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Friday 23 June 2023

"Star Time" by JAMES BROWN – Subtitled '71 Songs Including Many Rare Or Previous Unreleased Tracks' – Cliff White, Harry Weinger and Alan Leeds Compilation Including Mono and Stereo 45-Singles, Album Tracks and Unreleased Recordings from February 1956 to June 1984 on Federal, King, Polydor, People, T.K. and Tommy Records. Including Acts Associated with JB Productions (Nat Kendricks & The Swans, The Poets, Fred Wesley And The J.B.'s) – Featured Musicians are The J.B.'s with Fred Wesley, Bobby Byrd, Jimmy Parker, Pee Wee Ellis, Maceo Parker, St-Clair Pinckney, Joe Farrell, Richard Griffith, Sam Brown, Fred Thomas, John Jabo Starks, Clyde Stubblefield and more with Guests Catfish Collins and Bootsy Collins of P-Funk, Billy Cobham, Jerry Poindexter, Afrika Bambaataa and many more (May 1991 Original Issue, June 2004 and October 2007 Reissues UK Universal/Polydor 4CD Long Box Set and Two Subsequent 4CD DigiBook Reissues (With Upgraded Booklets) Using 1991 Ted Jensen Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...






 

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"...Ain't That A Groove... "

 

***** 

 

When Harry Weinger and Alan Leeds started their eleven-volume 2CD series for James Brown and his mighty Singles output (covering March 1956 on Federal up to May 1981 on Polydor) – they finally finished the Herculean task with twofer number eleven in October 2011 having started as far back as September 2006 for Vol. One. Put out on the hugely collectable Hip-O Select Label (initially the mail-order wing of Universal) – all eleven are genuinely things of digital reissue beauty - and have become big-time collectables ever since. I diligently bought the lot as they came out and have reviewed (in detail) all but the first three volumes (see my Sounds Good, Looks Good Blog) and I intend to get to those Tres Hombres some time in the future too.

 

I mention Weinger and Leeds because these two JB-champions were also two of daring-do crew behind the now legendary Star Time 4CD Box Set that debuted all the way back in May of 1991. Alan Leeds was his Tour Manager between 1970 and 1974 and co-edited The James Brown Reader - while Harry Weinger (as Vice President of A&R at Universal) has been heavily involved down through the decades in Soul and Funk CD Reissues for Motown, James Brown and the superb Funk Essentials series. Their two names are synonymous with JB and their handling of his legacy has been done with diligence, joy and respect (shipmates good and true names like Cliff White and Bill Levenson also had a large part in it).

 

Back to this release... taking its names from what the announcer used to prep the crowds with before JB and the Band hit the stage (are you ready for...) and subtitled '71 Songs Including Many Rare Or Previous Unreleased Tracks' – "Star Time" has been a Box Set backbone of any self-respecting music fan collection for over 4 decades now. However, here in June 2023, the 4CD Career Anthology "Star Time" by JAMES BROWN has been issued a total of three times and the details for each are worth chronicling because there are subtle differences.

 

First up came the original chunky long box of Red and Gold colour issued 7 May 1991 in the UK on Polydor 849 108-2 (Barcode 042284910828). That variant had a 64-page booklet. However, it was reissued 7 June 2004 in the UK using the same catalogue number and Barcode as Universal/Polydor 849 108 2 (Barcode 042284910828) - but this time with an upgraded booklet to 96-Pages, different artwork front ad rear and a more easy-to-manage 4CD Digibook Presentation. When Brown passed in December 2006 (aged 73), Polydor reissued that Digibook Presentation (with the 96-page booklet) yet again - 29 October 2007 as Universal/Polydor 0600753022498 (Barcode 600753022498). You could argue that it was a bit sloppy of Universal to use the 2004 booklet text in the 2007 reissue because it does not mention Brown’s passing in late 2006 (in fact it awkwardly states he’s alive). But it is a minor quibble in what was and still is a feast of goodies you need in your life (you could argue CD3 alone is damn near Funky Nirvana perfection). Here is the breakdown (all tracks US 45s unless otherwise stated)...

 

CD1 "Mr Dynamite" (71:38 minutes):

1. Please Please Please

2. Why Do You Love Me - Tracks 1 & 2 are the A&B-sides of his March 1956 Debut US 45-single on Federal 45-12258, Mono

3. Try Me

4. Tell Me What I Did - Tracks 3 & 4 are the A&B-sides of October 1958 US 45-single on Federal 45-12337, Mono

5. Bewildered - From the US LP "Think!", October 1960 on King 683 in Mono

6. Good Good Lovin' - July 1959 US 45 on Federal 45-12361, A-side, Stereo

7. I'll Go Crazy

8. I Know It's True - Tracks 7 & 8 are the A&B-sides, January 1960, Federal 12369, Stereo

9. (Do The) Mashed Potatoes Pt.1 - February 1960, Dade Records 1804, A-side, Mono, credited to Nat Kendrick and The Swans

10. Think - May 1960, Federal 45-12370, A-side, Mono

11. Baby, You're Right - Previously Unreleased Alternate Take

12. Lost Someone - November 1961, King 45-5524, A-side, Stereo

13. Night Train - November 1961 US LP "Night Train" on King 771

14. I've Got Money - B-side to "Three Hearts In A Tangle", November 1962, King 45-5701, Mono

15. I Don't Mind (Live) - From the May 1963 US LP "James Brown Live At The Apollo" on King 826

16. Prisoner Of Love - April 1963, King 45-5739, A-side, Stereo

17. Devil's Den - April 1963, Try Me Records 45-28006, A&B-sides combined, credited as The Poets

18. Out Of The Blue - Previously Unreleased Alternate Take

19. Out Of Sight

20. Grits – From the 1964 US LP "Grits & Soul" on Smash Records SRS 67057 in Stereo

21. Maybe The Last Time – Tracks 19 and 21, A&B-sides, July 1964, Smash Records S 1919, A-side Mono, B-side Stereo

22. It's A Man's World - Previously Unreleased Stereo Mix from June 1964

23. I Got You – A Fall of 1964 Single originally to be on a 45 and LP, withdrawn

24. Papa's Got A Brand New Bag, Pts. 1, 2 & 3 – Previously Unreleased Complete Take in three-parts; this version was later sped up and released as a 2-part King Single Master

NOTES:

Tracks 11, 18, 22 and 24 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

 

CD2 "The Hardest Working Man In Show Business" (74:33 minutes):

1. Papa's Got A Brand New Bag, Pt. 1 – July 1965, King 45-599,A-side, Mono

2. I Got You (I Feel Good) – November 1965, King 45-6015, A-side, Mono

3. Ain't That A Groove – Previously Unreleased Unedited Version – James Brown with The Jewels

4. It's A Man's Man's Man's World – April 1966, King 45-6035, A-side, Mono

5. Money Won't Change You – Previously Unreleased Complete Version – Edited and Released July 1966 as a two-part US 45-single, King 45-6048

6. Don't Be A Dropout – Previously Unreleased Unedited Version – Edited and Released October 1966 as a two-part US 45-single, King 45-6056

7. Bring It Up (Hipster's Avenue) – Previously Unreleased Unedited Version – Edited and Released January 1967 as a two-part US 45-single, King 45-6071

8. Let Yourself Go - Previously Unreleased Unedited Version – Edited and Released April 1967 as a two-part US 45-single, King 45-6100

9. Cold Sweat – Complete Version from the 1967 US LP "Cold Sweat" on King Records 1020. Edited and Released July 1967 as a two-part US 45-single on King 45-6110

10. Get It Together – October 1967 A&B-sides combined, King 45-6122

11. I Can't Stand Myself (When You Touch Me), Pt. 1 – Original Recorded Tempo – US 45-single release A-side was slowed down for December 1967 released on King 45-6144

12. I Got The Feelin' – April 1968, King 45-6155, A-side, Stereo

13. Licking Stick – Licking Stick – May 1968 A&B-sides combined, King 45-6166, Stereo

14. Say It Loud - I'm Black And I'm Proud, Pt. 1 – August 1968, King 45-6187, A-side, Stereo

15. There Was A Time (Live) – Previously Unreleased

16. Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose – January 1969, King 45-6213, A-side, Stereo

17. I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothing (Open Up The Door I'll Get It Myself) – March 1969 A&B-sides combined, King 45-6224, Stereo

NOTES:

Tracks 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11 and 15 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

 

CD3 "Soul Brother No.1" (72:54 minutes):

1. Mother Popcorn – Combined A&B-sides of US 45-single, June 1969, King 45-6245, Stereo

2. Funky Drummer – Original Mix Combined A&B-sides of US 45-single, March 1970, King 45-6290, Stereo

3. Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine - Combined A&B-sides of US 45-single, July 1970, King 45-6318, Stereo

4. Super Bad, Pts. 1 & 2 – Previously Unreleased Stereo Mix – Original US 45-Single two-parter released in Mono, October 1970, King 45-6329

5. Talkin' Loud & Sayin' Nothing – Previously Unreleased Extended Version of the Original Mix – Portion originally released February 1972 as a two-part US 45-single, Polydor PD 14109

6. Get Up, Get Into It And Get Involved – Previously Unreleased Stereo Mix – Originally a Mono US 45-single, December 1970, King 45-6347

7. Soul Power, Pts. 1 & 2 – Previously Unreleased Unedited Stereo Mix – Originally Edited and released as a three-part US 45-single, March 1971, King 45-6368

8. Brother Rapp / Ain't It Funky Now (Live) – Previously Unreleased, Recorded 8 March 1971 at Olympia Theater in Paris

9. Hot Pants, Pt. 1 – July 1971, People 45-2501, A-side, Mono

10. I'm Greedy Man, Pt. 1 – November 1971, Polydor PD-14100, A-side, Stereo

11. Make It Funky, Pt. 1 – August 1971, Polydor PD-14088, A-side, Mono

12. It's A New Day (Live) – From the December 1971 2LP Live Set "Revolution Of The Mind –Recorded Live At The Apollo Vol.III" on Polydor PD 3003

13. I Got Ants In My Pants, Pt. 1 And I Want TO Dance – January 1973, Polydor PD-14162, A-side, Stereo

14. King Heroin – February 1972, Polydor PD 14116, A-side, Stereo

NOTES:

Tracks 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

 

CD4 "The Godfather Of Soul" (75:35 minutes):

1. There It Is, Pt.1 – April 1972, Polydor PD 14125, A-side, Stereo

2. Public Enemy ♯ 1, Pt.1 – From the 1972 US Stereo LP "There It Is" on Polydor PD 5028

3. Get On The Good Foot – July 1972, Polydor PD-14139, A-side, Mono

4. I Got A Bag Of My Own – October 1972, Polydor PD 14153, A-side, Stereo

5. Doing It To Death by FRED WESLEY And THE J.B.s – April 1973, People PE 621, A-side, Mono

6. The Payback - From the 2LP Studio Set "The Payback", December 1973 USA on Polydor PD 2-3007 and April 1974 in the UK on Polydor 2659 030 (using US copies)

7. Papa Don't Take No Mess, Pt.1 – From the June 1974 US 2LP Studio Set "Hell" on Polydor PD 2-9001

8. Stoned To The Bone, Pt.1 – October 1973, Polydor PD 14210, A-side, Mono

9. My Thang – Previously Unreleased Mix – Originally Issued as a US 45-single, June 1974, Polydor PD 14244, Stereo

10. Funky President (People It's Bad) – October 1974, Polydor PD 14258, A-side, Stereo

11. Hot (I Need To Be Loved, Loved, Loved) –November 1975, Polydor PD14301, A-side, Stereo

12. Get Up Offa That Thing (Release The Pressure) – New 6:14 Minute Edit in Stereo created for "Star Time"

13. Bodyheat (Part 1) – December 1976, Polydor PD 14360, A-side, Stereo

14. It's Too Funky In Here – From the July 1979 LP "The Original Disco Man" on Polydor PD-1-6212

15. Rapp Payback (Where Iz Moses) – October 1980, T.K. Records TKX-1039, A-side

16. Unity, Part 1 by Afrika Bambaataa And The Godfather Of Soul James Brown – September 1984, Tommy Records TB-847-7, A-side

NOTES:

Tracks 9 and 12 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

 

"Star Time" – Subtitled '71 Songs Including Many Rare Or Previous Unreleased Tracks' – legendarily took one and half years to complete – compiled by Harry Weinger, Cliff White, Oscar A. Yong and Bill Levenson. Compiler and JB pal Harry Weinger (in interview) has stated, it was just as well too. While compiling the anthology, Brown was in State Prison doing a suspended sentence of just over 2 years for aggravated assault, but was out on its May 1991 release. Timing-wise, that handily also happened to coincide with the 35th Anniversary of his debut single - "Please Please Please" on Federal. Another thing you notice about the quality of the listen is that across 4CDs and 71-songs – how few are album cuts (only 10). Weinger admitted that in the early years and even much of the Sixties decade (outside the much vaunted live sets), Brown had way too much filler on his contractually obliged studio albums. So Weinger became determined to create an across the board listen on all four discs that would cut it – even as stand-alones (never sold as such). The extended playing times of tracks particularly on CD2 and CD3 are largely due to two-parter 45-singles co-joined).

 

TED JENSEN did the Remasters (from original tapes) at Sterling Sound in New York and you can for the want of a better word – feel this sucker sweat as it Funkifies your listening area with the baddest band that ever laid down a groove. Take the 6:19 minutes of "Mother Popcorn" that opens CD3 and the seven-minutes of "Funky Drummer" that follows it – Stereo Funky Nirvana. MP has Brass Jabs aplenty with JB hollering at Maceo to give it some – while FD combines JB on Organ, Jimmy Nolen on Guitar and the boys just goofing off on the Horns. Can I count it off – the still thrilling "Sex Machine" starts – presented here in its full 5:15 minutes of Stereo glory (Catfish Collins playing that fabulous guitar groove). Staying on the scene (they way he likes it) – we then get a sensation as far as I’m concerned – the normally Mono two Parts of "Super Bad" presented to us in Stereo for the first time with Catfish Collins on Guitar and Bootsy Collins slapping that Bass. And all of it in Fantastic Sound.

 

Brown himself did the introduction (dictated by phone from his prison stay) and famed musicologist and writer Nelson George even won a Grammy for Best Liner Notes – his connecting of Browns hard-hitting Funk Rhythms to the emerging Hip Hop Sound and Culture hitting all the right alliance notes. Alan Leeds has a signed-copy of "Star Time" and treasures it.

 

The booklet breaks things down into a JB Introduction on one page (January 1991), a 4-page Essay from Nelson George called "Right On!" to "Word Up!", Alan Leeds section is called "From the Inside", Cliff White and Harry Weinger provide "Are You Ready For Star Time?" while the remainder does a song-by-song credits, Discography and general credits at the rear. The text is peppered with period photos (mostly black and white), tour posters, record company and promoter promo shots (great snap of Brown chatting with an admiring Mick Jagger in 1964), some album covers, Godfather Of Soul jacket buttons, live photos of his famous train-routine exiting the stage with a cape over his shoulders and so on. The "Star Time: Song By Song" section does what it says on the tin – it lists musician credits that are hugely detailed – recording dates – catalogue numbers – details on the new stuff whilst referencing the originals and so forth. And the discography that follows of 45s and Albums is cool even if it does forgo actual release dates for just a year date. And you can see that in some years he might have had as many as six LP releases – hammering it all times – a work ethic that was as relentless as his band in the pocket.

 

As you can glean from the track lists above on CD1 to CD4, right through the Sixties and even the Seventies – his 45-singles seemed to have this Mono vs. Stereo battle – with Mono being the most likely winner. So the listen flits from one sound stage to another – but both are impressive. Take the Stereo 45-cut of "Lost Someone" from as far back as November 1961 to ten years later and "Make It Funky, Pt. 1" in August 1971 which is Mono – the punch of the Remasters is remarkable on both counts. I always prefer Stereo if I am truthful – but real fans will notice the subtle choices made by the compilers – the swapping out of familiar Mono variants for a fresher Stereo touch – or unreleased mixes of giants like "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" here in a near seven-minute three-parter – or the extended cut of "Talkin' Loud & Sayin' Nothing" that stretches this famous beast out to nearly nine-minutes! And I know that all the CDs are chockers full of value, but I do wish they could have swapped out say something lesser like say "Hot (I Need To Be Loved, Loved, Loved) " from 1975 and included instead the incredible flipside to "King Heroin" called "Theme From King Heroin" from February 1972 – what a masterpiece (I have a Hip-O Select Remaster of it and wow!).

 

I know that his Sixties output had been groundbreaking and probably his most commercially winning period – but musically and culturally – I would openly cough-up to JB in the Seventies as being the dogs for me. JB and his evolving JBs had issued the "Black Caesar" soundtrack in February 1973, the soundtrack to "Slaughter’s Big Rip Off" in July, a compilation called "Soul Classics, Volume II" in October and then "The Payback" in December 1973. And when you think that in November 1972 he had released another double-album gem in the shape of "Get On The Good Foot" – the dude was prolific if not anything else. 1973 was a helluva year for The Godfather Of Soul – once again bringing him well deserved commercial success – all of only marred by the horrible loss of his son Teddy in an automobile accident on the 14th of June. Still JB carried on that punishing schedule for years after. My admiration for him and what he achieved is boundless. He paid the cost to be the real boss for damn sure. For sure the listen tapers off towards the end of CD4 and that album called "The Original Disco Man" seems like blight on his extraordinary legacy. "Star Time" also avoids the Living In America song – his last chart success, but maybe that is a good thing.

 

James Brown – The Godfather of Soul – The Preacher – the only real comparison is Prince – another giant gone but never forgotten. Soul and Funk owe JB and his Band of Funky Pirates big time (described in the liner notes on Page 56 by Cliff White and Harry Weinger as an unrivaled powerhouse). And how many 4CD Box Sets elicit such genuine affection more than four decades after their issue. 

 

"Star Time" does...and how...

Thursday 22 June 2023

"Capricorn Records Presents The Fire/Fury Records Story" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Featuring 1958 to 1970 Single and Album Track Releases and Sessions on Fire, Fury, Enjoy, Gwenn, Fling, Everlast and Front Page Records (2 Previously Unreleased). Artists include Tarheel Slim, Wilbert Harrison, Buster Brown, Little Ann, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Elmore James, Mighty Joe Young, Willis Jackson, Lightnin' Hopkins, Lee Dorsey, The Upsetters, Lewis Jones, Marshall Jones, Bobby Porter, Gladys Knight & The Pips, Titus Turner, King Curtis, Bobby Marchan, Dr. Horse, Joe Haywood, Wild Jimmy Spruill and more – All Bobby Robinson Productions (February 1993 US Capricorn Records 2CD 51-Track Cardboard 6" x 12" Long Book with Booklet and Lee Herschberg Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...





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This Review Along With Over 215 Others Is Available in my
SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

"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
All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 
(No Cut and Paste Crap)

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"...Glory Be..."

 

There are some retrospective CD Box Sets that just get lost in the American rush. And as you can see from the list I have provided below – none of the six titles in the "Capricorn Records Presents" Series made any real inroads. Even now in June 2023 as I write this, they are forgotten and largely unknown. Which is a damn shame.

 

Case in point...formed by New Orleans independent entrepreneur and music hero Bobby Richardson, Fury Records began its life in 1957 (splinter labels included Fire, Enjoy, Gwenn, Fling, Everlast and Front Page) and as far as this Box Set's concerned continued into 1969 recordings. Richardson had (unbelievably) opened his Black Music Store called Bobby's Records on 125th Street in Harlem, New York City just after the Second World War in 1946 – so Richardson had some serious pioneer history. His emporium was literally within eye-shot of the famous Apollo Theater and yards away from a favored steakhouse where legends chowed down. 

 

Both Fire and Fury also saw releases by huge names and influencers in the Blues and R&B genres – Elmore James, Wilbert Harrison, Lee Dorsey, Buster Brown, Saxophonist King Curtis, Lightnin' Hopkins, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Titus Turner, Tarheel Slim with Jimmy Spruill busting his axe and even early debut Soul efforts by a 18-year old but already mature and classy Gladys Knight with her Pips. A glance down the songs credits I have provided will also show that he penned or co-penned a good number of the songs too and Bobby scored an impressive five No.1 R&B chart-toppers (the two-million selling "Kansas City" hit number 1 in both Pop and R&B).

 

For sure "...The Fire/Fury Records Story" has inaccuracies in its infuriatingly slapdash and kind of hokey booklet – only 15 of the 51-songs provided here hit the US R&B Billboard charts – and some of it is about as far away from Audio Nirvana as a body can get – but I absolutely love it as a Fifties and Sixties Blues and Rhythm and Blues listen. There is something fab about this forgotten gem and I want to champion it (two Previously Unreleased cuts too). None of the catalogue numbers or release dates is provided in the 16-Page Long Booklet (so I have done those), however, any single that charted has its peak positions on both Billboard R&B and Pop USA in the text (I have included those in the relevant entries too). To the details...

 

US released February 1993 - "Capricorn Records Presents The Fire/Fury Records Story" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Capricorn/Warner Brothers 9 42009-2 (Barcode 093624200925) is a 6" x 12" 2CD Cardboard Long Box Set with 16-Page Booklet and Lee Herschberg Remasters; it breaks down as follows (all catalogue numbers US 45-singles unless otherwise stated):

 

CD1: 69:19 minutes (25 Tracks):

1. Number 9 Train – TARHEEL SLIM (1958, Fury 1016, B-side of "Wildcat Tamer", Bobby Richardson song, TS is Alden Allen Bunn formerly of The Larks Vocal Group, Guitar on the Session by Wild Jimmy Spruill – see Track 17 on CD2)

2. Kansas City – WILBERT HARRISON (March 1959, Fury 1023, A-side, No.1 US Billboard R&B and Pop charts)

3. Fannie Mae – BUSTER BROWN (November 1959, Fury 1008, A-side, No.1 R&B, No.38 Pop)

4. Much Too Late – TARHEEL SLIM and LITTLE ANN (November 1959, Fire 1009, A-side – Alden Allen Bunn and Anna Lee Sanford)

5. That’s All Right – ARTHUR "BIG BOY" CRUDUP (from the 1962 US LP "Mean Ole Frisco" on Fire Records FLP 103)

6. The Sky Is Crying – ELMORE JAMES credited as Elmo James and His Dustbusters (April 1960, Fire 1016, A-side, No.15 chart peak R&B)

7. There Is Something On Your Mind, Parts 1 & 2 – BOBBY MARCHAN (June 1960, Fire 1022, A&B-sides, No.1 R&B, No.31 Pop)

8. Why Baby – MIGHTY JOE YOUNG (1960, Fire 1033, A-side)

9. Dust My Broom – ELMORE JAMES (1965, Enjoy 2027, A-side)

10. Good To The Bone – WILLIS JACKSON and BAND (featuring Bill Jennings) (September 1959, Fire 1003, A-side)

11. Mojo Hand – LIGHTNIN' HOPKINS (from the 1962 US LP "Mojo Hand" on Fire Records FLP 104 in Mono – see also Tracks 13 and 16)

12. Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby – BUSTER BROWN (July 1960, Fire 1023, B-side to "Don't Dog Your Woman", No.81 chart peak Pop)

13. Glory Be - LIGHTNIN' HOPKINS (from the 1962 US LP "Mojo Hand" on Fire Records FLP 104 in Mono – see also Tracks 11 and 16)

14. You Don't Have To Go – SAM MYERS (July 1960, Fury 1035, A-side)

15. Just Say The Word – THE JAY CEES (July 1962, Enjoy 1004, B-side of "The Waddle")

16. Santa - LIGHTNIN' HOPKINS (from the 1962 US LP "Mojo Hand" on Fire Records FLP 104 in Mono – see also Tracks 11 and 13)

17. Jaywalking – THE UPSETTERS (October 1960, Fire 1029, A-side)

18. Every Beat Of My Heart – GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS (May 1961, Fury 1050, A-side, No.15 R&B, No.45 Pop)

19. Ya Ya – LEE DORSEY (July 1961, Fury 1053, A-side, Co-write with Bobby Richardson, No. 1 R&B, No.7 Pop)

20. Letter Full Of Tears – GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS (November 1961, Fury 1054, A-side, No.3 R&B, No.19 Pop)

21. Do-Re-Mi – LEE DORSEY (December 1961, Fury 1056, A-side, Earl King song - see Track 24 for B-side, No.22 R&B, No.27 Pop)

22. Morning, Noon & Night – GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS (from the 1962 US LP "Letter Full Of Tears" on Fury Records FULP 1003 in Mono, Don Covay song)

23. Broadway On Fire – BUSTER BROWN (1963, Gwenn G-601, B-side of "Trying To Learn How To Love Me")

24. People Gonna Talk – LEE DORSEY (December 1961, Fury 1056, B-side – see Track 21 for A-side)

25. Let's Stick Together – WILBERT HARRISON (April 1962, Fury 1062, A-side)

 

CD2: 71:05 minutes (26 Tracks):

1. Shake Your Moneymaker – ELMORE JAMES (December 1961, Fire 504, B-side to "Look On Yonder Wall")

2. Sugar Babe – BUSTER BROWN (December 1961, Fire 507, A-side, Bobby Richardson song)

3. Soul Twist – KING CURTIS and THE NOBLE KNIGHTS (February 1962, Enjoy 1000, A-side, No.1 R&B)

4. Eenie-Meenie-Miny-Mo – LEE DORSEY (March 1962, Fury 1061, A-side, Bobby Richardson song)

5. People Sure Act Funny (When They Get A Lotta' Money) – TITUS TURNER (July 1962, Enjoy 1005, A-side)

6. Long Time No See – RONNIE MILLER and THE MANHATTANS (March 1964, Enjoy 2008, B-side of "Come On Back", co-write with Bobby Richardson)

7. Mr. Crow – KING CURTIS (from the Fire/Fury Sessions of 1962, first appearance here in 1994)

8. I Need Your Loving – DON GARDNER and DEE DEE FORD (May 1962, Fire 508, A-side)

9. Something For You, Baby – MARY "B" (April 1962, Fling 725, A-side, Mary Banks song)

10. Bow Wow (Life Ain't Nothing But Dog Eat Dog) – TITUS TURNER (1964, Enjoy 2010, A-side, credited as Titus Tee Turner)

11. Don't You Worry – DON GARDNER and DEE DEE FORD (August 1962, Fire 513, A-side, co-write with Bobby Richardson)

12. Jookin – NOBLE "Thin Man" WATTS (December 1962, Enjoy 1008, B-side of "What ya Gonna Do" by Nobel Watts and June Bateman, B-side credited to Nobel Watts only)

13. All Around The World – TITUS TURNER (1962 Recording for Enjoy Records of his June 1955 Wing Records single)

14. Jack, That Cat Was Clean – DR. HORSE (October 1962, Fire 514, A-side, real name Al Pittman, early Rap style Vocals – for B-side see Track 16)

15. Go Away Mr. Blues – NOBLE WATTS and THE POSUM BELLYS featuring JUNE BATEMAN (1965, Everlast 5033, B-side to "Possum Belly Overalls")

16. Salt Pork, West Virginia – DR. HORSE (October 1962, Fire 514, B-side, real name Al Pittman, early Rap style Vocals, Session also includes Billy Butler on Guitar with George Stubbs on Piano – for A-side see Track 14)

17. Cut And Dried – WILD JIMMY SPRUILL (1964, Enjoy 2006, B-side of "The Rooster" – for Spruill as Guitarist, see also Track 1 on CD1)

18. You Can Do It If You Want To – MARSHALL JONES (featuring ELMORE JAMES on Guitar) – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (Recorded 1963)

19. I Believe To My Soul – LEWIS JONES (1964, Enjoy 2009, A-side)

20. Harmonica Twist – KING CURTIS (Enjoy Sessions, 1964)

21. I Will Cry – KIP ANDERSON (October 1962, Everlast 5021, B-side of "I Feel Good")

22. Woke Up Happy - MARSHALL JONES (featuring ELMORE JAMES on Guitar) – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

23. Wiggle Wobble – LES COOPER and THE SOUL ROCKERS (August 1962, Everlast 5019, A-side, No. 12 R&B, No. 22 Pop)

24. Searching For Love – BOBBY PORTER (1965, Enjoy 2021, B-side of "Foxy Devil", Willy Hightower and Bobby Robinson song)

25. It Hurts Me Too – ELMORE JAMES (1965, Enjoy 2015, A-side, No.25 R&B)

26. Strong Feeling – JOE HAYWOOD (November 1970, Front Page 1000, A-side, Drummer and Singer, Recorded 1969)

 

Compiled by DIANA REID HAIG – there are written contributions from PHIL WALDEN then President of Capricorn Records, a Diana Reid Haig Introduction, biog comments especially for the project from label founder and songwriter Bobby Richardson on each of the artists represented on the 2CD Box, a three and a half page history of "The Fire/Fury Story" by JOHN MORTHLAND (pictures five of those rare album sleeves between the text) and finally Reissue Credits. It isn’t in colour, so loses some of the impact the pretty booklet cover has done like those old R&B gig posters and Trade Adverts for New Releases. The DRH liner notes are dated July 1992 – as is the Copyright date on the rear of the Box – but the release date wasn’t until 1993 – hence the 1993 date on the 1CD Promo for the Box.

 

There is a special thanks to LEE HERSCHBERG for his expertise with the Master Tapes (he has done loads of work with Warner Brothers, Randy Newman, Ry Cooder, Emmylou Harris etc). It's a mixed bag of the fabulous, the acceptable and the gutbucket. Audio-wise both "Let's Stick Together" by Wilbert Harrison (on CD1) and "Sugar Babe" by Buster Brown could not be more hole-in-bucket backdoor pit of peril Audio – grungy – amateur – and yet both are loaded to the gunnels with feeling and that homemade magic that you just can't describe sometimes. Is it any wonder Canned Heat and Bryan Ferry latched into the Wilbert Harrison tune. For Coolsville you have top go straight to the fabulous shuffling instrumental "Soul Twist" and the seriously hip "Jack, That Cat Was Clean" where Dr. Horse talks his smooth-as-silk way through the story of a Sixties Super Dude that can do no wrong with the chicks.

 

Galveston (Texas) Vocalist Lewis "Blues Boy" Jones only got one 45 out on Enjoy Records in 1964 – his highly rated cover of the Ray Charles song "I Believe To My Soul". So it's a reissue crime that the Bobby Richardson penned flipside "Hurry Baby" wasn't squeezed onto CD2 when there was room. You have to love the Take 1 count-in that breaks down in seconds for the Elmore James classic "Shake Your Moneymaker" – a slide slasher that Peter Green used on the February 1968 debut album for Fleetwood Mac on Blue Horizon Records – and is then picked up by EJ moments later. What a voice. There are great reminiscences about how Bobby and EJ were discussing the torrential rain as they watched and EJ called it "The Sky Is Crying". Bobby immediately suggested that was a great name for a song and they recorded it that day – Stevie Ray Vaughan smashing it on Epic decades later. The "Cut And Dried" flipside by guitarist Wild Jimmy Spruill is a monster as is his truly fantastic contributions to the CD1 opener by Tarheel Slim "Number 9 Train" – a R&B/Rockabilly blaster from 1958 that is a three-figure collector purchase for a reason. And of course there are remainders of forgotten greatness with Bobby Porter, Buster Brown and Joe Haywood while Saxophonist King Curtis seems everywhere (as usual).

 

The brill thing about a set like this is the dip and dive – the discoveries – and even though I wish the booklet especially was actually as lavish as some claim – I give this fab set a 5-stars because its fun and rocks and Bobby Robinson was a musical hero back when they mattered.

 

In Kansas City, they got some fine looking women there and I am gonna get me one, sang Wilbert Harrison. Get this twofer into your stereo and enjoy...

 

 

Titles in the "Capricorn Records Presents" Series

Each is American-only and Presented in 6" x 12" Cardboard Long Box Sets

Diana Reid Haig Compilations, Lee Herschberg Remasters

 

ELMORE JAMES – "Capricorn Records Presents King Of The Slide Guitar" (July 1992 2CD Set on Capricorn 9 42006-2 – Reissued May 1994 with the same catalogue number but different artwork - Barcode 093624200628)

 

VARIOUS ARTISTS – "Capricorn Records Presents The Cobra Records Story: Chicago Rock & Blues 1956-1958" (April 1993 2CD Set on Capricorn 9 42012-2 – Barcode 093624201229)

 

VARIOUS ARTISTS - "Capricorn Records Presents The Fire/Fury Records Story" (February 1993 2CD Set on Capricorn 9 42009-2 – Barcode 093624200925)

 

VARIOUS ARTISTS – "Capricorn Records Presents The Jewel/Paula Story" (April 1993 2CD Set on Capricorn 9 42014-2 – Barcode 093624201427)

 

VARIOUS ARTISTS – "Capricorn Records Presents The Scepter Story" (May 1992 3CD Set on Capricorn 9 42003-2 – Barcode 093624200321)

 

VARIOUS ARTISTS – "Capricorn Records Presents The Swing Time Records Story: R&B, Blues & Gospel 1946-1952" (July 1994 2CD Set on Capricorn 9 42024-2 – Barcode 789394202428)

Saturday 10 June 2023

"Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards" by TOM WAITS – 56 Tracks (Including Two Hidden Tracks on CD3) covering 1985 to 2004. Features 30 New Songs, Tribute Album Contributions, Soundtrack Songs, Collaborations, Original TW Versions of Songs Recorded by Others and More - Guests Include his wife Kathleen Brennan with Siblings Sullivan and Casey Waits on Guitar and Drums, Mitchell Froom (of Crowded House), Dave Alvin (of The Blasters), Ron Hacker, Mark Ribot, Brett Gurewitz (of Bad Religion), Mark Linkus (of Sparklehorse) and Larry LaLonde (of Primus) on Guitars, Larry "The Mole" Taylor of Canned Heat on Bass, Blues Harmonica Players Charlie Musselwhite and John Hammond, Pedal Steel Guitar Player Bobby Black of Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen, Jazz Pianist Art Hillary and many more (November 2006 UK/EUROPE Anti- Records 3CD 56-Track 4-Panel Hardback Digibook with Audio restoration, Mixing and Editing by Karl Derfler and Gavin Lurssen Mastering)







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"...Room For The Forsaken... "

 

It amazes me that this expensive (at the time) 3CD 56-Track trawl through his unreleased 'Orphan' recordings from 1985 to 2004 is the biggest seller Tom Waits has had to date (it came out in November 2006 after much preparation). Three years after its almost entirely positive reception from the press and public alike, Anti- Records even released a pricey 7 x VINYL LP variant of "Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards" with six extra tracks on LP7 (see details below).

 

But then again, anything resembling a Box Set afforded to this giant of Alternative and Americana Music is the kind of thing that will get legions of his many admirers a tad excited. Tom Waits is God as far as I'm concerned. And I will have it no other way. There is a lot of dreaming of Knickerbockers on Fannin Street, yards of Buzz Fledderjohn, hobos throwing money off the back of a train and Moses looking to start another fire with used Pontiac Tyres. So let's bend down the branches my sea shanty people and get into details...

 

UK and EUROPE released 17 November 2006 - "Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards" by TOM WAITS on Anti- 6677-2 (Barcode 8714092667721) is a 56-Track 3CD Hardback Digibook Compilation of New Songs and Outtakes from 1985 to 2004. It plays out as follows:

 

CD1 "Brawlers" (64:20 minutes):

1. Lie To Me

2. Low Down

3. 2:19

4. Fish In The Jailhouse

5. Bottom Of The World

6. Lucinda

7. Ain't Goin' Down To The Well

8. Lord I've Been Changed

9. Puttin' On The Dog

10. Road To Peace

11. All The Time

12. The Return of Jackie And Judy

13. Walk Away

14. Sea Of Love

15. Buzz Fledderjohn

16. Rains On Me

NOTES on CD1:

Track 3 ("2:19"), Track 8 ("Lord I've Been Changed" credited as ("I Know I've Been Changed") and Track 15 ("Buzz Fledderjohn") were all used on the 2001 CD album "Wicked Grin" by JOHN HAMMOND on Pointblank Records – a whole album of Tom Waits songs done by the American Blues Harmonica Player. The versions on "Orphans..." are the Tom Waits originals – as is "Fannin Street" (Track 10 on CD2)

Track 5 appears in the 2003 Documentary "Long Gone"

Track 7 is a Leadbelly cover version

Tracks 8 and 15 see Notes on Track 3 etc

Track 9 appears in the 1999 Comedy Drama "Liberty Heights"

Track 12 is a Ramones cover version that appeared on the 2003 tribute album to the American Band called "We're A Happy Family"

Track 13 was on the 1996 Soundtrack Album "Dead Man Walking"

Track 14 is a cover version of 1959 Phil Phillips classic "Sea Of Love" and appeared in the 1989 Al Pacino film of the same name

Track 16 is a co-write with Chuck E. Weiss and first appeared on his 1999 album "Extremely Cool"

 

CD2 "Bawlers" (69:37 minutes):

1. Bend Down The Branches

2. You Can Never Hold Back Spring

3. Long Way Home

4. Widow's Grove

5. Little Drop Of Poison

6. Shiny Things

7. World Keeps Turning

8. Tell It To Me

9. Never Let Go

10. Fannin Street

11. Little Man

12. It's Over

13. If I Have To Go

14. Goodnight

15. The Fall Of Troy

16. Take Care Of All My Children

17. Down There By The Train

18. Danny Says

19. Jayne's Blue Wish

20. Young At Heart

NOTES ON CD2:

Track 1 first appeared on a Various Artists 2002 CD compilation of children’s songs called "For The Kids"

Track 2 first appeared in the 2005 Roberto Benigni film "The Tiger And The Snow"

Track 3 first appeared on the 2001 CD Soundtrack to "Big Bad Love" and was covered by singer Norah Jones on her 2004 album "Feels Like Home

Track 5 first appeared on the Soundtrack to the 1997 Wim Wenders film "The End Of Violence" and again in 2004 (in a different form than the one here) on the Dreamworks animated film "Shrek 2"

Track 6 is an outtake from the 2002 "Blood And Money" album and also appeared in the Robert Wilson production of Georg Büchner's unfinished 1837 play Woyzeck

Track 7 appeared on the 2001 Soundtrack to the movie "Pollock"

Track 8 first appeared as "Louise (Tell It To Me)" in 1998 on the Ramblin Jack Elliott CD album "Friends Of Mine" on Hightone Records; this version is by Tom Waits only and differs to the duet

Track 9 appeared in the 1992 Martin Bell film "American Heart"

Track 10 – see Notes on Tracks 3, 8 and 15 on CD1 – a Leadbelly cover version

Track 11 released on the 1991 album "Mississippi Lad" by Teddy Edwards

Track 12 previously appeared in the 1999 Comedy Drama "Liberty Heights", but in a different version

Track 13 "If I Have To Go" was first used in 1984 as "Rat's Theme" on the documentary film "Streetwise", later became an outtake "If I Have To Go" from the 1986 "Franks Wild Years" album - appeared in the theatre play version of "Franks Wild Years" but not on the album

Track 14 is a Leadbelly cover

Track 15 was on the 1996 Soundtrack Album "Dead Man Walking"

Track 16 was in the 1984 documentary film "Streetwise"

Track 17 from the 2003 documentary film "Long Gone" (Johnny Cash had done a version of it on his 1994 comeback album "American Recordings")

Track 18 is a Ramone cover version

Track 19 first appeared on the 2001 CD Soundtrack to "Big Bad Love"

Track 20 is a cover version of the Standard done by the likes of Frank Sinatra

 

CD3 "Bastards" (55:20 minutes – see NOTES):

1. What Keeps Mankind Alive

2. Children's Story

3. Heigh Ho

4. Army Ants

5. Book Of Moses

6. Bone Chain

7. Two Sisters

8. First Kiss

9. Dog Door

10. Redrum

11. Nirvana

12. Home I'll Never Be

13. Poor Little Lamb

14. Altar Boy

15. The Pontiac

16. Spidey's Wild Ride

17. King Kong

18. On The Road

19. Dog Treat (Not Credited, Hidden Track)

20. Missing My Son (Not Credited, Hidden Track)

NOTES:

Track 1 from the 1930s Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill production "Threepenny Opera"; also on the 1985 Various Artists Tribute Album "Lost In The Stars: The Music Of Kurt Weill"

Track 3 is a cover version of the famous Disney song from "Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs" – first appeared on the 1988 compilation "Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films"

Track 4 is a Skip Spence (ex Jefferson Airplane and Moby Grape) cover version first issued 1999 on the Various Artists Tribute Album to his lone solo album "Oar"

Track 9 is with Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse and is on their 2001 album "It's A Wonderful Life"

Track 11 has lyrics by the famous American writer Charles Bukowski

Track 12 has lyrics by the famous American hobo Jack Kerouac

Track 15 originally released on the 1987 Spoken Word compilation "Smack My Crack"

Track 17 is a Daniel Johnston cover version – first appeared on the 2004 Tribute Album "The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Uncovered"

Tracks 19 and 20 are Hidden Songs - the track list for CD3 on the rear has only 18 titles and neither are amongst the Six Bonuses issued on the 2009 VINYL EDITION of the Box Set.

 

Is this an Anthology Book Set of Previously Unreleased – a new 3CD compilation with new songs and stragglers? The packaging "Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards" doesn't actually elaborate in most cases – but with so many of the songs having been on other discs that stretch from 1985 up to 2004 – then I am calling it a Box Set.

 

The Hardback Digibook is a lovely thing to behold, but is a tad infuriating in some respects. It is very easy to snap the spine due to the rigidity of the thing – there is a Musicians Credits Page at the end of the lyric pages for each CD – Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards – unfortunately it gives you a core band and Guests but not who played on what or when. The lyrics are a fantastic read (bulk of nearly 80-pages), but again other than a Brennan/Waits writer credit in most cases, no details on where to find any track or history.

 

Guests include his wife Kathleen Brennan with Siblings Sullivan and Casey Waits on Guitar and Drums (respectively), Mitchell Froom (of Crowded House), Dave Alvin (of The Blasters), Ron Hacker, Mark Ribot, Joe Gore, Brett Gurewitz (of Bad Religion), Mark Linkus (of Sparklehorse) and Larry LaLonde (of Primus) on Guitars, Larry "The Mole" Taylor of Canned Heat on Bass, Blues Harmonica Players Charlie Musselwhite and John Hammond, Pedal Steel Guitar Player Bobby Black of Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen, Jazz Pianist Art Hillary and many more. While you can so hear Pedal Steel player Bobby Black on say "If I Have To Go" (so you can guess it), others are not so easy to identify.

 

The Three Card Pouches offer right-way-up and upside-down typed fact sheets on stuff like who was the first to invent a Pipe Organ, the miseries of famous people in history – so very Tom Waits. The photographs in black and white too – pics of TW with Keith Richards, John Hammond, JJ Cale and John Lee Hooker, actors Nicholas Cage, Fred Gwynne of Munsters fame and Italian actor Roberto Benigni when he did the movie Down By Law in 1986. There are snaps of the house band, pianos, his sons, other images of cars, barns, book shops full of Pulp Fiction paperbacks, stains on wooden floors and concrete (probably blood), loudhailers, prison mugshots, old black and whites of family, interesting looking individuals and so on. The photo credits include great names like Anton Corbijn, Julianne Deery (cover photography), Jim Jarmusch, Jane Rose and Strangers.

 

Audio Restoration, Additional Digital Editing, Mixing and Remixing was done by KARL DERFLER at Bay View Studios while top Audio Engineer GAVIN LURSSEN did the Mastering. The sound is fantastic throughout even when the vaudeville madness on CD1 and CD3 threatens, there is always clarity to the organized musical chaos and the beauty of the stripped-back ballads on CD2 is simply hair-raising and a gorgeous contrast in overall tone. "Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards" feels like the White Album by The Beatles in many ways - you dip and dive and always come up trumps with another discovery you missed first time round or just plumb forgot about. It says a lot of Tom Waits that if this is the stuff he missed or fell by the wayside – and yet it still sounds this good and relevant – this yeah baby. To the music...

 

For someone who is notoriously unwilling to accommodate any kind of autobiography written about him (he famously told friends and acquaintances not to cooperate with one) – Waits has collaborated with so many (check out the number of Soundtrack songs he has done). But what is fascinating about this set is getting to hear his originals (so to speak). If you take the John Hammond CD album "Wicked Grin" for instance – his "2:19" is about five and half minutes long and overstays its welcome, Hammond shortened it to about 4:20 but that smaller playing time tightened it so much. Yet his "Buzz Fledderjohn" is the opposite – better by him than by Hammond. Stuff like "Lucinda" is fabulous and the plaintive "Rains On Me" might have lyrics that repeat just a tad too much, but it is a real find.

 

For me the gem here is CD2 where the mood is mellow and love songs like "Tell It To Me", "Down There By The Train" and "If I Have To Go" (Barry Beckett on Pedal Steel) are gorgeous. But he does not do soppy for too long. To counter the wounded piano of "World Keep Turning", TW of course throws in the croaking acidity rhythms of "Little Drop Of Poison" (a rat always knows when he’s in with weasels). Or jostling beside the witty and entirely suitable covers of "Goodnight Irene" by Leadbelly and the crooner standard "Young At Heart" made famous by Sinatra – Waits floors you with the bury-the-axe ring-in-the-pawnshop desperation in his gravel vocals for "Never Let Go" – where a loverman may put a rope over the cross-leg tree but he will not let go the hand of his loved one. Silver twine from a Valentine beauty permeates the banjo and oboe of the deceptively simple "Shiny Things". It might be a bit hissy too, but "Fannin Street" has a lost and never found loveliness to its lonesome story. "Little Man" sees him hog a piano – words drawn out as the notes creak and moan before the Sax and High-hat shuffle comes in like a pair of sinners heading into adjacent confessionals. In "It's Over", you can hear too how he reused the music and themes in another song but this is still as good – always me whenever there is trouble – a feather left by his woman on an unmade bed.

 

CD3 begins as it intends to rant, rave and shock and maybe even make you laugh along the way – pump organ and lyrics about seven deadly sins and starving first mates (a Kurt Weill song called "What Keeps Mankind Alive"). Then comes a spoken piece called "Children's Story" where he describes the earth as an overturned piss-pot and then says night-night to the child presumably listening (hoping for a peaceful night's kip). The mania continues with heavily treated vocals for "Heigh Ho" where it sounds like a Christmas Carol meets a creepy movie. The witty and erratic continues as Waits talks about "Army Ants" – wasps and female ants who bite off the head of their lovers (nice). Tunes actually appear in a brilliant cover version of "Books Of Moses" – an Alex Spence (ex Jefferson Airplane, then Moby Grape) cover version from his lone and famous "Oar" – when the Spence song actually sounds like Waits wrote it first. The madness continues with Harmonica wailing for the almost unlistenable one minute and three seconds of madness that is "Bone Chain". Traditional sea shanty "Two Sisters" has Waits accompanied only by a lonesome violin. 

 

You gotta love any musician who opens a sideways song to his wife Kathleen with lyrics like "She drove a big old Lincoln with suicide doors and a sewing machine in the back..." – a song about a woman who was struck by lightning eight times and collected bones of all kinds (well of course she did). And even though it sounds like it was recorded in an echoing muddy bucket, Waits somehow makes "Home I'll Never Be" touching (shame there are no lyrics for it in the booklet). And on the humor and whack goes to a live (uncredited) song called "Dog Treat" where he schmoozes the audience with a story about a Bull Penis that has become a snack for canines (his comedic genius shining). The last un-credited track called "Missing My Mom" is again spoken – a story about a Chinese Mom who meets TW in a supermarket and has an unusual request for him. Both are an absolute hoot and a truly great way to end a box set even Captain Beefheart would have given the nod too.

 

Genius is a word bandied about liberally when it comes to off-centre musicians and artists – too damn often truth be told. But after time with this fantastic, funny and yes moving American songsmith – you will know why Tom Waits elicits such passion amongst his fans – and yes – smiles. Time to go bringing in Bo Peep for a date with a Transylvanian Chimney Sweep who just wants to show her his fabulous one-of-a-kind soot collection (it's dark baby). Genius...and then some...

 

PS: 8 December 2009 also saw a Limited Edition 7 x 180-Gram LP VINYL VERSION of "Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards" released in the UK/EUROPE on Anti- 86677-1 (Barcode 8714092667714) which contained a 34-Page Booklet and six songs that were not on the 3CD original release of November 2006. The six are all on LP7 ("Bonus") as follows:

Side 1:

1. Crazy 'Bout My Baby (Fats Waller cover)

2. Diamond In Your Mind (Brennan/Waits song)

3. Cannon Song (Eugen Brecht/Kurt Weill cover)

Side 2:

1. Pray (Brennan/Waits and more song)

2. No One Can Forgive Me (Tom Waits song)

3. Mattie Grove (Traditional cover, Arranged by Brennan/Waits)

INDEX - Entries and Artist Posts in Alphabetical Order