"Empty Sky" by ELTON JOHN – June 1969 UK Debut Album on DJM Records in Mono and Stereo (Stereo Mix Is Used for CD) – January 1975 USA Debut Album on MCA Records in Stereo Only - Featuring Caleb Quaye and Roger Pope (later with Hookfoot), Tony Murray of Plastic Penny and The Troggs, Don Fay, Graham Vickery of Shakey Vick and Nigel Olsson of Uriah Heep later with The Elton John Band (May 1995 UK Mercury/This Record Co Ltd CD Reissue with Four Bonus Tracks and Gus Dudgeon Remasters – Part Of 'The Classic Years' Series) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Wish That I Had Wings..."

 

Picture the scene – fresh out of the recording sessions at Dick James Recording Studios, a young Elton John and his guitarist/pal Caleb Quaye (both he and Reg had worked for rival music publishing companies when they met by accident) are walking at four in the morning in April 1969 back to the Salvation Army Headquarters in London's Oxford Street to get some well-earned kip.

 

Steve Brown's Dad (Steve is Producer on the "Empty Sky" LP) lived above and ran the Capitol's famous refuge for the homeless and the hopeful. After three failed singles with Bluesology, countless Soul-sucking sessions on Budget Compilations and Top of the Pops LPs doing current cover versions and finding a lyrical partner of true worth in Lincolnshire-lad Bernie Taupin only a few years earlier – our Mister Dwight must surely have felt that things were finally on the up. 

 

Not quite - it would take until the next self-titled "Elton John" LP of 1970 and of course the beautiful melody of "Your Song" to make people listen. But this rather unloved yet strangely brill in places too debut album is where all the mayhem to 1975 started.

 

Elton has described his vocals and even his songwriting on "Empty Sky" as naïve and probably cringes re-listening to it now. Studio trickery on longer cuts like the three-part Side 2 finisher are terribly dated – instruments used that were thought to be cool on the day but quickly sounded passé - no real single to grab you by the netherlands. But there is also pride – the title track is stunning and you can feel greatness looming. To the Western Ford Gateway...

 

UK released 4 May 1995 - "Empty Sky" by ELTON JOHN on Mercury/This Record Co Ltd 528 157-2 (Barcode 731452815729) is an Expanded Edition CD Reissue and Remaster in The Classic Years Series with Four Bonus Tracks that plays out as follows (55:18 minutes):

 

1. Empty Sky (8:28 minutes) [Side 1]

2. Val-Hala (4:12 minutes)

3. Western Ford Gateway (3:16 minutes)

4. Hymn 2000 (4:29 minutes)

5. Lady What's Tomorrow (3:10 minutes) [Side 2]

6. Sails (3:45 minutes)

7. The Scaffold (3:18 minutes)

8. Skyline Pigeon (3:37 minutes)

9. Gulliver/It's Hay Chewed/Reprise (6:59 minutes)

Tracks 1 to 9 are his Debut Album "Empty Sky" – released June 1969 in the UK on DJM Records DJLP 403 (Mono) and DJLPS 403 (Stereo). It would remain unissued in the USA until January 1975 when MCA finally put out the LP. MCA Records MCA-2130 (same nine tracks, Stereo only) also came with different front sleeve artwork and pictures on the inner gatefold. Also note that on all original UK LPs, Part 2 of the final track on Side 2 (Track 9 on the CD) was simply called "Hay Chewed" (a pun no doubt on Hey Jude). But on this CD "It's" has been added into the title. Produced by Steve Brown - all songs are written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin and the STEREO MIX only of the album is used on this CD.

 

BONUS TRACKS:

10. Lady Samantha

11. All Across The Havens

Tracks 10 and 11 are the A&B-sides of his second UK 45-single issued 17 January 196 on Philips BF 1735, Both Tracks Non-LP

 

12. It’s Me That You Need

13. Just Like Strange Rain

Tracks 12 and 13 are the A&B-sides of his third UK 45-single issued 16 May 1969 on DJM Records DJS 205, Both Tracks Non-LP

 

Note: His Debut solo UK 45-single "I've Been Loving You" b/w "Here's To The Next Time" issued 1 March 1968 on Philips BF 1643 is not dealt with on this CD nor are the three (unsuccessful) 45s Elton did with the Bluesology group that preceded his Solo career (credited under his real name of Reg Dwight).

 

MUSICIANS:

ELTON JOHN – Piano, Organ, Electric Piano and Harpsichord

CALEB QUAYE – Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Conga Drums

TONY MURRAY – Bass

ROGER POPE – Drums and Percussion

DON FAY – Tenor Saxophone and Flute

GRAHAM VICKERY – Harmonica

NIGEL OLSEN – Drums on "Lady What's Tomorrow"

 

The 8-leaf foldout inlay is both good and bad. Gone are the Tony Brandon and David Symonds testimonials along with Elton's hand-written note on 'hard work' and 'thanks' that covered much of the rear sleeve. It does perhaps most important of all keep the inner gatefold where the lyrics were printed over photos of Elton and Bernie. In their place are excellent liner notes from JOHN TOBLER on EJ's history to and into the debut. They include comments from EJ on his amazement at having gotten to that starter place at all. Should have had the lyrics to the singles too though.

 

It won't take fans long to notice that the debut solo 7" single "I've Been Loving You" and its Non-LP B-side isn't on here when there was room - still the four bonus 45 sides and the LP have benefited from the original mix tapes being 'enhanced' after decades had softened them up. Long-time EJ Producer GUS DUDGEON explains in the liner notes how The Sadie Digital System has been applied to these versions to better the sound but not fundamentally alter it. 

 

The Mono Mix of the LP is completely AWOL. I can remember when I worked in Rarities in Reckless Records in Berwick Street how we would occasionally see the mottled-effect gatefold sleeves for "Empty Sky" arrive with 'Stereo' stickers on the rear covering the 'Mono DJLP 403' reference up in the top right corner. DJM Records must have shifted so few of the Mono variant that they pulped them and took the more sellable DJSLP Stereo pressing of the LP and stuck them in Mono gatefold covers with stickers on the back. Let's deal with what we do have audiowise...

 

For damn sure, when you hear the whack off the superb "Empty Sky" opening track clocking in 8:29 minutes - it's far better than what we've been forced to endure before. It's a rocker at heart (a good opening) but Graham Vickory's Harmonica passage could have been given some more Zeppelin-type oomph and that down-to-a-whisper back-up-to-rocking bit towards the end feels too obvious. But I still love it - a track that indeed points to the balls-to-the-wall Rock brilliance of "Funeral For A Friend/Loves Lies Bleeding" that would open "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" in 1973.

 

Thor above his Mountain is looking down on his children for the Harpsichord-driven "Val-Hala" - a great follow-up track to the rawk of its Side 1 predecessor. Punchy multi-layered guitars open "Western Ford Gateway" with new Remastered power, but an ill-advised treated vocal that dominates the left speaker too much kind of does for the song. Flutes and piano introduce "Hymn 2000" - Taupin having a sideways go at organized religion as someone shakes a tambourine. 

 

Side 2's "Lady What's Tomorrow" has Elton signing with warmth in the vocals and an overall sound-stage that's clearer and more suited - could even have been a 45 for the LP. "Sails" throws in some Guitar-Funk (good Remaster) that feels both cool and hammy at one and the same time - a young girl called Lucy mixed up with seagulls and sails and collars pulled up to protect. A hissy-intro leads in "The Scaffold" - a slow electric keyboard tale of the Amazon and Minotaurs with bloody hands. It's indicative of the whole album, a good track, an interesting song, but never rising much further upwards from that. Back to Harpsichord for the LP's most famous cut "Skyline Pigeon" - a flying high flying away melody that's searching in the shadows of the world for better days and bigger dreams (probably the best Remaster on the whole disc). 

 

EJ brings it all to a close with the long and clumsy three-parter "Gulliver/Hay Chewed/Reprise" - a good opener "Gulliver" is ruined by a Jazzy romp about three-minutes in. Then the ill-placed Jazz and Pop section of Hay Chewed with its too loud guitars rants drags in snippets of all the LP's songs brought in at the end as a Reprise. Still, the sound is excellent. But it ends his debut on a gimmick instead of highlighting his knack for melody.

 

Bonuses: I never did understand why "Lady Samantha" made the A-side when I prefer the more EJ-vibe of its flip "All Across The Havens" - a mother of mercy tale of waterfalls and forgiveness over there somewhere (lovely sound quality to both too - better than some of the LP tracks). "Hey there, you in the mirror..." Elton asks in the over-stringed and over-guitared "It's Me That You Need" that has its rather good melody drowned out by intrusive instruments. "Just Like Strange Rain" has perhaps the most muddled of sounds on this CD, but fans will love its presence. 

"Empty Sky" is very much a beginning that could have done with major rethinks before release and perhaps EJ called his far better second album "Elton John" for a reason - because it was the real starting place. 

 

Still, I go back to the title track "Empty Sky" and "Val-Hala" and "Skyline Pigeon" and Saturday Night fighting Reg Dwight and his Salvation Army Crew is all wight with me (sorry couldn't resist)...

"Collaboration/Faces" by SHAWN PHILLIPS - February 1971 Fifth Studio Album Plus December 1972 Sixth Studio Album, Both on A&M Records UK and USA - Featuring Ann Odell of Blue Mink and Chopyn, Brian Ogders of Sweet Thursday, Barry de Souza of Trees, Caleb Quaye of Hookfoot and Elton John's Band, Steve Winwood of Traffic and Blind Faith, Henry Lowther, Chris Mercer of The Misunderstood, Charge and Gonzalez, Glen Campbell (Pedal Steel), Joe Sample, Paul Buckmaster String Arrangements and more (October 2021 UK Beat Goes On Compilation - 2LPs onto 2CDs with Andrew Thompson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

"...Blood-Soaked Charlie On A Silk-Stained Bedsheet..."

 

By the time the long-haired, bearded, enigmatic, nomadic Texan Songstrel that is/was Shawn Phillips had reached the release of his much talked-about LP "Collaboration" on A&M Records in the early months of 1971 - he was already on his fifth album since 1965. Part of his recorded history had seen him co-write "Little Thin Soldier", "Mellow Yellow" and "Sunshine Superman" with Donovan and reputedly sang backing vocals on The Beatles "Lovely Rita" for their epoch-making 1967 LP "Sgt. Peppers..."

 

So why – in all likelihood – have you never heard of the man? Phillips, his nasal whine and canvas of swirling densely worded songs that border the paths of genius and pretentiousness (gig main-man and musical catalyst Bill Graham once called Phillips "the best kept secret in the music business...") has always been an acquired taste. Like Folk-Rock and Country-Rock contemporaries of his - Tim Hardin, Harry Chapin, Mickey Newbury and England's Roy Harper and even Duncan Browne jump to mind - Phillips threaded his own song-path regardless. Shawn Phillips made unusual and even difficult albums – not really singles – and you took as you found.

 

Which brings us to the two BGO offerings on beautifully transferred digital display here - "Collaboration" was done in London with a long session-list of luminaries (see list below) and Bowie's strings-arranger Paul Buckmaster on two tracks. Many cuts segue into each other, Collaboration" being his third of an eventual nine albums for A&M Records. The second choice (again on A&M) is his sixth platter called "Faces" which is in fact an anthology of unreleased SP music recorded between March 1969 and April 1972. Four were recorded in London and four in the USA, but the LP was dominated by an oddity of sorts. At nearly fourteen minutes of semi-Prog soundscapes, over on Side 2 of that LP "Parisian Plight II" featured no less than Steve Winwood of Blind Faith and Traffic fame, Caleb Quaye of Hookfoot and Elton John's Band with Trumpeter Henry Lowther and Saxophonist Chris Mercer on Horns abutted by Country superstar Glen Campbell doing Pedal Steel! Here are the convoluted details...

 

UK released October 2021 - "Collaboration/Faces" by SHAWN PHILLIPS on Beat Goes On BGOCD1469 (Barcode 5017261214690) offers 2LPs from 1971 and 1972 Remastered onto 2CDs and plays out as follows: 

 

CD1 "Collaboration" (54:09 minutes):

1. Us We Are [Side 1]

2. Burning Fingers 

3. Moonshine 

4. For Her 

5. What's Happenin' Jim?

6. Armed 

7. Spaceman [Side 2]

8. Times Of A Madman Trials Of A Thief 

9. 8500 Years 

10. The Only Logical Conclusion

11. Coming Down Soft & Easy 

12. Springwind

Tracks 1 to 12 are his fifth studio album "Collaboration" - released February 1971 in the USA on A&M Records SP 4324 and in the UK on A&M Records AMLS 64324. Produced by JONATHAN WESTON at Trident Studios - it didn't chart on either country. 

 

MUSICIANS: 

SHAWN PHILLIPS - Guitars, Keyboards, Lead Vocals 

ANN ODELL [of Blue Mink, Chopyn and Roger Glover] - Electric Piano and Piano  

TONY WALMSLY [of Napoli Centrale] - Guitar 

PETER ROBINSON - Piano and Organ, Bass on "Moonshine", Orchestral Arrangements on "The Only Logical Conclusion"

MARTYN FORD – French Horn

BRIAN OGDERS [of Sweet Thursday and Apollo 100] - Bass 

JOHN GUSTAFSON - Bass on "Springwind" and "Spaceman"

BARRY de SOUZA [of Trees] - Drums 

DAVID KATZ and Orchestra 

PAUL BUCKMASTER – Cello and String Arrangements on "Us We Are" and "Armed"

 

CD2 "Faces" (47:13 minutes):

1. Landscape [Side 1]

2. 'L' Ballade 

3. Hey Miss Lonely 

4. Chorale 

5. Parisian Plight II [Side 2]

6. We 

7. Anello (Where Are You) 

8. I Took A Walk 

Tracks 1 to 8 are his sixth studio album "Faces" - released December 1972 in the USA on A&M Records SP 4363 and early 1973 in the UK on A&M Records AMLS 64363. Produced by JONATHAN WESTON at Trident Studios - it peaked at No. 52 on the US Billboard Album charts (didn't chart UK).

 

MUSICIANS: 

SHAWN PHILLIPS - Guitars, Lead Vocals 

JOHN PIGNEGUY and MARTYN FORD - French Horns on Track 1

PAUL BUCKMASTER - Piano and Cello on Track 1, Orchestral Arrangements on Track 2

DAVID KATZ and Orchestra - on Track 2

SNEEKY PETE KLEINOW - Pedal Steel on Track 3

LEE SKLAR - Bass on Track 3

STEVE WINWOOD - Organ and Organ Bass on Track 5

CALEB QUAYE - Lead Guitar on Track 5

GLEN CAMPBELL - Pedal Steel Guitar on Track 5

HENRY LOWTHER and CHRIS MERCER - Trumpet and Saxophone on Track 5

REME KABAKA - Percussion on Track 5

JOE SAMPLE, JACK CONRAD and ED GREENE - Piano, Bass and Drums (respectively) on Tracks 6, 7 and 8

BRIAN OGDERS - Bass on Track 1

 

The now celebrated look of card slipcase given to these BGO compilations looks classy and even better is the 20-page booklet with lyrics ("Collaboration"), photos and new liner notes from JOHN O'REGAN. The facts and details come on strong for  a musician as eclectic as the undefinable Phillips - a Texan brat who picked up the guitar aged 7 and hasn't stopped into his 80s. But the great news is gorgeous Remasters for albums notoriously brought down by the restraints of microgrooves.

 

Always a compromise at 54+ minutes on a Vinyl LP – "Collaboration" on CD1 here blasts that out into space. The Remaster is gorgeous especially on those passages where some of the songs literally descend into a whisper or a breath or just a few acoustic notes being picked – it’s all clear and warm and you can crank it at last without being met with a wall of hiss. Long-time Audio Engineer ANDREW THOMPSON did the Remasters and both albums are beautifully transferred. To the tunes...

 

"Us We Are" bursts out of your speakers in a full-on Jose Feliciano Spanish Acoustic Guitar flourish, only to settle down into a calmer strum and his "People say we are sane, lock your doors and play the games..." voice and words. Deep lyrics and impressive arrangements abound in "Burning Fingers" and especially the even better "Moonshine" where his acoustic strums and voice are given a flange effect (very Roy Harper circa "Stormcock"). Gorgeous audio as it segues into "For Her" too. 

 

After the awful vocal goof-offs of "What's Happenin' Jim?" where he wails insufferable, there are few better examples of how intricate and multi-layered his music could be than "Armed". Ending Side 1 with a long statement of style and lyrics, it's a mad and brilliant 6:50 minute mix of Cat Stevens Acoustic meets Greenslade Prog keyboards via the Funk Guitar of Mother's Finest with Strings arranged by Paul Buckmaster! It's all over the place and yet utterly compelling in the strangest way. A track like "Armed" is probably impossible to catagorize, but its 1971 adventurous, out there and as I said earlier, a perfect example of the response Phillips' Marmite Music evokes in listeners - love or - or loath it. 

 

Over on Side 2, his lyrics (reproduced in the booklet) to "Times Of A Madman Trials Of A Thief" are deep and brilliant - stuff like "...imminent idols absurdly chant...justification to rave and rant...peace is the endlessly crest of the hill...quietly shattering and soft as a quill..." We then go for the big finish – all 9:35 minutes of it. The face of man is turned into a scour for "Springwind" – but there is a chance of regrowth with that second chance blowing through the bamboo leaves. Delicate piano and subtle bass notes accompany the largely acoustic structure – a quiet-to-loud Side 2 Aqualung-type ender Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull might have wanted to pen. On vinyl this song was always a compromise, but here the Remastered Audio is clean and glorious and fans will love it (lyrics from it title this review).

The second platter is dominated by that Side 2 opener "Parisian Plight II" - a near fourteen minute slice of improvisation that veers in and out of genres but remains Funky and Cool at its core. These tracks of 1969 music remained in the A&M vaults for years, but with the serious names involved, didn't stay there long. I like the calmer heads music of "We", "Anello (Where Are You)" and "I Took A Walk" - all three recorded April 1972 in Clover Studios, New York with Joe Sample of The Crusaders helped by Jack Conrad on Bass and Ed Greene on Drums. You can so hear why they were un-issued in some cases, but again, like the "Collaborations" set - there are goodies worth owning.

In his typically superb liner notes, John O'Regan is right to call Shawn Phillips' music of the Seventies as being imbibed with 'echoes of Tim Buckley' - but maybe not as good or accessible. But make no mistake, here is a voice, talent, vision and tune-smith worth the investigation. And with such stellar presentation and top quality audio, a top job done...

"Wanda Jackson (Debut Album) Plus Right Or Wrong: The Definitive Remastered Edition" by WANDA JACKSON – July 1958 US Debut Album on Capitol Records in Mono, October 1961 US Fourth Studio LP on Capitol Records in Stereo Plus Six Bonus Tracks (August 2013 EU-UK Hoodoo Records CD Compilation – 2LPs Of Original Capitol Records Recordings Remastered onto 1CD Plus Six Bonus Tracks – Part of 'The Definitive Remastered Edition' Series) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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This Review Along With 240 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

LOOKING AFTER NO. 1

Debut Albums 1956 to 1986

Volume 1 of 2

Artists from A to L...

 

Your All-Genres Guide To

Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters  

A Huge 1,750+ E-Pages 

All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

Just Click Below To Purchase

 

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"...Here We Are Again..."

These Hoodoo Records compilations are such great value for money, offering up a whole ton of rare Fifties and Sixties albums onto CD, whilst throwing in rare stand-alone and Non-LP 45-single tracks as period-relevant bonuses.

 

The annotation is proper too and best of all, original recordings are used and the Remastering is as clean and full as you could hope for. Considering that our Queen of Rockabilly and her 1958 debut album are a whopping 64 years ago - the sound here is gorgeous and even better on her fourth studio platter which is presented here in lovely Stereo. To the details...

 

EU/UK released August 2013 - "Wanda Jackson (Debut Album) Plus Right Or Wrong: The Definitive Remastered Edition" by WANDA JACKSON on Hoodoo Records 263441 (Barcode 8436542013208) offers 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD (1958 Mono and 1961 Stereo) Plus Six Bonus Tracks (Mono). It plays out as follows (74:01 minutes):

 

1. Day Dreaming [Side 1]

2. I Wanna Waltz 

3. Heartbreak Ahead 

4. Making Believe 

5. Here We Are Again

6. Long Tall Sally 

7. Just Call Me Lonesome [Side 2]

8. Let Me Go Lover 

9. Money, Money 

10. I Can't Make My Dreams Understand 

11. Happy, Happy Birthday 

12. Let's Have A Party 

Tracks 1 to 12 are her debut album "Wanda Jackson" - released July 1958 in the USA on Capitol T 1041 in Mono (not issued in the UK). MONO MIX is used.

 

13. Right Or Wrong [Side 1]

14. Why I'm Walkin'

15. So Soon 

16. The Last Letter 

17. I May Never Get To Heaven 

18. The Window Up Above 

19. Sticks And Stones [Side 2]

20. Stupid Cupid

21. Slippin' And Slidin'

22. Brown Eyed Handsome Man 

23. Who Shot Sam 

24. My Baby Left Me 

Tracks 13 to 24 are her fourth studio album "Right Or Wrong" - released October 1961 in the USA on Capitol T 1596 (Mono) and Capitol ST 1596 (Stereo). It was also issued in the UK on both formats using the same catalogue numbers. 

STEREO Mix is used.

 

BONUS TRACKS (Mono):

25. I'd Be Ashamed - September 1961 US 45-single on Capitol 4635, B-side of "In The Middle Of A Heartache" (see also Track 28 for the A)

26. Funnel Of Love - April 1961 US 45-single on Capitol 4553, B-side of "Right Or Wrong"

27. A Little Bitty Tear - December 1961 US 45-single on Capitol 4681, A (see 29)

28. In The Middle Of A Heartache - September 1961 US 45-single on Capitol 4635, A-side (see also Track 25 for the B-side)

29. I Don't Wanta Go - December 1961 US 45-single on Capitol 4681, B (see 27)

30. Let My Love Walk In - March 1962 US 45-single on Capitol 4723, B-side of "If I Cried Every Time You Hurt Me"

 

The 16-page booklet is crammed full of colour - album sleeves, three gig posters, concert tickets, Capitol 45-labels, publicity photos and loads more. GARY BLAILCOCK provides the new 2013 liner notes examining the albums and their 'Lady Elvis Presley' pitch right up to the weird rawhide vs. the orient B-side "Funnel Of Love". We also learn from the session-notes that Buck Owens, Roy Clark and Vernon Sandusky provided the Guitars with Merrill Moore, Big Al Downing and Marvin Hughes on Piano with Ken Nelson at the Production controls for the lot. They even repro the original back-sleeve liner notes for both LPs and despite the '24-Bit Digitally Remastered' logo on the rear, the release never indicates from whom or where. But don't let that bother you - even on stuff like the memory of your love smoocher "In The Middle Of A Heartache" (Track 28) - the audio is spotless and clear. To the chunes...

 

For the debut album you might be forgiven for asking 'where's the Rockabilly man?' 1958's "Wanda Jackson" is more Country with a swing than the wild Rockabilly many would hop for - a sort of Patsy Cline set about heartache and waltzes and holding your darling close - the oohs and aahs of the backing male singers on "Here We Are Again" ringing in your ears as she croons on about dim-light cafes (an early Don Everly song). Then of course she loves the 'heartless one' who just can't be true (what a schmuck he is). Wanda does Kitty Wells on "Making Believe", Jim Reeves on "Just Call Me Lonesome", Peggy Lee for "Let Me Go Lover" and the ultimate Doo Wop/Girl Vocal Group smooch of "Happy, Happy Birthday" - originally tapped by The Tune Weavers. 

 

But just as you're about to give up on Wanda as being another emotional teenage casualty of Slick Willy and his gang of Love Bandits, Wanda finds her mojo and smacks you fierce with Little Richard's "Long Tall Sally". Suddenly, Wanda's great echoed voice takes on the demon's rasp as she rips 'some fun tonight' - Big Al Downing and Merrill Monroe tearing up the piano keys. That tomboyish Elvis Presley equivalent vocal returns for Jessie Stone's 50ts classic "Money Honey" and the Honky Tonk boppin' "Let's Have A Party" - great Billy moments on a mixed LP.

 

The sound slips sweetly into a gorgeous STEREO for the "Right Or Wrong" LP - ballads like "The Last Letter" and "I May Never Get To Heaven" sounding sweet - pianos tinkering in the left speaker while celestial wings carry the guitar-pickers (Buck Owens and Roy Clark) in the right speakers. You have to flick all the way to Track 19 for more convincing Bop - scandalize my name with "Sticks And Stones"- see if I care!  Fantastic is the only way to describe the wicked "Slippin' And Slidin'" - Little Richard's Rock 'n' Roll dancefloor bopper suiting her to a tee (better surrender). 

 

No surprise either to hear her reach for the wit and beat of Chuck Berry with his brilliant "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" - the loss of Venus De Milo's arms explained (a boxing match over a Brown Eyed...). "Who Shot Sam" is another silly-billy wham-bam thank you mam bopper - here in toppermost Stereo. And as if to give a nod to her main squeeze - she does Arthur Crudup's "My Baby Left Me" which Elvis Presley had of course brought to the attention of the masses on Sun and RCA only three years earlier. 

 

In all honesty, you do wish there were more rockers and boppers on this ample CD, but then you hear "I Don't Wanta Go" with its weird fuzzed-up guitar solo from 1962 and realize that you've been missing those truck-stops in-between. A cool little reissue really...  

 

PS: 31 January 2012 saw Hoodoo also reissue her 2nd and 3rd albums (May 1960 and January 1961) as "Rockin' With Wanda + There's A Party Goin' On". Hoodoo Records 263410 (Barcode 8436028690725) offers both of these LPs Plus Six Bonus Tracks on another 'Definitive Remastered Edition' single CD that comes with the same level of annotation and great sound as 236441 above...

"You Showed Me: The Songs Of Gene Clark" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – featuring The Rose Garden, The Thyme, Linda Ronstadt, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Byrds, Iain Matthews, Starry Eyed & Laughing, Pure Prairie League, Roxy Music, Flamin' Groovies, Juice Newton, This Mortal Coil, Death in Vegas with Paul Weller, Echo In The Canyon with Jakob Dylan and Cat Power, and his son Kai Clark (March 2022 UK Ace Records CD Compilation of Remastered Cover Versions) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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"...Train Leaves This Morning..."

 

True to form for these Various Artists CD compilations, Ace's stab at the mercurial Gene Clark of The Byrds and Dillard & Clark fame has its own bizarre mix of cover-version winners and near-misses - thankfully holding its head up proud more times than shame pushes it south into a droop.

 

Part of Ace's ongoing Songwriter Series and covering a huge time range (1964 to 2019), I've had this generously-packed CD since day of release (it encompasses Country, Country Rock, Bluegrass, Indie and Pop). And while I've been obsessing over the John Barry set "The More Things Change..." and Dusty Springfield's "Dusty Sings Soul" which came out on the same Friday, 25 March 2022 (see separate reviews) - I've found myself going back to this eclectic slightly unloved Country Rock brat and bawler more and more. Time to feel a whole lot better, to the details...

 

UK released Friday, 25 March 2022 - "You Showed Me: The Songs of Gene Clark" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace Records CDTOP 1611 (Barcode 029667104722) is a 21-Track CD Compilation of Remastered Cover Versions that plays out as follows (77:12 minutes):

 

1. You Showed Me - ECHO IN THE CANYON with JAKOB DYLAN and CAT POWER (2019)

2. Feel A Whole Lot Better - JUICE NEWTON (1988)

3. I Knew I'd Want You - THIN WHITE HOPE (1989)

4. She Don't Care About Time - FLAMIN' GROOVIES (1984)

5. Eight Miles High - ROXY MUSIC (1980)

6. Till Today - THE ROSE GARDEN (1968)

7. Echoes - STARRY EYED & LAUGHING (2015)

8. Elevator Operator - VELVET CRUSH (2001)

9. I Found You - THE THYME (1968 recording, issued 2008)

10. So You Say You Lost Your Baby - DEATH IN VEGAS featuring PAUL WELLER (2002)

11. Tried So Hard - THE FLYING BURRITO BROTHERS (1971)

12. In The Plan - NEW GRASS REVIVAL (1979)

13. Train Leaves Here This Morning - KAI CLARK (2020)

14. He Darked The Sun - LINDA RONSTADT (1970)

15. Kansas City Southern - PURE PRAIRIE LEAGUE

16. Polly - IAIN MATTHEWS (1974)

17. Why Not Your Baby - THE MOTHER HIPS (2011)

18. Full Circle - BYRDS (1973)

19. Silver Raven - THE BAIRD SISTERS (2008)

20. Some Misunderstanding - SOULSAVERS featuring MARK LANEGAN (2009)

21. Strength Of Strings - THIS MORTAL COIL (1985)

 

KRIS NEEDS has been a great writer for some time now, providing quality liner notes for countless mucho-praised reissues - but man oh man - the Kris-ter outdoes himself here. As a self-professed Byrds fanatic, Needs pours on the facts and details in a stunning 28-page booklet - the text aligned with photos of the pertinent albums and CDs and black/whites of our hero both solo and with the spec-festooned Byrds. One of thirteen kids, Harold Eugene of Tipton, Missouri (his real name) is undoubtedly nodding appreciation up there in post-flyte Heaven. 

 

NICK ROBBINS does the masters and they all rock, but then as many are from the 90's onwards, it's hardly surprising that they do. Those 60ts tracks jump and pop but the 80ts cuts are dragged down by that smarmy studio-polish they all seemed to have. To the music...

 

"You Showed Me" opens strongly with a title track done by Echo In The Canyon for their 2019 BMG Records CD album of the same name. Bob's boy Jakob Dylan and Cat Power duet on this discarded early Byrds song written in 1964 that then became a minor hit for The Turtles in 1967. "You Showed Me" has also been covered by Salt 'N' Pepa and The Lightning Seeds while its co-writer Roger McGuinn revisited it too on his "Live From Mars" set in 1996. "You Showed Me" is a lovely song, great Clark melody warming your heart. But then things dip into 'that' 80ts sound for Juice Newton's "I Feel A Whole Lot Better" and I can't help thinking there must have been a better version of this fantastic song somewhere else.

 

I have no time for Thin White Hope's version of "I Knew I'd Want You" or The Flamin' Groovies sounding like a note-for-note Byrds pastiche covers band on their pointless "She Don't Care About Time". Far better is the surprisingly excellent Rose Garden doing "Till Today" (a forgotten 1968 gem) while England's Starry Eyed & Laughing turn in a stunning "Echoes" - a 1974 recording that first appeared in 2015 aping those Byrds-sounding backwards jangling guitars. Velvet Crush do a suitably grungy Rock stab at "Elevator Operator" - gonna have to get along without her now. Paul Weller rocks it out for the very Blind Faith organ-driven "So You Say You Lost Your Baby" where Death In Vegas are joined by strings as well as the Modfather in great form and clearly wanting to respect a songwriter he admires.

 

Clever segue into pure Country Rock with the pedal-steel picking "Tried So Hard" - The Flying Burrito Brothers sounding amazing for a 1971 recording. Updating that sound to the banjo picking of New Grass Revival in 1979, they do a great Eagles circa "One Of These Nights" Country stab at "In The Plan" - beautiful remastered audio too. Pure Prairie League doe a lonesome sound solid for "Kansas City Southern" – fun like The Ozark Mountain Daredevils meets Souther-Furey-Hillman. Can't quite work out (still) in my mind if "Full Cycle" from the poor "Byrds" album of 1973 is good or just acceptable filler that isn't awful - though I can understand why Needs has included its mandolins and harmonies here.

 

But for me the compilation has three out-and-out gems that shine above all the rest – the first is Iain Matthews formerly of Fairport Convention, Matthews Southern Comfort and Plainsong doing a gorgeous lilting take on "Poly". The compilers could have opted for the cooler Alison Krauss and Robert Plant version on their much-praised "Raising Sand" album from 2017, but instead went for something much older – a 1974 track from Iain Matthews' "Journeys From Gospel Oak" LP on Mooncrest Records that imbibes his take with just the right amount of Gene Clark Country twang to make it go beyond copyist to actually moving. Smart choice.

 

There then comes an extraordinary moment when a near eight-minute Neil Young-type-guitar-grunges the buggery out of everything in sight for "Some Misunderstanding" – Soulsavers featuring Mark Lanegan letting rip. His doped-up dirty vocals ("...you might need a friend at a time like this...") and wild guitar solo playing throughout literally infuses this searching heavy-heavy song with the pain that has always been at its core – capturing the darker side of Gene's demons in a new way.

 

But they are trumped by how own son Kai Clark doing a truly heart-warming take on "Train Leaving Here This Morning" where his New Country Rock vocals and band makes him sound like and tap into his Dad somehow (Ryan Adams and The Cardinals could have done this to the same effect). The tune will be familiar to most of us via the Eagles debut album on Asylum Records in 1972 – "Train Leaves Here This Morning" being one of the lesser-aired LP nuggets on that auspicious start. Kai Clark did this version on his self-published CD album "Silver Raven" in 2019 and I think after this compilation that will be my next port of digital call for Gene Clark-fulfilling-nourishment.

 

"You Showed Me: The Songs Of Gene Clark" is not all brilliant, but then again, in reality, how could it be. Still, Ace Records of the UK and compiler Kris Needs are to be praised for combining The Baird Sisters with Roxy Music and This Mortal Coil and somehow making it gel. And in the end, this Singer-Songwriter tribute CD comp makes me want more of the great man Gene Clark (and I'll be seeking out that Kai Clark set too), so in that respect, a job well done.

 

"There's a train leaving here this morning, I don't know what I might be on..." 

 

Well, maybe seek out this journey's reinterpreted platform and give its sympathetically polished compartments a lonesome whistle on your amped-up rig...because I think the effort (like Ace have clearly made) will pay off...