"Yer' Album" by THE JAMES GANG [featuring JOE WALSH] (2000 MCA Records CD Reissue - Bill Szymczyk/Ted Jensen Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Hardware Contingencies..."

Forgiving the cornball artwork (three very un-Rock 'n' Roll photos taken on Bill Szymczyk's camera down by the waterfalls in Kent, Ohio centred by a sepia oldie of the famous American outlaws) and that throwaway Hicksville title "Yer' Album" - I loved everything about THE JAMES GANG. They made a huge sound for a Trio and of course at the centre of that rattle and hum for their first three albums was the brilliance of Joe Walsh's songwriting and playing - the stuff of melodic axeman legend (a man who rocks The Eagles to this day).

That’s not to say that there isn’t indulgence a-plenty on here – unfortunately there is. The nine-minute cover version of The Yardbirds' "Lost Woman" and the twelve-minute Side 2 finisher "Stop" especially are often cited as guilty culprits (Walsh clearly didn't have enough original material). A Gerry Ragavoy and Mort Schumann song initially released by Howard Tate in December 1967 on Verve Records (a Soul dancer with lyrics) and subsequently featured on the "Super Session" album in September 1968 as a guitar-instrumental by Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield - "Stop" most notably comes in for some serious stick. Although it mixes elements of both the Tate and Kooper/Bloomfield takes on the song – TJG's version ambles on for twelve minutes before finishing on silly in-studio dialogue about '...You're not done! Dunn's in California!' An edit would have better. 

Speaking of which - that giggling-in-the-studio "Stone Rap" that opens Side 2 soon tests a person's patience too – but it was an album of the time and when they weren't tweaking accomplished studio cuts like "Collage" and "Take A Look Around" with the new Producer whizz-kid Bill Szymczyk (fresh from triumphs with B. B. King) – they let rip - and laid-down those cuts live. Walsh alludes to this in his short liner-notes-input – they were young and new. I'd argue therefore that despite liberties-taken - this is a 'takes it as you find it' record and you have to allow for that. Here are the CD Reissue/Remaster details...

US released 6 June 2000 - "Yer' Album" by THE JAMES GANG on MCA Records 088 112 282-2 (Barcode 008811228224) is a straightforward CD Remaster of the original 11-track 1969 Debut LP and plays out as follows (49:58 minutes):

1. Introduction (credited as "Tuning part One" on the original LP)

2. Take A Look Around

3. Funk No. 48

4. Bluebird

5. Lost Woman

6. Stone Rap [Side 2]

7. Collage

8. I Don't Have The Time

9. Wrapcity In English

10. Fred

11. Stop

Tracks 1 to 11 are their debut "Yer' Album" - released October 1969 in the USA on Bluesway/ABC Records BLS-6034 and February 1970 in the UK on Stateside SSL 10295. Produced by BILL SZYMCZYK - it entered at 199 and peaked at No. 83 in the US LP charts (didn't chart UK). "Bluebird" is a Buffalo Springfield cover written by Stephen Stills, "Lost Woman" is a Yardbirds cover and "Stop" is a Jerry Ragavoy and Mort Schumann song first aired by Howard Tate and also covered by Al Kooper and Mike Bloomfield. Joe Walsh wrote "Take A Look Around", "Wrapcity In English" and "Fred". "Funk No. 48" was co-written by Joe Walsh, Jim Fox and Tom Kriss - "Collage" written by Joe Walsh and Patrick Cullie and "I Don't Have The Time" by Joe Walsh and Jim Fox.

THE JAMES GANG was:

JOE WALSH - Lead Guitar, Keyboards and Lead Vocals

TOM KRISS - Bass and Flute

JIM FOX – Drums

Their "Yer' Album" debut LP hit US shops in its natty gatefold hard-card sleeve in October 1969 on Bluesway/ABC Records - while Blighty had to wait until February 1970 to see it emerge on Stateside. The elaborate pencil drawing by Ladimer Jeric that adorned the inner gatefold takes up all of one side of the four-leaf foldout inlay that also features new comments from Joe Walsh and Jim Fox on the recordings – but no other insightful liner notes unfortunately (the real James Gang photo used on the front cover is beneath the see-through CD tray and the collage photo of the rear sleeve is on the rear inlay).

But the big news is a BILL SZYMCZYK and TED JENSEN Remaster from original tapes - and this unwieldy beast has never sounded better - the acoustics on "Collage" beautifully clear while the band letting rip on the lengthy solo passages of "Stop" sounding like they're on stage in your living room. A nice job done of a difficult transfer...

It opens with 40 seconds of strings and acoustic-guitar referred to on the original album label as "Tuning Part One" - now simply called "Introduction". It immediately segueways into the brill "Take A Look Around" - a typically hooky Walsh keyboard melody with silly word play at the end (it titles this review). Before the single "Funk No.49" from the next album "Rides Again" put them on the chart-map in 1970 - we get its predecessor "Funk No. 48". It rocks in a similar way but it has to be said not as good as the re-done hit did. Far better is their cover of Buffalo Springfield's "Bluebird" - a song so many bands seemed to take to heart. Susan Carter did a version of it with guesting Blood, Sweat & Tears types on her 1970 LP "Wonderful Deeds And Adventures" on Columbia - while Bonnie Raitt did another on her self-titled debut album in 1971 on Warner Brothers (see reviews for both). Here The James Gang add strings and backwards guitars initially only to Neil Young its ass with some hard-rocking thereafter. I've always been ambivalent towards the 'live in the studio' version of "Lost Woman" where TJG sound like Led Zeppelin trying to work out who they are and not quite succeeding. It's good for sure if you like a whig out (dig that Bass and Drums battle) but it's never been my cup of Java really...

After a few moments of stop-start waffle about Take 1 and Take 3 - we get the sublime "Collage"- the kind of song that indicated just how touching Walsh could be as a songwriter when he stopped thrashing his scratch-plate for ten seconds. Over in England Stateside Records debuted the band on 45 a month before the album was released with "Collage" – using it as the B-side to "Funk No. 48" (January 1970 - Stateside SS 2158). But the British single did no business and is (like the UK pressed album) a collectable now. "I Don't Have The Time" is a little too frantic for its own good - while the Gershwin-titled "Wrapcity In English" turns out to be a forlorn string-intro to "Fred" - a droning Walsh riff that goes into a cool Prog guitar flourish towards the finish. And it ends on "Stop" - dominating the Side and the LP with someone else's song.

It's not all genius for sure - but it's Joe Walsh - and that's enough to make me weak at the knees. And I'm thrilled that this CD rocks. Yer' album - I dig it y'all...

"Get Into Something" by THE ISLEY BROTHERS (June 1997 Epic Associated/Legacy 'Rhythm & Soul' CD Reissue - Tom Ruff Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Say What You Wanna Say...

Let The Children Play Where They Wanna Play...

...That’s Freedom..."

Sandwiched between "The Brothers: Isley" in November 1969 and the stunning covers-album "Givin’ It Back" in September 1971 – Soul's elder-statesmen THE ISLEY BROTHERS saw their March 1970 album "Get Into Something" fail. Despite the seriously great music contained within – four relatively successful singles - and funky breaks that have made the album a huge collectable in the years ever since - "Get Into Something" failed to chart at the time of release - perhaps a product-overload for American punters.

This 1997 Remastered CD was part of Epic/Legacy's 'Rhythm & Soul Series' of CD Reissues in the late 90’s covering artists like Bill Withers, Cab Calloway, Big Maybelle, Aretha Franklin, The O'Jays, The Treniers, Major Lance and The Isley Brothers (to name but a few). It was then subsequently bundled with four other period LPs by The Isley Brothers into the "Original Album Classics" 5CD Mini Box set in 2008 – and again newly remastered for the amazing and all-encompassing 23CD Box Set "The RCA Victor & T-Neck Album Masters (1959-1983)" issued in August 2015. For this review we're going to deal with the first 1997 Remaster – just the stand-alone album. Here is the inventory...

UK released June 1997 – "Get Into Something" by THE ISLEY BROTHERS on Epic Associated/Legacy 487514 2 (Barcode 5099748751423) is a straightforward CD Remaster of the 10-Track 1970 album on T-Neck Records and plays out as follows (39:46 minutes):

1. Get Into Something

2. Freedom

3. Take Inventory

4. Keep On Doin'

5. Girls Will Be Girls [Side 2]

6. I Need You So

7. If He Can You Can

8. I Got To Find Me One

9. Beautiful

10. Bless Your Heart

Tracks 1 to 10 are the LP "Get Into Something" – released March 1970 in the USA on T-Neck TNS 3006 (reissued December 1970 with the same catalogue number) – no UK release. All tracks are originals.

The 12-page booklet has new liner notes from GEOFFREY HIMES called "You Picked The Right Time" - his explanations and obvious enthusiasm for this superb band pouring out of every factoid. There are some photos of Ronald, Kelly and Rudy - America's 'Soul Train' TV program - publicity photos as well as repros of those US T-Neck 45s. There are the usual reissue credits and a gorgeous CD transfer/master from TOM RUFF at Sony Studios in New York. Let's get to the music...

A Part One 3:51 minute edit of the 7:28 minute album cut for the opening title track "Get Into Something" was chosen as the album’s third 45 in September 1970 on T-Neck TN 924 (with Part II on the flipside). But despite its fantastic piano funk groove, brass interludes and ‘follow me’ pleading from Ronald Isley – it managed only No. 25 on the US R&B charts (No. 89 Pop). It fact the song and its cool groove became more famous after the event with samplers using that chicken scratch guitar and ‘gimme some drums’ break half way through on their Break Dance and Hip Hop mixes for years. Bloody shame no one at Legacy thought to put the separated edits on the end as Bonus Tracks.

It seems strange now to think that the obviously joyous "Freedom" was considered as the real winning single on the LP from the off – a message song with an irresistible hook more in keeping with the emerging feelings of the day (lyrics from it title this review). It was fourth single in December 1970 on T-Neck TN 927 and with Side 2’s "I Need You So" as the B-side – it rose to No. 16 on the R&B charts.  Both "Take Inventory" and the rapping "Keep On Doin’" are firmly in the manic Funk department – both snapping at James Brown’s heels over on Polydor. The dreadfully cloying "Girls Will Be Girls" is the first clunker – but even that managed a No. 22 placing on the American R&B chart when it was released in June 1970 on T-Neck TN 921 (credited as "Girls Will Be Girls, Boys Will Be Boys" with "Get Down Off The Train" from "The Brothers: Isley" album earlier in the year as the B-side).

Geoffrey Himes’ honest liner notes aren’t exactly kind to "I Need You So" – a little-too-pleading ballad drowned in strings – not the LP’s finest moment despite a sweet vocal from Ronald and equally tasty Vocal Group harmonies from the boys. Things improve immeasurably with the Guitar-Funk of "If He Can Do It" – a nasty little butt-shaking number you would imagine Jimi Hendrix would have flipped for. "Beautiful" tells us that its fab to talk to people and see birds in the sky – but the "It’s Your Thing" groove of "Bless Your Heart" that shines more – ending the album on a dancer’s high. They would go onto the magnificence of 1971's "Givin' It Back" - one of my all time fave-rave Soul albums - and one that’s entirely made up of reinterpreted cover version done in that fab Isley Brothers style.

"...If you want to get into something...come on and follow me..." - Ronald Isley sang on the title track 47-years ago. Time to answer that Funky call...

"Evensong/Fantasia Lindum" by (THE) AMAZING BLONDEL (2004 Beat Goes On Reissue - 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Shine On Your Celestial Light..."

Imagine The Incredible String Band had a three-way with Tir na n'Og and Gryphon and the offspring produced was Steeleye's Span's awkward child.

AMAZING BLONDEL will not be for everyone - ye old English rhymes about buxom wenches beneath willow wood - celestial lights up on Old Moot Hill and lute-wielding hairy men dancing Lady Marion's Galliard at the Siege of Yaddlethorpe (if you get my pint of mead).

UK released on the very adventurous Island Records in 1970 and 1971 (on both sides of the pond no less) – The Amazing Blondel and these two brilliant albums was part of the Fairport Convention/Fotheringay/Pentangle led Folk Revival sweeping the country and student campuses at the time. But our minstrel heroes veered away from the new hybrid of Folk Rock and went back to very ancient roots indeed. Theirs was a mission to tap into the deeply distant past - airs and tunes and instruments gathering dust in unloved Elizabethan museum spaces.

But I hear you say - that's all very nice and historically tickety-boo - but isn't most of that stuff unlistenable pigeon doo-dah. Well no - because amidst all the madrigals, pipe organs, harmoniums, tabor pipes and lutes - lurk pretty melodies - and a trio of enthusiastic Englishmen ready to glockenspiel your sorry city ass. At the time it was fresh and even daring. It’s dated now of course and does suffer from some serious hippy overtones laced with mushrooms and dodgy real ale choices. But there’s so much to love here too and this BGO Remaster is audibly fabulous (2 full albums for the price of one – how very trade union of them).

Here are the lullabies, galliards and merry dances on St. Crispin's Day...

UK released 14 June 2004 - "Evensong/Fantasia Lindum" by (THE) AMAZING BLONDEL on Beat Goes On BGOCD 626 (Barcode 5017261206268) offers 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD and plays out as follows (70:28 minutes):

1. Pavan

2. St. Crispin's Day

3. Spring Season

4. Willowood

5. Evensong

6. Queen Of Scots

7. The Ploughman [Side 2]

8. Old Moot Hill

9. Lady Marion's Galliard

10. Under The Greenwood Tree

11. Anthem

Tracks 1 to 11 are their 2nd studio album "Evensong" (as THE AMAZING BLONDEL) - released December 1970 in the UK on Island ILPS 9136 and February 1971 in the USA on Island SMAS-9302. Produced by PAUL SAMWELL-SMITH.

12. Fantasia Lindum [Side 1, 20:25 minutes]

Prelude and Theme

Song "Swifts, Swains and Leafy Lanes"

Dance "Jig Upon Jig"

Theme (Lutes and Recorder)

Dance Galliard "God Must Doubt"

Song "Lincolnshire Lullaby"

Dance "Basse Danse"

Theme (Lute Duet)

Dance "Quatre Bras Pavan"

Song "Celestial Light" (For Lincoln Cathedral)

Dance "Coranto"

Them (Lutes and Recorders)

End

13. To Ye [Side 2]

14. Safety In God Alone

15. Two Dances

(a) Almaine (b) Bransie "For My Ladys' Delight"

16. Three Seasons Almaine

17. Siege Of Yaddlethorpe

Tracks 12 to 17 are their 3rd studio album "Fantasia Lindum" (as AMAZING BLONDEL) - released November 1971 in the UK on Island ILPS 9156 and December 1971 in the USA on Island SW-9310. Produced by PAUL SAMWELL-SMITH.

(THE) AMAZING BLONDEL was:

JOHN DAVID GLADWIN - Lead Vocals, Lute, Theorboe, Cittern and Double Bass

TERENCE ALAN WINCOTT - Crumhorn, Recorders, Pipe-Organ, Tabor Pipe, Tabor, Flute, Harmonium, Lute, Harpsichord, Woodwinds, Percussion and Vocals

EDWARD BAIRD - Lute, Cittern, Glockenspiel, Dulcimer and Vocals

Other Musicians:

Chris Karan - Percussions

Adam Skeaping - Viola de Gamba and Violone

Jim Capaldi (of Traffic) - Drums on "Siege Of Yaddlethorpe"

The 12-page booklet features the lyrics to both LPs in that old English typeface - some black and white live photos of the trio and new highly entertaining liner notes from noted writer ALAN ROBINSON (dated January 2004). There are no credits for the Remaster but it sounds like Andrew Thompson's work. As both records are largely acoustic instruments - this is the kind of transfer that benefits from a delicate touch. Take the beautiful instrumental passage at the title track "Evensong" plays out which is followed by the short instrumental "Queen Of Scots" - both sparkling with clarity and full of presence - a very sweet job done.

Their debut "The Amazing Blondel And A Few Faces" had surfaced in May 1970 on Bell SBLL 131 in the UK (now a £300 rarity) and has been reissued separately. But their 2nd studio album "Evensong" from December 1970 was a giant leap forward and the UK issue came in a typically lovely Gatefold Sleeve courtesy of Island Records (repro'd in the booklet). Let's get to their unique type of new old-music...

Just what kind of instrument a Trumhorn, a Tabor or a Theorboe actually is remains an ecclesiastical mystery - but we're "...off to the Holy Wars to fight the Saracen..." on the opener "Pavan". Ladies of pleasure are mentioned in both "Pavan" and St. Crispin's Day" (using their ye old name beginning with 'w' and I don’t mean wenches) - but it's the impossibly pretty "Spring Season" that really catches the ear. This tale of 'courting' on dark nights that are dwindling and fires that need less kindling is properly lovely and featured as an example of excellence on the stunning 2009 "Meet On The Ledge" 3CD Box Set covering Island's Folk-Rock output (see separate review). "The Ploughman" is another gushing love song with a Harmonium anchoring a light but sweet melody. It spins its lovely way into your heart with yearning words like "...If I were a Weaver...I'd weave the tresses in your hair...Plait them with ribbons of gold...and bless each ringlet, curl and fold..."

Years of untold pain continue and are sung by all three in the strangely jolly "Old Moot Hill" - another air where a hurting soul wishes he was the lucky suitor come calling as she sits "...combing auburn hair before retiring to bed..." Our players ask another lady to come discreetly and meet "Under The Greenwood Tree" where he dreams of more nights of shameless love – if only her dowry wasn’t promised to another. The album ends with the huge Harmonium sound of "Anthem" where you half expect someone to walk down the aisle in a countryside church wedding at dusk as the boys (all dressed as Will Scarlett) sing like a choir "...your guiding light shines clear...through the twilight till the dawn..."

"Fantasia Lindum" goes for broke with the whole of Side 1 being one long 20-minute mishmash of 13-segments – and it’s frankly brilliant, brave and musically beautiful Suite with certain instruments a shoe-in for an album in 1973 called "Tubular Bells". The playing on this side-long opus is magical and the Remaster really brings the beauty of pinging acoustic strings, Dulcimers and Harpsichords into your living room. As they sing “...Crimsoned fragrance expounding...adorn your dreamfields tonight...” – you get lost in the voices and that unique sound they make and you also can’t help but feel that £30 as a Record Collector Price Guide quote is too low for these rare Pastoral Folk masterpieces.

For sure this music isn’t going to be everyone’s idea of Newcastle Brown Ale – but I urge you to seek out The Amazing Blondel in all its old-world diversity and unique British beauty. Shine on your celestial light indeed. And eh by gum but them were the days...

"A Night At The Opera: 30th Anniversary Collectors Edition" by QUEEN - December 1975 UK LP on EMI Records (November 2005 EMI Records CD+DVD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…You Make Me Live…" 

Too many anniversaries and way too many excuses to reissue a classic yet again - but which is the best version to buy of this iconic Seventies album? I'd argue the '30th Anniversary Collectors Edition' beats all the others on two fronts that should matter - an amazing CD remaster on Disc 1 - and a genuinely fan-pleasing Bonus DVD with heaps of quality extras. Here is the Scaramouche and do the Fandango...

Released November 2005 - "A Night At The Opera: 30th Anniversary Collectors Edition" by QUEEN on EMI 00946 3 38478 2 5 (Barcode 094633845725) is a CD and DVD Reissue/Remaster and breaks down as follows:

Disc 1 (43:08 minutes):

1. Death On Two Legs (Dedicated To...

2. Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon

3. I'm In Love With My Car

4. You're My Best Friend

5. '39

6. Sweet Lady

7. Seaside Rendezvous

8. The Prophet's Song [Side 2]

9. Love Of My Life

10. Good Company

11. Bohemian Rhapsody

12. God Save The Queen

Tracks 1 to 12 are their 4th album "A Night At The Opera" - released December 1975 in the UK on EMI Records EMTC 103 and in the USA on Elektra 7E-1053

DVD, PAL, 4:3 (No Region Coding):

The DVD had months of preparation where the original tapes were microscopically remastered into a 5.1 Surround Mix thereby genuinely giving the best possible remaster. It also features for the first time visuals for every track on the album (the original video for "Bohemian Rhapsody" has been digitally restored) with "Good Company" created especially for this release. The Main menu allows you to select the album in PCM 24-Bit STEREO or 5.1 SURROUND as well as allowing Song Selection. Off the Set Up tag - you also find the option to play each of the twelve tracks and their videos with an Audio Commentary (mostly Brian May). There are even lyrics and subtitles in English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.

KRIS FREDRICKSSON and BOB LUDWIG are the team responsible for the Audio Restoration and Mastering (they also did "A Day The Races" - see separate review) and the Audio is stunning to say the least - probably (as Brian may thinks) - the best teh album will ever sound. 

While many of the original of-the-time videos looks decidedly blurry (despite cleaning it's the way they were lit and shot) - the new videos have allowed the band to put together hundreds of images and memorabilia shots for say "Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon" - it's properly amazing stuff and must have taken forever to do.

The outer 30th Anniversary Plastic Slip Case looks nice at first but is so prone to serious scuffing given any kind of use. The gatefold digipak has BRIAN MAY liner notes on the extensive work put into the reissue and an embossed front sleeve like the original vinyl album did. The beautifully laid-out 20-page booklet keeps it simple - just the lyrics with photos of the band and album artwork interspersed between the words. Both the CD and the DVD have the famous David Costa crest and logo.

Having had the 1994 CD for years - the upgrade in sound here is kind of shocking. The wild guitar and piano intro of "Death On Two Legs" now sounds properly mean - as do the Brian May screaming guitar parts on "I'm In Love With My Car". That keyboard opening on "You're My Best Friend" is punching with the menace of an irate kangaroo while the grungy guitars of "Sweet Lady" flit from speaker to speaker with a vengeance - coming at you in clever Roy Thomas Baker production ways.

But if there was one track on this album that would show sure-fire improvement over previous versions (apart from the obvious "Bohemian Rhapsody") - it was always going to be near nine-minute Side 2 monster "The Prophet's Song". Wow! The vocal gymnastics by Mercury and indeed the whole band now comes at you with astonishing clarity (this must surely have made its way into the grey matter of a young Kate Bush). And then there's 'that' song - "Bohemian Rhapsody". I'm of the age when I remember the video on Top Of The Pops astonishing audiences everywhere across the Christmas of 1975 and into the New Year. It sounds fantastic and I can't hear that amazing guitar break now without thinking about the 'dudes' giving it some head banging in the car.

2015 will see a 40th Anniversary and greed will no doubt dictate yet another uber deluxe reissue - but as Brian May says in this 2005 reissue "I doubt if it can ever be bettered!" He's been there and back on this one...and he would know...

"A Day At The Races" by QUEEN - December 1976 Fifth Studio Album on EMI Records (Island/Queen Productions UK '2011 Digital Remaster' CD + Bonus EP Edition Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...You Take My Breath Away..."

In tiny print on Page 4 of this rather ordinary looking Island Records/Queen Productions '2011 Digital Remaster' Reissue are the unsung heroes of the hour - Audio Restoration by KRIS FREDRICKSSON and Mastering by BOB LUDWIG - meticulously re-created from the original analogue master tapes.

And having heard this densely overdubbed and overpopulated album before on a previous CD incarnation - these claims aren't some marketing ploy or Marx Brothers joke. Only a few moments into the layered-guitars fade-in pomp of "Tie Your Mother Down" and you're in no doubt that its time to 'party down'. The clarity of the piano and vocal in the quieter passages of "The Millionaire Waltz" – that huge guitar solo on "You And I" - the wall of voices on "Somebody To Love" – it’s all magnificent and a world away from our humble Christmas LPs from 1976. Take My Breath Away indeed. Let's get to the Royal silverware right away...

UK released 14 March 2011 (17 May 2011 in the USA) - "A Day At The Races" by QUEEN on Island Records/Queen Productions 276 441 6 (Barcode 602527644165) is a '2011 Digital Remaster' Edition with a Bonus EP. There is also a single-disc version of "A Day In The Races" (minus the EP CD) that comes in a 'Super-Disc' rounded-corner jewel case and is on Island Records/Queen Productions 276 441 7 (Barcode 602527644172).

Disc 1 "A Day The Races" album - 44:29 minutes:

1. Tie Your Mother Down

2. You Take My Breath Away

3. Long Away

4. The Millionaire Waltz

5. You And I

6. Somebody To Love [Side 2]

7. White Man

8. Gold Old-Fashioned Lover Boy

9. Drowse

10. Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)

Tracks 1 to 10 are their 5th studio album "A Day At The Races" - released December 1976 in the UK on EMI Records EMTC 104 and January 1977 in the USA on Elektra 6E-101. Played, Arranged and Produced by QUEEN (Engineered by MIKE STONE) - it peaked at No. 1 in the UK and No. 5 in the USA on the album charts.

Disc 2 "Bonus EP" - 22:33 minutes:

1. Tie Your Mother Down (Backing Track Mix 2011)

2. Somebody To Love (Live At Milton Keynes Bowl, June 1982)

3. You Take My Breath Away (Live In Hyde Park, September 1976)

4. Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy (Top Of The Pops, July 1977) (Mono)

5. Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together) (HD Mix)

It seems odd to me after all the obvious aural diligence spent on this reissue that someone at Island couldn't have come up with packaging that reflected the beauty of the original gatefold LP. Both "A Night At The Opera" and "A Day At The Races" famously reeked of visual opulence - embossed Queen Logo artwork – a lavish gatefold sleeve and inner - they 'felt' like an event as well as sounded like one. The square double jewel case and the 12-page booklet do the job for sure - but even though the lyrics are there - the four band member photos, some extra live shots and new liner notes on the Bonus EP (but not the album?) - it all feels dreadfully ordinary for a No. 1 record ("A Night At The Opera" had achieved the same rare chart status in December 1975). And frankly why have two editions when you could have had one with the EP added onto CD1 as extras tracks (there’s room)?

Recorded between July and November 1976 – the layering and scope of these songs is (even now) huge and yet still uniquely 'Queen'. You have to marvel at Brian May's distinctive guitar sound and his sixpence plectrums – those flourishes on the decidedly strange "White Man" – and then leaping from that to the acoustic simplicity of "Long Away" – a song I return to much more than all the others. Those swirling guitars that open Roger Taylor's "Drowse" sound just like its title - and again brilliant clarity as May's slide-guitar flourishes give a nod to Pink Floyd’s Dave Gilmour on "Wish You Were Here" from the year prior. The near six-minutes of the finale song "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" allow Freddie Mercury space to show off his extraordinary vocal range as Brian plays Harmonium Piano. I’d forgotten how pretty the melody is – and that anthemic vocal passage before the Quadrophenia musical ending is pure Queen.

Bonus Tracks are often crap that should have stayed in the can – but the Bonus EP turns out to be actually worth of the moniker Bonus. It is truly bizarre to hear "Tie Your Mother Down" as an instrumental with partial vocals (Freddie’s lead is removed) – but it actually works and comes as a genuinely clever addition to the album’s canon. Widely regarded as their best performance of the vocal marathon that is "Somebody To Love" – the Milton Keynes performance makes up in sheer passion for what it lacks in fidelity (are you ready). Freddie previews the gorgeous “You Take My Breath Away” a full two months before the album’s release somehow getting the exited audience to ‘listen to this one’ – his vocal and piano mesmerizing – reminding you of his power as a live performer. It’s special stuff. The Mono Top Of The Pops cut of "Good old Fashioned Lover Boy" is the worst sounding track on here – but with different May guitar work – extra vocals from Roger and Freddie – it’s a collector’s nugget. First included on the Japan-Only "Jewels II" Box Set in 2005 – the High Definition Digital Mix of "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" sounds spectacular for sure – but then so does the 2011 – both feeling like veils lifted in terms of audio.

Aside from my reservations about the presentation – this is a balls-to-the-wall triumph in the area that matters most – the sound. And thankfully that Bonus EP actually lives up to its name. Find a version to love – this is the one...

"Street-Legal" by BOB DYLAN - 1976 Studio Album on Columbia Records USA and CBS Records UK (September 2003 and March 2004 UK Sony CD Reissue with Greg Calbi Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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1976

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"...True Love Tends To Forget..."

You never can pin Bob Dylan down. Take the artwork for 1978's "Street- Legal" (itself apparently a phrase for a modified hoodlum’s car or a dodgy hot rod). He stands there all elusive-like outside the entrance to the makeshift Rundown Studios (as he called it) – looking to his left down a street from the safety of some steps and a layback. Dylan looks cool – alluding to something – seeing the bigger picture we mere fan-schmucks cannot see. He is after all the spokesperson for a generation – and a renewed one too since 1975 and the magisterial "Blood On The Tracks" LP that took the whole world by storm.

But then you turn over the cover to read the credits on the rear sleeve – and you’re presented with something truly garish and staggeringly unflattering – Dylan in what appears to be a white clown's outfit with mascara running down his face looking like he’s auditioning as an extra for the Alice Cooper Travelling Horror Show. It's a really crappy and unbecoming photo that no other artist would have let pass. But this is Bob Dylan - cool one moment - a putz and a let-down the next - a legend within a mystery within an enigma (and that's just the left leg)...

And in some ways that 'who gives a crap' attitude permeates everything about this much anticipated and yet (at the time) much derided LP. As one insider put it - "Street-Legal" was recorded in a week, mixed the week after and released regardless the week after that. The inference was of course that the new record was a rushed half-assed effort. And in some ways – recording-wise anyway – it is. His band entourage were supposed to be using Rundown Studios (in Santa Monica, California) as a rehearsal space for the Japanese Tour – so the material was recorded in a haphazard ad-hoc way (missed cues, vocals panning in and out etc) with the perceived idea that they’d return to the songs and the sessions and record them properly somewhere else. But Dylan liked what he had – describing it as "the closest to where I am" – and released the unwieldy poorly-recorded beast anyway (all 50 cramped-on-vinyl minutes of it).

The backlash also came from waiting. After the career highs of "Blood On The Tracks" in 1975 and "Desire" in 1976 and the filler live album "Hard Rain" in late 1976 – by June 1978 anticipation for more studio goodies was at fever pitch. As I recall the public liked/disliked "Street Legal" in equal measure - but critics were less kind – especially the famous Greil Marcus review which once again dragged out the 'crap' word whilst throwing in 'fake' and 'sexist' too for good measure (lyrics in "New Pony" stood accused). Dylan reacted angrily saying that even if the Production values weren't exactly Steely Dan – the music was good and his lyrics had meaning and were not just convenient quotes taken from the rhyming-couplets dictionary sat alongside his Woody Guthrie songbook and recent divorce papers in whatever place the Rambler called home.

Which brings us to this re-constructed Stereo CD Remaster from 2003 – carried out by the mighty GREG CALBI – a name synonymous with transfer greatness for me. Given what they had to work with and knowing how bad my initial 1980s CBS CD sounded – the transformation here is amazing and I for one feel should lead to a reappraisal of this slice of lyrical haphazard Bobness. Here is the changing of the guards...

UK re-released March 2004 – "Street-Legal" by BOB DYLAN on Sony /Columbia 512355 2 (Barcode 5099751235521) is a straightforward CD Remaster of his 1978 9-Track LP. 

It was initially reissued September 2003 as a CD/SACD Hybrid Dual Format release in a gatefold card digipak (Columbia 512335 6 – Barcode 5099751235569) but that quickly deleted and replaced with a standard jewel case issue. The 2003 Remaster has been used on this Reissue (repressed in 2009 and 2016). It plays out as follows (50:26 minutes):

1. Changing Of The Guards

2. New Pony

3. No Time To Think

4. Baby Stop Crying

5. Is Your Love In Vain?

6. Senor (Tales Of Yankee Power)

7. True Love Tends To Forget

8. We Better Talk This Over

9. Where Are You Tonight? (Journey Through Dark Heat)

Tracks 1 to 9 are the album "Street-Legal" - released July 1978 in the USA on Columbia JC 35453 and June 1978 in the UK on CBS Records CBS 86067. Produced by DON DeVITO - it peaked at No. 11 in the USA and No. 2 in the UK.

You'd have to say that the gatefold slip of paper that laughably calls itself an insert is a huge disappointment - especially on a reissued Remaster. As the original had no lyrics, this was a perfect opportunity to finally provide them - words being a tad important when it comes to Bob Dylan. But at least we get that stunning GREG CALBI Remaster - a man whose had his mitts on McCartney's "Band On The Run", Paul Simon's "Graceland", Supertramp's "Crime Of The Century" and "Breakfast In America" and even John Mayer's Remastered catalogue. Calbi has turned a pig's ear into something prettier than a sow's rump...a job well done it has to be said.

A quick glance at the original LP playing time for the Side 1 opener "Changing Of The Guards" shows a 6:34 minute duration – but the 2003 remaster and remix has the ‘endless road’ song extended to 7:04 minutes - suddenly packing a live-in-the-studio Band punch it never had. Now you can actually hear David Manfield’s Mandolin and the three ladies crooning after every line – Carolyn Dennis, Joanne Harris and Helena Springs on backing vocals. And the guitar on "New Pony" is now more menacing and in your face as are the drums (its also increased from 4:28 to 4:39 minutes - how much longer indeed).

I always thought "No Time To Think" had a great hook (as you slowly sink) - the clever rhymes come fast and furious and that rolling piano is now more to the fore in the mix even if it is overly long at 8:20 minutes. Side 1 ends with the first single "Baby Stop Crying". Released July 1978 on CBS Records S CBS 6499 and unlike most BD 45s "Baby Stop Crying" actually charted - peaking at No. 13 and enjoying an 11-week run and the wild luxury in 1978 of a 12" single issue in a picture sleeve (not sure why). With the guitar chug of "New Pony" as the flipside on all formats - it was an excellent double-header.

Side 2 opens with the cheery "Senor (Tales Of Yankee Power)" as Bob asks "...can you tell me where we're heading...Lincoln County Road or Armageddon..." and at 5:42 minutes it remains the same but the clarity of that strummed acoustic guitar and the sax solo is better than before. "Is Your Love In Vain?" was the second single lifted from the LP in Blighty (CBS Records S CBS 6718 in September 1978 with "We Better Talk This Over" on the B-side) and its whiny theme made an impression at the time even if it did feel like some dismissive 60ts outtake ("...alright...I'll fall in love with you..."). But my fave-rave on the album is "True Love Tends To Forget" which feels like a great Bob Dylan song complete with actual emotion and not just snide observation.

The musical arrangement of "We Better Talk This Over" signals what is to come with "Slow Train Coming" and its lyrics are so emotion-confessional they can at times become uncomfortable. Speaking of which - were the lyrics "...if you don't believe there's a Christ...and sweet Paradise...just remind to show you the stars..." in the album's final cut "Where Are You Tonight (Journey Through Dark Heat)" about his lost 10-year marriage or leaning into the religious trio of albums that began with "Slow Train Coming" in August 1979 - probably both. And that "Like A Rolling Stone" organ sound – wow - a good end to a really good album.

Not as heart-wrenching as "Blood On The Tracks" or as lyrically hard-hitting as "Desire" - nonetheless 1978's "Street-Legal" is a winner on re-listen – it’s an all-good Bob Dylan album when such things were something you hoped for in the later decades but rarely got. "Street Legal" deserves another go-round and this superb 2003 Remaster has finally given the LP the aural oomph it always needed.

"...Missing her so much..." - Bob Dylan sang on "Where Are You Tonight..." - I felt the same re-playing this street hoodlum of a record...

"Leftoverture" by KANSAS - October 1976 USA Album on Kirshner Records - December 1976 on Epic Records in the UK (June 2001 UK Epic/Legacy 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue - Darcy Proper and Suha Gur Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...More Than I Can Measure..."

Prog Rock - and American Prog Rock at that - wasn't supposed to have the words 'monster chart hit' written anywhere on its dense playlist. And yet after three 'crawling-up-the-lower-200' albums and many years of touring slog - Topeka's KANSAS finally broke through in 1976 with a bona-fide radio-friendly bruiser "Carry On Wayward Son" – a very Boston-sounding complex rocker that's played today - 41 years after the event.

Signed stateside to Kirshner Records - their self-titled debut "Kansas" troubled the US charts in June 1974 at No. 174 while March 1975's "Song For America" did better at No. 57 - but December 1975's "Masque" dipped back down to No. 70. It was time for a do-or-die change - and with Guitarist and Principal songwriter Steve Walsh suffering from writer's block - up stepped KERRY LIVGREN who penned five of Leftoverture's songs and co-wrote the other three. And it worked. The hit single made a hit album (both doing a storm of business) which meant that their next and even better platter "Point Of Know Return" went one higher to No. 4 in October 1977 - impressive statistics for an American Prog Rock band in the late Seventies.

Which brings us to this fab-sounded CD remaster on Sony’s Legacy imprint. Let's "Carry On Wayward Son" to the Magnum Opus details...

UK released June 2001 (May 2001 in the USA) - "Leftoverture" by KANSAS on Epic/Legacy 502479 2 (Barcode 5099750247921) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster of their 4th studio album plus Two Previously Unreleased Bonus Tracks and plays out as follows (55:21 minutes):

1. Carry On Wayward Son
2. The Wall
3. What's On My Mind
4. Miracles Out Of Nowhere
5. Opus Insert [Side 2]
6. Questions Of My Childhood
7. Cheyenne Anthem
8. Magnum Opus
(a) Father Padilla Meets The Perfect Gnat
(b) Howling At The Moon
(c) Man Overboard
(d) Industry On Parade
(e) Release The Beavers
(f) Gnat Attack
Tracks 1 to 8 are their 4th studio album "Leftoverture" - released October 1976 in the USA on Kirshner JZ 34224 and December 1976 in the UK on Epic S EPC 82718 (reissued February 1977 on Kirshner S KIR 82718). Produced by JEFF GLIXMAN - the LP peaked at No. 5 on the US Rock charts (didn't chart in the UK).

BONUS TRACKS (Previously Unreleased):
9. Carry On Wayward Son (Live, 1977 at Pine Knob in Wisconsin)
10. Cheyenne Anthem (Live, December 1977 at The Palladium in New York)

KANSAS was:
BOBBY STEINHARDT – Lead and Backing Vocals, Violin and Viola
STEVE WALSH – Lead and Background Vocals, Organ, Piano, Vibes and Synths
KERRY LIVGREN – Lead Guitar, Piano, Moog, Clavinet, Oberheim and ARP Synth
RICH WILLIAMS – Lead Guitar and Acoustic Guitar
DAVE HOPE – Bass
PHIL EHART – Drums and Percussion

The 10-sided foldout inlay has excellent and informative liner notes from DAVID WILD (Contributing Editor to Rolling Stone) – lyrics to all the songs – a live snap of the boys in full-on serious-musician mode and the six portrait photos of the band that came with original Kirshner LPs (facsimile artwork front and rear too). But all that is small beer to the gorgeous sound...

There’s a 'Producer's Note' from Jeff Glixman about the transfers and Remaster. He advises that the original vinyl format left audio compromises with an album running to nearly forty-five minutes - no such problem with the freshened-up CD. Done by DARCY PROPER and SUHA GUR from original master tapes - the Audio is a huge improvement - the synth-and-piano-bop of "Questions Of My Childhood" now leaps out of your speakers - those violin moments and girly chorus on "Cheyenne Anthem" - it's all so good. But it's a damn shame someone didn't think to include the obvious 7" single edit of "Carry On Wayward Son" - at 3:26 minutes - there was plenty of room. Still there is that 'live' version from the period that’s new...

When the voices sing "...don’t you cry no more..." as "Carry On Wayward Son" slithers in – you’re in no doubt about the clarity of the Remaster. At 5:25 minutes as opposed to 3:26 minutes - I can never make up my mind whether or not I prefer the full album version to the zippy 7” single edit (it rose to No. 11 on the US singles chart in February 1977 but would have to wait for a reissue in the UK in May 1978 on Kirshner S KIR 4932 to chart at a lowly 51). And I guess you would have to argue that songs like "Frankenstein" by the Edgar Winter Group (from way back in 1973 – another band on Epic) and more recently "More Than A Feeling" and "Long Time" by BOSTON – had smashed down the Prog Rock door for Kansas. The people were ready for dense guitar Rock. And don’t you just love those funky guitar breaks towards the end – brilliant.

Livgren wants to break down the dark barrier in relationships that is "The Wall" - while Kansas try for another guitar-hit with the catchy "What's On My Mind". That acoustic beginning to the 'dew drops' of "Miracles Out Of Nowhere" is very clear as are those synth-flourishes from Walsh. Side 2 is dominated by the near nine-minute "Magnum Opus" which looms in ominously before going into full-on Genesis - sounding at time like those big moments in "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway". As the guitar then grunges before softly segueing into piano plinkers - you're reminded of the musicality of Rush. "...Music is all for you..." he sings during the "Howling At The Moon" portion before they go all Gentle Giant on yer ass...

In truth the music of Kansas will not be for everyone in 2017 - but loyal fans will devour the transfer here and newcomers will see where modern day Prog acts got their inspiration/information from... Onwards my wayward sons to the "Point Of Know Return"...