"Check Shirt Wizard: Live In '77" by RORY GALLAGHER (March 2020 UK UMC/Cadet Concept/Chess 2CD Compilation – 20 Previously Unreleased Tracks from His January and February 1977 UK Tour – Remastered from Original Tapes by Frank Arkwright at Abbey Road Studios) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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"...Jack-Knife Beat..."

 

In the Seventies especially, Rory Gallagher live as opposed to Rory on record and in the studio were two entirely different beasts.

 

And after two stormingly good studio albums for his new signing to Chrysalis Records - "Against The Grain" (October 1975) and "Calling Card" (August 1976) – and with the band as a four-piece (Lou Martin added on piano and keyboards) as opposed to a trio of old – Rory and his Classic Blues Rock Band of Boogie Pirates were firing on all cylinders. In full flow, there were few who could touch him and many legendary axe players of the time and since, who rate his as one the greatest.

 

So you can imagine the excitement among true fans when this 2CD compilation of 20 Previously Unreleased live tracks from his January and February 1977 UK Tour was announced – making available for the first time shows that are probably indelibly branded on noggins of punters lucky enough to have actually been there. 

 

And I am thrilled to say that "Check Shirt Wizard: Live In '77" delivers on that promise. You have to only listen to the extended 7:15 minutes of "Bought And Sold" or the slow chug of "Calling Card" to tell that not only is RG enjoying himself - he's playing with a fluidity and learned talent from a decade of solid touring that is truly fantastic. To the Jack-Knife Beats and that Souped-Up Strat of his.

 

UK/EUROPE released 4 March 2020 - "Check Shirt Wizard: Live In '77" by RORY GALLAGHER on UMC/Cadet Concept/Chess 0836946 (Barcode 602508369469) is a 20-Track 2CD Compilation of Previously Unreleased Live Versions that plays out as follows:

 

CD1 (59:58 minutes):

1. Do You Read Me 2. Moonchild

3. Bought And Sold

4. Calling Card

5. Secret Agent

6. Tattoo'd Lady

7. A Million Miles Away

8. I Take What I Want

9. Walk On Hot Coals

Tracks 1, 2 and 6 recorded at The Brighton Dome, 21 January 1977

Tracks 3, 5 and 8 recorded at Sheffield City Hall, 17 February 1977

Tracks 4, 7 and 9 recorded at Hammersmith Odeon, London, 18 Jan 1977

 

CD2 (61:23 minutes):

1. Out On The Western Plain

2. Barley Grape Rag

3. Pistol Slapper Blues

4. Too Much Alcohol

5. Going To My Home Town

6. Edged In Blue

7. Jack-Knife Beat

8. Souped-Up Ford

9. Bullfrog Blues

10. Used To Be

11. Country Mile

Tracks 1, 2 and 3 recorded at Sheffield City Hall, 17 February 1977

Tracks 4, 5 and 7 recorded Hammersmith Odeon, London, 18 Jan 1977

Tracks 8 and 9 recorded at The Brighton Dome, 21 January 1977

Tracks 6, 10 and 11 recorded at Newcastle City Hall, 18 February 1977

All songs by Rory Gallagher except five cover versions - "I Take What I Want" (Sam & Dave), "Out On The Western Plain" (Huddie Ledbetter), "Piston Slapper Blues" (Blind Boy Fuller), "Too Much Alcohol" (JB Hutto) and "Bullfrog Blues" (Traditional Blues).

 

RORY GALLAGHER – Lead Guitar, Mandolin, All Vocals

LOU MARTIN – Piano and Organ

GERRY McAVOY – Bass

ROD De 'ATH – Drums

 

The gatefold card Digipak has inner flap colour photos of our hero on stage with his trademark battered Fender Strat and titular check-shirt – a look that will make any RG fan smile. A nice touch is to show the original tape boxes under the see-through CD trays – all of it recorded on The Rolling Stones Mobile (Howard Kilgour Producer) and Jethro Tull's La Maison Rouge Mobile (Trevor White Producer). There are no liner notes per say, but it does reproduce two telling reviews on either side of live photos – one by Brian Harrigan of The Melody Maker for his 29 January 1977 gig at The Hammersmith Odeon and another from John Hamblett of the NME for the Leeds University concert on 5 February 1977. Both talk of his guitar prowess, his distinct lack of showiness that so enamoured him to the ordinary punter, but mostly they talk of the good time RG and his band gave the audience. But – as in the first review – we should talk about sound.

 

The tapes have been Remastered by FRANK ARKWRIGHT at Abbey Road Studios, but even with the best will in the world, you would have to say that at times it feels ever so slightly muffled. But – and I cannot overstate this – the sheer force of the performance comes roaring out of the speakers for every number. You only have to listen to his brilliant cover of the Sam & Dave Atlantic Records hit "I Take What I Want" (originally on the 1975 album "Against The Grain" LP) – then any audiophile nitpick goes out the window – his inventive playing, the soling sidebars, the band, the sheer slide-guitar brilliance of it blows you away. 

 

Another cool surprise is the revisits to older material like the 1971 "Deuce" riffage killer "Used To Be", the bluesy "A Million Miles Away" from "Tattoo" and "Walk On Hot Coals" from "Blueprint" – both albums issued in 1973 on Polydor Records. You would have to say that the Mandolin is too far back in the mix on the foot-stomping crowd pleaser "Going To My Home Town" and that the "Live! In Europe" version still remains definitive. "Souped-Up Ford" and "Bullfrog Blues" are incendiary numbers that contain hair-raising guitar-work and another impossibly hooky killer is "Jack-Knife Beat". And on it goes...

 

I miss the great man – so many of us Seventies kids do. And you cannot but say that this timely reminder of Rory Gallagher's simple genius is anything other than a winner. 

 

"Check Shirt Wizard: Live In '77" - Edged In Blues Rock and all good points between...

"Yeh Yeh/Get Away/Hall Of Fame Plus Bonus Tracks" by GEORGIE FAME – Two US Albums from December 1964 and March 1966 on Imperial Records in Stereo and Mono, One British Compilation Album in Mono-only from March 1967 on EMI Records Plus Nine Bonus Single Sides (November 2022 UK Beat Goes On (BGO) Compilation – 3LPs Plus Nine Bonuses Remastered onto 2CDs) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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"...Preach And Teach... "

 

Back in October 2015 most Georgie Fame fans here in the UK were licking their lips in glee at the new and gorgeous Universal/Polydor 5CD Box Set "The Whole World's Shaking: Complete Recordings 1963-1966".

 

That peach contained his second British album "Fame At Last" from October 1964 and third "Sweet Things" from March 1966 and so much more. However, those titles were track-list rejiggered (omissions and additions), artwork changed and issued as "Yeh Yeh" and "Get Away" in America in December 1964 and March 1966. And once Fame had left EMI for a new contract with Columbia/CBS Records – EMI UK issued a new March 1967 UK-only Mono-only compilation called "Hall Of Fame" – a title not covered by the 5CD Box Set.

 

And that is where this very cool Beat Goes On twofer CD compilation comes a yeah-yeah bopping in. It gathers together all three of those albums in the one place for the first time and throws in Nine Bonus Tracks – British LP tracks and seven-inch single sides from the period. This release also sees BGO of the UK reach the milestone of catalogue number 1,500 - so there are extra notes from Andy Gray of the reissue label on that too. A lot to talk of, so to the details...

 

UK released 17 November 2022 - "Yeh Yeh/Get Away/Hall Of Fame Plus Bonus Tracks" by GEORGIE FAME on Beat Goes On BGOCD1500 (Barcode 5017261215000) is a Compilation that Remasters 3LPs Plus Nine Bonus Tracks onto 2CDs and plays out as follows:

 

CD1 (73:09 minutes):

1. Let The Sunshine In [Side]

2. Yeh Yeh

3. Get On The Right Track, Baby

4. The Monkey Time

5. Preach And Teach

6. Gimme That Wine

7. I'm In The Mood For Love [Side 2]

8. Pride And Joy

9. I Love The Life I Live

10. Point Of No Return

11. Monkeying Around

12. Pink Champagne

Tracks 1 to 12 are his American Debut LP "Yeh Yeh" – released December 1964 in the USA on Imperial LP 12282 in Stereo (charted 5 January 1965 and rose to No. 137 after 3 weeks).

 

13. Get Away [Side 1]

14. Sweet Thing

15. Ride Your Pony

16. Funny How Time Slips Away

17. Sitting In The Park

18. See Saw

19. Music Talk [Side 2]

20. Last Night

21. It's Got The Whole World Shakin'

22. El Bandido

23. The World Is Round

24. The "In" Crowd

Tracks 13 to 24 are his second American album "Get Away" – released March 1966 in the USA on Imperial LP 9331 in Mono only (didn’t chart).

 

CD2 (47:03 minutes):

1. Sunny [Side 1]

2. Like We Used To Be

3. Outrage

4. In The Meantime

5. Something [Side 2]

6. Do Re Mi

7. Lil' Darlin'

Tracks 1 to 7 are part of the UK-only album "Hall Of Fame" – released March 1967 in the UK on Columbia SX 6120 in Mono only.

NOTE: In order to not duplicate titles on this 2CD compilation, seven tracks of its original 14 are not on CD2. If you want to sequence the original "Hall Of Fame" LP as was - use the following:

 

"Hall Of Fame" LP, March 1967, Columbia SX 6120 in Mono-only

Side 1:

1. Yeh Yeh (CD1, Track 2)

2. Sunny (CD2, Track 1)

3. Point if No Return (CD1, Track 10)

4. Like We Used To Be (CD2, Track 2)

5. Get On The Right Track, Baby (CD1, Track 3)

6. Outrage (CD2, Track 3)

7. Let The Sunshine In (CD1, Track 1)

Side 2:

1. Getaway (CD1, Track 13)

2. Sitting In The Park (CD1, Track 17)

3. In The Meantime (CD2, Track 4)

4. Something (CD2, Track 5)

5. Do Re Mi (CD2, Track 6)

6. Sweet Thing (CD1, Track 14)

7. Lil' Darlin' (CD2, Track 7)

 

BONUS TRACKS

8. Do The Dog (Live)

9. Shop Around (Live)

Tracks 8 and 9 are from the January 1964 UK debut album "Rhythm And Blues At The Flamingo", also January 1964 UK 45-single on Columbia DB 7193 A & B-sides. The album was recorded 'live' in September 1963 and Produced by Ian Samwell with Glyn Johns as the Engineer (Mono).

 

10. Green Onions

Track 10 is a non-album Mono B-side to "Do Re MI" – a UK 7" single released April 1964 on Columbia DB 7255

 

11. I'm In Love With You

12. Bend A Little

Tracks 11 and 12 are the Mono A and B-sides to a July 1964 Promo-Only UK 7" single on Columbia DB 7328

 

13. Telegram

Track 13 is the non-album Mono B-side of "In The Meantime", a February 1965 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 7494 – peaked at 22. "In The Meantime" the A-side is on the "Hall Of Fame" LP

 

14. It Ain’t Right

Track 14 is the non-album B-side of "Like We Used To Be", a July 1965 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 7633 (the A is Mono, the B is Stereo) – peaked at No. 33 on the charts. The A-side "Like We Used To Be" is on the "Hall Of Fame" LP

 

15. Don't Make Promises

Track 15 is the non-album Mono B-side of "Sunny", a September 1966 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 8015 (peaked at No. 13 on the charts). The A-side "Sunny" is also on the "Hall Of Fame" LP

 

16. Many Happy Returns

Track 16 is the Non-LP B-side of "Sitting In The Park", a December 1966 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 8096. The A-side is on the "Get Away" LP

 

The outer card slipcase looks and is classy, the 24-page book repros all the original artwork front and rear, pictures some foreign seven-inch sleeves to frame the Bonus Tracks and adds in new liner notes by noted writer and fan CHARLES WARING. Waring goes into depth giving a deep-dive print on those manic Modernism years between 1964 and 1966 particularly. Georgie Fame broke down doors for Mods and their adoration of all things American R & B and Soul – and so many of the covers here reflected Clive Powell’s obsession with the same. In fact, it seems off that given the British Invasion the "Get Away" album did not dent the top 200 of the American charts. It says Digitally Remastered from Original Tapes but not when or by whom, so we can presume that having licensed the material from Universal who handled the 2015 Box (it made a point of having found the best audio sources) – then these are the same. They certainly sound like it – clean – muscular and very punchy (mostly Mono).

 

Having said all of that, the first thing you could argue is that if you already own the October 2015 5CD Box Set "The Whole World's Shaking: Complete Recordings 1963-1966" – why would you buy this if 85% of it is already Remastered to perfection on that set (Tristam Powell – his son – and Andrew Walter did those RMs at Abbey Road)? The answer is the stragglers on the "Hall Of Fame" album. To the music...

 

It's easy to hear why the Flamingo-live "Do The Dog" and "Shopping Around" failed as a debut 45-single – it's joyful stuff for sure, but it’s just 'too' rough and cluttered. No such sweat with the brill R&B blasting out of your speakers with stuff like "Let The Sunshine In" and Motown's "The Monkey Time" – the girly vocals and brass jabs – all sparkling. The rhythm-section shuffle in "Pink Champagne" is fabulous – Fame's vocals fresh too. It's hard to do an instrumental diamond like "Green Onions" any kind of justice because its owned by Booker T & The M.G.'s – but Fame gives it a barnstorming arrangement that allows both the organ and Saxophone room to shine.

 

The original UK album closed on the Jazzy smooch of "I'm In The Mood For Love". Cool-city is the only way to describe the mod dancer B-side "Do-Re-Mi" (I can see why its so sought after by mod collectors) – unfortunately it's equally easy to hear why the sappy "I'm In Love With You" went only to demo-level only (the flip "Bend A Little" is far better). I'll admit that It's been decades since I last heard the Ska and Blue Beat EP – but what a blast the foursome are – and in great Audio too. But best of all for me is the monster "Yeh, Yeh" (his first No. 1) with its superb "Preach And Teach" flip (surely a shoe in for one the great double-siders).

 

The funky-as-a-gnat's-knackers "See Saw" packs huge punch while "Sitting In The Park" is as echo-lovely as the Billy Stewart 1965 Chess original. The drums on the 'so' 60ts "Music Talk" is a mod's wet dream as is his organ-drenched instrumental cover of the Ramsey Lewis nugget "The "In" Crowd". Both "The World Is Round" and the box set's namesake "The Whole World's Shaking" are fabulous Sixties R&B Jivers (I can just see the girls on the dancefloor blowing the sharp-dressed boys minds with their shimmy-shimmy-shake moves). The "Hall Of Fame" set gave a first-time-on-LP place to the rare B-side "In The Meantime" while another best Audio B-side goes to "It Ain't Right" – his own composition – worth the entry price alone.

 

OK – you could argue that there is a lot of duplication for fans on here – but even they will want the stragglers – and for newcomers - stonkingly great Audio for Georgie Boy Fame is his Mod-glorious prime (I say yeah yeah)...

"We Are The Imperials/Shades Of The 40's" by LITTLE ANTHONY and THE IMPERIALS – May 1959 and April 1961 US Debut and Second Albums on End Records (February 1998 UK Westside CD Compilation – 2LPs onto 1CD - First in Mono, Second in Stereo - Walter De Venne Remasters from Original Tapes) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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This Review Along With Over 215 Others Is Available in my

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"MANNISH BOY" 

BLUES, VOCAL GROUPS, DOO WOP, ROOTS

RHYTHM 'n' BLUES and ROCK 'n' ROLL ON CD 

Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters 

Thousands of E-Pages

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"...Tears On My Pillow..."

 

A very cool and terminally hip CD Reissue from England's Westside (a then subsidiary of Sequel Records) that lumps together two genuinely sought-after rarities in the world of Vocal Groups.

 

New York's Little Anthony and The Imperials were considered up there and not just as holders of a Vocal Group crown - Jerome "Little Anthony" Gourdine and his high voice famously dressed as a King on the album cover. Their velvety sound was actually a mixed bag of competing genres - Doo Wop, 50ts and 60ts Pop music and even early Soul (a couple of cuts here were hugely popular amongst dancers on England's Northern Soul scene).

 

So how many tears are there on his pillow and which neer-do-well put them there?

 

"We Are The Imperials featuring Little Anthony" is their 1959 US debut album on End Records in Mono (Tracks 1 to 12) - whilst "Shades Of The 40's" (Tracks 13 to 24) is their second LP issued 1961 also on End Records but this time presented here in Stereo. Here is the soggy bed linen...

 

UK released 13 February 1998 - "We Are The Imperials/Shades Of The 40's" by LITTLE ANTHONY and THE IMPERIALS on Westside WESM 556 (Barcode 5032698015566) offers 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD in full and plays out as follows (61:19 minutes):

 

1. Tears On My Pillow [Side 1]

2. Over The Rainbow

3. So Much

4. The Diary

5. Oh Yeah

6. Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing

7. When You Wish Upon A Star [Side 2]

8. Wishful Thinking

9. Cha Cha Henry

10. Traveling Stranger

11. What Did I Do

12. Two People In The World

Tracks 1 to 12 are their debut album "We Are The Imperials featuring Little Anthony" (see NOTE below) - released May 1959 in the USA on End Records END LP 303 in Mono only.

NOTE: The actual running order of the original 12-Track LP was as follows and you can sequence it from this CD using the following tracks:

Side 1:

Tracks 1, 2, 9, 4, 5 and 12

Side 2:

Tracks 7, 8, 3, 10, 11 and 6

 

13. This Love Of Mine

14. Don't Get Around Much Anymore [Side 1]

15. They Say It's Wonderful

16. If You Are But A Dream

17. Undecided

18. All Or Nothing At All

19. I'll Never Smile Again

20. Dream

21. A Lovely Way To Spend An Evening

22. I Couldn't Sleep A Wink Last Night

23. Ooh! Look-A There, Ain't She Pretty

24. I've Got A Crush On You

Tracks 13 to 24 are their second album "Shades Of The 40's" – released April 1961 in the USA on End Records END LP 311 in Mono (see NOTE re new STEREO presentation)

 

NOTE: The inlay is a gatefold slip of paper with liner notes from GORDON SKABERG of Early Bird Records (November 1997) explaining how both albums on George Goldner's END Records label were both only ever issued in Mono-Only - but the second platter had always been recorded in True Stereo and is presented here as such for the first time in the world – ever. And gorgeous is sounds too. Licensed from EMI Special Markets and using original tapes - Remasters are by WALTER DeVENNE (done in the USA) and are gorgeous.

 

As was the order of the day in the late Fifties – Long Players were usually a way of getting all the 45-single tracks in the one place with a smattering of newbees to tempt punters - and their 12-Track debut was no different. Eight of its tracks were chosen as 45s. US issued in July 1958, "Tears On My Pillow" b/w "Two People In The World" on End E-1027 was a sales winner for George Goldner's small independent label. Initially credited as just The Imperials on first pressings – the American 45-single then becoming Little Anthony and The Imperials during its sales run – and it has been a Vocal Group Classic for over 60 years. They followed that with two more choice LP tracks in October 1958 - "So Much" b/w "Oh Yeah" on End E-1036. That was followed in December 1958 with "The Diary" b/w "Cha Cha Henry" on End E-1038. The New Year chose two more – January 1959 seeing "When You Wish Upon A Star" b/w "Wishful Thinking" on End 1039.

 

However, it won't take fans long to notice that End E-1047 (May 1959) with "A Prayer And A Juke Box" b/w "River Path" and End E-1053 (July 1959) with "I'm Alright" b/w "So Near And Yet So Far" are NON-LP tracks on US Singles from the period that could have been added on a Bonus Tracks because there was/is enough playing time – but alas. And for sure some of the material is not nearly as Soulful as you would hope for – but this is still a gorgeous release celebrating early pioneers of Vocal Groups and indeed (along with Sam Cooke over on Keen Records) – the beginning of Sixties Soul that would literally change the world.

 

Including Little Anthony & The Imperials reviewed above, there is a total of five twofer CD compilations in this Westside reissue series (the other four are listed below) and all have loveliness and nostalgia dripping off of them. And thankfully – with the Remasters from original Mono and Stereo tapes – they have never sounded better either...

 

Other Titles In This Westbound CD Compilation Series out of the UK

(Remastered from Original Tapes by Walter DeVenne in the USA)

Of 2 Original Classic Doo-Wop Albums onto 1CD include:

 

THE CHANTELS

"We Are The Chantels/There's Our Song Again"

1958 and 1962 US LPs on End Records

Feb 1998 UK CD on Westside WESM 564 (Barcode 5032698015641)

 

THE CLEFTONES

"Heart And Soul/For Sentimental Reasons"

Both 1961 US LPs on Gee Records (Mono and Stereo Recordings)

Feb 1998 UK CD on Westside WESM 546 (Barcode 5032698015467)

 

THE FLAMINGO

"Flamingo Serenade/Flamingo Favorites"

April 1959 and October 1960 US LPs on Checker and End Records in Mono

Feb 1998 UK CD on Westside WESM 532 (Barcode 5032698015320)

 

THE FLAMINGOS

"Requestfully Yours/The Sound Of The Flamingos"

1960 US LPs On End Records - All Tracks in Stereo except for Six

Feb 1998 UK CD on Westside WESM 537 (5032698015375)

"Guerrilla Girls! She-Punks And Beyond 1975-2016" by VARIOUS ARTISTS featuring Patti Smith, The Bags, X-Ray Spex, Mary Monday & The Bitches, Blondie, The Raincoats, Essential Logic, pragVEC and more (January 2023 UK Ace Records CD Compilation with Nick Robbins Remasters and Mick Patrick Notes) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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PROVE IT ALL NIGHT 

Music Of 1977 to 1979 

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"...Anything's Allowed..."

 

Ace Records of the UK specialize in CD compilations – always on the hunt for that collection they know you need in your urbanite domicile like an audit of the Trump Tower accounts system.

 

Well, along comes this unladylike left-field little bruiser to sort us boys out good and proper. "Guerilla Girls! She-Punks And Beyond 1975-2016" offers you 25 remastered odes of joy from the emergence of Seventies Punk and New Wave to Girl Power and the resurgence of Power Pop and She-Punk bands of the Twenties. "Guerilla Girls!" takes in many famous names – all of who have been telling their mum since the age of fifteen that an office job is not their primary goal just at the moment.

 

And what a great listen it is too – cleverly compiled by Ace's Mick Patrick with notes by fellow admirers Lucy O’Brien, Vim Renault, Lena Cortina and Patrick himself – you literally get 79-minutes of early giants like Patti Smith, X-Ray Spex, Blondie and The Slits - to new goers on the block like Babes In Toyland, L7 and Bikini Kill (with many other worthy points inbetween).

 

I love this little CD and have been giving it some since I first spotted it on their release schedules back in January 2023. It looks good - a cool digipak, huge 40-page booklet, great audio - top stuff. Time to honor the Punkettes who put the riot in Grrrls way back when nice ladies didn't engage in such lurid botherations. To the Day-Glo details...

 

UK released Friday, 27 January 2023 - "Guerrilla Girls! She-Punks And Beyond 1975-2016" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace Records CDTOP 1599 (Barcode 029667102827) is a 25-Track CD Compilation of Remasters that plays out as follows (79:00 minutes):

 

1. In Excelsis Deo / Gloria (Version) - PATTI SMITH (from the December 1975 US LP "Horses" on Arista Records AL 4066 - Full Album Version 5:40 minutes)

2. Survive - THE BAGS (December 1978 US 45-single on Dangerhouse BAG 199, A-side)

3. Iama Poseur - X-RAY SPEX (April 1978 UK 45-single in EMI International INT 533, B-side of "The Day The World Turned Day-Glo" - and on the November 1978 UK LP "Germfree Adolescence" on EMI International INS 3023)

4. I Gave My Punk Jacket To Rickie - MARY MONDAY & THE BITCHES (1977 US 45-single on Malicious Productions (no catalogue number), A-side)

5. I Didn't Have The Nerve To Say No - BLONDIE (from the 1977 album "Plastic Letters" on Chrysalis CHR 1168)

6. You're A Million - THE RAINCOATS (from the 1979 UK album "The Raincoats" on Rough Trade ROUGH 3)

7. Popcorn Boy (Waddle Ya Do?) - ESSENTIAL LOGIC (October 1979 UK 45-single on Rough Trade RT 029, A-side - and on the December 1979 UK LP "Best Rhythm News - Waddle Ya Play?" on Rough Trade ROUGH 5)

8. Expert - prayVEC (June 1979 UK 45-Single on Spec SP 002, A-side)

9. My Cherry Is In Sherry - LUDUS (July 1981 UK 45-single on New Hormones ORG 8, A-side - and on the 1981 2LP-set "The Seduction" on New Hormones ORG 16)

10. Kray Twins - MO-DETTES (from the October 1980 UK LP "The Story So Far" on Deram SML 1120)

11. Earthbeat - THE SLITS (August 1981 UK 45-single on CBS Records A 1498, A-side - and on the October 1981 UK LP "Return Of The Giant Slits" on CBS Records CBS 85269)

12. Das Ah Riot - BUSH TETRAS (May 1981 UK 45-single on Fetish FET 007, B-side of "Things That Go BOOM In The Night")

13. Bitchen Summer (Speedway) – BANGLES (from the December 1982 US Compilation LP "Rodney On The ROQ Vol.III" on Posh Boy PBS 140)

14. Shakedown – AU PAIRS (from the August 1982 UK LP "Sense And Sensuality" on Kamera Records KAM 010)

15. It's About Time – THE PANDORAS (1984 US 4-Track EP "The Pandoras" on Moxie MM 1044)

16. Come On Now – THE PUSSYWILLOWS (from the 1988 US LP "Spring Fever!" on Telstar TR003)

17. Rules And Regulations - WE'VE GOT A FUZZBOX AND WE'RE GONNA USE IT!! (From the 1986 UK LP "Bostin' Steve Austin" on Vindaloo Records FBOX 1)

18. Her Jazz – HUGGY BEAR (February 1993 UK 45-single on Wiiija/Catcall TROUBLE 001, A-side)

19. Bruise Violet – BABES IN TOYLAND (from the 1992 CD album "Fontanelle" on Reprise 9 26998-2)

20. Rebel Girl – BIKINI KILL (from the 1992 LP "Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah" on Kill Your Rock Stars KRS 206)

21. Pretend We're Dead – L7 (from the CD album "Bricks Are Heavy" on Slash 9 26784-2)

22. What's Wrong With You – BRATMOBILE (from the 2002 CD album "Girls Get Busy" on Lookout! LK 280)

23. Let Go Of The Past – THE TUTS (from the 2002 CD album "Update Your Brain" on Dovetown DT007)

24. Hot – THE REGRETTES (from the 2015 CD album "Feel Your Feelings Fool" on Warner Brothers 557260-2)

25. Silver Spoons – SKINNY GIRL DIET (from the 2015 CD album "Heavy Flow" on Fiasco 013)

 

The card DigiPak is cute but the chunky 40-page colour booklet is a serious bit of writing genius and investigation – each track with its 45 or LP or CD pictured above. LENA CORTINA and VIM RENAULT of PunkGirlDiaries.com have contributed and the factoids come at you fast and furious. This is a compilation that celebrates the not-so-pretty – the girl who is not asked to dance but wants and deserves love and sex just as much as the rest. Their voices come seeping through and as you can expect, some of it none to pleased with the norms of a male-dominated industry (an impossibly likeable Poly Styrene of X-Ray Spex is on the cover).

 

NICK ROBBINS did the Remasters and power and passion comes a roaring out – from the near church silence of Patti Smith to the velvet-glove rock guitar of Skinny Girl Diet – there will be more than one occasion where you may need to turn down the stereo for fear of neighbour intervention. To the chunes...

 

Even now in 2023, the Patti Smith reworking of the Van Morrison Them 60ts classic "Gloria" into her "In Excelsis Deo" is a stunning listen – years ahead of its let's go wild and damn the torpedoes attitude. DJ and National Treasure John Peel loved the privately pressed Mary Monday track, while Poly Styrene sends up herself and everyone else for that matter in her "Iama Poseur" jab – a great X-Ray Spex single side. When you listen to The Raincoats strumming urban guitars and do-it-yourself Talking Heads angst - it's hard now to imagine the impact of ROUGH 3 - a label that would become dominated by The Smiths in the Eighties. They sounded like a homeless Patti Smith dreaming of Them's "Gloria" and somewhere to get a nice bag of chips - extraordinary stuff and a brill choice for left-field lovers. That is then reinforced by Essential Logic's "Popcorn Boy..." who sounded like the lovechild of Sparks and Cockney Rebel and early Jam acoustic guitar - all mad vocals and heavy-on-the-bass and social lyrics. It's a right slice of Joy Division barbed wire - love it. The earth is busy burning energy and light bulbs as clouds cough in The Slits drum-pounding ya-ya "Earthbeat" - another quirky you will either love or loathe or both. 

 

Marriage, brothers and violent men creep about the decidedly uncomfortable upbeat rhythms of "Kray Twins" - the Mo-Dettes taking on East End notoriety with a very British New Wave cavalier feel. And again the long shadow of David Byrne's Talking Heads and their neck-jerk beats permeates the brilliant "Das Ah Riot" by Bush Tetras - sounding huge here. I must admit to lack of knowledge on the very cool instrumental "Bitchen Summer (Speedway)" by The Bangles - an early 1982 stab at Link Wray greatness. The Au Pairs want us to give everything we are told by the media and Government a little thought and not be so willing to be brainwashed – their "Shakedown" a forgotten goody. Byrds type guitar jangles via The Smiths Johnny Marr run through the veins of The Pandoras EP-track "It's About Time" while that Sixties retro vibe bops out of "Come On Now", a short but very cool under two-minutes cover of The Kinks song by The Pussywillows.

 

There must be more to life, rules and regulations to blindly obey – Fuzzbox rile in their 80ts Punk vs. 60ts Girl Group "Rules And Regulations". But the first real sign of hurt and rage and pent-up anger hits hard with Huggy Bear when they tear into "Her Jazz" – which is in turn followed by the even more Nirvana-screeching attacks in "Bruise Violet" by Babes In Toyland – said to be about Courtney Love. Born of the same ripped-shirt in a nunnery attitude is "Rebel Girl" – a grungy in-yer-face shouter that sounds like a call to revolution rather than an invitation to waltz. L7 smartly break up the riffage and Hard Rock of "Pretend We're Dead" with a great middle eight and C'Mon C'Mon chants that give it a girl-Ramones feel. And on it goes...

 

For sure "Guerilla Girls! She-Punks And Beyond 1975-2016" is not the faint of heart and those needing a few quiet moments to contemplate Zen consciousness. It wants to shake you up, like they did, and I for one think these brave pioneers have pulled it off big time. Ace does it again...