"Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround Part : 50th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set" by THE KINKS – November 1970 UK Album on Pye Records in Stereo (Reprise Records in the USA) featuring Ray and Dave Davies (December 2020 UK BMG/ABKCO Records "50th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set" Featuring 3 x CDs, 2 x Repro Euro 45s, 60-Page Book and 4 x Glossy Photos of The Band All Housed in a 10" x 10" Drawer-Shaped Hard Card Box Set. Tracks feature New Alternate Versions, New Medleys and Mixes, Demos, Film Soundtrack Material, Previously Unreleased, New Interviews with Ray Davies and New 2020 Dan Hersch CD Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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"...Got To Be Free...Got To Be Free Now..."

 

*** "50^th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set" from December 2020 ***

 

Lyrics: "...I see that Union Man walking down the street...

He's the man who decides if I live or I die...if I starve or I eat..."

 

For a band so intrinsically linked with the Sixties, as ever, Ray Davies refused to be pigeonholed by its sentiment and started the new Seventies decade with a musical hand-grenade, something of a kick in the nadge for the souring hippy dream. Yet despite being a bit of a caustic brute (especially lyrically) – November 1970's album "Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround, Part 1" also contained huge popular hits like "Lola" and "Apeman" – provocatively charged sexpot songs that felt all grown up and mature and even gender-bender risky.

 

The third album in a row on Pye Records that did not chart for them in the UK The Kinks' 1970 outing "Lola Versus Powerman..." has been receiving legacy reappraisal for decades in myriad amounts of reissues (2014 was the last as a 2CD Deluxe Edition). Well here in December 2020 - it gets Big Daddy treatment on a "50^th Anniversary Deluxe Box Set" – a very sexy 10" x 10" presentation with VINYL Singles, Hardback Book...so we can finally put aside all those previous efforts (well almost). Lots to Cherry Cola...to the details...

 

UK released 11 December 2020 - "Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround & Percy: 5oth Anniversary Deluxe Box Set" by THE KINKS on BMG/ABKCO Records BMG CAT 434 BOX (Barcode 4050538600193) features 3 x CDs, 2 x Repro Euro 45s, a 60-Page Book and 4 x Glossy Photos in a 10" x 10" Drawer-Shaped Hard Card Box Set with Alternate Versions, New Medleys and Mixes, Demos, Film Soundtracks, Previously Unreleased Material, New Interviews with Ray Davies and New 2020 Dan Hersch CD Remasters that play out as follows:

 

CD1 Original Album (Stereo) 2020 Remaster + Alternate Versions (60:58 minutes):

1. The Contenders [Side 1]

2. Strangers

3. Denmark Street

4. Get Back In Line

5. Lola

6. Top Of The Pops

7. The Moneygoround

8. This Time Tomorrow [Side 2]

9. A Long Way From Home

10. Rats

11. Apeman

12. Powerman

13. Got To Be Free

Tracks 1 to 13 are the album "Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround, Part One" – their eight album released 27 November 1970 in the UK on Pye Records NSPL 18359 and 2 December 1970 in the USA on Reprise RS 6423, both in Stereo only. It peaked at No. 35 on the US LP charts, no chart in the UK.

 

BONUS TRACKS – ALTERNATE VERSIONS:

14. Lola (Mono Single Mix) - 12 June 1970 UK 7" single on Pye International 7N 17961 - 12 June 1970 US 7" single on Reprise 0930 with "cherry cola" lyric

 

15. Apeman (UK Mono Single Mix) - 20 Nov 1970 UK 7" single on Pye International 7N 45016, A-side

 

16. Rats (Mono Single Mix)  - 20 Nov 1970 UK 7" single on Pye International 7N 45016, B-side of "Apeman" - 16 Dec 1970 US 7" single on Reprise 0979

 

17. Powerman (Mono) – Recorded 4 May 1970, first released 23 May 1998 in the UK on the CD reissue of "Lola Versus Powerman..." on Essential ESM CD 509

 

18. Apeman (Alternate Version, Stereo) - originally appeared on the April 1971 Japanese LP of "Lola Versus Powerman..." on Reprise YS-2456-Y

 

19. The Moneygoround (Alternate Version, Mono) - first issued 13 August 2012 in the UK on the 5CD/1DVD Box Set "The Kinks At The BBC" on Sanctuary/UMC 279 721-8 as part of the DVD, Audio for the first time

 

NOTES CD1: Tracks 14, 15, 16, 18 and 19 first appeared on the 26 August 2014 UK Sony/Legacy 2CD Deluxe Edition Reissue on Sony/Legacy 88843089592 – all then as Previously Unreleased: Track 17 first appeared 23 May 1998 in the UK on the "Lola Versus Powerman..." CD reissue, Essential ESM CD 509

 

CD2 Alternate Versions/New Medleys & Mixes/Demos/Film Soundtrack (57:15 minutes):

1. This Time Tomorrow (Alternate Take, 2020 Mix) – Incorporates This Time Tomorrow (Instrumental Version) first issued on the August 2014 Sony/Legacy 2CD Deluxe Edition of "Lola Versus Powerman..." – this is a Previously Unreleased New Mix

 

2. Top Of The Pops (2020 Mix) – Previously Unreleased New Mix

 

3. Lola/Radio Spot, Edit (Ray's Kitchen Sink) – Previously Unreleased with New Edits, Medley, New Spoken Word by Ray and Davies and excerpts from original master tapes (text is reproduced on the credits page at the back of the book)

 

4. Got To Be Free (Ray's Kitchen Sink) – same set up as Track 3

 

5. The Contenders (Ray's Kitchen Sink) – same set up as Track 3

 

6. The Good Life (2020 Mix) – Previously Unreleased New Mix, original version, first issued on the August 2014 Sony/Legacy 2CD Deluxe Edition of "Lola Versus Powerman..." – this is an A Previously Unreleased New Mix

 

7. Apeman (Unplugged Live Version) – First released 3 October 1994 on The Kinks album "To The Bone" on Konk/The Grapevine Label KNKLP 1

 

8. Get Back In Line (Live Version) – December 1977 Christmas Concert, first issued 13 August 2012 in the UK on the 5CD/1DVD Box Set "The Kinks At The BBC" on Sanctuary/UMC 279 721-8 – Remastered 2020

 

9. Marathon (Edit, from The Long Distance Piano Player)

10. Got To Be Free (Edit, from The Long Distance Piano Player)

Both 9 and 10 Previously Unreleased, from BBC Play For Today drama starring Ray Davies – first broadcast on BBC1, 15 October 1970 – Remastered 2020

 

11. Lola (Ray Davies & Band with The Danish National Chamber Orchestra & The Danish National Vocal Ensemble, Stereo) – Previously Unreleased Version recorded 21 August 2010 at Castle Park, Ledrebord, Denmark – Remastered 2020

 

12. The Good Life (2012 Alternate Mix) – Recorded September 1970, first appeared on the 26 August 2014 UK Sony/Legacy 2CD ‘Deluxe Edition’ Reissue on Sony/Legacy 88843089592

 

13. Apeman (US Mono Single Mix) – 16 December 1970 US 45-single on Reprise 0979, A-side – 2020 Remaster

 

14. Moments (2020 Mix) – Previously Unreleased New Mix – originally on The Kinks UK soundtrack LP for the Movie "Percy" on Pye NSPL 18365 in Stereo

 

15. This Time Tomorrow & Cassette Demos Medley (Ray‘s Kitchen Sink) – Features Previously Unreleased Versions/New Edits/New Medley Plus Vocal and Instrumental Excerpts, Out-Takes and Studio Chat from various original studio demo tapes and cassettes.

 

CD3 Alternate Versions/New Medleys & Mixes/Demos/Live (50:41 minutes):

1. Get Back In Line (Ray's Kitchen Sink)

2. Rats (Ray's Kitchen Sink)

3. Rats (2020 Mix)

4. Powerman (Ray's Kitchen Sink)

5. Powerman (2020 Mix)

6. The Contenders (Instrumental Demo)

7. Anytime

8. A Long Way From Home (Ray's Kitchen Sink)

9. A Long Way From Home (Live, Austin City Limits, 2006)

10. Strangers (Ray's Kitchen Sink)

11. Strangers (2020 Stereo Mix)

12. The Way Love Used To Be (2020 Monitor Mix)

13. Apeman Morgan Studios Run-Through)

14. Radio Spot/Live, Queens College, Flushing, NY, 1971

15. The Follower – Any Time 2020 (featuring Anytime by The Kinks)

 

THE KINKS were:

RAY DAVIES – Lead Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica

DAVE DAVIES – Guitar and Vocals

JOHN GOSLING – Keyboards, Percussion

JOHN DALTON – Bass

MICK AVORY – Drums and Percussion

 

Its predecessor, the August 2014 2CD Deluxe Edition had a 24-page booklet with analysis by Peter Doggett – here we get a 60-page Hardback 10" x 10" Sized Book with a dual set of liner notes and historical extravaganza from ANDY NEILL with major inclusions from Principal Songwriter RAY DAVIES. The first opened pages offer wallets with CD1 and CD2 on the left (the album front sleeve artwork is used on both, but in a different colours) with a gorgeous repro 45-Vinyl Single in Mono for "Lola" in a pouch on the right (June 1970 Italian issue originally on Pye P67023 – the Non-LP "Berkeley Mews" on the B-side). The rear flaps has "Apeman" as the VINYL 45-Single in Mono (November 1970 Portuguese Issue on Pye PATS 7010) with CD3 (again a colour-variant of the LP sleeve) and a pouch for four pictures cards of the five–piece band – two in colour, two in black and white.

 

The first pages of the Hardback Book offer an equally fab-looking two-page collage of Picture Sleeve releases for "Lola" and "Apeman" ("Rats" was its flipside) 45-singles from around the world – serious rarities like Japan and other foreign language titles. The text begins with The Kinks like so many other huge bands of the Sixties, bogged down in legal quagmires – loaded contracts signed and witnessed back in 1964 by the Mum and Dad because they were still under-21. Neill sets the scene and Ray Davies replies and explains in highlighted bold text. 

 

In-between all these dark ruminations are page after page of period memorabilia, the black and white trade paper clippings, The Kinks on tour in the USA where much of the album was conceived, a Diary of Activities for 1970, repro of the British Pye LP labels for Side 1 and 2 (no US Reprise though strangely enough), concert flyers, full-page shots of the prettier single sleeves, outtake black and photos of them giving it some American Live at The Depot in Minneapolis on 22 May 1970 and so on (there are even shots from an August 1970 Davies family holiday at Gunwalloe Beach in Cornwall in August 1970). The last set of pages give credits – song by song breakdowns – especially on the extras – almost all of which have been released across the years on other CD reissues.

 

This reissue doesn't take the lazy reissue route and simply rehash 2014 versions - all are Newly 2020 Remastered by long-standing Rhino Records Audio Engineer DAN HERSCH from original tapes with the Analogue Transfers handled by another name synonymous with quality transfers – KEVIN GRAY. These are clean – but not clean-clean – they are clear and feel new - and even with his vocals back in the mix for effect on some tracks (those do sound a tad dated) – the album sounds so good. The moment you hear the 40-second Acoustic into to "The Contenders" or the sheer punch to the riffage of "Powerman" or the 'Yes It's No. 1!' "Top Of The Pops" and you can feel the punch. Great stuff. But the big thing for fans on this box set is the input of RAY DAVIES who has compiled his Ray's Kitchen Sink go at the extras where dialogue, snippets of demos, and new mixes are spliced into an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink variant. Works to because the Ray's Kitchen Sink tracks take the listen to extraordinary places for weary fans that have forked out for this material just one too many times before. Very tasty...let's get to the details...

 

All tracks on CD1 appeared on the 2014 Sony/Legacy 2CD DE issue, so if you already own that, nothing new here technically except that all are 2020 remasters. To the album - "...On the verge of a nervous breakdown...I went to see a solicitor..." Ray sings bitterly on "The Moneygoround" as he (like so many musicians of the day) wonder - there's all this fame so why is there so little cash to go with it? No one at the record label is answering the phone. That kind of probing angst imbibes songs like "This Time Tomorrow" and the 'where are you going' cries in "Strangers" - each tune filled with cool music unpinned by a weary pathos. The audio on the Stereo "Lola" and "Apeman" makes them huge - those brilliant and fun lyrics still raising a smile after 46 years. I'd forgotten just how New York Dolls the "Rats" track is (B-side to the "Apeman” 45 in most territories) – a hard-hitting little rocker where slick and aggressive city types are crowding our Ray's personal space. It ends on the brilliant and upbeat "Got To Be Free". The Bonus Tracks line up the Mono Single Mixes and other regional stragglers of interest like the version on the Japanese album.

 

Outtakes – New Mixes - "Anytime" - a 3:30 minute amble that feels epic – was a new find in 2014. Probably the very guitar-based feel excluded it from the LP - but there's no doubt in my mind that it's still a premium find - brilliant and exciting. The Instrumental of "The Contenders" is truly fascinating stuff - half Gary Moore's Skid Row when the guitars dominate - half Chicken Shack when the piano gets a look in. Just when you think it's going to descend into filler - "The Good Life" chugs its Havana Cigar way across your speakers - a wickedly good rocker that makes you wonder why it wasn't used as a B-side. There's Take 11 dialogue before the Alternate Take of "Lola" and a slower intro - and again - it's impressive stuff even for such a familiar song. Fans are going to eat up an instrumental of their LP fave "This Time Tomorrow" - piano and rhythm acting as a backing track as you hum along to the words in your head. The car sounds at the beginning of the Stereo "Apeman" are still intact - but after being used to the Mono Single - the 'nuclear war' instruments and lyrics feel 'massive' - an amazing listen. But the most radically different take is "Got To Be Free" where Ray sounds like he's channelling his inner Alan Price as he plinks away on a childlike piano - shame it's not better recorded and fades out too fast...

 

"This Time Tomorrow" on CD2 is ushered in with a control-booth "Rolling... " - The Alternate Mix incorporating the Instrumental Version first aired in 2014 with vocals and a Previously Unreleased New Mix. And it is a powerful wallop. So does life-is-so-easy when-your-record-is-hot "Top Of The Pops" which goes all Stooges heavy with guitar riffage and panned fay interview passages. My God doe it rock – think I might prefer it to the actual LP version (the 2020 Remix by Ray Davies and Matt Jaggar). The eavesdropping begins with the first of Ray's Kitchen Sink mash-ups where Ray and Dave Davies discuss Lola-referencing cross-dressers like Danny La Rue and Stanley Baxter – fascinating. Inbetween the talking – Davies has mixed in demos from Cassette – conversations on how Ray had to fly back to England to change the lyric from Coke Cola to Cherry Cola for the BBC who did not twig what the song was about. The National Guitar sounding not unlike a Banjo – it is fabulous stuff.

 

Suddenly the perfect Stereo of "This Time Tomorrow" comes sailing out of your speakers for Track 4 but again it morphs into chat between the Davies boys mixed in with Demo tapes – utterly brilliant. They discuss going down to Ronnie Scott's to see Tubby Hayes – then Trad Jazz bands – all of whom influenced the songs. "The Good Life" gets a Bowie/T.Rex harder Rocking versions of the key album cuts – all remixed by Ray Davies and Matt Jaggar – love it – loud and snotty as opposed to the clinical precision say of the LP cut. All of that chat and grunge is cleverly followed by a Konk Studios unplugged Acoustic/Accordian version of "Apeman" (superbly recorded April 1994) – great stuff. The Audio for the 1977 Live Version of "Get Back In Line" is really good – Ray riling against Trade Union bullshit. The first of the two from "The Long Distance Piano Player" is very rough and something you will probably skip in the future. Things improve with "Got To Be Free" – better sound and performance but still very hissy. The orchestral/band version of "Lola" is HUGE and again I might just prefer the 2020 New Mix of "Moments" more than I do the released LP version.

 

Fans will know that CD2 of the 2014 DE version offered the whole of the "Percy" soundtrack by The Kinks from March 1971 (13 songs) plus 10 Bonuses atop that. CD3 here in 2020 may have only 15-Tracks, but many are longer Ray's Kitchen Sink mash-ups and in that respect don't repeat themselves and offer fans genuinely new stuff. After three Ray's Kitchen Sink mash-ups of "Rats", "Powerman" and "Strangers" (Dave and Ray having a natter over a cup of tea intermingled with demo cuts) – you begin very quickly to see why Ray put the 2020 Mix immediately after each – they rock like a mother – very clever sequencing indeed. And on it goes...

 

"...It might even turn into a steady job..." - our Ray roared on "Top Of The Pops" - the life of a Rock Musician becoming his full time job in 1970 – tax breaks or no. It would take a signing to RCA Victor and new material before The Kinks troubled the LP charts again (at least in Blighty). But that is another 50^th Anniversary coming at ya soon.

 

I do not in truth consider "Lola Versus Powerman..." to be the supposed masterpiece many Kinks fans like to claim it is (for me it's a 4-star LP). But after many wearying decades of reissue-upon-reissue – you have to say that this 50^th Anniversary splurge from December 2020 put together by the mainman himself with sympathetic Audio Engineers - finally does that forgotten LP real justice because it is a 5-star celebration. Brilliant and then some...

"The Chess Box" by ETTA JAMES – Single Sides, Album Tracks, Ten Previously Unreleased Recordings, Three New To An Album and Three from Post MCA/Chess CD Compilations. Releases cover March 1960 to April 1975 on Argo, Cadet and Chess Records and Guests Include Harvey Fuqua of The Moonglows, Sugar Pie DeSanto and Lowell George of Little Feat (June 2000 US MCA/Chess Records 3CD 72-Track Digibook Compilation with Inner Attached 40-Page Booklet, Previously Unreleased Tracks and Erick Labson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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This Review Along With Over 215 Others Is Available in my

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"...At Last My Love Has Come Along..."

 

Between 1988 and 1991 on MCA/Chess - Howlin' Wolf, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley and even Bassist and Songwriter Willie Dixon all had their LP-Sized multiple CD Box Sets released in "The Chess Box" series. But because it came late to the reissue dancehall (June 2000 in the USA) – when Etta James finally did get her "Chess Box" set - it turned out to be 3CD Digibook presentation that few seemed to notice at the time or even care about.

 

Which is a damn shame because Etta's 'Chess Box' is chockers with goodies and boasts stonkingly great Remastered Audio by ERICK LABSON – an Audio Engineer with over 1000 credits to his name including almost all of the famous Chess Records catalogue. I seek out Erick Labson transfers - see my reviews for Buddy Holly, Steppenwolf, The Crusaders, The Mamas & The Papas, Three Dog Night, Neil Diamond, Bo Diddley, Bill Haley & His Comets, Bobby Bland, The Dells, John Lee Hooker, The Who and loads more. This is the very best you have ever heard the 1960 Etta James classic "At Last" in all its romantic swooning passion. Despite its title - "The Chess Box" may only be a book, but it rocks like something bigger. To the pain-drenched details...

 

US released 27 June 2000 - "The Chess Box" by ETTA JAMES on MCA/Chess Records 088 112 288-2 (Barcode 008811228828) is a 3CD Long Digibook of Remastered 1960 to 1974 Argo and Chess Mono and Stereo Recordings that plays out as follows:

 

CD1 1960-1962 (75:58 minutes):

1. All I Could Do Was Cry (March 1960, Argo 5359, A-side)

2. My Dearest Darling (August 1960, Argo 5368, A-side)

3. If I Can't Have You (Etta James and Harvey Fuqua, July 1960, Chess 1760, A-side)

4. I Just Want To Make Love To You (December 1960, Argo 5380, B-side of "At Last" – for A-side see Track 9 on CD1)

5. Anything To Say You're Mine (March 1961, Argo 5385, B-side of "Trust In Me" – for the A-side see Track 11 on CD1)

6. In My Diary (from her 2nd album "The Second Time Around" released September 1961 in the USA on Argo Records LP 4011 (Mono) and Argo LPS 4011 (Stereo) - the MONO mix is used)

7. Spoonful (Etta James and Harvey Fuqua, November 1960, Chess 1771, A-side)

8. A Sunday Kind Of Love (July 1961, Argo 5393, B-side of "Don't Cry Baby" – for the A-side see Track 12 on CD1)

9. At Last (December 1960, Argo 5380, A-side – for B-side see Track 4 on CD1)

10. Stormy Weather (from her Debut Album "At Last!" released November 1960 in the USA on Argo Records LP 4003 (Mono) and Argo LPS 4003 (Stereo) – MONO Mix is used)

11. Trust In Me (March 1961, Argo 5385, A-side – for the B-side see Track 5 on CD1)

12. Don't Cry Baby (July 1961, Argo 5393, A-side of– for the B-side see Track 8 on CD1)

13. Fool That I Am (May 1961, Argo 5390, A-side)

14. One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) (from her 2nd album "The Second Time Around" released September 1961 in the USA on Argo Records LP 4011 (Mono) and Argo LPS 4011 (Stereo) - the MONO mix is used)

15. Waiting For Charlie (To Come Home) (January 1962, Argo 5409, B-side of "Something's Got A Hold On Me" – for the A-side see Track 19 on CD1)

16. Don't Get Around Much Anymore (from her 2nd album "The Second Time Around" released September 1961 in the USA on Argo Records LP 4011 (Mono) and Argo LPS 4011 (Stereo) - the MONO mix is used)

17. Next Door To The Blues (September 1962, Argo 5424, A-side)

18. I Don't Want It – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (Recorded Dec 1961)

19. Something's Got A Hold On Me (January 1962, Argo 5409, A-side – for the B-side see Track 15 on CD1)

20. Stop The Wedding (July 1962, Argo 5418, A-side)

21. These Foolish Things (Remind Me Of You) (from her 3^rd studio album "Etta Sings For Lovers" on Argo LP 4018)

22. You Got Me Where You Want Me – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (Recorded June 1962)

23. I Want To Be Loved (But Only By You) (from her 3^rd studio album "Etta Sings For Lovers" on Argo LP 4018)

24. Prisoner Of Love (from her 3^rd studio album "Etta Sings For Lovers" on Argo LP 4018)

25. Pushover (March 1963, LP 4018)

26. Be Honest With Me (July 1963, Argo 5445, B-side of "Pay Back" – for the A-side see Track 3 on CD2)

NOTES:

Tracks 18 and 22 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Track 26 is Previously Unreleased on Album

 

CD2 1962-1969 (76:56 minutes):

1. Would It Make Any Difference (December 1962, Argo 5430, A-side)

2. Look Who's Blue? (March 1964, Argo 5465, B-side of "Loving You More Every Day" – Previously Unreleased on Album – A-side is Track 7 on CD2)

3. Pay Back (July 1963, Argo 5445, A-side – for the B-side see Track 26 on CD1)

4. Two Sides (To Every Penny) (September 1963, Argo 5452, A-side)

5. At Last (Live) – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (Recorded September 1963 at The New Era Club in Nashville, Tennessee)

6. Baby What You Want Me To Do (Live) (From the 1963 US LP "Etta Rocks The House" on Argo LP 4032)

7. Lovin' You More Every Day (March 1964, Argo 5465, A-side – the B-side is Track 2 on CD2)

8. I Wish Someone Would Care (from the 1964 US LP "Queen Of Soul" on Argo LP 4040)

9. Bobby Is His Name (November 1964, Argo 5485, B-side of "Mellow Fellow")

10. Only Time Will Tell (January 1966, Argo 5526, A-side)

11. (I Don't Need Nobody To Tell Me) How To Treat My Man – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (Recorded 4 August 1965)

12. In The Basement, Part 1 - with SUGAR PIE DeSANTO (July 1966, Cadet 5539, A-side)

13. Lover Man (Oh, Where Can He Be?) (First issued on the 1995 US CD compilation "These Foolish Things: The Classic Balladry Of Etta James" on Chess CHD-9354 – originally recorded September 1965)

14. Do I Make Myself Clear – with SUGAR PIE DeSANTO (December 1965, Cadet 5519, A)

15. I Prefer You (December 1966, Cadet 5552, A-side)

16. It Must Be Your Love (May 1967, Cadet 5564, A-side)

17. 842-3089 (Call My Name) (July 1967, Cadet 5568, A-side)

18. I'd Rather Go Blind (October 1967, Cadet 5578, B-side of "Tell Mama" – see Track 19 on CD2)

19. Tell Mama (October 1967, Cadet 5578, A-side – for B-side see Track 18 on CD2)

20. Do Right Woman, Do Right Man (First issued on the 1993 US 2CD Chess Masters Compilation "The Essential Etta James" on MCA/Chess CHD2-9341 – November 1967 recording)

21. Security (February 1968, Cadet 5594, A-side)

22. I Worship The Ground You Walk On (May 1968, Cadet 5606, B-side of "I Got You Babe" – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED on Album)

23. You Took It – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (recorded 2 August 1968)

24. Almost Persuaded (December 1968, Cadet 5630, A-side)

25. You Got It (September 1968, Cadet 5620, A-side)

26. Light My Fire – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (Doors cover version, recorded 29 and 30 April 1969)

NOTES:

Tracks 2 and 22 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED on Album

Tracks 5, 11, 23 and 26 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

 

CD3 1969-1974 (76:16 minutes):

1. Slow And Easy – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (Recorded 29 and 30 April 1969)

2. The Soul Of A Man – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (Recorded 29 and 30 April 1969)

3. Miss Pitiful (September 1969, Cadet 5655, A-side)

4. Losers Weepers, Part 1 (September 1970, Cadet 5676, A-side – also on the December 1970 US LP "Losers Weepers" on Cadet LPS 847 in Stereo)

5. I Found A Love (March 1972, Chess 2125, A-side)

6. W.O.M.A.N. (May 1972, Chess 2128, A-side)

7. Never My Love – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (Recorded March 1973)

8. I Never Meant To Love Him (First issued on the 1993 US 2CD Chess Masters Compilation "The Essential Etta James" on MCA/Chess CHD2-9341 – March 1973 recording)

9. You Lost That Lovin' Feelin' – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (Righteous Brothers cover, Barry Mann, Cynthia Well and Phil Spector song, recorded March 1973)

10. Sail Away (from the July 1973 US LP "Etta James" on Chess CH 50042 – Randy Newman cover version)

11. Down So Low (from the July 1973 US LP "Etta James" on Chess CH 50042 – Tracy Nelson cover version)

12. All The Way Down (September 1973, Chess CH 2144, A-side)

13. God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind) (from the July 1973 US LP "Etta James" on Chess CH 50042 – Randy Newman cover version)

14. Feelin' Uneasy (from the July 1973 US LP "Etta James" on Chess CH 50042 – Also July 1974 US 45-single on Chess CH 2153, B-side of "Out On The Streets, Again" – Track 19 on CD3)

15. St. Louis Blues (from the June 1974 US LP "Come A Little Closer" on Chess CH 60029 – W.C. Handy cover version)

16. Let's Burn Down The Cornfield (from the June 1974 US LP "Come A Little Closer" on Chess CH 60029 – Randy Newman cover version)

17. Gonna Have Some Fun Tonight (from the June 1974 US LP "Come A Little Closer" on Chess CH 60029 – Trevor Lawrence and Gabriel Mekler song)

18. Sookie Sookie (from the June 1974 US LP "Come A Little Closer" on Chess CH 60029 – a Steppenwolf cover version)

19. Out On The Street, Again (from the June 1974 US LP "Come A Little Closer" on Chess CH 60029 – Trevor Lawrence and Gabriel Mekler song)

20. Lovin' Arms (April 1975, Chess CH 2171, A-side)

NOTES:

Tracks 1, 2, 7 and 9 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

 

The look on the outside of the tall Digibook is almost of Hessian – that famous publicity photo of a young Jamesetta Hawkins centring the text – the whole set compiled and produced by ANDY McKAIE – a trusted name associated with loads of archival Box sets and Anthologies. Inside is a rather lovely and carefully put-together 40-page attached booklet with a History of her career by LEE HILDEBRAND (Pages 3 to 19) with the rest taken up by Track-By-Track info and Discography Details. Etta died January 2012, so she was still alive when the set was compiled and contributed new interviews to Hildebrand that were in turn wrapped around new photos from her own archive and that of Chess. But the big news is ERICK LABSON Transfers and Remasters from Mono and Stereo Tapes which are amazing. The crooner material of the early Sixties did not really suit – so you will (like say Sam Cooke) struggle a tad with material not up to her potential. But make no mistake – it will at least sound beautifully clean and present and it adds so much enjoyment to the music. To the chunes...

 

Of the overall seventy-two tracks, 10 are Previously Unreleased, 3 Previously Unreleased on Album and 3 from later MCA/Chess CD Compilations - the remainder are Single and LP-sides - many being rare Non-LP B-sides and so on. The overall listen as regards songs is not all great as I said already, but when she the material matched the passionate voice, sparks flew. Tracks on CD1 like "Don't Get Around Much Anymore" are too close to bad cabaret – but then you get tingles from the Bluesy almost female Sinatra vibe to "Fool That I Am" – and in beautifully clear audio. The unreleased "I Don't Want It" on CD1 is OK and you can hear why it was canned – better unreleased is the Brassy Bopper "You Got Me Where You Want Me" – a genuine find – gorgeous Stereo Audio too. The orchestra swirling around "I Want To Be Loved (But Only By You)" is beautifully presented here even if the sentiment is a tad too syrupy for Etta. Better is the punchy Organ-driven Tony Clarke/Billy Davis kitty-kitty-purring bopper "Pushover" (look out Romeo). A Gene Autry/Fred Rose Country shuffler gets the Etta piano R&B treatment from Etta on "Be Honest With Me" – a single side that has never been on an album until this 2000 Anthology.

 

As you can see from the credits on CD1 - the singles include duets with Harvey Fuqua of The Moonglows and I am fairly sure that that is his spoken voice introducing "Stop The Wedding" like a courtroom judge about to don his executioner cap. "A Sunday Kind Of Love" is a cover of The Harp-tones 1953 Vocal Group classic on Bruce Records – Etta doing it justice. What can you say about "At Last" - a song that still touches and tingles after all these decades. Other highlights include the let's get frisky "I Just Want To Make Love To You" - a Willie Dixon song made famous by Muddy Waters on Chess in 1954 and covered by hundreds of band since. But as I already said, CD1 is slightly let down by too many sappy crooner tunes clearly hustling for that female Sam Cooke/Frank Sinatra marketplace – she feels like Aretha pre Atlantic Records – waiting to be given the right material and then unleashed.

 

As CD2 starts with a Roy Orbison-good sounding "Would It Make Any Difference" where our EJ wonders if her man would stay away ever she was in trouble bad (he would, the snake) – you are hit with clarity that is stunning. Etta would not like any person to experience "Pay Back" – a cautionary bopper tale – another playing him for a fool in "Two Sides (To Every Story)". The Previously Unreleased live version of "At Last" was recorded in September 1962 and in some ways is bizarre – a rough and rowdy crowd where you cannot make out of they are just drunk or actively against and talk all the way through the performance – it’s like she’s singing to a crowd with a band that is just trying to get through the set. The raucous live version of "Baby What You Want Me To Do" is the same – only the crowd seems more in her boogie favour – her voice and delivery just fantastic (Janis Joplin smiling from ear to ear).

 

The "Etta James" Soul, Funk and Seventies R&B relaunch album from July 1973 on Chess Records saw EJ cover three Randy Newman songs - "Sail Away" from the RN album of the same name from 1972 being the first choice here (the other is "God's Song" – they left off "Leave Your Hat On"). But with just her name in block capitols on the cover of "Etta James", it is hardly surprising that this uninspired and uninspired-looking artwork did the LP no favours. Few Soul fans even knew of its existence. Hip-O Select finally did a Reissue CD of it in 2006 remastered superbly by Gavin Lurssen, but even that is hard to find and expensive in 2023. Thankfully this "Chess Box" also includes the excellent "Down So Low" from the same album – a Tracy Nelson cover version that includes Ken Marco on Guitar, William D. Smith on Keyboards and master sessionman Chuck Rainey on Bass. Another is the Gabriel Mekler (Producer) and Trevor Laurence written opening cut "All The Way Down" which Chess issued as an American 45-single in September 1972 with the album cut "Lay Back Daddy" on the flipside.

 

But perhaps most astonishing of all inclusions on CD3 is the gut-wrenchingly moving almost creepy "Feelin' Uneasy" where she literally sings no words but moans through the music with guttural pleas that have risen up the surface (she was in withdrawal from drugs). "Feelin' Uneasy" was not surprisingly relegated to the flipside of a July 1974 US 45 for "Out On The Street, Again" (Track 19 on this CD) – but what an astonishing moment and somehow a microcosm for her whole troubled life. Little Feat fans will probably know that amongst the guitar players for the 1974 "Come A Little Closer" album sessions was Lowell George (Danny Kortchmar – long associated with James Taylor and Carole King – was in there too as was Wah Wah Watson). Lowell George turns up on three 1974 cuts – the W.C. Handy traditional "St. Louis Blues" and another Randy Newman cover version "Let's Burn Down The Cornfield" – both from the "Come A Little Closer" on Chess. That album ably attacks the old 60ts Steppenwolf/John Kay-written chestnut "Sookie Sookie" – very cool and one that suited EJ.

 

"The Chess Box" is by no means all genius (hence the 4-star rating), but it has 5-star Remastered Audio and enough released and unreleased goodies to satisfy. And frankly anything by the great lady on the many fab labels around Chess Records is nectar to me. Get uneasy with this one...