"On Track...LED ZEPPELIN Every Album, Every Song" by STEVE PILKINGTON - A Review of the 2021 Sonicbond Publishing Paperback Book by Mark Barry...

LED ZEPPELIN – "On Track - Every Album, Every Song"

(A Review of the 2021 Book by STEVE PILKINGTON)

 

****

There will be fans that will look at the release date for Zep's debut album on Page 13 as January 1968 for the USA and March 1968 for the UK - and wince.

 

They'll instinctively know it should read January and March 1969 (it was recorded between September and October 1968). But it's an easy mistake to make and don't for a moment let that put you off this rather brill little book.

 

I suppose the world needs another Led Zeppelin splurge like it needs another Covid-19 variant, but I enjoyed this read a huge amount and as one of those old buggers who was actually there when they hammered those Gods so to speak - there is a lot I didn't know discussed within.

 

And it was a blast to return to deep album cuts like "What Is And What Should Never Be", "Gallow's Pole", "When The Levee Breaks", "No Quarter" and "Ten Years Gone" and find mentions of Robert Plant's scat-vocals, Memphis Minnie as the real writer, John Paul Jones and his keyboard contributions and Jimmy Page building up the various guitar parts for the stunning Side 3 closer of "Ten Years Gone" on "Graffiti". And there are even 16 photo pages that show most of the important artwork (inner sleeves, inspirations and so on) alongside period live photos. They miss a few things like the beautiful inner sleeves of "Graffiti" and the five other angle cover sleeves labelled A to F on the spines of "In Through The Out Door" and so on (I think it’s the 'D' angle photo that is now the default cover for all issues – a side shot of the man sat on the chair at the bar burning a piece of paper). But there's enough to be getting on with... 

 

UK-released by Sonicbond Publishing in October 2021 (December 2021 for the USA) - with "On Track... LED ZEPPELIN - Every Album, Every Song" - author and uber-fan STEVE PILKINGTON gives us 160 A5 paperback pages of properly in-depth 'track-by 'track' analysis (priced at £14.99 but available for about ten or eleven).

 

You get their issued studio and live catalogue from "Led Zeppelin" and "Led Zeppelin II" (both in 1969) through to 1979's final studio effort "In Through The Out Door" and onward to the 1982 ragbag "Coda" mop-up compilation. But it also smartly takes in posthumous compilations like "BBC Sessions" from November 1997, the 3CD live set "How The West Was Won" from May 2003, the "Led Zeppelin" DVD also from May 2003 and finally the reunion 2-disc set "Celebration Day" from November 2012. The last few pages are two Appendix lists of the Author's fave tracks and Concert Milestones (Denmark in 1968 to Berlin in 1980) followed by some adverts for other books in the series.

 

Pilkington smartly precedes his song-by-song analysis with lay-of-the-land paragraphs on the circumstances surrounding each album and they really do set up the read. Stuff like the ridiculous debacle over the "Houses Of The Holy" artwork that delayed the album's release by nearly 8-months amazes (painted naked kids climbing up the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland to some sun god was not everyone's idea of saintly genius even in 1972). Insights also like the original 'Racket' Hipgnosis artwork (hideous idea about a tennis court) being rejected for "Houses" album and the Obi band-name that had to be put on sleeves or US retailers wouldn't (quite rightly) stock an LP with naked children on it (albeit in a very covered up way). Those wrapped paper OBI's had to be broken open (like a present), so March 1973 UK copies of the LP on Atlantic K 50014 with the titled Obi still relatively intact are incredibly hard to find (like "4", there isn't actually a title or band name on the outer artwork at all). There's the St. Mark's Place building in New York that formed the 'window sleeve' basis for February 1975's "Physical Graffiti" with its fourth floor that had to be edited out of the photo to make the wording fit. He even has the drawing that inspired the 'object' on the largely crap "Presence" LP from 1976 - another Hipgnosis artwork disaster too far in my book.

 

Pilkington includes the only non-LP B-side they ever released on a 45-single during their run - "Hey Hey, What Can I Do" (on the flip of the US release for "Immigrant Song") at the end of the "Zeppelin III" sessions when it was recorded. It appeared on the 1972 Atlantic Records sampler LP "The New Age Of Atlantic" (which was a single LP and not a double as he says). There's lovely stuff on Sandy Denny's gorgeous duet-vocal contribution to "The Battle Of Evermore" on November 1971's "IV" when she was in-between Fairport Convention and Fotheringay and how it didn't appear in Zeppelin live sets until 1977 with John Paul Jones sometimes taking her vocal part. Pilkington quite rightly rubbishes the all-time low of "Coda" - an embarrassment of posthumous album of career outtakes that also featured their most boring Hipgnosis artwork ever.

 

Speaking of outtakes and peripherals - when reissued as a 3CD set in the 'Deluxe Edition' series, "Coda" was massively expanded and made a ton more acceptable and it really might have been better if this book went at all those outtakes too - but it doesn't. In fairness to him, he isolates the important ones, so you do get stragglers like "Baby Come On Home" from the debut LP sessions that first officially appeared on the 1993 posthumous release "Box Set 2" - and "La La", an outtake from the famous October 1969 second album that finally turned up as a Bonus Track on the 2CD Deluxe Edition of "II". But there are others missing.

 

So, not perfect really by any means (4 out of 5 stars), but Pilkington's writing is really good, his knowledge gives you fan-obsessive background like the missing credits to Joan Baez and Anne Bredon for the 'Traditional' "Baby I'm Gonna Leave You" and Bert Jansch for "Black Mountain Side" both on the explosive debut (his affection too for the band shines through on every page). And I liked hearing that the two kids Stefan and Samantha Gates (Stefan's older sister Samantha was aged 5 at the time of shooting in 1972) who featured on the "Houses Of The Holy" artwork in spray paint went on to better things - she to a BBC cooking show. It was even rumoured once that Samantha was in fact a young Samantha Fox - the famous UK Page 3 pin-up - but not surprisingly such salacious muck turned out not to be true.

 

It’s only another one of the stories and myths that have sprung up around this legendary hedonistic Rock band. How very Led Zeppelin! A tasty addition to their cannon and one that fans will love. Get physical and enjoy...

GUS DUDGEON - "Production Gems" – Featuring Tracks from 1964 to 1992 by The Zombies, John Mayall with Eric Clapton, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Sounds Nice, David Bowie, The Strawbs, Locomotive, Audience, Kiki Dee, Elton John (and Elton John with John Lennon), John Kongos, Joan Armatrading, Ralph McTell, Voyager, XTC, Lindisfarne, Chris Rea and more (December 2021 UK Ace Records/Right Recordings CD Compilation of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B09JJ5KGC3&asins=B09JJ5KGC3&linkId=6a3b196d42fdd4d200c84638927edde1&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

 

"...Sixty Years On..."

 

First up - this Friday, 3 December 2021 UK-released CD compilation by VARIOUS ARTISTS called "GUS DUDGEON: Production Gems" on Ace Records/Right Recordings CDTOP 1590 (Barcode 029667104227) is a looker (4 out of 5 stars).

 

It's only one of a few digipaks I've ever seen Ace do and has a jam-packed beautifully assembled 40-page booklet with huge contributions from many household names GUS DUDGEON touched base with (Ten Years After, The Settlers, Michael Chapman, Magna Carta, Marsha Hunt and Elkie Brooks are some of the notable exclusions not featured here).

 

Across 21 tracks and exactly 78:00 minutes playing time, you get the world-renowned producer's personally picked faves (the dates begin in 1964 and extend to 1992 with XTC but most are 70ts tracks). "Production Gems" was to be a tribute album for his 60th birthday before both he and his wife Sheila were lost in a car accident in July 2002 on his way home from a party. It subsequently languished for almost two decades, but now Ace Records of the UK in conjunction with The Gus Dudgeon Foundation have supplemented the original list with some extras and produced this lavish CD. There are exclusive written contributions in the last pages from Rick Wakeman, Ray Laidlaw of Lindisfarne, Nigel Olsson and Davey Johnstone of the Elton John Band, Colin Blunstone, Rod Argent, John Reid, Elton, Bernie Taupin and many more.

 

So why am I so underwhelmed? I know I should like this, but I find the tracks choices and the 'overall' listen once you're away from the hits to be something of a terrible let down. Sure, big names are here; David Bowie, Chris Rea, Kiki Dee, John Kongos, The Strawbs, The Zombies, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers LP with EC giving it some turned up axe hero and of course three top tracks involving Elton John. And the booklet goes on and on about them what a genius GD was. But I'm talking about the actual listen.

 

You can't dispute "Space Oddity" or "Rocket Man" or "Tokoloshe Man" or "Fool (If You Think Its Over)" or even Lindisfarne's forgotten and lovely "Run For Home" - all wonderful - but stuff like Locomotive, Sounds Nice, Audience, Voyager, Armatrading's early tracks and the awful Larry Smith "Springtime For Hitler" pastiche are all very much skips. And despite my affection for The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, do I ever want to hear "I'm The Urban Spaceman" again – not really. I would have traded any of these hit tracks for lesser-heard GD-produced gems like "March Rain" from Michael Chapman's 1970 Harvest LP "Fully Qualified Survivor" (with Paul Buckmaster string arrangements) or even "Boogie Pilgrim" from Elton's underrated 1976 double-album "Blues Moves".

 

Clever choices do include the stunning "Sixty Years On" from Elton's second self-titled LP in 1970 and the CD opens with a crystal clear DUNCAN COWELL remaster of "She's Not There" by The Zombies (Cowell does the whole compilation, great audio throughout). But I've already got the Kiki Dee stuff on EMI and Edsel and the live John Lennon duet and the Ralph McTell remake of "Streets Of London" that charted in 1974 is far better than the '69 Transatlantic label original presented here.

 

I know GD was a genius and everyone in this huge booklet tells the same story of his perfectionism in the studio, but I just wish it would actually translate into an enjoyable playlist instead of a bunch of tracks a genius happened to produce. A good CD then, but I really, really wanted it to be so much better...

Always Jane - AMAZON's Four-Part TV Series Set in 2019 and 2020 About Transitioning From A Man Into A Woman - A Review

 "...They Were Broadminded People..." 

Always Jane: The TV Series

It's cliché to say that the importance of family is almost always underrated. But imagine if that support network (and let's call it what it is, love) isn't there when you spend all your life as a boy from the age of 3 reaching into mummy’s closet. And you are determined (come what may) that one day, you will actually be able to try on those lady clothes and they will fit – even look beautiful.

 

Amazon's TV series "Always Jane" comes at you in four parts and vividly and bravely shows what transitioning into a woman means for a teenage boy who has always known he/she was different. It's a real-world documentary about a real American family and its time frame spills over from 2019 into Covid-19 and Lock Down in 2020.

 

As you watch, you quickly begin to realize that Jane's family are in some ways in awe of their precocious girl-in-the-making son/daughter. For sure there's the jibes, the hurt, the shaming by the less enlightened in New Jersey's small towns - but her inner beauty and belief shines through always. It's take guts that many don't have to make this journey and there's going to be pain and ridicule no matter how shiny your home love is.

 

The family of two other daughters (who love their bro/sis to bits) along with Mum and Dad and ageing Granddad (who was part of the engineering crew that put Apollo 12 and its astronauts on the moon) are close knit and support each other in every way. Unusually, you also get to hear what it's like to be transitioning parents - what it means to stand up for your child when the monsters snarl from the sidelines. You take the journey with them - share their hopes - their fears - and their losses.

 

There are also scenes in NYC too when a group of trans get to do a collective photo-shoot and Jane can talk to like minds (and vice versa) from all walks of life and colour background. It’s incredibly moving stuff and you quickly pick up that this is not grandstanding on their part or some fad to grab attention in an online world that so craves such things – this is a deep biological need to go all the way over to the other side because they truly believe themselves to be women trapped in what creation gave them when they were born.

 

For sure there is hardly a moment when Jane is not flicking hair or gazing into the camera literally egging it on to tell her she is beautiful – and if you were cruel – you could laugh at this borderline narcissistic behaviour. But the program is smart enough to get across why – his DNA-deep need to be feminine – all the way to painful surgical procedures that will irretrievably alter the very anatomy of his being. 

And all the while Mum and Dad and his/her sisters are there backing up the bravery with a ferocity that will bring a tear to many eyes.

 

I thought "Always Jane" was beautiful - an eye-opener - and compassionate about a subject that in 2021 is still taboo to so many cultures. Love is all - and this program paints a hopeful and dare-to-be-yourself sketch of it. Well done to everyone involved...

"Benefit: The 50th Anniversary Enhanced Edition" by JETHRO TULL – Third Studio Album from April 1970 (USA) on Reprise Records and May 1970 (UK) on Chrysalis Records featuring Ian Anderson, Martin Barre, Glenn Cornick, John Evans and Clive Bunker (5 November 2021 UK Chrysalis 'The 50th Anniversary Enhanced Edition' Six-Disc Reissue – 4CDs and 2DVDs in A Hardback DigiBook Presentation Pack with Stereo and Mono Previously Unreleased Material - New Steve Wilson Remixes and Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B09H8VX2KJ&asins=B09H8VX2KJ&linkId=2aba6db4bbe78a9a47e7b944490e600b&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

"...Alive And Well And Living In 2021..."

When the pudgy 2CD/1DVD 'A Collector's Edition' card digipak reissue of Tull's 1970 third studio album "Benefit" appeared in October 2013 - most fans loved it – even if it did feel a tad clunky on the visual front. 

But since the 'book' series has advanced (serious reissues seriously praised) - "Benefit" and its absence in that handsome rat pack has been a hole in a wall of hardback digipak editions most fans have longed to fill. 

Well, here on Friday, 5 November 2021 is the 'The 50th Anniversary Enhanced Edition' of "Benefit" by JETHRO TULL - a stunning six-disc visual and audio upgrade (4CDs and 2DVDs) that makes most other 50th Anniversary sets seem positively dowdy. Here are the actual benefits...

Chrysalis 0190295201616 (UK) is beautifully done (barcode is the same number) – 2CDs in the front hardback cover (the album Remastered and Remixed by STEVEN WILSON including associated Stereo and Mono mixes), Disc 3 in the first hard-card leaf (Live At Tanglewood 1970), Disc 4 in the final leaf (Live In Chicago 1970) and 2DVDS in the rear hardback cover (Steve Wilson Audio mixes of the album with bonuses in Stereo and 5.1 Surround Sound plus flat transfers on DVD1 with DVD2 being a visual of the Live At Tanglewood 1970 concert). 

Fans have come to have high expectations for these Tull digibook sets – fan involvement and historian contributions with rare picture sleeves, press announcements and reviews, concert posters, pictures of venues, timelines etc – and the 100-page attached booklet doesn’t disappoint (the 2013 version had 42-pages, so a massive amount of extra material). Every aspect of that 1969 to 1970 period is covered (even early Aqualung sessions for that 1971 magnum opus). There is an interview with Studio Engineer ROBIN WOOD, interviews with the band on recording sessions, lyrics to all album tracks and the stand-alone singles (which wasn’t on the 2013 issue), a day-by-day breakdown leading up the April (US) and May 1970 (UK) album release and beyond - and every possible catalogue number and chart position for the UK and USA. It’s truly a wonder and I cannot imagine how many man-hours it took to collate and typeset. 

And the STEVE WILSON Remixes and Remasters sound spectacular (not just good) – after decades of my battered Chrysalis LP – it is genuinely shocking to hear stuff like "Alive And Well And Living In" and "Sossity" sound this sonically empowered – Anderson’s vocals leaping out of your speakers with snotty intent. Here is a breakdown...

CD1 (76:19 minutes):

A Steven Wilson Stereo Remix

1. With You There To Help Me

2. Nothing To Say

3. Alive And Well And Living In

4. Son

5. For Michael Collins, Jeffrey And Me

6. To Cry For A Song [Side 2]

7. A Time For Everything?

8. Inside

9. Play In Time

10. Sossity: You're A Woman

Tracks 1 to 10 make up their 3rd album "Benefit" – released 20 April 1970 in the USA on Reprise RS 6400 and 1 May 1970 in the UK (delayed from 24 April 1970) on Chrysalis/Island ILPS 9123. Produced by IAN ANDERSON - peaked at No. 11 (USA) and No. 3 (UK). 

ASSOCIATED RECORDINGS (A Steven Wilson Stereo Remix):

11. Singing All Day (Stereo)

12. Sweet Dream (Stereo)

13. 17 (Stereo)

14. Teacher – (4:58 minutes, UK Single Version, Stereo)

15. Teacher – (4:03 minutes, US Album Version, Stereo)

16. My God (Early Version) - Studio Outtake from early 'Aqualung' sessions recorded 11 and 12 April 1970 – Extra Flute Passages – 9:06 minutes

17. Just Trying To Be - Studio Outtake from early 'Aqualung' sessions recorded 11 April 1970 – mostly Anderson and Acoustic - 1:39 minutes 

NOTES: Tracks 16 and 17 did not appear on the 2013 'A Collector's Edition'

CD2 – Original 1969-1970 Mono Mixes (77:37 minutes):

1. Singing All Day (Previously Unreleased 1969 Mono Mix)

2. Sweet Dream (Mono Single Mix)

3. 17 (Mono Single Mix)

Tracks 2 and 3 released 17 October 1969 as a UK 45-single on Chrysalis WIP 6070 (peaked at No. 7)

4. The Witch's Promise (EUR single double 'A' side; mono mix not used in the UK)

5. Teacher (UK Single Version - EUR single double 'A' side; mono mix not used in the UK)

6. Teacher (US Album Version - Mono Reduction Mix used for US single 'B' side)

7. Inside (UK Single 'A' Side) 

8. Alive And Well And Living In (Mono Reduction Mix for US single 'B' side)

9. A Time For Everything (Mono Reduction Mix for US single 'B' side)

ORIGINAL 1969-1970 STEREO MIXES 

10. Sweet Dream (Unused Stereo Mix prepared for the Side 'A' of an unissued US promo single for FM stereo radio)

11. 17 (Unused Stereo Mix prepared for the Side 'A' of an unissued US promo single for FM stereo radio)

12. The Witch's Promise (UK single version double 'A' side – disc transfer)

13. Teacher (UK single version double 'A' side – disc transfer)

14. The Witch's Promise (US promo single 'A' prepared for FM stereo radio)

15. Teacher (US Album Version – Us Promo Single 'B' side prepared for FM stereo radio)

1971 STEREO REMIXES 

16. Singing All Day 

17. Sweet Dream 

18. The Witch's Promise

19. Teacher (US Album Version)

ORIGINAL RADIO SPOTS 

15. Benefit AM Radio Spot No. 1 (Mono)

16. Benefit FM Radio Spot No. 2 (Stereo) – issued to US Radio Stations May/June 1970 on Reprise PRO 395

Notes: Although the running order is rejiggered, CD2 is the same 16 tracks that were on the 2013 reissue; three here were Previously Unreleased Mixes at that time – Tracks 1 (Mono), 10 and 11 (Stereo) 

CD3 (69:19 minutes) and DVD 2 (Previously Unreleased)

LIVE AT TANGLEWOOD 1970 – A Steven Wilson Stereo Remix 

(Recorded 7 July 1970 for Bill Graham’s ‘Fillmore At Tanglewood’ Show)

1. Introduction And Tuning 

2. Nothing Is Easy 

3. My God (incl. Flute Solo)

4. With You There To Help Me / By Kind Permission Of 

5. Dharma For One (incl. Drum Solo (edited on CD))

6. We Used To Know 

7. Guitar Instrumental 

8. For A Thousand Mothers 

CD4 (75:19 minutes, Previously Unreleased):

LIVE IN CHICAGO 1970 (Recorded in Mono directly from the soundboard by John Burns at the Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, Illinois on 16 August 1970)

1. Introduction And Tuning 

2. My Sunday Feeling 

3. My God (incl. Flute Solo)

4. To Cry You A Song 

5. With You There To Help Me / By Kind Permission Of 

6. Sossity: You're A Woman / Reasons For Waiting 

7. Nothing Is Easy 

8. Dharma For One (incl. Drum Solo (edited))

9. We Used To Know

10. Guitar Instrumental 

11. For A Thousand Mothers 

DVD 1 (Audio Only - As per 2013 Reissue) 

Steven Wilson's 2013 Stereo Mixes of "Benefit" and 5 Extra Tracks in DTS and Dolby AC3 5.1 Surround & Stereo 96/24 LPCM (65:06 minutes)

Flat transfers of the Original UK and US LP Master in 96/24 LCPM (59:59 minutes)

Additional Tracks "Sweet Dream", "17" and "The Witch's Promise"

DVD 2 (Video, NTSC, All Regions (0) – Previously Unreleased)

The 1970 Tanglewood Concert on video with Steven Wilson’s 2020 audio Remix in DTS and Dolby AC 3 5.1 Surround and Stereo 96/24 LPCM

More than a year and a half late for a 50th Anniversary celebration of the original LP (1970 to 2020) and pandemic delays aside, the packaging and audio upgrades here in 2021 are both fantastic. But I must admit that non-fans will probably tire of the multiple versions of Teacher, Sweet Dream, 17 and of course The Witch's Promise on CD 1 and 2 (never mind live versions) - but that 9:06 minute outtake of "My God" with the wild flute soloing in the centre is an absolute blast and shows more clearly than anything before how fast Anderson and his songwriting was racing ahead (one of two new extras dovetailing CD1). And that Just Trying To Be may only be 1:39 long, but its ethereally beautiful. 

Come the Tanglewood live set, you can hear how tight the band is, eager, sharp, taking on America and doing it bravely too with material the audience clearly doesn't know. I was impressed at the live sets and their sound (CD 3 in Stereo and Remixed by whiz Wilson, CD4 in Mono but still punchy and with a few cuts we didn’t have before. For Tull nuts, the live sets are another sneak preview into their band in primo-form - hitting the crowd right in the eyes with old chestnuts and newbees that would quickly become celebrated the following year as classics. 

Jethro Tull would go global in 1971 with "Aqualung" and rightly so. And it has to be truthfully said that Benefit's illustrious follow up is a better crop of songs and a more coherent LP in every way. But this fabulous reissue of 1970's "Benefit" should surely mean that this forgotten bow in Tull's arsenal of strings should be reappraised. Well done to all involved...

I know it's not for everyone, but this lavish go at "Benefit" again is a reissue winner (six discs for under thirty-five quid). Hell, at this rate, we might even get my all-time Tull-crave - 1972's "Living In The Past" double-album which in 2022 will reach its 50th anniversary (a super-duper deluxe edition with the double LP in that hardback book packaging please and shed loads more).

'Nothing is easy' with Tull, but they sure do it right for their fans. A reissue of the year for 2021 without hesitation...

"Rock 'N Roll Again/Flying Dreams" by COMMANDER CODY– 1977 and 1978 US Albums on Arista Records – featured guests include Buzzy Feiton, Jeff Baxter, Danny Gatton, Neil Larson, Norton Buffalo, Abraham Laboriel, Jennifer Warnes, Nicolette Larson, Delaney Bramlett, Vanetta Fields, Shirlie Matthews and Clydie King (August 2021 UK Beat Goes On Compilation – 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD – Andrew Thompson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With Over 327 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

PROVE IT ALL NIGHT 

Music Of 1975 to 1979 

Your All-Genres Guide To 

Exceptional CD Reissues & Remasters

Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs

Just Click Below To Purchase (No Cut and Paste Crap)

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B071P5X2GW&asins=B071P5X2GW&linkId=716e2a561b29ac39bd11daa25c37986b&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B096TQ6VBG&asins=B096TQ6VBG&linkId=48bfcc0a67587978a3f8fbc46c3613af&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

"...Snooze You Lose..."

Early-to-mid Seventies artists seemed lost after 1976 - and never is that more evident on this BGO twofer for Commander Cody. Much of this is awful and hasn't stayed the distance unfortunately. To the details first...

UK released 6 August 2021 (13 August 2021 in the USA) - "Rock 'N Roll Again/Flying Dreams" by THE NEW COMMANDER CODY BAND and COMMANDER CODY on Beat Goes On BGOCD1456 (Barcode 5017261214560) Remasters two albums he issued on Arista Records in 1977 and 1978 onto 1CD (70:47 minutes, 20-tracks). 

The outer card slipcase and 20-page booklet (excellent JOHN O'REGAN liner notes, original artwork and lyrics to the second LP) adds class to these British BGO reissues - but the big news for fans is the superb new audio courtesy of ANDREW THOMPSON remasters. This CD sounds fabulous - if only the listen was worth it. 

Even though the material on "Rock 'N Roll Again" is mostly originals, the cod Rock 'n' Roll vibe and his knackered voice don't help at all. The LP barely made No. 163 on the US album charts whilst his second didn't chart at all. "Flying Dreams" features attempts at The Band's "Life Is A Carnival", The Beatles "Cry Baby Cry" amongst the originals and has guitar whizzes Buzzy Feiton, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and Danny Gatton with Neil Larson on Keyboards, Norton Buffalo on Harmonica, Delaney Bramlett on Male Vocals, Nicolette Larson and Jennifer Warnes too - whilst that trio of other superstar girly backing vocalists pumped up many of the tunes - Venetta Fields, Sherlie Matthews and Clydie King. The production values are ace too, but it all feels like cocaine-fuelled nonsense and apart from moments in "Stranger In A Strange Land" - the whole listen is a struggle. 

Fans will love it; BGO has done him and these records a solid with great Audio and Presentation. But anyone else should definitely grab a listen first...

"Can I Be A Witness: Stax Southern Groove" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Featuring Little Milton, Eddie Floyd, R.B. Hudmon, Eric Mercury, The Soul Children, The Nightingales, The Sweet Inspirations, Jean Knight, The Emotions, Major Lance, Jeanne & The Darlings, Members of Con-Funk-Shun and more (September 2021 UK Ace/Kent Soul CD Compilation – Nick Robbins Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 315 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

HIGHER GROUND 
70ts Soul, R'n'B, Funk, Jazz Fusion
Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters  

Just Click Below To Purchase for £5.95 (Jan 2022 Update)

Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B00MTCDTWS&asins=B00MTCDTWS&linkId=f95dca2244c8856012cccc3c6c25fff6&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"</iframe>

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B09CRN23G1&asins=B09CRN23G1&linkId=36bfad53d0e4e3ab2adf596da2b3d9f3&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

"...Trouble I Had..."

In my chequered past as a dodgy reviewer of sorts, I've done all four volumes of the huge Stax Singles Box Sets in track-by-track details and every one of the 'Stax Remasters' series of singular CDs (as well as other Kent-Soul compilations). Southern Soul Grooves and I'm a happy bunny too. So I got more than a little hot under the Covid-19 matching collar, tie and mask ensemble when I heard of this wee September 2021 CD beauty. 

11 new Stax tracks - yum city - and if it’s not too offensive (or dangerous) to raise my white-privileged hand at a Labour party conference - count me in mama. Lots to witness, so let's have at the Southern Soul Groove details...

UK released Friday, 24 September 2021 - "Can I Get A Witness: Stax Southern Groove" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 507 (Barcode 029667104029) is a 20-Track CD compilation with 11 Previously Unreleased Tracks that plays out as follows (72:57 minutes):

1. Bad Water - PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED (Probably recorded 1971, a cover of The Raeletts' US 45-single A-side issued October 1970 on Tangerine TRC-1014 – July 1971 UK as The Raelettes on Tangerine 6121 002, A-side)

2. Can We Talk This Over - EDDIE FLOYD (First issued on the 1998 UK CD compilation "5000 Volts Of Stax" on Stax CDSXD 116)

3. How Can I Be A Witness - R.B. HUDMON (September 1975 US 45-Single on Truth TRA-3230, B-side of "If You Don't Cheat On Me (I Won't Cheat On You)")

4. Love Is Taking Over (August 1973 Us 45-single on Enterprise ENA-9080, A-side)

5. Burning On Both Sides - THE NIGHTINGALES (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

6. Forever And A Day - MEL & TIM (August 1974 US 45-single on Stax STN-0224, B-side to "That's The Way I Want To Live My Life" - also on the 1973 "Mel & Tim" US LP on Stax STS 5501)

7. I Wanna Make Up (Before We Break Up) - MAJOR LANCE (April 1972 US 45-single on Volt VOA-4079, A-side)

8. You Ain't Playin' With No Toy - THE SOUL CHILDREN (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)

9. I Got To Be Myself - THE RANCE ALLEN GROUP (April 1973 US 45-single on The Gospel Truth GTA-1208, A-side - also on the 1973 US LP "Brothers" on Gospel Truth GTS-3502 - March 1976 UK LP on Stax STX 1034)

10. Passing Thru/World Keeps Turning - FREDERICK KNIGHT (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED 'Extended Version' of "Passing Thru" issued June 1974 as a US 45-single on Truth TRA-3202, A-side - this mix runs to 10:54 minutes)

11. Ain't Enough Hours - THE EMOTIONS (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

12. Changes - JEANNE & THE DARLINGS (first issued in 1998 on "5000 Volts Of Stax" on Ace/Stax CDSXD 116)

13. Slow Down - THE NIGHTINGALES (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

14. Soul Groove - ART JERRY MILLER (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

15. Don't Fight The Feeling - THE SWEET INSPIRATIONS (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

16. Three's A Crowd - THE TEMPREES (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

17. Helping Man - JEAN KNIGHT (July 1972 US 45-single on Stax STA-0136, A-side)

18. True Love Don't Grow On Trees - VEDA BROWN (first issued on the Judy Clay/Veda Brown CD compilation "The Stax Solo Recordings" on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 302 in 2008)

19. The Natural You - OLLIE & THE NIGTINGALES (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

20. Leaning On Your Undying Love - SHACK (PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED)

NOTES: 

Tracks 7, 14, 17, 19 and 20 in MONO, all others are STEREO  

Tracks 1, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19 and 20 are PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED (11 in total) 

Long-time collaborator with Ace and Kent Soul - DEAN RUDLAND provides the typically in-depth and knowledgeable liner notes while Audio Engineer whizz NICK ROBBINS does his magic again with the Master Tapes. The 16-Page booklet gives a track-by-track breakdown by Soul aficionado Rudland whilst siding all that info with promo photos of The Soul Children, The Emotions, The Rance Allen Group, Jeanne & The Darlings, The Temprees and a cool cover shot of Stax stalwarts Isaac Hayes and Eddie Floyd enjoying a natter. And already noted - eleven of the twenty tracks are UNISSUED which is a hefty chunk. It's typically cool stuff from Ace Records of the UK.  

The listen is very Seventies Stax rather than 60ts – some of the titles veering into Strings and Funk and hints of the burgeoning Disco scene – but most are more mellow than that – downbeat as they say in dance circles. It opens with a great Little Milton find – his unreleased cover version of "Bad Water" written by Jackie DeShannon, Jimmy Holiday and Randy Myers and first issued late 1970 by Ray Charles' lady backing group The Raeletts (or Raelettes as they were known in the UK). That's followed by Eddie Floyd using Con-Funk-Shun as his backing band for "Can We Talk This Over" – itself unissued until the "5000 Volts Of Stax" British CD compilation in 1998. A 'baby let me talk to you this morning' song where Eddie has been a bad boy and is pleading for mercy – "Can We Talk This Over" is produced by Al Bell in his inimitable flick-guitar Funky fashion (a grower that sounds stunning too).  

The compilation's title track "How Can I Be A Witness" is a gorgeous shuffler that was hidden away as a B-side on an obscure Truth Records 45 in late 1975 - a very clever and warm upbeat inclusion. Little black and white children playing together act as the positivity theme to the chipper "Love Is Taking Over" - Eric Mercury sounding convincing in front of those Memphis strings and brass as he sings of giant steps being taken to see hate banished (it don't live here no more). Perhaps less convincing is the strained Funk of "Burning On Both Ends" - The Nightingales givin' it some "...baby your love is so electrifyin'..." - the second of the Previously Unreleased (fabulous production values though). I know there are those who worship at the feet of this Stax Seventies Vocal Group, so they'll be thrilled to see that Ollie Hoskins and The Nightingales feature two mores time on this CD and again in unreleased form - "Slow Down" and "The Natural You".

A very cool Stax dancer comes in the shape of the Fuzz Guitar/Bass Funk of Major Lance's "I Wanna Make Up (Before We Break Up)" where the Major wants to tighten up with his baby before emotional catastrophe strikes his happy home (dig that 1972 distorted keyboard solo that tail-ends this great inclusion). On any other day "You Ain't Playin' With No Toy" by The Soul Children would have been a hit - its unreleased 'Mr. Big Stuff' groove later reworked by writer Mack Rice into a US A-side for the Treasures in 1976 on Mercury 73838. The Rance Allen Group have their fans and they'll enjoy "I Got To Be Myself" - a tune The Staple Singers returned to with great effect in 1981 on their "This Time Around" LP on Stax. 

The near eleven-minutes of "Passing Thru..." has its moments of brilliance when the 'Extended Version' kicks in about 3:26 minutes, but soon looses its complicated way towards the end. Speaking of dodgy ends, one of the singers in The Emotions literally starts giggling towards the finish of "Ain't Enough Hours" only to say 'this is terrible' as she realises she's not put in her best performance. Towards the second half of the CD we get obscure cuts - one by Keyboardist Art Jerry Miller (a regular player with Willie Mitchell and Ike Turner) whose "Soul Groove" sounds like Burt Bacharach goes Stax goes rude Blaxsploitation - a quite cool and funky instrumental. Far funkier is the down and dirty groove of "Three's A Crowd" where an unreleased chune by The Temprees laments the lady's penchant for more than one baby (this sucker will fill a dancefloor near you soon). 

Amongst the others are Jean Knight's "Helping Man" from 1972, Veda Brown's funky "True Love Don't Grow On Trees" and the clavinet dancer "The Natural You" by Ollie & The Nightingales - but you can unfortunately hear why they were canned - good but not really great. 

Missing the full five-star mark more times than a body would like, there is still much on "Can I Be A Witness: Stax Southern Groove" to be savoured. And CDKEND 507 is a very timely reminder that even in September 2021 – decades and decades after the event – and just like the Motown label - such was the magnificence of their songwriter/artist roster - Stax Records the label still seems to have riches to offer the faithful. Dig in and enjoy...