"Come Go With Me: The Stax Collection" by THE STAPLE SINGERS – Six US Studio Albums issued between January 1969 and August 1974 with a Seventh 11-Track Compilation Gathering Up "Singles, Live & More" (November 2020 UK/EU Craft Recordings 7CD Mini Box Set of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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"...Soul Folk In Action..."

 

What a peach this is – and there's even a sought after (if not pricey) Vinyl variant. My passion for Roebuck, Mavis, Cleotha and Pervis Staples knows no bounds and I've reviewed many of their myriad CD reissues before. But this motherlode from their hugely revered STAX Records years is an embarrassment of riches (all in Stereo too).

 

Initially slated for a December 2019 release, the first version of "Come Go With Me: The Stax Collection" finally popped up 21 February 2020 in America-only as a 7LP Box on Craft Recordings/Stax CR00241 (Barcode 888072111592) on 180-grams vinyl. I figured the CD variant would follow soon, but it took until November of 2020 and then only in a Europe/UK version. Lots to discuss then, so let's have at the Soul Folk in Action...

 

UK/EU released Friday, 6 November 2020 - "Come Go With Me: The Stax Collection" by THE STAPLE SINGERS on Craft Recordings CR00364 (Barcode 888072207899) is a 7CD Mini Box Set of Remasters. It Contains 6 US Studio Albums issued in Stereo between January 1969 and August 1974 on Stax Records (all in Mini LP Repro Sleeves) plus a seventh disc Compilation of 11 "Singles, Live & More" tracks issued during that period and on later LP and CD compilations. "Come Go With Me..." plays out as follows:

 

CD1 "Soul Folk In Action" 1969 (32:31 minutes, 11 Tracks)

1. We've Got To Get Ourselves Together [Side 1]

2. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay

3. Top Of The Mountain

4. Slow Train

5. The Weight

6. Long Walk To D.C.[Side 2]

7. Got To Be Some Changes Made

8. The Ghetto

9. People, My People

10. I See It

11. This Year

Tracks 1 to 11 was their first album for Stax Records "Soul Folk In Action" and their fourteenth studio album overall since 1960 – released January 1969 USA on Stax STS 2004 and May 1969 UK on Stax SXATS 1004 in Stereo. Produced by STEVE CROPPER of Booker T & The MG’s – it also featured him on guitar with two other members of band as backing musicians – Donald “Duck” Dunn on Bass and Al Jackson, Jr. on Drums - Keyboards by Marvell Thomas and Horns by The Memphis Horns.

 

CD2 "We'll Get Over" 1969 (34:40 minutes, 12 Tracks)

1. We'll Get Over [Side 1]

2. Give A Damn

3. Everyday People

4. The End Of Our Road

5. Tend To Your Own Business

6. Solon Bushi

7. Challenge [Side 2]

8. God Bless The Child

9. Games People Play

10. A Wednesday In Your Garden

11. The Gardener

12. When Will We Be Paid (For The Work We've Done)

Tracks 1 to 12 are their 2nd album for Stax Records "We'll Get Over" (fifteenth overall) - released June 1969 in the USA on Stax STS 2016 and November 1969 in the UK on Stax SXATS 1018 in Stereo. Same Production and Backing Band as "Soul Folk In Action".

 

 

CD3 "The Staple Swingers" 1971 (45:10 minutes, 12Tracks)

1. This Is A Perfect World [Side 1]

2. What's Your Thing

3. You've Got To Earn It

4. You're Gonna Make Me Cry

5. Little Boy

6. How Do You Move A Mountain

7. Almost [Side 2]

8. I'm A Mover

9. Love Is Plentiful

10. Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom)

11. I Like The Things About You

12. Give A Hand – Take A Hand

Tracks 1 to 12 are their third studio album for Stax Records (sixteenth overall) "The Staple Swingers" – released March 1971 in the USA on Stax STS 2034 and June 1971 in the UK on Stax 2362 005. Produced by AL BELL – band includes The Bar-Kays on Horns with Terry Manning on multiple instruments.

 

 

CD4 "Be Altitude: Respect Yourself" 1972 (41:09 minutes, 10 Tracks)

1. This World [Side 1]

2. Respect Yourself

3. Name The Missing Word

4. I'll Take You There

5. This Old Town (People In This Town)

6. We The People [Side 2]

7. Are You Sure

8. Who Do You Think You Are (Jesus Christ The Superstar)

9. I'm Just Another Soldier

10. Who

Tracks 1 to 10 are the fourth album for Stax Records "Be Altitude: Respect Yourself" - released February 1972 in the USA on Stax STS-3002 and April 1972 in the UK on Stax Super 2325 069. Produced by AL BELL – band featured Eddie Hinton on Lead Guitar, Jimmy Johnson on Rhythm Guitar, Barry Beckett on Keyboards, David Hood and Roger Hawkins on Bass and Drums with Ben Cauley and The South Memphis Horns.

 

 

CD5 "Be What You Are" 1973 (52:23 minutes, 11 Tracks)

1. Be What You Are [Side 1]

2. If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)

3. Medley: Love Comes In All Colors

4. Tellin' Lies

5. Touch A Hand, Make A Friend

6. Drown Yourself

7. I Ain't Raisin' No Sand [Side 2]

8. Grandma's Hands

9. Bridges Instead Of Walls

10. I'm On Your Side

11. That's What Friends Are For

12. Heaven

Tracks 1 to 12 are their fifth studio album for Stax Records "Be What You Are" – released August 1973 in the USA on Stax STS 3015 and April 1974 in the UK on Stax 2325 103. Produced by AL BELL – same band as "Be Altitude: Respect Yourself" without Horns.

 

 

CD6 "City In The Sky" 1974 (42:11 minutes, 11 Tracks)

1. Back Road Into Town [Side 1]

2. City In The Sky

3. Washington We're Watching You

4. Something Ain't Right

5. Today Was Tomorrow Yesterday

6. My Main Man [Side 2]

7. There Is A God

8. Blood Pressure

9. If It Ain't One Thing It's Another

10. Who Made The Man

11. Getting Too Big For Your Britches

Tracks 1 to 11 are their sixth and last studio album for Stax Records "City In The Sky" – released August 1974 in the USA on Stax STS 5515 and September 1974 in the UK on Stax STX 1001. Produced by AL BELL - same band as "Be Altitude: Respect Yourself" with Raymond Jackson on Guitar, Clayton Ivey on Keyboards and The Memphis Horns added. NOTE: the running order for both sides is as above and not as per the rear sleeve of the original US and UK LPs, which show the tracks in a different order.

 

 

CD7 "Singles, Live & More" 2019 (45:25 minutes, 11 Tracks)

1. Stay With Me (August 1968 US 45-single on Stax STA-0007, Non-Album B-side of "Long Walk To D.C.")

2. Brand New Day (Theme From The United Artists Motion Picture "The Landlord") – Single Version (June 1970 US 45-single on Stax STA-0074, A-side)

3. Walking In Water Over Your Head (Previously Unreleased Album Outtake, first issued May 2011 as 1 of 2 Bonus Tracks on the 'Stax Remasters' UK CD Reissue for "Be Altitude: Respect Yourself" on Concord Music Group, Inc 0888072328761)

4. Oh La De Da (February 1973 US 45-single on Stax STA-0156, A-side – from the US 2LP Set "Wattstax: The Living Word" on Stax STS-2-3010 – B-side is "We The People" from the "Be Altitude: Respect Yourself")

5. I Got To Be Myself (October 1975 US 45-single on Stax STN-0255, A-side with "Be What You Are" track "Heaven" as the B-side. Note: this 45 isn't listed in many discographies because although allocated a catalogue number, promo and stock copies never show up so it was probably unreleased, hence its rarities inclusion here. The track later appeared on "This Time Around", an April 1981 US LP on Stax Records MPS-8511)

6. Trippin' On Your Love (April 1981 US LP "This Time Around" on Stax Records MPS-8511 while The Staples Singers were briefly signed to 20th Century. Produced by the legendary Al Bell – this 8-track vinyl LP is actually a compilation of old recordings from the 1970s reworked and reissued without the band's approval or even knowledge)

7. Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom) – Live

8. Are You Sure – Live (Tracks 7 and 8 from the October 2003 UK/EU 3CD set "Music From The Wattstax Festival & Film" on Stax 3SCD 4440-2, recorded 20 August 1972 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum)

9. I Like The Things About Me – Live

10. Respect Yourself – Live

11. I'll Take You There – Live (Tracks 9 to 11 from the June 2LP set "Wattstax: The Living Word" on Stax STS-2-3010 – recordings same as Tracks 7 and 8)

 

 

As a longtime fan, you notice the tasty attention to detail – all Mini LP Sleeve Repro's are the American originals, so for us UK and Euro types there are advantages – for 1972's "Be Altitude: Respect Yourself" you get the US Gatefold Sleeve with the lyrics on the inside (the UK issue was always a single sleeve with no lyrics) - while "City In The Sky" came in a sort of silver foil effect sleeve (the UK variant distributed by Pye in the UK was a plain matt cover affair and not nearly as nice). The "Be What You Are" sleeve had embossed effects which is reproduced as well.

 

It’s a damn shame no one thought to include lyrics for all six albums (which to my knowledge has never been done) – so that's a wee bummer. But the 44-page mini-booklet more than makes up for this with loads of colour and black and white period photos for our fave Soul Foursome and in-depth liner notes from LANGSTON COLIN WILKINS and LEVON WILLIAMS – both writers steeped in the Stax Records label and Soul Music in general. Following that is track-by-track annotation for each of the six studio albums with musician/production credits (the Box set was produced by MASON WILLIAMS). 

 

All of that is cute and the outer slipcase tastefully presented, but the really great news is the brand new audio restoration and remastering from original tapes by CHRIS CLOUGH (Audio Supervision) and PAUL BLAKEMORE at CMG MASTERING (Mastering). I've had so many Stax and Ace CDs for this material before – most of which sounded great for the day – but they are firmly walloped by this Craft Recordings issue (Blakemore did the "Faith & Grace..." 4CD Box Set). I've played all six and the compilation and the AUDIO is mighty-mighty throughout – best ever for sure. The first two platters issued at the tail ends of 1969 are produced by Steve Cropper of Booker T. & The MG's fame (some minor hiss, but superb clarity) while the remaining four were helmed by the legendary Al Bell and sound glorious. I've loved the albums "Be Altitude: Respect Yourself" and "Be What You Are" for pushing on 50 years now and I've never heard either of them sound this good – a joy in every way.

 

Of the 21 singles Stax Records issued for The Staple Singers between August 1968 and July 1975 – all of them and their respective B-sides are here including chart hits like "Heavy Make You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom)" (1971), "You've Got To Earn It" (1971), "Respect Yourself" (1971), "I'll Take You There" (1972), "This World" (1972), "Oh La De Da" (1972), "If You're Ready (Come Go With Me)" (1973), "Touch A Hand, Make A Friend" (1973) and "City In The Sky" (1974).

 

What gets the pulse racing though are those forgotten LP gems that veer off the well-established hits – deep funky LP cuts that never show up on compilations. Stuff like the guitar-flicking "Top Of The Mountain" on "Soul Folk In Action" (1969), the too-much-for-me brass and funk of "The End Of The Road" and the sublime "The Gardiner" both on "We’ll Get Over", the sirens and ambulances in the ghetto of "Something Ain't Right" or the nation-crippling problems of "Blood Pressure" on 1974's "City In The Sky". And there are so many more.

 

The "Singles, Live & More" CD compilation (Disc 7 of 7) is a far better listen than it had any right to be and smartly compiled. It gathers up stragglers like the five live Wattstax tracks recorded in August 1972 that appeared across various vinyl and CD compilations (tracks 7 to 11). I’d forgotten how good the sexily funky and righteous August 1968 B-side "Stay With Us" is – a plea for the good Lord to stay with us through times of war and hatred (the A-side was the equally brill and politically-charged "Long Walk To D.C."). As regards singles, the odd man out is "Who Took The Merry Out Of Christmas" issued on Stax STA-0084 in November 1970 in both Vocal and Instrumental form (A&B-sides) – but for some reason it didn't show on Disc 7. And with regard to Rarities, the only cut missing is the demo of "Respect Yourself" that showed up on the November 2015 US 4CD+Vinyl Single Box set "Faith & Grace: A Family Journey 1953-1976". Its exclusion by Craft Recordings here on a Box Set they themselves put out is an oversight for sure – but it's not exactly the end of the world because audio-wise, the Demo Version is only a curio at best really.

 

Speaking of singles. The stand-alone "Brand New Day" from The Landlord soundtrack (Al Kooper did a version too) is way better (Mavis and Pops share lead vocals) - as is the holding hands of "Walking In Water Way Over Your Head" outtake from the "Be Altitude: Respect Yourself" sessions that turned on the Stax Remasters CD Reissue as one of two new bonus tracks (a great find if not quite a classic). The six live cuts from the August 1972 Wattstax concerts that appeared across various period double-vinyl albums in 1972 and 1973 and later 3CD compilations are all here – Tracks 4 and 7 to 11 - tremendous energy with Mavis on top form (oh Lordy Lord) and dig that Pops Staples spacey guitar sound on "I Like The Things About Me". And UK Northern Soul fans have long dug the floor-shuffling sway of "Trippin' On Your Love" – a very cool addition to Disc 7.

 

Speaking of single rarities...Although the "City In The Sky" LP from 1974 and the eventual demise of Stax Records itself in 1975 is briefly discussed, the singles aren't mentioned in the booklet text. So the history surrounding the US 45-single Stax 0255 "I Got To Be Myself" still seems unclear. The song first emerged on the 1981 Stax scraps LP "This Time Around" and it’s been included as a rarity on CD compilations for The Staple Singers ever since (see my review of the stunning 2CD set "The Ultimate Staple Singers: A Family Affair 1955-1984" issued September 2004 on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEN2 240 - Barcode 029667224024 in the UK).

 

Running to 3:41 minutes (and having "Heaven" from the "Be Altitude: Respect Yourself" 1972 LP as its flipside), the fantastically good "I Got To Be Myself" was slated for an October 1975 US seven-inch single release, but you never see either demos or stock copies up for sale. October 1975 was also the same month of release for the monster Staples hit "Let's Do It Again" on Curtis Mayfield's label Curtom Records that of course provided The Staple Singers with their biggest ever hit – a US R&B No. 1 (the album bore the same title). So its most likely that STN 0255 was not just lost in the demise of Stax Records in 1975, but was probably pulled at the last minute as a pointless issue. The band's future clearly lay somewhere else and on another label. In fact in the liner notes to "The Complete STAX/VOLT SOUL SINGLES Volume 3: 1972-1975" issued back in December 1994 (reissued March 2015 as a smaller brick-block version) – even Mavis Staples says she's never seen copies.

 

So there you have it – I love this Box Set. And even when they were sounding slightly dated like The Association irrepressible optimism of "A Wednesday In Your Garden" in 1969 or the out-of-step overly-preachy vibe to "Getting To Big For Your Britches" in 1974 – every album from those six stunning years is chock full of Soul and R&B goodness and a sense of their Peace, Love and Happiness world view.

 

The Staple Singers have always been magical to me and on the last day of December 2021 as I write this, only the mighty vocals of Mavis Staples survives. But my God - what a legacy! 

 

Small, but beautifully formed, and with that first-class audio that's now become synonymous with releases from Craft Recordings for all things Stax re-releases - "Come Go With Me: The Stax Collection" by THE STAPLE SINGERS is actually my fave Box Set reissue of the last few years (never mind 2020) and there have been some doosies for sure. 

 

Buy it and enjoy...and thanks for the inspiring journey...

"This Is Lowrider Soul Vol. 2" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – 24-Tracks of Sumptuous 60ts and 70ts American Soul in the Torch-Song Ballad Tradition featuring The Ethics, Barbara Mason, The Sparkels, The Larks, Darrow Fletcher, Brothers Of Soul, The Perfectionists and more (November 2021 UK Ace/Kent Soul CD Compilation of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Sad Story..."

 

I loved Volume 1 of "This is Lowrider Soul..." issued by the UK's Ace Records on their legendary Kent Soul label imprint back in early February 2019 and promptly awarded its sexy sashaying contents five-stars.

 

I'm pleased to say that even though it falls on a few across 24-tunes (one previously unissued cut), installment number two lives up to the same high standards as its predecessor. There are some truly gorgeous swish 'n' sway smoochers on this 2021 CD compilation – sumptuous soul (as the rear inlay states) that puts the Torch Song and Ballad Tradition of the 60ts and early 70ts to the fore every time. I've honestly enjoyed more titles on here than I've reached for the skip button. Lots to discuss - to the dreamers and the tear-stained faces of our sad story fools in love...

 

UK released 26 November 2021 - "This Is Lowrider Soul Vol. 2" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace Records/Kent Soul CDKEND 497 (Barcode 029667104524) is a 24-track CD compilation of Remasters that plays out as follows (70:12 minutes):

 

1. So Much in Love - THE EXCEPTIONS (1969 GWP Records recording first issued September 2009 on the UK CD compilation "GWP NYC TLC Volume 2" by Various Artists on Ace/Kent Soul CDKEND 326)

 

2. Please Say It Isn't So - LEE WILLIAMS & THE CYMBALS (August 1968 US 45-single on Carnival CAR-537, A-side)

 

3. Somebody Please - THE VANGUARDS (August 1969 US 45-single on Whiz 612, A-side)

 

4. Yes I'm Ready - THE HESITATIONS (April 1969 US 45-single on GWP Records 504, B-side of "Is This The Way To Treat A Girl (You Bet It Is)")

 

5. You Never Loved Me (At All) - BARBARA MASON (March 1969 US 45-single on Arctic 148, B-side of "Take It Easy")

 

6. Sad, Sad, Story - THE ETHICS (February 1969 US 45-single on Vent V-1004, A-side)

 

7. Try Love (One More Time) - THE SPARKELS (March 1964 US 45-single on Old Town 1160, A-side)

 

8. Follow Your Heart - THE MANHATTANS (September 1965 US 45-single on Carnival CAR-512, A-side)

 

9. Someone - THE LOVERS (December 1965 US 45-single on Gate Records 501, B-side of "Do This For Me")

 

10. Little Girl - DARROW FLETCHER (1965 US 45-single on Jacklyn Records 1003, B-side of "Infatuation")

 

11. I Want You - DEE TORRES (1966 US 45-single on Dore 762, B-side of "Let The Little Girl Dance")

 

12. It Hurts So Much - THE SUPERBS (June 1965 US 45-single on Dore 736, A-side)

 

13. I Want You (Back) - THE LARKS (March 1972 US 45-single on Money 601, A-side)

 

14. Trust In Me - THE MAGICIANS (1966 Villa recording first issued on the March 2007 UK Various Artists CD compilation "Hitsville West: San Francisco's Uptown Soul" on Ace Records/Kent Soul CDKEND 271)

 

15. Believe In Me - THE HYPERIONS (March 1965 US 45-single on Chattahoochee 669, B-side of "Why You Wanna Treat Me Like You Do")

 

16. Here It Comes - THE PERSIANS (June 1969 US 45-single on GWP Records 509, B-side of I Don't Know How (To Fall Out Of Love)")

 

17. Can't Nobody - BROTHERS OF SOUL (2021, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED 1969 Galaxy recording)

 

18. That's The Way Our Love Is - THE RADIATORS (Originally unissued 1970s Dave Blake recording first released January 2009 on the UK Various Artists CD compilation "Masterpieces Of Modern Soul Volume 2" on Ace Records/Kent Soul CDKEND 310)

 

19. My Sweet Baby – THE MARK-KEYS (1969 US 45-single on TCB Records 1447,B-side of "Heavenly Thing")

 

20. Don't Take Your Love Away From Me – THE PERFECTIONS (1968 US 45-single on Drumhead 100, A-side)

 

21. (I'm Not Ready To) Settle Down – (LITTLE BEN &) THE CHEERS (November 1966 US 45-single on Penny 101, B-side of "Mighty, Mighty, Lover")

 

22. You Can't Blame Me – JOHNSON, HAWKINS, TATUM & DURR (March 1971 US 45-single on Capsoul CS 22, A-side)

 

23. What Am I Going To Do – HOUSTON OUTLAWS (November 1972 US 45-single on Westbound 211, A-side)

 

24. A Man That Is Not Free – SOUL SENSATIONS (1973 US 45-single on Music City 892, A-side)

 

NOTES: 

Tracks 4, 8 and 13 in STEREO, all others in MONO

Track 17 is PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

 

With fantastically detailed liner notes by SEAN HAMPSEY, the 24-page colour booklet is the usual feast of US 45-labels you rarely see (many are heavy auction pieces) and amazingly they even have a Japanese picture sleeve 45 for The Hesitations doing "Yes I'm Ready" in 1969 on the rear page. While you’d expect snaps of heavyweights like Barbara Mason and The Manhattans on the Lowrider scene, there are also quality black and white publicity photos of rarely heard artists like The Ethics, Darrow Fletcher and The Superbs. Someone has located a Carnival Records (of New Jersey) trade advert and Page 4 features notes and thanks to Ady Croasdell and Sean Hampsey from scene-supporter RUBEN MOLINA for putting this lovely music on the world stage. Typical quality from Ace then, backed up by NICK ROBBINS CD Remasters that jump off the speakers with feeling and sweat. Slow Soul can often fail to hide hiss in-between the croons, the oohs and the aahs – but here these tracks are breathing just lovely and the three in Stereo sound sensational. To the tunes...

 

Volume 2 of Lowrider Soul opens with a couple of classy doosies – the easy on the ear Exceptions with a 1969 song called "So Much In Love" that languished in the vaults for four decades until CD resurrection in 2009, followed by a gorgeous 1968 group-harmony side called "Please Say It Isn't So" from The Royals fronted by Lead Vocalist Lee Williams. Whilst most of the cuts (not surprisingly) concentrate on the astonishing productivity of the 60ts – the four from the 70ts impress too especially the foursome of Johnson, Hawkins, Tatum & Durr (initially known locally as The Revelations) and the beautiful "I Want You (Back)" by The Larks – a band and tune that sounds as tasty as their respective titles promise. I wasn't too enamored with some of the cuts that sounded more girl-group teeny-angst than I would have liked, but I loved The Hesitations "Yes I'm Ready" and the Brothers Of Soul unreleased track is a genuinely cool addition to the annuals of the genre.

 

Part of the joy of listening to a smartly put together compilation like this is discovery - lovers of the music getting stuff out there that deserves our weary ears. I dug "This Is Lowrider Soul Volume 2". 

 

Ace Records have a hard-won rep for CD compilations and a quietly cool little winner like this only shows why...

"The Pointer Sisters/That's A Plenty" by THE POINTER SISTERS – Debut and Second Studio Albums from May 1973 and February 1974 on Blue Thumb Records USA and Island Records UK (September 2021 UK Beat Goes On (BGO) Compilation – 2LPs Remastered Onto 2CDs – Andrew Thompson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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

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"...Yes We Can Can..."

 

A very clever 2CD reissue from one of England's premier reissue labels - Beat Goes On Records - or BGO as they also go by in 2021.

 

Both The Pointer Sisters debut and second studio platters issued May 1973 and February 1974 on Blue Thumb Records in the USA (Island Records in the UK) have been popular Jazz Scat albums for years (albeit hardly valuable). Funk and Soul fans too have noticed the odd pearl on each as well.

 

But the CD variants - the first reissued by MCA in 2001 and the second by Universal's mail-order branch Hip-O Select in 2006 - have been deleted remasters for decades now and pricey into the bargain. At last UK and US fans (and anyone else for that matter) gets access to them for a reasonable outlay and both thankfully boasting exceptional Remastered Audio care of BGO's resident Audio Engineer ANDREW THOMPSON who did the original tapes in 2021. Here are the 'yes we can' details...

 

UK released Friday, 3 September 2021 - "The Pointer Sisters/That's A Plenty" by THE POINTER SISTERS on Beat Goes On BGOCD1466 (Barcode 5017261214669) offers 2LPs Remastered in full onto 2CDs (no extras) and plays out as follows:

 

CD1 (43:33 minutes):

1. Yes We Can Can (Full Album Version, 6:01 minutes) - Side 1

2. Cloudburst

3. Jada

4. River Boulevard

5. Old Songs

6. That's How I Feel - Side 2

7. Sugar

8. Pains And Tears

9. Naked Foot

10. Wang Dang Doodle

Tracks 1 to 10 are their debut album "The Pointer Sisters" - released May 1973 in the USA on Blue Thumb Records BTS 48 and Island ILPS 9243 in the UK. Produced by DAVID RUBINSON (& Friends) - it peaked at No. 13 on the US Rock LP charts and No. 3 on the R&B listings (didn't chart UK).

 

CD2 (46:31 minutes):

1. Bangin' On The Pipes/Steam Heat - Side 1

2. Salt Peanuts

3. Grinning in Your Face

4. Shaky Flat Blues

5. That's A Plenty/Surfeit, U.S.A.

6. Little Pony - Side 2

7. Fairytale 

8. Black Coffee

9. Love In Them There Hills

Tracks 1 to 9 are their second studio album "That's A Plenty" - released February 1974 in the USA on Blue Thumb Records BTS 6009 and Island ILPS 9276 in the UK. Produced by DAVID RUBINSON (& Friends) - it peaked at No. 88 on the Rock LP charts and No. 33 on R&B (didn't chart UK).

 

The outer card slipcase and the 20-page booklet give these Beat Goes On CD reissues a smack of class and the CHARLES WARING liner notes feature typically knowledgeable and sensible insights alongside all that original gatefold artwork. The Audio is gorgeous throughout, spectacular even, tracks like the shuffling double-bass cover version of the classic "Black Coffee" making your ears prick up as the room fills with glorious sound.

 

Firmly in Jazz Vocal Scat mode (with hints of 70ts Sisters Funk and Soul every now and then) – those expecting the Slow Hand period Pointer Sisters of the early 80ts need to look away right now. These album-plays are more than a tad dated with all that do-be-do vocal gymnastics on testing cuts like "Old Songs", "Pains And Tears" and "Salt Peanuts". The Pointers update that Andrew Sisters 'beep beep' shuffle with cuts like "Shaky Fat Blues" and Dixie ragtime with "That's A Plenty/Surfeit, U.S.A."

 

But my heart has always been with the full version of the Allen Toussaint masterclass in Funk "Yes We Can Can" in all its 6:01 minute glory is a wonder to behold and that sexy Soul-Funk cover of Willie Dixon’s Chess Classic "Wang Dang Doodle" is another forgotten 70ts kick-ass nugget (The Hoodoo Rhythm Devils wigging out on fuzz guitar, piano and 'all night long' Saxophone). The bluesy guitar-funk Playing For Change social-awareness of "Grinning In Your Face" on platter No. 2 is fantastic stuff (why not a 45?) – the piano-slink of the Gamble-Huff-Chambers finisher "Love in Them There Hills" is fab too – and Seventies Soul/Funk fans may wish the whole albums were full of such retro wonder, but sadly they are not.

 

So, stunning audio, top-class presentation as always from Beat Goes On and rarities that deserve a second go round. They would move on from these Jazz Scat beginnings to a more sexy commercial Disco Dancefloor sound later on and huge global success. But this is where it all started. Just don't expect a "Yes You Can Can" Funk-a-thon every few track...

"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...

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"...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...