"Mental Train: The Island Years 1969-71" by MOTT THE HOOPLE (November 2018 UK Universal/Island 6CD Box Set of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Thunderbuck Ram..."

I was both looking forward to and in some ways dreading this MOTT THE HOOPLE Box Set - an odd thing to say when you're spending over £40 of your pensioner’s pre-Brexit allowance. And typically "Mental Train..." both delivers and disappoints is several weird ways.

What’s good - the new Andy Pearce and Matt Wortham Remasters have massively improved on what went before - as their skills always seem to do (see my reviews for Free, Budgie, Rory Gallagher, ELP  – a very long list of great work). Some of the unreleased stuff is shockingly magnificent - check out Take 6 of "Angel Of Eight Avenue" on Disc 5 mixed from faders-up multi-tracks - whilst Kris Needs once again nails it with wickedly insightful liner notes that feature new contributions from key players (Campbell Devine and Kris Needs compiled the set). But there's fluff too aplenty, the mock distressed look card artwork is horribly presented and the actual albums themselves have always left so much to be desired – piano-plonking tedium often sitting uncomfortably alongside thundering Rock brilliance. Guy Stevens would have been proud even if the band weren't selling jack for four whole LPs.

There's an absolute ton of Buffin details to crawl through, so Mad Shadows and Willard Manus paperbacks ahoy (they took their name from one of his novels) – let’s get Overend Watts mental on this huge haul...

UK released Friday, 2 November 2018 - "Mental Train: The Island Years 1969-71" by MOTT THE HOOPLE on Universal/Island MOTTBOX 001 (Barcode 602547869623) is a 89-Song 6CD Box Set of New Remasters (30 Previously Unreleased) with a 52-Page Hardback Book, Single Sleeve Mini LP Artwork for all Six Discs and a fold-out Colour Poster all housed in a 10x8 Box with Ribbon. It breaks down as follows:

CD1 "Mott The Hoople" (79:13 minutes, 17 Tracks):

1. You Really Got Me [Side 1]

2. At The Crossroads

3. Laugh At Me

4. Backsliding Fearlessly

5. Rock And Roll Queen (Full Album Version, 5:10 minutes) [Side 2]

6. Rabbit Foot & Toby Time

7. Half Moon Boy

8. Wrath And Wroll

Tracks 1 to 8 are their debut album "Mott The Hoople" - released 22 November 1969 in the UK in Stereo on Island Records ILPS 9108 and June 1970 in the USA on Atlantic Records SD 8258. Produced by GUY STEVENS - it didn't chart in the UK but peaked at No. 185 in the USA in July 1970. 

BONUS TRACKS:

9. If Your Heart Lay With The Rebel (Would You Cheer The Underdog) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED INSTRUMENTAL

10. Rock And Roll Queen [Single Edit, 3:20 minutes] - October 1969 debut UK 7" single on Island WIP 6072, non-album version

11. Road To Birmingham - non-album B-side to their October 1969 UK debut 7" single on Island WIP 6072

12. Road To Birmingham (Guy Stevens Mix) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

13. You Really Got Me (Full Take, 11:14 minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

14. You Really Got Me (Guy Stevens Vocal Mix, 2:51 minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

15. Rock And Roll Queen (Guy Stevens Mono Mix, 3:21 minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

16. Rock And Roll Queen (Kitchen Sink Instrumental, 5:22minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

17. Little Christine [Recorded 24 June 1969] - first UK released March 1981 on the Mott The Hoople compilation LP "Two Miles From Heaven" on Island Records IRSP 8

CD2 "Mad Shadows" (73:24 minutes, 15 Tracks):

1. Thunderbuck Ram [Side 1]

2. No Wheels To Ride

3. You Are One Of Us

4. Walkin' With A Mountain

5. I Can Feel [Side 2]

6. Threads Of Iron

7. When My Mind's Gone

Tracks 1 to 7 are their second studio album "Mad Shadows" - released September 1970 in the UK on Island Records ILPS 9119 and October 1970 in the USA on Atlantic SD 8272 (didn't chart in either country)

BONUS TRACKS:

8. Thunderbuck Ram - BBC Session, Top Gear, 21 February 1970 [John Walters Producer]

9. Thunderbuck Ram (Original Take with Organ Solo, 4:50 minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

10. No Wheels To Ride (Demo Version, 6:29 minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

11. Moonbus (Baby's Got A Down On Me) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

12. The Hunchback Fish (Vocal Rehearsal, 6:01 minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

13. You Are One Of Us (Take 9, 5:12 minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

14. Going Home [recorded 16 Jan 1970] - first UK released March 1981 on the Mott The Hoople compilation LP "Two Miles From Heaven" on Island Records IRSP 8

15. Keep A Knockin' (Studio Version, Take 2, Little Richard cover, 2:30 minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

CD 3 "Wildlife" (73:30 minutes, 17 Tracks):

1. Whiskey Women [Side 1]

2. Angel Of Eight Avenue

3. Wrong Side Of The River

4. Waterflow

5. Lay Down

6. It Must Be Love [Side 2]

7. Original Mixed Up Kid

8. Home Is Where I Want To Be

9. Keep A Knockin' (Live 1970 at The Fairfield Hall, Croydon in London)

Tracks 1 to 9 are their 3rd studio album "Wildlife" - released 19 March 1971 in the UK on Island Records ILPS 9144 and April 1971 in the USA on Atlantic Records SD 8284 (didn't chart in either country); the Live Version of "Keep A Knockin'" also includes an uncredited version of "What I’d Say" by Jerry Lee Lewis

BONUS TRACKS:

10. Midnight Lady – 9 July 1971 UK 7" single on Island WIP 6105, Non-album A-side

11. The Debt – Non-album B-side of "Midnight Lady"

12. Downtown – 17 September 1971 UK 7" single on Island WIP 6112, Non-album A-side (B-side was the Mick Ralphs album track "Home..."); A-side is a Crazy Horse cover version originally written by Danny Whitten and Neil Young on his backing band's self-titled debut album from 1970

13. Brain Haulage (Whiskey Women) (3:55 minutes) – PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

14. Growing Man Blues (Take 10, 3:40 minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

15. Long Red (Demo, 3:53 minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

16. The Ballad Of Billy Joe (3:38 minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

17. Lay Down (Take 8, 5:08 minutes, Melanie cover) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

CD4 "Brain Capers" (68:58 minutes, 16 Tracks):

1. Death May Be Your Santa Claus [Side 1]

2. Your Own Backyard

3. Darkness Darkness

4. The Journey

5. Sweet Angeline [Side 2]

6. Second Love

7. The Moon Upstairs

8. The Wheel Of The Quivering Meat Conception

Tracks 1 to 8 are their fourth studio album "Brain Capers" - released 19 November 1971 in the UK on Island Records ILPS 9178 and January 1972 in the USA on Atlantic Records SD 8304 (didn't chart in either country)

BONUS TRACKS:

9. Mental Train (The Moon Upstairs) (5:16 minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

10. How Long (Death May Be...) (4:10 minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

11. Darkness Darkness (3:04 minutes, Jessie Colin Young song, Youngbloods cover) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

12. Your Own Backyard (Complete Take, 4:12 minutes, Dion Cover) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

13. Where Do You All Come Front? (Backing Track, 3:16 minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

14. One Of The Boys (Take 2, 4:22 minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

15. Movin' On - first UK released March 1981 on the Mott The Hoople compilation LP "Two Miles From Heaven" on Island Records IRSP 8 (mastered from a cassette)

16. Black Scorpio (Mamma's Little Jewel) - first UK released March 1981 on the Mott The Hoople compilation LP "Two Miles From Heaven" on Island Records IRSP 8 (mastered from a cassette)

CD5 "The Ballads Of Mott The Hoople" (Exclusive compilation, 73:18 minutes, 12 Tracks):

1. Like A Rolling Stone (Fragment, 1:29 minutes)

2.  No Wheels To Hide (Live, 1st House Fairfield Hall, Croydon, 7:25 minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

3. Angel Of Eight Avenue (Take 6, Mastered from faders-up multi-tracks) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

4. The Journey (10:24 minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

5. Blue Broken Tears (3:11 minutes, Mastered from faders-up multi-tracks) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

6. Black Hills (Full Ralphs Version, 4:07 minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

7. Can You Sing The Song That I Sing (15:54 minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

8. Till I'm Gone - first UK released March 1981 on the Mott The Hoople compilation LP "Two Miles From Heaven" on Island Records IRSP 8 (mastered from a cassette)

9. The Original Mixed Up Kid - BBC Session, Mike Harding, 16 March 1971

10. Ill Wind Blowing - first UK released March 1981 on the Mott The Hoople compilation LP "Two Miles From Heaven" on Island Records IRSP 8 (mastered from a cassette)

11. I'm A River (Rehearsal, 10:40 minutes) - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

12. Ride On The Sun (Sea Diver) - first UK released March 1981 on the Mott The Hoople compilation LP "Two Miles From Heaven" on Island Records IRSP 8 (mastered from a cassette)

CD6 "It's Live And Live Only" (Exclusive Compilation, 78:18 minutes, 12 Tracks):

1. Rock And Roll Queen

2. Ohio

3. No Wheels To Ride/Hey Jude

4. Thunderbuck Ram

5. Keep A Knockin'

6. You Really Got Me

Tracks 1 to 6 recorded 1 September 1970 at The Fairfield Hall in Croydon, London

"Ohio" is a Neil Young song - a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young cover; "Hey Jude" is a Beatles cover; Keep A Knockin' is a Little Richard cover and "You Really Got Me" is a Kinks cover

7. The Moon Upstairs

8. Whiskey Women

9. Your Own Backyard

10. Darkness, Darkness

11. The Journey

12. Death May Be Your Santa Claus

Tracks 7 to 12 recorded 30 December 1971 for the BBC's Radio 1 "In Concert" programme (produced by Guy Stevens)

MOTT THE HOOPLE was:

IAN HUNTER (Ian Hunter Patterson) – Lead Singer, Piano

MICK RALPHS – Lead Guitars and Second Lead Vocals

VERDEN ALLEN (Terence Allen) – Organ and Other Keyboards

OVEREND WATTS (Pete Overend Watts) – Bass

DALE “Buffin” GRIFFIN (Terence Dale Griffin) – Drums

Guests:

Guy Stevens – Production, Song Contributions

James Archer of the LSO – Violin on "Angel Of Eighth Avenue"

Jess Roden (of Bronco) – Backing Vocals on "Lay Down"

Stan Tippins (of Doc Thomas Group) – Backing Vocals on "Lay Down"

Jerry Hogan – Pedal Steel Guitar on "It Must Be Love" and "Original Mixed-Up Kid"

Jim Price – Trumpet on "Second Love"

The box looks the part and ribbon allowing you to access the six single card sleeves in the inner well is a nice touch – but as already said and noted by other buyers – none of the card sleeves actually reflect the original British albums. The gatefolds for the first three are gone – removed to the book. The five pinched faces on the inner debut gatefold is spread across the back pages of the hardback, the child and lions photo inside "Mad Shadows" is on the inside of the front, the live shot of the band on the inner gatefold of "Wildlife" is behind text on Pages 36 and 27 and the airplanes inner for "Brain Capers" and the gimmick mask appear at both ends of the book too. The colouring of the CDs reflects the original British LP pressings - the Pink Island 'Pink I' Logo for the first two – the Palm Tree Pink Rim Logo Label for the other two and so on...

The book may seem a little slight at first but there’s a lot of info inside and period stuff to peruse (a fab promo photo on Page 13 for the Doc Thomas Group which featured a young Mick Ralphs and Pete Watts before Guy Stevens altered their names for Mott). Renowned writer KRIS NEEDS provides the tangled and at times chaotic history of the British Band – informative and entertaining reading, as always. The uber rare British picture sleeve for the 1969 "Rock And Roll Queen" single in on Page 48 as is the front sleeve for the final Island album from the period – the 9-Track "Rock And Roll Queen" compilation from 1972 on Island ILPS 9125. It was issued to cash in on the success of the "All The Young Dudes" single and LP on CBS Records (their first chart single courtesy of a song gifted to them by David Bowie). The LP is pictured on Page 48 (along with other European single picture sleeves) and if you want to sequence the popular "Rock And Roll Queen" compilation as a CD from this Box Set use the following tracks:

Side 1:

1. Rock And Roll Queen (Disc 1, Track 5, Album Version)

2. The Wheel Of The Quivering Meat Conception (Disc 4, Track 8)

3. You Really Got Me (Disc 1, Track 1)

4. Thunderbuck Ram (Disc 2, Track 1)

5. Walkin' With A Mountain (Disc 2, Track 4)

Side 2:

1. Death May Be Your Santa Claus (Disc 4, Track 1)

2. Midnight Lady (Disc 3, Track 10)

3. Keep A Knockin' (Live, Full Album Version) (Disc 3, Track 9)

The Audio is fabulous and as these hirsute/girl-leering gents were prone to Rocking out big time like Spooky Tooth with spiked Vodka or a demented Free in a graveyard after dark – both Pearce and Wortham capture all that bottled power so well. The listen is also surprisingly downbeat – way too many slow ballads – ill-advised Country Rock stints on "Wildlife" and a 15-minute outtake from Hunter that will test his mother’s patience. Having said that – I actually think that Disc 4 with the Previously Unreleased material is one of the strongest discs on here – fantastic alternate versions – that Take 6 of the Manhattan morning ballad "Angel Of Eight Avenue" brought a tear of joy to my demonically-possessed elderly-person’s eyes. Let’s get to the content...

The self-titled debut always felt to me like a rudderless beginning - the opening three covers (The Kinks "You Really Got Me", Doug Sahm's "At The Crossroads" and Sonny Bono's "Laugh At Me") displaying a band that seemed to be recording whatever they liked as they were rehearsing. For sure there's power in the sheer riffage on offer as they turn the Kink's proto-punk anthem into an instrumental - whilst Hunter's "Backsliding Fearlessly" sounds like a bad Dylan cover. The first sign of a genuine 'rawk' hit comes with Mick Ralphs "Rock And Roll Woman" presented here in two variants - the full and clear stereo album cut at 5:10 minutes and the severely muffled single edit of 3:20 minutes that sounds like it was mastered in a bucket. "Rabbit Foot And Toby Time" is another rockin' Ralphs tune, but it's an instrumental of two minutes duration that goes absolutely nowhere. Side 2 and the album in general is dominated by the 10:39 minutes of Ian Hunter's "Half Moon Bay" - a slow boiler with great organ playing from Verden Allen that at times feels both epic and indulgent with just the right measures of both. The debut ends with a mad Guy Stevens contribution called "Wrath And Roll" (a habit they would repeat again and again) and unfortunately you can't help thinking it might have been a better idea to include something possibly resembling a tune. Way more interesting is the Previously Unreleased and catchy-titled "If You Lay With The Rebel (Would You Cheer At The Underdog)?" - a riffage instrumental with better Production values than some of the album tracks. Die-hard fans will appreciate 11:17 minutes of "You Really Got Me" where the take descends into guitar mayhem and the fruity "Little Christine" from the "Two Miles..." compilation actually feels like the Faces circa their debut.

From the axe of Mick Ralphs, "Mad Shadows" opens with the wild "Thunderbuck Ram" where England’s Mott The Hoople suddenly thinks it’s a hybrid between MC5 and The Stooges with a bit of melodic Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac thrown in for the middle eight. As Ian Hunter delivers the brooding, epic and even sad "No Wheels To Ride" – only two songs in and the second album already feels like the band has found something – their own MTH sound. A trio of Hunter songs - the reverential "You Are One Of Us", the Chuck Berry boogie of "Walkin' With A Mountain" and the warbling seven-minute keyboard ballad that opens Side 2 "I Can Feel" (complete with Uriah Heep drama vocals) stamps his songwriting authority on proceedings (lovely solo too from Ralphs). "Threads Of Iron" is a jaunty little number from guitarist Ralphs with a catchy 'you are what you are' vocal line. The album closes with Hunter's unnerving and funereal composition "When My Mind's Gone" - a six-and-half-minute piano plonk that sounds as casket-inducing as its title suggests. It's a good album. Amidst the extras - Radio 1's Fluff Freeman introduces an in-the-distance BBC Session version of "Thunderbuck Ram" immediately indicating what an exciting prospect this band must been - live and in yer face. Far better however is the 'Original Take with Organ Solo' of the same song where Mott start to sound dangerously close to Peter Green's "Oh Well" with a disgruntled Hammond playing in the background (have to say this is a highlight amongst the unreleased). Another goody comes in the guise of the Kossoff-sounding riffage for "Moonbus (Baby's Got A Down On Me)" – a very tasty period find. It's also cool to finally hear their fast and furious studio take for Little Richard Penniman's "Keep A Knockin'" – here kept down to a boogie baller of just two and a half minutes (the Georgia Peach would approve).

They try to go American-ish with the very Steppenwolf guitar vs. organ boogie of "Whiskey Women" – the opening track to the infuriating every-musical-direction-will-do third album "Wildlife". But that boys-own beginner is solidly trounced by what I believe to be Ian Hunter's first moment of musical magic – the gorgeous ballad "Angel Of Eight Avenue" where he describes waking up in New York on the first Mott US tour with a lady who is as fragile and as beautiful as the Manhattan morning he's gazing out upon (what a lovely transfer too – great work boys). The cover of Melanie's "Lay Down" features a chorus contribution from Bronco's Jess Roden but the Country-Rock of "It Must Be Love" is awful (the "Downtown" stand alone single wasn't much better - a cover of a Crazy Horse song). The album ends of what feels like a different group - a crowd rousing 11-minute live take on Little Richard's "Keep A Knockin'" with Mick Ralphs showing what he can do when let rip. Late 1971's "Brain Capers" was always their best album and it seems the band thinks so too. "Death May Be Your Santa Claus" opens the record in raucous Rock fashion and this time covers of Dion's "Your Own Backyard" and The Youngbloods "Darkness Darkness" (a Jessie Colin Young song) actually sound like Mott made the right choices. Both "The Journey" and "Sweet Angeline" see Hunter in a melancholy mood (there's a man on a bridge called Suicide) - while Verden Allen provides a rare lead vocal on his own "Second Love". A damn good album "Brain Capers" - wee bit of a lost masterpiece really. I hadn't expected either CD5 or CD6 to provide much but they're full of goodies – especially those unreleased studio outtakes on disc five.

For sure "Mental Train..." is not for the casual browser and it would take until album number five ("All The Young Dudes") to awaken record buyers to MOTT THE HOOPLE. But their is a strange kind of bloody-minded heroism on offer here - a time when bands were allowed to sound nuts - grow with each release - until that initial magic someone saw before they signed them - finally broke through.

Leaping lizards but it's astonishing any of them survived given the times and acrimony within the ranks. Ralphs would go on of course to form Bad Co. with Paul Rodgers of Free whilst Ian Hunter would enjoy a massive solo career and aged 79 in 2018 is still rocking, touring and writing.

Always nuts but glam loveable - on the musical evidence presented here - you may find yourself seeking out Mott The Hoople and "Death May Be Your Santa Claus" this Christmas...

"A Mighty Field Of Vision: The Anthology 1969-1993" by EDDIE HINTON (September 2005 Raven CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"…God Damn! I'm Feeling Free…"

Hailing from Jacksonville in Florida - in 1970 Eddie Hinton was a 26-year old white guy possessed of one the great unknown singing voices.

As an in-demand session man - his part Otis Redding, part Little Richard, part Bobby Womack rasp - came with a whole lot of gutsy feeling too. When he sang Rock music (especially if it had that soulful Alabama tinge) - like England's Frankie Miller, Terry Reid, Steve Gibbons and Eric Burdon - you sat up and took notice.

But it wasn't until 1978 that Hinton finally got his own solo album released - the terribly named "Very Extremely Dangerous" on Capricorn Records - now a hugely sought after item on both vinyl and CD. His recording career after that was tangled with releases of new and old material - and that's where this superb little Raven CD compilation comes in.

"A Mighty Field Of Vision: The Anthology 1969-1993" by EDDIE HINTON on Raven RVCD-206 (Barcode 612657020623) was released September 2005 in Australia and its 21-tracks break down as follows (74:37 minutes):

1. I Got The Feeling

2. You Got Me Singing

3. Concept World

4. Shout Bamalama [Otis Redding cover]

Tracks 1 to 4 from the 1978 album "Very Extremely Dangerous"

5. Just Like The Fool That I Was

6. Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom-Boom) [Staple Singers cover]

7. Got Down Last Saturday Night

Tracks 5 to 7 from the 1995 album "The Coleman-Hinton Project", unreleased recordings from 1970 - only discovered and released after his death (July 1995)

8. My Searching Is Over

9. Sad And Lonesome

10. I Want A Woman

Tracks 8 to 10 from the 1986 album "Letters From Mississippi"

11. Here I Am

12. Sad Song

13. Three Hundred Pounds Of Hongry

14. What Would I Do Without You

Tracks 11 to 14 from the 1997 compilation "Hard Luck Guy", unreleased recordings from the 1970's and 1980's

15. Hymn For Lonely Hearts

Track 15 from the 2000 CD "Dear Y'all - The Songwriting Sessions", recorded 1980

16. Something Heavy

Track 16 from the 2000 CD "Playin' Around", recorded 1977

17. Everybody Needs Love

Track 17 from the 1986 album "From Letters From Mississippi"

18. Cry And Moan

19. Bottom Of The Well

Tracks 19 and 20 from the 1991 album "Cry And Moan"

20. Rock Of My Soul

21. Very Blue Highway

Tracks 20 and 21 from the 1993 album "Very Blue Highway"

The whole set has been put together by KEITH GLASS (who also provides the 12-page liner notes with album sleeves, rare photos etc) and the remastering has been done by WARREN BARNET at the Raven Lab and is uniformly excellent.

I've reviewed the full album of "Very Extremely Dangerous" elsewhere, so see that. The 3-tracks of "The Coleman-Hinton Project" are fabulous - loose like the Stones on 1972's Exile. They're not audiophile recordings, but man's there's a cool kind of soul there. The cover of The Staples Singers "Heavy Makes You Happy" is radically slowed down and re-worked, but in a really lovely way. The strange orchestral string quartet that opens "Got Down Last Saturday" suddenly gives away to a Little Feat "Roll Um Easy" acoustic intro - and some raw vocals and harmonica (lyrics above). Very, very cool...

The production values go right up for the 3 tracks from the "From Letters From Mississippi" set. "Sad And Lonesome" is a jaunty little tune that you'll find yourself playing again and again. It sounds not unlike what Springsteen did for Gary US Bonds on his "Dedication" and "On The Line" albums - Hinton's voice like Eighties Little Richard - gruff and soulful. The production values gets even more polished for the 4 tracks from "Hard Luck Guy" - yet another Otis Redding cover is revisited with the same joy as the original and doing Tony Joe White’s “Three Hundred Pounds Of Hongry” was a natural fit – a song from the pen of one fabulous and emotive voice - interpreted through another.

The downside - if you could call it that - was that although he wrote a lot of the material here and played large parts of the instrumentation - it was never killer enough to make an impact. Elvin Bishop had loads of albums out, but that one huge hit "Fooled Around (And Fell In Love)" brought him to 'everyone's' attention. Hinton never got that lucky - which is one of the crying shames of Rock and Soul history. But having said that - his personality and heart came through on every take.

This fantastic CD compilation has been a long-time coming and if you want to know why the "All-Music Guide" describes Eddie Hinton as "one of the great, unheralded white blues musicians of all time" - then here's the reasonably-priced place to start...

PS: this review is dedicated with affection to the memory of Barry Beckett who passed away in June of 2009...and see also my reviews for "Very Extremely Dangerous" (1997 Capricorn Classics CD) and "Cover Me: The EDDIE HINTON Songbook" by Various Artists (2018 Ace Records CD)

"Very Extremely Dangerous" by EDDIE HINTON - March 1978 US Album on Capricorn Records featuring Barry Beckett, Jimmy Johnson, Roger Hawkins and more (August 1997 US Capricorn Classics CD Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"…It Feels All Right…"

Eddie Hinton's voice is part Otis Redding part Bobby Womack part Frankie Miller - and as you can imagine with credentials 'that' good - his guttural singing style is considered to be a thing of wonder among soul aficionados. Recorded in November 1977 at the Muscle Shoals Sound Recording Studio in Sheffield, Alabama and released in March 1978 on Capricorn CPN-0204 in the USA only - this obscure and criminally forgotten LP received good reviews at the time of release but produced poor sales. And it's been the very definition of 'lost masterpiece' ever since.

Sporting what has to be one of the worst titles for an LP ever - and an album cover that isn't much better - Eddie Hinton's "Very Extremely Dangerous" is a Soul-Rock LP on a label more associated with the Southern Boogie of The Allman Brothers, The Marshall Tucker Band and Elvin Bishop.

This August 1997 American CD Remaster of the album (Audio done by FRED MEYER) is a straightforward transfer of the 1978 LP and was part of Polygram's "Capricorn Classics" CD series on Capricorn 314 536 111-2 (Barcode 731453611122). But like the original vinyl LP - it too is now deleted and become equally rare and pricey (42:05 minutes).

1. You Got Me Singing [Side 1]

2. Concept World

3. I Got The Feeling

4. Shout Bamalama

5. Get Off In It

6. Brand New Man [Side 2]

7. Shoot The Moon

8. We Got It

9. Yeah Man

10. I Want It All

The session players for the album were:

EDDIE HINTON - Guitar, Piano & Vocals

BARRY BECKETT - Piano, Organ and Moog Synthesizer (also Produced)

JIMMY JOHNSON - Guitar

DAVID HOOD - Bass

ROGER HAWKINS - Drums

HARRISON CALOWAY - Trumpet

HARVEY THOMPSON - Tenor Saxophone

DENNIS GOOD - Trombone

RONNIE EADES - Baritone Saxophone

"You Got Me Singing", "I Got The Feeling", "We Got It" and "Yeah Man" are solo Hinton songs with ALVIN HOWARD co-writing on "Concept World", "Get Off In It", "Brand New Man" and "I Want It All". DAN PENN of the legendary Dan Penn/Spooner Oldham song-writing team co-wrote "Shoot The Moon" while "Shout Bamalama" is not surprisingly - an Otis Redding cover version.

Barry Beckett's production is typically accomplished and lovely (he was one of the founders of the Muscle Shoals Studios). His history in music is extraordinary - and apart from being on so many legendary sessions as to be ridiculous - he was also at the production helm of umpteen great albums - "Communiqué” by Dire Straits (their underrated 2nd album) and Dylan's "Slow Train Coming" to name but a few (with Jerry Wexler). Which brings me to Meyer's remaster combined with Beckett's top production values - it's produced a delicious finish on this CD - a lovely warm sound that's full and sweet.

The songs have a distinctly Southern feel - they range from mellow to funky and are most effective when they slow right down. The majestic soulful build of "I Got The Feeling" is typical - a slow soulful groove is found, licking guitar then backs it up and is sided by the legendary Muscle Shoals brass - all the while Eddie is wailing like Otis is in the room and he has to impress his mentor. The boppin' "Shout Bamalama" sounds Little Richard in party mode with the boys in the band having a ball. “Yeah Man” is fabulous too – a slinky little number that goes down like honey. But the album's gem for me is "Get Off Of It" which is almost Van Morrison in its mystical soulful vibe - it's just beautiful. It contains the album's title in its lyrics and is as successful a fusion of rock and southern soul as I've ever heard.

The downside is of course acquiring this peach. Most will baulk at the extortionate prices now being asked for this rare deletion (time for a re-issue Hip-O Select), but when you hear it - you'll understand why it's worth the wallet-full required.

Lovely stuff - and recommended big time...

PS: this review is dedicated with affection to the memory of Barry Beckett who passed away in June of 2009...and see also reviews for "Cover Me: The EDDIE HINTON Songbook" by Various Artists (2018 Ace Records CD) and "A Mighty Field Of Vision: The Anthology 1969-1993" (2005 Raven CD)

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"Cover Me: The EDDIE HINTON Songbook" by VARIOUS ARTISTS (October 2018 UK Ace Records CD Compilation - Duncan Cowell Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Miss Him So..."

When I saw this Eddie Hinton 'Various Artists' CD Reissue on the October 2018 release schedule – I knew I'd have to own it. And jammy bugger that I am, I was right. Because those nubile sexpots over at Ace Records of the UK have once again nailed another nuclear-powered acupuncture needle into my already pin-cushioned musical dartboard of a heart.

So why only four stars - "Cover Me: The EDDIE HINTON Songbook" is not perfect by any means - one or two tunes are borderline twee while others are good rather than being great. It’s the kind of compilation you wish was a 5-star whopper but it just misses the mark. But make no mistake – this near 74-minute CD compilation is a wee little nugget anyway - never flashy – never too fast - just sweetly Rock-Soulful and defiantly Southern as it shuffles its sexy way through 24 lesser-heard songs penned by the Blessed Eddie and his friends - Marlin Greene, Donnie Fritts, Dan Penn and others – culminating with three solo. Let the gushing commence...

Who is EH and why should you love him? Imagine a cherub-faced Jon Voight in "Midnight Cowboy" with a character just as naive and you get a visual on Tuscaloosa's Eddie Hinton. A gifted guitar-player and songwriter taboot, he arrived aged just 24 into the creative bosom of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section band in 1966 (affectionately known as The Swampers). Hinton’s slick licks and complimentary hooks would soon be adding that Southern Swing to wads of Soul and Soul-Rock recordings laid down in those halcyon years at Rick Hall's legendary Fame Studios in Alabama (Aretha Franklyn, Elvis Presley, The Dells, Percy Sledge, The Staple Singers and even Boz Scaggs were amongst a long list of those who benefitted).

As if this double-whammy of playing and songwriting wasn't enough – cute-looking Hinton then opened his mouth and sang - and out popped a white Otis Redding - literally. Legend has it that the normally sanguine Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records was so awestruck at the singing voice he heard - Jerry immediately predicted a star would be born when Hinton finally stepped out from those session shadows into a front man position and made his solo pitch. In fact Hinton's raspy guttural vocal cross between Otis Redding and Little Richard in his Seventies Reprise Years had always been something of a well-kept secret amongst those in the know. But of course - it absolutely shouldn't have been.

And therein lies the tragedy. Things just always seemed to get in the way for the man and despite a late flourish with his first and only official solo LP – the sappily titled "Very Extremely Dangerous" on Capricorn Records in March 1978 - the label once famous for The Allman Brothers (Duane and Gregg covered one of his songs when they were The Hour Glass) folded within weeks of its release and Hinton's shot at fame went with it.

He died aged only 51 of a heart attack in 1985 from drug-and-drink related health issues which had dogged him for years just as he was beginning to be appreciated by UK and European Soul aficionados. Post - there have been at least four CD compilations across the subsequent decades covering demo recordings left behind with songs stretching back as far as 1967. Which brings us to this...

UK released Friday, 26 October 2018 (9 November 2018 in the USA) - "Cover Me: The EDDIE HINTON Songbook" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Ace Records CDTOP 1535 (Barcode 029667092722) is a 24-Track CD compilation that plays as follows (73:45 minutes):

1. Breakfast In Bed - DUSTY SPRINGFIELD (February 1969 US 7" single on Atlantic 2606, B-side to "Don't Forget About Me" and on the "Dusty In Memphis" LP)

2. Down In Texas - OSCAR TONEY JR. (March 1969 US 7" single on Bell 776, A-side)

3. Cover Me - JACKIE MOORE (August 1971 US 7" single on Atlantic 2830, B-side to "Time")

4. A Little Bit Salty - BOBBY WOMACK (from the November 1976 US LP "Home Is Where The Heart Is” on Columbia PC 34384)

5. Sure As Sin - CANDI STATON (May 1972 US 7" single on Fame 91000, B-side of "In The Ghetto")

6. 300 Pounds Of Hongry - TONY JOE WHITE (from the April 1972 US LP "The Train I'm On" on Warner Brothers BS 2580)

7. Masquerade - DON VARNER (June 1967 USA 7" single on South Camp 7003, B-side to “Down In Texas")

8. Always David - THE SWEET INSPIRATIONS (from the August 1969 US LP "Sweets For My Sweet" on Atlantic SD 8225)

9. Poor Mary Has Drowned - BRICK WALL (July 1969 US 7" single on Capitol 2545, A-side)

10. It's All Wrong But It's Alright - EDDIE HINTON (1967 Recording released September 2000 on the UK Eddie Hinton CD compilation "Dear Y'All" on Zane Records ZNCD 1016)

11. Help Me Make It (Power Of A Woman's Love) - MINK DeVILLE (from the November 1981 US LP "Coup De Grace" on Atlantic SD 18311)

12. Save The Children - CHER (from the June 1969 US LP "3614 Jackson Highway" on Atlantic SD 33-298)

13. Every Natural Thing - ARETHA FRANKLIN (from the February 1974 US LP "Let Me Into Your Life" on Atlantic SD 7292)

14. If I Had Let You In - THE BOX TOPS (from the July 1968 US LP "Non Stop" on Bell Records BELL 6023)

15. Satisfaction Guaranteed - JUDY WHITE (December 1968 US 7" single on Buddah BDA 79, A-side)

16. Standing On The Mountain - PERCY SLEDGE (January 1972 US 7" single on Atlantic 2848, B-side of "Rainbow Road")

17. I Got The Feeling - THE AMAZING RHYTHM ACES (from the October 1980 US LP "How The Hell Do You Spell Rythum?" on Warner Brothers BSK 3476)

18. Home For The Summer - THE HOUR GLASS featuring Paul Hornsby with Gregg and Duane Allman (from the March 1968 US Stereo LP "Power Of Love" on Liberty LST-7555)

19. Lay It On Me - GWEN McCRAE (January 1971 US 7" single on Columbia 45320, A-side)

20. People In Love - LOU JOHNSON (April 1969 US 7" single on Cotillion 44026, B-side of "Don't Play That Song (You Lied)")

21. Where You Come From - BONNIE BRAMLETT (from the February 1975 US LP "It's Time" on Capricorn CP 0148)

22. Seventeen Year Old Girl - MICKEY BUCKINS & THE NEW BREED (July 1967 US 7" single on South Camp 7004, A-side)

23. Love Waits For No Man - AL JOHNSON (May 1967 US 7" single on South Camp 7002, B-side of "Bless Your Sweet Little Soul")

24. Where's Eddie - LULU and THE DIXIE FLYERS (May 1970 US 7" single on Atco 6749, B-side of "Hum A Song (From Your Heart)"

NOTES:

Tracks 7, 9, 10, 15, 16, 19, 20, 22 and 23 are in MONO - all others in STEREO

Tracks 2, 3, 5, 10, 15, 16, 18 and 23 co-written with MARLIN GREENE (Track 22 is a co-production only with MG)

Tracks 1, 6, 9, 14, 19 and 24 co-written with DONNIE FRITTS

Tracks 12 and 17 co-written with DAN PENN; Track 8 co-written with DAN PENN and WAYNE JACKSON

Track 20 co-written with Grady Smith; Track 21 co-written with JIM COLEMAN

Tracks 4, 11, 13 and 22 written by EDDIE HINTON

Helmed by long-time Ace Records associate, Soul Expert and Southern Soul aficionado TONY ROUNCE - the 24-page booklet is the usual feast of info and display. You get those tantalising promo photos of cool types like Bobby Womack, Judy White, Lou Johnson, and on Page 17, a spectacularly hip shot of the four gorgeous gals in The Sweet Inspirations with Cissy Houston (Whitney's mum) smiling at the top of the downwards body cascade. Rounce has broken down the song-by-song evaluations into writing partners (as pointed out in the NOTES above) and in between the text and pics of Gwen McCrae and Mink De Ville single and album sleeves - you get those US 45 label repros that make collector's hearts flutter just a little faster - Cotillion, Capitol, South Camp, Atco, Buddah, Bell, Fame etc. Mastering by DUNCAN COWELL is also great even when sources fluctuate as on those uber-rare-didn't sell-jack South Camp singles that I suspect may be dubbed off discs. Whatever you look at it - this is impressive stuff. To the actual music...

Not surprisingly the compilation opens strongly with a dip into Springfield's "Dusty In Memphis" LP called "Breakfast In Bed" - a slinky little Stereo crawl that sounds like the aftermath its title suggests - baby I'm tired, but I'm pleased, now make me some coffee and shut up. I immediately then race down to an album I played into the wall - "Coup De Grace" by Mink De Ville - a 1981 platter on Atlantic that held the gorgeous groove of "Help Me Make It (Power Of A Woman's Love)" – bliss - Hinton's song combined with the swagger of Willy De Ville's Southern Politician sipping mint juleps persona (succumb my buttery friends). Like many who are reading this - Dan Penn is a name that will have some of us step out of our chairs and genuflect in front of the computer - another Southern white boy with Soul in his (well) Soul. His co-write on "I Got The Feeling" is so typical of his church-organ crawl as Lead Vocalist Russell Smith of The Amazing Rhythm Aces literally sounds like an uncanny combo of both Penn and Hinton - sexy, sexy man. Although others may enjoy them, I found "Always David" by The Sweet Inspirations, Cher's "Save The Children" and Brick Wall's "Poor Mary Has Drowned" all a little too saccharine in their subject matters and creepy in delivery too (but I liked the genuine feeling in Lulu’s “Where’s Eddie” (she had a thing for him) and lyrics from the song title this review). And who among us brave troopers can resist Tony Joe White's fabulous groove in "300 Pounds Of Hongry" or Aretha getting into that funky-monkey motion-in-the-ocean shake she got when she recorded any damn thing at Atlantic - Hinton's neck-jerking "Every Natural Thing" a perfect fit for her. Al Johnson puts in a stormer too with "Love Waits For No Man" - the kind of angst-ridden rip-your-innards out song that is liable to have Northern Soul boys reaching a whole bottle of Kalms (not for the first time will herbal pharmaceuticals help them make it through the night). And on it goes... 

2018 sees the 50th Anniversary of all things 1968 - so we grey-haired grizzled grumblies are being bombarded with a wallet-depleting plethora of cultural touchstone reissue giants - Love's "Forever Changes" hit us in April - The Small Faces "Ogden's Nutgone Flake" came in October and on the 9th of November - we'll get wrist-spraining versions of The Beatles "White Album" and Hendrix's "Electric Ladyland" - worthy beasts one and all.

But spare a thought for this unassuming entry – this rather lovely musical CD.

As Eddie Hinton said 51 years ago in 1967 - it's all wrong but somehow it's all right. How prophetic and true. Recommended...and I miss him so...