"Rock Festival/Ride The Wind/Good And Dusty" by THE YOUNGBLOODS from 1970 and 1971 (April 2017 Beat Goes On Reissue - 3LPs Remastered onto 2CDs) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Come On People Let Your Light Shine..."

Featuring the albums "Ride The Wind" and "Good And Dusty" from 1971 

Despite releasing seven quality albums between 1967 and 1972 on two huge record labels - RCA Victor and Warner Brothers - New York's 'The Youngbloods' and their principal songwriter Jesse Colin Young never really meant diddlysquat in the UK (where I live). The live albums "Rock Festival" and "Ride The Wind" were both given limited British releases in 1970 and 1971 on those tasty-looking WB Tan labels with the Raccoon Records logo up in the corner – but they elicited no real interest amongst the Blighty buying public - thereby leaving the third studio album disc offered to us here ("Good And Dusty" from late 1971) as a US-only release on original vinyl...

But this rather fabulous and timely reissue by England's Beat Goes On Records seems determined to correct the error of our frankly callous and musically myopic ways. What you get here are the first three of four albums they did with Warner Brothers/Raccoon Records – that trio issued in 1970 and two from 1971. The first and second platters are live sets as already mentioned (the third is studio) with the 2nd LP "Ride The Wind" actually recorded late November 1969 in New York but not released until July 1971.

The opening duo showcase the band in very different styles of play – bopping and ready to boogie like the audience shown on the rear sleeve of "Rock Festival" - while the second is stripped back and more Richie Havens Rock-Soulful Folk-Soul than standard Rock. And stylistically different or not (anyone looking for the 1969 pop hit "Get Together" should look elsewhere) - given the crude technology of the time - both records were expertly recorded even though they are largely live. Their final and fourth album "High On A Ridge Top" on Warner Brothers BS 2653/Raccoon No. 15 from December 1972 is unfortunately outside the remit of this release.

Beautifully remastered onto 2CDs and amped up with a classy card slipcase and expanded booklet - here are the rocky raccoons...

UK and USA released 14 April 2017 - "Rock Festival/Ride The Wind/Good And Dusty" by THE YOUNGBLOODS on Beat Goes On BGOCD 1284 (Barcode 5017261212849) offers 3LPs from 1970 and 1971 Remastered onto 2CDs and plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (57:57 minutes): 

1. It's A Lovely Day [Side 1]

2. Faster All The Time

3. Prelude

4. On Beautiful Lake Spenard

5. Josiane

6. Sea Cow Boogie [Side 2]

7. Fiddler A Dram

8. Misty Roses

9. Interlude

10. Peepin' 'N' Hidin' (Baby What You Want Me To Do)

11. Ice Bag

Tracks 1 to 11 are their fourth album "Rock Festival" – recorded live between March and July 1970 - it was released October 1970 in the USA and December 1970 in the UK - both on Warner Brothers WS 1878/Raccoon No. 1. Produced by BOB MATTHEWS (Engineered by Betty Cantor of Grateful Dead fame) - it peaked at No. 80 in the USA (didn't chart UK).

12. Ride The Wind [Side 1]

13. Sugar Babe

14. Sunlight

Tracks 12 to 14 are Side 1 of their fifth album "Ride The Wind" - released July 1971 (recorded live November 1969) in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2563/Raccoon No. 4 and December 1971 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 46100. Produced by CHARLIE DANIELS - it peaked at No. 157 in the USA (didn't chart UK).

Disc 2 (63:24 minutes):

1. The Dolphin [Side 2]

2. Get Together

3. Beautiful

Tracks 1 to 3 are Side 2 of their fifth album "Ride The Wind" - released July 1971 (recorded live November 1969) in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2563/Racoon No. 4 and December 1971 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 46100. Produced by CHARLIE DANIELS - it peaked at No. 157 in the USA (didn't chart UK).

4. Stagger Lee [Side 1]

5. That's How Strong My Love Is

6. Willie And The Hand Jive

7. Circus Face

8. Hippie From Olema No. 5

9. Good And Dusty

10. Let The Good Times Roll

11. Drifting And Drifting [Side 2]

12. Pontiac Blues

13. Moonshine In The Sunshine

14. Will The Circle Be Unbroken

15. I'm A Hog For You Baby

16. Light Shine

Tracks 4 to 16 are their sixth (fifth studio) album "Good And Dusty" - released December 1971 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2566/Raccoon No. 9. No producer listed - it peaked at No. 160 in the USA (no UK release).

THE YOUNGBLOODS on all three albums were:

JESSIE COLIN YOUNG - Lead Vocals, Guitars, Bass and Kazoo

LOWELL 'Banana' LEVINGER - Guitars and Piano

JOE BAUER - Drums

EARTHQUAKE ANDERSON - Harmonica (only on "Good And Dusty")

MICHAEL KANE - Bass, French Horn, Vocals, Cornet (only on "Good And Dusty")

The card-slipcase adds a classy feel to the release (standard these last few years with BGO reissues) and the 12-page booklet features original album credits and a new appraisal of their legacy by noted Music Historian JOHN O'REGAN. He discusses their '67 to '72 recordings - post 80's and 90's reunions and Jessie Colin Young's subsequent solo career in Country Music - there's even the lyrics to the brilliant "Ride The Wind" live set and some black and white photos of the three and four-piece line-ups looking young, cheerful and waving enthusiastically at their adoring audience.

But the really big news here is superlative new Audio Transfers from licensed WEA tapes by BGO's resident Engineer ANDREW THOMPSON. I'm always wary of live sets especially from the Sixties and early Seventies where sound was problematical to say the least. Yet both of these sets and especially the Charlie Daniels Produced "Ride The Wind" LP have a clarity that defies their age big time. The studio album "Good And Dusty" is superb too and on tracks like the beautiful "Light Shine" (a return to the glory of the "Get Together" melody) – it’s spectacular. Let's get to the music...

Although "Rock Festival" is supposedly a 'live' LP of new material recorded at various venues like 'The Family Dog' in San Francisco and 'Barn' in Santa Clara - it's clear to me that the lead-off song "It's A Lovely Day" is a studio cut provided by Jessie Colin Young. Warner Brothers tried its pretty melody as a 45 in May 1971 with the LP finisher "Ice Bag" on the flipside - but Warner Brothers 7499/Raccoon S 4 didn't trouble too many charts (its UK equivalent on Warner Brothers K 16098 fared the same). While "Faster All The Time" is a good Levinger bopper - the one-minute "Prelude" and the near six-minutes of the keyboard instrumental "On Beautiful Lake Spenade" both feel like ambling wastes of time. Things improve with Colin Young's "Josiane" – another warm melody that I can’t help but feel should have been a studio cut. "Sea Cow Boogie" turns out to be 20-seconds of Bass-playing nonsense leading into a leery version of the Traditional boozing shanty "Fiddler A Dram". Saving the day comes a warmly recorded cover of Tim Hardin's "Misty Roses" - sung by Colin Young - it's a tiny bit hissy but incredibly intimate and touching in a way that none of the prior tracks do (first decent crown response too). Banjos ahoy for Banana’s "Interlude" – a two-minute instrumental that actually works. As if arriving from another album or a boisterous Chicken Shack gig over in London – they then offer us a Harmonica-warbling cover of Jimmy Reed’s "Peepin..." – great fun but wildly out of place with the rest of the record. We then go discordant Trout Mask Replica Captain Beefheart with two minutes of strained nonsense called "Ice Bag".

After the ragbag that is "Rock Festival" – the six long workouts of "Ride the Wind" come as a welcome relief. As I’ve already said – the second live record is more Rock-Soulful than standard Rock. Young singing, Banana hitting the keys, Bass solos that Funk with the drums – it feels like Richie Havens scatting in front of an appreciative crowd with a hip band of likeminded musicians backing him up. They deconstruct their own songs and offer them up in Funky new incarnations - the Fred Neil masterpiece "Dolphins" gets a moody work over too as does their sunshine slice of Sixties gloriana "Get Together". In my mind the album is the very definition of lost classic - and that Charlie Daniels Production is incredible - each keyboard note and cymbal tap leaping out of your speakers with clarity that defies its age. And Young's singing enters another place - Soulful as well as melodious. Hell - there are times when the finisher "Beautiful" feels like Phil Upchurch live on funky guitar with Al Kooper singing out front - Young urging the people to feel beautiful and reach out (yeah baby). 

Excepting four originals - "Hippie From Olema No. 5" by Lowell 'Banana' Levinger (it's actually a close re-write of Merle Haggard's "Okie From Muskogee"), "Good And Dusty" by all four members of the band and two Jessie Collin Young entries in "Drifting And Drifting" and the lovely single "Light Shine" - the other nine tracks on the "Good And Dusty" studio album are all cover versions. Most are old Blues & R&B Classics - Lloyd Price's rabble-rouser "Stagger Lee" - the gorgeous pleading Soul of Roosevelt Jamison's "That's How Strong My Love Is" made famous by O.V. Wright and Otis Redding (a genuine highlight on here) - the Coasters Leiber & Stoller winner "I'm A Hog For You Baby" - Sonny Boy Williamson's Chess brawler "Pontiac Blues" - Leonard Lee's "Let The Good Times Roll" made famous by Louis Jordan - the spiritual "Will The Circle Be Unbroken" in shimmering Staple Singers style - all rounded off with a sneaky take on the saucy "Willie And The Hand Jive" made infamous by Johnny Otis.

On top of all that is "Moonshine Is The Sunshine" - a Jeffery Cain song that initially turned up on his debut LP "For You" in 1970 on Warner Brothers WS 1880. All three of The Youngbloods had played on that album - only the second LP on the Raccoon Label imprint - and they repaid him by covering his song here. The other goodun on here is Carol Miller's lovely ballad "Circus Face" - Banana playing that Mandola so sweetly (I'm amazed this hasn't been covered more). The album's best moment comes last with Colin Young's lovely "Light Shine". Warner Brothers tried it as a 45 in March 1972 with the equally Soulful "Will The Circle Ever Be Broken" on the flipside - but despite the French horns, sweet guitar picking melody and the overall strength of both sides - Warner Brothers WB 7563 did no business.

As "Light Shine" plays out this gorgeous-sounding twofer - you're left with an abiding impression that even though some of the material isn't blazing and brilliant like the sun (that first album isn’t great) - there's an awful lot of genuine musical sunshine on these three albums that we clearly missed out on. More importantly The Youngbloods and their Warner Brothers output warrants a return to in 2017.

Well done to BGO for getting this wee lysergic Rock-Soulful nugget out there. "Good And Dusty" indeed...

"Every Good Boy Deserves Favour" by THE MOODY BLUES (April 2007 Universal/Decca/Threshold SACD-Hybrid Disc Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...One More Time To Live..."

As a newcomer suffers through the of-its-time near five-minute opener "Procession" with its monosyllabic three-point history of music (desolation, creation and communication are the only words doomily chanted throughout) - in the cold and brutal hindsight of 2017 those new ears might wonder how in God's name did July 1971's "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour" by The Moody Blues go to No.1 in the UK and No. 2 in the USA – and stay on both charts for months on end? 46 years after the event – this prettily packaged album is of its time indeed and maybe it should stay there, mate...

But then the fantastically guitar-hooky single "The Story In Your Eyes" kicks in - which in turn is followed by the cleverly layered "Our Guessing Game" and the melodic sweep of "Emily's Song" and even a newbee will begin to get it. Their seventh studio album was the Brummie Boys hitting something of an artistic peak – embracing the huge and complexity - leaving behind the Sixties and lashing into the musically adventurous new decade – the Seventies.

And this beautifully rendered 2007 Universal/Decca/Threshold 'Expanded SACD 5.1 Hybrid Disc Reissue' of that fondly remembered album only hammers that home. You get both the Stereo album and a 5.1 Surround Mix on the same disc and when you listen to that huge band crescendo that ends "After You Came" or the majestic keyboard build up in "One More Time To Live" - you also realise why people rave about good mastering and sympathetic transfers (band songwriter Justin Hayward is joined by a group of three renowned Engineers for this project). Here are the very favourable details...

UK released April 2007 - "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour" by THE MOODY BLUES on Universal/Decca/Threshold 984 550-6 (Barcode 602498455067) is a 'Expanded SACD 5.1 Hybrid Disc Reissue' with two layers - a Stereo Remaster and 5.1 Surround Sound Mix supplemented with Two Previously Unreleased Bonus Tracks (Session Outtakes). It plays out as follows (47:33 minutes):

1. Procession [Side 1]

2. The Story In Your Eyes

3. Our Guessing Game

4. Emily's Song

5. After You Came

6. One More Time To Live [Side 2]

7. Nice To Be Here

8. You Can Never Go Home

9. My Song

Tracks 1 to 9 are their seventh studio album "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour" - released 23 July 1971 in the UK and USA on Threshold Records THS 5 (same catalogue number for both country). Produced by TONY CLARKE (Engineered by Derek Varnals) - the album peaked at No. 1 in the UK and No. 2 in the USA.

BONUS TRACKS (Previously Unreleased):

10. The Story In Your Eyes (Original Version)

11. The Dreamer

THE MOODY BLUES was:

JUSTIN HAYWARD - Lead Vocals and Guitar

JOHN LODGE - Bass and Vocals

RAY THOMAS - Flute, Harmonica, Percussion and Vocals

MIKE PINDER - Keyboards and Vocals

GRAEME EDGE - Drums

Unusual for an SACD Reissue - "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour" comes in a card digipak – a tactile pleasure that repro's the gorgeous Phil Travers artwork of the original 1971 LP on Threshold Records (the Moodies own label). You don’t get the mottled effect of the actual album cover – but its close enough. Inside the left flap is a 20-page oversized booklet with new liners notes from MARK POWELL - a hugely respected force in quality reissues who runs the revered Prog/Avant Garde reissue label Esoteric Recordings for Cherry Red and is listed here as 'researcher, compiler and producer' of this lovely 2008 version. The swirling, dancing faces of the inner gatefold artwork is reproduced on Pages 2 and 3 - the lyrics are on Pages 14 to 17 (an insert on the original UK LP and an inner bag on US copies) and it ends with compiler notes about the four-speaker Quadrophonic Tapes used to construct the 5.1 Surround Mix (approved by Justin Hayward and John Lodge).

Their transformation away from British R&B band into International Mellotron Prog Rock flag-holders is discussed in detail - as are the first two years of the Seventies where three successful tours began to see them become huge in America and a major chart presence there. The cohesion of "A Question Of Balance" LP from 1970 (a whole album that could be reproduced live on stage for US audiences) was essentially continued for 1971's "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour". There are colour photos, a foreign picture sleeve for "The Story In Your Eyes" with "My Song" on the flipside and period snaps of the boys looking suitably perplexed and physically jetlagged. But the big news here is the AUDIO...

ALBERTO PARODI and JUSTIN HAYWARD did the STEREO Mix for the album from original Master Tapes at Logical Box Studios in Genova, Italy - while the 5.1 SURROUND SOUND Mix was reconstructed from original Decca Quadrophonic Master Tapes by PASCHAL BYRNE and MARK POWELL at The Audio Archiving Company in London (Bonus Tracks remastered by Paschal Byrne). Always a well-produced near-Audiophile band - the combined talents of all these Engineers has brought huge presence to these songs.

Focusing on exceptional remaster moments - that piano intro to "Our Guessing Game" is beautifully clear - the acoustic guitars that open the lone contribution from drummer Graeme Edge "After You Came" are full - as are the combined wall of voices that give us its 'I've been doing my best' chorus. John Lodge offers the very Simon & Garfunkel beauty of "Emily's Song" and the flute acoustic ballad "One More Time To Live" - sweeping organ builds as it accompanies acoustic guitars and voices that sooth with "...for I have riches more than these..." The second Ray Thomas track "Nice To Be Here" has always been a bit too childlike for my tastes (Jack Rabbit and Daffodils) but fans will find that the bass and acoustic guitars are sweetly transferred. Justin Hayward gives us the superb bombast of "You Can Never Go Home" that’s now even more epic.

The 'love with all your might' song "My Song" from Michael Pinder ends the album with Mellotrons, gently plucked guitars and harps - getting a bit Genesis in that brilliant heavy breathing mid section. The two bonus tracks will please fans no end – recorded in November 1970 before they departed for yet another US Tour – the original version of Justin Hayward’s "The Story In Your Eyes" is essentially the band live in the studio. A spoken one-two count-in and that great guitar riff excites again – even coming with an extended solo in its 3:30 minutes. The Hayward/Thomas composition "The Dreamer" was recorded 9 November 1970 and promptly forgotten about for 35 years until research for this reissue located its dusty and unloved box. Called a 'work in progress' because it clearly needed further polishing – "The Dreamer" nonetheless has enough of a finished feel to it to warrant calling this session outtake a bit of a find...

To sum up – "Every Good Boy Deserves A Favour" by The Moody Blues is a beloved album around the world and its most definitely been given a very tasty 2007 sonic do-over here (both mixes gleaming).

"...Lovely to know the warmth your smile can bring to me..." – Hayward sings on the hopeful "Emily's Song". Well I’d say the favour has been returned...

"Patto" by PATTO (April 2017 Esoteric Recordings 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster with Three Bonus Tracks) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Every Little Thing You Need..."

The album "Patto" by PATTO was released February 1971 in the USA on Vertigo

In truth I stumbled on Patto's guitar-player Ollie Halsall via Kevin Ayers. I was in a Dublin Record shop on Grafton Street in late 1974 - the kind of progressive chart store that used to remainder and cheap albums that hadn't sold due to artist obscurity or lack of interest or they were just plain crap. I'd pick up amazing off-the-beaten-track goodies in there like Greenslade on Warner Brothers, Todd Rundgren on Bearsville and Audience on Charisma.

One day I stumbled on the utterly extraordinary Kevin Ayers album "The Confessions Of Dr. Dream And Other Stories" – his first for Island Records after a four-LP stint with Harvest. I took my two-quid deal home and although I hated/didn't understand the record at first - it began to grow on me to a point where it soon became indispensable (I reviewed the Peter Mew remastered CD of it a few years back). But what kept me listening initially was the pyrotechnic guitar playing of one 'Ollie Halsall' on the track "Didn't Feel Lonely Till I Thought Of You" - the kind of axe-work that makes your head spin. If you backtrack you come to his former band – the obscure and criminally forgotten PATTO...

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 which was a minor hit - a cover of The Four Seasons "Beggin'" that peaked at a lowly 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 knob. 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 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.

Which brings us to this long-overdue and superbly presented 'Expanded Edition' single CD Remaster of their self-titled debut album from England's Esoteric Recordings. Here are the screaming spirals...

UK released Friday, 28 April 2017 (5 May 2017 in the USA) - "Patto" by PATTO on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2581 (Barcode 5013929468146) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster of their 1970 Debut LP on Vertigo Records with Three Bonus Tracks added on and plays out as follows (69:41 minutes):

1. The Man [Side 1]

2. Hold Me Back

3. Time To Die

4. Red Glow

5. San Antone [Side 2]

6. Government Man

7. Money Bag

8. Sittin' Back Easy

Tracks 1 to 8 are their debut album "Patto" - released November 1970 in the UK on Vertigo 6360 016 and February 1971 in the USA on Vertigo VEL-1001. Produced by MUFF WINWOOD - it didn't chart in either country.

BONUS TRACKS:

9. Hanging Rope

Track 9 recorded & Mixed at Island Studios, London, 16 July 1970 – first appeared as an outtake in 2004 on the reissue of the album by Repertoire (REPUK 1025)

10. Love Me

11. Government Man

Tracks 10 and 11 recorded 3 November 1970 for the BBC Radio One program "Sounds Of The 70t's" – exclusively licensed and Previously Unreleased

The 16-page booklet is festooned with ticket stubs, trade adverts, gig flyers, the Tony Benyon pencil cartoons on the inner gatefold of Vertigo 6360 016, black and white band photos from the period and even has an advert plugging the first two albums issued on Vertigo in the USA in February 1971 – Jimmy Campbell’s "Half Baked" on Vertigo VER-1000 and Patto's self-titled debut on Vertigo VER-1001. Some of the early photos and promotional snaps in the booklet smartly feature TIMEBOX in their 60ts glory while one of the gig ads sees PATTO share an unlikely bill with Shakin' Stevens & The Sunsets at Wardour Street's 'Temple' venue in London's Soho. More encouraging is sharing a Chalk Farm's Roundhouse line-up with The Who, Elton John and a new Warner Brothers signing called America. There are detailed and informative liner notes from noted writer SID SMITH too that feature reminiscences from drummer John Halsey about the band and the sadly passed Halsall (he died in 1992).

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. But this amazingly is the first time a British label has had a go – Cherry Red’s Esoteric Recordings. And they've done a typically bang up job - especially on the audio front with a new Remaster from original tapes by Audio Engineer BEN WISEMAN – someone who has handled loads of these Reissues. The opening track "The Man" is a slow Rock builder - the kind of tune Free would have punched out of the park circa 1970's "Fire And Water" LP. Mike Patto's impassioned vocals build as Halsall licks away on the guitar. It's a hard song to transfer with any real power - and yet without trebling the thing out of existence - the audio on this sucker alone is worth the price of admission.

A word about the music – although the Vertigo Label was largely associated with all things Prog Rock - until the very trippy guitar-workout of the near eleven-minute "Money Bag" over on Side 2 – in fact "Patto" the album is way more Humble Pie than May Blitz. Most of the record feels like Hard Rock – its even Bluesy in places. In fact sandwiched between the angry social-conscience lyrics of "Government Man" and the Free-sounding riffage of "Sittin' Back Easy" – the track "Money Bag" seems wildly out of place – almost like its been transported in from another world entirely.

That doesn’t mean the music or the whole LP is lesser for it – its not. The album's wonderful opener "The Man" was featured on Disc 2 of 2005's "Time Machine" 3CD Vertigo Spiral Retrospective Box Set from Universal - a slow burning builder that feels epic and cool too. The rock swagger of "Hold Me Back" would do Grand Funk proud - while the Acoustic-delicate opening of "Time To Die" feels like the kind of song Marriott would have done on Immediate Records with late Sixties Small Faces or Humble Pie's 1969 output - "As Safe As Yesterday" and "Town And Country" again on Immediate Records before they signed to A&M. "Red Glow" ends Side 1 on a fabulous Rock chugger where Mike Patto sounds like Mike Harrison of Spooky Tooth getting his teeth into a neck-jerking groove while Halsall lets rip with brilliant rocking guitar. The album's Prog moments arrive as Jazz vibes introduced towards the end of "Government Man" literally lead into the near ten-minutes of "Money Bag" - an instrumental that lets Halsall indulge in his inner John McLaughlin for what seems like half-a-year. I’ve always found this meandering track difficult to take – but there’s no mistaking his playing that at times feels like Jeff Beck five years before he did "Blow By Blow". Song normality returns with "Sittin' Back Easy" where a slow beginning then rips into Family-type Rock with Mike Patto actually sounding a little like Roger Chapman. And those wanting more of Ollie Halsall and his guitar should check out Boxer and Tempest.

I wasn't expecting much of the Bonus Tracks - but Fusion and Ollie Halsall admirers will be in Seventh Heaven here. "Hanging Rope" clocks in at a huge 14:49 minutes and is similar to the Side 2 oddity "Money Bag". With some minor Roger Chapman-esque vocals from Mike Patto halfway in – it's mostly instrumental – Halsall soloing away on Guitar while cymbals clash and a Bass goes Miles Davis on proceedings. Musically it feels like Family have discovered Jazz and gone off on a Fusion wig out. I know it was on the 2004 CD reissue from Repertoire – but it's the first time I've ever heard it – and what a find. "Love Me" is PATTO as a Jazz-Prog band - eight-minutes of Vibes, Bass and Mike singing 'love me as i would love you'. An almost after-hours barroom vibe comes over in the BBC Session version of "Government Man" - it's good rather than being great and isn't a patch on the album's studio cut. But fans will welcome it.

1970's "Patto" is a genuine rarity LP given a properly decent CD reissue here - great audio, better presentation and genuinely complimentary bonuses. Well done to all the cats at Esoteric Recordings for putting it out there again and honouring Halsall's recorded legacy in such style...

PS: PATTO CD Reissues...

Also reissued in 28 April 2017 is their second Vertigo vinyl platter from November 1971 called "Hold Your Fire" - but as a 2CD 'Expanded Edition Remaster' with 13 Bonus Tracks (Esoteric ECLEC 22582 - Barcode 5013929468245). 26 May 2017 will then see their aborted fourth album recorded in 1973 called "Monkey's Bum" reissued by Esoteric and again as an 'Expanded Edition' CD (Esoteric ECLEC 2587). 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 of the band...

"The Works 1969-1971: Albums, Demos, BBC Sessions and Live Recordings" by PRINCIPAL EDWARDS MAGIC THEATRE (April 2017 Cherry Red Records 3CD Mini Box Set) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Amused The Magic Throng..."

You have to love John Peel. Named after a batty relative of the percussionist Lyn Edwards (Lyn is pictured furthest to the right on the back cover of the "Soundtrack" LP) - Principle Edwards Magic Theatre were the first act signed in early 1969 to the witty DJ's new record label - Dandelion Records. And you have to wonder was Peely (and all 14 of the ensemble for that matter) on mushrooms not necessarily destined for tins of Heinz Soup. Re-listening to this music in April 2017 and it's bleeding obvious that this group stood no chance of chart success. Or maybe that was the point…

Part theatre, part Prog, part Folk Rock – PEMT incorporated all that was counter-culture in those halcyon years - hippy-lore, eastern mysticism, tie-dye shirts and dollops of ancient literature. Their sound was a hybrid of The Incredible String Band and Curved Air – a sort of Prog variant of Folk-Rock with a woman out front singing ponderous lyrics about rhododendrons in your midst while rainbow bridges lead to giants and interlunar caves (don't you just hate that). Musically it's like Traffic, The Amazing Blondel and Quintessence engaged in a summer solstice threesome at the foot of Stonehenge and nine months later (on a full moon of course) – a lovechild is brought forth that none of them know what to do with (yikes).

For sure PEMT will not be for everyone (critics of the time called them naïve at best and pretentious at worst) - but those who do love their mishmash sound married to theatrical visuals will have to get their grubby mitts on this wicked new release from those champions of all things eclectic and awkward - Cherry Red Records. They've done this most British of bands a proper solid and of course for Pink Floyd fans - there's the tie-in of Nick Mason on album No. 2. Here are the enigmatic insomniac machines (and that's just Side 1 of the first album)...

UK released Friday, 14 April 2017 (21 April 2017 in the USA) - "The Works 1969-1971: Albums, Demos, BBC Sessions and Live Recordings" by PRINCIPAL EDWARDS MAGIC THEATRE on Cherry Red Records CDTRED 704 (Barcode 5013929170438) is a Remastered 3CD set housed in a card slipcase (three card sleeves and a booklet) that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 - "Soundtrack" - 53:32 minutes:

1. Enigmatic Insomniac Machine [Side 1]

2. Sacrifice

3. The Death Of Don Quixote

4. Third Sonnet To Sundry Notes Of Music [Side 2]

5. To A Broken Guitar

6. Pinky: A Mystery Cycle

Tracks 1 to 6 are their debut album "Soundtrack" - released August 1969 in the UK on Dandelion Records S 63752 and Elektra Records D9-103 in the USA. The US album featured a 'face' as its artwork - that shot is used as Page 1 of the booklet.

BONUS TRACKS:

7. Ballad (Of The Big Girl Now And The Mere Boy)

8. Lament For The Earth

Tracks 7 and 8 are both non-album tracks - their debut UK 7" single on Dandelion Records 4406 released July 1969

Disc 2 - "The Asmoto Running Band" - 40:24 minutes:

Side Three/The Asmoto Side

1. McAlpine's Dream [Side 1]

2. McAlpine Versus The Asmoto

3. The Asmoto Running Band (Hou'Amih)

4. Asmoto Celebration

5. Further Asmoto Celebration (After The Ball)

Side Four/The Gambini Side

6. Total Glycerol Esther [Side 2]

7. Freef ('R) All

8. Autumn Lady Dancing Song

9. The Kettering Song

10. Weirdsong Of Breaking Through At Last

Tracks 1 to 10 are their 2nd studio album "The Asmoto Running Band" - released January 1971 in the UK on Dandelion Records DAN 8002 (no USA issue). The album was produced by NICK MASON of PINK FLOYD.

Disc 3 - "Hidden Treasure: Sessions, Live and Demos" - 74:06 minutes:

1. The Ballad (Of The Big Girl Now And The Mere Boy) - Top Gear, 1969

2. Third Sonnet To Sundry Notes Of Music - Top Gear, 1969

3. Pinky: A Mystery Cycle - Top Gear, 1969

Tracks 1 to 3 recorded 24 February 1969 at the BBC for the John Peel 'Top Gear' Show - broadcast 3 March 1969. Taken from an off-air recording made by Eddy Duffy

4. King Of The - Top Gear, 1970

5. The Fortieth Day Of Winter - Top Gear, 1970

Tracks 4 and 5 recorded at the BBC 13 January 1970 for John Peel's 'Top Gear' Show - broadcast 17 Jan 1970 - taken from Original Master Tapes

6. Vollabast

7. Two Women

8. Weasel (In The Wardrobe)

9. Scarlett HalfMan

10. The Egg And The Antrobus

Tracks 6 to 10 recorded live at Hampstead Theatre in the UK, September 1971 - tapes transferred and mixed by Richard Jones

11. Rainy Day Anne

12. Dear John & Mary (A State Of Affairs)

13. Ministry Of Madness

Tracks 11 to 13 are demos recorded at Morgan Studios in London, October 1971 - supervised by Nick Mason of Pink Floyd.

Tracks 4 to 13 are all PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED

PRINCIPAL EDWARDS MAGIC THEATRE was:

VIVIENNE McAULIFFE and MARTIN STELLMAN – Lead Vocals and Recorders

ROOT CARTWRIGHT – Guitars, Recorders and Bass Guitar

BELINDA 'BINDY' BOURQUIN – Violin, Recorder, Piano and Organ

JEREMY ENSOR – Bass

DAVID JONES – Percussion (and Lyrics)

LYN EDWARDS - Percussion

ROGER SWALLOW – Drums on "The Asmoto Running Band" only

Associated:

Dan Leatherbarrow - Lyrics (Tracks 3 and 5 on Disc 2)

Monica Nettles – Dancer and Speaking Voice

John McMahon Hill – Dancer

Eva Darlow – Dancer

Gillian Hadlev – Choreography and Writer

Leslie Adley – Lights

Harry Housman – Stage, Road Manager and Designer

Christopher Runciman – Lights

Chrissie Morris – Lightshows and Effects

Terry Budd – Drums on Track 7, Disc 3

Beth Wood – Vocals and Recorder on Track 6, Disc 3 – Violin on Track 9

Joe Read – Bass Guitar and Recorder on Track 7, Disc 3

You get three single card sleeves slotted inside a card slipcase with a 20-page booklet sat alongside them. The first two card sleeves show the front and rear artwork for "Soundtrack" from 1969 and their second studio platter from early 1971 - "The Asmoto Running Band" – both on Dandelion Records. Fans will know they were originally gatefold sleeves on vinyl and carried lyric inserts so Cherry Red have reproduced the lyrics and the booklet's first page carries the different 'face' artwork of the USA issue for "Soundtrack" on Elektra Records – nice touches and attention to detail. The third CD uses a period black and white photo of their stage show as its artwork – while MIKE BARNES provides the in-depth liner notes that include interviews with keeper of the flame – Root Cartwright. And all three CDs are picture discs. It's all very tastefully done.

The audio is down to ALAN WILSON – and it's very pretty indeed. While some passages feature whig-out guitars – a lot of it is Trippy Acoustic veering into Folk-Rock so benefits from a good transfer and that's what you get. Some of the tracks on Disc 3 are ropey for sure but are here for obvious reasons - rarity value (previously unreleased). Let's get to the music...

Their debut album "Soundtrack" had only six tracks - three to either side - each half of the record dominated by one long track. "Enigmatic Insomniac Machine" starts proceedings with a flute, acoustic guitars and light marching percussion - like Tyrannosaurus Rex about to take a tab of acid and want to rock. You immediately notice Vivienne McAuliffe's voice that is akin to Bridget St. John (another Dandelion folky worth checking out – see separate review) or Sonja Christina of Curved Air. She starts rattling off lyrics about a mascara man who doesn't understand that she can't sleep for worry about the world. Things turn decidedly Heavy Prog Rock with the guitar riffage opening of "Sacrifice" - but it soon settles down into a more Folk-Rock amble with the droning voice of the band's other singer - Martin Stellman - soon joined by McAuliffe. Unfortunately its obvious why Vivienne is given the bulk of the singing chores - Stellman's voice is the kind of deadpan hippy drone that might induce a stoning from a less than sympathetic audience. The song is good though and has interesting stoner parts towards the end. The staggeringly wordy "The Death Of Don Quixote" is a near fourteen-minute Folk-Rock tour de force - violin, voice, acoustic guitar and words - pages of them. You could leave – paint the front room – and when you return – Vivienne will still be singing about a pleased witch in a mill in a tone that you suspect says she approves (Peel even gets a line himself).

Shakespeare provides the lyrics for "Third Sonnet To Sundry Notes Of Music” where its duet vocals and generally hippy nature is saving by a wicked rocking guitar break half way through the monk-like chants and ye olde wordage. "To A Broken Guitar" is a short acoustic ode from Cartwright and Leatherbarrow to their instrument of choice. The guitar work in the 10-minute "Pinky: A Mystery Cycle" is superb and will raise a chill amongst collectors – but it's partially negated by a spoken ending from Vivienne that unintentionally verges on the laugh-out-loud. The two non-album single sides are very hippy Folk of the period (pretty and ponderous) and collectors will appreciate their presence here. To sum up - the debut LP is a typically eclectic start – part loveable, part cack.

The second album "The Asmoto Running Band" brought on board two heavyweights in different departments – Hipgnosis did the cover art while Nick Mason of Pink Floyd fame did the Production. The Drummer Roger Swallow - who did stints with Harsh Reality, Matthews Southern Comfort and would later be with The Albion Country Band – also joined the ranks for album number two - even bringing the excellent "Freef ('R) All" track with him as collateral. The moment you play "McAlpine’s Dream" you hear the upgraded sound – Vivienne and Martin voices clear while the recorders get all fairy-lore on our ears. The largely instrumental "McAlpine Versus The Asmoto" shows amazing maturity in their compositions and playing – part Captain Beefheart, part Flock – all crooked pianos and violins one moment – then beauty the next (and the Audio is fantastic too). Other Prog-leaning winners include "Asmoto Celebration" and the undeniably pretty "The Kettering Man" which is heading towards Mellow Candle in its complex beauty. The second album is an unsung hero in their catalogue and its cool to hear it sound so good here.

The three Top Gear tracks from 1969 are acoustic and live - the audio good rather than being great - a few clicks and pops here and there. "Ballad..." is introduced as the new single and they sound like Sandy Denny doing a Demo. The Shakespeare poem 'Third Sonnet' is given an acoustic going over too with both vocalists. Far better sonically is "King Of The" and "The Fortieth Day Of Winter" from 1970 - taken from real tapes - Martin Stellman (unfortunately) taking lead vocals on both where PEMT sound like a lighter version of "This Was" Jethro Tull. "Vollabast" turns out to be six minutes of Funky keyboards against a very Prog backdrop. But the big prize here is the 13-minute "Weasel (In The Wardrobe)" - Duncan Browne sounding Spanish acoustic guitar carrying Vivienne McAuliffe and more pages of words. Best amongst the demos is "Rainy Day Anne" which shows a more Steeleye Span direction.

Principal Edwards Magic Theatre will not be for everyone by any stretch of the imagination and some of those early hippy incantations might bring some rockers out in a rash that not even real ale will cure. But amidst all of that loopy ensemble Folk Rock and somewhere in those Prog theatrical flourishes lies beauty and daring. And reissue hero Cherry Red is to be praised for putting all that Kettering quackery back out there and in such style too...

"Fireball: 25th Anniversary Edition" by DEEP PURPLE from 1971 (October 1996 EMI 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue – Peter Mew/Roger Glover Remaster/Remix) - A Review by Mark Barry...

This Review Along With 240 Others Is Available In My

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"…Everything's Good…Everything's Fine…"

There can’t be many men of a certain age who look at the cover of this album with our five hairy reprobates fireballing it upwards into some kind of galactic Hard Rock nirvana beyond – and feel a warm glow of riffage coming over their pacemakers. Deep Purple’s “Fireball” – even the name makes me tingle. And this rather cool and cheap little CD reissue featuring the classic Mark II line-up of the band will only make that itch to annoy the neighbours even more tempting. Let’s detail the stubborn mule, the judge’s daughter and the demon’s eye…

UK released October 1996 - "Fireball: 25th Anniversary Edition" by DEEP PURPLE on EMI CDDEEPP 2 (Barcode 724385371127) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue and Remaster that plays out as follows (78:46 minutes): 

1. Fireball [Side 1]

2. No No No

3. Demon's Eye

4. Anyone's Daughter

5. The Mule [Side 2]

6. Fools

7. No One Came

Tracks 1 to 7 make up the studio album "Fireball" - originally released September 1971 in the UK on Harvest SHVL 793 and August 1971 in the USA on Warner Brothers BS 2564 with a different track list on Side 1. Replacing "Demon's Eye" as track 3 is "Strange Kind Of Woman" – a song that was issued only as a 7" single in the UK on Harvest HAR 5033 in February 1971 (see also 9 for its non-album B-side).

BONUS TRACKS: 

8. Strange Kind Of Woman - A-Side Remix 96

9. I'm Alone – the non-album B-side of "Strange Kind Of Woman" released as a 7" single in the UK 12 February 1971 on Harvest HAR 5033

10. Freedom – an Album outtake

11. Slow Train – an Album outtake

12. Demon's Eye (Remix 96)

13. "The Noise Abatement Society Tapes – Midnight In Moscow, Robin Hood, William Tell"

14. Fireball Take 1 (Instrumental)

15. Backwards Piano

16. No One Came (Remix 96)

With a total playing time of 78:46 minutes – you certainly get value for money and the outer stippled-effect card slipcase mimics the feel of the original gatefold album cover (a nice touch). The 28-page booklet is jam-packed with insider info and track-by-track reminiscences from vocalist Ian Gillan, Jon Lord, Roger Glover and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. There are superb foreign picture sleeves, in the studio photos and even Glover’s hand-drawn original artwork ideas. All of it is held together with enthusiastic liners notes from SIMON ROBINSON with involvement from the DPAS (Deep Purple Appreciation Society). Rather oddly though for such a thorough release – UK and American copies of the original vinyl LP came with a gatefold lyric insert which isn’t reproduced here…

But that niggle aside - the big news here is a fantastic new remaster done by tape supremo PETER MEW (with care) at Abbey Road that thrashes the horrible Eighties CD fans have had to live with for years now. This disc rocks with real muscle and clarity. And the extras are actually worthy of the moniker ‘bonus’.

With only seven tracks and some of them soft in the centre (“Fools”) – the press reaction wasn’t all favourable despite the album’s rapid assent to Number 1 on the UK charts in September 1971 and a healthy Number 30 placing in the USA. No matter what the critics thought – fans of Mark II Deep Purple have always loved it – sandwiched between the barnstorming “In Rock” from 1970 and the accomplished “Machine Head” in 1972.

It opens with a total barnstormer – the title track “Fireball” – hitting you with the rampant Hard Rock impact of “Immigrant Song” on Side 1 of 1970’s “Led Zeppelin III”. Not surprising then that their seventh UK single saw ”Fireball” released 25 October 1971 on Harvest HAR 5045 with the album’s “Demon’s Eye” on its B-side. I love “Demon’s Eye” – a great Purple song with that funky Rock swagger they had. “No No No” has that same sexy feel while the naughty lyrics to “Anyone’s Daughter” has always brought a smile to my face (“hairy bums”). 

Side 2 opens with the trademark slashing of Blackmore on “The Mule” before it settles down into a keyboard/guitar duo groove. And although it divided people on release – I like the way “Fools” slows down into an almost operatic centrepiece before returning to the opening riff. The album ends with “No One Came” – a thudding Purple tune with Gillian letting it rip vocally. The two album outtakes “Freedom” and “Slow Train” are shockingly good and why they weren’t used as a B-side to say “Fireball” is anyone’s guess. The “Noise Abatement Tapes” is an instrumental amble with witty inclusions of Robin Hood and William Tell. The ’96 remixes of “Strange Kind Of Woman” and “No One Came” don’t do too much altering damage – just giving extra muscle to the overall sonic impact. Nice…

The Purps – don’t you just love ‘em. “Man you’re music is really hot!” Gillan jokes on “No One Came”. Yet it was – and now it’s even better…