"What’s That Sound? Complete Albums Collection" by BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD (June 2018 Atco/Rhino 5CD Box Set of 2017 Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...A Field Day..."

The July 2001 "Buffalo Springfield Box Set" (reissued October 2013 in smaller packaging but with the same 88-song compliment – see separate review) seemed at the HDCD time to be the last word on this iconic 60ts American band – a four-disc behemoth with the guts of all three albums and wads of previously unreleased – even offering an Alternate Version of that notorious 1966 first album rarity "Baby Don't Scold Me".

But that was 16 years ago and the latest remastering skills has prompted another go round with Neil Young (who oversaw these transfers) now saying that these 2017 John Hanlon/Chris Bellman versions are the best yet and offer long-suffering fans far superior audio to anything that has gone before (and there's a Vinyl version too). And on the evidence of what I'm hearing here – Canada's most stately curmudgeon is right yet again because nowadays you really 'can hear Clancy sing'. There's a ton of detail to wade through, so here goes into the hour of not-quite-rain...

UK released 28 June 2018 (29 June 2018 in the USA) - "What’s That Sound? Complete Albums Collection" by BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD on Atco/Rhino R2 566970 (Barcode 603497860678) is a 5CD Box Set of 2017 Remasters in Mini LP Repro Artwork that plays outs as follows:

CD1 - "Buffalo Springfield" Mono

Originally US issued December 1966 Debut Album on Atco 33-200 (Tracks 1 to 12, see Notes)

2017 Remastered 13-Track Version (see Notes) on Rhino R2 33200M (36:02 minutes)

Side 1:

1. Go And Say Goodbye [Stephen Stills song]

2. Sit Down I Think I Love You [Stephen Stills song]

3. Leave [Stephen Stills song]

4. Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing [Neil Young song]

5. Hot Dusty Roads [Stephen Stills song]

6. Everybody's Wrong [Stephen Stills song]

Side 2:

7. Flying On The Ground Is Wrong  [Neil Young song]

8. Burned [Neil Young song]

9. Do I Have To Come Right Out And Say It [Neil Young song]

10. Baby Don’t Scold Me [Stephen Stills song]

11. Out Of My Mind [Neil Young song]

12. Pay The Price [Stephen Stills song]

13. For What It’s Worth

CD2 "Buffalo Springfield" Stereo

Stereo Remix Version of the Debut Album originally US issued March 1967 on Atco SD 33-200A

2017 Remaster on Rhino R2 33200 (32:59 minutes):

Side 1:

1. For What It’s Worth [Stephen Stills song]

2. Go And Say Goodbye [Stephen Stills song]

3. Sit Down I Think I Love You [Stephen Stills song]

4. Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing [Neil Young song]

5. Hot Dusty Roads [Stephen Stills song]

6. Everybody's Wrong [Stephen Stills song]

Side 2:

7. Flying On The Ground Is Wrong  [Neil Young song]

8. Burned [Neil Young song]

9. Do I Have To Come Right Out And Say It [Neil Young song]

10. Leave [Stephen Stills song]

11. Out Of My Mind [Neil Young song]

12. Pay The Price [Stephen Stills song]

NOTES ON THE DEBUT: Buffalo Springfield's self-titled debut album has a tangled history on both vinyl and now CD too – so here goes. Originally released 6 December 1966 on Atco 33-200 in Mono and Atco SD 33-200 in Stereo – the first version had 12 songs – six to each side as per Tracks 1 to 12 above on CD1. However, recorded the day the LP was released (6 December 1966) and then issued for the Christmas market 23 December 1966 on Atco 45-6459 with "Do I Have To Come" as the flipside - the band's most famous song "For What It's Worth (Stop, Hey What's That Sound)" changed everything for the group. With accumulating radio play -18 February 1967 saw the anti-war song enter the US Billboard singles chart and slowly became a huge commercial and political hit – eventually peaking at No. 7 and staying on the American hit parade for almost three months. Such was the power of the song and its identity with Buffalo Springfield – Atco decided to reissue the debut album with that song given prominence (Track 1 on Side 1). "Baby Don't Scold Me" from the December 1966 version was dropped from the new 21 March 1967 Mono and Stereo mixes and the track-run altered also. The album was remixed by the band into MONO and re-released as Atco 33-200A (Mono) and Atco SD 33-200A (Stereo). The second (and band preferred) 12-track version has been used ever since.

Now there's a third variant here in this June 2018 Five-Disc Box Set - the song "For What It’s Worth" added on at the end of Side 2 as a 13th track for completion purposes. There has never been a 13-track "Buffalo Springfield" album until now - so that configuration is exclusive to this Box Set which is also available as a American VINYL variant on Atco/Rhino R1 566970 (Barcode 603497860661) issued 29 June 2018 as a limited edition of 5000 copies.

However, if you want to configure the March 1967 12-Track Mono version from CD1 use the following tracks:

Side 1: Tracks 13, 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6

Side 2: Tracks 7, 8, 9, 3, 11 and 12

Eagle-eyed fans will notice that the STEREO version of "Baby Don’t Scold Me" included on the original December 1966 LP but not on the March 1967 reissue is NOT on CD2 as a Stereo Bonus. It’s never been issued in true Stereo anywhere in the world on any CD and the reason still remains something of a mystery that not even this new box set clears up (this also makes the secondary title 'Complete Albums Collection' inaccurate).

CD3 "Buffalo Springfield Again" Mono

Second Album originally US issued October 1967 on Atco 33-226

2017 Remaster on Atco/Rhino R2 33226M (33:58 minutes):

Side 1:

1. Mr. Soul [Neil Young song]

2. A Child's Claim To Fame [Richie Furay song]

3. Everydays [Stephen Stills song]

4. Expecting To Fly [Neil Young song]

5. Bluebird [Stephen Stills song]

Side 2:

6. Hung Upside Down [Stephen Stills song]

7. Sad Memory [Richie Furay song]

8. Good Time Boy [Richie Furay song]

9. Rock & Roll Woman [Stephen Stills song]

10. Broken Arrow [Neil Young Song]

CD4 - CD3 "Buffalo Springfield Again" Stereo

Second Album originally US issued October 1967 on Atco SD 33-226

2017 Remaster on Atco/Rhino R2 33226 (34:01 minutes):

Same Tracks as CD3

CD5 - "Last Time Around" Stereo

Third and Final Studio Album US released July 1968 on Atco SD 33-256 in Stereo Only

2017 CD Remaster on Rhino R2 33256 (33:39 minutes)

Side 1:

1. On The Way Home [Neil Young song]

2. It's So Hard To Wait [Richie Furay and Neil Young song]

3. Pretty Girl Why [Stephen Stills song]

4. Four Days Gone [Stephen Stills song]

5. Carefree Country Day [Jim Messina song]

6. Special Care [Stephen Stills song]

Side 2:

7. The Hour Of Not Quite Rain [Richie Furay/Micki Callen song]

8. Questions [Stephen Stills song]

9. I Am A Child [Neil Young song]

10. Merry-Go-Round [Richie Furay song]

11. Uno Mundo [Stephen Stills song]

12. Kind Woman [Richie Furay song]

AUDIO:

Re-mastered by JOHN HANLON in 2017 (with Neil Young) and then Mastered by CHRIS BELLMAN at Bernie Grundman Mastering - these new versions are amazing in terms of fidelity. You'd have to say that the bulk of the work appears to have been on the first two albums in MONO - but I'm a fan of that last patchy album and these new STEREO mixes are rocking my 'Carefree Country Day' with a vengeance.

OK, you can and should argue that the missing "Baby Don't Scold Me" track in Stereo is yet another disappointing AWOL scenario - but I like the five separate discs forcing me the listener to take the album's as they were (are). It's admittedly a tad odd to hear "For What It's Worth..." at the tail-end of the "Buffalo Springfield" debut instead of as Track 1, Side 1 like we've been used to all these decades down the line. But 13-track-version or no - the AUDIO is so damn clear and alive.

The Stereo mix for "Sit Down I Think I Love You" has brighter guitar and the combo vocals sound glorious - the Salsa shuffle rhythm section and Stills vocals of "Pretty Girl Why" is superb too on the 3rd LP and the wall of fuzzed guitars that is "Bluebird" is almost too much (what a tune). That Phil Spector epic feel to Young's "Expecting To Fly" where the drums and strings seem like they're in a very far away cathedral now has a tighter hold - beautiful song beautifully transferred. The acoustic guitar on Furay's gorgeous "Sad Memory" is intimate as is his Fred Neil vocals. The opening cut "On My Way Home" from the 3rd LP was missing from the 2001 remasters - so it's cool to have an upgraded version of that too.

Do I miss the stunning long-version of "Bluebird" from 1973 double-album retrospective - or the Take 1 Demo of "Baby Don't Scold Me" that appeared on Disc 1 of the 2001 "Box Set" 4CD retrospective - hell yes. Can't help thinking that a sixth CD gathering up album outtakes might have been nice ("Neighbor Don't You Worry") - but that would I suppose have diluted the purity of the albums as presented.

The single card inlay with Neil Young liner notes repeating his 'this version is superior to any pre-existing version' five times in a row (for each LP) is almost childish in its laziness. But despite niggles - it's all about the MUSIC and the AUDIO - and the makers of "What's That Sound?" have nailed it. True believers will need both "Box Set" and this - newbies should dive in and learn what all the fuss was about.

"...There's something happening here..." - Stephen Stills sang on the monumental "For What It's Worth..." - vocalising what was on young people's minds in the mid 60ts. 

They carried a sign for this one and so should you...

"Darkness, Darkness" by PHIL UPCHURCH - July 1972 US 2LP Studio Set on Blue Thumb Records (March 2008 Japan-Only Universal/Geffen SHM-CD Remaster in a Jewel Case) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…Inner City Blues…"

Chicago-born session guitarist Phil Upchurch had put out two albums on Cadet Records - "Upchurch" in 1969 and "The Way I Feel" in 1970 - when he then signed to Tommy LiPuma's new label - Blue Thumb. "Darkness, Darkness" was his debut for that record label and is quite rightly considered by many to be a masterpiece of Jazz-Funk and Soul.

Produced by Phil Upchurch and Tommy LiPuma - it was originally issued as a 2LP set on Blue Thumb Records BTS 6005 in July 1972 in the USA and then subsequently on Island/Blue Thumb Records ILPS 9219 in the UK.

There are two variants of the Japanese CD. First up is a 27 June 2001 standard CD jewel case edition on MCA/Universal UICY-3308 (to locate it use Barcode 4988005272263). It is not a SHM-CD but was cut using the 'Rubidium Atomic Clock' Process and sounds beautiful too (I also have that issue). But what makes this 2008 reissue 'sing' is the new 24-bit remaster combined with the Super High Materials format on which it's pressed (a SHM-CD in industry lingo). The sound quality on this disc is superlative - a truly gorgeous Audio Transfer and a very real advert for what this 'best of the best' format can do. Here are the details for that issue...

Released 5 March 2008 in Japan – "Darkness, Darkness" by PHIL UPCHURCH on Universal/Geffen UICY-93418 (Barcode 4988005506979) also comes in a 5" Mini-LP card sleeve that reproduces the original gatefold artwork front and rear - and has an OBI (different to the 2001 issue) and outer cellophane protective wrap with the SHM-CD sticker. It breaks down as follows (67:06 minutes):

1. Darkness, Darkness [Youngbloods cover, Jesse Colin Young writer]

2. Fire & Rain [James Taylor cover]

3. What We Call The Blues [Phil Upchurch song]

4. Cold Sweat [James Brown cover]

5. Please Send Me Someone To Love [Percy Mayfield cover]

6. Inner City Blues [Marvin Gaye cover]

7. You've Got A Friend [James Taylor cover]

8. Love & Peace [Arthur Adams song]

9. Sweet Chariot [Traditional Song cover]

10. Sausalito Blues [Phil Upchurch song]

PHIL UPCHURCH - Lead Guitar

ARTHUR ADAMS - Rhythm Guitar

JOE SAMPLE of THE CRUSADERS - Keyboards on Tracks 1, 2

DONNY HATHAWAY - Keyboards on Tracks 3 and 10

BEN SIDRAN - Organ on Track 8

CHUCK RAINEY - Bass

HARVEY MASON - Drums On All [except DON SIMMONS on Track 4]

As you can see from the track list and musician credits above, it's heavy on cover versions of the time (the title track itself is written by Jesse Colin Young of The Youngbloods) and the sessions featured the cream of musicians in the field. It was also engineered by Bruce Botnick of Elektra Records production fames (The Doors, MC5 and Love).

Musically - if you were to give "Darkness, Darkness" a comparison - it's "Breezin'" by George Benson and "Free As The Wind" by The Crusaders (both from 1976) - only 5 years earlier. Each track is a jazz-guitar-driven instrumental with a very funky and soulful feel. The quality of songs is also uniformly excellent, even if "Fire & Rain" can sound at times a little like The Shadows doing a cheesy cover version. The two Upchurch originals are superb especially the slow BB King feel of "What We Call The Blues". The playing standard is exceptional - and the warmth of the remaster only accentuates that. It's a joy to listen to - it really is. The title track "Darkness, Darkness" was written by Jesse Colin Young of The Youngbloods and picked up before Upchurch had a go by English Rockers Mott The Hoople who did a cover of it on their "Brain Capers" LP on Island Records in 1971. You can so hear why both like it as a song - it swings and grooves. Other faves include a Jazz-mellow cover of the old Percy Mayfield classic "Please Send Me Someone To Love" and a neck-jerking Funk-guitar work out of Marvin Gaye's wonderful What's Going On album finisher "Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler)". Ben Sidran slinks about on the Organ for the Arthur Adams cover of "Love & Peace" – another fab groove and something that sounds 2016 and not 1971.

On the SHM-CD format "Darkness, Darkness" is presently a Japan-only release - and is already deleted, so it will therefore cost you to acquire it - but it's so worth it if you can. If you want a less pricey but equally worthy variant - there is also a May 2014 Higher Plane CD Reissue of the album out of the States on Higher Plane HIPE5502.2 (search Barcode 0639857550224 for that release).

Any guitar player who was the principal sideman to such soul luminaries as Jerry Butler and Curtis Mayfield has got to be up there. Superb stuff and big time recommended...

PS: His second LP for Blue Thumb - "Lovin' Feeling" from 1973 - was also reissued in 2008 on the SHM-CD format on Geffen UICY-93419. 

And at a budget level on the 'Chess Best Collection' Standard CD Series out of Japan - 1969's "The Way I Feel" and 1969's "Upchurch" (with Charles Stepney and Donny Hathaway) were both reissued 27 August 2014 on Universal/Cadet UICY-76555 and Universal/Cadet UICY-76556 (Barcodes 4988005840202 and 4988005840219 respectively). Unfortunately neither is reported to have been remastered and present only so-so sound...

"Upchurch" by PHIL UPCHURCH (August 2014 Japan-Only CD Reissue on Universal/Cadet as part of the 'Chess Best Collection' Series) - A Review by Mark Barry...

...Badly Mastered - Dubbed From Vinyl Most Likely...

I'm a huge Charles Stepney fan - the arranger, producer, songwriter and driving force behind the Cadet Records label - Chess's offshoot for Soul and more Avant Garde material.

I own the Japanese SHM-CD of Upchurch's meisterwerk "Darkness, Darkness" - a double-album from 1971 Remastered onto one CD. That disc is virtually Audiophile in its sound quality – a blast - unfortunately - not so here.

"Upchurch" is the album that preceded "Darkness, Darkness" - released Stateside mid 1969 on Cadet Records LPS-826 as a 10-Track LP in Stereo.

1. Black Gold [Side 1]

2. America

3. As You Said

4. You Wouldn't, You Couldn't Be True

5. Cross Town Traffic

6. Adam And Charlene [Side 2]

7. Spinning Wheel

8. Voodoo Chile

9. More And More

10. Midnight Chile

Uncharacteristically the normally solid 'Chess Best Collection' CD Reissue Series out of Japan is poorly represented here on this 2014 reissue. It's clear the album has been mastered from a clean record but you can still here the distorted edges of the notes - never more so than on the awful beginning of the Hendrix cover "Voodoo Chile" with scratches aplenty. And as other buyers have pointed out - someone has edited out the beginning of the epic "Black Gold" Side 1 opener - reducing the Charles Stepney penned track from 4:31 minutes on LP to 4:16 minutes on CD. And given that Stepney layered 36 players onto the track (strings and singers) - being a vinyl dub - it feels terribly cluttered and overly harsh too audio-wise. To the CD release itself...

Japan-only released 27 August 2014 on Universal/Cadet UICY-76556 (Barcode 4988005840219) - "Upchurch" by PHIL UPCHURCH is also budget priced (part of the Chess Best Collection series) so can be bought for about twelve quid including P&P in the right places (35:05 minutes). The gatefold slip of paper that acts as an inlay repro's the front and rear artwork of the original 1969 Cadet Records sleeve - but the gatefold Japanese inlay inside that is in Japanese-only and tells you bugger all – not even mastering credits. The musicians are listed and for me one of the big draws here is DONNY HATHAWAY on Piano and the James Mack Singers giving it those "Black Gold" backing vocals.

So the disc sounds good - very good in places - his own "You Wouldn't, You Couldn't Be True" and Upchurch's cool Flute and Guitar take on Blood, Sweat & Tears "Spinning Wheel" - a sexy Rock groove written by the band's vocalist David Clayton Thomas that was adapted by many Soul Artists who heard the potential in the song. But his cover of Hendrix's "Cross Town Traffic" sounds terrible - distorted and out of joint. "As You Said" (a Cream cover from "Wheels Of Fire" penned by Jack Bruce and Pete Brown) doesn't fare much better but Don Juan Mancha's "More And More" is excellent. 

For the price it's not a bad buy and there's no other CD on the market even in 2018. But we can only hope that someone like Hip-O Select or Cherry Red has a go at the Stepney output - Box Set and Individual Releases? For those who must have it - I'd advise a listen first if possible...

Misery As A Tax Loss - "All The Money In The World" (A Review of the Film by Mark Barry)...

"...Misery As A Tax Loss..."

All The Money In The World

It's possibly not going to win me a 'man of the year' award by saying this - but as good as Christopher Plummer is in "All The Money In The World" (he got Oscar nominated for his work but lost out to Sam Rockwell for his astonishing performance in "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri") - you can't help thinking that the disgraced Kevin Spacey was the right first choice for the lead role and would have rocked this sucker with a creep-inducing vengeance (he probably did, if the footage ever gets out there).

As it is - "All The Money In The World" is a strangely interesting but ultimately frustrating and empty watch. The world’s first billionaire John Paul Getty Sr. (as played by Plummer) was such an unbelievable prick and money-miser that at the beginning of the movie the makers decided to put in a warning/advice note – 'most of what you're about to see is true'. The inference is obvious - such was Getty Sr.'s almost psychotic dispassion towards even his own flesh and blood in mortal peril - you have to be told that what you're about to see actually happened. Worse - as it trundles along and the gore and sell-outs start to pile up - your loathing of this greedy penny-pinching tyrant begins to crush any empathy you have with the victim and his awful story. After a while you just want someone (anyone) to shoot that sickening man and shame him globally - but it appears 'money' did all the talking then and you worry, still does.

It's beautifully filmed of course and the cast (Michelle Williams, Mark Wahlberg, Romain Duris and Charlie Plummer especially as the tortured John Paul Getty III) are exemplary - but again this is yet another unsatisfying Ridley Scott movie and I'm glad I gave it a whirl at only £1.99 because that's all it deserves. 

"Den Of Thieves" is a hundred times more entertaining as an actioner and if you want a brain-fest with a cracking cast lapping up utterly brill dialogue and clever plotting then Aaron Sorkin's "Molly's Game" is a better port-of-call...