"Big Brother Is Watching You: The CBS Recordings Anthology" by SKIN ALLEY (February 2011 UK Esoteric Recordings 2CD Antholgy of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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Includes the albums "Skin Alley" and "To Pagham And Beyond" - both from 1970

"...Take Heed..."

Obscure for a reason - unknown but worthy of rediscovery – a bit of both? I've always found the hybrid Jazz-Rock and Underground Music of England’s SKIN ALLEY difficult to pin down. In fact you could say that by the time they made their third album "Two Quid Deal?" over on Transatlantic Records in 1972 (outside the remit of this double that chronicles their first two platters on CBS) - they were more Funk-Rock than Prog or Fusion (for that reason, two of that album's songs made their way onto the superb August 2017 RPM Records 3CD Box Set "One Way Glass: Dancefloor Prog, Brit Jazz and Funky Folk 1968-1975" – see separate review).

To the matter at hand - what you get here is the London band's first two platters on CBS Records both released in 1970 - "Skin Alley" from March and "To Pagham And Beyond" from December. There's also the debut UK 7" single from March 1970 - an Edit and Remix of "Tell Me" from Side 1 of the debut LP paired up with the non-album "Better Be Blind" on the flipside. And as if that's not good enough, for real aficionados there are 9 new tracks recorded in London in November 1970 for a movie called "Stop Veruschka" about the German Model and socialite Verushka - or if we're really being snobby here - Countess Vera von Lehndorff-Steinort (her real name). These wild Jazz recordings have languished in vaults for over four decades and make their digital debut here mastered from original tapes. A lot on offer then - let's get to the cops and robbers...

UK released February 2011 (re-issued September 2015) - "Big Brother Is Watching you: The CBS Recordings Anthology" by SKIN ALLEY on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 22243 (Barcode 5013929734326) is a 2CD 26-Track Reissue containing the two 1970 albums "Skin Alley" and "To Pagham And Beyond" along with a non-album single and Nine Bonus Tracks from an unreleased soundtrack "Stop Veruschka". It plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (67:19 minutes):

1. Living In Sin [Side 1]

2. Tell Me

3. Mother Please Help Your Child

4. Marsha

5. Country Aire [Side 2]

6. All Alone

7. Night Time

8. Concerto Grosso (Take Heed)

9. (Going Down The) Highway

Tracks 1 to 9 are their debut album "Skin Alley" - released March 1970 in the UK on CBS Records S 63947 (no US issue). Produced by DICK TAYLOR for Clearwater Productions - it didn't chart.

10. Better Be Blind

11. Tell Me (Single Version)

Tracks 11 and 10 are the A&B-side of their March 1970 UK debut 7" single on CBS Records 5045. "Tell Me" (the A-side) runs to 4:39 minutes on the album - but the 'Single Version' is 3:58 minutes and a different mix - the B-side "Better Be Blind" is non-album.

12. Shower Music

13. Sofa, Taxi And Sand Themes

14. Cemetery Scene

15. First Drug Scene

Tracks 12 to 15 recorded November 1970 at De Lane Lea Studios in London and come from the unreleased soundtrack to "Stop Veruschka" (see also Tracks 7 to 11 on Disc 2)

Disc 2 (64:20 minutes):

1. Big Brother Is Watching You [Side 1]

2. Take Me To Your Leader's Daughter

3. Walking In The Park

4. The Queen Of Bad Intentions [Side 2]

5. Sweaty Betty

6. Easy To Lie

Tracks 1 to 6 are their second studio album "To Pagham And Beyond" - released December 1970 in the UK on CBS Records S 64140. Produced by FRITZ FRYER - it didn't chart.

7. Russian Boogaloo

8. Skin Alley Serenade

9. Sun Music

10. Bird Music

11. Snow Music

Tracks 7 to 11 recorded November 1970 at De Lane Lea Studios in London and come from the unreleased soundtrack to "Stop Veruschka" (see also Tracks 12 to 15 on Disc 1)

SKIN ALLEY was:

Tracks 1 to 11 on Disc 1

KRZRYSTOF HENRYK-JUSKIEWICZ - Organ, Piano, Mellotron, Harpsichord and Vocals

BOB JAMES - Guitar, Alto Saxophone, Flute and Vocals

THOMAS CRIMBLE - Bass, Mellotron and Vocals

GILES 'Alvin' POPE - Drums, Congas and Timpani (Tracks 1 to 9, Drums only on Tracks 10 and 11)

Tracks 12 to 12 to 15 on Disc 1 and Tracks 7 to 11 on Disc 2

KRZRYSTOF HENRYK-JUSKIEWICZ - Hammond Organ, Piano, Mellotron and Vocals

BOB JAMES - Guitar, Alto Saxophone, Flute and Vocals

NICK GRAHAM - Bass, Flute and Vocals

GILES 'Alvin' POPE - Drums

Tracks 1 to 6 on Disc 2

KRZRYSTOF HENRYK-JUSKIEWICZ - Hammond Organ, Trumpet, Piano, Mellotron and Vocals

BOB JAMES - Guitar, Alto Saxophone, Flute and Vocals

THOMAS CRIMBLE - Acoustic and Electric Bass, Guitars, Harmonica and Vocals

NICK GRAHAM - Vocals on "Walking In The Park" and "Sweaty Betty"

GILES 'Alvin' POPE - Drums

The 16-page booklet features the front and rear sleeves of the 'lippy' cop of the debut LP and the colour photo of the band on the inner gatefold of "To Pagham And Beyond". Amidst the text is a trade advert for the 6 March 1970 release of the "Skin Alley" album and 'Clearwater Productions' adverts for their Underground clique of acts - Cochise, Hawkwind, Heron, Trees and of course - Skin Alley. There's even a very rare promotional for the 'Afan Festival No.2' on Saturday the 23rd of May 1970 at the Afan Lido, Port Talbot in Wales with a tasty line-up across 8-hours to choose from that included Rory Gallagher's Taste, The Keef Hartley Band, Atomic Rooster, Skin Alley, Hawkwind and some upper-coming little Prog band called YES. 48 years later and the lead singer’s mush - Jon Anderson of Yes - is gracing the glossy cover of the August 2018 Edition of England's Record Collector magazine – side by side with that other stallion of Prog - Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull - both immortalised by a specially created illustration for the front cover by Rodney Matthews (limited edition art prints No'd to 200 available for £200 each - get in my son).

MARK POWELL (leading light at Esoteric Recordings) provides the detailed and informative liner notes while a duo of Audio Engineers I love did the remastering from original tapes - PASCHAL BYRNE and BEN WISEMAN. These guys have been through (quite possibly) hundreds of these reissues and are more than up to the job. Licensed from Sony - these CDs sound great – especially that second LP. Let's get to the music...

Side 1 of the self-titled debut album opens with two from Bob James - the witty wayward generation song "Living In Sin" and the almost Fleetwood Mac sounding feeling-blue single "Tell Me" (dig that Mellotron evoking those Summer days). They're followed by two from keyboardist Juskiewicz - the organ and drums fusion of "Mother Please Help Your Child" and seven minutes of pure Underground Jazz-Rock in the instrumental "Marsha". It’s clear that the tapes are in remarkable shape - that rhythm section rattling around your speakers as Juskiewicz gives in some Keith Emerson on the Organ followed by Bob James getting all blowy on his Sax. Side 2 opens with another Bob James composition - the Flute and Harpsichord pretty "Country Aire" - a jaunty little number that sounds like its title. There then follows the first of three Thomas Crimble songs - "All Alone" - the other two are "Night Time" and "(Going Down The) Highway" - sandwiched between 30-seconds of Harpsichord from Juskiewicz called "Concerto Grosso (Take Heed)". Both mellow and melancholic - his vocals on "All Alone" aren't possible the strongest but there's a great 'where is my little girl gone, left me all alone' shuffle about it and "...Highway" would have been the kind of tune that heads bobbing in the live scenario.

The unreleased soundtrack opens well with "Shower Music" - a piano roll that could be 2018 let alone 1970 - only to give way to a breathy flute. Five minutes of "Sofa, Taxi And Sand Themes" sports lyrics about growing old floating over acoustic guitars and impressive musical passages on various keyboards and guitars. Esoteric Recordings clearly thought "Skin Valley Serenade" (over on Disc 2) worthy of punter’s adoration because they give it pride of place on the August 2017 3CD Box Set "Let The Electric Children Play: The Underground Story Of Transatlantic Records 1968-1976". The funky "Russian Boogaloo" will have instrumental nuts sit up and dance too. But I'd have to say both "Cemetery Scene" and "First Drug Scene" are insufferable lengthy Jazz and Sound Effect whig-outs that would test Captain Beefheart's patience and I can see why these were left in the can.

Over on Disc 2 we get the accomplished second album "To Pagham And Beyond" released at the tail end of 1970. With only three lengthy songs to each side - the album is far more Jazz-Rock than the first LP. The title of this 2CD anthology opens Side 1 - "Big Brother Is Watching You" - a face-the-wall warning mixed in with misery lyrics over a lost girlfriend. Eight minutes and forty-three seconds of "Take Me To Your Leader's Daughter" sees the flute and stop-start Latin rhythms mingle with Jazz Piano as the workout nears its snake beat high-hat drums ending. Having joined the band for the "Stop Veruschka" sessions - Nick Graham guests as lead vocalist on two tunes - the cover of Graham Bond's "Walking In The Park" and Thomas Crimble's delightfully entitled "Sweaty Beatty". Threatening to turn into a Juicy Lucy session doing a Hammond Organ shuffle - "Walking In The Park" could easily have been an edited single in my books - go after the Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago market - but alas. After a wild and slightly ill-advised Saxophone screaming beginning - "Sweaty Beatty" thankfully settles into a rather cool Jazz-Rock tune – nice melody lines and playing. The album ends on "Easy To Lie" – six-minutes twenty of people talking all over town – some dude got shot down and our incensed singer is not sure that innocent/sucker wasn’t set up. Nice vocal lines and a finger-clicking beat are soon joined by Fuzz Guitars and Spaghetti Western chants – only to go into speed halfway through. "Easy To Lie" ends the CBS period well...

SKIN ALLEY were very much a part of a period in British counter-culture when experimentation was embraced – even the norm a few years later. For sure not all of this music will sail your average Joe's dancing dingy – but I have to praise Esoteric once again for a quality job done. Recommend from Margate and beyond...

Moving, Beautiful, Life-Affirming and Sad - Juhi Chaturvedi and Shoojit Sidcar's "October" - This 2018 Film Is One To Seek Out...

"OCTOBER" 

The Shoojit Sidcar 2018 Film 

A Review

Like most ageing white-guys trying desperately to rock a silver-fox beard - I've mostly looked on Indian movies as being happy-wappy Bollywood Bling where someone breaks into a song and dance routine at the drop of a monikered handkerchief. Then everyone else on set suddenly joins in the wild shape-throwing (miraculously having won a job lot of bionic limbs and hips) - our hero singing to camera with a smile on his henna painted face the size of Boris Johnson’s venial sin list in a Catholic confessional (yikes).

Don't get me wrong. I've loved Indian-themed movies like "The Namesake" and "The Lunch Box" that have thrown off those stereotypes (see reviews) - both films mentioned - deeply beautiful and moving too. So it was more than a pleasant surprise to find this sweet little World Cinema gem lingering on Amazon Prime for (technically) no schillings and zero pence.

Beautifully written and realised by Juhi Chaturvedi and Directed by Shoojit Sircar - a group of 20-something upwardly mobile Indian men and women are all working in a 5-Star luxurious New Delhi Hotel. Trying to hold down jobs (some elevated, some menial) whilst staying on the right side of the uber-strict Floor Manager and expensive 3-year courses paid for by ambitious parents - at a drunken New Year's Eve party on the third floor - something goes badly wrong. The rest of the movie sees our once carefree but work-committed crew and their fractured families become acquainted with the hospital caring side of life (whether they like or not) and all that brings with it in the clinical and often cruel real world.

The three principal leads are brilliant - the handsome yet reckless Varun Dhawan as Dan - a lazy young man with an attitude and a whole lot of growing up to do - the quietly beautiful, studious but largely unnoticed Banita Sandhu as Shiuli - a woman waiting for life to begin – waiting for love to blossom like the white Night Jasmines she so loves that only bloom in October - and her long-suffering yet dignified mother Isha Chaturvedi.

I would add (without giving too much away) - that this is a sad film in some respects but it is also uplifting.  Once into the thick of the pain - "October" takes it time - delivering moments that will stay with you long after the credits have rolled. I'd also single out for special praise - a truly haunting soundtrack by Shantanu Moitra with a simple violin theme you might find yourself humming as you wipe away tears in the kitchen post surgery (badly in need of a reviving cuppa).

"October" will not be for everyone - slow and subtitled and at times not really sure of itself or where it's trying to go or what it's trying to say. But I found it intensely moving nonetheless. And nearing 60 years of age - I'm going online to get Banita Sandhu's phone number (look out honey-bun, here come the bouquets).

Life is both joyous and vicious in equal measure and this little ode to hope gets across both sides of that story with a rare poignancy (wake up and smell the roses while you can).

 "October" is a lovely unfolding watch that made me cry and one I recommend you seek out like the sweet life-giving scent of flowers...

"Flying Saucer Attack: The Complete Recordings 1977-1979" by THE REZILLOS (February 2018 Cherry Red Records 2CD Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Mission (Almost) Accomplished..."

Scotland’s answer to The Undertones meets The B-52’s meets The Joe Jackson Band meets The Ramones – I remember THE REZILLOS with great affection.

A properly fun yet high-octane kick-ass three-minute five-piece – they also packed a lyrical punch with short anthems and duet boy/girl vocals just the right side of angry - blood on the dancehall floor with sprinkles of comic-book/B-movie worship. The second platter was probably a contractual thing (essentially a live version of the first) – but it also showed that they went out dancing the snotty pogo - having a ball (or two) on the world stage of late 70ts Punk and New Wave. Like The Undertones first platter (also on Sire and an album I can’t be rational about either) - that Rezillos debut is a bit of an unsung masterpiece in my book. Probably why I’m enjoying this very cool little reissue so much.

Having said that and sung its praises - some punters have (quite rightly) pointed out that the moniker ‘Complete Recordings’ isn’t exactly accurate. Some tracks are missing bits (possibly due to copyright reasons after 40 years) – but for me this Cherry Red twofer is still the best set covering their primo material so far – and the Audio rocks like a monster too. Let’s get to the Mystery Action before somebody gets their wee timorous nut kicked in (again)...

UK released 23 February 2018 (2 March 2018 in the USA) - "Flying Saucer Attack: The Complete Recordings 1977-1979" by THE REZILLOS on Cherry Red Records WCDBRED 705 (Barcode 5013929170537) is a 2CD 40-Track Anthology containing the "Can't Stand The Rezillos" LP of 1978 and the live set "Mission Accomplished...But The Beat Goes On" album of 1979 that followed it plus 13 Bonus Tracks of singles, B-sides and rarities. It plays out as follows:

Disc 1 - "Can't Stand The Rezillos" (55:11 minutes):

1. Flying Saucer Attack [Side 1]

2. No

3. Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonite

4. Top Of The Pops

5. 2000 A.D.

6. It Gets Me

7. I Can't Stand My Baby [Side 2]

8. Glad All Over

9. (My Baby Does) Good Sculptures

10. I Like It

11. Getting Me Down

12. Cold Wars

13. Bad Guy Reaction

Tracks 1 to 13 are their debut album "Can't Stand The Rezillos" - released July 1978 in the UK on Sire Records K 56530 and in the USA on Sire SRK 6057

BONUS TRACKS:

14. I Can't Stand My Baby (7" Version)

15. I Wanna Be Your Man - Tracks 14 and 15 are the non-album A&B-sides of their August 1977 debut UK 7" single on Sensible Records FAB 1

16. (My Baby Does) Good Sculptures (7" Version)

17. Flying Saucer Attack (7" Version) - Tracks 16 and 17 are the non-album A&B-sides of their December 1977 UK 7" single on Sire 6078 612

18. Top Of The Pops (7" Version)

19. 20,000 Rezillos Under The Sea - Tracks 18 and 19 are the non-album A&B-sides of their July 1978 UK 7" single on Sire SIR 4001

20. Destination Venus

21. Mystery Action - Tracks 20 and 21 are the non-album A&B-sides of their November 1978 UK 7" single on Sire SIR 4008. Recorded in New York and Produced by BOB CLEARMOUNTAIN and LANCE QUINN – it peaked at No. 16 on the UK LP charts.

Disc 2 - "Mission Accomplished...But The Beat Goes On" - Live Album Recorded 23 Dec 1978 at the Apollo Theatre, Glasgow (53:47 minutes):

1. Top Of The Pops [Live] [Side 1]

2. Mystery Action [Live]

3. Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonite [Live]

4. Thunderbirds Are Go [Live]

5. Cold Wars [Live]

6. Teenbeat [Live]

7. No [Live]

8. Land Of A Thousand Dances [Live] [Side 2]

9. I Need You [Live]

10. Culture Shock [Live]

11. Getting Me Down [Live]

12. Ballroom Blitz [Live]

13. (My Baby Does) Good Sculptures [Live]

14. Destination Venus [Live]

Tracks 1 to 14 are their second album "Mission Accomplished...But The Beat Goes On" [Live LP] - released April 1979 in the UK on Sire SRK 6069 (no US issue)

BONUS TRACKS:

15. Cold Wars (Live In Glasgow, 7" Mix)

16. Flying Saucer Attack (Live In Glasgow)

17. Twist And Shout (Live In Glasgow)

18. Good Sculptures (Alternative Version)

19. Getting Me Down (Alternate Version)

Tracks 15 to 17 released as a 3-track UK 7" single April 1979 on Sire Records SIR 4014

Tracks 18 and 19 first issued on the 1982 VARIOUS ARTISTS LP "Scottish Kultchur: The Barclay Towers Compilation Album" on Supermusic SUPLP 2004

THE REZILLOS was:

EUGENE REYNOLDS and FAY FIFE – Lead Vocals

JO CALLIS [John William Callas aka Luke Warm] – Lead Guitar and Vocals

MARK HARRIS [aka Hi-Fi Harris] – Guitar

ALISTAIR DONALDSON [aka William Mysterious] – Bass and Saxophone

DAVE SMYTHE [aka Dr. D.K. Smythe] – Bass

SIMON BLOOMFIELD [aka Simon Templar] – Bass

ALISTAIR (Angel) PATERSON – Drums

GAIL JAMIESON [aka Gale Warning] – Backing Vocals on "Mission Accomplished..." LP

Fans will know that in 1993 Sire Records issued the single CD "The (Almost) Complete Rezillos..." – so named because due to time restrictions it had "Destination Venus" from the "Mission Accomplished..." LP missing. Not so here – so that’s good. But in 2018 - Cherry Red Records have unfortunately clearly had licensing problems because the Saxophone Solo that finished the "20,000 Rezillos Under The Sea" 45-track is AWOL as are bits from the alternate of "Good Sculptures" and the live version of "Thunderbirds Are Go" on the "Mission Accomplished..." LP. Malcolm Dome's liner notes don't mention this nor do the reissue credits. Personally I don’t really find these three omissions that much of a hardship, but given the space on 2CDs instead of one – it’s a bit of a boo-boo for sure (docked a star for that).

The Remasters are done by SIMON MURPHY at Another Planet Music and are great – punchy as Hell – especially the live record that seems way fiercer than I remember it (and that sing-a-long crowd too - yes!).

The debut LP is a stunner - track after track coming in - doing the business - then exiting without fuss or muss (beautifully polished production by Bob Clearmountain). The brilliant one-two of Eugene Reynolds duetting with Fay Fife on tracks like the opener "Flying Saucer Attack" and the Dave Clark Five cover of "Glad All Over" fill the songs with something special. Shame then that they didn't quite see eye-to-eye and the band soon imploded on an Undertones tour in 1978 - the "Mission Accomplished" album being something on a swan song and gift to Scottish fans who'd loved their stuff since the first single in 1977. On both the teenage angst of "No" (parents watching the clock as their frisky kids head out to the clubs) and the downright comic book glee of "Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonite" - Reynolds and Fife sound like the snarl of John Lydon giving it some never mind the bollocks. Their generational voices spitting out lyrics in "2000 A.D." on a perceived hopeless future even name-check the year we're actually in - "...it's easy to see that 2018 will never appear...slap in the face for the human race...how will we survive..." Well we did mate - but I’ll grant you - at the time it didn't seem like we would.

I'm amazed at the sheer vim and vigour in "I Can't Stand My Baby" and I still look at the green picture sleeve on Sensible Records with a smile. The cover of Herman Hermits "I Like It" is a hoot - but I go for the spoken finisher "Bad Guy Reaction" every time - a fantastic kicking horse tune - those guitars wheezing along like a runaway mare with a nosebag full of speed complete with his manic vocals as the rocker closes with a verbal warning. And I'd forgotten how utterly cool their cover of The Beatles "I Wanna Be Your Man" was - a fab single track with a raw production that adds rather than detracts. The Ska/Punk instrumental B-side "20,000 Rezillos Under The Sea" is a wee bit of a gem too.

The live album has the home crowd baying at their feet opening with a tight version of “Top Of The Pops” featuring Gail Warning on duet vocals. Then quickly into the manic non-album B-side “Mystery Action” (they way she’s acting is a mystery to me) – a musical punch that’s still exciting after four decades. The covers of "Thunderbirds Are Go", Chris Kenner's "Land Of 1000 Dances" and The Sweet’s brilliant "Ballroom Blitz" (oh yeah) are the very stuff of concert fun and the snotty little cupcake that is "Culture Shock" showed just how Power Pop meets Punk The Rezillos were as a live entity. 

So minus the glitches – I'd still say that this is a wickedly enjoyable reissue with tasty presentation and great audio – and I for one have been loving it to bits.

"...Don't ever try to put me down..." - The Rezillos scream on "Bad Guy Reaction". I get the message my borderland brothers (and gals) and will duly obey...

"S.F. Sorrow" by PRETTY THINGS (September 1998 UK Snapper Music '30th Anniversary Expanded Edition' MONO CD Remaster) - A Review of Mark Barry...

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

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"...Sebastian Dreams Of The Moon..."

The devil is always in the details. Before we get into this 30th Anniversary 1998 Extended Edition CD reissue from Snapper Records of the MONO mix for the mighty "S.F. Sorrow" - I want to talk about an unsung hero.

Londoner and all-round techno boffin NORMAN SMITH had been a Sound Engineer at Abbey Road Studios for years - recording every Beatles track up to "Rubber Soul" with Fabs Producer George Martin - a steep learning curve if ever there was one. As if that wasn't enough, in 1966 and 1967 Smith’s stay with EMI then included the first two Pink Floyd albums whilst flicking back to The Pretties and their pre-Tommy concept LP "S.F. Sorrow" (issued in both MONO and STEREO in early December 1968 – this didn't-do-well-at-the-time story LP is now name-checked as one of the great 60ts records – up there with the likes of Peppers and Pipers et al).

So why the moniker of musical heroism for Mr. Smith? With the 'Sorrow' album recorded on four-track valve equipment and requiring hundreds of sounds bounced down from one machine to the next - it needed an accomplished overdubbing soul who knew his flanges from his faders - a sound guy had been at the very epicentre of Britain's 'Summer Of Love' and Psychedelia Sound. Norman Smith was that guy. Then of course he did something very un-British and became a Pop Star himself. Morphing into HURRICANE SMITH - early 70ts kids like me will remember with a that's-not-hard-rock chill those terrible yet irritatingly catchy pop hits "Don't Let It Die" and "Oh Babe, What Would You Say?" in 1971 and 1972 (they achieved No. 2 and No. 4 chart-placing respectively). What a guy.

And with his recording prowess all over the original recordings – we now have the album lovingly remastered by one of my fave Engineers ANDY PEARCE. On this 1998 version (itself reissued in 2003) - we get the band's preferred version of their 4th LP - the MONO Mix remastered from original tapes at Abbey Road by both MARK ST. JOHN (who also provides the liner notes) and ANDY PEARCE. For those who prefer two channels - Snapper issued the Stereo Version in June 2000 on Snapper Records/Original Masters SDPCD109 - Barcode 636551610926. Let's get to the Mono operatic details first...

UK released September 1998 - "S.F. Sorrow" by THE PRETTY THINGS on Snapper Music SMMCD 565 (Barcode 636551556521) is a 30th Anniversary 'Expanded Edition' of the MONO MIX of the 1968 UK album with Four Bonus Tracks. It plays out as follows (57:14 minutes):

1. S.F. Sorrow Is Born [Side 1]

2. Bracelets Of Fingers

3. She Says Good Morning

4. Private Sorrow

5. Balloon Burning

6. Death

7. Baron Saturday [Side 2]

8. The Journey

9. I See You

10. Well Of Destiny

11. Trust

12. Old Man Going

13. Loneliest Person

Tracks 1 to 13 are MONO MIX of their fourth studio album "S.F. Sorrow" - released December 1968 in the UK on Columbia Records SX 6306 and August 1969 in the USA (in completely different artwork) on Rare Earth RS 506. Produced by NORMAN SMITH - it didn't chart in either country. 

BONUS TRACKS:

14. Defecting Grey

15. Mr. Evasion

16. Talkin' About A Good Time

17. Walking Through My Dreams

PRETTY THINGS was:

PHIL MAY - Vocals

DICK TAYLOR - Lead Guitar and Vocals

WALLY ALLEN - Bass Guitar, Guitar, Vocals, Wind Instruments and Piano

JOHN POVEY - Organ, Sitar, Percussion and Vocals

TWINK - Drums and Vocals

The 24-page booklet features the lyrics originally on the inner gatefold of the British LP, photos of the in and outside the studio, superb liner notes from MARK ST. JOHN that sets up the picture from 1965 onwards – how Music and especially British Music – was dominating and influencing the scene everywhere. There is even a photo of Winifred Waller (Alan Wally Waller’s Mum) who had passed in late July of 1998 – the whole reissue project dedicated to her. The words reek of that long Summer of Love – five guys creating, pushing the boundaries with the band still together at the time of writing. The Audio is clean and full although I’d say I had to adjust my ears to the wall of MONO – Pearce keeping it punchy and powerful (check out "She Says Good Morning" to hear what I mean).

Historically the LP was ham-stringed with bad luck on both sides of the pond. EMI UK was apparently so disinterested that they left the artwork to the band (Phil May famously did the drawing on the front sleeve and Dick Taylor photographed the band for the flip-back rear sleeve shot), gave it no promotion and didn't release it Stateside. Motown's Rare Earth label looking to put out white Rock acts issued the album in the now famous headstone sleeve as late as August 1969 (Rare Earth RS 506) but The Who's pinball-wizard storybook double-album "Tommy" on Decca had already been released and sown up the 'first concept album' marketplace so completely that reviewers seemed to think the band were pretenders to the crown – or worse – cheats and copyists. As the sessions for "S.F. Sorrow" had begun in early 1968 and continued to September of that year – some go as far as saying our lovely Pete half-inched the concept album idea from May and Co. Whatever is the truth or whatever history chooses to record - the album all but died - whilst The Who began a renaissance that would make them one of the biggest Rock bands in the world by 1972 and 1973. In fact The Pretty Things would have to wait until their excellent "Silk Torpedo" Rock LP on Zeppelin's Swan Song label in 1975 to see chart action Stateside. Let’s get to the music...

A couple from 'up North' arrive in No. 3 and soon the house is reverberating with the sounds of Sebastian F. Sorrow being born (no one knows what the 'F' means). "Bracelets Of Fingers" sees our lad grow up chasing spoons and moons in his back garden only to soon join Dad in dead-end work but inbetween find excitement and love with the girl next door - "She Says Good Morning". The fantastic "She Says Good Morning" kicks butt and it always surprised me that Columbia chose the less accessible "Private Sorrow" as a lead-off single in November 1968 with the equally moody "Balloon Burning" on the flipside (Columbia DB 8494). Fans will also know that the Bonus Tracks 16 and 17 contain the Non-Album A&B-sides of Columbia DB 8353 - a top-notch single that was issued February 1968 prior to the LP previewing the album's sound and subject-matter - "Talkin' About The Good Times" with "Walking Through My Dreams" as its B-side. The Mono doom-boom of drums, treated Sitars and oh-oh voices give the aptly named "Death" an ethereal melancholy - like being at the bottom of a particularly deep well (sonnets of life wrapped in a cloak of black).

Side 2 and the album finally goes full-on Magical Mystery Tour with the wicked "Baron Saturday" - a song that is both catchy and testing at one and the same time (dig that fade out where they chant 'you're life was cool...except for Baron Saturday...'). Another mind-shape-shifting winner comes in the form of "The Journey" - an acoustic strummer that soon descends into phased guitars and voices and huge amounts of lyrics about opaque windows and thousands of steps. A very-1968 redemption comes with "I See You" - a layered song of drum rolls and cleverly arranged vocals as they chant 'I see you' over the musical breaks and cascades. It segues into the decidedly menacing warbling piano notes of "Well Of Destiny" - a mad little bugger with lyrics about 'heavy mantles' and the like. We return to melody with the lovely "Trust" - our hero sitting on top of a white cloud looking around for a body to confide in - grasping at straws - hoping to see someone Sorrow can trust. The manic acoustic guitars of "Old Man Going" open like the Pretties have been listening to too much Moody Blues - but soon morph into Sabbath-like fuzzed-up guitars echoing Sebastian's increasing madness - (it's heavy and out there baby). The album ends on the short but acoustic sweet "Loneliest Person".

The "Defecting Grey" bonus track is a real prize for aficionados - mastered from an Acetate but still sounding Sitar-brill - dig those musical breaks and fuzzed-up rock-out guitars – a worthy Previously Unreleased version that clocks in at an impressive 5:14 minutes.

I know people rave out this Pretty Things LP as a masterpiece and undiscovered gem - but I've always felt those opinions ever so slightly inflated. But man when its good - "S.F. Sorrow" is brilliant and I like the mastering on this CD a lot. St. John calls it 'a remarkable record' in his entertaining liner notes - a good call I think...

"In Search Of The Lost Chord" by THE MOODY BLUES (July 2008 Universal/Deram CD 'Expanded Edition' Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Best Way To Travel..."

The Moodies 3rd studio album "In Search Of The Lost Chord" saw the Blighty light of day in late July 1968 in Stereo (followed in the USA in October 1968) and has always been a firm fan fave.

Part Prog, Part Acid Trip, yet seriously melodic and lyrically reaching - their poppy debut "The Magnificent Moodies" of July 1965 must have seemed a long musical way back - because this Mellotron, Guitars and Flutes fusion saw the group embrace the far-out artwork of Philip Travers and the floating-on-astral-plains ideals of the day (gardens of delight baby, ultra violet lights and the earth turning slowly around as we all chant ‘om’ –if you know what I’m saying).

Shadows of "Revolver" and "Sgt. Peppers" collide with Ravi Shankar and Donovan and Island’s Nirvana to produce music that is dated in places for sure – but is still as innovative and beautiful as it was when first released. And this gorgeous sounding 40th Anniversary CD Remaster from 2008 only hammers home just how innovative it was. Here are the Voices In The Sky...

UK released July 2008 - "In Search Of The Lost Chord" by THE MOODY BLUES on Universal/Deram 530 706-9 (Barcode 600753070697) is an 'Expanded Edition CD Reissue with the 12-Track 1968 Stereo Albums plus Nine Bonus Tracks that plays out as follows (75:59 minutes):

1. Departure [Side 1]

2. Ride My See-Saw

3. Dr. Livingstone, I Presume

4. House Of Four Doors (Part 1)

5. Legend Of The Mind

6. House Of Four Doors (Part 2)

7. Voices In The Sky [Side 2]

8. The Best Way To Travel

9. Visions Of Paradise

10. The Actor

11. The Word

12. Om

Tracks 1 to 12 are the album "In Search Of The Lost Chord" - released July 1968 in the UK in Stereo on Deram SML 711 and October 1968 in the USA on Deram DES 18017. Produced by TONY CLARKE – it peaked at No. 5 in the UK and No. 23 in the USA LP charts.

BONUS TRACKS:

13. A Simple Game (Justin Hayward Vocal Mix)

14. The Best Way To Travel (Additional Vocal Mix)

15. Visions Of Paradise (Instrumental Version)

16. What Am I Doing Here? (Original Version)

17. The Word (Mellotron Mix)

18. Om (Extended Version, 6:07 minutes)

19. Doctor Livingstone I Presume

20. Thinking Is The Best Way To Travel

21. A Simple Game - Non-Album B-side to "Ride My See Saw", UK released 25 October 1968 on Deram DM 213)

The 20-page booklet is a surprisingly decent affair – MARK POWELL of Esoteric Recordings providing the hugely illuminating and enthusiastic liner notes. There are period colour photos of the five lads – Justin Hayward, John Lodge, Mike Pinder, Graeme Edge and Ray Thomas – as well as a Deramic Stereo Sound trade advert for the album, rare Euro pictures sleeves for singles like "Ride My See-Saw" and "Voices In The Sky" and of course the original LP artwork.

The Remaster of the Stereo Album by ALBERTO PARODI and JUSTIN HAYWARD has been taken from original Decca master tapes with MARK POWELL being the Audio Engineer on the Extra Tracks. This CD sounds amazing – real care taken – warm and kicking for all the right reasons. To the music...

Once you get past "Departure" (Graeme Edge's opening 44 seconds of spoken piffle) - you're greeted by the rocking John Lodge song "Ride My See-Saw" – a clear winner that screamed period 45 (and that’s what they did). After the American release of the album in October 1968, the Moodies returned to Decca's Studios in the UK to record Mike Pinder's "A Simple Game" (Track 21) - a song that was popped onto the B-side of the decidedly commercial "Ride My See-Saw" and rush-released (Deram DM 213 was issued 25 October 1968).

The fantastically hippy six thirty-six minutes of "Legends Of A Mind" tells us you can't take a trip on Astral Plains because Timothy Leary is dead (the 3CD Decca Underground Box Set of 2008 took its name from this trippy track - see separate review). The remaster is gorgeous really bring out those Hayward 12-String Guitar moments abled helped by Ray Thomas on Flute while Pinder brings up the Mellotron rear. After the magic of "The Best Way To Travel" with its clever stop-start melodies and far-out-man lyrics - "Visions Of Paradise" with its Flutes, Voices and subtle Sitar notes feels positively peaceful and beautiful. Side 2 ends on what I think is the records high point – the fabulous Nirvana vs. Donovan "Om" – nearly six minutes of the band layering Sitars, Flutes and Violins with gorgeously orchestrated voices – the whole clouds passing by my head thing floating on a soft Tabla beat. Heaven indeed...

An exemplary CD Reissue and for under five quid (if you’ll forgive the British Railways lost and found pun) – a bit of a aural find...