"Doremi Fasol Latido" by HAWKWIND – November 1972 UK Third Studio Album on United Artists (December 1972 in the USA) – featuring Dave Brock, Nik Turner, Del Dettmar, Lemmy (later with Motorhead) and Simon King (March 1996 UK EMI Premier Expanded Edition CD Original with Four Bonus Tracks in A Foldout Card Digipak - Followed by an August 2001 UK EMI Records Expanded Edition CD Reissue of the 1996 Variant in a Jewel Case – Paul Cobbold, Peter Mew and Kevin Reeve Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B00005MCX1&asins=B00005MCX1&linkId=0b288702a0195bf92ee03b31e7f30373&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

This Review And Over 300 More Like It 

Are Available In my e-Book on AMAZON 

TUMBLING DICE - 1972

Your All-Genres Guide To Exceptional 

CD Reissues and Remasters 

Classic Albums, Compilations, 45s...

All Detailed Reviews Taken From The Discs Themselves 

(No Cut and Paste Crap) 

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B07RVD6R4N&asins=B07RVD6R4N&linkId=afd41f9623c42d3131c498d0f94f62cd&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

"...Greetings From Space Mother..."

Following on from the breakthrough of October 1971's "X In Search Of Space" LP and June 1972's 45-single "Silver Machine" (a worldwide hit) was always going to be difficult for a band as uncompromising as London's Space Rockers HAWKWIND. But our favourite flavoursome five reprobates delivered a worthy successor in the November 1972 sonic mayhem that was and is "Doremi Fasol Latido" – even if countries outside of Blighty didn't seem to notice much.

But if I'm truthful - "Doremi Fasol Latido" is a four-star Hawkwind album - all sonically drunk and Production disorderly and falling over itself on the way to an undoubtedly rank toilet. It's a wee beastie for sure (probably why I like it so much). But this March 1996 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster elevates that four-star scamp into a five-star rocking thoroughbred, especially given four bonuses actually worthy of the name. 

So, let's go forth my Thorasin Blood Brothers because our Space Mother is calling her Hawklord offspring into the sorcerer’s cauldron for a bit of a brainstorm (if you catch my stellar drift)...

UK released 20 August 2001 - "Doremi Fasol Latido" by HAWKWIND on EMI Records 530 0312 / 7243 5 30031 2 8 (Barcode 724353003128) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue and Remaster with Four Bonus Tracks that plays out as follows (59:06 minutes):

1. Brainstorm [Side 1]

2. Space is Deep 

3. One Change 

4. Lord Of Light [Side 2]

5. Down Through The Night 

6. Time We Left This World Today 

7. The Watcher 

Tracks 1 to 7 are their third studio album "Doremi Fasol Latido" - released November 1972 in the UK on United Artists UAG 29364 and December 1972 in the USA on United Artists UA-LA001-F. Produced by DAVE BROCK and DEL DETTMAR - it peaked at No. 14 in the UK (didn't chart USA). 

BONUS TRACKS: 

8. Urban Guerrilla

9. Brainbox Pollution 

Tracks 8 and 9 are the non-album A&B-sides of a 22 June 1973 UK 45-single on United Artists UP 35566

10. Lord of Light (Single Version Edit) 

Track 10 was not a 45 in the UK; however, Amon Duul's Peter Kramper and Stefan Michel remixed it January 1973 in a Munich studio for the German market, reducing the LP cut of 6:59 minutes to 3:59 minutes. United Artists UA 35 492 was issued around about March 1973 in a picture sleeve with a remixed and edited version of "Born To Go" from "The Greasy Truckers Party" double-album on the B-side. 

11. Ejection (Previously Unreleased Version) - Written by Dave Brock, Produced by Roy Baker 

There are two variants of this release – the first appeared 22 March 1996 in a multi-flap card digipak on EMI Premier HAWKS 3 / 7243 8 37554 2 4 (Barcode 724383755424). If you want that version, you will need to seek it out in a separate entry. That was in turn replaced with this more common 20 August 2001 reissue that comes in a standard jewel case (EMI Records 530 0312 is easily available for about a fiver or less – new or used). 

Fan nerds will know that the original Barney Bubbles-designed LP famously came with a silver foil on black card design and a space art inner sleeve. The gobbledygook commentary printed on the back sleeve which starts with “Blood greetings O brother, from our great space mother...” is reproduced in the 1996 foldout card digipak version, as is the inner sleeve. But so also is the rare ‘Street Rats’ poster that only came with some original vinyl LPs in England. I mention this poster because although the 2001 reissue has exactly the same liner notes and credit details as before (same 1996 Remaster too) – someone forgot to display the poster in the 12-page booklet of the 2001 reissue. It’s a small mishap, but one worth mentioning. 

The 1996 Audio Remaster (carried over into the 2001 reissue) is care of long-time Abbey Road associate PETER MEW aided by PAUL COBBOLD and a name many will know from Universal Remasters – KEVIN REEVE. Those expecting Supertramp or Dark Side Of The Moon will need to look elsewhere. This is sloppy, grungy, heads down Space Rock with a grandiose dollop of Rock Psych thrown in. At times the band seems to be fighting to be heard in the heady mix – lead vocals distant, backing vocals in another room altogether. But this Remaster delivers the power and the muscle. And then just when you think you have Hawkwind pigeonholed to a wall of sound and volume – they whomp you with Acoustic beauty like Dave Brock’s "Space Is Deep" or Lemmy’s ethereal and eerie "The Watcher". Suddenly it feels beautifully produced even if the later half of the song might again descend into that drum vs. guitar drone. The transfer is grubby and dirty when it needs to be and soft as a baby's bum-bum when restraint is called for. I love it.

The dirtiest grittiest guitar ever greets the listener as Side 1 begins with "Brainstorm" - standing on the runway for 11:32 minutes of heads down Space Rock. The vocals are still lost but the gutbucket wallop of it is undeniable and a hoot. After the sheer eardrum assault of "Brainstorm" - the six-minutes of Dave Brock's "Space Is Deep" comes across as pretty - like an Acoustic Yes session mated with an exploratory Uriah Head whig-out, leaving both exhausted but proud Hawklord parents beaming down at their new gangly offspring. "Into the void we have to travel..." – he sings. Fairly sure I’m not alone in saying that "Space Is Deep" is my fave track on the album - a great vibe and now a fabulous remaster that fills the room as the crescendo builds. Fifty seconds of "One Change" ends Side 1 - a very cool piano instrumental that feels like it should be featured on the soundtrack to "Baby Driver 2: Second Gear" – the babe drives again – etc.

Side 2 opens with "Lord Of Light", a seven-minute Dave Brock guitar-shimmer accompanied by panned cymbals. It soon melts into a guitar riff similar in some ways to the might "Silver Machine" - probably why it was remixed in Germany in early 1973 and issued as a 7" single there. And again with another surprising acoustic opening to "Down Through The Night" - space vibes with echoed Nik Turner flute moments. Surely another fan crave is "Time We Left This World Today" - 8:43 minutes of pure Hawkwind grind. With other room vocals and whacking drums anchoring the wall of guitars, synths and flute warbling - you can just so see that 'strapping cohort Stacia' (as she is described in the commentary) giving it some bounce for the boys on stage as he singer chants 'today' like a mantra. Future Motorhead legend and Bass player Lemmy gets his moment as he finishes the album with the surprisingly restrained "The Watcher". 

But the extras have me jumping up and down in the living room with a Spalding tennis racquet - my missus with yet another worried look and the Nurse Ratched cast on speed-dial. I've always liked "Urban Guerrilla" but my poison is the fantastic 5:42 minutes of its B-side "Brainbox Pollution" - a track that I'm certain should have been the "Silver Machine" follow-up. What a tune. Throw in two great extras in the tighter single edit for "Lord Of Light" and a cool unreleased Rock tune in "Ejection" - and it’s a groovy listen overall. 

There will be those who listen to "Doremi Fasol Latido" and wonder did Daddy and Mummy take too many magic mushrooms in 1972 when they assure their already alarmed sprogs in 2020 that Hawkwind is the dogs bollox. I miss them and the sheer couldn't give a cobblers freedom of it all. Enjoy, you children of Nik Turner, Dave Brock, Del Dettmar, Simon King and the mighty Kilmister Kid...

"David Clayton-Thomas/Tequila Sunrise/David Clayton-Thomas" by DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS [of Blood, Sweat & Tears] – April 1972, October 1972 and June 1973 US Albums on Columbia and RCA Victor Records – featuring David Cohen, Hugh McCracken, Paul Griffin, Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar, Kenny Marco, William "Smitty" Smith, Chuck Rainey, Dominic Troiano of The James Gang, Bobby Colomby of Blood, Sweat & Tears, Steve Cropper of Booker T. & The MGs with Backing Singers Clydie King, Venetta Fields and The Tom Bahler Quartet (August 2020 UK Beat Goes On Reissue – 3LPs onto 2CDs with One Bonus Track – Andrew Thompson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B088VT5RB6&asins=B088VT5RB6&linkId=f149ab4fa04b21dcf8159549d1d70cc0&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

"...Tell The Truth Boy!"

If I'm completely honest and forthright with my adoring/besotted readers (and it goes against my religion to be so) - these three albums aren't all yesteryear masterpieces of knee-trembling genius. In fact the third self-titled platter here hasn't seen the digital light of day ever and even with a fabulous remaster on offer here (and it does rock) - it's unfortunately easy to hear why no one has bothered. 

But (and as they say in Kim Kardashian's house, this is a big but) - I've loved all things Blood, Sweat & Tears to distraction for over 50 years and that American band's gargles-gravel-for-breakfast lead singer David Clayton-Thomas can do no wrong by me. The good stuff on these platters far outweighs the ordinary (three tracks on album number three are corkers) and the big man could bring his lungs and passion to other people's tunes to such an extent that he often made them his own (check out C-T's version of Chris Ethridge and Gram Parson's gorgeous "She" on the Columbia debut LP for instance). 

So when I heard that England's Beat Goes On (BGO as they prefer to be called these days) we're lumping together his two solo albums from 1972 on Columbia Records and the one that followed in 1973 on RCA Victor and throwing in a 1983 Bonus Track for good measure – all of it resplendent on two Remastered CDs with sexy-pants presentation - I had to read a Brussels explanation of BREXIT to bore me sufficiently rigid, thereby stopping my blood pressure from blowing a gasket. Like the John Kay of Steppenwolf solo albums of 1972 and 1973 on ABC/Dunhill Records (Probe in the UK) which Beat Goes On have also done (see separate review) – I love these DCT records - and any upgrade in Audio gets me excited. 

We'll I'm glad to say that the Mad Dogs and Englishmen over at BGO have done it again - a great sounding reissue offering many albums I actually want and for less than the cost of a session with Joe Biden's speech therapist. We're all meat from the same bone, as the great Canadian says. Here are the juicy details...

UK released Friday, 28 August 2020 - "David Clayton-Thomas/Tequila Sunrise/David Clayton-Thomas" by DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS (of Blood, Sweat & Tears) on Beat Goes On BGOCD1424 (Barcode 5017261214249) offers 3LPs Remastered onto 2CDs with One Bonus Track and plays out as follows:

CD1 (74:11 minutes):

1. Magnificent Sanctuary Band [Side 1]

2. We're All Meat From The Same Bone

3. Stealin' In The Name Of The Lord 

4. Dying To Live 

5. Sing A Song 

6. She [Side 2]

7. Don't Let It Bring You Down 

8. Once Burned 

9. North Beach Racetrack 

10. Caress Me Pretty Music

Tracks 1 to 10 are his second studio solo album "David Clayton-Thomas" (first for Columbia) - released April 1972 on Columbia KC 31000 in the USA and on CBS Records S 64755 in the UK. Co-produced by Blood, Sweat & Tears buddies BOBBY COLOMBY and JOEL SILL – it peaked at No. 184 on the US LP charts (didn't chart in the UK).

11. I Could Just Boogie All Night (Intro) [Side 1]

12. Yesterday's Music

13. Friday The 13th Child 

14. The Face Of Man 

15. One More Time Around 

16. Down Bound Train 

17. Nobody Calls Me Prophet [Side 2] 

18. Last Time That She Cried 

19. Fallin' By Degrees

20. My Song (For Geanenne) 

21. Bread 'N Butter Boogie

22. I Could Just Boogie All Night (Reprise)

Tracks 11 to 22 are his third studio album "Tequila Sunrise" - released October 1972 in the USA on Columbia records KC 31700 (no UK equivalent, but Dutch copies on CBS Records S 65237 were imported into Britain and sold). Produced by MIKE POST - it didn't chart (bubbled under at No. 202 in early November 1972). 

CD2 (37:06 minutes):

1. Harmony Junction [Side 1]

2. Workin' On The Railroad

3. Alimony 

4. Harbor Lady 

5. When Something Is Wrong With My Baby 

6. Hernando's Hideaway [Side 2]

7. Sweet Fantasy 

8. Small Family 

9. Can't Buy Me Love

10. Professor Longhair 

Tracks 1 to 10 are his fourth solo album "David Clayton-Thomas" – released June 1973 in the USA on RCA Victor APL1-0173 and October 1973 in the UK on RCA Victor SF 8381. Produced by GABRIEL MEKLER – it didn't chart in either country. This August 2020 BGO 2CD set is its first digital reissue. 

BONUS TRACK:

11. Some Hearts Get All The Breaks – 1983 US 45 on Epic 34-03792, A-side

The outer card slipcase is always classy looking and the chunky 20-page booklet with new appreciations from Mojo and Record Collector contributor CHARLES WARING is a very enjoyable affair. This is not one of those releases where the liner notes go on about the artists’ history and then proffer a few lines to the actual music being reissued - Waring almost goes track for track and on all three albums - and he loads on the musician details and song histories. The session’s details and artwork from all gatefold LPs are here too (photos etc) - but the big news is a quality Remaster from BGO's resident Audio Engineer ANDREW THOMPSON. Like most fans, I've had (and reviewed) the March 2006 Repertoire CD remaster for 1972's "David Clayton-Thomas" (Repertoire RES 2300 - Barcode 400910230022) but these new versions are fantastic. With Production values from Bobby Colomby (of B, S &T), future TV tunes man Mike Post and finally Gabriel Mekler - the sound on these albums in great - with number three noticeably leaping up the scales into almost Audiophile standards. Let's get to the tunes...

Co-produced by Blood, Sweat & Tears buddies BOBBY COLOMBY and JOEL SILL - his "David Clayton-Thomas" debut for Columbia Records had been recorded in September to November 1971 sessions but because of B,S&T commitments would have to wait until April 1972 for US release. Its ten tracks offered nine cover versions and one original - the junkie song "North Beach Racecourse". Top heavy with sessionmen - players included David Cohen, Hugh McCracken, Mike Deasy, Sal DiTroia, Paul Cannon and Steve Cropper of Booker T & The MG's on Guitars, Frank Owens on Piano with Bobby Colomby of Blood, Sweat & Tears on Drums and Production and super session ladies Clydie King and Vanetta Fields on Backing Vocals. 

Highlights are Edgar Winter's post-Woodstock anti-war anthem "Dying To Live" which is given a powerful rendition with strings that strengthen the melody and message rather than drown it. The "After The Gold Rush" classic of "Don't Let It Bring You Down" by Neil Young is also treated to a strange solitary French horn opening that really works – it takes a good song and moves it to somewhere different – very cool. But the real peach here is his gorgeous vocal to Gram Parson and Chris Ethridge's much-covered "She". Clayton-Thomas does it more than justice – he almost makes it his own. His lone self-penned contribution about his favourite haunt "North Beach Racetrack" is a 'daddy was a junky' song with a funky guitar romp while he roars a trademark B, S & T mannerism "…tell the truth boy!" It's excellent and features slick guitar work from all three - Paul Cannon, Steve Cropper and Thomas himself. And the sound is superb throughout the entire album - Gary Wright's Spooky Tooth tune "Sing A Song" punchy and vibrant - "Caress Me Pretty Music" by Anita O'Day and the born-again multitudes of people 1970 Dorsey Burnette cover "Magnificent Sanctuary Band" both featuring noticeably warm Bass - all good. There is hiss on some of the quieter songs like the Todd Rundgren cover "Once Burned" but it's not too much to detract. And up there with "She" is another clever choice - CT's funky and righteous cover of Paul Kelly’s "Stealin' In The Name Of The Lord" - a minor hit for its Soul Man originator in 1970 on Happy Tiger Records. 

Deciding to forgo so many 'other people's songs' for his second on Columbia - "Tequila Sunrise" saw Clayton-Thomas hook up big time with Keyboardist, Singer and 'Musical Director' William "Smithy" Smith. Almost all of the songs are originals - co-writes with Smith. On "Tequila Sunrise's" plus side - ace guitarist and long-time associate with James Taylor's backing band Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar comes on board with Kenny Marco as the two principal guitarists and their Steely Dan-esque solos pepper many of the tunes. On the downside, because the "David Clayton-Thomas" LP sounded so much like a BS&T solo record with all those contributors and especially the frequent brass fills - it was decided to strip back "Tequila Sunrise" of Horn Arrangements - a sound trademark associated with Blood, Sweat & Tears. In hindsight, that was a mistake. Although originals like the angry yet still sexy "Nobody Calls Me Prophet" or the fantastic piano-funk and guitar grove of "Last Time She Cried" - you can't help but think that actually a wee bit of brass would have lifted them into the stratosphere. 

It's not all good - the frantic "Bread 'N Butter Boogie" is wildly forced and the Blues Acoustic Intro and Outro of "I Could Just Boogie All Night" that tail ends both sides of the LP feels gimmicky when it would have been better to just give it full reign. Lyrically "Friday The 13th Child" (he was both 13 September) is very strong and Bobby 'Blue' Bland covered its hurting message on his stunning 1973 ABC Records LP "His California Album". I also can't understand why Columbia who apparently did little or no press for the LP didn't tap into the fab grit-and-groove Rock-Funk of his Chuck Berry cover "Down Bound Train". It literally sounds like a Blood, Sweat & Tears neck-jerker waiting to be a 45 hit. They chose the soppier "Yesterday’s Music" b/w "Fallin' By Degrees" as the album's only 7" single in both the USA and UK even though the LP itself never received a released in Blighty (all copies were Dutch imports on the famous orange CBS Records label). Still, it's a good album and the audio feels right. 

By the time we get to platter number three from 1973 - another self-titled LP - Clayton-Thomas has signed to RCA Victor and the Production qualities have gone through the roof. As far as I know, "David Clayton-Thomas" has never been on CD and its inclusion here is most welcome (fans have often called the record "Harmony Junction" after Side 1's opening song - another superb co-write with Smithy). Side 1 has the best stuff - a killer cover of Tommy Tucker's "Alimony" where Kootch, Kenny Marco and future James Gang guitarist Dominic Troiano provide very cool slide guitars. There is a rile at the Statue of Liberty in the hard-hitting "Harbor Lady" - Clayton-Thomas asserting that she isn't a symbol of hope - the reality being that someone's "...wife and son are buried in the dirt of a semi-slum". But the LP loses all momentum with a dire Side 2 where he covers "Hernando's Hideaway" from the 1954 musical "The Pajama Game" for God's sake and it all goes downhill from there to a pointless and uncharacteristically anaemic cover of The Beatles "Can't Buy Me Love". The Bonus Track single "Some Hearts Get All The Breaks" is romantic schlock from 1983 on Epic Records that apparently went to Promo-only stage. It's bad movie music and unworthy of him - the kind of twaddle that makes you want to hurry back to his fantastic rendition of Sam & Dave's torch ballad "When Something Is Wrong With My Baby" that ends Side 1 of the third LP. 

In summary - this three-LPs-onto-two-CDs is a mixed bag for sure and you can't help but think that a man so obviously steeped in the Blues, R&B and Soul should have tapped those rich genre veins way more often. These LPs needed material to give his extraordinary set of pipes some real meat. But when Dave found that song (bopper or ballad) – man was DCT good. 

Fans will love the new Audio, the classy presentation, the genuinely informative liner notes and those interested in Funky 70ts Rock on a Soulful tip will find loads to enjoy once they get past some occasional clunkers. 

"...Tell The Truth Boy!" – big Dave shouts in one of his famous vocal ad-libs. Amen baby and I'm off now to board that "Down Bound Train" so I can whack the Devil on the head with a crowbar as he tries to take a drunk from the barroom floor onto his thunder-crash, fire and brimstone, steam-engine (sneaky bleeder). Keep rocking peeps...

"Broken Barricades" by PROCOL HARUM – May 1971 US LP on A&M Records and June 1971 UK LP on Chrysalis Records – featuring Robin Trower, Gary Brooker, Chris Copping, BJ Wilson and lyricist Keith Reid (28 June 2019 UK Esoteric Recordings 3CD Expanded And Re-Mastered Edition with 36 Bonus Tracks (32 of which are Previously Unreleased) in a Large Card Digipak with Booklet and A Foldout Poster – Paschal Byrne Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 352 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

GET IT ON - 1971

 

Your All-Genres Guide To

Exceptional CD Reissues and Remasters  

50th Anniversary Issue for 2021

A Huge 3,040-Plus E-Pages 

All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

Just Click Below To Purchase

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B06XFXCG47&asins=B06XFXCG47&linkId=6b6b550334019077ff7a777cb9cf83a4&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

"...Cellar Full Of Diamonds..."

 

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B07PZX92S8&asins=B07PZX92S8&linkId=25eabac7d6bc6a0b2ca5c6a03b47c8c7&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

 

Desperate not to be pigeonholed by the Mellotron melodrama of May 1967's "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" (a huge worldwide hit) - Procol Harum were always trying to move forward musically from that crowd-pleasing 45 straightjacket with their albums proper - onwards and upwards and damn the genre torpedoes. But truth be told, their dense often Prog-like Rock of the late 60ts and early 70ts has always been something of an acquired taste and their fifth studio LP "Broken Barricades" from 1971 was and is no different. 

The last platter to feature ace lead guitarist Robin Trower who quit a month after its release to pursue a solo career (his hard rocking Hendrix-like debut "Twice Removed From Yesterday" appeared in March 1973 also on Chrysalis Records) - BB has divided the faithful for years - some loving it - some loathing it - most sensibly plopped in-between. 

"Broken Barricades" was issued first week of May 1971 in the USA on A&M Records SP-4294 and second week of June 1971 in Blighty on Chrysalis Records ILPS 9158 (Chrysalis still using the Island catalogue number numerical hence the ILPS code). But which reissue to buy on CD? There are three principal ones to choose from with both 'content' and 'price' a factor, and I'd like to explore what's what and why?

First up was Germany's Repertoire Records; their EROC remastered "Broken Barricades" appearing in August 2002 on Repertoire REP 4980 (Barcode 4009910498026). That single-CD variant came in a card digipak with three bonus tracks - "Broken Barricades" (Single Edit)", "Power Failure (Single Edit)" and "Simple Sister (Mono Version)". I mention this because despite the huge 36 Bonus Tracks offered on this latest June 2019 triple-CD set from Esoteric Recordings of the UK (32 of which are Previously Unreleased) – that threesome is 'not' featured here and when you look at the 66-minute playing time on Disc 3, there was room. The 7" single edits of "Broken Barricades" b/w "Power Failure" were issued Stateside in July 1971 on A&M Records 1264 with no UK equivalent – so have always been British 45 collector's items for years. It feels like a bit of a silly oversight to have left them off. 

The second CD outing for "Broken Barricades" came with Salvo of the UK in August 2009 as part of their 'Procol Harum 40 Years' reissue series. Salvo Records SALVOCD022 (Barcode 698458812223) offered Four New Bonus Tracks – all Previously Unreleased at the time. At least these four are repeated on this 2019 Esoteric Records 3CD variant (the titles are Tracks 10, 9, 17 and 15 on CD A as listed below). Coming in a gatefold card sleeve, Nick Robbins of Ace Records fame was the Remaster Engineer on that Salvo version and most fans rate this variant as tops. The Repertoire and Salvo issues are still under a tenner new and can often be found for less on auction sites.

Which brings us to this new 3CD beast clocking in at over twenty quid depending on where you buy it and offering some genuine rarities fans have been craving on digital for over three decades. Let's get to the technicalities...

UK released 28 June 2019 (delayed from May 2019) - "Broken Barricades: Expanded And Re-Mastered Edition" by PROCOL HARUM on Esoteric Records ECLEC 32673 (Barcode 5013929477346) is a 3CD Three-Flap Card Digipak Reissue with 44-Tracks (36 Bonus Tracks, 32 of which are Previously Unreleased) that plays out as follows:

CD A (72:53 minutes):

1. Simple Sister [Side 1]

2. Broken Barricades 

3. Memorial Drive 

4. Luskus Delph 

5. Power Failure [Side 2]

6. Song For A Dreamer 

7. Playmate Of The Mouth 

8. Poor Mohammed 

Tracks 1 to 8 are their fifth studio album "Broken Barricades" - released May 1971 in the USA on A&M Records SP-4294 and June 1971 in the UK on Chrysalis ILPS 9158. Produced by CHRIS THOMAS - it peaked at No. 32 in the USA and No. 44 in the UK. Tracks 1, 2, 4, 5 and 7 written by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid - Tracks 3, 6 and 8 written by Robin Trower and Keith Reid 

BONUS TRACKS: 

9. Simple Sister (Raw Track) *

10. Broken Barricades (Long Fade) *

11. Memorial Drive (Early Mix) 

12. Memorial Jam 

13. Luskus Delpi (Early Version)   

14. Power Failure (No Applause) 

15. Song For A Dreamer (King Jimi) (Backing Track) * 

16. Playmate Of The Mouth (The Boyard's Ball) (Raw Track, Heavy Bass Mix) 

17. Poor Mohammed (Backing Track) *

* First appeared August 2009 on the Salvo Records 40th Anniversary CD Reissue - all others PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

CD B - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (71:54 minutes):

Live - WPLJ, New York City, 12 April 1971 

1. Memorial Drive

2. Still There'll Be More 

3. Nothing That I Didn't Know 

4. Simple Sister

5. Luskus Delph 

6. Shine on Brightly

7. Whaling Stories 

8. Broken Barricades 

9. Juicy John Pink 

10. A Salty Dog 

11. Whisky Train 

12. Power Failure  

Tracks 1 to 12 were originally issued in the USA on a white label unofficial compilation called "The Elusive Procol Harum" (catalogue number 718 A/B). This is the first official release of this Mono material. 

BBC Radio One - 'Sounds Of The 70s' - recorded 6 October 1971

13. Simple Sister 

14. Quite Rightly So 

15. Broken Barricades 

16. Power Failure  

CD C - PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED (66:41 minutes):

Live - Sverige Radio, Folkets Hus, Stockholm, 16 October 1971

* Not featured in the Sverige Radio Broadcast 

1. In The Wee Small Hours Of Sixpence *

2. Still There'll Be More 

3. All This And More 

4. Quite Rightly So 

5. Power Failure 

6. Pilgrims Progress 

7. Simple Sister 

8. Magdalene (My Regal Zonophone)

9. A Salty Dog 

10. Repent Walpurgis * 

11. In The Autumn Of My Madness / Look To Your Soul / Grand Finale 

The original 1971 LP (on both sides of the pond) was a gatefold sleeve with die-cut shapes in the card on the front-flap to see the band faces on the inner flap beneath. As another reviewer has pointed out, this three-way foldout digipak doesn't have such elaborate packaging and worse - it feels clunky and awkward with what it does have. One flap of the digipak has a six-leaf foldout poster of the cover art (Esoteric Recordings catalogue number on it) while the 28-page booklet is certainly substantial with new liner notes from ROLAND CLARE. The lyrics are on the digipak flaps but there is naught beneath the see-through CD trays. 

The booklet is very in-depth and features input from the band’s leading player Gary Brooker and archive material. You get rare 45s from Europe of "Poor Mohammed" and the hard-to-find titled US sleeve for "Simple Sister", period pictures of the band, an A&M trade advert for the US album, even a full-page shot of a 1970 master-reel from the "Broken Barricades" sessions. The booklet also shows a photo of the four-piece featured on the cover - Robin Trower on Guitar, Gary Brooker on Keyboards and Vocals, Chris Copping on Bass and Hammond Organ while BJ Wilson played the Drums and Percussion. The unsung fifth member of the band was lyricist Keith Reid described as providing 'words' pictured in silhouette on the rear. I can't help thinking that this is really one of those occasions where it would have been better to have a 3CD Clamshell Box Set – three mini LP repro artwork sleeves on the inside, the 1971 bootleg art (which exists) and a new cover for Disc 3's Swedish Radio Broadcast. 

The Audio is a 24-Bit Remaster from original tapes by PASCHAL BYRNE at Audio Archiving and it really is a tale of two source cities. Some have said the album is too bright – I don't think so. I've had the Salvo issue for years and it's the nuts – but here there is more power in those keyboard flourishes – the vocals too – and the guitar feels like its about to bust a gut but not in a bad way. But I agree with detractors that feel the live recordings are just about acceptable – while the BBC stuff is disappointingly gruff and actually rather crappy (I can so hear why this session stayed in the can). Still, to have this much unreleased-material in one place will be a huge draw to fans (especially that US famous white label). And Trower was still with the group too managing three songs on the record while Gary put up the rest (I dig that Brooker/Trower dynamic). To the tunes...

I never could work out whether lyricist Keith Reid was with the whooping cough kid in "Simple Sister" (pointing out her horrible social stigma) or against her - the lyrics reeking ever so slightly of snide. No such confusion however with the Trower riffage - Side 1's opening track smacking of "Whisky Train" revisited - that fantastic Rock chugger on the band's preceding album "Home" from 1970 on Regal Zonophone Records. That fuzzed-up Sabbath-like guitar is quickly joined by piano-funk. I never did like the vocal on this – feels like it's detached and too far back in the mix – and unfortunately I'm not sure this Remaster helps. The simpler title track "Broken Barricades" with its catchy synth runs was an obvious US single – all bright jewels and glittering sand – the sound is great. We're back to riffing with the excellent "Memorial Drive" – the band sounding like a Rocking outfit – cool piano soloing too. Side 1 ends with "Luskus Delph" – a tune I always liked musically (even those string passages) but those lyrics feel forced and pretentious. 

The Side 2 opener "Power Failure" is my favourite cut on the record – a heady mix of Trower guitar – great Brooker vocals and a set of keyboard arrangements that make the whole chunky tune swing. A&M in America tried the full version of "Simple Sister" as a second 45 from the album in September 1971 with the equally long five-minutes-plus of "Song For A Dreamer" on the flipside (A&M 1287). But I think they should have resurrected the shorter Rock-catchy "Power Failure" which they'd used as the B to "Broken Barricades" in July and tried that as an A in September 1971. The Remaster of "Power Failure" is excellent and I've been playing it like a loon – siding it into playlists alongside the fantastic March 1971 "Dragonfly" B-side "The Purple Dancer" by Fleetwood Mac (see my review for the 2020 box set "Fleetwood Mac: 1969 to 1974"). Speaking of which, the album's other redeemer is the Fleetwood Mac "Albatross"/Jimi Hendrix "Little Wing" floating beauty of "Song For A Dreamer" – a Trower tune that precursors the ballad sound he would get on say "Bridge Of Sighs" from 1974. With a really great remaster - "Song For A Dreamer" is shimmering Rock that sounds like its lyrics – oblique words sung about meeting you on the other side of the moon – lying in the ocean – scheming at the bottom of the sea. The album finishes with two tunes that divide - the slyly worded nasty that is "Playmate Of The Mouth" (month/mouth pun intended) followed by the equally acrid "Poor Mohammed" - both somehow reading as sympathetic and damning at one and the same time. 

Of the Alternates - the drums and slide guitar of "Power Failure" is a real funky find as is the 'King Jimi' mix of "Song For A Dreamer" - a stunning 'vibe' tribute to the recently lost master axeman. The being at 'The Boyard's Ball' version of "Playmate Of The Mouth" does feel like a work-in-progress albeit a not very interesting one. Better is a tad hissy "Memorial Jam" - riffage galore - working it out - well worth the entrance fee and a must for Robin Trower devotees. 

"So ladies and gentlemen, without further ado..." the announcer introduces the band and off goes Trower and Brooker - silver dollar across the sea. The "Home" album track "Still There'll Be More" follows and although the sound is very 1971 - it isn't disastrous by any means - power in the performance. The 'slow Scottish lament' of "Nothing I Didn't Know" is introduced with humour and both piano and vocals are well transferred. Trower nearly blows the room out with "Simple Sister" but I went instead to the Ten Years After boogie of "Juicy John Pink" and the set's final winning double of "Whisky Train" and "Power Failure" - both akin to early ZZ Top - if that makes sense. The four from the BBC are practically unlistenable and really should have been replaced with those single edits. I have to admit to that I struggled too through the Sverige set not because of the performance but the sound - Brooker's vocals too distant to be genuinely engaging or enjoyable.

So despite the splurge of Previously Unreleased and combined with the fatso packaging that feels clunky instead of classy - I'd give this bulging attempt at "Broken Barricades" four stars instead of five for a 'different' remaster of the album, those unreleased outakes worthy of the moniker Bonus and that excellent-sounding US gig. The rest feels unnecessary, but of course, fans will have to own it. A 'cellar full of diamonds' then, well almost...

"On The Shore" by TREES – February 1971 UK Second and Last Studio Album on CBS Records - featuring Celia Humphris, David Costa, Tobias 'Bias' Boshell, Barry Clarke and (Stephen) Unwin Brown (February 2007 and July 2008 Europe and UK Sony/BMG 2CD Reissue (First in a Card Digipak, Second in a Jewel Case) – Paschal Byrne (CD1) and Adrian Hardy (CD2) Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

<iframe style="width:120px;height:240px;" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="//ws-eu.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=GB&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=mabasreofcdbl-21&language=en_GB&marketplace=amazon&region=GB&placement=B0018CWW8C&asins=B0018CWW8C&linkId=0d1301d7225267bbfc32ca43d0547eed&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true"></iframe>

"...Sally Free And Easy..."

In his superlative 2010 oversized paperback book "The Great Folk Discography Volume 1: Pioneers and Early Legends" – king of discography tomes Martin Strong tells of how passionate fans of the second and last album by England's Trees describe it as the "...cat's pyjamas". 

They might do, others aren't so generous, calling them derivative Fairport Convention clones where the soloing parts go on for too long. And as ever, the dapper dude of facts is bang on the even-handed money with his fair and realistic in-between appraisal of 7 out of 10. Some history...

Formed in 1969 London through a circle of mutually interested friends - TREES made two rather good albums that received praise but sold diddly squat and then disbanded in 1972 broken-hearted and broke (would we have it any other way). Both their British CBS LPs (neither received US releases) have been darlings of the Prog-Folk collecting scene for years. Quickly deleted and listed at sums in excess of £400 and £450 respectively ever since – they can easily sell for twice that and more in genuine Mint condition (they had flimsy card sleeves and are notoriously difficult to find in good nick). 

As luck would have it, singer Cee-Loo Green and Producer Danger Mouse of the British chart-topping act Gnarls Barkley sampled the Acid Folk guitar and drums sound of Side 2's "Geordie” on their 2006 track "St. Elsewhere" – thereby bringing the group's sound and their two rare albums to a wider public. Suddenly Folk, Folk Rock, Psych Folk, Acid Folk and all its myriad variants became the new cool (so said the influential taste-barometer of London's "Time Out" magazine). Reissue giant Sanctuary of the UK even released a CD called "Garden Of Delights" in 2006 on Sanctuary DQFCD022 (Barcode 5050441402227) – a folk compilation compiled by Pete Lawrence and AJ of The Big Chill Radio programme. And although our heroes weren't featured on that set, it gave Folk-Rock bands with a historical twist like Trader Horne, Dransfield, Mr. Fox, Fotheringay, Pentangle and Gryphon pride of place when these troubadours and contemporaries of Trees had remained underground cult acts for decades. It was only a matter of time before reissue attention turned to these melodious rarities...

Newly Remastered in 2007, both Trees albums saw proper appreciation in lovely Sony CD Reissues in August and September of 2008 – 16-page booklets, band involvement in the mastering and even newly formed tracks from old tapes. Both are expanded editions, April 1970's debut album "The Garden Of Jane Delawney" with four bonuses on a single CD while February 1971's "On The Shore" is stretched to an extra nine bonuses on CD No. 2. They have been done before, but not as good as this. 

There are actually two variants of this 2CD Reissue; the first issued February 2007 on Sony/BMG 88697057652 (Barcode 886970576529) came in a gatefold digipak. That was deleted and replaced with a jewel case version in 2008. It's that reissue we're dealing with...to the details...

UK released 8 July 2008 – "On The Shore" by TREES on Sony/BMG Music Entertainment 88697316542 (Barcode 886973165423) is a 2CD Expanded Edition Jewel Case Version Reissue with Nine Bonus Tracks that plays out as follows:

CD1 "On The Shore" Album (49:02 minutes):

1. Soldiers Three [Side 1]

2. Murdoch 

3. Streets Of Derry 

4. Sally Free And Easy 

5. Fool [Side 2]

6. Adam's Toon 

7. Geordie 

8. While The Iron Is Hot

9. Little Sadie 

10. Polly On The Shore 

Tracks 1 to 10 are their second and last studio album "On The Shore" - released February 1971 in the UK on CBS Records S 64168 (no US release). Produced by TONY COX - it didn't chart. 

CD2 BONUS TRACKS (41:59 minutes):

1. Soldiers Three (Remix)

2. Murdoch (Remix)

3. Streets Of Derry (Remix)

4. Fool (Remix)

5. Geordie (Remix) 

6. Little Sadie (Remix)

7. Polly On The Shore (Remix) 

8. Forest Fire (Original 1971 BBC Recording) 

9. Little Black Cloud (1970 Demo)

TREES was:

CELIA HUMPHRIS – Lead Vocals

BARRY CLARKE – Lead and Acoustic Guitars

DAVID COSTA – Acoustic Guitar, Electric 12-String Guitar and Dulcimer

TOBIAS 'BIAS' BOSHELL - Bass, Acoustic 12-String Guitar, Piano and Vocals

(STEPHEN) UNWIN BROWN – Drums, Percussion and Vocals

With help from band-members Boshell and Humphris, uber-fan and champion of the flame STEWART LEE has written the affectionate, illuminating and witty liner notes to this elegant Sony/BMG CD reissue. They enlighten us on the mysteries of their two highly revered Psych-Folk albums - April 1970's "The Garden Of Jane Delawney" and "On The Shore" which followed only 10-months later in February 1971. The text is peppered with super-cool period photos and unbelievably, out-takes from the Hipgnosis/Storm Thorgerson cover shoot of a giddy Katherine Meehan swishing her drink in the garden (she's the daughter of Tony Meehan from the Shadows). There are also explanations dated January 2007 on the Disc 2 bonuses – for instance that Celia added Harmony Vocals to the "Streets Of Derry" remix that the band felt had always been missing – lost Bob Harris sessions for the BBC in 1971 now found and aired and even an obscure demo. The Trees website is in fact called ontheshore.net after this weird, lovely and ethereal LP. 

PASCHAL BYRNE of Audio Archiving did the Remasters for the album on CD1 with restoration and mastering done by BIAS BOSHELL and ADRIAN HARDY for the nine extras on CD2. This is a fabulous listen – care and attention given to the transfers - and along with the lush presentation of the booklet and picture CDs – gives me a thrill to see and hear these records in such top quality again. To the music...

Sounding like its history-steeped title, the two-minutes of "Soldiers Three" recalls money-lacked and the demon-drink luring gullible lads into bad decisions (the Bass and Acoustic guitars are beautifully clear). Up next is one of this album's substantial tracks "Murdoch" - chosen for Grapefruit's June 2017 Mini Clamshell Box Set "Milk Of The Tree..." - a 3CD Anthology set exploring female singers in Folk and Folk Rock between 1966 and 1973. The lead vocals of Celia Humphris is the gal in question, singing here about Harvest Moons and rivers of sand to the south and pagan myths hard to grasp - a song that literally came to Tobias Boshell in a dream (to this day he still can't quite explain it). For many this is where the 'sound' of Trees begins proper - the guitars of Barry Clarke and David Costa battling into Folk Rock that isn't quite Fairport Convention (although you can still so hear Richard Thompson's lead guitar style influencing everything) but something slightly different - perhaps something a bit more spacey as they stretch out.

Complaints of the same (long solos) are often levied at the 7:32 minutes of the "Streets Of Derry" – a Traditional air completely reworked. But I would argue that its precisely the way Trees organised the song that makes it – a muddle of guitars to begin with, soon succumbing to Celia's lone voice as it holds stage like a shimmer, then a Bass builds instruments into a very 1974 Richard Thompson "I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight" groove. It isn't cluttered – it's brill and cleverly paced. Side 1 ends with 10:08 minutes of the majestic and epic "Sally Free And Easy" – a rapid keyboard roll opening making it feel like a Keystone Cops movie reel before it mellows down into melodious piano notes – like great early Elton John. As the acoustic guitars then slip in like trickling water, you can feel that the album has produced its first genuine magical moment. Trees weren't the first or last act to sense something special in the Cyril Tawney tune "Sally Free And Easy" – Pentangle would do their version on the "Solomon's Seal" album (Transatlantic Records in 1972) while Marianne Faithfull had touched upon the song as far back as 1966 on her third LP "North Country Maid" on Decca.

Side 2 opens with "Fool", 5:09 minutes of philosophy and untimely incidents and the world turning oddly in 1971. That bevy of guitar overdubs in "Fool" feels lighter for sure but its not as un-muddied as I would have liked. At 1:10 minutes, the acoustic instrumental "Adam's Toon" feels like a vibe interlude that probably didn't need to be there. But it is quickly followed by something that does - as I walked out one misty morning over London Bridge - our hero meets a lamenting maid in the atmospheric swirl of "Geordie". You can so hear why the plaintive drums and guitar passage at its centre was such a draw to samplers - Barry Clarke channelling his inner Richard Thompson and Tom Verlaine as he plays that great lead. 

"While The Iron Is Hot" is all nineteenth century history telling us of the Tolpuddle Martyrs and workingmen shipped off to Australia in search of a living wage (it bursts into a wild guitar solo just when you least expect it). "Little Sadie" is a pretty little tune in the vein of Country-Folk Matthews Southern Comfort - a tale of young lad called Lee accused of mowing young Sadie down – a crime he denies. And the album finishes in the merry month of May when "Polly On The Shore" finds a cocky youth being warned to avoid bad company lest he too end up in stocks (another great Folk-Rock groove - you can so hear why this cut makes its way onto so many compilations).   

In some ways CD2 is even better for us that have grown up with the album. You get seven 'remix' versions of albums tracks done by surviving members of Trees alongside a badly recorded 1971 BBC session and a 1970 piano/vocal demo that just about rises above bootleg standard. Neither tracks 8 or 9 interested me much and disappointed a lot. But the remixes are different beasts entirely - my fave being an extended "Murdoch" that pushes the 5:08 of the original up to 6:35 minutes by adding acoustic passages. You can also feel the slight and subtle changes in the others - sympathetically boosting the oomph in recordings previously lacking - very cleverly done.

In September 2020, this 2CD reissue of "On The Shore" by Trees is available for less than seven quid new, and even cheaper on the used market. I'd suggest that's a deal you might want to haul into your parlour and get cosy with by the peat fire. I've also reviewed the Sony/BMG CD reissue of their 1970 debut "The Garden Of Jane Delaney" (use Barcode 886973567128 to locate it) - another acquaintance worth warming too...

"...It's A Visual Medium, My Dear..." - BOMBSHELL on BLU RAY - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...It's A Visual Medium My Dear..." - Bombshell on BLU RAY

Trump defenders and other history re-writing knob-heads have derided this December 2019 movie because his vicious Presidential campaign that displayed his appalling 'locker-room' attitudes towards women is featured large in "Bombshell" and in a not so warm and fuzzy post Nobel Peace Prize Nominee light. 

But I still thought despite a few missteps into convenient naivety on the part of smart women that would know men's lust and the kickbacks they would want for career advancement - "Bombshell" is still a stunning ballsy film about a very awkward subject indeed. 

Featuring a truly exceptional cast - especially the three leading ladies - Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie play seemingly successful glamorous women working varying positions in the toxic environment of News TV USA - where the quips are scripted and the tables the babes sit behind are see-through for leggy-rating reasons and not their Feng Shui set aesthetic.

The three Hollywood heavy-hitters are backed up to the hilt by a virtual army of top-drawer support cast placements - Kate McKinnon, Rob Delaney, Liv Hewson, Mark Duplass, Stephen Root, Connie Britton and many more fine actors you will know (award winners galore). And this is before we get to Alison Janney as a lawyer and Malcolm McDowell as a convincing Rupert Murdoch – the Australian media magnate who ultimately owned Fox and the News Of The World rag in the UK.

But more than most starry vehicles like this - "Bombshell" has the conviction of the leading ladies - a belief in the subject matter that seems to emanate from literally every pore of them. Theron is amazing at Megyn Kelly, an out-front Fox gal with a sharp tongue, a questionable past she'd rather forget and a husband in Mark Duplass that supports her no matter what is hitting the fan. 

Robbie too defies her extraordinary beauty to actually move you. There is a scene where Margot's character Kayla calls her 'secret friend' on her mobile. Kayla is stood outside a city restaurant at night with a male date abandoned inside wondering what happened to the gorgeous woman he arrived with. From a scene earlier in the movie where Kayla enters Roger Ailes' upper floor office (and you just know as does she that they're not going to discuss baking cookies for the boy scouts) – Kayla is being eaten alive on the inside with guilt. An admired Anchor Woman who isn’t afraid to ask hard-hitting questions (Nicole Kidman as Gretchen Carlson) has had enough and filed a personal lawsuit against her ex boss Roger Ailes for physical and mental harassment. But he of course has been spreading terror in his own sly way and closing down leaks in his staff with ruthless precision. Crying on her mobile, Kayla should speak out – should support her co-workers – should do the right thing – but Robbie's character feels filthy - like oil has been poured over her and she can't shower it off. In a truly moving performance, Robbie makes you feel every second of this woman's disgust and humiliation - because she gave in - in order to get on – Roger’s secret rallying cry to newbees during interviews. Its powerfully told and brilliantly staged and a moment where the hurt becomes palatable and real.

But once again - and after his incredible turns as Churchill in "The Crown" and a lawyer in the brill but overlooked "Perry Mason" - it's John Lithgow who utterly amazes as the repulsive and reptilian Roger Ailes - top dog at the biggest and most influential media outlet in the USA – FOX NEWS. A vehicle of supposed truthful public information that has the ear of Presidents and powerful lobby groups, head honcho Lithgow is like a squat toad licking his lips as his prey wanders into his office only to be told to do a twirl because TV is a '...visual medium, my dear...' 

All through the film – Ailes rants – he raves – he demands – he spouts bile. His arrogance knows no bounds and is accompanied with an incrimination-repulsing charade of being Mr. Helpful and Mr. Nice Guy to his staff. Rumours have abounded in quiet rest room conversations, but no one has ever had proof or dared take on the tyrant. Lithgow is amazing throughout all of these permeations. But then he gives you more. Just like the media snakes Harvey Weinstein and Jeffrey Epstein (whose similar abuse and shadows loom in the background) - there is Roger Ailes agog - his absolute incredulity at being caught – not displaying the tiniest bit of empathy or sorrow for the misery and degradation he's caused so many women trying to legitimately get on in a male-dominated world. It takes big acting chops to fill these fat and loathsome shoes and Lithgow is simply priceless in the role – nailing the boundless narcissism of the man to a point where he might actually make your skin crawl. Oscar nominations ahoy methinks...and not just for him...

"Bombshell" could have been a preach-fest too or a 'who looks best in a short skirt' pervy flick (and at times it has to be both to show the culture at Fox – many of the women are wearing pants by the end of the movie when the story breaks). But the writing from Charles Randolph (he did "The Big Short") and the direction from Jay Roach are smart enough to not go down that road except to illuminate. Combine this with a cast that knows they are working on genuinely important material and you really do 'feel' the women's bravery and their fear in the face of such life-destroying power. The picture quality on the BLU RAY is gorgeous too and the extras very illuminating.

"Bombshell" is not perfect for sure, but I still thought this movie the bomb (if you'll forgive the obvious pun) – brave, timely and so horribly necessary. Well done to everyone involved...