"The Mirror Man Sessions" by CAPTAIN BEEFHEART and HIS MAGIC BAND (June 1999 BMG/Buddha 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster) - 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)

"Mirror Man" LP is 1967 Recordings Issued in 1971

"...Gimme Dat Harp Boy..."

The story behind Beefheart's 1971 "Mirror Man" LP and this 1999 CD reissue runs to a few pages of convoluted shenanigans - but here goes at a potted explanation so that you know what you're dealing with.

First up - when the US vinyl LP Buddah BDS 5077 was released in May 1971 in a die-cut gatefold sleeve with only 4-tracks (Buddah 2365 002 in the UK) - "Tarot Plane" (19:00) and "Kandy Korn" (8:00) on Side 1 and "25th Century Quaker" (8:59) and "Mirror Man" (19:00) on Side 2 - the liner notes erroneously claimed that the album was live material 'recorded one night in Los Angeles in 1965' – perhaps in some club - which just wasn't true.

Beefheart and his gang of four (see band names below) had gone into TTG Studios in LA in October 1967 and recorded three tracks 'live' in the studio with further rough studio sessions taking place in November. Buddah didn't like what they heard and put the whole project on indefinite hold. They then sent the Captain and his boys over to England (where they were more popular) to be championed by a true fan - BBC Radio 1's most famous DJ John Peel. Some of the songs and sessions were added to, remixed and so on and came out on the second official album "Strictly Personal" in October 1968.

Time passed and with the November 1969 double-album "Trout Mask Replica" and a new LP on Reprise Records in "Lick My Decals Off, Baby" from January 1971 all gaining traction - someone went back into the vaults and chose the above four mentioned tracks to clump together as a new album on Buddah Records - "Mirror Man". Apparently Beefheart knew nothing of its release and as the songs were 'unfinished' or 'crude' – he remained somewhat ambivalent towards their merits - decrying it as some critics had initially done - then being ok with it as the LPs heavy-blues-jam rep began to build over the following years – some even saying it was as good as his blistering and accessible "Safe As Milk" debut from November 1967.

Whilst researching a new release in 1991 - England's Sequel Records went into the vaults once again and subsequently found and reissued more of the previously unissued session tracks - calling their 11-track January 1992 CD compilation "I May Be Hungry But I'm Sure Not Weird – The Alternative Captain Beefheart" on Sequel NEX CD 215 (Barcode 5023224121523).

Which brings us via a circuitous route and several mushroom pies to June 1999 and this new BMG 'Buddha Records' CD reissue of nine tracks (note the deliberately inverted spelling on the last two letters of Buddah). Due to time constrictions - you get the original four songs of the "Mirror Man" LP and five additional outtakes - all stripped of unnecessary overdubs and as close as Buddha feel they can get to the Captain's original vision. Here are the 1999 CD reissue details...

UK released September 1999 (June 1999 in the USA) – "The Mirror Man Sessions" by CAPTAIN BEEFHEART and HIS MAGIC BAND on BMG/Buddha Records 74321 69174 2 (Barcode 743216917426) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster of nine tracks that plays out as follows (76:23 minutes):

1. Tarotplane (19:08 minutes)

2. 25th Century Quaker (9:51 minutes)

3. Mirror Man (15:47 minutes)

4. Kandy Man (8:07 minutes)

5. Trust Us (Take 6) (7:06 minutes)

6. Safe As Milk (Take 12) (5:01 minutes)

7. Beatle Bones N' Smokin' Stones (3:11 minutes)

8. Moody Liz (Take 8) (4:34 minutes)

9. Gimme Dat Harp Boy (3:31 minutes)

Musicians:

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART (Don Van Vliet) - Vocals, Harmonica and Shinei

JEFF COTTON - Guitar

ALEX St. CLAIR SNOUFFER - Guitar

JERRY HANDLEY - Bass

JOHN FRENCH - Drums

In the 12-page liner notes JOHN PLATT (with thanks to Mike Barnes) finally makes available the convoluted history of these amazing recordings - the 'Wrapper' sessions as they're sometimes called (Beefheart wanted the "Strictly Personal" album in a plain brown wrapper envelope sleeve). There are some classy black and white photos of the boys looking suitably Avant Garde and about to upset your Aunty Mavis with some discordant meanderings. You get in-depth reissue credits and the 'One Nest Rolls After Another', and the 'I Like The Way The Doo Dads Fly' poems reproduced. The CD label and inlay beneath the see-through tray mirror that shattered glass effect of the sleeve.

But while all that explanation sorts things out somewhat - what I want to concentrate on is the amazing new Audio brought to us by ELLIOTT FEDERMAN that was done over at New York's SAJE Sound Studios. The LPs were always being accused of being 'muddy' and some excuses were forthcoming because the takes were 'one' and 'live in the studio'. Suddenly even that gruff harmonica warble that opens up the nineteen-minute monster that is "Tarotplane" sounds unbelievably 'right' - like the power has been given back to the gruff. And as Beefheart growls with his 'on your mind' string of consciousness - those vocals are so damn good and those harmonica stretches punchy and mean. This sucker grooves - the band digging into that chug - and even if the recordings are a bit rough around the frothy gills - I'd argue this CD has made the performance feel alive and better for it. Nice work done...

You could argue that the three lengthy grooves here are merely Blues Jams with jerky Avant Garde Jazz rhythms as a side-order that should have stayed in the can or even been refined into something neater and better. Knob I say. When you listen to "25th Century Quaker" and you're grooving to those clear as a bell cymbal and drums crashes, those moaning notes as the Captain mumbles into his Harmonica - I can't imagine any way these could have been 'edited' into something tighter or better. Indulgent I know but it can also be argued that their very expansiveness is their joy. And would we want that mad ending to "Quaker" any other way. And don't get me started on the fantastic groove his ensemble get on "Mirror Man" - the kind of sound no other band could have achieved. I played it to my 22-year guitar-mad son the other day and he was transfixed - and not that just with the 'sound' coming out of my B&Ws - but at the playing and the sheer sonic wallop The Magic Band achieved and seemingly without even trying.

Lean and mean and unbelievably tight – Take 12 of "25th Century Quaker" hits you with a wall of voices and that stabbing guitar beat and it has awesome remastered sound. Don’t really like "Take Us" no matter what Take it is. We go all ‘strawberry mouth and butterfly’ with the Japanese-sounding "Beatle Bones N’ Smokin’ Stones" where the Captain seems to taking a sideways jab at the Liverpudlians and their Forever Fields. The dark – the day – the light – don’t you just love that voice and that sheer bat crazy mentality – and again beautifully remastered. God help us all but "Moody Liz" even sounds vaguely commercial (love those vocal harmonies). And "Gimme Dat Harp Boy" sounds like a piece of harmonica genius that have should been released as a single just to annoy the neighbours...

Hand me down a top hat, a feather boa and a Shriner’s Fez – I can feel a Captain Beefheart moment looming in my sequined ball gown and wraparound underpants. Of course "The Mirror Man Sessions" is not going to be a sonic soundscape everyone wants to go picnicking in. But if you’re down with the mighty hamburger – you’ll be loving it like a guilty pleasure you need to hide from the wife...

"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...

"Hold Your Fire" by PATTO (April 2017 Esoteric Recordings 'Expanded Edition' 2CD Reissue with 13 Bonus Tracks and 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)

"...High On Glory Seeds..."

A little background first. PATTO arose out of the ashes of a 60ts band called TIMEBOX from Stockport in Lancashire - singer Mike Patto, Bassist Clive Griffiths, Drummer John 'Admiral' Halsey and super guitarist Pete 'Ollie' Halsall. TIMEBOX never did get an album out but they landed seven rare and desirable 45s in the UK - two on Piccadilly and five on Deram. One of these British sevens was a minor hit - a cover of The Four Seasons "Beggin'" that peaked at No. 38 on the British singles charts in July 1968.

But as the Progressive Rock boom began to take over in the late Sixties - the four ex-Timebox boys wanted to move on from the restrictions of Pop and formed PATTO - signing to the then emerging label for all things Prog and eclectic - Vertigo. They made three albums in total - two for Vertigo and one for Island - none of which sold jack. Their debut "Patto" hit the streets of Blighty in November 1970 on Vertigo 6360 016 (February 1971 in the USA), the second "Hold Your Fire" in November 1971 on Vertigo 6360 032 (January 1972 in the USA with different artwork) and the final "Roll 'Em Smoke 'Em Put Out Another Line" in October 1972 on Island ILPS 9210. All are listed vinyl rarities in the 2018 Record Collector Price Guide valued at £300, £500 and £60 respectively.

I’ve already reviewed the debut "Patto" – also released 28 April 2017 in an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster... Which brings us to this long-overdue, superbly presented and band endorsed 'Expanded Edition' double-CD Remaster of their second platter "Hold Your Fire" brought to us panting and ranting by those guardians of all things Avant and Prog - England's Esoteric Recordings. Here are the screaming spirals...

UK released Friday, 28 April 2017 (5 May 2017 in the USA) - "Hold Your Fire" by PATTO on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 22582 (Barcode 5013929468245) is an 'Expanded Edition' 2CD Remaster of their 1971 second studio album on Vertigo Records (8-Tracks) with 13 Additional Bonus Tracks (including Previously Unreleased Album Outtakes and 1971 BBC Radio 1 Sessions) that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (51:28 minutes):

1. Hold Your Fire [Side 1]

2. You, You Point Your Finger

3. How’s Your Father

4. See You At The Dance Tonight

5. Give It All Away [Side 2]

6. Air Raid Shelter

7. Tell Me Where You've Been

8. Magic Door

Tracks 1 to 8 are their second album "Hold Your Fire" - released November 1971 in the UK on Vertigo 6360 032 and January 1972 in the USA on Vertigo VEL-1008 (in different gatefold artwork). Produced by MUFF WINWOOD - it didn't chart in either country.

BONUS TRACKS:

9. Beat The Drum

10. Bad News

Tracks 9 and 10 Recorded & Mixed at Island Studios, London, 4 May 1971. Although Demo Versions of these two tracks appeared as two of three bonus tracks on the October 2010 Japanese SHM-CD (Vertigo UICY-94681) for "Hold Your Fire" – Esoteric Recordings have copyrighted these recordings as 2017 and in their website blurbs on the album have called these finished but different versions 'Previously Unreleased'.

Disc 2 - BBC Sessions & Out-Takes (59:12 minutes):

1. San Antone

2. Government Man

3. Beat The Drum

4. Sittin' Back Easy

5. So Cold 

Tracks 1 to 5 recorded 4 March 1971 for a BBC Radio One "In Concert"

6. Give It All Away

7. Air Raid Shelter

8. You, You Point Your Finger

Tracks 6 to 8 recorded 28 June 1971 for a BBC Radio One "Sounds Of The 70t's" session

9. Don’t Shoot Me ("Hold Your Fire")

10. Give It All Away (Alternative Version)

11. Air Raid Shelter (Alternative Version)

Tracks 9 to 11 Recorded and Mixed 29 July 1971 at Island Studios, London

The 20-page booklet is festooned with ticket stubs, trade adverts and reviews, gig flyers where they played with the likes of Stackridge, Rod Stewart And The Faces, Centipede and May Blitz, the different gatefold artwork to the US copy on Vertigo VEL-1008, black and white and colour photos of the band from the period and the three standing creatures drawn by Roger Dean that could only be viewed by pulling back the three flaps of the front sleeve (the original vinyl album in the UK came in lavish artwork). There are detailed and informative liner notes from noted writer SID SMITH that feature candid reminiscences from drummer John Halsey about the band and the sadly passed/much admired Ollie Halsall (he died in 1992). And Esoteric have smartly repro’d the lyrics that were on the inner gatefold sleeve too. The CDs are pictures disc (front cover) and the inlay beneath the tray is the underneath cover beneath the flaps mentioned above. It’s all very tastefully done and true to the original issues.  

But the big news is the really clean and clear audio for what has always been perceived as a lo-fi production. To my knowledge there have been three CD reissues of this album before – Akarma out of Italy in 2002, Repertoire out of Germany in 2004 and one of those natty SHM-CDs in a card-repro sleeve out of Japan on Universal in 2010 (part of the 'British Vintage Rock Masterpiece Collection' series). But this amazingly is the first time a British label has had a go – Cherry Red’s Esoteric Recordings and with the full support of surviving band members. And typically they've done a bang up job - a new Remaster from original tapes by Audio Engineer BEN WISEMAN – someone who has handled loads of these Reissues.

A word about the music first - although the Vertigo label was largely associated with all things Prog Rock - "Patto" were way more Humble Pie than May Blitz - more Faces circa their second album "Long Player" than the Jazz Rock of say Beggars Opera. Most of their self-titled debut LP played like Hard Rock - Bluesy in places too. The second "Hold Your Fire" is way more sedate, measured and to use that old cheddar chestnut - mature. And a smart move too on the part of Esoteric is to reproduce the lyrics that dominate the sentiments of every song and are incredibly smart and hip. Check these out in "You, You Point Your Finger" where Mike Patto lashes out at accusers - "...You, you call me a junkie, call me filth and scum, keep me from your daughter, but my time will come..." and "...You, you think you're civilised, with your connections you can't fail, but you treat your wife and family, like you bought them in a sale..." By the same token he's not afraid to send up his own kind - take a jab at silliness and hypocrisy amidst his own generation - how about these from many rhyming couplets in the superb opener "Hold Your Fire" - "...well my skin turned yellow and my eyes sunk back from my diet of boiled brown rice...I would shuffle past bright warm houses to my groove pad cold as ice..." and "...I've smoked a ton of marijuana, I sat crossed-legged till my legs went numb...I made peace signs at the farmers when they called me no good bum... " Nice one son.

A change comes with the languid and almost soulful "How’s Your Father" – a slow piano pace accompanies Patto lyrics about being on the road and having to connect with the right people (don’t get in the way). Halsall plays some fluid guitar during a very Steely Dan solo moment. Things go all Faces with "See You At The Dance Tonight" – Halsall and his guitar sound not unlike Ronnie Wood playing cool and loose. And then just when you got used to the eight-minute songs with a social conscience – you get the pure experimentation and Jazz Rock of "Air Raid Shelter" over on Side 2. Patto scats lyrics while Halsall goes all John McLaughlin on the Guitar as cymbals clash and the Bass player thinks he’s auditioning for the Miles Davis touring band. The album finishes on a genuine high. With its cymbals and vibes backdrop - "Magic Door" feels the most BASF track on the album – sophisticated Rock with Jazz hints - Patto in fantastic vocal form with the band joining him on the ‘are you real’ chorus in truly lovely harmony vocals. You’re left with an abiding impression - definitely not your average Rock & Roll band – and a shockingly good ending to a mature and confident album. Why didn’t it get better sales?

The extras will be exciting to fans that have waited the guts of 40 years for these rarities in proper audio and not bootleg. The two out-takes on Disc 1 - "Beat The Drum" and "Bad News" – simply feel like lesser versions of "Magic Door" – even if they are beautifully rendered here. Those looking for signs of Halsall will go straight to Disc 2. John Peel wryly introduces Patto to the ‘in the studio’ audience (Produced by Jeff Griffin) – the band launching into a cool and rocking "San Antone" sounding not unlike Family on a good night. You immediately notice his playing that you feel is only getting by the minute. Peel cracks jokes before he introduces another track from the debut "Patto" – and before a very laid back but sweet "Sittin’ Back Easy" he introduces the band as a five-piece (Bernie Holland supplementing as second guitarist while Halsall handles lead and the vibes). Luckily it has great audio and is a genuinely cool Bonus Track. In fact you’d have to say that the whole of Disc 2 puts the reissue up there.

Properly decent CD reissues - great audio, better presentation and genuinely complimentary bonuses. Well done to all the cats at Esoteric Recordings for putting these out there again and honouring Halsall's recorded legacy in such style...

PATTO on 2017 Esoteric Recordings 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissues and Remasters

Also reissued 28 April 2017 is their first Vertigo vinyl platter from November 1970 called "Patto" but as a single-CD 'Expanded Edition' remaster with three Bonus Tracks on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2581 (Barcode 5013929468146).

On 26 May 2017 you got their third album "Roll 'Em Smoke 'Em Put Out Another Line" from 1972 on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2586 (Barcode 5013929468641) with three Bonus Tracks (a Peel Session from 24 January 1973).

26 May 2017 also saw their aborted fourth album recorded in 1973 called "Monkey's Bum" reissued by Esoteric and again as an 'Expanded Edition' CD on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2587 (Barcode 5013929468740). It will be the first 'official' release of the album sanctioned by the remaining members of the band and include three Previously Unreleased tracks – sessions recorded for John Peel's BBC Radio One show on 13 February 1973 with the original line-up...

"City Of Gold/...Beautiful Lies You Could Live In." by TOM RAPP/PEARLS BEFORE SWINE (April 2017 Beat Goes On Reissue - 2LPs onto 1CD - Andrew Thompson 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)

"...Raindrops..."

With his weedy sub Bob Dylan "Nashville Skyline" voice, Leonard Cohen narratives about dumb raindrops (what would they know), butterflies flying too close to the flame and the skinned-our-knees growing-up weeping of "Seasons In The Sun" (the Jacque Brel/Rod McKuen tune made famous by Terry Jacks) - all served up with a dash of Country Dobro - New York's Tom Rapp and his band Pearls Before Swine have always divided listeners.

His songs are part Mickey Newbury, part Paul Siebel, part Steve Young, part Tim Rose and of course part Bob Dylan. That’s the good news. But on top of that name-check list of songwriting cool - Rapp's songs can also be part schlock and at times genuinely cloying and fay.

However - no matter what way you describe Tom Rapp's music and especially if you're a fan - England's Beat Goes On Records have come to your reissue rescue with this superb-sounding CD Remaster of two rare Folk-Rock albums both released on Reprise Records USA in 1971 - "City Of Gold" in April and "...Beautiful Lies You Could Live In." which came in late December. Let's get to the details...

UK released 7 April 2017 (14 April 2017 in the USA) - "City Of Gold/...Beautiful Lies You Could Live In." by TOM RAPP/PEARLS BEFORE SWINE on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1285 (Barcode 5017261212856) offers two LPs from 1971 Remastered onto 1CD and plays out as follows (61:04 minutes):

1. Sonnet No. 65 [Side 1]
2. Once Upon A Time
3. Raindrops
4. City of Gold
5. Nancy
6. Seasons In The Sun [Side 2]
7. My Father
8. The Man
9. Casablanca
10. Wedding
11. Did You Dream Of
Tracks 1 to 11 are the album "City Of Gold" - released April 1971 in the USA on Reprise RS 6442 (no UK release). PRODUCED by TOM RAPP - it didn't chart. All songs by Tom Rapp except "Nancy" by Leonard Cohen, "Seasons In The Sun" by Jacques Brel and Rod McKuen and "My Father" by Judy Collins. "Sonnet No. 65" is Shakespeare's words put to TR music. Lead Vocals by Rapp except on "The Man" by David Noyes and "My Father" by Elisabeth Rapp.

12. Snow Queen [Side 1]
13. A Life
14. Butterflies
15. Simple Things
16. Everybody's Got Pain
17. Bird On A Wire [Side 2]
18. Island Lady
19. Come To Me
20. Freedom
21. She's Gone
22. Epitaph
Tracks 12 to 22 are the album "...Beautiful Lies You Could Live In." - released December 1971 in the USA on Reprise RS 6467.

As ever the outer card slipcase adds a touch of class to this BGO CD reissue and a 12-page booklet with new JOHN O’REGAN liner notes gives all the details you’ll need on Rapp's stay with New York folkies Pearls Before Swine. But the real deal here is a gorgeous remaster from licensed tapes by BGO's resident engineer - ANDREW THOMPSON. This CD has lovely sound reflecting the quality of the original Reprise Records recordings. Very sweet...

After four albums with the band Pearls Before Swine - "One Nation Underground" and "Balaklava" on ESP Disks in 1967 and 1968 and then two more on Reprises Records in 1969 and 1970 - "These Things Too" and "The Use Of Ashes" - their fifth platter "City Of Gold" became the first to feature the moniker Tom Rapp/Pearls Before Swine. The album drew on New York and Nashville sessions done in the autumn of 1970 that included guitarist Mac Gayden, Bassist Norbert Putnam and Drummer Kenny Buttery of the Polydor Records Country-Rock band Area Code 615. Most of the short acoustic-based songs on "City Of Gold" are Rapp originals done in a very soft US Folk style with Rapp's Dutch wife Elisabeth taking lead vocals on the Judy Collins cover "My Father" and band member David Noyes fronting the rather oddly upbeat "The Man" – a jaunty holy-roller that feels weirdly out of place actually. Highlights include "City Of Gold" - a Fiddle and Dobro hoedown - and the 'Lay Lady Lay' melody of "Did You Dream Of". Others include a cover version of Leonard Cohen's "Nancy" - Rapp's voice uncannily close to his hero and obvious songwriting inspiration LC (the full title for "Nancy" is "Seems So Long Ago, Nancy" and is from Cohen's second album – April 1969's "Song From A Room"). But the less said about the awful cringe-cack that is "Seasons In The Sun" – the better.

For me the second platter on offer here "...Beautiful Lies You Live In." is a big leap forward over its strictly three-star predecessor. With that gushingly Raphaelite-romantic "Ophelia" artwork (a John Everett Millais painting) – the album is more James Taylor meets early Ronnie Lane than the Psych-Folk that Pearls Before Swine had been associated with in the late Sixties. Unlike the coy "Seasons Of The Sun" on the first LP – "A Life" opens platter number two with a genuine homely feel – his band and wife tight as the melody soothes like a good Ryan Adams ballad. In fact the album "...Beautiful..." effectively feels like a Tom Rapp solo album in all but name as he's joined by sessioned players like guitarist Amos Garrett and keyboard player Bob Dorough. Rapp does his best Dylan impression on "Everybody's Got Pain" where he and his wife are suggesting the fog will eventually lift one day. But my poison here is an extraordinarily Soulful take on that old Cohen chestnut "Bird On A Wire" where Rapp finally sounds passionate and committed – like a young Johnny Cash tearing into a song and a set of words that have reached deep into his psyche.

Tom Rapp will not be for everyone for sure and his need to be Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan's lovechild is obvious. But there are tunes to be loved here and if you're a fan – you will need that superb new audio.

"...Simple things will do..." he sang back in 1971. And you have to say that this superbly presented Beat Goes On CD reissue gets that mantra right...

"Move Into The Light: The Complete Island Recordings 1969-1971" by QUINTESSENCE (April 2017 Esoteric Recordings 2CD Anthology - Paschal Byrne 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)

"...Letters To Infinity..."

Includes the album "Dive Deep" from 1971 

Time wounds all heals. Time will tell. It's time to stop talking about time.

In the late 60ts and early 70ts – in tandem with free festivals, coloured bread and promiscuous sex - Notting Hill Gate’s Quintessence were at the forefront of the Indian Eastern Mysticism craze that was sweeping the UK and everywhere else for that matter. Suddenly we were all idealistic hippies - obsessing over joss sticks, fat scented candles, tie-dye shirts, bellbottom pants, beads, bangles, peace-symbols and travels to Goa with a stick of gum in your jeans, a begging bowl in your hand, a flower in your hair and a seriously dopey smile on your face (shoes and bras optional).

I suppose it is way too easy to slag off those doe-eyed days of mushroom madness (I was a fan myself and have the embarrassing tassel-shirt photos to prove it) - but in the blunt and brutal light of 2017 - musically not everything that emerged from marijuana clouds in Notting Hill Gate has weathered the decades that well. Having said that and despite as I say the absolutely dated nature of some of these recordings – if you crave lavish artwork, counter-culture ideas, meandering Sitars and Tablas and Tamboura notes all mixed up into a flute-driven ganga-soaked Shiva-Rock – then there is much to love and cherish on offer here. Hell there’s even a bit of Hawkwind drone madness in the guitar passages of album number two...

On top of that this surely has to be the most sumptuous and best-sounding 2CD anthology of the Quintessence legacy to date - brought to us with Hindu Love Oneness by those blissed-out but talented folks over at Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings (stop smoking those chubby roll-your-owns boys). Time to sort out your Raja Rams from your Hare Hares. Here are the Swami details...

UK released 28 April 2017 (5 May 2017 in the USA) - "Move Into The Light: The Complete Island Recordings 1969-1971" by QUINTESSENCE on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 22584 (Barcode 5013929468443) is a 2CD anthology of Remasters that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (65:49 minutes):

1. Giants [Side 1]

2. Manco Capac

3. Body

4. Gange Mai

5. Chant  [Side 2]

6. Pearl And Bird

7. Notting Hill Gate

8. Midnight Mode

Tracks 1 to 8 are their debut album "In Blissful Company" - released November 1969 in the UK on Island ILPS 9110 Q (No US release). Produced by JOHN BARHAM - it didn't chart. The UK album was released in a gatefold 12-page-booklet sleeve (said to have been one of the most expensive made at the time) - all of which is reproduced in the CD booklet.

9. Move Into The Light

10. Notting Hill Gate

Tracks 10 and 9 are the non-album A&B-sides of a UK 7" single released October 1969 on Island WIP 6075

11. Jesus, Buddah, Moses, Guaranga

12. Sea Of Immortality

13. High On Mt. Kailash (Excerpt from Opera)

14. Burning Bush (Live)

15. Shiva's Chant

Tracks 11 to 15 are Side 1 of their second studio album "Quintessence" - released June 1970 in the UK on Island Records ILPS 9128 (no US Release). Produced by JOHN BARHAM - it peaked at No. 22 on the UK LP charts.

Disc 2 (69:23 minutes):

1. Prisms

2. Twilight Zones

3. Maha Mantra

4. Only Love

5. St. Pancras (Live)

6. Infinitum

Tracks 1 to 6 are Side 2 of their second studio album "Quintessence" - released June 1970 in the UK on Island Records ILPS 9128 (no US Release). Produced by JOHN BARHAM - it peaked at No. 22 on the UK LP charts.

7. Jesus, Buddah, Moses, Guaranga (Live)

Track 7 exclusive to the UK Island Records label sampler double-album "Bumpers" - released October 1970 on Island IDP 1.

8. Dive Deep [Side 1]

9. Dance For The One

10. Brahman

11. The Seer [Side 2]

12. Epitaph For Tomorrow

13. Sri Ram Chant

Tracks 8 to 13 are their 3rd studio album "Dive Deep" - released March 1971 in the UK on Island Records ILPS 9143. Produced by QUINTESSENCE except for "Brahman" by JOHN BARHAM - it peaked at No. 34.

The 24-page booklet is a feast for the eyes. Fans will know that as much as their sound - the sheer visual opulence of the Quintessence albums on Island were enough to get you interested. Esoteric have smartly repro'd the 12-page booklet of black and white photos that centred the inner gatefold sleeve of "In Blissful Company" - said at the time to be the most expensive sleeve ever made - certainly at the independent Island Records. The colour gatefold inner of "Quintessence" is here (candles, mirrors and long white gowns ahoy) as are superb new liner notes from noted writer MALCOLM DOME that include interviews with the key players - Shiva Shankar (Australian vocalist and flutist Phil Jones) and Maha Dev (Dave Codling on Guitar) with reminiscences from Jeremy 'Jake' Milton - formerly the drummer with Junior's Eyes.

But the big news is new 2017 Remasters from original tapes by PASCHAL BYRNE - a name that's been on a huge number of quality reissues - East Of Eden, Fairport Convention, Gordon Giltrap, John Kongos, Man, John Martyn, John Mayall, Mike Oldfield, Spooky Tooth, Taste, T. Rex and many more. There is huge presence on those live guitar-tracks like "Burning Bush" on the second LP and power on those droning sitar songs like "Midnight Mode" on the debut. The soft and quieter passages on the near eleven-minute "Dance For The One" from the third album are beautifully clear too. A nice job done overall...

Things don't have the most promising of starts with "Giants" - Shiva's voice as deadpan as it can get. But things improve with "Manco Capac" - a Bass and Flute opening clear as a bell as the singer goes on about spaces and spirits. The pace steps up into really interesting on "Body" - a trippy floating song that trashes about with guitars and flutes - shadows of "Nursery Cryme" Genesis in those strums. But I must admit my heart lies in Side 2's "Notting Hill Gate" - a catchy little sucker and a dead-ringer for a single (it turned up on the "Strangely Strange But Oddly Normal" 3CD Box Set from 2005 covering Island Records more eclectic years) - and the fabulous nine minutes of "Midnight Mode" where halfway through the song – it just goes into four minutes of Sitar-droning - the most brill trippy sound that you’ve ever heard - filling your living room like a Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab recording of a Buddhist monastery at lunchtime.

The songwriting seem to take a leap forward with the excellent "Quintessence" album of June 1970 - their first platter to chart in Blighty. "Sea Of Immortality" sounds huge but even better is the crickets/chant song that is "High On Mt. Kailash (Excerpt from Opera) - a swirling drone of Sitars and echoed voices singing in Indian - all of it sounding sexily mystical. The short but pretty "Shiva's Chant" is another winner - itself quickly followed by the echoed flutes of "Prisms" - a stunner for all those sampler fiends out there. "Twilight Zones" speaks of echoes and reflections in the cosmos while "Maha Mantra" is exactly what it sounds like – a live recorded of ‘Hare Hare Krishna’ chanting by devotees banging their Tablas and shaking their bells as they shuffle past the suits going into Oxford Street’s HMV to buy Britney Spears. Another highlight is the almost Gong guitars of "St. Pancras" recorded at the same March 1970 gig that gave up the live version of "Jesus, Buddah, Moses, Guaranga" on the "Bumpers" double-album label sampler. "Infinitum" ends the LP on layered voices giving it some serious '2001: A Space Odyssey' outtakes.

After the head-first dip into Eastern sounds on "Quintessence" - the acoustic "Dive Deep" takes you by surprise - a love so sweet - it will make us all high. Way better is what I think is their masterpiece - the complicated, layered and beautiful in parts "Dance For The One" - a song that captures all the best parts of the band. And the Remaster rocks. "Brahman" offers more audio delight - guitars strumming as the singer informs us of fathomless fountains and worlds within our reach. "Epitaph For Tomorrow" opens well but soon descends into eight-minutes of hippy-enlightenment that feels more Association pop than Quintessence insights. The eight minutes of "Sri Ram Chant" is fantastic - great sound - rich soundscapes - that unique swirl they got as the Vena and Tabla combined with voices singing Indian chants - calls for Universal love.

For sure Quintessence will not be for everyone and there are those who will snigger and poo-poo both them and the times they reflected. But as I said before - there is so much to love here and Esoteric Recordings are to be praised for having the Third Eye balls to put it out there - and in such style too.

Move into the light. I think I’ll move into my man cave with my good buddy - Shiva-Rock...