"Hold Your Fire" by PATTO (April 2017 Esoteric Recordings 'Expanded Edition' 2CD Reissue with 13 Bonus Tracks and Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...High On Glory Seeds..."

A little background first. PATTO arose out of the ashes of a 60ts band called TIMEBOX from Stockport in Lancashire - singer Mike Patto, Bassist Clive Griffiths, Drummer John 'Admiral' Halsey and super guitarist Pete 'Ollie' Halsall. TIMEBOX never did get an album out but they landed seven rare and desirable 45s in the UK - two on Piccadilly and five on Deram. One of these British sevens was a minor hit - a cover of The Four Seasons "Beggin'" that peaked at No. 38 on the British singles charts in July 1968.

But as the Progressive Rock boom began to take over in the late Sixties - the four ex-Timebox boys wanted to move on from the restrictions of Pop and formed PATTO - signing to the then emerging label for all things Prog and eclectic - Vertigo. They made three albums in total - two for Vertigo and one for Island - none of which sold jack. Their debut "Patto" hit the streets of Blighty in November 1970 on Vertigo 6360 016 (February 1971 in the USA), the second "Hold Your Fire" in November 1971 on Vertigo 6360 032 (January 1972 in the USA with different artwork) and the final "Roll 'Em Smoke 'Em Put Out Another Line" in October 1972 on Island ILPS 9210. All are listed vinyl rarities in the 2018 Record Collector Price Guide valued at £300, £500 and £60 respectively.

I’ve already reviewed the debut "Patto" – also released 28 April 2017 in an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster... Which brings us to this long-overdue, superbly presented and band endorsed 'Expanded Edition' double-CD Remaster of their second platter "Hold Your Fire" brought to us panting and ranting by those guardians of all things Avant and Prog - England's Esoteric Recordings. Here are the screaming spirals...

UK released Friday, 28 April 2017 (5 May 2017 in the USA) - "Hold Your Fire" by PATTO on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 22582 (Barcode 5013929468245) is an 'Expanded Edition' 2CD Remaster of their 1971 second studio album on Vertigo Records (8-Tracks) with 13 Additional Bonus Tracks (including Previously Unreleased Album Outtakes and 1971 BBC Radio 1 Sessions) that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (51:28 minutes):

1. Hold Your Fire [Side 1]

2. You, You Point Your Finger

3. How’s Your Father

4. See You At The Dance Tonight

5. Give It All Away [Side 2]

6. Air Raid Shelter

7. Tell Me Where You've Been

8. Magic Door

Tracks 1 to 8 are their second album "Hold Your Fire" - released November 1971 in the UK on Vertigo 6360 032 and January 1972 in the USA on Vertigo VEL-1008 (in different gatefold artwork). Produced by MUFF WINWOOD - it didn't chart in either country.

BONUS TRACKS:

9. Beat The Drum

10. Bad News

Tracks 9 and 10 Recorded & Mixed at Island Studios, London, 4 May 1971. Although Demo Versions of these two tracks appeared as two of three bonus tracks on the October 2010 Japanese SHM-CD (Vertigo UICY-94681) for "Hold Your Fire" – Esoteric Recordings have copyrighted these recordings as 2017 and in their website blurbs on the album have called these finished but different versions 'Previously Unreleased'.

Disc 2 - BBC Sessions & Out-Takes (59:12 minutes):

1. San Antone

2. Government Man

3. Beat The Drum

4. Sittin' Back Easy

5. So Cold 

Tracks 1 to 5 recorded 4 March 1971 for a BBC Radio One "In Concert"

6. Give It All Away

7. Air Raid Shelter

8. You, You Point Your Finger

Tracks 6 to 8 recorded 28 June 1971 for a BBC Radio One "Sounds Of The 70t's" session

9. Don’t Shoot Me ("Hold Your Fire")

10. Give It All Away (Alternative Version)

11. Air Raid Shelter (Alternative Version)

Tracks 9 to 11 Recorded and Mixed 29 July 1971 at Island Studios, London

The 20-page booklet is festooned with ticket stubs, trade adverts and reviews, gig flyers where they played with the likes of Stackridge, Rod Stewart And The Faces, Centipede and May Blitz, the different gatefold artwork to the US copy on Vertigo VEL-1008, black and white and colour photos of the band from the period and the three standing creatures drawn by Roger Dean that could only be viewed by pulling back the three flaps of the front sleeve (the original vinyl album in the UK came in lavish artwork). There are detailed and informative liner notes from noted writer SID SMITH that feature candid reminiscences from drummer John Halsey about the band and the sadly passed/much admired Ollie Halsall (he died in 1992). And Esoteric have smartly repro’d the lyrics that were on the inner gatefold sleeve too. The CDs are pictures disc (front cover) and the inlay beneath the tray is the underneath cover beneath the flaps mentioned above. It’s all very tastefully done and true to the original issues.  

But the big news is the really clean and clear audio for what has always been perceived as a lo-fi production. To my knowledge there have been three CD reissues of this album before – Akarma out of Italy in 2002, Repertoire out of Germany in 2004 and one of those natty SHM-CDs in a card-repro sleeve out of Japan on Universal in 2010 (part of the 'British Vintage Rock Masterpiece Collection' series). But this amazingly is the first time a British label has had a go – Cherry Red’s Esoteric Recordings and with the full support of surviving band members. And typically they've done a bang up job - a new Remaster from original tapes by Audio Engineer BEN WISEMAN – someone who has handled loads of these Reissues.

A word about the music first - although the Vertigo label was largely associated with all things Prog Rock - "Patto" were way more Humble Pie than May Blitz - more Faces circa their second album "Long Player" than the Jazz Rock of say Beggars Opera. Most of their self-titled debut LP played like Hard Rock - Bluesy in places too. The second "Hold Your Fire" is way more sedate, measured and to use that old cheddar chestnut - mature. And a smart move too on the part of Esoteric is to reproduce the lyrics that dominate the sentiments of every song and are incredibly smart and hip. Check these out in "You, You Point Your Finger" where Mike Patto lashes out at accusers - "...You, you call me a junkie, call me filth and scum, keep me from your daughter, but my time will come..." and "...You, you think you're civilised, with your connections you can't fail, but you treat your wife and family, like you bought them in a sale..." By the same token he's not afraid to send up his own kind - take a jab at silliness and hypocrisy amidst his own generation - how about these from many rhyming couplets in the superb opener "Hold Your Fire" - "...well my skin turned yellow and my eyes sunk back from my diet of boiled brown rice...I would shuffle past bright warm houses to my groove pad cold as ice..." and "...I've smoked a ton of marijuana, I sat crossed-legged till my legs went numb...I made peace signs at the farmers when they called me no good bum... " Nice one son.

A change comes with the languid and almost soulful "How’s Your Father" – a slow piano pace accompanies Patto lyrics about being on the road and having to connect with the right people (don’t get in the way). Halsall plays some fluid guitar during a very Steely Dan solo moment. Things go all Faces with "See You At The Dance Tonight" – Halsall and his guitar sound not unlike Ronnie Wood playing cool and loose. And then just when you got used to the eight-minute songs with a social conscience – you get the pure experimentation and Jazz Rock of "Air Raid Shelter" over on Side 2. Patto scats lyrics while Halsall goes all John McLaughlin on the Guitar as cymbals clash and the Bass player thinks he’s auditioning for the Miles Davis touring band. The album finishes on a genuine high. With its cymbals and vibes backdrop - "Magic Door" feels the most BASF track on the album – sophisticated Rock with Jazz hints - Patto in fantastic vocal form with the band joining him on the ‘are you real’ chorus in truly lovely harmony vocals. You’re left with an abiding impression - definitely not your average Rock & Roll band – and a shockingly good ending to a mature and confident album. Why didn’t it get better sales?

The extras will be exciting to fans that have waited the guts of 40 years for these rarities in proper audio and not bootleg. The two out-takes on Disc 1 - "Beat The Drum" and "Bad News" – simply feel like lesser versions of "Magic Door" – even if they are beautifully rendered here. Those looking for signs of Halsall will go straight to Disc 2. John Peel wryly introduces Patto to the ‘in the studio’ audience (Produced by Jeff Griffin) – the band launching into a cool and rocking "San Antone" sounding not unlike Family on a good night. You immediately notice his playing that you feel is only getting by the minute. Peel cracks jokes before he introduces another track from the debut "Patto" – and before a very laid back but sweet "Sittin’ Back Easy" he introduces the band as a five-piece (Bernie Holland supplementing as second guitarist while Halsall handles lead and the vibes). Luckily it has great audio and is a genuinely cool Bonus Track. In fact you’d have to say that the whole of Disc 2 puts the reissue up there.

Properly decent CD reissues - great audio, better presentation and genuinely complimentary bonuses. Well done to all the cats at Esoteric Recordings for putting these out there again and honouring Halsall's recorded legacy in such style...

PATTO on 2017 Esoteric Recordings 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissues & Remasters

Also reissued 28 April 2017 is their first Vertigo vinyl platter from November 1970 called "Patto" but as a single-CD 'Expanded Edition' remaster with three Bonus Tracks on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2581 (Barcode 5013929468146).

On 26 May 2017 you got their third album "Roll 'Em Smoke 'Em Put Out Another Line" from 1972 on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2586 (Barcode 5013929468641) with three Bonus Tracks (a Peel Session from 24 January 1973).

26 May 2017 also saw their aborted fourth album recorded in 1973 called "Monkey's Bum" reissued by Esoteric and again as an 'Expanded Edition' CD on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2587 (Barcode 5013929468740). It will be the first 'official' release of the album sanctioned by the remaining members of the band and include three Previously Unreleased tracks – sessions recorded for John Peel's BBC Radio One show on 13 February 1973 with the original line-up...

"Walls And Bridges" by JOHN LENNON (November 2005 EMI/Apple 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Whatever Gets You Through The Night..."

I remember a review I read a few years ago that rubbished practically all of John Lennon's solo catalogue. The guy was pretty adamant and compared McCartney's prolific output to Lennon and especially the chart success and public affection that seemed to come so easy to Macca in the Seventies.

The gist of his argument was that apart from some great stand-alone singles and a few choice album tracks - you could barely fill one CD full of decent songs by Dr. Winston O'Boogie. Ludicrously harsh I thought. But if I'm completely truthful and like most lifetime fans filled with affection for the greatly missed Liverpudlian - I know from painful album-by-album purchase-experience just where this guy's constant disappointment in JL is coming from.

Before we get to "John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band" in 1970 and "Imagine" in 1971 - I found most of the preceding stuff unlistenable cack – and still do. And as I was also trying to give the largely dreadful double-album "Some Time In New York City" from 1972 another chance when I was reading his critique article (apart from maybe "John Sinclair" and "Angela" - the rest of it is ponderous and drab - and don't start me on that rubbish live disc) - my heart sank. Maybe the guy's got a point.

But then you come to 1973's strangely overlooked "Mind Games" and 1974's upbeat and deeply accessible "Walls And Bridges" – and things improve immeasurably. "Walls And Bridges" especially has some fantastic Lennon tracks on it – ably abetted by the talent of Guitarist Jesse Ed Davis, Klaus Voorman on Bass, Jim Keltner on Drums, Bobby Keys on Sax and famous pals Elton John and Nilsson on Piano and Backing Vocals. But as fans our woes don't end there. Since his horrible loss in December 1980 – we've had to deal with his stuff reissued several times on CD and I personally thought the 2005 reissues did a superb job. So enough was enough already...

But now along comes Yoko Ono in 2010 and once again with her endless meddling in his legacy - what does she do - she strips away the 2005 Bonus Tracks and great sound and gives us the albums bare. They're housed in glossy gatefold card sleeves that look nice but are functionally useless and even downright irritating. There's a new booklet for sure but not much else of worth. But the bottom line is that these have ended up feeling like new versions that offer us less and not more or better. 

So I decided to ditch the admittedly pretty-looking October 2010 'John Lennon Signature Collection' version (EMI/Apple 5099990650826 - Barcode is the same) and go back to that November 2005 EMI issue because frankly I prefer its sound and the extras are something I want to keep and not lose. In fact I'd going to argue that in this case - the version you need is already out there. Here are the number nine dreams...

UK released November 2005 - "Walls And Bridges" by JOHN LENNON on EMI/Apple 340 9712 (Barcode 0094634097123) is an 'Expanded Edition' with Three Bonus Tracks that plays out as follows (59:26 minutes):

1. Going Down On Love [Side 1]
2. Whatever Gets You Through The Night
3. Old Dirt Road
4. What You Got
5. Bless You
6. Scared
7. No. 9 Dream [Side 2]
8. Surprise, Surprise (Sweet Bird Of Paradox)
9. Steel And Glass
10. Beef Jerky
11. Nobody Loves You (When You're Down And Out)
12. Ya Ya
Tracks 1 to 12 are his studio album "Walls And Bridges" - released October 1974 in the UK on Apple PCTC 253 and in the USA on Apple SW-3416. Produced by JOHN LENNON - it peaked at No. 6 in the UK and No. 1 in the USA.

BONUS TRACKS:
13. Whatever Gets You Through The Night (Live)
14. Nobody Loves You (When You're Down And Out) (Alternate Version)
15. John Interview (Conducted by Bob Mercer in 1974)
Track 13 first appeared in March 1981 in the UK on DJM Records DJS 10965 on the 3-track 2 x 7” EP "28th November 1974" credited to ELTON JOHN featuring JOHN LENNON and The Muscle Shoals Horns. Recorded live at Madison Square Garden in New York, 28 November 1974
Tracks 14 and 15 are PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

The 12-page booklet makes an admittedly ham-fisted effort as reproducing the beautiful 'flaps' artwork of the original 1974 LP. We get the Lennon and glasses photos (looking the best he ever did) - the early drawings of his teachers and pupils he did at school - the lyrics and the Lennon surname discussed that was on the inner sleeve and the usual musician credits and reissue details. There's a picture CD with the 'Listen To This Disc/Record' banner that they used advertising the LP all those decades ago. But there's no new liner notes or history/legacy of the American No. 1 album, which is disappointing.

However - I'm loving the new Audio. All of the titles have been newly remixed in 2005 except Tracks 3, 5, 6 and 11 - newly remastered in 2005. A team of experts associated with The Beatles catalogue has handled the Audio transfers at Abbey Road Studios - Remix Engineer PETER COBBIN, Assistant Engineer MIREK STILES, Mastering Engineer STEVE ROOKE with further input from ALLAN ROUSE and PAUL HICKS. The album sounds fab. To the music...

In his typically cryptic and witty manner - JL credits himself as no less than nine different musicians across 12 tracks - Dr. Winston O'Ghurkin playing guitar alongside Jesse Ed Davis on the cool opener "Going Down On Love" - Rev. Thumbs Ghurkin playing piano with Nicky Hopkins on "Old Dirt Road" - Kaptain Kundalini playing lead guitar n "What You Got" while Rev. Fred Ghurkin and Dr. Dream play acoustic guitar on "Bless You" and "No. 9 Dream". Other notable contributions comes from Harry Nilsson who sings backing vocals on the lovely "Old Dirt Road" while Elton John mucks in with backing vocals on two - "Whatever Gets You Through The Night" and "Surprise, Surprise (Sweet Bird Of Paradox)". The house band consisted of long-standing sessionmen - Jim Keltner on Drums with Arthur Jenkins on Percussion, Klaus Voorman on Bass, Nicky Hopkins on Piano and the real heroes of the album - ace guitarists Jesse Ed Davis (Taj Mahal and the Bangladesh concert) and Eddie Mottau throughout. Bobby Keyes of Stones fame and other horn players feature also. His son Julian Lennon even gets a look on the short and frankly dismissible cover of Lloyd Price's "Ya Ya" that ends the LP on two-minutes on piano self-indulgence.

In order to promote the lavishly packaged album - Apple launched the frantic bop of "Whatever Gets You Through The Night" with the throwaway instrumental "Beef Jerky" on its B-side as a 45 on both sides of the pond in September 1974. It worked - the single went all the way to No. 1 on the US Pop charts (Apple 1874) whilst hitting a more sedated No. 36 in the UK (Apple R 5998). I have to say that the whole of Side 1 works for me - it's all coherent and good. The beautiful "Old Dirt Road" (a co-write with Harry Nilsson) feels almost like a George Harrison song in its construction (could have been a killer alternate single to "No. 9 Dream") - while the funky Rock of "What You Got" has a wicked backbeat and tremendous rasping lead vocals. The floating Paul Simon soundscapes of "Bless You" feel like "Still Crazy After All These Years" one year before PS's album - while "Scared" is lead in by a wolf howling at the moon before an incessant beat drums home the message of emotional fear that seemed to dominate every day of his existence (lovely Sax solo too from Howard Johnson).

"No. 9 Dream" with its strings and "Across The Universe" foreign language chorus was the obvious second single from the LP - Apple R 6003 peaking at No. 23 in the UK and Apple 1878 making No. 9 in the USA in January 1975. Personally I prefer the brassy and upbeat "Surprise, Surprise (Sweet Bird Of Paradox)" and the truly brilliant "Nobody Loves You (When You're Down And Out)" is the best track on the album for me. The New York tan and talk of "Steel And Glass" feels almost like a Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here" ballad - great string arrangements as the big production values hammer home those acidic lyrics. "Beef Jerky" is pure filler and the quirky piano duet between him and Julian ends the album on a strangely throwaway moment. But then we get some seriously great Bonus Tracks – least not of all is a fantastic stripped-down Acoustic take of "Nobody Loves You (When You’re Down And Out)" – Lennon sounding truly bare and raw. It’s beautifully reproduced too. The interview is fun – Lennon talking about the green card issues – name-checking his musicians on the album – urging Capitol in his own jokey way to get behind the album (they did).

"Walls And Bridges" is a great John Lennon album and those extras are actually worth owning.

"...Was magic in the air?" – he asked on "No. 9 Dream". Yes it was and we still miss you for it...

"City Of Gold/...Beautiful Lies You Could Live In." by TOM RAPP/PEARLS BEFORE SWINE (April 2017 Beat Goes On Reissue - 2LPs onto 1CD - Andrew Thompson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Raindrops..."

"...Raindrops..."

With his weedy sub Bob Dylan "Nashville Skyline" voice, Leonard Cohen narratives about dumb raindrops (what would they know), butterflies flying too close to the flame and the skinned-our-knees growing-up weeping of "Seasons In The Sun" (the Jacque Brel/Rod McKuen tune made famous by Terry Jacks) - all served up with a dash of Country Dobro - New York's Tom Rapp and his band Pearls Before Swine have always divided listeners.

His songs are part Mickey Newbury, part Paul Siebel, part Steve Young, part Tim Rose and of course part Bob Dylan. That’s the good news. But on top of that name-check list of songwriting cool - Rapp's songs can also be part schlock and at times genuinely cloying and fay.

However - no matter what way you describe Tom Rapp's music and especially if you're a fan - England's Beat Goes On Records have come to your reissue rescue with this superb-sounding CD Remaster of two rare Folk-Rock albums both released on Reprise Records USA in 1971 - "City Of Gold" in April and "...Beautiful Lies You Could Live In." which came in late December. Let's get to the details...

UK released 7 April 2017 (14 April 2017 in the USA) - "City Of Gold/...Beautiful Lies You Could Live In." by TOM RAPP/PEARLS BEFORE SWINE on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1285 (Barcode 5017261212856) offers two LPs from 1971 Remastered onto 1CD and plays out as follows (61:04 minutes):

1. Sonnet No. 65 [Side 1]

2. Once Upon A Time

3. Raindrops

4. City of Gold

5. Nancy

6. Seasons In The Sun [Side 2]

7. My Father

8. The Man

9. Casablanca

10. Wedding

11. Did You Dream Of

Tracks 1 to 11 are the album "City Of Gold" - released April 1971 in the USA on Reprise RS 6442 (no UK release). PRODUCED by TOM RAPP - it didn't chart. All songs by Tom Rapp except "Nancy" by Leonard Cohen, "Seasons In The Sun" by Jacques Brel and Rod McKuen and "My Father" by Judy Collins. "Sonnet No. 65" is Shakespeare's words put to TR music. Lead Vocals by Rapp except on "The Man" by David Noyes and "My Father" by Elisabeth Rapp.

12. Snow Queen [Side 1]

13. A Life

14. Butterflies

15. Simple Things

16. Everybody's Got Pain

17. Bird On A Wire [Side 2]

18. Island Lady

19. Come To Me

20. Freedom

21. She's Gone

22. Epitaph

Tracks 12 to 22 are the album "...Beautiful Lies You Could Live In." - released December 1971 in the USA on Reprise RS 6467.

As ever the outer card slipcase adds a touch of class to this BGO CD reissue and a 12-page booklet with new JOHN O’REGAN liner notes gives all the details you’ll need on Rapp's stay with New York folkies Pearls Before Swine. But the real deal here is a gorgeous remaster from licensed tapes by BGO's resident engineer - ANDREW THOMPSON. This CD has lovely sound reflecting the quality of the original Reprise Records recordings. Very sweet...

After four albums with the band Pearls Before Swine - "One Nation Underground" and "Balaklava" on ESP Disks in 1967 and 1968 and then two more on Reprises Records in 1969 and 1970 - "These Things Too" and "The Use Of Ashes" - their fifth platter "City Of Gold" became the first to feature the moniker Tom Rapp/Pearls Before Swine. The album drew on New York and Nashville sessions done in the autumn of 1970 that included guitarist Mac Gayden, Bassist Norbert Putnam and Drummer Kenny Buttery of the Polydor Records Country-Rock band Area Code 615.

Most of the short acoustic-based songs on "City Of Gold" are Rapp originals done in a very soft US Folk style with Rapp's Dutch wife Elisabeth taking lead vocals on the Judy Collins cover "My Father" and band member David Noyes fronting the rather oddly upbeat "The Man" – a jaunty holy-roller that feels weirdly out of place actually. Highlights include "City Of Gold" - a Fiddle and Dobro hoedown - and the 'Lay Lady Lay' melody of "Did You Dream Of". Others include a cover version of Leonard Cohen's "Nancy" - Rapp's voice uncannily close to his hero and obvious songwriting inspiration LC (the full title for "Nancy" is "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy" and is from Cohen's second album – April 1969's "Song From A Room"). But the less said about the awful cringe-cack that is "Seasons In The Sun" – the better.

For me the second platter on offer here "...Beautiful Lies You Live In." is a big leap forward over its strictly three-star predecessor. With that gushingly Raphaelite-romantic "Ophelia" artwork (a John Everett Millais painting) – the album is more James Taylor meets early Ronnie Lane than the Psych-Folk that Pearls Before Swine had been associated with in the late Sixties. Unlike the coy "Seasons Of The Sun" on the first LP – "A Life" opens platter number two with a genuine homely feel – his band and wife tight as the melody soothes like a good Ryan Adams ballad. In fact the album "...Beautiful..." effectively feels like a Tom Rapp solo album in all but name as he's joined by sessioned players like guitarist Amos Garrett and keyboard player Bob Dorough. Rapp does his best Dylan impression on "Everybody's Got Pain" where he and his wife are suggesting the fog will eventually lift one day. But my poison here is an extraordinarily Soulful take on that old Cohen chestnut "Bird On A Wire" where Rapp finally sounds passionate and committed – like a young Johnny Cash tearing into a song and a set of words that have reached deep into his psyche.

Tom Rapp will not be for everyone for sure and his need to be Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan's lovechild is obvious. But there are tunes to be loved here and if you're a fan – you will need that superb new audio.

"...Simple things will do..." he sang back in 1971. And you have to say that this superbly presented Beat Goes On CD reissue gets that mantra right...

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"Move Into The Light: The Complete Island Recordings 1969-1971" by QUINTESSENCE (April 2017 Esoteric Recordings 2CD Anthology - Paschal Byrne Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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CLASSIC ROCK & POP 1970 to 1974 - Exceptional CD Remasters  

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"...Letters To Infinity..."

Time wounds all heals. Time will tell. It's time to stop talking about time.

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In tandem with free festivals, coloured bread and promiscuous sex - in the late 60ts and early 70ts Notting Hill Gate's Quintessence were at the forefront of the Indian Eastern-Mysticism craze that was sweeping the UK and everywhere else for that matter. Suddenly we were all idealistic hippies - obsessing over joss sticks, fat scented candles, tie-dye shirts, bellbottom pants, beads, bangles, peace-symbols and travels to Goa with a stick of gum in your jeans, a begging bowl in your hand, a flower in your hair and a seriously dopey smile on your face (shoes and bras optional).

I suppose it is way too easy to slag off those doe-eyed days of mushroom madness (I was a fan myself and have the embarrassing tassel-shirt photos to prove it) - but in the blunt and brutal light of 2017 - musically not everything that emerged from marijuana clouds in Notting Hill Gate has weathered the decades that well. Having said that and despite as I say the absolutely dated nature of some of these recordings – if you crave lavish artwork, counter-culture ideas, meandering Sitars and Tablas and Tamboura notes all mixed up into a flute-driven ganga-soaked Shiva-Rock – then there is much to love and cherish on offer here. Hell there’s even a bit of Hawkwind drone madness in the guitar passages of album number two...

On top of that this surely has to be the most sumptuous and best-sounding 2CD anthology of the Quintessence legacy to date - brought to us with Hindu Love Oneness by those blissed-out but talented folks over at Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings (stop smoking those chubby roll-your-owns boys). Time to sort out your Raja Rams from your Hare Hares. Here are the Swami details...

UK released 28 April 2017 (5 May 2017 in the USA) - "Move Into The Light: The Complete Island Recordings 1969-1971" by QUINTESSENCE on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 22584 (Barcode 5013929468443) is a 2CD anthology of Remasters that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (65:49 minutes):

1. Giants [Side 1]

2. Manco Capac

3. Body

4. Gange Mai

5. Chant  [Side 2]

6. Pearl And Bird

7. Notting Hill Gate

8. Midnight Mode

Tracks 1 to 8 are their debut album "In Blissful Company" - released November 1969 in the UK on Island ILPS 9110 Q (No US release). Produced by JOHN BARHAM - it didn't chart. The UK album was released in a gatefold 12-page-booklet sleeve (said to have been one of the most expensive made at the time) - all of which is reproduced in the CD booklet.

9. Move Into The Light

10. Notting Hill Gate

Tracks 10 and 9 are the non-album A&B-sides of a UK 7" single released October 1969 on Island WIP 6075

11. Jesus, Buddah, Moses, Guaranga

12. Sea Of Immortality

13. High On Mt. Kailash (Excerpt from Opera)

14. Burning Bush (Live)

15. Shiva's Chant

Tracks 11 to 15 are Side 1 of their second studio album "Quintessence" - released June 1970 in the UK on Island Records ILPS 9128 (no US Release). Produced by JOHN BARHAM - it peaked at No. 22 on the UK LP charts.

Disc 2 (69:23 minutes):

1. Prisms

2. Twilight Zones

3. Maha Mantra

4. Only Love

5. St. Pancras (Live)

6. Infinitum

Tracks 1 to 6 are Side 2 of their second studio album "Quintessence" - released June 1970 in the UK on Island Records ILPS 9128 (no US Release). Produced by JOHN BARHAM - it peaked at No. 22 on the UK LP charts.

7. Jesus, Buddah, Moses, Guaranga (Live)

Track 7 exclusive to the UK Island Records label sampler double-album "Bumpers" - released October 1970 on Island IDP 1.

8. Dive Deep [Side 1]

9. Dance For The One

10. Brahman

11. The Seer [Side 2]

12. Epitaph For Tomorrow

13. Sri Ram Chant

Tracks 8 to 13 are their 3rd studio album "Dive Deep" - released March 1971 in the UK on Island Records ILPS 9143. Produced by QUINTESSENCE except for "Brahman" by JOHN BARHAM - it peaked at No. 34.

The 24-page booklet is a feast for the eyes. Fans will know that as much as their sound - the sheer visual opulence of the Quintessence albums on Island were enough to get you interested. Esoteric have smartly repro'd the 12-page booklet of black and white photos that centred the inner gatefold sleeve of "In Blissful Company" - said at the time to be the most expensive sleeve ever made - certainly at the independent Island Records. The colour gatefold inner of "Quintessence" is here (candles, mirrors and long white gowns ahoy) as are superb new liner notes from noted writer MALCOLM DOME that include interviews with the key players - Shiva Shankar (Australian vocalist and flutist Phil Jones) and Maha Dev (Dave Codling on Guitar) with reminiscences from Jeremy 'Jake' Milton - formerly the drummer with Junior's Eyes.

But the big news is new 2017 Remasters from original tapes by PASCHAL BYRNE - a name that's been on a huge number of quality reissues - East Of Eden, Fairport Convention, Gordon Giltrap, John Kongos, Man, John Martyn, John Mayall, Mike Oldfield, Spooky Tooth, Taste, T. Rex and many more. There is huge presence on those live guitar-tracks like "Burning Bush" on the second LP and power on those droning sitar songs like "Midnight Mode" on the debut. The soft and quieter passages on the near eleven-minute "Dance For The One" from the third album are beautifully clear too. A nice job done overall...

Things don't have the most promising of starts with "Giants" - Shiva's voice as deadpan as it can get. But things improve with "Manco Capac" - a Bass and Flute opening clear as a bell as the singer goes on about spaces and spirits. The pace steps up into really interesting on "Body" - a trippy floating song that trashes about with guitars and flutes - shadows of "Nursery Cryme" Genesis in those strums. But I must admit my heart lies in Side 2's "Notting Hill Gate" - a catchy little sucker and a dead-ringer for a single (it turned up on the "Strangely Strange But Oddly Normal" 3CD Box Set from 2005 covering Island Records more eclectic years) - and the fabulous nine minutes of "Midnight Mode" where halfway through the song – it just goes into four minutes of Sitar-droning - the most brill trippy sound that you’ve ever heard - filling your living room like a Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab recording of a Buddhist monastery at lunchtime.

The songwriting seem to take a leap forward with the excellent "Quintessence" album of June 1970 - their first platter to chart in Blighty. "Sea Of Immortality" sounds huge but even better is the crickets/chant song that is "High On Mt. Kailash (Excerpt from Opera) - a swirling drone of Sitars and echoed voices singing in Indian - all of it sounding sexily mystical. The short but pretty "Shiva's Chant" is another winner - itself quickly followed by the echoed flutes of "Prisms" - a stunner for all those sampler fiends out there. "Twilight Zones" speaks of echoes and reflections in the cosmos while "Maha Mantra" is exactly what it sounds like – a live recorded of ‘Hare Hare Krishna’ chanting by devotees banging their Tablas and shaking their bells as they shuffle past the suits going into Oxford Street’s HMV to buy Britney Spears. Another highlight is the almost Gong guitars of "St. Pancras" recorded at the same March 1970 gig that gave up the live version of "Jesus, Buddah, Moses, Guaranga" on the "Bumpers" double-album label sampler. "Infinitum" ends the LP on layered voices giving it some serious '2001: A Space Odyssey' outtakes.

After the head-first dip into Eastern sounds on "Quintessence" - the acoustic "Dive Deep" takes you by surprise - a love so sweet - it will make us all high. Way better is what I think is their masterpiece - the complicated, layered and beautiful in parts "Dance For The One" - a song that captures all the best parts of the band. And the Remaster rocks. "Brahman" offers more audio delight - guitars strumming as the singer informs us of fathomless fountains and worlds within our reach. "Epitaph For Tomorrow" opens well but soon descends into eight-minutes of hippy-enlightenment that feels more Association pop than Quintessence insights. The eight minutes of "Sri Ram Chant" is fantastic - great sound - rich soundscapes - that unique swirl they got as the Vena and Tabla combined with voices singing Indian chants - calls for Universal love.

For sure Quintessence will not be for everyone and there are those who will snigger and poo-poo both them and the times they reflected. But as I said before - there is so much to love here and Esoteric Recordings are to be praised for having the Third Eye balls to put it out there - and in such style too.

Move into the light. I think I’ll move into my man cave with my good buddy - Shiva-Rock...