"The Island Years" by JOHN MARTYN BOX SET (30 September 2013 UK Universal/Island 17CD/1DVD LP-Sized Box Set with Over 100 Previously Unreleased Tracks and New Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

"...If You Want To Ride A Rainbow...Come With Me..."

 

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JOHN MARTYN - "The Island Years" Box Set

There's a huge amount of stuff on this behemoth - so let's get to the details first...

 

"The Island Years" by JOHN MARTYN is a limited edition 17-CD/1DVD LP-Sized Box Set UK issued Friday, 27 September 2013 on Universal/Island Records 374 228-8 (Barcode 602537422883) and breaks down as follows:

 

The first 12" x 12" tri-gatefold sleeve contains:

Disc 1 (74:39 minutes): Tracks 1 to 12 are his debut album "London Conversation" issued October 1967 on Island ILP 952 in MONO ONLY. Tracks 13 to 24 are his 2nd studio album "The Tumbler" issued December 1968 on Island ILP 9091 in MONO and ILPS 9091 in STEREO (the Stereo mix is used here - the Mono Mix is still unavailable on CD). There are no bonus tracks on Disc 1.

 

Disc 2 (64:43 minutes): Tracks 1 to 10 are his 3rd studio album "Stormbringer!" issued February 1970 on Island ILPS 9113 in STEREO ONLY and credited to JOHN and BEVERLEY MARTYN. Tracks 11 to 17 are bonus tracks with 11, 12 and 13 being PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED Live At The BBC Recordings (with Beverley Martin).

 

Disc 3 (48:31 minutes): Tracks 1 to 9 are his 4th studio album "The Road To Ruin" issued November 1970 on Island ILPS 9133 and credited to JOHN and BEVERLEY MARTYN. Tracks 10 to 12 are bonuses, 10 and 11 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED BBC Recordings.

 

Disc 4 (77:33 minutes): Tracks 1 to 10 are his 5th studio album "Bless The Weather" issued November 1971 on Island ILPS 9167. Tracks 11 to 18 are bonuses, PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED ALTERNATE TAKES.

 

Disc 5 (58:03 minutes): Tracks 1 to 11 are called "Live At The Hanging Lamp 1972" - a PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED concert taped at "The Hanging Lamp" in Richmond, London, 8 May 1972.

 

Disc 6 (73:38 minutes): Tracks 1 to 9 are his 6th studio album "Solid Air" issued February 1973 on Island ILPS 9226. Tracks 10 to 18 are ALTERNATE TAKES PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED on CD.

 

Disc 7 (68:08 minutes): Tracks 1 to 10 are his 7th studio album "Inside Out" issued in October 1973 on Island ILPS 9253. Tracks 11 to 16 are Bonus Tracks. Tracks 11 to 14 are ALTERNATE TAKES PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED on CD, while 15 and 16 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED.

 

Disc 8 (76:12 minutes): Tracks 1 to 6 are his 1st live album "Live At Leeds" issued in September 1975 on Island ILPS 9343 (10,000 copies only). Tracks 7 to 11 are bonuses live tracks from 1986. Tracks 7, 8 and 9 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (recorded at Glastonbury Festival), 10 is PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED while 11 is PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED on CD (both recorded at The London Palladium).

 

Disc 9 (68:36 minutes): Tracks 1 to 11 are his 8th studio album "Sunday's Child" issued January 1975 on Island ILPS 9296. Tracks 12 to 17 are bonuses. Tracks 12, 13 and 14 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED ALTERNATE TAKES, Track 15 is an Alternate Take, Track 16 is PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED and Track 17 is PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED on CD.

 

The second 12" x 12" gatefold sleeve contains:

Disc 10 (67:41 minutes): Tracks 1 to 10 are "Live At The Town Hall, Sydney, Australia" - all tracks were recorded 11 August 1977 and are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED.

 

Disc 11 (73:35 minutes): Tracks 1 to 8 are his 9th studio album "One World" issued November 1977 on Island ILPS 9492. Tracks 9 to 14 are bonuses, all PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED ALTERNATE TAKES.

 

Disc 12 (66:55 minutes): Tracks 1 to 11 are "One World 2nd Disc". Tracks 1 to 10 are all PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED ALTERNATE TAKES of the "One World" album. Track 11 is "Anna" - an Australian-Only 7" single on Island Records from 1981.

 

Disc 13 (75:48 minutes): Tracks 1 to 9 are his 10th studio album "Grace And Danger" issued October 1980 on Island ILPS 9560. Tracks 10 to 15 are bonuses. Track 10 is PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED while 11 to 15 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED ALTERNATE TAKES.

 

Disc 14 (75:48 minutes): Tracks 1 to 14 are "Grace And Danger 2nd Disc". 3 and 8 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, 1, 2, 4 and 5 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED ON CD ALTERNATE TAKES while 6 and 14 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED ON CD.

 

Disc 15 (72:56 minutes): Tracks 1 to 10 are his 13th studio album "Sapphire" issued November 1984 on Island ILPS 9779. Tracks 11 to 17 are bonuses. Track 11 is PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED while Tracks 12 to 17 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED ALTERNATE TAKES.

 

Disc 16 (74:58 minutes): Tracks 1 to 9 are his 14th studio album "Piece By Piece" issued February 1986 on Island ILPS 9807. Track 10 "Tight Connection (To My Heart)" was one of the bonus tracks on the original CD of the album (a Bob Dylan cover) and also featured on the world's first CD single "Angeline" released in February 1986. Tracks 11 to 18 are bonuses. Tracks 11 and 15 are Advertisements for the album while 12, 13, 14, 16, 17 and 18 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED ALTERNATE TAKES.

 

Disc 17 (69:12 minutes): Tracks 1 to 12 are The Previously Unreleased Island Mix of the album "The Apprentice" (later remixed and issued by Permanent Records in 1991). Tracks 13 to 16 are bonuses. Track 13 was recorded at the Island 25th Birthday Party in 1987 while Tracks 14 to 16 are live recordings from the Town & Country Club in 1988.

 

CONTENT:

Fans will know that November 2005 saw 8 of his Island albums reissued and expanded onto CD with superb Paschal Byrne remasters. There are four double-disc DELUXE EDITIONS of other Island albums before and after 2005 - "Solid Air", "Live At Leeds", "One World" and "Grace And Danger". Across all 12 reissues there's a whopping 83 previously unreleased bonus tracks. The point is that only a fraction of those are included on this box set as the pre-release blurb clearly states - replaced instead with 100 previously unreleased recordings - including a further 19 on CD for the first time. So I wouldn't ditch those old reissues just yet especially not the staggeringly good "Solid Air" DE (which I reviewed way back).

 

The albums "Sapphire" (1984) and "Piece By Piece" (1986) receive remasters for the first time and the "The Apprentice" is the 1988 unheard "Island" mix that was rejected by the label and ended his contract with them. The studio albums "Glorious Fool" (1981) and "Best Kept Secret" (1982) were on WEA so they're not included in this set.

 

The 33-track DVD includes previously unseen BBC footage from the 1970s and 1980s ("Old Grey Whistle Test" and "Sight And Sound" shows) including the complete "The Foundations" concert from 1986 on DVD for the first time (the DVD is ALL REGIONS so no worries for foreign purchases).

 

SOUND:

JARED HAWKES did the Mixing and Mastering at Universal Mastering with further work carried out by PASCHAL BYRNE and BEN WISE at Audio Archiving (both studios in London). Right from the get go the sound is gloriously clear - very, very clean and never showy (the opening lyric from London Conversation's "Fairy Tale Lullaby" titles this review). Soundwise what is also delightful are the Outtakes from the "Bless The Weather" period and onwards. Mostly recorded in Sound Techniques Studios in Chelsea, they don't just sound fabulous, they're sonically intimate in ways some of the finished album cuts aren't. Many I suspect are earlier takes to the finished version so the band is finding its way. But that only adds an amazing atmosphere to them - like you're eavesdropping on history. Even the glossy 80's stuff sounds fuller - especially the hugely underrated "Piece By Piece" album. It doesn't sound to me like any compression has been applied - and if it has - it's minimal. These are warm remasters - clear and full - but not for loudness sake. The exclusive bootleg tape that is Disc 5 (kindly donated by Graham Hinde) is full of wobbles and people shuffling - not the greatest and for me the first real clunker on here. The dreadfully overproduced mix of "The Apprentice" is slick for sure - but strangely soulless for such a soulful man. But not surprisingly the Alternate Takes from his two meisterworks "Solid Air" and "One World" are thrilling to hear - especially in such spot-on sound quality.

 

PACKAGING:

It arrives in an outer plain cardboard box, but within is a shaped foam wrap-around which fully protects the shrink-wrapped heavyweight hard-card set and is a very nice touch. The TWO LP-sized sleeves which feature artwork by IAN MUNDAY (one is a three-way-gatefold, the other just a gatefold) that contain the CDs are very cleverly laid out (the DVD is in a separate smaller card sleeve). Each flap has die-cut card inserts, but because of its 12" size there's plenty of wiggle-room to get them in and out - so you don't get that awful scratch-your-disc every time you remove it from too-tightly packed presentation. The CDs themselves are colour-coded - the first 3 featuring the famous PINK Island label - the early 70's with the PINK-RIM label - then the late 70s, early 80s, mid 80s and so on - all labels appropriate to their time frame - a nice attention to detail. There's a poster and promo material reprints that are nice if not a little fiddly. The price is good too. However, its initial retail purchase of £160 is bound to rise as it sells out and word gets round as to just how good this set really is (rather like the Sandy Denny box that preceded it) - so buy it now before extortion sets in.

 

As you can imagine, the 120-Page Hardback Book called "The John Martyn Album" (done up like a family photo-album complete with mock chord at the front) is the bomb - just gorgeous. It features full page colour plates of each album sleeve (front and rear) with in-studio photos for each period, master tape boxes, the rare "Anna" 7" single from Australia, in-concert flyers, press adverts and huge amounts of written work by keeper-of-the-flame JOHN HILLARBY. The text also discusses his superb albums after Island on Permanent and Go! Discs (like "Cooltide" and "Glasgow Walker") right up to 2004's "On The Cobbles". In the final pages there are tributes from Bob Harris of The Old Grey Whistle Test, Eddi Reader the singer and Mark Cooper of the BBC. The box is dedicated to his loved ones (named) and there's a particularly lovely set of family snapshots at the very beginning that extend for pages - they feature him and his parents as a nipper in Scotland in the 1940's right up to his last days in Ireland in the 2000s with his own partner and children - its revelatory, fun and poignant.

 

NIGGLES:

The mono mix of "The Tumbler" is still AWOL and for such an extensive project its extraordinary that there's no discography (not even album catalogue numbers or release dates beneath any of the entries). But apart from those paltry niggles - this box set is a feast for the eyes and crucially for the ears. Some may baulk at the cost - don't. It's been a long time since I spent this amount of money on any music project - but when you think about the sheer volume of quality on here and how much more other less-worthy packages cost - then "The Island Years" is cheap at twice the price. I know I'll be dipping into this baby for years.

 

Like Ronnie Lane, Nick Drake, Sandy Denny, John Peel and other hugely wonderful influences in our musical youth and adulthood - Iain David McGeachy is beloved for a reason and sorely missed to this day. Well done to the team behind this set who have so beautifully remembered him.

 

Partner Teresa Walsh and daughter Mharai McGeachy collected his OBE from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace on 27 March 2009 - John Martyn deserved no less.

"Hey, Love" by The New ROTARY CONNECTION (2013 Japan Chess 'Best Collection Series' Reissue/Remaster on Their 1971 on Cadet Concept) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 100s Of Others Is Available in my

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

SOUL, FUNK and JAZZ FUSION - Exception CD Remasters  

Just Click Below To Purchase for £3.95

Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

"...Try Expanding Your Understanding..." 

For years I've been looking for an excuse to review this fabulous and criminally neglected Soul Funk Gospel gem - and now I have one. It's been reissued in Japan as part of the "Chess Best Collection" CD series and its just arrived on my doorstep in time for a cool Yule y'all (sorry couldn't resist).

I've had the 1998 Ace/Beat Goes Public disc that offers two LPs on 1CD of Rotary Connection's "Songs" (1969) and "Hey, Love" (1971) (2LPs on 1CD) for years now and treasure it. But this Japanese reissue is listed as having 2013 DSD remastering in adverts - so I had to own it. Doesn't actually say that anywhere on the disc or liner notes nor the Obi - but it does sound stunning - if not a little clinically clean in places.

Released 11 Dec 2013 in Japan – "Hey, Love" by The New ROTARY CONNECTION on Universal/Chess UICY-75987 (Barcode 4988005792754 for the right issue) is a straightforward transfer of the 9-track American album (40:25 minutes). 

The OBI wraps around the outside of the jewel case. The 16-page booklet is the usual Japanese affair - front cover artwork on Page 1 with the rear LP art on the last page. In between there is a Japanese essay and the lyrics in English - naught else (nothing you can really get your teeth into). It's a budget release so its priced at below 1000 Yen which means that even including P&P it's below a tenner - and often only eight quid - a bit of a steal frankly.

1. If I Sing My Song

2. The Sea & She

3. I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun

4. Hangin' Round The Bee Tree

5. Hey, Love

6. Love Has Fallen On Me

7. Song For Everyman

8. Love Is

9. Vine Of Happiness

Originally released on vinyl in the States on Chess/Cadet Concept CC 50006 in August 1971 - it features the hand of writer/arranger/player maestro CHARLES STEPNEY - Chess's answer to Norman Whitfield - a man with a conscience and a way with a funky and soulful tune. The other attractions are MINNIE RIPERTON, KITTY HAYWOOD, SHIRLEY WAHLS and DAVE SCOTT all on Lead Vocals with Stepney playing a huge number of instruments as well as arranging. Top session-men include superb guitarists PHIL UPCHURCH (see my review of his stunning 1971 double-album "Darkness Darkness" also on Japanese CD) and the fuzzed up axework of PAT FERRERI. The album also featured RICHARD RUDOLPH (Minnie Riperton's husband of the time) - he solo wrote both "Hanging Round The Bee Tree" and "The Sea & She" and excepting one other - co-wrote the rest of the album with Stepney.

The album's big tune is the magnificent "I Am The Black Gold Of The Sun" which was rescued from obscurity by British/US Funksters NUYORCIAN SOUL featuring JOCELYN BROWN when they sampled and covered it in 1997 on the hip Talkin' Loud label. They brought the song and Rotary Connection in general into the charts (to 31). Ace then reissued that CD the following year and there's been vinyl repros of the "Hey, Love" LP in the West End of London ever since - meeting the demands of those constantly searching for something cool and Soulful to rediscover. Besides "Gold" there are 4 other masterpieces on here - the echoed and swirling vocals of "Hanging Round The Bee Tree" (graced many of my Reckless in-store play lists), the gorgeous and sunny upbeat title track "Hey, Love" followed by Kitty Haywood letting it vocally rip on the sublime "Love Has Fallen For Me" (covered by Chaka Khan on her "I'm Every Woman" LP). But the best for me is the lone TERRY CALLIER track (a songwriter Stepney was plugging) called "Song For Everyman" - it is just brilliant and sends me every time I hear it (lyrics from it title this review).

In truth - and I played both to hear the differences - the only thing I'd say about the supposed 'remaster' is that it is unbelievably clean - but perhaps I suspect a little over-compressed. You have to give the tracks a bit of wedge - but even if you do - the clarity is gorgeous (hiss gone) and I've loved re-hearing these tracks in such beautiful sound.

So why didn't they make it? I suspect that with all those hippy-dip lyrical references to helping out your brother and bombing others with love - the group was perceived as a poor man's Fifth Dimension - a sort of watered down gathering peddling a lame "Hair" musical. This of course did for them commercially and is just plain wrong as an assessment. Typically it took British Soul fans to reignite interest and a torrent of well-deserved praise has followed ever since.

Stepney is a sort of underground cult figure now amongst aficionados - spoken about in hushed tones. Riperton went solo and produced a string of gorgeous Soul albums in the mid-Seventies only to sadly succumb to breast cancer at a criminally young age in 1979. Still - they all have this legacy to remind us. I adore "Hey, Love" and its infectious Soul upbeat message vibe - reminds me of the same joy I feel when I hear a great Staples Singers album.

Get this disc into your life soonest - I believe its up for deletion June 2014...

PS: See also my online reviews for "Rotary Connection" (their 1968 debut) and "Songs/Hey, Love" (a 2LPs on 1CD) release in 1998 on Ace/Beat Goes Public – and the Terry Callier album "I Just Can't Help Myself" also in this Japanese series of reissues...

"Forgotten Songs & Unsung Heroes/My Sportin' Life" by JOHN KAY of Steppenwolf - April 1972 and July 1973 US Solo LPs (April 2008 UK Beat Goes On Compilation - 2LPs onto 1CD - Andrew Thompson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

 

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"...Walk Beside Me..."

 

You can't help but think that John Kay (Steppenwolf's vocalist and principal songwriter) has seen a thing or two. These two cruelly ignored Seventies albums are full of great tunes and characters gingerly chopping their way through the heartlands - humping, burning and looting - and that's just the cover versions. 

 

Here are the born wild details...

UK released April 2008 (reissued November 2009) - "Forgotten Songs & Unsung Heroes/My Sportin' Life" by JOHN KAY (of Steppenwolf) on Beat Goes On BGOCD797 (Barcode 5017261207975) is a CD compilation that offers 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD and breaks down like this (77:44 minutes):

1. Many A Mile

2. Walk Beside Me

3. You Win Again

4. To Be Alive

5. Bold Marauder

6. Two Of A Kind

7. Walkin' Blues

8. Somebody

9. I’m Movin' On

Tracks 1 to 9 are his debut vinyl solo album "Forgotten Songs & Unsung Heroes" first released April 1972 in the USA on ABC/Dunhill Records DSX 50120 and July 1972 in the UK on Probe Records SPB 1054.

10. Moonshine

11. Nobody Lives Here

12. Drift Away

13. Heroes And Devils

14. My Sportin' Life

15. Easy Evil

16. Giles Of The River

17. Dance To My Song

18. Sing With The Children

Tracks 10 to 18 being his 2nd solo album "My Sportin' Life" – released July 1973 in the USA and UK on ABC/Dunhill DSX-50147 and Probe SPBA 6274 respectively.

The outer card wrap around the jewel case pictures both albums, the 20-page booklet has comprehensive liner notes by noted writer JOHN TOBLER and includes lyrics to both LPs, detailed recording info, photos and interviews - it's a thoroughly great job. But that's nothing to the fantastic sounding remaster done by ANDREW THOMPSON at Sound Performance Studios - unbelievably clear and full of muscle. Having owned clean vinyl copies of these albums for decades now - it's a blast to hear detail and power like this - a really brilliant transfer.

The albums liberally mix originals with cleverly chosen covers - he treats Hank Williams "You Win Again" pretty much like the original (wistful and self-deprecating) but he completely funks up Hank Snow's "I'm Movin' On" sounding not unlike fellow label mates Three Dog Night. I also love the dark and brooding cover of Richard Farina's "Dark Marauder" with it's body slashing count - his vocals and Dulcimer playing leaping out of your speakers - fabulous stuff (lyrics from it title this review). Then there's two contrasts - his own "Two Of A Kind" which is a plaintive and aching ballad about him and his lady of the moment 'knowing' themselves which is immediately followed by a bottleneck guitar romp through Robert Johnson's "Walkin' Blues" sounding like Steppenwolf at their very bluesy best (he plays the harmonica too). And again - the production values are absolutely superb.

The second album is good too - opening with a country-feel song by Lee Emerson of The Five Man Electrical Band called "Moonshine (Friend Of Mine)" - it's followed by his own mid-tempo "Nobody Lives Here Anymore" and then a cover of Mentor Williams' wonderfully evocative "Drift Away". What a song this is - "gimme the beat boys and free my soul...I wanna get lost in your Rock 'n' Roll...". Dobie Gray, Humble Pie and Rod Stewart did fantastic versions of it in 1973, 1974 and 1975 respectively. 

 

"Heroes And Devils" was written by Renee Armand and Kerry Chater of Gary Puckett's Union Gap and again suits Kay's penchant for acoustic ballads that tell stories of drifters and losers. The best track for me is his self-penned "My Sportin' Life" which appeared on the brill "Gold" 2CD set for Steppenwolf (see separate review) - great stuff. 

 

The Anita O'Day cover of "Easy Evil" is slinky and sexy while "Giles Of The River" is a BECKER/FAGEN exclusive song unavailable on any Steely Dan album (you can so hear their 1972 songwriting on it). It ends on a high note - a rocking bluesy jaunt through "Sing With The Children" by Ron Davies. Davies wrote the truly fab "It Ain't Easy" which was covered by Davie Bowie on "Ziggy Stardust" in 1972, Dave Edmunds in 1971 on "Rockpile" with Three Dog Night and John Baldry literally naming entire albums after the song in 1970 and 1971. The menacing slide guitar of "Sing With The Children" goes on for near seven minutes. "I'm going down to the river...down to the water side..." he roars throughout. I love it!

To sum up - anyone expecting full on Steppenwolf Rock may be disappointed by what they hear here on these two albums. But I'd say give this nugget a chance - there's so much to enjoy and savour and after 4 decades of still discovering stuff about the Seventies - isn't that nice.

"It's many a mile I've been on this road…" Kay bemoans on the Side 1 opener of "Forgotten Songs & Unsung Heroes". Time to remember this fabulous traveler you howlers…

PS: Beat Goes On also released the first 8 Steppenwolf albums on excellent remasters with the same quality packaging and sound. 

 

And there are also superlative 2013 Japanese SHM-CD remasters of the same albums with 5" card repro artwork and bonus tracks which are not available on the BGO issues. They're all available on Amazon with a search...

 

See also my review for the superlative Esoteric Recordings 8CD Clamshell Box Set from November 2021 "Magic Carpet Ride: The Dunhill/ABC Years 1967-1971"

"Cinema Paradiso" - A Review Of The 1988 Film And The December 2013 2-Disc BLU RAY 25th Anniversary Re-Issue.

Here is a link to the correct issue on Amazon UK to buy it:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00EZ7K51I

"…Grazie Alfredo…"

*** THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE 2013 2-Disc 

25th ANNIVERSARY BLU-RAY VERSION ***

Name-checked by the ludicrously-well-balanced readers of England's "The Guardian" newspaper in 2007 as their favourite-ever Foreign Language film - Giuseppe Tornatore's "Cinema Paradiso" was already the stuff of celluloid legend less than a decade after its release - and rightly so.

I remember the first time I saw it - I bawled my eyes out like a big girl's blouse - and it's been emblazoned in my heart and top five ever since. I make no bones about it - if "The Shawshank Redemption" is the greatest film ever made (and the absolute people's champ according to the IMDB database) - then "Cinema Paradiso" is the most 'beautiful' film ever made - and my number two with a bullet.

First aired in Italian cinemas in 1988 at 155-minutes - "Nuovo Cinema Paradiso" (its original title) was not well received at the box office. So edited down to a more manageable 123-minute length and given a shortened name - it was then re-presented by a terrified and weary Director at the Cannes Film Festival in 1989. The results were magical. The cast was literally cheered and applauded by hardened film critics as they walked from the screening to their hotel rooms. It won the Jury Prize at Cannes that year, then the Baftas, followed by the Oscars and subsequently garnished some twenty-plus awards in Europe alone (they run like a role of honour before the film starts)...

Told in flashback and subtitles - an elderly Italian lady phones her son in Rome who is now a big movie director. A local man has died and his funeral is the following day - she feels he must attend. Failing to get through - her daughter who is sat beside her mum reasons that maybe he's doesn't want to remember - after all he's been away from home for over 30 years? But as she dials again - mother insists - Salvatore will make an exception for Alfredo. When the middle-aged but still devilishly handsome Salvatore Di Vata lies on his pillow beside his beautiful young starlet partner in his suitably plush apartment - the camera closes in on his guilty face as he remembers who and what got him there...

And so the story begins - we're introduced to Salvatore as a precocious young 8-year old boy (nick-named Toto) who lives in the small Sicilian coastal town of Giancaldo. As his mother Maria stoically waits for her husband to return from the Russian Front of the Second World War - she darns socks and makes ends meet (subtly played by Antonella Attili). Meanwhile Toto sneaks away from his alter-boy duties with the town's priest - the hotheaded and sometimes comical Father Adelfio (brilliantly played by Leopoldo Trieste) to his real obsession - being with the wily old Alfredo in the projection booth of the local flick emporium 'Cinema Paradiso'. Childless himself, but big-hearted to a fault when it comes to the permanently inquisitive boy - Alfredo is a surrogate father to Toto and a hugely positive influence in the child's formative years (veteran French actor Philippe Noiret putting in a towering and endearing performance).

But more importantly - Alfredo makes Toto feel wonder. All those glamorous movie stars and the exotic locations they inhabit - their fabulous lives with all that possibility. Then there's the community who gather in the cinema - characters who spit - kids who drop spiders down the open mouths of sleeping patrons - hookers who sell their wares in the booth at the back. Onscreen there's Edward G Robinson gangsters - John Wayne cowboys - Charlie Chaplin comedians - gunshots followed by laughter (a few in the back seats of the cinema are timed to match those onscreen). And in between the feature films are newsreels that show war and horror and political change - but somewhere else. Then there's the really good stuff - like love and kissing and sex - if only the priest didn't vet it out with the shake of a bell ("Twenty-years! And I've never seen a kiss on screen!"). And as he peers out through the carved lion's mouth beneath the projection booth onto the gathered patrons below basking in that swirling combination of light and cigarette smoke - Toto gobbles it all up. Until one evening when Alfredo does the crowd a favour and the highly flammable film stock catches fire and changes the course of everyone's life...

Although accused of being a little over romanticised in places (young women wash their hair in fountains, happy kids carry books up school steps in glorious sunshine) - Tornatore is saying that this is an Italy of old where things seemed simpler. There are inkwells in school desks and children have their heads shaved in public to rid them of lice - but there's also laughter in the town square as people gather of an evening. And as the movie progresses with the decades - so some of that innocence and community is brutalized and lost (the final fate of the building itself, the town lunatic still prowling the square that no longer seems quirky but sad). "Cinema Paradiso" is also funny and poignant - a lot. The teacher banging the dullard kid's head against the chalk blackboard because he can't get his sums right - night-student Alfredo trying to skive answers off Toto as he sits an exam that only young children should be taking - the town lottery-winner who looks up at the burned-out shell of a building and thinks I can rebuild this...

But it's the relationship between Toto and Alfredo that drives the movie and is full of remembrances and sweetly observed moments. The scene where the child Toto rides in the basket on Alfredo's bike down the hill towards the town will make many think of the love they feel for their own parents. Toto then grows into a handsome 18-year-old who falls madly in love with a girl who gets off a bus as he's filming. Agnese Nano plays Elena and while Salvatore's initial advances are spurned, the beautiful Elena eventually comes around - only to have their love parted by fate and a banker father with other ideas for his daughter (their story as adults is considerably fleshed out in the extended 'Director's Cut'). Finally - the young Salvatore is told to leave this dead town and curdled past behind - go forward and create - never look back. Alfredo loves him enough to make the ultimate sacrifice - let him go - be his own man. The later half of the film is admitted very sad (especially the crushing of dreams) - but on it goes to an end-sequence that is quite possibly the best cinema has ever made (the celebrated ‘kissing’ sequence).

25th ANNIVERSARY ISSUE:

The 2009 single-disc BLU RAY contained the 'Theatrical Version' only and 'some' of the extras from the 2003 4-disc DVD box set. This new 2-disc “25th Anniversary Edition” BLU RAY UK released Monday 16 Dec 2013 (Barcode: 5027035010557) has both the 'Theatrical Version’ (124 minutes) and the ‘Director’s Cut’ (174 minutes) which extends the story massively - mainly concentrating on the older Toto and Elena and their relationship. The print has been literally frame-by-frame restored with the liner notes telling us that thousands of instances of hair, dirt and scratches have been removed with damaged frames fixed and density and stability issues corrected. The film was shot in European Widescreen which is 1.66:1 which means that on a modern widescreen TV - there’s small black bars on the left and right sides (they are very small and don’t really intrude that much). The audio is also majorly restored with both 5.1 and 2.0 mixes really bringing out the beauty of Ennio Morricone’s magnificent score and the Italian language film plays with English subtitles on the bottom of the screen (optional on or off). It's a bit lax to say the least that ENGLISH is the only Subtitle provided - but overall (given its lovely presentation) this is an exemplary handling of a recognised classic. 

But as I suspected - picture-wise the results are both GORGEOUS and AWFUL. Filmed in 1988 on a less than monstrous budget - the wildly varying picture quality as locations jump and change is now ruthlessly shown up. One moment its glorious with shots of full on Sicilian summer sunshine - children running through the town square to school - the funeral procession on the hill with donkeys - Alfredo and Toto on the bike rolling down the hill - these are truly beautiful to look at. But once you get indoors the grain and fuzziness is incredible at times. The opening shot of the elderly mother phoning Salvatore is a perfect example - beautifully framed and now massively improved - but then it instantly turns to the daughter at the table - and the grain and picture disappears into an almost unwatchable fuzz. But I must stress this - I’ve seen this wonderful movie so many times - and at last “Cinema Paradiso” is truly shining like a diamond. It’s just that those expecting visual miracles here may be somewhat disappointed - and should allow for what they had to work with. 

The outer glossy card wrap (so easy to smudge) is a lovely new take on Toto's wonderstruck face - it holds an inner 3-way foldout wallet with both discs housed in it. The inner 32-colour booklet is a joy to look at with new liner notes by Italian film expert PASQUALE IANNONE, stills of set outtakes, reproductions of the two posters and huge amounts of info on the cast, the film’s history and the restoration process. 

Fans will recognise the “A Bear And A Mouse In Paradise” 27-minute feature from the 2009 BLU RAY - and a joy it is - interviews with cast and director - history of the film. But the new 52-minute documentary “A Dream Of Sicily” is odd to say the least. Although it features home footage from Director Tornatore - it’s mostly about him and Italian political corruption at the time and although it features clips from other movies (with Paradiso occasionally referenced) - it feels wildly out-of-place and self indulgent to a point where it’s a chore. There’s also the feeling that all Sicilians are stark raving mad - and that’s where they get their ‘dreamers’ quality from. I found the commentary by him and MILLICENT MARCUS to be much better and what I wanted. 

The “Director’s Cut” is fabulous - with a huge amount of hole-filling scenes that focus on the young adult lovers Toto and Elena - and why they parted. It also shows how Alfredo truly set Toto free by pushing him out of Giancaldo to his destiny as a movie maker. I haven’t watched this long version in years but it was fab to return to it - especially looking this good. 

Why does "Cinema Paradiso" resonate with audiences so much? I can't help but feel that it's the poignancy of the loss as much as the joy that touches us. Young love - young dreams - still fresh - still uncorrupted by life and its disappointments. The famous 'kissing' sequence that ends the movie sums it up best. It was apparently shown to the actor Jacques Perrin (who plays the adult Salvatore) without him knowing what he was going to see. His reactions of being blown away are real - and we in turn were exactly the same when we first saw it - blown away. Frankly Scarlett - if you're not in floods of tears by the time that sequence ends - check your pulse, you could already be dead...

"Cinema Paradiso" is a masterpiece - and sure this 25th Anniversary BLU RAY reissue of it is a little flawed (could have included the soundtrack lads) but I have to say that re-watching it looking all sparkly like this has been a joy for me. I cried like a sop again - and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Beautiful and then some.

"Perilous Journey" by GORDON GILTRAP (2013 Esoteric Recordings CD Remaster With 4 Bonus Tracks) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Heartsong..."

Starting out as a UK Folkie on Transatlantic Records in 1968 - virtuoso guitarist Gordon Giltrap (if you'll forgive the pun) 'progressed' into the arena of instrumental Rock with his 1976 "Visionary" album on the ever so slightly odd "The Electric Record Company" Label. A single released off it in February 1977 called "Lucifer's Cage" didn't do much business.

Touring the UK with Wishbone Ash - Giltrap’s ear-catching and infectious instrumental "Heartsong" was released in November 1977 on Electric WOT 19 one month after the album with "The Deserter" as its B-side - and despite heavily advertised UK tours in October, November and December 1977 - again no joy. But then it was reissued in January 1978 (same Catalogue number and B-side) and suddenly Radio went crazy for it - shifting as many as 20,000 copies a week - catapulting the single and album into the charts. February 1978 saw "Perilous Journey" the LP and Cassette rise to 29 - while the hugely popular single of "Heartsong" went even higher in January 1978 to 21. In fact “Heartbeat” was so catchy, upbeat and Summer-Inducing - it was picked up by the British TV program "Holiday" (featuring Judith Chalmers) and used as their theme music for a whole 10 years after. The album "Perilous Journey" has been on varying CD reissues before - most of which have been OK and deleted as quickly as they were released - garnishing a hefty price tag ever since.

Well at last - along comes Cherry Red's subsidiary label ESOTERIC with a fabulous new remaster, decent presentation, reasonable price tag and 4 bonus tracks thrown into the bargain. 

UK released 29 July 2013 - "Perilous Journey" by GORDON GILTRAP on Esoteric ECLEC 2401 (Barcode 5013929450141) is an 'Expanded' CD Remaster. 

PASCHAL BYRNE and MARK POWELL have handled the audio and the sound is wonderful. The instruments are clear and full - not overly loud – with details now popping up everywhere (it runs to a generous 75:53 minutes). The 16-page booklet has liner notes by MALCOLM DOME with input from the artist himself and pictures trade paper reviews from "Sounds" and "Melody Maker" of the time.

1. Quest

2. The Deserter

3. Pastoral

4. Morbio Gorge

5. Heartsong

6. Reflections & Despair

7. Cascade

8. To The High Throne

9. Vision

Tracks 1 to 9 are the album “Perilous Journey” – released October 1977 in the UK on The Electric Record Company TRIX 4

10. Heart Song (Original Version)

11. Quest (Orchestral Version)

12. Guitar & Piano Demos (Recorded During The “Perilous Journey” Sessions)

13. Oh Well – non-album single A-side (a cover of the old Fleetwood Mac hit) – released April 1978 in the UK on Electric WOT 21 (the album track “Reflections and Despair” was its B-side).

Describing the whole album as “Opus 2” - it opens with the multi-layered acoustic/keyboard assault of "Quest" sounding not unlike English Pastoral Folk music meets Sci Fi. The lovely meandering of "The Deserter" has always been a favourite - as has the plaintive "Reflections & Despair". The magical "Heartsong" now sounds gorgeous - and that almost YES keyboard break always brings a smile to my face. It ends with the epic "Vision". Very impressive stuff and easy to hear why it's been a firm fan favourite ever since.

The 4 bonus tracks are a mixed bunch - the 'Original' version of "Heartsong" is interesting but can't compete with the polish of the finished cut. The 'Orchestral' version of "Quest" sounds huge but the limp cover version of Peter Green's "Oh Well" was a big mistake (he admits this himself). The "Guitar & Piano Demos" are a lovely listen - even in their raw state. And it's a shame that the 7" single edit that everyone knows (3:08 minutes) wasn't included on here but you can almost chop it into existence by edited it on iTunes anyway.

This remaster of "Perilous Journey" is a blast and it’s so good to hear this criminally forgotten nugget back in such good shape. Recommended.

Esoteric have also reissued as remasters:

1. Visionary (1976) on ECLEC 2400

2. Fear Of The Dark (1978) on ECLEC 2402

3. Live At Oxford - ECLEC 2409

4. Ravens And Lullabies (with Rick Wakeman of Yes) - EANTCD 1013