"A Step in The Right Direction: Singles, Demos, BBC Live, 1983-1984" by THE TRUTH (2016 Cherry 3CD Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...No Stone Unturned..."

Arising out of the ashes of two British R&B bands – Dennis Greaves of Nine Below Zero and Mick Lister of The Stowaways formed The Truth in 1982 – aligning themselves with Mod Revivalists like Paul Weller's The Style Council and Kevin Rowland's Dexy's Midnight Runners. A bidding war ensued and they went with Formation Records (a part of the Warners Group) – where they promptly pumped out three hugely revered sevens before being dropped (the Formation album never materialised). The Truth then signed with I.R.S. Records and released three LPs proper in 1985, 1987 and 1989 ("Playground", "Weapons Of Love" and "Jump").

This rather stunning and in-depth mini box set from those pioneering chappies over at CHERRY RED has decided however to concentrate solely on their FORMATION RECORDS beginnings and all that surrounded it. You therefore get the first three singles (45s and 12s) with some demos and a whopping two whole discs full of incendiary live concerts from 1983 and 1984 – all of it spread across three fully kitted-out CDs. There's a lot of Mod good stuff to contend with - so once more unto the short haircuts, tight shirts and white boys with big dreams of black music...

UK released 22 January 2016 (29 Jan 2016 in the USA) – "A Step in The Right Direction: Singles, Demos, BBC Live, 1983-1984" by THE TRUTH on Cherry Red CDTRED675 (Barcode 5013929167537) is a 58-Track Mini Box Set with a 20-Page Booklet and 3CDs that play out as follows:

Disc 1 – THE SINGLES (53:36 minutes):

1. Confusion (Hits Us Everytime)

2. Me And My Girl

Tracks 1 and 2 are the A&B-sides of their debut UK 7" single released June 1983 on WEA/Formation TRUTH 1

3. A Step In The Right Direction

4. Beat Generation

5. What You Want Me To Say

6. Second Time Lucky

Tracks 3 to 6 are A&B-sides of their 2nd UK 7" single – a 4-Track EP released August 1983 on WEA/Formation TRUTH 2E. Producers Steve Jolley and Tony Swain wrote the A-side - the other three are Truth originals. See also Track 13...

7. No Stone Unturned

8. Flesh And Fantasy

Tracks 7 and 8 are the A&B-sides of their 3rd UK 7" single released August 1984 on WEA/Formation YZ1

9. Don't Tell Me

Track 9 is the 2nd B-side to the 'red' vinyl UK 12" single for "No Stone Unturned" released August 1984 on WEA/Formation YZ1T

10. Love A Go-Go (Live)

11. From The Heart (Live)

12. Nothing's Too Good For My Baby (Live)

Tracks 10 to 12 are the B-side of the 12" single for "Confusion (Hits Us Everytime)" on WEA/Formation TRUTH 1T (the two A-sides are tracks 1 and 2). The B's were recorded 27 March 1983 in The Marquee, London. "From The Heart" is a Truth original song - but "Love A Go-Go" is a cover of a 1967 US 7" single on Westwood W 12367 by THE LIME – while "Nothing's Too Good For My Baby" is a cover of a 1966 Stevie Wonder 7" single on Tamla T 54130 written by Smokey Robinson (with others). The A-side (Track 1) and the three B-sides (Tracks 10 to 12) were also issued as double x 7" single pack on TRUTH 1F.

13. I Get So Excited (Live) – 3rd B-side on the August 1983 UK 12" Single for "A Step In The Right Direction" on WEA/Formation TRUTH 2T

BONUS TRACKS:

14. Come On (Demo)

15. If I Ever Find Love (Demo)

16. Instrumental (Demo)

17. Look My Way (Demo)

18. Sweet Sensation (Demo)

Tracks 14 to 18 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Disc 2 – LIVE AT THE BBC (73:58 minutes):

In Concert at the Paris Theatre, London 19 Nov 1983

1. Exception Of Love

2. Listen To What I Say

3. Always On My Mind

4. Is There A Solution?

5. Beat Generation

6. The Sweetest Feeling

7. You Play With My Emotions

8. Second Time Lucky

9. A Step In The Right Direction

10. I Just Can't Seem To Stop

Live at Goldiggers, Chippenham (Broadcast 14 Jan 1984)

11. Confusion (Hits Us Everytime) (excerpt)

12. Exception Of Love

13. Listen To What I Say

14. Always On My Mind

15. Is There A Solution?

16. No Stone Unturned

17. A Step In The Right Direction

18. Second Time Lucky

19. It's A Miracle

20. You Play With My Emotions

21. I Just Can't Seem To Stop

22. Flesh And Fantasy

All Tracks PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Disc 3 – LIVE AT THE MARQUEE (62:24 minutes):

1. Love A Go-Go

2. Listen To What I Say

3. Me And My Girl

4. Out Of Darkness

5. Always On My Mind

6. Is There A Solution?

7. Confusion (Hits Us Everytime)

8. You Play With my Emotions

9. What You Want Me To Say

10. It's A Miracle

11. Don't You Just Know It

12. Come On

13. I Just Can’t Seem To Stop

14. Nothing’s Too Good For My Baby

15. Reach Out I'll Be There

16. I'm In Tune

BONUS TRACKS:

17. Ain't Nothing But A House Party (Live)

18. I Get So Excited (Live)

All Tracks PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

Compiled by the mighty JOHN REED (with his ever-impressive knowledge and passion for the music) - the outer slipcase, three 5" card sleeves (all with different live shots) and 20-page colour booklet with liner notes from LOIS WILSON (of Mojo Magazine) is all very tastefully laid out (and tactile too). Lois features interviews with principal band members Dennis Greaves and Mick Lister while the text is peppered with memorabilia from the period – badges, 7" single picture sleeves, press reviews, trade adverts, set lists, concert posters and tickets (supporting The Kinks in Aylesbury) and even live shots from The Marquee gigs. It looks and feels very Mod revivalist and obviously has had input from the band. SIMON MURPHY has done the Remasters at Another Planet and everything rocks along like a 60ts Soul gig. These CDs sound great...

From the get-go you're hit with the Dexy's comparisons. The very British Pop Soul of "Confusion (Hits Us Everytime)" comes at you like Haircut One Hundred finding a pile of Stax singles in Dennis Greaves' sister's house. On both it and "Me And My Girl" – the Bass is right up there in the mix (I often thought the B-side better than the more popular A). "A Step In The Right Direction" is so Style Council it might actually fall over Paul Weller and Mick Talbot's untied shoelaces. Far better for me is the Monkees-happy flipside "The Beat Generation" – a song that like The Clash's "Train In Vain" makes you just want to dance and throw undignified Eighties shapes despite the possible jail-sentence they might elicit. Again you get big Slap Bass with "What You Want Me To Say" - the song sounding clean and punchy (the Steve Jolley and Tony Swain production is very polished).

Of the live stuff – it becomes apparent pretty quickly that The Truth were 'tight' as a band onstage – rip-roaring with palatable passion through British Mod Soulful takes of The Equals hit "I Get So Excited" – all the studio restraints of the band lost. Hot like Graham Parker's Rumour or Elvis Costello's Attractions - they goad the crowd to sing-a-long to the wickedly good "Love A Go-Go" (which they do enthusiastically). Live staples like "Exception Of Love", "Always On My Mind", "It's A Miracle" and "You Play With My Emotions" would eventually turn on the first I.R.S. LP "Playground" in 1985 (I.R.S Records MIRF 1001) - while the bopping "Out Of The Darkness" would become a flipside for the first I.R.S. single "Exception Of Love" (IR 103).

Featuring half-decent studio quality - sonically the 'demos' are in far better shape than I thought they would be. "Come On" pounds out of the speakers with intent easily capturing their combustible 'live' excitement - while "If I Ever Find Love" could be The Jam circa “The Gift”. The tape announces 5 October 1982 as the recording date for the imaginatively entitled "Instrumental" which is – em – an instrumental. The tape source is a tad wobbly for sure but it still sounds good (great guitar and rhythm). 'Pretty' is the word to describe "Look My Way" - while "Sweet Sensation" returns to Organ and Drums with a bopping vengeance.

It's hardly surprising Cherry Red have used two whole CDs to give fans the band in a 'live' context – because this is where they 'rock'. There's plenty of space and oomph in Paris Theatre recordings where Greaves sounds not unlike a very musical Joe Jackson on the lovely "Always On My Mind". The live version of "Sweet Sensation" takes the crowd by storm – bopping like some joyful Tamla seven – very cool and very tight. The audio on the Goldiggers gig drops a fraction it has to be said but even after three decades the whole concert still feels fresh – "Is There A Solution?" and the ballad "It's A Miracle" coming off best.

Fans are going to love this release and wonder what could have been had Formation Records gotten that album out. Well done to Cherry Red for keeping the truth...

"The Album Collection Vol.1" by BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (2014 Sony/Legacy 8CD Mini Box Set – Bob Ludwig and Toby Scott Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 500 Others Is Available In My

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"...Brand New Used Car..." 

Loose Windscreen's catalogue has been one of the big holes in the world of Remasters – but my God has the wait been worth it. In fact as a long-time reviewer, Bruce fan and perpetual seeker of Audio dynamite - I'd go on record right now by saying that Disc 2 in this 8CD Box Set alone - "The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle" - is the single most beautiful album Remaster I've ever heard bar none. This transfer (using the Plangent Process) is properly gorgeous. Suddenly an album I've known for 45 years on vinyl (and something of a hidden nugget in the back catalogue of New Jersey's finest) is brought to life like never before. And there are six more where that peach came from. Let's get to the details...

UK and USA released 21 November 2014 – "The Album Collection, Vol.1 - 1973-1984" by BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN on Sony/Legacy/Plangent 88875014142 (Barcode 888750141422) is a 7-album/8-CD Mini Box Set of Remasters with a 60-page booklet and plays out as follows:

Disc 1 "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J." (37:13 minutes):

1. Blinded By The Light

2. Growin' Up

3. Mary Queen Of Arkansas

4. Does This Stop At 82nd Street?

5. Lost In The Flood

6. The Angel [Side 2]

7. For You

8. Spirit In The Night

9. It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City

Tracks 1 to 9 are his debut album "Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J." – released January 1973 in the USA on Columbia 31903 and March 1973 in the UK on CBS Records S 65480

Disc 2 "The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle" (46:49 minutes):

1. The E Street Shuffle

2. 4th Of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)

3. Kitty's Back

4. Wild Billy's Circus Story

5. Incident On 57th Street [Side 2]

6. Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)

7. New York City Serenade

Tracks 1 to 7 are his 2nd album "The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle" – released November 1973 in the USA on Columbia KC 32432 and February 1974 in the UK on CBS Records S 65780

Disc 3 "Born To Run" (39:29 minutes):

1. Thunder Road

2. Tenth Avenue Freeze Out

3. Night

4. Backstreets

5. Born To Run [Side 2]

6. She's The One

7. Meeting Across The River

8. Jungleland

Tracks 1 to 8 are his 3rd album "Born To Run" – released September 1975 in the USA on Columbia PC 33795 and October 1975 in the UK for CBS Records S CBS 69170

Disc 4 "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" (43:02 minutes):

1. Badlands

2. Adam Raised A Cain

3. Something In The Night

4. Candy's Room

5. Racing In The Street

6. The Promised Land [Side 2]

7. Factory

8. Streets Of Fire

9. Prove It All Night

10. Darkness On The Edge Of Town

Tracks 1 to 10 are his 4th studio album "Darkness On The Edge Of Town" – released in the USA June 1978 on Columbia JC 35318 and in the UK on CBS Records 86061 – peaked at No. 3 in the USA and No. 17 in the UK.

Disc 5 "The River" (Disc 1 of 2, 43:31 minutes):

1. The Ties That Bind [Side 1]

2. Sherry Darling

3. Jackson Cage

4. Two Hearts

5. Independence Day

6. Hungry Heart [Side 2]

7. Out In The Street

8. Crush On You

9. You Can Look (But You Better Not Touch)

10. I Wanna Marry You

11. The River

Disc 6 "The River" (Disc 2 of 2, 40:17 minutes):

1. Point Blank [Side 3]

2. Cadillac Ranch

3. I'm A Rocker

4. Fade Away

5. Stolen Car

6. Ramrod [Side 4]

7. The Price You Pay

8. Drive All Night

9. Wreck On The Highway

Discs 5 and 6 are the 4-sides of the double-album "The River" – released October 1980 in the USA on Columbia PC2 36854 and in the UK on CBS Records 88510 – peaked at No. 1 in the USA and No. 2 in the UK.

Disc 7 "Nebraska" (40:50 minutes):

1. Nebraska

2. Atlantic City

3. Mansion On The Hill

4. Johnny 99

5. Highway Patrolman

6. State Trooper [Side 2]

7. Used Cars

8. Open All Night

9. My Father’s House

10. Reason To Believe

Tracks 1 to 10 are the album "Nebraska" – released September 1982 in the USA on Columbia TC 38358 and in the UK on CBS Records 25100 – peaked at No. 3 in both the USA and UK.

Disc 8 "Born In The U.S.A." (46:57 minutes):

1. Born In The U.S.A.

2. Cover Me

3. Darlington County

4. Working On The Highway

5. Downbound Train

6. I'm On Fire

7. No Surrender [Side 2]

8. Bobby Jean

9. I'm Goin' Down

10. Glory Days

11. Dancing In The Dark

12. My Hometown

Tracks 1 to 12 are the album "Born In The U.S.A." – released June 1984 in the USA on Columbia QC 38653 and in the UK on CBS Records 86304 – peaked at No. 1 on both the UK and US LP charts.

You can't argue with the quality of slightly oversized 5" card sleeve repros – they beautifully done (not quite Japanese uber realistic but close). "Greetings..." has its front-flap sleeve, "Born To Run" its gatefold, "Darkness..." its Inner Sleeve and Lyric Sheet, "The River" has both its Inners and the gatefold lyric sheet, "Nebraska" its Inner Sleeve and "Born In The U.S.A." its Inner Sleeve and two-sided Lyric Insert. Hell there's even a Columbia Records Advert Inner Bag with "Greetings..." (the seconds album "Wild..." didn't come with anything inside). The only tiny hiccup I can spot is the cover used for "Nebraska" – on the spine it has the QC 38358 catalogue number - which is technically a reissue (TC 38358 is the original as far as I'm aware). But other than that – very nicely done. The card that attaches to the outer (pull-off lid) box with track lists and reissue credits falls away once the shrink wrap is off – so that's a pain straight away. You’ll end up having to put this into a plastic before it knackers itself.

The booklet is a thing of fandom beauty. There are no notes or explanations – just 60 pages of cut-outs from 1973 to 1985 covering press releases on each of the albums, singles released, concert dates. In-between all the trade adverts and reviews – there are embossed colour photos that leap off the pages – most unseen until now (a super fan's collection). There are the infamous 'Time' and 'Newsweek' covers for 1975's "Born To Run" in blazing colour – backstage passes and laminates – live photos – and on it goes. It's properly gorgeous stuff – and I would imagine in the format of 12" x 12" on the vinyl variant – Droolsome. But it would have been nice to have a second booklet with lyrics and some liner notes. But all that goes out the window once you clap your weary lugs on the stunning Audio...

Using the PLANGENT Process - a team of four have been involved - with BOB LUDWIG and TOBY SCOTT doing the lion's share of Remasters. Master tape-to-digital transfers and DSP wow and flutter reduction was carried out by JAMIE HOWARTH and JOHN K. CHESTER. I don't know much about the techno mumbo-jumbo but whatever this process does - it produces warm, clear and uber-realistic results that don't feel forced to get more volume...a brill job done.

The debut has always been my least favourite of his albums - a worthy beginning with moments of brilliance like "It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City", "Growin' Up" and the opener "Blinded By The Light". It also seemed to suffer from a weedy Production. At last you can 'hear' that voice and piano in "The Angel" and that Clarence Clemons Saxophone/Vincent Lopez Drum shuffle for "Spirit In The Night" is fantastically good (Gary Tallent's Bass so sweet too). The rhythm section too in "Does This Bus Stop At 82nd Street?" is alive while the melodrama of "Lost In The Flood" has some hiss but more life to it than before. An impressive start to his career and a great remaster that at last does his debut some kind of justice (on our way to hubcap heaven)...

After the earnest but awkward feel of the debut – the improvement in Springsteen’s 2nd album "The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle" (again from 1973) whomps you in the proverbial chops. Not only does it show progress and genuine brilliance in a staggering short period of time – the whole album has stood the test of time far better than the rather self-conscious "Greetings". I suspect true Bruciephiles adore this record and after 45 years – the Remaster comes as an absolute BLAST. I've never heard the whole album sound this beautiful – every instrument suddenly clear in the speakers – dancing around the pretty highs and lows. Never is this more vivid than on "Wild Billy Circus Story" – the accordion, the mandolin and the tuba – all of it is gorgeous. And I'd forgotten just how romantic the whole record is – and up. The opening minutes of "Incident On 57th Street" leaves me in tears – those great girly vocals that float in – Sancious playing that Steely Dan rhythm and Federici's organ playing adding layers. And by the time we get to the visceral "Rosalita..." the remaster is blowing all previous versions out of the water. It ends on the near ten-minute "New York Serenade" which sounds like Genesis on "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" on that stunning piano intro. You can hear squeaks in chairs and movements – all of it clear and in the now. And what a fantastic song - beautifully remastered (and I still don't know who the girl singers are)...

The last time "Born To Run" received a CD overhaul was the November 2005 '35th Anniversary' reissue (see review) which again Bob Ludwig transferred. So is there a difference between 2005 and 2014? Absolutely – I think it's ever so slightly better. Sure there's more hiss evident on "She's The One" and "Meeting Across The River" and that quiet piano passage on "Jungleland" – but all are more alive somehow and full of amazing presence. If I play the 2005 version of "Meeting..." – there is more compression on that hiss level – that's gone on the 2014 version so the hiss on the tape is more evident – but so is all that presence. This remaster is breathing – not trebled or supressed – just as it on the tapes. The moment the beautiful opening piano of "Thunder Road" hits your speakers accompanied shortly after by Bruce's lead vocals - the warmth and clarity is fabulous too. Even better is "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out" with the brilliant and street-funky Brecker Brothers Saxophones simply flooring you (key parts were arranged by cheeky Miami Steve on a whim). When it continues with "Night" and "Backstreets" you also begin to notice more ROY BITTAN whose musical flourishes on the keyboards contributed so much to every song. Bruce now says that "Born To Run" the album was 'all' written on the piano and not the guitar - and that's why most songs have big intros - setting the scene - sort of mini operas. The density of "Born To Run" now seems opened up somehow, the sparseness of "Meeting Across The River" is eerie and the "Jungleland" 9:36 minute finisher is massively improved ("...the hungry and the hunted explode into Rock 'n' Roll bands..." - what a song). A superb job done...

"Darkness On The Edge Of Town" was always going to be the most difficult album in the canon to remaster well. Studio album No. 4 has always seemed to have problems with regard to muscle. 2010 saw the Deluxe Edition do it justice with some badly need 'oomph' – and here again we get another stab. Comparing both – the same applies with "Born To Run" – there's more presence and power but there's also more air and hiss. "Adam Raised A Cain" still rocks like a Punk tune but you will hear the space in "Something In The Night". There's huge presence in "Factory" – still one of the most powerful songs Bruce has ever written about the workingman and his working life. "Prove It All Night" kicks too but "Racing In The Streets" still has that distance that somehow denies you entry into the song.

1980's double-album "The River" was the global breakthrough with "Hungry Heart" eating up chart placing all over the world. But of all the albums here - it's probably the one that's least stood up to musical scrutiny after all these years. Having said that the new transfer have worked wonders on some tracks but oddly seem to have done naught for others. The ballads and eerie soundscapes of "Independence Day", "The River", "Stolen Car", "Drive All Night" and "Wreck On The Highway" all feel better – but the rockers haven't really opened up like I'd hoped. Worse - stuff like "Jackson Cage", "You Can Look..." and "Crush On You" just feel dated now - while "The Ties That Bind" seems to have no sonic punch at all no matter what they do with it. I've always thought the brilliant B-side "Be True" or even the Darkness outtake "Rendezvous" should have replaced the terrible "Sherry Darling". On the upside – "Point Blank" and "Fade Away" are both stunning as is the wallop out of "Ramrod" and the irrepressible "Cadillac Ranch". And I'd forgotten how good a song "The Price You Pay" is. That Bass and Piano at the beginning of the stunning "Drive All Night" and Clarence's Sax solo always crack me up (they used it in the Stallone movie "Copland" to amazing effect). The double-album splurge ends on the beautiful and lonesome "Wreck On The Highway" (gorgeous clarity on the Bass) – a song that moved me so much back in the day...and it has done again.

After the bombast of the double – "Nebraska" (recorded on a 4-Track Tascam) came as a shock - and for me was a masterstroke release. Things needed to be cooled down and that's what this stark little mother did. In fact there are times when I think it's the true gem in his catalogue – like a Johnny Cash album you need in your life. Even its cover was the very antithesis of the "Hotel California" excess just four years earlier – hell Springsteen's image wasn’t even on the sleeve (either side). Rumour was that he'd recorded all the songs with the band but somehow it didn't work – so he just released the demos because they had that starkness he wanted. "Nebraska" has hiss and those vocals fuzz a little as he sings too close to the mike – but it sounds great. "Atlantic City" has trouble bussing in from out of state while the Dylan harmonica wail of "Mansion On The Hill" has yet another place on the edge of town where someone is in pain. "Johnny 99" is definitely the most 'demo' of all the recordings – and a live staple during his 3 and half hour marathons. Nuggets include the pure storytelling magic of "Highway Patrolman" (Frankie ain't no good) and the Dave Edmunds Rock 'n' Roll of "Open All Night" – sounding sweet. "State Trooper" has that whooping menace and "Used Car" the hurt of being poor and being sick of it.

"Born In The U.S.A." truly made him a global superstar and Mister America (whether he wanted the mantle or not). Remaster Engineer TOBY SCOTT recorded the original album so he knows his way around these tapes – and that becomes more than evident once the sheer muscle of the title track assaults your speakers for the first time (what an anthem). But then as you listen to "Cover Me", "Darlington County" and especially "Working On The Highway" – what strikes you is the deep darkness of the material allied with the fact that most of it is hidden inside poppy dance tunes – which I'm not sure everyone twigged at the time (we just wanted to party in 1984). "Downbound Train" has that echo vocal and all the instruments are now eerily clear and punchy – imbibing this deep little cry-in-the-dark with a spooky feel. Audio-wise the fruity "I'm On Fire" is amazingly in-your-face and hasn't sounded this good in years (look out girly – Bruce has a bad desire). Side 2 opens with the very River-sounding "No Surrender" where "...we learned more from a three-minute record than we ever did in school..." (I'd forgotten how good this song is). Longing for those old-days relationships/simplicity fills "Bobby Jean" with heart and pathos – Bruce suddenly sounding like he's the voice of so many lost souls still looking for that one true love/still trying to fulfil that earlier promise. "I'm Going Down" has the mighty Max Weinberg bashing those drums while Bruce goes 'hout' for the night. I can remember the MTV video for "Glory Days" – still sounds joyful and for 1984 not at all dated. "Dancing In The Dark" turned him into a pin-up with that video (Courteney Cox of "Friends" fame was the girl he pulled from the audience onto the stage). But for me the best track is "My Hometown" – a simple song about small town America that nails me every time...even though I'm from Dublin!

The vinyl version has that 60-page booklet in 12" x 12" size and is apparently a thing to behold. For those of us who can't afford expensive LPs anymore (I'd like to) – this Volume 1 on CD is a fantastic release.

More's to the point - like Bowie's next Box Set instalment of "Five Years" (Volume 2) – I look forward to the second outing of Bruce Springsteen's 'Album Catalogue' with a sense of excitement...and isn't that the best thing you can say about a Remaster campaign...

This review is part of my SOUNDS GOOD Music Book Series. One of those titles is CLASSIC 1970s ROCK - an E-Book with over 250 entries and 2100 e-Pages - purchase on Amazon and search any artist or song (click the link below). Huge amounts of info taken directly from the discs (no cut and paste crap). 

"The Ballad Style Of.../Alive & Well In London" by MAYNARD FERGUSON (2016 Beat Goes On CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Fire And Rain..."

Easy Listening trumpeter MAYNARD FERGUSON gets more outings from England's Beat Goes On Records – "The Ballad Style Of Maynard Ferguson" from 1969 and "Alive & Well in London" from 1971 – both originally on Columbia/CBS Records. Beautifully recorded bachelor pad schmaltz is what you get here – Andy Williams without the voice and the cardigans - seriously cheesy lounge-room schmooze - and even some Funky instrumentals Soul boys might like on album No. 2. So once more unto the cocktail cabinet my friends - here are the frilly shirts and the clinking martinis baby...

UK and USA released February 2016 – "The Ballad Style Of Maynard Ferguson/Alive & Well In London" by MAYNARD FERGUSON on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1206 (Barcode 5017261212061) offers fans 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD and plays out as follows (73:13 minutes):

1. Born Free (from 'Born Free')

2. Girl talk (from 'Harlow')

3. If He Walked Into My Life

4. The Fool On The Hill

5. The Impossible Dream (from 'Man From La Mancha')

6. Somewhere (from 'West Side Story')

7. Maria (from 'West Side Story') [Side 2]

8. As Long As He Needs Me (from 'Oliver')

9. Hushabye Mountain (from 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang')

10. The Sound Of Silence

11. You Only Live Twice (from 'You Only Live Twice')

Tracks 1 to 11 are the album "The Ballad Style Of Maynard Ferguson" – released 1969 in the UK on CBS Records 63514 (Mono) and S 63514 (Stereo) – Stereo Mix Is Used

12. Move Over

13. Fire And Rain

14. Aquarius

15. The Serpent

16. My Sweet Lord [Side 2]

17. Bridge Over Troubled Water

18. Your Song

19. Stoney End

20. Living In The Past

Tracks 12 to 20 are the album "Alive & Well In London" – released 1971 in the USA on Columbia C 31117 and in the UK on CBS Records S 64432 (Stereo)

You get a card slipcase, a 20-page booklet with new liner notes from noted Mojo Magazine contributor CHARLES WARING with full album credits and some photos and 2015 ANDREW THOMPSON Remasters that sound great. This is a beautiful sounding CD and at least half of it warrants the lavish attention...

The first album "The Ballad Style Of..." is universally awful covers of popular musicals and film themes – all bombastic melodrama and cheesy strings punctuated by his strangulated screams on the Trumpet - hopelessly dated the lot of it. Brief moments of respite come with "Hushabye Mountain" – a gorgeous melody Dick Van Dyke sings to the children in the "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" movie that even Ferguson can't ruin. But he somehow manages to make the cool 60ts of "You Only Live Twice" cringeworthy – impossible to do with most of John Barry's magnificent melodies from the period.

The second LP goes after singer-songwriter rock from 1970 and 1971 and is a world away from the risible predecessor - vastly better in every way. It opens with a cover of Janis Joplin's "Move Over" from her wonderful "Pearl" album that is good but doesn't quite rise above that. Way better is a surprisingly brilliant funked up Jazz-Fusion instrumental version of James Taylor's "Fire And Rain" - a very cool reinterpretation in a Alexis Korner/C.C.S. kind of way. Even better is a sitar and brass cover of Hair's "Aquarius" (originally sung by Gayle McDermott) which instrumental buffs will eat up and immediately slap on CD-R's to impress friends. His brassy take on Keith Mansfield's super-slick "The Serpent" is wild and features some serious scale climbing backed by a cool Dave Brubeck piano rhythm. His massively changed version of George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" opens as if it's a Blood, Sweat & Tears track from 'III' and isn't nearly as dire as the idea might suggest – upping the pace to bopping Funk and somehow making it work. Neither "Bridge Over Troubled Water" nor “Your Song” does anything interesting to overplayed Simon & Garfunkel and Elton John melodies – better are his stabs at Laura Nyro's "Stoney End" and his 'let's-make-a-Top Of The Pops theme-song' take on Jethro Tull's "Living in The Past" - where once again Ferguson's band sounds like Blood, Sweat & Tears meets C.C.S. without a vocalist - but in a good way.

The first album is best left alone - but that second LP is way cooler than most would expect. Fans will love the great Audio and the classy presentation too...

"Country Class/Country Memories" by JERRY LEE LEWIS (2016 Beat Goes On CD Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Georgia On My Mind..."

Beat Goes On of the UK continue their extensive reissue campaign of the Killer’s Country albums for Mercury Records in the sixties and Seventies – this time whomping us with "Country Class" from 1976 and "Country Memories" from 1977 onto 1CD.

After a steady diet of musical mediocrity, personal scandal and the occasional nasal operation – "Country Class" and "Country Memories" at least seemed to provide long-suffering fans with some 'very brief' moments worth cheering. But the problem with both albums is that they contained much that was risible too - and time hasn't been kind to either. Here are the 'one rose you left in my heart' details...

UK released Friday 19 February 2016 – "Country Class/Country Memories" by JERRY LEE LEWIS on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1222 (Barcode 5017261212221) offers 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD and plays out as follows (69:08 minutes):

1. Let's Put It Back Together Again

2. No One Will Ever Know

3. You Belong To Me

4. I Sure Miss Those Good Old Times

5. The Old Country Church

6. After The Fool You've Made Of Me

7. Jerry Lee's Rock & Roll Revival Show [Side 2]

8. Wedding Bells

9. Only Love Can Get You In My Door

10. The One Rose That's Left In My Heart

11. The Closest Thing To You

Tracks 1 to 11 are the album "Country Class" – released October 1976 in the USA on Mercury SRM-1-1109

12. Middle Age Crazy

13. Let's Say Goodbye Like We Said Hello (In A Friendly Kind Of Way)

14. Who's Sorry Now

15. Jealous Heart

16. Georgia On My Mind

17. Come On In

18. As Long As We Live

19. (You'd Think By Now) I'd Be Over You

20. Country Memories

21. What's So Good About Goodbye

22. Tennessee Saturday Night

Tracks 12 to 22 are the album "Country Memories" – released November 1977 in the USA on Mercury SRM-1-5004

There’s the usual card slipcase and a 12-page booklet with excellent ANDREW McRAE liner notes that tell it like it is about the musical content. ANDREW THOMPSON has done the new 2016 Remasters and they sound amazing. I wish the music warranted it...

"Country Class" opens with some genuinely awful schlock – "Let's Put It Back Together Again" – cheesy strings and even cheesier arrangements make it the kind of Country crud even Country fans hate. Things improve with "No One Will Ever Know" and his respectful cover of Jo Stafford's 1952 hit "You Belong To Me" isn't bad. But songs like "I Sure Miss Those Good Old Times" and "The Old Country Church" (associated with Hank Williams) feels tired - like Presley reaching for something safe rather than the fire of old. There's a brief moment of respite with "Jerry Lee's Rock & Roll Revival Show" where those brass and piano rolls sound more John Fogerty than Hank Snow – and in a good way. "Country Memories" only offers up more of the same – songs like "Let's Say Goodbye Like We Said Hello (In A Friendly Kind Of Way)" has a half decent melody and lyric but its drowned in syrupy backing vocalists and the ever present Pedal Steel. His boogied-up "Who's Sorry Now" is o.k. but far better is "(You'd Think By Now) I'd Be Over You" – a genuinely pretty melody that Jerry Lee sings well.

Fans will love the Audio and the Quality presentation – but everyone else should get a listen first before they buy... 

"Venus And Mars" by WINGS [featuring Paul and Linda McCartney] - 1975 LP (2014 UK MPL Communications/Hear Music 2CD Edition Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review and 199 More Like It Are Available In My

Amazon e-Book 

BLOW BY BLOW - 1975

Your All-Genres Guide To

Exceptional CD Reissues & Remasters 

All Reviews From The Discs Themselves 

(No Cut And Paste Crap) 

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"...Love In Song..." 

Paul McCartney's third No.1 solo album has had a murky history on CD – first turning up in 1993 with three bonus tracks on a disc that had only OK audio. Then DCC Compact Classics in the USA put out "Venus And Mars" on an Audiophile version in 1994 - followed years later by a 'DTS Entertainment' Digital Multichannel Surround Sound version that showed Stateside in 2001 – both of which improved matters. But for most ordinary chappies like you and I - this is 'the' most accessible upgrade since 1993 without having to pawn the silver.

There are several versions of this November 2014 'Paul McCartney Archive Collection' reissue - a single disc, this double and a Super Deluxe (super pricey) Multi-Disc Box Set. For my money many of the tracks on Disc 2 warrant this 2CD edition a 'best version to buy' badge over the single issue. And although it oddly refuses to state in the liner notes exactly 'who' at Abbey Road did the superb new remaster (for fear of military reprisal no doubt) – this 2014 audio overhaul is undeniably the best version to my ears so far. Disc 1 is massively improved. Murky rock tracks like "Letting Go" have more muscle and punch while the truly lovely melody of "Treat Her Gently – Lonely Old People" sounds gorgeous – piano, drums, that swirling Guitar, the voices and strings - all full and warm in your speakers (bit of a lost classic this). But the packaging is good without unfortunately being great thereby losing a lot of the original album's beautiful visual impact. So let's align the stars up tonight and rightly slap those snooker balls into their musical pocket...time for details...

UK released 3 November 2014 – "Venus And Mars" by WINGS [featuring Paul and Linda McCartney] on MPL Communications/Hear Music HRM-35650-02 (Barcode 888072356504) is the 2CD Edition and part of the 'Paul McCartney Archive Collection'. It plays out as follows:

Disc 1 – Remastered Album (43:06 minutes):
1. Venus And More
2. Rock Show
3. Love In Song
4. You Gave Me The Answer
5. Magneto And Titanium Man
6. Letting Go
7. Venus And Mars – Reprise [Side 2]
8. Spirits Of Ancient Egypt
9. Medicine Jar
10. Call Me Back Again
11. Listen To What The Man Said
12. Treat Me Gently – Lonely Old People
13. Crossroads (Theme)
Tracks 1 to 13 are the album "Venus And Mars" by WINGS – released 30 May 1975 in the UK on Apple/Parlophone PCTC 254 and in the USA on Capitol SMAS-11419. Paul and Linda McCartney wrote all tracks except "Medicine Jar" which is by Jimmy McCulloch and British session drummer Colin Allen - and "Crossroads" - a cover version of a Tony Hatch theme song to a popular ITV sitcom in the 70’s.

Disc 2 – Bonus Audio (50:36 minutes):
1. Junior's Farm
2. Sally G
Tracks 1 and 2 are the non-album A&B-sides of a 7" single – October 1974 on Apple R 5999 in the UK and Apple 1875 in the USA – peaked at No. 16 in the UK and No. 3 in the USA

3. Walking In The Park With Eloise by THE COUNTRY HAMS
4. Bridge On The River Suite by THE COUNTRY HAMS
Tracks 3 and 4 are the non-album A&B-sides of a 7" single by THE COUNTRY HAMS – Paul and Linda McCartney and his brother Mike McGear under pseudonyms. It was released October 1974 on EMI Records EMI 2220 in the UK and on EMI Records 3977 in the USA. Both are instrumentals - the A is a James McCartney song (Mike McGear) while the B is a Paul & Linda McCartney composition.

5. My Carnival (recorded at the "Venus And Mars" sessions in 1975, it was eventually released in 1985 as the B-side to the "Spies Like Us" 45 - theme to the Movie of the same name - first appearance as a bonus track on the 1993 CD reissue)

6. Going To New Orleans (My Carnival) - Previously Unreleased
7. Hey Diddle [Ernie Winfrey Mix] - Previously Unreleased
8. Let's Love - Previously Unreleased
9. Soily [From One Hand Clapping]
10. Baby Face [From One Hand Clapping]

11. Lunch Box/Odd Sox (B-side of April 1980 UK 7" single "Coming Up" on Parlophone R 6035 - first appearance as a bonus track on the 1993 CD reissue)

12. 4th Of July - Previously Unreleased
13. Rock Show [Old Version] - Previously Unreleased

14. Letting Go [Single Edit] (September 1975 USA 7" single on capitol 4145, A-side. Reissued November 2014 as part of Record Store day in a picture sleeve with its original B-side "You Gave Me The Answer" on MPL/Communications/Hear Music HRM-36608-01)
NOTES: Tracks 6, 7, 8, 12 and 13 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED - the others have been on various CD compilations across the years.

WINGS was: Paul and Linda McCartney (Lead Vocals, Keyboards and Bass), Denny Laine (ex Moody Blues, Ginger Baker’s Air Force) plays Guitars, Jimmy McCulloch (ex Small Faces, Thunderclap Newman and Stone The Crows) on Guitars and Joe English on Drums. Other Musicians included Dave Mason (of Traffic) and Tom Scott playing Guitar and Saxophone on the pop single "Listen To What The Man Said" - while New Orleans keyboardist and ace songwriter Allen Toussaint tinkles the ivories on "Rock Show". Geoff Britton plays Drums on "Love In Song", "Letting Go" and "Medicine Jar" (Joe English plays on all the others).

The elaborate Hipgnosis artwork of the original 1975 vinyl LP (Gatefold Sleeve, Inner Sleeve, Two Posters and Two Stickers) is mostly intact in the 'Paul McCartney Archive Collection' card digipak – albeit in a higgledy-piggledy way. In fact apart from lyrics that are spread across several pages (wasting space mostly) and photos that reproduce the posters and inner sleeve (where are the stickers boys?) – I’d have to say that is pretty crappy stuff for a prestigious release like this. There's no liner notes - no history of where the album fits into the Wings catalogue – the huge success of "Venus And Mars" - No. 1 on both sides of the pond and pretty much the same everywhere else. There's no interviews or recollections – hell there isn't even repros of the 45 Pic Sleeves from around the world. Had a real reissue label like say Ace, Bear Family or even Cherry Red been given this project by an ex Beatle - they would have gone to absolute town on it. And the two naffly coloured CDs scuff easily as you take them in and out of their die-cut card slots while the 3-flap card digipak is in itself prone to crushing. And don't get me started on the extortionate pricing of the Super Deluxe Box Set - another rich Rock Star who doesn't need the money fleecing lifetime fans. Frankly despite looking pretty in some ways - for a supposed 'Special Edition' it all feels a tad ordinary in my book. But then you clap your cauliflower lugs on the Audio...and things improve big time...

While the opening steel-string acoustic strums of "Venus And Mars" with its high production values was always going to impress – the awkward peaks and dips in the rambling "Rock Show" was going to be the test of this Remaster – and whomever at Abbey Road has done a great job. Suddenly there's kick in those layered guitars and that riff bit is fantastic. I always thought that "Love In Song" should have been a lead off A-side single (relegated to the B-side of "Listen To What The Man Said" in May 1975) – it's one of the albums great tracks – an undeniably sweet Macca melody. The audio remaster is beautiful – that synth break and those strummed guitars – it's all so clear. The vaudevillian "You Gave Me The Answer" with its old-world treated vocal is so Beatles whimsy that it couldn’t fail to make bodies smile or wretch in equal measure. Whatever your poison (shall we dance – this is fun) – the audio is fabulous on it – so well balanced too. Even though "Magnito And Titanium Man" was a hit – I always hated its nonsensical nature and Macca's attitude that any old crap will do for lyrics. That said – there's no denying that it’s the best sounding track on this remaster – huge and alive like never before. But my crave is the Side 1 finisher – the fantastic Rock riffage of "Letting Go". It's much more powerful than before especially when those big brass fills come lurching in half way through. This album cut runs to 4:32 minutes while Disc 2 has the rarely heard 7" single edit at 3:36 minutes which I would swear is a different mix too.

Side 2 of the album opens with the pretty Reprise of "Venus And Mars" – those swirling synths and vocal pyrotechnics as it fades out are a lot clearer. It then segues into the moody and slick "Spirits Of Ancient Egypt" – a chugging guitar tune that with McCartney's backing vocals – actually feels like a 'Wings' song rather than the solo work of The Beatles' Bass Player. "Medicine Jar" is punchy enough but that terrible McCulloch lead vocal still jars - a problem that would all but ruin most of the "Wings At The Speed Of Sound" album in 1976 with substandard songs and even worse lead singers. Back to business and the album's other hidden nugget "Call Me Back Again" – now this baby sounds good – a wow even. The 'really good to see you down in New Orleans' DJ vocal on the irrepressible "Listen To What The Man Said" still sounds like fun and the track leaps out of your speakers with truly great clarity (you've forgotten how good that string break at the end is with Tom Scott soloing away). It ends on another forgotten McCartney gem "Treat Her Kind – Lonely Old People" – as poignant a song as he's even written – and sounding like a seriously undiscovered classic here. The less said about the pointless cover of Tony Hatch's "Crossroads" theme (an ITV TV show) – the better. Wish he'd put a studio version of the rocking "Soily" on here...

As you can imagine the 'Bonus Audio' of Disc 2 is a mishmash of brilliance and utter tosh. "Junior's Farm" is a typically great non-album Apple single but far more interesting is the B-side of the rare COUNTRY HAMS 45 – "Bridge On The River Suite". It's a trippy instrumental and I've put it on 70ts Fest CD-Rs only to have people ask me who the 'New Age' track is by? It's so un-McCartney it’s shocking and paved the way for "Thrillington" and his orchestral pieces to come. The cod Fats Domino/Professor Longhair R&B roll of "My Carnival" might have been fun to make but it's a pain to listen to now. A lot better is the new "Hey Diddle..." track – a pretty acoustic ditty that would have made an album-track or B-side (Linda shares vocals with Paul and it really works). For many one of the real prizes will be the simple "Let's Love" which is two minutes of McCartney at a piano getting close to a melody almost as lovely as "Blackbird" or "Mother Nature's Son". There's something great here trying to get out (but alas) and it makes for a real dip into his melodic genius. The other unreleased is the acoustic "4th Of July" – a roughly recorded demo that again feels softer and warmer that some of the tunes that made it onto the LP. Another song he's trying to work out – shame he didn't do a finished version of both.

His cover of you've got the cutest "Baby Face" is insufferable and the instrumental "Lunch Box/Odd Sox" the kind of mindless amble that gives Bonus Tracks a bad name. Better is the truly brilliant "Soily" – a fantastic riffing rocker from the 'One Hand Clapping' film. It sounds like the more snotty bastard brother of "Live And Let Die" in sheer attitude – the kind of riff that Guns N' Roses would kill a close relative to acquire. McCartney knew it worked and used it to end Wings gigs on a blaster. It's live-in-the-studio, rough around the edges and has massive punch/cool because of it. The other nugget on Disc 2 is the 7:09 minute version of "Rock Show" – an early version that is just straight rocking throughout – and for my money actually betters the more-showy finished cut. And the single edit of "Letting Go" is a genuine Bonus for fans after all these years...

To sum up - the 2014 'Paul McCartney Archive Collection' 2CD Version of 1975's "Venus And Mars" sounds great - even if the visuals let the side down a tad (docked a star for lack of effort). Buy and enjoy. Happiness in the homeland...

"Excitable Boy" by WARREN ZEVON (2007 Asylum/Rhino 'Expanded' CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Rub The Pot Roast All Over His Chest..." 

Like most Warren Zevon fans - I bought the March 2010 "Original Album Series" 5CD Mini Box Set to have the albums "Warren Zevon" (1976) and "Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School" (1980) on some form of CD. But despite its wickedly good content and cheap price – I was disappointed to find that all five titles are non-remasters - especially given that Rhino did stunning audio versions of "Excitable Boy" (1978), "Stand In The Fire (Live)" (1981) and "The Envoy" (1982) way back in 2007 and could have used those (all three were first-time-on-CD Expanded Remasters).

So as I own them I thought it time to return to my fave – the spiked, tender and yet wickedly contemporary "Excitable Boy". And rubbing pot roast all over my chest is exactly how a feel. What a winner this 2007 single disc CD reissue is. Here are the wet-haired two-fanged details...

UK and USA released late March 2007 – "Excitable Boy" by WARREN ZEVON on Asylum/Rhino 8122-79997-7 (Barcode 081227999773) is an 'Expanded' CD Remaster with Four Bonus Tracks and play out as follows (41:59 minutes):

1. Johnny Strikes up The Band

2. Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner

3. Excitable Boy

4. Werewolves Of London

5. Accidentally Like A Martyr

6. Nightime In The Switching Yard [Side 2]

7. Veracruz

8. Tenderness On The Block

9. Lawyers, Guns And Money

Tracks 1 to 9 are his 2nd album "Excitable Boy" – released 24 January 1978 in the USA on Asylum 6E-118 and March 1978 in the UK on Asylum K 53073. It peaked at No. 8 in February 1978 on the US album charts – but didn’t chart in the UK - Singer Jackson Browne and Guitarist Waddy Wachtel Produced.

BONUS TRACKS:

10. I Need A Truck (Outtake)

11. Werewolves Of London (Alternate Version)

12. Tule's Blues (Solo Piano Version)

14. Frozen Notes (Strings Version)

Tracks 10 to 14 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

The 20-page booklet is a pleasingly substantive affair – DAVID FRICKE's superb liner notes making much of Jackson Browne's friendship and musical patronage of Zevon who in 1975 was a complete unknown. Browne had already three charted US albums under his belt "Jackson Browne - aka "Saturate Before Use" (1972), "For Everyman" (1973) and the stunning "Late For The Sky" (1974) – so when he announced at a September 1975 Philly gig that this Warren Zevon friend of his was going to be 'big news' – people took notice and cheered (Browne then played several of Warren's songs including an early version of "Werewolves Of London"). Some years later the album "Excitable Boy" containing that winning song both sat pretty on the American charts. The 'empty shell-casings of bullets' and the 'gun on a dinner plate' photos that made up the inner US sleeve are reproduced on Pages 11 and 20 as are the lyrics to the album tracks (oddly not the bonus cuts). The song-by-song musician credits show his core band as – WARREN ZEVON on Piano, Guitars and all Lead Vocals, WADDY WACHTEL on Guitars and Vocals, LELAND SKLAR on Bass and RUSSELL KUNKEL on Drums with Guests (discussed below). There's even an advert for the Book "I'll Sleep When I'm Dead: The Dirty Life And Times Of Warren Zevon" by Crystal Zevon...

But the really big news for fans is the DAN HERSCH and BILL INGLOT Remaster. The audio on this sucker kicks you in the nuts – and its not loudness for the sake it. Every track is improved - given muscle and clarity - and the listen is so much better for it right across the board (this Expanded Edition also features four tasty Previously Unreleased Bonus Tracks dropped from the "Original Album Series" Box Set version).

Asylum launched three singles around the album in the UK – "Werewolves Of London" b/w "Tenderness On The Block" (February 1978, Asylum K 13111) – "Nighttime In The Switching Yard" b/w "Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner" (May 1978, Asylum K 13124) and finally "Excitable Boy" b/w "Veracruz" (October 1978, Asylum K 13140) – none charted. In the USA they faired better when "Werewolves Of London" lead the charge as the album's debut 45 with "Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner" on the flipside (Asylum E-45472). It rose to a respectable No. 21 on their pop charts in May 1978 giving the album a sustained bout of sales long after its February 1978 placing. They also issued "Lawyers, Guns And Money" with "Veracruz" on the B-side in May 1978 (Asylum E-45498) - but like "Nighttime In The Switching Yard" b/w "Johnny Strikes Up The Band" in October 1978 on Asylum E-45526 – neither charted.

The "Excitable Boy" album is a sensation really. All the potential that had shown up on his guest-heavy 1976 self-titled Asylum Records debut "Warren Zevon" came screaming to fruition on record number two. Admittedly at 31:49 minutes and with only 9 songs – it wasn't exactly a musical War & Peace. But there isn't a bad track on "Excitable Boy" and many of these quirky songs would become synonymous with Zevon and beloved by fans. And it didn't take a Mensa membership card to hear that beneath all that humour and blood and sex lurked the niggling ongoing aspects of his zigzag personality peeking through the lyrics like a cut he couldn’t plaster – his addictions to alcohol and pills that would take years to beat...

The bloodthirsty and kooky "Werewolves Of London" features Mick Fleetwood and John McVie of Fleetwood Mac on Drums and Bass while Linda Ronstadt and Jennifer Warnes lend backing vocals to the giddily macabre "Excitable Boy" with Waddy Wachtel chopping that axe and sessionman Jim Horn blowing a mean Saxophone. Karla Bonoff does lovely Harmony Vocals on "Accidentally Like A Martyr" while his long-time musical cohort Jorge Calderon plays Spanish Guitar on the hurting "Veracruz". Waddy Wachtel's Acoustic guitar work makes the gorgeous "Tenderness On The Block" - a song that always makes me think of our growing teenagers who aren't kids anymore (she's all grown up – she has a young man waiting). And who doesn't laugh at the touch-and-go 'gambling in Havana' wit of "Lawyers, Guns And Money" where the you-know-what has unceremoniously hit the fan...(send help Daddy please). There's an ache too in "Accidentally Like A Martyr" where "...the hurt gets worse and the heart gets harder..." But for me and second-only to the lovely "Tenderness..." is one of the album's true hidden nuggets - the hard-core Talking Heads guitar-funk of "Nighttime In The Switching Yard" – a song I used to constantly put on 70ts Fest CDR's when I worked at Reckless Records in Soho's Berwick Street. Without fail its funky-as-gnat's-underpants rhythms would bring excited kids to the counter – Who the Hell is this?

The Bonus Tracks are typically eclectic – the entirely Acapella "I Need A Truck" has him singing alone into an echoed microphone for less than a minute about trucks to haul his guns, his bad thoughts, Percocet tablets and Gin. Any version of "Werewolves Of London" is good news by me - and the 3:42 minute Alternate is just as quirky and rocking as the finished article. It doesn't say who's playing the Guitar – sounds like Wachtel – and the Bass is more pronounced too. It's like they’re almost there but still working out the kinks (and that 'ah ooooh' howl at the end is a hoot). "Tule's Blues" is probably the real prize here – a ballad named after his 1st wife about a relationship falling apart. It's a piano led melancholic thing – lovely and sad at the same time with lyrics like "...I hear a child's voice...does he ask if I'll be coming home soon..." The orchestral strings in "Frozen Notes" add a huge poignancy to another hurting song.

Zevon succumbed to Cancer in September 2003 aged only 56 – defiant, whimsical and thoughtful to the end. And as I replay the truly gorgeous and deeply wise "Tenderness On The Block" - I'm tearful. I for one am glad that this criminally overlooked CD only hammers home Warren Zevon's undeniable lifeforce and the rich legacy of his music. Be with the Boogie Angels you hard-knocks traveller...

This review is part of my SOUNDS GOOD Music Book Series. One of those titles is CLASSIC 1970s ROCK - an E-Book with over 250 entries and 2100 e-Pages - purchase on Amazon and search any artist or song (click the link below). Huge amounts of info taken directly from the discs (no cut and paste crap).