"Bedside Manners Are Extra" by GREENSLADE (November 2018 Esoteric Recordings 'Expanded Edition' CD+DVD Reissue and Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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PROG ROCK, PSYCH, AVANT GARDE...
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Covering 1967 to 1977 - It Also Focuses On

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"...Time To Dream..."

Whilst Thin Lizzy had its duel-guitar onslaught out front from 1974 onwards – British Prog Rockers GREENSLADE (who shared the musical landscape with the Lizzies around the same time) decided to forego guitars altogether and concentrate on two Keyboardists out front with a Bass Player/Singer and Drummer bringing up the rear.

The band had a huge musical history and pedigree that's worth elaborating on – leader and namesake Dave Greenslade cut his teeth with Chris Farlowe and The Fabulous Thunderbirds on their two Columbia Records albums in 1964 and 1966 only to then join up towards the end of that mercurial decade with Jon Hiseman and his fusion-art-rock outfit Colosseum. Greenslade contributed to their Vertigo Records debut "Valentyne Suite" (the label's November 1969 first LP on Vertigo VO 1), their second album "Those Who Are About To Die Salute You" on Fontana Records (also from 1969 - the band featuring Tony Reeves at this point) and their third record "Daughter Of Time" also on Vertigo Records in 1970 (Reeves had left but Chris Farlowe guested on some vocals). Dave is also on a final hurrah before the band disbanded with the 1971 live double "Colosseum Live". Second keyboardist Dave Lawson had done stints with Geno Washington and The Ram Jam Band, Avant Garde jazzers The Web for their third album "I Spider" in 1970 (issued on Polydor Records – the first two LPs were on Deram) who then morphed into the uber-cultish Samurai that issued a self-titled rarity in 1971 on the obscure Greenwich Gramophone Company Records label. Drummer Andrew McCulloch had bashed his kit for no less than King Crimson on their 1970 LP "Lizard" and later hit the tom toms for the revered CBS act Fields on their self-titled debut in 1971.

Formed in 1972 from the ashes/exits of/from all these other bands – the foursome supergroup GREENSLADE were also riding on the wave of Progressive Rock's growing popularity - a complicated musical force that had been storming both the UK and USA in those formative years of 1970, 1971 and 1972. After signing to the prestigious Warner Brothers label – their self-titled debut was released February 1973 complete with deriguere Roger Dean logo and suitably flashy gatefold artwork (script writing akin to the inner sleeve on Yes' "Close To The Edge"). The Greenslade four-handed-man logo was in fact thought up by Dave Greenslade (drawn by Dean) to reflect the two sets of hands playing the music out front.

The stage seemed set for success too. Those other Proggy giants Emerson, Lake & Palmer (also heavily leaning towards keyboards over guitars) had put their third platter "Trilogy" up at No. 2 in August 1972 on the UK LP charts and would do the same to "Brain Salad Surgery" in December 1973 on their own record label - Manticore Records. YES would put their triple-live "Yessongs" on the No. 7 spot in May of 1973 only to replace that with the four-sided double-album studio beastie that was "Tales From Topographic Oceans" in December - both hugely ambitious and highly unlikely Top Ten entries ("Tales From Topographic Oceans" went all the way to No. 1). In other words - 1973 was a massive year for Prog Rock both artistically and commercially.

I say all of this because despite the press giving our fine-feathered newcomers loads of coverage (six clippings from Melody Maker and NME adorn the 24-page booklet of their debut "Greenslade") and despite their obvious Progressive Rock appeal and backdrop - Greenslade weren't the commercial success they should have been. Of the four albums they did in their classic period between 1973 and 1975 - it was only their third and most sophisticated work "Spyglass Guest" from August 1974 that charted and even then at a lowly No. 34 for three weeks.

In many ways, Greenslade are a footnote in chart history now. That doesn't mean they aren't remembered with huge affection (they are) and on evidence of this exemplary and comprehensive reissue series from Cherry Red's 'Esoteric Recordings' - it's easy to hear why. This issue for their second platter originally issued late 1973 also comes with fab unreleased material – including rare visuals on Disc 2 now in the public domain at last. It's Time To Dream...here are the details…

UK released Friday, 30 November 2018 (7 December 2018 in the USA) - "Bedside Manners Are Extra" by GREENSLADE on Esoteric Recordings PECLEC 22654 (Barcode 5013929475441) is an 'Expanded Edition' 2-Disc Reissue (CD and DVD) offering a new remaster of their 1973 Second Album with Previously Unreleased BBC Audio and Video Bonuses on both discs and it plays out as follows:

Disc 1 CD (55:20 minutes):

1. Bedside Manners Are Extra [Side 1]

2. Pilgrim's Progress

3. Time To Dream

4. Drum Folk [Side 2]

5. Sunkissed You're Not

6. Chalk Hill

Tracks 1 to 6 are their second studio album "Bedside Manners Are Extra" - released November 1973 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 46259 (no US release). Produced by the four members of GREENSLADE (Engineered by Mike Bobak and Trevor White) - it didn’t chart USA.

BONUS TRACKS:

7. Time To Dream

8. Bedside Manners Are Extra

9. Pilgrim's Progress

BBC Radio One "Sounds Of The Seventies" Session recorded 31Oct 1973 (first broadcast 3 Dec 1973)

Disc 2 DVD (NTSC All Regions, 28 minutes - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED material)

1. Drowning Man

2. Temple Song

3. Mélange

Tracks 1 to 3 are a 1973 Warner Brothers Promotional Film called "Greenslade"

4. Pilgrim's Progress

5. Bedside Manners Are Extra

Tracks 4 and 5 recorded 20 November 1973 for the BBC TV program "The Old Grey Whistle Test"

GREENSLADE was:

DAVE GREENSLADE – Organ, Fender Piano, Mellotron, Clavinet, Harmonium, ARP Synths, Glockenspiel

DAVE LAWSON – Acoustic Piano, Fender Piano, Clavinet, ARP Synths, Soprano Saxophones. Gong, Bell Tree and Lead Vocals

TONY REEVES – Bass Guitars

ANDREW McCULLOCH - Drums and Percussion

A 90s issue out of Germany on Warner Brothers with basic artwork, a 2006 Wounded Bird issue in the USA with not much better and a 2009 better shot in Japan on Arcangelo that at least had a Remaster and a SHM-CD in natty repro artwork have seen their second studio album have a potted CD reissue history. But here in 2018 the UK finally gives it a Deluxe Edition fans can enjoy and access easily.

The three-way fold out digipak is the generic packaging for all three of these Esoteric Recordings 2-Disc GREENSLADE reissues – each picture disc in this case reflecting the original cover artwork by ROGER DEAN (front cover for both CD and DVD). The inner flap has the fourhanded logo painting by Dean that became an emblem for the band (reflecting two sets of keyboard players) and the reproduction values of the gorgeous original gatefold artwork are seriously well done (front and rear) - this is a handsome looking reissue.

The 20-page booklet too (helmed by noted writer and musicologist MALCOLM DOME) comes with new interviews involving Dave Greenslade, singer Dave Lawson and input too from artist Roger Dean - whilst the whole thing is compiled, researched etc by resident Prog expert and label head honcho MARK POWELL. All the colour snaps of the four boys playing live that adorned the inner gatefold along with the lyrics in Roger Dean script that came with the original Warner Brothers inner gatefold are present and accounted for. There's discussion of the band’s progress from the March 1973 self-titled debut to the 2pm to midnight recording and mixing process in July with the LP hitting the shelves in November. On the 20th of that month Blighty got to see Greenslade on the taste-making Old Grey Whistle Test (along with Man, Bees Make Honey and Kilburn and The High Roads) and as DG explains they were still changing structures in the songs. In short the booklet is beautifully laid out - both looking and feeling substantial.

As a firm fan fave this Remaster of "Bedside Manners Are Extra" (a title apparently suggested by the keyboard player’s then girlfriend and later wife) is a HUGE improvement over what has gone before – another fabulously clean and substantive Remaster from BEN WISEMAN who along with Paschal Byrne is Esoteric's go-to tape guy. Like most I've had the two Rhino/Edsel reissues these last few years that covered their first four albums (I reviewed the "Spyglass Guest/Time And Tide" twofer they put out in May 2011) – and whilst they were good – the audio here is a morning mist lifted off a muddied lake. Rehearsed and prepared in advance (the band’s motto) – you can hear the tight rhythm section so clearly – especially Andrew McCulloch whose drums seem to hover just beside the duelling keyboard whizzes as if they were an integral part of the overall soundscape and not just a rhythmic backdrop (very King Crimson in fact). To the music...

The debut and second LPs both came in 1973 (February and November) and by the time the band hit the studio in July – they had a Sympatico sound, a well-rehearsed pre-recording routine (practice, practice) and a sophistication that comes roaring off "Bedside Manners Are Extra" – a self-produced album. Side 1 opens with dancing synths, a Fender Rhodes and a Mellotron – like a steeplechase on keyboards. But it's the audio that thrills – those delicate Andrew McCulloch taps on the high hats now so clear.

The all-regions near 28-minutes DVD offers five tracks - first up is an amazing find in a three-song promotional film made by Warner Brothers to promote the March 1973 self-titled debut album. It lasts sixteen and a half minutes and is seriously grainy to begin with but soon settles down (the boys playing in Pye Studios in London). There they are, accomplished and Prog grooving alongside their Orange Amps with their frizzy long hair and a 69 teeshirt. During "Mélange" Bassist Tony Reeves gets to show what he can do mimicking almost exactly what he played on the album track (great stuff). Second comes a twofer from November 1973 recorded for Bob Harris' taste-making show "The Old Grey Whistle Test" (Man, Bees Make Honey and Kilburn and The High Roads were featured that week). Immaculate looking and sounding great (restored footage), the keyboard spreads have expanded to all sides of the two Daves and the entire band’s playing is even more Sympatico that before – Greenslade sounding not unlike ELP letting rip. Amazing stuff to see after all these years...

To sum up - I've always loved the sophistication of "Bedside Manners…" and this five-star 2-Disc reissue of that 2nd album obscurity should make sure it gets the musical reappraisal it deserves. The packaging is great, the booklet informative and cool looking, the audio a big improvement on what went before and that second disc of unreleased footage, a no-filler winner. Cool.

No doubt the fourth platter from 1975 "Time And Tide" will follow soon after - possibly in 2019. Once again Esoteric Recordings have delivered big time. This is the version of "Bedside Manners Are Extra" to buy - nicely done boys...

GREENSLADE - 2-Disc 2018 Reissues from Esoteric Recordings of the UK:

1. "Greenslade" (February 1973 UK Debut) – reissue released 28 September 2018 on Esoteric Recordings PECLEC 22645 (Barcode 5013929474543) – 2CD Remaster with Seven Previously Unreleased BBC ‘In Concert’ performances on Disc 2 (recorded January and April 1973)

2. "Bedside Manners Are Extra" (November 1973 Second Album) – released 30 November 2018 on Esoteric Recordings PECLEC 22654 (Barcode 5013929475441) – CD & DVD Remaster with Three Previously Unreleased BBC Sessions after the album on CD1 (recorded October 1973) and a Three-Song In The Studio Warner Brothers Promotional Film Recorded 1973 for the debut album along with a further two-song slot on "The Old Grey Whistle Test" (November 1973) on the Region Free DVD

3. "Spyglass Guest" (August 1974 Third Album) – released 26 October 2018 on Esoteric Recordings PECLEC 22647 (Barcode 5013929474741) – 2CD Remaster with Eight Previously Unreleased BBC Radio Sessions on Disc 2 (recorded November 1974)

"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 1" - Fabulous US TV Show - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Schlemiels!"

Best US TV Show You've Never Heard Of 

And Unfortunately as of December 2018 - either Season 1 or 2 Is

Still Not On DVD or BLU RAY Anywhere...

If you want laughs with brains and the best form of sexiness (breaking free from social and moral chains) - check out the stunning Season 1 of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" on Amazon (first aired Christmas 2017 with Season 2 airing now Christmas 2018).

A young Jewish mum living in New York in 1958 (a break out role for a luminous Rachel Brosnahan) discovers that she's a lot funnier than her cheating husband at the all-male world of stand-up comedy. She even gets arrested on her first drunken night behind the mike for lewd behaviour and is bailed out of jail the next morning by a broody ciggy-smoking, trench-coat wearing, upper-coming streetwise comedian who also doesn't give a monkeys if he offends the authorities - Lenny Bruce.

Although a character invention by the team who broiught you "Gilmore Girls", you can't help but feel that the very hip and modern Miriam 'Midge' Maisel is taken from real life experiences – a woman who wears face packs in bed at night and then washes them off in the morning and does her make-up and then re-enters the bed so her husband Joel (Michael Zegen) will think she is permanently a domestic goddess (which she is). Midge checks her long elegant 16" leg and even tinier waist measurement with a tape measure in front of equally concerned Jewish girlfriends and then logs the result diligently in a notebook so that her hubby is kept interested and stimulated should the procreating need arise. Both her parents (college professor Abe and mother/socialite Rosa Weissmann) and Joel's parents (canny but brutal businessman Moishe and his hysterical gotta-know-all-the-gossip wife Shirley Maisel) are equally pernickety and engage in motor-mouth dialogue that will have you gasping and chuckling every time they appear.

This is a very funny show - fantastically good stuff with the whole cast superb, the great writing regularly tapping into those Jewish quirks, witticisms and punchlines without ever being derivative or stereotypical (like Woody Allen firing on all sixes). And it's wonderfully politically incorrect too - unlike the strangulated "McMafia" program on the BBC that seemed dogged in every clichéd sentence by political correctness and poorly drawn out characters. Amazon's show "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" and its you-can't-help-rooting-for-her lead actress Rachel Brosnahan on the other hand was nominated for the 2018 USA Golden Globe Award for Best TV Series (Musical or Comedy) - and won for 'both' Best Series and Lead Actress...

After watching so many TV shows that only partially hit the mark, this will come as a blessed relief. My only gripe is that you can't get either a DVD or BLU RAY of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 1 or 2" on any region format anywhere (only promo DVD sets exist for Season 1 that are being auctioned on certain sites for lots of wonga).

A joy. And please, please, please ye digital dodgy types of entertainment - release this peach of a TV program on BLU RAY in 4K - you schmucks and schlemiels...

"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 2" keeps up the brilliance of 2017's Season 1 and is a 2018 Christmas TV treat - A Review by Mark Barry...

"No More Schlongs For My Wife Please!" 

Season 2 of "...Mrs. Maisel..." Keeps Up The Brilliance of Season 1…

Everything about this 10-part Season 2 of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" rocks - the money spent on the stunning sets and clothes (runs "The Crown" a close second for sheer sumptuousness), the witty and knowing rapid fire dialogue by a whole troupe of actors clearly having a blast and realizing they're into something special (something the public really likes too) and all of it so damn likeable in a 2018 television arena splattered with dystopian-world gore, murdered women and abducted children and other stuff that grips and impresses but ultimately leaves you feeling slightly soiled or in need of a shower.

While Rachel Brosnahan and Alex Borstein are mainlining every moment as the principal leads Miriam 'Midge' Maisel the Jewish housewife stand-up comedienne and her butch lesbian Manager Susie Myerson who is sleeping on the benches of the Gaslight Club in Greenwich Village because she can't afford NYC apartment rent (a street-fighter for her client's God-given genius and a foul-mouthed humour-machine that lifts up the screen every single time she appears) - the writers have smartly also upped the ante and screen-time for the parents on both sides of their nutty families. The truly fantastic Tony Shalhoub and Marin Hinkle as the adapting-to-a-new-world Jewish parents Abe and Rose Weissman (Midge's well-to-do Mum and Dad) bring on the chuckles in their cartloads – their huge dialogue passages like a great Woody Allen film firing on all sixes (there's a scene where Rose his wife has to paint a nude male model in a college art class and Abe’s pleading to the befuddled Dean of the school about art and nudity is hilarious – Abe’s fussing over a vacation to the Catskills where he uses miniature models to plan the packing down to the last cubic foot before they leave New York).

Over on Midges husband's side - Kevin Pollack and Caroline Aaron expertly play the deadpan Moishe and hyperactive-talkative Shirley Maisel (Joel's parents). Pass-remarking about Catholics and the second world war and constantly fretting over their children and the suitability of other people's families - they stash wads of dollar bills in secret locations (they like America but don't trust their banks) and then hand-write the whereabouts of these rubber-banded moneyballs on treasure maps that only they can read. A permanently hysterical mum, Rose Maisel suspects her son living at home may be gay because he has male friends over to his room that aren't married. Throw in Luke Kirby utterly electric as the legendary outlaw comic Lenny Bruce (getting arrested once again) and Bailey De Young as the fitness-husband-obsessed Imogene Cleary (Midge's best friend) and you've an inkling of the huge ensemble cast that quickly has you reaching for superlatives.

But coming through all of this is Michael Zegen as the much-maligned husband Joel who cheated on Midge in the first place thereby precipitating family carnage at every level in uptight late 50s New York - an ex husband now seriously regretting his mistake. As an actor usually playing a hood or an NYC spiv - Zegen has been around for years in huge TV shows like Girls, Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, The Walking Dead and has featured in many movies - but this is surely his breakthrough role. A character that at first you didn't like and wanted gone has morphed over the seasons into a stand-up guy who realises his extraordinary wife is a star and needs her space to shine and Zegen has to realistically get across his character's acceptance of that. As Joel Maisel slowly takes over the economic and physical mayhem that is his father's clothing business - the wit is upped - but more importantly so is the emotion and pathos (a scene where Midge phones Joel from a Paris payphone to try to salvage their marriage is both heartbreaking and rings true to the cruelty of life sometimes). Midge and Joel Maisel love each other and his stupid ego has cost them and their children badly and he will spend most of Season 2 realizing he has to win that back - even if handsome competition in the Catskills is already moving in on his gorgeous gal.

Part of the Amy Sherman-Palladino's school of comedy (she was behind "Gilmore Girls") - the zippy Jewish fun of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" and its first Season won over 15,000 Five-Star positives on Amazon.com alone and then went on after a slow burn realization to nab two Emmys at the beginning of 2018 - one for best comedy drama and one for its smart, funny and hugely-likeable lead - Rachel Brosnahan. And it is easy to see why – the writing in this US show is fantastic and enough to make any budding writer grin whilst at the same time feel just a tad envious. Thankfully episode after episode in Season 2 of "Mrs. Maisel" proves there is good telly out there that doesn't have to bludgeon you over the noggin or make you wretch.

For sure it won't be for everyone but like most I'm in love with this fabulous US TV show and I wish Amazon would put both seasons out soon on either DVD or BLU RAY so I could own them permanently because they're unavailable anywhere in the world at the moment as a hard copy on either format (apart for promo DVDs for the 1st season which have now become expensive auction site items).

In our loopy household and in the lead up to the 25th of December, we're valiantly resisting our inner binge impulses and trying (but mostly failing) to stagger episodes of Season 2 to 'one a night'. But one things for sure and like last year - "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" is going to be our top Xmas viewing once again.

Schlemiels rock and schlongs rule! Check out this smart and touching TV joy and as a wiser Irishman than I once said – "...Goodnight, and may your God go with you…"

"Living/True Stories And Other Dreams/Judith" by JUDY COLLINS - 1971, 1973 and 1975 US Albums on Elektra (October 2018 UK Beat Goes On Records (BGO) Compilation - 3LPs Remastered onto 2CDs) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Send In The Clowns..." 

This gorgeous-sounding 2018 twofer from Beat Goes On of the UK offers Judy Collins fans a tasty triple whammy - three of her most popular albums from the first half of the Seventies remastered onto 2CDs in proper style after years languishing in the Nineties and Naughties digital dust.

First up is, "Living", released late 1971 on Elektra Records which peaked at No. 64 on the Billboard Top 100, then "True Stories And Other Dreams" from early 1973 (peaked at No. 27 and was called just "True Stories" in the UK) and the one she’s probably most remembered for – the "Send In The Clowns" album simply called "Judith" from 1975.

Bolstered up by that mammoth-selling single – the album "Judith" was a real seller for her peaking at No. 17 in the USA but marking her biggest chart presence in the UK since "Amazing Grace" went to No. 3 in November 1970 – an impressive No. 7 on the UK LP charts. I can remember the power of that almost spiritual ballad in 1975 – its pained sadness seemed to be literally everywhere (Radio and TV) and many were moved to cover it for years to come. Here are the living details...

UK released Friday, 12 October 2018 - "Living/True Stories And Other Dreams/Judith" by JUDY COLLINS on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1352 (Barcode 5017261213525) offers 3LPs Remastered onto 2CDs and plays out as follows:

CD 1 (64:03 minutes):

1. Joan Of Arc [Side 1]

2. Four Strong Winds

3. Vietnam Love Song

4. Innisfree

5. Song For Judith (Open The Door)

6. All Things Are Quite Silent [Side 2]

7. Easy Times

8. Chelsea Morning

9. Famous Blue Raincoat

10. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues

Tracks 1 to 10 are her album "Living" - released November 1971 in the USA on Elektra EKS 75014 and January 1972 in the UK on Elektra K 42102.

11. Cook With Honey [Side 1]

12. So Begins The Task

13. Fisherman Song

14. The Dealer (Down And Losin')

15. Secret Gardens

Tracks 11 to 15 are Side 1 of the album "True Stories And Other Dreams" - released January 1973 in the USA on Elektra EKS 75053 and February 1973 in the UK on Elektra K 42132 as "True Stories".

CD2 (65:30 minutes):

1. Holly Ann

2. The Hostage

3. Song For Martin

4. Che

Tracks 1 to 4 are Side 2 of the album "True Stories And Other Dreams" - released January 1973 in the USA on Elektra EKS 75053 and February 1973 in the UK on Elektra K 42132 as "True Stories".

5. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress [Side 1]

6. Angel, Spread Your Wings

7. Houses

8. The Lovin' Of The Game

9. Song For Duke

10. Send In The Clowns

11. Salt Of The Earth [Side 2]

12. Brother, Can You Spare A Dime

13. City Of New Orleans

14. I'll Be Seeing You

15. Pirate Ships

16. Born To The Breed

Tracks 5 to 16 are the album "Judith" - released March 1975 in the USA on Elektra Records 7E-1032 and May 1975 in the UK on Elektra Records K 52019.

The card slipcase gives these BGO reissues a classy and luxurious feel whilst the 24-page booklet repro's all the album artwork including the lyrics for the "Judith" LP alongside new liner notes from noted writer and Music historian JOHN TOBLER. Releasing sixteen albums that reached the US charts between 1964 and 1982 alone (her career started in 1961) - Tobler is right to call Collins that most overused word - a legend. His notes go into her entire career so you don't actually get to the albums on hand until the last few pages, but its a fascinating read potted with loads of great observations and details.

But the big news has to be the new 2018 ANDREW THOMPSON remasters which make these already beautifully produced platters shine better than ever before. 

Her own tunes like "Fishermen Song" or "Secret Gardens" or the November 1971 single "Open The Door (Song For Judith)" flipped with her adaptation of a W.B. Yates poem put to music in "Innisfree" show her skills of a songwriter (it preceded the "Living" album on both sides of the pond). And as I rehear Joni's "Chelsea Morning", Jim Webb's "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress", Leonard Cohen's "Joan Of Arc" and "Famous Blue Raincoat" or Stephen Stills' "So Begins The Task" - all sat alongside Tom Paxton's "The Hostage", Danny O'Keefe's "Angel, Spread Your Wings" and even The Stones in "Salt Of The Earth" - you're also reminded of her uncanny ear for a tune - Judy Collins with her nose to the ground - covering contemporary songs of the day that would have legs long past their recent release dates. The three albums all sound great, lively and full of instrumentation filling your speakers - a very nice job done...

Beat Goes On have gotten awfully good at this sort of release and outside of an all-encompassing Rhino box set of her entire Elektra Records catalogue (something WEA artists like Joni Mitchell, Ry Cooder, Little Feat and America have all enjoyed) - BGO of England has provided Judy Collins fans with a steady stream of decent Remasters in quality presentation - and this you have to say is another winner. Tasty and then some...

"See/Search And Nearness" by THE RASCALS (September 2018 UK Beat Goes On Records (BGO) Compilation - 2LPs from 1969 and 1971 Remastered onto 2CDs) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 371 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

GET IT ON - 1971

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"...Carry Me Back..."

Having dropped the 'Young' moniker in 1968 for their fourth platter "Once Upon A Dream" (thereafter simply known as The Rascals) – the American band’s sixth and seventh albums (reissued here) were originally issued Stateside in December 1969 and March 1971 on Atlantic Records. But whilst the 'groovin' on a Sunday afternoon' troupe might have been trying to spread out artistically - commercially they were bombing in leaps and bounds.

Few now remember the slightly trippy "See" or "Search And Nearness" LPs - 1969's effort making No. 45 on the Billboard album charts whilst 1971's platter barely registered at No. 198 and then for only 1 week. In fact by the time "Search..." had come round (recorded late 1969 and into 1970) - the four-piece was down to three (Brigati left) and they would soon be signing to Columbia Records for "Peaceful World" - a supposed new start double-album released in the early summer of 1971 but one that again only registered mild public interest.

Neither of these final records for Atlantic were well received by the critics of the day – most saying the band was either languishing on their positive sunshine vibe of 1966 and 1967 that now sounded old hat in 1969 and 1971 or were offering too many styles on their new outings (Country Rock, Sunshine Pop, Psych and Jazz Rock are just some on platter number two alone) which conversely had the backwards effect of making them seem directionless and not expansive.

But Rascals fans see "See" or "Search And Nearness" differently – liking them precisely because of the stretching-out and the range of genres. For instance, my particular poison is a truly stunning Jazz Fusion Rock instrumental called "Nama" which ends Side 1 of "Search And Nearness" (written by the drummer Dino Danelli). Its 5:34 minutes of Keyboards, Saxophones and Drum solos would make most people double-take if they were shown the authors of such a piece as being by 'The Rascals'. Sounding not unlike War meets Billy Cobham meets Earth Wind And Fire – the band of "Good Lovin'" or "Groovin'" are absolutely unrecognisable here.

Availability-wise too both albums have been hard to find on deleted CD for years now - so this card-slipcase September 2018 Double-Disc Remaster by England’s Beat Goes On is a welcome addition to their increasingly impressive reissue catalogue (even if some will feel that this is a five-Star reissue of three-Star material – which it is). So coming to a digital nirvana portal near you - here are the all-seeing all-enlightening details...

UK released Friday, 21 September 2018 - "See/Search And Nearness" by THE RASCALS on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1357 (Barcode 5017261213570) offers two albums (1969 and 1971) Remastered onto 2CDs and plays out as follows:

CD1 "See" (42:12 minutes):

1. See [Side 1]

2. I'd Like To Take You Home

3. Remember Me

4. I'm Blue

5. Stop And Think

6. Temptation's 'Bout To Get Me

7. Nubia [Side 2]

8. Carry Me Back

9. Away Away

10. Real Thing

11. Death's Reply

12. Hold On

Tracks 1 to 12 are their sixth studio album "See" - released December 1969 in the USA on Atlantic SD 8246 (Stereo only) and in the UK on Atlantic 588 210. Produced by THE RASCALS - it peaked at No. 45 on the US LP charts (didn't chart UK).

THE RASCALS for "See" were:

FELIX CAVALIERE – Keyboards (Organ, Piano), Lead and Backing Vocals

GENE CORNISH – Guitar, Lead and Backing Vocals

EDDIE BRIGATI – Percussion, Lead And Backing Vocals

DINO DANELLI – Drums

Guests:

Chuck Rainey – Bass on all tracks except...

Ron Carter – Bass on "Nubia" and "Carry Me Back"

Hubert Laws – Flute on "Nubia", Danny Labbate – Soprano Sax on "Nubia"

CD2 "Search And Nearness" (38:44 minutes):

1. Right On [Side 1]

2. I Believe

3. Thank You Baby

4. You Don't Know

5. Nama

6. Almost Home [Side 2]

7. The Letter

8. Ready For Love

9. Fortunes

10. Glory Glory

Tracks 1 to 10 are their seventh studio album "Search And Nearness" - released March 1971 in the USA on Atlantic SD 8276 and in the UK on Atlantic 2400 113. Produced by THE RASCALS - it peaked at No. 198 in the USA (didn't chart UK).

THE RASCALS for "Search And Nearness" were:

FELIX CAVALIERE – Keyboards (Organ, Piano), Lead and Backing Vocals

GENE CORNISH – Guitar, Lead and Backing Vocals

DINO DANELLI – Drums

Others:

Eddie Brigati (left the band during recordings) – Lead Vocals on "You Don’t Know", "The Letter" and "Fortunes" (Felix Cavaliere Lead on all others)

Ron Blanco – Bass on Track 4

Chuck Rainey – Bass on Tracks 1, 2, 5, 7 and 9

Howard Cowart – Bass on Tracks 3, 6, 8 and 10

Joe Newman (Trumpet) with Joe Farrell and Seldon Powell (Saxophones) on "Nama"

David Brigati – Backing Vocals

The Sweet Inspirations – Backing vocals on "Glory Glory"

Cissy Houston and Tasha Thomas – Backing Vocals on "I Believe"

The card-slipcase adds the reissue a classy/luxurious look - Mojo contributor CHARLES WARING does his usual bang-up job with the liner notes gamely describing some of the not-so-brill songs with imaginative adjectives - whilst the big draw will be new 2018 ANDREW THOMPSON Remasters. I've always found the band's own productions a tad clumsy - panning the three vocalists between the speakers like a badly recorded Three Dog Night - but there's no doubt to my ears of the improvement. Even when the guitars are fuzzy and the vocals bucket-deep, the overall stereo imaging is great and at last there's really power to the rhythm section. These CDs are upgrades and contain real oomph on recordings that needed it.

Lead Vocalist and founder member Felix Cavaliere came up with 8 of the 12 compositions on "See" – guitarist Gene Cornish proffering "Remember Me" and "Away Away" - while "I’m Blue" is a co-write between FC and Eddie Brigati - leaving only a lone cover of the Soul masterpiece "Temptation’s ‘Bout To Get Me" – a James Diggs song made a hit by The Knight Brothers in 1965 on Checker Records. Despite its yeah-man image of a silhouette dove on the front cover – the album seemed more full of short songs trying to be hits rather than messages of love and racial integration. Atlantic has issued "Carry Me Back" as a lead-in 45 in August 1969 with the album cut "Real Thing" as its flipside and it reached a respectable No. 26 on the Billboard 100.

They covered The Box Tops hit "The Letter" on "Search And Nearness" LP – a gorgeous gatefold sleeve on original release (the rear child-face artwork is the inlay beneath the CD trays whilst the front cover is the front page of the 16-page booklet). They psych it up although not perhaps as brilliantly as one would hope – but there is not doubt of their passion for the huge social changes taking place in the USA in the opener "Right On" – sort of Three Dog Night does inequality with a Norman Whitfield groove.

For sure not everything here is going to be worshipped from afar, but I can't help think that the second LP especially has stuff worthy of rediscovery and even an occasional rant ("Nama" baby - you heard it here first). Yes its 3-star material, but man what a 5-star presentation of it. Well done to all involved...