“RECORD COLLECTOR Rare Record Price Guide 2014” – A Review Of Their 13th Price Guide For British Music Collectors.

Many of the artists featured in this Price Guide are part of my Series "SOUNDS GOOD: Exceptional CD Remasters 1970s Rock And Pop" Download Book available to buy on Amazon to either your PC or Mac (it will download the Kindle software to read the book for free to your toolbar). Click on the link below to go my Author's Page for this and other related publications:

Mark Barry's Author Page

"The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (Custard)…"

Published Oct 2012 by one of the UK's longest-standing music magazines RECORD COLLECTOR (33 years of experience) - "Rare Record Price Guide 2014" weighs in at a whopping 1434 over-sized pages. And with 11 previous issues under their belt (I contributed to several of the early ones) - the wealth of accumulated info and detail on offer here is both vast and varied. But as with all tomes that appear every two years (supposedly fully revised) - there's good and bad news...

THE GOOD
In alphabetical order each page gives you an Artist discography of sorts - every UK-released 7" single worth over £5 - every 78", EP, 10" and 12" single over £8, every LP over £12 (originals and reissues), 2LP sets over £15 and CDs over £18. The scope of the book is 1950 right through to the '10s - covering a huge array of genres.

Entries start with 7" SINGLES - Year Of Release, Catalogue Number, A & B-sides named - plus (in brackets afterwards) any other info relevant to that release - picture sleeve, shaped picture disc etc. Some of the bigger artists like Bowie, Madonna and U2 get entries for mispressings, promo issues, demo copies and some foreign releases. 78", 10", 12" and CD singles also feature full track-lists but 7" EPs and LPs DO NOT.

The UK STERLING VALUE in the furthest right column is for MINT copies with a Ready Reckoner page in the rear to calculate lesser grades - EX (Excellent), VG (Very Good), Good, Fair, Poor and Bad. 'Record Collector' is keen to stress that at the highest levels - say a Mint copy of Elvis Presley's legendary 1st UK LP "Rock 'N' Roll" - the listed price of £500 is a 'guide' - at auction it might fetch twice or three times that price because LPs from 1956 are impossibly rare in genuine Mint. Conversely whether or not you'll get £80 for a MINT copy of Deep Purple's "Fireball" from 1971 is another matter...

12" ALBUMS start with Year of Release, the Title in CAPITOL LETTERS (to visually differentiate them from other entries), Catalogue number (Mono and Stereo where applicable) and again any relevant info to packaging - gatefold sleeves, textured covers, inserts, posters, free singles etc. CD albums follow lastly.

Beneath many discographies is another very helpful adage - a tie-in list relevant to the Artist. The 60's group THE IDLE RACE for instance shows The Move and Electric Light Orchestra are associated to them because all three bands had JEFF LYNNE in them (there's also mention of Lemon Tree, Trevor Burton, Mike Sheridan, Traveling Wilburys and others).

ARTISTS FEATURED:
The best way to show just how comprehensive this massive book is - is to list a fraction of the featured names...

BLUES, RHYTHM 'n' BLUES, ROCK 'n' ROLL, MALE and FEMALE VOCALS:
Tony Bennett, Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran, Fats Domino, The Drifters, The Everly Brothers, Connie Francis, Billy Fury, Buddy Holly, John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Louis Jordan, BB King, Peggy Lee, Julie London, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Dean Martin, Muddy Waters, The Platters, Johnnie Ray, Frank Sinatra, Bessie Smith, Big Joe Turner, Gene Vincent and Dionne Warwick.

ROCK and POP:
AC/DC, Ryan Adams, Alice In Chains, The Animals, The Band, The Beach Boys, The Beatles (plus all Solo and Apple Related), Bee Gees, Blur, Marc Bolan & T.Rex, David Bowie, Kate Bush, Byrds, Captain Beefheart, Leonard Cohen, Coldplay, Cream, CSNY (& Buffalo Springfield), The Cure, Deep Purple, Donovan, Bob Dylan, Fleetwood Mac, Genesis, Grateful Dead, Roy Harper, Jimi Hendrix, Hollies, Humble Pie, Jefferson Airplane, Jethro Tull, Elton John, The Kinks, Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Love, Manic Street Preachers, John Martyn, John Mayall, MC5, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison & Them, Mott The Hoople, Muse, Nirvana, Oasis, Pet Shop Boys, Pink Floyd, Iggy Pop, Pretty Things, Pulp, Queen, Radiohead, R.E.M., The Rolling Stones, Santana, Small Faces, The Smiths, Bruce Springsteen, Status Quo, Steely Dan, Cat Stevens, Suede, Talking Heads, Ten Years After, Thin Lizzy, Traffic, U2, Velvet Underground, Tom Waits, The Who, Neil Young, Frank Zappa and The Zombies.

PROGRESSIVE ROCK and KRAUT:
Amon Duul, Ash Ra Temple, Brian Auger, Can, Comus, ELP, Faust, Fripp & Eno, Gentle Giant, Gong, Hawkwind, King Crimson, Kraftwerk, Leafhound, Magma, Klaus Schulze, Rush, Tangerine Dream, Ugly Custard, Van Der Graaf Generator, Mike Westbrook and Yes. There are also hundreds of entries listing rare and valuable obscurities - every progressive rock LP released on labels like Dandelion Records, Dawn, Decca, Deram, Island, Kaleidoscope, Nepantha, Pye, RCA Neon, Transatlantic and Vertigo.

PUNK/NEW WAVE:
Addicts, Buzzcocks, Clash, Damned, The Jam, Ramones, Ruts, Sex Pistols, Slits, Stiff Little Fingers, Stranglers, UK Subs, The Undertones, X-Ray Specs (and many more)

REGGAE, SKA, ROOTS & DUB:
Laurel Aitken, Black Uhuru, Ken Boothe, Desmond Dekker, Dillinger, Don Drummond, Jackie Edwards, The Ethiopians, Owen Gray, The Heptones, John Holt, King Tubby, Byron Lee, Bob Marley & The Wailers, The Mighty Diamonds, Jackie Mittoo, Derrick Morgan, Augustus Pablo, Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Prince Buster, Max Romeo, The Skatalites, Toots & The Maytals and The Upsetters

FOLK and COUNTRY:
The Bothy Band, Vashti Bunyan, Johnny Cash, The Chieftains, Patsy Cline, Shirley & Dolly Collins, Sandy Denny, Dransfield, Fairport Convention, Incredible String Band, Makem and Clancy, Mellow Candle, Pentangle, Planxty, Jim Reeves, John Renbourn, Hank Snow, Conway Twitty and Slim Whitman - as well as most all records on the Argo, Polydor Folkmill label, Topic, Transatlantic and Vanguard labels.

INDIE. ALTERNATIVE, INDUSTRIAL, HARDCORE:
Big Black, The Black Keys, Boards Of Canada, Nick Cave, Cocteau Twins, Coil, Current 93, Dead Can Dance, Death, The Fall, Felt, Foo Fighters, Four Tet, PJ Harvey, Robyn Hitchcock, Joy Division. Libertines, My Bloody Valentine, New Order, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, Porcupine Tree, Psychic TV, Saint Etienne, Sigur Ros, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth, Spiritualized, Stereolab, Stone Roses, The Strokes, Test Department, Throbbing Gristle, Tindersticks, The Wedding Present and Wire.

SOUL, FUNK and JAZZ FUSION:
James Brown, Donald Byrd, Sam Cooke, The Crusaders, Miles Davis, Deodato, Al Green, Herbie Hancock, Isley Brothers, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Curtis Mayfield, Parliament, Prince, Lou Rawls, Gil Scott-Heron, Ike & Tina Turner, Jackie Wilson and Bobby Womack. There's every Tamla Motown artist (Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, Supremes, Temptations, Stevie Wonder etc), Stax Records (Isaac Hayes, Staple Singers, Johnnie Taylor, Booker T etc), Philadelphia International (Harold Melvin, MFSB, O'Jays, Billy Paul etc), Atlantic Records (Aretha Franklin, Donny Hathaway, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave etc.)

DANCE, HIP-HOP, TECHNO - Aphex Twin, Beastie Boys, Chemical Brothers, Cinematic Orchestra, KLF, Massive Attack, Portishead, Prodigy and St. Germaine

At the very back of the book is a VARIOUS ARTISTS section featuring both EPs and LPs - and two sections on SOUNDTRACKS and LIBRARY MUSIC.

THE BAD - EXCLUSIONS/MISTAKES/STUFF THAT SHOULD BE CULLED:
For a book sporting a 2014 date there's incredibly sloppy exclusions on some huge artists - Kate Bush vinyl LP entries stop at "Aerial" from 2005 but don't include "50 Words For Snow" or "Director's Cut" from 2011 - Springsteen ends with "In Concert" from 1995 excluding "The Seeger Sessions", "Working On A Dream", "Magic", "Wrecking Ball" etc. And Nick Drake has a Simply Vinyl 180-gram repress of his gorgeous 1969 debut album "Five Leaves Left" listed at £15 (try getting it for under £25) but there's no listings for the equally desirable Simply Vinyl reissues of his 2nd and 3rd albums - "Bryter Layter" or "Pink Moon"? Every vinyl album by a major artist in the last five years is issued at somewhere between £15 and £25 retail - is limited - sells out immediately and therefore becomes an instant collectable (Keane, The Melvins, Amy Winehouse etc). Large numbers of them aren't here - yet Rosemary Clooney, Bobby Darin, The McGuire Sisters and Sarah Vaughan are - when you can barely raise a fiver for any of their stuff.

While Slayer, Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Metallica and Black Sabbath go from strength to strength on the metal collector's scene - artists like Def Leppard, Bon Jovi and Thunder have been dead in the water for years - and everyone knows it. So why are they in here at all? Speaking of 80's rubbish, it's maddening to see huge amounts of entries for Erasure (unsellable), Gary Numan, OMD and Kylie Minogue - then see that John Martyn's classic LP "One World" from 1977 isn't listed! It's hard to get a copy for under £15 now. In fact since his tragic passing in 2009 all his vinyl albums have escalated hugely in value - not that you'd know that from this guide.

The ELVIS PRESLEY/ CLIFF RICHARD entries go on for pages and I dispute the value of half of it - especially the mountains of dreck RCA and EMI hammered fans with in the 70's, 80's and 90's. Teresa Brewer, Freddie Cannon, Herman's Hermits, Gene Pitney, The Shadows, Johnny Tillotson, Bobby Vee - none of it sells anymore - MINT or not.

LED ZEPPELIN - in their December 2011 issue of the magazine, RC ran an extensive article of the 40th anniversary of one of the most iconic rock albums of all time - LED ZEPPELIN IV. There are 7 label variants up to the 'K' label reissue in 1973 (Kinney Music) and a few coloured vinyls beyond (even the once-budget 80's reissues now command £20+ because they're on vinyl). This supposedly 'revised' guide lists only 5 - excluding variants listed in its own article - a staggeringly stupid mistake on one of the most collectable bands on the planet...

THE BEATLES:
Although it stretches from Page 113 to 121 and looks impressive on first glance - actually using THE BEATLES section shows it up to be an indecipherable mess. Choosing to catalogue their entries in 'year by year' release-date order instead of 'title by title' has you scraping about pages trying to find what bloody pressing you have in your hand. Take "Please Please Me" the 1962 debut LP for instance - there are over 20 variants listed here (with probably many more actually out there). How do you easily determine which issue you have - there are originals, 2nd presses, remasters, export issues, foreign issues, picture disc versions - and all of them in different places? The seventh variant from 1969 is listed at £350 - would you miss that because they're not all under the same roof? The answer is YES.

I would argue that given the importance of their catalogue - the number one collectable band in the world should have their own section at the very beginning of the book. Separated - fully revised - it should PICTURE IN COLOUR 'both' the cover art of each title AND their label variations beneath that - so as to easily recognize what's what - instead of having to wade through a sea of wordy descriptions across 9 different pages...

But what's worst about this guide is something RC seem incapable of acknowledging because they'll rock too many boats - the plummeting value of a format we grew up with and adored...the 45...

THE UGLY - THE DEATH OF THE 7" SINGLE:
The following has to be said - and I hate to say because it will probably elicit vitriol from collectors and readers alike - but the humble 7" single is over as a format - and in the last few years in particular this sad demise has escalated at an alarming rate. As a fully functioning secondhand record shop - Reckless has had a Rarities Department for over 20 years now - and the lovely 7" single has always had boxes on our shelves (still do). But we've had to ease back on buying the mountains of sevens we're offered every day precisely because they no longer sell - especially if their Pop or Chart Hits or just VG and less. Two stalwarts of the 7" collecting scene have also been hammered value-wise in the last few years with no sign of abetting - London and Tamla Motown. It's no surprise that the guide often lists the DEMO value on these labels because STOCK copies are hard to sell at any price - especially those listed in 3-figures.

Sure - certain genres are still sought after and actually escalating in value - 60's Psych & Garage, Freakbeat, Punk, Reggae, Ska, Northern Soul and Metal for instance - but try getting money for Creedence or Free or Fleetwood Mac - most of which are listed at £5 or above for mint - when we can't even get a pound for them. The 80's, 90's and 00's are an absolute wasteland for thousands of titles (Oasis, Paul Weller and The White Stripes continue to buck the trend on that as do others). Who wants Fifties crooners or insipid Sixties Pop like Pat Boone, Sammy Davis, Tom Jones, James Last, Peter & Gordon, The Tremeloes, Bobby Vee and Lawrence Welk? Even worthy artists like Ray Charles, Roy Orbison and Hank Williams don't sell for anything like their list prices anymore.

Some will say that this is a personal opinion about 45s - but I feel that as the next two years progress to a point when we actually reach 2014 - as much as three quarters of all entries for 7's and 12's in this Price Guide will have no 'real world' validity whatsoever. Next time (2016) - a serious cull will need to take place or this book's title will lunge dangerously towards farce...

Having said all of that - and with Amazon beating down its £29.99 paperback price tag to just above twenty quid - buying this 12th edition of "Record Collector Rare Record Price Guide 2014" is a solid investment - and with over 100,000 entries - it's still an unrivalled and amazing reference source for music lovers...

Despite its flaws - this book is like Jimmy Page's twin-necked guitar - it may be big and cumbersome - but man what a sound it makes... Onwards to the 2016 edition...

“Garden State”. A Review Of The 2004 Movie Now On A 2012 BLU RAY.

This is a link to Amazon UK to buy this Blu Ray:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006C12TJG

"There's Nothing Wrong With You Son! Just Kidding!"

2004’s "Garden State" is a great little Indie movie - with the impossibly lovely Natalie Portman literally levitating men's hearts for a ten-mile radius...

I wish I could say the same for the picture quality on this BLU RAY reissue, which unfortunately is terribly lacklustre - good only - and rarely ever better than the DVD.

It's defaulted to 2.35:1 aspect - which means bars at the top and bottom of the screen - but if you stretch to Zoom or Full Mode - the picture deteriorates considerably. So no luck there either...

There are at least some half-decent extras though - two excellent and funny commentaries both of which involve Zach Braff (Writer, Lead Actor and Director) and Natalie Portman. There's a making-of, a Zach Braff featurette, outtakes and deleted scenes - all of which are very entertaining and show the affection the cast and crew had for the material. Audio is 5.1 DTS-HD and the lone subtitle is English for the Hard-Of-Hearing.

Zach Braff plays Andrew Largeman - an out-of-sorts actor who returns home to his psychiatrist Dad in small town America (a wonderfully understated Ian Holms) because his wife and Andrew's paraplegic mum has slipped and drowned in a bathtub. Medicated for years (at his Dad's suggestion) - Andrew stares intently at the coffin - but feels little. Then he recognises two old friends sat nearby (one of whom is literally a grave digger - a slightly sinister Peter Sarsgaard) and starts to reconnect with his old college chums in the town he left 9 years back.

But they turn out to be a bunch of dudes locked into menial jobs by day and serious stoners by night. But then while in a hospital waiting area (he's having lightning headaches) - a dog tries to dry-hump his leg - and there he meets a giggling twenty-something called Sam (Portman). Sam is a vivacious, chatterbox of a girl who is anything but numb. Sam is life itself. They start to hang out - go back to her home - ride around the neighbourhood on an old Army motorbike with a sidecar - dip in pools - chat by fires - and slowly they move towards each other in the loveliest of emotional dances. And on their relationship goes on from there to an airport decision Andrew must make - be sedate or be alive...

I've always loved “Garden State" - quirky, touching, young and full of energy - it's a genuinely romantic film about life and second chances in the most unlikely of places. I just wish the BLU RAY matched that.

Still - if you can't resist - it is at least cheap...

“Safe House”. A Review Of The 2011 Film Now on BLU RAY.

“…You’re Better Than Me…”

"Safe House" comes on like a souped-up "Bourne" directed by Tony Scott – all frantic pace, sinister synths and choppy-choppy editing. Sure this has been done before - but what's makes this espionage movie so different is the sheer effort the cast, crew and writers put into depicting the 'thrill' in 'thriller'. You can literally feel them working their well-paid butts off to please you in every possible way. Add to this formidable stew of film-making excellence - a cleverly chosen cast of top class actors like Denzel Washington, Sam Sheppard, Robert Patrick, Vera Farmiga, Fares Fares, Ruben Blades and the superb Irish duo of Brendan Gleeson and Liam Cunningham - and you can almost forgive Ryan Reynolds trying to break free from rom-coms and getting all John McClane sweaty teeshirt on us...

As you can imagine the action comes at you fast and furious. The fight sequences were choreographed for months in advance (using the actors themselves) and escalate in their ingenuity and hands-on nature - while the car chases are pulse-pounding too. But its the great cast who give it a beating heart. With the exception of say Liam Neeson or Tommy Lee Jones - I couldn't see any other leading man bring so much to a cop/agent as Denzel Washington does. He is typically brilliant here. He plays Tobin Frost – the CIA’s more-wanted whistleblower (off the grid for a decade) - who suddenly waltzes into the American Embassy in South Africa's capital city of Cape Town. Years of interrogation techniques under his belt and a file in his leg that will fry many dodgy types on different continents - Tobin smiles, grimaces and generally messes with everyone’s head. Digging in to find more nuances – Denzel is magnificent at this - and it goes a long way to keeping you watching as the begrudging relationship develops between his character (the old timer on the run) and Reynolds character Matt Weston (the rookie forcing into protecting him from all comers). And on it goes to a final show-and-tell gun battle in another compromised 'safe house' where the young buck Matt has been seriously underestimated by everyone – including the good guy/bad guy Tobin Frost (dialogue above)…

The BLU RAY picture isn't great it has to be said because Director Daniel Espinosa is going for gritty realism and not clean cut – but it does show off the superb and extensive use of Cape Town as a city and the South African countryside that surrounds it which has a certain beautiful light - and look. Placing it in this unusual location gives the street action (and shanty town sequences) a fresh feel too. And don't watch the extras 'before' the movie – they give away far too much plot.

A bit of a cracker frankly...

PS: Look out too for the unpronounceable NORA ARNEZEDER who plays the 23-year old French girlfriend Ana - I'm certain she's been genetically engineered by the CIA to be one of the most gorgeous women on Earth - and will no doubt turn out to be a 'sleeper' agent in "Safe House 2 – The Sequel - Even Safer Than The Last House".

You heard it here first folks...

"Document: 25th Anniversary 2CD Edition" by R.E.M. - September 1987 US LP on IRS Records (September 2012 UK Capitol 2CD Mini Box Set Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…Try To Tell Us Something We Don't Know…" 

The last of the 5 studio albums R.E.M. recorded for IRS Records finally gets the DELUXE EDITION CD treatment in 2012 and like the others before it - "Reckoning" (1983), "Murmur" (1983), "Fables Of The Reconstruction" (1985) and "Life's Rich Pageant" (1986) – it's a mixed bag of vastly improved sound quality offset by hollow extras you're never going to play, infuriating packaging and a far-too-steep price tag.

Released Monday 24 September 2012 in the UK (25 Sept 2012 in the USA) - "Document" by R.E.M. on Capitol 5099997200628 (Barcode 5099997200628) is a 2CD '25th Anniversary' Mini Box Set Remaster and plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (39:49 minutes):

1. Finest Worksong

2. Welcome To The Occupation

3. Exhuming McCarthy

4. Disturbance At The Heron House

5. Strange

6. It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

7. The One I Love

8. Fireplace

9. Lightnin' Hopkins

10. King Of Birds

11. Oddfellows Local 151

Tracks 1to 11 are the studio album "Document" first released on vinyl in early September 1987 on IRS 42059 in the USA and on IRS MIRG 1025 in the UK.

Disc 2 "Live At Muziekcentrum Vredenburg, Utrecht, Holland 14 September 1987" (79:37 minutes):

1. Finest Worksong

2. These Days

3. Lightnin' Hopkins

4. Welcome To The Occupation

5. Driver 8

6. Feeling Gravity's Pull

7. I Believe

8. The One I Love

9. Exhuming McCarty

10. Wolves, Lower

11. Fall On Me

12. Just A Touch

13. Oddfellows Local 151

14. Little America

15. It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

16. Begin The Begin

17. Disturbance At The Heron House

18. Moral Kiosk

19. Life And How To Live It

20. So. Central Rain

Disc 2 is a 20-track PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED live concert (title above) and was recorded for Vara Radio in Holland in 1987

The first thing that hits you is the power of the REMASTERED album which has been done by ROBERT VOSGIEN in the USA – never too showy or trebled up – it's impressive to say the least. The drums and bass are so sweet now and the guitars finally heard – making lesser-heard nuggets like "Disturbance At The Heron House" (lyrics above) and "King Of Birds" suddenly feel alive. The treated guitar and drum opening of "Oddfellows Local 151" is HUGE – not overdone – just meaty in all the right ways. "Strange" is the same - great rocking stuff…

The live set with its 20-tracks and near 80 minutes playing time is certainly value for money – but I found after 4 songs its unlistenable – same tune – over and over again. The sound quality is excellent though – great presence.

The 10-page booklet has some new liner notes by David Daley describing the US political landscape that so influenced the songs (Reagan, Iran etc) - there's a large black and white fold-out poster and 4 x Lobby Cards of the band. But you can't help but feel that non-album B-sides should be here instead of tedious live stuff – the lyrics aren't reproduced – neither is the inner sleeve to the UK LP - it's the typically oblique artwork that isn't artwork.

The overall feel is this – a really great remaster of the album that truly makes you reassess just how good the record was – but the rest is superfluous to requirements – and you're being charged for the privilege.

These guys used to be the biggest band in the world – and the excellent remaster of this forgotten album will go some way to explaining why.

But I doubt the rest will do anyone any favours...especially long suffering fans...

"Jinx" by RORY GALLAGHER - April 1982 Album on Chrysalis Records (September 2012 UK Sony/Capo/Legacy CD Reissue and Andy Pearce/Matt Wortham Remasters) - A Reviw by Mark Barry.

 "...You Got Me Jumpin’ Like A Man With The Voodoo…."

 *** THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE 2012 CD REISSUE ***

"Jinx" is one of five new 2012 CD, Download and Vinyl reissues covering Rory Gallagher's 'studio' album period at Chrysalis Records between 1975 and 1979. His Polydor Label years (1971 to 1974) were released in full in January 2012 (see list below). The next set of studio and live album reissues are due in early 2013 - all supervised by Donal Gallagher - his brother, tour manager and keeper of the flame.

So what's different? In a nutshell - cheaper price, restored artwork with upgraded packaging and 2012 remastering from the original tapes. Here are the finite details...

Released 24 September 2012 in the UK (9 October 2012 in the USA) - "Jinx" is on Sony/Capo/Legacy 88725461432 and comes in a card digipak rather than a jewel case (50:45 minutes total playing time). The original vinyl album was released April 1982 in the UK on Chrysalis CHR 1359 – it was self-produced and was Rory's 5th and last studio LP for the British label (distributed on Mercury SRM-1-4051 in the USA).

SOUND:
When "Jinx" was first re-issued on CD by Da Capo in February 2000 - the tapes were 'completely' remixed and remastered by Tony Arnold - giving it a sound some found a little shrill. That first reissue also altered the original artwork in a not so complimentary way.

This time the original tapes have been returned to by ANDY PEARCE and MATT WORTHAM and remastered as 'untampered' versions in August 2012 at Wired Masters Studios in London - and they've done a fantastic job. Right from the opening weird noise and guitars of "Signals" - the sound is full of power and wonderful clarity - and stays like that all the way to the end...

A NOTE ON THE TRACK LINE-UP and BONUS TRACKS:
The 1st CD reissue of "Jinx" in February 2000 shuffled the track running-order around considerably - starting the LP with "Big Guns" when it should have been "Signals" and slotting in the two previously unreleased bonus tracks in-between titles rather than placing them at the end. All that mucking about has been rectified with this 2012 version – we now have the proper running order (Tracks 1 to 5 are Side 1 -  Tracks 6 to 9 are Side 2) with the two bonus tracks correctly placed at the end as numbers 10 and 11 ("Nothin' But The Devil" and "Lonely Mile").

PACKAGING:
The dreadfully garish altered artwork that blighted the 2000 reissue has thankfully been replaced with a repro of the original album cover and a newly laid-out 12-page booklet (in fact all 5 of the gatefold digipaks are gorgeous to look at). The CD itself is a picture disc - and priced at roughly a fiver-sterling - this is a classy little reissue for not a lot of wonga.

MUSIC:
The album featured a line-up of new and old musicians - GERRY McAVOY on Bass (who'd been with him since "Blueprint" in 1973) - with newcomers BOB ANDREWS on Keyboards and BRENDAN O’NEILL on Drums. Rory covered everything else - Vocals, Guitars and Harmonica.

The 9 LP tracks are all Rory Gallagher originals except "Ride On Red, Ride On" which is a Louisiana Red cover version. It opens well with "Signals" and the Eddie Cochran rockabilly feel to "The Devil Made Me Do It". But I absolutely loose it for "Double Vision" - it's the kind of Rory album gem that I love. "Double Vision" is a slow boogie slide guitar workout that feels like Foghat meeting ZZ TOP – and his soloing as the track fades out is hair-raising (lyrics from it title this review). Then comes one of the album’s other gems – the bluesy and slightly heartbroken "Easy Come, Easy Go" – it sounds like the kind of killer ballad Lynott would dash off for Lizzy. Side 1 finishes in barnstorming style with a huge fan favourite – "Big Guns" – once again his guitar work fantastic and his anger at big business and the corporate machine he'd been fighting all his life creeping through the words.

Side 2 opens with "Jinxed" which is a clever departure for him – sounding more like Robin Trower in a soulful mood. It’s very, very good. Back to rocking with "Bourbon" and the singing-slide style he championed comes out in the anti-racist song "Ride On Red, Ride On". "Loose Talk" is hard-hitting too if not a little underwhelming (despite the unusual sitar sound to the guitar). In fact I always found Side 2 disappointing – but what rescues this CD is the two truly ace 'bonus tracks'. They’re fully-fledged studio outakes - a dirty-stringed National Steel ditty called "Nothin' But The Devil" written by Gerry West and a rocking full-band gem called "Lonely Mile" about insomnia walks he would take when he couldn't sleep. They truly are proper discoveries and if you haven't heard them before, you're in for a treat.

Rory was sadly lost to us in 1995 through liver failure - and it still hurts to think that this most unassuming and brilliant of guitar heroes is gone.  

To sum up - like the other 4 titles in this second phase of reissues – I whole-heartedly recommend "Jinx". There are nuggets on here I know I'll be returning too for years to come…

Pride of all Donegal! God bless you mate – and we miss you.

PS: the titles in this 2011/2012 CD, Download and LP reissue series so far are:
1. "Rory Gallagher" (originally UK released in May 1971) - REVIEWED
2. "Deuce" (November 1971) - REVIEWED
3. "Live! In Europe" (May 1972)
4. "Blueprint" (February 1973)
5. "Tattoo" (November 1973) - REVIEWED
6. "Irish Tour '74" (July 1974) [2LP set on 1CD - Sides 1 to 3 are Live - Side 4 is Studio Jams]

7. "Against The Grain" (October 1975) - REVIEWED
8. "Calling Card" (August 1976) - REVIEWED
9. "Photo-Finish" (October 1978) - REVIEWED
10. "Top Priority" (September 1979) - REVIEWED
11. "Jinx" (April 1982) - REVIEWED

1 to 6 released January 2012 on CD and Download. 180-gram vinyl versions of each were also made available 27 February 2012 on the "Music On Vinyl" Label

7 to 11 released September 2012 on CD and Download. Limited Edition 180-gram vinyl versions of each will be made available 22 October 2012 on the "Music On Vinyl" Label

"Against The Grain" by RORY GALLAGHER (September 2012 Sony/Capo/Legacy CD Reissue - Andy Pearce and Matt Wortham Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…Can You Hear That Sound…"

"Against The Grain" is one of five new 2012 CD, Download and Vinyl reissues covering Rory Gallagher's 'studio' album period at Chrysalis Records between 1975 and 1979. His Polydor Label years (1971 to 1974) were released in full in January 2012 (see list below). The next set of studio and live album reissues are due in early 2013 - all supervised by Donal Gallagher - his brother, tour manager and keeper of the flame.

So what's different? In a nutshell - cheaper price, restored artwork with upgraded packaging and 2012 remastering from the original tapes. Here are the finite details...

Released 24 September 2012 in the UK (9 October 2012 in the USA) - "Against The Grain" by RORY GALLAGHER is on Sony/Capo/Legacy 88725461492 (Barcode 887254614920) and comes in a card digipak rather than a jewel case with two bonus tracks. They originally showed up (previously unreleased at the time) on the 1999 CD version (49:28 minutes total playing time).

1. Let Me In

2. Cross Me Off Your List

3. Ain’t Too Good

4. Souped-Up Ford

5. Bought And Sold

6. I Take What I Want [Side 2]

7. Lost At Sea

8. All Around Man

9. Out On The Western Plain

10. At The Bottom

The original vinyl album was released October 1975 in the UK and USA on Chrysalis CHR 1098 (it charted at number 121 in the States). "Against The Grain" marked his debut for the British label Chrysalis Records.

BONUS TRACKS:

11. Cluney Blues

12. My Baby, Sure

SOUND:

When "Against The Grain" was first re-issued on CD by Da Capo in February 1999 - the tapes were remixed and remastered by Tony Arnold - giving it a sound some found a little shrill. That first reissue also altered the original artwork in a terrible way. This time the original tapes have been returned to by ANDY PEARCE and MATT WORTHAM and remastered as 'untampered' versions in August 2012 at Wired Masters Studios in London - and little is going to prepare Gallagher fans for this. They've done a fantastic job. Right from the opening explosion of "Let Me In" - the sound is so full of power and incredible clarity - and stays that way to the end...

PACKAGING:

...And how good is to see the back of the dreadful artwork that blighted the 1999 reissue (in fact all 5 of the gatefold digipaks are gorgeous to look at - proper repros of the original LPs). The foldout 3-way inlay of old has been replaced in 2012 by a 12-page booklet with Donal Gallagher's song-by-song liner notes reproduced again. But as well as other colour photos - there's two new inclusions - CAMERON CROWE'S wonderful appraisal of Rory and the album from The Rolling Stone magazine in 1976 - and a review of the LP by SIMON FRITH in the same issue. The card digipak repros the lovely original album artwork (back and front), the CD itself is a picture disc and there's even a new photo beneath the see-through plastic tray. And priced at roughly a fiver sterling - this is a classy little reissue for not a lot of wonga.

MUSIC:

The album was self-produced and featured the line-up that had been with him since "Blueprint" in 1973 - GERRY McAVOY on Bass, LOU MARTIN on Keyboards and ROD De'ATH on Drums. Rory covered everything else - Vocals, Guitars and Harmonica.

The 10-track LP had 7 originals and three brilliantly chosen cover versions - Sam and Dave's Stax hit "I Take What I Want", Leadbelly's lonesome Blues "Out On The Western Plain" and a stunning slide guitar/harmonica working of "All Around Man" by Bo Carter of The Mississippi Sheiks (a 1930's Black Vocal Group Rory greatly admired).

For me "Against The Grain" was the first studio album to capture the sheer guitar-blast of Rory Gallagher live. Even now the six-and-a-half-minute slide mayhem of "Souped-Up Ford" is absolutely astonishing - roaring out of your speakers like it’s going to soil the furniture. He lets it rip - as does Lou Martin on keys - and it's hair-raising stuff. "Bought & Sold" may have referred back to the bitterness he still felt about the treatment of TASTE (his band) - but it was a chipper little rocker - and became a staple of his live set from 1975 onwards. "Lost At Sea" is unusual and a real grower - an almost Prog feel to the odd chord changes in it (fab clarity on the bass and drums). His acoustic take of Huddy Ledbetter's Cowboy song "Out On The Western Plain" is eerily clear - squeaking of chairs and strings - beautiful sound now. But I have to admit to a fave. I used to go to a Saturday night dance in Dublin in Clontarf called "The Grove" (there's a YouTube program on it done by RTE) where his joyous cover of Sam & Dave's "I Take What I Want" ended each Summer evening in a blaze of longhair and sweat. Yum yum...

The two bonus tracks that ended the 1999 reissue reappear again too - "Cluney Blues" is a jaunty instrumental while "My Baby, Sure" is a Rockabilly tune with some great fun dialogue before it starts...

For many - Rory's classic period was with Polydor Records in the early Seventies - and like so many fans - I adore those albums with a passion. But having just waded through all 5 of these 24 Sep 2012 reissues of his Chrysalis studio records - I'm absolutely blown-away by how good they are. While so many rock acts floundered (especially after 1975) - Rory just kept putting out one gem after another. If anything - I'm tempted to say that these albums are where his real genius lies.

Like most Irishmen, I can't be rational about Rory Gallagher. I saw him and his band as a teenager live in Dublin in the early Seventies and the experience was mind-blowing (I'm actually in the audience at Dublin on Irish Tour '74). I then bought every album he ever put out after that and always looked forward to hearing where his flying fingers would take me next.

Rory was sadly lost to us in 1995 through liver failure - and it still hurts to think that this most unassuming and brilliant of guitar heroes is gone. "Against The Grain" is a gem - and frankly "Calling Card" from 1976 is even better.

Whole-heartedly recommended...and what a blindingly great player he was. In fact if you want an inkling of his astonishing playing - check out YouTube footage of him playing “Souped-Up Ford” in Germany in 1980 where the wild crowd invade the stage and he just keeps on playing then finishes the number on top of a speaker stack…

The Eleven Titles in the 2012 RORY GALLAGHER Remasters Series

- CD Digipaks, Downloads and 'Music On Vinyl' LPs:

16 January 2012 CD DIGIPAK and DOWNLOAD:

1. "Rory Gallagher" (May 1971 debut) – released January 2012 on Sony/Capo/Legacy 88691917352 (Barcode 886919173529)

2. "Deuce" (November 1971 2^nd studio LP) – released January 2012 on Sony/Capo/Legacy 88691917372 (Barcode 886919173727)

3. "Live! In Europe" (May 1972 1^st Live LP) – released January 2012 on Sony/Capo/Legacy 88691917432 (Barcode 886919174328)

4. "Blueprint" (February 1973, 3^rd studio album) – released January 2012 on Sony/Capo/Legacy 88691917452 (Barcode 886919174526)

5. "Tattoo" (November 1973, 4^th studio album) – released January 2012 on Sony/Capo/Legacy 88691917462 (Barcode 886919174625)

6. "Irish Tour '74" (July 1974, 2^nd Live Set, 2LPs onto 1CD) – released January 2012 on Sony/Capo/Legacy 88691917472 (Barcode 886919174724)

27 February 2012 VINYL:

1 to 6 above also released 27 February 2012 on Limited Edition 180-gram vinyl versions on the "Music On Vinyl" Label

24 September 2012 CD DIGIPAK and DOWNLOAD:

7. "Against The Grain" (October 1975, 5^th studio album) – released September 2012 on Sony/Capo/Legacy 88725461492 (Barcode 887254614920)

8. "Calling Card" (August 1976, 6^th studio album) – released September 2012 on Sony/Capo/Legacy 88725461472 (Barcode 887254614722)

9. "Photo-Finish" (October 1978, 7^th studio album) – released September 2012 on Sony/Capo/Legacy 88725461462 (Barcode 887254614623)

10. "Top Priority" (September 1979, 8^th studio album) – released September 2012 on Sony/Capo/Legacy 88725461452 (Barcode 88725461452)

11. "Jinx" (April 1982) – released September 2012 on Sony/Capo/Legacy 88725461432 (Barcode 887254614326)

22 October 2012 VINYL: 

7 to 11 above also released 22 October 2012 on Limited Edition 180-gram vinyl versions on the "Music On Vinyl" Label

PS: Most of the eleven above have been reissued since 2012 in standard jewel cases but have different catalogue numbers and barcodes. The jewel case version of "Deuce" for instance is Barcode 886919369625 and has the restored artwork, picture CD and expanded booklet of the 2012 issue. So if you want the 'digipak' repro artwork versions – use the Barcodes provided above when ordering...

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