"Strangers In The Room: A Journey Through The British Folk-Rock Scene 1967-73" by VARIOUS (March 2019 Grapefruit Records 3CD Clamshell Box Set) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review and 259 more like it are available 

In my e-Book "There's Something About 1970..."

Your All-Genres Guide To The Best CD Remasters 

(No Cut and Paste Crap - All Reviews from the Actual Discs) 

Featuring 7" Single and Album tracks from 1971 by 
Steeleye Span, Trees, Alan James Eastwood, The Woods Band, Unicorn, C.O.B. 
Dando Shaft, Daylight, Shirley Collins and The Albion Country Band, 
Jude and Gerry Rafferty 

"...Gathering Wild Roses..."

Grapefruit Records have been slowly winning the pickled hearts of collectors these last few years with a steady stream of these 3CD clamshell-type Box Sets - and I suspect they'll be avalanched with quite a few saucy Valentine Cards (even in late March) for this wee buxom beauty.

Sixty genre-bending Folk and Folk-Rock tracks from 1967 to 1973 across three CDs (four Previously Unreleased with many others not stated as being Alternate or Rare Versions) and a Billy Bunter sized 40-page booklet to scoff it all down with. It's off to the Tuck Shop my wassailing lads and lassies of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and any other shire we may drag our non-European musical ruin stones and shillelaghs through. Put your finger-in-the-ear people and hope for the best. Here goes...

UK released Friday, 29 March 2019 (5 April 2019 in the USA) - "Strangers In The Room: A Journey Through The British Folk-Rock Scene 1967-1973" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Grapefruit CRSEGBOX054 (Barcode 5013929185401) is a 60-Track 3CD Clamshell Box Set of Remasters that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 "Raise Your Voice And Sing Sweetly" (79:15 minutes):

1. Stranger In The Room - MICHAEL CHAPMAN (from the March 1970 UK LP "Fully Qualified Survivor" on Harvest SHVL 764)

2. The Blacksmith - STEELEYE SPAN (from the March 1971 UK LP "Please To See The King" on B&C Records CAS 1029)

3. Dangerous Dave (Alternative Version) - SPIROGYRA (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, Recorded February 1972) *

4. Murdoch - TREES (from the February 1971 UK LP "On The Shore" on CBS Records S 64168)

5. Sad Song For Winter - CHIMERA (Recorded November 1970 with a Wil Malone arrangement, not originally issued) +

6. Shoeshine Boy - THE HUMBLEBUMS (March 1970 UK 7" single on Big T Records BIG 130, A-side. Featured the comedian Billy Connolly and singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty later with Stealer's Wheel and a solo career)

7. Martha - HARVEY ANDREWS (from the May 1972 UK LP "Writer Of Songs" on Cube Records HIFLY 10)

8. Hanging Tree - OO BANG JIGGLY JANG (November 1971 UK 7" single on President PT 356, A-side - featuring Peter Bramall and James Roper of The Motors)

9. She's Getting Married In August - ALAN JAMES EASTWOOD [of The Exception] (from the February 1971 UK LP "Seeds" on President PTLS 1037)

10. Amongst Anemones - JADE (from the July 1970 UK LP "Fly On Strangewings" on DJM Records DJLPS 407)

11. I Don't Know Why - KNOCKER JUNGLE (November 1970 UK 7" single on Ember EMBS 293, A-side. Were Tony Coup and Keith Jones of Mandragon)

12. The Sailor - ROBIN SCOTT (August 1969 UK 7" single on Head HDS 4003, A-side - members of Mighty Baby featuring as the backing band)

13. Here Comes The Rain - TRADER HORNE (February 1970 UK 7" single on Dawn DNS 1003, A-side. Featured Judy Dyble of Fairport Convention and Jackie McAuley of Them)

14. My Delicate Skin - DAVE CARTWRIGHT (May 1973 UK 7" single on Transatlantic BIG 510, A-side and the May 1973 UK LP "Back To The Garden")

15. Almost Liverpool 8 - MIKE HART (from the February 1970 UK LP "Mike Hart Bleeds" on Dandelion S 63756)

16. Candy Dora - RICHMOND (January 1973 UK 7" single on D'Art ART 2008, A-side - featuring Chas Seward and Steve Hall)

17. Don't Know Why You Bother Child - GARY FARR (from the December 1969 UK LP "Take Something With You" on Marmalade 608 013)

18. 1917 Revolution - BEAU (August 1969 UK 7" single on Dandelion 4403, A-side)

19. Jesus Was A Carpenter - THE JOHNSTONS (from the November 1969 UK LP "Bitter Green" on Transatlantic Records TRA 211 featuring Paul Brady and Paddy Maloney - Ewan MacColl song)

20. We Can Swing Together - ALAN HULL (December 1969 UK 7" single on Big T Records BIG 129, A-side - later lead singer and songwriter in Lindisfarne)

Disc 2 "Back To The Garden" (78:31 minutes):

1. Woodstock - MATTHEWS SOUTHERN COMFORT (original 8-Track mix but not finally issued version, recorded July 1970) +

2. The Man Who Called Himself Jesus - THE STRAWBS (not originally issued alternative mix, Recorded July 1968) +

3. As I Roved Out - THE WOODS BAND (from the December 1971 UK LP "The Woods Band" on Greenwich Records GSLP 1004 - featuring Gay and Terry Woods - Terry later with The Pogues, Gay with Auto Da Fe)

4. Sir Patrick Spens - FAIRPORT CONVENTION (not originally issued, recorded October 1969 during "Liege & Lief" sessions) +

5. Be Not So Fearful (Demo Version) - BILL FAY (not originally issued demo version, recorded early 1969) +

6. I Loved Her So Long - UNICORN (from the June 1971 UK LP "Uphill All The Way" on Transatlantic TRA 238)

7. Sarah In The Isle Of Wight - AL JONES (from the September 1969 UK LP "Alun Ashworth-Jones" on Parlophone PCS 7081 in Stereo)

8. Song For A Dead Mole - LEA NICHOLSON and STAN ELLISON (from the June 1972 UK LP "God Bless The Unemployed" on Transatlantic TRA 254)

9. There's A Place I Know - BRIDGET ST. JOHN (February 1972 UK 3-Track 7" single on Dandelion 2001, Track 1 of 2 on the B-side of "Fly Away")

10. People Smile With Ghosts In The Land Of Make-Believe - JEREMY HARMER (from the privately pressed 1968 UK LP "Idiosyncratics And Swallow's Wings" on JH Records JH 001 - features David Costa of Trees and Celia Humphris sister Sue) +

11. Pucka-Ri - URBAN CLEARWAY (not originally issued, recorded circa August 1972) +

12. Scranky Black Farmer - C.O.B. [Clive's Own Band - Clive Palmer of The Incredible String Band] (from the November 1971 UK LP "Spirit Of Love" on CBS Records 69010)

13. Lady Of St. Clare - DAYLIGHT (August 1971 UK 7" single on RCA Victor RCA 2106, A-side)

14. Love Has Gone - MARY-ANNE [Mary-Anne Patterson] (from the April 1970 UK LP "Me" on Joy Records JOYS 162)

15. Time Machine - MICK SOFTLEY (August 1970 UK 7" single on CBS Records S 5130, B-side of "Can You Hear Me Now" - features Mike Vickers of Manfred Mann on Keyboards)

16. Fleance - THIRD EAR BAND (from the March 1972 UK LP "Music From Macbeth" on Harvest Records SHSP 4019)

17. Morning Glow - STORYTELLER (from the May 1970 UK LP "Storyteller" on Transatlantic Records TRA 220)

18. Riverboat - DANDO SHAFT (from the May 1971 UK LP "Dando Shaft" on RCA/Neon NE 5)

19. What I Am - FRESH MAGGOTS (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, recorded circa October 1970) *

20. Like A Rolling Stone - CANTICLE (November 1970 USA 7" single on Century Records 36685, A-side)

Disc 3 "Down Into The Moonlight World" (77:21 minutes):

1. Queen Of The Moonlight World - ANDY ROBERTS (from the March 1970 UK LP "Home Grown" on RCA Victor SF 8086 - ex Liverpool Scene, later with Everyone, also with Iain Matthews in Plainsong)

2. The Cuckoo - THE PENTANGLE (from the October 1969 UK LP "Basket Of Light" on Transatlantic TRA 205)

3. Little Woman (Single Version) - MR.FOX (November 1970 UK 7" single on Big T Records BIG 135, A-side - featuring Bob and Caroline Pegg - different mix from the LP, first appearance on CD since release) +

4. Father Forgive Them - RALPH McTELL (from the November 1970 UK LP "Ralph McTell Revisited" on Transatlantic TRA 227)

5. Just As The Tide Was A Flowing - SHIRLEY COLLINS and THE ALBION COUNTRY BAND (from the November 1971 UK LP "No Roses" on Pegasus PEG 7)

6. Oh Did I Love A Dream - THE INCREDIBLE STRING BAND (not originally issued, recorded circa mid-1972) +

7. Strange Days - PAPER BUBBLE (not originally issued, recorded October 1970) +

8. Dahlia - PAULK BRETT'S SAGE (March 1973 UK 7" single on Dawn Records DNS 1021, A-side – possibly withdrawn and never released) +

9. Your Lovely Ways (Part One) - MIKE COOPER (May 1970 UK 7" single on Dawn Records DNX 2501, A-side) +

10. River Of Fortune – HERON (not originally issued, recorded July 1970) +

11. Beverley Market Meeting – JUDE (not originally issued, recorded February 1971 – Judith Willie) +

12. All In A Dream - STEVE TILSTON (from the May 1972 UK LP "The Collection" on Transatlantic Records TRA 252)

13. Carry Me – PRELUDE (from the October 1973 UK LP "How Long Is Forever" on Dawn Records DNLS 3052 – Irene Hume on Lead Vocals)

14. City Girl - JOAN ARMATRADING (from the November 1972 UK LP "Whatever’s For Us" on Cube Records HIFLY 12)

15. Furniture – HORSLIPS (from the January 1973 Ireland and UK debut album "Happy To Meet, Sorry To Part" on Oats Records MOO 3)

16. Who Cares - GERRY RAFFERTY (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, recorded mid 1971) *

17. Young Waters - JSD BAND (from the June 1973 UK LP "Travelling Days" on Cube Records HIFLY 14)

18. September - 9.30 FLY (from the June 1972 UK LP "9:30 Fly" on Ember NR 5062)

19. Waxing Of The Moon - LIFEBLUD (PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED, recorded circa January 1970) *

20. Who Knows Where The Time Goes - SANDY DENNY (not originally issued, recorded July 1967) +

* PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

+ ALTERNATE or RARE VERSION

Put together by the uber-knowledgeable and Baby Driver with-it JOHN REED – his equally sexy co-compiler DAVID WELLS pours on the facts in the multitudinous 40-page booklet – each artist and song given a full appraisal usually sided by period photos, ticket stubs, flyers, trade adverts and those impossibly rare single and LPs pictured throughout. Take the Steve Tilston entry for his "All In A Dream" song on Disc 3. It advises that in late 1972 after the album's release in May, Steve did an interview with Zig Zag magazine ruminating on how fame and fortune might affect his songwriting. None other than John Lennon replied in writing (to his worries) and that was the basis for the rather insipid Al Pacino film vehicle "Danny Collins" – or that Prelude who had a huge hit with their truly gorgeous Acapella version of Neil Young's "After The Gold Rush" sang backing vocals on another huge Folk-ish hit - "Streets Of London" by Ralph McTell. I didn’t know either of those things and I dare say, neither did you. Each entry is full of great name-checks like that. Beautifully laid out and aimed at collectors and novices alike – when I think of the recent miserable 8-page inlay given to Fleetwood Mac and their supposed '50 Years – Don’t Stop' 3CD celebration, it really does show how independents light the way, when the majors seem content with what they can get away with.

Audio is by ALAN WILSON and with so many sources is a mixed bag of the astonishing vs. the muffled with most being way better than that. For sure the audio dips on each of the CDs when it comes to those fast and loose demos and alternate mixes, but the rest of it is impressively presented and in some cases (as I say) will blow your socks off for recordings that are mostly 50+ years old. To the garden of delights...

Across 60 tracks there are those fabulous discoveries - the debut Unicorn LP on Transatlantic Records where the chosen debut album song "I Loved Her So Long" is the link between Matthews Southern Comfort and Plainsong (much of their better material in the mid 70ts on Harvest Records had the same hooky gorgeous melodies) - the beautiful ethereal harmony vocals of Fairport Convention's Judy Dyble and Them's Jackie McAuley in their Trader Horne incarnation for "Here Comes The Rain" (see my separate review of that album reissued by Earth Records on CD). Some of it (as already mentioned) is unfortunately ropey Audio wise - the hissy Billy Fay demo and The Woods Band is disappointingly muddied but on the other hand Dave Cartwright's McGuinness Flint-sounding "My Delicate Skin", Michael Chapman's box-set title song "Stranger In A Room" (see my review for Light In The Attic's stunning reissue of his second album "Fully Qualified Survivor" and Storyteller's early Genesis-like "Morning Glow" all sound superlative - huge acoustic guitars, voices and clever string arrangements.

Only winners are the fabulous Folk-meets-Pastoral union in Dando Shaft's flute-and-acoustic shuffle "Riverboat" - the jolly acoustic jostle of my "Lady Of St. Clair" by the staggeringly collectable Daylight - and even if Jeremy Harmer's self-recorded "People Smile With Ghosts In The Land Of Make-Believe" gives us some 'ships in squalls that change to gurgling laughter' might be a hippy lyric too far - the 99-only copies LP contained David Costa from Trees with their singer Celia Humphris' sister Sue doing harmony vocals (just about as cultish and collectable as it can get). Paul Brady and Paddy Maloney newly attached to The Johnstons transform the Ewan MacColl song "Jesus Was A Carpenter" into a "Woodstock" beautiful moment while Mick Softley gets fully-fledged Audio quality on his impressive "Time Machine" where he sings 'who will they be in 5000 AD' - indeed – a star tripper maybe. Speaking of that famous Joni song, I love the 8-Track Tape Version of the Matthews Southern Comfort UK No. 1 - it's a version that unlike the single has the acoustic and pedal steel guitars much more to the fore. And although it doesn't say it anywhere in the box, I think it's the version that turned up on the "Three's A Charm" privately-pressed CD from Iain Matthews in 1999 for his fans – the mix that was remastered by Bradley Kopp in Boulder, Colorado and is featured in his forthcoming "Orphans And Outcasts" 4CD Box Set. Anyway – it's a keeper, much like this fabulously inventive little box set...

A companion piece to Grapefruit's much praised duo of threesomes - "Milk Of The Tree: An Anthology Of Female Vocal Folk & Singer-Songwriters 1966-73" from June 2017 (see review) and "Gathered From Coincidence: The British Folk-Pop Sound Of 1965-1966" from June 2018 (review to follow) – March 2019’s "Strangers In The Room: A Journey Through The British Folk-Rock Scene 1967-1973" is a deserved Amazon No 1 in the Folk-Rock genre section.

Cadburys Easter Eggs on every desk and big-time kudos to the compilers and everyone else involved...

"Gonna Rock Tonite! The Complete Recordings 1969-1971" by FLAMIN GROOVIES (February 2019 UK Grapefruit Records 3CD Box Set) - A Review by Mark Barry...

Featuring the album "Teenage Head" from 1971

"...Pistol Packin' Mama..."

Like most fans of San Francisco's all-partying, all rocking, all greasy FLAMIN GROOVIES – I've had the 2009 Rev-Ola CD that offered up their kicking third and fourth albums on Kama Sutra Records - "Flamenco" from June 1970 and "Teenage Head" from March 1971. They’ve been snottily leaping around my mancave shuffle plays for years now. And before that - the double-album you used to pick up in secondhand record shops in the late 1970s that paired those two crackers together for our voracious vinyl consumption and my Dustbuster battered Garrard SP25 turntable.

Well reissue heroes ahoy but England's Grapefruit Records have gone and decided to expand into the album prior as well ("Supersnazz" from September 1969) and throw in a whopping seventeen bonuses too – all three albums and extras newly remastered in a cool and tactile pre Brexit mini box set. Why it’s enough to make me wanna rub jam all over my soggy doughnuts (while its still legal like). Here are the Super Snazzy details...

UK released 22 February 2019 (1 March 2019 in the USA) - "Gonna Rock Tonite! The Complete Recordings 1969-71" by FLAMIN GROOVIES on Grapefruit CRSEGBOX051 (Barcode 5013929185104) offers their second, third and fourth albums Remastered onto 3CDs in a Clamshell Box Set with Seventeen Bonus Tracks (Singles and Outtakes) that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 "Supersnazz" Album + Bonus Tracks (47:12 minutes):

1. Love Have Mercy [Side 1]

2. The Girl Can't Help It

3. Laurie Did It

4. Apart From That

5. Rockin' Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu

6. The First One's Free [Side 2]

7. Pagan Rachel

8. Somethin' Else/Pistol Packin' Mama

9. Brushfire

10. Bam Balam

11. Around The Corner

Tracks 1 to 11 are their second studio album "Supersnazz" - released September 1969 in the USA on Epic Records BN 26487 in Stereo (no UK issue). Produced by STEVE GOLDMAN - it didn't chart.

BONUS TRACKS:

12. Rocking Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu (Single Mix) - 18 July 1969 US 7" single on Epic 5-10507, A-side

13. The First One's Free (Single Mix) - 18 July 1969 US 7" single on Epic 5-10507, B-side

14. Somethin' Else (Single Mix) - 31 December 1969 US 7" single on Epic 5-10564, A-side

15. Laurie Did It (Single Mix) - 31 December 1969 US 7" single on Epic 5-10564, B-side

FLAMIN GROOVIES for "Supersnazz" was:

CYRIL JORDAN - Lead Guitar, Vocals and Acoustic Guitar

TIM LYNCH - Lead Guitar, Cello, Vocals and Harmonica

MIKE LANG - Keyboards

GEORGE ALEXANDER - Bass, Vocals and Harmonica

DAVID MIMH - Drums and Percussion

Disc 2 "Flamingo" Album + Bonus Tracks (65:04 minutes):

1. Gonna Rock Tonite [Side 1]

2. Comin' After Me

3. Headin' For The Texas Border

4. Sweet Roll Me On Down

5. Keep A Knockin'

6. Second Cousin [Side 2]

7. Childhood's End

8. Jailbait

9. She's Falling Apart

10. Road House

Tracks 1 to 10 are their third studio album "Flamingo" - released June 1970 in the USA on Kama Sutra Records KSBS 2021 (no UK release, but see Note below).

BONUS TRACKS (Recorded Live in Studio A, 13 January 1971):

11. Shakin' All Over

12. That'll Be The Day

13. Louie Louie

14. My Girl Josephine

15. Around And Around

16. Rocking Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu

17. Going Out Theme (Version 1)

Tracks 11 to 16 first issued on the 1976 US-only vinyl compilation "Still Shakin" on Kama Sutra BDS 5683

Track 17 first issued as one of the six Bonus Tracks on the 1999 'Original Masters' CD Reissue of "Flamingo" on Buddah 74321 71691 2

Disc 3 "Teenage Head" Album + Bonus Tracks (52:07 minutes):

1. High Flyin' Baby [Side 1]

2. City Lights

3. Have You Seen My Baby?

4. Yesterday's Numbers

5. Teenage Head [Side 2]

6. 32-20

7. Evil Hearted Ada

8. Doctor Boogie

9. Whisky Woman

Tracks 1 to 9 are their fourth studio album "Teenage Head" - released March 1971 in the USA on Kama Sutra Records KSBS 2031 (no UK release, but see Note below).

BONUS TRACKS:

10. Scratch My Back

11. Carol

12. Rumble

13. Somethin' Else

14. Walking The Dog

15. Going Out Theme (Version 2)

Tracks 10, 11 and 15 first issued as three of the seven Bonus Tracks on the 1999 'Original Masters' CD Reissue of "Teenage Head" on Buddah 74321 71690 2 (Track 14 was also one of those bonuses)

Tracks 12 and 13 first issued as two of the six Bonus Tracks on the 1999 'Original Masters' CD Reissue of "Flamingo" on Buddah 74321 71691 2

Track 14 first issued on the 1976 US-only vinyl compilation "Still Shakin" on Kama Sutra BDS 5683

FLAMIN GROOVIES for "Flamingo" and "Teenage Head" was:

CYRIL JORDAN - Lead Guitar, Slide Guitar, Percussion and Vocals

TIM LYNCH - Lead Guitar, Cello, Percussion and Vocals

ROY LONEY – Guitar, Lead Vocals and Percussion

GEORGE ALEXANDER – Bass and Percussion

DAVID MIMH – Drums, Percussion, Piano and Organ

Guests:

Commander Cody plays Piano on three "Flamingo" album tracks - Comin' After Me, Keep A Knockin' and Second Cousin

Jim Dickinson plays Piano on three "Teenage Head" album tracks - High Flyin' Baby, City Lights and Have You Seen My Baby?

Note: In August 1971, Kama Sutra in the UK issued both the "Flamingo" and "Teenage Head" LPs for the first time as a belated British double-album package on Kama Sutra 2683 003, simply called "Flamin' Groovies" (it was also issued in Germany entitled "2 Original LP's" on Kama Sutra 2623 101). That 1971 British double album was again reissued in October 1976 (by Pye Records) as "Teenage Head", but in slightly different artwork on Kama Sutra KSMD 101.

DAVID WELLS provides the superb October 2018 liner notes in the new and chunky 24-page booklet. Even though its not part of the remit for this set - the notes explain how the band's self-made 1968 "Sneakers" debut on their own Snazz Records came about - a 7-Track 10" Mini LP of 4500 copies they sold themselves in Tower Records (pressed up in three batches of fifteen hundred). Its artwork (front and rear) is pictured on Page 5. There are trade adverts, a Billboard piece from November 1970, publicity and live photos, rare single artwork and a line of those Epic and Kama Sutra singles (including Promo copies). Interviews with band members Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan are included illuminating the hectic 1969 to 1971 period. Experienced and dedicated names like DAVID WELLS and JOHN REED collated and organised the Box while Remaster Engineer OLI HEMINGWAY of The Waxworks did the audio tweaking. Like the Rev-Ola CD - this baby sounds amazing – huge presence and all the muscle you would want without being over done...and I like the three single card sleeve repros...nice

Apart from the cover versions of Little Richard's Rock 'n' Roll masterpiece "The Girl Can't Help It", the barroom R'n'B of Huey Smith's "Rocking Pneumonia And The Boogie Woogie Flu" (which Kama Sutra issued as a US 45) and the Eddie Cochran twofer "Somethin' Else/Pistol Packin' Mama" - most of the "Supersnazz" album sees us bombarded with flashy originals from both Roy Loney and Cyril Jordan. "Love Have Mercy" and another single "The First One's Free" rip and roar while "Bam Balam" and "Around The Corner" round things off very nicely. And I have to admit that I've never heard the single mixes - very nice touch.

"...Ten head hunters...with a buzz saw...and they was comin' after me..." - the boys tell us in the raw and raunchy guitar-pop of "Comin' After Me" - ten state troopers chasin' close behind with meat hooks. But the Proto-Punk edginess really starts to come screaming in on "Headin' For The Texas Border" where the band is headed to New Orleans to get their mojo back. I love the rapid guitars and the transfer gives it serious wallop. It's 1970 for gawd sake but it could be 1976 - so damn sharp. They then cleverly switch to Acoustic Rock 'n' Roll with "Sweet Roll Me On Down" as they Buddy Holly 'ah-ha' through the chorus. I'm reminded of the British band Fumble who also did Little Richard's brilliant "Keep A Knockin'" in the same all out rocking way - letting the inner joy of this Fifties anthem rip. Roy Loney stumps up another rocker in the excellent "Second Cousin" - the lyrics straying dangerously into Jerry Lee Lewis lawsuit territory.

Things finally settle into a Hank Williams saunter with "Childhood's End" - a very witty childhood song from Ron Loney where he sounds amazingly like Mick Jagger circa "Exile On Main St." doing his best Hillbilly impression. "Jailbait" is a cool and snarly blues chugger where he pleads 'baby what you tryin to do!' to a mean guitar barrage. The fantastic "Gonna Rock Tonight" is the kind of out-and-out Rock 'n' Roll homage that Dave Edmunds would have loved when his regal Zonophone 'Rockpile' album was in play over in Blighty - ooh-wee baby indeed (and dig that huge grungy Bass solo too). The weird but utterly wonderful "She's falling Apart" follows - a song that feels wildly out of synch with the rest of the album but actually a song I return to most. It then blasts into a frantic Punk-rocking finish with the trashy "Road House" - rapid guitars a go-go.

For album number four we go Dr. Feelgood with the fabulous slide guitar intro to "High Flyin' Baby" – a superb little Ron Loney and Cyril Jordan rocker. We then return to "Exile On Main St." with the boozy swagger of the acoustic barroom "City Lights" and it’s hard to understand why this wickedly cool Acoustic Blues was slagged off at the time (still sounds so damn good to me). The hard-rocking and deliberately grungy "Have You Seen My Baby?" was probably too much Rock 'n' Roll for delicate minds back in the day - but I love it and "Yesterday's Numbers" that follows it which could have been Brinsley Schwarz or Help Yourself or even Free - stunning acoustic Rock that stays with you. Amidst the bonus stuff you’re clobbered with a fantastic loose cover of Link Wray’s guitar magnum opus – the album outtake of "Rumble". Jordan and the boys are clearly having riffage fun with the famous menace Link’s song exudes – a very cool bonus indeed that even includes giggles at the end from a band that would have worshipped at Wray’s feet in the blink of an eye.

Summing up - how cool is it to see these three storming platters in the one place and with so much excellent bonus material too (Sundazed issued the debut in 1996 as an Expanded CD should you want to check out their beginnings).

The New York Dolls, MC5 and especially The Stooges are constantly name-checked as keeping the wild snotty pure spirit of Rock 'n' Roll alive in the early Seventies - a time when Hard Rock and Prog Goliaths dominated the chart landscape and bedsits of the world threatening to swamp all three-minute blasts of proto-punk with hairy chests, tales of wizards and semi classical pomp. I loved them too (truth be told) - but spare a dime brother for the Bay's FLAMIN GROOVIES – fab, groovy and side burning into the Devilish bargain. Well done to all involved...

"I'm A Freak, Baby... A Journey Through The British Heavy Psych and Hard Rock Underground Scene 1968-1972" by VARIOUS (July 2016 Grapefruit 3CD Mini Clamshell Box Set of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 240 Others Is Available In My

SOUNDS GOOD E-Book on all Amazon sites

THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT 1971... - Exceptional CD Remasters  

Over 1530 E-Pages 

Just Click Below To Purchase for £3.95

Thousands of E-Pages - All Details and In-Depth Reviews From Discs 

(No Cut and Paste Crap)

"...Hot Smoke And Sassafras..."

  

Trying to reach into every musically uncharted corner whilst still pleasing everybody and taking no prisoners on content while you do it is a tall order. And for damn sure "I'm A Freak, Baby..." isn't going to please your Auntie Flo's Sunbury-On-Thames Bridge Class as quality pastoral background music. But over at Lemmy's house they'll be breaking out the beer-crates in celebration while a visiting Ozzy Osbourne polishes his upside-down cross with glee and lines up blood-drained headless bats for guest snacks.

Getting a 3CD compilation like this right is a rare achievement. But Cherry's Red's 'Grapefruit' label has been grabbing collectors by the small people for some time now and impressing with beautifully presented and collated retrospectives that touch on underground areas most major labels can’t be assed with (then or now).

Rocking and Heavy Psyching like a marauding mushroom-manic beast - 2016's "I'm A Freak, Baby..." amply shows the reason why devotees to off-the-beaten-track music are whispering the 'Grapefruit' name in hushed tones. I've been a reviewer and Rock Music lover for more decades than I care to remember and even armed with a fairly deep level knowledge - there are bands and titles on here that I've never heard of nor seen in my 20-years as a Rarities Buyer for Reckless in London's Soho (a busy place I can assure you with a high turnover of what's genuinely rare). Unreleased recordings, acetate albums and tracks from privately pressed LPs and Singles of only 30 or 99 copies sit nestled amidst actual chart hitters like Deep Purple, The Move and Hawkwind. The whole mad lot is present and they're damn good too.

There's a ton of stuff to wade through here so once more my Imperial Leather friends unto the tangled underarms of Heavy Psych and Hard Rock. And pass the Vosene Extra Strength and neck-brace darling - we're going to need both. Going underground - here are the overhead details...

UK released 29 July 2016 (7 August 2016 in the USA) - "I'm A Freak, Baby... A Journey Through The British Heavy Psych and Hard Rock Underground Scene 1968-1972" by VARIOUS ARTISTS on Cherry Red/Grapefruit CRSEGBOX032 (Barcode 5013929183209) is a 3-CD 48-Track Mini Clamshell Box Set of Remasters that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (78:24 minutes):
1. All In Your Mind - STRAY (from the June 1970 UK debut LP "Stray" on Transatlantic TRA 216)
2. Cast A Spell - THE OPEN MIND (August 1969 UK 7" single on Philips BF 1805, B-side of "Magic Potion")
3. Hot Smoke And Sassafras - THE MOOCHE (May 1969 UK 7" single on Pye 7N 17735, A-side. A Bubble Puppy cover version)
4. My Son's Alive - CRUSHED BUTLER (1970 recording not originally issued - Jesse Hector and Alan Butler later formed The Hammersmith Gorillas)
5. Going Down - CHICKEN SHACK (from the February 1972 UK LP "Imagination Lady" on Deram SDL 5)
6. Father Of Time - CYCLE (from the October 1971 UK LP "Cycle" on SRT Records 71143, private pressing, 99 copies only)
7. I'm Coming Home - THE DEVIANTS (from the June 1968 UK LP "Ptooff!" on Underground Impresarios IMP 1)
8. Do It - THE PINK FAIRIES [feat Twink] (January 1971 UK 7" single on Polydor 2058 089, B-side of "The Snake")
9. Time Machine - FACTORY (February 1971 UK 7" single on oak RGJ 718, A-side, 99 copies only. Featured Andy Qunta later of Icehouse)
10. Cherry Red - GROUNDHOGS (from the March 1971 UK LP "Split" on Liberty Records LBS 83401)
11. I'm A Freak - WICKED LADY (early 1972 recording not originally issued - featuring Martin Wearer of Dark)
12. Rock My Soul - CHARGE (from the January 1973 UK LP "Charge" on SRT Productions 73275)
13. Sweet Mistress Of Pain [aka "Kiss Of The Velvet Whip"] - HAWKWIND ZOO [Hawkwind] (late 1969 recording at Abbey Road not originally issued)
14. Nightmare - STONEHOUSE (from the November 1971 UK LP "Stonehouse Creek" on RCA SF 8197. Featured Jim Smith and Ian Snow later with Asgaerd on The Moody Blues label Threshold Records)
15. Falling - THE IRON MAIDEN [not the British heavy metal band] (November 1971 UK 7" single on Gemini GMS 006, A-side)
16. Apocalypse - BARNABUS (recorded November 1971, previously unissued)

Disc 2 (79:58 minutes):
1. Bogeyman - WRITING ON THE WALL (from the November 1969 UK LP "The Power Of The Picts" on Middle Earth MDLS 303)
2. Fireball - DEEP PURPLE (from the August 1971 UK LP "Fireball" on Harvest SHVL 793)
3. Primitive Man - JERUSALEM (from the March 1972 UK LP "Jerusalem" on Deram SDL 6. Produced by Ian Gillan of Deep Purple)
4. Love In The Rain - EDGAR BROUGHTON BAND (from their July 1969 UK debut LP "Wasa Wasa" on Harvest SHVL 757)
5. Trust - HELMUT (Previously Unreleased 1970 recording. Featured Terry Aitken later with Prog Rock group 'Elegy')
6.  Rhubarb - SECOND HAND (from the March 1969 UK LP "Reality" on Polydor 583 045)
7. Dream - LITTLE FREE ROCK (from the December 1969 UK debut LP "Little Free Rock" on Transatlantic TRA 208)
8. Skullcrusher - IRON CLAW (Not originally issued, recorded 5 December 1970)
9. Zero Time - DARK (from the July 1972 UK LP "Dark Round The Edges" on SIS Studios 0102, 30 copies only plus 2 test pressings)
10. Jehovah - THE VELVET FROGS (not originally issued, recorded late 1969 - featured Dennis Muchmore and John Carrod later with The Method)
11. Brontosaurus - THE MOVE (March 1970 UK 7" single on Regal Zonophone RZ 3026, A-side)
12. STACK WADDY - Bring It To Jerome (from the February 1971 debut album "Stack Waddy" on Dandelion Records DAN 8003. A Bo Diddley cover)
13. Mr. Make Believe - SAMUEL PRODY (from the 1971 German LP "Samuel Prody" on Global 6306 906. Features Tony Savva later with Rusty Butler. Produced by Roy Thomas Baker of Queen fame)
14. Flash - BARE SOLE (Not originally issued, recorded 1969)
15. Street Walking Woman - THE PHOENIX (Previously unissued, recorded 1969)
16. Go, I'm Never Gonna Let You - SKID ROW (from their July 1971 2nd and last album "34 Hours" on CBS Records S 64411. Featured Brush Shiels, Noel Bridgeman and a young Gary Moore on Guitar)

Disc 3 (74:57 minutes):
1. Race With The Devil - THE GUN (October 1968 UK 7" single on CBS Records 3764, A-side. Featured Adrian and Paul Gurvitz later with The Baker-Gurvitz Army)
2. Heart Without A Home - BLONDE ON BLONDE (from the November 1970 UK LP "Rebirth" on Ember Records NR 5049)
3. Ascension Day - THIRD WORLD WAR (from the February 1971 debut LP "Third World War" on Fly Records HIFLY 4. Featured Jim Avery of Thunderclap Newman and Terry Stamp)
4. Street - EGOR (from the 1971 Various Artists showcase LP for new bands "Oddsocks" on Splat DBR 4286)
5. Escalator - SAM GOPAL (from the January 1969 UK LP "Escalator" on Stable Records SLE 8001. Featured Lemmy of Motorhead and Viv Prince of The Pretty Things)
6. Gypsy - URIAH HEEP (from the June 1970 UK debut LP "Very 'Eavy... Very 'Umble" on Vertigo 6360 006)
7. Garden Of My Mind - THE MICKEY FINN (December 1967 UK 7" single on Direction 58-3086, A-side. Mickey Waller and Danny Peyronel would later form Heavy Metal Kids with Gary Holton)
8. Think About It - THE YARDBIRDS (March 1968 USA 7" single on Epic 5-10303, B-side of "Goodnight Sweet Josephine". Features Jimmy Page on Lead Guitar)
9.  Trying To Find My Way Back Home - MORNNG AFTER (from the January 1971 UK LP "Blue Blood" on Sky Records 71014. Features Norman Hume [aka Norman Beaker] later with Aynsley Dunbar's Retaliation)
10. Yellow Cave Woman - VELVETT FOGG (from the January 1969 UK LP "Velvett Fogg" on Pye Records NSPL 18272)
11. Too Old - ANDROMEDA (from the September 1969 UK LP "Andromeda" on RCA SF 8031. Features John Du Cann and Mick Hawksworth of The Attack)
12. The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown) - FLEETWOOD MAC (May 1970 UK 7" single on Reprise RS 27007, A-side)
13. Twisted Trip Woman - SWEET SLAG (from the February 1971 UK LP "Tracking With Close-Ups" on President PTLS 1042)
14. Occult - THE KULT (Previously unissued recording, recorded circa May 1969)
15. Born On The Wrong Side Of Time - THE TASTE (March 1969 UK 7" single on Polydor 56313, A-side)
The Irish Rock band famously featured Rory Gallagher on Lead Guitar and Vocals. Originally the B-side of "Blister On The Moon" - "Born..." was initially entitled "Born On The Wrong Side Of Town" and came with a different mix on Major Minor Records MM 560 in April 1968. The song was retitled and re-recorded for the April 1969 debut "Taste" LP on Polydor 583 042.
16. Hollis Brown - FUSION FARM (from the December 1971 UK LP "Rush Job" on SRT 71169. A cover of Bob Dylan's "Ballad Of Hollis Brown". Shortened their name to Farm and signed to Spark Records for one 45 in February 1974 - "Fat Judy").

Compiled and Annotated by DAVID WELLS with JOHN REED as Project Manager - these are names well known to fans and collectors alike. I know John Reed personally from my days with Reckless and his days suffering for the Record Collector magazine where he literally compiled those first Rare Records Price Guides. His knowledge of British Music is frankly frightening and especially the Avant Garde and Underground scenes and along with the hugely experienced David Wells who does the superlative liner notes - it goes a long way to explaining why this compilation is so good.

ANDY MORTEN at Pepperbox did the gorgeously laid-out design with the 35-page booklet being a feast for the eyes and brains. You get page after page of photos for each act (some of these are so obscure), singles and album sleeves pictured – key players acknowledged and so on. In-between the text are posters, flyers, gig cards, buttons and other tasty memorabilia. Each CD card sleeve has a different festival photo where some unwashed inebriated reprobate is wigging out to another three-day long guitar solo - Weeley Festival, August 1971 for Disc 1 - Glastonbury Festival, June 1971 for Disc 2 and The Isle Of Wight Festival, August 1970 on Disc 3...

SIMON MURPHY over at Another Planet Music has done the Mastering and considering the disparate sources - the Audio is fantastic - suitably grungy, hard rocking and even Punk when it needs to be. And the set is dedicated with warmth to two sad losses in 2015 - Ian 'Lemmy' Kilmister and John Whittington. To the music...

Accounts are opened with "All In Your Mind" from Stray - a fantastic nine-minute amalgamation of both box set subtitles - Heavy Psych and Hard Rock. The lads from Shepherd Bush were mere teenagers when they recorded it and you can so hear their Small Faces/Humble Pie fixation in that driving Steve Marriott riffage. England's uber metal merchants IRON MAIDEN would pay Stray and Del Bromham's song the ultimate accolade by recording it as a cover nearly two decades later - landing on the B-side of The Maid's "Holy Smoke" in 1990. We trip back a couple of years to 69's "Cast A Spell" - a proper kick-ass Rocker with The Open Mind more than justifying its £600 (2018) Record Collector Rare Record price tag. Another corking B-side then hits you - The Mooche covering a Bubble Puppy song delightfully called "Hot Smoke And Sassafras". The deeply Atomic Rooster grind of "My Son's Alive" from Crushed Butler feels more early Punk than its 1970 recording date indicates. Forsaking his Blues-Rock and R&B sound for four albums on England's Blue Horizon Records - Stan Webb's Chicken Shack was a power-trio by 1972 and their powerful cover of Don Nix's "Going Down" sledgehammers home this new direction. A huge meaty guitar piles down on the riff as John Glascock (of Toe Fat) and Paul Hancox (of The Mindbenders) try to keep up on Bass and Drums. The batty and very Velvet Underground "I'm Coming Home" from The Deviants features Mick Farren shouting about walking up your stairs until I reach your landing - but that's not before the band go into a proper full-on fuzz-guitar melt down that would make The Stooges terminally envious. Standing naked with newspapers covering their crown jewels - the four members of The Pink Fairies are clearly proud of the very Rock 'n' Roll "Do It" - a spunky rocker Twink would resurrect on Chiswick Records in the Punk explosion of 1977 and 1978. Although I've never been enamoured with the Hawkwind track - other highlights on Disc 1 include the almost Canned Heat boogie of The Groundhog's "Cherry Red" with Tony McPhee letting rip on that guitar - Plymouth's Stonehouse rocking like MC5 on the overlooked album track "Nightmare" on RCA in 1971 - and the impossibly rare Barnabus track where there's said to be only four copies of their double-album "Beginning To Unwind" in existence.

Disc 2 opens with a knees-up Mother Brown moment as an accordion and a deranged man whoop-start "Bogeyman" by Writing On The Wall - only to be quickly replaced with an 'armies of the night' doomer driving rhythm that is surprisingly Funky in its own way. I can remember when this 1969 Middle Earth Records LP used to shift for a ton - nowadays you're looking at £400+. CD number two also introduces familiar British band names and their chart-busting rockers - Deep Purple's utterly brilliant "Fireball" lets Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord do their thing on Guitar and Organ (that intro sound is apparently an air-conditioner and no one seems to know why) while ex Idle Race man Jeff Lynne injects new vitality into The Move on their chunky little raver "Brontosaurus". Primitive and at times hard-to-take Heavy Rock comes in the shape of Deram's Jerusalem and Harvest's Edgar Broughton Band but I suspect most will be shocked at the Heavy-cool of "Trust" - a previously unreleased dinosaur of its own by the sexily-named Hellmut (though rough-sounding it's a find ala Sabbath). Speaking of the Sabbs - their doomy influence is everywhere - from the frankly loony power-rocker "Rhubarb!" by Second Hand to the 'their name liveth' Iron Claw who apparently incorporated the entirety of Black Sabbath's debut into their live act. Peter Illingworth of Lancashire's Little Free Rock rocks out on his axe for the rather excellent "Dream" while Mancunians Stack Waddy dream of Bo Diddley on their Rock-R&B cover of "Bring It To Jerome" (great drum sound). And that's the already extraordinary playing of a 19-year old Gary Moore on Skid Row's groovy and vital "Go, I'm Never Gonna Let You Go" from their second and last album for CBS - "34 Hours" - titled after the amount of time it took to record the album.

Adrian and Paul Gurvitz of Gun were dreaming no doubt of Ginger Baker and laughing gas when they penned the galloping "Race With The Devil" - though it's not a tune I've ever really liked if I'm honest. Disc 3 continues in suitably madcap fashion with the very cool sitar-rock feel to "Heart Without A Home" from Blonde On Blonde - named as you've no doubt guessed after Dylan's monumental 1966 double-album. The incendiary guitar solo at its core is the stuff that Heavy Rock fans dream of and it comes roaring out of your speakers with huge production values too. I don't know if I'd have chosen "Ascension Day" by Third World War - but I reviewed this brilliant and largely forgotten pre-Punk album put out by Esoteric Recordings not so long ago on a typically great CD reissue. Featuring a clearly socially aware and very angry Terry Stamp - I would have gone for the "M.I. 5" track instead - but whichever you song you chose - this 1971 Third World War LP on Fly Records defies its age, label and date. Instead of John Kongos or T. Rex it feels like a 1976 and 1977 album - a full six years before Punk exploded across the UK.

But even that is trampled on by the wonderfully named 'Egor' whose "Street" will have Heavy Rock fans reaching for the superlatives right soon. Apparently a resident band at The Plough and Harrow Pub in Leytonstone back in the day - Egor recorded a showcase LP for new bands album called "Oddsocks" and the astonishing "Street" was their lone contribution. It opens with a World War II air raid siren (I kid you not) and then launches into the most savage riffage you've ever heard - like the band had been mainlined "Fun House" by The Stooges for 12-months straight and amidst a whiskey-fuelled mayhem session added a Harmonica as well. Wow is the only appropriate response! I love The Mickey Finn and I can completely understand why their singles render collectors weak at their very knobbly knees. "Garden In My Mind" is a fantastic rocker that feels way ahead of its December 1967 release date and the band contained Mickey Waller on Guitar and Danny Peyronel on Keyboards who along with another hero of mine Gary Holton would form The Heavy Metal Kids in the Seventies (auf weidersehen pet).

For sure you will 'need' to be seriously into Heavy Psych and Hard Rock to get the toppermost of the poppermost out of "I'm A Freak, Baby..."

But if you are – you may need to postpone that trip to Elveden Forest Center Parc with a Physiotherapy Nurse from E17's Whipps Cross and order in a double-strength neck-brace from Amazon. Because after three discs of this mighty sucker – you’re gonna need both...