"Higher!" by SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE – 10" x 10" 4CD Book Set Anthology Covering 1964 to 1977 Recordings, Single Mixes and LP Cuts on Autumn and Epic Records in Mono and Stereo Including Seventeen Previously Unreleased (August 2013 UK Sony Music/Epic/Legacy 4CD Book Set with 77-Tracks, A 104-Booklet, 17 Previously Unreleased and Vic Anesini Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Different Strokes For Different Folks..."

 

"Let The Music Take You Higher!" - the sticker blurb heralds on this beautifully laid out 2013 Epic/Legacy 4CD vaults trawl for Prince's Soul Brother from another mother – Sly Stone and his Family of – well – Stoners.

 

"Higher!" encompasses 77-Tracks - those early Mono Mix 45s on Autumn Records and of course Epic – Seventeen Previously Unreleased (primarily 1967 and 1968 sessions) – one of the most lavishly annotated 104-page booklets I have ever seen (nipping at the buds of Bear Family, it's that good) – and all of it Remastered from first generation tapes by a name you can trust – VIC ANESINI. Anesini has handled Presley, Paul Simon, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Byrds, Nilsson, Simon & Garfunkel, Mott The Hoople, Santana, Kansas, Nick Lowe, The Jayhawks, Mountain, Jeff Beck and oodles more. There is mucho to document...

 

UK and EUROPE released 23 August 2013 - "Higher!" by SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE on Sony Music/Epic/Legacy 88697536652 (Barcode 886975366521) is a 4CD 10" x 10" Book Set with 77-Tracks recorded between 1964 and 1977 and a 104-Booklet – it plays out as follows (all tracks by Sly & The Family Stone except where stated otherwise):

 

CD1 (64:58 minutes):

1. I Just Learned How To Swim – SLY STEWART

2. Scat Swim – SLY STEWART - Tracks 1 and 2 are August 1964 US 45-single on Autumn Records 3, A&B-sides

3. Buttermilk (Part One) – SLY - August 1965 US 45-single on Autumn Records 14, A-side

4. Dance All Night – SLY & FREDDIE [Sly and Freddie Stewart] - Recorded July 1965, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED VERSION

5. Temptation Walk (Part One) – SLY - December 1965 US 45-single on Autumn 26, A-side

6. I Ain't Got Nobody – SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE

7. I Can't Turn You Loose – SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE (see NOTES for Tracks 6 and 7)

8. Higher (Mono Single Master, Promo-Only First Pressing)

9. Underdog (Mono Single Master)

10. Bad Risk (Mono Single Master) - Tracks 8, 9 and 10 see NOTES)

11. Let Me Hear It From You (Mono Single Master) - November 1967 US 45-single on Epic 5-10256, Unique Mix and B-side to "Dance To The Music"

12. Advice (Mono) - from the October 1967 US LP "A Whole New Thing" on Epic LN 24324 in Mono – there was a Stereo variant of the LP in the States also on Epic BN 26323 – neither received an issue in the UK

13. If This Room Could Talk (Mono) - same as Track 12

14. I Cannot Make It (Mono) - same as Track 12

15. Trip To Your Heart (Mono) - same as Track 12

16. I Hate To Love Her (Mono) - same as Track 12

17. Silent Communication – Recorded July 1967, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

18. I Get High On You (Version One) – recorded August 1967, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

19. I Remember – recorded July 1967, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

20. My Woman's Head – recorded July 1967, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

NOTES on CD1:

Tracks 1 to 5, 8 to 16 in MONO; Tracks 6, 7 and 17 to 20 in STEREO

Tracks 4 and 17 to 20 are PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

Tracks 6 and 7 – Track 6 "I Ain't Got Nobody" was initially known as "For Real" and is the first recording made as a Demo in January 1967 where the band is credited Sly And The Family Stone – Track 7 "I Can't Turn You Loose" is from the same January 1967 session. A later re-recording of "I Ain't Got Nobody" is on the "Dance To The Music" LP in 1967. But when the band became chart-toppers in America and around the world, the 1967 Demo Versions of both Tracks 6 and 7 surfaced as a semi-bootlegs twice – 1970 in France on BYG Records 129 018 credited as "Good For Real" – the B-side to "I Can't Turn You Loose" (an Otis Redding cover version) in a picture sleeve – and September 1972 in the USA as the A&B-sides of Loadstone 3951. The label sides of Loadstone 3951 are on Page 37 of the booklet

Tracks 8, 9 and 10 - August 1967 saw a US-only Promo-only 45-single on Epic 5-10229 with "Higher" as the B-side to "Underdog". It was quickly withdrawn and September 1967 saw Epic 5-10229 repressed with "Bad Risk" as the flipside to "Underdog" on the A. All three tracks are included here

 

CD2 (67:16 minutes):

1. What's That Got To Do With Me – recorded July 1967, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

2. Fortune And Fame recorded July 1967, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

3. What Would I Do – August 1967 recording unissued until it was used as a Bonus Track on the 1997 Expanded Edition CD of "A Whole New Thing" on Epic/Legacy 82796 90277-2

4. Only One Way Out Of This Mess (same as Track 3)

5. I Know What You Came To Say – recorded July 1967, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

6. Dance To The Music (Mono Single Master) – November 1967 US 45-single on Epic 5-10256, A-side)

7. Ride The Rhythm – from the April 1968 US 2^nd studio album "Dance To The Music" on Epic BN 26371 in Stereo (see also NOTES)

8. Color Me True (Colour Me True in the UK) (see NOTES)

9. Are You Ready - from the April 1968 US 2^nd studio album "Dance To The Music" on Epic BN 26371 in Stereo

10. Don't Burn Baby - from the April 1968 US 2^nd studio album "Dance To The Music" on Epic BN 26371 in Stereo

11. We Love All – recorded September 1967, first appeared 2007 on the Expanded Edition CD reissue of "Dance To The Music" on Epic/Legacy 82796 90274-2

12. Danse A La Musique (Mono Single Master) – THE FRENCH FRIES – March 1968 US 45-single on Epic 5-10313, A-side

13. Small Fries (Mono Single Master) – THE FRENCH FRIES – Side B of Track 12 (both Tracks Sly Stone originals)

14. Chicken (Mono Single Master) – Cancelled before release US 45-single would have been Epic 5-10333

15. Into My Own Thing – from the album "Life" released November 1968 in the USA on Epic BN 26397 (Stereo only) and January 1969 in the UK as "M'lady" on Direction 8-63461 (Stereo only)

16. Life (Mono Single Master) – June 1968 US 45-single on Epic 5-10353, A-side – different Lead Vocal to the Stereo version on the LP

17. Love City (Mono) – recorded May 1968, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED MONO MIX

18. M'lady (Mono Single Master) – June 1968 US 45-single on Epic 5-10353, as B-side, then flipped as Promoted as the A-side

19. Dynamite! – recorded April 1968, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

20. Undercat (Instrumental) – recorded August 1967, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED (see NOTES)

NOTES on CD2:

Tracks 6, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17 and 18 in MONO; all others in STEREO

Tracks 1, 2, 5, 17, 19 and 20 are PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

Tracks 7 and 8 also appeared as Tracks 1 and 2 on Side 2 of a 45-single 4-Track Free Mini LP play played at 33 1/3 album speed (Epic S EPC 3048) that came with January 1972 UK copies of the LP "There's A Riot Goin' On" (Epic 64613)

Track 20 would see elements of "Undercat" develop and evolve into the song "Plastic John" that appeared on the "Life" album of 1968

 

CD3 (77:36 minutes):

1. Everyday People (Mono Single Master) - see Track 2

2. Sing A Simple Song (Mono Single Master) – Tracks 1 and 2 are the A&B-sides of a November 1968 US 45-single on Epic 5-10407

3. I Get High On You (Version 2) – recorded February 1968, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED (see NOTES)

4. Wonderful World Of Color – recorded May 1968, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

5. Pressure – recorded August 1968, unissued outtake that first appeared on the 2007 Expanded Edition CD reissue of "Life" on Epic/Legacy 82876 83945-2

6. I Want To Take You Higher (Mono Single Master) – March 1969 US 45-single on Epic 5-10450, B-side of "Stand!"

7. Seven More Days – as per Track 5

8. Feathers (Instrumental) – recorded September 1968, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

9. Somebody's Watching You – from the album "Stand!" released April 1969 in the USA on Epic BN 26456 (Stereo only) and July 1969 in the UK on Direction 8-63655 (stereo only)

10. Sex Machine – as per Track 9

11. Hot In The Summertime (Mono Single Master) – July 1969 US 45-single on Epic 5-10497, A-side

12. Everybody Is A Star (Mono Single Master)

13. Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) – Tracks 12 and 13 are the B&A-sides of a December 1969 US 45-single on Epic 5-10555

14. Stand! (Live) – see NOTES

15. You Can Make It If You Try (Live) – see NOTES

16. Dance To The Music (Live) – Tracks 16 and 17 see NOTES

17. Medley: Music Lover/I Want To Take You Higher/Music Lover (Live)

NOTES on CD3:

Tracks 1, 2, 6, 11 and 13 in MONO; all others in STEREO

Tracks 3, 4, 8, 16 and 17 are PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

Tracks 14 and 15 were from the 1971 US 3LP Various Artists set "The First Great Rock Festivals Of The Seventies – Isle Of Wight – Atlanta Pop Festival" on Columbia G3X 30807. On the original triple, the Isle of Wight Medley was run as one 10:14 minute track; here it is divided into two. Tracks 16 and 17 were recorded on the same day also at the Isle of Wight Festival, 30 August 1970, but left off the 3LP set. They are issued here for the first time

 

CD4 (72:39 minutes):

1. Luv N' Haight (Single Master, 4:02 minutes)

2. Family Affair – Tracks 1 and 2 are the B&A-sides of an October 1971 US 45-single on Epic 5-10805

3. Brave And Strong (Mono Single Master)

4. Runnin' Away (Mono Single Master) - Tracks 3 and 4 are the B&A-sides of a January 1972 US 45-single on Epic 5-10829

5. (You Caught Me) Smilin' (Single Master) – March 1972 US 45-single on Epic 5-10850, A-side

6. Spaced Cowboy – from the album "There's A Riot Goin' On" released November 1971 in the USA on Epic KC 30986 and January 1972 in the UK on Epic S EPC 64613

7. You're The One (Live) – recorded September 1975 in Mono at Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

8. In Time – from the August 1973 LP "Fresh" on Epic KE 32134

9. If You Want Me To Stay (Single Master) – June 1973 US 45-single on Epic 5-11017, A-side

10. Frisky (Mono Single Master) – October 1973 US Promo-Only 45-single on Epic 5-11060, A-Side

11. Skin I'm In - from the August 1973 LP "Fresh" on Epic KE 32134

12. If It Were Left Up To Me (Mono Single Master) - October 1973 US Promo-Only 45-single on Epic 5-11060, A-Side

13. Time For Livin' (Mono Single Master) – June 1974 US 45-single on Epic 5-11140, A-side

14. Can't Stain My Brain (Single Master) – October 1974 US 45-single on Epic 8-50033, B-side of "Loose Booty"

15. Loose Booty – from the album "Small Talk" released July 1974 in the USA on Epic PE 32930 and August 1974 in the UK on Epic S EPC 69070

16. Le Lo Li (Single Master) – SLY STONE - December 1975 US 45-single on Epic 8-50175, A-side

17. Crossword Puzzle (Single Master) – SLY STONE - February 1976 US 45-single on Epic 8-50201, A-side

18. Family Again – January 1977 US 45-single on Epic 8-50331, A-side - featuring Johnny Colla, later Saxophonist with Huey Lewis and The News

19. Hoboken – SLY STONE - recorded October 1975 and April 1977, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

20. High – SLY STONE – recorded October 1975, PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

NOTES on CD4:

Tracks 3, 4, 7, 10, 12 and 13 in MONO; all others in STEREO

Track 3 would eventually be re-recorded by Sly for inclusion on his 1975 album "High On You"

Tracks 7, 19 and 20 are PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

 

The Deluxe 10 x 10 Packaging is a visual assault and in all the best ways. The rear title-sheet on the rear lips beneath the box set but of course once the shrink-wrap is removed is left dangling as stand-alone card. I had to put the entire package in a LP heavy gauge sleeve to protect the damn thing. But what will get to you as you remove the 104-page booklet from its slipcase slot is the content. I cannot imagine the amount of months it must have taken to collate together this amount of period memorabilia into coherent pages. It is gorgeous. The time line from March 1943 (his birth) to 2013 (aged 70) begins on Page 77 with a full-page colour shot of the band in full 1967 dude-apparel. The text is by EDWIN and ARNO KONINGS and edited by ALEX PALAO. However, there are a few annoying niggles. You just wish the track-by-track details actually went deeper – I have provided the release dates and catalogue numbers and which is an A-side or B – the pages here kind of half do that. But the colour and black and white photos are many and stunning. – Pages 24 and 25 mixing in a 1971 concert poster (Rare Earth and Ruth Copeland on the same bill) with on-stage photos of a band finally arriving. VIC ANESINI did the Remasters - typically clean, clear and muscular. CD3 and CD4 are fabulous sounding – primarily Stereo.

 

CD1 opens with the yeah-yeah-yeah mid 60ts R&B dancer "I Just Learned How To Swim" – Sly neglecting his homework in favour of things more youthful and picturesque. The B-side sees Sly scat words and sounds – "Ugh! And Come On Now!" shouted out every few moments (surprisingly good audio). Sly don’t want a steady woman as he sings "Dance All Night" – his non-daylight brain focused on the Philly and The Watusi come the sun going down (punchy Mono on this one too). Speaking of that sound - I would have to say though and despite their rarity on digital - the Mono Single Mixes of "Underdog" and "Bad Risk" disappoint somewhat. I go back the LP Stereo cuts all day long. I am super impressed however at how good the two French Fries tracks sound - even in that super-silly distorted voice like he is Mickey Mouse (him under another name). And the withdrawn "Chicken" 45 seems like a mistake because it was surely Funky and cluck-cluck catchy enough to have been a hit. Got to love that spacey feel to "Silent Communication" too.

 

The second LP "Life" from 1968 did not proffer those all-important hit singles – so despite the Mono 45 sides for both "Life" and "M'lady" being plugged by Columbia as A-sides – they did not do the business and the album stalled the group (there is a lovely full-page Promo Ad for the album reproduced on Page 46 of the beautiful booklet). CD2 opens with three Previously Unissued cuts made in the summer of 1967 that first appeared on Epic/Legacy CD reissues - "What's That Got To Do With Me" and the smoocher come lounge-room-lizard vibe to "Fame And Fortune". The third and best is the slow sexy Soul of "What Would I Do" – a tune that surely would have made a great Non-LP B-side. "Dance To The Music" sees the band hit their Funky stride – still such a tune. Clever choice is the frantic boogie of "Ride The Rhythm" from 1968 that British fans got on a 4-track Free Mini LP 45-single that played at LP-speed (it was given away as a bonus when they bought copies of the "There's A Riot Goin' On" LP in the UK in January 1972). Do you know how to avoid becoming sick they asked in "Color Me True" – another brassy funk workout – and again a track on the Free Mini LP bonus EP. You can hear why they left off "We Love All", too many radical and challenging lyrics maybe and that stop-start trippy construction - but I think it more interesting and positive than some of the released stuff – and a real find.

 

Magic opens CD3 with a double-whammy – the double A-side 45 Mono Mixes of the racially joyous "Everyday People" and the do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do Funk of "Sing A Simple Song" (1 November 1968, the picture sleeve and its 45 are pictured on Page 48 of the booklet). The unreleased "Wonderful World Of Color" is Fuzz Guitar and Organ instrumental that is mostly awful to my ears – though I dare some might find it compelling enough because of its off-kilter sound. Back on boogie-track for "Pressure" – another outtake that is worthy of rediscovery – all right now. The full-blown Funk-a-thon 13:46 minutes of "Sex Machine" from the 1973 platter "Fresh" can either be seen as indulgence or pre-Prince-like genius – or somewhere planter firmly between both. It sure packs an aural punch here. Lightening things up considerably is the throwback to the Soft 60ts sound of "Hot Fun In The Summertime" – here in its Mono form as is the 45-version of "Everybody Is A Star" – good songs but hardly great. Straight into Isley Brothers slap-Bass funk with the brilliant "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" – a sound so ludicrously ahead of everything to come in the Seventies. The disc ends in four live shots in a row – all taped 30 August 1970 at the Isle of Wight Festival in England – Sly in full preacher mode before he grabs the crow with Soul and Funk they did not know they needed.

 

After a near two-year hiatus as far as the public was concerned - CD4 starts out with the big one for fans of Seventies Funk and Social Consciousness – the "There's A Riot Goin' On" LP with its seriously messed-up muddied tapes. Anesini has clearly done the best with what he had at hand – legendarily dubbed on dubbed on dubbed homemade edits. So I am amazed at the sonic whack off of "Luv N' Haight" – here in its 4:02 minute single variant. Quickly followed of course by the big Daddy of his hits - "Family Affair" – a duet vocal with Rose Stone and Billy Preston on the Fender Piano that did so much to define the song’s iconic sound. Bobby Womack was also in there on Rhythm Guitar. I never liked the Poppy Herb Alpert sound of "Runnin' Away" – however fans are going to dig the great audio on display here. Better for me is the slinky Bass and Keyboard swizz of "(You Caught Me) Smilin'" – Sly distorting those vocal lines while Brass pumps up the tight backbeat. "Spaced Cowboy" was typical of the Beatbox-distortion that greeted buyers of the LP "There's A Riot Goin' On" – a Soul yodel song! The live track "You're The One" is not great audio wise and if it is unreleased – I would not want to hear it ever again.

 

The "Fresh" album from 1973 was worth the wait, the seriously funky and wildly unusual rhythms Sly wanted on "In Time" for instance provided by England's Andy Newmark after many other Drummers had been auditioned and failed. Huge Bass greets you with "If You Want Me To Stay" – a badass hook with Rhythms and Brass that makes you think of Blaxsploitation movies where gangsters treat their molls with unenlightened attitudes. Larry Graham left the band to form Graham Central Station – his replacement Rustee Allen makes his presence known with the brilliantly Funky "Frisky" (Allen would actually play Bass on Robin Trower albums for Chrysalis Records in the 80ts). There is great musicality in "Loose Booty" – and again a Robin Trower Band tie-in with Drummer Bill Lordan sharing both stools. The "High On You" LP sessions of 1975 produced the Bass-driven "Le Lo Li" – his new reassembled band then featuring the vocals of Dawn Silva, who would later become part of the George Clinton collective The Brides Of Funkenstein. And on it goes...

 

I would not say that everything on this lavishly presented Book Set is genius – I find CD1 and 2 with their heavy-on-the-Mono leans a hard listen if I am truthful. But I hit the CD player with CD3 and 4 often to get those LP cuts in top Funky Audio. Booty for you indeed...

"The Studio Albums 1973-1983" by ROBIN TROWER – Ten Solo Albums [ex Procol Harum] Including "Twice Removed From Yesterday" (1973), "Bridge Of Sighs" (1974), "For Earth Below" (1975), "Long Misty Days" (1976), "In City Dreams" (1977), "Caravan To Midnight" (1978), "Victims Of The Fury" (1980), "B.L.T." (1981), "Truce" (1982) and "Back It Up" (1983) - featuring Vocalist and Bassist James Dewar of Stone The Crows, Bassists Rusty Allen of Sly & The Family Stone and Jack Bruce of Cream with Drummers Bill Lordan of Sly & The Family Stone & Gypsy, Reg Isidore and Dave Bronze formerly of Procol Harum (February 2019 EUROPE Chrysalis Records 10CD Clamshell Box Set with Mini LP Card Sleeve Repro Artwork and Peter Mew Remasters Done at Abbey Road in 2010) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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"...We Were Spellbound... "

 

Back in late July 2010 in the UK (the 26^th to be exact) – EMI/Chrysalis put out two Fat Jewel Case Anthologies for Procol Harum’s ace axeman ROBIN TROWER (4 CDs in the Volume 1 and 3 in the second). The first was "A Tale Untold: The Chrysalis Years 1973-1976" on EMI/Chrysalis 642 1542 (Barcode 50999652154226) – and the second - "Father On Up The Road: The Chrysalis Years 1977-1983" on EMI/Chrysalis 301 3862 (Barcode 5099930138629). Between them they offered eleven albums (10 studio and one live), five rare single-sides and a singular session outtake. But they have been deleted many years now and in 2023, both have acquired hefty price tags at times on the open market.

 

What you have here is a February 2019 truncated reissue out of EUROPE in a 10-CD Clamshell Box Set with the bulk of those two fatties combined.

 

Downsides: As this 10CD Clamshell is clearly stated Studio Albums 1973-1983, the March 1976 "Robin Trower Live!" album that was on the first 4CD fat jewel case anthology is missing, as are three single-only edits, two Non-LP B-sides ("Take A First Train" and "One In A Million") and one unreleased rarity ("Let Me Be The One") – all six included across both sets as Bonuses. There is no booklet either in this Mini Box Set when there were at least inlays inside both of the 2010 Anthologies (albeit in small form).

 

Good News: you get all ten studio albums put in those dinky Mini LP repro artwork card sleeves (which has not been done before outside of Japan). Each singular card is typically not as crystal clear as say Japanese attention to detail issues, but at least full artwork has been used front and rear and they are not those squared off ones with rim-lines that Columbia uses in their 'Complete Collection' boxes. "Wrap it Up" uses the UK and European white-background cover artwork and not the black variant that was used on American copies.

 

So not only does it look way better than the cumbersome two fat jewel cases of 2010, it costs less that twenty-eight quid from most online sites – a frankly impressively low amount of roughly £2.80 per album. OK – you do lose the amazing Robin Trower Live! Set with James Dewar and Bill Lordan on top period form, five single edits and a genuine rarity in an amazing unreleased song "Let Me Be The One" (a "Long Misty Days" outtake that reeked of Thin Lizzy mid Seventies bars and drowning your sorrows in whiskey). But make no mistake; "The Studio Albums 1973-1983" is still big time value for money.

 

This Euro-only 2019 reissue has also used the 2010 Peter Mew Remasters done at Abbey Road Studios for the original 4CD anthologies (copyright Date on each CD is 2010) – so it Rocks like the proverbial amped-up Harley Davidson his albums are. The band featured Vocalist and Bassist James Dewar of Stone The Crows, Bassists Rusty Allen of Sly & The Family Stone and Jack Bruce of Cream with Drummers Bill Lordan of Sly & The Family Stone & Gypsy and Reg Isidore. Trower's old mucker Dave Bronze from Procol Harum joined him as Drummer for the "Back It Up" album of 1983 (session drummer Alan Clarke too). Here are the Fender Bender details...

 

EUROPE-only released Friday, 8 February 2019 - "The Studio Albums 1973-1983" by ROBIN TROWER on Chrysalis CRB1075 (Barcode 5060516091263) is the mega label's first anthology for the guitar virtuoso and breaks down as follows:

 

CD1 "Twice Removed From Yesterday" (41:21 minutes):

1. I Can't Wait Much Longer [Side 1]

2. Daydream

3. Hannah

4. Man Of The World

5. I Can't Stand It [Side 2]

6. Rock Me Baby

7. Twice Removed From Yesterday

8. Sinner's Song

9. Ballerina

Tracks 1 to 9 are his debut solo album "Twice Removed From Yesterday" released March 1973 in the UK on Chrysalis CHR 1039 (Produced by Matthew Fisher of Procol Harum)

 

CD2 "Bridge Of Sighs" (37:26 minutes):

1. Day Of The Eagle [Side 1]

2. Bridge Of Sighs

3. In This Place

4. The Fool And Me

5. Too Rolling Stoned [Side 2]

6. About To Begin

7. Lady Love

8. Little Bit Of Sympathy

Tracks 1 to 8 are his second studio album "Bridge Of Sighs" released April 1974 on Chrysalis CHR 1057 (Produced by Matthew Fisher of Procol Harum, Engineered by Geoff Emerick)

 

CD3 "For Earth Below" (36:10 minutes):

1. Shame The Devil [Side 1]

2. It's Only Money

3. Confessin' Midnight

4. Fine Day

5. Alethea [Side 2]

6. A Tale Untold

7. Gonna Be More Suspicious

8. For Earth Below

Tracks 1 to 8 are his third studio album "For Earth Below" released February 1975 on Chrysalis CHR 1057

 

CD4 "Long Misty Days" (34:19 minutes):

1. Same Rain Falls [Side 1]

2. Long Misty Days

3. Hold Me

4. Caledonia

5. Pride [Side 2]

6. Sailing

7. S.M.O.

8. I Can't Live Without You

9. Messin' The Blues

Tracks 1 to 9 are his fourth studio album "Long Misty Days" – released October 1976 on Chrysalis CHR 1107 (Produced by RT and Geoff Emerick)

 

CD5 "In City Dreams" (38:28 minutes):

1. Somebody Calling [Side 1]

2. Sweet Wine Of Love

3. Bluebird

4. Falling Star

5. Farther On Up The Road

6. Smile [Side 2]

7. Little Girl

8. Love's Gonna Bring You Round

9. In City Dreams

Tracks 1 to 9 are the album "In City Dreams" released September 1977 in the UK and USA on Chrysalis CHR 1148 (Produced by Don Davis) – Rustee Allen on Bass with James Dewar on Vocals

 

CD6 "Caravan To Midnight" (37:39 minutes):

1. My Love (Burning Love) [Side 1]

2. Caravan To Midnight

3. I'm Out To Get You

4. Lost In Love

5. Fool [Side 2]

6. It's For You

7. Birthday Boy

8. King Of The Dance

9. Sail On

Tracks 1 to 9 are the studio album "Caravan To Midnight" released August 1978 in the UK and USA on Chrysalis CHR 1189 (Produced by Don Davis) – Rustee Allen on Bass with James Dewar on Vocals

 

CD7 "Victims Of The Fury" (32:41 minutes):

1. Jack And Jill [Side 1]

2. Roads To Freedom

3. Victims Of The Fury

4. The Ring

5. Only Time [Side 2]

6. Into The Flame

7. The Shout

8. Mad House

9. Ready For The Taking

10. Fly Low

Tracks 1 to 10 are the album "Victims Of The Fury" released January 1980 in the UK and USA on Chrysalis CHR 1215.

 

CD8 "B.L.T." (37:37 minutes):

1. Into Money [Side 1]

2. What It Is

3. Won't Let You Down

4. No Island Lost

5. It's Too Late

6. Life On Earth [Side 2]

7. Once The Bird Has Flown

8. Carmen

9. Feel The Heat

10. End Game

Tracks 1 to 10 are the album "B.L.T." released February 1981 in the UK and USA on Chrysalis CHR 1324. The B.L.T. refers to the Guitarist, Bass and Drummer - Robin Trower, Bill Lordan and Jack Bruce.

 

CD9 "Truce" (32:55 minutes):

1. Gonna Shut You Down [Side 1]

2. Gone Too Far

3. Thin Ice

4. Last Train To The Stars

5. Take Good Care Of Yourself

6. Fall In Love [Side 2]

7. Fat Gut

8. Shadows Touching

9. Little Boy Lost

Tracks 1 to 9 are the album "Truce" released January 1982 in the UK and USA on Chrysalis CHR 1352 (credited to Robin Trower and Jack Bruce). Drummer is Reg Isidore who played for Peter Bardens of Camel, Richard Wright of Pink Floyd and Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac (and many others).

 

CD10 "Back It Up" (38:29 minutes):

1. Back It Up [Side 1]

2. River

3. Black To Red

4. Benny Dancer

5. Time Is Short [Side 2]

6. Islands

7. None But The Brave

8. Captain Midnight

9. Settling The Score

Tracks 1 to 9 are the album "Back It Up" released September 1983 in the UK on Chrysalis CHR 1420 and in the USA on Chrysalis FV 41420. James Dewar is back on Bass and Vocals, the Drummer was Dave Bronze formerly of Procol Harum.

 

EMI-UK did Barclay James Harvest, Frankie Miller, Ian Hunter and Ten Years After in those 4 to 5CD Fat Jewel Case Anthologies – but only Frankie Miller and Ian Hunter have made this 2019 Euro reissue transition to Clamshell Box Set with Mini LP Card Sleeves. Also very much worth noting is the 2010 PETER MEW REMASTER (done at Abbey Road). I've raved about this guy's touch at the tape before - even set a tag of his remastered issues for those interested in quality sound (there's hundreds) - and this double jewel-case set is no different. The sound is truly fantastic - full and clear without being over-hyped or amped up for the sake of it. Each is a new remaster excepting "Bridge Of Sighs" which Mew had already revisited in 2007.

 

Speaking of moaning and wailing, the entire "Bridge Of Sighs" album from 1974 was a vast improvement over the good-rather-than-great debut "Twice Removed From Yesterday" from 1973. The debut had its charms too, the beautiful "Daydream" sounding glorious in Remastered form (lyrics above). But in truth there are so many goodies on here – and not all of it is straight-up rocking. I love it when the band move out of the guitar pyrotechnics and got funky – the opening track "Shame The Devil" from "For Earth Below" or the Side 2 ender "Messin' The Blues" from "Long Misty Days" are good examples. Trower even has a go at The Sutherland Brothers "Sailing" (the hit Rod Stewart covered too and sent to No.1).

 

Although he had hit on a signature sound and winning formula, for years Procol Harum's Robin Trower seemed locked into those Hendrix comparisons because of it - pumping out album after album of Hard Rock Riffage - simple no-nonsense guitar classics. But then come the late Seventies and his inner Bernard Edwards and Chic seemed to grab him by the short and curlies and the Englishman went for it. And I for one - loved it to bits. I've always thought his "In The City" and "Caravan To Midnight" LPs from 1977 and 1978 (with the mighty James Dewar on vocals) to be Funky Rock meisterworks where Trower and his Flange Pedal got real familiar ("Somebody Calling" and "I'm Out To Get You" are prefect examples from those LPs). Cleaning produced by Don Davis, it helped of course that the Bass player Rustee Allen used to ply his plank with Sly & The Family Stone.

 

The album that tail-ended the Seventies was "Victims Of The Fury" (issued January 1980) is a furious fusion of both Heavy Rock and Funk and is another forgotten gem in his voluminous catalogue. A fantastic down and dirty geetar greets the listener when "Jack And Jill" comes sailing out of your speakers as the Side 1 opener (from "Victims Of The Fury") – James Dewar and his doubled-vocals as Soul-Rock as ever. Slow Blues is never far - "Roads To Freedom" giving us singing gypsies with fire in the soul and an ever-eager eye on the horizon ahead. Trower goes into shimmering floating notes for the title track "Victims Of The Fury" – a murky brooder that builds into a heavy-heavy sonic soundscape. "Only Time" is another "Bridge Of Sighs" moody shiver in the dark – his grungy guitar setting sail once again.

 

By the time we enter the Eighties proper, Trower has linked up with Jack Bruce of Cream and along with Bill Lordon sort of began to call the band B.L.T. after their three recognizable initials. It probably came as a shock to longtime Trower fans to be confronted with vocals from Jack Bruce instead of James Dewar as "B.L.T." opened with "Into Money" – but that voice so steeped in Cream Rock works. Pretty comes in the shape of "Won't Let You Down", but Bruce did not have the Soulfulness of Dewar, so his vocal delivery feels a bit leaden. Quickly back to huge riffage for the superb Classic Rock of "No Island Lost" – the singer drowning on dry land. The sheer musicality of his playing gets to shine on the mid-paced "It's Too Late" but "Feel The Heat" feels a tad too close to them trying to find a Radio Friendly. The album ends on something better – the no-safety-belt Blues of "End Game".

 

Reg Isidore took the Drummer Seat for the second BLT album "Truce" in 1982 – another collection of Rockers many co-written with either Procol Harum longtime lyricist Keith Reid or Pete Brown of Battered Ornaments fame (they were on Harvest Records in 1969 and 1970). Jack Bruce doesn't just get double billing with Trower for the album "Truce" – Bruce co-wrote four of the songs - "Thin Ice", "Last Train To The Stars", "Fat Gut" and "Shadows Touching". For "Wrap It Up" Trower wisely went back to James Dewar to get that classic combo sound and feel – his Soulful Vocals bolstering up the riffage. Produced by Trower - Bobby Clouter (of Legend with Mickey Jupp) and Alan Clarke (of Fusion and The Reg Webb Band) were drafted in for Drums and you got another Rock vs. Funk album - "River" even sounding so Free or Bad Company. The Side 1 finisher "Benny Dancer" is a typical Trower shuffler – his heavily echoed axe amped up to deafening Bonamassa levels of Blues-Rock deliverance. And on it goes...Rory Gallagher and Jimi Hendrix smiling in admiration...

 

For us old farts and our remaining hairlines - "The Studio Albums 1973-1983" by Robin Trower is a very cool little treat indeed – all 10 slices of pouting Classic Rock. No sighing on this Bridge Baby...

 

PS: FRANKIE MILLER and IAN HUNTER - see my reviews for their Box Sets in this Chrysalis Records out of EUROPE reissue series...