"Forever Young" by REGGIE YOUNG (May 2017 Ace Records CD) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Soul Love..."

In December 2017 - Missouri's Reggie Young will be a sprightly 81 - and its odds on that you've never heard of the guy. Or have you?

Revered as one of 'the' classiest of finger-picking sessionmen across an astonishing six decades and a long-time associate of Waylon Jennings Touring Band and go-to guitarist for Memphis songwriting cool types like Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham - this elegant axeman's US singles resume alone is a list so damn long that I could be here for days. But check out these as tasters...and note how many are Soul classics or Rock-Soulful in their nature...

The Dark End Of The Street - JAMES CARR (1966, Goldwax Records 317)

The Letter - THE BOX TOPS (1967, Malo Records 565)

Skinny Legs And All - JOE TEX (1967, Dial Records 4063)

Memphis Soul Stew - KING CURTIS (1967, Atco Records 6511)

Cry Like A Baby - THE BOX TOPS (1968, Mala Records 593)

Hooked On A Feeling - B.J. THOMAS (1968, Scepter Records SCE 12230)

I'm A Midnight Mover - WILSON PICKETT (1968, Atlantic Records 2528)

Son Of A Preacher Man - DUSTY SPRINGFIELD (1968, Atlantic 2580)

Angel Of The Morning - MERRILEE RUSH and THE TURNABOUTS (1968, Bell 705)

Memphis Underground - HERBIE MANN (1969, Atlantic 2621)

Sweet Caroline (Good Times Never Seemed So Good) - NEIL DIAMOND (1969, Uni 55136)

Holly Holy - NEIL DIAMOND (1969, Uni Records 55175)

In The Ghetto - ELVIS PRESLEY (1969, RCA Victor 47-9741)

Suspicious Minds - ELVIS PRESLEY (1969, RCA Victor 47-9764)

Kentucky Rain - ELVIS PRESLEY (1970, RCA Victor 47-9791)

Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues - DANNY O'KEEFE (1972, Signpost SP-70006)

Drift Away - DOBIE GRAY (1973, Decca 33057)

I Can Help - BILLY SWAN (1974, Monument ZS8 8621)

Cajun Moon - J.J. CALE (1974, Shelter SR-40238)

Cocaine - J.J. CALE (1976, Shelter SR-62002)

The list above is only scratching the surface so the pedigree is there for sure - but what's the album like? "Forever Young" is seven Soul-Rock instrumentals - all guitar based with sweet keyboard fills and tasty brass additions. Think Phil Upchurch's "Darkness, Darkness" from 1972 (all funky guitar instrumentals), Dan Penn's "Do Right Man" album from 1994 but minus the vocals, or John Mayer's more soulful playing, Clapton's class in the last two decades or an all instrumental J.J. Cale album done as he approaches his twilight years - and that's what "Forever Young" sounds like (39:37 minutes).

1. Coming Home To Leipers Fork

2. Memphis Grease

3. Soul Love

4. Seagrove Place

5. It's About Time

6. Exit 209

7. Jennifer

Young's playing is slyly understated – never overly flashy – just right - you could even call it chill-out George Benson Soul. The 20-page booklet features liner news from the legendary COLIN ESCOTT that includes an interview with the great man (Clapton name-checks Young as one of the great players). Across the pages and beside photos of 3614 Jackson High Studios – you get fascinating reminiscences about his extraordinary career and contributions to so many memorable songs as well as insights into the solo album that took him the whole of his life to get together. So why the four stars instead of five?

While the sexy groove of the opener "Coming Home To Leipers Fork" will undoubtedly seduce you and smooth-as-silk "Soul Love" make you think the man is 30 and not 80 – Young’s first solo album is not all great and a few of the five-to-six-minute cuts simply amble rather than ignite. You keep wishing "It's About Time" and "Seagrove Place" for instance had more in them tune-wise other than sweet playing - and both could have lost those cheesy keyboard punches that sound like something from a decade best forgotten. But the last two songs - the hip and funky "Exit 209" and especially the ballad "Jennifer" (dedicated to his wife who also plays Cello on tracks 1, 2, 4 and 7) are utterly superb - oozing class - beautiful picking - and sweetly recorded too with all the warmth the songs deserve.

UK released 26 May 2017 - "Forever Young" by REGGIE YOUNG on Ace Records CDCHD 1500 (Barcode 0029667079822) is not quite the masterpiece it seems to think it is - but when it's good it's properly gorgeous - a sweet Soulful Guitar instrumental CD that I can't seem to keep out of my player (sublime moments ahoy).

Congrats to one of the greats and all at Ace Records for getting it and his staggering legacy out there...

"Montrose" by MONTROSE - December 1973 US Debut Album on Warner Brothers featuring Ronnie Montrose and Sammy Hagar (October 2009 UK Rock Candy 'Remastered and Reloaded Collector's Edition' CD Reissue) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Good Rockin' Tonight..."

A full-page advert in the 1 December 1973 issue of the Billboard Trade Magazine announces to the USA and an unsuspecting world that MONTROSE is a new band on Warner Brothers Records and 'you'll be hearing from them...' Well the 'new' part was right at least...

"Montrose" took over half a year to register and even when the debut album did chart Stateside – it was with a whimper rather than a scream – a reaction that belies its monster reputation for being the real beginning of American Heavy Metal. With a staggeringly naff front and back cover depicting our heroes in naked torso pose (the second album "Paper Money" later in 1974 takes first prize for possibly the worst cover ever made – the next two that followed weren't much better either) - the blistering Ted Templeman-produced Hard Rock sonic assault of the self-titled "Montrose" on Warner Brothers BS 2740 has influenced Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Motorhead and every uber-polished American Rock Band ever since – Van Halen especially.

So why did it tank initially? Talk was that not only did Warner Brothers not know what to do with Montrose or how to market them – they didn’t care because they had all the Rock Gods they needed in The Doobie Brothers and Deep Purple who were selling product in cartloads. And despite touring with huge acts like Humble Pie, The Who and Lynyrd Skynyrd where Montrose would invariably slaughter all in their path when they played (there's a centre page double-photo spread of them at the UK's Charlton Athletic Football Stadium supporting the likes of Bad Company and The Who in May 1974) – the band struggled to translate that excitement into actual record sales. The LP wouldn't arrive in the UK until March 1974 on Warner Brothers K 46276 – and despite its audiophile Production values and two singles that most other Rock Bands would chop up Granny for ("Rock The Nation" and "Bad Motor Scooter") – it didn't chart.

In hindsight the LPs initial damp-squid reaction was strange especially given that the amazing hard-hitting radio-friendly riffage of "Montrose" had arrived in a world where Led Zeppelin's "Houses Of The Holy" had gone to No. 1 and ZZ Top, Joe Walsh, Uriah Heep, Edgar Winter, The Allman Brothers Band, Spooky Tooth, The Rolling Stones and Mott The Hoople (all kick-ass Rock acts) largely dominated the album charts. It would take until the 11th of May 1974 for the album to hit the US Top 200 and then it only managed a peak of No. 133 and an overall 12-week run.

But history has proven our deaf ears wrong and Kerrang Magazine right (No. 4 in their Top 10 list of best Metal albums ever) because the record has now taken on an almost mythical air - some even suggesting that its the greatest Hard Rock album ever made (I don't know about that but it's up there). Which brings us to this 'Rock Candy' CD reissue of 2009 (the label literally taking its name from their song on Side 2) that is a first CD reissue for the UK and Europe. Here are the bad motor scooters...

UK and Europe released 19 October 2009 (re-issued July 2011) - "Montrose" by MONTROSE on Rock Candy CANDY062 (Barcode 827565000289) is a straightforward transfer of the 1973 eight-track album on a 'Remastered & Reloaded Collector's Edition' CD that plays out as follows (32:16 minutes):

1. Rock The Nation [Side 1]

2. Bad Motor Scooter

3. Space Station No. 5

4. I Don't Want It

5. Good Rockin' Tonight [Side 2]

6. Rock Candy

7. One Thing On My Mind

8. Make It Last

Tracks 1 to 8 are their debut album "Montrose" - released December 1973 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2740 and March 1974 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 46276. Produced by TED TEMPLEMAN and Engineered by DONN LANDEE - it peaked at No. 133 in the USA (didn't chart UK). "Rock The Nation" written by Ronnie Montrose, "Bad Motor Scooter" and "Make It Last" by Sammy Hagar, "Space Station No. 5" and "I Don't Want It" by Ronnie Montrose and Sammy Hagar, "Rock Candy" by Montrose, "One Thing On My Mind" by Hagar, Montrose and J. Sanchez and finally a cover version of the Roy Brown hit "Good Rockin' Tonight".

MONTROSE was:

SAMMY HAGAR – Lead Vocals

RONNIE MONTROSE – All Guitars

BILL 'THE ELECTRIC' CHURCH – Bass

DENNY CARMASSI – Drums

The 16-page booklet features an enthusiastic and hugely entertaining 4000-word essay on the band and the album's history by BRIAN BRINKERHOFF (Ronnie's stints with Van Morrison) that’s peppered with live photos and contributions from founder members Ronnie Montrose and Bassist Bill Church. Not surprisingly both musicians sing the praises of and hold huge affection for the dynamic audio duo of Ted Templeman and Donn Landee (Producer and Engineer) with tales of clever pre-digital multiple-microphone placing, letting the band rip live in the studio and crawling around rooms with blankets to get that 'sound' the LP is famous for.

Speaking of audio - I've had the July 2005 American-only 24-Karat Gold "Montrose" HDCD for years to have the album in its best form - a Steve Hoffman Remaster on Audio Fidelity AFZ 028 (Barcode 780014202828) and it's a belter as you can imagine. There are also tracks from the LP on a Rhino "Best Of" CD in Remastered form that sound awesome too. The latest Rock Candy version from 2009 offers a new JON ASTLEY Remaster which is described as 'sound shaped from 24-bit digital tools via POW-r technology' - whatever that means. All I can say is that it this mother 'rocks' with the lewdness and swagger of Dave Lee Roth on steroids and the visceral punch of an irate mule with daddy issues. The album was always loud - but here it has power too - and not just trebled for the sake of it either - I love it.

Warner Brothers UK took the opener "Rock The Nation" and tagged on "One Thing On My Mind" onto the B-side in July 1974 (Warner Brothers K 16428) - but like the equally ass-kicking "Bad Motor Scooter" from April 1974 on Warner Brothers K 16382 (with the same flipside) - both 45s tanked.  Maybe they were just too much at the time - but re-listening to them now followed by that astounding power-riff in "Space Station No. 5" - it makes you wonder was it that truly cruddy artwork that put people off? Unsung album heroes come in the shape of "I Don't Want It" (just quit my job making tooth-picks out of logs) - the great fun-rock of "Good Rockin' Tonight" where Montrose take Roy Brown's 1949 "Rockin' At Midnight" and update it into a fantastic Rock raver. And while you could understand why they used the huge riff of "Rock Candy" in the movie "The Rose" as the helicopter flies over the concert crowd below - my real poison has always been the brilliant but simple Rock of "One Thing On My Mind" and the big-mickey swagger of "Make It Last".

Montrose managed three more albums on Warner Brothers (Ronnie did a solo record also in 1978) - their second platter "Paper Money" in particular having some decent tracks like "Underground" and "Connection" - but mostly the rest of their output felt like that initial album magic was gone. The debut would also lead maestro Producer Ted Templeman and genius Engineer Donn Landee to Eddie Van Halen and Dave Lee Roth and their band VAN HALEN where they collaborated to amazing effect on VH's first six albums - especially their equally explosive self-titled debut in 1978 (also on Warner Brothers). Montrose's original vocalist Sammy Hagar would of course join Van Halen's ranks in 1986 for "5150" and three other No. 1 albums after whilst Drummer Denny Carmassi would swell the pirate crews within Heart, Whitesnake and Coverdale/Page. Ronnie would helm his band Montrose for years - then join with Edgar Winter and Gamma - and in 2004 and 2005 he would bring the whole story full circle by joining the original four-piece of Montrose on stage with Sammy Hagar.

"The Pretenders", "Dire Straits", "The Clash", "The Cars", "Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers" - just some of the debut albums that took us all by storm. 

Well, 1973's "Montrose" is up there with the best of them and this Rock Candy CD reissue of it has done their huge and influential legacy proud...

CD Remasters of MONTROSE on Rock Candy Records

1. Montrose (December 1973 Debut LP) – 2009 CD on Rock Candy CANDY062 (Barcode 827565000289)

2. Paper Money (November 1974 2nd LP) – 2015 CD on Rock Candy CANDY278 (Barcode 5055300387462)

3. Warner Bros. Presents Montrose! (October 1975 3rd LP) – 2015 CD on Rock Candy CANDY279 (Barcode 5055300387479)

4. Jump On It (September 1976 4th LP) - 2015 CD on Rock Candy CANDY280 (Barcode 5055300387486)

"Songs From The Wood: 40th Anniversary Edition - The Country Set" by JETHRO TULL (May 2017 Parlophone/Chrysalis 3CD + 2DVD Reissue - Steve Wilson Remixes and Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Ring Out, Solstice Bells..."

Lavish and Loony are the words that come to mind.

I must admit by the time Tull's 10th studio album came out in February 1977 - my mind and musical interests were elsewhere. As I recall I bought the UK Chrysalis Records LP as an afterthought later that year and reckoned it was good rather than great. But my God this extraordinary 2017 five-disc reissue has made the country squire in me sit right back up and take notice (pass the jugs of mead boys).  Everything about this fan-pleasing '40th Anniversary Edition' Reissue is utterly exceptional and at an opening gambit of twenty-two pre Brexit quid represents genuinely good value for money in my manure patch. Time to ring out those Solstice Bells methinks...

UK and USA released Friday, 19 May 2017 - "Songs From The Wood: 40th Anniversary Edition - The Country Set" by JETHRO TULL on Parlophone/Chrysalis 0190295847876 (Barcode 0190295847876) is a 3CD + 2DVD Reissue and Remaster with Stereo and 5.1 Surround Remixes by Steven Wilson in a 96-page Hardback Book Pack that plays out as follows:

CD 1 (76:55 minutes):

A Steven Wilson Stereo Remix

1. Songs From The Wood [Side 1]

2. Jack-In-The-Green

3. Cup Of Wonder

4. Hunting Girl

5. Ring Out, Solstice Bells

6. Velvet Green [Side 2]

7. The Whistler

8. Pibroch (Cap In Hand)

9. Fire At Midnight

Tracks 1 to 9 are their 10th studio album "Songs From The Wood" - released 4 February 1977 in the UK on Chrysalis CHR 1132 and 21 February 1977 in the USA also on Chrysalis CHR 1132. Written and Produced by IAN ANDERSON - it peaked at No. 13 in the UK and No. 8 in the USA

Associated Recordings

10. Old Aces Die Hard - Previously Unreleased Studio Outtake (Take 3) recorded October 1976 (working title was "Dark Ages")

11. Working John, Working Joe - Previously Unreleased Studio Outtake (Take 5) recorded September 1976

12. Magic Bells (Ring Out, Solstice Bells)

Track 12 is a Studio Outtake recorded September 1976 - first appeared on the November 2016 "Ring Out, Solstice Bells" UK 7" double pack on Chrysalis CX 40 - a Record Store Day Limited Edition Reissue (2000 Copies only) with Different Tracks to the December 1976 UK 7" double-pack originally on Chrysalis CXP2.

13. Songs From The Wood (Unedited Master)

14. Fire At Midnight (Unedited Master - Previously Unreleased)

15. One Brown Mouse (Early Version - New Mix)

16. Strip Cartoon - non-album B-side to the UK 7" single for "The Whistler" released 4 February 1977 on Chrysalis CHS 2135

17. The Whistler - Original 1977 US Stereo Single Mix - released March 1977 in the USA on Chrysalis CHS 2135 (peaked at No. 59)

CD 2 - Live In Concert 1977 (Part One) – Mixed to Stereo by Jakko Jakszyk (52:09 minutes)

1. Wond'ring Aloud

2. Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of A New Day

3. Jack-In-The-Green

4. Thick As A Brick

5. Songs From The Wood

6. Instrumental

7. Drum Solo Improvisation

8. To Cry You A Song

9. A New Day Yesterday

10. Flute Solo Improvisation/God Rest Ye Merry gentlemen/Bouree

11. Living In The Past

CD 3 - Live In Concert 1977 (Part Two) – Mixed to Stereo by Jakko Jakszyk (59:49 minutes):

 1. Velvet Green

2. Hunting Girl

3. To Old To Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die

4. Minstrel In The Gallery

5. Cross-Eyed Mary

6. Aqualung

7. Instrumental Improvisation

8. Wind-Up

9. Back Door Angels/Guitar Improvisation/Wind-Up (Reprise)

10. Locomotive Breath

11. Land Of Hope And Glory/Improvisation/Back Door Angels (Reprise)

DVD 1 (Audio) - NTSC, Region 0 Coding (All Regions)

(i) Contains "Songs From The Wood" album with all associated recordings on CD1 except Tracks 13, 14 and 17 - Remixed to 5.1 DTS, AC3 Dolby Digital Surround Sound and 96/24 LPCM Stereo

(ii) "Songs From The Wood (Unedited Master)" and "Fire At Midnight (Unedited Master)" as 96/24 LPCM Stereo

(iii) The original 9-Track Album as 96/24 LPCM Stereo

(iv) Original Quad Mixes for "Songs From The Wood", "Jack-In-The-Green", "Velvet Green" and "The Whistler" with DTS 4.0 and Dolby Digital AC3 4.0 Surround Sound

DVD 2 (Audio/Video) - NTSC, Region 0 (All Regions)

(i) Jethro Tull live on video for almost two hours at the Capitol Centre, Landover MD, 21 November 1977 - Mixed to Stereo, 5.1 DTS and AC3 Dolby Digital Surround

(ii) Beethoven's Ninth (Original Audio)

(iii) Promotional Footage of "The Whistler"

Like all of these Jethro Tull Book Packs so far - the visuals are truly spectacular and put most other reissues from major labels firmly in the 'D' for dunce corner. A 96-page booklet attached to a Hardback Book Pack assaults your senses with essays and a memorabilia collection that borders on 'W' for worry. Using lyrics from the title track - Pages 8 to 51 start proceedings with a lengthy and definitive new set of liner notes entitled "Let Me Bring You..." It features reminiscences on the mythology surrounding the songs (Anderson living as a 'country squire' in the UK and how the set would be written in-between gigs and influenced by books he was reading whilst on the road), the record's launch, public and press reaction (good and bad) and the subsequent US Tour – all of which was told to MARTIN WEBB by principal band members Ian Anderson (Lead Vocals, Flute, Principal Songwriter), Martin Barre (Guitars and Vocals), David 'Dee' Palmer (Keyboards) and Barrie Barlow (Drummer).

The memorabilia stuff is amazing and exhaustive - Barrimore Barlow draped in suitable Tull attire in front of his kit for a full-page advert selling 'Rose-Morris Ludwig' Drums - differently designed Backstage Passes for Detroit, Toronto and Maryland's Landover (where the live gig on CDs 2 and 3 was recorded) - trade adverts for the album that played on the pun of trees - colour photos from the tour, the lyrics in suitably pretty script, repros of reviews, master-tape boxes, foreign picture sleeves, Chrysalis promotional photos, Dee Palmer's orchestration charts, a day-by-day tour date guide and finally interviews with Trevor White and Jakko Jakszyk about the 21st Century problems of remastering 1977 tapes with inherent audio faults (the live stuff). They've even got a photo of Morgan Studios and the mixing desk used.

But for most fans it will be the STEVEN WILSON Remixes and Remasters that draw. And once again his legendary empathy with Prog Rock and a mixing desk do his growing legend proud. I had the 2003 variant for a while but sold it and I honestly can't A/B this. But I'm thinking I don't need to because my ears are opened. The Acapella voices that begin "Songs From The Wood" are beautiful - the madrigal instruments that usher in the song so clear - those Prog Rock keyboard flourishes from John Evans and David Palmer are everywhere. "Jack-In-The-Green" is sensational - Anderson's slightly echoed vocals perfectly aligned with those acoustic strums - it sounds just huge. "Cup Of Wonder" is the same - the instruments alive and swimming in your speakers - amazing to think that this much musical complexity and precision was Take 1. Synth sounds open "Hunting Girl" which for me is the most Prog sounding romp on the LP - those rattling Barrie drums - that flanged guitar - now right up and in your face. You feel that Bass in the festive "Ring Out, Solstice Bells" - kitchen prose and gutter rhymes indeed. "Velvet Green" is probably the most impressive of tracks improvement-wise - that final Flute and Piano battle - those acoustic strums that hark back to "Living In The Past" Tull - brilliant. At 3:32 minutes and sporting a vaguely usable melody (treated vocals and a bop-Irish beat) - "The Whistler" was issued as a 45 in March 1977 and amazingly its Gordon Giltrap vibes pushed it all the way up to No. 59 on the US singles charts. The mad Prog guitars that open "Pibroch (Cap In Hand)" take no prisoners - floating in and out of the soundstage until they settle into a familiar Tull shuffle. The album ends on the ethereal drums of "Fire At Midnight" - so eccentrically Jethro Tull.

Fans will flip for the near nine-minutes of the Previously Unreleased "Old Aces Die Hard" - gorgeous acoustic guitars - brilliant vocals and choppy rhythms alternating between Folk and Prog. It's almost like an "Aqualung" outtake as the electric guitars build and build towards the end in a very Yes kind of way (nice touch to include the lyrics on Page 64). Someone sawing wood opens the second genuine outtake offered here - "Working John, Working Joe". Again it's shockingly good with fantastic guitar chops from Martin Barre – the character in the song waxing angry about how he slaves while others sloth - working thirteen hours when most work only eight. And as far as I know this is also the first CD appearance of the November 2016 Record Store-only 7" single track "Magic Bells (Ring Out, Solstice Bells") – a rarity in itself after less than a year in the vinyl marketplace. "Old Brown Mouse" is a great Anderson acoustic jangle and if it is 'probably a Demo' as the liner notes suggest – it's an amazingly accomplished one. Fans will appreciate the B and A-side singles of "Strip Cartoon" and "The Whistler" - both of which bring a near perfect CD1 to a close.

I suspect that some judicious editing was done on the two live CDs (not that I'm complaining) because they work so well thematically and the Audio is also shockingly good. Introducing every song with his customary witticisms and broad English squire voice - Ian Anderson opens proceedings by announcing himself as the support act 'Arnold Stirrup'. He then promptly thrills the crowd with a one-two of Acoustic goodies - "Wond'ring Aloud" and the US hit single "Skating Away On The Thin Ice Of A New Day". Even though the audience seems miles away if not entirely removed from the tapes - the band and the instrumentation feel live and in your living room - superbly cleaned up and with their playing prowess as impressive as ever - something that becomes very evident when they go into the complexities of "Thick As A Brick" (announced with a Led Zeppelin jab) and the Medieval Acapella beginning of "Songs From The Wood" (John Evans has Bronchitis so he’ll be crap Anderson teases). The same applies on Disc 2 with the "Aqualung" tracks "Cross-Eyed Mary" and "Wind-Up" eliciting frenzy. Jakko Jakszyk did the Stereo masters and Audio transfers and I think Tull fans will be licking their lips at the thought of "Bursting Out - Live" Part 2 – because that’s what this 100-minutes of primo JT feels like.

After the high of the three CDs - DVD 2 comes as a slight letdown. The Audio is the same top-notch job but the video is blurry (so very Seventies) and is best described as a really good bootleg rather than anything better than that. With his red bowler hat, half beard, acoustic guitar and mad bug eyes - Ian Anderson's witty ad-libs between songs suddenly start to make sense when you see what accompanied them - his band looking like a troupe of woodland gypsies that have gorged on too many wild mushrooms or extras from "One Flew Over The Cuckoo Nest". But the concert is great and it also allows you to pick three Audio options from the Menu - Stereo LPCM, DTS 5.1 Surround and Dolby AC3 5.1 Surround.

To sum up - Jethro Tull are very much a Marmite band - they engender true collector's passion amongst fans whilst others will develop a fatal Ebola rash at the mere mention of their Minstrel Name. But there's no doubting in my mind that like 'em or no - this is already a contender for 'Reissue Of The Year' 2017. Well done to all involved and please apply the same lavish lust to 1972's "Living In The Past" double-album - 45 years young this very year.

"...Let me bring you love from the field..." - Ian Anderson sang on the title track to "Songs From The Wood". Job done mate...

"One Step Beyond... - 35th Anniversary Edition" by MADNESS (October 2014 Salvo '35th Anniversary Edition' CD+DVD Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...The Heavy, Heavy Monster Sound..."

Ah the 'heavy heavy monster sound'. There are some LPs that make you grin from ear-to-ear just looking at them - "The Undertones" debut on Sire - "The Specials" on 2-Tone and that other sweaty beauty from 1979 - "One Step Beyond" by London's Madness on Stiff Records.

But what CD variant of their debut do you buy? Virgin have had two - a 1989 basic issue and a Remaster in 2000 - while Union Square stumped up a '30th Anniversary Edition' in 2009 that received mixed reviews. I'm going to argue that this 2014 '35th Anniversary Edition' on Salvo's Sound and Vision is the four-star one to get (some poorly recorded cassette tape rehearsals masquerading as Bonus Material on Disc one lose it a star).

You get new Remasters from the original quarter-inch tapes of the 15-track album as well as a further 14 Previously Unreleased Demo and Rehearsal Versions on Disc 1 (29 tracks in all) with 10 Videos over on Disc 2 - the non region-coded DVD. To compliment these is an upgraded digipak and booklet featuring new interviews with the men who were there - original Producer and Engineer Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. Overall it's impressively presented and exudes that sense of fun the band had. Here come the Night Boats To Cairo...

UK released 13 October 2014 - "One Step Beyond..." by MADNESS on Salvo SALVOSVX034 (Barcode 698458063427) is a '35th Anniversary Edition' CD + DVD Reissue and Remaster with Previously Unreleased material that plays out as follows:

CD (78:53 minutes):

Original Album

1. One Step Beyond... [Side 1]

2. My Girl

3. Night Boat To Cairo

4. Believe Me

5. Land Of Hope & Glory

6. The Prince

7. Tarzan's Nuts

8. In The Middle Of The Night [Side 2]

9. Bed And Breakfast Man

10. Razor Blade Alley

11. Swan Lake

12. Rockin' In A Flat

13. Mummy's Boy

14. Madness

15. Chipmunks Are Go!

Tracks 1 to 15 are their debut album "One Step Beyond..." - released October 1979 in the UK on Stiff Records SEEZ 17

Fab Toones! Rehearsal Tape, 1979

16. Nutty Sounds

17. Mistakes

18. Sunshine Voice

19. My Girl

20. Memories

21. Believe Me

22. Lost My Head

23. Razor Blade Alley

24. Land Of Hope & Glory

25. Mummy's Boy

26. In The Middle Of The Night

27. You Said

28. Stepping into Line

29. Bed And Breakfast Man

Tracks 16 to 29 recorded on a portable cassette recorder so sound quality varies.

DVD – NTSC, Region 0 (No Coding), Aspect Ratio 4:3 PAL, English

1. One Step Beyond... (Video)

2. Bed And Breakfast Man (Video)

3. My Girl (Video)

4. Night Boat To Cairo (Video)

5. One Step Beyond... ('Top Of The Pops' appearance 1979)

6. The Prince ('Top Of The Pops' appearance 1979)

7. My Girl ('Top Of The Pops' appearance 1980)

8. Bed And Breakfast Man ('Old Grey Whistle Test' appearance, 1979)

9. Night Boat To Cairo ('Old Grey Whistle Test' appearance, 1979)

10. "Young Guns" Documentary (BBC, 2000)

Tracks 5 to 10 are all BBC Recordings

MADNESS was:

SUGGS (Graham McPherson) - Lead Vocals

LEE 'Kix' THOMPSON - Lead Vocals, Tenor and Baritone Saxophones

MIKE BARSON (Monsieur Barso) - Keyboards

CHRIS FOREMAN (Chrissy Boy) - Guitars

MARK BEDFORD (Bedders) - Bass

WOODY 'Woods' WOODGATE (Don Woodgate) - Drums and Percussion

CHAS SMASH (Cathal Smyth) - Backing Vocals etc

The card digipak folds out into three flaps with both the CD and DVD see-through trays having that famous cover photo of the six dancing underneath each disc. Both sides of the inner sleeve that came with original British LPs is spread across two of the flaps - that collage of black and white Polaroids - the band - fans and friends - it's all here. The 16-page booklet is a cleverly laid out and pleasingly in-depth affair. Around the text we get all that black and white Madness/Stiff memorabilia that surrounded the band - buttons, shaped discs, picture sleeves, tour passes, 2-tone label bags, a Madness watch with the cover as a face dial, cassette tapes, different variant label repros of the LP and a very fetching Japanese 7" single picture sleeve of "One Step Beyond" with a different B-side to the British issue - "Tarzan's Nuts" (the UK copy has "Mistakes" - included here in Rehearsal form on Disc 1).

There are new May 2014 liner notes from music-lover and author STEVE CHICK that include reminiscences from Chrissy Boy (the Bass player) and Producer Clive Langer and Engineer Alan Winstanley. Clive tells of the band working all hours to get the album done - Lee Thompson a semitone out of tune but because his playing had great feel - they left it as is - and of course became part of their homemade rough 'n' tumble Carry On Up The Khyber sound. Although the sticker on the shrinkwrap assures us that a new remaster appears here - neither the digipak nor booklet confirm this. Yet to my ears the core album sounds brighter and more alive than it did on the 30th Anniversary issue I had. And there is more bottom end too which beefs up the audio without making it into loudness wars. Let's get to the music...

"...Hey You! Don't Watch That! Watch This! 

Move Your Feet To The Rockinest Sound Around!" 

How many of us have bopped to the brilliant opening declaration that is "One Step Beyond..." - quietly tearing up a dancefloor somewhere as worried older types looked on in muted suburban disapproval. They follow that corker of an opener with more wit - "...My girl's mad at me...she takes it all the wrong way..." - we sang along to "My Girl" - giggling like loons as we did the Monster Mash with our 2-tone badges and pencil ties. My memories of "Night Boat To Cairo" is a heaving dancefloor with half cut students, afterhours office types and leather-bound rockers all letting loose – abandoning the buffet and bar for the Saxophone joy of Madness Ska. Both the loafer on the sofa "Bed And Breakfast Man" and the school to your home danger of "Razor Blade Alley" all speak of social realities in 1979 – ordinary people trying to make it through life on the estate. The piano-instrumental Swan Lake cover lifts the spirit and is a hoot - but much better is the cup of tea and geezers bop of "Rocking In A Flat". Then it all ends on the Prince Buster cover of "Madness" that started it all when it was released as the B-side to their own composition "The Prince" - their debut UK 45 in August 1979 on 2-Tone – 60ts Ska alive and well in Putney and Camden Town.

It has to be said that the new unreleased "Fab Toones!" rehearsal material is very lo-fi and reflects a hissy cassette tape source (they clearly state on the packaging that the sound isn't state-of-the-art) – but once you get used to the less than stellar Audio then things like "Mistakes" and "Sunshine Voice" have a certain charm. But in truth I'm not sure how many will want to return to these no matter how much of a fan they are. The DVD disc is a far better value item and captures the sheer fun and street-savvy wit of this band in a way that the weedy cassette can't.

There is something wonderfully British-nutjob about Madness that has engendered them into the hearts of the music buying public - giving them a 40-year career that proves they are way more than a novelty act being fondly remembered here. Like The Undertones and The Clash and The Stranglers – their music grew and the singles only got better and better.

O.K. – those demos slightly let the side down for sure but the Remaster and the DVD more than make up for those shortcomings. 1979's "One Step Beyond..." is where it all started for MADNESS and I remember the album (as do so many others) with genuine tearful affection and this reissue (35 years on) has only brought that rock-steady beat back home again.

My girl's mad at me. No she's not Suggs...

"Graham Bonnet/No Bad Habits" by GRAHAM BONNET (2016 Cherry Red/HNE Recordings Ltd 2CD 'Expanded Edition' Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...It Ain't Easy When You're Going Down..."

Hindsight can be a great thing - or in the case of Lancashire's Graham Bonnet - a little bittersweet too. Before he joined the ranks of Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow as Lead Vocalist for their 1979 "Back To Earth" LP on Polydor Records (following the departure of Ronnie James Dio) - Skegness Hard Rocker Graham Bonnet made a failed bid in the late Seventies for the White Soul Boy market with two albums  - "Graham Bonnet" from 1977 on Ringo Starr's Ring O'Records and "No Bad Habits" – a 1978 Euro LP on Mercury.

Virtually ignored in Blighty – the albums and several singles off them were big however in Australia and Europe and in a very roundabout twist of fate - his rocked-up cover of The Shirelles hit "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" got him the Rainbow audition (and subsequently stints with hard rock bands like The Michael Schenker Group and Alkatraz). Blackmore wanted the singer to "Only One Woman" – a Bee Gees tune sung in 1968 on Polydor Records by Marbles. Bonnet was that vocalist. And that's where this twofer CD Reissue on HNE Recordings Ltd (part of England's Cherry Red) comes stomping in...

It has to be said that neither record is a gem by any stretch of the wildest imagination - and the while the new Andy Pearce Remasters for both LPs 'Rock' (as all his transfers do) - the bonus cuts on this double suffer from truly crappy sound never mind their utterly dismissible musical quality. The presentation is top notch though - so a case of oranges and lemons I'm afraid. Here are the habitual details...

UK released May 2016 - "Graham Bonnet/No Bad Habits" by GRAHAM BONNET on Cherry Red/HNE Recordings Ltd HNECD968D (Barcode 5013929916821) is an 'Expanded Edition' 2CD Reissue and Remaster offering two albums and 12 Bonus Tracks that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (63:09 minutes):

1. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue [Side 1]

2. Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?

3. Tired Of Being Alone

4. Wino Song

5. It Ain't Easy

6. Goodnight And Goodmorning [Side 2]

7. Danny

8. Sunday 16

9. Rock Island Line

10. Soul Seeker

Tracks 1 to 10 are his debut LP "Graham Bonnet" - released September 1977 in the UK on Ring O'Records 2320 103.

BONUS TRACKS:

11. Heroes On My Fortune Wall - Non-album B-side to "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue", a UK 7" single released June 1977 on Ring O'Records 2017 105

12. Goodnight And Goodmorning (Single Edit) - A-side to a UK 7" single released November 1977 on Ring O'Records 2017 110. The full album version is 5:31 minutes; the 7" single edit is 3:21 minutes

13. I Who Am I

14. The Loving Touch

15. Do What You Gotta Do (Demo)

16. It Ain't Easy (Demo)

17. You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling (Demo)

Track 12 is Previously Unavailable on CD

Tracks 13 to 17 are Previously Unreleased

Disc 2 (63:22 minutes):

1. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight [Side 1]

2. Won't You Join Me

3. Warm Ride

4. Is There A Way To Sing The Blues

5. Can't Complain

6. Givin' Up My Worryin'

7. Pyramid [Side 2]

8. Only You Can Lift Me

9. Stand Still Stella

10. High School Angel

11. Cold Lady

Tracks 1 to 11 are his second studio album "No Bad Habits" - released in the Netherlands in late 1978 on Mercury 6304 504.

BONUS TRACKS:

12. 10/12 Observation - Non-album B-side to the 7" single for "Warm Ride" - UK released March 1978 on Ring O'Records POSP 002 (2017 114)

13. Only You Can Lift Me (Single Edit)

14. Such A Shame

15. Warm Ride (12" Long Disco Version)

16. Warm Ride (12" Long Version)

Tracks 13, 15 and 16 are Previously Unavailable on CD

The 16-page booklet is packed with rare 7” single picture sleeves, period photos and typically great liner notes from noted writer MALCOLM DOME that include new interviews with Bonnet and Producer/Songwriter Pip Williams. The Remaster is carried out by one of my favourite Engineers ANDY PEARCE and MATT WORTHAM and the albums are great. But something's gone horribly wrong with the Bonus Tracks most of which sound like they were taken off a stretched cassette tape - horrible sound. You wouldn't mind if they were worth your time - they're not. Let's get to the core albums...

"Graham Bonnet" is seriously top-heavy with cover versions with only the weedy "Wino Song" and "Soul Seeker" being originals. Ring O'Records tried the Bob Dylan cover of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" as a UK 7" single in June 1977 before the album's release (it's non-album B-side is one of the Bonus Tracks on Disc 1 but in crap sound quality). It didn't take in England but became a huge hit in Australia. Some of the covers work - the amazing orchestration on the Soul-Rock of "Goodnight And Goodmorning" (a Hall & Oates song) and his rocking version of Ron Davies fabulous "It Ain't Easy" - a song Three Dog Night covered and called an album after and a tune most people know through David Bowie who covered it on "Ziggy Stardust" in 1972. It's one of the few places Snafu guitarist Micky Moody gets to shine. "Danny" first showed in Presley's "King Creole" movie in 1958 - but far better would have been Conway Twitty's version in the Sixties that changed the title (not the music) to "Lonely Blue Boy" - a song used to end a Mad Man episode (a sure sign of cool). Bonnet hams up the Rock 'n' Roll elements of "Danny" but his return to cod Rock 'n' Roll on Lonnie Donegan's "Rock Island Line" doesn't far any better either. The John Kongos track "Sunday 16" isn't anything memorable ("Jubilee Cloud" would have been better) and despite a fairly good Sax solo in Al Green's "Tired Of Being Alone" - his version just feels opportunistic rather than inspired. Perhaps with better song choices - the LP "Graham Bonnet" might have tapped into that Robert Palmer market but instead he comes across as a weaker version of Steve Gibbons. Still - those good tunes are great.

The second LP opens strongly on a radically re-worked "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" - a funky Rock jaunt through another Bob Dylan classic. His vocals are stronger too. "Won't You Join Me" begins a run of three John Kongos covers - the other two being "Pyramid" and "Only You Can Lift Me". England’s hottest hitmakers in 1978 The Bee Gees provided "Warm Ride" - but it's a turgid Disco-Rock song that's best left in Hades from whence it came. "Is There A Way To Sing The Blues" is the big ballad that half works. English eccentric John Otway becomes the unlikely recipient of a cover with "Can't Complain" - but it feels like badly recorded Elvis Costello. The Quo even get a look in on the identikit-sounding "Givin' Up My Worryin'" and Pip Williams rocks the LP to a close with "Cold Lady" - another love me or leave me alone tale of male woe.

Despite my reservations about those dreadful-sounding hissy extras (most should have been left in the can because they detract rather than add to this otherwise good reissue) - fans of the albums and Bonnet's great voice will want it. But for all others I'd advise a listen first...