"Sailin' Shoes" by LITTLE FEAT – February 1972 Second US Studio Album on Warner Brothers featuring Lowell George, Bill Payne, Roy Estrada and Richard Hayward with Guests Sneaky Pete Kleinow and Ron Elliott on Guitars plus Milt Holland and Debbie Lindsey on Percussion and Backing Vocals – Van Dyke Parks on Piano on CD2 (June 2023 UK Warner Records/Rhino '2CD Deluxe Edition' Reissue with the 11-Track Album Newly Remastered in 2023 on CD1 and 21 Bonus Tracks on CD2 (16 of which are Previously Unreleased) – Dan Hersch and Bill Inglot Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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RATING: ****

 

"...Weed, Whites and Wine..."

 

 

Alongside their Reissue Brother from another Mother Rhino Records – Warner Brothers (or Warner Records as they seem to call themselves these days) have finally seen to plug in two humungous Remaster holes in the mighty catalogue of Little Feat. Both 1972's "Sailin' Shoes" and 1973's "Dixie Chicken" have been given June 2023 '2CD Deluxe Edition' treatments – Remasters and tasty unreleased. And about Tripe Face Boogie time too. To the guacamole details...

 

UK released Friday, 23 June 2023 - "Sailin' Shoes" by LITTLE FEAT on Warner Records/Rhino R2 6953721 – 603497837434 (Barcode 603497837434) is a '2CD Deluxe Edition' Reissue with the 11-Track 1972 Album Newly Remastered in 2023 on CD1 and 21 Bonus Tracks on CD2 (16 of which Previously Unreleased). It plays out as follows:

 

CD1 "Sailin' Shoes 2023 Remaster" (37:53 minutes):

1. Easy To Slip [Side 1]

2. Cold, Cold, Cold

3. Trouble

4. Tripe Face Boogie

5. Willin'

6. A Apolitical Blues

7. Sailin' Shoes [Side 2]

8. Teenage Nervous Breakdown

9. Got No Shadow

10. Cat Fever

11. Texas Rose Café

Tracks 1 to 11 are their second studio album "Sailin' Shoes" – released February 1972 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2600 and May 1972 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 46156. Produced by TED TEMPLEMAN – it didn't chart in either country. NOTE: Original copies of the British LP spelt the song "Willin'" on both the inner sleeve and label as "Willing".

 

For "Sailin' Shoes" LITTLE FEAT was:

LOWELL GEORGE – Lead Guitar, Lead Vocals and Harmonica

BILL PAYNE – Keyboards and Acordian (Lead Vocals on "Cat Fever" only)

ROY ESTRADA – Bass and Backing Vocals

RICHARD HAYWARD – Drums, Percussion and Backing Vocals

ROY ESTRADA

Guests:

Milt Holland plays Percussion of "Easy To Slip" and "Trouble"

Debbie Lindsey sings Backing Vocals on "Cold, Cold, Cold" and "Sailin' Shoes"

Sneaky Pete Kleinow plays Pedal Steel on "Willin'" and "Texas Rose Cafe"

Ron Elliott plays Electric Guitar on "A Apolitical Blues"

 

CD2 "Hotcakes, Outtakes & Rarities" (78:32 minutes):

1. Sailin' Shoes (Demo)

2. Easy To Fall (Easy To Slip) (Demo for The Doobie Brothers)

3. Texas Rose Café (Alternate Version)

4. Cold, Cold, Cold (Alternate Version)

5. Roto/Tone

6. A Apolitical Blues (Alternate Version)

7. Boogie – Tripe Face Boogie

8. Trouble (Alternate Version)

9. Doriville

10. Willin' (Alternate Version)

11. Easy To Slip (Mono Single Version)

 

THANK YOU! I'LL EAT IT HERE: Live At The Palladium, Los Angeles, CA, August 28, 1972"

12. Tripe Face Boogie

13. Hamburger Tonight

14. Cat Fever

15. Willin'

16. Strawberry Flats

17. Got No Shadow

18. Texas Rose Café

19. Snakes On Everything

20. Hot Rod (Eldorado Slim)

21. Teenage Nervous Breakdown

NOTES on CD2:

Tracks 2, 3, 5, 7 and 9 were first issued as Unreleased Versions on the 4CD "Hotcakes & Outtakes" Book Set in September 2000.

Tracks 1, 4, 6, 8 and 10 are previously unreleased Demos, Alternate Versions and Outtakes from the "Sailin' Shoes" sessions; Track 11 is a Previously Unreleased Promo Only Mono Mix of a US 45 Single Side while Tracks 12 to 21 are Previously Unreleased Live Recordings done Live At The Palladium in Los Angeles, California 28 August 1972.

 

Fans will know that true Remasters of tracks from these albums first showed in September 2000 on the "Hotcakes & Outtakes" 4CD Hardback Book Set – and glorious they were too. February 2014 saw both full albums show in some form of Remaster quality for the 13CD Clamshell Box Set "Rad Gumbo: The Complete Warner Bros. Years 1971 to 1990". And then came Mobile Fidelity ULTRADIC II issues – expensive – beautiful – but bare bones too. Here we get smokes and folks smuggled from Mexico to Tehachapi and Tonopah and a few Teenage Nervous Breakdowns in-between.

 

Put bluntly – the 2023 Remaster of the album by DAN HERSCH and BILL INGLOT (long standing Audio Engineers for Rhino and handlers of huge swathes of the WEA Sixties and Seventies back catalogue) is great – full of muscle – howling harmonica and drums in "A Apolitical Blues" – that sexy Hammond B-3 organ bolster atop Lowell’s slide as "Easy To Slip" begins to open up – the delicate acoustic of the gorgeous "Willin'" and the Jedidiah dime-store guitar hustle of the title track "Sailin' Shoes" with Debbie Lindsey providing backing vocals. And finally I get to hear the Bill Payne-written Keyboard-Slide-Guitar Funk-Rock of "Got No Shadow" groove across my living room in all the 5:07 minute clarity this deep album dive has always been denied. And that guitar-battle towards the end of "Texas Rose Cafe" comes stomping out of your hi-fi with bovver boots on. YES! It's all clear folks. And at 78:32 minutes – you cannot accuse CD2 of slacking with the Rarities and Unreleased even if half of that so-so recorded live material has remained in cans for a reason (lifeless crowd too).

 

Reissue Produced by JASON JONES - the Card Digipak packaging allows three flaps to use outtake period photos of our Band of Four goofing about outside some garage (two beneath the see-through CD trays) and a pleasingly indepth 24-page booklet to be stuck into the flap in the middle. DAVID FRICKE cannot hide his affection for this exceptional American band providing a very cool overview of the album alongside formation and discovery details. Quite rightly Lowell George and Richie Hayward (who have both passed) get bigged up for their styles that made the Funky Rock of Little Feat such an enticing stew to so many. I do think that sonically and stylistically too – their second album is a bit all over the place and the sheer heartstring-tug of "Willin'" tends to overshadow everything else by a country mile. You can hear it in the audience dead zone that is the 28 August 1972 show. It can actually feel like the band doesn't seem to know what it is – are they Rock – are they Funk – are they a strange kind of hybrid. Which might go to explain the staggeringly low sales for their second album and clearly a big leap forward in the writing department (13,000 copies only while the debut had reputedly only managed 11,000 LPs sold).

 

Over on CD2 you get two utterly extraordinary moments no self-respecting Little Feat fan will be able to live without – a very clear if not a tiny bit hissy Demo of the title track "Sailin' Shoes" recorded March 1971 with Van Dyke Parks both playing Piano and Producing. The second is a Demo of the mighty "Willin'" recorded during the "Sailin' Shoes" sessions between 7 and 14 July 1971. With a One, Two, Three count in and near perfect Ted Templeman production values – it is close to the finished article except that the piano solo is not as nice or accomplished – seeking those right notes ala Jackson Browne. But what a find – baked by the sun – loving it. The Previously Unreleased Alternate Take of "A Apolitical Blues" has the same snake-like boogie the finished version does – Chairman Mao on the phone approving. Sounds fantastic too – Ted Templeman ramping up that Captain Beefheart-like Harmonica solo to devastating effect. I might actually prefer this to the LP final. For anyone who hasn't got the "Hotcakes & Outtakes" 4CD set – the outtake "Doriville" turns out be a lovely tune left behind without explanation – perhaps Lowell felt it had not been nailed (the ghost of facelessness has followed us here). Though I would admit that the Mono Single Mix of "Easy To Slip" feels less than the Stereo LP cut no matter what speakers it comes out of (Radio or otherwise).

 

Now with the loud music, the MC shouts to the crowd as Track 12 begins a run of 10 live tracks recorded at The Palladium in Los Angeles on 28 August 1972. Featuring the same four-piece for the "Sailin Shoes'" album – the gig was recorded after the first self-titled album came out, but before "Sailin' Shoes" was released. The Funk-Rock opens with two gooduns - "Tripe Face Boogie" (Bill Payne on Vocals) with Lowell taking lead vocals on the first LP standout track "Hamburger Midnight". Unfortunately his guitar disappears into the background too much even when his playing is fabulous. They bring out the Dr. John-esque then newbee of "Cat Fever" (Bill Payne on Vocals) while the first and second versions of "Willin'" get mixed up into a new brew by Lowell. George introduces "Willin'" as Country and Western but messes up several attempts to begin – worse is the sound that is in and out like a politician's excuses. With more monitor feedback and a decidedly bootleg feel, the band struggles eliciting any vibe from the crowd for "Strawberry Flats". Payne tries to Funk up proceedings with his "Got No Shadow" – both George and Payne energized by the new material and the Funky groove – listen to them dueting at three minutes. And on it goes...

 

I am genuinely conflicted in saying that this is a five-star reissue – it feels more like a four – but there is no doubting that "Sailin' Shoes" deserved this lavish attention and Hersch and Inglot are to be praised for doing such a stellar job with what had to have been compromised tapes for CD2. But with all those Alternates and the New Demos that genuinely thrill – it’s a winner – if not a flawed one.

 

I suspect like so many fans who grew up with them in the Seventies and into the Eighties after they continued without their leader Lowell George – I only have look at the Neon Parks artwork and a picture of LG smiling alongside Hayward (both now sadly passed) – and I am on the CD player with a willing passion. RIP you geniuses of the Hybrid Boogie...

"Tempest/Living In Fear plus Bonus Tracks" by TEMPEST – February 1973 UK Debut Album and April 1974 UK Second and Last Studio Album on Bronze Records featuring Paul Williams, Alan Holdsworth, Ollie Halsall, Mark Clarke and Jon Hiseman (October 2023 UK Beat Goes On Records Compilation – 2LPs Plus Two Bonus Tracks onto 2CDs – Andrew Thompson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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Covering 1967 to 1977 - It Also Focuses On

Fusion Rock, Acid Folk, Art Rock and Underground 

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RATING: *** (Content), ***** (Presentation and Audio)

 

"...Waiting For A Miracle..."

 

In some respects, 1973 was a strange year for Rock. On the one hand, you had extraordinary releases from Bowie, Oldfield, Pink Floyd, Yes, Marvin Gaye, Paul McCartney, 10cc, Cockney Rebel, The Who, Elton John, John Martyn, Curtis Mayfield, Bobby Womack, Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder – all chockers with innovation and musical excellence – and loads more like them across Pop, Prog, Folk and even Reggae. And on the other hand, you had all these bands arising out of the ashes of old – in particular 1970, 1971 and 1972 line-ups – hustling for what should have been a glorious new beginning and eventual global domination followed quickly by concert teeshirt worship.

 

The short-lived TEMPEST was such a British group. Lead Singer and Front Man Paul Williams had come up through the ranks of Zoot Money and the heyday of Juicy Lucy, Lead Guitarist Alan Holdsworth had graced the doors of the one-album Decca Records cult band Igginbottom while Bassist Mark Clarke and Drummer Jon Hiseman were ex Uriah Heep and Colosseum respectively. In fact Hiseman saw Tempest as a vehicle to tackle a more Hard Rock approach as opposed to the Fusion Prog of Colosseum and Holdsworth could play to beat the band while ballsy/bluesy vocalist Paul Williams could dominate a microphone. Both Williams and Holdsworth jumped ship for the second LP only to be replaced with another ace-axeman – Ollie Halsall. So all in all – with their pair of studio LPs originally on the much-liked Bronze Records - Tempest sported righteous omens and pedigree call sheets - on paper. 

 

But that's were the good news ends - because 50-years on Tempest so often elicit the venomous ire of derision – a band obviously lacking in tunes. Their music was sort of Rock and sort of Prog - but despite gimmicky sleeves bound to engender cult collecting – were not particularly sexy pants as a band on either front.

 

Well, Beat Goes On Records of the UK have said damn the accusational torpedoes ye heathens of yore and reissued both albums with two appropriate bonuses in tow in one of those natty card slipcases they do so well. Stick that in your high-pressure front, you aging man-children of Gorgon. To the wet and windy details...

 

UK released Friday, 6 October 2023 - "Tempest/Living In Fear plus Bonus Tracks" by TEMPEST on Beats Goes On Records BGOCD1502 (Barcode 5017261215024) offers Two Albums from 1973 and 1974 Remastered onto Two CDs with Two Bonus Tracks and plays out as follows:

 

CD1 (35:40 minutes):

1. Gorgon [Side 1]

2. Foyers Of Fun

3. Dark House

4. Brothers

5. Up And On [Side 2]

6. Grey And Black

7. Strangeher

8. Upon Tomorrow

Tracks 1 to 8 are the debut album "Tempest" – released February 1973 in the UK on Bronze ILPS 9220 and Warner Brothers BS 2682 in the USA. Produced by JON HISEMAN – it didn’t chart in either country

 

TEMPEST line-up for the debut "Tempest"

PAUL WILLIAMS (ex Zoot Money and Juicy Lucy) – Vocals, Keyboards, Acoustic Guitar

ALAN HOLDSWORTH (ex ‘Igginbottom) – Lead Guitar and Violin

MARK CLARKE (ex Uriah Heep) – Bass, Keyboards and Vocals on "Grey And Black"

JON HISEMAN (ex Colosseum) – Drums and Percussion

 

CD2 (47:06 minutes):

1. Funeral Pyre [Side 1]

2. Paperback Writer

3. Stargazer

4. Dance To My Time

5. Living In Fear [Side 2]

6. Yeah Yeah Yeah

7. Waiting For A Miracle

8. Turn Around

Tracks 1 to 8 are their second and last studio album "Living in Fear" – released April 1974 in the UK on Bronze ILPS 9267 (no US release). Produced by GERRY BRON – it didn’t chart

 

TEMPEST line-up for "Living In Fear"

OLLIE HALSALL – Guitar, Keyboards and Vocals

MARK CLARKE – Bass and Vocals ("Stargazer" only)

JON HISEMAN – Drums and Percussion

 

BONUS TRACKS

9. You And Your Love

10. Dream Train

 

The card-slipcase is cool, the 20-page booklet reproducing the album artwork and lyrics (debut only) and photos from that elaborate artwork. Valiant new liner notes from CHARLES WARING explain the Colosseum connection and give a song-by-song breakdown – but despite his usual thoughtful and fact-filled assessment – it is for me all in vain because the music just does not warrant it. You cannot accuse this twofer however of not sounding kick-ass – the ANDREW THOMPSON Remasters storming out of your speakers with great power and separation.

 

It begins with a promising fade-in of acoustic guitars, treated mysterious vocals and swirling high-hat soundscapes – but then descends into plodding riffage and horrible lyrics about girlies studying evil all the time. If ever there was a template for Spinal Tap – this is it. Poor Paul Williams tries to passion his way into the guitars with lyrics that do him no favours. Writers Hiseman, Holdsworth and Clarke continue with the Cream-out-of-time heavy handedness of "Foyers Of Fun" and "Dark House" – Williams and his strained vocals sounding so out of place that it's obvious he's the wrong man for the job. Clever guitar parts hold together the Side 2 opener "Up And On" – soloing ahoy in the second half of the song.

 

A welcome melodic keyboard refrain opens "Grey And Black" but Clarke doesn't have the strongest voice in the world and so it feels like sub-standard Greenslade. At least the oddly spelt "Strangeher" feels like some half-decent Rock and Roll meets twin-guitar Wishbone Ash type sounds. A beautifully recorded Violin and Keyboard plink opens the decidedly jazzy-Prog final track on the debut "Upon Tomorrow" – the drum flourishes of Hiseman and the Weather Report bass notes of Clarke rattling around your speakers with wonderful clarity. But of course, come two minutes in – we get the sudden riffage that doesn't really excite. But at least Williams sounds more convincing – making "Upon Tomorrow" probably the best cut on a patchy debut album.

 

Both Singer/Keyboardist Paul Williams with Guitarist Alan Holdsworth jumped ship after the debut where Tempest effectively became a trio for the 1974 set "Living In Fear" – Ollie Halsall joining as Guitarist and Singer. But therein for me lies the problem with platter number two – Halsall can play and is famous for being a wiz on the fretboard – but again his voice is grating and not enticing you in. The band didn't seem to have learned the mistakes of the debut. And you wouldn’t mind if the songs had improved – no such luck.

 

Gerry Bron of Bronze Records produced and it feels a tad amateur despite Halsall going all wobbly guitar notes on the opener "Funeral Empire". A very clever and welcome cover gives them a chance to Rock – "Paperback Writer" getting grunged with guitars and layered vocals. But it only serves to remind that Tempest could never write something this brilliant – only that they can heavy-hand the song which they do. We get a tad Juicy Lucy with "Stargazer" where Mark Clarke takes lead vocals and at least it feels like a tune albeit in a Man kind of way. There then follows a line of hammy songs the best of which is the mildly guitar-jaunty “Yeah Yeah Yeah". Both "Waiting For A Miracle" and the decidedly guitar-whig-out finisher "Turn Around" try hard enough but lack any real kind of hook. The bonus tracks are only OK – the poppy "Dream Train" sounding dangerously close to bad Sparks.

 

You have to admire BGO of England for giving these 1973 and 1974 Tempest rarities a digital go-round and any fans out there are really going to love the classy presentation and massively upgraded sound. But I would advise a listen first for anyone else...

"Psychedelic Soul" by THE TEMPTATIONS – Full-Length Versions from February 1969 to December 1973 Albums on Motown Produced, Arranged and Often Written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong (June 2003 US Motown 'Funk Essentials' 2CD Compilation with Suha Gur Remasters and Two Previously Unreleased Versions) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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70ts Soul, R 'n' B, Funk, Jazz Fusion
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"…You Make Your Own Heaven And Hell Right Here On Earth…"

 

Eagle-eyed collectors will notice two things about this stunning "Motown Funk Essentials" release by THE TEMPTATIONS covering the NORMAN WHITFIELD and BARRETT STRONG years...

 

First there are two Previously Unreleased versions of killer tracks "Psychedelic Shack" and "Ball Of Confusion..." (7 and 13 on Disc 1) - but better still is that all of the songs across the 2CDs are the 'full album versions' in Stereo instead of the usual Mono Single Mixes and Edits we commonly get on other compilations. Throw in stunning new SUHA GUR remasters from original master tapes of music most fans adore - and you're on a double-disc winner. Here are the details from Cloud Nine...

 

US released June 2003 - the 2CD set "Psychedelic Soul" by THE TEMPTATIONS on Motown Chronicles B0000582-02 (Barcode 044003865327) is part of their 'Motown Funk Essentials' Series and breaks down as follows:

 

Disc 1 (71:29 minutes):

1. Cloud Nine (3:31 minutes)

2. Runaway Child, Running Wild (9:21 minutes)

Tracks 1 and 2 are from the album "Cloud Nine" released February 1969 in the USA on Gordy GS939 and September 1969 in the UK on Tamla Motown STML 11109

 

3. Don't Let The Jones Get You Down (4:42 minutes)

4. I Can't Get Next To You (2:52 minutes)

5. Message From A Black Man (6:03 minutes)

6. Slave (7:31 minutes)

Tracks 3 to 6 are from the album "Puzzle People" released September 1969 in the USA on Gordy GS949 and February 1970 in the UK on Tamla Motown STML 11133

 

7. Psychedelic Shack (6:19 minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED EXTENDED VERSION

 

8. You Make Your Own Heaven And Hell Right Here On Earth (2:45 minutes)

9. Hum Along And Dance (3:51 minutes)

10. Take A Stroll Through Your Mind (8:33 minutes)

11. War  (3:12 minutes)

12. Friendship Train (7:55 minutes)

Tracks 8 to 12 are from the album "Psychedelic Shack" released March 1970 in the USA on Gordy GS947 and June 1970 in the UK on Tamla Motown STML 11147

 

13. Ball Of Confusion (That's What The World is Today) (4:08 minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED ALTERNATE MIX

 

Disc 2 (78:08 minutes):

1. Smiling Faces Sometimes (12:40 minutes)

2. Ungena Za Ulimengu (Unite The World) (4:28 minutes)

3. Love Can Be Anything (Can't Nothing Be Love But Love) (9:20 minutes)

Tracks 1 to 3 are from the album "Sky's The Limit" released April 1971 in the USA on Gordy GS957 and August 1971 in the UK on Tamla Motown STML 11184

 

4. Take A Look Around (3:09 minutes)

5. Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are) (2:54 minutes)

Tracks 4 and 5 are from the album "Solid Rock" released January 1972 in the USA on Gordy G-961L and April 1972 in the UK on Tamla Motown STML 11202

 

6. Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On (3:10 minutes)

7. Papa Was A Rollin' Stone (12:01 minutes)

Tracks 6 and 7 are from the album "All Directions" released July 1972 in the USA on Gordy G-962L and February 1973 in the UK on Tamla Motown STML 11218

 

8. Plastic Man (5:57 minutes)

9. Masterpiece (13:49 minutes)

Tracks 8 and 9 are from the album "Masterpiece" released February 1973 in the USA on Gordy G-965L and June 1973 in the UK on Tamla Motown STML 11229

 

10. Ain't No Justice (6:05 minutes)

11. 1999 (4:04 minutes)

Tracks 10 and 11 are from the album "1990" released December 1973 in the USA on Gordy G-966V1 and January 1974 in the UK on Tamla Motown STMA 8016

 

The 12-page booklet has an essay called "Psychedelic Soul Power" by Leonard Pitts, Jr on the Norman Whitfield Productions between 1968 and 1973 when his leadership and songwriting partnership with Barrett Strong saw The Tempts react to the America they were living in. Battered by the loss of both Kennedys, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X - and with US troops (black and white) dying in their droves in a pointless 'Red' war 6000 miles away and American cities stricken by poverty and racism - Motown's production line of boy/girl songs needed to address the real world - and beginning with the stunning "Cloud Nine" album - The Temptations took it to the world (and were glad to).

 

Right from the get go - the SUHA GUR remasters blow you away. If I compare the single mix of "Runaway Child, Running Wild" on "The Complete Motown Singles Volume 9: 1969" which weighs in at just under five minutes (released in January 1969 a month before the album - it was a US R&B No.1) - to hear it allowed to stretch out to its full nine-minute album wallop is such a blast - an entirely different beast. "I want my mama!" the inner city child cries just before it goes into a sensational Funk Brothers groove that lasts the final three minutes. The same of course applies to the monster "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" (even though it probably overstays its welcome at twelve minutes). And how good is to hear the seven and half minutes of "Message From A Black Man" from "Puzzle People". The bass and brass of "Friendship Train" sound huge - the group and the musicians laying into a rhythm and a set of lyrics they 'know' matters. And I always thought the simple funkiness of "Hum And Dance Along" is a genuine masterpiece often passed over for more famous tunes (they used it as a Stateside B-side to "Ungena Za Ulimengu (Unite The World)" on Gordy 7102 in 1970).

 

Disc 2 provides more album Funkathons like their 13-minute radical rework of "Smiling Faces Sometimes" (which became a huge hit for The Undisputed Truth) and the near sidelong "Masterpiece" has that genius bass backdrop (like "Papa") that just builds and builds and the guitars and strings battle it out against a backdrop of words about "...thousands of lives wasting away...people living from day to day..." "Masterpiece" is exactly what it is. It's a shame they didn't slap on "Law Of The Land" but again you do get the underrated "Ain't No Justice". The two Previously Unreleased versions see alternate vocals along with different guitar and keyboard funk in "Psychedelic Shack" with radically alternate vocals on "Ball Of Confusion" - personally I love them both to pieces (anything new from this period blows my tiny Dubliner's mind).

 

You can't help but think that Hip-O Select should just do a Temptations Box Set for the Whitfield years and be done with it (and one for The Undisputed Truth for that matter too) - but that's somewhere hopefully in the future. In the meantime - get this fantastic slice of Funk and Social consciousness into your life as soon as your bad self will allow. For once the word "essential" doesn't do the genius on display here enough justice...

"The New Folk Sound Of Terry Callier" by TERRY CALLIER [aka "New Folk Sound" as per the Original LP label credit] – US Debut Album on Prestige Records in Mono – Recorded July 1964 But Belatedly Released Spring 1968 (November 2018 UK Craft Recordings Expanded Edition CD Reissue with Seven Bonus Tracks (Five Unreleased) and Paul Blakemore Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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RATING: ***** (Audio and Content)

 

"…Better Days Coming…You And Me Brother…We Can Make It So…"

 

Reissue specialists 'Craft Recordings of the USA' have been behind two huge sources of musical hero worship for me – Creedence Clearwater Revival and Stax Records (Isaac Hayes, Staple Singers, the Wattstax concerts, Truth Records label, the four complete Stax Singles Box Sets etc). In between those standard-bearers for genre excellence – they have also gone after rarities and releases that scream to be re-heard and re-appreciated.

 

And so it is with the debut album for Soul Hero Terry Callier – a gentle Nick Drake-type Folk LP with a Soulful Unplugged vibe that was recorded in one day in July 1964 with only three musicians – two of whom were playing an Upright Bass alongside Callier on Acoustic Guitar and Vocals (and not a lot else). But despite rear sleeve liner-notes dated May 1965 – the vinyl LP didn't actually appear in US shops until the Spring of 1968 - probably March or April because the producer had absconded to Mexico with the tapes and went on a druggy walkabout for a few years (well of course he did). I think the first known review of the album doesn't show until January 1969 - for whatever reason. Apparently our hero had to be told by a friend that his album was in the shops for sale, because no one from Prestige informed him.

 

In fact - the first most US new-music buyers heard of TC and his beautifully mellow voice/songs was via Psych Rockers H.P. Lovecraft who on hearing "The New Folk Sound Of Terry Callier" in early 1968 - covered two tunes from it in their July 1968 recording sessions for their second platter "H.P. Lovecraft II". That album saw the US light of day in September 1968 on Phillips PHS 600-279 (April 1969 in the UK on Philips SBL 7872) with covers of Callier's "Spin, Spin, Spin" and "It's About Time" leading the Psych charge as the first two songs on Side 1. The British LP was deleted quickly (April 1970 from a catalogue I have) and I presume the small selling US LP was probably much the same. It is hard to know therefore how many (if any) punters noticed Terry Callier or the misnamed Collier credit on the first two songs of a H.P. Lovecraft LP?

 

Truth told – I'm no knowledge on the Callier debut myself and only after decades has info been gleaned from various sources (the 2018 Jason P. Woodbury liner notes are the first real comprehensive go at its mysterious history). Speaking of reissue history - England’s Ace Records via their Beat Goes Public label imprint smartly reissued the album on CD first – twice in fact. First up was November 1995 on Beat Goes Public CDBGPM 101 (Barcode 029667510127) - a straightforward reissue of the 8-Track Mono US vinyl album on Prestige 7383 (also credited as PRLP-7383 on some original copies). That 1995 CD ran to 37:46 minutes and had no mastering or remastering credits. The sound quality was o.k. - but was made redundant by UK CD issue Number Two - July 2003 on Ace/Beat Goes Public CDBGPM 156 (Barcode 029667515627). An upgraded Joe Tarantino Remaster, that 2003 CD added on Three Previously Unreleased Outtakes from the original session to the album's eight tracks upping the playing time to 55:01 minutes - "Be My Woman", "Jack O' Diamonds" and "The Golden Apples Of The Sun". To now...

 

This latest and greatest version of "The New Folk Sound Of Terry Callier" by TERRY CALLIER was UK released 23 November 2018 on Craft Recordings CR00098 (Barcode 888072053458) and comes in a Card Digipak for the first time (the first two issues on Ace were jewel cases). Of its Seven Bonus Tracks - "Jack O' Diamonds" and "The Golden Apples Of The Sun" had first appeared on the 2003 Ace CD (as previously mentioned) - while the other five are New Previously Unreleased Alternate Version Outtakes. The Craft Recordings 2018 CD plays out as follows (70:56 minutes):

 

1. 900 Miles [Side 1]

2. Oh Dear, What Can The Matter Be

3. Johnny Be Gay If You Can Be

4. Cotton Eyed Joe

5. It's About Time [Side 2]

6. Promenade In Green

7. Spin, Spin, Spin

8. I'm A Drifter

 

BONUS TRACKS:

9. Jack O' Diamonds

10. Golden Apples Of The Sun

11. Promenade In Green [Take 1] *

12. Be My Woman [Take 1] *

13. 900 Miles [Take 1] *

14. It's About Time [Take 2] *

15. Oh Dear, What Can The Matter Be [Take 2] *

* PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

 

The new eight-page booklet wastes three of them at the rear reproducing the Rent Foreman liner notes for Prestige 7383 that introduced Terence Orlando Callier to the world. Originally dated May 1965 – they give lots of that oh-so-cool Sixties psychobabble about time man and how the brother is a brother and a man of our time yet out of time (etc). But the new JASON P. WOODBURY liner notes are far better - no photos mind - but better. However, the real deal here is the stunning PAUL BLAKEMORE mastering - a name that has turned up on hundreds of Craft Recordings and others as a Remaster Engineer to actively seek out. This is a gorgeous sounding CD (the 2LP set the same) and one that's quite shocking at times in its vocal clarity - the timber of his voice and his humanitarian vibe and ideals - chilling and deeply, deeply affecting.

 

Aged only 23 - "The New Folk Sound Of..." album was recorded by SAMUEL CHARTERS in the Webb Recording Studios in Chicago in just one day - 29 July 1964. There were only 3 musicians - TERRY CALLIER on Guitar and Vocals, TERBOUR ATTENBOROUGH on Bass and JOHN TWEEDLE also on Bass. Another surprise is that almost all the songs are covers - five being Public Domain Traditionals - while the other three were from songwriter catalogues of the time.

 

Side 1 opens with the lovely and lonesome "900 Miles" which sets up his style and the album's overall feel. Although it's just him on Acoustic Guitar with his voice high up in the mix and the other instruments behind him, the effect is more FOLK-SOUL than just Folk or Roots. It's beautifully atmospheric - the kind of album you'd play on a quiet Sunday morning when you just want something soothing on the ear and brain.

 

Some tracks work better than others. It's difficult to hear "Oh Dear What Can The Matter Be" now without thinking of a schoolyard song we used to sing which rudely rhymed a "Lavatory" with "Matter Be". But things get better with the quietly lovely "Johnny Be Gay If You Can Be" and "Cotton Eyed Joe". The difference on the Remaster of "Cotton Eyed Joe" is stark - the vocals soar out of the speakers.

 

One of the album's true masterpieces is Side 2's opener - the plea for racial equality and an end to all war - "It's About Time" (lyrics above). Written by a beat poet and a female US songwriter (Kent Foreman and Lydia Wood) and running to a mere 3:33 minutes, it features a lovely guitar strum, but this time it has the added double bass of TERBOUR ATTENBOROUGH which lifts the song out of it's folk-roots feel into something so much more powerful and substantial. It still sounds awesome to this day - as relevant then as it is now. It's followed by "Promenade In Green" which is a Negro song from Alabama copyrighted by Robert Kaufman and Len Chandler in 1961 (a year before Callier started singing) - it's heart-meltingly lovely. "I'm A Drifter" is excellent too, but probably overstays its welcome at just short of nine minutes.

 

Even though it's easy to see why they were left off the album - the Extras are a revelation and sort of mini album unto themselves. It's not that they're sub-standard - it's just that they were more of the same and something had to give. Which is good news for us some 60 years later because the gambling song "Jack O' Diamonds" is superb. But the real winner is his cover of the Judy Collins song "The Golden Apples Of The Sun" which incorporated the poetry of William Butler Yates into the words. It's gorgeous.

 

Of the five newbee 'Alternate Versions' – you can see from track list above – they are Take 1 and Take 2. Callier probably nailed in on Take 2 or 3 after these – so you can hear the reasons why they were not quite up to snuff – a waver in a vocal here – an acoustic slip of notes there – but they are as lovely as you can hope for. It is also not surprising to me in the least that AUDIOPHILE nuts have been searching out the 2LP set reissued by Craft Recordings in September 2018 of this Expanded Edition CD (Craft Recordings CR00097 – Barcode 00888072053441 to be exact). That 180-grams double goes for real money now.

 

Perhaps also (and as a point of order) – it is informative to point out that not all Sixties recordings in the Blues, Rock and Soul worlds were crude rudimentary ramshackle affairs – some defied that presumption with luxurious productions and a quiet beauty. Sam Cooke's "Night Beat" album originally on RCA Records in September 1963 or the Muddy Waters unplugged Blues album "Folk Singer" from January 1964 on Chess Records jump to mind. When ABKCO USA put out the June 1995 CD of the stunning Sam Cooke album "Night Beat" they also pressed an Audiophile LP on ABKCO 1124-1 – Barcode 018771112419. Mobile Fidelity MFSL 1-201 from January 1994 did the same for the astonishing clarity on the Muddy Waters album - Chess Records not exactly famous as being a seething cauldron of sonic clarity. Alongside Callier – Cooke and Muddy make a fabulous Trio for VINYL Audiophile lovers. I would also look into "Elvis Is Back" on RCA and "Roy Orbison Sings Lonely And Blue" on Monument - both towering Stereo LPs from 1960. 

 

As you've no doubt gathered, I've been soppy about Terence Orlando Callier for years, so perhaps my review is overly gushing - but once your weary lugs actually hear this criminally forgotten gem, you'll understand why.

 

In its new card digipak, this gorgeous and stunning sounding Expanded CD Remaster of "The New Folk Sound Of Terry Callier" from 2018 by Craft Recordings is languishing on Amazon for under six quid. Do yourself a budget room favour and nab his graceful start - and spread the word...

 

PS: see also my separate reviews for the three Terry Callier Soul albums on Cadet Records that followed - "Occasional Rain" (June 1971), "What Color Is Love" (March 1973) and "I Just Can't Stand Myself" (October 1973)