"Muswell Hillbillies: Legacy Edition" by THE KINKS (2014 RCA/Legacy 1CD+1DVD Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 500 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

CLASSIC 1970s ROCK On CD - Exception Remasters  

Just Click Below To Purchase for £3.95

Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 
(No Cut and Paste Crap)

"...Life Is Complicated..."

It seems strange now with the hindsight of 46 years distance that 1971's hugely articulate "Muswell Hillbillies" by THE KINKS was such a commercial dog. Their newest platter and first with RCA Records was released November 1971 on both sides of the pond - but barely managed a No. 100 placing in the US LP charts with a big fat zilch in the UK.

But then again 1970's "Lola Versus Powerman..." and 1971's Soundtrack to "Percy" (both on Pye) hadn’t bothered British LP charts either. In fact - excepting obvious crowd-pleasing hit singles between the LPs like "Lola" and "Apeman" and despite the musical-excellence of what Raymond Douglas Davies & Co. was collectively producing - the public seemed utterly indifferent – especially in their native Blighty. I can recall this album being in bargain bins for decades. Commercially this most British of bands were adrift in arguably their most creative period...

And that's where this rather excellent 2014 'Legacy Edition' 2-Disc reissue of "Muswell Hillbillies" comes in - determined to get us all to see the error of our fatuous ways. Armed with nine Bonus Tracks and a new DVD of period recordings on Disc 2 (all restored) - here are the cups of tea and pints of beer in the Archway Tavern...

UK released 19 December 2014 (10 November 2014 in the USA) - "Muswell Hillbillies: Legacy Edition" by THE KINKS on RCA/Legacy 88843093772 (Barcode 888430937727) is a 2-Disc Reissue and Remaster [1CD + 1DVD] that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 CD "Muswell Hillbillies - The Original Album" (72:30 minutes):

1. 20th Century Man [Side 1]

2. Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues

3. Holiday

4. Skin And Bone

5. Alcohol

6. Complicated Life

7. Here Come The People In Grey [Side 2]

8. Have A Cuppa Tea

9. Holloway Jail

10. Oklahoma U.S.A.

11. Uncle Son

12. Muswell Hillbilly

Tracks 1 to 12 are their 11th album "Muswell Hillbillies" - released 24 November 1971 in the UK on RCA Victor Records SF 8243 and in the USA on RCA Victor LSP 4644. Produced by Ray Davies - it peaked at No. 100 on the US LP charts - didn't chart in the UK.

BONUS TRACKS:

13. Lavender Lane

14. Mountain Woman

15. Have A Cuppa Tea (Alternate Version)

16. Uncle Son (Alternate Version)

17. Kentucky Moon

18. Nobody's Fool (Demo)

19. 20th Century Man (Alternate Instrumental Take)

20. Queenie (Backing Track)

21. Muswell Hillbillies Radio Spot

THE KINKS were:

RAY DAVIES - Vocals, Guitars and Keyboards

DAVE DAVIES - Vocals and Guitar

JOHN GOSLING - Keyboards and Accordion

JOHN DALTON - Bass

MICK AVARY - Drums

Guests:

Vicki Brown - Backing Vocals on "Skin And Bone" and "Holloway Jail"

Ken Jones - Harmonica on "Here Come The People In Grey"

Mike Cotton Sound [Mike Cotton, Trumpet - Alan Holmes, Clarinet - John Beecham, Trombone and Tuba] – play on the LP cuts "Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues" and "Alcohol" and on "Lavender Lane" in the Bonus Tracks

Disc 2, DVD (NTSC, Region 0):

THE OLD GREY WHISTLE TEST - BBC TV 4 January 1972

1. Have A Cuppa Tea

2. Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues

THE KINKS AT THE RAINBOW - BBC TV 21 July 1972

3. Till The End Of The Day

4. Waterloo Sunset

5. The Money-Go-Round

6. Sunny Afternoon

7. The Virgin Soldier March

8. She Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina

9. Alcohol

10. Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues

11. You Really Got Me

What the track list on the rear cover of this Legacy 2-Disc issue doesn't advise is that there's more footage on the DVD in-between tracks than is listed above. "The Virgin Soldier March" section includes the whole of the (rather rough) opening credits to the 1969 John Dexter movie "The Virgin Soldiers" starring Lynn Redgrave, Hywel Bennett, Nigel Davenport, Nigel Patrick and an uncredited David Bowie as a soldier (Wayne Sleep is credited). It features Ray's music playing throughout with the Mike Cotton Sound being the brass band accompanying him. There is also a short interview with Carl Foreman (clearly a fan of Ray Davies and his articulate writing) discussing how Ray's incendiary British lyrics were re-written/softened by the American studios so as not to offend or illicit riots in Washington (marches that didn’t materialise). There is also interviews with the clearly bemused/amused owner of the grimy Archway Tavern Pub in North London and patrons supping pints being asked how they feel now that they've been immortalised on the gatefold album cover (cue more laughter). The Mike Cotton Sound brass ensemble are also introduced by Davies to the live audience at The Rainbow and play with The Kinks on three tracks -  "She Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina", "Alcohol" and "Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues".

The three-way foldout digipak offers a new period photo on the left flap with tape boxes pictured beneath each CD and its see-through tray. The 28-page colour booklet is a pleasingly well-endowed affair - pictures of Ray alongside black and whites/colours of the decidedly longhaired five-piece band. The booklet's front and back cover reproduce that photo where the 'Cats On Holiday' shop is all but obliterated by aluminium sheeting. The four-leaf foldout display of centre pages shows foreign picture sleeves for "20th Century Man" (Japan) and sheet music to "Supersonic Rocket Ship" as well as trade adverts and reviews - it even has a 26 June 1972 ticket stub for the Free Trade Hall in Manchester with Steve Goodman as the support act. IRA ROBBINS of New York provides the very entertaining and well-written liner notes - examining the album's themes of Her Majesty's Government interference in normal people's lives - inner city alienation - people in red coming to take him away - all of this working-class British angst wrapped up in American imagery of Shirley Jones, Errol Flynn and Doris Day.

ANDREW SANDOVAL - who handled all of the Universal 'Deluxe Editions' for The Kinks Pye years - is the Project co-ordinator once again. But the big news is a new Remaster - the first generation tapes transferred by RICHARD WHITTAKER at FX Mastering in London and the Remastering carried out by the vastly experienced VIC ANESINI at Battery Studios in New York. Anesini is a name I actively seek out - he's sprinkled his knob-twiddling fairy dust magic on the catalogues of Elvis Presley, Simon & Garfunkel, The Byrds, Nilsson, Santana, The Jayhawks, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Mountain, Carole King and many more. This album was always a muddy mess to me - compounded by that 'Flexi' vinyl crap RCA engaged in at the beginning of the decade. There are hissy moments still on this remastered CD (the acoustic beginning of "Holiday" is just one of them) - but those slide guitars on "Holloway Jail" and the barroom piano on "Have A Cuppa Tea" now have more oomph for damn sure. That drum and guitar intro to "Skin And Bone" has fantastic punch all of a sudden - and there are other moments too. A good job done that's allowed the LP to breathe anew...

As Ray sings "...I was born in a welfare state...ruled by bureaucracy...controlled by civil servants...and people dressed in grey..." on the brilliant opener "20th Century Man" - you gather our Douglas is concerned once again for England's no-longer green and pleasant land and especially its increasingly homogenised and divided populace. Many critics commented on the depth of the song themes and lyrics (there's a lot of them) and their social commentary and insight – but it didn't seem to move the buying public in the same way. Just after the albums release - RCA put the song "20th Century Man" out as a US 45 in December 1971 (RCA Victor 74-0620) with the equally hard-hitting social consciousness of "Skin And Bone" on the B-side. But despite the lyrical/musical strengths of both sides - there were few takers. RCA Britain didn't even bother to support the album with a 7" single - their first UK 45 on RCA Victor being the new "Supersonic Rocket Ship" in May 1972 – which in itself acted as an advance promotion for the "Everybody's In Show Biz" double in August.

The hippy dream is dead and nailed to the wall in the brilliant "Alcohol" where some floozy has fleeced a heartbroken sucker. And The Kinks begin to sound awfully like Lindisfarne's "Fog On The Tyne" and Fotheringay's "Peace In The End" on "Complicated Life" (the accordion and guitars are so much clearer now). You also notice how well Davies has integrated the Mike Cotton Sound brass ensemble into the witty "Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues" and the slide-guitar sneak of "Holloway Jail". I never was a fan of the 'Hallelujah Rosie Lea' cod nostalgia of "Have A Cuppa Tea" (a big nod goes out to Typhoo) - but I'm loving the slide acoustic guitars of "Uncle Son" where The Kinks sound like Ronnie Lane's Slim Chance three years before the event. Recorded 17 October 1971 at Morgan Studios in Willesden, London - the album finisher and title track "Muswell Hillbillies" could easily be one of those Rolling Stones Country-Rock jaunts they throw so effectively into the Blues-Rock mix of their albums ("Let It Bleed" and "Sticky Fingers" jump to mind).

And as ridiculously good outtakes - you'd have to call "Lavender Lane" (a sort of acoustic "Waterloo Sunset"), "Mountain Woman" and the superb piano pain of "Kentucky Moon" - more evidence of the album's greatness (even the rejects were hitting the mark). The 50-second Radio Spot advert tells of "Album of The Year" from many American publications - but the public itself thought otherwise. It's also nice to see the Old Grey Whistle Test and Rainbow footage so clean - and dig those credits to "The Virgin Soldiers" movie from 1969 with Raymond Douglas Davies credited for the music (his full name used).

I'd admit that the hiss levels on some tracks are disappointing - but as I re-listen to this excellent remaster - I'm digging it more and more and my admiration for the LP has gone through the roof. Fans apparently magic-markered their song requests onto paper plates at gigs - flinging them stage-ward as the Band played. Flick your schizophrenic paper plates this way and hope for a reply...

"Watch" by SEATRAIN (January 2017 Beat Goes On CD Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 240 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT 1971... - Exceptional CD Remasters  
Over 1530 E-Pages 

Just Click Below To Purchase for £3.95

Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 
(No Cut and Paste Crap)

This Review Along With 500 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

CLASSIC 1970s ROCK On CD - Exception Remasters  

Just Click Below To Purchase for £3.95

Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 
(No Cut and Paste Crap)

"...Bloodshot Eyes..."

Marin County's SEATRAIN made little impact in the UK and "Watch" - their 4th studio album and first/last for Warner Brothers in 1973 - ploughs a poor man's path between substandard America and England Dan and John Ford Coley. It's a strictly 3-star album – but it has at last been given a proper 5-star audio reissue by England's Beat Goes On. Here are the Californian details...

UK released 27 January 2017 - "Watch" by SEATRAIN on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1262 (Barcode 5017261212627) is a straightforward CD Reissue of their 1973 9-track album on Warner Brothers Records that plays out as follows (39:56 minutes):

1. Pack Of Fools [Side 1]

2. Freedom Is The Reason

3. Bloodshot Eyes

4. We Are Children Too

5. Abbeville Fair

6. North Coast [Side 2]

7. Scratch

8. Watching The River Flow

9. Flute Thing

Tracks 1 to 9 are their 4th studio album "Watch" - released March 1973 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2692 and Warner Brothers K 46222 in the UK. Engineered by Jay Messina and Produced by Buell Neidlinger - it failed to chart in either country.

SEATRAIN was:

ANDY KULBERG - Bass, Flute and Lead Vocals

PETER WALSH - Guitar, Bass and Vocals

LLOYD BASKIN - Keyboards, Clavinet and Vocals

BILL ELLIOTT - Keyboards, Accordion and ARP Synth

JULIO CORONADO - Drums

JIM ROBERTS - Lyrics, Vibes, Ideas

Guests:

Sha Na Na - Party Vocals on "North Coast"

Sandra Lee - Duet Vocals on "Freedom Is The Reason"

Bob Stuart on Tuba and Bill Keith on Banjo - "Bloodshot Eyes"

The outer card slipcase is classy looking and the 16-page booklet affords lyrics, full musician credits and a new essay on the band's history by noted writer JOHN O'REGAN. He talks of their 2nd and 3rd albums on Capitol Records being produced by none other than George Martin of Beatles fame. But the big news for fans of this album (long since absent from any decent reissue) is stunning new audio care of a High Definition transfer from real tapes by BGO's resident Audio Engineer ANDREW THOMPSON. This CD sounds amazing and for lovers of the album will be a must buy.

I wish I could say the same about the music. Of all the first four Seatrain albums that cluttered up bargain bins for decades - this non-charter was the most common and it’s painfully obvious why. Setting aside two wildly useless cover versions acting as filler on Side 2 - Bob Dylan's "Watching The River Flow" and Al Kooper's "Flute Thing" instrumental from his days with The Blues Project - the other seven band originals (lyrics by Jim Roberts) are insipid sub Americana tunes without the melodies to keep you interested.

A genuine moment of Soulful Rock though comes in the form of the Kulberg/Roberts composition "Freedom Is The Reason" - but cheese like "We Are Your Children Too" and the cod Vaudeville of "Bloodshot Eyes" are hard to take. Lovers of funky instrumentals by Rock acts with a Soulful tip in them – will dig the hippy Flute and Bongo vibe of "Flute Thing" too - a track that was featured on the Rhino 4CD Box Set for Funky Rare Grooves from the WEA Archives called "What It Is!" in 2006.

This is a beautiful sounding CD for sure - one in a long line from England's Beat Goes On. I just wish I could say the music was worth it. Still - fans of the album and Seatrain in general will absolutely need to own this...

"Ram: Special Edition - Paul McCartney Archive Collection" by PAUL and LINDA McCARTNEY (2012 MPL Communications/Hear Music/Concord Music Group 2CD Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 500 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

CLASSIC 1970s ROCK On CD - Exception Remasters  

Just Click Below To Purchase for £3.95

Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 
(No Cut and Paste Crap)

"...Hands Across The Water..." 

Part of the on-going 'Paul McCartney Archive Collection' of CD Reissues - 1971's "Ram" was always going to be a tug on the old purse strings for Macca fans. And while I can't and won't buy any of the extortionate 'Super Deluxe' sets - I can live with this 2CD 'Deluxe Edition' because it gives me all I need. Here are the sheepish details...

UK released 21 May 2012 - "Ram: Special Edition - Paul McCartney Archive Collection" by PAUL and LINDA McCARTNEY on MPL Communications/Hear Music/Concord Music Group 888072334496 (Barcode 888072334496) is a 2CD Reissue and Remaster that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 - Special Edition Remastered Album (43:17 minutes):

1. Too Many People [Side 1]

2. 3 Legs

3. Ram On

4. Dear Boy

5. Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey

6. Smile Away

7. Heart Of The Country [Side 2]

8. Monkberry Moon Delight

9. Eat At Home

10. Long Haired Lady

11. Ram On

12. The Back Seat Of My Car

Tracks 1 to 12 are his second solo album "Ram" (credited to Paul and Linda McCartney) - released 21 May 1971 in the UK on Apple PAS 10003 and 17 May 1971 in the USA on Capitol SMAS-3375.  Produced by Paul McCartney - it peaked at No. 1 in the UK and No. 2 on the US LP charts.

Disc 2 - Special Edition Bonus Audio (33:08 minutes):

1. Another Day

2. Oh Woman, Oh Why

Tracks 1 and 2 are his debut UK 7" single released February 1971 on Apple R 5889 - both Tracks were non-album

3. Little Woman Love

Track 3 is the non-album B-side to "Mary Had A Little Lamb" - his 4th solo UK 7" single on Apple R 5949 released 12 May 1972

4. A Love For You (Jon Kelly Mix)

5. Hey Diddle (Dixon Van Winkle Mix)

6. Great Cock And Seagull Race (Dixon Van Winkle Mix)

7. Rode All Night

8. Sunshine Sometime (Earliest Mix)

Tracks 1 to 3 were featured as Bonus Tracks on the September 1998 Remasters

Track 5 featured as part of a song "Bip Bop/Hey Diddle" on the 2001 Greatest Hits 2CD set "Wingspan"

Tracks 6 and 8 are Instrumentals - Track 7 is 8:33 minutes long

Tracks 4 to 8 are Previously Unreleased Versions

Both as a looker and tactile thing - "Ram: Special Edition" certainly looks the part - but once you get past the lyrics in the attached 24-page booklet and the nice photos from his own personal archives - there's nothing else - no liner notes - not even the release dates of the LP or the 7" single on the Bonus Audio CD. There are no liner notes of any kind - no history and no illumination. And apart from the three single sides on Disc 2 (which we've had before many times on Remasters) - the rest are dismissible instrumentals that test the word 'Bonus' to its limits. Sure the Jon Kelly Mix of "A Love For You" and the Dixon Van Winkle Mix of "Hey Diddle" could actually constitute songs and even feel lovely at times in a small time way – but mostly this stuff just feels like he's taking the proper Michael. The near nine-minute guitar jam that is “Rode All Night” is particularly useless.

The Remaster was done at Abbey Road by the team that handled The Beatles - GUY MASSEY, STEVE ROOKE and SIMON GIBSON - and it's excellent. I've had the 1998 version for years and those idea changes in "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" feel more alive than ever before.

I've never understood why people rave about "Ram" as an album - as if it was some kind of folksy masterpiece – it isn't. "Too Many People" and "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" have that songwriting magic for sure - but the rest of Side 1 feels like ditties trying to be songs. Also I'm hard-pressed in my later years to put up with his lyrical twaddle like "...a dog is here...a dog is there...my dog has three legs...". There's the shadow of The Beach Boys "Pet Sounds" in the Ukulele-led "Ram On" - the remaster making those chunky keyboard notes and plucked strings count. The swirl of the voices in "Dear Boy" come out of your speakers from all angles - while the unlikely but beautifully produced American single "Uncle Albert/Albert Halsey" and the out-and-out rocker "Smile Away" end Side 1 with rain, strings and Paul singing about smelly feet (we're so sorry). The cleverly constructed "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" is the nearest he gets to the best parts of "Abbey Road" on Side 2 and was a deserved American No. 1.

"...I look high...I look low...looking for a home in the heart of the country..." he sings on the Side 2 opener "Heart Of The Country" - those acoustic guitar flourishes and accompanied vocals as he plays are extremely clear - sounding better than they ever have. I can't really get on with the ketchup and soup puree lyrics of "Monkberry Moon Delight" - even if Linda's vocals are better. "Eat At Home" is a sort of semi rocker about eating in bed while the domestic bliss continues with "Long Haired Lady" - a song that just seems to amble and go nowhere - even with its best-ever sound quality here. "Back Seat Of My Car" would become his second UK 7" single on Apple R 5914 in August 1971 - a really pretty melody with string arrangements that deserved better than its No. 39 placing on the British single charts. "Another Day" and "Oh Woman, Oh Why" make for a cool stand alone single too.

The remaster is superb - but that half-hearted packaging and equally dodgy set of extras - lose a star in my book. He would of course go onto the huge "Band On The Run" in 1973 and "Venus And Mars" in 1975...

"Brothers And Sisters: Deluxe Edition" by THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND (July 2013 '40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition' 2CD Reissue – Seth Foster Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 300+ Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

CLASSIC ROCK & POP 1970 to 1974 - Exceptional CD Remasters  

Just Click Below To Purchase for £3.95

Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 
(No Cut and Paste Crap)

"…The Band Is Jumping And So Am I…"

The Allman Brothers Band fifth album was an American No. 1 - so a decent aural brush-up of 1973's "Brothers And Sisters" has long been on the cards. And you have to say that Universal's 40th Anniversary celebration does that huge fan favourite a proper solid. 

Typically (and just like buses) this 2013 sonic overhaul comes at cash-strapped music lovers in three forms - a 2CD Deluxe Edition (reviewed) - a 4-Disc Super Deluxe Edition and even a good old Vinyl reissue. Here are the details for the Rambln' Southbound Man...

UK released July 2013 - "Brothers And Sisters: Deluxe Edition" by THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND on Mercury/Universal 3728804 (Barcode 602537288045) is a 2CD '40th Anniversary' Reissue and Remaster that breaks down as follows:

Disc 1 (38:23 minutes):

1. Wasted Words [Side 1]

2. Ramblin' Man

3. Come And Go Blues

4. Jelly Jelly

5. Southbound [Side 2]

6. Jessica

7. Pony Boy

Tracks 1 to 7 are their 5th album "Brothers And Sisters" - released August 1973 in the USA on Capricorn CP 0111 and September 1973 in the UK on Capricorn 2429 102 (reissued shortly after onto Capricorn K 47507).

Disc 2 - REHEARSALS, JAMS and OUTTAKES (66:16 minutes):

1. Wasted Words (3 Dec 1972 Rehearsal) 5:06 minutes

2. Trouble No More (Oct/Nov 1972 Rehearsal - Muddy Waters cover) 3:58 minutes

3. Southbound (Instrumental Outtake, Recorded 8 Nov 1972) 5:56 minutes

4. One Way Out (Rehearsal) 5:38 minutes

5. I'm Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of The Town (Rehearsal) 11:14 minutes

6. Done Somebody Wrong (3 Dec 1972 Rehearsal) 3:50 minutes

7. Double Cross (Outtake - Recorded 13 May 1973) 4:36 minutes

8. Early Morning Blues (Outtake - Recorded 27 May 1973) 9:27 minutes

9. A Minor Jam (Studio Jam - Recorded 8 March 1973) 16:30 minutes

Tracks 1 to 9 are all PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Note: There is also a 4CD American SUPER DELUXE EDITION of "Brothers And Sisters" on Mercury/Universal B0018079-02 (Barcode 602537288076) that offers 2 further 2CDs (10 tracks on Disc 3 and 7 on Disc 4). Both feature a Previously Unreleased Concert - "Live At Winterland, 26 September 1973". This has unfortunately garnished something of a price tag since its release...

The 3-way foldout card digipak has one of those ugly stick-on DE bandanas unceremoniously taped onto the bottom of the outer digipak instead of the outer title plastic slipcase of old. Those slipcases were/are awkward to get the discs out of - but I actually kind of miss them now. Once opened the inside has a live photo of the band spread across all three flaps (under both see-through plastic trays) and the 24-page booklet is a chunky and colourful affair with excellent SCOTT SCHINDER liner notes. Butch Truck's son Vaylor is on the front of the booklet and Berry Oakley's daughter Brittany is on the back page - as they were on the front and rear of the original gatefold vinyl LP sleeve in 1973. There's the famous family photo gracing the centerspread and live shots of the band in action and detailed reissue credits on the last four pages. But the big news is a massive upgrade in sound. ANDY SKUROW and ELIOT KISSELEFF did the Tape Research and Transfers (respectively) and SETH FOSTER (a very experienced Universal engineer) did the mastering - and what a bang-up job they've done. Everything to my ears is better - vocals, guitars, but especially the Rhythm Section - clear and full of presence.

The album opens with Gregg Allman's "Wasted Words" which now has huge punch - Betts slide guitar tight with the vocals. Perennial rave "Ramblin' Man" has the keyboards punching above its former weight while that dual guitar finish sounds brill. Chuck Leavell's fab piano licks on "Come And Go Blues" now get a bit of extra oomph - but they properly explode out of the speakers on the Side 1 Bluesy finisher "Jelly Jelly". Side 2 opens with another Dicky Betts original "Southbound" where the cohesion of the guitars, piano and especially the funkily tight rhythm section blast into your living room. New Bassist Lamar Williams had only finished auditions for the band and along with Drummer Jaimoe they absolutely rock this track. We then an instrumental that has since gone into history - up there with "Albatross" and "Cavatina" in its impact - the wonderful "Jessica" in its full seven and half minutes glory (where would "Top Gear" be without it). With Betts given full Lead Guitar reign, Les Dudek on Acoustic and Gregg Allman on Organ - that Leavell solo part still put chills up me - and now sounding utterly brilliant. "Brothers And Sisters" ends on "Pony Boy" with Betts on his Dobro sounding like he's in your living room - beautifully done and easy to see why it's a concert fave still (lyrics from it title this review).

I had expected Disc 2 to be workmanlike - it s not - it rocks. Because the rehearsals are from their most volatile, sad and yet strangely productive period - to my ears the tracks bristle with looseness and discovery and a band wanting to matter and cope. The "Southbound" instrumental is a case in point - the band boogieing through the song like it was the most natural thing in the world (which for them it was). The cover of Muddy Waters' old Chess classic "Trouble No More" is just brilliant - while a real find is "Early Morning Blues" - the song replaced by "Jelly Jelly" on the album. Using the same back beat - you get mournful Rock Blues for nine and half great minutes ("What goes on in your worried and mixed up mind..."). The other cool outtake is "Double Cross" - a Lynyrd Skynyrd Boogie Shuffle circa "Nuthin' Fancy". Admittedly the near seventeen minutes of "A Minor Jam" will test the patience of newcomers - but I can't help think that die-hards will secretly chew up every indulgent guitar/piano jamming minute of it.

So there you it - a winner made better. Five weeks at Number 1 and their first platter to go Platinum - it's easy to hear why "Brothers And Sisters" endures all these years after. And I still wonder what that child is looking at in those leaves below his feet...a plectrum maybe...a discarded hairnet...

-->

"At Fillmore East" by THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND (September 2003 Universal/Mercury/Chronicles 2CD Reissue - Suha Gur Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 500 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

CLASSIC 1970s ROCK On CD - Exception Remasters  

Just Click Below To Purchase for £3.95

Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 
(No Cut and Paste Crap)

"...Six In The Morning..." 

Jetlagged and bleary after a 10-hour transatlantic flight from Paris the day before (itself a spur of the moment thing after bad weather in Europe freaked him out) – Producer Tom Dowd phoned the offices of Atlantic Records in New York the following afternoon to see what was occurring. A panicked secretary reputedly advised him in no uncertain terms that he'd better wake up pronto (or partake of some Peruvian dancing dust) because he was urgently required for a recording gig in less than 24-hours. The Allman Brothers would be headlining at Bill Graham's Fillmore East – an old vaudevillian New York theatre house on 2nd Avenue where they'd played four times before but always as a support act to the likes of Blood, Sweat & Tears. Unfazed – the revered Producer who'd been shaping Atlantic's distinctive Soul and Rock sounds for over 20 years - witnessed the Southern Rockers take the stage on the opening Thursday night with a less than well rehearsed brass section. Dowd was duly appalled.

Legend has it that he bawled out the band backstage – calling it sloppy and unprofessional – roaring at them – demanding they drop the peripheral crap and get back to boogie basics – a set made up of new material and Blues standards from Elmore James, Willie Cobbs, T-Bone Walker and Blind Willie McTell. Now most hairy-assed slide-guitar Southern diplomats would have broken a bottle of Jack Daniels over his nancy New Yorker's head and used words not necessarily in the Webster Dictionary as they pointed his grizzled rump towards the stage door. But this was TOM DOWD and they knew of his incredible track record and professional 'ear'. The Allmans listened – respected – and acted. And across the remaining three shows over two nights (8:00 pm and 11:30 pm on 12 and 13 March) – Dowd caught lightning in a bottle – one of the most famous and revered live doubles ever put to tape. The fourth show had been interrupted by a bomb scare but they played into the early hours regardless – huge 30-minute jams – a tight rhythm section – Duane's inspired lead – a band ready to take on the world.

Dowd got 20 reels of tape – mostly favouring the fourth show where (perhaps because of the scares) he felt the band was most fluid - 'cooking' even. Seven tracks made the final July 1971 2LP set with "You Don't Love Me" and "Whipping Post" taking up residency as all of Side 2 and 4 respectively. "Trouble No More" and the humungous 33-minute "Mountain Jam" were set aside for use on the "Eat A Peach" double released February 1972 - as was "One Way Out" taped 27 June 1971 at further Fillmore East gigs. "Don't Keep Me Wonderin'" turned up on the appeared-too-fast "Duane Allman Anthology" twofer in November 1972 - released after his passing from a motorcycle accident October 1971 during the Peach Sessions aged only 24. Another straggler from the 27 June 1971 shows "Midnight Rider" eventually showed on "Duane Allman Anthology, Volume 2" in August 1974. Last but by no means least – with dawn's light already broken - "Drunken Hearted Boy" was an encore that saw Elvin Bishop join the band on stage at six a.m. on the 13th of March 1971 – itself finally appearing in the 4CD/6LP Retrospective Box Set "Dreams" in July 1989. It’s also safe to say that "At Fillmore East" put the Capricorn Records label and Southern Rock in general on the world map – paving the way for The Marshall Tucker Band, Elvin Bishop, The Outlaws, Z.Z. Top and of course Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Which brings us to this 23 September 2003 Deluxe Edition reissue that draws all of those disparate sources together in one ace remastered bundle – here are the six-in-the-morning details...

UK released 23 September 2003 (24 September 2004 in the USA) – "The Allman Brothers Band At Fillmore East: Deluxe Edition" by THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND on Universal/Mercury/Chronicles 0044007735329 (Barcode 044007735329) is a 2CD 'Deluxe Edition' Remaster that plays outs as follows (the USA issue is B0000401-02 - Barcode 044007735329):

Disc 1 (65:12 minutes):

1. Statesboro Blues [4:17 minutes]

2. Trouble No More [3:43 minutes]

3. Don't Keep Me Wonderin' [3:27 minutes]

4. Done Somebody Wrong [4:33 minutes]

5. Stormy Monday [8:48 minutes]

6. One Way Out [4:56 minutes]

7. In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed [13:04 minutes]

8. You Don't Love Me [19:16 minutes]

9. Midnight Rider [2:55 minutes]

Disc 2 (68:51 minutes):

1. Hot 'Lanta [5:20 minutes]

2. Whipping Post [22:53 minutes]

3. Mountain Jam [33:39 minutes]

4. Drunken Hearted Boy [6:57 minutes]

Tracks 1, 4, 5, 8 on Disc 1 and Tracks 1 and 2 on Disc 2 make up the original July 1971 2LP set as follows:

Side 1:

1. Statesboro Blues [Blind Willie McTell cover]

2. Done Somebody Wrong [Elmore James cover]

3. Stormy Monday [T-Bone Walker cover]

Side 2:

1. You Don't Love Me [Willie Cobbs cover]

Side 3:

1. Hot 'Lanta [Allman Brothers song]

2. In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed [Dickey Betts of The Allman Brothers song]

Side 4:

1. Whipping Post [Gregg Allman song]

"The Allman Brothers Band At Fillmore East" was released July 1971 in the USA on Capricorn Records SD-2 860 and Capricorn 2659 005 in the UK. Produced by TOM DOWD - it peaked at No. 13 in the US LP charts (didn't chart UK).

Tracks 2 and 6 on Disc 1 originally appeared February 1972 on the US 2LP set "Eat A Peach" on Capricorn Records 2CP-0102

Track 3 on Disc 1 originally appeared November 1972 on the US 2LP set "Duane Allman Anthology" on Capricorn Records 2CP-0108

Track 9 on Disc 1 originally appeared August 1974 on the US 2LP set "Duane Allman Anthology, Volume 2" on Capricorn Records CPN-2-0139

Track 4 on Disc 2 originally appeared July 1989 on the 4CD/6LP/4MC Box Set "Dreams" on Polydor 422 839 417-2

The Band:

DUANE ALLMAN – Lead and Slide Guitars

GREGG ALLMAN – Organ, Piano and Vocals

DICKEY BETTS – Lead Guitar

BERRY OAKLEY – Bass

JAIMOE – Drums, Congas and Timbales

BUTCH TRUCKS – Drums and Tympani

Guests:

Thom Doucette – Harmonica on "Don't Keep Me Wonderin'", "Done Somebody Wrong", "Stormy Monday" and "You Don't Love Me"

Elvin Bishop - Guitar and Vocals on "Drunken Hearted Boy"

Steve Miller - Piano on "Drunken Hearted Boy"

Bobby Caldwell - Percussion on "Drunken Hearted Boy"

The outer plastic 'Deluxe Edition' slipcase lends these reissues a real touch of substance - while the 28-page features classy black and white photos of the boys making history and individual plates of each band member. The original album's inner gatefold photos of the band live now take up either side of the opened digipak. A nice touch is an alternate outtake of the famous 'five roadies' photo on the back cover of the original double (still on the back of the digipak). The booklet's last page uses a moments-earlier outtake photo where there's suddenly six of them (the iconic shot was actually done at the Capricorn Studios in Macon, Georgia and not as people presumed against the walls of The Fillmore East in New York). DAVE THOMPSON stumps up an entertaining and enlightening set of liner notes - filling in the factual stuff while at the same time wearing his affection for the album firmly on his sleeve. He also quite rightly points out that the release practically kick-started the ‘Live Double-Album’ as a vinyl phenomenon that still exists to this day and dominated the whole of the Seventies.

But the big news is a new SUHA GUR Remaster. As you can see from the track line-up above – this 2CD DE lines up the tracks as they were played –giving you a feel for progression. When he says ‘we got an Elmore James number for you’ at the beginning of "Done Somebody Wrong" or the intro to "Whipping Post" where someone from the audience shouts for it – you can feel the intensity of the band live in your living room. There is also that discernable feeling that these are recordings unleashed – much like the band as they rip through solo and solo...

As that slide guitar comes screaming in on "Statesboro Blues" – they already sound like your favourite bar band – only writ larger. Introducing the new Elmore James cut "Done Somebody Wrong" (said with a Southern twang). The audience gets a real taste of the playing when they launch into a fabulous version of T-Bone Walker's "Stormy Monday" - those solos and that organ support - all of it so sweet. The put-your-hands-together Willie Cobbs winner "You Don't Love Me" lifts the crowd into boogie heaven. To this day when I hear a bar-band lay into its great chords to get a crowd neck-jerking - I think of what it must have been like for Allmans fans at that show – all 19-minutes of it.

"Hot 'Lanta" feels almost early Little Feat in places or even Santana - the band swinging and swaying - the whole thing just so beautifully together. The Dickie Betts instrumental "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed" changes the tempo into a sexy almost Latin sway - while at the same time allowing the two lead guitars to indulge. You get well-rehearsed virtuoso playing - in fact this is one of my faves on the double precisely because it shows the Allmans could 'groove' with the best of them (I'd swear Carlos would approve).  The 5:22 minutes of "Whipping Post" from their November 1969 self-titled debut album gets cranked up to eleven on the 23-minute live version in 1971. And again there's that Santana thing going on as the band slow it down half way through - all that sweet Bass and crashing cymbals.

The 1955 Muddy Waters Chess classic "Trouble No More" gives the boys another chance to shine on the Boogie front and frankly you can't help think it should have been on the original double album - but what would you drop (sports fabulous remastered sound here and feel). Another Elmore James stomper "One Way Out" only adds to that foot-tapping bank balance. The 33 and a half-minute bruiser that is "Mountain Jam" takes its central theme from a 1967 Donovan single "There Is A Mountain" and is surely one of the prizes here. And there’s Steve Miller and Elvin Bishop helping out on the raucous finisher "Drunken Hearted Boy" – how cool.

When I think about the landslide of Southern Rock that followed after this landmark live set - I look at my battered vinyl copy (its spine split) and smile. I'm fairly certain this truly excellent 2CD DE version of "At Fillmore East" will elicit the same response once it's in your latest rig...

"Solo (Live)" by DON McLEAN - September 1976 First Live Set - Double-Album on United Artists (1994 and 2008 UK Beat Goes On Records (BGO) Reissue - 2LP set Remastered onto 2CDs) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 145 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

MORE THAN A FEELING 

1976

Your All-Genres Guide To 

Exceptional CD Reissues & Remasters

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

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

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

"…I Was Coming Back Anyway!"

After five studio albums covering the varying styles of Folk, Rock, Country, Dixieland and even Old Timey Music Hall - it was time for Don McLean to strip away all the studio gadgets - get back to basics and literally go 'Solo' on stage. Originally released in late 1976 as a vinyl double-album - "Solo" does what it says on the tin - it's just Don McLean and his guitar or his banjo or his voice ("Geordie Has Lost His Penker" is Acapella). With songs covering love, heartbreak, painters, hobos, poverty and lots of laughter and Americana inbetween - the crowd is swept along with his sincerity, his warmth and crafted performance skills.

So back in 1994 - Britain's Beat Goes On remastered much of his United Artists album catalogue from the Seventies - and this 2CD offering is one of those hidden nuggets. Here are the details...

Originally released November 1994 (reissued in December 2008) – "Solo (Live)" by DON McLEAN on Beat Goes On BGOCD 300 (Barcode 5017261203007) is a straightforward 2CD transfer of the vinyl double-album "Solo" originally released September 1976 in the USA on United Artists UA-LA652-H2 and in the UK on United Artists UAD 60139. It breaks down as follows...

Disc 1 (53:50 minutes):

1. Magdalene Lane

2. Masters Of War

3. Wonderful Baby

4. Where Were You Baby

5. Empty Chairs

6. Geordie's Lost His Penker

7. Babylon

8. And I Love You So [Side 2]

9. Mactavish Is Dead

10. Cripple Creek/Muleskinner Blues

11. Great Big man

12. Bronco Bill's Lament

13. Happy Trails

14. Circus Song

15. Birthday Song

16. On The Amazon

Disc 2 (50:48 minutes):

1. American Pie [Side 3]

2. Over The Waterfall/Arkansas Traveller

3. Homeless Brother

4. Castles In The Air/Three Flights Up

5. Lovesick Blues [Side 4]

6. Winter Has Me In Its Grip

7. The Legend Of Andrew McCrew

8. Dreidel

9. Vincent

10. Till Tomorrow

The 12-page booklet has typically excellent liner notes by JOHN TOBLER (dated 1994) with gatefold artwork on the inner pages. Tobler details much of McLean's career up to 1976 (Perry Como and Presley covering the gorgeous "And I Love You So" - the story of the black cripple and pauper Andrew McCrew finally getting a headstone because of McLean's song - and so on). The remaster was done at Sound Mastering (then in Cambridge) and is clean with only minor hiss issues on the very quietest of songs (doesn't say who did what). But it should be added that as this is a live set clearly from different audiences - the audio ping-pongs about a bit - but mostly it's a top-notch transfer and hugely evocative. Mostly you're too immersed in the storytelling to notice...

Amongst my favourites is "Winter Has Me In Its Grip" - originally on 1974's "Homeless Brother" - a typically simple song that slays you. The audience almost sings along to "And I Love You So" while the trio of "American Pie", "Vincent" and the lovely "Till Tomorrow" elicit just that - crowd sing-alongs ("Empty Chairs" is fabulous too). But the album belongs to "Babylon" where he splits the audience up into groups and has them singing various parts - each harmonising - it's frankly magical. McLean has always been a great songwriter - but this lovely BGO 2CD reissue shows what an amazing performer he is too into the bargain.

As he comes back out on stage to perform "Till Tomorrow" as an encore (ending Side 4) - he jokes - "I was coming back anyway!" I suspect that after you succumb to this reissue’s many charms - you'll find yourself doing exactly that...