"Outlaws/Lady In Waiting" by THE OUTLAWS – July 1975 US Debut Album and April 1976 US Second Album on Arista Records – featuring Billy Jones, Hughie Thomasson, Henry Paul, Frank O’Keefe and Monte Yoho with Guests John David Souther and Joe Lala (October 2008 Germany and January 2009 UK SPV/Yellow Label Reissue – 2LPs onto 2CDs – Roger Lomas Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Stick Around For Rock And Roll..."

As a Seventies teenager who loved Folk, Country, Blues and all things Rock and Roll (never mind Soul, Reggae and yes Prog Rock) – I was like most guys of my age - completely in the thrall of The Allman Brothers, The Ozark Mountain Daredevils and especially Lynyrd Skynyrd. So when Tampa's Outlaws hit the ground running with two absolute corker LPs in the Southern Country Rock vein (their 1975 debut and its 1976 follow-up) – I was loving those two wickedly good gatefold suckers with something of a passion. Full of tunes and impressive triple geetar-leads playing off each other like synchronised ping-pong players – there was a lot to like indeed. 

Rehearing them after all this time (late 2020), and yes, some of it is a bit 'too' Country (if you know what I mean), but like the Call Me The Breeze, Freebird and Sweet Home Alabama boys, much of this good time Bluesy Country Rock has stood the test of time - and rather well too. And how cool is it to get both albums in the same package and rockin' audio-wise. Let's breaker-breaker...

Released in Germany 31 October 2008 (January 2009 in the UK) – "Outlaws/Lady In Waiting" by THE OUTLAWS on SPV/Yellow Label SPV 305882 2CD (Barcode 693723058825) features their first and second studio albums from 1975 and 1976 Remastered onto 2CDs and plays out as follows: 

CD1 "Outlaws" (41:02 minutes):
1. There Goes Another Love Song [Side 1]
2. Song For You
3. Song In The Breeze
4. It Follows From Your Heart 
5. Cry No More [Side 2]
6. Waterhole
7. Stay With Me 
8. Keep Prayin'
9. Knoxville 
10. Green Grass And High Tides 
Tracks 1 to 10 are their debut album Outlaws – released July 1975 in the USA on Arista Records AL 4042 and August 1975 in the UK on Arista Records ARTY 115. Produced by PAUL A. ROTHCHILD – it peaked at No. 13 on the US LP charts (didn't chart UK).

CD2 "Lady In Waiting" (37:26 minutes): 
1. Breaker-Breaker [Side 1]
2. South Carolina 
3. Ain't So Bad 
4. Freeborn Man 
5. Girl from Ohio 
6. Lover Boy [Side 2]
7. Just For You 
8. Prisoner 
9. Stick Around For Rock And Roll
Tracks 1 to 9 are their second studio album "Lady In Waiting" – released April 1976 in the USA on Arista Records AL 4070 and April 1976 in the UK on Arista Records ARTY 126. Produced by PAUL A. ROTHCHILD - it peaked at No. 36 on the US LP charts (didn't chart UK). 

THE OUTLAWS were (both albums):
BILLY JONES – Lead Guitar and Lead Vocals on Tracks 4, 5 and 8 on CD1
HUGHIE THOMASSON – Lead Guitar and Lead Vocals on Tracks 1, 2 and 10 on CD1
HENRY PAUL – Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar and Lead Vocals on Tracks 3, 6, 7 and 8 on CD1 
FRANK O’KEEFE – Bass 
MONTE YOHO – Drums 

Guests:
John David Souther – Harmony Vocals on "It Follows From Your Heart" on CD1
Joe Lala (of Stephen Stills' Manassas) – Percussion on CD2

The three-way foldout card digipak places a CD on either side with a photo of the band in the centre (the front cover artwork for each LP is beneath each see-through CD tray). The 12-page booklet has 8-pages of text with new liner notes by JERRY EWING and 4-pages of product adverts for SPV's 'Yellow' label (ranging from Pete Townshend to Pacific, Gas & Electric). ROGER LOMAS did the Remasters at Ro-Lo Studios from original tapes and both CDs sound amazing – full of vim and vigour - as the music deserves. 

Drying tears from his eyes, Hughie Thomasson takes Lead Vocals on "There Goes Another Love Song" – a jaunty opener about chap-misery for their debut that immediately nails down their Southern Rock credentials – albeit with a wry smirk of line-dancing fun in there somewhere. "Song For You" gives it some great lead guitars and the harmony vocals impress as they sound like the Eagles fronted by Randy Meisner. Billy Paul provided "Song In The Breeze" - a singing through the trees tune where again they give it some Eagles bop. We slow things down for the Skynyrd-pensive "It Follows From Your Heart" - a don't let your problems get you trapped song. 

Billy Jones brings it back to rapido Country Rock for "Cry No More" - a man who doesn't want to wait too long.  Straight onto guitar-picking hoedown time with "Waterhole" - a kind of yee-haw instrumental that is actually not nearly as cool as it obviously thought it once was. Side 2 hits its stride with the funk of "Keep Prayin'", the go-down fiddly-dee of "Knoxville Girl" and the LP's big one - a near ten-minute fab boogie marathon in "Green Grass & High Tides".

If the debut was a great opening gambit, the follow-up 9-tracker felt like a step up to me. The three guitarists once again took lead vocals (the liner notes don’t advise who did what). Arista decided to use the Side 1 opener "Breaker-Breaker" as a lead-in for their second album "Lady In Waiting" – that US 45 issued May 1976 on Arista AS 0188 with the equally likeable "South Carolina" on the B-side. They would also try to cash in on the "Freebird" mania sweeping the USA and the World by taking the nearest the Outlaws had to it – an edit of "Green Grass & High Tides" from the first album paired with "Prisoner" from the second platter on Arista AS 0213 in November 1976. 

I liked the genuinely sunny disposition in "Ain't So Bad" - a lots of long days where you need to open your eyes piece of Southern Rock - nice harmony vocals too. He's got a lady in Cincinnati and a woman in San Antoine, but I don’t think they should wait up for our flirty wanderlust musician in "Freeborn Man" - a song that starts out all Country Rock but then changes into an almost Wishbone Ash rock element that is melodic and thrilling. "Girl From Ohio" ends Side 1 in a very Eagles shuffling melody - back in the heart of whispering winds and birds in homeward flight. Side 2 gives it some rawk with "Lover Boy" while the singing-songs of "Just For You" could be mid-Seventies Allman Brothers. It ends on the fabulous sway of "Prisoners" – a kiss my smile shuffle that segues into the out and out boogie that is "Stick Around For Rock And Roll". 

Some say that The Outlaws' 1975 debut and its 1976 follow-up matched Lynyrd Skynyrd and their 1973 "Pronounced..." debut followed by the mighty "Second Helping" in 1974? I can't help thinking this is reaching and stretching the truth by (forgive the pun) a Country mile. Those LS albums are way better, but man when they made that Country Rock kick, The Outlaws were a formidable five-piece Harmony making machine. And this wickedly good wee twofer from SPV/Yellow is the best place to start that exploration...

"Some Things Coming/Mobius Strip" by DELANEY BRAMLETT (April 2014 United Producers Records/UP Sounds CD Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...Keep It Going..."

When Bonnie Lynn O'Farrell (from Acton in Illinois) met and married Delaney Bramlett from Pontotoc Count in Missouri in 1967 – the two Americans thereafter became professionally known as DELANEY and BONNIE. Separating in late 1972 - both pursued solo careers that are still going to this day – friends or no.

The first digital reissue of Delaney's solo efforts came in October 2007 on Acadia ACAM 8171 (Barcode 0805772817128) offering '2 Original LPs On 1CD' and played at 70:12 minutes. I had that crappy looking CD combo for years just to have the music – but as I recall it had a gatefold slip of paper for an inlay and worse – muffled sound from an unnamed mastering engineer.

Fast forward to here (April 2014) and at last we get a decent upgrade. When I compare the audio on both – there is a definite improvement in this Roger Lomas 2014 Remaster for United Producers Records (trading as UP Sounds) – licensed from Sony Products. Its brighter, clearer and has real punch where the songs need it – something the Acadia issue seriously lacked. Here are the righteous details...

UK released 28 April 2014 – "Some Things Coming/Mobius Strip" by DELANEY BRAMLETT on United Producers Records/UP Sounds UPRS 011 CD (Barcode 5060384950112) offers 'Two Original Albums On One CD' Remastered and plays out as follows (68:56 minutes):

1. Over And Over [Side 1]

2. Thank God

3. Please Accept My Love

4. Keep It Going

5. Some Things Coming (Heartbeat)

6. Down By The Riverside [Side 2]

7. Sit Right Down

8. I'm Not Your Lover, I'm Your Lovee

9. Try A Little Harder

Tracks 1 to 9 are his debut solo LP “Some Things Coming” – released November 1972 in the USA on Columbia Records KC 31613 and in the Netherlands on CBS Records S 65131. Produced by Delaney Bramlett

DELANEY BRAMLETT – Lead Vocals and Guitars

TED HEDING – Organ

JOE DAVIS, JIM GORDON and JERRY JUMANVILLE – Saxophones

DARREL LEONARD and LARRY SAVOIE – Brass

ROBERT WILSON – Bass

RON GRAYSON – Drums

MILT HOLLAND – Percussion

CLYDIE KING, VENETTA FIELDS, GLORIA JONES and SHIRLEY MATTHEWS – Backing Vocals and Choir

GEORGE BOHANON – String Arrangements

10. Are You A Beatle Or A Rolling Stone? [Side 1]

11. What Am I Doin’ (In A Place Like This)

12. A Young Girl (In Her Garden)

13. Big Ol’ Piece Of Blues

14. Circles

15. When A Man Is In Need Of A Woman [Side 2]

16. I’m A M-A-N

17. B.B.’s Blues

18. A Little Bit Of You In Me

19. California Rain

Tracks 10 to 19 are the album “Mobius Strip” – released September 1973 in the USA on Columbia KC 32420 and in the Netherlands on CBS Records S 65760.

DELANEY BRAMLETT – Lead Vocals, Guitars and Percussion

JOHN USSERY and ART MUNSON - Guitars

RED RHODES of Bamboo and Mike Nesmith’s International Band – Pedal Steel Guitar

TED HEDING – Organ

CRAIG PORTMAN – Synthesiser

JOE DAVIS, JIM GORDON and JERRY JUMANVILLE – Saxophones [Jim Gordon also plays Bagpipes]

DARREL LEONARD and LARRY SAVOIE – Brass

ROBERT WILSON – Bass

RON GRAYSON – Drums

KING ERICKSON – Congas

CLYDIE KING, VENETTA FIELDS, GLORIA JONES and SHIRLEY MATTHEWS – Backing Vocals and Choir

GEORGE BOHANON – String Arrangements

The 8-page inlay has liner notes from BOB FISHER which pictures the front and rear of the original sleeves, provides musician credits and gives an overview of Bramlett’s career before (with The Shindigs) and after meeting Bonnie and Friends (Eric Clapton, Leon Russell, Bobby Whitlock etc). Neither of these Columbia Records albums received a British pressing – all copies being Dutch and imported into the UK in small numbers. They weren’t great sellers either (I used to see them prop up secondhand stores all the time) in their orange label CBS glory) – but that doesn’t mean there aren’t choice cuts to be had here.

Six cuts made the top and bottom of three US 45s – September 1972 saw "Over And Over" coupled with "I'm Not Your Lover, Just Your Lovee" on Columbia 4-45696 - "Good Vibrations" came next in July 1973 sporting "Are You A Beatle Or A Rolling Stone" on the B-side of Columbia 4-45897 - while "You Don't Know (How Glad I Am)" and "California Rain" became the final A&B pairing in October 1973 for Columbia 4-45950. None particularly troubled the charts but drummed up some interest in the albums.

I used to put the Funk-Rock "Keep It Going" on Funky Funky 70s Fest CD compilations in Reckless (brought customers to the counter enquiring after it) – a fabulous hard-hitting instrumental groove with guitars and brass punctured by the ladies singing "...Keep On Singing Your Song...Keep It Going..." every now and then. The album's title track is a bizarre hybrid of Dr. John and Eugene McDaniels voodoo rhythms with an Allman Brothers rock centre - the song literally going off on a geetar tangent half way through only to return to the hoodoo vibe.  "Sit Right Down" is another album highlight - treated National Steel guitar, shaking tambourines, the ladies getting Soulful as they sing "...gonna sit right down and talk about it..." - a fab groove as that Manassas Rock-Funk of his kicks in. Southern Soul organ opens the terribly titled "I'm Not Your Lover, I'm Your Lovee" - but don't let the iffy moniker fool you - its a tasty slice of Rock-Soul. The debut solo LP rocks to a 6:13 minute finish with "Try A Little Harder" where Clydie King (I think) is the duet-featured vocalist. The tune also allows the Horn Players to solo and stretch out the Funky Funky...

Album two "Mobius Strip" (still don’t know what that title means) opens with The Beatles vs. The Stones single where some infatuated lady hopes Rock Star Delaney is a bit of both. The acoustic guitar of "What Am I Doin' (In A Place Like This)" opens up a very Stephen Stills melody, once again filled with brass and Soulful rhythms. The first ballad is "A Young Girl (In Her Garden)" - a tale of an artist and his model trying to work out their dynamic - both tentative - both hoping to make love the rule and not be about money the fool. We go Piano Chugging Boogie for "Big Ol' Piece Of Blues" - a cool piece of Seventies Brass-driven Funk. And on it goes to the pretty acoustic strums of "California Rain" where the combo of Organ and Strum make it sound very Faces - a compliment I'm sure DB would relish any day of the week.

I don't know if either album is a masterpiece in 2019 - but this 2014 UP Sounds CD Remaster has made me think that maybe we all missed a trick back in the day by not loving these albums more (they deserve it now). A cool little reissue really of two that slipped past us and shouldn't have...

"Hard Candy/Prone" by NED DOHENY (July 2011 SuperBird CD Reissue of 1976 and 1978 Albums onto 1CD) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"…Get It Up For Love…"

Ned Doheny is a virtual unknown outside of certain circles – and hopefully this release with change that.

Musically think Boz Scaggs circa "Lowdown", Steely Dan doing "FM (No Static At All)" or Robbie Dupree giving it his best Michael McDonald songwriting impression on "Steal Away" – and you get the picture. The radio-friendly tunes and arrangements are very West Coast Funky-Rock-Soul and its easy to hear why tracks like "Get It Up For Love" and "To Prove My Love" have been gracing slick Seventies compilations for years now.

In fact, 2009 saw the release of these albums on CD – but in Japan only – and even they have gathered cult status and price tags stretching into three figures. So this reissue on one of Cherry Red’s subsidiary labels (SuperBird) will be welcome new to fans that never thought they’d see this stuff reissued at a reasonable price…

Released in the UK on 25 July 2011 - "Hard Candy/Prone" by NED DOHENY on SuperBird SBIRD 0048 (Barcode 5013929884823) offers 2LPs Remastered onto 1CD and breaks down as follows (72:21 minutes):

1. Get It Up For Love
2. If You Should Fall
3. Each Time You Pray
4. When Love Hangs In The Balance
5. A Love Of Your Own
6. I've Got Your Number
7. On The Swing Shift
8. Sing To Me
9. Valentine
Tracks 1 to 9 are the album "Hard Candy" issued in October 1976 in the USA on Columbia PC 34259

10. To Prove My Love
11. Think Like A Lover
12. Labor Of Love
13. Thinking With My Heart
14. Guess Who's Looking For Love Again
15. The Devil In You
16. Funky Love
17. If You Only Knew
18. Sweet Friction
Tracks 10 to 18 are the album “Prone” issued in 1979 in Japan on CBS/Sony 25AP 1359

The list of contributing musicians on each album reads like a virtual who’s who of the hip Rock scene in the mid Seventies – Linda Ronstadt, J.D. Souther, Don Henley and Glen Frey (on Vocals), David Foster, Graig Doerge and David Garland (on Keyboards), Tom Scott, Jim Horn, Chuck Findley and the Tower Of Power Horns (on Brass), Dennis Parker (on Bass), Gary Mallaber, John Guerin and Jeff Porcaro (on Drums), Victor Feldman and Steve Forman (on Percussion) with String and Horn Arrangements by Jimmie Haskell (on “Prone”). The remaster has been done by ROGER LOMAS at Ro-Lo Studios and the sound is superb – clear and warm. The 12-page booklet has album credits and a brief history of the man and his albums by MALCOLM DOME – it’s neatly done.

The opening track “Get It Up For Love” is genius – a fantastically catchy tune that regularly has customers coming to the counter asking after it when I place it on a “70’s Fest” compilation.
Hamish Stuart (of the Average White Band) co-wrote and sang on the lovely “A Love Of Your Own”. If the title seems familiar it’s because it was a hit for the AWB in their own right (Stuart and Doheny also went on to wrote “Whatcha Gonna Do For Me” – a big hit for Chaka Khan). Bonnie Raitt sings backing vocals with Rosemary Butler on the very popular “To Prove My Love”, Steve Perry adds vocals to the funky “Sweet Friction” - while both of the albums benefited from the high production values of Steve Cropper from Booker T. & The MG’s (he also played and sang on many tracks).

I wish I could say it’s all as good as “Get It Up For Love” but as you can imagine it falls into the schlocky lurve song too many times – still – “Each Time You Play” and “Guess Who’s Looking For Love” are excellent and remind me of the melodious Stephen Bishop at his best.

Doheny went on to make sporadic albums in the Eighties and Nineties, but his cult reputation falls on these two rare and pricey albums – and it’s nice to finally seem them get a domestic issue at a reasonable price. A very clever reissue indeed.

Recommended like a Babylon Sister shaking it...

"How Sweet It Is: The Columbia Hit Singles 1976-1981 by TYRONE DAVIS (January 2010 UK SuperBird CD Compilation of Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…You’ve Been Waiting For Me Too Long…"

UK released January 2010 - "How Sweet It Is: The Columbia Hit Singles 1976-1981" by TYRONE DAVIS features 13 charted 45-singles and 1 album track - giving fans the second phase of his career after having spent 1968 to 1976 with Dakar Records.

A division of Cherry Red Records UK - SuperBird SBIRD 0006 CD (Barcode 5013929880627) breaks down as follows (67:22 minutes):

1. Give It Up (Turn It Loose) (Columbia 3-10388, August 1976)
2. Close To You (Columbia 3-10457, February 1977)
3. This I Swear (Columbia 3-10528, May 1977)
4. All You Got (Columbia 3-10604, October 1977)
5. I Got Carried Away (from the 1977 USA LP "Let's Be Closer Together" on Columbia PC 34654)
6. Get On Up (Disco) (Columbia 3-10684, March 1978)
7. Can't Help But Say (Columbia 3-10773, 1978)
8. In The Mood (Columbia 3-10904, March 1979)
9. Ain't Nothing I Can Do (Columbia 3-11035, 1979)
10. Be With Me (Columbia 3-11128, December 1979)
11. Heart Failure (Columbia 3-11246, 1980 [DJ-Only Issues])
12. Can't You Tell It's Me (Columbia 3-11199, 1980)
13. How Sweet It is (To Be Loved By You) (Columbia 3-11344, October 1980)
14. Just My Luck (Columbia 18-02269, 1981)

The 8-page booklet has detailed and informational liner notes by BILL FISHER and the music's been remastered by ROGER LOMAS at Ro-Lo Studios. The sound is rich and beautifully clear on the smoocher "Close To You" while the brass and strings on the disco dancer "This I Swear" are full of muscle and power. Great sound quality throughout...

Highlights for me are the smooth soul of "I Got Carried Away" which is so Philly in all the right ways (lyrics above), the sexy slink of "In The Mood" and the truly lovely balladry of "Heart Failure" - which inexplicably only ever made it only to a 7" Demo (never received a stock copy release). The sound quality on "Can't You Tell It's Me" is 'so' good - even if it does get a little cheesy in the spoken-word centre part. In fact, his vocal work throughout is wonderfully expressive and deep - it's easy to see why Tyrone Davis' chart career lasted so long and why his live shows were so well attended - even up to his untimely death in 2004. Such an underrated talent...

If you like your Seventies soul in the vein of The Dells, The Spinners and The O'Jays - with a little Ronn Matlock, Teddy Pendergrass and Prince Phillip Mitchell thrown in - then this rather sweet compilation is going to be a treat and a nice surprise. And with most of this music being released for the first time on CD after decades in the digital wilderness, SuperBird has done his legacy and memory proud.

Recommended.

PS: if you want to further your Tyrone Davis soul collection - read my review for "The Ultimate" - issued October 2005 in the USA on Brunswick - it offers 40 Remastered Tracks covering 1968 to 1976 and includes versions of all 22 of his American R&B hits on Dakar Records (a subsidiary label of Brunswick).