"Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player" by ELTON JOHN – January 1973 UK and US Eight Studio Album on DJM Records and Uni Records in the USA – featuring Davey Johnstone, Dee Murray, Nigel Olsson with Lyrics by Bernie Taupin and Arrangements by Paul Buckmaster (May 1995 UK Mercury Records/The Rocket Co Ltd CD Reissue – Expanded Edition in 'The Classic Years' Series with Four Bonus Tracks – Gus Dudgeon Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review and 299 More Like It Can Be Found In My AMAZON e-Book 

US AND THEM - 1973

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"...Keeping The Classroom Sane..."

I'll come clean here - I have a few genuine pet hates in music and the abomination that is "Crocodile Rock" is right up there with Eurovision drivel and tomcat poo. 

But that single-song hiccup aside, re-listening to the songsmith class on show in the opening trio alone - "Daniel", "Teacher I Need You" (lyrics above) and "Elderberry Wine" - it doesn't surprise me in the least that Elton's eight studio album went to No. 1 on both sides of the pond in that huge year for him, Bernie Taupin and his band – 1973. 

Plus, it had 'artwork' – those great days back in the Seventies when people took these things seriously and the makers of albums knew it. That 12-page booklet sleeve was a fab thing to behold and still is – full-colour plates, sepia tinted photos and all the lyrics in large type. It was lavish and gave the album a feeling of 'event'. The 20-page CD booklet does reasonably well repro-ing all of it – also throwing in new JOHN TOBLER liner notes that do a typically bang-up job of explaining the history and the heartache. To the music...

UK released May 1995 - "Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player" by ELTON JOHN on Mercury/The Record Co Ltd 528 154-2 (Barcode 731452815422) is an Expanded Edition in 'The Classic Years' CD Reissue and Remaster Series. It has Four Bonus Tracks and plays out as follows (56:25 minutes):

1. Daniel [Side 1]

2. Teacher I Need You

3. Elderberry Wine 

4. Blues For My Baby And Me 

5. Midnight Creeper 

6. Have Mercy On The Criminal [Side 2]

7. I'm Going To Be A Teenage Idol

8. Texas Love Song

9. Crocodile Rock 

10. High Flying Bird 

Tracks 1 to 10 are his sixth studio album (eight overall) "Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player" – released 22 January 1973 in the UK on DJM Records DJLPH 427 and 26 January 1973 in the USA on MCA Records MCA-2100. Produced by GUS DUDGEON – it peaked at No. 1 on the LP charts in both countries. It was also his second No. 1 in the USA after 1972's "Honky Chateau". 

BONUS TRACKS: 

11. Screw You (Young Man's Blues)

Track 11 is the Non-LP 45-single B-side of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" released September 1973 in the UK on DJM Records DJS 285 - credited as "Screw You". The 45-single for "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" was issued in the USA in October 1973 on MCA Records MCA-40148 but with the B-side credited as "Young Man's Blues" – hence the two titles for the same song. 

12. Jack Rabbit 

13. Whenever You're Ready (We'll Go Steady Again)

Tracks 12 and 13 were the Non-LP B-sides of "Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting" issued June 1973 as a 3-Track EP in the UK on DJM Records DJX 502. 

14. Skyline Pigeon (Piano Version)

Track 14 is the Non-LP Version B-side of "Daniel" - a March 1973 US 45-single on MCA Records MCA-40046. The original version of "Skyline Pigeon" was one of the highlights on Elton’s 1969 debut album "Empty Sky" – this 1973 recorded version features EJ on Piano rather than Harpsichord. The UK 45 (released January 1973) on DJM Records DJS 275 has the same B-side. 

Elton had met the legendary American comedian Grouch Marx in Hollywood where the sharpest tongue amongst the Marx Brothers jabbed at the wildly dressed Englishman that our Reg probably had his name round back-to-front. In an off-the-cuff reply, EJ spat out the album’s title and so it came to pass that "Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player" became the album title. It was all done in jest of course. In fact, if you look to the right of the box office booth on the front sleeve, you will see a small billboard advertising their 1940 Marx Brothers screwball masterpiece "Go West" as a tribute to that moment.

Original Producer GUS DUDGEON handled the Remaster and explains in the booklet that after some 20-plus years those master tapes needed some transfer love - and he has done them proud. There is amazing clarity in the piano and humming opening to deep dive tracks like "High Flying Bird" (raven in the night time) or the Davey Johnstone guitars and Paul Buckmaster Strings doing battle in "Have Mercy On The Criminal" before they fade into the back of the mix in that out-to-kill piano section. There is a warmth too when those acoustic guitars pop out of the left and right speakers in "Blues For My Baby And Me". The bonus tracks feature the buckshot mandolin hootenanny "Jack Rabbit" - but far better is "When You're Ready..." - left poor Elton on the weekend - a dirty and lowdown trick - a B-side hat could easily have been on the main album (Davey Johnstone putting in some fantastic slide guitar). And on it goes...Daniel leaving on a plane...

Although "Piano" is somehow forgotten now and in many ways overshadowed by the double-album "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" that would annihilate all comers in October 1973 (another No. 1 on both sides of the Atlantic) – real EJ fans hold a candle for the gems inside its elaborate booklet sleeve - and the evidence is here. 

In fact, as a sort-of viable alternative, a fan might want to pop their wallets open a bit wider and go for the Japanese SHM-CD Reissue of August 2019 in all its Mini LP repro artwork glory. Mercury UICY-78960 (Barcode 4988031340677) uses a new Remaster made in 2018 based on UK original tapes - but it is sans those great four bonuses, which feels like a bit too much of a loss to me. 

"How can I ever get it together...without a wife in line..." - our Reg sang on the brass-cool "Elderberry Wine" all those decades ago. Well he may have taken a few more decades to get it together, but man what a journey he had. 

Whatever 'West' way you 'Go' – this is an Elton John album from a long distant past that still warrants a night out at the aural movies. And it's less than a fiver to Blighty types - brand new...

"A Passion Play" by JETHRO TULL – July 1973 UK and US Sixth Studio LP on Chrysalis Records featuring Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, John Evan, Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond and Barrimore Barlow (June 2015 UK Chrysalis Records '1CD Reissue with A Steven Wilson Stereo Remix' - 2014 Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review and 299 More Like It Can Be Found In My AMAZON e-Book 

US AND THEM - 1973

Your All-Genres Guide To Exceptional 

CD Reissues and Remasters 

Classic Albums, Compilations, 45's...

All In-Depth Reviews From The Discs Themselves 

Over 2,200 E-Pages

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"...Death And Glory On The Fulham Road..."

1973's "A Passion Play" finally saw my love affair with Jethro Tull take a serious nosedive. 

Like so many Rock Boys I had fallen for the freshness of 1969's "Stand Up", the underrated 1970 outing "Benefit", and went headlong into the music, artwork and lyrics of "Aqualung" in 1971. I dug the 2LP roundup of old and new material in 1972's end of year "Living In The Past" too. Hell, I even tolerated the newspaper complexity and slightly up-its-own-anus pretentiousness of "Thick As A Brick". 

But despite being totally immersed in Jazz Funk, Fusion Rock and anything even remotely Starship Trooper or Selling England Proggy in 1973 - "A Passion Play" made my heart sink like a ground-almonds turd. It was like winning a front row seat in Nicola Sturgeon's "Transparency and Honesty” seminar. In short, I thought it was cack. 

The endless one-piece-of-music-thing had no tunes - musicianship yes - but no discernible songs. And despite my best efforts with repeated plays – CHR 1040 left me stone cold and (as I recall) inexplicably angry. Even the centred 'Linwell Theatre' programme annoyed me with the five-piece band listed as nondescript characters like Max Quad and Mark Ridley. I gave the beast another whirl when they remastered Tull's catalogue in 2003, but despite "The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles" supposed Video Bonus - again I threw it in the compost regurgitation sanitation unit outside our nice clean family home in E17 like a soiled handkerchief from Aqualung's overcoat. 

So why review it now? The reason is Steven Wilson's Remix and Remaster. It is reissued here (June 2015) as a single-disc version so as to make the first disc of 2014’s 2CD and 2DVD "An Extended Performance" Hardback Digibook set available to all at a reasonable price. And like his astonishing work on "Aqualung" (a notoriously lo-fi affair) – Wilson has somehow made a silk purse out of the proverbial gnat's undercarriage. 

In absolute honesty, I still hate "A Passion Play" with a vengeance. But damn does this CD sound good - amazing at times. And now that it breaks down the two long sides into 15 discernible sections (albeit run together still), the album is at least a tad more accessible. Wilson even found 50-extra-seconds of music to "The Foot Of Our Stairs" lost for over 40 years that he's reinstated with IA’s blessing (easily one of the better pieces on the album). He also hasn't exorcised out many of the Soprano Saxophone parts Ian Anderson thought were cluttering up certain parts of the mix. 

Well, it's dense for sure, but so not bloody busy-busy as it was to me back in the day. So once more you passionate players to the Linwell Theatre and its latest production...

UK released 29 June 2015 - "A Passion Play: A Steven Wilson Stereo Remix" by JETHRO TULL on Chrysalis 0825646146512 (Barcode 0825646146512) is a CD Reissue and Remaster that plays out as follows (45:31 minutes):

1. Lifebeats/Prelude [Side 1]

2. The Silver Cord 

3. Re-Assuring Tune 

4. Memory Bank

5. Best Friends 

6. Critique Oblique 

7. Forest Dance No. 1

8. The Story Of The Hare Who Lost His Spectacles 

9. Forest Dance No. 2 [Side 2]

10. The Foot Of Our Stairs

11. Overseer Overture

12. Flight From Lucifer 

13. 10:08 To Paddington 

14. Magus Perde 

15. Epilogue 

Tracks 1 to 15 are their sixth studio album "A Passion Play" - released July 1973 in the UK and USA on Chrysalis CHR 1040 (same catalogue number in both countries). Produced by IAN ANDERSON - it peaked at No. 13 in the USA and went to No.1 in America. This 'Steven Wilson Stereo Remix' first issued 30 June 2014 on "A Passion Play: An Extended Performance" on Chrysalis 2564630567 - a 2CD/2DVD Digibook Presentation. 

JETHRO TULL was:

IAN ANDERSON - Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitars, Soprano Saxophones 

MARTIN BARRE - Electric Guitars 

JOHN EVAN - Piano, Organ, Synthesizers and Speaker on "The Story Of The Hare..."

JEFFREY HAMMOND-HAMMOND - Bass and Vocals 

BARRIEMORE BARLOW - Drums, Timpani, Glockenspiel and Marimba 

The chunky 24-page booklet gives the full horror-story of the album's conception and recording – Tull as Tax Exiles initially at the mercy of the ragged (apparently) bed-bug-infested Chateau d'Herouville studios and accommodation in France - a place used by Elton John for "Honky Chateau", Pink Floyd's "Obscured By Clouds" and Cat Stevens' latest on Island - "Catch Bull At Four". 

The recorded music done there was scrapped and became the legendary lost Tull album, a part of which was wittily named as 'The Chateau D'Isaster Tapes' in 1988 for the "20th Anniversary Of Jethro Tull" Box set ("Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of A New Day" was also a part of those sessions and used later). Tull drew a line under this recording fiasco, using that music as a sort of dress rehearsal for "A Passion Play" which was recorded 'properly' in Montreux (the concept Symphonic/Prog Rock album is a tale of chap who dies on the Fulham Road and then goes through Good vs. Evil tests on the other side). Wilson even explains how he approached the remaster in the final pages. It's all very thorough and in-depth including many comments from the band in hindsight - the bad reaction to both UK live shows of the album in its entirety, the music press also hating the record on release – but US fans voting with their pockets and putting the LP up at No. 1 on the Billboard charts. To the music...

It opens badly - "Lifebeats/Prelude" taking an age to fade in and then disappearing into a barrage of pointless notes. "And so I am dead...the young man said..." Anderson sings in the better melody of "The Silver Cord" - his acoustic guitar runs along with Evan's matching piano suddenly feeling so clear and pretty. More doubled-acoustics follow, joined by electric guitars and saxophones for "Re-Assuring Tune" - that Anderson gut-string solo so clear in your speakers now. Things 'rawk' with "Best Friends" - riffage and echoed vocals with muscle. 

But my fave passages are the two "Forest Dance" parts - pretty Prog is what I like to call it. Unfortunately it's sandwiched between the unnerving rubbish of "The Story Of Hare..." - a cod spoken piece punctured by plinking instruments and dreadfully effected vocals. Over on Side 2 is a short but sweet Acoustic March instrumental called "10:08 To Paddington" followed by electric guitars in "Magus Perde" that still sound slightly off despite Wilson's best efforts. 

"A Passion Play" divides - but this stunning-audio reimagining doesn't. One day, I may even make my peace with the album - maybe. But if I do, it will be at the hands of the marvellous Porcupine Tree magician Steve Wilson and his stellar work here...

"Head Hunters" by HERBIE HANCOCK – October 1973 US Album on Columbia Records, March 1974 UK LP on CBS Records – featuring Bennie Maupin, Paul Jackson, Harvey Mason and Bill Summers (February 2011 UK/EUROPE Columbia CD Reissue and Remaster - Original COLUMBIA Jazz Classics Series) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review and 289 More Like It Can Be Found In My AMAZON e-Book 

US AND THEM - 1973

Your All-Genres Guide To Exceptional 

CD Reissues and Remasters 

Classic Albums, Compilations, 45's...

All In-Depth Reviews From The Discs Themselves - Over 2,200 E-Pages

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"...Vein Melter..."

Jazz had been morphing into a new kind of instrumental Funk since 1970 and Herbie Hancock knew it. 

In truth - Funk had been permeating into Rock and Soul stretching as far back as 1967 (or maybe even further back) – but the construct of Jazz Funk had taken its sweet old time. Oiling those acceptance wheels was Miles Davis on Columbia, George Benson on CTI, Earth Wind & Fire on Warner Brothers, Phil Upchurch on Blue Thumb and so many more. But it was the sexy groovy nature of 1973's "Head Hunters" by keyboard whizz-kid Herbie Hancock that made it famous. Recorded in only one day (1 January 1973) – it has been a touch-point for Jazz-Funk nutjobs ever since.

Although it doesn't state who remastered what and where anywhere – I think it's safe to say that this February 2011 variant in the 'Original Columbia Jazz Classics' Series is technically a reissue of the 25 March 1997 CD Remaster done by MARK WILDER for Legacy. And what a glorious racket it makes too – a beautifully full transfer that thumps out those amazing keyboard and percussive grooves across its four full-on cuts. Let's get melted people...

UK/EUROPE released 7 February 2011 - "Head Hunters" by HERBIE HANCOCK on Sony/Columbia/Legacy 88697843472 (Barcode 886978434722) is a straightforward CD Transfer and Remaster (part of the Original COLUMBIA Jazz Classics Series) that plays out as follows (41:47 minutes):

1. Chameleon (15:41 minutes) – Side 1

2. Watermelon Man (6:29 minutes)

3. Sly (10:15 minutes) – Side 2

4. Vein Melter (9:09 minutes)

Tracks 1 to 4 are the album "Head Hunters" – released October 1973 in the USA on Columbia Records KC 32731 and March 1974 in the UK on CBS Records S 65928. Produced by DAVID RUBINSON - Tracks 2, 3 and 4 written by Herbie Hancock with Track 1 being a Herbie Hancock, Paul Jackson and Harvey Mason composition – Track 2 arranged by Harvey Mason.  

HERBIE HANCOCK – Fender Rhodes Electric Piano, Horner D6 Clavinet, ARP Odyssey Synthesizer, ARP Soloist Synthesizer and Pipes

BERNIE MAUPIN – Soprano and Tenor Saxophones, Saxello, Bass Clarinet and Alto Flute

PAUL JACKSON – Electric Bass and Marimba 

HARVEY MASON – Drums 

BILL SUMMERS – Congas, Shekere, Balafon, Agogo, Cabasa, Hindewho Whistle, Tambourine, Log Drum, Surdo, Gankoqui Bells and Beer Bottle

Despite the flashy logo of 'Original COLUMBIA Jazz Classics' on the see-through spine, the gatefold slip of an inlay is a huge disappointment for such an important album.  It lists the individual players and instruments for all four tracks, but precious little else. No history, no appreciation, no involvement from the artist. What isn't a let down however is the truly awesome audio. We're not talking loudness wars here, just muscle and clarity in spades. The album was beautifully produced in the first place, but this Remaster has brought out the stunning playing even more. 

At just under sixteen minutes, you might think that "Chameleon" overstays its welcome as entry point number one - but not so. The groove is fantastic and allows the players to solo and return to it - synth notes dancing around your speakers - the rhythm section of drums and bass whacking and thumping with equal clarity. His remake of "Watermelon Man" takes it in another direction. It's hard not to overstate the fact that this is Jazz-Funk as opposed to just Jazz - "Head Hunters" actually feeling a little at times like a mission statement - here is the future pal - get used to it. 

Jabbing brass notes and drums open the suitably slick "Sly" before it settles into a sort of Miles Davis smooze - the Remaster just amazing as the Bass and Drums do Funk battle. Love that Clavinet break too where it feels like their rehearsing for Todd Rundgren's Utopia and sort Prog Rock opus. Their is a small amount of hiss at the beginning of the bass note intro to "Vein Melter" but it soon disappears as the trippy Saxophone Jazz phrases build - Hancock floating notes across the soundscape as Mason plays that marching drum - so sexy too. 

I haven't listened to "Head Hunters" in years - bit of a mistake that - what a belter it is. It was one of the biggest selling Jazz albums for Columbia Records outside of you know who – two innovators – hardly any surprises there then...

"We're An American Band" by GRAND FUNK – July 1973 US Seventh Album (Sixth Studio set) on Capitol Records (October 1973 in the UK) – featuring Mark Farner, Don Brewer, Craig Frost and Mel Schacher (November 2002 UK Capitol Records Expanded Edition CD Reissue with Four Bonus Tracks in the Grand Funk Remasters Series) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review and 289 More Like It Can Be Found In My AMAZON e-Book 

US AND THEM - 1973

Your All-Genres Guide To Exceptional 

CD Reissues and Remasters 

Classic Albums, Compilations, 45's...

All In-Depth Reviews From The Discs Themselves - Over 2,200 E-Pages

(No Cut And Paste Crap)

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"…Loneliest Rider…"

With album chart-numbers like No. 6 for both July 1970's "Closer To Home" and April 1971's well-received "Survival" – on top of November 1971's "E Pluribus Funk" at No. 5 and November 1972's "Phoenix" at No. 7 – it seems odd now to think that the American press had written off Grand Funk Railroad in late 1972 and early 1973 as 'finished' – or worse – just not that good. 

This is a band that has always had vitriol thrown at them. But a smart decision to employ Drummer and Singer Don Brewer and Keyboardist Craig Frost into their ranks permanently – and an even smarter decision to get ace zeitgeist master Todd Rundgren on board as Producer – Grand Funk Railroad would shorten their name and shorten that distance in the charts. 

Because with July 1973's "We're An American Band" – Grand Funk went all the way up to No. 2 on the US Billboard LP charts, despite the naysayers. It invigorated the group and even spawned two 45-smashes in the shape of "We're An American Band" and "Walk Like A Man" - the title track achieving a rapid numero uno slot - not something every group in the world could manage in the busy listings of summer 1973. Which brings us here... 

This deftly-handled 2002 CD Reissue in their 'Grand Funk Remasters' series doesn't quite have the gold-effect cover impact of the original vinyl LP (does at least have a gold first page to ape that) – but it does sport four cracking bonus tracks actually worthy of inclusion - while new STEVE ROESER liner notes give this much-maligned American institution their proper due. And it's cheap-as-chips too in 2021. Let's point the big gold finger; here are the details…

UK released November 2002 – "We're An American Band" by GRAND FUNK on Capitol 5417262 (Barcode 724354172625) is an Expanded Edition CD Reissue in their 'Grand Funk Remasters' Series with Four Bonus Tracks and breaks down as follows (55:13 minutes):

1. We're An American Band [Side 1]

2. Stop Lookin' Back

3. Creepin'

4. Black Licorice

5. The Railroad [Side 2]

6. Ain't Got Nobody

7. Walk Like A Man 

8. Loneliest Rider

Tracks 1 to 8 are their 7th studio album "We're An American Band" – released July 1973 in the USA on Capitol SMAS-11207 and October 1973 in the UK on Capitol EA-ST 11207. Their first album credited to just GRAND FUNK – it was produced by TODD RUNDGREN and peaked at No. 2 in the US album charts (didn't chart UK). Mark Farner wrote Tracks 3 and 5, Don Brewer wrote Track 1 with the remainder written by both Farner and Brewer 

BONUS TRACKS:

9. Hooray 

10. The End

Tracks 9 and 10 were studio outtakes from the June 1973 album sessions first issued in June 1999 as part of the UK 3CD Box Set "Thirty Years Of Funk 1969-1999: The Anthology" on Capitol Records 72434-99523-2-4

11. Stop Lookin' Back (Acoustic Mix) – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED 

12. We're An American Band (2002 Mix) – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Tracks 9, 10 and 11 written by Brewer and Farner - Track 12 by Brewer

GRAND FUNK was:

MARK FARNER – Lead Vocals on Tracks 3, 5 and 6 with duet vocals on Track 9 with Don Brewer, Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Conga and Electric Piano on "Creepin'" only

DON BREWER – Lead Vocals on Tracks 1, 2, 4, 7, 10, 11 and 12 with duet vocals on Track 9 with Don Farner, Drums and Percussion

MEL SCHACHER – Bass 

CRAIG FROST – Organ, Clavinet, Electric Piano and Moog 

While their earlier albums were notoriously recorded with no sense of audiophile, Rundgren was at the helm in 1973 and you have to wonder why. Rundgren explains in the new liner notes that he heard the new songs - not Rock rambles and jams - but more accomplished tunes with actual verses and choruses. And they were rehearsed. The title track was recorded in one day, completed and mixed on the second and by day three on its way to pressing plants. In fact by album's end, the single was already climbing the 45-charts to Number 1 as they mopped up the LP. The 12-page booklet repro's the original 'pointing finger' artwork as well as the gold sleeve - that awful naked photo in some barn somewhere and a better black and white snap showing the four-piece alive and kicking on stage. There are track-by-track recording details and of course extensive reissue credits. 

Still pumping out down 'n' dirty American Rock when they boogied, but now with flourishes of Acoustic beauty too, Rundgren brought a polish to GF and their material that both clearly needed (and according to the liner notes, wanted). Audio Engineer EVREN GOKNAR has 24-bit remastered this from original tapes - giving each Brewer vocal, Farner riff and Frost keyboard flourish more muscle. These tracks come at you with renewed power – not dampened down – but allowed to breath (like the other remasters in this series). Very well done. To the music and the cool bonuses...

Released in early July 1973 when the boys were still putting the LP together, Capitol rushed out the title track "We're An American Band" on Capitol 3660 with a 6:28-minute edit of "Creepin'" on the flipside. They gave it a picture sleeve and coloured vinyl and while some maintain the A-side was 'so' rushed in release that the mix is in fact an unpolished Rundgren version - his recollections put a damper on this hoped-for 'rare single version'. Rundgren remembers final mixing and mastering "We're An American Band" at Criteria before it was sent off to the pressing plants ("Creepin'" was also recorded on 12 June 1973 although originally entitled "I Don't Want To Be Their Fool"). The drum-start and guitar-funk come roaring out of the speakers - forty days on the road - come into your town - help you party down. 

"Stop Lookin' Back" feels like Grand Funk have suddenly discovered Funk-Rock via a Clavinet and Organ. Stuck in a county jail, our hero is hearing a turnkey and a voice calling him 'a dirty punk'. I'd forgotten how strong the Funk is with this one - Frost and Farner trading Guitar and Organ solos to fantastic effect. That's neatly followed by the seven-minute keyboard-slink of "Creepin'" where Frost gets to shine with big chunky notes. I love this - so Steppenwolf and John Kay - and in a good way. A love affair with a lady of colour infuses "Black Licorice" with a Stevie Wonder rapido Funk-Rock mania. And again, you can hear why Rundgren liked this - a hooky tune, that dances like a goodun (although I find it hard to hear those bullish lyrics amidst his screaming vocals). 

Side 2 opens with six-minutes of "The Railroad" - a brooding treated guitar snaking its way out into your loving room with tales of hard work and punch cards and sweat running down your back. Time for a quick but commercial rocker, so we get "Ain't Got Nobody" - a I-don't-why-I'm-crying boo hoo moment (huge audio on this when they go into that break). Capitol paired the big choruses of "Walk Like A Man" with "The Railroad" in October 1973 to produce the LP's second single release - Capitol 3760 rising to No. 19. Far better in my eyes is the Side 2 finisher "Loneliest Rider" - another Rock-Funk chugger that has Mark Farner talking about his Cherokee roots and meaning it. Grand Funk had a driving intensity and its here in "Loneliest Rider". 

And stripped of its bombast, the Bonus Mix for "Stop Lookin' Back" features just two acoustic guitars, Don Farner vocals and some percussion moments towards the end – a very clever bare-naked version that makes you feel the song anew. The excellent rocker "Hooray" (so Steppenwolf) was recorded 14 June, while four-minutes of "The End" was done on the 15th. Both have been smartly added on here as extras - once only available on the 1999 3CD Box set that in 2021 is long deleted. Accomplished, finished, it's surprising they remained in the can for so long. The extensively remixed new cut of the title track is 'guitar heavy' - a looser live-in-the-studio vibe than the more polished LP final. Nicely done...

For sure there will always be those who knock Grand Funk and neither Farner nor Brewer were ever going to be in the greatest singers ever in Rock lists any time soon. But I'd forgotten the good parts on this album and I'm glad I've renewed acquaintances with "We're An American Band", beefed up good and raring to go...

"In A Glass House" by GENTLE GIANT – October 1973 Fifth UK Studio LP on WWA Records - featuring Derek and Ray Shulman, Gary Green, Kerry Minnear and John Weathers (January 2010 UK Alucard CD Reissue with a Fred Kervorkian Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review and 289 More Like It Can Be Found In My AMAZON e-Book 

US AND THEM - 1973

Your All-Genres Guide To Exceptional 

CD Reissues and Remasters 

Classic Albums, Compilations, 45's...

All In-Depth Reviews From The Discs Themselves - Over 2,200 E-Pages

(No Cut And Paste Crap)

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"...An Inmates Lullaby..."

Rarely seen except outside of Prog and Hard Rock circles – the British label World Wide Artists with their distinctive black and white WWA logo managed only 12 album releases in one year (October 1973 to October 1974, see list below). And four of those were re-issues of Black Sabbath product. 

WWA's opening salvo however consisted of two sassily packaged platters – now both held in very high regard - the Groundhogs guitarist Tony McPhee and his first solo outing "The Two Sides Of Tony (T.S.) McPhee" on WWA 001 (had a die-cut tear-drop sleeve) and this – Gentle Giant's fifth studio album "In A Glass House" on WWA 002 (sported a plastic Perspex die-cut front sleeve with a lyric inner). 

Both October 1973 UK albums have always been rare – especially the Gentle Giant issue – which like say Captain Beefheart's "Clear Spot" LP on Reprise Records in its flip-top plastic envelope sleeve - is 'so' difficult to find in anything like Near Mint condition. 

So while this Alucard Publishing Limited CD Reissue and Remaster loses the impact of that original packaging with its disappointingly basic three-leaf foldout double-sided inlay (lyrics, credits and naught else) - at least the album is available to us again - and this time in real quality Hi-Def sound taken off the original quarter-inch tapes ("Alucard" is a song on their self-titled November 1970 debut album). 

And highly regarded it is too, if not a trifle unloved and forgotten, languishing in Proggy prison cell No. 5 behind its more illustrious predecessors that were all on the mucho-revered Vertigo label. Time to bring "In A Glass House" out of the dingy infirmary into the light of the exercise yard over by the Soprano Saxophone/Recorder work shed. Here is the inmate's lullaby in six parts...

UK released 26 January 2010 - "In A Glass House" by GENTLE GIANT on Alucard ALU-GG-010 (Barcode 804471000022) is a straightforward CD Reissue and Remaster that plays out as follows (37:57 minutes): 

1. The Runaway [Side 1]

2. An Inmates Lullaby

3. Way of Life 

4. Experience [Side 2]

5. A Reunion 

6. In A Glass House 

GENTLE GIANT were:

DEREK SHULMAN - Vocals, Alto and Soprano Saxophones, Recorder 

GARY GREEN – 6 & 12-String Guitars, Mandolin, Percussion and Alto Recorder 

KERRY MINNEAR – All Keyboards, Tune Percussion, Recorder and Vocals

RAY SHULMAN – Bass Guitar, Violin, Acoustic Guitar, Percussion, Backing Vocals

JOHN WEATHERS – Drums and Percussion 

The FRED KERVORKIAN Remaster was done from original master tapes at Avatar Studios in NYC – a high-resolution 24-bit 96k Remaster - and it is really excellent. The band were multi-instrumentalists so the layers pile up on each other over lengthy tracks - this remaster deftly bringing out the details whilst keeping a cohesive whole. The lyrics are spread across one side of the three-leaf inlay with their famous 'bearded man' logo behind the text. But on the other side there is naught of any consequence, which is a huge let down. To the complex music...

Recorded in London's Advision Studios in July 1973, Gentle Giant already had four album Production outings under their sophisticated five-piece belt - so they knew what they wanted on "In The Glass House". Again the Shulman brothers and Minnear did the writing whilst Engineer Gary Martin got it all down on tape. 

Things open with seven and half-minutes of "The Runaway" - a low-life sick of four walls busts free. For sure there will be those who will scrunch up their eyes and avert their ears at the complicated rhythms and constant changes - but this is Prog Rock unapologetic - and you need to invest time in it. Treated vocals usher in "An Inmates Lullaby" that quickly doubles up the lyrics by a voice sung in tandem (a trick Yes used on "Close To The Edge"). Vibes then ping while drums and various percussive instruments dip in and out like a Rock Jazz opera. "An Inmates Lullaby" may only be three and half minutes, but feels longer. Speaking of longer (and stronger), Side 1 ends with the almost piano-funky "Way Of Life" - just short of eight-minutes. "Way Of Life" sports brilliant guitar and keyboard breaks that feel at times like Greenslade having a whig-out - a genuine highlight on this obscure LP.

Side 2 opens with the very-difficult to like "Experience" - eight minutes of fret chasing - vocals leaping up and down. I'd admit that even with the obvious playing dexterity on display, it's not one of my faves and is for hardcore GG nuts only. The two-minutes of "A Reunion" is an Acoustic Guitar and Strings sort of Strawbs ballad moment and I love it. The muso musings come to an end with eight and half minutes of clavinet and guitar Rock - the album's titular track probably being the best this rare album gets for me. 

For sure this kind of deep-level Seventies Prog Rock will set some people's underpants on fire with excitement whilst making others will want to go to a gun range and use the album artwork as a target sheet (as many bullet holes in its dense musical heart as possible). And that mediocre inlay presentation should really be upgraded. But if you're a fan and a lover of Gentle Giant, then the Audio will be the big draw and (in some respects) the fact that you can get access to the music at all. 

"Inspiration waits for your call..." they sang on the title track to "In A Glass House". Half of you out there will probably want to answer that complicated ring tone in time...

A WWA Records LP Discography from 1973 to 1974 (with release dates) Including two LPs by GENTLE GIANT

1. WWA 001 – TONY McPHEE – "The Two Sides Of Tony (T.S.) McPhee" (October 1973) - Groundhogs Guitarist and Singer, debut solo album

2. WWA 002 – GENTLE GIANT – "In A Glass House" (October 1973)

3. WWA 003 – SNAFU – "Snafu" (January 1974)

4. WWA 004 – GROUNDHOGS – "Solid" (June 1974)

5. WWA 005 – BLACK SABBATH – "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" (November 1973, original album) 

6. WWA 006 – BLACK SABBATH – "Black Sabbath" (January 1974, Reissue of their February 1970 debut UK album originally on Vertigo Records)

7. WWA 007 – BLACK SABBATH – "Paranoid" (January 1974, Reissue of their October 1970 second UK album originally on Vertigo Records)

8. WWA 008 – BLACK SABBATH – "Master Of Reality" (January 1974, Reissue of their August 1971 third UK album originally on Vertigo Records)

9. WWA 009 – BLACK SABBATH – "Vol.4" (January 1974, Reissue of their October 1972 fourth UK studio album originally on Vertigo Records)

10. WWA 010 – GENTLE GIANT – "The Power And The Glory" (October 1974)

WWA 011 – (Unissued)

11. WWA 012 – JACKIE LYNTON – "The Jackie Lynton Album" (September 1974) - ex Savoy Brown Blues Band, debut solo album

12. WWA 013 – SNAFU – "Situation Normal" (October 1974)

There are two Black Sabbath compilation LPs "Attention!" Volumes 1 and 2 but these were Dutch compilations possibly with the vinyl pressed in the UK in late 1974 or early 1975...

"Aerosmith" by AEROSMITH – Debut Album from January 1973 on Columbia Records (USA) and September 1974 in the UK on CBS Records - Featuring Steve Tyler, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Brad Whitford and Joey Kramer (November 1993 UK Columbia CD Reissue with Vic Anesini SBM Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review and 289 More Like It Can Be Found In My AMAZON e-Book 

US AND THEM - 1973

Your All-Genres Guide To Exceptional 

CD Reissues and Remasters 

Classic Albums, Compilations, 45's...

All In-Depth Reviews From The Discs Themselves - Over 2,200 E-Pages

(No Cut And Paste Crap)

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"...Dream On..."

Boston's juvenile delinquent rockers AEROSMITH had been around – the hard-hitting five-piece gigging constantly in an effort to get noticed (what do you do after being chucked out of school, form a Rock 'n' Roll band is what). 

Columbia Records USA finally signed up the quintessentially American Hell-raisers, recording their first in October 1972 at the famed Intermedia Sound Studios in their hometown. And as Stu Werbin's original liner notes quite rightly said, Aerosmith was a young band and their music was for the young. So Columbia signed them up and hoped for the best - or at least the promise to be realised that the enthusiastic Stu clearly saw in them...

But their self-titled snarling-debut arrived with 'interest' in January 1973 rather than a bang. The album's one and only single "Dream On" with Side 1's "Somebody" on the flipside made radio waves and a No. 59 chart position, but the LP didn't break the top 200. It would take until April 1975 and their 3rd album "Toys In The Attic" for them to become vinyl monsters Stateside – that album clocking up over 8-million LP sales and a near two and half year chart reign (128 weeks in total). Their fourth album "Rocks" in 1976 cemented Aerosmith and it was only then that back-catalogue interest began. So in March 1976, the debut re-entered the US LP charts and made an impressive No. 21 placing (the band meant naught in Blighty and would have to wait until 1987 on Geffen to see chart action). 

But back in early 1973, Aerosmith still had some more pavements to pound and this is where all that big-haired mayhem started. And truth be-told (re-hearing it in spring 2021) – "Aerosmith" is far better than I remember it. And although this 1993 Columbia CD reissue/remaster is in desperate need of a packaging upgrade and some decent Bonus Tracks (original artwork of the boys centred in the sky is paraded here as a gift from the Gods) - it still boasts a stunning Don De Vito/Vic Anesini Super Bit Mapping Remaster. So once again, let's go Walkin' The Dog with Mama Kin down an American One Way Street...

UK released 8 November 1993 (reissued several times since including September 2011) - "Aerosmith" by AEROSMITH on Columbia 474962 2 (Barcode 5099747496226) is a straightforward CD Remaster of the 1973 debut album and plays out as follows (35:51 minutes):

1. Dream On [Side 1]

2. Somebody

3. Dream On

4. One Way Street

5. Mama Kin [Side 2]

6. Write Me A Letter

7. Movin' Out

8. Walkin' The Dog

Tracks 1 to 8 are their debut album "Aerosmith" - released January 1973 in the USA on Columbia KC 32005 (reissued 1976) and September 1974 in the UK on CBS Records S 65486. Produced by ARTHUR BARBER – all songs written by Steve Tyler except "Somebody" which is co-written with Steven Emspack, "Movin' Out" co-written with Joe Perry and "Walkin' The Dog" is a Rufus Thomas cover version. 

AEROSMITH was:

STEVE TYLER – Lead Vocals, Harmonica and Wood Flute

JOE PERRY - Lead Guitar and Backing Vocals

BRAD WHITFORD - Rhythm Guitar

TOM HAMILTON - Bass

JOEY KRAMER - Drums and Percussion

Guests:

David Woodford – Saxophone on "Mama Kin" and "Write Me A Letter"

Like the other CD reissues in this Columbia 'Nice Price' series - the double-sided four-leaf foldout inlay is hardly the stuff of legends. They repro four original master tape boxes – two trade newspaper reviews (suitably enthusiastic) – front and rear LP artwork - some period shots of the band – a photo of a signed original American LP - a British A-label demo single for "Dream On" - the cover art for the Rufus Thomas Stax LP "Walking The Dog" (their cover version ends Side 2) and a foreign picture sleeve, etc. But there's no liner notes, no history, appreciation, band involvement (and of course no aural extras either). Not the sexiest inlay in the world for sure...

What we do get by way of compensation however is a stunning new 24-bit digital remaster from original tapes by DON DeVITO and Mastering Engineer supremo VIC ANESINI - an Audio transfer name I actively seek out when looking for exceptional CD Remasters. Anesini has had a long association with Sony and all things Columbia - Santana, Simon & Garfunkel, Elvis Presley, Mott The Hoople, Janis Joplin, Carole King, The Jayhawks, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Mountain, Nilsson and many more – including Aerosmith. Bringing out the power of those riffs was always the priority and the team behind this transfer have achieved that.

Coming at you like Montrose in 1973 (though nowhere near as good yet) - the Aerosmith debut is a roadmap offering several glimpses into the Hard Rock template to come. What is immediately weird is that with the June 1973 relative success of the "Dream On" 45-single hitting No. 59 on the US Adult Rock charts (Columbia 4-45894) – why oh why didn't Columbia seize on the monster riffage of "Mama Kin" as single number two? Perhaps with the debut having only eight songs, they didn't want half the album out in the marketplace on two cheap 45s? But you can't help thinking now that someone at the musical monolith missed a serious trick there. 

Speaking on 45-genius, England's CBS Records tried the very 1973-Zeppelin sounding "Dream On" with "Somebody" on the B-side in November 1973 before the album would arrive in 1974 (CBS Records S CBS 1898 is a genuine rarity in Demo form in 2021). Not quite Rock – not quite Prog – but a path somewhere in-between - "Dream On" has a lead-in build up - Perry slowly adding guitar layers that eventually culminate in Tyler's screeches. I would in fact maintain that it's a bit of a forgotten power-house single and given the dominance of Sabbath, Zeppelin, Deep Purple and hell even Status Quo ("Hello!" with "Roll Over Lay Down" had just gone to No. 1 on the LP charts in September 1973) – it seems odd that Blighty never took to the drunken swagger of Aerosmith back in the day when Hard Rock and Prog was all we seemed able to think about. 

Although a long way from a Supertramp audiophile recording – the Remaster captures the band in raw if not a tad amateur raring-to-go form. It's not a great album – really it isn't - but I love a Rock band that feels like the Allmans mated with Bad Co. And never is this more evident than on the excellent Side 1 finisher "One Way Street" – a Bluesy piano-rolling Harmonica warbling bar-tab of a tune. Down and dirty and gritty exudes from "Mama Kin" – the Black Crowes two whole decades earlier. You might have to forgive the boys-done-bad-by-gals lyrics, but it boogies along like a goodun and I bet it's a go-to tune when fans return to this album. Great swagger and clear drums on "Write Me" or "Write Me A Letter" as it was called on first pressings. And on it goes to their butt-strut cover version of "Walking The Dog" – a Rufus Thomas Soul anthem turned into a prowler of a Rock song (love those guitar flicks on the scratch plate to mimic a dog - must have slayed 'em live). 

I was surprised at how much I liked this album again and at less than four quid new and delivered to your front door – "Aerosmith" is a wee bit of a Seventies Rock bargain that has gone largely unnoticed. 

After the monster success of "Toys In The Attic" - Boston's Aerosmith would tear it up with their 4th platter "Rocks" in 1976 too - another winner that went as high as No. 3. But this is where their locker-room legend and guitar mayhem really started. It may be pushing 30-years old as a CD Remaster, but it's still a goody. Dude looks like a lady...winner...again...

PS: see also my reviews for "Toys In The Attic" and "Rocks"