"The Last Of The Teenage Idols" by ALEX HARVEY (2016 Universal 14CD Box vs. 2017 4CD Book Set Reissue - Paschal Byrne and Ben Wiseman Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With Almost 300 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

1960s and 1970s MUSIC ON CD - Volume 3 of 3

- Exceptional CD Remasters

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

Blues Rock, Prog Rock, Psych, Avant Garde, Underground

Folk-Rock, Singer-Songwriter, Country Rock and more

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 Last of The Teenage Idols 

2016 Universal 14CD 10"x 10" Box Set 

vs. 

2017 Universal 4CD Truncated Book Set Reissue 

"...Tomahawk Kid..."

There's an Amazon anomaly regarding the 'two variants' of the Alex Harvey anthology "The Last Of The Teenage Idols" that needs pointing out before we go ahead with a review.

First issued 31 March 2016 in Germany - "The Last Of The Teenage Idols" by ALEX HARVEY on Universal 536 212-0 (Barcode 00600753621202) came as a 217-Track 14CD 10" x 10" Box Set with 21 Tracks Previously Unreleased and 59 Songs Officially On CD for the first time. It included newly-remastered editions of all Alex's early solo work plus every Sensational Alex Harvey Band album along with outtakes, non-album singles, live recordings and BBC performances. It has a 64-Page Hardback Book with previously unseen photos from the family archives and exclusive interviews with friends, musicians and collaborators. But in June 2018 it has long since been deleted and is very hard to find.

Universal Germany then later truncated that original monster into a more manageable (and sellable) 4CD Book Set called "The Last Of The Teenage Idols – The Highlights" released 24 February 2017 on Universal 537 420-8 (Barcode 600753742082). This later variant comes in a Hardback Book Set with 78-Tracks and a reduced 42-page booklet attached inside. It is easily available on many sites (including Amazon) at somewhere between £25 and £40 depending on the seller.

The problem comes with Barcodes when you try to locate on Amazon the initial and more collectable 14CD set. I provide Barcodes in all my reviews because it gives buyers and fans a 'direct' cut-and-paste access to the 'right issue'. But for some computer-glitch reason when you use the Barcode 0600753621202 for the 14-disc set on Amazon UK, Germany or even the USA – you are automatically brought to the 4CD reissue on all three sites without any explanation. It is the only option provided using any other search. In fact it's as if the 14CD variant doesn't exist on any of those sites – nor indeed ever did.

Worse - If you use the Barcode for the 4CD Book Reissue (600753742082) – you are told it's not there either. But the Barcode 600753742082 is pictured in their reference B01N1O0G1H for £33.44 – a different entry entirely on their system. Bloody confusing I know. Also because Universal didn't change the front cover artwork of the 4CD reissue set to include the words "The Highlights" on the front (those words are only visible on the spine of the 2017 reissue) – both sets look identical in their generic front cover pictures. So you might be fooled into thinking you're getting a 14-disc bargain for £25 – you're not. If you want the bigger set - other auction sites are selling copies for wildly varying prices – one starts at £250 and goes upwards to £350 – while another famous Bay site occasionally has secondhand copies for about £125 or a bit more.

As I own both variants (which I’ve pictured below) - let's compare the two. At the base of each Disc list I’ve pointed out (a) Previously Unreleased (b) First Time On Official CD and (c) one entry for Previously Unreleased on CD. I’ve also added more detail and corrected a few catalogue number errors on the original box (all tracks credited to Alex Harvey unless otherwise stated):

Disc 1 (63:47 minutes):

1. What's Wrong With Me Baby

2. The Liverpool Scene

Recorded 3 October 1963 in Hamburg, Germany. Track 1 credited to Alex Harvey and His Soul Band – Track 2 credited to Alex Harvey and Scouser

Both songs first appeared as Previously Unreleased recordings on the 1999 CD "Alex Harvey and His Soul Band" on Bear Family BCD 16302

3. Going Back To Birmingham

4. Jailhouse Rock

Track 3 credited to Alex Harvey and His Soul Band - aka The Sabres

Track 4 credited to Alex Harvey and His Soul Band - aka James Dale and The Top 10 Allstars

Tracks 3 and 4 appeared on the German LP "Everything's Allright with Isabella Bond" by Isabella Bond on Decca SLK 16 333

They are live recordings from the "Top Ten Beat Club" Hamburg Reeperbahn, Nr. 2

5. Framed [Side 1]

6. I Ain't Worrying Baby

7. Backwater Blues

8. Let The Good Times Roll

9. Going Home

10. I've Got My Mojo Working

11. Teensville USA

12. New Orleans [Side 2]

13. Bo Diddley Is A Gun Slinger

14. When I Grow Too Old To Rock

15. Evil Hearted Man

16. I Just Wanna Make Love To You

17. The Blind Man

18. Reeling And Rocking

Tracks 5 to 18 originally issued 1964 in Germany as the LP "Alex Harvey and His Soul Band" on Polydor 46 424

19. Lord Randall

20. Born With The Blues

21. House Of The Rising Sun

Tracks 3 to 18 are FIRST TIME ON OFFICIAL CD

Tracks 19 to 21 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED - recorded Hamburg, Germany, 9 May 1963

Disc 2 (55:33 minutes):

1. Shout

2. Sticks And Stones

3. Take Out Some Insurance On Me Baby

4. Long Long Gone

5. Penicillin Blues

6. Shakin' All Over

7. Outskirts Of Town

8. Tutti Frutti

9. My Kind Of Lovin'

10. Parchman Farm

11. Ten A Penny

12. Canoe Song

13. You Ain't No Good To Me

14. You've Put A Spell On Me

15. Hoochie Coochie Man

Tracks 1 to 15 recorded as Alex Harvey and His Soul Band, 2 September 1963 in Hamburg and then in London 14 August 1964 for the abandoned 2nd Soul Band album. Remastered from original tapes and presented here in the original running order.

16. Elevator Rock (Recorded 1963/4 during the Soul Band album sessions)

17. You Are My Sunshine (Recorded in London, 14 August 1964)

18. Ain't That Just Too Bad (Recorded in 1964, released as the A-side to a German July 1965 7" single on Polydor BM 56017, First Time on CD)

19. The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot (Recorded in London, 5 August 1964)

Disc 3 (57:40 minutes):

1. Trouble In Mind [Side 1]

2. Honey Bee

3. I Learned About Women

4. Danger Zone

5. The Riddle Song

6. Waltzing Matilda

7. T.B. Blues

8. The Big Rock Candy Mountain [Side 2]

9. The Michigan Massacre

10. No Peace

11. Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out

12. St. James Infirmary Blues

13. Strange Fruit

14. Kisses Sweeter Than Wine

15. Good God Almighty

Tracks 1 to 15 from the Alex Harvey album "The Blues" released 1965 in Germany on Polydor 46 441

16. Agent 00 Soul

17. Go Away Baby

Tracks 16 and 17 are the non-album A&B-sides of a September 1965 UK 7" single on Fontana TF 610

Tracks 1 to 15 and 17 FIRST TIME ON CD

Disc 4 (58:57 minutes):

1. Work Song

2. I Can Do Without You

Tracks 1 and 2 are the non-album A&B-sides of a November 1966 UK 7" single on Fontana TF 764

3. The Sunday Song

4. Horizons

Tracks 3 and 4 are the non-album A&B-sides of a July 1967 UK 7" single on Decca F 12640

5. Maybe Some Day

6. Curtains For My Baby

Tracks 5 and 6 are the non-album A&B-sides of a September 1967 UK 7" single on Decca F 12660

7. Midnight Moses [Side 1]

8. Hello L.A. Bye Bye Birmingham

9. Broken Hearted Fairytale

10. Donna

11. Roman Wall Blues

12. Jumpin' Jack Flash [Side 2]

13. Hammer Song

14. Let My Bluebird Sing

15. Maxine

16. Down At Bart's Place

17. Candy

Tracks 7 to 17 are the album "Roman Wall Blues" - released October 1969 in the UK on Fontana TL 5534 (Mono) and Fontana STL 5534 (Stereo) - the Stereo mix is used.

18. Harp (Demo Version) - Music added by AH to a poem by Czech writer Miroslav Holub from a translation by Ian and Jamila Milner

Tracks 2, 3 to 6, 8 to 17 are FIRST TIME ON CD

Disc 5 (68:39 minutes):

1. Hair

2. Royal International Love-In

3. Bond Street Baby

4. Birthday

Tracks 1 to 4 by HAIR PIT BAND from the 1969 UK LP "Hair Rave-Up (Live From The Shaftsbury Theatre, London)" on Pye Records NSPL 18314

5. Ice Cold

6. You To Lose

7. Hole in Her Stocking

8. Wade In The Water

9. Born In The City

Tracks 5 to 9 are six of the eight-track album "Rock Workshop" by ROCK WORKSHOP that feature AH on Vocals - released June 1970 on CBS Records S 64075

10. The Joker Is Wild [Side 1]

11. Penicillin Blues

12. I Just Want To Make Love To You

13. I'm Just A Man

14. He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother

15. Silhouette And Shadow [Side 2]

16. Hare Krishna/Willie The Pimp - Medley

17. Flying Saucer's Daughter

Tracks 10 to 17 are from the album "The Joker Is Wild" by ALEX HARVEY - released 1972 in Germany on Metronome MLP 15429

Tracks 10 to 17 are FIRST TIME ON CD

Disc 6 (75:37 minutes):

1. Framed [Side 1]

2. Hammer Song

3. Midnight Moses

4. Isobel Goudie

Part 1. My Lady Of The Night

Part 2. Coitus Interruptus

Part 3. Virgin And The Hunter

5. Buff's Bar Blues [Side 2]

6. I Just Want To Make Love To You

7. Hole In Her Stocking

8. There's No Lights On The Christmas Tree Mother, They're Burning Big Louie Tonight

9. St. Anthony

Tracks 1 to 9 are the debut album "Framed" for THE SENSATIONAL ALEX HARVEY BAND - released December 1972 in the UK on Vertigo 6360 081

10. Harp

Track 10 is the non-album B-side to "There's No Lights On The Christmas Tree Mother, They're Burning Big Louie Tonight" released December 1972 in the UK as a 7"single on Vertigo 6059 070

11. Midnight Moses [Side 1]

12. St. Anthony

13. Framed

14. There's No Lights On The Christmas Tree Mother, They're Burning Big Louie Tonight

15. Hole In Her Stocking

Tracks 11 to 15 are SAHB recorded live for the BBC Radio 1 'In Concert' programme at the Paris Theatre in London, 2 November 1972. They first appeared on the April 2009 2CD compilation "Live At The BBC" on Spectrum Music 5312356.

Disc 7 (70:57 minutes):

1. Swampsnake [Side 1]

2. Gang Bang

3. The Faith Healer

4. Giddy Up A Ding Dong [Side 2]

5. Next

6. Vambo Marble Eye

7. The Last Of The Teenage Idols/Parts 1-2-3

Tracks 1 to 7 are the second SAHB album "Next" - released November 1973 in the UK on Vertigo 6360 103

8. The Faith Healer

9. Midnight Moses

10. Gang Bang

11. The Last Of The Teenage Idols

12. Giddy Up A Ding Dong

Tracks 8 to 12 are SAHB recorded live for the BBC Radio 1 'In Concert' programme at the Paris Theatre in London, 2 October 1973. They first appeared on the April 2009 2CD compilation "Live At The BBC" on Spectrum Music 5312356.

13. Next

14. The Faith Healer

Tracks 13 and 14 are SAHB recorded live for the BBC's TV programme 'The Old Grey Whistle Test', 20 December 1973. They first appeared on the April 2009 2CD compilation "Live At The BBC" on Spectrum Music 5312356.

Disc 8 (78:30 minutes):

1. The Hot City Symphony Part 1: Vambo [Side 1]

2. The Hot City Symphony Part 2: Man In The Jar

3. River Of Love

4. Long Hair Music

5. Hey

6. Sergeant Fury [Side 2]

7. Weights Made Of Lead

8. Money Honey/The Impossible Dream

9. Tomahawk Kid

10. Anthem

Tracks 1 to 10 are the 3rd SAHB album "The Impossible Dream" - released September 1974 in the UK on Vertigo 6360 112. As it runs to only 38-seconds - the "Hey" track ending Side 1 wasn't listed on the original 9-Track LP but is listed as a separate track on this 10-Track CD.

11. The Faith Healer

12. Giddy Up A Ding Dong

Tracks 11 and 12 were recorded live at the Ragnarock Festival, Oslo, Norway, 1974

13. Alex Harvey Talks About Everything

Track 13 taken from a Promotional Interview LP sent out in 1974 to US Radio Stations - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED ON CD

Disc 9 (67:14 minutes):

1. Action Strasse [Side 1]

2. Snake Bite

3. Soul In Chains

4. The Tale Of The Giant Stone Eater

5. Ribs And Balls

6. Give My Compliments To The Chef [Side 2]

7. Sharks Teeth

8. Shake That Thing

9. Tomorrow Belongs To Me

10. To Be Continued

Tracks 1 to 10 are the fourth SAHB album "Tomorrow Belongs To Me" - released April 1975 in the UK on Vertigo 9102 003

11. Give My Compliments To The Chef

Track 11 recorded live for the BBC's TV programme 'The Old Grey Whistle Test', 30 May 1975  

12. Action Strasse

13. Soul In Chains

14. The Tale Of The Giant Stone Eater

Tracks 12 to 14 are outtakes recorded at The Hammersmith Odeon, 24 May 1975 - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Disc 10 (72:34 minutes):

1. Fanfare (Justly, Skillfully, Magnanimously) [Side 1]

2. The Faith Healer

3. Tomahawk Kid

4. Vambo

5. Give My Compliments To The Chef [Side 2]

6. Delilah

7. Framed

Tracks 1 to 7 are the sixth SAHB album "Live" - released September 1975 in the UK on Vertigo 6360 122

8. Sergeant Fury

9. Gang Bang

10. Midnight Moses

11. Tomorrow Belongs To Me

Tracks 8 to 11 are outtakes recorded at The Hammersmith Odeon, 24 May 1975 - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

12. Delilah

Track 12 recorded live for the BBC's TV programme 'The Old Grey Whistle Test', 30 May 1975

Disc 11 (79:17 minutes):

1. I Wanna Have You Back [Side 1]

2. Jungle jenny

3. Runaway

4. Love Story

5. School's Out

6. Goodnight Irene [Side 2]

7. Say You're Mine (Every Cowboy Song)

8. Gamblin' Bar Room Blues

9. Crazy Horses

10. Cheek To Cheek

Tracks 1 to 10 are the seventh SAHB album "The Penthouse Tapes" - released March 1976 in the UK on Vertigo 9102 007

11. Tomahawk Kid

12. Isabel Goudie

13. Dance To Your Daddy

14. Framed

15. The Boston Tea Party

Tracks 11 to 15 recorded live at De Montford Hall, Leicester, 1975 - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Disc 12 (53:20 minutes):

1. Dance To Your Daddy

2. Amos Moses

3. Jungle Rub Out

4. Sirocco

5. Boston Tea Party [Side 2]

6. Sultan's Choice

7. $25 For A Massage

8. Dogs Of War

Tracks 1 to 8 are the seventh SAHB album "SAHB Stories" - released July 1976 in the UK on Mountain TOPS 112

9. Satchel And The Scalp Hunter

Track 9 is the non-album B-side to "Amos Moses" released August 1976 in the UK as a 7" single on Mountain TOP 19

10. Boston Tea Party

Track 10 taken from the BBV TV programme performance on 'Top Of The Pops' on 10 June 1976

11. Amos Moses (Longer Version)

Track 11 taken is 5:22 minutes long as opposed to 5:17 minutes on the LP - it is incorrectly listed as being from the US LP variant of "SAHB Stories" but it was never released Stateside - FIRST TIME ON CD

Disc 13 (64:36 minutes):

1. Rock Drill [Side 1]

2. The Dolphins

3. Rock & Rool

4. King Kong

5. Booids [Side 2]

6. Who Murdered Sex?

7. Nightmare City

8. Water Beastie

9. Mrs. Blackhouse

Tracks 1 to 9 are eight SAHB album "Rock Drill" - released March 1978 in the UK on Mountain TOPS 114

10. No Complaints Department - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

11. Engine Room Boogie

Track 11 is the non-album B-side of "Mrs. Blackhouse" released August 1977 in the UK as a 7" single on Mountain TOP 32 - FIRST TIME ON CD

12. King Kong

13. Midnight Moses

14. Rock & Rool

Tracks 12 to 14 credited to ALEX HARVEY with QUAD - recorded in session for the BBC Radio 1 programme 'Alan Freeman Rock Show', 6 March 1978 - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Disc 14 (68:17 minutes):

1. Introduction

2. Mrs. Grant Of Invermorriston

3. Billy Kennedy

4. I Love Monsters Too

Tracks 1 to 4 from the ALEX HARVEY LP "Alex Harvey Presents The Loch Ness Monster" - released 1977 in the UK on K-Tel NE 984. Richard O'Brien of "The Rocky Horror Show" fame narrates Track 1 - whilst Tracks 2 and 3 are spoken word by Alex Harvey.

5. Back In The Depot [Side 1]

6. The Mafia Stole My Guitar

7. Shakin' All Over [Side 2]

8. The Whalers (Thar She Blows)

9. Just A Gigalo/I Ain't Got Nobody 

Tracks 5 to 9 are five of the eight-tracks on the ALEX HARVEY - THE NEW BAND album "The Mafia Stole My Guitar" - released November 1979 in the UK on RCA Records PL 25257 (reissued February 1980).

10. Wake Up Davis (Sings the Oil Man Boogie)

Track 10 is the non-album B-side of "Shakin' All Over" released October 1979 in the UK as a 7" single on RCA Records PB 5199 - FIRST TIME ON CD

11. Big Tree (Small Axe) 

Track 11 is a non-album A-side released May 1980 in the UK on RCA Records PB 5252 (the B-side is the album track "The Whalers (Thar She Blows)" - FIRST TIME ON CD

12. Mitzi

13. Snowshoes Thompson

14. Roman Wall Blues

15. The Poet And I

16. Carry The Water

Tracks 12 to 16 are from the posthumous ALEX HARVEY LP "The Soldier On The Wall" - released November 1983 in the UK on Power Station Records AMP 2. Alex Harvey died of a heart attack in February 1982.

17. Billy Bolero (Home Demo Version) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

The 2017 4-Disc variant called "The Last Of The Teenage Idols - The Highlights" can be programmed from the 14CD Box using the following:

Disc 1 (79:43 minutes, 25 Tracks):

Tracks 5, 8, 11, 21 and 18 from Disc 1 - Tracks 1, 4, 6, 10 and 16 from Disc 2 - Tracks 1, 3, 8, 11 and 16 from Disc 3 - Tracks 1 and 3 from Disc 4

Track 4 from Disc 5 - Tracks 7, 13, 11 and 9 from Disc 4 - Tracks 2, 3 and 1 from Disc 6

Disc 2 (79:32 minutes, 16 Tracks):

Tracks 3, 6, 7, 12 and 13 from Disc 7 - Tracks 1, 2, 6, 10, 11 from Disc 8 - Tracks 1, 4, 5, 7, 9 and 10 from Disc 9

Disc 3 (78:33 minutes, 18 Tracks):

Track 1 from Disc 9 - Tracks 1, 2, 3, 6 and 8 from Disc 10 - Tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 from Disc 11 - Tracks 1, 6, 5 and 2 from Disc 12

Disc 4 (79:34 minutes, 17 Tracks):

Tracks 7, 8 and 9 from Disc 12 – Tracks 2, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 14 from Disc 13 – Tracks 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 17 from Disc 14

The 10” x 10” Box Set has three inlays with the first two containing the 14 CDs spread across foldout wallets – No. 1 with Discs 1 to 6 covers the Sixties Soul Band years right through the Hair Pit Band, Rock Workshop and the beginnings of SAHB (the debut “Framed” from 1972). Wallet No. 2 holds Discs 7 to 14 covering 1973 to 1983 all the way to a Home Demo made before his sad passing in 1982. The pencil-photograph artwork on each of the CD wallets (done by Rupert Lloyd) is nice and reflects the period of music contained within. But disappointingly all 14 CDs are the same colour (no original label variants) and the inner fold inlays are all blank across both wallets when they could have been filled with something relevant.

Making up for that - the hardback book is fabulous – crammed with fantastic black and white/colour photos from the family archive. We get early snaps of AH trying to be Scotland’s answer to Tommy Steel as he features on Ma Logan’s Rock & Roll show at the Metropole Theatre as far back as July 1957. Page 32 for instance has a display of four impossibly rare Deutsche Grammophon master tape boxes for the German 60ts releases when (like most everyone else) AH was immersed in American R&B and Soul. Page 63 shows the sixteen album sleeves covered by the Box (a huge haul of music) - while Pages 64 and 65 give a dizzying array of 7” single releases in colour (picture sleeves galore).

JOE BLACK arranged the compilation and tape research (aided by Brian McNeill, Joe Foster, Michael Ivarsson, Christer Lagergren and Jim Mclean) whilst the superb mastering is courtesy of a team I love and trust – PASCHAL BYRNE and BEN WISEMAN – two Audio Engineers who are no strangers to huge swathes of Rock, Blues and Soul CD reissues. Right from the tightly rehearsed Soul Band in 1964 through the nine SAHB albums and beyond – the AUDIO is superb – especially the Vertigo material where many people’s hearts will lie. For sure some of the singles from 1966 and 1967 aren’t audiophile by any stretch of the imagination but I suspect that’s down to their original get-‘em-out-by-Friday Production values and time constraints.

The set opens with two cuts from 1963 originally issued by Bear Family in 1999 on one their superlative CD compilations – and man can u hear their quality mastering. The debut album "Alex Harvey and His Soul Band" shows his prowess even so early on – tight, cool and with that fantastic Scottish lilt in his singing. Of the many covers on the debut live album it’s worth nothing that Leslie Harvey (his brother and an ace guitarist in his own right) would later bring the stunning Josh White, Jr. Blues ballad "The Blind Man" they covered on that 1963 LP to Scotland’s finest Blues-Rock band Stone The Crows (which he formed with James Dewar and Maggie Bell). Leslie and Maggie would absolutely nail it with the most fantastic version on their 1970 STC debut album. How cool is it to hear its first incarnation here – and legal too. Disc 1 finishes on a winning combo giving us the first three of 21 Previously Unreleased tracks. They have crystal audio and are sensational too – the Folk Traditional “Lord Randall” is AH and acoustic guitar while the great Scot gets real with the Brownie McGhee classic "Born With The Blues" – a poor soul trying to ditch the booze and the bottle but struggling to do so. Even a song I actually hate - "House Of The Rising Sun" (made famous of course by The Animals) gets a wickedly good AH going over.

After the R&B high of Disc 1 – Disc 2 comes as a big disappointment. You can so hear why the uninspired crash-bang-wallop of the second and unreleased Soul Band album was canned – much of it is poor and strangely old hat. The stragglers at the end of the Disc are even worse. Better is Disc 3 and the first Solo LP "The Blues" which is an unplugged set of covers – just AH and his brother Leslie Harvey on Acoustic Guitars and Vocals working through clever choices. Highlights include "Honey Bee" (Muddy Waters), "T. B. Blues" (Jimmie Rogers) and "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" (Leadbelly). His shot at 1964 stardom in the UK with the Fontana single "Agent 00 Soul" is almost embarrassingly bad – but the first time on CD B-side "Go Away Baby" is one of his own compositions and is a 60ts R&B belter.

The three standalone-singles from 1966 and 1967 that open Disc 4 are uniformly awful but he finally finds his musical and artistic persona with the "Roman Wall Blues" LP in 1969. It’s as if the looming Seventies would finally catch up with him and his style. The lovely long hair hippy ideals of the “Hair” musical is good but hardly essential - while the Rock Workshop stuff sounds like Blood, Sweat & Tears meets Chicago’s debut with a Scotsman at the microphone. I’ll admit that the German Metronome Records "Alex Harvey" LP from 1972 is new to me – but while his cover of The Hollies "He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother" is dire - tracks like "Penicillin Blues" are fantastic – a heavier Rock-Blues that the 60ts stuff. His cover of Zappa’s "Willie The Pimp" abutted with "Hare Krishna" has subversive snide - on the edge of SAHB. By the time we get to December 1972’s "Framed" on Disc 6 – the box starts cooking. Although he’d done the Lieber/Stoller Ritchie Valens Jail-Blues number "Framed" a decade earlier – suddenly with the Sensational Alex Harvey Band it comes alive with an absolute vengeance. Alex had finally found his group – Zal Cleminson on wild guitar (ex Tear Gas) while Hugh McKenna bashes those piano keys, Ted McKenna on Drums (also ex Tear Gas) with Chris Glenn on Bass. The anger is harnessed in "Hammer Song" but "Midnight Moses" tears out of your speakers with its bovver boots on (hey hey). Not for the first time would SAHB tape into a drunken swagger complete with racy lyrics - "Buff’s Bar Blues" delivering big time. And you can’t help thinking that "The Harp" – a non-album B-side from October 1972 is a bit of a forgotten gem.

By the time we get to Discs 7, 8 and 9 we’re into the winning streak - "Next" (1973), "The Impossible Dream" (1974) and the fantastic "Tomorrow Belongs To Me" (1975). So many concert faves here – the synth stabbing of "The Faith Healer", Jacque Brel’s "Next" and that sad but brilliant three-part title track "The Last Of The Teenage Idols" – truth in his weariness – riffage and mascara. I love album cuts like "River of Love", the churning Rock-Funk of "Weights Made Of Lead" and the I-wanna-talk-a-walk menace of "Action Strasse", the hiccupping wit of she-gimme-a "Snake Bite" and the sneaky but hilarious build-up mania of mind vs. body in "Soul In Chains" (tickets for the biggest gas in town) – all culminating in the studio cut of the brilliant "Give My Compliments To The Chef" (you give me a machine to wash my jeans in) – replaced unfortunately on the 4CD set with a live version.

Disc 10 to 14 features the commercial success of "The Boston Tea Party" – the wit of the covers album "The Penthouse Tapes" with hammering versions of The Osmonds, Jethro Tull, Alice Cooper and Del Shannon whilst their own "Jungle Jenny" show the creative juices were still flowing. And on it goes to the excellent "SAHB Stories" and "Rock Drill" LPs when I remember it felt like their number was up.

For sure the 14CD Box Set will be for fans only – but the truncated 4CD variant offers most of what you need whilst ditching a lot of the big boys padding. Whatever you look at it – we remember him with affection for a reason.

“...The guitar hangs on the wall is calling me in all its magnificence...” - Alex Harvey sang on "Give My Compliments To The Chef". Big or small - I’d answer that call if I were you...

"On The Soul Side" by VARIOUS ARTISTS (May 2018 Ace/Kent Soul 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue With 10 Bonus Tracks and Duncan Cowell Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 100s Of Others Is Available in my

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

SOUL, FUNK and JAZZ FUSION - Exception 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)

"...It Will Stand..."

I grimace now at the thought of it - but back in the day when I needed money for our kids or something - I sold my prized collection of 50 Kent LPs into the job (I worked at Reckless Records in Berwick Street and had diligently collected them across years). The idea at the time was that they (Kent LP compilations) were plentiful - turned up at every record fair and were cheap too. There was always 10 or 15 different titles lying around the basement of "Cheapo, Cheapo" in Rupert Street at £2.50 a throw.

Cut to decades later and with the demise of secondhand record shops everywhere and the rise of CD - it's a very different story. What was once plentiful and easy to access on LP is now not so, superseded by Ace's legendary 'Kent Soul' CD compilations which themselves are 32-years satisfying the marketplace and numbers probably 200+ releases and counting (the first showed in 1986).

The label 'Ace Records' began in 1975 but they started their 'Kent Soul' imprint with the vinyl LP compilation "For Dancers Only" on Kent KENT 001 in September 1982. By the time they'd wound down vinyl reissues on Kent in March 1990 with the Green Garland LP "Just For The Doctor" – the imprint had clocked up 97 releases on the black stuff. Which brings us to this fabulous 2018 CD reissue of their popular sixth outing KENT 006...

It gives us the original September 1983 16-track UK LP and adds on a further 10 relevant bonus cuts (not 12 as stated on the rear CD inlay) many of which are either new to digital or previously unreleased. I'd even argue that the 10 Bonuses would make up one helluva VINYL LP of their own right. Here are the steppers, sweaters and kiss-me-quick-squeeze-me-slow smoochers...

UK released 26 May 2018 (8 June 2018 in the USA) - "On The Soul Side" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace/Kent CDKEND 473 (Barcode 029667086929) is a 26-Track CD compilation based around a 16-Track 1983 compilation LP (Tracks 1 to 16 – Tracks 17 to 26 are Bonuses) that plays out as follows (64:42 minutes):

Side 1 of the original September 1983 UK LP:

1. Love And Desire - PATRICE HOLLOWAY (November 1966 US 7" single on Capitol 5778, A-side)

2. Gonna Fix You Good (Every Time You're Bad) - LITTLE ANTHONY & THE IMPERIALS (July 1966 US 7" single on Veep V-1233, A-side)

3. Dr. Love - BOBBY SHEEN (1966 US 7" single on Capitol 5672, B-side of "Sweet Sweet Love")

4. Ready, Willing And Able - JIMMY HOLIDAY & CLYDIE KING (April 1967 US 7" single on Minit 32021, A-side)

5. A Lot Of Love - HOMER BANKS (May 1966 US 7" single on Minit 32000, A-side)

6. Lipstick Traces (On A Cigarette) - THE O'JAYS (April 1965 US 7" single on Imperial 66102, A-side)

7. The Record - H.B. BARNUM (March 1965 US 7" single on Capitol 5391, A-side)

8. It Was Easier To Hurt Her - GARNET MIMMS (March 1965 US 7" single on United Artists UA 848, A-side)

Side 2 of the original September 1983 UK LP:

9. Fortune Teller - BENNY SPELLMAN (March 1962 USA 7" single on Minit 644, B-side to "Lipstick Traces (On A Cigarette)") - Side 2 of Original LP

10. It Will Stand - THE SHOWMEN (September 1961 US 7" single on Minit 632, A-side)

11. Boy Watcher - GINGER THOMPSON (September 1968 US 7" single on 123 Records 1702, A-side)

12. Do-Wah-Diddy - THE EXCITERS (December 1963 US 7" single on United Artists UA 662, A-side)

13. I Want You To Be My Baby - ELLIE GREENWICH (April 1967 US 7" single on United Artists UA 50151, A-side)

14. Point Of No Return - GENE McDANIELS with The Johnny Mann Singers (July 1962 US 7" single on Liberty 55480, A-side)

15. Baby, I Love You - JIMMY HOLIDAY (May 1966 US 7" single on Minit 32002, A-side)

16. What's A Matter Baby (Is It Hurting You) - TIMI YURO (June 1962 US 7" single on Liberty 55469, A-side)

2018 CD BONUS TRACKS:

17. If You Were A Man - CLYDIE KING (May 1965 US 7" single on Imperial 66109, B-side of "The Thrill Is Gone")

18. Nobody Treats Me The Way You Do - THE MAGNIFICENT MEN (From the 1968 US Stereo LP "The World Of Soul" on Capitol ST 2846)

19. The Thrill Of Romance - PATRICE HOLLOWAY (2018, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

20. It's What's Underneath That Counts - JUNE JACKSON (July 1966 US 7" single on Imperial 66185, A-side)

21. What You Gonna Do (When Your Love Is Gone) - BOBBY WOMACK (February 1968 US 7" single on Minit 32037, B-side of "What Is This")

22. Trick Bag - EARL KING (January 1962 US 7" single on Imperial 5811, A-side)

23. Don't Let Your Eyes Get Bigger Than Your Heart - SYLVIA ROBBINS (March 1964 US 7" single on Sue 805, A-side)

24. The Man Who Don't Believe In Love - MARV JOHNSON (January 1964 US 7" single on United Artists UA 691, B-side of "Unbreakable Love")

25. Love Is A Hurtin' Thing - LOU RAWLS (August 1966 US 7" single on Capitol 5709, A-side)

26. Nothing Left To Do But Cry - MERRY CLAYTON (December 1963 US 7" single on Capitol 5100, A-side)

The 20-page booklet features new liner notes from ADY CROASDELL and aptly so too because he wrote the original rear sleeve under the pseudonym Harboro Horace aka 'Horace & The Boys' – all 161 words of it. In fact he jokes that in 1983 an essay of such brevity was all you got – today of course you expect and get more like 3 to 10 thousand words. Across the jam-packed pages there's the usual plethora of fabulous memorabilia (a publicity still for Little Anthony & The Imperials – Tom Waits will be pleased), those gorgeous Minit, Imperial, United Artists and Capitol labels (some British demos and American promos), trade adverts and sheet music for cool dudes like Homer Banks, Garnet Mimms, The Showmen and Gene McDaniels, even an early picture sleeve for the gorgeous Merry Clayton who of course duetted to such stunning effect with Mick Jagger on "Gimme Shelter" later in 1969 (those boys knew their stuff). On top of all that there is a track-by-track breakdown and fantastic-sounding transfers mastered by one of Ace’s long-standing Audio Engineers – DUNCAN COWELL who handled many of the brilliant Blue Horizon CD Reissues for Sony back in 2006 and beyond (I've reviewed most). It's the usual classy affair from Ace – to the legendary music...

The original LP (Tracks 1 to 16) still stands up so well - a great run of tracks - dancers, smoochers and all points in-between. It's all Sixties music - mostly 1966 in fact - that pivotal year. The boppers like Jimmy Holiday's joyous "Ready, Willing And Able" and Patrice Holloway's gorgeous Girl Soul number "Love And Desire" already elevate Side 1 - but there's no slacking on Side 2 either with the shuffling R&B of Spellman's "Fortune Teller" and the grandstanding vocal performance from songwriter Norman Johnson on The Showman's "It Will Stand" - a talent he would bring to bear with Chairman Of The Board in the early Seventies. The racy talk of the 'other sex' in Ginger Thompson's "Boy Watcher" on the obscure 123 Records was new to Soul fans when the LP came out (a great discovery too) - while the three ladies in The Exciters (Brenda Reid, Lillian Walker and Carol Johnson) brought their version of "Do-Wah-Diddy" to the Oasis Club in Manchester (a 1963 Lieber & Stoller Production). Ellie Greenwich turns a 1953 Louis Jordan hit written by Jon Hendricks into a 'yeah yeah' raver - the famous and revered songwriter's only chart success (low hundreds in 1967). Britain's beat boys The Alan Brown covered Little Anthony & The Imperials and a rare flop for them - the very Motownish "Gonna Fix You Good (Every Time You're Bad)" while the upbeat "Dr. Love" by Bobby Sheen is the very stuff of Northern Soul magic and may indeed induce you to cover the linoleum with Talcum Powder.

The quality of the BONUS TRACKS is shocking. Of the 10 new additions Croasdell quite rightly sings the praises of the gorgeous "If You Were A Man" - Clydie King lifting the Jerry Riopell and Nick De Caro production up into the Soul premium seats. The Magnificent Men has Lead Vocalists Dave Bupp and Adrian 'Buddy' King sounding like girls on the initial stages of "Nobody Treats Me The Way You Do" - but as the tune progresses their prowess turns into fantastic growls. Winner number three comes from June Jackson whose self-penned "It's What's Underneath That Counts" feels like Tammi Terrell tearing it up over at Motown as she eyes MG with affection in the booth opposite. Speaking of fantastic growlers - any compilation is enhanced in my book by including Bobby Womack's Minit Records material - and the "What It Is" flipside "What You Gonna Do (When Your Love Is Gone)" is another dancefloor cool one - the kind of shuffler NS fans love. R&B looms large in Earl King's cool "Trick Bag" - the kind of song that every white-boy band in the Sixties covered. Even better is a fab morality tale on the hugely likeable organ-and-brass grinder "Don't Let Your Eyes Get Bigger Than Your Heart" from Sylvia Robbins - a great singer and savvy Soul lady who went on to form the All Platinum label. Marv Johnson's sweet shuffler "The Man Who Don't Believe In Love" combined with the classy CD finisher "Nothing Left To Do But Cry" from Merry Clayton make you want Ace to issue these 10 tracks as a stand alone LP. Groovy baby...

What did we expect because Ace has made a winner better - yet again. It's only taken 30 years to do it. It will stand indeed. Well done to all involved...

"Bad Day At Black Rock" – the 1955 Film by JOHN STURGES (May 2018 Warners/HMV UK 'Premium Collection' BLU RAY, DVD and Download Reissue) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...The Body Of A Hippo And The Brains Of A Rabbit..."

At times it’s hard not to think that Spencer Tracy was in fact the greatest actor who ever lived. His brooding slow-build performance in John Sturges’ "Bad Day At Black Rock" gave him a fifth Oscar Nomination for Leading Role in 1955 (when he passed in 1967 Tracy had been nominated nine times and had won twice for Captain Courageous in 1937 and Boys Town in 1938 – the first actor to win two years running).

But first a few notes about this new 2018 British-Issued BLU RAY, DVD and DOWNLOAD version...

In June 2018 – the UK Premium Collection Series for Warner Brothers (in conjunction with HMV UK – purchasable in store or online) will reach title No. 65 (I've compiled the full list below with Barcodes so you can locate the right issue). But please note – there is also a Warners 'Premium Collection' out of Europe (Germany I think) where titles come in 'Digibook' form. Most releases in that film series are different to their UK counterparts ("Excalibur" appears to be the only duplicate). Examples of European 'Premium Collection' releases include Troy, A.I., The Matrix, The Butterfly Effect, 10,000 BC, The Golden Compass, John Rambo, The Hurt Locker, Body Of Lies, Shoot 'Em Up and many more. Back to this latest 'UK' reissue...

Numbered on the card spine as 63 in the series - the glossy card slipcase once again lends this 2-disc release a very classy feel and the banded four artcards clipped inside are a very nice touch indeed - even if they are only the pencil drawings of Robert Ryan, Anne Francis and the same one of Spencer standing by the railway track that was used on the cover art (the fourth is the film’s poster art). Beneath the see-through trays that hold the two discs is another poster spread across both sides in Black and White that advertises the 1955 MGM Film in Colour! It’s a 2-Disc Set (BLU RAY and DVD) with no Region Code listing on either disc. From previous issues I’ve found that the BLU RAY is All Regions but the DVD is Region 2 (UK and Europe only) and therefore USA/Sub-Continent buyers will require a multi-region player to play the DVD if they buy this issue. There is no booklet (mores the pity – only a few titles in this series have one) - but there is a digital download code sheet to watch the movie on the go and an advert sheet with the first 60 titles listed (basic details only). Let’s get to the print and extras...

It's a 1080p High Definition Transfer, 16 x 9 – 2:4:1 Screen Ratio, a DTS Master-Audio with English in 2.0 – Subtitle is English for the Hard Of Hearing only. The Special Features are a Theatrical Trailer and a feature-length Commentary on the Film by Movie Historian Dana Polan – a University Professor in Southern California. The commentary may be extremely dry – but it's hugely informative and insightful as to what's happening on screen and why - I enjoyed it a great deal. It is of course crushing that there's no onscreen or off interviews with the stellar cast or Sturges - but the commentary as I say is a genuinely superb extra worth having. To the movie...

Sturges was and became famous for Westerns – "Escape From Fort Bravo" in 1953, "Gunfight At The OK Corral" would follow 1955's "Bad Day..." in 1957, "The Magnificent Seven" in 1960 and later of course a Western of another sort - "The Great Escape" in 1963. So its no surprise that his deliberate choice of Widescreen gives the film an aggressive Western look – dust blowing – used up ramshackle buildings in a town that’s been left behind while the rest of the country ploughs on into a Space Age future. The MGM colour is gorgeous and very clean throughout. There is a natural grain on almost every shot so it’s not pinprick perfect – but (and I can't state this enough) – restoration has been done here and the print has a fabulous vibrancy because of it. You also notice things more. While most of the men wear nondescript hats or none at all - Tracy wears a Black Trilby while Robert Ryan wears a Red Baseball Cap – the two colours stand out – marking them out as opposing forces. When the modern-looking Fifties Southern Pacific train speeds through desert and track in the opening title sequence – again its red-coloured siding is blazing – like a stained bullet hurtling towards its target. As it pulls into the crossroads and stops – we see men all along the porches watch eagle-eyed to see if anyone gets off – and when Spencer does – they grimace - sensing danger or even a reckoning.

Returning to this dark Fifties small-town murder-hunt in 2018 and I'm still marvelling at the extraordinary layering ST gives his John MacCreedy character – a one-armed World War II veteran who faces verbal and physical violence on returning to a modern day town that clearly wishes he’d stayed away or better still lost his life entirely in battle. It’s a clenched-fist place filled with broken men who either drink, skulk on porches or glare from outside the town's one hotel with malevolent intent - themselves under the heel of an even bigger bully - Robert Ryan’s character – Reno Smith – a man who seems to have a grip so tight on them that one look will silence all dissenters mid-sentence. There's only one woman on show – a young but dainty-looking grease monkey in the town's tires 'n' gas garage (Anne Francis) – there are no children anywhere – there's nothing to do but sweat in the unrelenting desert sun. Although it’s supposed to be Modern Day America – Black Rock feels like a declining frontier town you really should have avoided even if you're thirsty and in need of rest.

Thugs come in the shape of Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin – but its Reno Smith who quickly works out that MacCreedy’s unfazed yet determined way will dig out and expose their dirty little secret – a Japanese farmer called Komoko who went missing four years back post Pearl Harbour and all that nationalistic heated blood. Spence checks out his last known address – Adobe Flats – but finds a burnt down house and on the way back into town – Ernest Borgnine tries to run him off the road. This is a place where another hard man drives into town with a dead steer on his bonnet – its once-proud antlers dangling over his dirty radiator grill. If it isn’t implied macho violence – it’s actual cowardice as the local lawman (Dean Jagger) lies drunk in the bed of his own prison cell. In one scene the sheriff is being grilled on what the stranger asked about and is then soundly put in another box by the overbearing Robert Ryan - "...you've the body of a hippo and the brains of a rabbit..." he snarls at the sheriff and sadly the drunk meekly agrees. The only tiny semblance of decency comes in the local Doctor played by Western Movies veteran Walter Brennan who warns MacCreedy to get out of town. Andre Previn's music also amps up the tension as mob rule goes after lone decency.

“Bad Day At Black Rock” is a great film anchored by the mighty Spencer Tracy abled assisted by a troupe of hugely capable acting sidekicks who you suspect knew they were doing good work in a good movie helmed by a Directing great. Dig up the new dirt on this one and enjoy...

PS: Some details about the Warner Brothers 'Premium Collection' BLU RAY Reissue Series In Conjunction With HMV UK (releases 2016 to 2018):

Each 2-Disc Set Contains a BLU RAY, a DVD, a Digital Download Code (with Ultraviolet), an Exclusive Outer Glossy Slipcase and 4 Art Cards (usually one is the movie poster and others are stills from the movie). None of the 56 releases to date have booklets except where noted (11, 27, 31, 40 and 53) and “Casablanca” (No. 48) is the only issue in the Series with Three-Discs. The Entire Series is numbered on the silver spine with the year of the film's release above that number (as per the list below). Begun in October 2016 - releases are ongoing into 2018 and while some have been available in the USA many titles are first time on BLU RAY in the UK and Europe...

2016 RELEASES:

1. Them (1955) - released 3 October 2016 - Barcode 5051892202770

2. Forbidden Planet (1956) - released 3 October 2016 - Barcode 5051892202985

3. The Omega Man (1971) - released 3 October 2016 - Barcode 5051892202763

4. Soylent Green (1973) - released 3 October 2016 - Barcode 5051892202756

5. All The President's Men (1976) - released 3 October 2016 - Barcode 5051892202626

6. Logan's Run (1976) - released 3 October 2016 - Barcode 5051892202718

7. The Shining - Extended Cut (1980) - released 3 October 2016 - Barcode 5051892202206

8. Diner (1982) - released 3 October 2016 - Barcode 5051892202664

9. Little Shop Of Horrors (1986) - released 3 October 2016 - Barcode 5051892202749

10. Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) - released 3 October 2016 - Barcode 5051892202848

2017 RELEASES (except No. 48):

11. King Kong (1933) - released 27 February 2017 - Barcode 5051892206600 (with 32-Page Booklet)

12. The Adventures Of Robin Hood (1938) – released 27 February 2017 - Barcode 5051892206921

13. Excalibur (1981) – released 13 March 2017 - Barcode 5051892206280

14. The Mission (1986) - released 13 March 2017 - Barcode 5051892206877

15. Jason & The Argonauts (1963) - released 13 March 2017 - Barcode 5050349003724

16. The Hunger (1983) - released 17 Apr 2017 - Barcode 5051892207638

17. Performance (1970) - released 17 Apr 2017 - Barcode 5051892207621

18. The Time Machine (1960) - released 8 May 2017 - Barcode 5051892208291

19. Outland (1981) - released 8 May 2017 - Barcode 5051892208215

20. A Scanner Darkly (2006) - released 8 May 2017 - Barcode 5051892208857

21. Gattaca (1997) - released 8 May 2017 - Barcode 5050349523925

22. Donnie Brasco (1997) - released 29 May 2017 - Barcode 5050349609926

23. Blow (2001) - released 29 May 2017 - Barcode 5051892208277

24. Battle Of The Bulge (1965) - released 5 June 2017 - Barcode 5051892208260

25. The Dirty Dozen (1967) - released 5 June 2017 - Barcode 5051892208284

26. Casualties Of War (1989) - released 5 June 2017 - Barcode 5050349145820

27. Gettysburg: Director's Cut (1993) - released 12 June 2017 - Barcode 5051892208321

28. Jeremiah Johnson (1972) - released 12 June 2017 - Barcode 5051892208307

29. Legends Of The Fall (1994) - released 12 June 2017 - Barcode 5050629158823

30. Sex, Lies And Videotape (1989) - released 17 July 2017 - Barcode 5050349292623

31. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) - released 17 July 2017 - Barcode 5051892209236

32. Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958) - released 17 July 2017 - Barcode 5051892209274

33. Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf? (1966) - released 17 July 2017 - Barcode 5051892209328

34. White Heat (1949) - released 14 August 2017 - Barcode 5051892209687

35. The Public Enemy (1931) - released 14 August 2017 - Barcode 5051892209656

36. Little Caesar (1931) - released 14 August 2017 - Barcode 5051892209618

37. Point Blank (1967) - released 18 September 2017 – Barcode 5051892209632

38. The Yakuza (1974) - released 18 September 2017 - Barcode 5051892209663

39. Body Heat (1981) - released 18 September 2017 - Barcode 5051892209557

40. Chinatown (1974) - released 18 September 2017 - Barcode 5053083131807

41. Shaft (1971) - released 2 October 2017 - Barcode 5051892209649

42. New Jack City (1991) - released 2 October 2017 - Barcode 5051892209625

43. Pet Sematary (1986) - released 16 October 2017 - Barcode 5053083131814

44. House Of Wax 3D (1953) - released 16 October 2017 - Barcode 5051892209984

45. The Haunting (1963) – released 16 October 2017 – Barcode 5051892209915

46. A Clockwork Orange (1971) - released 16 October 2017 - Barcode 5051892210867

47. The Maltese Falcon (1941) - released 6 November 2017 - Barcode 5051892209922

48. Casablanca (1942) - released 5 February 2018 (delayed release) - Barcode 5051892209816 (Three Disc Special Edition with Booklet)

49. The Big Sleep (1946) - released 6 November 2017 - Barcode 50501892209892

50. Lost Horizon (1937) - released 6 November 2017 - Barcode 5050629028638 (80th Anniversary Reissue/4K Restoration with Booklet)

2018 RELEASES:

51. Amistad (1997) - released 15 January 2018 - Barcode 5053083134747

52. Munich (2005) - released 15 January 2018 - Barcode 5053083134754

53. Badlands (1973) – released 19 March 2018 – Barcode 5051892212724

54. The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953) – released 26 February 2018 – Barcode 5051892212618

55. Valley Of The Gwangi (1969) – released 26 February 2018 – Barcode 5051892212625

56. Clash Of The Titans (1981) – released 26 February 2018 – Barcode 5050189221263

57. (Frank Capra's) Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1946) – released 5 February 2018 – Barcode 5050629038132

58. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) – released 19 March 2018 – Barcode 5051892213189

59. My Own Private Idaho (1991) – released 9 April 2018 (Barcode 5051892212731)

60. The Last Picture Show (1971) – released 9 April 2018 (Barcode 50500629745030)

61. Dark Passage (1947) – released 30 April 2018 (Barcode 5051892215091)

62. The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (1948) – released 30 April 2018 (Barcode 5051892214889)

63. Bad Day At Black Rock (1955) – released 21 May 2018 (Barcode 5051892215015)

64. I Confess (1953) – released 11 June 2018 (Barcode 5051892215022)

65. The Wrong Man (1952) – released 11 June 2018 (Barcode 5051892215084)

PPS: The HMV Mail-Order Website usually offers this series at 2 for £25 (P&P inclusive) - even including the latest titles...