiration and dies without a whimper. Side 1 ends on a long slow jazz-shuffle masterpiece – all caressed high-hats and rolling piano notes - the barroom slink of "$29.00". Waits sets-the-scene with lyrics like "...it's cold back in Chicago...but in Los Angeles it's worse...when all you got is $29.00 and an alligator purse..." And then rubs sand in the ointment when a shyster convinces the girl of the story that he knows a good hotel in West Hollywood – smiling like a good Samaritan as he plays Pharaoh Sanders on his 8-track thinking about his future financial reimbursements...

Songs like "Whistlin Past The Graveyard" and "A Sweet Little Bullet From A Pretty Blue Gun" gives us more of the same - but the tune that genuinely moves me to tears is "Kentucky Avenue". Our family has a son with Autism who is 25 now – each of us having clocked up a lifetime of hurt and pain that is part and parcel with this impenetrable condition. And somehow hooking into that - there's something about the lyrics to this cry for understanding "...I'll steal a hacksaw from my Dad...and cut the braces from your legs...and we'll bury them tonight in the cornfield..." that slaughters me every time. This is a song where someone take the spokes from a young boy’s wheelchair and then "...we'll hop a freight train in the hall...and we'll slide down the drain...all the way to New Orleans in the fall…" Beautiful and poetic - like TW's soul. 

A rare and precious talent - mad as a camel on LSD that spits twice as much - Tom Waits is all these things. But what gets me is that he does just that - all the greats do - they get to you - and his 1978 album "Blue Valentine" still does. Explore this man’s work – the payoff will be immense…

"Powerage" by AC/DC (2003 Epic/Albert Productions 'ConnecteD Technology' Digipak CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Riff Raff...Having A Laugh..."

Back in the day - I was lucky enough to witness the sheer 'shock and awe' of the Bon Scott line-up of AC/DC on a cold Monday night in Dublin's 'Camden Ballroom'.

The venue was one of those small balconied rectangular halls that holds maybe 400 bodies - so Angus and Bon were able to do their Guitarist on my Shoulder routine as they made their way round the overlooking balcony area to the other end of the hall. Hanging precariously over the edge (now facing the stage) - they stopped moving to allow the spotlight to hit Angus as Bon held him aloft. Angus riffing away – sweat and schoolboy short pants - Bon’s cheeky grin as Angus laid into yet another hair-raising guitar solo on the 'long version' of "Let There Be Rock".

They opened with "Live Wire" - then went into the new "Sin City" and by the time that huge stop/start riff in "Kicked In The Teeth" was threatening the old hall's rafters – the audience was worshipping at their Aussie feet. To this day the memory of it turns me on – like an old rocker turned to mush. They only did about an hour but they were utterly incredible – and like Thin Lizzy and Dire Straits in 1978 – they were toured into the ground – tight like a well-oiled machine that knew what it could do – slaughter all in front of them. I swear but at that moment – AC/DC were the greatest hard-rocking band in the world bar none (an accolade many feel hasn’t changed a jot in 2016).

As someone who has spent over 20 years working in record shops - it's a tale I never tire of re-telling. Which brings me to another high - the 'fans' AC/DC album – the "Empire Strikes Back" of their vast catalogue - 1978's "Powerage". But let's get the sweaty underarms and kicked in the teeth details out of the way first...

UK released May 2003 - "Powerage" by AC/DC on Epic/Albert Productions 510762 2 (Barcode 5099751076223) is a 9-Track CD variant of the 1978 Australian and US LP in a gatefold card digipak with 'ConnecteD Technology' and plays out as follows (39:54 minutes):

1. Rock 'n' Roll Damnation

2. Down Payment Blues

3. Gimme A Bullet

4. Riff Raff

5. Sin City [Side 2]

6. What's Next To The Moon

7. Gone Shootin'

8. Up To My Neck In You

9. Kicked In The Teeth

Tracks 1 to 9 are their fifth studio album (4th in the UK) "Powerage" - released June 1978 in Australia on Albert Productions APLP.030 and Atlantic SD 19180 in the USA.

Some explanation is needed with regard to the track lists for British, Irish and European fans. It was their fourth studio album released in the UK – rush-released May 1978 on Atlantic K 54036. But bizarrely K 54036 turned up in two variants with certain tracks rejiggered. The 10-track version looked like this...

1. Rock 'n' Roll Damnation

2. Gimme A Bullet

3. Down Payment Blues

4. Cold Hearted Man

5. Riff Raff

6. Sin City [Side 2]

7. What's Next To The Moon

8. Gone Shootin'

9. Up To My Neck In You

10. Kicked In The Teeth

While the 9-track variant dropped "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" and moved "Cold Hearted Man" over to Side 2 and "Gone Shootin'" to Side 1

1. Gimme A Bullet

2. Down Payment Blues

3. Gone Shootin'

4. Riff Raff

5. Sin City [Side 2]

6. Up To My Neck In You

7. What's Next To The Moon

8. Cold Hearted Man

9. Kicked In The Teeth

In other words for British and many European fans the "Powerage" album we grew up with always had "Cold Hearted Man" on it somewhere and some copies came with or without "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" which was initially a single-only release in the UK on Atlantic K 11142 in May 1978 (with "Sin City" on its B-side). There's also talk of the mixes being different in subtle ways on the UK release on many tracks especially for "Down Payment Blues". The current internationally available CD is based on a remixed Australian and US configuration of the LP and is likely to remain that way. Like "Let There Be Rock" before it - we grew up with "Crabsody In Blue" on Side 2 and not "Problem Child" from "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" and a different version of "Go Down" as is presently how the CD reissue plays - and if you're a Blighty Headbanger and you actually want to configure both "Powerage" and "Let There Be Rock" on CD - you'll have to locate the "Backtracks" Box Set of 2009 which contains all three 'anomalies'...

So what do you get here? This Epic CD 9-track reissue has what they call 'ConnecteD Technology' which allows you to access online content via your computer but I'm buggered if I've ever bothered. The card digipak is the same for all of these reissues - very tasty and tactile - picture CD - a 16-page booklet crammed full of colour photos, press adverts, picture sleeves, stage passes and Angus and Bon in various manic live poses (ERNIE WELCH liner notes). The GEORGE MARINO Remaster (done in the USA) is from 'original master tapes' and sounds HUGE - rocking like the beast it is.

The critics called "Powerage" all manner of things on release - 'uneven' amongst them - but that hasn't stopped fans from loving its brilliance and simplicity. The production was also slicker that its 'crank everything' predecessor "Let There Be Rock" - a total beast of an album that still leaves me speechless with admiration to this day. "Powerage" was cooled down by comparison but somehow where they needed to be - sharper and leaner. It's decidedly odd for me to hear "Rock 'n' Roll Damnation" open the album - I have vivid memories of watching Top Of The Pops as AC/DC made leery eyes at the ladies in the audience who must have wished they'd listened to their mother's advice about sensible shoes and nice boys in the choir. It's a fantastic opener whatever you look it - comes in - does the business - exits. "Down Payment Blues" is a great builder - a mean and menacing chugger that grows and grows and those witty lyrics about 'sitting in my Cadillac' and 'doing nothing means a lot to me'. Both "Gimme A Bullet" (to bite on) and "Riff Raff" (having a laugh) end Side 1 on a huge high - the wild guitar introduction of "Riff Raff" later opening the live LP "If You Want Blood...You Got It" to huge audience chants.

I can still feel the power of "Sin City" when they played it live - a truly great 'diamonds and dust' AC/DC rocker. I've always loved to the simplicity of "What's Next To The Moon" - with Bon singing 'it's your love that I want' as that razor-sharp guitar blasts away. At first "Gone Shootin'" seems like a tame little beastie but it soon builds into a winner as the hook gets into you. It ends on an awesome double-whammy - "Up To My Neck In You" and "Kicked In The Teeth" - both of which hark back to the sheer aggressiveness of the "Let There Be Rock" album. "Cold-Hearted Man" is a typical Bon Scott tale of an icy Leroy Kincade - a delightful chappy immortalised in that fantastic guitar part towards the end.

The "Powerage" album isn't as immediate as the sheer pulverise-all-in-its-path power of 1977's "Let There Be Rock" - or the slick but brilliant Mutt Lange produced AC/DC chart rock of 1979's "Highway To Hell" - it's somewhere in-between. And I for one am so down with that...

Best Rock Band on the planet and baby's gone shootin' again...

"Mountains" by STEAMHAMMER [feat Martin Pugh and Kieran White later of Armageddon] (2016 Esoteric Recordings CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...We Could Almost Touch The Sun..."

Two tours with Blues Legend Freddie King in 1968 and 1969 saw the nucleus of England's forgotten and overlooked STEAMHAMMER be given the grounding for two albums on CBS Records - their raucous Blues-Rock debut "Steamhammer" in early 1969 on CBS S 63611 (also known as "Reflections" because of the cover art) and "Steamhammer MKII" in late 1969 on CBS Records S 63694. But Steamhammer was better than just Blues-Rock and had melody makers at their core too. The first of those albums featured Acoustic Guitarist genius Martin Quittenton - who would be a quintessential part of Rodders band sound for five amazing Mercury Records LPs between 1969 and 1973 - "An Old Raincoat Won't Let You Down", "Gasoline Alley," Every Picture Tells A Story, "Never A Dull Moment" and Smiler" - as well as co-pen the monster hit "Maggie Mae" with Stewart in 1971.

But the British band's "Mountains" album from late 1970 saw original band member Martin Pugh return to the fold (he was on the first LP) as Lead Guitarist and along with founder member Kieran White (Vocalist and principal songwriter) - Steamhammer changed tack and went a bit more Prog Mellow with their third and what many feel is their best record. November 1970's "Mountains" was issued on the Charisma Records offshoot label B&C Records. Its gorgeous sticker-titled gatefold sleeve (the Chris Stepan artwork is now fully reproduced n the newly upgraded booklet) has been a notorious and sought-after vinyl rarity in the UK ever since - often exceeding its modest £50-ish price tag by three or four times that amount.

And that's where this superlative little 2016 CD Reissue and Remaster by England's Esoteric Recordings (part of Cherry Red) comes storming in - a very welcome and timely reminder of a band and a record that shouldn't have been so marginalised at the time and deserves mucho reappraisal now. Let's get to the details for Mark III...

UK released Friday, 29 July 2016 (August 2016 in the USA) - "Mountains" by STEAMHAMMER on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2549 (Barcode 5013929464940) is a straightforward CD Remaster of the 8-Track 1970 LP and plays out as follows (41:07 minutes):

1. I Wouldn't Have Thought (Gopher's Song)

2. Levenia

3. Henry Lane

4. Walking Down The Road

5. Mountains

6. Leader Of The Ring [Side 2]

7. Riding on The L&N [Live At The Lyceum, London]

8. Hold That Train [Live At The Lyceum, London]

Tracks 1 to 8 are their 3rd studio album "Mountains" - released November 1970 in the UK on B&C Records CAS 1024 (no US issue). Produced by FRITZ FRYER and Engineered by MARTIN BIRCH - it failed to chart in the UK. The last two tracks were recorded live at The Lyceum in London (no dates provided). Principal vocalist and songwriter Kieran White penned all the songs except "I Wouldn’t Have Thought (Gopher’s Song)" which was co-written with Martin Pugh. "Riding on The L&N" is a live cover of Lionel Hampton’s old R&B classic while the whole band contributed songwriting credits to the second live track recorded at London’s Lyceum venue - "Hold That Train".

STEAMHAMMER was:

KIERAN WHITE - Lead Vocals, Harmonica, 2nd Acoustic And Electric Guitars

MARTIN PUGH - Lead Acoustic, Electric and Bottleneck Guitars

STEVE DAY - Bass, Organ and Vocals

MICK BRADLEY - Drums and Percussion

Keith Nelson guested on "Henry Lane" playing Banjo

The 16-page booklet restores the album’s gatefold sleeve artwork throughout whilst offering newcomers superb MALCOLM DOME liner notes (presentation conceived and carried out by Mark and Vicky Powell of Esoteric). Dome interviews Guitarist Martin Pugh and Engineer Geoff Calver (who did the two live tracks) and gives a potted history of the band and its line-up changes and 4-album history. But the big news over the 2000 Repertoire CD reissues is a new 24-Bit Digital Remaster of the original B&C mastertapes by BEN WISEMAN at Broadlake Studios in Hertfordshire in 2016. This CD sounds great – full of presence and warmth – tracks like "Levenia" full of life.

Viewed from a distance - "Mountains" is a curious album with its six new studio-cuts sat uncomfortably alongside two live songs bookending Side 2 that feel like the band of old. Most of "Mountains" has very little to do with the Blues Rock influenced debut LP and a lot more in common with Man or even Help Yourself – excepting as I said those last two. Songs like "Henry Lane" and the near six-minutes of the title track "Mountains" are wonderfully melodic – the guitar warmer – the harmony vocals sweeter – and dare we say it – at times gentle and even beautiful (lyrics from it title this review).

"Levenia" feels like MAN circa "Bananas" where Kieran White is shadowed on the vocal line by Martin Pugh’s electric guitar at every turn and then later by deft Acoustic work. The bass opening that explodes into guitar on "Walking Down The Road" feels like Juicy Lucy or even Audience – but just when you think you know where its going – the later half of the song goes all bongo-and-drums Funky like Osibisa on a roll.

Listening to the acoustic prettiness of "Leader Of The Ring" – as mellow as America or Donovan or even Duncan Browne - it’s impossible to think of Steamhammer as the band Status Quo covered when they did their Hard Rock version of "Junior’s Wailing" on their August 1970 LP "Ma Kelly’s Greasy Spoon" (they’d also do a live version of it on their 1975 "Status Quo EP"). Yet the very next track does just that – rocks like a mother – Steamhammer’s ten-minute live version of "Riding On The L&N" where the sophistication is gone and they sound like The Groundhogs enjoyed a thumping bass and wah-wah guitar boogie wigout. The shorter 5:45 minutes of "Hold That Train" is actually better – a great guitar-boogie that feels like Man at their live best. Damn shame they didn’t see fit to record it properly for the album but maybe there was a life in the live version they couldn’t get in the studio.

You can’t help but think in hindsight that Steamhammer made a stylistic mistake with those last two live tracks filling up much of Side 2 (though others swear they’re the best things about the LP). I can’t help but think that if they’d stuck to their artistic guns and produced two more studio-cuts of the same melodic diversity and beauty of the preceding six – we would be looking at a bona fide Prog Rock masterpiece - with "Mountains" held in awe instead of a curio people stumble on.

A split-up Steamhammer would later join ranks in 1974 with Keith Relf from The Yardbirds to form the hard-rocking Armageddon for one highly revered self-titled album on A&M Records in 1975 (AMLH 64513 is also reissued by Esoteric Recordings on ECLEC 2150 in 2009).

In the meantime we’ve "Mountains" to savour - and 46 years after the event – a hill worth re-climbing…