"Groove Machine: The Earl Young Drum Sessions" by VARIOUS ARTISTS [featuring Drummer Earl Young] – Featuring 45-Single and Album Tracks from 1965 to 1977 by Archie Bell & The Drells, The Trammps, The Ambassadors, Dusty Springfield, The Delfonics, Clyde McPhatter, The O'Jays, The Spinners, B.B. King, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, Charles Mann, Billy Paul, The Whispers, William DeVaughn, The Modulations, Double Exposure, Loleatta Holloway, Eddie Holman and more (February 2024 UK Ace/Kent Soul CD Compilation of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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RATING: Content *** to *****

Audio *** to ****

"…Hit And Miss…"

Born in a prison and raised in three different foster homes – the legendary Philly Groove Drummer Earl Jones lined phonebooks up on chairs as a child to practice his beats (didn't want to play no bugle in a local Marching Band). And man oh break-free man – did it pay off.

To have your musician-name on sessions that produced the iconic sounds of tunes like "Backstabbers" by O'Jays, "The Love I Lost" by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes and "Be Thankful For What You Got" by William DeVaughn is a Soul Music accolade many would throttle a close relative for. But a look down through this list of twenty-three R 'n' B singles and album tracks covering 1965 to 1977 on a variety of labels (with a major lean on Seventies Philly Grooves - Gamble & Huff material etc) and you see there is so much more (it has a near eighty-minute total-playing-time).

I'll readily admit that I don't like all of it and as summit of a die-hard Philadelphia International fan/collector – I already have way too many of these entries. But as a one-stop – as a helluva tester to one man's relentlessly sexy backbeat - "Groove Machine: The Earl Young Drum Sessions" gets my Thom Bell going any day of the week. More hit than miss – to the details…

UK released Friday, 23 February 2024 - "Groove Machine: The Earl Young Drum Sessions" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace/Kent Soul CDTOP 1629 (Barcode 029667109925) is a 23-Track CD Compilation of Remasters covering 1965 to 1977 that plays out as follows (79:15 minutes):

1. Penguin At The Big Apple/Zing! Went The Strings Of My Heart (Medley) – THE TRAMMPS (from the August 1975 US LP "The Legendary Zing Album" on Buddah Records BDS 5641, credited as The Fabulous Trammps)

2. Storm Warning – THE VOLCANOS (May 1965 US 45-Single, Arctic 106, A-side)

3. Do The Hand Jive – ARCHIE BELL & THE DELLS (May 1969 US 45-Single, Atlantic 2644, B-side of "Girl You're Too Young")

4. Ain't Got The Love Of One Girl (On My Mind) – THE AMBASSADORS (March 1969 US 45-Single, Arctic 150, A-side)

5. Silly, Silly Fool – DUSTY SPRINGFIELD (January 1970 US 45-Single, Atlantic 45-2705, A-side)

6. Trying To Make A Fool Of Me – THE DELFONICS (May 1970 US 45-Single, Philly Groove PG 162, A-side)

7. Please Give Me One More Chance – CLYDE McPHATTER (from the August 1970 US LP "Welcome Home" on Decca DL 75231)

8. Backstabbers – O'JAYS (May 1972 US 45-Single, Philadelphia International ZS7 3517, A-side)

9. Just Can't Get You Out Of My Mind - THE SPINNERS (from the April 1973 US LP "Spinners" on Atlantic SD 7256)

10. I Like To Live The Love – B.B. KING (November 1973 US 45-Single, ABC Records ABC-11406, A-side)

11. The Love I Lost (Part 1) - HAROLD MELVIN & THE BLUE NOTES (August 1973 US 45-Single, Philadelphia International Z7S 3533, A-side)

12. Do It Again – CHARLES MANN (from the 1973 US LP "Say You Love Me Too" on ABC Records ABCX-786)

13. TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia) – THE THREE DEGREES (from the June 1975 US LP "International" on Philadelphia International KZ 33162, credited as "Take Good Care Of Yourself" in the UK, released April 1975 on Philadelphia International PIR 69137)

14. Be Truthful To Me – BILLY PAUL (September 1974 US 45-Single, Philadelphia International ZS8 3551, A-side)

15. I'm Doin' Fine Now – NEW YORK CITY (from the March 1973 US LP "I'm Doin' Fine Now" on Chelsea Records BCL1-0198)

16. I Just Can't Say Goodbye – PHILLY DEVOTIONS (December 1974 US 45-Single, Columbia 3-10076, A-side – February 1975 UK 45-Single on CBS Records CBS 3042, A-side)

17. A Mother For My Children – THE WHISPERS (December 1973 US 45-Single, Janus J-231, A-side)

18. Be Thankful For What You Got – WILLIAM DeVAUGHN (March 1974 US 45-Single, Roxbury BRBO-0236, A-side)

19. I Can't Fight Your Love – THE MODULATIONS (1974 US 45-Single, Buddah BDA 418, A-side, September 1974 UK 45 on Buddah BDS 406 – also on the 1975 US LP "It's Rough Out Here" on Buddah BDS 5638)

20. Touch And Go (12" Single) – ECSTASY, PASSION & PAIN featuring BARBARA ROY (April 1976 US-Only Promo-Only 12" Single, Roulette R-7182DJ, A-side)

21. My Love Is Free – DOUBLE EXPOSURE (January 1977 US 45-Single, Salsoul SZ 2012, B-side of "Just Can't Say Hello")

22. Hit And Run – LOLEATTA HOLLOWAY (March 1977 US 45-Single, Gold Mind GM-4001, April 1978 UK 45-Single on Salsoul SSOL 108, A-side)

23. Time Will Tell – EDDIE HOLMAN (April 1977 US and UK 45-Single on Salsoul SZ 2026 (same catalogue number for both countries), the B-side of "This Will Be A Night To Remember" in both countries)

NOTES:
Tracks 2, 15 and 19 are MONO; all others STEREO

Every booklet Ace has produced for compilations like this always shows real effort – loads of definitive details and period-appropriate photos. But here in February 2024, we not only get treated to all that song-by-song analysis by the hugely knowledgeable TONY ROUNCE - but also a fantastic recently conducted interview by Record Collector's IAN SHIRLEY with an 83-year-old Earl Young complete with photos of the great man behind his kit wearing a Philadelphia International Records tee-shirt! Starting at Page 20 and working its way across a Q&A until it finishes on Page 30 – Young gets down and dirty about first breaks – sessions with Stevie Wonder and other legendary performers – how he got his signature sound at Sigma Studios and so on. 

At 32-pages - this is a substantial effort put in by Kent-Soul on the booklet honouring the man's legacy – something Sony Music/EMI are never going to do on any Now Yearbook comp. The labels are all pictured – Salsoul, Arctic (from the early years), Buddah and Atlantic and Probe Records out of the UK that carried much of the ABC stuff. There are rare picture sleeves, demo labels, sheet music, record label black and white promo photos, trade adverts – the usual thorough plethora of lesser-seen period goodies. And long-time Ace Records accomplice in all things Audio-Excellence NICK ROBBINS has done the Remasters that I swear give a more prominent edge to the Drums on tunes you have heard hundreds of times. It sounds fab. To the listen…

With its flange guitar working across your speakers and his tight-in-the-pocket drums keeping a groove with the strings – the classic mid Seventies TSOP soundscape is set up by The Trammps. I will admit I am not a fan of the two-part medley per say – feels a tad cheesy to me. Better is the dancer Northern Soul boys love, The Volcanos suffering black clouds over their heads with "Storm Warning" from 1965 on a seriously sought-after Arctic Records 45 – so cool. The ping-pinging vibes pick up pace with Archie Bell telling us that one of The Drells can't dance because of his two left feet, but luckily, he can "Do The Hand Jive". The audio takes a bit of a dive with the homemade Vocal-Soul of The Ambassadors – another find-em-fool-em sought-after rough and ready Soul-shuffler on Arctic. 

Two familiars show in the shape of Dusty Springfield and The Delfonics - The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP) and Philly Groove starting to dominate the listen. In fact, some collectors might baulk because they will have much of these famous tunes already. The Gamble & Huff song "Silly, Silly Fool" was issued as a US 45 for Dusty Springfield 30 January 1970 – a short but poppy Soul Dancer cut off the album "A Brand New Me" (Atlantic SD 8249) released a couple of weeks prior to the single. Her light-as-air vocals work for it too. Lovely surprise comes in a late-in-his-career Clyde McPhatter dancer in "Please Give Me One More Chance" – great Bass and Earl keeping it tight as the former Drifters Lead Vocalist gets down on his knees and makes what you would imagine is one more in a long line of pleas. 

The rumbling piano and then Earl Jones just nailing it with that rhythm intro – then the strings and brass as we launch into the fantastic "Backstabbers" – the O'Jays changing the Soul template forever. I may be 66 this year, but I can remember 1972 when this socially smart piece of musical joy hammered charts everywhere. Suddenly it seemed that everyone was noticing this emerging Seventies Soul Sound. Smiling faces sometimes – low down and dirty indeed. As if to endorse the changes, The Spinners (known as The Detroit Spinners in the UK) come in with their smooth "Just Can't Get You Out Of My Mind" – a lovely inclusion and a smart choice. Onto a lesser trodden path with B.B. King proving himself still in touch with his ABC Records 45 "I Like To Live The Love" – his positivity and the tune's groove reminding me of The Staple Singers over on Stax. 

Another huge moment and recognizable Philly smash opens with electric piano and then Earl laying into the high-hats and pedal-drums thump (a US R&B No.1). Teddy Pendergrass gives his vocal a lived-it urgency as "The Love I Lost…" put Harold Melvin and The Blue Notes on the map. The CD then throws up its first clunker although I know there are some who like this cover version of Steely Dan's "Do It Again" by Charles Mann. In 1973 (only a year after their debut album "Can't Buy A Thrill" was released) Mann was at least first out of the gate at covering a Donald Fagen and Walter Becker-penned classic – I just find it too busy and his vocal not that convincing. But as I say, there are others who love this little wild one (all the time she's smiling - you know you'll be on your knees tomorrow). 

TSOP by The Three Degrees is overplayed for me – and the Pop Soul of Billy Paul doesn't cut it either. Better is the very-Philly-vibe in "I'm Doin' Fine Now" by New York City. Production values leap for The Philly Devotions – a so Seventies high-vocal strings-dancer with Earl laying it down over on the left. And on it goes to genius like William DeVaughn (digging the scene with a gangster lean) and the rare Promo-only twelve-inch of "Touch And Go" where Disco is beginning to muddy the Philly waters. 

"Groove Machine…" makes it point very nicely indeed. Could have been five stars, but it isn't all genius - so not quite the full enchilada. 

But "…The Earl Young Drum Sessions" is a timely reminder of background heroes who deserve the spotlight after all these keepin' it uptight decades…

"Now Yearbook '78" by VARIOUS ARTISTS – Eighty-Five Single and Album Tracks by ELO, Kate Bush, Wings, ABBA, Gerry Rafferty, 10cc, Chic, Rose Royce, Chaka Khan, Odyssey, Boney M, Boomtown Rats, Elvis Costello, The Undertones, Buzzcocks, The Who, The Motors, The Clash, Blondie, Joe Walsh, Blue Oyster Cult, Billy Joel, The Cars, Patti Smith, Donna Summer, Dan Hartman, Earth, Wind & Fire, Heatwave, Renaissance, Darts, Bill Withers, Elkie Brooks, Foreigner and more (April 2023 UK Sony Music/EMI 4CD Compilation in a Four-Panel Foldout Card Sleeve with Varying Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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CONTENT RATING: *** to ****

AUDIO: **** to *****

"…Ever Fallen In Love (with Someone You Shouldn't've)…"

I have about ten of these 4CD Now Yearbook compilations – most (not all) of which are accompanied by a further Yearbook Extra release of 3CDs - bringing the year haul to well over 130 songs. So a compilation covering a pivotal year in my youth 1978 appealed to me greatly (I bought the 1979 4CD issue as well). 

But the same problem to my listening ears occurs here as it does with all the 80ts titles – you are suckered by quantity (85 Tracks in the case of 1978). Because when you start to play them - especially when you get to CD3 and CD4 – the solid wall of cack Pop and Disco and poor man's Synth R 'n' B soon starts to mount up.

I cannot tell you how unbearable it is to hear Boney M., Dollar, Father Abraham, David Soul, Baccara or Brian and Michael doing Matchstick Men! But then you get The Clash, Patti Smith, Elvis Costello and The Attractions, The Police, Kate Bush, The Cars, E.L.O., Gerry Rafferty, Joe Walsh, Blue Öyster Cult, The Who, The Undertones, Boomtown Rats and genuinely great Soul-Funk in Chic, Hot Chocolate, Crown Heights Affair, Earth Wind & Fire, Heatwave, Chaka Khan, Bill Withers, Commodores, and Rose Royce – to name but a few. 

Maybe my addled, aging and woke-infested noggin is unable to process memories properly anymore – but I do not recall 1978 as being so overtly awful chart-wise. Agreed - when you play CD1 and CD2 – it must be said the tunes are abundant - and given that these sets are Sony Music/EMI – the audio is uniformly top notch (most are in fact highlighted as Remasters from the 2000s onwards in the small print inside). 

But the tendency with these Now sets is to go down the less-trodden Pop Path - to get out there, songs that haven't been on compilations before. So, when you get to most of CD3 and CD4 – the listen in my book takes a nosedive. The flaw with this 'let's do Top 5 to Top 40-only' is that there was so much you want to forget, and of course other gems they could have chosen but have been left off. It's always a pick 'n' mix I know – Hitsville UK – rash-inducing or no. 

In their favour, however, these 4CD sets start out at about ten quid, but after a few months are quickly reduced to six or seven quid which frankly represents serious value for money. You may not be getting anything packaging-wise, but at least 40 to 50% of the choices will please and the audio is crackerlackin'. Here be the details for the late great seventy-eight…

UK released 28 April 2023 - "Now Yearbook '78" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Sony Music/EMI CDYBNOW78 / 0196587830922 (Barcode 196587830922) is a 4CD Compilation in a Four-Panel Foldout Card Sleeve with Single Edits, Album Versions and Various Remasters that plays out as follows:

CD1 (78:36 minutes):
1. Mr. Blue Sky – ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA 
2. Baker Street (Single Edit, 4:06 minutes) – GERRY RAFFERTY
3. Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? – ROD STEWART 
4. Take A Chance On Me - ABBA
5. Rivers Of Babylon – BONEY M.
6. Dreadlock Holiday – 10cc
7. Uptown Top Ranking – ALTHEA and DONNA
8. MacArthur Park – DONNA SUMMER (Single Edit)
9. I'm Every Woman – CHAKA KHAN
10. If I Can't Have You – YVONNE ELLIMAN
11. Everybody Dance – CHIC (Single Edit)
12. Native New Yorker - ODYSSEY
13. Wishing On A Star – ROSE ROYCE
14. Three Times A Lady – COMMODORES (featuring Lionel Richie)
15. Dancing In The City – MARSHALL HAIN
16. Substitute – CLOUT
17. It's A Heartache – BONNIE TYLER
18. If You Can't Give Me Love – SUZIE QUATRO
19. With A Little Luck – WINGS
20. The Man With The Child In His Eyes – KATE BUSH

CD2 (78:13 minutes): 
1. Rat Trap – THE BOOMTOWN RATS
2. Teenage Kicks – THE UNDERTONES
3. Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn't've) - BUZZCOCKS
4. Hong Kong Garden – SIOUXSIE AND THE BANSHEES
5. Top Of The Pops – THE REZILLOS
6. Hanging On The Telephone - BLONDIE
7. (I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea – ELVIS COSTELLO AND THE ATTRACTIONS
8. (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais – THE CLASH
9.  Down In The Tube Station At Midnight – THE JAM
10. What A Waste – IAN DURY AND THE BLOCKHEADS
11. Because The Night – PATTI SMITH (Bruce Springsteen cover, exclusive)
12. My Best Friend's Girl – THE CARS
13. Airport – THE MOTORS
14. 5.7.0.5. – CITY BOY
15. Love Is Like Oxygen – SWEET
16. Part-Time Love – ELTON JOHN
17. Movin' Out (Anthony’s Song) – BILLY JOEL
18. Who Are You – THE WHO
19. Cold As Ice – FOREIGNER
20. Life's Been Good (Single Edit, 4:37 minutes) – JOE WALSH
21. (Don't Fear) The Reaper (Single Edit, 3:40 minutes) – BLUE ÖYSTER CULT
22. Forever Autumn – JUSTIN HAYWARD [of The Moody Blues]

CD3 (77:31 minutes): 
1. Le Freak - CHIC
2. Boogie Oogie Oogie – A TASTE OF HONEY
3. More Than A Woman - TAVARES
4. I Love The Nightlife (Disco ‘Round) – ALICIA BRIDGES
5. Instant Replay – DAN HARTMAN
6. Let's All Chant – MICHAEL ZAGER BAND
7. Do It Do It Again (A Far L'Amore Comincia Tu) – RAFFAELLA CARRÁ
8. Sorry, I'm A Lady – BACCARA
9. Singin' In The Rain – SHEILA and B. DEVOTION
10. From East To West – VOYAGE
11. I Love You – DONNA SUMMER
12. Givin' Up Givin' In – THE THREE DEGREES
13. I Can't Stand The Rain – ERUPTION
14. Automatic Lover – DEE D. JACKSON
15. I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper – SARAH BRIGHTMAN and HOT GOSSIP
16. Galaxy Of Love – CROWN HEIGHTS AFFAIR
17. Come Back And Finish What You Started – GLADYS KNIGHT & THE PIPS
18. Every 1's A Winner – HOT CHOCOLATE
19. Fantasy – EARTH, WIND & FIRE
20. Always And Forever – HEATWAVE
21. Love Don't Live Here Anymore – ROSE ROYCE

CD4 (76:30 minutes): 
1. Denis – BLONDIE
2. Hopelessly Devoted To You – OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN
3. Sandy – JOHN TRAVOLTA
4. The Boy From New York City – DARTS
5. Lovely Day – BILL WITHERS
6. Love Is In The Air – JOHN PAUL YOUNG
7. Copacabana – BARRY MANILOW
8. Northern Lights – RENAISSANCE
9. If I Had Words – SCOTT FITZGERALD and YVONNE KEELEY
10. Brown Girl In The Ring – BONEY M.
11. Figaro – BROTHERHOOD OF MAN
12. Bad Old Days – CO-CO
13. Shooting Star – DOLLAR
14. Never Let Her Slip Away – ANDREW GOLD
15. Lucky Stars – DEAN FRIEDMAN with DENISE MARSA
16. Walk In Love – THE MANHATTAN TRANSFER
17. Let's Have A Quiet Night In – DAVID SOUL
18. Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue – CRYSTAL GAYLE
19. Don't Cry Out Loud – ELKIE BROOKS
20. Oh What A Circus - DAVID ESSEX
21. Matchstalk Men And Matchstalk Cats And Dogs – BRIAN and MICHAEL
22. Smurf Song – FATHER ABRAHAM

The basic edition has a four-panel foldout card sleeve with each CD in a printed-info pouch on the inside (see photos). There is a Limited Edition Hardback DigiBook version that has liner notes on all the songs – Sony Music/EMI CDYBXNOW78 (Barcode 196587831028) – and even a truncated 3LP VINYL variant on Sony Music/EMI LPYBNOW78 (Barcode  0196587830816) in PINK VINYL – both also released 23 April 2023.

Some anomalies first that aren't apparent from the packaging either rear or inside. Although it isn't stated as such, the Gerry Rafferty "Baker Street" track is the seldom seen Single Edit at 4:06 minutes when most compilations use the full album version at 6:11. I have the 2CD Collector's Edition of the album "City To City" from September 2011 and even that does not have the single mix. I think I know why. There has always been something off about it - like the sound is wrong – cannot quite work out why – but the remastered album version done by Denis Blackham for the 2011 twofer CD is great – here the sound on the Single Mix waffles in and out. It's good, but not great. 

The Blue Oyster Cult song "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is again a single mix without saying so (3:40 minutes). I mention this because the song was first issued as a 45-single in the USA and UK in July 1976 (two years before the date of this compilation) but it bombed in Blighty. After the studio set "Spectres" garnered interest in the American Rock Band in the UK in 1977, CBS UK went at breaking the band again by using the studio cut of "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" in May 1978 on a reissued 45 (hence the song's inclusion here). But this time CBS used the full album version at 5:05 minutes. So by all rights you should be getting that 5:05 minute variant here – but I suspect because of time limitations on CD2 – Sony/EMI have used the shorter mix (technically from two years earlier).

Still enjoy "Uptown Top Ranking" by Althea and Donna (they inhabit a rare club of No 1. one-hit wonders) and the Rod Stewart, Abba and 10cc ultra-commercial moments sound amazing in remastered quality. The Chic Organization stuff is single mixes too and how fab is it – their material coming on fifty-years soon and still sounding fresh. The smoochers "Wishing On A Star", "Love Don't Live Here Anymore" and "Three Times A Lady" sound beautiful and pack a wallop to this day. The energy on CD2 is dazzling – The Rats, The Undertones, Buzzcocks, Siouxsie, The Rezillos, The Jam, The Cars and Patti Smith doing Bruce's exclusive "Because The Night" all the way to the single mixes of Joe Walsh, The Who and BOC – it feels like a superb one-stop listen. And you are still taken aback by Kate Bush and "The Man With The Child In His Eyes" or even the edginess in Elvis Costello's "(I Don't Want To Go) Chelsea" and the street smarts of The Cars worrying about "My Best Friend's Girl" over on CD1. Discoveries and familiars...

But CD3 with its overtly Disco and Soul run loses the plot in too many places – A Taste of Honey and Tavares being great shape-throwing fun – but other gick like Sarah Brightman, John Travolta, Raffaella Carra and Barry Manilow is awful. There are a few great rediscovery moments like Blondie, Andrew Gold, Bill Withers, Renaissance, and Crystal Gayle making our eyes blue and watery on CD4, but the rest are a wasteland.

The 4CD compilation "Now Yearbook '78" offers a whole lotta hotcha fun-listens and wavey remembrances at a cheap stack-em-high price - but with the caveat that you taper those expectations once you get in deep. 

Yes sir, I can boogie oogie…I maybe every woman but I am just not sure I want to do a Donna in the Summer ever again, never mind now…

"I Am A Lineman For The County: Glen Campbell Sings Jimmy Webb" by GLEN CAMPBELL and JIMMY WEBB – Twenty-Three Stereo Tracks Written by Jimmy Webb and Sung by Glen Campbell – 45-Single and Album Releases 1967 and 1982 on Capitol Records Including All But One Song Of The 1974 Album "Reunion: The Songs Of Jimmy Webb" (February 2024 UK Ace Records CD Compilation of Duncan Cowell Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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RATING: ****

"…Wishing I Could Be With You Again…."

A clever compilation this from Ace Records of the UK - part of their Songwriters Series (see my rear inlay photo which has an advert for four other releases in this series). 

Twenty-Three 45-Single and Album tracks in Stereo from that famously suitable pairing of songwriter Jimmy Webb and Country/Country Rock singer Glen Campbell (release dates stretch from 1967 to 1982, all but the last song on Capitol Records). 

Their superb collaboration album "Reunion: The Songs Of Jimmy Webb" from October 1974 (not released until 1975 in the UK) may not have troubled too many chart listings back in the day, but in the subsequent four decades "Reunion" has gained an almost mythical reputation among melody seeking collectors as one of those great platters that slipped through way too many nets.

But - knowing that the 2001 Reissue Remastered CD of that album on Capitol Records is deleted and expensive on open market sites - makes it almost inexplicable that Ace of the UK have left off 'one track' from the album when at 72:29 minutes there was surely room on this CD compilation for its inclusion? That 2001 CD of "Reunion" also had "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" and "Wichita Lineman" as bonus tracks - but they at least are here. 

The explanation almost certainly lies in the fact that "Roll Me Easy" (the missing tune that opened Side 1 of "Reunion") was a Lowell George song and a Little Feat cover. I think it should have been put on here as Track 24 – a singled-out 'bonus' – so fans could sequence the entire "Reunion" from this new CD (but alas). 

Still - with melody gems like "Wishing Now", "Ocean In His Eyes" (written by Jimmy's sister Susan Webb) and "The Moon's A Harsh Mistress" – what is on offer in lovely Remastered quality is sweet. To the playground details…

UK released Friday, 23 February 2024 - "I Am A Lineman For The County: Glen Campbell Sings Jimmy Webb" by GLEN CAMPBELL and JIMMY WEBB on Ace Records CDTOP 1641 (Barcode 029667109321) is a 23-Track CD Compilation of Remasters that plays out as follows (72:29 minutes):

1. By The Time I Get To Phoenix
2. Wichita Lineman
3. Galveston
4. Where's The Playground Susie
5. Didn't We
6. Honey Come Back
7. Just Another Piece Of Paper
8. Macarthur Park
9. Just This One Time 
10. You Might As Well Smile
11. Wishing Now
12. Ocean In His Eyes
13. The Moon's A Harsh Mistress
14. I Keep It Hid
15. Adoration
16. It's A Sin When You Love Somebody
17. Christiaan No
18. This Is Sarah's Song
19. Early Morning Song
20. Highwayman
21. Love Song 
22. In Cars
23. I Was Too Busy Loving You
NOTES (All Tracks in STEREO, all songs by JIMMY WEBB):
Track 1 is an October 1967 US 45-single on Capitol 2015, A-side
Track 2 is an October 1968 US 45-single on Capitol 2302, A-side
Track 3 is a February 1969 US 45-single on Capitol 2428, A-side
Track 4 is an April 1969 US 45-single on Capitol 2494, A-side
Track 5 from the August 1969 US LP "Live" on Capitol STBO-268, January 1970 UK LP on Capitol ST 21444
Track 6 is a January 1970 US 45-single on Capitol 2718, A-side
Tracks 7 and 8 from the September 1970 US LP "The Glen Campbell Goodtime Album" on Capitol SW-493, December 1970 in the UK as "The Glen Campbell Album" on Capitol ST 22493
Tracks 9 to 16 from the October 1974 US LP "Reunion: The Songs Of Jimmy Webb" on Capitol SW-11336, April 1975 UK LP on Capitol E-SW 11336
Track 17 from the April 1976 US LP "Bloodline" on Capitol SW-11516, May 1976 UK LP on Capitol E-SW 11516
Tracks 18 and 19 from the February 1977 US LP "Southern Nights" on Capitol SO-11601, April 1977 UK LP on Capitol E-ST 11601
Tracks 20 and 21 from the October 1979 US LP "Highwayman" on Capitol SOO 12008, November 1979 UK LP on Capitol E-ST 12008
Track 22 from the January 1981 US LP "It's The World Gone Crazy" on Capitol SOO-12124, February 1981 UK LP on Capitol EST 12124
Track 23 from the September 1982 US LP "Old Home Town" on Atlantic 90016-1 and UK LP on Atlantic 790016-1

The 20-page booklet is the usual Ace Records classy vaults-trawl. BOB STANLEY does the new liner notes (August 2023) and gives a track-by-track breakdown. Sheet Music for "By The Time I Get To Phoenix", Trade Adverts, a still from the 'Norwood' film, Capitol cartoon advert that depicts Campbell and Webb in a car on 'their way again' to the charts with the hit "Galveston" - Capitol Records building used as a backdrop to an 'any takers?' advert for "Where's The Playground Susie" while Page 14 not surprisingly gives the "Reunion..." album sleeve a whole page. 

The others albums up to "Old Home Town" on Atlantic Records in 1982 are pictured too albeit in smaller squares. There are probably one too many shots of GC with that square-drip-hair-do of his, but once you play the opening salvo of "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" and "Wichita Lineman" in their glorious Stereo, you won't be calling either his singing or Webb's writing anything but captivating. The Remasters are by long-standing Audio Engineer to Ace Records DUNCAN COWELL and they are great. The superb acoustic guitar runs Campbell does in "Wishing Now" is a highlight on the whole CD - a fantastic song. 

After 1969's sing-a-long "Galveston" comes the lesser "Where's The Playground Susie" - a song I never really liked. Unfortunately, they are followed by two terrible cheeseball tunes in the shape of a live rendition of "Didn't We" - the hick he-talks-before-he-sings-with-strings "Honey Come Back" even worse. Two 1970 singles are o.k., but it's not until we get to the "Reunion..." album proper at Track 9 that things really start to cook. As I said earlier - the triple whammy comes with melody winners "Wishing Now", "Ocean In His Eyes" (written by Jimmy's sister Susan Webb) and "The Moon's A Harsh Mistress". Harsh Mistress has been covered by loads of folks and its just the kind of Webb lyric and vibe that burrows its way into your brain and you'll find its reluctant to leave. Webb is pining through the 'break-up' album and none more so than in "I Keep It Hid" when he professes to be sporting a series of trophies for best 'I don't care about you anymore' lies in every room of his house.  

The later Seventies albums pour on the Production values - gorgeous and lush is what you would call "This Is Sarah's Song" even if it's in danger of drowning in an ocean of strings. "Early Morning Song" continues the piano ballad mode - a woman waiting all night long for Jimmy - his wife Susan Barg (and I suspect Harry Nilsson) who gets name-checked in the lyrics. Campbell keeps it calm and classy and just about contains the power-ballad temptation. The simply acoustic and banjo intro to "Highwayman" comes as a gentle surprise after all that overpowered previously. It's soon filled with keyboards and strings and lyrics about sailing and yardstalls and dam-building and a man wandering from job-to-job. Better is "Love Song" - a tender ballad about words he longs to say - preferring to let his loving eyes do the talking. The very 80ts production of "In Cars" sounds like poorman's Stephen Bishop - nice but not a whole lot else. The compilation smooches home with 1982's "I Was Too Busy Loving You" where our GC sounds a little like a less growling Willie Nelson - too blind to see her slipping away. It's a lovely song and a nice inclusion.

Campbell fans will love this CD compilation and Webb admirers will have to own it. "I Am A Lineman For The County..." isn't a 5-star masterpiece (too many saccharin moments early on) - but it is a beautifully packaged reminder of class of a different hue. Roll Me Easy indeed... 

"Deadlines" by STRAWBS – February 1978 UK Twelfth Studio Album on Arista Records featuring Dave Cousins, Dave Lambert, Chas Cronk, and Tony Fernandez with Guests John Mealing and Robert Kirby on Keyboards – Audio and Visual Extras include Andy Richards on Keyboards (March 2019 UK Esoteric Recordings 'Deluxe Expanded Edition' in a Mini Clamshell Box Set with 2CDs, 1DVD, Poster and Booklet and Including Previously Unreleased Audio and Visual BBC Content – Paschal Byrne Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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RATING: *** to ****

"…The Last Resort…"

The chart success of Pink Floyd ("Animals" in January), Emerson, Lake & Palmer ("Works, Volume 1" in March) and Yes ("Going For The One" in July) across those varying months in 1977 (and extended into early 1978 via Tours and popularity sales) belied the fact that in the late Seventies Prog Rock was having a hard time. With Punk and New Wave snarling at their tired and played-out feet – the giant bands prevailed anyway – but those down the rung of the ladder had it different. 

Although I never viewed the Melodic Folk Rock with Rock-Flourishes of England's Strawbs as Prog Rock per say – they seemed to get lumped into that bracket anyway (their sound and songs had moved more and more to that as the Seventies wound on). Bands like say Camel or Caravan or even Gentle Giant (who were British Prog) got hammered by the sophisticated US Rock of Rush, Journey, Kansas, and hell even Boston and Blue Oyster Cult. It was also generally felt (amongst my mates anyway) that Prog bands (especially in 1977 and early 1978) were so old-fart as to be embarrassing and you didn't carry their albums around under your arms with pride as you had once done lest some New Wave safety-pin neer-do-well clock your level 12 mortal sin, inform you that your time was up and hit you over the head with a brick (as a form of mercy to hippies).

And so, we come to the last album for our British Heroes Strawbs in the Seventies (ten years burning down the road since 1968) – fraught with 1977 recording difficulties in both Dublin and London. Their initial sessions in Dublin were good musically but the studio wasn't up to snuff (tape machines running slow) and on returning to the UK - a microphone had accidentally been left on the new mastertape boxes overnight at AIR Studios which had stripped away portions of the drums. Much had to be salvaged and re-recorded, but Cousins felt the magic had slipped that was inherent in the Irish sessions. Producer Jeffrey Lesser also insisted that all lead vocals be carried out by Dave Lambert – and despite Cousins agreeing that Lambert sang probably his best work on "Deadlines" - excluding Dave Cousins from the mike left a released LP that confused DJs and Fans who were used to both singers. 

After signing a deal with Clive Davis (a letter from him is featured in the booklet) "Deadlines" was eventually issued with a typically drear Hipgnosis sleeve in February 1978 on Arista. Arista Records was more associated at the time with Country Rock like The Outlaws and whiny singer-songwriters like Barry Manilow. And that artwork – geez - a man drowning in a phonebox by the side of a dark country road on the front sleeve - with horror-types from the set of 1984 scowling on the rear, phone receiver in one hand and a dagger in the other. Not exactly bright-n-breezy easy-peasy. But for fans like me who had loved "Grave New World" in 1972 and "Bursting At The Seams" in 1973 – and after the neither-here-nor-there letdowns of "Nomadness" and "Burning For You" in 1975 and 1976 – their twelfth studio album "Deadlines" felt like a slight-return to form – not brilliant – but good enough.

And you must cede that once again Esoteric Recordings of the UK (part of Cherry Red) have pulled out the stops on an album that many have forgotten and has laid unloved for decades on end. ER have found and Remastered Audio and Visual content for a BBC Radio One In Concert set and given us the Cousins-endorsed reissued album (done in 2012) on CD1 with outtakes he felt represented the spirit of the album better than the released product. It is a very tasty package indeed and probably about as comprehensive as we are ever going to get for this forlorn album. To the details…

UK released 23 March 2019 - "Deadlines" by STRAWBS on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 32676 (Barcode 5013929477643) is a 'Deluxe Expanded Edition' Mini Clamshell Box Set with 2CDs, 1DVD, Poster and Booklet (including Previously Unreleased Audio and Visual BBC Content from 1978) and New Remasters that plays out as follows:

CD1 (77:43 minutes):
1. No Return [Side 1]
2. Joey And Me
3. Sealed With A Traitor's Kiss
4. I Don't Want To Talk About It
5. The Last Resort
6. Time And Life [Side 2]
7. New Beginnings
8. Deadly Nightshade
9. Words Of Wisdom 
Tracks 10 to 9 are their twelfth studio album "Deadlines" – released February 1978 in the UK on Arista Records SPART 1036 and in the USA on Arista AB 4172. Produced by JEFFREY LESSER – it didn't chart in either country. 

BONUS TRACKS (originally issued 2012): 
10. Midnight (Out-Take)
11. No Return (Dave Cousins Acoustic Demo)
12. Sealed With A Traitor's Kiss
13. Time And Life (Dave Cousins Acoustic Demo)
14. Deadly Nightshade (Dave Cousins Acoustic Demo)
15. Words Of Wisdom (Dave Cousins Acoustic Demo)
16. The Chosen One (Dave Cousins Acoustic Demo)
17. Sealed With A Traitor's Kiss (Band Demo)
18. No Return (Dublin Production Mix)
19. Joey And Me (Dublin Production Mix)
20. Deadly Nightshade (Dublin Production Mix)

STRAWBS for "Deadlines" was:
DAVE COUSINS – Vocals and Acoustic Guitar
DAVE LAMBERT – Electric Guitar and Vocals
CHAS CRONK – Bass, Acoustic Guitar and Vocals
TONY FERNANDEZ – Drums and Timpani
Guests were:
JOHN MEALING – Polymoog and Organ
ROBERT KIRBY – Mellotrons, Mini Moog and Autoharp

CD2 (61:10 minutes):
BBC Radio One 'Sight & Sound In Concert'
Golders Green Hippodrome in London, 18 February 1978
1. Lay Down
2. The Last Resort
3. Ghosts
4. No Return
5. Heartbreaker
6. Sealed With A Traitor's Kiss
7. Simple Visions
8. Cut Like A Diamond
9. Out In The Cold
10. Round And Round
11. Hero And Heroine

DVD – BBC TV "Sight & Sound In Concert" Golders Green Hippodrome, London, 18 February 1978 – 11 Tracks as per CD2 - NTSC All Regions – Previously Unreleased

STRAWBS for BBC Concert (CD2 and DVD) was:
DAVE COUSINS – Lead Vocals and Acoustic Guitar (6 and 12-String)
DAVE LAMBERT – Electric Guitar and Lead Vocals
CHAS CRONK – Bass, Acoustic Guitar and Backing Vocals
ANDY RICHARDS – Keyboards
TONY FERNANDEZ – Drums and Percussion

Fans will know that 1996 saw "Deadlines" CD-reissued on One World OW 34499, but with what many felt was comprised audio. A far more concerted effort was made to whip "Deadlines" into shape in 2012. The source material (July to September 1977 recordings made at Dublin Sound Studios and Air Studios in London) was restored from original tapes at Cyclone Music Production in Rochester in July 2012 with principal band member Dave Cousins and a team in the control booths. Released November 2012, Witchwood WMCD 2055 introduced the Bonuses of Tracks 10 to 20 (CD1 above) which Cousins has said gives a better idea of how Strawbs wanted the music to sound instead of the forced re-recordings they had to make due to a Microphone glitch.

Here in March 2019 (third reissue go-round), CD1 is the same as 2012 while CD2 and DVD offer the Audio and Visual on a Previously Unreleased BBC In Concert Gig from February 1978. But Esoteric Recordings have given the whole shebang a PASCHAL BYRNE Remaster and I can honestly say that the album has a wee bit more oomph (CD1) while the acoustic bonuses still sound like the demos they are (rough-ish but acceptable). But I am sure that I am not the first Strawbs fan who having heard these Demos has not thought what the LP would have been like if it had had a Completely Acoustic Based Sound – all melody and less bombast. The outtake "The Chosen Ones" had potential to be a great LP track and even though it is audibly less than the LP variant, the sad "Sealed With A Traitor's Kiss" Band Demo is filled with melody and fresh hurt that maybe got lost in translation. The three Dublin mixes are better than I had expected – certainly audio-wise. 

The glossy Clamshell Box Set offers three mini-LP card sleeves on the inside which use variants of the front and rear Hipgnosis artwork, a 16-page booklet with new Dave Cousins liner notes that go a long way to explaining the convoluted history and a fold-out poster repro of their March 1978 British Tour (phone-box photo, special guest Roy Hill, see photos provided) – advertising their first album on Arista Records. The lyrics are here too, musician credits beneath them etc. PASCHAL BYRNE – a very experienced engineer and long-standing go-to-Audio-guy for Esoteric has handled the Remaster and as I say, the album does sound better. To the music…

Prior to album release in early February 1978, Arista put out a taster in the form of Side 1's "Joey And Me" (composed by Cousins, Cronk and Lambert) as a January 1978 UK 45-single (Arista ARIST 159) with Side 2's "Deadly Nightshade" (a Dave Cousins song) on the flipside. The A-side sounded like 1974 Peter Gabriel-led Genesis circa "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" doing a Rock riff song on breaking free from drudgery. But without even a picture sleeve and given the Elvis Costello, XTC, The Clash, The Damned, Blondie and Ian Dury New Wave scene (to name but a few) – there were few takers. With the LP in the shops, Arista tried again on 31 March 1978 with the upbeat big-chorus message song "New Beginnings" (Arista ARIST 179) sporting Side 2's final cut "Words Of Wisdom" on the flipside (a Cousins song). "New Beginnings" (a co-write between Cousins and Lambert) was a strong melody and the huge doomy synths of the very marching-drums Pink Floyd and Animals Prog of "Words Of Wisdom" should have won them some love, but again a non-runner. 

Arista-USA tried a different tack by putting the slightly hammy but perceived as more commercial "I Don't Want To Talk About It" on the A-side instead of "New Beginnings". They kept the 5:38-minute full album version of "Words Of Wisdom" on the flip, but with Lambert's strangulated vocals and its wildly overwrought production - Arista AS 0327 died. I can't help thinking that if someone had had the balls to take a chance at Arista – the crushingly sad "Sealed With A Traitor's Kiss" on the A-side with the commercial Blue Oyster Cult guitar rock of "The Last Resort" on the B-side – Radio Stations and lapsed fans might have noticed. Dave Cousins was obviously in serious pain when he penned lines like "…You gave me your best…I gave you all my worst years…" in the short but shimmering "Sealed With A Traitor's Kiss" - but while perhaps the searing personal honesty in the title seemed to much of a downer – I think the public might have taken to its dangerously close-to-the-knuckle "Love And Affection" vibe.

Side 2 opened with another strong track "Time And Life" brimming with great guitar work, orchestration and walls of headlines and deadlines choruses. Our singer looks to children and songs for his salvation in the slightly pappy "New Beginnings" but that is kicked into sinister speaker-to-speaker touch by the phased vocals of "Deadly Nightshade" where Lambert sounds like Marillion before there was a Fish.

The extras are compromised audio-wise by their very nature, but it is cool to hear an Electric Banjo pop out of the Dublin Mix of "Joey And Me". I would admit to initial disappointment at CD2 – the first two tracks are awful in my mind – somehow the recording getting away from the engineer. As they go into track three "Ghosts" (to some applause from the crowd who clearly did not yet know the first two newbies in the set) – you get keyboard parts from Andy Richards that feel almost external to the overall sound – like they are not gelling as a unit - and that is probably why the set has remained unreleased. 

It isn't so apparent on the visual DVD (picture is TV Box Aspect and in colour) when compere Alan Black introduces the show and band. The picture quality is acceptable at best – typical of so much BBC stuff that doesn't seem to have been either filmed well or kept well. The five-piece band is led by Dave Cousins on his ubiquitous Twelve String Guitar while Dave Lambert plays Electric Guitar Lead. The first three are voiced by Cousins until Lambert takes over the more Prog "No Return" (very nice echoed-guitar opening) and the Rock Out "Heartbreaker". Unfortunately, and just when the audio needed to be at its best – the sad and beautiful "Sealed With A Traitor's Kiss" starts out so well – Andy Richards playing gorgeous complimentary piano - but then someone clearly unplugs a lead or something and what sounds like a huge fart emanates from the PA. Cousins carries on regardless (sweating and without breaking a smile) but the tender moment is ruined. Towards the last three tracks, Andy Richards gets to let rip on the keyboard stack – Hernandez gets to bash his huge hanging symbol (how very Greenslade) as the songs become more Prog Rock with a bit of 12-string melody thrown over it. The band seemed pleased with themselves and their prowess – I'm just not sure that either the Audio or Visual captured it to a best advantage. 

To sum up – CD1 of "Deadlines" is better but the 1978 material on CD2 and the DVD are compromised affairs in every department – Audio and Visual. But I doubt Strawbs fans will be too repulsed because anything new from this forgotten period is collectors' gold-dust. 

So, once again, Esoteric Recordings of the UK do the business by a forgotten milestone and artists worth celebrating. Just taper those expectations as you dive in...

"Shaft (Music From The Soundtrack):2-CD Deluxe Edition" by ISAAC HAYES – 23 July 1971 US 2LP Set on Enterprise Records and November 1971 UK 2LP set on Stax Records – featuring Backing Bands The Bar-Kays, The Isaac Hayes Movement, The Memphis Strings and Horns with Arrangements by Johnny Allen and J.J. Johnson and backing Singers Pat Lewis, Rose Williams and Telma Hopkins (September 2019 US Craft Recordings/Enterprise Deluxe Edition 2-CD Reissue – A 2LP set Newly Remastered by Dave Cooley onto CD1 – CD2 With Original Film Score Album Version Available For The First Time Remixed and Remastered by Michael McDonald and Doug Schwartz) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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70ts Soul, R'n'B, Funk, Jazz Fusion
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Rating: *****

"...Damn Right!"

There was industry discussion in the October 1971 issue of Billboard Magazine as Stax/Enterprise prepped for the release of Isaac Hayes' second double-album "Black Moses" in the same year (the double soundtrack album "Shaft" had been issued in July 1971). The article told all industry insiders that Stax had locked down all promotion of his new opus. This was because some DJ had reputedly been offered $300,000 for his Promo Copy of "Black Moses" with the aim of bootlegging it.

Why would someone offer an A&R employee such a huge amount of cash in 1971? Because his previous effort "Shaft" as a Movie, as a 2LP Blaxploitation Soul Music Soundtrack was MASSIVE – an absolute phenomenon and in a way that few had ever seen before. The handsome sex symbol lead actor Richard Roundtree, the bespectacled and impossibly cool musician Isaac Hayes with his beard and bling, the wah-wah guitar theme Hayes composed that just slaughtered all in its path worldwide - this bad mother was everywhere. Stax was even then claiming that such was the demand for Isaac's fourth release, that nearly 40% of all copies of "Shaft" in American circulation were bootlegs - gazillions of them.

Few now remember (or even know) that December 1971's "Black Moses" was going to be Isaac Hayes' fifth No. 1 US R&B LP in a row – a feat no one had ever achieved (he would achieve another 2 R&B number ones in 1974 with "Truck Turner" and the 1976 live double "Live At The Sahara Tahoe"). Seven No.1 R&B albums – wow!

But its the soundtrack to "Shaft" that has a special place in fan's hearts. Which brings us to this latest go-round – a twofer from September 2019 which replaces the Universal/Concord Music November 2009 US single-CD Remaster version. 

There were bitter diatribes about the BOB FISHER sound on the 2009 Concord Music Group single-disc Remaster – that is firmly kicked into touch here. The principal 1971 Double-Album Original Soundtrack has been Remastered by DAVE COOLEY at Elysian Mastering for this 2019 twofer and sounds amazing (CD1) - the Film Score on CD2 was Remixed by MICHAEL McDONALD at Private Island Trax while the Mastering was done by a name many will know - DOUG SCHWARTZ at Mulholland Music. For me (at least) CD1 is improved (clearer bass) and CD2 is even better somehow than CD1 – fabulous clarity-wise. I love what I'm hearing. And this reissue is also the first time that both versions have been available together as a 'Deluxe Edition'. DE 2019 has also wisely dropped the '2009 Mix' of the famous title song "Shaft" which was a supposed bonus at the end of the 2009 single-CD issue (74:32 total playing time because of it) - no great loss. And the film score on CD2 offers 22 cuts and not the 15 on CD1. I've also provided the playing times of tracks on both CDs for comparisons. Let's get to the details...

UK released 20 September 2019 - "Shaft: Deluxe Edition 2-CD Set" by ISAAC HAYES on Craft Recordings 00888072099012 (Barcode 888072099012) is Two-Disc Reissue and Remaster offering the full 15-Track 2LP 'Original Soundtrack' set Remastered onto CD1 with the 2-Track 'Film Score' Variant Also Newly Remastered onto CD2 (together for the first time). It plays out as follows:

CD1 Original Soundtrack (69:32 minutes):
1. Theme From Shaft (Vocal) – 4:40 minutes [Side 1]
2. Bumpy's Lament – 1:49 minutes
3. Walk From Regio's – 2:22 minutes
4. Ellie's Love Theme – 3:15 minutes
5. Shaft's Cab Ride – 1:07 minutes
7. Café Regio's – 6:09 minutes [Side 2]
8. Early Sunday Morning – 3:47 minutes
9. Be Yourself – 4:27 minutes
10. A Friend's Place – 3:21 minutes
11. Soulsville (Vocal) – 3:47 minutes [Side 3]
12. No Name Bar – 6:09 minutes
13. Bumpy's Blues – 4:01 minutes
14. Do Your Thing – 19:31 minutes [Side 4]
15. The End Theme – 1:56 minutes
Tracks 1 to 15 are the double-album "Shaft" - released 23 July 1971 in the USA on Enterprise ENS-2-5002 and November 1971 in the UK on Stax 2659 007. Produced by ISAAC HAYES and featuring THE BAR KAYS and THE MOVEMENT as the backing band – the Music From The Soundtrack 2LP set peaked at No.1 in both countries.

CD2 Film Score (62:07 minutes):
1. Theme From Shaft (Film Version) - 4:34 minutes
2. Shaft's First Fight - 1:45 minutes
3. Reel 2 Part 2 / Cat Oughta Be Here – 1:43 minutes
4. Bumpy's Lament (Film Version) – 1:44 minutes
5. Soulsville (Film Version) – 3:32 minutes
6. Ellie's Love Theme (Film Version) 1:45 minutes *
7. Shaft's Cab Ride (Film Version) / Shaft Enters Building – 1:38 minutes
8. I Can't Get Over Losin' You – 2:06 minutes
9. Reel 4 Part 6 – 1:37 minutes
10. Reel 5 Part 1 – 1:35 minutes
11. A Friend's Place (Film Version) – 1:44 minutes
12. Bumpy's Blues (Film Version) – 3:05 minutes
13. Bumpy's Lament (Reprise) (Film Version) – 1:32 minutes
14. Early Sunday Morning (Film Version) – 3:05 minutes)
15. Do Your Thing (Film Version) – 3:21 minutes
16. Be Yourself (Film Version) – 1:54 minutes
17. No Name Bar (Film Version) – 2:28 minutes
18. Shaft Strikes Again (Film Version) / Return Of Shaft – 1:36 minutes
19. Café Regio's (Film Version) – 4:23 minutes
20. Walk From Regio's (Film Version) – 2:27 minutes
21. Shaft's Pain – 3:03 minutes
22. Rescue / The End Theme (Film Version) – 10:44 minutes
* Track 6 is mistakenly credited as 3:23 minutes; it is 1:45 minutes

The single-disc jewel case of 2009 is replaced with a three-panel foldout card sleeve and stickered-outer-shrinkwrap (see photos) - CD1 in one pouch, CD2 in another and the booklet in the third flap. After reproducing the original album liner notes on Pages 2 and 3, from Page 4 on, the 20-page booklet is a pleasingly in-depth affair with new 2019 liner notes from AHMIR "Questlove" THOMPSON. 

Questlove takes the reader through the genesis of the music to its cultural explosion (24-hour screenings to meet the demand) and onto the "Big Score" and "Shaft In Africa" follow-up films/soundtracks and the WATTSTAX Concerts while talking about the groundbreaking 60-weeks the double-album spent on the charts. Although it didn't mean to start a sort of early BLM in 1971 - street hustling, drug addiction and cold-landlord slums were all part of the "Shaft" narrative/look and therefore brought these topics to the fore. Questlove sets that backdrop and is clearly enamoured at the big man Isaac Hayes - composer, producer, icon and above all - successful. 

Stills from the Blaxploitation Film pepper the text, actor Richard Roundtree looking like the Private Eye man of the moment while dodgy-looking inner-city dudes hold ladies and people hostage with round-barrel Thompson submachine guns. Towards the Credit Pages are various pictures of Isaac with backing musicians The Bar-Kays and members of his own band The Movement – Black and White snaps of Hayes with Gwen Mitchell (who was in the movie) by a framed poster of their phenomenon whilst another shows his Academy Award - all of it with the usual recording and reissue credits in the back pages. Cool, in-depth and "Shaft" now has that classy Craft Recordings look (they specialise in all things Stax and related - see my review for 'The Gospel Truth: The Complete Singles Collection'). To the music we have…

For an album that's so associated with the chicka-chicka wah-wah guitar of its theme song - "Shaft" the double-album is surprising mellow throughout. The near two-minutes of the sexy instrumental "Bumpy's Lament" is followed by the Funky Brass and Percussion 2:24 minutes of the superb "Walk From Regio's" where you can literally see our hero walking the dude streets with a pep in his step and a glide in his stride (oh stop it). There is gorgeous sound on the vibes smooch of "Ellie's Love Theme" - and those brass and strings melting on "Early Sunday Morning" as the high-hat taps time.

The brass pump-and-punch of "Be Yourself" sounds like a 1976 Disco anthem only five years before anyone knew the word (nice clarity on the Sax solo too). Back to yeah baby turn-out-the-lights smooch with "A Friend's Place" - the instrumentation being ever so slightly fragmented in the sound stage (one too up front, the other too far back) - but that's how I remember it was on the original vinyl. Now to one of my faves - the keyboard and vocal "Soulsville" talks about brothers getting high and strung out and finding out that they can get high but never touch the sky. The audio is gorgeous and makes you wish he sang more on the album (a bummer is that the three ladies who add so much to the backing vocals - Pat Lewis, Rose Williams and Telma Hopkins are not credited in the musicians list - a stupid oversight carried over again). There is that big chunky piano that opens the smooth "Bumpy's Blues" - lovely brass and drums - so clear now. And on it goes to the monster that is the 19:28 minutes of "Do Your Thing" - if the music makes you groove - love on baby (it is reduced to 3:21 on Cd2). Fantastic to hear it sound this good. Rap On. Which brings us to the radically different beast that is the Film Score.

Let's get specific. The playing times for "Theme From Shaft" on CD1 and CD2 are 4:30 and 4:34 minutes – so not much in timings – but the plays and mixes are wildly different. After all these years of Damn Right and Can You Dig It and Right On and Talking About John Shaft and Shut Your Mouth – it is wild to hear those subtle keyboard fills on the CD2 version. But when we would normally have gone straight into "Bumpy's Lament" as the next track – we now get four extra minutes of Tabla and Flute and Bass noodling in "Reel 2 Part 2 / Cat Oughta Be Here" that feels like you're eavesdropping on a long-lost John Barry gets Funky session. 

The clarity on "Reel 2 Part 2 / Cat Oughta Be Here" is gorgeous and even if it is only under two minutes, what a find for fans. But my jam is "Soulsville" which is moved forward in the Film Score version and features a great vocal/lyrics from Isaac – a little boy needs a pair of shoes. The vibes and flicked guitar of the gorgeous instrumental Soul ballad "Ellie's Love Theme" sounds amazing on CD2, but it is 1:45 minutes long on the Film Score version (therefore shorter) and not the extended 3:23 mix on the Soundtrack Album – so sort of winners and losers there. CD2 also mistakenly lists it as 3:23 minutes long when it isn't.

 
You can hear why the slightly Motown-out-of-place "I Can't Get Over Missing You" although Northern Soul dancers would dig it big time as a 45, they could spin. The very George Benson guitar-ish "Café Regio's" on the original ran to six minutes – on CD2 it's shortened to 4:23 minutes and is better for it in my opinion. But the final piece "Rescue/The End Theme" is a full-on 10:44-minute musical rollercoaster ride alternating between smooch and shimmy one moment (lone Vibes and Bass notes) to Black Private Dick funkiness the next where the wallop of orchestra and band kick in.

To sum up – after the single CD of 2009 - this supposed Hotter Than Bond and Cooler Than Bullitt 'Deluxe Edition' 2CD variant of 1971's "Shaft" makes a real effort. I think Craft Recordings should also have included those US Single Mixes either on CD1 or CD2 (there was room) and maybe a fold-out poster in that first flap too (the film poster is pictured on Pages 2 and 3 and its base sentences make for the backdrop on all three inner flaps as pictured). 

But as it is – the New Remaster on CD1 and those extras on CD2 make for a lethal combo. And "Shaft: Deluxe Edition 2-CD" does not come with an aircraft-carrier price tag either. 

I can indeed dig that the most my brothers and sisters and rappers and (oh do be quiet)…