"The Dawn Albums Collection" by MUNGO JERRY featuring Ray Dorset (September 2017 7t's/Cherry Red 5CD Mini Box Set - James Bragg Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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1960s and 1970s MUSIC ON CD - Volume 2 of 3 - Exceptional CD Remasters

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Folk, Folk Rock, Country Rock, Reggae, Punk and New Wave

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"...Baby Jump..."

Amidst the tight-trousered, Vahalla-spouting, Beelzebub-worshipping, knob-Gods of Hard Rock, the transitioning eye-makeup of androgynous pop singers working feather boas and lip gloss, the po-faced finger-in-the-ear purity of Traditionalist Folkies babbling on about the Solstice and Ruin Stones and the cheesecloth-shirt bedsit fumbling of emotionally frail singer-songwriters mentally crucified by Zodiac predictions in ponderous sun-sign paperbacks - sat the gloriously simple MUNGO JERRY - an English band that virtually smelt of summer and pretty girls and the seaside and pubs and hard-boiled sweets and damn it – plain old-fashioned fun.

With their throwback Lonnie Donegan Skiffle rhythms and homemade Jug Band washboards - leery side-burned gap-toothed singer Ray Dorset and his banks of Kazoos, Jews Harps, Barrelhouse Pianos and foot-stomping - seemed like a breath of fresh air in a musical scene dominated by so much earnest seriousness and self-importance. And that's what "The Dawn Albums Collection" delivers - five albums and various non-LP single-side sundries worth of 'alright alright alright' in a pint-sized carton with a sticky bun on top and a sugar-lump chaser. There's a shed load to wade through here so let's get to the electronically tested...

UK released Friday, 29 September 2017 (October 2017 in the USA) - "The Dawn Albums Collection" by MUNGO JERRY on 7t's/Cherry Red GLAMBOX166 (Barcode 5013929056626) is a 5CD 81-Track Mini Box Set that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 "Mungo Jerry" (66:02 minutes):

1. Baby Let's Play House [Side 1]

2. Johnny B. Badde

3. San Francisco Bay Blues

4. Sad Eyed Joe

5. Maggie

6. Peace In The Country

7. See Me [Side 2]

8. Movin' On

9. My Friend

10. Mother *!*!*! Boogie

11. Tramp

12. Daddies Brew

Tracks 1 to 12 are their debut album "Mungo Jerry" - UK released July 1970 on Dawn Records DNLS 3008 and September 1970 in the USA on Janus Records JXS 700. The US album came in different artwork and on Side 2 (only) dropped "Daddies Brew" as the last track to replace it with the hit single "In The Summertime" which then became the opening song on Side 2 (Side 1 running order same as the UK).

BONUS TRACKS:

13. Mighty Man

14. Dust Pneumonia Blues

15. Santo Antonio Santo Francisco

16. Live From Hollywood - Maggie/Midnight Special/Mighty Man

Tracks 13 and 14 are non-album single sides - the remaining two-tracks to the UK 3-track 'Maxi Single' "In The Summertime" released May 1970 on Dawn Records DNX 2502 (the picture sleeve is on Page 3 of the booklet)

Track 15 is the non-album A-side to an Italian-only 7" single on Pye Records P 67.030 released February 1971 ("Peace In The Country" was the B-side)

Track 16 is a non-album single side - one of two to the UK 3-track 'Maxi Single' "Baby Jump" released January 1971 on Dawn Records DNX 2505 (the other track was "The Man Behind The Piano" (on Disc 2) and the picture sleeve is on Page 5 of the booklet)

Disc 2 "Electronically Tested" (61:49 minutes):

1. She Rowed [Side 1]

2. I Just Wanna Make Love To You

3. In The Summertime

4. Somebody Stole My Wife

5. Baby Jump [Side 2]

6. Follow Me Down

7. Memories Of A Stockbroker

8. You Better Leave That Whiskey Alone

9. Coming Back To You When The Time Comes

Tracks 1 to 9 are their 2nd studio album "Electronically Tested" - released in the UK April 1971 on Dawn Records DNLS 3020.

Named after their second hit single the 1971 10-track German version of the album was called "Baby Jump" on Pye Records 85 267 IT and featured an exclusive song,  a radically-altered track run and a non-album B-side. To sequence the German LP "Baby Jump" from this CD, use the following:

Side 1: Tracks 5, 4, 2 and 14 ("Black Bubonic Plague" was exclusive to this album)

Side 2: Tracks 1, 6, 9, 8, 7 and 10

The American and Canadian albums for "Electronically Tested" on Janus JXS 3072 and Dawn DNLS 3072 (respectively) were both renamed "Memories Of A Stockbroker" and also given radically re-altered 11-song tracks-lists (the same for each) which included exclusives and non-album B-sides. They can be sequenced from Disc 2 and Disc 1 as follows:

Side 1: Tracks 7, 8, 4, 9, 6 and 1

Side 2: Tracks 5, 12, 10, 12 (Disc 1) and 2

BONUS TRACKS:

10. The Man Behind The Piano

Non-album B-side to "Baby Jump", a January 1971 UK 7" single on Dawn 7N 2505 and the January 1971 3-track 'Maxi Single' EP "Baby Jump" on Dawn DNX 2505 (picture sleeve pictured on Page 5 of the booklet)

11. Lady Rose (Single Version)

Originally a non-album A-side of a May 1971 UK 7" single on Dawn 7N 2510 (its B-side was another non-album song "Little Louie" - see Track 13). "Lady Rose" then later turned up in 'album form' (different to the original single) on the "Boot Power" LP in October 1972. On original release "Lady Rose" was also put out as a May 1971 4-track 'Maxi Single' EP on Dawn DNX 2510 (pictured on Page 7 of the booklet). But just to confuse matters there are two versions of it - both with the same catalogue number and picture sleeve. The first has the tracks as "Lady Rose", "She Rowed", "Milk Cow Blues" and "Little Louie" - the second swaps "She Rowed" for "Have A Whiff On Me" as Track 2 on Side 1 and is the more common of the two EPs (all can be sequenced from this box set)

12. Have A Whiff On Me

Non-album B-side on the May 1971 4-track 'Maxi Single' EP "Lady Rose" on Dawn DNX 2510 (pictured on Page 7 of the booklet)

13. Little Louie

Non-album B-side of a May 1971 UK 7" single on Dawn 7N 2510 and also one of the songs on the May 1971 4-track 'Maxi Single' EP "Lady Rose" on Dawn DNX 2510 (pictured on Page 7 of the booklet)

14. Black Bubonic Plague - exclusive to the German LP of "Electronically Tested" called "Baby Jump" (see above)

15. Have A Whiff On Me (USA Version) - exclusive to the US LP of "Electronically Tested" called "Memories Of A Stockbroker" (see above)

Disc 3 "You Don't Have To Be In The Army" (58:29 minutes):

1. You Don't Have To Be In The Army To Fight In The War [Side 1]

2. Ella Speed

3. Pidgeon Stew

4. Take Me Back

5. Hey Rosalyn

7. Northcoat Arms [Side 2]

8. There's A Man Going Round Taking Names

9. Simple Thing

10. Keep Your Hands Off Her

11. On A Sunday

12. That Old Dust Storm

Tracks 1 to 12 are their 3rd studio album "You Don't Have To Be In The Army" - released October 1971 in the UK on Dawn Records DNLS 3028.

BONUS TRACKS:

13. We Shall Be Free - non-album B-side to a September 1971 UK 7" single for "You Don't Have To Be In The Army To Fight In The War" on Dawn 7N 2513

14. Shorty George

15. Outskirts Of Town

16. You Got Me Dizzy - tracks 14, 15 and 16 are session outtakes - Blues and R'n'B covers of "Short George" (Leadbelly), "Outskirts Of Town" (Roy Jacobs song associated with Ray Charles and others) and "You Got Me Dizzy" (Jimmy Reed)

Disc 4 "Boot Power" (59:30 minutes):

1. Open Up [Side 1]

2. She's Gone

3. Lookin' For My Girl

4. See You Again

5. The Demon

6. My Girl And Me [Side 2]

7. Sweet Mary Jane

8. Lady Rose (Album Version)

9. Going Down The Dusty Road

10. Brand New Car

11. 46 And On

Tracks 1 to 11 are their 4th studio album "Boot Power" - released October 1972 in the UK on Dawn Records DNLS 3041.

BONUS TRACKS:

12. A Goodie Boogie Woogie

13. 46 And On (Single Version)

14. My Girl And Me (Single Version)

15. Open Up (Single Version)

Tracks 12, 13 and 14 are the non-album B-sides to a November 1972 UK 4-track 'Maxi Single' EP "My Girl And Me" on Dawn Records DNX 3041

Track 15 is the A-side of a March 1972 UK 7" single on Dawn 7N 2514. Along with "Going Back Home", "I Don't Wanna Go Back To School" and "No Girl Reaction" (the three of which would eventually emerge on the September 1974 album "Long Legged Woman") - "Open Up (Single Version)" was also part of a 4-track 'Maxi Single' EP for "Open Up" on Dawn DNX 2514 in late March 1972

Disc 5 "Long Legged Woman" (60:19 minutes):

1. Long Legged Woman Dressed In Black [Side 1]

2. Glad I'm A Rocker

3. Gonna Bop 'Til I Drop

4. Wild Love

5. O'Reilly

6. The Sun Is Shining

7. Summer's Gone

8. Don't Stop [Side 2]

9. Going Back Home

10. No Girl Reaction

11. Little Miss Hipshake

12. Milk Cow Blues

13. I Don't Wanna Go Back To School

14. Alright Alright Alright

Tracks 1 to 14 are their 5th studio album "Long Legged Woman" - released September 1974 in the UK on Dawn Records DNLS 3501.

BONUS TRACKS:

15. All Dressed Up And No Place To Go

16. Shake 'Til I Break

17. Too Fast To Live And Too Young To Die

18. Burnin' Up

19. Say Goodnight

Tracks 15, 16, 17 and 18 were the non-album "Rock & Roll with Mungo Jerry" EP released November 1974 in the UK on Dawn DNS 1092

Track 19 originally appeared as Track 3 on Side 1 of the October 1974 UK LP compilation "Golden Hour Presents Mungo Jerry's Greatest Hits" on Golden Hour GH 586

MUNGO JERRY was:

RAY DORSET - Lead Vocals, Electric, Acoustic and Steel Guitars, Kazoo, Harmonica and Footstomps

RAY KING - Acoustic Guitars and Banjo, Blues Harp, Jug and Kazoo

COLIN EARL - Piano and Harpsichord

JOHNNY VAN DERRIK - Violin

MIKE COLE - Double Bass

The glossy Mini LP-sized clamshell box houses five single card-sleeve repro-covers of the original British albums (3 and 4 contain picture CDs whilst the other labels are plain colours) and a jam-packed 20-page booklet. It's a feast for the eyes and brain containing hordes of rare 7" single picture sleeves on almost every page (Italy, Japan, Eastern Europe and so on), period memorabilia (sheet music, A-label demos, alternative artwork and so forth) and new hugely informative liner notes from ALAN CLAYSON. The rear covers of the British LPs are even pictured on the last credits page. But as fans will know the first four Mungo Jerry albums in the UK all came in tasty gatefold sleeves (the last was a single plain cover) - "Boot Power" had a lyric insert whilst the debut came with 3D-glasses to look at the 3D'd cover on original issues - and unfortunately an opportunity has been missed here in not giving them the repro glory they deserved. Still with half decent JAMES BRAGG Audio and a price tag that sees these LPs and straggler-sides weigh in at just above four-quid per album and you'd have to argue that there's an awful lot baby jumping to be had here. On to the music...

We learn that Producer Barry Murray (who worked for Pye Records) first heard only one minute of "In The Summertime" at a Ray Dorset acoustic-guitar demo session in his offices and knew it was a No. 1 – screaming it from his chair. But when it was recorded shortly thereafter – the band realised that one-minute of music was literally all they had. They then went upstairs to the car park - miked up the exhaust pipe of an executive's sports car and recorded the roars - went back downstairs and panned that exhaust rumble across the speakers in the middle of the song. They then simply re-repeated the first recorded minute twice and a musical year-defining legend was made. Released a month prior to the album - a spot on Peel's Radio Show and a TV slot on the BBC's 'Disco Two' saw the shush-right-up sweety long-legs Dawn single for "In The Summertime" enter the UK charts at No. 13 after only one week and smash to the top by week two. It was the same chart MO virtually everywhere else on the planet (its infectious Kazoo shuffle hit No. 3 in the USA).

"In The Summertime" had a simplistic Jug Band joy that captured the imagination and the feet and much of the debut album reflects the same - from the cod Rock 'n' Roll homage to heroes of old in "Baby Let's Play House" where a vocally-echoed Dorset mimics his best Presley lip-sneer through to the "Lady Rose" identikit sound of "Maggie" and the wonderful "My Friend" which could easily have been another Top Ten blast everywhere ("Tramp" is the one moment of surprising delicacy).

Their second platter remains their most famous and commercially successful - "Electronically Tested" – renamed "Baby Jump" in certain territories after that second single sparked Mungomania and suddenly everybody wanted to sing about girls in figure-hugging clothing and see-through sweaters. The Production quality for Album Two certainly jumped up as is evidenced by "She Rowed" and the grungy but in-yer-face guitars of "I Just Wanna Make Love To You" – a not entirely comfortable stab at the Willie Dixon/Muddy Waters Chess Records classic. "Somebody Stole My Wife" could easily have been another hit single on an album that finally included "In The Summertime" and "Baby Jump" amidst its ranks – while Dorset gets to stretch out his wordsmith talent with the miserable-banker remembering sweets in the schoolyard then becoming boring suits and insufferable bosses in "Memories Of A Stockbroker". Morbid ponderings of such like are soon replaced with drinking in "You Better Leave That Whiskey Alone" – a jaunty tale of a wife who took the bottle down off the shelf when her husband buggered off the summer previous and hasn’t been able to replace it – two-fingering her doctor’s advice. It ends with a love song – a girl writing Ray to remind him of what he’s missing – if only he can stop taking girls on his worldwide pop-star travels (oops dear – I’m afraid from his tone - he’s off again).

By the time Mungo Jerry had reached LP No. 3 – the Americans had stopped listening (none of the next three were released there) probably judging them to be a one-hit wonder novelty sound like "Neanderthal Man" by a pre-10cc Hotlegs. But that's not to say there isn't more on here worth loving – there is. In fact what gets me about a Box Set called "Albums Collection" is how much you keep returning to their singles and those deadly non-album B-sides that were for me at least better than many of the hurried album cuts. The cocaine-romp of "Have A Whiff On Me" and the my-woman-is-on-my-mind-again rumble of "The Man Behind The Piano". There's the two stunners that followed "In The Summertime" on their first 'Maxi Play' single EP (33 1/3 playing speed anybody) - "Mighty Man" and "Dust Pneumonia Blues" - winners both. And best of all is the amazing and truly period-evocative "Lady Rose" - presented here in both single and LP form. My poison has always been the looser more feel-good 7" single version - dee dee dee dee dee indeed. "Lady Rose" has always brought a smile to my face and the same goes for Mungo Jerry - even if the albums and hits had clearly tapered off by 1974's drearily-clad "Long Legged Woman".

"...Life's for living and that's our philosophy..." - the permanently ringlet-haired Ray Dorset sang on "In The Summertime" all those years ago.  "The Dawn Albums Collection" is not all genius for sure - but man-oh-man could the Middlesex boy pen a hit - and I for one am glad 7t's/Cherry Red have catalogued those hazy-crazy days in this micro-mini skirt of a Box Set. Pass the kazoo lads - it's time to shuffle...

"The Albums" by PENTANGLE (October 2017 Cherry Red Records 6-Album/7CD Box Set - Nick Watson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 300+ Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

1960s and 1970s MUSIC ON CD - Volume 2 of 3 - Exceptional CD Remasters

As well as 1960s and 1970s Rock and Pop - It Also Focuses On

Folk, Folk Rock, Country Rock, Reggae, Punk and New Wave

Just Click Below To Purchase for £3.95

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

"...Strange Treasures Passed Me By..."

I'm struck with a thought as I wade through this boatload of musical brilliance - why aren't PENTANGLE monster - I mean absolutely friggin huge?

Celebrating 50 years since their formation in 1967 - Cherry Red's "The Albums" Box Set is a gorgeous thing to have and hold for sure. Superlative brick block presentation with Mini LP Repro sleeves for all six titles, best-ever sound (a new audio source for 1972’s magical "Solomon's Seal") and extras galore (22 Previously Unreleased). Chronologically you get five albums (1968 to 1972) from their initial productive blitz at the UK’s home for all things Folk and weird Transatlantic Records - along with their final on Reprise Records – a supposed comeback that cruelly turned out to be a false new dawn before the horrid and acrimonious spilt in the spring of 1973 (drunken phonecalls ahoy). Alongside all that reissue sexiness is a 20,000-word essay by MICK HOUGHTON (long-time associate with the band and Bert Jansch) in a beautifully laid out 88-page book (concert tickets, UK and US trade adverts and flyers etc). "The Albums" also includes a COLIN HARPER month-by-month band history timeline (worrying amounts of details and tour dates), NICK WATSON Remasters that breath new life into these largely Acoustic songs and a quantity of repro’d memorabilia that would make Bear Family of Germany twitchy in the lederhosen area.

But more than that - as you re-visit record after record here - you're filled with admiration at their originality – musical soundscapes and philosophical themes that still have a lingering influence in Folk-Rock, Acid-Folk, Acoustic Blues and even World Music. And all of it achieved without ever really getting the blue-plaque credit Pentangle so obviously deserve. There's a huge amount of info to slaver over, so let's get to those Reflections and Baskets of Light...

UK released Friday, 6 October 2017 (13 October 2017 in the USA) - "The Albums" by PENTANGLE on Cherry Red Records CRCDBOX41 (Barcode 5013929104105) is a 6-Album/7-Disc Box Set with an Extensive 88-Page Booklet, 22 Previously Unreleased Tracks and Mini LP Repro Artwork Card Sleeves. It plays out as follows:

Disc 1 "The Pentangle" 1968 Debut Album (72:12 minutes):

1. Let No Man Steal Away Your Thyme [Side 1]

2. Bells

3. Hear My Call

4. Pentangling

5. Mirage [Side 2]

6. Way Behind The Sun

7. Bruton Town

8. Waltz

Tracks 1 to 8 are their debut album "The Pentangle" - released May 1968 in the UK on Transatlantic Records TRA 162 and November 1968 in the USA on Reprise Records RS 6315.

BONUS TRACKS:

9. Koan (Take 2)

10. The Wheel

11. The Casbah

12. Bruton Town (Take 3)

13. Hear My Call (Alternate Take)

14. Way Behind The Sun (Alternate Take)

15. Way Behind The Sun (Instrumental)

Tracks 9 to 15 are outtakes from the 1968 sessions and first appeared on the 2001 CD Reissue of "The Pentangle" on Castle Music CMRCD 131

16. Bruton Town (Take 5) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED Session Outtake

17. Koan (Take 1) - 1968 Session outtake first appeared on the December 2007 4CD Box Set "The Time Has Come 1967-1973" on Castle Music CMXBX664

18. Travellin' Song - a non-album UK 7" single A-side released May 1968 on Big T Records BIG T 109 (the album track "Mirage" was the B-side)

19. Poison

20. I've Got A Feeling

21. Market Song

Tracks 19 to 21 are from their first sessions in August 1967 - "Poison" was issued on the 2007 Box Set "The Time Has Come 1967-1973" - the other two are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED. A re-recording of "Market Song" opens the "Sweet Child" double-album

Disc 2 "Sweet Child" 1968 Double Album:

CD1 (76:20 minutes):

1. Market Song [Side 1]

2. No More My Lord

3. Turn Your Money Green

4. Haitian Fight Song

5. A Woman Like You

6. Goodbye Pork Pie Hat

7. Three Dances - Brentzel Gay/La Rotta/The Earle Of Salisbury [Side 2]

8. Watch The Stars

9. So Early In The Spring

10. No Exit

11. The Time Has Come

12. Bruton Town

Tracks 1 to 12 are Record 1 of 2 for "Sweet Child" - released November 1968 in the UK on Transatlantic TRA 170 and February 1969 in the USA on Reprise 2RS 6334. Record 1 was recorded 29 June 1968 LIVE at the Royal Festival Hall in London with "Bruton Town" being the only song from their past catalogue (Record 2 was studio recordings). It didn't chart in either the UK or USA.

BONUS TRACKS:

13. Hear My Call

14. Let No Man Steal Your Thyme

15. Bells

16. Travellin' Song

17. Waltz

18. Way Behind The Sun

19. John Donne Song

Tracks 13 to 19 were recorded at the same gig as Disc 1 - first appeared on the 2001 2CD Reissue of "Sweet Child" on Castle Music CMDDD 132

CD2 (78:04 minutes):

1. Sweet Child [Side 3]

2. I Loved A Lass

3. Three Part Thing

4. Sovay

5. In Time

6. In Your Mind [Side 4]

7. I've Got A Feeling

8. The Trees They Do Grow High

9. Moon Dog

10. Hole In The Coal

Tracks 1 to 10 are Record 2 of 2 for "Cruel Sister" (see CD1). The Studio set was recorded August 1968 with Shel Talmy of The Who fame producing.

BONUS TRACKS:

11. Hole In The Coal (Alternate Take)

12. The Trees They Do Grow High (Alternate Take)

13. Haitian Fight Song (Studio Take)

14. In Time (Alternate Take)

Tracks 11 to 14 are session outtakes and first appeared on the 2001 2CD Reissue of "Sweet Child" on Castle Music CMDDD 132

15. A Woman Like You

16. I've Got A Woman

17. I Am Lonely

Tracks 15 to 17 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED Mixes from the Bert Jansch January 1969 solo LP "Birthday Blues" on Transatlantic TRA 179

18. Poison

19. Blues

Tracks 18 and 19 are the released versions from the Bert Jansch January 1969 solo LP "Birthday Blues" - "Poison" features DUFFY POWER on Harmonica

20. Sally Go Round The Roses (Alternate Take No. 2)

Track 20 is a session outtake from the 1969 "Basket Of Light" album and first appeared on the July 2001 CD Reissue for that record on Castle Music CMRCD207. Chronologically it's out of order here - but it appears on this CD and not Disc 3 for space reasons only.

21. Moon Dog (Full Band Version) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED. Terry Cox performs the song Solo on the released double-album - here the Full Band joins him (liner notes advise that this is an 'imperfect tape source')

Disc 3 "Basket Of Light" 1969 Album (77:06 minutes):

1. Light Flight [Side 1]

2. Once I Had A Sweetheart

3. Springtime Promises

4. Lyke Wake Dirgs

5. Train Song

6. Hunting Song [Side 2]

7. Sally Go Round The Roses

8. The Cuckoo

9. House Carpenter

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

BONUS TRACKS:

10. Sally Go Round The Roses  (Alternate Take No. 1) - first appeared on the July 2001 CD Reissue for that record on Castle Music CMRCD207

11. Cold Mountain - non-album B-side to the October 1969 UK 7" single for "Light Flight (Theme for "Take Three Girls") on Big Tree BIG 128

12. I Saw An Angel - non-album B-side to the May 1969 UK 7" single for "Once I Had A Sweetheart" on Big Tree BIG 124 (Stereo)

13. House Carpenter (Live)

14. Light Flight (Live)

15. Pentangling (Live)

Tracks 13 to 15 recorded March/April 1970 on UK tour - "Pentangling (Live)" released on the December 2007 4CD Box Set "The Time Has Come 1967-1973" on Castle Music CMXBX664 - "House Carpenter (Live)" and "Light Flight (Live)" are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Disc 4 "Cruel Sister" 1969 Album (72:48 minutes):

1. A Maid That's Deep In Love [Side 1]

2. When I Was In My Prime

3. Lord Franklin

4. Cruel Sister

5. Jack Orion [Side 2]

Tracks 1 to 5 are their fourth album "Cruel Sister" - released November 1970 in the UK on Transatlantic Records TRA 228 and February 1971 in the USA on Reprise Records RS 6430. Produced by BILL LEADER - it peaked at No. 51 in the UK (didn't chart USA)

BONUS TRACKS:

6. Will The Circle Be Unbroken (Take 1)

7. Rain & Snow (Take 2)

8. Omie wise (Take 2)

9. John's Song [alias "So Clear"] (Take 7)

10. Reflection (Olympic Studios, Take 1)

11. When I Get Home (Alternate Vocal)

Tracks 6 to 11 are all March 1971 session outtakes for the "Reflection" album - all PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Disc 5 "Reflection" 1971 Album (75:54 minutes):

1. Wedding Dress [Side 1]

2. Omie Wise

3. Will The Circle Be Unbroken?

4. When I Get Home

5. Rain & Snow

6. Helping Hand [Side 2]

7. So Clear

8. Reflection

Tracks 1 to 8 are their fifth album "Reflection" - released October 1971 in the UK on Transatlantic Records TRA 240 and December 1971 in the USA on Reprise Records RS 6463. Produced by BILL LEADER - it didn't chart in either country

BONUS TRACKS:

9. Shake Shake Mama

10. Kokomo Blues

11. Faro Annie

12. Back On The Road Again

Tracks 9 to 12 are from the John Renbourn solo album "Faro Annie" (featuring the John, Danny and Terry trio from Pentangle) released January 1972 in the UK on Transatlantic TRA 247.

13. Will The Circle Be Unbroken? (Alternate Vocal)

14. Reflection (Command Studios, Take 1)

15. John's Song [alias "So Clear"] (Take 5 with Fuzz Guitar)

16. Wondrous Love

Tracks 13 to 16 are outtakes from the "Reflection" album sessions recorded March 1971 and are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Disc 6 "Solomon's Seal" 1972 Album (49:17 minutes):

1. Sally Free And Easy [Side 1]

2. The Cherry Tree Carol

3. The Snows

4. High Germany

5. People On The Highway

6. Willy O'Winsbury [Side 2]

7. No Love Is Sorrow

8. Jump, Baby, Jump

9. Lady Of Carlisle

Tracks 1 to 9 are their sixth album "Solomon's Seal" - released September 1972 in the UK on Reprise Records K 44197 and October 1972 in the USA on Reprise Records MS 2100. Produced by PENTANGLE - it didn't chart in either country. The 2003 Castle Music CD reissued used a tape provided by John Renbourn (the originals were thought to be lost) - this issue uses a better alternate source for this 2017 Remaster

BONUS TRACKS:

10. When I Get Home (Live)

11. She Moved Through The Fair (Live)

12. Train Song (Live)

Tracks 10 to 12 are from an audience tape recorded November 1972. Selected by the band for this release - they're PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

PENTANGLE was:

JACQUI McSHEE – Lead Vocals

BERT JANSCH – Lead Vocals and Guitars

JOHN RENBOURN – Lead and Backing Vocals and Guitars

DANNY THOMPSON – Double Bass

TERRY COX – Drums and Percussion

A huge drawn out double-bass note eases in the Traditional "Let No Man Steal Your Thyme" - the Side 1 opener for their groundbreaking debut "The Pentangle" - and as Reprise Records was want to tell its sceptical US public - "...it is necessary to talk of "fusions of traditional folk forms"..." First up the audio is fantastic - the instrumental "Bells" sounding positively cathedral-like. The cover of The Staple Singers secular classic "Hear My Call" is given that Pentangle shuffle (no voices sounding). But little prepared May 1968 listeners for the sneakily clever twister "Pentangling" - seven minutes of go-go 60ts Folk with Jacqui McShee's vocals lovely and soothing at first only to be replaced with acoustic-guitar battles, a Double Bass solo and a Bert Jansch counter vocal that underpins the whole mad brilliant thing. Wow - is it any wonder the 'Ling' became such a concert showstopper. Other highlights include the Trad Blues of "Way Behind The Sun" - a song associated with Barbara Dane and her 1964 US Folkways album "Sings The Blues With 6 & 12-String Guitar" (The Byrds recorded a version during the "Sweethearts Of The Rodeo" sessions in 1968). Amazing audio too on the finisher instrumental "Waltz" which is more Guitars-Go-Dancing than Strauss with Thompson's Double Bass solo likely to kick her your speaker's teeth in. Of the Disc 1 Bonus Material my raves are the duo of "The Wheel" and "The Casbah" which sound like Jimmy Page goofing off on an Acoustic Guitar during the recordings of Roy Harper's 1971 Harvest masterpiece "Stormcock". The unreleased Take 5 of "Bruton Town" is getting close to the released version and is beautifully rendered here - while the alarmingly poppy "I've Got A Feeling" and "Market Song" make their debut here (what a blast). 

Released only months after the truly innovative opening salvo - the double "Sweet Child" offered more of the same - and yes - more. One LP was live (all songs new except "Bruton Town") and the other studio and it had a Pentagram on the gatefold sleeve. Virtually unrecognisable from their initial 1967 session - "Market Town" opens proceedings in slowed-down mellow mode. Things really start to cook with "No More My Lord" - Jacqui confident and strong as she belts out the secular cry for help. Furey Lewis' "Turn Your Money Green" sounds like Fred Neil and Band live in England whilst the two Mingus covers "Haitian Fight Song" and "Goodbye Pork-Pie Hat" allow Thompson to show off some serious Jazz swing chops. They give an early outing to Anne Briggs on her "The Time Has Come" - a smart choice you wished had produced more interest in her CBS Records album of the same name. Shel Talmy of Who fame produced the Studio LP that opens with the lovely title track "Sweet Child" - Bert and Jacqui sharing vocals. The three Traditional covers "I Loved A Lass", "Sovoy" and "The Trees They Do Grow High" are all transformed into Acid Folk-Rock - each sounding amazing on this new Remaster. I'm loving the Previously Unreleased Mix of "A Woman Like You" - a Jansch "Birthday Blues" solo album track that features the 'trio' - him, Thompson and Cox. Sporting gorgeous audio too is "I've Got A Woman" which comes without Ray Warleigh's saxophone solo that made the released version. And another prize is surely the solo 'Acoustic Guitar and Voice Only' take on "I Am Lonely" - as lovely as you're ever likely to hear English Folk be played. 

"Basket Of Light" would become their most commercially successful album (No.5 in the UK) and when you hear the Jacqui lead ""Once I Had A Sweetheart" and the Jansch lead "Spring Time Promises" - joyful Folk-Rock with that Pentangle rhythm section giving the Acoustic Guitar duelling a swing that's hard to resist – you can hear why the public dug it. You could say the songs are all expanded Acoustic workouts, but the number of musical ideas for instance going on in the 4:47 minutes of "Train Song" is utterly brilliant - Jacqui giving it some bah-bah vocals while Bert sings about burning loins. Church-like Name Of The Rose vocals open the gorgeous ye-olde-England "Lyke Wake Dirg" - the combined voices and quiet Terry Cox hand drum giving the religious mood a subtle bottom end. Lyrics from the brilliant "Light Flight" title this review.

The whole 1971 "Reflections" album takes their sound forward - banjos, sitars, violins and those ever-present Danny Thompson Bass lines - a very accomplished album. "...Prettiest thing you've ever seen..." Jacqui sings on "Wedding Dress". There are the traditional tales of woe and longing - promises of marriage blight the poor gal in "Ornie Wise" while Indian Sitar rhythms make things perkier for the lass with cheeks like a red rose in "Rain And Snow" - a girl who isn't going to be treated this way.

And while the first four LPs will be well-worn territory for fans - how good is it hear "Solomon's Seal" sound this good. Apparently the tale goes that the masters have been missing for decades and in a story that I want to be true - when asked to help with the 2003 Castle Music CD reissue Renbourn only went and found a tape box at home propping up a table somewhere. Well, although they're coy as to what they've found, Cherry Red tells us they're using 'an alternate source' here and it sure sounds fabulous. Of the 9 tracks - five were Traditional Song covers with Cyril Tawney's "Sally Free And Easy" being the sixth. "People On The Highway", "No Love Is Sorrow" and "Jump, Baby, Jump" are band compositions that will delight lovers of Sitar acid-based folk. Jacqui and Bert alternate lead vocals (Jacqui on "The Cherry Tree Carol" while Bert handles "The Snows" and so on) - but on the three band songs they share duet vocals - particularly effective on the gorgeous "People On The Highway". And it all ends on an audience tape recorded at the Guildford Civic Hall in November 1972 - three Previously Unreleased. And while the vocals are distant (the other instruments are good) - there is a lovely ballad vibe to the concert - their playing Joni Mitchell-sweet and you can so hear why the remaining members of the band would have chosen these songs to finish up this fab Box.

"...My own darling jewel sat smiling by me..."- Jacqui McShee sang wistfully on "Once I Had A Sweetheart". I'm going to be smiling and dipping into this amazing box set for years to come – I know it.

Well done to John Reed, Adam Velasco, Dave Timperley and all the other good eggs at Cherry Red Records for giving PENTANGLE the send off they deserved - inside of the 'whimpering' one they got in 1973.

"...Sit thee down and put them own..." we're advised in the 'receive-they-soul' "Lyke-Wake Dirge". Amen to that Acid-Folk advice baby...

"Any Mother Doesn't Grumble" by MICK SOFTLEY (November 2016 Cherry Red/Morello Records CD Reissue - Alan Wilson Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Traveller's Song..."

Gorgeous at times - bit of a lost classic maybe – in fact why the Hell isn't this huge? Descriptive praiseworthy adjectives and so many questions...

Born to Irish parents, English Singer, renowned traveller and Folk-Club owner MICK SOFTLEY had already clocked up three albums by the time he'd gotten to July 1972's "Any Mother Doesn't Grumble" - his third and final LP for CBS Records in a 3-record UK deal. Not that Joe Public noticed. "Time Machine" and "Waterfall" from his September 1970 "Sunrise" album were aggressively promoted on two British CBS sampler albums of the period - the "Rock Buster" double set from 1970 (with Arnie flexing his torso on the cover) and "Together" - a single LP compilation from 1971 - but neither did little to improve sales.

In fact until November 2016 - this beautifully recorded/played obscurity has remained stubbornly off the digital Garden of Delights grass - a strange one in a world where Folk and Folk-Rock rarities are absolutely all the rage. And even with the enticement of having most of Fairport Convention and Fotheringay as his backing band combined with Barry de Souza and Lyn Dobson of Curved Air and Soft Machine fame also adding jazzy flourishes – the album is still 'only' listed at £40 in the 2018 Record Collector Rare Records Price Guide - a wee bit of a fiscal underestimation in my books.

At least this CD does a sweet job of reissuing his touch-a-nerve Folk and Folk Rock (also available as a Download from Cherry Red's website). Let's get to the lovely days, minstrel songs and stones on the sand...

UK released 11 November 2016 - "Any Mother Doesn't Grumble" by MICK SOFTLEY on Cherry Red/Morello Records MRLL 65 (Barcode 5013929896536) is a straightforward transfer of the 12-track 1972 album and plays out as follows (41:18 minutes):

1. The Song That I Sing [Side 1]

2. Hello Little Flower

3. Sing While You Can

4. The Minstrel Song

5. Magdalene's Song

6. Traveller's Song

7. From The Land Of The Crab

8. Lady Willow [Side 2]

9. Great Lady Of Cathay

10. If Wishes Were Horses

11. Have You Ever Really Seen The Stars

12. I'm So Confused

Tracks 1 to 12 are his 4th studio album "Any Mother Doesn't Grumble" - released September 1972 in the UK on CBS Records S 64841 (no US release). Produced by TONY COX - it didn't chart.

PLAYERS were:

MICK SOFTLEY - Acoustic Guitar and Lead Vocals

JERRY DONAHUE - Electric and Acoustic Guitars

TONY COX - Keyboards

LYN DOBSON - Soprano Sax, Tenor Sax, Flute and Harmonica

PAT DONALDSON - Bass

GERRY CONWAY - Drums and Percussion

BARRY de SOUZA - Percussion

The 8-page inlay features the LP's original single-sleeve artwork (front and rear) but unfortunately doesn't think to reprint the unreadable lyrics. Still in its place are superb liner notes from CRAIG BRACKENRIDGE that give a potted-history of his wildly diverse musical career and subsequent 'travelling' life (he now lives in Northern Ireland and turns up at Folk Fairs there). ALAN WILSON has done the transfers and it sounds just wonderful - very clean but still with air around it. "...Doesn't Grumble" was a nicely produced album and featured quality musicians and that shows up in this transfer on every track. 

So why is the album undervalued? The first two LPs he did for CBS Records moved away from the purist Folk of his debut LP "Songs For Swingin' Survivors" on Columbia Records in August 1965. The initial pairing of his CBS trilogy - "Sunrise" from September 1970 and "Street Singer" from September 1971 - introduced cool instrumentation like the Tabla and Tantric Chanting - a magnet for collectors and lovers of Acid-tinged Folk. But CBS Records N. 3 "Any Mother Doesn't Grumble" contains only mild flourishes of that - the second half of the brilliant Side 1 opener "The Song I Sing" where Lyn Dobson gets to rip on Flute and Sax. Mostly the rest of the album softens it down - it's pretty - and on songs like "Sing While You Can" and the seven minutes of acoustic hurt in "Have You Ever Really Seen The Stars" - the vibe feels almost naked and raw. Band numbers like "I'm So Confused" and the piano-led "Traveller's Song" feel like Roy Harper being philosophical or Dylan pining in an English pub (Lyn Dobson on Harmonica).

Something called "Hello Little Flower" could of course elicit howls of Jail-That-Hippy - but his delivery is delicate - a very Donavan simplicity as he smiles at nature's garden wonders. Again with the softly-softly on "Sing While You Can" - a lone acoustic guitar and a quivering voice joined by Dobson's complimentary flute - giving the soft melody a Seventies loveliness. Blacksmiths, forges and mills get an airing in the very Ian Anderson acoustic ditty "The Minstrel Song" - gorgeous Audio too. The one and half minute "Magdalene's Song" is full of working girls, spewing factories and empty pews in churches - eventually ending up in some grotty bar with needles in arms. CBS actually tried the ridin' high acoustic "Lady Willow" with the jaunty "From The Land Of The Crab" on its B-side as a UK 45 in July 1972 - but the Promo 7" single for CBS S 8269 didn't get much feedback (looks like stock copies were never pressed). "Great Wall Of Cathay" is almost "Lady Willow" Volume 2 - Confucius knowing why they built it. "if Wishes Were Horses" is probably the most 'Folk-Rock with other stuff going on' song - Softley singing about spaceships as Dobson flits between Flute and Saxophones on a soloing spree.

"Any Mother Doesn't Grumble" isn't an out-and-out 10-star masterpiece - but a re-listen in March 2018 (46 years after the event) confirms for me that someone somewhere along the yearly time-line missed out on a serious trick here. Fans will have to own it and for the genre-curious - there's enough Folk and Folk Rock loveliness on this sweet-sounding reissue to warrant interest and even intense affection.

And well done once more to Cherry Red (and their Morello Records) for getting this lost flower out into the public domain at last. 

"Have You Ever Really Seen The Stars?" - Softley asked back in 1972. 
Well Mick, I'm looking and listening now and that's for damn sure...