There's Something About 1971...

Welcome to Mark Barry's Review Site for quality CD Reissues and Exceptional Remasters. This Blog String deals with 1971 - see also my separate Blog for 1970 reissues. Genres include Rock and Pop, Soul, Funk and Jazz Fusion, Blues, Rhythm 'n' Blues, Doo Wop and Vocal Groups, Prog, Psych, Reggae, Punk/Garage and New Wave. I also extensively review Blu Ray issues for Modern and Classic Movies. CROSS-REFERENCED INDEX AT THE END OF THE BLOG. Rants, Raves and High Geekery...

Tuesday 22 September 2020

"The End Of The Game" by PETER GREEN [of Fleetwood Mac] – December 1970 UK and USA Debut Solo LP on Reprise Records featuring Zoot Money and Nick Buck on Keyboards, Alex Dmochowski on Bass and Godfrey MacLean on Drums (February 2020 UK Esoteric Recordings 50th Anniversary Expanded Edition CD Reissue with Four Bonus Tracks – Paschal Byrne Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"The End Of The Game" - February 1971 US LP (December 1970 UK)

"...Descending Scale..."

Fans are a funny bunch (me included). I've tried in vain for over 50 years to actually like the whole of this record - but in truth I can stand only two tracks. Its always felt like a contract-outer Green slapped together (he owed them a solo LP, so let Reprise have whatever emerged from a five-hour studio session one night in a central London studio) and to say that most of it is underwhelming is an understatement. I've returned to it across the decades because I worship at the feet of all things Mac (and in all their many band line-up incarnations), but other than two out of six, naught doing...

Yet there are others who proclaim "The End Of The Game" a masterpiece – a joy incarnate and an unfairly forgotten gem from the beginning of the Seventies. Well at least this new and very prettily put together February 2020 CD reissue and remaster from those terribly decent chaps over at Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings gives me another chance to reassess Greeny's first solo effort from 1970 (bolstered up into a 50th Anniversary Extended Edition by four fan-pleasing extras of rare stand-alone single-sides). But again, on re-hearing it, alas, this is no "In The Skies" from 1979 (and that was only partially good as well). To the bared teeth and the net-trouncing repercussions of such dissent...

UK released Friday, 21 February 2020 - "The End Of The Game" by PETER GREEN on Esoteric Recordings QECLEC2710 (Barcode 5013929481084) is a '50th Anniversary Expanded Edition CD Reissue and Remaster with Four Bonus Tracks' in a Card Digipak that plays out as follows (48:47 minutes):

1. Bottoms Up [Side 1]

2. Timeless Time

3. Descending Scales

4. Burnt Foot [Side 2]

5. Hidden Depth

6. The End Of The Game

Tracks 1 to 6 are his first solo album after Fleetwood Mac "The End Of The Game" - released December 1970 in the UK on Reprise RSLP 9006 (reissued November 1971 on Reprise K 44106) and February 1971 in the USA on Reprise RS 6436. Produced by PETER GREEN - it didn't chart in either country.

BONUS TRACKS:

7. Heavy Heart

8. No Way Out

Tracks 7 and 8 are the non-album A&B-sides of a June 1971 UK 7" single on Reprise RS 27012

It was reissued in November 1971 in the UK on Reprise K 14092

Credited to PETER GREEN - Side 1 by Peter Green, Nigel Watson, Chris Kelly and Mataya Clifford Cheweluza – Side 2 by PG and Nigel Watson

9. Beasts Of Burden

10. Uganda Woman

Tracks 9 and 10 are the non-album A&B-sides of a January 1972 UK 7" single on Reprise K 14141

Credited to NIGEL WATSON and PETER GREEN - Side A by both, Side B by Nigel Watson

The card digipak is pretty to look at with a tiger pictured CD label and a 12-paged booklet featuring new MALCOLM DOME liner notes that at last illuminate this strange LP. There are two classy black and whites photos of Green with his trademark Gibson in hand. Zoot Money also gives poignant recollections of the marathon five-hour sessions (written obviously before PG passed) – talking on fans still wanting copies signed by him fifty years after the event – fondly remembering 10-minute breaks with biscuits and other substances that weren't perhaps digestives. It's a nicely presented card digipak and does his legacy proud given his horrible passing in July of 2020. The Audio is a new PACHAL BYRNE 24-bit Digital Remaster from original tapes and is a vast improvement on the crappy 90s edition CD I've had for decades with a gatefold information-less inlay and dullard sound. To the music...

The ambling nine-minutes of "Bottoms Up" opens Side 1 and just sort of instrumental noodles its way to a nowhere finish. At least the pretty 2:38 minutes of "Timeless Time" features some lovely touches on the fretboard and the Remaster has given this majestic little ditty beautiful clarity. We end the side with 8:18 minutes of free-flowing Jazz-Rock where Zoot Money's keyboards make their presence known big time. It's all bass plucking, high-hat snaking and feels like an impromptu jam – which is exactly what it is. Greeny turns up about 1:38 minutes in and they go into whig-out mode – his guitar playing probably the most Jazz and experimental its ever been.

"Burnt Foot" opens Side 2 with 5:16 minutes of an instrumental jam – the remaster making the Alex Dmochowski Bass notes so clear. "Burnt Fool" feels a little Miles Davis in its reaching for something that remains ever out of reach. Green roles those notes on his guitar while Godfrey Maclean gets to flourish and solo on his Drums. My other big like on the album is "Hidden Depth", 4:54 minutes of piano and guitar that deceptively begins in Funky-Rock mode – Zoot jabbing away on the Grand Piano as Green solos. But then it quietens down about a minute in and suddenly "Hidden Depth" feels etherial – like an "Albatross" or "Dragonfly" moment – the instrumental toing-and-froing between Green and Money being gorgeous all the way to its fade-out end. The album's title track "The End Of The Game" finishes proceedings but although his playing is firey, it all feels like fun for them but not much else for us. The singles are terrible – both of them – regularly received 2, 3 and 4 out of ten ratings on Net sites – the magic quite clearly gone ("Heavy Heart" was actually given a 'Top Of The Pops' outing). Still fans will love the fact that their rare four sides are on CD at last and in cracking audio too.

In November 1971, Reprise Records UK reissued the January 1970 solo LP "Jeremy Spencer" by Jeremy Spencer of Fleetwood Mac on Reprise K 44105 – one catalogue number below the reissue of Peter Green's "The End Of The Game" on Reprise K 44106. Spencer's wildly confusing effort featured cod Rock and Roll and parodies of retro material threw most people and appalled many into the bargain – never even receiving a US release. In fact it wasn't until January 2015 that Real Gone Music of the USA gave it a proper CD remaster on RGM-0409 (Barcode 6546987290040) – its first official outing on CD with a 45 B-side rarity tagged on as a Bonus Track. I mention ace axeman Jeremy Spencer and his first solo platter because both his album and Greeny's "The End Of The Game" elicit something of the same response – reverence and revulsion in equal measure. One man's poison is another man's nectar...

Fans will absolutely have to own this 2020 Expanded Edition CD variant of "The End Of The Game" by Peter Green because of the great new audio, the classy presentation and those four rare bonus cuts. But others might want to nab a listen first before being swayed by nostalgia. I'm off now to play "Then Play On" and restore my faith in him and them...

"Wet Willie/Wet Willie II" by WET WILLIE – August 1971 US Debut LP and August 1972 US Second Studio Albums - Both On Capricorn Records (3 July 2020 UK Beat Goes On Reissue – 2LPs onto 1CD – Andrew Thompson Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

Includes the album "Wet Willie" - US released August 1971 on Capricorn Records SD 861

November 1971 in the UK on Atlantic Records 2400 162

"...Have A Good Time... "

Formed in 1969 and hailing out Mobile, Alabama – WET WILLIE moved to Macon, Georgia in 1970 where they were influenced by and knew people around The Allman Brothers – that good-time Blues Boogie supergroup already signed of course to Capricorn Records – home of all things Southern American Rock.

Taking their name from a prank (and not something ruder my dear) and firmly in the arena of say Grinderswitch or The Marshall Tucker Band, Wet Willie's brand of Blues-infused Swamp Rock 'n' Roll took its time to strike a note with listeners in the USA. Not charting until their third album, and not surprisingly from the live arena where they were best suited - "Drippin Wet/Live" hit the Billboard LP charts in May 1973 and peaking at a modest No.189. With Lynyrd Skynyrd in full flow by 1974 and already onto their fantastic second album "Second Coming" - the one with "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Call Me the Breeze" on it - Wet Willie's next from May 1974 rode the wave of that popularity. Their fourth record - the studio set "Keep On Smilin'" - made them a name in the USA and peaked at No. 41. Never quite huge like their contemporaries in twin-guitars crime - there have, however, been no less than six other albums (including a Greatest Hits set) that charted in the lower end of the US Top 200 after that - right up until 1979. They are still a popular band in the South where Mama likes her Red Hot Chickens and Grits Ain't Groceries...

In the UK, however, Wet Willie meant very little, their debut released November 1971 on an Atlantic Records Plum Label LP with imported US gatefold artwork and (because it sold naught) every album thereafter unreleased in Blighty. You had to seek out "II" as an import and I recall there simply weren't that many copies around at the time. Which brings us here...

This July 2020 digital-twofer from England's Beat Goes On (BGO) goes back to Wet Willie beginnings – the Allmans meets Elvin Bishop groove of the debut LP from 1971 aside its funkier Area Code 615 vs. Little Feat follow-up from 1972 (both on Capricorn Records). Lumped together and remastered onto one generously timed CD, it’s not all genius by any stretch of the imagination (lack of fiery guitars and actual killer tunes), but each LP genuinely has moments well worth savouring and Butterfield-type Harmonica playing that thrills (their second helping very definitely a notch up on the first). Let's get to the details and have a good time...

UK released 3 July 2020 - "Wet Willie/Wet Willie II" by WET WILLIE on Beat Goes on BGOCD 1419 (Barcode 5017261214195) offers 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD and plays out as follows (76:33 minutes):

1. Have A Good Time [Side 1]

2. Dirty Leg

3. Faded Love

4. Spinning Round

5. Low Rider

6. Rock And Roll Band [Side 2]

7. Pieces

8. Shame, Shame, Shame

9. Beggar Song

10. Fool On You

Tracks 1 to 10 are their debut album "Wet Willie" - released August 1971 in the USA on Capricorn Records SD 861 and November 1971 in the UK on Atlantic Records 2400 162 using imported US gatefold cover art. Produced by EDDIE OFFORD - it didn't chart in either country

11. Shout Bamalama [Side 1]

12. Love Made Me

13. Red Hot Chicken

14. It Hurts Me Too

15. Keep A Knockin' [Side 2]

16. Airport

17. Grits Ain't Groceries

18. Shotgun Man

19. Shaggi's Song

Tracks 11 to 19 are their second studio album "Wet Willie II" - released August 1972 in the USA on Capricorn Records CP 0109 (no UK release). Produced by EDDIE OFFORD - it didn't chart

WET WILLIE was:

JIMMY HALL - Vocals, Harmonica, Tenor Sax and Percussion

RICKY HIRSCH - Lead Guitar and Background Vocals

JOHN ANTHONY – Electric Piano, Organ, Piano and Background Vocals

JACK HALL - Bass Guitar and Background Vocals

LEWIS ROSS – Drums and Percussion

WICK LARSEN – Lead and Rhythm Guitars, Acoustic and Moog (2nd LP only)Guests:

Donna Hall – Backing Vocals on "Beggar Song"

Ella Avery - Backing Vocals on "Shout Bamalama"

Susie Storm - Backing Vocals on "Shaggi's Song"

Scott Bayer – Pedal Steel Guitar on "Love Made Me" and "Shaggi's Song"

The card slipcase lends these BGO reissues a feel of class and the 16-page booklet with new NEIL DANIELS liner notes not only provides original artwork, but also gives a full band history including interviews with founder Vocalist and band custodian Jimmy Hall. If I was to criticize, it’s that these liner notes spend more time telling you about the group's history than the actual album's they're reissuing. For instance fellow Birmingham, Alabama songwriter Frank Friedman gave four songs to the debut and would later join Wet Willie - the notes don’t mention this or that his "Beggar Song" (from the debut) was sampled by Jay-Z.

The remasters are by long-standing Audio Engineer ANDREW THOMPSON and while Daniels claims in the liner notes that the audio on the debut is great while the second is a tad lacking (compressed) - I'd argue that it’s the other way around. The debut is a 'getting there/stepping stone' affair and feels ever so slightly clunky. But with EDDIE OFFORD of Yes fame at the Production helm - it still sounds great to me. The funkier follow-up goes up a notch - way better Audio-wise. Sure it feels manic in places - a little rough and loose around the collar, but much better for it - the band playing with conviction and using sexier rhythms and tunes (including some inspired covers). To the music...

A Dr. John piano groove opens "Have A Good Time" - Lead Singer Jimmy Hall advising us to "...forget all your troubles...leave them behind..." Despite some crappy machismo lyrics like "...she don't need to be a beauty queen..." - the second cut "Dirty Leg" introduces some lowdown funky clavinet keyboards - like Foghat had discovered Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" three years before the event. Fellow Alabama songwriter Friedman provides the first of four tunes - a rather sappy piano ballad called "Faded Love" - its title summing up how dated it now feels in 2020. "Spinning Round" is so much better - Hall informing us that even though he's kinda ugly, he's still a ton of fun to be with (great guitar work in this one as it fades out). "Low Rider", "Fool On You" and tunes like "Rock And Roll Band" are ok but reaching - none with a tune that is memorable. Better is "Pieces" where our Southern hero contemplates what he's worth as he looks around at the little he owns. But for me the best cut is the slinky groove achieved in "Beggar Song" - Donna Hall providing subtle background vocals - Wet Willie sounding not unlike England's Snafu all funked up.

Probably short on original tunes, four of the nine on platter number two are covers - a rollicking Side 1 opener in "Shout Bamalama" from Otis Redding, very cool struttin' Blues with "It Hurts Me Too" by Elmore James, the manic Little Richard rocker "Keep A Knockin'" (which I swear England's Fumble nicked note for note for their version on "Poetry In Lotion" album in 1975 on RCA Records) and Titus Turner's "Grits Ain’t Groceries" made famous by Little Milton on Checker in 1968. All great - but my crave is a fantastic instrumental (few vocal shouts) called "Red Hot Chicken" - Hall on Saxophone and Harmonica as the band gets Funky Rock worthy of any Little Feat vs. Area Code 615 jam. It's 4:46 minutes in a 'funky funky' moment in the Rock world that will appeal to Soul boys and dancers alike.

For sure there is a very definite feeling that Wet Willie lacked the sheer musical attack and tunes of Lynyrd Skynyrd or say The Allman Brothers - but Hall and Co. could Paul Butterfield Blues Band with the best of them and that long-standing vibe began here. And the Remasters rock too...

PS: Other BGO Reissues covering WET WILLIE are:

1. Keep On Smilin' (May 1974)/Dixie Rock (March 1975) - 2LPs onto 1CD

Released June 2009 on Beat Goes On BGOCD873 (Barcode 5017261208736)

2. The Wetter The Better (March 1976)/Left Coast Live (May 1977)

Released August 2013 on Beat Goes On BGOCD1087 (Barcode 5017261210876)

3. Mannerisms (January 1978)/Which One's Willie? (May 1979)

Released December 2013 on Beat Goes On BGOCD1133 (Barcode 5017261211330)

Monday 21 September 2020

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. Soldiers Three [Side 1]

2. Murdoch

3. Streets Of Derry

4. Sally Free And Easy

5. Fool [Side 2]

6. Adam's Toon

7. Geordie

8. While The Iron Is Hot

9. Little Sadie

10. Polly On The Shore

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

CD2 BONUS TRACKS (41:59 minutes):

1. Soldiers Three (Remix)

2. Murdoch (Remix)

3. Streets Of Derry (Remix)

4. Fool (Remix)

5. Geordie (Remix)

6. Little Sadie (Remix)

7. Polly On The Shore (Remix)

8. Forest Fire (Original 1971 BBC Recording)

9. Little Black Cloud (1970 Demo)

TREES was:

CELIA HUMPHRIS – Lead Vocals

BARRY CLARKE – Lead and Acoustic Guitars

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

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

(STEPHEN) UNWIN BROWN – Drums, Percussion and Vocals

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

This Review and Over 330 More Available in my E-Book

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CD A (72:53 minutes):

1. Simple Sister [Side 1]

2. Broken Barricades

3. Memorial Drive

4. Luskus Delph

5. Power Failure [Side 2]

6. Song For A Dreamer

7. Playmate Of The Mouth

8. Poor Mohammed

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

BONUS TRACKS:

9. Simple Sister (Raw Track) *

10. Broken Barricades (Long Fade) *

11. Memorial Drive (Early Mix)

12. Memorial Jam

13. Luskus Delpi (Early Version)

14. Power Failure (No Applause)

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

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

17. Poor Mohammed (Backing Track) *

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

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

Live - WPLJ, New York City, 12 April 1971

1. Memorial Drive

2. Still There'll Be More

3. Nothing That I Didn't Know

4. Simple Sister

5. Luskus Delph

6. Shine on Brightly

7. Whaling Stories

8. Broken Barricades

9. Juicy John Pink

10. A Salty Dog

11. Whisky Train

12. Power Failure

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

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

13. Simple Sister

14. Quite Rightly So

15. Broken Barricades

16. Power Failure

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

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

* Not featured in the Sverige Radio Broadcast

1. In The Wee Small Hours Of Sixpence *

2. Still There'll Be More

3. All This And More

4. Quite Rightly So

5. Power Failure

6. Pilgrims Progress

7. Simple Sister

8. Magdalene (My Regal Zonophone)

9. A Salty Dog

10. Repent Walpurgis *

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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