"Original Album Classics" by SOFT MACHINE – Featuring Five Albums From 1970 to 1973 Onto Five CD Remasters With One Bonus Track - "Third" (1970 2LP Set), "Fourth" (1971), "Fifth" (1972 with Bonus Track), "Six" (1973 2LP Set) and "Seven" (1973) (25 October 2010 UK Sony/Legacy 5CD Mini Box Set – 2007 Paschal Byrne Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Kings And Queens..."

A neat and tasty little number this – five of the 2007 Paschal Byrne Remastered albums from "The CBS Years Series" (1970 to 1973) clumped together into one of Sony/Legacy's dinky "Original Album Classics" Mini Box Sets. Original Master Tapes used in the transfers, an experienced and much praised Audio Engineer at hand, two were originally double-albums and one of the single-album reissues even sports a worthy Alternate Take bonus track.

So at roughly two-quid a go for your fave-rave Jazz Rock, Fusion and Prog Rock band of the Seventies – SOFT MACHINE – this instrumental slugger is cheap and full of (mostly) cheerful insanity. Let's get to those Kings and Queens…

UK released 25 October 2010 - "Original Album Classics" by SOFT MACHINE on Sony/Legacy/Columbia 88697781442 (Barcode 886977814426) is a 5CD Mini Box Set with Five Singular Card Sleeves and Outer Hard Card Slipcase that plays out as follows (2007 Remasters used):

CD1 "Third" (75:21 minutes, 2LP Set onto 1CD):

1. Facelift [Side 1]

2. Slightly All The Time [Side 2]

3. Moon In June [Side 3]

4. Out-Bloody-Rageous [Side 4]

Tracks 1 to 4 are their third studio album, the 2LP set "Third" - released June 1970 in the UK on CBS Records 66246 and in the USA on Columbia G 30339. Featuring Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, Mike Ratledge, Lyn Dobson, Nick Evans, Rab Spall, Jimmy Hastings and Robert Wyatt - it peaked at No. 18 on the UK LP charts (didn't chart USA).

CD2 "Fourth" (39:14 minutes):

1. Teeth [Side 1]

2. Kings And Queens

3. Fletcher's Blemish

4. Virtually Part 1 [Side 2]

5. Virtually Part 2

6. Virtually Part 3

7. Virtually Part 4

Tracks 1 to 7 are the studio album "Fourth" - released February 1971 in the UK on CBS Records S 64280 and in the USA on Columbia C 30754. Featuring Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, Mike Ratledge, Alan Skidmore, Nick Evans, Jimmy Hastings and Robert Wyatt - it peaked at No. 32 in the UK LP charts (didn't chart USA)

CD3 "Fifth" (43:51 minutes):

1. All White [Side 1]

2. Drop

3. M C

4. As If [Side 2]

5. L B O

6. Pigling Bland

7. Bone

Tracks 1 to 7 are the studio album "Fifth" (called "5" in the USA) - released June 1972 in the UK on CBS Records S 64806 and as "5 in the USA on Columbia KC 31604. Featuring Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean, Mike Ratledge, Roy Babbington, John Marshall and Phil Howard - it didn't chart in either country.

BONUS TRACK:

8. All White (Take Two) - first appeared as a Bonus Track on the 2007 CD Reissue and Remaster of "Fifth"

CD4 "Six" (76:37 minutes, 2LP Set onto 1CD):

Live Record

1. Fanfare (Live) [Side 1]

2. All White (Live)

3. Between (Live)

4. Riff (Live)

5. 37 1/2 (Live)

6. Gesoireut (Live) [Side 2]

7. E.P.V. (Live)

8. Lefty (Live)

9. Stumble (Live)

10. 5 From 13 (For Phil Seamen With Love And Thanks) (Live)

11. Riff 2 (LIve)

Studio Record

12. The Soft Weed Factor [Side 3]

13. Stanley Stamps Gibbon Album (For B.O.)

14. Chloe And The Pirates [Side 4]

15. 1983

Tracks 1 to 15 are the double-album "Six" - released February 1973 in the UK on CBS Records 68214 and in the USA on Columbia KG 32260. Featuring Hugh Hopper, Mike Ratledge, Karl Jenkins and John Marshall - it didn't chart in either country.

CD5 "Seven" (43:15 minutes):

1. Nettle Bed [Side 1]

2. Carol Ann

3. Day's Eye

4. Bone Fire

5. Tarabos

6. D.I.S.

7. Snodland [Side 2]

8. Penny Hitch

9. Block

10. Down The Road

11. The German Lesson

12. The French Lesson

Tracks 1 to 12 are the studio album "Seven" - released October 1973 in the UK on CBS Records S 65799 and in the USA on Columbia C 32716. Featuring Mike Ratledge, Karl Jenkins, Roy Babbington and John Marshall - it didn't chart in either country.

With two albums for Probe in 1968 and 1969 under their belt but non-charting in the UK (featuring the Kevin Ayers line-up) – it must have heartening to see a four-sided double-album of difficult Jazz Rock imaginatively entitled "Third" make the UK album charts and actually achieve a position of No. 18 – something that would be practically impossible fifty years on in 2020. The opening eighteen and half minutes of "Facelift" was recorded live at the Fairfield Hall in Croydon and sets the musical scene - long pieces of Jazz Rock with a hint of Prog and Avant Garde and (let's be honest here) a lot of difficult listening ahead. Probably the crudest of their recordings, time hasn't been kind to this King Crimson having-a-go live moment - but it does at least sound a lot better than my original orange label CBS double did. 

Things improve immeasurably audio-wise with the Bass harmonic notes and saxes of Side 2's "Slightly All The Time" - those drum whacks and high-hat touches tingling around your speakers as Lyn Dobson and Elton Dean trade horn improvisations (Ratledge underpinning with keyboards). "Moon In June" is another nineteen-minuter - only this time opening with the distinctive vocals of drummer Robert Wyatt duetting with Ratledge on lyrics you actually can't make out. As those huge chunky keyboard chords kick in, the transfer is incredible, as too is that Bass solo that used to always blur a tad on my double LP. Side 4 gives us the slow water-gurgling keyboard lead-in to "Out-Bloody-Rageous" - ominously building into a sort of Tangerine Dream soundscape before in leaps into rapido Prog Rock. Amazing audio for this.

Their "Fourth" installment returned to single-album territory, and with Lyn Dobson departed and new boys Alan Skidmore and Jimmy Hastings adding to the mix. After the excesses of "Three" – this album is so much more controlled and better for it. The opening nine-minute Jazz-Rock of "Teeth" hammers home the Sax and Keyboard battles that dominates the album. Shimmering keys open the strangely ethereal "Kings And Queens" – a very Colosseum moment as those drums and crashing symbols float behind Oboe notes and Crimson-like Guitar moments (the Audio is so good here). Scraped violin notes open the doomy "Fletcher's Blemish" – not one of my faves it has to be said. But I totally dig the Miles Davis moments in Side 2's Four-Part "Virtually" – trumpet fills complimenting expert double bass plucks amidst super-controlled cymbal tapping. I can’t help thinking that "Fourth", their most Jazz-sounding Soft Machine album, perfectly showcases their exceptional playing – Paschal Byrne's remaster make it absolutely shine.

1972's "Fifth" may have seen their British and American chart shelf life evaporate, but it didn't stop the playing from getting better. Opening with "All White" - once again there's that Canterbury Jazz-Rock swirl - echoes of Miles getting warmed up for a Mahavishnu moment. The near eight-minutes of "Drop" not surprisingly sports beautifully recorded water drops that soon melt into shimmering keyboards - Ratledge channeling his inner Phaedra two years before the album's appearance (superb remaster too). The Jazz tingling continues with "MC" - reminding me of "Caravanserai" in its more cymbal-clashing mysterious moments. We almost get commercially soft with the smooth and funky "Pigling Bland" - oboe soloing galore. The 7:13 minute 'Take Two' of "All White" is a nice addition - the group finding its Fusion feet pretty damn quick in this excellent Bonus Track. 

The first LP of 1973's "Six" is Live and the second a Studio set - Sides 1 and 2 mixing new with old to the crowd's clear pleasure and Sides 3 and 4 featuring all new material. "Fanfare" gives us a forty-second musical intro to the opening track of "Six" - "All White" - and immediately the Audio is properly great. The soft shimmering notes that introduce "Between" dance across your speakers like Tomita trying to mimic rain instead of Snowflakes only to morph into a Fusion groove not surprisingly called "Riff". Speaking of pretty and floating, over on Side 2 of the first record "Lefty" throws up a soft shimmer until Fripp like distorted guitar intensifies proceedings. A long keyboard fade-in weaves "The Soft Weed Factor" into play, the first of four lengthy pieces on the studio LP. The band gets into an almost Can groove and the Remaster is excellent - all that percussive stuff audible. ELP type piano initially sets up the mixed-up title "Stanley Stamp Gibbon Album (For B.O.)" before Soft Machine throw fans a curve and go into a very funky Brian Auger's Retaliation groove. I find "1983" hard work, but "Chloe And The Pirates" once again lifts up a very cool double-album installment in their long Canterbury-instrumentals career.

Their second album in 1973 would be their seventh outing, though by this time, I'm not sure who was listening (which on evidence now is a damn shame). Funky Synths greet listeners on a track that sounds like its title "Nettle Bed" - but I like the moody and mellow "Carol Ann" better – an undoubtedly beautiful lady captured in sensual piano chords. I can hear Kevin Ayers and his 1974 Island Records debut album "The Confessions Of Dr. Dream And Other Stories" in the brilliant keyboard soloing that features throughout "Day's Eyes". Over on Side 2 the six and half minutes of "Snodland" is Soft Machine getting in touch with its Soulful Funky instrumental side – for me a highlight on an album overlooked in their catalogue.

I'd admit that in 2020, and to a new set of ears, what we old farts loved and thought wildly innovative back in the day might now seem dated - even be labelled as tuneless noodles best avoided. But like say Colosseum or The Mahavishnu Orchestra or for that matter Seventies Tangerine Dream, Soft Machine and their floating sometimes jagged soundscapes were always an acquired taste. And if you want them, they're here in abundance and sounding, absolutely pucker too…

"Shaft" (Music From The Soundtrack) by ISAAC HAYES – 23 July 1971 US 2LP Set on Enterprise Records and November 1971 UK 2LP set on Stax Records – featuring Backing Bands The Bar-Kays, The Isaac Hayes Movement, The Memphis Strings and Horns with Arrangements by Johnny Allen and J.J. Johnson and backing Singers Pat Lewis, Rose Williams and Telma Hopkins (3 November 2009 USA (25 January 2010 UK) Stax/Concord Music Group Deluxe Edition Reissue – 2LPs onto 1CD with One Bonus Track - Bob Fisher Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Damn Right!"

There was industry discussion in the October 1971 issue of Billboard Magazine as Stax/Enterprise prepped for the release of Isaac Hayes' second double-album "Black Moses" in the same year ("Shaft" had been issued in July 1971) – that they had locked down all promotion of his new opus. This was because some DJ had reputedly been offered $300,000 for his Promo Copy with the aim of bootlegging it.

Why would someone offer an A&R employee such a huge amount of cash in 1971?  Because his previous effort "Shaft" as a Movie, as a 2LP Blaxploitation Soul Music Soundtrack was MASSIVE – an absolute phenomenon and in a way that few had ever seen before. The handsome sex symbol lead actor Richard Roundtree, the bespectacled and impossibly cool musician Isaac Hayes with his beard and bling, the wah wah guitar theme he composed that just slaughtered all in its path worldwide - this bad mother was everywhere. Stax was even then claiming that such was the demand for Isaac’s fourth release, that nearly 40% of copies of "Shaft" in American circulation were bootlegs - gazillions of them.

Few now remember (or even know) that December 1971's "Black Moses" was going to be Isaac Hayes' fifth No. 1 US R&B LP in a row – a feat no one had ever achieved (he would achieve another 2 R&B number ones in 1974 with "Truck Turner" and the 1976 live double "Live At The Sahara Tahoe"). Seven No. 1 R&B albums – wow! But it's "Shaft" that has a special place in fan's hearts - which brings us to this (problematic for some) CD Remaster (issued November 2009 in the USA and January 2010 in The UK and Europe).

I'm going to argue that until 2021 (next year) when a '50th Anniversary Edition' must surely be looming – this 2009/2010 incarnation is about the best way so far to get the double on digital. There have been bitter diatribes about the BOB FISHER sound on this 2009 Concord Music Group Remaster but apart from some lack of punch on the Bass, I'm struggling to hear why anyone is complaining. I love what I'm hearing. The drums are clear and those brass and string parts are mellow and punchy - the organ fills too. The 2009 Mix of the famous title song is a tad superfluous as a supposed bonus - especially when we don't get the way more desirable and important single edits of "Shaft", "Cafe Regio's" or "Do You Thing" - two of which would easily have squeezed on here. Still, time to deal with what we do have. Let's get damn right...

UK released 25 January 2010 (3 November 2009 in the USA) - "Shaft: Deluxe Edition" by ISAAC HAYES on Universal/Stax/Concord Music Group 0888072317512 (Barcode 888072317512) is a Deluxe Edition offering the full 'Music From The Soundtrack' 2LP set Remastered onto 1 CD with One Bonus Track. It plays out as follows (74:33 minutes):

1. Theme From Shaft (Vocal) [Side 1]

2. Bumpy's Lament

3. Walk From Regio's

4. Ellie's Love Theme

5. Shaft's Cab Ride

7. Café Regio's [Side 2]

8. Early Sunday Morning

9. Be Yourself

10. A Friend's Place

11. Soulsville (Vocal) [Side 3]

12. No Name Bar

13. Bumpy's Blues

14. Do Your Thing [Side 4]

15. The End Theme

Tracks 1 to 15 are the double-album "Shaft" - released 23 July 1971 in the USA on Enterprise ENS-2-5002 and November 1971 in the UK on Stax 2659 007. Produced by ISAAC HAYES and featuring THE BAR KAYS and THE MOVEMENT as the backing band – the Music From The Soundtrack 2LP set peaked at No. 1 in both countries.

BONUS TRACK:

16. Theme From Shaft (2009 Mix, 4:45 minutes)

The 20-page booklet is a pleasingly in-depth affair with August 2009 liner notes from ASHLEY KHAN, author of "A Love Supreme: The Story Of John Coltrane's Signature Album". There are photos of rare picture sleeves, Isaac with his Grandmother at the 1972 Academy Awards, him and actor Richard Roundtree looking like the men of the moment, Isaac with backing band The Bar-Kays, members of his own band The Movement and more photos from the Stax archives along with the usual recordings/reissue credits. 

The ROB FISHER Remaster was done at Pacific Multimedia and really lifts the material - shaking tambourine on the instrumental "Cafe Regio's" (an edit of this song was the B-side of the "Shaft" single in September 1971), the slinky Burt Bacharach sounding brass on "Early Sunday Morning" (high-hat taps clear too) and so much more. For sure the Bass feels a tad muffled down but I don't hate it as much as some seem too.  

For an album that's so associated with the chicka-chicka wah-wah guitar of its theme song, "Shaft" the double-album is surprising mellow throughout. The near two-minutes of the sexy instrumental "Bumpy's Lament" is followed by the Funky Brass and Percussion 2:24 minutes of the superb "Walk From Regio's" where you can literally see our hero walking the dude streets with a per in his step and a glide in his stride (oh stop it). There is gorgeous sound on the vibes smooch of "Ellie's Love Theme" - and those brass and strings melting on "Early Sunday Morning" as the high-hat taps time.

The brass pump-and-punch of "Be Yourself" sounds like a 1976 Disco anthem only five years before anyone knew the word (nice clarity on the Sax solo too). Back to yeah baby turn-out-the-lights smooch with "A Friend's Place" - the instrumentation being ever so slightly fragmented in the sound stage (one too up front, the other too far back) - but that's how I remember it was on the original vinyl. Now to one of my faves - the keyboard and vocal "Soulsville" talks about brothers getting high and strung out and finding out that they can get high but never touch the sky. The audio is gorgeous and makes you wish he sang more on the album (a bummer is that the three ladies who add so much to the backing vocals - Pat Lewis, Rose Williams and Telma Hopkins are not credited in the musicians list - a stupid oversight).

There is that big chunky piano that opens up the smooth "Bumpy's Blues" - lovely brass and drums - so clear now. And on it goes to the monster that is the 19:28 minutes of "Do Your Thing" - if the music makes you groove - love on baby. Fantastic to hear it sound this good. Rap On. The 2009 Mix of "Theme from Shaft" is given a drummer's count in before that distinctive wah-wah guitar smacks you. The problem here is that you can 'feel' the manipulation of mix - some of it too far back while the rest is too loud. Like I said, I can't help that NOT including the single edit of the mighty "Do Your Thing" was a mistake.

So this supposed Deluxe Edition of 1971's "Shaft" it's not perfect for sure, but I still think it sounds awesome in so many places, and doesn't come with an aircraft-carrier price tag. Until the next best folks, rap on... 

"Spaced Out: The Story Of Mushroom Records" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Featuring Magic Carpet, Second Hand, Andreas Thomopoulos, Callinan-Flynn, Simon Finn, Lol Coxhill, Les Flambeaux, Chillum, Jon Betmead and more on CD1 with Sixties Productions (on CD2) by Mushroom Records Producer Vic Keary of Alex Korner Blues Incorporated, Denis Couldry, Felius Andromeda, John Williams, Tuesday’s Children, Mel Turner, The Attraction, The Carolines, The Mark Leeman Five, New Faces, Angelina and more (May 2017 UK Grapefruit Records 2CD Anthology) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Fortune Finder..."

Everything but the kitchen sink (and if you look hard enough)...

When I worked at Reckless Records as a Rock Rarities Buyer (a penal servitude of some 20 years) - the distinctive/pretty label afforded North London’s Mushroom Records was known to us, but mostly to no one else. Apart from occasionally stumbling on say Second Hand or the legendary Magic Carpet album (or on a really good day, say Lol Coxhill) - their undoubtedly eccentric and wildly diverse hairy-chested lentil-munching catalogue never crossed our hallowed counter tops.

This stuff is rare. CD1 gives you 21 tracks from 1971 and 1972 from artists lost to time across fifty years (the LPs began in April 1971), whilst CD2 lays on 25 more obscurities from Mushroom label Producer Vic Keary's time at Maximum Sound Productions Studios in the Old Kent Road during the Sixties. Twenty-one of those are highly collectable British singles from 1963 to 1969 with four stragglers from 1970, 1972 (2) and a 1962 recording not issued until 1991 on a See For Miles compilation. Forty-six obscuro cuts in all, two of which are Previously Unreleased…

Genre-wise you’re getting a right royal mix - Seventies Folk-Rock, Traditional Folk, Acid Folk, Indian-Raga, Steel Band Music, Free Jazz, Avant Garde, Prog Rock with a few more eclectic points in-between (I've never seen 99% of the memorabilia depicted in the 20-page booklet before nor the Discography on the rear inlay). Impressive for a division of Fungus Productions at 1A Belmont Street, Chalk Farm, London NW1 - opposite The Roundhouse and around the corner from The Belmont Pub. Time to get vegetively spaced baby...

 UK released 19 May 2017 - "Spaced Out: The Story Of Mushroom Records" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Grapefruit Records CRSEG036D (Barcode 5013929183629) is a 46-Track 2CD Compilation of Remasters covering 1962 to 1972 and plays out as follows:

CD1 - "Mushroom" (77:38 minutes):

1. Folk Piece In Kharwa - PANDIT KANWAR SAIN TRIKHA (from the April 1971 UK LP "Three Sitar Pieces" on Mushroom 100 MR 7)

2. Evil Ways - LES FLAMBEAUX (from the December 1971 UK LP "Les Flambeaux" on Mushroom 150 MR 13)

3. Hangin' On An Eyelid - SECOND HAND (from the April 1971 UK LP "Death May Be Your Santa Claus" on Mushroom 200 MR 6)

4. Fortune For The Finder - CALLINAN-FLYNN (from the June 1972 UK LP "Fortune's Lament" on Mushroom 150 MR 18)

5. Dandelion Blues - JON BETMEAD (from the December 1971 UK LP "The Mushroom Folk Sampler" on Mushroom 100 MR 16)

6. Where's Your Master Gone? - SIMON FINN (from the April 1971 UK LP "Pass The Distance" on Mushroom 100 MR 2)

7. Or Alternatively Nine - LOL COXHILL, PIERRE COURBOIS and JASPER VAN'T HOF (from the July 1972 UK LP "Toverbal Sweet" on Mushroom 150 MR 23)

8. Lark In The Morning - HEATHER, ADRIAN & JOHN (from the December 1971 UK LP "The Mushroom Folk Sampler" on Mushroom 100 MR 16)

9. False Eyelashes - ANDREAS THOMOPOULOS (from the April 1971 UK LP "Born Out Of The Tears Of The Sun" on Mushroom 200 MR 4)

10. Cham Cham Cham Cham - NITAI DASGUPTA (from the June 1972 UK LP "Songs Of India" on Mushroom 150 MR 22)

11. Funeral - SECOND HAND (June 1972 UK 7" single on Mushroom 50 MR 19, A-side)

12. We Are The People (The Road To Derry Town) - CALLINAN-FLYNN (from the June 1972 UK LP "Freedom's Lament" on Mushroom 150 MR 18)

13. Report To The Sad Lady - ANDREAS THOMOPOULOS (from the April 1971 UK LP "Songs Of The Street" on Mushroom 100 MR 1)

14. The Ould Triangle - THE LIVERPOOL FISHERMEN (from the August 1971 UK LP "Swallow The Anchor" on Mushroom 100 MR 9)

15. High Germany - MAPPA TANDI (from the December 1971 UK LP "The Mushroom Folk Sampler" on Mushroom 100 MR 16)

16. Land Of A Thousand Dreams - CHILLUM (from the December 1971 UK LP "Chillum" on Mushroom 100 MR 11)

17. Puckaree - URBAN CLEARWAY (not originally issued, recorded 1972)

18. Don't Wait Till The Morning - GORDON, ELLIS & STEELE (Previously Unissued, recorded 1972 for unreleased Mushroom Records LP)

19. The Phoenix - MAGIC CARPET (from the June 1972 UK LP "Magic Carpet" on Mushroom 200 MR 20)

20. Take To The Skies - SECOND HAND (from the April 1971 UK LP "Death May Be Your Santa Claus" on Mushroom 200 MR 6)

21. Jerusalem - SIMON FINN (from the April 1971 UK LP "Pass The Distance" on Mushroom 100 MR 2)

CD2 - "Vic Keary's Maximum Sound Productions" (75:04 minutes):

1. Party Line - THE ATTRACTION (November 1966 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 8010, A-side, Ray Davies song, Kinks cover, for B-side see Track 15)

2. Summer Leaves Me With A Sigh - TUESDAY'S CHILDREN (October 1966 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 8018, B-side of "High On The Hill", a Phillip Cordell song)

3. She's That Kind Of Woman - JOHN WILLIAMS (February 1967 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 8128, A-side, John Williams song, for B-side see Track 11)

4. See See Rider - ALEX KORNER (March 1965 UK 7" single on King KG 1017, A-side, La Vern Baker cover)

5. James In The Basement - DENIS COULDRY (February 1968 UK 7" single on Decca F 12734, A-side, Denis Couldry song, for B-side see Track 19)

6. Cheadle Heath Delusions - FELIUS ANDROMEDA (November 1967 UK 7" single on Decca F 12694, B-side of "Meditations", a Denis Couldry song, for A-side see Track 20)

7. The World Will End Yesterday - SECOND HAND (from the March 1969 Debut LP "Reality" on Polydor 583 045)

8. Rainbow Chasing - ANDROMEDA (August 1972 UK 7" single on Cactus CT 2, B-side of "After The Storm", for A-side see Track 18)

9. Knock On Wood - OLIVER BONE (November 1966 UK 7" single on Parlophone R 5527, A-side, cover version of the Eddie Floyd hit written Floyd and Steve Cropper)

10. Wishing My Life Away - ANGELINA (December 1965 UK 7" single on Fontana TF 648, A-side, real name Jacqueline Mumford)

11. My Ways Are Set - JOHN WILLIAMS (February 1967 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 8128, B-side of "She's That Kind Of Woman", a John Williams song both sides, for A-side see Track 3)

12. A Strange Light From The East - TUESDAY'S CHILDREN (January 1967 UK 7" single on King KG 1051, A-side, A Phillip Cordell song)

13. Love Made A Fool Of Me - THE CAROLINES (November 1965 UK 7" single on Polydor BM 56027, A-side, a Caroline Samuels song, also known as The Carols)

14. Jungle Harlem - MEL TURNER (June 1970 UK 7" single on United Artists UP 35121, A-side)

15. She's A Girl - THE ATTRACTION (November 1966 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 8010, B-side of "Party Line", see Track 1)

16. Taboo Man - ALEXIS KORNER'S BLUES INCORPORATED (not originally issued, recorded 1963)

17. Ramblin’ Boy - JOHN WILLIAMS (from the October 1967 UK Debut LP "John Williams" on Columbia SX 6169, a John Williams song)

18. After The Storm - ANDROMEDA (August 1972 UK 7" single on Cactus CT 2, A-side, for B-side see Track 8)

19. I Am Nearly There - DENIS COULDRY & THE NEXT COLLECTION (February 1968 UK 7" single on Decca F 12734, B-side of "James In The Basement, for A-side see Track 5)

20. Meditations - FELIUS ANDROMEDA (November 1967 UK 7" single on Decca F 12694, A-side, for B-side see Track 6)

21. Never Gonna Love Again - NEW FACES (September 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15931, A-side, catalogue number mistakenly credited as 15932 in the booklet)

22. Chasing Shadows - THE MARK LEEMAN FIVE (unissued 1962 recording first released 1991 on the UK LP "Mark Leeman Five Memorial Album" on See For Miles SEE 317)

23. Come On, Be Mine - THE CHEROKEES (Previously Unreleased, recorded circa 1964)

24. White Christmas - MEL TURNER with THE SOUVENIRS and THE MOHICANS (December 1963 UK 7" single on Carnival CV 7003, A-side)

25. Reality - SECOND HAND (from the March 1969 Debut LP "Reality" on Polydor 583 045)

The problem with Mushroom Records becomes abundantly obvious as you wade through CD1 - a lot of this isn't very good and in the harsh light of 2020, some of it is just plain unlistenable – unknowns or not. It opens with Pandit Kanwar Sain Trikha twanging and janging on an Indian Sitar without ever igniting anything only to be followed by Steel Band music – a cat-on-a-tin-roof cover of Santana's "Evil Ways" by Les Flambeaux that sounds like some Woolworth's LP you took a chance on for 50p (that gives you an idea of the diversity we're talking about here). From those two genres we leap into the Jazz-Rock Prog-Rock of Second Hand doing "Hangin' On An Eyelid" – a sort of Todd Rundgren with Runt sounding piece of indescribable. We're then greeted by the first of the Folk tracks, Callinan-Flynn doing "Fortune For The Finder" where the Irish duo of Dave Callinan and Mick Flynn sound like a weaker version of Tir na nOg. More cutesy comes in the shape of the acoustic "Dandelion Blues" from Jon Betmead, but like singer-songwriter Simon Flynn, it sounds like out of tune finger-in-the-ear folk best avoided.

Things go Avant Garde with Lol Coxhill and his unlistenable "Or Alternatively Nine" - painful flute noodling that hasn't aged at all well. Heather Smith, Adrian Bell and John McDonald give us "Lark In The Morning" but far better is the Greek singer Andreas Thomopoulos with an Acoustic Guitar and faint Jews Harp on "False Eyelashes" - a very pretty entry. Flute and tambourine shake across your speakers for the Indian-language sung "Chum Chum Chum Chum" - a sweet little upbeat song that is surely destined for a movie soundtrack any day soon. Second Hand pour on the melodrama with their stand alone 7" single "Funeral" - in the garden of the maker - a brass and weird vocal number that's stylistically baroque 1967 meets Scott Walker meets Jacques Brel - released to an undoubtedly bewildered public in June 1972.

Back to Folk for a second dose of Callinan-Flynn and their William of Orange death and shame song "We Are The People..." - a better tune. Sung in his native Greek, "Report To The Sad Lady" has Andrea Thomopoulos strumming big acoustic chords and is again a sweet melody. The soundscape brings in the Chillum song only lasts about a minute and you wish it were longer and it's so easy to hear why the gorgeous acoustic/sitar acid folk of the Magic Carpet track "The Phoenix" and its accompanying album are so sought after (Alisha Sufit the Vocalist and Clem Alford on Sitar) - a very real highlight on CD1 (a phoenix rises from the ashes).

CD2 arrives as if from another world - mad 60ts Pop, Psych, Baroque and Freakbeat. The wild fuzz guitar of "Summer Leaves Me With A Sigh" by Tuesday's Children is the kind of 45 B-side that drives collectors into frenzies of delight - great chunks of menace guitar amidst harmony vocals. The John Williams single is Cello and Acoustic Folk left in the dust by a piano cover of La Vern Baker's "See See Rider" from the distinctive vocals of Alexis Korner. - the future CCS and Snape front man (his "Taboo Man" is later on). But stuff like Andromeda and Denis Couldry is pretty awful.

In the end, I'd advise a listen before a purchase. There's good discoveries on this double for sure, but there's also far too many examples as to why this stuff never caught on in the first place...

"New Moon's In The Sky: The British Progressive Pop Sounds Of 1970" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Featuring Doctor Father [pre 10cc], The Smoke, Love Sculpture, Procol Harum, Barclay James Harvest, Atomic Rooster, Stray, Hawkwind, Cressida, Magna Carta, Meic Stevens, Steamhammer, Honeybus, Affinity, The Gods, The Move, Andromeda, Kevin Ayers, Patto, Hard Meat, Warhorse, Status Quo, Killing Floor, The Hollies. Plastic Penny, Curved Air and more (26 July 2019 UK Grapefruit 3CD Clamshell Box Set – Simon Murphy Masters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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"...Good Year..."

A few years back I started a Blog called "There's Something About 1970..." and began reviewing all things musically interesting from that opening year. So as you can imagine, I got a tad excited when I leered lustily at this chunky-monkey Box Set devoted entirely to that great decade's first 365 days.

Typically brilliant, Grapefruit Records' "New Moon's In The Sky..." is a dinky mini clamshell box set offering up 70-tracks across 3CDs. A vaults trawl into the Pop and Rock and Prog of the Seventies first year - you get their usual split between the vaguely known and the mightily unknown (both in abundance, check out those near 80-minute playing times for each disc). A 52-page booklet packed to the gunnels with photos, notes, memorabilia and even two previously unreleased recordings - Grapefruit is a collector's cult label and it’s easy to hear and see why. Let's get to the New Moon...

UK released 26 July 2019 - "New Moon's In The Sky: The British Progressive Pop Sounds Of 1970" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Grapefruit Records CRSEGBOX059 (Barcode 5013929185906) is a 3CD Box Set of 70-Tracks that plays out as follows:

CD1 (79:42 minutes):

1. Piggy Pig Pig - PROCOL HARUM (from the June 1970 UK LP "Home" on Regal Zonophone SRLZ 1014)

2. Good Love Child - BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST (from the June 1970 UK LP "Barclay James Harvest" on Harvest SHVL 770)

3. Good Year - FIVE DAY RAIN (Not originally issued, recorded circa June 1970)

4. Hurry On Sundown - HAWKWIND (July 1970 UK 7"single on Liberty LBF 15382, A-side)

5. Around The World In Eighty Days - STRAY (from the June 1970 UK LP "Stray" on Transatlantic TRA 216)

6. All The Best People Do It - THE HUMBLEBUMS (from the June 1970 UK LP "Open Up The Door" on Transatlantic TRA 218)

7. Give Me No Goodbye - MAGNA CARTA (from the July 1970 UK LP "Seasons" on Vertigo 6360 003)

8. Winter Is Coming Again - CRESSIDA (from the February 1970 UK LP "Cressida" on Vertigo VO 7)

9. Tiny Goddess - TIM ANDREWS (January 1970 UK 7" single on Parlophone R 5824, A-side, a Nirvana cover)

10. Jennifer - ANGEL PAVEMENT (not originally issued, recorded April 1970)

11. I've Seen To Dream - HARMONY GRASS (from the January 1970 UK LP "Harmony Grass" on RCA Victor SF 8034)

12. The Two Of Us - PENNY ARCADE (May 1970 UK 7" single on Pye International 7N 17943, a Beatles cover)

13. California Here I Come - RIVER (not originally issued, recorded early 1970)

14. My Mind's Eye - CANTICLE (November 1970 US 7" single on Century 36685, A-side, a Small Faces cover)

15. Celebrity Ball – PLASTIC PENNY (from the April 1970 UK LP "Heads I Win - Tails You Lose" on Page One POS 611)

16. Time To Die - PATTO (from the November 1970 UK LP "Patto" on Vertigo 6360 016)

17. Mr. McGallagher - THE SWEET (June 1970 UK 7" single on Parlophone R 5848, B-side Of "Get On The Line")

18. I Will Be There - THE SEYCHELLES (May 1970 UK 7" single on President PT 291, A-side)

19. Call Me Lightning - THE GOOD VIBRATIONS (February 1970 German 7" single on Ember 14 515 AT, A-side)

20. Me And My Life - THE TREMELOES (August 1970 UK 7" single on CBS Records 5138, A-side)

21. Singing A Song In The Morning - KEVIN AYERS & THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD (February 1970 UK 7" single on Harvest HAR 5011, A-side)

22. The Flying Machine - THE FLYING MACHINE (March 1970 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17914,B-side of "Hanging On The Edge Of Sadness")

23. The Land Of The Few - LOVE SCULPTURE (February 1970 UK 7" single on Parlophone R 5831, A-side, edit of album version, features Dave Edmunds)

24. Climb That Tree - SHE TRINITY (January 1970 UK 7" single on President PT 283, B-side of "Hair")

CD2 (78:46 minutes):

1. Kaleidoscope - THE MARMALADE (from the June 1970 UK LP "Reflections Of The Marmalade" on Decca SKL 5047)

2. Under The Silent Tree - HONEYBUS (from the March 1970 UK LP "Story" on Deram SML 1056)

3. What's It All About - PUTNEY BRIDGE (September 1970 UK 7" single on Chapter One CH 129, A-side)

4. Across The Universe - JAWBONE (from the May 1970 UK LP "Jawbone" on Carnaby CNLS 6004, a Beatles cover)

5. Devil's Answer (Demo Version) - ATOMIC ROOSTER (not originally issued demo, recorded circa June 1970)

6. Lovely Day - THE FOX (from the June 1970 UK LP "For Fox Sake" on Fontana 6309 007)

7. Castles In The Sky - BLONDE ON BLONDE (April 1970 UK 7" single on Ember EMBS 279, A-side)

8. Blind Man - CURVED AIR (from the November 1970 UK Debut LP "Airconditioning" on Warner Brothers WS 3012)

9. Rowena - MEIC STEVENS (from the June 1970 UK Debut LP "Outlander" on Warner Brothers WS 3005)

10. Bridge - LIFEBLUD (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, recorded 1970)

11. Goodbye - RUSTY HARNESS (April 1970 UK 7" single on Ember EMBS 283, B-side to "Ain't Gonna Get Married")

12. Time To Die - ANCIENT GREASE (from the July 1970 UK LP "Women And Children First" on Mercury 6338 033)

13. Treacle People - U.F.O. (from their September 1970 debut album "U.F.O. 1" on Beacon BEAS 12)

14. Playing With Magic - THE SMOKE (not originally issued, recorded December 1970)

15. Mr. Dieingly Sad - THE OTHERS (June 1970 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17952, B-side to "Air-O-Plane Ride", a Critters cover)

16. In The City - DAVID & DAVID (April 1970 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 8678, A-side)

17. Levinia - STEAMHAMMER (from the December 1970 UK LP "Mountains" on B&C Records CAS 1024)

18. Sam And Sadie - FICKLE PICKLE (January 1970 UK 7" single on Fontana TF 1069, B-side of Millionaire")

19. Mr. & Mrs. Franklin - THE REGIME (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, recorded April 1970)

20. Mad Professor Blyth - THE HOLLIES (April 1970 UK 7" single on Parlophone R 5837, B-side to "I Can't Tell The Bottom From The Top")

21. Anna Laura Lee - YELLOW TAXI (May 1970 UK 7" single on President PT 296, A)

22. Mother, Mother, Mother - PAPER BUBBLE (from the March 1970 UK LP "Scenery" on Deram SML 1059)

23. Step This Way - ANDROMEDA (not originally issued, recorded March 1970)

24. Have You Heard The Word - THE FUT (May 1970 UK 7" single on Beacon BEA 160, A-side)

Tracks 10 and 19 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

CD3 (79:44 minutes):

1. St. Louis - WARHORSE (from their November 1970 Debut UK LP "Warhorse" on Vertigo 6360 015)

2. An Appointment With The Master - RACHDENKEL (not originally issued, recorded July 1970)

3. Shy Fly - STATUS QUO (from the August 1970 UK LP "Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon" on Pye NSPL 18344)

4. Tarot - ANDREW BOWN (July 1970 UK 7" single on Parlophone R 5856, A-side, Theme to "Ace Of Wands" UK TV Series)

5. Thief - OCTOPUS (April 1970 UK 7" single on Penny Farthing PEN 716, B-side to "The River")

6. United States Of Mind - AFFINITY (from the June 1970 UK Debut LP "Affinity" on Vertigo 6360 004)

7. Umbopo - DOCTOR FATHER (August 1970 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17977, A-side, features Godley & Creme pre 10cc)

8. Together In The Night - THIS SIDE UP (from the 1970 UK LP on Studio G LPSG 1001)

9. He's Growing - THE GODS (from the February 1970 UK LP "To Samuel A Son" on Columbia SCX 6372)

10. Through A Window - HARD MEAT (from the April 1970 UK Debut LP "Hard Meat" on Warner Brothers WS 1852)

11. Ned Kelly - IRON MAIDEN (April 1970 UK 7" single on Gemini GMS 006, B-side of "Falling")

12. What? - THE MOVE (October 1970 UK 7" single on Fly Records BUG 2, B-side to "When Alice Comes Back To The Farm", a Jeff Lynne song)

13. Lightning Never Strikes - SHERIDAN & PRICE (September 1970 UK 7" single on Gemini GMS 009, B-side to "Sometimes I Wonder", a cover of the B-side of "Brontosaurus" by The Move)

14. Hard Selling Woman - FLASHMAN (from the 1970 UK LP "Beat Group" on Studio G LPSG 1001)

15. Alias Oliver Dream - AIRBUS (not originally issued, recorded late 1970)

16. Soon There Will Be Everything - KILLING FLOOR (from the November 1970 2nd UK LP "Out Of Uranus" on Penny Farthing PELS 511)

17. Rock And Roll Woman - LOVE STREET (March 1970 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17896, B-side of "Venus", a Buffalo Springfield cover version - Stephen Stills song)

18. Your Mother Thinks I'm A Hoodlum - SAVWINKLE & TURNERHOPPER (March 1970 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17913, A-side)

19. Flies Like A Bird - FIRE (from the October 1970 UK LP "The Magic Shoemaker" on Pye NSPL 18343)

20. Colour Of The Sunset - DANNY McCULLOCH (February 1970 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 25514, A-side)

21. Indian Maid - THE GHOST (June 1970 UK 7" single on Gemini GMS 007, B-side of "When You Die")

22. On Ilkla' Moor Baht' At - BILL ODDIE (January 1970 UK 7" single on Dandelion 4786, A-side, cover version/parody done in Yorkshire dialect of a folk song meets The Beatles "With A Little Help From My Friends")

The 52-page booklet is a work of art (even if my pages were too tucked into the binding thereby making the edge lines difficult to read) with truly fantastic notes from Compiler and Annotator DAVID WELLS. There are more rare photos in here than you can shake a Peggy's Leg at from the Regal Zonophone advert for Procol Harum's fourth "Home" to a photo of the obscure This Side Up in live mode. SIMON MURPHY at Another Planet has done the mastering and it’s the usual mix of fab to acceptable with the emphasis (thankfully) on the first.  

It opens with the unnecessarily doomy "Piggy Pig Pig", a Matthew Fisher-less Procol Harum sounding like they need to get out more (I'd have chosen "Whisky Train" as an opener). Things improve with the up-and-at-em rawk of "Good Love Child", Barclay James Harvest clearly having a Flamin Groovies moment. The unissued Mellotron Pop of "Good Year" by Five Day Rain is a pleasant surprise – something going down even if the audio is clearly a wee bit  compromised. A stand-alone seven issued at the same time as the debut self-titled album, I never ever get over the sheer life-is-great vibe to "Hurry Up Sundown" – the most unnerving Hawkwind moment where they sound like a happy McGuinness Flint about to picnic with a Harmonica and a hamper (great track). Other winners on CD1 include the very Incredible String Band-sounding Indian Sitar and Dobro sound of "Give Me No Goodbye" from Magna Carta (dig those great Hollies-like harmonies) and the rather lovely 'you're gonna send your love to me' melody within Cressida's "Winter Is Coming Again" (dig that guitar solo too).

Harmonies come in the shape of Tim Andrews doing a sweet cover of Nirvana's lovely "Tiny Goddess" (the 60ts Island Records band) - our Tim sounding like Colin Blunstone in full on "Odyssey and Oracle" mode. Clearly massively influenced by "Pet Sounds", The Byrds and Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young – Harmony Grass deserved more notoriety for their dreamy and very pretty "I've Seen To Dream". Unfortunately Penny Arcade pretty much destroy The Beatles and their "Let It Be" opener "Two Of Us" while the obscure River do an almost identikit cover of Shocking Blue’s "Venus" in the shape of "California Here I Come" – a SB track from the Dutch band’s "Home" album. Was a time when you were strong and didn't fear anything, but acoustic guitars tell us its "Time To Die" on the excellent Patto song. Ditching the dismal Archies cover on the A ("Get On The Line"), we get The Sweet B-side "Mr. McGallagher" issued 12 June 1970 on Parlophone where Brian Connolly's vocal shine (Chinn and Chapman penned Glam Rock glory lay ahead on Mickie Most's RAK Records). The rare 3:22 minute single edit of "In The Land Of The Few" by Dave Edmunds' Love Sculpture will be welcomed by collectors - Bach sneaking out of the heavily overdubbed melody while the ladies of "Hair" get to rock-out with the weirdly put together "Climb That Tree" – out of tune vocals meet unwieldy guitar soloing – nice!

CD2 opens with the Talking Heads racing rhythms of "Kaleidoscope" by The Marmalade - trippy hallucinogenic lyrics about minds expanding man underpin a truly pretty song - a genius choice. Disc 2 continues its glory ride with the much-loved Honeybus who are looking for moving signs "Under The Silent Tree" - the flutes and uptight and outta sight rhythms of the '68 and '69 still lingering. We can work it out whimsy gives "What's It All About?" a better than throwaway pop ditty feel for the obscure Putney Bridge, while the cover of "Across The Universe" by Jawbone (who were close to the fab camp so they got permission to use it before the LP appeared) apes The Beatles "Let It Be" version and its hard to believe the Fabs seemed to think so little of this gorgeous song.

Astonishingly good is one way to describe even the 'demo' of "Devil's Answer" - Atomic Rooster's road to the British single charts and avenue into LP buyer's hearts. Ex Andromeda man John Cann gave Vincent Crane's British band this winner, so this demo cut features him on Lead Vocals. It's great even without the brass that was added so memorably to the released single version released on B&C Records in May 1971 with the fabulous instrumental "The Rock" on the flipside. I can recall the elaborate die-cut sleeve of the "For Fox Sake" album on Fontana wasn't enough to entice buyers, an album you were constantly told was worth money by punters but never sold for any. And you can hear that their "Lovely Day" is good but in the end (like the sleeve) - trying too hard. Far better is the Blonde On Blonde cover of a March 1968 Simon Dupree & The Big Sound second-album reject – come to me in my Welsh "Castle In The Sky" – join me in a very cool wall of hip sounds. Speaking of hip (and thigh-high boots) - sexpot singer Sonja Christina helps violinist Darryl Way and keyboardist Francis Monkman in Curved Air sound way cooler than they were.

I've only ever once seen the Welsh folky Meic Stevens' "Outlander" album on Warner Brothers (a lucky find in Cheapo Cheapo about 1992) - his supercool Incredible String Band Folk-Rock "Rowena" track standing out here - a sort of more flaked out Donovan with rockier guitars (nice). Time now for the Box Set's first Previously Unreleased and its a find - a plaintive ballad (in demo form) from Hemel Hempstead folkies Lifeblud - even though the recording is crude for sure, it's filled with prettiness and I can so hear why it was chosen. Following that is another genius inclusion, the very Animals organ-grinding "Goodbye" by Rusty Harness, a Mike Berry-penned B-side bopper sounding not a million-miles away from any American Garage band of 1968 and 1969 (his vocals are wickedly good too). Surprised again - the rather excellent and melodic guitars of "Time To Die" by the staggeringly obscure Ancient Grease who would fail at the time of release but two of its members (Gareth Mortimer and Graham Williams) would eventually find chart glory later as Racing Cars (1977's "They Shoot Horses Don't They?").  Other goodies include the hugely impressive unissued recording of "Playing With Magic" by The Smoke - an inexplicable left-in-the-can winner that receives an airing again here. Unfortunately the Critters cover attempted by Ireland's The Others is indescribably awful. Better is David Mindel and David Seys as David & David, whose Paul Buckmaster string-filled "In The City" is a pretty piece of angst-melodrama worth rediscovering. And dig that great acoustic guitar solo on "Levinia", a surprisingly mellow slice of 'you go your way and I'll go mine' from Steamhammer.

Allan Clarke of The Hollies wrote and sang on the jaunty flipside "Mad Professor Blyth" - his Prof's mind set on illusion and diffusion (moggy went missing though). Fuzzed-up Psych-Pop turns up in the one and only release from Yellow Taxi (after the Joni song) called "Anna Laura Lee" - its rare German picture sleeve repro'd on Page 36 of the booklet. Future Yes-man keyboard wunderkind Rick Wakeman is clearly heard racing up and down the organ on "Mother, Mother, Mother" - a bopper hoping for Top 40 glory by Paper Bubble. And the absolutely uncanny resemblance to John Lennon on "Have You Heard The Word" by The Fut has meant the track has turned up on countless Beatles bootlegs as a Fab outtake, but it transpires its Australia's Tin Tin aided by Maurice Gibb's mimic-vocals. The track was leaked and the Beacon label picked up on it, issuing a single in May 1970. Hell, even had Yoko Ono tried to copyright it as a John Lennon song (what a blast way of finishing the listen). All in all, you'd have to say that Disc 2 is chock-full of goodies and pleasant surprises too.

CD3 opens with the first 45 from Vertigo's Warhorse, "St. Louis" released 12 February 1970 - a rare Euro picture sleeve of it gaining pride-of-place on Page 39. Featuring ex Deep Purple Bassist Nick Simper and a man who once auditioned for Purple, vocalist Ashley Holt, they stump up the Geetar Rawk of "St. Louis" where Holt immediately shows why the Purps would have considered him over Ian Gillan. Powered by his controlled screech, the show me the way to the city tune is a great piece of mover-groover ended by a bit of wild wah-wah and Jon Lord type keyboard racing (so Deep Purple frankly!). Even more impressive is "An Appointment With The Master" by Birmingham Progsters Bachdenkel - a really good unissued version that makes me want to seek out their French-only LP "Lemmings" from May 1973. Not surprised in the least to hear the Quo's wickedly good rip-roarer "Shy Fly" on here - a highlight on the band-turns-to-rock "Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon" album.

I can't honestly remember the paranormal "Ace Of Wands" UK TV Series, but here's its "Tarot" Theme Song issued by ex Herd and future Status Quo man Andy Bown. More above average Pop comes from Paul Grigg's and his tambourine-shaking band Octopus - his very Peter Noone-sounding "Thief" rattling along like it needs to get to a public toilet pronto (Griggs would eventually join Split Enz). Linda Hoyle's doubled-vocals lifts the surprisingly pretty Affinity song "United States Of Mind" - a tune penned by Lindisfarne's mighty Alan Hull. Speaking of superb tunesmiths, Kevin Godley and Lol Crème turn up pre 10cc in the standalone single by Doctor Father. "Umbopo" is a character in Rider Haggard’s "King Solomon’s Mines" – a guide of sorts – and clearly the boys are in magnificent melodious songwriting form on this rare July 1970 Pye International 45 (how did this lovely song go unnoticed). And on it goes to Henry McCulloch's mescaline eyes viewing "Colour Of The Sunset" and Goodies stalwart Bill Oddie going strangely strange but oddly normal on his witty but convincing take on the Beatles Peppers tune "With A Little Help From My Friends" ending CD3 as a Yorkshire variant called "On Ilkla' Moor Baht' At". Funny and brilliant.

"New Moon's In The Sky: The British Progressive Pop Sounds Of 1970" is a superb Box Set and one that holds many discoveries even for the most knowledgeable aficionados (Underground or Prog).

Grapefruit delivers secret pleasures once more – tunes and artists no longer lost in time – but given pride of place. I’m looking up at the new moon, and frankly after this - (along with others) I'll be looking for more…