"Original Album Series" by AMERICA (June 2012 Warner Brothers/Rhino 5CD Mini Box Set with Singular Sleeve Card Repro Artwork) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Ventura Highway In The Sunshine..."

I never did quite get why America and their Seventies albums are so derided in some quarters – they made a beautiful racket when they hit that CSNY Harmony Vocals sweet spot. Sure the later stuff could be a tad schmaltzy on occasion – but this dinky little treasure trove offers seekers of Soft Rock an awful lot of good over bad. And "Holiday" from 1974 and "Hearts" from 1975 had the steer-ship of fifth Beatle George Martin at the Producer controls – both huge records - Top 5 albums in their native USA.

There are a lot of miles to cover so once more my nameless horses unto the Ventura Highway...

UK released 11 June 2012 - "Original Album Series" by AMERICA on Warner Brothers/Rhino 8122797457 (Barcode 081227974572) is a 5CD Mini Box Set with Five Single Card Repro Sleeves. Some Remasters - Some Not – it plays out as follows:

Disc 1 "America" (46:43 minutes):

1. Riverside

2. Sandman

3. Three Roses

4. Children

5. A Horse With No Name

6. Here

7. I Need You [Side 2]

8. Rainy Day

9. Never Found The Time

10. Clarice

11. Donkey Jaw

12. Pigeon Song

Tracks 1 to 4, 6 and 7 to 12 are their debut 11-track album "America" - released December 1971 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2576 and December 1971 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 46093. When the song "A Horse With No Name" (originally a stand alone 7" single) became a US hit in early 1972 (eventually went to No. 1 as did the album) - "America" the LP was repressed using the same American catalogue but with that track slotted in on Side 1 between "Children" and "Here" making it a 12-track LP. It is this version that is represented here (the UK 11-track LP and even later represses never featured "A Horse With No Name"). Produced by AMERICA, IAN SAMWELL and JEFF DEXTER - it peaked at No. 1 on the US LP charts and No. 14 in the UK.

Disc 2 "Homecoming" (33:20 minutes):

1. Ventura Highway

2. To Each His Own

3. Don't Cross The River

4. Moon Song

5. Only In Your Heart

6. Till The Sun Comes Up Again [Side 2]

7. Cornwall Blank

8. Head & Heart

9. California Revisited

10. Saturn Nights

Tracks 1 to 10 are their second studio album "Homecoming" - released November 1972 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2655 and December 1972 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 46180. Produced by AMERICA - it peaked at No. 9 in the USA and No. 21 in the UK.

Disc 3 "Hat Trick" (41:35 minutes):

1. Muskrat Love

2. Wind Wave

3. She's Gonna Let You Down

4. Rainbow Song

5. Submarine Ladies

6. It's Life

7. Hat Trick [Side 2]

8. Molten Love

9. Green Monkey

10. Willow Tree Lullaby

11. Goodbye

Tracks 1 to 11 are their 3rd studio album "Hat Trick" - released November 1973 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2728 and November 1973 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 56016. Produced by AMERICA - It peaked at No. 28 in the USA and No. 41 in the UK.

Disc 4 "Holiday" (32:56 minutes):

1. Miniature

2. Tin Man

3. Another Try

4. Lonely People

5. Glad To See You

6. Mad Dog

7. Hollywood [Side 2]

8. Baby It's Up To You

9. You

10. Old Man Took

11. What Does It Matter

12. In The Country

Tracks 1 to 12 are their 4th studio album "Holiday" - released July 1974 in the USA on Warner Brothers W 2808 and July 1974 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 56045. Produced by GEORGE MARTIN - it peaked at No. 3 in the USA (didn't chart in the UK)

Disc 5 "Hearts" (36:17 minutes):

1. Daisy Jane

2. Half A Man

3. Midnight

4. Bell Tree

5. Old Virginia

6. People In The Valley

7. Company [Side 2]

8. Woman Tonight

9. The Story Of A Teenager

10. Sister Golden Hair

11. Tomorrow

12. Seasons

Tracks 1 to 12 are their fifth studio album "Hearts" - released April 1975 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2852 and April 1975 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 56115. Produced by GEORGE MARTIN - it peaked at No. 4 in the USA (didn't chart in the UK).

AMERICA was:

DEWEY BUNNELL - Lead Vocals and Guitars

GERRY BECKLEY - Guitars and Vocals

DAN PEEK - Bass, Acoustic Guitars and Vocals 

The elaborate tri-gatefold that came with "Homecoming" and the inners and inserts that came with "Hat Trick" and the others are all AWOL in the single sleeve card sleeves and apart from track lists on the generic coloured CDs - there is bugger all by way of info with these multiple packs. But that’s how all these "Original Album Series" sets are – cheap and cheerful. And as luck with have it – Warners have used the second pressing of "America" from 1972 so it includes the huge No. 1 hit "A Horse With No Name".

The Audio is a mixed bag of superlative vs. extremely good. Take "I Need You" on "America" or "To Each His Own" on "Homecoming" - I've had Remasters of these and the audio here is pretty much the same - very clear - beautiful really. However I have Remasters from the "The Definitive Collection" of "Muskrat Love" and the lovely "Sister Golden Hair” and it has to be said that the Remasters are way better than what's on offer here. If I were to break it down - I'd say the first two CDs sound exceptional while the final three are merely very good. But don't let that put you off – you're essentially getting an awful lot of quality here for a very small outlay – roughly of course two quid per album. To the music...

SIngles:

Excepting the non-album track "Everyone I Meet Is from California" (the B-side to "A Horse With No Name" on both sides of the pond) - this 5CD set gives you the A&B-sides of a whopping thirteen American singles - eight of which did the business in the Rock Charts. First up is the song that broke them - "A Horse With No Name" from January 1972 - that was followed in April 1972 with the ballad "I Need You" featuring the equally musical "Riverside" on the flipside – a No. 9 hit. "Ventura Highway" b/w "Saturn Nights" came in September 1972 and went one further to No. 8 (the A-side is surely one of their finest moments) - while "Don't Cross The River" b/w "To Each His own" reached a miserly No. 35 in February 1973.

The third album "Hat Trick" should have been a triumph but it produced a series of 4 x 7" single misses - beginning in March 1973 with "Only In Your Heart" b/w "Moon Song" - the first 45 to not chart. Given the hooky and commercial nature of "Muskrat Love" (paired with "Cornwall Blank" from the second album "Homecoming" on the B-side) - it's odd that the melody didn't light up the top ten in June 1973. Strike three came in November 1973 with "Rainbow Song" b/w "Willow Tree Lullaby" - another non-charter. Last was "Green Monkey" in March 1974 b/w "She's Gonna Let You Down" - but it marked loser number four.

But they were all quickly forgotten for July 1974's "Tin Man" from the new "Holiday" LP. With the album cut "In The Country" on the flipside - the annoyingly simple yet wildly catchy "Tin Man" was perfect American Radio fodder and gave them a rightful No. 4 chart hit. "Lonely People" b/w "Mad Dog" was released November 1974 and with time made No. 5 in early 1975. Their second Number One came with the much-loved "Sister Golden Hair" b/w "Midnight" - a huge hit in April 1975. "Daisy Jane" b/w "Tomorrow" from June 1975 went to No. 20 - but "Woman Tonight" b/w "Bell Tree" from October 1975 failed to ignite.

But where this 5CD set comes into it’s own is with those album tracks you 'never' hear. The debut alone has loads - the 'stop and see what I'm on about' song "Three Roses" - a wickedly infectious acoustic melody that still sounds amazingly fresh 46 years after the event. The strummed "Here" – the piano love song "I Need You" and the gorgeous "Never Found The Time" (very Mercury Years Rod Stewart in its own way) – will all probably elicit tears amidst men of a certain age. And that acoustic guitar build-up intro to "Donkey Jaw" sounds beautiful - and if it had the moniker Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on the LP label instead of America – would have been declared a ‘quit ravishing the land’ masterpiece by every journo for miles around.

Amongst the other four albums is the impossibly pretty familiar faces of "To Each His Own", the David Crosby vibes of "Moon Song" and the sheer soul-warming peacefulness of their John Martyn cover of "Head And Heart" on "Homecoming" (it was on Martyn's masterpiece "Solid Air" in February of 1973). They would even re-write "Everyone I Meet Is From California" as "California Revisited" although I prefer the simpler original (that song is available as a Remaster on "The Definitive Collection" 2CD set). The hankering "Wind Wave" from "Hat Trick" could easily have been a single (love those harmony vocals) and "Submarine Ladies" feels so Neil Young lonesome with that treated Harmonica. 

"It's Life" has one of the most ethereal and beautiful synth/guitar openings to any of their songs - while I've always liked the gorgeous string-instrumental "Miniature" that opens the "Holiday" album - very "Cinny's Waltz" on Tom Waits' 1977 Asylum album "Foreign Affair". And that strange guitar in the 'drinks on me' song "Hollywood" gives you a surprisingly sinister element – like hurt is lurking in that Californian clarion call to all naïve youngsters. And the so damned depressed "Sister Golden Hair" still strikes a chord - how many weddings has this been played at...

Alligator lizards in the air – hit by purple rain – thanks a lot son... With lyrics like this - America the Band was never cool or hip. And for sure even die-hard fans would have to admit that as the albums went on an uneasy easy-listening schmaltz started to creep in amidst those immaculate Production values and sweet Harmony Vocals.

But like Bread and the Eagles - they made music that reached out to millions of people - and on the evidence presented here - it's obvious why. Pick up this 5-disc "Original Album Series" reissue and discover why you still need Ventura Highway in the sunshine...

"America" (1971 and 1972 Debut LP) by AMERICA - Inside "Original Album Series" (2012 Warner Brothers/Rhino 5CD Mini Box Set of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT 1971... - Exceptional CD Remasters  

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Their 1971 Debut Album "America" on Warner Brothers BS 2576

(Reissued in 1972 with "A Horse With No Name" Added) 

"...Living On The Riverside..." 

I never did quite get why America and their Seventies albums are so derided in some quarters – they made a beautiful racket when they hit that CSNY Harmony Vocals sweet spot.

Sure the later stuff could be a tad schmaltzy on occasion – but this dinky little treasure trove offers seekers of Soft Rock an awful lot of good over bad. And "Holiday" from 1974 and "Hearts" from 1975 had the steer-ship of fifth Beatle George Martin at the Producer controls – both huge records - Top 5 albums in their native USA.

However for today – we’re going to concentrate on their rather stunning and now wildly overlooked debut – "America" – launched on an unsuspecting world at the tail end of 1971. Some are calling it a forgotten gem – quiet possibly the follow up to "Deja Vu" Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young never made. Anyway - time to name those horses and flush out that Sandman...

UK released 11 June 2012 - "Original Album Series" by AMERICA on Warner Brothers/Rhino 8122797457 (Barcode 081227974572) is a 5CD Mini Box Set with Five Single Card Repro Sleeves – it plays out as follows:

Disc 1 "America" (46:43 minutes):

1. Riverside

2. Sandman

3. Three Roses

4. Children

5. A Horse With No Name

6. Here

7. I Need You [Side 2]

8. Rainy Day

9. Never Found The Time

10. Clarice

11. Donkey Jaw

12. Pigeon Song

Tracks 1 to 4, 6 and 7 to 12 are their debut 11-track album "America" - released December 1971 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2576 and December 1971 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 46093. When the song "A Horse With No Name" (originally a stand alone 7" single) became a US hit in early 1972 (eventually went to No. 1 as did the album) - "America" the LP was repressed using the same American catalogue but with that track slotted in on Side 1 between "Children" and "Here" making it a 12-track LP. It is this version that is represented here (the UK 11-track LP and even later represses never featured "A Horse With No Name"). Produced by AMERICA, IAN SAMWELL and JEFF DEXTER - it peaked at No. 1 on the US LP charts and No. 14 in the UK.

Disc 2 "Homecoming" (33:20 minutes):

1. Ventura Highway

2. To Each His Own

3. Don't Cross The River

4. Moon Song

5. Only In Your Heart

6. Till The Sun Comes Up Again [Side 2]

7. Cornwall Blank

8. Head & Heart

9. California Revisited

10. Saturn Nights

Tracks 1 to 10 are their second studio album "Homecoming" - released November 1972 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2655 and December 1972 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 46180. Produced by AMERICA - it peaked at No. 9 in the USA and No. 21 in the UK.

Disc 3 "Hat Trick" (41:35 minutes):

1. Muskrat Love

2. Wind Wave

3. She's Gonna Let You Down

4. Rainbow Song

5. Submarine Ladies

6. It's Life

7. Hat Trick [Side 2]

8. Molten Love

9. Green Monkey

10. Willow Tree Lullaby

11. Goodbye

Tracks 1 to 11 are their 3rd studio album "Hat Trick" - released November 1973 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2728 and November 1973 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 56016. Produced by AMERICA - It peaked at No. 28 in the USA and No. 41 in the UK.

Disc 4 "Holiday" (32:56 minutes):

1. Miniature

2. Tin Man

3. Another Try

4. Lonely People

5. Glad To See You

6. Mad Dog

7. Hollywood [Side 2]

8. Baby It's Up To You

9. You

10. Old Man Took

11. What Does It Matter

12. In The Country

Tracks 1 to 12 are their 4th studio album "Holiday" - released July 1974 in the USA on Warner Brothers W 2808 and July 1974 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 56045. Produced by GEORGE MARTIN - it peaked at No. 3 in the USA (didn't chart in the UK)

Disc 5 "Hearts" (36:17 minutes):

1. Daisy Jane

2. Half A Man

3. Midnight

4. Bell Tree

5. Old Virginia

6. People In The Valley

7. Company [Side 2]

8. Woman Tonight

9. The Story Of A Teenager

10. Sister Golden Hair

11. Tomorrow

12. Seasons

Tracks 1 to 12 are their fifth studio album "Hearts" - released April 1975 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2852 and April 1975 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 56115. Produced by GEORGE MARTIN - it peaked at No. 4 in the USA (didn't chart in the UK).

AMERICA was:

DEWEY BUNNELL - Lead Vocals and Guitars

GERRY BECKLEY - Guitars and Vocals

DAN PEEK - Bass, Acoustic Guitars and Vocals 

The elaborate tri-gatefold that came with "Homecoming" and the inners and inserts that came with "Hat Trick" and the others are all AWOL in the single sleeve card sleeves and apart from track lists on the generic coloured CDs - there is bugger all by way of info with these multiple packs. As you can see from the front and rear album cover photos provided for "America" – the credits are barely legible and at this price that’s to be expected.

But the Audio is superb throughout – really great. Take "To Each His Own" on "Homecoming" or "Muskrat Love" on "Hat Trick" or "I Need You" on here - I've had Remasters of these and the audio here is pretty much the same - very clear - beautiful really. Now let’s talk about the debut in full...

It seems funny now to think that the British got the drop on America. The whole of their 11-track self-titled debut album "America" was recorded at Trident Studios in London with Dewey Bunnell's "A Horse With No Name" recorded later at Morgan Studios (in North London). Perhaps suspecting that its incessant hook was a chart winner – Warners decided to issue it as a stand-alone single prior to the album. So 21 November 1971 saw the UK 7" Demo for "A Horse With No Name" appear on Warner Brothers K 16128 as a 3-track EP - the non-album "Everyone I Meet Is From California" being A2 and the album's "Sandman" on the flipside. There is even a very rare Promo-Only picture sleeve for this issue interestingly with the tracks on the wrong order on the P/S.

The album appeared post Christmas December 1971 in both the USA and UK minus "A Horse With No Name". But when American DJs got hold of Warner Brothers WB 7555 in February 1972 (the release date for the US 45) they began playing that 'Neil Young' song listeners were asking for (Bunnell's nasal whine was similar to NY's voice). "A Horse With No Name" quickly began to build massive momentum - so much so that it eventually made the No. 1 spot (the LP did the same). Warner Brothers USA repressed the "America" LP with the same catalogue number as a 12-track reissue with the hit single slotted into Side 1 between "Children" and "Here". In fact the song had such legs that they pressed up a third variant of the vinyl LP which actually says 'Includes The Hit Single "A Horse With No Name"' in boxed print on the front cover lest you didn’t twig what goodies lay within. As a by the way – with Neil Young’s "Harvest" tearing up the US LP charts from the moment it was released in February 1972 – many American buyers thought America’s single was a song by him. It went as far apparently as one clever DJ dubbing the debut America album as "A Horse With No Neil" (he haw).

Speaking of bum notes - it's a bit of a shame that the jaunty and quite brilliant non-album B-side "Everyone I Meet is from California" isn't on Disc 1 as a further bonus. But what you do get is the similarly structured "Riverside" - as lovely a song as has ever opened an LP and a huge fan fave (Warners UK put it on the flipside of "I Need You" in August 1972 – Warner Brothers K 16178). I've always cringed at the drone of "Sandman" if I’m completely honest (and those nonsense lyrics). I'd rather be listening to the 'stop and see what I'm on about' song "Three Roses" - a wickedly infectious acoustic melody that still sounds amazingly fresh 46 years after the event.

The strummed "Here" – the piano love song "I Need You" and the gorgeous "Never Found The Time" (very Mercury Years Rod Stewart in its own way) – will all probably elicit tears amidst men of a certain age. And that acoustic guitar build-up intro to "Donkey Jaw" sounds beautiful and if it had the moniker Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young before it instead of America – would be declared a ‘quit ravishing the land’ masterpiece by every journo for miles.

"America" is a wonderful debut album – tunes – playing – top quality Production values – a pigeon named Fred - it was all there and still is... 

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"Santana III: Legacy Edition - Enhanced OPENDISC Version" (2008 Columbia/Legacy 2CD Reissue with 2006 Vic Anesini Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...The Moment Is Calling..."

When Santana's third album was first released September 1971 on vinyl LP in the USA (Columbia KC 30595) it was simply entitled "Santana" – confusing as the 1969 debut (not surprisingly) had exactly the same title. The initial October 1971 British pressings of "III" adopted a more practical approach by calling it "Santana 3" on both the label and a gold sticker affixed to the other gatefold sleeve of CBS Records S 69015 (later British stickers would refer to it as "Santana (The Third Album)” but return to the US credit on the label of just "Santana"). But of course over the years it has become known as "Santana III" for Reissue purposes – especially on CD.

Following on from the hugely popular "Abraxas" in 1970 (their first No.1 album) – fans bought it in droves but reviews and feelings were mixed. And while I don't know about "III" being their 'difficult' third album musically (it became their second No.1 in the USA - difficult or not) - what is confusing is the myriad number of CD reissues surrounding it and I'd like to try to address that before reviewing the music. Here goes...

The first real CD Remaster for "Santana III" came in April 1998 as a single-disc 'Expanded Edition' on Columbia 489544 2 (Barcode 5099748954428 - UK Issue) – a 12-Track Super-Bit Remaster that included Three Previously Unreleased Bonus Tracks (41:09 minutes). The extras turned out to be 'Live' Recordings taped 4 July 1971 at San Francisco's Fillmore West (owned by the legendary Bill Graham) - "Batuka", "Jungle Strut" and "Gumbo". That disc is still available on Amazon Reference B00K0OLWXU. [Note: there is a limited edition reissue variant of this CD on Columbia 489544 9 (Barcode 5099748954497) released October 2000 with the same tracks and 'digipak' repro artwork - Amazon Reference is B00004SD4U]

Version 2 arrived April 2006 in UK and Europe and was the 35th Anniversary 2CD 'Legacy Edition' Reissue on Columbia/Legacy 82796902702 (Barcode 827969027028). This first variant came in the then customary outer plastic slipcase with a gatefold foldout digipak contained within and expanded booklets - but was deleted quickly and is now quite hard to find in that presentation - Amazon Reference B000E6EJCK).

But to confuses issues yet further - September 2008 (and again in April 2014) saw the same 2CD 'Legacy Edition' reissued as an 'Enhanced OPENDISC' version on Columbia/Legacy 88697352462 (Barcode 886973524626) - Amazon Reference B00K0OLWXU. Both the 2006 and 2008 'Legacy Edition' variants carry the same physical music - but the 2008 'Opendisc' Reissue is in a double-cd jewel case and has a vastly truncated 8-page booklet. However it offers 'exclusive material' via your Computer and the Web that is not on the original 2006 issue. It is this version I will review (podcasts, radio shows, full liner notes and photos). Here are the details...

UK released 19 September 2008 - "Santana III: Legacy Edition - Enhanced OPENDISC Version" by SANTANA on Columbia/Legacy 88697352462 (Barcode 886973524626) is a 2CD Reissue (2006 Remaster) with Exclusive Content accessed via Computer/Web and plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (66:43 minutes):

1. Batuka [Side 1]

2. No One To Depend On

3. Taboo

4. Toussaint L'Overture

5. Everybody's Everything [Side 2]

6. Guarjira

7. Jungle Strut

8. Everything's Coming Our Way

9. Par Los Rumberos

Tracks 1 to 9 are their third studio album "Santana" aka "Santana III" - released September 1971 in the USA on Columbia KC 30595 and October 1971 in the UK on CBS Records S 69015. Produced by SANTANA BAND - it peaked at No. 1 in the USA and No. 6 in the UK.

BONUS TRACKS:

10. Gumbo

11. Folsom Street One

12. Banbeye

13. No One To Depend On (Single Version) - January 1972 USA 7" Single 'Edit' of 3:13 minutes - A-side on Columbia 4-45552. Released 30 March 1972 as UK 7" single A-side (also an edit) on CBS Records S CBS 7842 (the album track "Taboo" was its B-side in both countries)

Tracks 10, 11 and 12 are Previously Unreleased 'Studio' Versions. A Previously Unreleased 'live' version of "Gumbo" appeared on the April 1998 CD Remaster - that track has been moved over to Disc 2 so that the 2nd CD is a cohesive 'full concert' of the 4 July 1971 date at The Fillmore West in San Francisco.

Disc 2 (57:51 minutes):

1. Batuka

2. No One to Depend On

3. Toussaint L'Overture

4. Taboo

5. Jungle Strut

6. Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen

7. Incident At Neshabur

8. In A Silent Way

9. Savor

10. Para Los Rumberos

11. Gumbo

All Tracks recorded 4 July 1971 at The Fillmore West in San Francisco. Tracks 1, 5, and 11 were the Bonus trio of Tracks on the 1998 CD Remaster - Track 7 and 8 first appeared on the July 1972 3LP Box Set "Fillmore - The Last Days" on Fillmore Records Z3X-31390 - reissued February 1991 as a 2CD set in the USA on Columbia Z2K 31390 - Tracks 2, 3, 4, 6 and 9 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED.

First up is the ludicrous 'Opendisc' set up – only available to those who use PCs and Microsoft Windows (I use a Mac so its useless to me). You supposedly enter Disc 1 into your computer and it asks you join-up to a website - but mates of mine who have PCs have said it fails - most likely because the site is no longer active. Apparently the last updated element on their website was 2012 - so I'm essentially left with a 2CD set that calls itself a 'Legacy Issue' but has none of the full annotation the original had because its all supposed to be accessible online. The only upside is that this variant is cheap – less than seven quid in some places – whilst the deleted 2006 original with its distinctive 'Legacy Edition' plastic slipcase is pushing near thirty. All that reissue shenanigans aside - let's get to the music...

Audio Engineer VIC ANESINI has mastered the Legacy Edition - and his is a name I actively seek out when it comes to quality transfers. His skills can be found on a lot of much-praised Columbia releases – Elvis Presley, Carole King, Simon & Garfunkel, Mountain, Nilsson, Paul Simon, The Isley Brothers, Mott The Hoople, Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Jayhawks and Santana (to name but a few). The Audio sound stage here is wonderful – full of huge presence - the massive rhythm sections in Santana threatening to invade your living room and set up summer camp there. A sweet job done...

III opens with "Batuka" - a stunning fusion instrumental with Carlos letting rip. Percussionists Michael Carabello and Coke Escobedo came up with the winner "No One To Depend On". Recorded 16 June 1971 - the full album version runs to 5:31 minutes with Gregg Rolie on Lead Vox with Rico Reyes providing those back-up chorus vocals. But I actually prefer the more economical 7" single edit - a smart inclusion on Disc 1 as a Bonus Track. Keyboardist/Vocalist Gregg Rolie and Percussionist Jose Areas contributed my other fave-rave on the album - the brilliant Santana slink of "Taboo" - the remaster giving sexy life to those swirling guitars and that Tabla rhythm - the closest the album gets to the brilliance of "Abraxas". In fact when I think about the full 5:34 minute album version of "Taboo" on the B-side of edited "No One To Depend On" – that’s one helluva 45. The six-minute Side 1 finisher "Toussaint L'Overture" is a band effort - Michael Shrieve and Carlos amidst the six-name credits. It's a Latin-Rock Funk-Fusion wig out - pulsing and racing with life and rhythms and that feeling that somehow this music is still new and fresh. 

Party-time arrives with the brassy "Everybody's Everything" - the Tower of Power horn section aided by a stunning Neal Schon guitar solo (a 17-year old with dreams of Journey only a couple of years later). Apparently its an adaptation of a song called "Karate Boogaloo" by The Emperors on Brunswick 55333 in 1967 - hence the triple credit to Carlos Santana, Tirone Moss and Milton D Brown. September 1971 saw the US 7" single for "Everybody's Everything" issued on Columbia 4-45472 with "Guarjira" on the flipside - it peaked at No. 12 on the US singles charts. I must admit I find "Jungle Strut" (a Gene Ammons song) and especially the weedy vocals on "Everything's Coming our Way" the least interesting stuff on the album - but the Tito Puente cover "Para Los Rumberos" brings it all back to their Latin roots with breakneck percussion.

For me what makes this whole release worth it is the Bonus Material - especially that live concert now all lumped together onto Disc 2. Back to Disc 1 for a moment. I frankly think the 'studio' version of "Gumbo" rocks like a mother - a four-minute guitar fest from Carlos Santana and Neal Schon. But the seven-minute "Fulsom Street - One" instrumental outtake is the stuff of Funky Latin legend. Recorded January 1971 (early in the sessions) - man is this band cooking - bopping and swaying - that sexy rhythm now given flute flourishes and extended piano/guitar solos. As a guy who loves his Soul with a Funky Rock tip - I'm absolutely eating this sucker up. Then we get hit with 10:21 minutes of "Banbeye" recorded a month later in February 1971. Again a sexy rhythm is set up with percussion and piano and chanting voices - but its nearly seven minutes before Carlos comes sailing in - testing the waters with distant guitar notes. As the Tabla pounds and the drums whack all around your speakers - it's a rhythm romance for ten minutes and an outtake for sure - but such a pleasing one after all these years.

The live show features a slick full album two-track combo version of "Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen" followed shortly afterwards by a song you don't hear too many people cover - Joe Zawinul's "In A Silent Way" from his 1971 Atlantic records debut LP. It’s a seven-minute piece with beautiful 'feel' playing from Carlos - sensual to start with - then sexy funky thereafter and finally arriving back at vibes and shimmering guitar notes. What a sweet find. Abraxas fans will also love the relatively short 5:28 minutes of "Incident At Neshabur" as opposed to the sidelong live effort on 1973's "Lotus". And on it goes with a barnstorming "Savor" where you can feel the rafters shaking and the Fillmore crowd grooving....

The 2CD 'Legacy Edition' of "Santana III" is a triumph musically - but you'd have to dock it a star for this 'doesn't really work' Opendisc version that short changes punters on the annotation and non-accessible online-content fronts.

But man oh man - the music - that Santana boy and his band could play...

"Freedom Means" by THE DELLS with Larry Wade, Terry Callier & Charles Stepney (2015 Caroline CD Reissue - Nick Robbins Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Heed The Call!" 

1971 was a huge year for Soul Music - especially American Soul. Marvin Gaye's staggering "What's Going On" on Tamla (which many argue is the greatest LP every made in any genre and they might be right) - Aretha Franklin's right-on Grooveathon "Aretha Live At Fillmore East" and the Blaxploitation big daddy of them all (with a dose of extra bling) - Isaac Hayes' "Shaft". All of them went to the coveted No. 1 spot on the US R&B charts in 1971. Even Curtis Mayfield's socially conscious inner city opus "Curtis" on Curtom Records proved to have extended legs from its release in October 1970 when it too went all the way - eventually hitting the No. 1 spot in February 1971 and staying there for 5 weeks.

But I'd argue it was a stunning and pivotal year because of those 'other' albums you hear about in hushed tones and deep Soul-worshiping circles. I'm talking about Bobby Womack's "Communication" on United Artists - Earth, Wind & Fire's eponymous debut on Warner Brothers – The Isley Brothers doing Rock in a Soulful way on their awesome covers album "Givin' It Back" on T-Neck and Gil Scott-Heron's beat poetry vs. music mash-up "Small Talk At 125th And Lennon" on Flying Dutchman (I've reviewed most). I'd like to add my further penny's worth with Minnie Riperton's "Come To My Garden" on GRT Records - The (New) Rotary Connection's "Hey, Love" on Cadet - and released in the same month of August 1971 and on the same label - the wonderful "Freedom Means" by The Dells. All of the last three mentioned have a connection – they were Arranged and Produced by the genius that was CHARLES STEPNEY.

Stepney is a big name in small circles and I've been singing his praises in my SOUNDS GOOD e-Book on 'Soul, Funk and Jazz Fusion' for years (he was sadly lost to us in May 1976 aged only 46). But what puts "Freedom Means" up there is the alliance on the same record with Stepney and Soul Boys/Songwriting Heroes - Larry Wade and Terry Callier. This dynamic-duo provided six of the nine songs on the LP and man you hear it. Which brings us to this 2015 Reissue...

Caroline International/SoulMusic Records are part of the Cherry Red network of UK labels and they are clearly pleased with their very cool and lovely Remaster. This is a beauty and they know it. Let's get to the music and the meaningful details...

UK released December 2015 - "Freedom Means" by THE DELLS on Caroline International/SoulMusic Records CAROLR 033CD (Barcode 600753663097) is a straightforward CD Reissue/Remaster of the 1971 US album that plays out as follows (40:28 minutes):

1. Freedom Means [Side 1]

2. Rather Be With You

3. The Love We Had (Stays On My Mind)

4. One Less Bell To Answer

5. It's All Up To You

6. Medley: If You Go Away/Love Story [Side 2]

7. Make It With You

8. Free And Easy

9. Melody Man

10. Freedom Theme

Tracks 1 to 10 are their album "Freedom Means" - released August 1971 in the USA on Cadet Records CA 50004 (no UK issue). Produced and Arranged by CHARLES STEPNEY - it peaked at No. 4 on the US R&B charts and No. 81 on the Pop charts.

NOTE: There are only 9 actual songs on the album - "Freedom Theme" at the end of Side 2 (credited to Charles Stepney) was merely a 20-second segment of silence (a statement of sorts on the times). To keep the integrity of the whole album - Caroline have included it here anyway.

THE DELLS were:

JOHNNY CARTER and VERNE ALLISON – Tenor Vocals

MARVIN JUNIOR and MICKEY McGILL – Baritone Voices

CHUCK BARKSDALE – Bass Vocals

Musicians:

Guitars – Phil Upchurch, Terry Callier and Patrick Ferreri

Trombones – John Avant and Morris Ellis

Trumpets – Arthur Hoyle and Murray Watson

French Horns: Ethel Merker and Richard Olberg

Piano – Charles Stepney

Harp – Edward Druzinsky

Bass – Sidney Simms and Phil Upchurch

Percussion – Morris Jennings, Sheldon Elias and Donny Simmons

Violins, Cellos and Violas – Various

In a sumptuous 16-page booklet – A. SCOTT GALLOWAY gives us superb liner notes that feature newly arranged interviews with surviving singer Mickey McGill as well as reminiscences down through the years from Callier, Wade and even Stepney himself. There's a great photo of Larry Wade with Terry Callier in 2000 looking like two elder statesmen of Soul – label repros of Side 1 and 2 for the Cadet CA 50004 LP as well as repros of the desirable Cadet/Checker US 7" singles for the two singles lifted off the album - "The Love We Had (Stays On My Mind)" b/w "Freedom Means" on Cadet CA 5683 (July 1971) and "It's All Up To You" b/w "Oh, My Dear" on Cadet 5689 (January 1972). It's really well done and gives genuine insight into facts around the songs and the recordings - insider info that was all but mystery only a few years ago.

But the big news is the Audio – a truly stunning NICK ROBBINS Remaster from original tapes. Nick has done literally hundreds of CDs for Ace Records of the UK and especially their beloved Kent-Soul imprint. This is a guy who knows his way around a Soul Record and a master box. The full lushness of Stepney's arrangements (there's fifteen players for Violins, Cellos and Violas in the booklet credits alone) and the other great musicians and their obvious skills is now in proper evidence. I had a few of these tracks on the Dells double-CD "Standing Ovation: The Very Best Of 1966-1988" from Universal in 2007 (see separate review) – they were remastered by the mighty Erick Labson and were uniformly stunning. But somehow, somewhere - Robbins has managed to wrench more. Fans of the album and Stepney-orientated material will love this.

Written by Wade, Stepney and Callier and somehow reflecting the heady days of blacks and whites finally coming together in some kind of shared bond - the album opens with the upbeat message song "Freedom Means". A spoken intro advises that speaking right out - finding space in time - working it all out together - is where it's at (man). The smooch vocals soon turn into a righteous groove with the little guitar flicks of Phil Upchurch subtly evident. Wade, Stepney and Callier song number two is the busy "Rather Be With You" - a love song with a pulse. Callier would return to the song almost two years later (as "I'd Rather Be With You") for release on his "What Color Is Love" album (Cadet CA 50019 in March 1973). Callier's later cut is a leaner version - his gorgeous voice carrying the melody yet again. The Dells version of "Rather Be With You" initially features the huge Bass lungs of Chuck Barksdale singing sexily into his lady's ears only to be joined by Bacharach type brass and the complimentary Tenor voice of Johnny Carter. It's a hugely romantic song and with Barksdale's deep timber has more than a shade of Brook Benton over on Atlantic Records.

Magic then wallops you in the proverbial goolies – the sensational "The Love We Had (Stays On My Mind)". Marvin Junior gets a lion's share of the passionate outbursts - but all five voices are up there harmonising like pros to make a sublime cohesive whole. This song alone makes the album five-stars and is surely one of the loveliest examples of Harmony Soul out there (the public took it to heart too over the months eventually putting it up to No. 8 on the R&B charts and even giving it a No. 30 placing on the normally resistant Rock and Pop charts). "One Less Bell To Answer" is the first of three cover versions - a Burt Bacharach and Hal David creation made famous by The 5th Dimension who put their version on Bell 940 on the No. 2 spot in late 1970. I have to say I'm not a huge fan of this overly busy song - or the Jacques Brel/Rod McKuen combo of "If You Go Away/Love Story" - the second cover on the LP. Both may have some reaching for the word 'cheese' and the remote control's forward button. Better is the very Terry Callier "It's All Up To You" which feels 5th Dimension but in a more genuinely joyful way.

Their 3rd cover is the David Gates Bread classic "Make It With You" which The Dells radically rearrange into a Funky Stroller with Brass. Galloway's liner notes reckon it's a rare misstep - but I love it better than the supposed wonder of that "Love Story" talking-schlock. But they fade into memory as I totally trip out on another fave-rave of mine  - the stunning groove of "Free And Easy" - where Phil Upchurch finally gets to shine for close on five minutes. The voices swing and sway and there he is - flicking away on the frets - complimenting the very 'California Soul' groove in the melody. Apparently Stepney had charts for Upchurch to play - but he also knew that the virtuoso guitarist liked to improvise and 'feel it' (like all great Jazzers) - so that's what he let Upchurch do (this is why so many musicians wanted to work with CS - he understood how to get the best out of them). The lead vocals are also just stunning - one for that cool 70ts Soul CD-R you need to impress pals with. "Melody Man" brings it home and the 20-seconds of "Freedom Theme" feels like an eerie ghost somehow trying to tell us something important from the past...a quiet and 'be still' moment...

Barksdale wisely commented once - "...God allotted Charles Stepney just so much time to be here...that was time exquisitely spent..."

Spend some of your cash on this exquisitely realised CD Reissue/Remaster. 

And well done to all at Caroline International and more from the criminally ignored Cadet/Checker labels purlease...