"Electric Mud" by MUDDY WATERS – October 1968 US LP on Cadet Concept Records (January 1969 UK on Chess Records) in Stereo featuring Phil Upchurch, Roland Faulkner and Pete Cosey on Guitars, Gene Barge on Saxophone and Production, Charles Stepney on Organ and Production, Louis Satterfield on Bass and Morris Jennings on Drums (November 1996 US, January 1997 and March 1999 UK, and April 2001 UK/EU CD Reissues on MCA/Chess Records – The Chess Legendary Masters Series – Erick Labson Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

US Original LP on Cadet Concept from October 1968 in a gatefold sleeve with insert

UK Original LP on Chess from January 1969 in a Single Laminate Sleeve 

US 1996 CD Reissue and Remaster Using Original US Artwork

UK/EU CD Reissue from 1997 (reissued 1999, 2001) with Alternate Artwork

"...Where You Gonna Run To?..."

A Marmite Blues album from Muddy Waters! Who would have thought it? Or even bought a copy of the ornery bugger when it was first unleashed on an unsuspecting and fractured America in October 1968? Despite "Electric Mud" being a genuine example of a love it or hate it record, many actually bought the plain covered gatefold LP in the autumn of 1968. And almost five decades later – the album is now virtually defied by many in the Hip Hop community - digging its out there nature, fuzzed-up guitars and whack-sample drums. Blues purists would however probably laugh as the thought-police quite rightly disemboweled your unworthy opinion – you saying that "Electric Mud" is wicked man and should be judged on its own merits.

But before we get into the wonder-world of Psych Blues - let's talk about CD digital reissues because there are four on my last count when it comes to this astonishing and divisive album and some have artwork that doesn't reflect the original, different countries with same barcodes etc. Here goes...

First up came the November 1996 American CD variant (36:57 minutes) on MCA/Chess CHD-9364 (Barcode 076732936429) that sports the 'white' worded artwork of the original October 1968 LP on Cadet Records LPS 314 in Stereo. The foldout inlay contained within stretches to six leafs (12 pages double-sided) and shows the weird 8-page insert that came with the original American gatefold vinyl copies - a series of black and white Ron Borowski photos of McKinley Morganfield at the hairdressers getting his beehive pompadour seen too - complete with hairnet and glass-bubble hairdryer shots and a final standing outside the beauty parlor photo. Quite why someone thought that was a great idea escapes me.

The British issue of that American based CD came in February 1997 (itself reissued in March 1999) on MCA/Chess MCD 09364 or Chess 329 364-2 (it has both catalogue numbers on the spine and labels) and was part of 'The Chess Legendary Masters Series' group of CD reissues. These variants came in card digipaks but not only did "Electric Mud" have different artwork, confusingly it had the same Barcode as the American 1996 issue. So when you order using the Barcode, check which issue you're getting. This British variant talked of 32-Bit Digital remasters but it’s the 1996 transfer done by Erick Labson in America. That Remaster was also used for…

Variant number three, an April 2001 UK/EU CD Reissue on MCA/Chess 1125422 (Barcode 008811255428) that appears to have been reissued to promote the massive 15-Disc Box Set "The Chess Story" and the Arum Publishing Book about Chess Records called "Spinning Blues Into Gold". That variant uses the altered artwork too.

Box number four is an October 2011 pairing by England's Beat Goes On Records on BGOCD 1011 (Barcode 5017261210111) that puts his 1969 follow-up album on Cadet "After The Rain" on the same disc as "Electric Mud". That version has a 2011 Andrew Thompson Remaster.

So if you want the original artwork on its own – you need the 1996 US issue – if you're OK with reconfigurations or doubling up – then any of the other three will do. To the music...

1. I Just Want To Make Love To You [Side 1]

2. I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man

3. Let's Spend The Night Together

4. She's All Right

5. I'm A Man (Mannish Boy) [Side 2]

6. Herbert Harper's Free Press News

7. Tom Cat

8. The Same Thing

Tracks 1 to 8 are his fifth studio album "Electric Mud" - released October 1968 in the USA on Cadet Concept Records LPS-314 and January 1969 in the UK on Chess Records CRLS 4542 in slightly altered artwork – both issues in STEREO. Produced by MARSHALL CHESS, CHARLES STEPNEY and GENE BARGE - it peaked at No. 127 on the US LP charts (didn't chart UK)

MUDDY WATERS – Vocals

PHIL UPCHURCH, PETE COSEY and ROLAND FAULKNER – Guitars

GENE BARGE –Tenor Saxophone

CHARLES STEPNEY – Organ

LOUIS SATTERFIELD – Bass

MORRIS JENNINGS – Drums

Purists as you can imagine went nuts - seeing the new direction as a Dylan goes Electric mutinous traitor moment (oh dear). But as Leonard Chess explained in the MARK HUMPHREY penned liner notes, both he and his artist were forged in their times. The album was recorded in May of 1968 - just after globally publicized street fights had rocked France and one month after the assassination of Martin Luther King in Memphis, Tennessee that then shut down 125 American cities with racial rioting. Change and danger was everywhere. And against a backdrop of Timothy Leary dropping acid in his white robes while people read the "Tibetan Book Of The Dead" - Jimi Hendrix played Muddy Waters songs in his live sets while the man who had made them famous went broke.

But Leonard Chess of Cadet Records (the 'concept' label of Chess) was savvy enough to know that white kids were rediscovering the Blues via Cream and Hendrix – re-imported also by The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and The Yardbirds and so on. So surely they would be ripe to rediscover the old hands digging the new hybrid Blues Rock sound or even having the sheer kahunas to go further into the emerging area of Psychedelia.

So Leonard got his brother Marshall Chess, Arranger and Rotary Connection leading light Charles Stepney, along with Engineer and Saxophonist Gene Barge, to record Morgan at Tel Mar Studios in Chicago with hip session-types like guitarist Phil Upchurch, future Mile Davis fuzz-axeman Pete Cosey and drummer for Donny Hathaway and Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly - Morris Jennings. They re-jiggered Willie Dixon standards made famous by Muddy and others like "I Just Want To Make Love To You", "The Same Thing" and "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man" - but in a Psych Blues way that would excite an accepting new audience. They gave the nod to British Lads who worshipped Blues and R 'n' B by covering "Let's Spend The Night Together" and its rumoured that Hendrix would play "Herbert Harper's Free Press News" for inspiration.

It's also common knowledge from later interviews that MW thought the album was a deposit on the pavement – but despite his personal opinions and the fury of purists who claimed he was watering down his legacy - the reach for that new crowd worked. Leonard Chess recalls that "Electric Mud" shifted somewhere between 150,000 to 200,000 units in late 1968 into early 1969 which was unheard of for a Blues album at the time. So despite his decades of living legend status, "Electric Mud" became Muddy's first album to dent the Rock LP charts – albeit at a lowly No. 127 (stayed on chart for eight weeks).

Fuzz guitar, wah-wah pedals and huge drums come screaming out of the speakers as Muddy roars "I Just Want To Make Love To You" - the Remaster so damn good as the guitar goes wild. You can so hear Hendrix and Buddy Miles on the Funk-Rock of "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man" - everybody knows I'm here - cat-meowing guitar - great. Sounding like Cream with a new Fuzztone delivery - "Let's Spend The Night Together" is actually radical in its reworking of the Stones classic - Muddy's voice in fab form (feel so strong). Those opening Bass notes and Cymbals on Morgan's own "She's Alright" are frightening - fabulous remaster of a heavy-heavy guitar blasting chugger.

You have to love those cock-a-doodle doo backwards guitar notes that open the craziest version he ever did of "Mannish Boy" - Stepney giving it some bottom-end funk on his piano accompaniment. None other the I-came-from-another-Universe guitarist Jimi Hendrix is said to have played the "Herbert Harper's Free Press News" track to inspire - and on this remaster that emphasizes genuinely wild guitar work from Cosey - you can so hear why. And what a stunning back beat - the rhythm section locked in and kicking. Sounding like a Soft Machine rehearsal, "Tom Cat" worms its horn-funky way into your room like a belly dancer enjoying those mushroom entrees just a little too much. "Electric Mud" finishes on "The Same Thing" - a slow Blues about attraction turned into a Mike Bloomfield guitar funk.

For sure there are those who will say this is a 'big-legged-woman' Muddy Waters album you should ignore, but they is squares man. This is a different version of the Mannish Boy - Little John The Cock-A-Roo gets trippy and fuzzed-up - mad, bad and dangerous to know. And isn't that what Muddy Waters the man...

"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

* A huge 275 in-depth reviews spanning CD reissues/remasters from the 1990s to 2020

* Vast majority of these reviews are for standard CDs ranging from £3 to £20 - most under £10 - some box sets up to £100

* Apart from standard CD other formats include - SACD [Super Audio CD], HDCD [High Density Compatible Digital], Japan SHM-CD and Japan Platinum SHM-CD  [Super High Materials]

* 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)