"Silk Degrees" by BOZ SCAGGS featuring Members of Toto and Little Feat (2007 Columbia/Legacy 'Expanded Edition' CD - Vic Anesini Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...The Dirty Lowdown..."

In hindsight it's extraordinary to think how loyal Columbia Records were to Boz Scaggs. His self-titled debut with Atlantic Records in 1969 had effectively tanked on release while his next three Columbia efforts - "Moments" (April 1971), "Boz Scaggs And Band" (December 1971) and "My Time" (September 1972) barely scrapped the Top 200 at No. 124, No. 198 and No.138 (his second LP for only 2 weeks). At least his fourth platter - the March 1974 Johnny Bristol produced "Slow Dancer" pushed on up to a respectable No. 81 - bringing in its wake a reissue of his 1969 Atlantic debut into the charts in July 1974 to No.171 for a few weeks. But man did their patience pay off.

"Silk Degrees" was a phenomenon. Released Stateside in March 1976 (August 1976 in the UK) - the LP began it's certain US ascent to an eventual peak of No. 2 and five million record sales slowly. First out of the blocks came the moderate hit of "It's Over" b/w "Harbor Lights" on Columbia 3-10319. That 45 eventually stalled at No. 38 on the US Pop charts while the follow-up single - the obvious "Lowdown" - was also paired up with "Harbor Lights" on the B-side in June 1976 for Columbia 3-10367. That slick piece of West Coast hip-sway hit the chart in early July and was stalling too when luck and fate stepped in. A DJ on a Cleveland Soul Station saw the crossover Rock-Soul appeal of the insanely hooky "Lowdown" and began spinning the thing incessantly on his night shifts to such a point that it caught on like wildfire. Hundreds of other stations soon followed suit and the album's most famous winner went to No. 2 in the singles charts. With it's cool-as-a-Bay-breeze artwork and super smooth production values - "Silk Degrees" the LP then began shifting album units by the ton – eventually lasting an astonishing 115 weeks on the American LP charts - over two years. It wasn’t as big as "Rumours" in February 1977 – but I can remember at the time – it sure felt like two went hand-in-hand in their LA domination of the world. Which brings us to this fab CD reissue of it. Here are the Lido Shuffles...

UK released 26 February 2007 - "Silk Degrees" by BOZ SCAGGS on Columbia/Legacy 82876 86715 2 (Barcode 828768671528) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue and Remaster with Three Live Bonus Tracks (Previously Unreleased) that plays out as follows (53:42 minutes):

1. What Can I Say [Side 1]

2. Georgia

3. Jump Street

4. What Do You Want The Girl To Do

5. Harbor Lights

6. Lowdown [Side 2]

7. It's Over

8. Love Me Tomorrow

9. Lido Shuffle

10. We're All Alone

Tracks 1 to 10 are his fifth studio album "Silk Degrees" - released March 1976 in the USA on Columbia Records PC 33920 and August 1976 in the UK on CBS Records S 81193. Produced by JOE WISSERT - it peaked at No. 2 in the USA and No. 20 in the UK.

BONUS TRACKS:

11. What Can I Say (Live)

12. Jump Street (Live)

13. It's Over (Live)

Tracks 11 to 13 were recorded at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, 15 August 1976 and are Previously Unreleased

Musicians:

BOZ SCAGGS - Lead Vocals and Guitar

LOUIE SHELTON - Guitars

FRED TACKETT (of Little Feat) - Guitars

DAVID PAICH (of Toto) - Keyboards

DAVID HUNGATE - Bass

JEFF PORCARO (of Toto) - Drums and Percussion

Guests:

PLAS JOHNSON - Saxophone on "What Can I Say"

PLAS JOHNSON and BUD SHANK - Saxophones on "Love Me Tomorrow"

LES DUDEK - Slide Guitar on "Jump Street"

CHUCK FINDLEY - Flugelhorn Solo on "Harbor Lights"

JIM HORN - Tenor Saxophone on "What Do You Want The Girl To Do"

AUGIE JOHNSON and JIM GILSTRAP (of Side Effect) - Backing Vocals on "What Can I Say" and "Lowdown"

CAROLYN WILLIS (of Honey Cone) - Backing Vocals on "What Can I Say" and "Lowdown"

MARTY McCALL (of Tuxedo Junction) - Backing Vocals on "What Can I Say" and "Lowdown"

MAXINE GREEN - Backing Vocals on "It's Over" and "Love Me Tomorrow"

MAXINE GREEN and PEPPER SWENSON - Backing Vocals on "What Do You Want The Girl To Do"

The 12-page booklet is a surprisingly detailed and informative affair. The text pages are peppered with those Moshe Brakha photos of Boz and A Hidden Girl by a bench looking all hipster and California - sunglasses and tanned legs at the ready - just as the sun goes down and the night festivities are about to begin. After writer and musician credits – Boz then provides an overview to his approach on the 1975 and 1976 recordings - his core band that included members of Toto and Little Feat - following that with track-by-track reminiscences on the lyrics and the songs. Noted writer and music buff BUD SCOPPA then provides superb liner notes on the ex Steve Miller Guitarist's career and the album's tangled history and the major contributions of its musicians and Producer. But the big news is a stunning Remaster from ADAM AYAN done at Gateway Mastering. Always a Rock Audiophile wet dream - "Silk Degrees" the Remaster doesn't disappoint - each track feels amazing - clear and full of power - with all that amazing musicianship on display.

After the success of "Lowdown" as a single (No. 2 in the USA) - Columbia reached for the next obvious winner - the Side 1 opener "What Can I Say". They paired it with the Side 2 smoocher "We're All Alone" in November 1976 and given the strength of the song were only rewarded with a surprisingly modest No. 42 placing for Columbia 3-10440. But in Blighty the album had been picking up steam and "What Can I Say" on CBS Records 4869 managed a No.10 hit on the English single charts in January 1977. Fred Tackett of Little Feat provides the guitar on the poppy "Georgia" while Les Dudek raises "Jump Street" up with some great slide guitar. Boz joins two of the ladies for backing vocals on "What Do You Want The Girl To Do" - Maxine Green and Pepper Swenson - an Allen Toussaint song I admire more than I actually like. The side ends with Chuck Findley playing a sweet Flugelhorn solo on the cuddle-up-my-love "Harbor Lights".

"Lowdown" sounds amazing and brings home one of the albums great secrets to success - the pairing of Boz as a Soulful Rock songwriter with Toto's David Paich. Paich had toured with Steely Dan and played alongside Jeff Porcaro on Becker and Fagan's demanding albums too - but here he stumps up a co-credit on five of the ten songs including "What Can I Say", "Jump Street", "Lowdown", "It's Over" and "Lido Shuffle" with a further solo songwriting credit on "Love Me Tomorrow". You'd have to say that the combo of Scaggs, his Toto/Little Feat core band and all those superb session players and singers proved a lethal mix. As you listen you pick up on Scoppa's liner notes observations – the album featured an array of cool and hip tunes tailor-made for radio. "It's Over", "Love Me Tomorrow" and "Lido Shuffle" were all potential hits – in fact it often feels like SD is a whole album full of them. The three live cuts capture a moment of Yacht Rock emerging from its 1974/1975 gestation-period and now out in the open for all to enjoy. The audio is also good.

The 1978 follow-up LP "Down Two Then Left" came as something of a disappointment I remember even though tracks like the fab "A Clue", "We're Waiting" and the funky "Gimme The Goods" still displayed that same sound and magic.

To sum up - "Silk Degrees" is the kind of mid-Seventies slick-dick that still swings and this wicked-sounding 2007 CD Remaster has done that beach babe a proper solid. Hand me those sunglasses please...

"Don’t Look Back" by BOSTON (July 2006 and March 2008 Epic/Legacy CD Reissue - Tom Scholz Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Take A Chance On Rock 'n' Roll..."

17 million Americans and gazillions more worldwide devoured the August 1976 debut of the "More Than A Feeling" LP. "Boston" by BOSTON on Epic JE 34188 was a monster that had Rock legs stretching over a year and more (it was released December 1976 in the UK on Epic S EPC 81611 and proved just as popular). The pressure to deliver spaceship-guitar juggernaut No. 2 was immense and Boston took two years before they popped out "Don't Look Back" in August 1978. Despite mixed reviews and some very vocal fan disappointment - initially it garnished humungous sales eventually amassing over seven million units sold – the kind of chart statistics most other groups would nobble dear old Granny Mae for.

But its transition to CD has been strange and piecemeal. With a staggering four million-plus album sales in the first month alone – Boston's second platter was always going to be a contender for 'first release' on the new fangled format. But the early 80s issues were released haphazard, withdrawn, never properly annotated etc and an overly expensive Mastersound Gold CD has been deleted years - leaving a decades-long big fat remastering audio hole in a very big catalogue title.

Well here comes the inevitable definitive CD Remaster - done in 2006 by Band founder member and Lead guitarist Tom Scholz. And like its illustrious self-titled predecessor (also released 2006) – "Don’t Look Back" lacks any musical extras but is not surprisingly a sonic doozy of amazing density. Here are the feelin’ satisfied details...

UK released 10 July 2006 – "Don’t Look Back" by BOSTON on Epic/Legacy 82876822412 (Barcode 828768224120) comes in card digipak packaging with a newly updated 12-page booklet. It's peddled as a 'Collector's Limited Edition' but it's widely available for sale and at a pittance of a price too (37:44 minutes). It was then reissued March 2008 on Epic/Legacy 88697184012 (Barcode 886971840124) in a standard jewel case with the same 2006 Remaster, same expanded booklet and photo of the spaceship beneath the see-through CD tray.

The updated liner notes by uber-fan DAVID WILD feature new interviews with band leader and producer TOM SCHOLZ that elaborate on the anxious wait by the public and record label for the album – the hours in his homemade studio basement – the pile-em-high guitar layers – the press' muted response – perfectionist Scholz's own ambivalence to the record (he felt it was rushed and too short) and so on. There are various colour period photos of the boys on stage – in the studio – Scholz at a huge church organ and the usual reissue credits. Scholz has returned to the tapes with BILL RYAN and TOBY MOUNTAIN and done an exhaustive and painstaking remaster - the results are HUGE with a capitol 'H'. It's a fantastic listen...

1. Don't Look Back [Side 1]

2. The Journey

3. It’s Easy

4. A Man I'll Never Be

5. Feelin' Satisfied [Side 2]

6. Party

7. Used To Bad News

8. Don't Be Afraid

Tracks 1 to 8 are their second studio album "Don’t Look Back" – released August 1978 in the USA on Epic FE 35050 and August 1978 in the UK on Epic S EPC 86057. Produced by TOM SCHOLZ – it peaked at No. 1 in the USA and No. 9 in the UK.

BOSTON was:

BRAD DELPH – Lead and Harmony Vocals on all songs

TOM SCHOLZ – Lead and Rhythm Guitars and Organ (on all songs)

BARRY GOUDREAU – Lead and Rhythm Guitars

FRAN SHEEHAN - Bass

SIB HASHIAN - Drums on all (except "The Journey" where all instruments are Tom Scholz)

Rumour has it that "Arrival" was to be the album's name but on hearing ABBA had an album of the same name - the opening track "Don't Look Back" was chosen as the moniker. That signature guitar sound of theirs kicks in with a wallop. To give you an idea of the complexity we're dealing with here - Brad Goudreau handled the 'virtuoso intro, ending leads and slide' while Tom Scholz did the Chorus and Middle Leads. The interlude instrumental "The Journey" features TS on all instruments and was an obvious ape of the very popular "Foreplay" instrumental that leads into the rocking "Long Time" on the debut LP. Here it segues into another chipper rocker "it's Easy" - again with the huge guitars. I'm never a man for big hairy-rocker ballads - but this time around the near seven-minutes of "A Man I'll Never Be" is far more impressive than I remember it.

But its Side 2 that offers more of what I want. The opening one-two sucker punch of "Feelin' Satisfied" and especially the fantastic little boogie number "Party" are up there with the best of the first album - let's get together honey - it's alright indeed. Brad Delph contributed the musically upbeat "Used To Bad News" that Scholz turns into a Boston song with clever organ melody lines. It ends on the huge rocker "Don't Be Afraid" where layers of guitars and vocals assault your ears in a song that's actually just a little too busy.

Always seen as a poor man's cousin to the spectacular "Boston" debut of 1976 - re-listening to "Don’t Look Back" in 2017 – it's easy to hear why this kind of Rock caught the attention and hearts of millions even if it was perceived at the time as being a bit of a let down. But I'd argue that "Don't Look Back" is way better than that and this superb remaster finally does that second-time around feeling more than proud. As the singer says - take a chance on Rock 'n' Roll...

"Roy Buchanan/Second Album" by ROY BUCHANAN featuring his Debut Album and Second Studio Albums for Polydor Records in 1972 and 1973 (April 2002 UK Beat Goes On Compilation – 2LPs onto 1CD - Andrew Thompson Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Haunted House..."

Arkansas-born Telecaster virtuoso Roy Buchanan (born Leroy) was once described on American TV (in 1971) as "The Best Unknown Guitarist In The World". He was even feted by The Rolling Stones as a possible replacement for Brian Jones (along with his fellow Polydor label mate Rory Gallagher) - luckily neither took up the job.

And on the evidence of these two albums (his 1972 debut and its 1973 follow up) - it's easy to hear why they wanted ROY BUCHANAN. This guy could bend a string - make that Tele sucker cry - especially when it came to his beloved musical genres of Blues and Country. Here are the fretful details...

UK released April 2002 – "Roy Buchanan/Second Album" by ROY BUCHANAN on Beat Goes On BGOCD 541 (Barcode 5017261205414) features two Seventies LPs Remastered onto one CD and breaks down as follows (66:18 minutes):

1. Sweet Dreams

2. I Am A Lonesome Fugitive

3. Cajun

4. John's Blues

5. Haunted House

6. Pete's Blue [Side 2]

7. The Messiah Will Come

8. Hey, Good Looking

Tracks 1 to 8 are his debut album "Roy Buchanan" - released August 1972 in the UK on Polydor 2391 041 and in the USA on Polydor PD 5033.

BAND was:

ROY BUCHANAN - Lead Guitar

CHUCK TILLEY - Lead Vocals

DICK HEINTZ - Organ and Piano

TEDDY IRWIN - Rhythm Guitar

PETER VAN ALLEN (and DON PAYNE) - Bass

NED DAVIS - Drums

Four tracks on the debut album are Buchanan originals (3, 4, 6 and 7) - the other four are "Sweet Dreams" (a Don Gibson cover), "I Am A Lonesome Fugitive" (a Liz and Casey Anderson song covered by Merle Haggard), "Haunted House" (a Bob Geddins cover) and "Hey, Good Looking" (a Hank Williams cover). Chuck Tilley sings Lead Vocals on "I Am A Lonesome Fugitive", "Haunted House" and "Hey, Good Lookin'" - while Roy Buchanan gives a Spoken Lead Vocal on "The Messiah Will Come". Tracks 1, 3, 4 and 6 are Instrumentals.

9. Filthy Ted

10. After Hours

11. Five String Blues

12. Thank You Lord

13. Treat Her Right [Side 2]

14. I Won't Tell You No Lies

15. Tribute To Elmore James

16. She Once Lived Here

Tracks 9 to 16 are his 2nd LP "Second Album" - released March 1973 in the UK on Polydor 2391 062 and in the USA on Polydor PD 5046.

Five tracks are Roy Buchanan originals (9, 11, 12, 14 and 15) - the other three are "After Hours" (an Avery Parish cover, Pianist with The Erskine Hawkins Orchestra), "Treat Her Right" (a Roy Head cover) and "She Once Lived Here" (a Gene Autry cover). Chuck Tilley sings Lead Vocals only on "Treat Her Right" with Roy Buchanan singing Lead Vocals only on "Thank You Lord" - the other six tracks are Instrumentals. The Band is the same for the second album except that DON PAYNE replaces Peter Van Allen on Bass.

The 12-page booklet has typically superb liner notes by JOHN TOBLER on Buchanan's strange career that ended in sadness and not nearly enough albums sales (he took his own life in 1988 aged only 48). It doesn't say who remastered these albums (or where it was done) but the audio is great - remarkably clear - especially on the stunning Blues Rock workout standouts like "Pete's Blues".

His first album is actually a weird one - an uncomfortable mixture of hick country songs sung by the ah-schucks Chuck Tilley - sided with blistering Blues Rock instrumentals like "John's Blues" (sounding like Stevie Ray Vaughan a decade before the event) and the decidedly weird doom and gloom of "The Messiah Will Come Again" spoken by Buchanan as if he's been attending too many Bible classes. And while Polydor/Chronicles decided to name their 1992 2CD Retro Anthology “Sweet Dreams" after his clever instrumental re-working of Don Gibson's "Sweet Dreams" - the debut album belongs to the 7:17 minutes of "Pete's Blues" which slowly lets rip his playing – utterly amazing stuff.

The second record goes for five instrumentals over the debut's four - allowing his virtuosity to shine through. It opens with the rather dull "Filthy Teddy" but better is the Bluesy "After Hours" - the kind of Blues tune Gary Moore used to adore and play with the abandon the song allows. Dick Heintze's piano playing gives a nice backdrop to "Five String Blues" - our Roy bending strings to get those pinging notes almost the whole way through (it's virtually one long solo). The pretty ditty "Thank You Lord" is shockingly sweet - it opens with acoustic guitar and laid back singing like he's suddenly become Nick Drake overnight - but then fades halfway through into an electric guitar strum that is quite beautiful.

Side Two opens with a potential single - his cover of Roy Head's "Treat Her Right" complete with Chuck Tilley vocal and a wicked guitar-driven dance beat. We go into an Atlanta Rhythm Section "So Into You" rhythm with the Funky "I Won't Tell You No Lies" where Heintze plays a blinder on the piano - and along with Roy's guitar playing - the whole near seven-minute makes for a very tasty instrumental shuffle. Blues Rock returns with a vengeance on "Tribute For Elmore James" where Roy gives in some slashing guitar at first (aping Elmore's style) then goes off into his own boogie - making the whole song sound like Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac meets Wishbone Ash (a combo I'd buy into any day of the week). It ends on the rather lacklustre Gene Autry cover "She Once Lived Here" - a disappointment after what went before.

Both of these albums have their highs and lows (more highs that not thankfully) and show why his loss so young is grieved by fans the world over.

Well done to BGO for getting these two Seventies corkers out there...

BGO CD reissues/remasters for Roy Buchanan are...

1. Roy Buchanan/Second Album

August 1972 and March 1973 debut and second studio albums – reissued April 2002 as a 2CD set on Beat Goes On BGOCD 541 (Barcode 5017261205414)

2. That's What I'm Here For/Rescue Me

February 1974 and February 1975 third and fourth studio albums – reissued August 2008 as a 2CD set on Beat Goes On BGOCD 806 (Barcode 5017261205414) 

Note: Rescue Me was known as "In The Beginning" in the USA

3. Live Stock/A Street Called Straight
November 1975 and October 1976 fifth and sixth albums (fifth is live) – reissued April 2005 on Beat Goes On BGOCD 682 (Barcode 5017261206824)

4. Loading Zone/You're Not Alone
June 1977 and May 1978 seventh and eight LPs - reissued February 2017 on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1279 (Barcode 5017261212795)

"Loading Zone/You're Not Alone" by ROY BUCHANAN (February 2017 Beat Goes On Reissue - 2LPs onto 2CDs - Andrew Thompson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Extraordinary Chops..."

Between 1972 and 1976 - master-player ROY BUCHANAN pumped out a whopping six albums on Polydor Records (five studio and one live) - yet the guitar-mad buying public in his native Blighty didn't seem to notice nor care. Even a budget compilation from April 1976 simply called "Roy Buchanan" and priced at £1.70 on Polydor's Flashback Series (2482 275) didn't tempt. Over in the USA his records had been charting in the lower ends of the Top 200 (1973's "Second Album even made it up to No. 89) - but in the main no matter how good or even hair-raising his playing was - commercially Roy Buchanan never ignited to the degree his talent deserved (his 1975 "Live Stock" set didn't even receive a UK release – only Polydor USA).

In fact since his horrible passing in a suspicious US Police-internment 'accident' in August 1988 aged only 39 (still the subject of intense speculation) – in 2017 Roy Buchanan's name isn't spoken with the same awe as say Stevie Ray Vaughan, Rory Gallagher or Jeff Beck. Musical insiders knew him but few else seemed to - with Beck even dedicating his gorgeous and Soulful cover version of Stevie Wonder’s "'Cause We Ended As Lovers" on 1975's "Blow By Blow" to RB (Buchanan was said to have been deeply touched). A known unknown. So I'd like to argue that this fab little 2CD reissue from BGO screams that he should be.

Some history first - after his contract expired with Polydor - Buchanan wasn't without a label for long. Ahmet Ertegun of the mighty Atlantic Records quickly snapped him up and soon had RB going the same way as his musical contemporaries of the time (Guitarist Janne Schaffer, Bassist Stanley Clarke, Keyboardist Patrice Rushen and Drummer Narada Michael Walden to name but a few) - down the road of commercial Fusion Rock largely trail-blazed by Jeff Beck's double-whammy of "Blow By Blow" and "Wired" in 1975 and 1976 (both produced by George Martin of Beatles fame). Which finally brings us to this superlative 2017 twofer from England's Beat Goes On that gathers together Buchanan's "Loading Zone" and "You're Not Alone" from 1977 and 1978. Both issued on Atlantic in the USA – these records have been off the CD reissue radar for years - especially the amazing "You're Not Alone". They both feature a truly stellar cast of likeminded and talented musicians (see list below) as well as genuinely blistering guitar work from RB. Here are the fretful details...

UK released 24 February 2017 - "Loading Zone/You're Not Alone" on Beat Goes On BGOCD1279 (Barcode 5017261212795) offers 2LPs as straightforward remasters onto 2CDs and plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (41:01 minutes):
1. The Heart Of The Battle [Side 1]
2. Hidden
3. The Circle
4. Adventures Of Brer Rabbit and Tar Baby
5. Ramon's Blues
6. Green Onions [Side 2]
7. Judy
8. Done Your Daddy Dirty
9. Your Love
Tracks 1 to 9 are his seventh album (sixth studio) "Loading Zone" - released June 1977 in the USA on Atlantic Records SD 18219 (reissued on Atlantic SD 19138) and July 1977 in the UK on Polydor 2391 295. Produced by STANLEY CLARKE - it peaked at No. 105.

"Loading Zone" musicians:
ROY BUCHANAN - Lead Guitars on All Tracks
SCOTT MUSMANNO and RON FOSTER - Lead and backing Vocals on "The Circle" (also co-wrote the song)
STEVE CROPPER [of Booker T & The MG's] - Lead Guitar - 2nd Solo on "Ramon's Blues" and 1st and 3rd Solos on "Green Onions" – also Rhythm Guitar on "The Circle" and "Done Your Daddy Dirty"
RAYMOND GOMEZ - Rhythm Guitar on "The Heat Of The Battle", "The Circle" and "Done Your Daddy Dirty"
MALCOLM LUKENS - Keyboards on "The Heat Of The Battle", "Ramon's Blues", "Judy", "Done Your Daddy Dirty" and "Your Love"
JAN HAMMER - Acoustic Piano on "Hidden"
STANLEY CLARKE - Bass on "The Heat Of The Battle", "The Circle" and Bass, Strings and Flute on "Adventures Of Brer Rabbit And Tar Baby"
DONALD "Duck" DUNN [of Booker T & The MG's] - Bass on "Green Onions"
WILL LEE - Bass on "Judy" with Bass, Flute and Strings on "Your Love"
DENNIS PARKER - Bass on "The Circle", "Ramon's Blues" and "Done Your Daddy Dirty"
NARADA MICHAEL WALDEN - Drums on "The Heat Of The Battle" and Drums and Piano on "Your Love"
DAVID GARIBALDI - Drums on "The Circle", "Ramon's Blues", "Green Onions" and "Done Your Daddy Dirty"

Disc 2 (40:05 minutes):
1. The Opening... Miles From Earth [Side 1]
2. Turn To Stone
3. Fly... Night Bird
4. 1841 Shuffle
5. Down By The River [Side 2]
6. Supernova
7. You're Not Alone
Tracks 1 to 7 are his eight-album "You're Not Alone" - released May 1978 in the USA on Atlantic SD 19170 (no UK release). Produced by RAYMOND SILVA - it peaked at No. 119 on the American LP charts.

"You're Not Alone"
ROY BUCHANAN – All Lead Guitars
RAY GOMEZ – Acoustic and Rhythm Guitars
GARY St. CLAIR – Lead Vocals on "Down By The River"
LUTHER VANDROSS, KRYSTAL DAVIS, ALFA ANDERSON and DAVID LASLEY – backing Vocals on "Down By The River"
WILLIE WEEKS – Bass
ANDREW NEWMARK – Drums

The card slipcase is classy and the 20-page booklet features brilliant and in-depth liner notes from noted Mojo contributor CHARLES WARING. The albums inner artwork is repro'd - musician credits - and properly great work from Waring explaining Buchanan's standing amongst his contemporaries and his almost inexplicable inability to get arrest chart-wise in the UK. But for most fans - it will the thrill of these albums Remastered in High Def by ANDREW THOMPSON that will have them licking their chops. Even Stanley Clarke was at the helm of "Loading Zone" - I always found its production all over the place - whilst the simple 'crank it and record it live' mentality that surrounded "You're Not Alone" seems to have worked better. "Loading Zone" sounds great - especially thrill-moments like "Ramon's Blues" - but the very "Wish You Were Here" sounding "You're Not Alone" is fantastic - rocking like a mother one second on Joe Walsh's "Turn To Stone" then suddenly coming on like James Vincent or Jeff Beck or David Gilmour on a Fusion-Rock tip the next. In fact for me "You're Not Alone" is a masterpiece and wildly overlooked - had it come out in 1972 maybe the world would have jumped up and noticed its vague spacey panorama of sound stages - but as it arrived primarily only in the USA in 1978 - England once again passed on a goody. Let's get to the music...

Both albums are a mix of Rock and Fusion with the second especially more to the latter. 1977's "Loading Zone" opens with Stanley Clarke's "The Heat Of The Battle" and we're very much in "Blow By Blow" and "Wired" territory - guitar pyrotechnics ahoy. Buchanan's own "Hidden" comes on all acoustic and piano and is pretty like the softer passages of a Mike Oldfield opus - his playing Soulful. I'm not sure what anyone was thinking when they made the decidedly poppy "The Circle" - Scott Musmanno leading vocals in what feels like an awkward child on the album complete with 'aah' backing vocals. A short Rockabilly interlude comes with the dismissible "Adventures Of Brer Rabbit And Tar Baby" - but at last the album ignites with "Ramon's Blues" where a super-band that includes Steve Cropper from Booker T & The MG's gives the six-and-a-half-minute Blues Instrumental a huge boost. Buchanan and Cropper share solos (Roy on one and three while Steve takes Number Two) – ending a patchy LP side on a real high.

Side 2 opens with a cover of the 1962 Stax classic "Green Onions" that includes the original Booker T & The MG's hustlers - Steve Cropper on Guitar with Donald "Duck" Dunn on Bass. Again Buchanan and Cropper shares lead guitar solos (SC on 1&3 while RB takes 2&4) over an eight-minute instrumental with Malcolm Lukens trying to fill in on organ for Booker T. Jones. Although RB's playing is at time hair-raising - about halfway through it's already overstaying its welcome. By direct contrast - drummer Narada Michael Walden's "Judy" offers a Fusion slowy worth having even if RB's guitars are far too distant in the mix. Another highlight comes in the dirty Rock-Funk of the appropriately titled "Done Your Daddy Dirty" - his slide playing wild and brilliant as the boys boogie gamely in the background. The album ends on another pretty Narada contribution but unfortunately Roy chooses to sing (he never had a great voice) and then dollops it with strings and brass. It's dreadful stuff.

Luckily album Number two "You're Not Alone" elevates this release into something else. The beautiful "Opening - Miles From Earth" written by Mauritian keyboardist Jean Roussel is pure synth-tinkering Fusion in the vein of James Vincent and "Space Traveler" or Dexter Wansel and "Life On Mars". But then - suddenly and without warning - the in-between tracks silence bursts into the biggest guitar riffage you've ever heard as RB does a cover of Joe Walsh's "Turn To Stone". I've loved this JW stunner for over 45 years - turning up first on Walsh's 1972 "Barnstorm" debut album after he left The James Gang and then again in a more polished form on his US 1974 (UK 1975) album "So What". Here Buchanan takes a feel of both disparate JW versions (the rough grungy guitar of the original and the mellow polish of the remake) and throws in keyboard passages that meld Rock and Fusion. It's amazing stuff. But then he comes on all "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" with the equally cool "Fly...Night Bird" where a beats comes in half way through that might have Pink Floyd lawyers feeling itchy. It then proceeds to go into a David Gilmour type guitar solo that seems to last forever - RB with his axe ramped up to 13 and beyond as he races up and down the frets like he's trying to out Jeff Beck. That perfect side then ends on a fabulous Rock Boogie penned by RB called "1841 Shuffle" - chugging its way into a fantastic groove that surely someone somewhere shoulda-oughta noticed.

Side 2 opens with another smartly chosen cover version - this time from Neil Young's second solo LP in 1969 "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere". Buchanan gives "Down By The River" over nine-minutes and the track even includes Luther Vandross on Backing Vocals (dreaming of a solo career) alongside vocalist Alpha Anderson who did stints with disco-darlings Chic. RB's version of this rocker has lead vocals from the obscure Gary St. Clair who'd previously recorded one self-titled LP in 1971 on Paramount Records (PAS 6020). With the plead of St. Clair and the almost church-like backing vocals - Buchanan's "Down By The River" feels like CSN revisiting their own song while his note-bending floats over the "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" meets Joe Walsh's "County Fair" rhythm section. It's epic stuff and an inspired cover.

"Supernova" is a straight-up Rock 'n' Roller with its skirt up in the air while RB goes all Marty McFly on his axe. The combined talents of Roussel, Newmark, Weeks and Silva wrote the outer-space synth piece "You're Not Alone" - an eight-minute instrumental that again feels like Pink Floyd circa 1975 - Buchanan sounding like David Gilmour giving it some British suburban misery on the guitar. An impressive finish to an impressive album...

Although there are several brill bits on "Loading Zone" - for me it's definitely the weaker of the two LPs. But "You're Not Alone" is a gem – an overlooked Rock-Fusion winner that warrants a second go-round. In fact I'd argue that if ever a reissue deserved your inner axeman worship - then this is it. Well done once again to BGO for such a tasty job done - and Rock On RB wherever you are...

BGO CD reissues/remasters for Roy Buchanan are...

1. Roy Buchanan/Second Album

August 1972 and March 1973 debut and second studio albums – reissued April 2002 as a 2CD set on Beat Goes On BGOCD 541 (Barcode 5017261205414)

2. That’s What I’m Here For/Rescue Me

February 1974 and February 1975 third and fourth studio albums – reissued August 2008 as a 2CD set on Beat Goes On BGOCD 806 (Barcode 5017261205414) Note: Rescue Me was known as "In The Beginning" in the USA

3. Live Stock/A Street Called Straight
November 1975 and October 1976 fifth and sixth albums (fifth is live) – reissued April 2005 on Beat Goes On BGOCD 682 (Barcode 5017261206824)

4. Loading Zone/You’re Not Alone
June 1977 and May 1978 seventh and eight LPs - reissued February 2017 on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1279 (Barcode 5017261212795)

"Eddie Money" by EDDIE MONEY (January 2013 Rock Candy ‘Remastered & Reloaded’ CD Reissue - Jon Astley Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Two Tickets To Paradise..."

Ex New York City Cop and raspy vocalist EDDIE MONEY (Eddie Mahoney) produced a slew of albums for Columbia Records (CBS in the UK) between 1978 and 1992. But his reputation as one of the great Ian Hunter Rock 'n' Roller-types rests on his first four albums - which America's 'Rock Candy Records' have chosen to reissue in 2013 as 'Collector's Editions Remastered & Reloaded'.

I bought the vinyl LPs at the time and loved every good time minute of them. In fact I worked with a band in Dublin called 'Rogue Angel' who used to cover several of his tunes in their brill residency at Toner's Bar in Baggot Street (great memories). But frankly the quality of Money's songs began to taper off by his third platter "Playing For Keeps" in August 1980 and "No Control" in July 1982 wasn't a whole lot better. For me there's only ever been this - his rattling "Eddie Money" debut from late 1977 and the upbeat follow-up "Life For The Taking" released Stateside in January 1979. Two Tickets To Paradise indeed - here are the Rock and Roll Stars...

USA released January 2013 - "Eddie Money" by EDDIE MONEY on Rock Candy Records CANDY172 (Barcode 5055300356567) is a straightforward Remaster of his 1977 US Debut LP with upgraded booklet and plays out as follows (39:46 minutes):

1. Two Tickets To Paradise [Side 1]

2. You've Really Got A Hold On Me

3. Wanna Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star

4. Save A Little Love In Your Heart For Me

5. So Good To Be In Love Again

6. Baby Hold On [Side 2]

7. Don't Worry

8. Jealousys

9. Got To Get Another Girl

10. Gamblin Man

Tracks 1 to 10 are his Debut studio album "Eddie Money" - released October 1977 in the USA on Columbia PC 34909 and March 1978 in the UK on CBS Records S CBS 82434. Produced by BRUCE BOTNIK (of The Doors fame) and Recorded/Engineered by ANDY JOHNS - it peaked at No. 37 on the US LP charts in the summer of 1978 (didn't chart UK).

Musicians:

EDDIE MONEY - Lead Vocals, Piano and Harmonica

JIMMY LYON - Guitar

ALAN PASQUA, RANDY NICHOLS and FREDDIE WEBB - Keyboards

LONNIE TURNER and BOB 'Pops' POPWELL - Bass

GARY MALLABER and KEVIN CALHOUN - Percussion

GARY MALLABER – Drums all on all tracks except those listed below

GENE PARDUE - Drums on "Wanna Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star", "Don't Worry", and "Gamblin Man"

Guests:

JO BAKER - Second Vocal on "Baby Hold On"

TOM SCOTT - Tenor and Alto Sax on "You've Really Got A Hold On Me" and "Jealousys"

The 12-page booklet is pretty to look at - live photos from the period - repro's of the Japanese and US singles for "Two Tickets To Paradise", a 'Big Bucks' Eddie Money ten-dollar memorabilia banknote, a Columbia Records trade advert talking about the 'school of hard knocks' and new liner notes from HOWARD JOHNSON. Including 2012 interviews with Eddie about that heady time and how the two huge hits of "Two Tickets To Paradise" and "Baby Hold On" broke the album on American Radio – Money stated his intentions from the outset and how! EM wanted to be a 'Rock and Roll Star' – pursuing that end no matter what. So a lot of the songs are self-explanatory and also show there was a lot of jealousy from others on the scene at the time because he actually got there – albeit after years of gig and plugging graft.

Although released in the autumn of 1977 – "Eddie Money" didn’t dent the US Top 200 until the first week of July in 1978 where it began a slow climb to eventually peak at No. 39 - staying on chart for an impressive 46 weeks. It was the beginning EM needed because the second platter "Life For The Taking" would go Top 20 in 1979 - peaking at No. 17. Fans will also know that less than a handful of tracks from "Eddie Money" have been available on a 'Greatest Hits' set as Remasters and that this is the first time the entire album has been done (ditto for the other three). There are no lyrics and its hugely disappointing that there isn't 'anything' extra by way of bonus material - but at least the Audio makes up for those shortcomings...

Experienced Audio Engineer JON ASTLEY (The Who, Pete Townshend, Tears For Fears, The Boomtown Rats, Bad Company and more) has handled the 24-bit Digital Remaster from original tapes at 'Close To The Edge' Mastering in Twickenham, England - and this sucker 'rocks' for all the right reasons. How good is it to hear songs like the Soulful cover of Smokey Robinson's Motown classic "You've Really Got A Hold On Me" and the Oh God I've been working so hard barroom bar-band sweat of "Wanna Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star" sound this good...

The album opens with a bopping Rock winner "Two Tickets To Paradise" – an EM original about waiting to talk his gal on a trip – get away from the grim reality of the big city choke. His Soulful cover of the Smokey Robinson and The Miracles classic "You've Really Got A Hold On Me" is a fantastic groove brought to life by a trio - his passionate vocals, Jimmy Lyons on Guitar and Tom Scott sailing over the whole thing with those cool Saxophone notes. Songwriter Chris Solsberg would co-write a lot with Eddie on the 1979 "Life For The Taking" LP - for the debut he throws in another cracking 'rocker' - the mission statement "Wanna Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star". It's garage vocals and guitars sound brill on the Remaster. "Save A Little Room In Your Heart For Me" is the big ballad - a keyboard led pleader that reminds me of Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers when they'd hit you with a 'touching' melody you weren't expecting amidst all the American riffage. Side 1 ends on a wicked co-write with Jimmy Lyon - the dancing castanets of "So Good To Be In Love Again" - a hugely likeable song that could easily have been another radio hit.

Side 2 opens with the album's other winner - the catchy "Baby Hold On". It entered the US singles charts in April 1978 eventually rising to No. 11 - staying on the charts for eleven weeks ("Two Tickets To Paradise" followed in July 1978 peaking at No. 22). The next EM/Jimmy Lyon song "Don't Worry" sounds like a different band in ways while the wrongly-spelt "Jealousys" gets back to hooky business in a big way. Eddie goes all Jimi Hendrix with the doubled-vocal and guitar opening of "Got To Get Another Girl" - another song about a Rock 'n' Roller who can't control her (oh dear). "Gamblin Man" is co-written with Dan Alexander of The Rockets and ends the album on an upbeat Rock bopper. 

After years in the Rock 'n' Roll wilderness (he'd been gigging since 1974) – his second platter "Life For The Taking" (which I’ve also reviewed) only consolidated the strides EM made on his self-titled debut.

Despite the lack of extras and that greedy full-price tag - this is a stone 5-star CD remaster of "Eddie Money" and I recommend you 'Save A Little Room In Your Heart' for Eddie Mahoney's Rock 'n' Roll charms...

The January 2013 Rock Candy Records CD Remasters for EDDIE MONEY are:

1. Eddie Money (October 1977 debut LP) - Rock Candy CANDY172 (Barcode 5055300356567)

2. Life For The Taking (January 1979 2nd LP) - Rock Candy CANDY173 (Barcode 5055300356574)

3. Playing For Keeps (August 1980 3rd LP) - Rock Candy CANDY174 (Barcode 5055300356581)

4. No Control (July 1982 4th LP) - Rock Candy CANDY175 (Barcode 5055300356598)

"Close To The Edge: How Yes's Masterpiece Defined Prog Rock" by WILL ROMANO (March 2017 Backbeat Paperback Book) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Total Mass Retain..."

I've been pouring over Will Romano's book for about a fortnight now and there's both good news and bad - with the bad being largely out of his control and the good news hugely outweighing any annoying omissions.

At the age of 58 (I'm 59 this September) - I'm probably one of the old gits this New York writer has aimed his book at. Romano has already penned a tome on the subject of Progressive Rock - "Mountains Come Out Of The Sky: The Illustrated History Of Prog Rock - Prog Rock FAQ" - which was an excellent and truly informative read(aka "PROG ROCK FAQ"). Romano has also scribed a homage to a fave subject of mine called - "Big Boss Man: The Life & Music Of Bluesman Jimmy Reed". So he's not new to this music-book malarkey...

"Close To The Edge: How Yes's Masterpiece Defined Prog Rock" was published March 2017 by Backbeat Books in oversized paperback - 288-pages of seriously in-depth detail about a September 1972 album that amazed then - and is still making jaws drop 45 years later in 2017.

The fourth YES album "Close To The Edge" had only three tracks - one of which was the 18-minute 4-part "Close To The Edge" suite on Side 1. The others over on Side 2 were "And You and I" - four-parts at just under eleven minutes - and "Siberian Khatru" (all one track) at just under ten minutes. "Close To The Edge" had taken months to rehearse and record and cemented the rep given this most British of bands by adventurous Rock with "The Yes Album" and "Fragile" from either end of 1971.

Centred are 12-pages of photos - but only one of the cover – no rear, no inner gatefold, no inner bag? For an album that was so dominated by Roger Dean's artwork - especially the inner painting and the beautifully CTTE scripted lyric bag - it's absence here gives you no insight into what the actual LP looked like - that whole tactile thing. I dare say Romano and Backbeat couldn't get clearance from Dean to reproduce that inner sleeve that so many of us poured over back in the day (I even copied the writing into my schoolbooks) or even show the other three unused RD paintings that turned up for our titillation on the Steve Wilson Remixed 'Panegyric' reissues of 2013 (CD and BLU RAY).

He does reproduce the American A-side label for Atlantic SD 19133 - but sloppily it's a late 70s pressing with the corporate Warner Brothers logo and not an American original. Besides - where's the British original LP label for such a very British band - the Orange and Yellow variant of Atlantic K 50012? The other photos are of band members - the sadly passed Bassist Chris Squire in a church choir as a child - an Atlantic Records 'Gold' LPs trade advert for 1972 and so. They’re good – but I think they missed a trick here by not having the actual artwork…

Impressively detailed reminiscences come from Engineer Eddy Offord, lead singer Jon Anderson, keyboard-whiz Rick Wakeman and everyone else who was key to the project. There are histories of each player (Wakeman with The Strawbs - Bruford with King Crimson etc) - the torturous recording process where certain tracks ended up in a bin by mistake - the endless layers on layers - Steve Howe's amazing guitar playing - Wakeman the same.

This is a good book on an album that actually bears up to this level of scrutiny. It’s just a shame that the very thing that turned us on (as much as the awesome music did) - isn't here – how it looked - the visuals. Fans will know what I mean…

But the best compliment I can pay "Close To The Edge" the book is that it made me want to drag out my Steve Wilson Remastered CD reissue again. And as those 'climb clear of the morning' lyrics and gorgeous acoustic guitar themes kicked in on "And You And I" - not for the first time with this groundbreaking record - I shed a little Proggy tear.

Nice one Will...

"Hit List 2: More Hot 100 Chartbusters of the 70s" by VARIOUS ARTISTS (August 2016 Ace Records CD - Nick Robbins Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Rocky Mountain Way..." 

Making a Various Artists CD compilation like this is harder than it would appear - I’ve tried it many times and made hundreds when I worked at Reckless Records in Islington and Soho. 

And when I played August 2016’s "Hit List 2: More Hot 100 Chartbusters of the 70s" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace CDCHD 1480 (Barcode 029667076722) - it started out well and looked good - but then went quickly off the wagon...

1. The Doobie Brothers - China Grove

2. Dobie Gray - Drift Away

3. Fanny - Charity Ball

4. The Allman Brothers Band - Ramblin' Man

5. Joe Walsh - Rocky Mountain Way (Single Edit)

6. The Messengers - That's The Way A Woman Is

7. The Band - Rag Mama Rag

8. The Gentrys - Cinnamon Girl

9. Ace [with Paul Carrack] - How Long

10. The Jaggerz - The Rapper

11. The Hollies - Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress)

12. Bread - Everything I Own

13. Frijid Pink - House Of The Rising Sun

14. Teegarden & Van Winkle - God, Love, And Rock & Roll (We Believe)

15. Elvin Bishop - Fooled Around And Fell In Love

16. Dave Loggins - Please Come To Boston

17. Three Dog Night - Sure As I'm Sittin' Here

18. Carly Simon - Anticipation

19. Rick Derringer - Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo

20. Linda Ronstadt - When Will I Be Loved

21. Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods -Who Do You Think You Are

22. Alice Cooper - Teenage Lament '74

23. Orleans - Still The One

24. Reunion - Life Is A Rock (But The Radio Rolled Me)

Who doesn't love the brill riffage of "China Grove" by The Doobie Brothers (from 1973's "The Captain And Me" LP) and absolutely any excuse to put the gorgeous "Drift Away" by Dobie Gray onto a CD is fine by me (a 1973 R&B hit on Decca in the States that Rod Stewart covered so well on his 1975 "Atlantic Crossing" LP). The hugely appealing "How Long" by Ace (with Paul Carrack), the upbeat yacht rock of "Still The One" by Orleans (with John Hall) and the beautiful Soul-Rock of "Fooled Around And Fell In Love" by Elvin Bishop are all very smart choices too – great 70ts songs that are largely forgotten and deserve rediscovery. But when you get into the second half of the list - things start to go awry rapido.

I can understand putting on rarities like Teegarden & Van Winkle, Dave Loggins, Frijid Pink and Bo Donaldson & The Heywoods to tempt single collectors - but are they actually any good and the answer is no. Throw in stuff like "Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress" by The Hollies, the weedy "Ramblin' Man" by The Allman Brothers and "Everything I Own" by Bread as well as Carly Simon, The Band and Linda Ronstadt - all of which are way too common on CD compilations and the listen starts to feel a lot less interesting and more like a lazily programmed radio show. You could of course endlessly debate what should be on here – but for my bent penny's worth how about Heads, Hands & Feet "Warming Up The Band" or "Slow Down" by John Miles or the single edit of "Heartsong" by Gordon Giltrap or the stunning instrumental Funk-Rock boogie of "Rumplestiltskin" by Rumplestiltskin - a monster B-side which was recently used to such amazing effect in the Amazon TV series about Hugh Heffner and Playboy magazine?

Speaking of collectors - fans should note that the version of "Rocky Mountain Way" by Joe Walsh is the single edit at 3:39 minutes and to my knowledge is an exclusive here. A genuine discovery is The Gentrys doing a cover version of Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" from 1970 that sticks close to the rocking original - it's a real blast. But "Teenage Lament '74" by Alice Cooper and the hammy "Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo" by Rock Derringer are actually my idea of Rock Hell. The Fanny track and the Three Dog Night song both feel second rate too (they've done so much better like Three Dog Night's "I Can Hear You Calling" - a cover of a Bush song) - while the final cut by Reunion is best left firmly in someone's delete bin never to be retrieved.

The booklet is the usual 20-page fact-and-pic feast from Ace with liner notes by TONY ROUNCE - a man with more musical knowledge than John Reed - and that's really saying something. The audio is great throughout (a generous playing time of 76:14 minutes) – NICK ROBBINS masters – a longstanding and much praised Audio Engineer.

To sum up - great audio and superb presentation as always with Ace Records and their cool CD compilations - but unfortunately for 2016's "Hit List 2" - I'd advise a listen first...