"You Can Get It If You Really Want" [1970] by DESMOND DEKKER (September 2018 Doctor Bird 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue - Andy Pearce Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Sing A Little Song..."

Tapping into the 50th Anniversary celebrations for Trojan Records UK - 2018 has seen Doctor Bird Records (part of Cherry Red UK) bombard us ravenous Reggae and Ska lovers with fantastic 'Expanded Edition' CD reissues of albums disappeared from our record shop racks four and five decades ago – many of which in truth weren't widely available in the first place.

Centred round the magical output of Trojan’s catalogue from the late 60ts on up to about 1975 (see list below) - these CD reissues are not haphazard cash-ins. Each is tastily done, reasonably priced, properly expanded booklets, often two albums on 1CD or one-album with a huge number of bonus tracks, rarities getting their digital debut and all of it mastered from best sources by one of the top Audio Engineers out there – Andy Pearce – a name more commonly known for his decades of work on a huge array of artists under the Universal umbrella.

For this release we get one of Trojan's true Kingston hit-makers – Desmond Adolphus Dacres - or DESMOND DEKKER to you and I. Here are the Pickney details...

UK released Friday, 28 September 2018 - "You Can Get It If You Really Want" by DESMOND DEKKER on Doctor Bird DBCD-015 (Barcode 5013929271531) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue that offers you his 12-track 1970 LP of the same name originally on Trojan Records TBL-148 and adds on a further 11-tracks from 1972 to 1975 – mostly single sides originally on the Creole label in the UK (67:45 minutes):

1. YOU CAN GET IT IF YOU REALLY WANT [Side 1]
2. I BELIEVE 
3. PERSEVERANCE 
4. GET UP LITTLE SUZIE 
5. PEACE ON THE LAND 
6. CINDY 
7. PICKNEY GAL [Side 2] 
8. YOU GOT SOUL 
9. COOMYAH 
10. THAT’S THE WAY LIFE GOES 
11. PEACE OF MIND 
12. POLKA DOT

BONUS TRACKS (2018 CD REISSUE):
13. BEWARE
14. EVERYBODY JOIN HANDS
15. SING A LITTLE SONG
16. BUSTED LAD
17. MY WORLD IS BLUE
18. MOTHER NATURE
19. MONEY AND FRIENDS
20. NO PLACE LIKE HOME
21. PICK UP THE PHONE
22. TRAVEL ON
23. SUGAR DUMPLING 

Tracks 1 to 12 are the "You Can Get It If You Really Want" UK LP from 1970 on Trojan Records TBL 148 

The 16-page booklet is a fantastic affair - new liner notes by fan and devotee of all things Jamaican - HARRY HICKS - whilst each page is festooned with ticket stubs, concert posters, a huge array of different picture sleeves for the big single, talk of "Israelites" - the first Reggae single to make it to No. 1 in the UK and break open the genre all over the world and much more. But best of all is one of my fave-rave Audio Engineers at the helm - ANDY PEARCE - who along with his engineer partner Matt Wortham has done Lee Perry, The Upsetters, Treasure Isle box set and wads of huge Rock names like Free, Rory Gallagher, Budgie, Wishbone Ash, ELP, Spooky Tooth, Mott The Hoople and so on..

Highlights for me include the hit singles I bought as a budding teen - "Peace In The Land", "Pickney Gal" and of course that stunning "You Can Get It..." Amidst the bonus stuff are goodies like "Sing A Little Song" (originally on Rhino), his cover of Jimmy Cliff's "My World Is Blue" originally on the 1975 UK LP "Israelites" on Cactus Records and a bopper in "Sugar Dumpling" - a non-album single cut tucked away on the flipside of April 1975's "Israelites" (Cactus CT 57). Very cool...

Desmond Dekker passed in 2006 and this rather brill little CD reissue does his memory and chart importance proud. Well done to all involved for treating his underestimated musical legacy with such affection...

2017 and 2018 Doctor Bird Records CD Reissues
(Featuring Larges Amounts of Trojan Records, Treasure Isle, Pama 60s & 70s etc)

1. BOB ANDY & MARCIA GRIFFITHS - Young, Gifted And Black/Pied Pier (May 2018, Doctor Bird DBCD-014 - Barcode 5013929271432)

2. ERROL BROWN/THE REVOLUTIONAIRES – Dubb Everlasting/Dub Expression [1977 and 1978 High Note 2LPs on 1CD] (November 2017, Doctor Bird DBCD-07 – Barcode 5013929270732)

3. DAVE & ANSEL COLLINS – Double Barrel (June 2018, Doctor Bird DBCD-016 - Barcode 5013929271630)

4. DESMOND DECKER & THE ACES – Action!/Intensified (August 2018 2CD Set, Doctor Bird DBCD-025 – Barcode 5013929272538)

5. DESMOND DEKKER – You Can Get It If You Really Want (September 2018 Expanded CD, Doctor Bird DBCD-015 - Barcode 5013929271531)

6. DESMOND DEKKER – Double Dekker [1973 UK 2LP set onto 1CD] (November 2018, Doctor Bird DBCD-018 – Barcode 5013929271838)

7. PHYLLIS DILLON – One Life To Live (September 2018, Doctor Bird DBCD-021 – Barcode 5013929272132)

8. ETHIOPIANS – Reggae Power/Woman Capture Man (January 2018, Doctor Bird DBCD-10 – Barcode 5013929271036)

9. MARCIA GRIFFITHS – Naturally/Steppin’ [1978 and 1979 2LPs on 1CD] (August 2017 CD, Doctor Bird DBCD-002 – Barcode 5013929270237)

10. DERRICK HARRIOTT & THE CRYSTALITES – Psychedelic Train (October 2017 CD, Doctor Bird DBCD-05 – Barcode 5013929270534)

11. HARRY J. ALL STARS - Liquidator (June 2008 Expanded CD, Doctor Bird DBCD-012 - Barcode 5013929271234)

12. JUSTIN HINDS & THE DOMINOES – From Jamaica With Reggae (February 2018 Expanded CD, Doctor Bird DBCD-09 – Barcode 5013929270930)

13. THE KINGSTONIANS – Sufferer (September 2017 Expanded CD, Doctor Bird DBCD-03 – Barcode 5013929270336)

14. THE MAYTALS – Monkey Man/From The Roots (July 2018 2LPs on 1CD, Doctor Bird DBCD-017 – Barcode 5013929271739)

15. THE PIONEERS – Long Shot/Battle Of The Giants (September 2018, Doctor Bird DBCD-019 – Barcode 5013929271937)

16. THE UNIQUES - Absolutely The...Uniques (January 2018, Doctor Bird DBCD-011 - Barcode 5013929271135)

17. THE UPSETTERS – The Upsetter/Scratch The Upsetter Again (October 2018, Doctor Bird DBCD-022 – Barcode 5013929272231)

18. THE UPSETTERS – Return Of Django/Eastwood Rides Again (May 2018, Doctor Bird DBCD-013 - Barcode 5013929271333)

19. VARIOUS – Dancing Down Orange Street [Trojan 1969 LP] (September 2017 Expanded CD, Doctor Bird DBCD-04 – Barcode 5013929270435)

20. VARIOUS – Gay Feet, Every Night (October 2017 Expanded CD, Doctor Bird DBCD-06 – Barcode 5013929270633)

21. VARIOUS – Greater Jamaica Moonwalk Reggae/Reggay At Its Best (October 2018 2CD Set, Doctor Bird DBCDD-030 – Barcode 5013929273030)

22. VARIOUS – Hot Shots Of Reggae (November 2017 Expanded CD, Doctor Bird DBCD-08 – Barcode 5013929270831)

23. VARIOUS – King Size Reggae (November 2018, Doctor Bird DBCD-026 – Barcode 5013929272637)

24. VARIOUS – No More Heartaches/What Am I To Do? [2LPs from 1969 and 1970 onto 1CD] (August 2017, Doctor Bird DBCD-01 – Barcode 5013929270138)

25. VARIOUS [Duke Reid and Treasure Isle Productions] – Soul Of Jamaica/Here Comes The Duke (August 2018 2CD Set, Doctor Bird DBCDD-024 – Barcode 5013929272439)

2019 Doctor Bird Records CD Reissues

1. ROLAND ALPHANSO & THE ORIGINAL ORCHESTRA – ABC Rock Steady (April 2019 Expanded 2CD Set with 43 Bonus Tracks, Doctor Bird DBCDD-023 – Barcode 5013929272330)

2. DENNIS BROWN – Just Dennis/Deep Down (April 2019 2CD Expanded Set, Doctor Bird DBCDD-027 – Barcode 5013929272736)

3. ERROL BROWN & THE REVOLUTIONARIES – Culture Dub & Medley Dub (12 July 2019 2CD Expanded Set with 25 Bonus, Doctor Bird DBCDD-038 – Barcode 5013929273832)

4. ERROL BROWN & THE SUPERSONICS – The Treasure Dub Albums Collection (13 September 2019 2CD Expanded Set with Eight Previously Unreleased, Doctor Bird DBCDD-043 – Barcode 5013929274334)

5. ALTON ELLIS – Greatest Hits/Mr. Soul Of Jamaica [known as Greatest Hits in the UK] (11 October 2019 Expanded 2CD Set with 47 Bonus, Doctor Bird DBCDD-045 – Barcode 5013929274532)

6. THE ETHIOPIANS – Engine No. 5 (17 May 2019 1CD Expanded Set with 17 Bonus, Doctor Bird DBCD-035 – Barcode 5013929273535)

7. THE GAYLADS – Fire And Rain (14 June 2019 1CD Expanded Set with 13 Bonus, Doctor Bird DBCD-036 – Barcode 5013929273634)

8. JOHN HOLT – Like A Bolt (January 2019 Expanded CD, Doctor Bird DBCD-029 – Barcode 5013929272934)

9. THE MELODIANS – Rivers Of Babylon (9 August 2019 Expanded 1CD Set with 15 Bonus, Doctor Bird DBCD-041 – Barcode 5013929274136)

10. DERRICK MORGAN – Moon Hop/Derrick Morgan In London (April 2019 Expanded 2CD Set, Doctor Bird DBCDD-032 – Barcode 5013929273238)

11. DERRICK MORGAN – Derrick Morgan And His Friends (12 July 2019 Expanded 2CD Set with 24 Bonus, Doctor Bird DBCDD-039 – Barcode 5013929273931)

12. SONIA POTTINGER – Put On Your Best Dress: Ska & Rock Steady 1966-1967 (14 June 2019 Expanded 2CD Set with 35 Bonus, Doctor Bird DBCDD-037 – Barcode 5013929273733)

13. LORD TANAMO & FRIENDS – Festival Jump-Up [1965] (15 November 2019 Expanded 2CD Reissue of 1965 LP with 40 Bonus, Doctor Bird DBCDD-046 – Barcode 5013929274631)

14. LINVAL THOMPSON – The Linval Thompson Trojan Roots Album Collection [including two LPs by Big Joe & The Trinity called “African Princess” and “Rock In The Ghetto” and one Linval Thompson LP called “I Love Marijuana”) (11 October 2019 Expanded 2CD Set with 10 Bonus, Doctor Bird DBCDD-044 – Barcode 5013929274433)

15. LINVAL THOMPSON & THE REVOLUTIONAIRES – Negrea Love Dub/Outlaw Dub [1978 and 1979] (15 November 2019 Reissue featuring 2LPs onto 1CD (no bonus), Doctor Bird DBCD-047 – Barcode 5013929274730)

16. THE UPSETTERS featuring LEE 'SCRATCH' PERRY – Clint Eastwood/Many Moods Of The Upsetters (April 2019 2CD Expanded Set, Doctor Bird DBCDD-034 – Barcode 5013929273436)

17. VARIOUS – The Down Town Albums Collection [Down Town Label] (February 2019 2CD Set, Doctor Bird Records DBCDD-020 - Barcode 5013929272033)

18. VARIOUS – Gay Jamaican Independence Time – Boom Sha-Ka-La (17 May 2019 2CD Expanded Set with 35 Bonus, Doctor Bird DBCDD-028 – Barcode 5013929272835)

19. VARIOUS – Greatest Jamaican Beat... (March 2019 2CD Set, Doctor Bird DBCDD-033 – Barcode 5013929273337)

20. VARIOUS – Independence Jump Up Calypso (9 August 2019 2CD Expanded Set with 46 Bonus, Doctor Bird DBCDD-040 – Barcode 5013929274037)

21. VARIOUS – The Treasure Isle Ska Albums Collection (January 2019 2CD Set [4LPs and more], Doctor Bird DBCDD-031 – Barcode 5013929273139)

22. VARIOUS – You Can’t Wine/Music Alone Shall Live (13 September 2019 2CD Expanded Set with 33 Bonus, Doctor Bird DBCDD-042 - Barcode 5013929274235)

"Christmas With The Coopers" aka "Love The Coopers" - Good Christmas Movie That Also Has Olivia Wilde's Eyes! - A Review by Mark Barry...

Christmas films - especially those revolving around your stereotypical dysfunctional American family - can be cringeworthy or great ("The Family Stone" for instance is one that works beautifully). So I'm glad to say that as I downloaded and streamed "Christmas With The Coopers" to my all-singing and all-dancing Samsung 4K 55" Tele this November 2018 - I was more than pleasantly surprised.

First up the cast is large and wonderful - Diane Keaton and John Goodman head up Mom and Pop of the Cooper family from Pittsburgh. Charlotte and Sam have been together for 40 years but with disillusioned Sam considering exiting the house after one last head-jutting session around the Christmas dinner table with the siblings (who want to rip each other’s throats out) – theirs is an uneasy alliance – problems the kids don’t know about. They want to rekindle the way they used to feel and flashbacks show them in their earlier joy - but weariness and years of children and family has taken its emotional toll.

The staggering gorgeous Olivia Wilde plays the wayward daughter Eleanor - something of a cynic in her mid-30s – she's still flouncing around with inappropriate men until on her way home she is snowed in at an airport and meets soldier Joe at a bar. Played by a fabulously understated Jake Lacy - the rebel daughter who is at first off-putting and pass-remarkable – soon starts to hit it off with the straight-laced Republican Joe in his camouflage uniform. Realising there might be a genuine he’s-the-one connection between them and spotting an opportunity at the same time – Eleanor talks Joe into coming home with her as a 'boyfriend' – a wholesome foil that will surely ward off Mom's annual condescending stare and Guantanamo Bay type interrogation on goals and achievements (where are you going in life my dear). Not wanting to spend Christmas Day on an airport chair and actually thinking there might be something special in the air with this plucky, fun Eleanor and her elegant neck – Joe agrees.

In the meantime old-timer but platonic Bucky played by the wonderful Alan Arkin drops in yet again at his favourite diner to secretly smile at his favourite dish - the kind-hearted and attentive waitress Ruby played by the fab Amanda Seyfried. However, Ruby has plans, wants to leave town and have a shot at life for herself. But she also knows that this will hurt Bucky who has come to almost depend on her - love her even - despite the huge age difference between them. Meanwhile in a department store not far away in the snow-pretty town, the equally likeable Marisa Tomei plays Emma who is once again stealing jewellery in an attempt to impress her older sister Charlotte. Cop Andrew Mackie catches her and there then ensues soul-searching chitchat in the red, white and blue car from the backseat to the front. Both chastising but in a strange way helping each other - the ping-ponging chat soon moves away from lies to honesty and starts to mellow the official 'you're under arrest' dynamic - possibly offering up a way out for both in this festive time of giving and forgiveness.

Also in life's crapper is jobless Hank (Ed Helms) who hasn't told his fiercely argumentative wife Angie (Alex Borstein of "The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel" fame - the butch lesbian who befriends and manages Mrs. M) that she can't have quality presents this Christmas - or even the divorce she wants. Hank's smallest (a precocious girl) has taken to calling everyone she meets a 'dick' (and they sometimes deserve it too). And then there are two awkward but likeable teenagers (one is Hank's hapless older boy) obsessing over breasts, French kissing and not getting the crap kicked out of them by bigger classroom bullies. And of course there are endless amounts of carol singers spreading good cheer – wassailing alongside inebriated Santa’s sat in chairs in shopping malls with screaming brats on their laps looking up at them like they’re Beelzebub or his more evil twin. And on it goes...

Steve Martin is narrating all of this and the excellent script by Steven Rogers is never less than impressive whilst at times being downright insightful, moving and even occasionally magical - something you don't say too often when it comes to modern day Festive movies. For sure it feels a little cluttered in places and you've seen some of these set pieces before - but there are moments of remembrance by characters that floor it - really work - and they happen right up to its rather nice all-in ending.  

Called "Love The Coopers" when it was released Christmas 2015 – now re-branded "Christmas With The Coopers" for the 2018 watch-it-at-home generation - I think this snowbound Sleigh Ride through life and love and second chances is a wee bit of a hidden gem amongst an awful lot of dreck.

Give it a shot and I dare ye men out there to resist Olivia Wilde's eyes in close up - now that really would be a miracle...

"Remastered Part 1" by KATE BUSH (November 2018 Parlophone/Fish People 7CD Box Set) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Gorgeous CD Audio, But The Presentation Is Functional, 

A Track Is Inexplicably Replaced, One Dropped 

and Sadly There's Naught New..."

I hate to burst people's bubble when it comes to someone as gloriously special as KATE BUSH - but on receiving this 'Remastered Part 1' box set today, day of release, Friday 16 November 2018 - I have to say that apart from the James Guthrie and Joel Plante Remasters of the seven stunning albums from 1978 to 1993 (this duo of Audio Engineers did all the Pink Floyd albums in 2011 to universal praise) - I'm massively underwhelmed.

Let’s be real about this. There is nothing new here - at all. These albums should have remastered decades ago and the new Fish People variants (her own label) offer only a tri-gatefold card sleeve with an 8-page booklet inside each that contains the lyrics, session credits, artwork and absolutely nothing else. The only words added are 'Remastered by James Guthrie and Joel Plante at Das Boot Recording' inside every one of the booklets (Doug Sax was also involved in "The Red Shoes"). The inside box 'two worlds' artwork is nice, the tri gatefolds pretty and each Fish People Logo Picture CD reflects the album artwork – but in truth not so you’d notice that much. There are no new photos - no essays - no history - no sense of place - and worse of course - having waited decades - there isn't a single outtake or unreleased anywhere.

To add paying insult to injury - the truly fantastic six extra tracks that accompanied the EMI "Hounds Of Love" CD Remaster issued in 1997 are AWOL - flicked over to justify and flesh out an extortionately expensive Part 2 disc presently clocking in at a whopping £95 for the CD variant when most of the albums are pennies on Amazon and don’t require remastering. Those Hounds 12" Remixes of Big Sky and Cloudbusting were utterly exceptional, as were the non-album often Acapella B-sides like "The Handsome Cabin Boy" and "My Lagan Love" - lifting an already amazing album into the stratosphere. Not here. On release, 1989’s "The Sensual World" had 10 tracks on vinyl LP but the MC and CD had 11 - the extra "Walk Straight Down The Middle" is also AWOL. When I bought the CD then it had 11 songs – not 10. The popular compilation/best of "The Whole Story" from 1986 had a new vocal for "Wuthering Heights" and a new single "Experiment IV" – perfect extras material, but again – missing. Even the single-page leaf that accompanies the box on the outside has no place to go once you remove the shrink-wrap – so it’s going to get wrecked on any shelving.

But these are as nothing to what will surely become a serious bone of contention – the reissue of her undisputed meisterwerk "Hounds Of Love". Whilst fans are going to flip for the audio on 11 songs (the best it's ever sounded and such a brilliant album that only grows as time passes) - "The Big Sky" (Track 3 on Side 1) has now been inexplicably changed from the original album cut of 4:41 minutes to a '7" Mix' of 4:34 minutes that has crucial vocals mixed out - so is fundamentally different. In fairness, it does say '7" Mix' on the rear artwork and on the CD label - but what it doesn't say is that (and this is amazingly sloppy) - somehow the audio quality has dropped. If I A/B the new cut with my Japanese version - there is a muffled sound on this 2018 version (like its in a bucket) that is immediately noticeable after the audio high of the "Hounds Of Love" album track that precedes it! And of course this intrusion fundamentally changes the listen and alters the artwork of an album so many fans adore (so much for meticulous).

So what is good after all that bellyache? The AUDIO - I’ve had the Japanese CD Masters of these first seven studio albums issued in 2005 in repro artwork – and these 2018 versions are a whole different ball game – subtle and powerful in equal measure. I cannot emphasise how deeply lovely these long-awaited remasters are – at times breathtaking – wonderful stereo imaging – a feel of the air around instruments and her vocals thrilling every few seconds. These lovingly mastered beauties have genuinely added huge dollops of clarity to everything, lifting up deep album gems like "Kite", "In Search Of Peter Pan", "Delius" and "Army Dreamers", "There Goes A Tenner" and "Night Of The Swallow", "And Dream Of Sheep" and "The Morning Fog", "Reaching Out" and "Never Be Mine", "Moments Of Pleasure" – and so many more. I had tears pouring down my face re-hearing them.

The first two albums had some trace elements of hiss – but even something as beautiful and delicate as "The Man With The Child In His Eyes" is handled so well. By the time she got to album three "Never For Ever" with Jon Kelly at the Production controls – the audio goes off the charts good and stays that way thereafter. That difficult fourth album "The Dreaming" now feels ripe for rediscovery too. And when you clap your weary ears on the title track to "The Sensual World" or the gorgeous and moving "This Woman’s Work" – you may be in line for a wee blub yourself (in the comfort of your own home of course).

Let's get to the individual disc details...

Inside the 7CD version of "Remastered – Part 1" by KATE BUSH on Parlophone/Fish People 0190295569006 (Barcode is the same) - you get...

1. "The Kick Inside" (February 1978, Debut Album)

Parlophone/Fish People 01902295568986 (13 Tracks, 43:16 minutes)

2. "Lionheart" (September 1978, Second Album)

Parlophone/Fish People 01902295568979 (10 Tracks, 37:02 minutes)

3. "Never For Ever" (September 1980, Third Album)

Parlophone/Fish People 01902295568962 (11 Tracks, 37:28 minutes)

4. "The Dreaming" (September 1982, Fourth Studio Album)

Parlophone/Fish People 01902295568955 (10 Tracks, 43:24 minutes)

5. "Hounds Of Love" (September 1985, Fifth Studio Album)

Parlophone/Fish People 01902295568948 (12 Tracks, 47:25 minutes)

6. "The Sensual World" (October 1989, Sixth Studio Album)

Parlophone/Fish People 01902295568931 (10 Tracks, 42:06 minutes)

7. "The Red Shoes" (November 1993, Seventh Studio Album)

Parlophone/Fish People 01902295568924 (12 Tracks, 55:03 minutes)

As you can no doubt tell from the opening paragraphs of this review (and having lived with it for a day now) – I'm conflicted over this reissue. Apart from the beautiful audio and whether its pretty or not - as a box set of celebration for an artist I've loved for over 40 years – I feel the presentation has missed a major trick here. Given the glory of the Audio – why oh why didn't someone think to up the presentation game for such a fantastic British artist?

When you think of the jaw-dropping hardback books contained in the first three BOWIE Box Sets also put out by Parlophone (each was a work of art, I've reviewed all three - "Five Years", "Who Can I Be Now" and "A New Career In A New Town") – the absence of anything here that expands on what these Kate Bush albums were about or their context in the musical landscape is unforgivable (most were groundbreaking, hugely influential and unique in their vision). I suppose you can accuse me of whining and whinging when I knew what I was buying, but it doesn't make my arguments any less relevant.

It will probably drop in price soon as we veer towards Christmas 2018 – but I'd advise that if you want say "Never For Ever" or "The Dreaming" - go for the individual CD reissues. Those buying the individual releases of "Hounds Of Love" and her equally wonderful "The Sensual World" should note that (audio aside) they are both comprised over previous CD issues (who knows but Parlophone may recall "Hounds" and fix that replacement song – a wait and see situation I’m afraid).

An improvement for sure across so much - but man when you think of what a wow (pun intended) it could have been and that poorer-audio replacement of a huge fan-fave song on her best ever album - it's a real let down. And until I win at the Lotto, I'll be avoiding shelling out on that unnecessarily overpriced 'Remastered Part 2' also...