"Good Old Boys" by RANDY NEWMAN - September 1974 US Fourth Album on Reprise Records (October 1974 in the UK) – Guest Musicians Includes Ry Cooder, John Platania, Ron Elliott, Dennis Budimir and Al Perkins on Guitars with Glenn Frey, Don Henley and Bernie Leadon of Eagles on Backing Vocals (May 2002 UK Reprise/Rhino Expanded Edition 2CD Reissue and Remaster with 14 Bonus Tracks) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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RATING: *****  

"…Smart Ass…"

Randy Newman's follow-up to the acidic and brilliant "Sail Away" album of 1972 was another ball-buster equal to its predecessor's fame – "Good Old Boys" provided shell-shocked '74 listeners with more deeply uncomfortable subject matters that even here in 2024 (its 50th Anniversary year) raise a "You-wot!" eyebrow response.

Having done the Reissue and Remaster business by "Sail Away" – time for our hero to get the same nod towards door number four. Rhino have found an entire album of February 1973 piano demos with spoken intros between every song (see CD2). "Everyone is so friendly on this album…", Newman snarks sarcastically before his moving and sad "Louisiana 1927" demo version – not really. To the details…

UK released 27 May 2002 (21 May 2002 in the USA) - "Good Old Boys" by RANDY NEWMAN on Reprise/Rhino 8122-78243-2 (Barcode 081227824327) is a 2CD Expanded Edition reissue of his fourth studio album with Previously Unreleased Demos on Disc Two (reissued in 2003 in the UK on Reprise/Rhino 8122-73839-2 (Barcode 081227383923) as a single CD - essentially CD1 of the double). It plays out as follows:

CD1 "Good Old Boys" (36:55 minutes):

1. Rednecks [Side 1]

2. Birmingham

3. Marie

4. Mr. President (Have Pity On The Working Man)

5. Guilty 

6. Louisiana 1927 [Side 2]

7. Every Man A King

8. Kingfish

9. Naked Man

10. A Wedding In Cherokee County

11. Back On My Feet Again

12. Rollin' 

Tracks 1 to 12 are his fourth studio album "Good Old Boys" - released 10 September 1974 in the USA on Reprise MS 2193 and October 1974 in the UK on Reprise K 54022. Produced by LARRY WARONKER and RUSS TITELMAN - it peaked at No. 36 in the US Rock LP Charts (didn't chart UK).

BONUS TRACK:

13. Marie (Demo) - PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

Musicians On The Album Included: 

RANDY NEWMAN - Piano, Electric Piano, Synth and All Lead Vocals

RY COODER and JOHN PLATANIA - Electric Guitars

RON ELLIOTT and DENNIS BUDIMIR - Acoustic Guitars

AL PERKINS - Pedal Steel Guitar

RUSS TITELMAN, WILLIE WEEKS and RED CALLENDER - Bass

ANDY NEWMARK, JIM KELTNER and MILT HOLLAND - Drums

BOBBYE HALL and MILT HOLLAND - Percussion

DON HENLEY, GLENN FREY and BERNIE LEADON of EAGLES - Backing Vocals

  

CD2 "Johnny Cutler's Birthday" (41:44 minutes):

1. Rednecks

2. If We Didn't Have Jesus

3. Birmingham

4. The Joke

5. Louisiana

6. My Daddy Knew Dixie Howell

7. Shining

8. Marie

9. Good Morning

10. Birmingham Redux

11. Doctor, Doctor

12. Albanian Anthem

13. Rolling

Recorded 2 January 1973 at Amigo Studios, Hollywood, CA with Randy Newman on Piano only - Produced by Russ Titelman

Remasters are by DAN HERSCH at Digiprep and with new Liner Notes by DAVID WILD - the '2CD Expanded Edition' set offers 14 Previously Unreleased Demo Versions and a pleasingly comprehensive 20-page booklet complete with reminiscences from the great man himself. The David Wild essay 'Randy Newman's Southern Discomfort' tells it like it was and unfortunately still is - Newman rightly proud of his stance on important issues. There are promo photos, gig posters (World Premier of "Good Old Boys" with the Atlanta Symphony, 5 October 1974) and those acidic lyrics alongside original recording/reissue credits - it's a tasty job done and sounds so good. This is not an audiophile album, but the Hersch Remaster has given enough oomph to the piano-led songs to make them even more powerful and haunting and that's what I wanted. 

The album opens with an incendiary piece of social observation songmanship written as if sung by a Southern Good Old Boy who clearly favours keeping the coloured folk down and most definitely out (as the lyrics literally say). Ever the news junkie – Newman had been watching TV in December 1970 when he witnessed the 75th Governor of Georgia – the deeply bigoted and white racist Lester Maddox (who had been instrumental in enforcing segregation in his town and restaurants in the Sixties) sat beside the legendary Georgia American Football Full Back and Black Civil Rights Activist Jim Brown on The Dick Cavett Show. Placing these politically polar-opposite men beside each other saw Brown unable to contain himself (as Cavett knew) and he remarked about racism towards negroes. It was fractious to say the least, but Newman felt that Brown had never been given a chance to counter the whoops and hollers he felt went the wrong way. So he wrote "Rednecks" where the song is peopled with references to smart-assed Jews, no-neck oilmen from Texas, rednecks who don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground. The smug singer (johnny Cutler) goes on to suggest how black people should be put in cages in Chicago and San Francisco and Cleveland. As you can imagine, "Rednecks" is grating-funny - but it’s also deeply uncomfortable as you hear the glee the singer employs in his sickening lists of hate. 

The following two melodies soften things - "Birmingham" and "Marie" filled with the sadness of working people struggling to live let alone love – characters drunk and pleading. The audio on those two is good – clean – but they are suddenly trampled by fantastic audio on "Mr. President (Have Pity On The Working Man)" which employs a jolly brass section that give heft to lyrics about folks running out of money while cold winds blow onto porches, kitchen tables with scraps on them. Side 1 ends with what I think is one of his most understated masterpieces - "Guilty" - a whiskey-sodden cocaine-laden lover pleading to his lady to take his sorry ass back in her arms again. Others have seen its ache and covered it - I particularly love the Bonnie Raitt and Joe Cocker versions from the Seventies.

Speaking of exceptional covers, they don't in my book come much better than Aaron Neville taking the sad and moving dustbowl feel of "Louisiana 1927" and making it a highlight on his 1991 album "Warm Your Heart" (A&M Records). Randy's version has strings that elevates the 'trying to wash us away' lyrics about floods - people's homes and livelihoods destroyed by an act of a heartless God and a conveniently absent government. Reprise used "Louisiana 1927" with "Marie" on its flipside as a belated US 45-single on Reprise RPS 1387. They also tried plugging the "Good Old Boys" album by pairing the jaunty and commercially usable "Naked Man" from Side 2 (I think the Eagles are the backing vocalists) with the slow and melancholy "Guilty" from Side 1 as a US 45-single in January 1975 on Reprise RPS 1324. 

Side 2 highlights also include "A Wedding In Cherokee County" which I recall Ireland's Freddie White used to sing in Dublin's Baggot Inn during the Eighties (recorded it for his "Long Distance Runner" album in 1985) - a smokehouse rocking-chair piano lurch filled with fabulous lyrics about no-goods and slimy old bastards.  The album rolls home with tales about machinists and a Polish girl with gaps in her teeth - the Eagles distinctive against the slide guitar on "Back On My Feet Again". Even with Nick DeCaro arranged strings - "Rollin'" feels like an Eagles B-side - is slight - anti-climax after the brilliance that went before it. But there's no doubt about the feeling that "Good Old Boys" is an album seeing a brilliant songwriter flourish - it isn't going to be everyone's favourite Friends episode - all cuddly and warm - but it is genius.

Stripped of all instrumentation except his grand piano - the 'demo' of "Marie" drips of pain and loneliness - the lyrics almost identical to the finished album version. It may end abruptly and have the airy feel of a 'demo' - but "Marie" in this form is loaded with that rarest of things - raw emotion that is almost unbearable to hear. Brilliant. Speaking of rough cuts – the fascinating back inlay shows the Stereo Tape Box for the 2/1/73 US session – 'Birthday Party' crossed out to read "The Joke". Each of the CD2 demos features a spoken lead-in – the lyrics almost all razor-close to the finished cuts – already honed and set to shock. The character (and suggested album title) Johnny Cutler and his Birthday is supposed to be the theme throughout – Newman suggesting sound effects that might preamble each song. You can also hear him working out the storylines as he speaks too. The remastered quality is by and large superb. 

Newman is undecided about including "If We Didn't Have Jesus" – one of the new titles – and while it is good his gut instinct that it was bordering on cliché was right. A rabbit is being chased by a big black dog in "The Joke" – a song that did not make the final cut and you can hear it is thematically out of place. "My Daddy Knew Dixie Howell" could have made the album – Cutler singing of his 29th birthday fading into the manhood of 30 – suddenly singing about how Daddy had a shop in Tuscaloosa where he cut hair (the famous Dixie Howell included). It slowly dawns on the listener that the drunken Johnny Cutler is none too enamouring with dead Daddy and his insufferable magnolias (he puts Vaseline and Razors in the coffin). And on it goes to Cutler's wife being the "Marie" we've known as someone else all these years – the sinister "Shining" probably just that – too sinister. 

For sure Randy Newman's 1974 album "Good Old Boys" will not be everybody's idea of 'Airplane' type laughter - 'Family Guy' gags-a-plenty some of which might actually make you gag - or at least double-take. But this Reprise/Rhino 2CD Reissue/Remaster hammers home its on-the-money brilliance and musical bravery with real style...

"Sail Away" by RANDY NEWMAN (May 2002 Rhino/Reprise 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue - Dan Hersch Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Drop The Big One Now!"

While Randy Newman is a musical household name in 2017 - especially with his glorious Oscar-winning Soundtrack work on beloved Pixar films like "Toy Story", "Monsters Inc." and more - back in 1972 when he was onto his 4th solo LP for Reprise Records (3rd studio set) - and despite huge industry wide critical acclaim - he couldn't get arrested by the buying public even if he did insult short people or rail against the tyranny of religious zealots.

Originally released in May 1972 - the American vinyl LP of Reprise MS 2064 was not only ignored but even derided in some sectors - something Newman alludes to and smirks at in the caustic liner notes that accompany this stunning 2002 Rhino CD reissue. 

Because of course history tells us a different story to the chart indifference he suffered then - "Sail Away" is a great album - a masterpiece really - and an early jewel in a very large and long career arc. He is also helped by an impressive array of session players - Ry Cooder, Chris Etheridge of The Flying Burrito Brothers, Jimmy Bond, Wilton Felder of The Crusaders and Milt Holland to name but a few (Randy plays piano and sings). It's lonely at the top indeed. Here are the memos from Simon Smith and his Amazing Dancing Bear...

UK released May 2002 - "Sail Away" by RANDY NEWMAN on Rhino/Reprise 8122-78244-2 (Barcode 081227824426) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster of the 12-Track 1972 LP with Five Previously Unreleased Bonus Tracks and plays out as follows (41:51 minutes):

1. Sail Away [Side 1]

2. Lonely At The Top

3. He Gives Us All His Love

4. Last Night I Had A Dream

5. Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear

6. Old Man

7. Political Science [Side 2]

8. Burn On

9. Memo To My Son

10. Dayton, Ohio - 1903

11. You Can Leave Your Hat On

12. God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind)

Tracks 1 to 12 are his 4th album "Sail Away" (3rd studio set) - released May 1972 in the USA on Reprise MS 2064 and July 1972 in the UK on Reprise K 44185.

BONUS TRACKS (Previously Unreleased):

13. Let It Shine

14. Maybe I'm Doing It Wrong (Studio Version)

15. Dayton, Ohio - 1903 (Early Version)

16. You Can Leave Your Hat On (Demo)

17. Sail Away (Early Version)

The 20-page booklet is a pleasingly in-depth affair with a Page 3 introduction from the great songsmith himself and a further essay/assessment pleasantly called "Of Freaks, Geeks, And God" by Editor of the Rolling Stone – DAVID WILD. There is even some personalized notes on the five Previously Unreleased outtakes and how pleased Randy is with the sound of the new Remaster carried out by long-time Rhino Records Audio Engineer associate - DAN HERSCH. This is a gorgeous sounding CD reissue - warm and full - as this quietly subdued album has always cried out for.

"...In America you get food to eat...Won't have to run through the jungle and scuff up your feet...You'll just sing about Jesus and drink wine all day..." You can't really imagine (even now) the impact those opening lyrics to "Sail Away". Firstly very few artists would have risked them. Newman isn't casually slagging off America or taking a cheap shot - but he is highlighting hypocrisies and attacking homegrown racists and their simplistic crap all in the same song. The fact that he does all this inside a haunting melody (orchestration conducted by Louis Kauffman) is all the more remarkable. Newman then digs at his own supposed Rock Star lifestyle in "Lonely At The Top" - the applause - the money – the after parties. The song was used as a title to a CD Best Of for Warner Brothers in 1987 remastered by Lee Herschberg – a disc I bought back in early days of reissue.

An uncaring God and our blind allegiance to pie-in-the-sky indoctrination crops up in the sly and disturbing "He Gives Us All His Love". The distinctive rattle of Ry Cooder's slide guitar strings comes slinking in on "Last Night I Had A Dream" – a song I only half like actually. Speaking of which - his Alan Price hit "Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear" dates back to the Sixties and put RN on the songwriting map. But again - I've always admired the song more than I actually liked it. "Old Man" is one of the saddest melodies on the album - a tearful farewell by a son to his father - a Dad he clearly dislikes and loves in equal measure.

Side 2 gives us the masterful "Political Science" - a song with lyrics that inspire awe and giggles even now – a full 45 years after they were released. The protagonist singer tells of American Generals and Politicians weary of trying to be nice to the world – why bother man - they hate all Americans anyhow. So to Hell with them all and let's drop the big one now (not on Australia though - don't want to hurt no Kangaroo - besides they've got surfing and good weather too). "Burn On" is one of the album's secret nuggets - a river in Cleveland suddenly containing magical qualities as a red moon of fire rises in the distance. Understated observation number 424 comes in the shape of "Memo To My Son" - as witty and as wise a love letter from a father to a son as you'll ever hear. Like most young Dads - he's struggling with all the joys and terrors a child brings - but there's a simple love in there that's so touching. In the liner notes Newman's fairly dismissive of "Dayton, Ohio - 1903" but I actually think it's beautiful - a mournful 'missus and me' ballad. The ever so slightly perverse "You Can Leave Your Hat On" tickled many people's fancy (Tom Jones even covered it for "The Full Monty" film) - and it's easy to work out why as it plays - the song is witty, acidic and lusty. Buddhists and Hindus join Catholics and Jews on Satellite TV for the seriously harsh "God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind)" – a nonchalant even disinterested Almighty poo-pooing his creation Mankind as they beg for mercy from plagues and suffering.

You can't help thinking that the wonderful outtake "Let It Shine" was left off the album precisely because it is so upbeat and uplifting - not in keeping with the album's overall moody demeanour. But it's a treat to hear it and "Maybe I'm Doing It Wrong" - fully formed songs that actually deserve the moniker 'Bonus'. As I already liked "Dayton, Ohio - 1903" - a pretty 'early version' of it is alright by me. And the early version of the title song is radically different and fascinating for it...

"...I hope people like them this time..." - Randy Newman remarks in the new liner notes (the next LP "Good Ole Boys" from 1974 was also reissued in this CD series) - maybe a little mellowed by the years and distance. I'd agree.

I know RN is not everyone's cup of Darjeeling - but his songmanship and affecting melodies/lyrics warrant your attention – yes even deserve it. And 1972's forgotten and overlooked "Sail Away" album is the perfect starting point...

"Da Capo" by LOVE (May 2002 Elektra/Warner Strategic Marketing 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster with Mono and Stereo Mixes of the LP and One Bonus) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Comes In Colors..."

San Francisco's LOVE and their self-titled pop-orientated debut album "Love" tickled the American LP charts in May 1966 - eventually peaking at No. 57. And although their seismic second platter "Da Capo" fell to a lower No. 88 after a February 1967 release on Elektra Records - the musical leap forward and 180-degree style change couldn't have been more pronounced. And with it came plaudits.

Suddenly everyone began loving LOVE – restaurant tables became available – tabs were picked up and egos expanded along with their pupils. In fact in November of that same mercurial year - they would go one step further with what many feel is their real Sgt. Peppers, Electric Ladyland and In-A-Gadda-Da-Vidda all rolled into one - the masterpiece that is "Forever Changes" from November 1967. And that’s where this deeply brill CD reissue steps in...

Back in the mists of 2002 (May to be precise) - in conjunction with Elektra Records and Warner Strategic Marketing - Rhino USA began an extensive LOVE reissue campaign and turfed out this nugget - the Mono and Stereo mixes of 1967's "Da Capo" bolstered up with one 'tracking session' outtake. She comes in colours indeed - here are the seven and seven details...

UK and USA released 27 May 2002 (reissued February 2005) - "Da Capo" by LOVE on Elektra/Warner Strategic Marketing 8122 73604-2 (Barcode 081227360429) offers the MONO and STEREO mixes of the 7-track 1967 album and one Bonus Track and plays out as follows (76:19 minutes):

1. Stephanie Knows Who [Side 1]

2. Orange Sides

3. ! Que Vida !

4. Seven & Seven Is

5. The Castle [Side 2]

6. She Comes In Colors

7. Revelation

Tracks 1 to 7 are the MONO MIX of their second studio album "Da Capo" - released February 1967 in the USA and UK on Elektra EKL 7-4005

Tracks 8 to 14 are the STEREO MIX of their second studio album "Da Capo" - released February 1967 in the USA and UK on Elektra EKS 7-4005. Produced by PAUL ROTHCHILD and Engineered by DAVID HASSINGER – the album peaked at No. 80 on the US LP charts (didn’t chart UK).

BONUS TRACK

15. Seven & Seven Is (Tracking Session)

LOVE was:

ARTHUR LEE – Lead Vocals and Guitar

JOHN ECHOLS – Lead Guitar

BRYAN MacLEAN – Guitar and Vocals

ALBAN "Snoopy" PFISTERER – Keyboards (Drums on "Seven & Seven Is" - aka "7 & 7 Is")

TJAY CANTRELLI – Saxophone and Flute

KEN FORSSI – Bass

MICHAEL STUART-WARE – Drums

The 16-page booklet is a properly informative and visually sweet thing to behold – ANDREW SANDOVAL providing the liner notes that include interviews with all the key players – Lead Guitarist Johnny Echols (bringing in new drummer Michael Stuart-Ware whilst keeping the original Love sticks man 'Snoopy' on Keyboards) and second guitarist Bryan MacLean (reminiscences of his days with the Byrds and Roger McGuinn) – and new Drummer Stuart-Ware on the entire album being premiered at the legendary Whiskey A Go Go Club on the Sunset Strip in L.A. on Christmas Eve 1966 prior to its February 1967 release the next year. There are superb colour photos of the band – psychedelic concert posters at the Fillmore (with The Sons Of Adam) and the Avalon Ballroom (with Captain Beefheart) as well as rare foreign picture sleeves of "Seven & Seven Is" and even the British orange Elektra Records label for "The Castle". Sandoval not only produced the release - he's been involved in the much-praised Small Faces and Kinks 2CD Deluxe Editions (over 10 titles) as well as the sensational Van Morrison 3CD retrospective from April 2017 - "The Authorized Bang Collection" (see separate reviews for them all).

Two hugely experienced Audio Engineers - DAN HERSCH (of Rhino Fame) and ANDREW SANDOVAL (larges amount of Grammy-nominated work for Universal) – have handled the transfers, restoration and remasters. This is a matter of personal choice - but for me the MONO mix of the largely acoustic "The Castle" lacks the colours and palette of the STEREO version – but the centralised sonic attack of "Seven & Seven Is" in MONO is fantastic and of course most closely resembles what we heard on those 45s all those years ago. Personally I’m going for the STEREO Mix every time. Either way – I love that the air around the instruments is still there – no dampening or muffled sound – nor is it trebled too much for effect. A great job done...

An almost roaring Arthur Lee opens Side with the very Doors-sounding "Stephanie Knows Who" - all Beefheart Guitar, Soft Machine Saxophone and 'yeah yeah' shouts from Arthur as the harpsichord plinkers away in the background. Things settle into the pretty "Orange Sides" - Tjay Cantrelli filling the gaps with Flute while Arthur sings of a girl who makes him happy in his weird croaking tones. It was put on the B-side of Elektra EK-45608 with the opener "Stephanie Knows Who" as the A-side. Far away from straight-up Psych "!Que Vida!" (complete with inverted exclamation marks) offers up another slice of cute 60ts West Coast pop - an organ note anchoring Arthur's ever so slightly fay lyrics about travel and exploration and visions of yourself and money killing everything of worth. But then you're clobbered with the assault that is "Seven & Seven Is" - surely the most difficult song to record on the album. Original drummer 'Snoopy' thrashes his kit as the frantic pace as Arthur gives it so 'ooh pip pip' hollers. It's a great slice of Love's particularly unique Psych Sound and comes complete with an explosion borrowed from one of Elektra's 20 sound effects LPs. The Bonus Track of it shows the in-studio frustration between both band and Producer as they tried to get those difficult rhythms down right.

I've always felt that the "Da Capo" album is a tale of two cities with Side 2 being my preferred slice of poisonous mushrooms. Apparently the live-show staple loosely called "John Lee Hooker" was a Blues Boogie ala Hooker 'n' Heat with a bit of The Allman Brothers Band thrown in. It could on occasion last an hour in some sweaty club with each player getting to stretch out and get 'loose man'. The idea for "Da Capo" was to make it a first-on-record sidelong jam - but renaming it "Revelation" - we have to settle for a piddling 18-minutes. But for me the triple whammy of "The Castle", "She Comes In Colors" and "Revelation" is brilliant and an overall inspiring and classy listen for a 1967 album.

"The Castle" is a speeding acoustic song about a mansion in the Lois Feliz Hills area of Los Angeles the boys lived in and comes with those unexpected Love key changes, harpsichords and brilliant musical moments. The layered and lovely "She Comes In Colors" is a clear LP highlight even if Arthur's 'England Town' lyrics sounds suspiciously like wishful thinking more than an actual visit to Blighty (it's also said the Stones 'borrowed' the song title for their "She's A Rainbow' amidst other things that were 'borrowed' by those thieving Brits). And then we get the fantastic 'everybody needs somebody to love' jam that is "Revelation". And I know it's indulgent and ambling and Love may owe The Doors, The Allmans, Canned Heat and the estate of John Lee Hooker some serious royalty cheques - but massive 18-minute whig out or not - I love it (check out that Tjay Cantrelli Saxophone solo in the last few minutes and the mad Harpsichord dash to the fade out – so brilliantly trippy).

Despite its five-star status amongst fans - is February 1967's "Da Capo" as good as November 1967's "Forever Changes" – I don’t really think so. But I think this is a superbly handled CD reissue of that extraordinary 1967 set of moments. 'My love she comes in colors' is right...

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"Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround Part 1 & Percy: Deluxe Edition" by THE KINKS (2014 Sony/Legacy/BMG 2CD Reissue and Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Got To Be Free...Got To Be Free Right Now..." 

  

*** THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE 2014 'Deluxe Edition' 2CD REISSUE ***

"...I see that Union Man walking down the street...

He’s the man who decides if I live or I die...if I starve or I eat..."

For a band so intrinsically linked with the Sixties - as ever Ray Davies refused to be pigeonholed by its sentiment and started the new Seventies decade with a musical hand-grenade – something of a kick in the nadge for the hippy dream. Yet despite being a bit of a caustic brute (especially lyrically) – November 1970's album "Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround, Part 1" also contained huge popular hits like "Lola" and "Apeman" – provocatively charged sexpot songs that felt all grown up and mature and even gender-bender risky. The Kinks' "Lola..." has always been a great album and its arrival on DE has been much anticipated...

But after the thrilling CD reissue ride their 60ts catalogue received at the hands of Universal's double-disc 'Deluxe Editions' in 2011 - this August 2014 Sony/Legacy 2CD addition sounds better for sure but is actually incomplete. Although we get the "Percy" Soundtrack from 1971 on Disc 2 as a bonus along with many other outtakes on both CDs (some superb unreleased stuff amidst the 12 new cuts like "Anytime") - we lose two tracks that were on the previous 2004 issue - and it comes in a forgettable double jewel case instead of a foldout card digipak that would have matched the other spines in the series. Still - despite the packaging and content niggles - there's so much on here to love and want - there really is. Let's get physical...

UK released August 2014 - "Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround & Percy: Deluxe Edition" by THE KINKS on Sony Legacy/BMG 88843089592 (Barcode 0888430895928) is a 43-Track 2CD 'Deluxe Edition' Reissue and Remaster with 12 Previously Unreleased tracks that plays out as follows:

Disc 1 (64:48 minutes):

1. The Contenders

2. Strangers

3. Denmark Street

4. Get Back In Line

5. Lola

6. Top Of The Pops

7. The Moneygoround

8. This Time Tomorrow [Side 2]

9. A Long Way From Home

10. Rats

11. Apeman

12. Powerman

13. Got To Be Free

Tracks 1 to 13 are the album "Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround, Part One" - released 27 November 1970 in the UK on Pye Records NSPL 18359 and 2 December 1970 in the USA on Reprise RS 6423 in Stereo. It peaked at No. 35 on the US LP charts.

BONUS TRACKS (All PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED):

14. Anytime

15. The Contenders (instrumental Demo)

16. The Good Life

17. Lola (Alternate Version)

18. This Time Tomorrow (Instrumental)

19. Apeman (Alternate Version, Stereo) - originally appeared on the April 1971 Japanese LP of "Lola..." on Reprise YS-2456-Y

20. Got To Be Free (Alternate Version) - originally broadcast in the UK 15 Oct 1970 on BBC 1 Television

Disc 2 (63:25 minutes):

1. God's Children

2. Lola (Instrumental)

3. The Way Love Used To Be

4. Completely

5. Running Round Town

6. Moments

7. Animals In The Zoo

8. Just Friends

9. Whip Lady

10. Dreams

11. Helga

12. Willesden Green

13. God's Children (End)

Tracks 1 to 13 are the Soundtrack LP "Percy" - released March 1971 in the UK on Pye Records NSPL 18365 in Stereo. No US LP - but "God's Children" and "The Way Love Used To Be" was released as an American 7" single on Reprise REP 1017 in July 1971.

BONUS TRACKS:

14. Dreams (Remix) - Previously Unreleased

15. Lola (Mono Single) - 12 June 1970 UK 7" single on Pye International 7N 17961 - 12 June 1970 US 7" single on Reprise 0930 with "cherry cola" lyric

16. Apeman (Mono Single) - 20 Nov 1970 UK 7" single on Pye International 7N 45016, A-side

17. Rats (Mono Single)  - 20 Nov 1970 UK 7" single on Pye International 7N 45016, B-side of "Apeman" - 16 Dec 1970 US 7" single on Reprise 0979

18. Powerman (Mono) - first issued May 1998 in the UK on the CD reissue of "Lola..." on Essential ESM CD 509

19. The Moneygoround (Alternate Version, Mono) - first issued August 2012 in the UK on the 5CD/1DVD Box Set "The Kinks At The BBC" on Sanctuary/UMC 279 721-8 as part of the DVD - Audio here for the first time - Previously Unreleased

20. Apeman (Alternate Version, Mono) - first issued December 1970 on a Denmark 7" single on Pye 7N 45016, A-side - Previously Unreleased

21. God's Children (Mono Film Mix) - Previously Unreleased

22. The Way Love Used To Be (Mono Film Mix) - first released May 1998 in the UK on the CD Reissue of "Percy" on Essential ESM CD 510

23. Gold's Children (End) (Mono Film Mix) - Previously Unreleased

The 24-page booklet is the usual feast of colour photos, picture sleeves, repro'd memorabilia and in-depth recording/release date factoids you've come to expect from these DE releases. The second half of the booklet features racy stills from the iffy movie "Percy" - a superb 15-strong picture array of rare 45 single-sleeves from around the world ("Lola, "Apeman", "God's Children" and "Animals In The Zoo") - while the final few pages feature the handwritten lyrics to the "Lola" LP that graced the inner gatefold of British and American albums on Pye and Reprise. Noted writer and author PETER DOGGETT gives a detailed analysis of the band's leap into the heavy rock decade and their dubious involvement in a dubious movie. It's beautifully laid out. Unfortunately the "Apeman" and "Powerman" Demos that were unreleased extras on the 2004 reissue CD are AWOL when there was clearly room on either disc for them - so docked a star for that and the boring jewel case presentation.

But there's better news for fans in the CD transfers. A team of three trusted names have tackled the new 2014 Remasters - ANDREW SANDOVAL, DAN HERSCH and ANDY PEARCE. Sandoval was involved with all of the Universal DE's for The Kinks and much praised for it - Dan Hersch has been Rhino's go-to guy for decades and Andy Pearce (along with Matt Wortham) has a growing rep for fabulously realistic transfers that just keeps getting better (Thin Lizzy, Wishbone Ash, Budgie, the 2016 Free reissues and the much-anticipated new versions of Deep Purple's catalogue in 2017). The moment you hear the 40-second Acoustic into to "The Contenders" or the sheer punch to the riffage of "Powerman" or the 'Yes It's No. 1!' "Top Of The Pops" and you can 'feel' the punch. Great stuff. Let's get to the music...

"...On the verge of a nervous breakdown...I went to see a solicitor..." Ray sings bitterly on "The Moneygoround" as he (like so many musicians of the day) wonder - there's all this fame so why is there so little cash to go with it? No one at the record label is answering the phone. That kind of probing angst imbibes songs like "This Time Tomorrow" and the 'where are you going' cries in "Strangers" - each tune filled with cool music unpinned by a weary pathos. The audio on the Stereo "Lola" and "Apeman" makes them huge - those brilliant and fun lyrics still raising a smile after 46 years. I'd forgotten just how New York Dolls the "Rats" track is (B-side to the "Apeman” 45 in most territories) – a hard-hitting little rocker where slick and aggressive city types are crowding our Ray's personal space. It ends on the brilliant and upbeat "Got To Be Free".

Fans will love the newest find - "Anytime" - a 3:30 minute amble that feels epic. Probably the very guitar-based feel excluded it from the LP - but there's no doubt in my mind that it's the premium find on here - brilliant and exciting. The Instrumental of "The Contenders" is truly fascinating stuff - half Gary Moore's Skid Row when the guitars dominate - half Chicken Shack when the piano gets a look in. Just when you think it's going to descend into filler - "The Good Life" chugs its Havana Cigar way across your speakers - a wickedly good rocker that makes you wonder why it wasn't used as a B-side. There's Take 11 dialogue before the Alternate Take of "Lola" and a slower intro - and again - it's impressive stuff even for such a familiar song. Fans are going to eat up an instrumental of their LP fave "This Time Tomorrow" - piano and rhythm acting as a backing track as you hum along to the words in your head. The car sounds at the beginning of the Stereo "Apeman" are still intact - but after being used to the Mono Single - the 'nuclear war' instruments and lyrics feel 'massive' - an amazing listen. But the most radically different take is "Got To Be Free" where Ray sounds like he's channelling his inner Alan Price as he plinks away on a childlike piano - shame it's not better recorded and fades out too fast...

CD2 gives us the "Percy" Soundtrack - a much-maligned beast that's far better than I remember it - with some shining moments like the obvious upbeat single "God's Children" and its lovely flipside "The Way Love Used To Be". With lyrics like "...I want to go back to the way the good Lord made me..." - Davies gives "God's Children" a hopeful feel complete with choruses and strings. I've always thought the funked-up guitar version of "Lola" to be cool even if the cheesy organ that follows the opening kind of ruins the vibe. I also dig the chugging Bluesy guitar-and-harmonica instrumental "Completely" - like The Kinks forgot who they were for a moment and went all Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac for one song. "Moments" is pretty too - remembering things the main characters have forgotten. You can hear why "Animals In The Zoo" was chosen as a leadoff single - funky acoustic to begin with - yet so Kinks in its rhythms as it boogies along in a very catchy way. Of the unreleased on Disc 2 "The Moneygoround" and the Alternate Mono of "Apeman" come off the best - an impressive end to an impressive release. 

"...It might even turn into a steady job..." - our Ray roared on "Top Of The Pops" (number 11 with a bullet) about the life of a Rock Musician. And on the evidence of this 2CD reissue - thank God it did...

"My Aim Is True: Originals Series" by ELVIS COSTELLO (2007 Hip-O/UMC 'Originals' CD Remaster In A Digipak With Booklet and Obi - Dan Hersch Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"...I'm Not Going To Get Too Sentimental..."

Elvis Costello's debut (like much of his catalogue for the Seventies and Eighties) has been reissued to a point where fans will yawn and newcomers turn their eyes and ears elsewhere.

For this review I'm concentrating on the American 'Originals' CD Series put out by Universal's Hip-O Records in May 2007 (aka Hip-O Select) where eleven albums were Remastered to CD and presented in Artwork-Repro Digipaks with new booklets (most sans any bonus material – just the LP). The series started with the 1977 debut "My Aim Is True" and ran through to 1986's "Blood And Chocolate" (see list below). Here are the sneaky details and the original sins...

US released 1 May 2007 - "My Aim Is True: Originals Series" by ELVIS COSTELLO on Hip-O Records/Universal Music Company (UMC) B0008635-02 (Barcode 602517260863) is a 13-Track CD Remaster of the 1977 American LP on Columbia Records. The UK LP on Stiff Records had only 12-tracks ("Watching The Detectives" was originally only a 7" single in the UK) but was added to the end of Side 1 of the US LP (hence the 13-tracks). This CD Remaster plays out as follows (36:48 minutes):

1. Welcome To My Working Work

2. Miracle Man

3. No Dancing

4. Blame It On Cain

5. Alison

6. Sneaky Feelings

7. (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes [Side 2]

8. Less Than Zero

9. Mystery Dance

10. Pay It Back

11. I'm Not Angry

12. Waiting For The End Of The World

13. Watching The Detectives

Tracks 1 to 12 are the UK debut LP "My Aim Is True" - released July 1977 in the UK on Stiff Records SEEZ 3. "Watching The Detectives" was issued October 1977 in the UK as a 7" single only (A-side) but was added on as an extra track (end of Side 1 after "Sneaky Feelings") on the March 1978 US reissue LP on Columbia Records JC 35037. Produced by NICK LOWE.

The Band for Tracks 1 to 12 were:

ELVIS COSTELLO - Lead and Backing Vocals, Guitars, Piano and Drumsticks on "Mystery Dance"

JOHN McFEE - Guitar and Pedal Steel

SEAN HOPPER - Piano, Organ, Backing Vocals

JOHNNY CIAMBOTTI - Bass and Backing Vocals

MICKEY SHINE - Drums

NICK LOWE - Backing Vocals, Bass, Drums and Drumsticks on "Mystery Dance"

Band for "Watching The Detectives" was:

ELVIS COSTELLO - Vocals and Guitar

STEVE NIEVE - Organ and Piano Overdubs

ANDREW BODNAR - Bass

STEVE GOULDING - Drums

The 'Originals' card digipak is hardly anything to write home about and its glued-on Obi even obscures the track list on the rear cover (and the inner gatefold is simply all yellow - a bad waste of space). The 12-page booklet has all the lyrics - original album recording credits and reissue details - it's good but without any history of the album and its making it's hardly great. The Remaster was carried out by Rhino's longtime Audio Engineer DAN HERSCH and is a mixed bag of brill and brash.

Production wise "My Aim Is True" the LP has always felt a bit 'all over the place'. The Remaster reflects the source material. Some tracks have stunning clarity while others just feel wrong and I'd have to say that this Remaster has only highlighted 'both'. From the moment "Working Week" hits the speakers - you can hear the taught band but the deliberately distanced vocals take away from the impact. Some tracks though are absolutely stunning - the sheer drum wallop coming from "Waiting For The End Of The World" is amazing and yet that guitar feels even more disconnected. Even though it's brash "Blame It On The Cain" feels incredible - that fantastic staccato beat as Elvis sings about Government burglars taking away his dosh.

Three in a row with great sound are the beautiful ballad "Alison" with the LP's title amidst its lyrics - the catchy "Sneaky Feelings" (can't let them show) and the lyrically acidic "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes" where EC used to be disgusted but now he's just amused. "Less Than Zero" is absolutely huge on this remaster - amazing clarity (as is "Watching The Detectives") - and I hear South America is coming into style. There is a 2007 2CD 'Deluxe Edition' with shed loads more on offer and flashier presentation (outtakes, B-sides, live material) - but I like the simplicity of just the album.

I'm constantly amazed at how good Costello's first foray was and still is - a stunning debut album that announced the arrival of a major songwriting talent (coming up on its 40th Anniversary in November 2017).

I will get sentimental about "My Aim Is True" – warts and all - I f***ing love it...

May 2007 ELVIS COSTELLO 'Originals' CD Series of Reissues:

1. My Aim Is True (1977) - Hip-O Records B0008635-02 (Barcode 602517260863)

2. This Year’s Model (1978) – Hip-O Records B0008638-02 (Barcode 602517260894)

3. Armed Forces (1978) – Hip-O Records B0008630-02 (Barcode 602517260818)

4. Get Happy!! (1980) - Hip-O Records B0008632-02 (Barcode 602517260832)

5. Almost Blue (1981) - Hip-O Records B0008628-02 (Barcode 602517260573)

6. Trust (1981) - Hip-O Records B0008639-02 (Barcode 602517260900)

7. Imperial Bedroom (1982) – Hip-O Records B0008634-02 (Barcode 602517260856)

8. Punch The Clock (1983) – Hip-O Records B0008636-02 (Barcode ?)

9. Goodbye Cruel World (1984) – Hip-O Records B0008633-02 (Barcode 602517260849)

10. King Of America (1986) – Hip-O Records B0008637-02 (Barcode 602517260887)

11. Blood and Chocolate (1986) – Hip-O Records B0008631-02 (Barcode 602517260825)

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