"Woodsmoke And Oranges/Jack-Knife Gypsy Plus Bonus Tracks" by PAUL SIEBEL – February 1970 and March 1971 US LPs on Elektra Records featuring David Bromberg, Richard Greene, Weldon Myrick, Buddy Emmons, Ralph Schuckett and Russ Kunkel with Bernie Leadon (of The Flying Burrito Bros and Eagles) and Doug Kershaw (15 May 2020 UK Beat Goes On Reissue – 2LPs onto 1CD Plus Two Bonus Interview Tracks from 1969 – Andrew Thompson Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...My Town..."

Back in August 2004 and part of their '2 Classic Elektra Albums' Series that started in late 2001 and continued into 2007 – Rhino had touched on these rather gorgeous Paul Siebel albums in real style. But that entire series is now long in the deleted mist and most titles within it gaining nasty price tags ever since.

Being no strangers to the Elektra Records back catalogue with their extensive reissues of Judy Collins, Tom Paxton and The Incredible String Band to name but a few - England’s Beat Goes On have clearly seen this reissue gap and are filling it. The draw on this May 2020 CD reissue is not just the truly gorgeous audio for both albums but Two Rare Bonus Tracks – interviews with Siebel from a 7” single that was included in promotional press kits for his debut album "Woodsmoke And Oranges" in 1970.

Musically and a little like fellow Folky Fred Neil – New Yorker PAUL SIEBEL made rather gorgeous but commercially unsuccessful albums and then left the industry abruptly. His two lone LPs "Woodsmoke And Oranges" (1970) and "Jack-Knife Gypsy" (1971) are firmly in the Country Rock vein with occasional flourishes of Folk Tunes and singer-songwriter Rock (think Guy Clark, Dan Fogelberg, John Prine, Gram Parsons and so on). His two albums have been compared both vocally and stylistically to Bob Dylan's "Nashville Skyline" from 1969 where the Bobster embraced Country Music big time – and that’s an accurate comparison (steel guitars and melodies ahoy). And at three seconds short of eighty-minutes, you can’t say that this new BGO version is shirking it on the value front either. Let's get to the nasal details...

UK released Friday, 15 May 2020 – "Woodsmoke And Oranges/Jack-Knife Gypsy Plus Bonus Tracks" by PAUL SIEBEL on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1406 (Barcode 5017261214065) offers his two albums from 1970 and 1971 with Two Previously Unreleased Bonus Tracks and breaks down as follows (79:57 minutes):

1. She Made Me Loose My Blues [Side 1]

2. Miss Cherry Lane

3. Nashville Again

4. The Ballad Of Honest Sam

5. Then Came The Children

6. Louise [Side 2]

7. Bride 1945

8. My Town

9. Any Day Woman

10. Long Afternoons

Tracks 1 to 10 are his debut album "Woodsmoke And Oranges" – released February 1970 in the UK and USA on Elektra EKS 74064. Produced by PETER K. SIEGEL – all songs were written by Paul Siebel.

PAUL SIEBEL – Acoustic and 12-String Guitar

DAVID BROMBERG – Acoustic, Electric Guitar and Dobro

DON BROOKS – Harmonica (on "Then Came The Children")

RICHARD GREENE – Violin (on "Miss Cherry Lane" and "The Ballad Of Honest Sam")

JEFF GUTCHEON – Piano And Organ

WELDON MYRICK – Pedal Steel Guitar

GARY WHITE – Bass

JAMES MADISON - Drums

11. Jasper & The Miners [Side 1]

12. If I Could Stay

13. Jack-Knife Gypsy

14. Prayer Song

15. Legend Of The Captain’s Daughter

16. Hillbilly Child [Side 2 – see Note]

17. Pinto Pony

18. Miss Jones

19. Jeremiah's Song

20. Uncle Dudley

21. Chips Are Down

Tracks 11 to 21 are his 2nd album "Jack-Knife Gypsy" – released March 1971 in the UK and USA on Elektra EKS 74081. Produced by ZACHARY – all songs were written by Paul Siebel.

Note: Side 2 of original UK and US vinyl LPs had the track running order as follows 21, 17, 16, 20, 18 and 19. For some unexplained reason the CD track list lines them up in a different configuration (as listed above).

PAUL SIEBEL – Rhythm Guitar And Vocals

BOB WARFORD and CLARENCE WHITE – Lead Guitars

JIMMY BUCHANAN – Violin and Viola

BUDDY EMMONS – Pedal Steel Guitar

DAVID GRISMAN – Mandolin

RALPH SCHUCKETT – Piano and Organ

BILLY WOLFE – Bass

RUSS KUNKEL – Drums

Other Sidemen – Paul Dillon, Peter Ecklund, Doug Kershaw, Peter Kuvashka, Bernie Leadon (of Dillard & Clarke, Flying Burrito Brothers and Eagles), Ralph Lee Smith and Gary White

BONUS TRACKS:

22. Up 'Til Now (3:34 minutes, LP song and conversation)

23. From Here On In (3:33 minutes, LP song and conversation)

Both interviews were pressed onto the A&B-sides of Elektra PS-1 (an American promo-only 45) and issued late 1969 with Press Kits in the Promotional copies of his American Debut "Woodsmoke And Oranges" on Elektra Records EKS-74064.

The card-wrap that accompanies all of these Beat Goes On Reissues lends the release a very classy feel. The 12-page booklet features most of the original artwork for these two rare early Seventies albums - the track lists, musician credits and a new appraisal of the reclusive singer by JOHN O'REGAN with Internet references provided. It doesn't provide lyrics to "The Ballad Of Honest Sam" and "Louise" which the Rhino/Elektra issue did in 2004 nor that outtake - but as it was only all right, it's not a great loss.

But as with the Rhino/Elektra 2004 variant, the really big news for fans is the re-emergence of a truly gorgeous High Definition transfer by BGO’s resident audio engineer ANDREW THOMPSON. This CD sounds stupendous – clear, warm and never over-amped for the sake of it. When you play the two stunning acoustic-only tracks on "Woodsmoke And Oranges" – "My Town" and "Long Afternoons" – the audio can only be described as perfection.

Aged 32, Siebel was already an old-hand troubadour of Greenwich Village gigs when "Woodsmoke And Oranges" was released in February 1970. He spent years in New York crafting the songs as he worked in a photographer's studio (dark room work) and also spent hellish hours shaving wood for a pram manufacturer. Side 1 opens on the hick Country-Rock tip of "She Made Me Loose My Blues" that rams the Pedal Steel of Weldon Myrick to the fore – not my fave and not a great start in my book but Flying Burrito Bros fans will eat it up. We then get a little Randy Newman with "Miss Cherry Lane" which was actually put out as a single in the UK (B-side) in March 1970 on Elektra EKSN 45085 with "Bride 1945" on the A-side. Of all the Country tracks on here my personal fave is "The Ballad Of Honest Sam" – a song about a card cheat who fooled sad-eyed losers by appearing to be 'honest' (Siebel sounds identikit to Dylan on "Nashville Skyline" – a good thing in my book).

Both of his lovely songs "Louise" and "Any Day Woman" got cover versions by an astute 18-year old friend of Siebel - Bonnie Raitt (as well as others after her). But my crave on this superb debut album is the two acoustic-only tunes – "My Town" and "Long Afternoons" – both as gorgeous as Seventies singer-songwriter gets. "My Town" laments a friend who gave his life in Vietnam (Johnny died over there for us all as Miss Delia marches at home with a torn flag and a face of shame) while "Long Afternoons" is a straight-up love-song about a lady with a kindly touch and "...soft brown hair in the sun on long afternoons..." Siebel's lyrics are deep too. Take the genuinely moving "My Town" – it won't take many long to start throwing up Dylan comparisons for rhyming sentences like "…Somewhere a bugle is blowing…and the drummer is moving the dust…I've broken my pencils and paper…while the church bells go silent with rust…" But the debut album belongs to his most famous song "Louise" – Linda Ronstadt and Plainsong joining the ranks with Bonnie Raitt of people who dug its lyrics and music and then did superb cover-versions of it.

Despite the larger crew of musicians (some big names too) - the second LP is weaker in my eyes than the first. On the upside you get “Prayer Song” where he successfully mixes Pedal Steel with Richard Green strings – a lovely builder of a song. “Pinto Pony” jaunts along nicely too while “Chips Are Down” pours on the melodrama about being a man when the "chips are down". In fact, Siebel's nasal whine and the over-reliance on Country Rock with Pedal Steel can make some of the songs seem repetitive – but that first album “Woodsmoke And Oranges” has magic on it more than once or twice - it really does.

The Promo seven (clearly dubbed off a 45 but still very clean) uses the heard-those-fiddles-play music of "She Made Me Lose My Blues" to lead in a discussion with an intelligent interviewer (not identified) – they talk of his years in New York – how he crafted songs and melodies. Side 2 of it opens with "Bride 1945" (she was a young lady and he was a soldier) and further discussion about trademark tunes including why people react to songs like "Bride 1945" so intensely. Its very interesting stuff and a supercool Bonus. 

This is a smart 2020 reissue for Beat Goes On making available again music that deserves its hour in the summer sunshine. And with that gorgeous audio and those powerfully humane lyrics – BGOCD1406 is a shoe-in to touch your heart more than you would guess. Dig in (again) and enjoy...

"This Is Soul" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – March 1968 UK Compilation LP on Atlantic Records in Stereo featuring Wilson Pickett, Carla Thomas, Arthur Conley, Percy Sledge, Sam & Dave, Ben E. King, Otis Redding, Eddie Floyd, Solomon Burke, Aretha Franklin and more (April 2007 and June 2018 Reissue UK Rhino/Atlantic Expanded Edition CD Reissue with 17 Bonus Tracks in Gatefold Card Mini LP Repro Packaging with Atlantic Records Inner Bag Sleeve and Matching Booklet – Giovanni Scatola Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Got Everything I Need..."

Sometimes the enormity of an album can elude the public, even with 52 years of hindsight.

1968's "This Is Soul" was a HUGE LP and not just for 60ts Soul Music but for Atlantic Records specifically. This simple 12-track compilation enamoured the hugely hip American record label to a whole new generation of English buyers - and let’s face it, Rock Bands too (Zeppelin would sign with them in 1969). A little history first on this mighty hunk of knock on wood...

Released Stateside in late March 1968 as "This Is Soul" on Atlantic SD-8170 – that variant also had 12-tracks but a boring titled-sleeve (no pictures front or rear) and US-centric song choices. It hit Billboard's R&B charts on 30 March 1968 and rose to a height of No. 22 with a 9-week stay. But apart from the name - its similarity to the more famous and wildly influential British issue ends.

Atlantic UK dropped eight of its American choices and replaced them with British tastes. So out went the more R&B bop and stroll orientated songs like "Release Me" by Esther Phillips, "Cool Jerk" by The Capitols, "What'd I Say" by Ray Charles, "On Broadway" by The Drifters and "Hold What You've Got" by Joe Tex - to be replaced with Carla Thomas, Sam & Dave, Otis Redding and Eddie Floyd – none of whom were on the US LP. The mid-tempo "Spanish Harlem" by Ben E. King was also replaced with the more upbeat "What Is Soul?" while the Wicked Pickett (gracing the English sleeve in that supercool live pose with jigsaw design around him) got to keep his version of "Land Of A Thousand Dances" but blagged one more on the British album. His mule-kicking let's-get-the-party started "Mustang Sally" set the pace of the LP as Track 1 on Side A. So - when played side to side (as opposed to the US variant), the British Atlantic Plum Label LP worked like a dream. This lethally good sequencing did not go unnoticed as UK students and hipsters dragged the reasonably priced 13 schillings and 11 old pence album along to parties and social gatherings (where more than Smarties were on offer) - its sexy laminate colour sleeve acting as a badge of cool. 

And it sold - big. Issued late March 1968 in the UK on Atlantic 643 301 in Mono and Stereo variants (both had the same catalogue number) - its first sales appearance was 23 March 1968 on the NME LP charts – in at No. 5 with a bullet. The following week (30 March 1968), it gathered momentum and went to No. 2. Continuing to sell bucket-loads for another four weeks (stayed at No. 2 for all four of them) but kept off the top slot by Dylan's eagerly awaited "John Wesley Harding" – it finally ascended to the mountaintop of No. 1 on the 4 May 1968. The thing is that it stayed there (at number one) for a storming further eight weeks only to be dislodged in July by that other Number one giant of 1968 – the Small Faces and their mind-blowing and beautiful "Ogden's Nut Gone Flake" on Immediate Records.

So for March, April, May and June of 1968 – this LP was smashing it at the top of the British LP charts and in fact didn't leave the NME Top 15-20 until 28 September 1968 (and would of course bubble under for the remainder of that mercurial year). Trojan would mimic the "This Is Soul" formula of gathering together winning singles on one compilation with their ground-breaking "Tighten Up" (Volume 1) LP in January 1969, Island Records would offer their first Rock LP sampler in June 1969 with "You Can All Join In", followed by "Nice Enough To Eat" in October 1969 and so on. "This Is Soul" cast a long shadow. Now let’s get to the music and this stunning CD reissue of it.

There are two variants of the UK CD – first up came 2 April 2007 with "This Is Soul" by VARIOUS ARTISTS was on Rhino/Atlantic 5144-20123-2 (Barcode 5051442012323) – A Card Digipak with 17 Bonus Tracks.

What we have here is a reissue of that – 22 June 2018 on Rhino/Atlantic/Warner Music (UK) Ltd 0603497859139 (Barcode 0603497859139). It sports the same 29 tracks (see below for order), a gatefold card sleeve, an Atlantic Records inner bag for the CD, a 12-page-booklet (themed artwork like the bag) with specific liner notes from Mojo Magazine's CHARLES WARING and the same GIOVANNI SCATOLA Remasters of 2007 mostly in STEREO. 

LP fans should also note that 22 June 2018 saw a reissued VINYL copy of the 12-Track British LP in repro'd original artwork on Rhino/Atlantic 643 301 (Barcode 0603497859122). 

Back to digital - at 79:29 minutes, the CD plays out as follows...

1. Mustang Sally - WILSON PICKETT [Side 1]

2. B-A-B-Y - CARLA THOMAS

3. Sweet Soul Music - ARTHUR CONLEY

4. When A Man Loves A Woman - PERCY SLEDGE

5. I Got Everything I Need - SAM & DAVE

6. What Is Soul? - BEN E. KING

7. Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song) - OTIS REDDING [Side 2]

8. Knock On Wood - EDDIE FLOYD

9. Keep Looking - SOLOMON BURKE

10. I Never Loved A Man (The Way I Loved You) - ARETHA FRANKLIN

11. Warm And Tender Love - PERCY SLEDGE

12. Land Of A Thousand Dances - WILSON PICKETT

BONUS TRACKS:

13. Hold On I'm Coming - SAM & DAVE (1965)

14. Soul Finger - THE BAR-KAYS (1967)

15. Memphis Soul Stew - KING CURTIS (1967)

16. Hard To Handle - OTIS REDDING (1968)

17. Save Me - ARETHA FRANKLIN (1967)

18. Tighten Up Pt. 1 - ARCHIE BELL & THE DRELLS (1967)

19. Funky Broadway - WILSON PICKETT (1968)

20. Tramp - OTIS REDDING & CARLA THOMAS (1967)

21. Get Out Of My Life - THE MAD LADS (1968)

22. You're Losing Me - BARBARA LYNN (1968)

23. Some Kind Of Wonderful - SOUL BROTHERS SIX (1967)

24. Soul Girl - JEANNE & THE DARLINGS (1967)

25. Funky Street - ARTHUR CONLEY (1968)

26. Big Bird - ARTHUR CONLEY

27. That's How It Feels - SOUL CLAN

28. Ain't That Lovin' You (For More Reasons Than One) - JOHNNIE TAYLOR (1967)

29. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay - OTIS REDDING (1968)

The Audio is absolutely punching – the moment you get that Wicked Pickett wham in "Mustang Sally" – it feels like this CD is out to prove something. The same applies to the Percy Sledge weepy "When A Man Loves A Woman" – a song you may feel you've heard too many times, but here the Audio is going to grab you again. And I never get over the sheer power of Solomon Burke as his massive frame rips through "Keep Looking". Clear as World Health Organisation conscience too is the brass and drums intro to Sam & Dave as they laugh/plead that you 'listen to me' on their sexy smoocher "I Got Everything I Need". The whole LP is like this - such a great listen. As Wilson would say – huh! – alright! – mashed potato – do the Watusi – nah nah nah nah – need somebody to help me…feel pretty good y'all…watch me work…yeah baby!

Bonuses: Atlantic Records fetishists like me have long since fantasised as to what "This Is Soul Volume 2" would have looked like - another 12-tracks of the same. It never did get issued, so Rhino have instead supplied a fantastic set of 17 Bonuses that they say are in 'the spirit of the original LP'. And listening to dancefloor cookers like Aretha's "Save Me" beside Otis Redding's hip-swaying "Hard To Handle" itself next to the truly ace Arthur Conley gem "Funky Street" - and few would disagree with their assessment. They open bonus proceedings with the perfect 60ts Soul bopper - "Hold On I'm Coming" by Sam & Dave. But there is also the discoveries of lesser heard names like The Mad Lads with their bass and piano thumping "Get Out Of My Life", the sexily cool Barbara Lynn with her 'you don't do right/I know you got someone else' tune "You're Losing Me" or the genuine slow-ache-soul of "That's How I Feel" by Soul Clan – a front name for an Atlantic five piece vocalist supergroup containing Solomon Burke, Ben E. King, Arthur Conley, Don Covay and Joe Tex.

The Soul Brothers Six nugget "Some Kind Of Wonderful" has been covered by loads including Grand Funk while Jeanne & The Darlings also throw in the hugely hooky "Soul Girl" - all piano shots and brass jabs aimed at your hips. The only one I don’t quite dig is the Johnnie Taylor version of "Ain't That Loving You (For More Reasons Than One)" because the Luther Ingram version on Koko Records (Stax in the UK) from 1970 is infinitely more touching (see my review for Bear Family's beautifully rewarding "Sweet Soul Music - 1970" CD). And the bonuses end of the posthumous number one - Otis Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" - a tune I've probably heard one too many times now.

I also love the way it looks, that clever spread of Atlantic Records sevens and cover memorabilia on the inner gatefold, the Atlantic Records inner paper bag to house the CD that apes the colouring of the original British LP and the detailed booklet. The only thing that is missing from the original LP is the rear artwork that advertised twelve other Atlantic Records LPs - but that's been repro'd exactly on the 2018 VINYL variant.

"This Is Soul" is a brilliant and cleverly presented CD reissue that can be picked up for under six quid in 2020 - and Soul Brother/Soul Sister - that's a six-pack well worth splashing out the talcum powder for...

PS: I'm probably going to be hung up by some private part for saying this by men in white coats, but I think the Guinness Book Of Hit Albums is wrong in credited the LP with a 14 June 1969 charting (climbed to a peak of No. 16 on a 15-week run) and therefore as some have presumed – a belated June 1969 release date. It should read June 1968 for the Official Pop Charts and is an error that’s ben compounded over the years.

"Give Me Take You" by DUNCAN BROWNE – August 1968 UK Debut LP on Immediate Records in Stereo (October 1968 USA) – featuring Lyricist David Bretton and Producer Andrew Loog Oldham (April 2009 UK Grapefruit Records Expanded Edition CD Reissue (Inaugural Release) – Andy Pearce Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...A Tear Of Truth..."

For most, their introduction to the handsome Londoner Duncan Browne came with his fabulous "Journey" 45 issued as a stand-alone UK single in early July 1972 on Mickie Most's RAK Records (RAK 135) with "In A Mist" (another non-album cut) on the B-side. Mademoiselle Most wanted a hit and DB provided him with one – seeing the 7" single rise to No. 23 in the UK while the 28 September 1972 US issue on RAK Records ZS7 4511 was only ever a promo copy (mono and stereo cuts of the track) - it did at least raise his profile in America.

Unfortunately the "Duncan Browne" album containing his most famous song wouldn't arrive until February 1973 (SRAK 6754 is a rarity nowadays on both LP and CD) thereby killing any of the genuine momentum the single had created (its B-side remained non-album). But if you wanted to know where that acoustic Nick Drake-ish Folk-Rock-feel Browne had to his early music originated – then this is the place to alight on your DB-journey.

His 12-track debut album "Give Me Take You" issued in August 1968 on Andrew Loog Oldham's Immediate Records when he just 21 featured much of that same pastoral sound (not whimsical, more refined than that) but again – sank without a trace and has had a three-figure rarity value for decades ever since. Castle Music (then part of Sanctuary) put out the first decent CD reissue of "Give Me Take You" in October 2000 and there are further tracks from it on their superb July 2004 2CD compilation "Journey: The Anthology 1967-1993". But this inaugural CD by Cherry Red's much-revered cult label 'Grapefruit Records' in 2009 - resplendent with rarities including five Previously Unreleased Rehearsals - should now be your only call. There's a lot to get through, so let's get our Ninepence worth…

UK released 13 April 2009 (Grapefruit’s inaugural CD release) - "Give Me Take You" by DUNCAN BROWNE on Grapefruit Records CRSEG0001 (Barcode 5013929180123) is an Expanded Edition CD Reissue and Remaster offering his 1968 Immediate Records debut LP (in Stereo) with 10 Bonus Tracks and plays out as follows (76:01 minutes):

1. Give Me Take You [Side 1]

2. Ninepence Worth Of Walking

3. Dwarf In A Tree (A Cautionary Tale)

4. The Ghost Walks

5. Waking You (Part 1)

6. Chloe In The Garden

7. Waking You (Part 2)

8. On The Bombsite [Side 2]

9. I Was, You Weren't

10. Gabilan

11. Alfred Bell

12. The Death Of Neil

Tracks 1 to 12 are his debut album "Give Me Take You" - released August 1968 in the UK on Immediate Records IMSP 018 in Stereo only and October 1968 in the USA on Immediate Records Z12 52012 - Produced by ANDREW LOOG OLDHAM - it didn't chart in either country.

BONUS TRACKS:

13. On The Bombsite (Demo)

14. The Cherry Blossom

15. Give Me, Take You (Rehearsal)

16. Ninepence Worth Of Walking (Rehearsal)

17. On The Bombsite (Rehearsal)

18. I Was, You Weren't (Rehearsal)

19. The Death Of Neil (Rehearsal)

20. On The Bombsite (Mono Single Version)

21. Alfred Bell (Mono Single Version)

22. Here And Now (Demo)

Tracks 13, 20 and 21 first issued as Bonuses on the 30 October 2000 UK reissue CD of "Give Me Take You" on Castle Music CMRCD 057 (Barcode 5050159105724). Tracks 20 and 21 are the A&B-sides of a non-album UK 45 issued July 1968 on Immediate IM 070.

Tracks 14 and 22 first issued 19 July 2004 on the UK 2CD compilation "Journey: The Anthology 1967-1993" on Castle Music CMEDD 753 (Barcode 5050159175321); 

Track 14 is an album outtake and Track 22 was recorded in 19657 as Lorel

Tracks 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED Rehearsal Versions and exclusive to this 2009 reissue

Leading reissue light at Esoteric and Grapefruit Records - DAVID WELLS penned the December 2008 liner notes in the 8-page booklet. Eight pages might not seem like a lot, but he sure packs in the facts, provides cut-outs of trade paper reviews, an Immediate Records advert for the rare 12 July 1989 single "On The Bombsite" b/w "Alfred Bell" (both of these Mono single mixes are in the Bonus Tracks) and even has a photo of Emidisc Acetate that the "On The Bombsite" demo comes from.

As you can see from the track lists provided above, five of the ten bonus have appeared on previous CD compilations, but the five 'Rehearsals' are new and exclusive- and for my money, make the CD worth the price of purchase alone. But toppermost of the poppermost is the new Audio - remastered by a Tape Engineer hero of mine - ANDY PEARCE. Pearce has been at the acclaimed transfer helm of huge catalogues for Universal/UMC - Budgie, Free, Rory Gallagher, Spooky Tooth, ELP, Wishbone Ash and wads of the very cool Doctor Bird reissues that require a deft hand at transferring ancient Reggae and Ska recordings. In fact - if his name is on a disc - I will want to own it. He gets a naturality to his remaster than doesn't push the treble but at the same doesn't compromise the bottom end – a sweet balance without compromising the air and life. And here it's the same. These Stereo recordings are just lovely to listen to…to the music…

Browne wrote the music and collaborated with an aspiring poet of the day, DAVID BRETTON on the lyrics. We learn that "Ninepence Worth Of Walking" was the cost of the bus-fare to a girlfriend's house - but because of an end to the affair - he walked. When you hear the opening title track "Give Me Take You" - the plucked harp, his Spanish acoustic guitar, subtle arrangements and his soft voice immediately remind you of Nick Drake's September 1969 debut on Island Records "Five Leaves Left". He then layers on some harmony vocals that make it feel like a Cat Stevens vs. Beach Boys Folk-Rock mash up. And the audio is gorgeous.

The deft Royal Academy of Music acoustic playing continues with "Dwarf In A Tree (A Cautionary Tale)" - the words melting into Simon & Garfunkel harpsichord moments as it progresses. "The Ghost Walks" clocks in a 5:33 minutes and with sparse instrumentation, at times feels like Leonard Cohen putting poetry to music in order to woo another hopelessly lovelorn beauty ("...women would wait in the rain for a lock of his hair..." go the lyrics). Part One of "Waking You" is one-minute fifty-seconds of layered vocals and viola notes - waking you and not knowing why - so damn pretty and just a tad hippyish. The take-a-flower "Chloe In The Garden" pours on the Spanish Guitar and pastoral strings only to end Side 1 with one-minute of Part 2 of "Waking You".

Side 2 opens with the layered "On The Bombsite" – a sort of Beach Boys happy poppy tune that feels at odds with most of Side 1. Those were days of dragons and swords and cardboard shields – an idyllic childhood explained that someone thought might make a poignant single. Church-like organ opens "I Was, You Weren’t" which feels like a lyric-fest about truth put to Harpsichord and voices, voices, voices… "Gabilan" is one of the prettiest tunes on the LP- starting out with rolling acoustic plucking but soon layers on beautiful vocals – his playing at time feeling like water gurgling in a stream. His way with a grown-up song comes shining through in the excellent sticks-of-chalk greying schoolteacher "Alfred Bell" (close the book, dismiss the class, thank the Lord). It ends on "The Death Of Neil" – a dreamer who wanted to fly on manmade wings, have the keys to the kingdom, ridiculed by doubters for his soaring ambitions. The 10cc layers of voices imbibe the Da Vinci backwards-writing story with a tad too much melodrama for sure – but you also realize why this album has such cult status – so few artists made music like this.

The Demo of "On The Bombsite" is a finished studio cut and not some home strum on a guitar - and you can hear why it was singled out as the album's lone 45 (I actually prefer those sudden guitar flicks towards the end on this version). Actually better is the outtake "The Cherry Blossom Fool" – another Spanish Acoustic strummer that could easily have been on the LP. The 'go again' Rehearsal of "Give Me Take You" has crude drums and a vocal that is too far back in the mix – but it's utterly fascinating as they build the bricks of the songs' complicated arrangements. Second of the Previously Unreleased is a lone acoustic guitar take of "Ninepence Worth Of Walking" – a gorgeously recorded voice, joined momentarily by handclaps and small percussive moments, doubled guitars towards the end – it's a gem. Studio Dialogue precedes Takes 1 and 2 of "I Was, You Weren't" – again very clean audio – but the drums feel clumsily intrusive even when the vocals and keyboards are excellent. Ending on his first recording as Lorel – 1967's "Here And Now" feels like a lost 45 gem that should have received better support first time out of the stocks.

Born in March 1947, Duncan Browne tragically died of cancer in May 1993 aged only forty-six and has been a cult hero to many ever since – his songwriting reputation growing more and more as newcomers look back and dig deeper. I know "Give Me Take You" is not a masterpiece (his "Duncan Browne" LP on RAK is far more accomplished) – but at times it is magical - and in many ways out on a limb of its own.

Fans I suspect will already own this lovely hippy-folkish CD reissue and hold it precious. And still available in certain places for under a ten-spot brand new - I would advise that you do yourself a wee favour and investigate why...

1970-1974 - "REASON TO BELIEVE" Volume 2 of 2 - Artists M to Z - Classic Rock and Pop - Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters - A SOUNDS GOOD MUSIC E-BOOK for Sale on Amazon by Hall Of Fame Reviewer Mark Barry...

REASON TO BELIEVE

Music of 1970 to 1974 

Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters 
Volume 2 - M to Z 

* VOLUME 2 of 2 - Artists M to Z

* VOLUME 1 of 2 - Artists A to L - see "ALL RIGHT NOW" (available separately)

* Over 1,700 E-pages of genuinely useful information May 2020 Update

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* All major record companies covered Sony/Legacy, Universal, WEA, EMI etc. including Major Box Set Retrospectives

* Best Independent Reissue Labels highlighted...

– Ace, Audio Fidelity, Bear Family, Beats Goes On, Big Break Records, Cherry Red, Edsel, Esoteric Recordings, Grapefruit, Hip-O Select, Lemon, Light In The Attic, Mobile Fidelity, Raven, Real Gone Music, Repertoire, Rev-Ola, Rhino, RPM, Salvo, Sundazed, Panegyric and others...

* Technical data from the discs themselves (total playing times and more), Release Date, Catalogue No and Barcode to locate the correct issue

* Track lists and Details on Bonus material (if any)

* Vinyl Discographies referencing CD Box sets (track numbers to sequence singles and albums from the discs), UK and US catalogue numbers and release dates for original vinyl albums, 7” singles and EPs within each review

*  Remaster/Tape Transfer Engineers highlighted

* Packaging description (Mini Repro LP sleeves, booklets etc)

SEVENTIES RECORD LABELS covered by the book include:

ABC, ABC/Dunhill, A&M, Anchor, Apple, Ardent, Asylum, Atlantic/Atco, Bearsville, Blue Horizon, Capitol, Capricorn, CBS, Charisma, Chrysalis, Columbia, Dandelion, Dawn, Decca, Deram (Nova), DJM, Elektra, EMI, Epic, Fantasy, Fly, Fontana, Harvest, Immediate, Island, Kapp, Liberty, London, Marmalade, MCA, Mercury, MGM, Monument, Mooncrest, Parlophone, Parrot, Polydor, Probe, Purple, Pye International, RAK, Rare Earth, RCA Victor, Reaction, Reprise, Rolling Stones, RSO, Shelter, Sire, Smash, Straight, Sussex, Track, Trojan, Uni, Vanguard, Vertigo, Verve, Virgin, United Artists and Warner Brothers

Having worked for RECKLESS RECORDS in London's Soho for over 20 years as one of their principal Vinyl and CD buyers (one of the best secondhand record shops in the West End) and having over 4,000 posts on Amazon (CDs, DVDs, BLU RAYs) - as you can imagine I come across a huge number of reissues - some far more worthy than others.

To that end I've collated together these SOUNDS GOOD MUSIC BOOKS as guides to Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters offering up in-depth reviews on a wide range of titles. And it doesn’t have to cost the earth to Sound Good either – you just need to know which CD is the right issue to buy. Many entries in this large and unique book cost less than £10 while others are under a fiver. And even if some Box Sets/Deletions have acquired a price tag - because they’re the best I’ve included them along with artists/titles that deserve your attention…

Hope you enjoy the reads - MARK BARRY (May 2020)

"Friends and 20/20" by THE BEACH BOYS – 10 June 1968 and 10 February 1969 US 14th and 15th LPs both on Capitol Records in Stereo – featuring Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, Bruce Johnston, Mike Love and Al Jardine (April 2001 UK Capitol Reissue – 2LPs onto 1HDCD in STEREO with Five Bonus Tracks – Joe Gastwirt and Mark Linett Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Meant For You..."

The entire series of 2001 CD reissues for the voluminous Beach Boys back catalogue is a shining example of how to do it right - both presentation-wise and especially sonically (these 'twofers' have always been fantastic value for money too - mid-priced or less even now in 2020). But four of the duo-combos have screamed 'buy me' more than others – three of which are "Smiley Smile" combined with "Wild Honey" (both from 1967), 1970's "Sunflower" and 1971's "Surf's Up" - and finally 1972's "Carl & The Passions - So Tough" with 1973's brilliant "Holland" being another.

Which brings us back-peddling to door number four - "Friends" from June 1968 doubled with its US follow-up "20/20" from February 1969 – both on Capitol Records and both barely bothering their once total stomping ground of the US LP charts. Despite the Summer of Love in 1967 – there appeared to be no love by the US public for more wake-the-world happy-wappy sentiment in 1968 and 1969 from The Beach Boys. "Friends" took until early July to hit the Billboard album charts after its 10 June 1968 launch and then only peaked at No. 126 – the band's worst chart showing since 1962. While "20/20" made a very respectable No. 3 in the UK on release 10 February 1969 – again American audiences waited until March 1969 to chart it and then only peaking at No. 63 (an 11-week run when "Pet Sounds" had managed 39 in 1966).

These anemic number-placements, however, have more to do with the fractured heavy-heavy politics of 1968 and 1969 than their musical content. Because you could argue that "Friends" and "20/20" began a fabulous run of studio album releases for the surfer boys that would eventually culminate in the "Holland" album in 1973. Let's get to the Cabinessence baby...

UK released 9 April 2001 - "Friends and 20/20" by THE BEACH BOYS on Capitol 531 6382 (Barcode 724353163822) offers 2LPs Remastered in STEREO onto 1HDCD (High Definition Compatible Digital) with Five Bonus Tracks (29 in total) and plays out as follows (66:58 minutes):

1. Meant For You [Side 1]

2. Friends

3. Wake The World

4. Be Here In The Morning

5. When A Man Needs A Woman

6. Passing By

7. Anna Lee, The Healer [Side 2]

8. Little Bird

9. Be Still

10. Busy Doin' Nothin'

11. Diamond Head

12. Transcendental Meditation

Tracks 1 to 12 are their album "Friends" - released June 1968 in the USA on Capitol ST 2895 (Stereo) and September 1968 in the UK on Capitol T 2895 (Mono) and Capitol ST 2895 (Stereo) - STEREO MIX is used for this CD. Produced by THE BEACH BOYS - the album peaked at No. 126 in the USA and No. 13 in the UK.

13. Do It Again [Side 1]

14. I Can Hear Music

15. Bluebirds Over The Mountain

16. Be With Me

17. All I Want To Do

18. The Nearest Faraway Place

19. Cotton Fields [Side 2]

20. I Went To Sleep

21. Time To Get Alone

22. Never Learn Not To Love

23. Our Prayer

24. Cabinessence

Tracks 13 to 24 are the album "20/20" - released February 1969 in the USA on Capitol SKAO-133 (Stereo only) and April 1969 in the UK on Capitol E-T 133 (Mono) and Capitol E-ST 133 (Stereo) - STEREO MIX is used for CD. Produced by THE BEACH BOYS - it peaked at No. 3 in the UK and No. 68 in the USA

BONUS TRACKS:

25. Breakaway

26. Celebrate The News

27. We're Together Again

28. Walk On By

29. Old Folks At Home (Swanee River)/Ol' Man River 

The 24-page booklet is a chunky affair with liner notes from expert/aficionado DAVID LEAF (author of the critically acclaimed biography "The Beach Boys And The California Myth") - artwork in colour and staggeringly detailed track-by-track analysis. The front cover is the "Friends" LP artwork and the rear page "20/20". You even get breakdowns on the five Bonus cuts. Buts its the Audio that shines, best tapes found, no remixing, just care transfers of what was originally laid down by the core six - Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, Bruce Johnston, Mike Love and Al Jardine - STEREO Remasters by JOE GASTWIRT and MARK LINETT using the Pacific Microsonics HDCD system. Those walls of harmony vocals are so crisp and clear, it can at times be disconcerting - "Little Bird" and "Do It Again" feel like revelations - those strings...

"Friends" is a short album and opens well with the promising ditty "Meant For You" - a 38-second intro of sorts that acts as a love coda. Capitol issued "Friends" as an advance 45 taster to the LP in April 1968 with Dennis Wilson's gorgeous "Little Bird" on the flipside (Capitol 2160) - but despite the strength of both cuts - it hit only No. 47 on the US singles chart. Al Jardine gets his first songwriting credit with Brian Wilson on "Wake The World" (Brian and Carl handle the lead vocals) - that Tuba wrapped around the chorus clear on the Remaster. The lyrics in "Be Here In The Morning" mention getting no phone calls from "...Korthof, Parks or Grillo..." - we now find out they're Brian's one-time assistant Steve Korthof, Road Manager Jon Parks and Lawyer/Business Manager Nick Grillo. Becoming family men and having children fills the jaunty "When A Man Needs A Woman". That niggling feeling of unfinished songs lingers throughout the semi-instrumental "Passing By" as humming floats over keyboard plinks. The band's masseuse gets her nimble hands immortalized in "Anna Lee, The Healer" - another OK tune that seems more childish than enlightening.

But Side 2 offers up two of the album's true gems – both Dennis Wilson contributions – the "Pacific Ocean View" album man emerging out the songwriting shadows. Brian admits in his liner notes on the original LP that Dennis' contribution "Little Bird" blew his mind – and even though "Be Still" isn't in the same league, it has an aching vocal delivery that is borderline beautiful. Brian then throws in a goody too in "Busy Doin' Nothin'" while I've always found the Hawaiian sound-effects instrumental "Diamond Head" to be little more than indulgent studio experimentation that's interesting but not much more. They end 1968's "Friends" with the decidedly kooky and seriously dated "Transcendental Meditation" - an emancipation of the mind plea that smacks of Maharishi Guru twaddle that so many fell for (at great financial cost too).

1969's "20/20" opens on a barnstormer "Do It Again" - The Beach Boys hitting all the right notes - a hugely catchy chorus, driving rhythm and those unique harmonies and sound effects (they were rewarded with a No. 20 chart position in July 1968 on Capitol 2239 when it was paired on 45 with the lovely "Wake The World" as its flipside). Carl Wilson grabbed the Production controls on the excellent "I Can Hear Music" - a cover of The Ronettes/Phil Spector - a song that would become their 25th and last Top 40 hit of the 60ts (No. 24 chart position on Capitol 2432 in March 1969 with "All I Want To Do" on the B-side).  Even better is Dennis Wilson's majestically dense "Be With Me" - a huge vocal and string plea that has weird overtones of almost-madness as it fades out. Mike Love lets his vocals rock on the decidedly fruity "All I Want To Do" - a unusual Rock 'n' Roll tune for the California Surf boys that feels like The Beach Boys doing The Beatles doing guitar Rock 'n' Roll on the White Album. Van McCoy's string arrangements play a huge part in the Bruce Johnston's lovely instrumental "The Nearest Faraway Place" - another hidden nugget on a great Beach Boys LP (Johnston composed, performed and produced the lot).

I've never held a candle for their cover of Leadbelly's "Cotton Fields" (even if variants did huge business in overseas markets - No. 1 in the Netherlands and No. 2 in the UK). But apparently recorded during the "Friends" sessions – the nice summer day of "I Went To Sleep" is Brian at his simplistic best. I see love in your eyes, Carl sings on the shimmering "Time To Get Alone" – but it's trounced in my opinion by the second Dennis Wilson contribution on here - "Never Learn Not To Love" – a fantastic swirling chunk of Beach Boys greatness that still feels slightly otherworldly even to this day. The 1:10 cathedral-like minutes of "Our Prayer" succeeds in the middle of Side 2 on "20/20" where "Meant To Be" at the beginning of "Friends" only almost did. It's a vocal instrumental that by itself would stamp home the band's greatness if you needed an example (fabulous harmonies).

The album romps home with "Cabinessence" where the boys chant lyrics by Van Dyke Parks that include  'doyn doyn' (whatever that means) before we're hit with a "Pet Sounds" wall of music.  "Cabinessence" is ambitious and overdone for sure (like much of this non-Brian Wilson helmed LP who was checked into emotional rehab at the time of recoding) – but undeniably brilliant too. Dennis remained unimpressed with the outcome calling the LP a mess – but "20/20" is a great Beach Boys album to me, and certainly one of their better late 60ts efforts. Of the bonus cuts my faves are the contractual single "Breakaway" b/w "Celebrate The News" - a Brian ooh-ooh bopper on the A-side with a sophisticated there-ain't-no-blues Dennis Wilson composition on the flip while the outtake "We're Together Again" is also shockingly good.

1968's "Friends" is good to very good - while 1969's "20/20" is brilliant (even if insiders disagree). But at fewer than six quid and with shout-about-it great audio - this Capitol reissue really is a no-brainer must-own HDCD purchase...