"Ian Hunter" by IAN HUNTER [of Mott The Hoople] – March 1975 UK Debut Album on CBS Records (Columbia Records in the USA) featuring Mick Ronson, Geoff Appleby, Dennis Elliott and Pete Arneson (May 2005 UK Columbia 30th Anniversary Edition CD Reissue and Remaster with Six Bonus Tracks) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Once Bitten Twice Shy..."

In January 2021 - almost a whole year into Pandemic lockdown and nationwide minimalist misery - something odd happening on the budget CD reissue front. And it involved Ian Hunter and Mott The Hoople.

Crimson - which is a label subsidiary of England's Demon Music - issued "Gold" as a 3CD dirt cheap 50-Track round up of English rockers Mott The Hoople and Ian Hunter's solo output between 1972 and 1983. Retailing at under six quid and covering all points between Mott's 1972 "All The Young Dudes" LP (featuring David Bowie and Mick Ronson) and Hunter's last studio album for Columbia/CBS Records in 1983 "All The Good Ones Are Taken" - it was preposterously great value for money (released 8 January 2021). 

Using Demon's long-standing licensing arrangements with Sony Music – it also boasted their Remasters into the bargain. In fact as I recall, fans were amazed to see "Gold" do such business that at one time it was No. 1 on Amazon UK's reissue CD charts and has apparently made the real UK LP charts at No. 33 as a compilation – his first showing in decades. Hardly bloody surprising mind you, when you look down through the huge 50 tracks. 

So why do I mention this with regard to the 2005 "30th Anniversary Edition" CD reissue of his 1975 UK debut LP "Ian Hunter" with its paltry 14 songs? Because such is its popularity amongst fans, "Gold" boasts seven of its eight original tracks - only the LP version of "Boy" being missing. So why would you buy the 30th issue at all if you can nab seven of its eight and so much more? Fabulous remastered sound for one, six genuinely great Extras for another and far better colour annotation and liner notes - none of which is on the budget "Gold" set in its basic foldout card sleeve. And the 30th Anniversary Edition is also a smidge above six quid to buy – so reasonable too. Here are the Once Bitten Twice Shy details...

UK released 2 May 2005 - "Ian Hunter: 30th Anniversary Edition" by IAN HUNTER on Columbia 519 817 9 (Barcode 5099751981794) is an Expanded Edition CD Reissue and Remaster with Six Bonus Tracks that plays out as follows (58:42 minutes):

1. Once Bitten Twice Shy (4:44 minutes) [Side 1]

2. Who Do You Love (3:51 minutes)

3. Lounge Lizard (4:31 minutes)

4. Boy (8:55 minutes)

5. 3,000 Miles From Here (2:48 minutes) [Side 2]

6. The Truth, The Whole truth, Nuthin' But The Truth (6:14 minutes)

7. It Ain't Easy When You Fall/Shades Off (5:46 minutes)

8. I Get So Excited (3:50 minutes)

Tracks 1 to 8 are his debut solo album "Ian Hunter" - released 28 March 1975 in the UK on CBS Records S 80710 and April 1975 in the USA on Columbia PC 33480. Produced by IAN HUNTER and MICK RONSON - it peaked at No. 21 in the UK and No. 50 in the USA on the LP charts. 

BONUS TRACKS:

9. Colwater High (Session Outtake, 3:12 Minutes)

10. One Fine Day (Session Outtake, 2:22 Minutes)

11. Once Bitten Twice Shy (Single Version, 3:52 Minute Edit) – 4 April 1975 UK 45-single on CBS Records S CBS 3194, A-side

12. Who Do You Love (Single Version, 3:18 Minute Edit) - 25 July 1975 UK 45-single on CBS Records S CBS 3486, A-side

13. Shades Off (Poem) (1:37 Minutes)

14. Boy (Single Version, 3:42 Minute Edit) - B-side of Track 12 - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED on CD

The full-colour 16-page booklet is a jam-packed affair – concert tickets, foreign picture sleeves, tour badges, press reviews – and all of it washed done with hugely informative and well-written liner notes from CAMPBELL DEVINE (done in February 2005) that include comments from Hunter. Not surprisingly – the other huge factor in it all is the ace axeman MICK RONSON who is featured a lot. In fact when you play through the first three cuts on Side 1, Ronson is so on top form and so Seventies Rock 'n' Roll - it hurts - and you can 'so' hear why he was a choice to replace Mick Taylor in The Rolling Stones. Audio is care of first generation tapes Remastered by MASTERPIECE and again taking a track like "Lounge Lizard" – the guitars are kicking your doors down. This CD sounds fantastic. 

You get so used to the April 1975 45-single edit of "Once Bitten Twice Shy" at 3:52 minutes that the album's extra minute comes as almost an elongated shock. And as good as it is, I'd suggest that the single edit is the right one – the tight one. Either way, "Once Bitten Twice Shy" and its witty lyrics about naughty men on the road and that fantastic Bowie-esque dirty riffage make it such a winner. Hunter has been playing it ever since – brill – what a Ronson guitar solo too towards the end. 

"Who Do You Love" is a great second helping and it stills feel shocking that it didn't do as well as its predecessor 45-single when issued 25 July 1975 on CBS Records S CBS 3486 in Blighty with an edit of the near nine-minute "Boy" on its flipside. Speaking of which, the seven-inch single edit of "Boy" (here as a Bonus Track) has our hero swearing one minute with nothing to say the next – and again even though it loses nearly five-minutes plus from the LP cut – it works beautifully. Typical of Ian Hunter to pen a cool stand-and-deliver ballad about schizophrenia. 

Side 2 opens with the short but wide-open-spaces-beautiful "3,000 Miles From Here" – a bittersweet tale of a one-night stand lady who took his attention just a little too seriously – him ashamed and pining – sans phone number or even a name. Back to genius with a huge fan fave – the kick-ass Rock-rolling slow-march of "The Truth, The Whole Truth, Nuthin' But The Truth" – once again Ronson boot-boy stomping your speakers into submission with highly produced rawk guitar. Love that funky clavinet backdrop too. Big Ballad time comes in the piano-thump of "It Ain't Easy When You Fall/Shades Off" – its chorus feeling like some great Bowie mid-Seventies tune you’d forgotten and just stumbled on again. "Ian Hunter" ends on the speeding riffage of "I Get So Excited" – Ian hearing a thousand drums miles away – his childlike love of Rock and Roll Music still leaving him so inspired and raring to go. 

Both the session outtakes "Colwater High" and "One Fine Day" were uncovered in 2000 for the "Anthology" set where Hunter re-did new vocals. They sound huge and are more glam than damn – with "One Fine Day" rocking it like a monster – so great. The "Shades Off” track is a spoken poem – green fields travelling by – Hunter sounding like Bowie trying to work out life as he watches it pass by – its final moments featuring faded-in music from the album. 

The 30th Anniversary Edition of 1975's "Ian Hunter" is Dedicated to Mick Ronson (1943 to 1993) – and damn right. But what a combo they made - Ian Hunter's songwriting and voice vs. Ronson's down and dirty guitar. "Ian Hunter" as a CD Reissue sounds amazing, is well presented and those extras are actually worthy of the moniker 'Bonus Tracks'. 

Get your hands across that state line one more time people and un-peel this wee Seventies gem in all its snotty Rock 'n' Roll glory...

PS: There is also an IAN HUNTER 4CD Remasters Fat Jewel Case called "From The Knees Of My Heart: The Chrysalis Years 1978-1981" issued October 2012 in the UK on EMI/Chrysalis 5099923270121 (Barcode (5099923270121). It contains Four Albums Plus Bonuses - "You're Never Alone With A Schizophrenic" (April 1979, Studio LP), "Ian Hunter Live/Welcome To The Club" (April 1980 2LP Live Set), "Short Back N' Sides" (August 1981, Studio LP) and "Ian Hunter Rocks" (1983 Video-Only Set Released Here For The First Time On CD - September 1981 Recordings at the Dr. Pepper Festival in New York). Featured Musicians Included Mick Ronson, Mick Jones of The Clash and Max Weinberg of Bruce Springsteen's E-Street Band. 

That UK 4CD Fat Jewel Case Version was Reissued 22 February 2019 in EUROPE as "The Albums 1979-1981" with the same Artwork, Remasters and all Bonuses - but into a Clamshell Box Set with four Mini-LP repro card sleeves - catalogue number Chrysalis CRB1074 (Barcode 5060516091256). See my separate review...

"Cold Fact" by RODRIGUEZ [Sixto] – March 1970 US Debut LP on Sussex Records Featuring Dennis Coffey, Mike Theodor, Bob Babbitt and Andrew Smith (August 2008 US Light in The Attic Records CD Reissue and Remaster In A Card Digipak With Large Booklet – Itself Reissued August 2019 in the UK on Universal/Sussex – Using The Light in The Attic Records 2008 Remaster but in a Jewel Case with Reduced Booklet) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…Searching For Sugar Man…"

Sometimes in a lifetime of scouring through racks for musical thrills - you stumble on something just a little bit special that it seems no one has noticed (including myself). 

Back in the Nineties when I was upstairs in the grotty and cramped Cheapo Cheapo Records of London's Rupert Street on one of my twice-weekly forages - Vincent (who worked that floor) would stand behind his tiny counter space and smile, because he knew I always spent money and would take chances.

So there I am - flicking through manky reused plastics - once again raiding the soundtrack section to add to my 40 or so John Barry vinyl albums. And if the mood took me (and it always did) - I'd then move over and mosey through the nearby Easy Listening Section where Phil Cording (the cantankerous old geezer who owned the place and worked downstairs) would lump all sorts - Labi Siffre, Nick Jameson (of Foghat) and (usually American copies) Rodriguez. 

I'd see the sleeve of what Phil clearly thought was some Jose Feliciano lookalike and think naught of it. "Cold Fact" would in fact sit there for months on end at £2.50 - and no one but no one - would pay any attention to it all (even the Soul Boys who would be scouring the basement area for Kent compilations on Ace Records). 

But then years later came the American reissue label Light in The Attic Records quickly followed by the sensational 2012 movie "Searching For Sugar Man" (see separate review for the BLU RAY) and Rodriguez LPs stopped being sold for £2.50 'real fast'...

Back in the 2000's "Light In The Attic" was a relatively unknown reissue label in the mainstream - but their quality was on par with Bear Family of Germany and Ace Records of the UK - names that speak volumes to collectors all over the world. And while the two reissued albums raised eyebrows with their musical quality and sumptuous presentations (for a relative unknown) - the film busted the music open like a floodgate.

Sixto's debut American album "Cold Fact" was released March 1970 on Sussex SXBS 7000; followed the next year by "Coming From Reality" in November 1971 on Sussex SXBS 7012 – effectively his last studio effort. But despite their musical quality - few noticed locally. Legend in fact has it that "Coming From Reality" sold less than 20 copies. Then our American Reissue heroes step in - "Cold Fact" released on Light in The Attic LITA 036 (Barcode 826853003629) in August 2008 while "Coming From Reality" followed in May 2009 on LITA 038 (Barcode 826853003827). Light In The Attic also issued VINYL variants too. Fans of Rodriguez and the film "Searching For Sugar Man" have been purchasing those American releases ever since. 

Cut to summer of 2019. What you have here is a reissue of a reissue – Universal UK (or UM abbreviated) finally giving both of his Sussex albums CD and Vinyl Reissues in August 2019. To the cold facts...

UK released Friday, 30 August 2019 - "Cold Fact" by RODRIGUEZ on Universal/Sussex 00602577896255 (Barcode 602577896255) is a straightforward CD Reissue and Remaster (based on the August 2008 Light in The Attic Records Remaster) that plays out as follows (30:26 minutes): 

1. Sugar Man [Side 1]

2. Only Good For Conversation

3. Crucify Your Mind

4. This Is Not A Song, It's An Outburst: Or, The Establishment Blues

5. Hate Street Dialogue

6. Forget It

7. Inner City Blues [Side 2]

8. I Wonder

9. Like Janis

10. Gommorah (A Nursery Rhyme)

11. Rich Folks Hoax

12. Jane S. Piddy

Tracks 1 to 12 are his debut album "Cold Fact" – released March 1970 in the USA on Sussex Records Sussex SXBS 7000. Produced by DENNIS COFFEY and MIKE THEODORE – it didn’t chart (no UK release either). 

Musicians were:

SIXTO RODRIGUEZ – Lead Vocals and Acoustic Guitar 

DENNIS COFFEY – Electric Guitar 

MIKE THEODORE – Keyboards and Brass/String Arrangements 

BOB BABBITT – Bass

ANDREW SMITH – Drums 

BOB PANGBORN – Percussion 

Guests – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra Conducted by Gordon Staples 

The 12-page booklet of the 2019 reissue offers all the lyrics and basic reissue credits – the Remaster used is the 2008 LITA version. For sure there is hiss evident on many of these 1969 recordings, but the clarity and air around them is wonderfully evocative. This is real music played with real heart and I for one think that in this case, warmth is better than Audiophile. It's delicate Folk-Soul Music and it needed a deft touch - LITA and Universal have done that. 

Sixto Diaz Rodriguez (pronounced Sees-Toe) was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1942 to recently emigrated Mexican parents. From the early to late Sixties - Motown had put the Motor City on the musical map - so emerging singer-songwriters cut their teeth in bars and cafes, soaked up the campus and street politics and hoped to get noticed. After an early 7" single in 1967 on Impact that folded without trace - enter Producer Dennis Coffey and Sussex Records (home of Bill Withers). 

Opening with acoustic chords and clever Mike Theodore keyboard jabs - "Sugar Man" talks of "silver magic ships" bringing "colours to my dreams..." and as his voice fades out in a deathly echo - the drug references are no longer cool. It then goes all Psych Rock in the fuzzed-up "Only Good For Conversation" (doesn't really suit him) but things so stratospheric for me in the gorgeous "Crucify Your Mind" - a track I'm always playing. It has a brill melody - clever vibes after each set of lines and a fabulous brass backing that makes it feel like Jose Feliciano doing Soul.

"The Establishment Blues" struck a chord with kids in South Africa because of its lyrics - words like "I opened the window to listen to the news...but all I heard was the Establishment Blues..." The same applied to the superb Side 2 opener "Inner City Blues" where Rodriguez echoed their young yet restricted existence - "papa don't allow no new ideas around here..." The bass and guitars are harshly separated on "I Wonder" but it doesn't stop it from a being a great song - and when the organ kicks in as he sings, "I wonder does hatred ever end..." - it sounds like "Blonde On Blonde" Dylan - Sixto making social comments that are astute and matter. 

"Like Janis" feels like Dylan circa "New Morning" where he sings, "I know you're lonely..." Both it and "Gommorah" are very hissy - but the tunes feature slick guitar playing and "Gomorrah" some ill-advised kiddies singing. The albums other great song "Rich Folks Hoax" slams greed in all kinds of high places - "the priest is preaching from a shallow grave..." and some music industry type "don't tell me your recipes for my happiness..." It ends on the attacking "Jane P. Diddy" where he accuses someone of being "pimp and paint" - nice. And the "Coming From Reality" album that followed "Cold Fact" in November 1971 is even better in my opinion – see separate review. 

"Cold Fact" was a forgotten classic, now no longer forgotten because people cared enough to see it resurrected. Nice to know that minor miracles such as this can still actually happen in the real world as well as on the silver screen...

PS: this review is dedicated to Phil Cording and his Staff at Cheapo Cheapo Records in London’s Rupert Street - Vincent and Jack. ‘Uncle’ Phil sadly passed away a few years back...RIP and thanks for all the records...

PPS: 30 August 2019 also saw a VINYL LP Reissue of "Cold Fact" on Universal/Sussex 00602577077371 (Barcode 602577077371)

"Coming From Reality" by RODRIGUEZ [Sixto] - November 1971 US Second LP on Sussex Records featuring Producer Steve Rowland, Keyboardist Phil Dennys and Bassist Gary Taylor - All Of The Family Dogg - With Andrew Steele of The Herd and Stealers Wheel and Guitarist Chris Spedding (August 2019 UK Universal/Sussex 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue and Remaster - Based On The May 2009 Light in The Attic Records Reissue) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...I Think Of You..."

From the early to late Sixties, Motown’s R&B and Soul had put the Motor City of Detroit on the musical map big time. Emerging singer-songwriters flocked there and cut their teeth in bars and cafes, soaked up the campus and street politics and hoped to get noticed or even a record-deal. Amongst these hopefuls was Folk-Soul hero Sixto Rodriguez (pronounced Sees Toe) - born in Detroit, Michigan in 1942 to recently emigrated Mexican parents. 

The career resurrection miracle of Rodriguez and his two forgotten American albums – the debut "Cold Fact" from March 1970 on Sussex SXBS 7000 followed the next year by "Coming From Reality" in November 1971 on Sussex SXBS 7012 – are the subject of the fabulous movie/documentary "Searching For Sugar Man" – a project that has received more universal positive reviews than you can shake a stick at (see separate review). Here we want to concentrate on the music – specifically that second album and some tracks from an aborted third. To the details...

UK released 30 August 2019 - "Coming From Reality" by RODRIGUEZ on Universal/Sussex 00602577896354 (Barcode 602577896354) is a CD Reissue and Remaster with Three Bonus Tracks (originally done by Light In The Attic Records of the USA in 'Expanded Edition' form in May 2009) that plays out as follows (50:15 minutes): 

1. Climb Up On My Music [Side 1]

2. A Most Disgusting Song 

3. I Think Of You 

4. Heikki's Suburbia Bus Tour 

5. Silver Words 

6. Sandrevan Lullaby - Lifestyles [Side 2]

7. To Whom It May Concern 

8. It Started Out So Nice 

9. Halfway Up The Stairs 

10. Cause 

Tracks 1 to 10 are his second and last studio album of the period "Coming From Reality" – released November 1971 in the USA on Sussex Records SXBS-7012 and December 1971 in the UK on A&M Records AMLS 68073 – both in a die-cut gatefold sleeve. Produced by STEVE ROWLAND and recorded at Lansdowne Studios in London – it didn't chart in either country. 

BONUS TRACKS: 

11. Can't Get Away 

12. Street Boy 

13. I'll Slip Away 

MUSICIANS were:

SIXTO RODRIGUEZ – Lead Vocals and Acoustic Guitar 

CHRIS SPEDDING – Lead Electric Guitar 

PHIL DENNYS – Keyboards 

GARY TAYLOR – Bass

ANDREW STEELE – Drums 

JIMMY HOROWITZ – Violin on "Sandrevan Lullaby -Lifestyles"

Strings and Additional Musicians - Unknown

NOTE: Producer Steve Rowland, Keyboardist Phil Dennys and Bassist Gary Taylor were all in a band called The Family Dogg. Andrew Steele had been with The Herd and would join Stealers Wheel. 

What you have here is technically a reissue of a reissue. One of America's finest reissue labels 'Light In The Attic' Records championed the two Rodriguez albums by releasing them back in August 2008 and May 2009 – both CDs coming in lavish digipak book packaging. "Cold Fact" was Light in The Attic LITA 036 (Barcode 826853003629) while "Coming From Reality" was on LITA 038 (Barcode 826853003827). Light In The Attic also issued VINYL variants too. Fans of Rodriguez and the film "Searching For Sugar Man" have been purchasing those American releases ever since. 

But after years of clambering, Universal Music (or UM as its often abbreviated to) licensed those reissues and on 30 August 2019, we finally got British reissues housed this time in a jewel case and pitched at mid-price with a 16-page lyric booklet but minus the liner notes. There is also an August 2019 UK VINYL LP variant for "Coming From Reality" on Universal/Sussex 00602577077388 (Barcode 602577077388). The liner notes advise that the same 2009 LITA Remaster is used and it features the same three Bonus Tracks from his aborted third album "Can't Get Away" - a trio that shows just how well his songwriting had progressed. To the music...

The extraordinarily strong cut "To Whom It Concerns" b/w the equally impressive "I Think Of You" was issued as a lone Stateside 45-single in June 1972 on Sussex SUX 234 and promptly got lost in a sea of seven-inch singles. What's worse is that despite a British recorded and pressed LP by A&M Records – the Blighty side of A&M didn't give the LP a 45-single push at all - which seems odd given the strength of both those sides. The LP was at least issued in other territories during 1972 (Rhodesia, Australia and as far away as Japan) - hardly surprising given the huge popularity of "Cold Fact" in South Africa where Rodriguez became a superstar. The English LP even sported the same die-cut image gatefold sleeve that the US Sussex Records had – but no one seemed to notice. 

It opens with "Climb Up On My Music" where Sixto urges the listener to dive into his melodies and avoid calamities such as Christmas, Midnight and swans that turn into geese. Strummed acoustic guitars and his nasal voice feel like a Jose Feliciano album that's buzzing - electric guitar flicking notes out of your left speaker. Immediately I feel that "Coming From Reality" the album is a huge progression musically over the (admittedly) much more popular debut "Cold Fact". But better comes in "A Most Disgusting Song" - one they used to real effect in the movie. A stream-of-consciousness set of lyrics spoken-word and float out of your speakers like Dylan getting all Soulful. Odd bod characters like Jimmy "Bad Luck" Butts, Mr. Flood, Tiny Tim and Uncle Tom smooze around a party where everyone is drinking detergents that cannot (alas) remove the hurt. 

But then genuine magic slinks out of your speakers in the form of the utterly gorgeous "I Think Of You" - an acoustic ballad akin to Labi Siffre or Gilbert O'Sullivan in his better moments - lovely string arrangements lifting up the lyrics about love melting like snowflakes in the sun (with thoughts of you). Surely this would have been maybe a Duncan Browne "Journey" moment in 1972 for him – but A&M definitely missed a trick there. We rock-out with the guitar-riffage of the excellent "Heikki's Suburbia Bus Tour" – a sort of angry Bill Withers vibe where picture-taking tourists rub shoulders with itchy trigger-finger natives in someone else's war. Side 1 ends with another acoustic ballad – the short but of so sweet "Silver Words?" – cello notes floating over lyrics about a woman he likes (and it's not just because he's smoking something other than Gauloises). 

There is a fair amount of hiss at the start of "Sandrevan Lullaby – Lifestyles" that opens Side 2 with a gorgeous 'Musical Theme'. I'm reminded of Clifford T. Ward string quartet sadness or Al Stewart getting historical as Rodriguez goes into a fabulous set of lyrics. Judges with meter maid hearts order supermarket justice starts – night rains stabbing at his window – clouds that pierce the illusion...very cool stuff and again beautifully layered string arrangements. You can hear why Sussex tried the easy-on-the-ear jaunt in "To Whom It May Concern" as the A-side of a single, but for me it's one of the occasions on the album where the strings feel intrusive and not helpful. "Concern..." is good, but had they lead with "I Think Of You" – things might have been so different. 

The home run features another Spanish Acoustic strum - "It Started Out So Nice" – a long string of poetic images that play out a failed union - where even the ocean laughed. An electric keyboard run opens "Halfway Up The Stairs" – a very bop-moment on an otherwise mellow LP. Far better is the epic "Cause" – our man talking to Jesus at the sewer as the Pope assures Sixto that it's none of the deity's Goddamn business. There is very apparent hiss again, but it doesn't take away too much from your enjoyment as he wallops you with lyrics like "...I make sixteen solid half-hour friendships every evening..." or "...they told me everybody's got to pay their dues...and I explained that I had overpaid them..." What an end to a great album – epic strings and strummed acoustic guitar making him sound like a South American Bob Dylan hitting a sweet spot. 

Of the three Bonus cuts, "Street Boy" has Sixto sounding like Nick Drake with a Tabla backing band – but the gem is "I'll Slip Away" – as good as a melody as anything on the two albums that preceded it. A nice touch is that UM have printed the lyrics to the three extras too in the final pages of the booklet. 

Thank God someone rescued this music and his albums – Sugar Man finally home and happy – his silver magic ships back in our lives. "...I won't be down anymore" - Rodriguez sang in "Sandrevan Lullaby - Lifestyles". Amen brother... 

PS: 30 August 2019 has also seen "Cold Fact" reissued in the UK on both CD and LP - Universal/Sussex 00602577896255 (Barcode 602577896255) for the CD and Universal/Sussex 00602577077371 (Barcode 602577077371) for the "Cold Fact" LP.

MICHAEL CHAPMAN - "The Decca Years 1974 To 1977" – Featuring Three Albums on Decca/Deram/Gama Records -"Deal Gone Down" (June 1974), "Savage Amusement" (June 1976), "The Man Who Hated Mornings" (November 1977) PLUS 21 Bonus Tracks, 10 of Which Are Previously Unissued. Guests include Bridget St. John, Andy Latimer of Camel, Keef Hartley of Dog Soldier and The Keef Hartley Band, B.J. Cole of Cochise, Maddy Prior, Rick Kemp and Nigel Pegrum of Steeleye Span, Mick Ronson of Spiders From Mars and David Bowie’s Band, Rod Clements of Lindisfarne, Pete Wingfield of Jellybread, Prelude, Tim Renwick and Peter Wood of Quiver with Leo Le Blanc of The California Poppy Pickers (January 2021 UK Mooncrest/Secret Records 3CD Compilation of Remasters In A Gatefold Card Sleeve) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Journeyman..."

Fans of Folk-Rocker Michael Chapman have been here before. 

In June 2004, the 3-Disc Clamshell Box Set "Dogs Got More Sense: The Decca Years 1974-1977" on Shakedown/Secret Records SHAKEBX124Z (Barcode 828291312431) issued the three albums featured on this January 2021 compilation along with 11 Outtakes and Demos and a 55-minute Interview DVD. 2021's "The Decca Years 1974 To 1977" retains all three of those albums in their entirety and the 11 outtakes/demos - only this time adds on a further 10 Previously Unreleased Bonus Audio Tracks but loses the visual DVD. 

Housed in a very tasty three-way foldout card sleeve pack, it has album picture sleeve die-cut holding pouches for each CD n the inside (see photos) but more importantly it boasts a substantially increased 28-page booklet when the previous box had maybe 5 or 6 skimpy pages as I remember. 

Audio-wise - although it doesn't say anywhere who has mastered what and from what - this Mooncrest Reissue credits 'Secret Records' in its title, so it can be safely presumed that those 2004 Remasters are being re-used here. It sounds spiffing – full and lovely and all those Acoustic-Rock moments shining. Also, as I'm sure both fans and the Folk-Rock curious will have noticed, this 3CD 50-Track bundle is presently less than eleven quid on most websites 'brand new'. 

The guest list across the three LPs is mightily impressive too - Dandelion Records Folk singer Bridget St. John, Guitarist and main-man for Camel, Andy Latimer, Drummer Keef Hartley of Dog Soldier and The Keef Hartley Band, Singer Maddy Prior, Bassist Rick Kemp and Drummer Nigel Pegrum of Steeleye Span, backing vocals from "After The Gold Rush" Prelude, ace axeman Mick Ronson of The Spiders From Mars and David Bowie's Band, folky Rod Clements of Lindisfarne, John McBurnie of Jackson Heights, Guitarist and Keyboardist Tim Renwick and Peter Wood of Quiver with Pedal Steel players B.J. Cole of Cochise and Leo Le Blanc of The California Poppy Pickers. They even have Pete Wingfield of Jellybread and "Eighteen With A Bullet" fame on Keyboards for the 1977 outing "The Man Who Hated Mornings" – an LP that boasted Mick Ronson, Andy Latimer and Michael Chapman all swinging electric guitars while BJ Cole pedalled his steel and Keef Hartley bashed his kit. That's an awful lot on offer for a small price. But what's it like? To the down deal details...

UK released 29 January 2021 - "The Decca Years 1974 To 1977" by MICHAEL CHAPMAN on Mooncrest/Secret Records CRESTBX109 (Barcode 5036436126224) offers 3 Albums Remastered across 3CDs (50-tracks in total) and plays out as follows:

CD1 "Deal Gone Down" (61:25 minutes):

1. The Rock 'n' Roll Jigley [Side 1]

2. Party Pieces 

3. Another Season Song 

4. Stranger Passing By 

5. Used To Be 

6. Deal Gone Down [Side 2]

7. The Banjo Song 

8. Theme From The Movie Of The Same Name 

9. Goodbye Sunny Sky 

10. Journeyman 

Tracks 1 to 10 are his sixth studio album "Deal Gone Down" – released June 1974 in the UK on Deram/Gama SML 1114 – Produced by MICHAEL CHAPMAN  – didn’t chart. Guests include Maddy Prior (Backing Vocals), Rick Kemp (on Bass) and Nigel Pegrum (on Drums) of Steeleye Span with Bridget St. John and Prelude also on Backing Vocals

CD1 BONUS TRACKS:

11. Dumplings (Instrumental from the "Deal Gone Down" sessions, B-side to the "The Banjo Song" Single)

12. Stranger Passing By (Demo) 

13. Theme From The Movie Of The Same Name (Demo)

14. Goodbye Sunny Sky (Demo)

15. Untitled Rag (Demo)

16. Journeyman (Demo)

17. Another Session Song (Demo, Previously Unissued)

18. Deal Gone Down (Demo, Previously Unissued)

19. Party Pieces (Demo, Previously Unissued)

20. Used To Be (Demo, Previously Unissued)

CD2: "Savage Amusement" (60:05 minutes):

1. Shuffleboat River Farewell [Side 1]

2. Secret Of The Locks 

3. Crocky Hill Disaster 

4. Lovin' Dove 

5. Hobo's Lament 

6. Stranger [Side 2]

7. How Can A Poor Man 

8. It Didn't Work Out 

9. Devastation Hotel

Tracks 1 to 9 are his seventh studio album (eight overall) "Savage Amusement" – released June 1976 in the UK on Decca/Gama SKL-R 5242 – Produced by DON NIX – it didn’t chart. Andy Latimer and Ray Fenwick guest on Guitars, Peter Wood on Keyboards, Leo Le Blanc on Pedal Steel Guitar with Rick Kemp on Bass and Keef Hartley on Drums

CD2 BONUS TRACKS:

10. Lovin' Dove (Demo)

11. Just To Keep You (Demo)

12. Devastation Hotel & Crocky Hill Disaster Idea (Demo)

13. Waiting For A Train (All Around The Water Tank) (Demo)

14. Devastation Hotel (Demo, Previously Unissued)

15. Hobo's Lament (Demo, Previously Unissued)

16. Lost Ragtime Piece (Demo, Previously Unissued)

17. Lovin' Dove (Demo, Previously Unissued) 

CD3: "The Man Who Hated Mornings" (49:36 minutes):

1. Northern Lights [Side 1]

2. I'm Sober Now 

3. The Man Who Hated Mornings 

4. Ballad In Plain D

5. Steel Bonnets 

6. Dogs Got More Sense [Side 2]

7. Falling Apart 

8. While Dancing The Pride Of Erin 

9. Dreams Are Dangerous Things 

10. Why Do You Bob Your Hair Girls?

Tracks 1 to 10 are his eight studio-album (ninth overall) "The Man Who Hated Mornings" – released November 1977 in the UK on Decca/Gama SKL-R 5290 – Produced by MAX HOLE and MICHAEL CHAPMAN – it didn't chart. Guests include Rod Clements of Lindisfarne on Bass with Keef Hartley on Drums. 

CD3 BONUS TRACKS:

11. Dogs Got More Sense (Bonus Track, Early Version Recorded For Proposed Single)

12. Expressway In The Rain (Demo, Previously Unissued – from the Millstone Grit Sessions)

13. Steel Bonnets (Instrumental)

The 28-page booklet features new liner notes from MARC HIGGINS with further recollections of making "The Man Who Hated Mornings" by ANDRU CHAPMAN (both October 2020) with all the albums credits following. I picked up my copy of this 3CD set for a ten spot and you have to say that even though "The Decca Years..." isn't all classic - I've seen reissues with a quarter of the care taken here being charged at four times the price. To the tunes...

Highlights on "Deal Gone Down" include the near five minutes of "Party Pieces" - Acoustic Folk Rock where our Mike a little too drunk for wear. His lady is far away in "Another Season Song" - a very pretty Bryn Haworth type ballad with lovely Production values. Acoustic simplicity fills "Stranger Passing By" - a gorgeous tune aching with pathos. But the short instrumentals "The Rock 'n' Roll Jigley" and "Theme From The Movie..." alongside the fay jubilance of "Used To Be" let the side down badly, reducing "Deal... " to an ok LP overall and not a lot else. 

Album number two features the excellent Richard Thompson lilt of "Secret Of The Locks" – a vehicle for some tasty electric guitar. Things continue to improve with "Crocky Hill Disaster" but the Pedal Steel and mock vocals of "Hobo's Lament" give the Jimmie Rogers cover a cheesy feel rather than being a homage. One of the album's great moments is seven and half minutes of "Stranger" - the Keyboard passages of Peter Wood giving the song an epic Roy Harper Prog Folk feel. Last time most folks heard the Blind Alfred Read money-lament "How Can A Poor Man" it was on Ry Cooder's debut LP way back in 1970 – unfortunately Chapman does it no favours. Things chug-Rock ala Clapton with "It Didn't Work Out" even if the heavy on the backing vocals almost drowns any chance of a tune you could actually like. The LP ends well on "Devastation Hotel" – all hope abandoned on this 5:12 minute finisher. 

Album number three is for me the best of the bunch – opening so strongly with 7:23 minutes of "Northern Lights" – his great backing band providing real substance. Chapman goes at the first of two covers – the Danny O'Keefe boozer lament "I'm Sober Now" and Bob Dylan's "Ballad In Plain D" – both expertly produced and full in your speakers. The man who hated mornings faces the nighttime with a smile, Chapman sings on the title track. But I actually prefer the stunning doubled-up guitars of "Steel Bonnets" – a really cool instrumental that ends Side 1. He bops with "Dogs Have More Sense" – illusions weighing him down – then goes EC "Slowhand" commercial with the jaunty Acoustic Rock of "Falling Apart". Have to say that the last three may have felt good in 1977, but in 2021 have a dreadfully dated and even hammy feel. 

Of the outtakes and demos, there is a more rocking version of "Dogs Got More Sense” that almost apes Bowie having a riffage day - while the exact opposite is true of "Stranger Passing By" with just a lonesome Vocal and Guitar – a stripped-back almost Nick Drake moment. The Acoustic Folk-Blues of "Waiting For A Train" is nice too but the recording feels very demo and I'm afraid I felt the same of much of the rest – interesting but never rising much above that. 

There is a lot to like here, but I also felt that the splurge of ordinary demos while appearing to be generous actually bring down the steady quality of the LPs. Still, with the decent audio, huge amount of rare material and superb annotation – "The Decca Years..." is still a great buy and a way to explore Chapman's world-weary whine without breaking the bank...

"Late For The Sky" by JACKSON BROWNE - September 1974 US Third Studio Album (December 1974 in the UK) on Asylum Records – Band Featuring David Lindley, Doug Haywood, Jai Winding and Larry Zack with Guests Don Henley, J.D. Souther, Dan Fogelberg, Terry Reid, Joyce Everson, Beth Fitchet and Perry Lindley on Harmony Vocals and String Arrangements by David Campbell (June 2014 US Asylum/Rhino/Inside Recordings 40th Anniversary CD Reissue and Remaster In Upgraded Environmentally-Friendly Gatefold Card Sleeve Packaging) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Good To See Your Smiling Face Tonight... "

I tried for years to actually love Jackson Browne's first two American studio efforts - January 1972's debut "Jackson Browne" (aka "Saturate Before Using" as it appears on the front cover artwork) and October 1973's second LP "For Everyman" – both on Asylum Records in the USA and UK. They had their moments for sure, but I admired them and not a lot else. All that changed with studio album number three – the mighty and deeply moving "Late For The Sky" issued September 1974 in America and December 1974 in Blighty. 

I loved this record, cried to it, felt uplifted by it and have held a blubber candle for its musical and lyrical brilliance for closing on 50 bloody years now. For sure it is mopey and whiney and misery-indulgent and the lack of lyrics annoyed immensely at the time too (that is fixed here). But I adore the damn thing and will forever feel a tingle of giddiness every time I gaze on its 'Empire Of Light' homage artwork – and I doubt there is a JB fan out there that feels any different. 

But its journey to digital has been fraught with complaints of over-amplification – a ramped-up uber-trebling of a recording that was a teeny-weeny bit muffled and underwhelming in the first place (made matters worse). The most common remaster is the January 2003 version with a silver sticker on the jewel case – preceded by the lesser-seen US DCC Compact Classics Audiophile CD from 1993 (GZS-1036) - long deleted and extortionately expensive ever since.

But now, Browne has wrestled back some of his back catalogue and his 'Inside Recordings Label' (via Rhino) has had another go in June 2014, just in time for the album's '40th Anniversary' celebrations. And it's a quietly beautiful thing – lovely, lovely, lovely – not perfection for sure – but as open and as breathy as we are ever likely to get. You guessed it – I blubbed again. To the Fountain of Sorrow details...

US released 24 June 2014 - "Late For The Sky" by JACKSON BROWNE on Rhino/Asylum/Inside Recordings INR 04191 (Barcode 696751041913) offers his Third Studio Album from 1974 Reissued and Newly Remastered on a '40th Anniversary' Reissue CD in an environmentally-friendly card gatefold sleeve that plays out as follows (41:28 minutes): 

1. Late For The Sky [Side 1]

2. Fountain Of Sorrow

3. Farther On

4. The Late Show

5. The Road And The Sky [Side 2]

6. For A Dancer 

7. Walking Slow 

8. Before The Deluge 

Tracks 1 to 8 are his third studio album "Late For The Sky" – released September 1974 in the USA on Asylum 7E-1017 and December 1974 in the UK on Asylum SYL 9018. All songs written by JB - Produced by JACKSON BROWNE and AL SCHMITT – it peaked at No. 14 in the US LP charts (didn’t chart UK). 

MUSCIANS were: 

JACKSON BROWNE – Lead Vocals, Piano, Acoustic Guitar and Slide Guitar on "The Road And The Sky"

DAVID LINDLEY - Electric Guitar, Slide Guitar and Fiddle

JAI WINDING – Piano And Organ

DOUG HAYWOOD – Bass And Harmony Vocals

LARRY ZACK – Drums And Percussion 

Guests:

Don Henley, J.D. Souther, Dan Fogelberg, Terry Reid, Joyce Everson, Beth Fitchet and Perry Lindley on Harmony Vocals

David Campbell – String Arrangements on "The Late Show"

Originally Mastered by Mike Reese at The Mastering Lab, Hollywood, CA – for this 2014 Edition DOUG SAX, ROBERT HADLEY and ERIC BOULANGER have returned to The Mastering Lab, Ojai in California and dusted off the Asylum tapes once again. How would you describe the Remaster – not flashy – not overly done – just amazingly 'there'. Yes, there is the faintest trace of audio hiss (faint), but I would maintain that it actually gives this 2014 rendition a naturality that the others didn't have. And the bass and drums just feel right all of a sudden rather than that previous huddled-together blur 'n muffle. So once I was done with the epic "Before The Deluge" - I wanted to play this CD again – the best compliment surely you can pay any Remaster. To the music...

When that lonely and plaintive slide guitar wafts in on "Late For The Sky" - you hear the piano and that lingering organ in the background as he sings "...trying to understand how our lives had lead us there..." But the wallop that greets you for "Fountain Of Sorrow" will have many old-timers well up - those so-subtle harmony vocals from his pals as he sings "...there was just a taste of sorrow in your eyes..." or "...your perfect lover looks just like a perfect fool..." The Bass is sweet too. His trademark weeping slide guitar begins "Farther On" - in my early years - my dreams like nets were thrown - to catch the love I had heard of. Speaking of looking for beauty in songs, Side 2's "For A Dancer" is one of his all-time masterpieces - a stunning melody married with lyrics that floor you. The previous master had the vocal all echoed and over-egged, killing the beauty - here its calmed down and as it should be. And on it goes to the Violin and Piano epic that is "Before The Deluge" - a song I believe Martin Scorsese once placed in a movie. 

They could have put the actual CD in a protective bag - there could have been maybe an outtake - there could have been new liner notes from the man himself - I know there are niggles. But as it is, this 2014 US version on Inside Recordings is the best I've heard the "Late For The Sky" album. I'd love to hear Jackson Browne's "The Pretender" done this way and many I know would lose it for door number two - "For Everyman" - given such a tasty dust-up.   

"Don't know why I'm happy...I got no reason to feel this good..." - Browne sang on "Walking Slow". Well, now we have...

PS: There is also a UK VINYL LP version for this 40th Anniversary Reissue which was released 2017 on Asylum 081227959074 (No Barcode) and January 2018 in the USA on Rhino/Asylum RR1 1017 (Barcode 8122795907)