"Something Big: The Complete A&M Years…And More!" by BURT BACHARACH (Featuring the albums "Hit Maker!" (1965), "Reach Out" (1967), "Make It Easy On Yourself" (1969), "Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid – Original Soundtrack" (1969), "Burt Bacharach" (1971), "Living Together" (1973), "Burt Bacharach In Concert" (1974), "Futures" (1977), "Woman" (1979) and more (November 2004 (reissued January 2007) Hip-O Select 5CD Book Set of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…The Bell That Couldn't Jangle…"

"Something Big: The Complete A&M Years…And More!" by BURT BACHARACH is a sumptuous 5CD set originally released November 2004 in the USA-only as a non-numbered limited edition of 5000 by Universal’s premium reissue label - HIP-O SELECT (reissued January 2007).

I’ve managed to borrow a copy from a friend and while it sounds spiffing (remasters from real tapes) – musically it’s a very mixed bag to say the least - some of it good - some of it downright awful. There’s a lot on Hip-O Select B0003615-02 (Barcode 602498642863) - so let’s get to it straight away…

Disc 1 (72:14 minutes):

Tracks 1 to 11 are the album "Reach Out" - released 1967 on A&M Records SP 4131 (Stereo)

Track 12, "The Bell That Couldn't Jingle" is the A-side of the 1968 US 7" single on A&M 1004

Tracks 13 to 23 are the album “Make It Easy On Yourself” - released 1969 on A&M Records SP 4188 (Stereo)

Disc 2 (77:00 minutes):

Tracks 1 to 10 are the album "Burt Bacharach", A&M SP 3501, 1971

Tracks 11 to 20 are the album "Living Together", A&M SP 3527, 1973

Track 21 is the 1st song on the album "Futures", A&M SP 4622, 1977

Disc 3 (79:59 minutes):

Tracks 1 to 10 are the remaining songs on the album "Futures", A&M SP 4622, 1977

Tracks 11 to 18 are the album "Woman", A&M SP 3709, 1979

Disc 4 (78:24 minutes):

Tracks 1 to 9 are the soundtrack "Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid", A&M SP 4227, 1969

(Track 2 is the famous B.J. Thomas number 1 chart hit, "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" - track 5 is an instrumental version of it track 6 is "On A Bicycle Built For Joy" - another vocal version of "Raindrops…" by B.J. Thomas - the one used in the film with the speeded-up 'vaudeville' bit towards the end of the song)

Track 10 is "Etta's Theme", a previously unreleased alternate version of track 7 "Come Touch The Sun" - it's from the "Butch Cassidy…" sessions, 1969

Tracks 11 to 25 are the album "Burt Bacharach In Concert", A&M SP 68279, 1974

(11, 13-15 and 17-25 are previously unreleased in the USA)

Disc 5 - "Essentials” - 64:40 minutes):

Track 1 is a previously unreleased alternate mono mix of "Saturday Sunshine", 1963

Track 2 is "And So Goodbye, My Love", a US 7" single on Kapp Records 532, 1963

Tracks 3 to 14 are the album "Hit Maker!" on Kapp Records KS 3428, 1965

Track 15 and 16 are "What's New, Pussycat?" b/w "My Little Red Book (All I Do Is Talk About You)" - the A & B-side of Kapp Records 685, a US 7" single from 1965. The A is not the more famous Tom Jones hit - but has vocals by Joel Grey - the B-side vocals are by Tony Middleton

Track 17 is from the soundtrack "After The Fox" on United Artists UAS 5148, 1966

Track 18 is "The Fox Trot", a US 7" single on United Artists 50123, 1966

Tracks 19 and 20 are "Nikki" b/w "Juanita's Place" - the A&B sides of Liberty 55934, a US 7” single from 1966

Track 21 is from the soundtrack "Arthur The Album", 1981 on Warner Brothers, it’s an instrumental and not the number 1 chart hit sung by Christopher Cross

Track 22 is "That's What Friends Are For", from the soundtrack to "Night Shift" in 1982 on Warner Brothers, it’s an instrumental and not the chart hit sung by Dionne Warwick & Friends in 1985

Track 23 is "Love Theme From Arthur", on the soundtrack "Arthur 2: On The Rocks", 1988 on A&M Records, it’s an instrumental version

Burt Bacharach and his lyricist Hal David have penned huge numbers of great tunes across the decades, carried into record charts the world over by scores of superb interpretative artists. But therein lies the problem with this nice, but hugely expensive set – it does NOT provide an overview of those definitive versions, but instead Bacharach’s interpretations of his own songs, and to call them cheesy is to be way too generous! 

Most tracks are instrumentals and removing the singer, and the lyrics they sing, reduces the songs to boring brass blasters that just don't work. When he does sing, his voice is grating and wildly un-expressive. They are to my ear just awful – beyond the valley of drivel. Remember, this exclusive and limited 5CD velvet book set clocks in at over $150 Stateside and £100 sterling here in the UK – and given that half of the material is un-listenable dreck - a person has to question whether it’s worth even half that price.

Don't get me wrong – there are lovely moments on here, the 1971 remake of the 1966 "Nikki" is beautiful – both are included. The three instrumental versions on Disc 5 of The Arthur movies and Night Shift track are as lovely as anything John Barry has done. The remastering too – superlative – "Something Big..." has been done by tape supremo ERICK LABSON at Universal and is typically warm, full and beautiful to hear, and I suspect, one of the main reasons why easy/soundtrack enthusiasts will buy this set – despite its price.

But I would say – hand on my heart - hold those expectations on this one. Try to hear it before you buy. Or better still - purchase the original 'long-book' issue of the superlative 1998 Rhino 3CD Box set "The Look Of Love" instead – it’s a fraction of the cost and ten times the listening pleasure. And its track-by-track attached booklet is a work of art in itself - both it and the music contained within - a genuine tribute to Bacharach's songwriting genius…

"Top Of The Line" by PRINCE PHILLIP MITCHELL – Second Album from May 1979 on Atlantic Records (November 2007 Rhino "CLASSIC SOUL ALBUM - REMASTERED & EXPANDED" CD Reissue – Bill Inglot Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…Lying Here Next To You In My Birthday Suit…"

The cool and seductive "Top Of The Line" is the second Soul album ace songwriter PRINCE PHILLIP MITCHELL made for the mighty Atlantic Records in the late Seventies (1979).

This UK released November 2007 Expanded CD on Rhino remasters the album to a very high quality for the first time and adds on a bonus Previously Unreleased instrumental cut (54:07 minutes total playing time). Here's the break down for Rhino 8122-76434-2 (Barcode 081227643423):

1. Top Of The Line

2. Use Your Body

3. Highlight Of My Life

4. In Between Lovers

5. I'm So Happy

6. If It Ain't Love It'll Go Away

7. Paying The Price

8. Let's Get Wet

Tracks 1 to 8 are the album "Top Of The Line" released in the USA on Atlantic SD 19231 in May 1979

Track 9 is "Take Me Away (Instrumental)" which is a Previously Unreleased album outtake - the lyrics were never completed nor added to the mix...

Rhino's long-time tape engineer BILL INGLOT has remastered the first generation master tapes and the sound is typically great - warm, funky and with plenty of wallop without having to turn it up. Once again the booklet has an essay on the album and artist by noted writer CHARLES WARING that is excellent.

This is smooth loverman Soul where our hero is a bedroom dynamo and his girl is "dynamite" in the candlelight (and anywhere else that's convenient). "Top Of The Line" is a great groove with strings ("number one...second to none...") while "Use Your Body" is over five minutes of "give it all you've got..." and vocally he gets a tad ecstatic every now and then. The swooning continues with the slick "In Between Lovers" but even better is the Teddy Pendergrass funk of "I'm So Happy" - a lovely upbeat dancer with sighing girly vocals. "Paying The Price" sees him duet with The Jones Girls while "Let's Get Wet" is not really a subtle song where one of The Jones Girls literally say "not tonight Phil..." before the song goes into a pulsing Disco rhythm.

"Top Of The Line" is not really as good as its predecessor "Make It Good" from 1978 (which is also in this series) - but both are old-school Soul albums worth revisiting in your boudoir soon...

PS: This release is part of Rhino's "CLASSIC SOUL ALBUM - REMASTERED & EXPANDED" Series. Most titles are first time onto CD and are rare soul albums from the Warner/Atlantic/Cotillion/Elektra vaults:

1. Ace Spectrum - "Inner Spectrum" (see REVIEW)

2. Blue Magic - "Blue Magic" (see REVIEW)

3. Donny Hathaway - "Come Back Charleston Blue O.S.T." (see REVIEW)

4. Leroy Hutson - "Paradise" (see REVIEW)

5. Ronn Matlock - "Love City" (see REVIEW)

6. Gwen McCrae - "Gwen McCrae"

7. Gwen McCrae - "On My Way"

8. Prince Phillip Mitchell - "Make It Good" (1978 US Debut LP on Atlantic) (see REVIEW)

9. Prince Phillip Mitchell - "Top Of The Line" (1979, his 2nd album on Atlantic) (see REVIEW)

10. The Voices Of East Harlem [featuring Donny Hathaway] -"Right On Be Free" (see REVIEW)

Limitless Skies - "The Aeronauts" Film of 2019 by Tom Hopper - A Review by Mark Barry...

 "The Aeronauts" - A Review of the 2019 Tom Harper Film

Beautifully filmed in a way that you just don't see anymore – 2019’s "The Aeronauts" is apparently based on true events - though I'm not sure how much of the extraordinary daring-do that Felicity Jones' character does seven miles up is based on any kind of actual reality (I suspect her staggering stunts are there to amp up the tension and empathy).

Suspending disbelief or not – this is a wee cracker of a film and Amazon have clearly thrown a few quid at it because the visuals are properly gorgeous and the cleverly structured backstory flashbacks just enough to make the journey up illuminating and interesting.

Both Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne are superb as wild skybird Amelia Wren and stuffy atmospherics scientist Dr. James Glaisher - a man ridiculed by his fellows and colleagues (Tim McInnerny of Blackadder and Game Of Thrones fame amongst them) as he implores their academically well-to-do top hats for money and faith in his latest and greatest endeavour - to map out and possibly even predict the weather by finding out what exactly is up there and how it works (I mean real high up there).

Both of these damaged people are driven to reach for the stars even if it is a tad foolish and life killing in the process. Felicity’s widow character was married to another damn-the-torpedoes aeronaut called Pierre Rennes played fleetingly by Vincent Perez (mostly in flashback). This handsome Frenchman had won her heart big time and his loss to the pushing-of-ballooning-boundaries cost him his life two years before the film opens (simultaneously killing her desire to attach herself to any other male of the same persuasion).

Felicity Jones is fantastic in the role (as is Redmayne) and the believable chemistry between them as actors that showed up in "The Theory Of Everything" film turns up once again here. This time however and right from the start, her Amelia seems to dominate proceedings, a ball of energy even when her heart is broken. Coming on like a sort of face-painted Annie Oakley of the skies, Amelia also instinctively knows how to play the be-suited and frilly-frocked 1862 crowd promised an historic assent into the sky at 5pm sharp (the first time we meet her). She arrives in true theatrical tradition astride a highwayman's coach only minutes before the task – much to the ire of Dr. Glaisher and carnival showman Ned Chambers played with I-don't-care-if-you-die-just-give-my-punters-a-spectacle relish by Robert Glenister. Ned wants the nutty duo to go higher that anyone has ever gone before (and with a dog in tow too, cutesy). But the experienced lady and the seeming novice man have different ideas once in the air.

The socially awkward Dr. Glaisher is all pencil-notebooks, meteorological instruments, second-precise pocket watches and carrier pigeons in wooden boxes (to send back his measurements and therefore keep the science real and provable). Wren had to be dragged kicking and screaming back into the basket and we learn why in flashback (a frazzled but burgeoning relationship between herself and Dr. Glaisher). Amelia Wren may appear flippant but she knows what she's aeronautically doing (a few thousand feet up, she slips out of her corset and puts on a real flying person's oil-skin kit). Then she has to deal with hypoxia and oxygen depravation and other botherations. As you can imagine, as they go even higher and the risks start to exponentially mount up, testing their resolve and their ludicrously exposed breadbasket cocoon, a splendid time is guaranteed for all...

Directed with loving skill and visual flair by Tom Harper - the film does well not to fall into the 'they fall in love' trap that looms over every scene as danger loosens their emotions and lips. And those of a vertigo nature will truly have their nerves and senses shredded and tingled in equal amounts. There are nutty amounts of hanging out of (and on to) ropes and wicker and inflated sheets – in short, precious little separating them from the crushing earth below and that other pesky little scientific thing called gravity. The CGI is world-class good - beautiful shots of the oldie-worldie balloon floating ever upwards through clouds and storms and snows particles and respites of clear blue calm. And of courses there's those hair-raising views of the earth below as one or both them stand astride the creaking pod - looking downwards shots that show you just how precarious their scientific predicament truly is.

Aiding them in their quest to beat 23,000 feet above sea-level are earthbound friends (Himesh Patel excellent as the level-headed John Thew) and family trying to hang on to the shirt tails of a womanly force of nature - Amelia's practical and truthful sister Antonia (the beautiful Phoebe Fox) and a worried but understanding/inspirational mum and dad (veteran actors Anne Reid and Tom Courtney). And on it goes as our heroes take the wonder in their hearts and apply it to limitlessness of the skies.

"The Aeronauts" is old-fashioned for sure and some might find it a tad cheesy in this age of mega Marvel special effects extravaganzas constantly trying to out-gobsmack the vacuous predecessor. But it's also a surprisingly lovely and engaging film. You root for these characters in their balls-to-the-wall bravery and you applaud inside as their good old British gumption wins the eventual day.

I'm down with that. And if "The Aeronauts" ever shows up on BLU RAY – I'd love to own it and I'll send one to me mum too (take that Tony Stark)...

"The Letter-Neon Rainbow/Cry Like A Baby/Non Stop/Dimensions/Bonus Tracks" by THE BOX TOPS - Four Albums from 1967, 1968 (2) and 1969 on Bell Records (USA) in Stereo with 1970 Non-Album Singles in Mono - Featuring Alex Chilton [later of Big Star], Donnie Fritts, Eddie Hinton, Spooner Oldham with Dan Penn, Mickey Newbury, Chip Taylor, Glen Spreen and more (28 February 2020 UK Beat Goes On Reissue - 4LPs Onto 2CDs with Seven Bonus Tracks - Andrew Thompson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review and Over 384 More Like It

Are Available In My E-Book 

 

GIMME SHELTER!

CLASSIC 1960s ROCK ON CD 

And Other Genres Thereabouts 

 

Your All-Genres Guide To 

Exceptional Reissues and Remasters 

All Reviews From The Discs 

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"...Lay Your Shine On Me..."

This fantastic-sounding February 2020 double-header CD set from the hirsute bods prowling the corridors of England’s Beat Goes On offers up four studio albums THE BOX TOPS did in the USA between 1967 and 1969 with some dips into 1970. All were released in the UK too, albeit one LP with an additional track and another with two extras (the full compliment is provided here in this release – see notes below the track lists for sequencing).

Bolstering the quartet are seven more bonuses - three album outtakes (from the first 3 LPs) and four non-album single sides - with the bulk of it being in glorious Stereophonic marvelousness. It be a wee bit of a jellybean jar and that’s for darn gosh sure (as they say in enlightened parts of Alabama).

All this and a young Alex Chilton of Big Star (only 16 going on 17) stretching his Eric Burdon via Jim Morrison voice and newly acquired songwriting chops, Rock-Soul tunes with a Countrified air from those good ole Southern Soul gentlemen and all-round beloved dapper dudes – Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn (Penn produced the first three LPs) - with other melodies penned by Donnie Fritts and Eddie Hinton (guitar too). Hell The Tops even do a nine-minute cover of a B.B. King Blues classic at the end of album four that would give Jimmy Page a possible envy streak (and that’s not at the size of Robbie Williams' nearby and neighbourly water appendage). And 1968’s "Non Stop" (their one studio set that didn't make the top 200) may be obscure in 2020, but its an unfairly forgotten classic in my book and ripe for rediscovery. All this and these are the longest two BGO CDs I've ever seen in their near 40 years of digital reissue – both 81-minutes-plus. Very cool and not in the least bit square (if you know what I mean). Here are the unboxed details...

UK released Friday, 28 February 2020 - "The Letter-Neon Rainbow/Cry Like A Baby/Non Stop/Dimensions/Bonus Tracks" by THE BOX TOPS on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1400 (Barcode 5017261214003) offers 4LPs Remastered Onto 2CDs with Seven Bonus Tracks and plays out as follows:

CD1 (81:40 minutes):

1. The Letter [Side 1]

2. She Knows How

3. Trains & Boats & Planes 

4. Break My Mind

5. Whiter Shade Of Pale

6. Everything I Am

7. Neon Rainbow [Side 2]

8. People Make The World

9. I'm Your Puppet

10. Happy Times

11. Gonna Find Somebody

12. I Pray For Rain

Tracks 1 to 12 are their debut album "The Letter/Neon Rainbow" – released November 1967 in the USA on Bell Records 6011 in Stereo-only and January 1968 in the UK on Stateside SSL 10128 in Stereo-only - the STEREO MIX is used

13. Cry Like A Baby [Side 1]

14. Deep In Kentucky

15. I'm The One For You

16. Weeping Analeah

17. Every Time

18. Fields Of Clover

19. The Letter [see Notes below]

20. Trouble With Sam [Side 2]

21. Lost

22. Good Morning Dear

23. 727

24. You Keep Me Hanging On

25. The Door You Closed To Me [see Notes below]

Tracks 13 to 25 are their second studio album "Cry Like A Baby" – released April 1968 in the USA on Bell Records 6017 in Stereo-only as an 11-track LP. The US variant is sequenced 13 to 18 for Side 1 and 20 to 24 for Side 2. The songs at the end of each side ("The Letter" and "The Door You Closed To Me") were two bonuses only on the June 1968 UK 13-track LP on Bell Records MBLL 105 (Mono) and SBLL 105 (Stereo). The song "The Door You Closed To Me" was also a non-album track in the USA and appeared as the B-side of the "Cry Like A Baby" 45 single in February 1988 on Mala Records 593. The STEREO MIX is used for CD.

BONUS TRACKS:

26. Georgia Farm Boy (album outtake first issued March 2000 in the USA on Sundazed SC 6158 - the Expanded Edition CD reissue of the "The Letter-Neon Rainbow" LP)

27. Take Me To Your Heart (album outtake first issued March 2000 in the USA on Sundazed SC 6159 - the Expanded Edition CD reissue of the "Cry Like A Baby" LP)

28. Come On Honey (non-album track, March 1970 US 7" single on Bell 865, B - CD reissue as per 27)

29. You Keep Tightening Up On Me (non-album track, March 1970 US 7" single on Bell 865, A - CD reissue as per 27)

CD2 (81:43 minutes):

1. Choo Choo Train [Side 1]

2. I'm Movin' On

3. Sandman

4. She Shot A Hole In My Soul

5. People Gonna Talk

6. I Met Her in Church [Side 2]

7. Rock Me Baby

8. Rollin' In My Sleep

9. I Can Dig It

10. Yesterday Where's My Head

11. If I Had Let You In 

Tracks 1 to 11 are their third studio album "Non Stop" – released October 1968 in the USA on Bell Records 6023 in Stereo-only and November 1968 in the UK on Bell Records MBLL 108 (Mono) and SBLL 108 (Stereo) - the STEREO MIX is used

12. Soul Deep [Side 1]

13. I Shall Be Released

14. Midnight Angel

15. Together

16. I'll Hold Out My Hand

17. I Must Be The Devil

18. Sweet Cream Ladies (Forward March) [Side 2]

19. (The) Happy Song

20. Ain't No Way

21. I See Only Sunshine

22. Rock Me Baby (Version 2)

Tracks 12 to 22 are their fourth album "Dimensions" – released September 1969 in the USA on Bell Records 6032 in Stereo-only as a 10-Track LP without the song "I See Only Sunshine" on Side 2 and November 1969 in the UK on Bell Records MBLL 120 (Mono) and SBLL 120 (Stereo) as an 11-track LP with the song "I See Only Sunshine" slotted in as above on Side 2 – the STEREO MIX is used

BONUS TRACKS:

23. King's Highway (non-album track, March 1971 US 7" single on Bell 981, A - CD as per 25)

24. Since I Been Gone (non-album track, March 1971 US 7" single on Bell 981, B - CD appearance is March 2000 in the USA on Sundazed SC 6160 - the Expanded Edition CD reissue of the "Non Stop" LP)

25. Lay Your Shine On Me (album outtake first issued March 2000 in the USA on Sundazed SC 6161 - the Expanded Edition CD reissue of the "Dimensions" LP)

The outer slipcase card wrap, 24-page booklet and foldout double-CD jewel case all lend this reissue a typical air of class. Longstanding writer for BGO – Mojo and Record Collector’s CHARLES WARING - provides superbly detailed and researched liner notes that cover the recording and release of the first four albums, the singles surrounding them, Producers Spooner Oldham, Dan Penn, Tommy Cogbill and Chips Moman, line-up changes and even quotes from singer-songwriter Alex Chilton and original drummer Danny Smythe on their punishing and sometimes disillusioning schedules. The booklet also features all original artwork (hokey liner notes from 1967 and 1968 by Hal Smith and Mark Lindsay) and well as the usual 2020 Remaster reissue credits. Even the inner back inlay beneath the CD trays has a shot of the "Dimensions" album sleeve (nice touch).

ANDREW THOMPSON did the Remasters at Sound Performance in London and I have to say that these albums are sparkling. Although most are in full STEREO, I can’t help thinking (and to my ears) that certain cuts are in MONO – like the single "The Letter" on the debut (repeated on the British LP for "Cry Like A Baby"). The audio on deeply cool album cuts like "She Knows How",  "People Make The World", "Choo Choo Train" and "She Shot A Hole In My Soul" is wonderful – a genuine pleasure to hear in all their 60ts cool-aid grooviness. To the records...

Arising out of a Memphis Beat group called The Devilles, the embryonic 1966 Box Tops hooked up with Soul-steeped producers Chips Moman and Dan Penn. Then with the aid of an uppercoming Missouri songwriter called Wayne Carson Thompson (usually credited on the labels as Carson Thompson) – they found a total world-beating winner in one of his three demo songs called "The Letter" (ticket for an aeroplane, anyone). Thompson also penned the album’s other moniker "Neon Rainbow" which would become the group’s second single and a dual title on the debut album. His third contribution to the covers-heavy first LP outing was "She Knows How" – another wickedly hooky tune.

Young Soul buck Bobby Womack provided two - "People Make The World" and "Gonna Find Somebody" – neither of which would turn up on his two stunning albums for Imperial "Fly Me To The Moon" and "My Prescription" in 1968 and 1970. We get a purely functional version of Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade Of Pale", a wimpy cover of the Burt Bacharach and Hal David Dionne Warwick vehicle "Trains & Boats & Planes" and a slightly better take on John D. Loudermilk's "Break My Mind". But what really interests me about the debut (apart from how mature Chilton sounded as a 16-year old giving it some 60ts R&B) is the four Rock-Soul songs from the pens of two of my absolute fave-rave writers – Memphis boys Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn (accompanied by ace arranger Mike Leech). They give us "Everything I Am", the James and Bobby Purify classic "I'm Your Puppet", "Happy Times" and "I Pray For Rain". It's been eons since I played these period slices of Southern hospitality and gosh darn their burning-churning groovy bits but they've stood up well – especially as they come from a year that saw the dynamic duo write "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" for Aretha Franklin and "The Dark End Of The Street" for James Carr. Yum yum...

The second LP "Cry Like A Baby" once again saw Dan Penn at the Production controls – the US copy offering 11 cuts whilst the UK issue slapped on a further two songs – one at the end of either side. The team of Oldham and Penn stumped up the fantastic hit "Cry Like A Baby" and five more - "Every Time", "Fields Of Clover", "Trouble With Sam" (Penn only), "727" and the bonus cut on the British LP "The Door You Closed On Me". The band gets yeah-man psych on their cover of The Supremes Holland-Dozier-Holland classic "You Keep Me Hangin' On", goes all Peppers Sitar on "I'm The One For You", whilst the album is also notable for the inclusion of two from cult Country Rocker Mickey Newbury - "Good Morning Dear" and a waltz co-write with Dan Folger on "Weeping Analeah". 

A quietly unnoticed hero of mine called Glen Spreen arranged the strings on "Lost" (a co-write of his with Mark James) – Spreen would enjoy a huge working career as LP arranger for the much-missed Dan Fogelberg on Dan's albums "Home Free", "Captured Angel", "Phoenix", "The Innocent Age" and more (he even arranged for Presley). And amidst the four bonuses tail-ending CD1 is Alex Chilton's first songwriting-credit for the band on "Come On Honey", Carson Thompson once again throwing up a non-LP groover in "You Keep Tightening Up On Me" and another Mickey Newbury cover in the album outtake - "Georgia Farm Boy" - that I believe Sundazed first unearthed to the world in 2000 on their expanded CD reissue of the debut album "The Letter-Neon Rainbow".

Which brings us to album number three "Non Stop" from October 1968 opening CD2 with the LP's lead off single – the Donnie Fritts and Eddie Hinton penned "Choo Choo Train". Mala Records had in fact debuted the 45 Stateside in May 1968 (Mala 12,005) with "Fields Of Clover" from the second album on the flipside – but even then the writing seemed to be on the wall for this non-charting LP. "Cry Like A Baby" had gone all the hit way to an impressive No. 2 on the American singles chart in March 1968 – but in June 1968 (only months later) when "Choo Choo Train" hit the Billboard listings – it only managed a peak of only No. 26. And despite the songwriting strength of the album's second 45 "I Met Her In Church" on Mala 12.017 - an Oldham/Penn original backed with their equally cool "People Gonna Talk" song on the flipside - it too only rose to No. 37 and this time only managed one week on the chart. Hardly surprising then that in November 1968, a slightly panicking Bell Records tried to cash in on what must have appeared to be an already fading band by putting out the LP "The Box Tops Super Hits" as a mop-up exercise. At least it charted and rose to No. 45 – reminding people of how much they loved those hooky Rock-Soul numbers.

As well as the clever rework of Hank Snow's country groover "I'm Movin' On" on Side 1 (John Kay of Steppenwolf may have nicked his arrangement of the cover from the Box Tops for his "Forgotten Songs & Unsung Heroes" LP in 1972) – the "Non Stop" album also has an enlightened cover version choice on Side 2 in the B.B. King classic "Rock Me Baby". A Bluesy little gem running to 3:49 minutes, I mention the tune because when The Box Tops returned with their fourth "Dimensions" album in 1969, clearly recognizing that they'd stumbled on a sound and Rock-Soul-orientated groove Chilton really liked - they went at it again, only this time extending its fantastic Blues-Rock-Soul vibe to nearly nine minutes. Wayne Carson Thompson provided "Sandman" which I think is good rather than great – Fritts and Hinton put up contribution number two in the shape of the US Side 2 finisher "If I Had Let You In" (sweet) and keyboardist Paul Davis of The Reivers provided the excellent "Rollin' In My Sleep". As I said earlier, why the public ignored this rather cool and sexy little LP is anyone's guess – but I'd say it's time to go back and re-look.

The final album "Dimensions" opens with the absolute winner that is "Soul Deep" - a Wayne Carson Thompson masterpiece. But then you're hit with a genuine surprise. Even in 1968, Dylan cover versions had become a seriously overdone thing. And yet The Box Tops managed in their version of "I Shall Be Released" to capture the song's beauty and spirituality and even (some would say) take it further. Their take is gorgeous and in April 1969 Mala previewed the album by putting "I Shall Be Released" on a US 45 A-side (Mala 12,038) with Chilton's equally superb Blues number "I Must Be The Devil" on the flip. 23 May 1969 saw this combo issued by Bell Records in Blighty (Bell BLL 1063) and for me is one of the great forgotten combos of that amazing year (love me two times). Can't say I like the cover of Neil Diamond's "Ain't No Way" much, but the Al Gorgoni and Chip Taylor song "I'll Hold Out My Hand" is a goody. And the three bonus cuts ending CD2 has Chilton's rare single-only track "Since I Been Gone". The only minor gripe is that the stand-alone September 1969 single "Turn On A Dream" (a Mark James song) with Chilton's "Together" on the flipside is not here, but that perhaps is being too greedy.

Beat Goes On has gotten good at these sort of releases and this is another feather in their long-standing fluffy hat. Great audio, great content and quality presentation – my love is Soul Deep boys for sure...