"On The Detroit Beat: Motor City Soul UK Style 1963-67" by VARIOUS (February 2019 UK Ace Records CD Compilation of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Sweet Thing..."

I must admit that when I copped the theme behind this 2019 Ace Records CD compilation (tuned-in and turned-on British lads and lassies and their 1963 to 1967 Blighty-released cover versions of Motown songs) - I wobbled a smidge on the basis that it would be boring or probably overly familiar (I'll already own much of it).

But compiler Tony Rounce and those sexually keen tastemakers over at Steele Road were already one step ahead of a musical Luddite like moi. Instead of taking the lazy but commercially more viable lets go for the "My Girl" and "Baby Love" biggest-hits route - Ace have dug in deep and unearthed overlooked moments of glory - one from Herbie Goins that TR even hypostasises might exceed the Motown original (and I think he's right). Here we get Chris Clark, Barrett Strong, The Monitors, Brenda Holloway, The Spinners, R. Dean Taylor and Carolyn Crawford as well as the to-be-expected Miracles, Marvin Gaye, Temptations, Supremes and the ever impressive Martha & The Vandellas who nab three slots.

In other words even though I have Stevie Winwood in The Spencer Davis Group doing a towering torch version of Brenda Holloway's "Every Little Bit Hurts" and the mighty Steve Marriott's throat-ripping take on "You Really Got A Hold On Me" with The Small Faces (like I suspect most Soul-Rock lovers do) - much of the others are new to me. UK obscuro acts like Truly Smith (now a school head-mistress) doing a (no pun intended) truly fab cut of the Smokey Robinson penned "My Smile Is Just A Frown (Turned Upside Down)" and Guy Darrell doing a long since forgotten Marvin Gaye B-side called "One Of These Days" are just the kind of talcum powder discoveries chaps like me like to make (there goes the kitchen lino again). This is a joyful listen all the way through and the choices exceedingly clever. As with-it DJs used to pronounce, let's get to the 'New Sounds Around'...

UK released Friday, 1 February 2019 (8 February 2019 in the USA) - "On The Detroit Beat: Motor City Soul UK Style 1963-67" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace Records CDTOP 1539 (Barcode 029667093422) is a 24-Track CD compilation of Remasters that plays out as follows (64:58 minutes): 

1. Mickey's Monkey - THE HOLLIES [Smokey Robinson & The Miracles cover, Mono, 1965 UK LP "Hollies" on Parlophone PMC 1261]

2. As Long As I Know He's Mine - JULIE GRANT [Marvelettes cover, Mono, 1965 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15884]

3. Money (That's What I Want) - THE UNDERTAKERS [Barrett Strong cover, Mono, 1963 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 15562] 

4. I Want A Love I Can See - JOHN LEYTON & THE LeROYS [Temptations cover, Mono, 1964 UK 7" single on HMV POP 1338]

5. Sweet Thing - GEORGIE FAME [Spinners cover, Mono, from the 1966 UK LP "Sweet Things" on Columbia SX 6043]

6. I'll Be Doggone - BILLY J KRAMER & THE DAKOTAS [Marvin Gaye cover, Mono, 1965 UK 7" single on Parlophone R 5362]

7. Two Lovers - LOUISE CORDET [Mary Wells cover, Mono, 1964 UK 7" single on Decca F.11875]

8. Shake Sherry Shake - BERN ELIOTT & THE FENMEN [Contours cover, Mono, 1963 UK 6-Track 7" EP single "Bern Elliott and The Fenmen" on Decca DFE 8561]

9. You've Really Got A Hold On Me - SMALL FACES [Miracles cover, Mono, on the 1967 UK LP "From The Beginning" on Decca LK 4879]

10. The Way You Do The Things You Do - ELKIE BROOKS [Temptations cover, Mono, 1965 UK 7" single on Decca F.12061]

11. I Want To Go Back There Again - BILL KENWRIGHT & THE RUNAWAYS [Chris Clark cover, Mono, 1967 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 8239]

12. When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes - DUSTY SPRINGFIELD [Supremes cover, Stereo, on the 1964 UK LP "A Girl Called Dusty" on Philips SBL 7594]

13. One Of These Days - GUY DARRELL [Marvin Gaye cover, Mono, 1965 UK 7" single on CBS 201806]

14. (Love Is Like A) Heat Wave - BEVERLEY JONES with THE PRESTONS [Martha & The Vandellas cover, Mono, 1964 UK 7" single on Parlophone R 5189]

15. No. 1 In Your Heart - HERBIE GOINS & THE NIGHT-TIMERS [The Monitors cover, Mono, 1966 UK 7" single on Parlophone R 5478]

16. Every Little Bit Hurts - THE SPENCER DAVIS GROUP [Brenda Holloway cover, Mono, 1965 UK 7" single on Fontana TF 530]

17. Stubborn Kind Of Fellow - THE ROULETTES [Miracles cover, Mono, 1964 UK 7" single on Parlophone R 5218]

18. You're My Remedy - HELEN SHAPIRO [Marvelettes cover, Mono, first released 1998 on the Various Artists CD compilation "At Abbey Road 1961-1967"]

19. No Good Without You - THE BIRDS (featuring Ron Wood) [Marvin Gaye cover, Mono, 1965 UK 7" single on Decca F.12257]

20. My Smile Is Just A Frown (Turned Upside Down) - TRULY SMITH [Carolyn Crawford cover, Mono, 1966 UK 7" single on Decca F.12373]

21. Never Leave Your Baby's Side - TONY JACKSON [Martha & The Vandellas cover, Mono, April 1966 UK 7" single on CBS 202069]

22. Let's Go Somewhere - BERYL MARSDEN [R. Dean Taylor cover, Mono, 1966 UK 7" single on Columbia DB 7888]

23. In My Lonely Room (Mono Single Version) - THE ACTION [Martha & The Vandellas cover, Mono, 1965 UK 7" single on Parlophone R 5354]

24. Shotgun - CILLA BLACK & SOUNDS INCORPORATED [Jnr. Walker And The All Stars cover, Stereo, a 1965 George Martin produced outtake from her first LP that first appeared on the April 2012 "Completely Cilla: 1963-1973" 5CD/1DVD Box Set on EMI 5099960283221]

All Tracks MONO except Tracks 12 and 24, which are STEREO

The 24-page booklet is the usual feast of publicity photos, bun haircuts, trade adverts, British demo singles (Louise Cordet's "Two Lovers" on Decca F.11875 graces the rear inlay beneath the see-through CD tray), the rare Bern Elliott EP, a foreign picture sleeve for "No Good Without You" by The Birds with a moody looking Ron Wood contemplating four or five decades in The Rolling Stones and so on. TONY ROUNCE pours on the facts and figures and it makes for a fascinating read - while the hugely experienced Audio Engineer NICK ROBBINS did the mastering - all of it sounding bright and Mono breezy.

An upbeat Julie Grant gives it some bobba-loo and doesn't care if the sun doesn't shine 'cause her baby's true in "As Long As I Know He's Mine" while The Undertakers get suitably graveyard-gritty with a boss version of Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)". The brass arrangements in George Fame's "Sweet Thing" and the 'really saying something' sway is the very definition of what a great cover should be - you can just see the dancefloor fill ten seconds into its joyful groove.

Dusty does her bopping drama thing on "When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes" (fab photo of la Springfield on Page 13 giving it some shimmy for the camera) while The Roulettes get yeah-yeah-yeah on "Stubborn Kind Of Fellow" informing their intended that they’ve plans for their kisses. The Truly Smith cut is fantastic Northern Soul stuff and an inexplicable flop when it was first released in 1966 – her voice expressive and yet innocent like so much of those 60ts chanteuses were. Tony Jackson and his Phil Spector-huge production on "Never Leave Your Baby’s Side" is another ribcage destroyer while "In My Room" by The Action reeks of a classy British response to magical black music.

There is so much more on here, but I’ll leave that for you to discover – and once again Ace nail it – top job boys...

"Dead Bees On A Cake" by DAVID SYLVIAN (October 2018 Virgin/UMC UK 2LP 180-Grams Black Vinyl Reissue with 4 Bonus Tracks and Digital Download Code) - A Review by Mark Barry...

October 2018 2LP 'Black Vinyl' Reissue - Black Sleeve Artwork

"...Praise..."

When the album "Dead Bees On A Cake" was released by David Sylvian towards the tail end of March 1999 on compact disc (Virgin CDV 2876) - vinyl wasn't the order of the day. Man how things change...

The first LP outing for his 9th solo album (after fronting Japan in the 80ts) came in April 2018 on White Vinyl as a 2LP-set with four Bonus Tracks and altered artwork - Virgin 671 524-6 (Barcode 602567152460). A Record Store Day exclusive, the 'white' front cover featured photos of Sylvian hugging his then wife Ingrid Chavez, both in white shirts (she took the classy snaps).

What we have here is technically a reissue of that. For this October 2018 2LP Expanded Edition 'reissue' on 180-Gram Black Vinyl (standard coloured vinyl for the first time) - Virgin 671 524-3 (Barcode 602567152439) takes the hugging pose and flips it over to the rear sleeve (this time in black coats) and puts a face-profile photo of just Sylvian on his own (in black) on the front along with a 'hype' sticker.

The running order for both issues of the double-album (over the CD) has also been altered with four Bonus Tracks slotted in - "The Scent Of Magnolia", "Albuquerque (Dobro #6)", "Cover Me With Flowers" and "Aparna and Nimisha (Dobro #5)" - all of which first appeared as DB outtakes on the October 2000 Virgin Records 2CD retrospective "Everything & Nothing".

For those of us used to the playing order of the 14-track 1999 CD - this 'Expanded Edition' 18-Track "Dead Bees On A Cake" double vinyl album is a shocker in that it feels so damn right - the extras having made an already great album even better. For instance the CD ran "I Surrender", "Dobro #1" and "Midnight Sun" as the first three tracks - here a brilliant "The Scent Of Magnolia" slots in as Track 2 and works magically - like it was always meant to be there. 

The same applies to the newly configured Side B with the Up-period Peter Gabriel-ish "Cover Me With Flowers". The playing with his children song "Aparna and Nimisha (Dobro #5)" is admittedly only one-minute long, but it's gorgeous nonetheless and acts as a fabulously delicate lead-in to the heavy-heavy "Pollen Path" track that now ends Side C. Here are the 2LP track details (* denotes Bonus Track)...

Side A:

1. I Surrender

2. The Scent Of Magnolia *

3. Dobro #1

4. Midnight Sun

Side B:

1. Cover Me With Flowers *

2. Krishna Blue

3. Albuquerque (Dobro #6) *

Side C:

1. Thalheim

2. Alphabet Angel

3. God Man

4. Cafe Europa

5. Aparna and Nimisha (Dobro #5) *

6. Pollen Path

Side D:

1. The Shining Of Things

2. Wanderlust

3. All Of My Mother's Names (Summers With Amma)

4. Praise (Pratah Smarami)

5. Darkest Dreaming

The new gatefold artwork is gorgeous, there are two inner sleeves with track-by-track musician credits (Ryuichi Sakamoto, Marc Ribot, Steve Jansen, Talvin Singh, Kenny Wheeler, Steve Tibbetts, Bill Frisell to name but a few) and the inner gatefold gives further recording and guest info. There is also a one-time Download Redeem Card with exclusive code to get your digital copy from The Sound Of Vinyl website.

I got my copy for twenty-two quid and it sounds beautiful – even something as quiet and serene as "Praise (Pratah Smarami)" is so sweet audiowise - the Mother Earth ethereal vocals of guest singer Shree Maa aching over a lone Sylvian guitar – his treated notes slipping in and out of the soundscape like shimmering water. The album ends on the equally peaceful stay tonight hold me close song "Darkest Dreaming" – an alternative sounds love song.

As a reissue, this is the way to go, beautifully done...

The artwork for the 1999 original CD issue of "Dead Bees..." on Virgin CDV 2876

"The Other Sides" by KATE BUSH (8 March 2019 UK Fish People 4CD Book Set - 2018 Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 319 Others Is Available In My

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Covering 1967 to 1977 - It Also Focuses On

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"...Be Kind To My Mistakes..." 

As a lifetime KB fan and having waded through all 4CDs of this odd caveat addition to last years two Remastered Box Sets – in all honesty I can't quite work out if "The Other Sides" is genius, exploitive knob or somewhere firmly in-between. But like so many of the devoted who've waited far too long for this kind of anthology - I'm probably going to settle for door number three - somewhere in-between. Unfortunately like last year's much-anticipated Kate Bush Remasters – it also has some niggling let downs too...

First up the hardback book is disappointingly slight and from the playing times I've provided below it doesn't take a Mensa Membership Card to work out that the music could easily have been put onto 2CDs without ruining the play lists and thereby halving its rather nasty overpriced cost.

It also seems that despite the review I did for the "Remastered Part 1" Box Set of seven albums (and many others too have said the same thing) - no one in camp KB or Fish People (her label) has picked up on the 'packaging' thing. This dullard looking release has four CD pouches in-between the hard-card book sleeve each with a photo we've seen before (two are the same) and the barest discography info on the rear of each slot. This is NO BOOKLET and absolutely no history as to where the tracks came from - across 4 discs! Bluntly you'll learn more from this review than you will from this pricey release. Then there are the typos - "Organon Mix" is misspelled as 'Orgonon' - "Experiment IV" was released in October 1986 and not a year earlier in 1985 - even the sticker on the front cover has the wrong reference number on it - type in its 0190295920173 supposed catalogue number and you'll be brought to the 2016 "Before The Dawn" live set (the correct number is 0190295568887) - making you wonder who proof-reads these releases.

Those moans aside, what does save things is the overall musical quality - 12" Mixes, B-sides and Cover Versions - some ordinary flipside fodder for sure, but others that are utterly magical and there's even one unreleased cut from her first recording sessions in 1975 with Pink Floyd's David Gilmour watching over proceedings - "Humming" on Disc 3. And the discs are themed too and very cleverly so, the 34-tracks running together as if they were four individual album plays that mostly work. Shame this retrospective is also missing those 'instrumental' B-side versions of "Running Up That Hill" and "The Sensual World" that fans have been after on digital for decades. But on the upside it has the tasty 2018 James Guthrie and Joel Plante Remasters (the duo of Audio Engineers who handled the Pink Floyd reissues) - very clean and fulsome. And musically, even die-hard KB space cadets will have forgotten just how good some of these soft-underbelly stragglers are. Let's get to the Experiments (XXX) IV...

UK released Friday, 8 March 2019 (15 March 2019 in the USA) - "The Other Sides" by KATE BUSH on Fish People 0190295568887 (Barcode 0190295568887) is a 4CD, 34-Track Themed Book Set of Rarities compiled from and using the 2018 James Guthrie and Joel Plante Remasters. It plays out as follows:

Disc 1 - 12" Mixes (30:43 minutes):

1. Running up That Hill (A Deal With God) (12" Mix) - August 1985 UK 12" single on EMI 12KB 1, A-side

2. The Big Sky (Meteorological Mix) - April 1986 UK 12" single on EMI 12KB 4, A-side

3. Cloudbusting (The Organon Mix) - October 1985 UK 12" single on EMI 12KB 2, A-side

4. Hounds Of Love (Alternative Mix) - February 1986 UK 12" single on EMI 12KB 3, A-side

5. Experiment IV (Extended Mix) - October 1986 UK 12" single on EMI 12KB 5, A-side

Disc 2 - The Other Side 1 (36:57 minutes):

1. Walk Straight Down The Middle - September 1989 UK CD single on EMI CDEM 102, Non-Album B-side to "The Sensual World"

2. You Want Alchemy - April 1994 UK CD single on EMI CDEMS 316, Non-Album B-side to "The Red Shoes"

3. Be Kind To My Mistakes - November 1989 UK CD single on EMI CDEM 119, Non-Album B-side to "This Woman's Work"

4. Lyra - Exclusive to the 2007 Soundtrack Album to the film "The Golden Compass", UK Decca 478 0207, features the Choristers of Magdalen College Choir, Oxford

5. Under The Ivy - August 1985 UK 12" single on EMI 12KB 1, one of two Non-Album B-sides on "Running Up That Hill..."

6. Experiment IV - Exclusive track from the October 1986 Best Of compilation LP "The Whole Story" on EMI KBTV 1 (Nigel Kennedy plays Violin) - was also a UK 7" single in October 1986 on EMI KB 5, A-side

7. Ne T'Enfuis Pas - November 1982 UK 7" single on EMI 5350, Non-Album B-side to "There Goes A Tenner"

8. Un Baiser D'Enfant - July 1983 French 7" single on EMI 50999 1 65152 7, Non-Album B-side to "Ne T'Enfuis Pas (Remix)"

9. Burning Bridge - October 1985 UK 12" single on EMI 12KB 2, one of two Non-Album B-sides on "Cloudbusting (The Organon Mix") - the other is "My Lagan Love" which is Track 4 on Disc 4

10. Running up That Hill (A Deal With God) 2012 Remix - Originally Promo-Only CD-R for the London 2012 Olympics, officially issued April 2013 as a UK/Europe 10" Picture Disc on Fish People FPSPD004 with "Walk Straight Down The Middle" (Track 1 on this Disc) as its B-side

Disc 3 - The Other Side 2 (32:28 minutes):

1. Home For Christmas - November 1993 UK 12" single on EMI 12EMP 297, Non-Album B-side to "Moments Of Pleasure"

2. One Last Look Around The House Before We Go - February 1990 UK CD single on EMI CDEM 134, Non-Album Instrumental B-side to "Love And Anger"

3. I'm Still Waiting - November 1989 UK CD single on EMI CDEM 119, one of two Non-Album B-sides to "This Woman's Work" - the other is "Be Kind To My Mistakes" - Track 3 on Disc 2

4. Warm And Soothing - November 1980 UK 7" single on EMI EMI 5121, Non-Album B-side to "December Will Be Magic Again" - for A-side see Track 9 on this disc

5. Show A Little Devotion - November 1993 UK CD single on EMI CDEM 297, Non-Album B-side to "Moments Of Pleasure"

6. Passing Through Air - recorded 1975 and Produced by Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, first released September 1980 as a UK 7" single on EMI EMI 5106, Non-Album B-side to "Army Dreamers"

7. Humming - recorded 1975, Previously Unreleased

8. Ran Tan Waltz - June 1980 UK 7" single on EMI EMI 5085, Non-Album B-side to "Babooshka"

9. December Will Be Magic Again - November 1980 UK 7" single on EMI EMI 5121, Non-Album B-side to "December Will Be Magic Again" - for A-side see Track 9 on this disc

10. Wuthering Heights (New Vocal) - Second Exclusive track from the October 1986 Best Of compilation LP "The Whole Story" on EMI KBTV 1 (the other is Track 6 on Disc 2) - was also one of the B-sides to "Experiment IV" UK 12" single released October 1986 on EMI 12KB 5

Disc 4 - In Others' Words (32:28 minutes):

1. Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time) - Elton John cover, December 1991 UK CD single on Mercury TRICD 2 (Davey Spillane on the Uilleann Pipes), paired with "Candle In The Wind" as a double A-side, "Rocket Man" was also featured on the 1991 "Two Rooms" EJ tribute compilation album on Mercury Records

2. Sexual Healing - Marvin Gaye cover, October 2009 UK CD single on EMI CDEM 674, Non-Album B-side to "King Of The Mountain"

3. Mna na hEireann - Traditional Irish ballad, translated as 'Women of Ireland', the track is exclusive to the May 1996 CD compilation "Common Ground - Voices Of Modern Irish Music" on EMI Premier PRMTVCD 1

4. My Lagan Love - Traditional Irish ballad, October 1985 UK 12" single on EMI 12KB 2, one of two Non-Album B-sides on "Cloudbusting (The Organon Mix)" - the other is "Burning Bridge" which is Track 9 on Disc 2

5. The Man I Love - Gershwin cover

6. Brazil (Sam Lowry's First Dream) - recorded 1985 for the Terry Gilliam movie "Brazil", released February 1993

7. The Handsome Cabin Boy - Traditional Irish ballad, February 1986 UK 12" single on EMI 12KB 3, one of two Non-Album B-sides, the other "Jig Of Life" is not featured here

8. Lord Of The Reedy River - Donovan cover, June 1981 UK 7" single on EMI EMI 5201, Non-Album B-side to "Sat In Your Lap"

9. Candle In The Wind – Elton John cover - see Track 1 on Disc 4

AUDIO - it could just be me but the sound on Disc 1 (which is essentially a "Hounds Of Love" extravaganza plus one) is weirdly off - like it lacks oomph - not like the album remasters which I reviewed in 2018. It could just be aging lugs, but there's a slightly muffled feel to them and I can't hear that Guthrie or Plante have improved much here. Not the same for the other 3 discs which sound just glorious - beautifully done and really clean. You wouldn't think the covers disc "In Others' Words" would make much of a listen but the combo of the EJ tracks and the Irish/Scottish ballads beside that Gershwin tune make for such a gorgeous listen - even if I never want to hear that "Sexual Healing" abomination ever again.

The new 1975 unreleased recording of "Humming" with Kate at a piano is professionally recorded (not dodgy demo quality), but is only mildly interesting in my opinion. I'd forgotten how moving songs like "I'm Still Waiting" and "Burning Bridge" are - and those early 7" single B-sides too. It's interesting that they've used the 1983 remix of the French language song "Un Baiser D'Enfant" (The Infant Kiss) rather than the untouched 1982 version. And absolutely everything around the magical "Hounds Of Love" album just reeks of brilliance – 12” mixes, B-sides etc.

To sum up - fans will have to own it and the uninitiated will have much to discover. Just wish it had a stronger impact for an artist of such import.

"Be Kind To My Mistakes" - Kate Bush asked of us in 1989. And if these are her throwaways, her lesser efforts, her brawler bits and bobs - well damn they’re good - and the fab lady's in my prayers with a wallop...