"Since Beginning: The Albums 1974-1976" by BAKER GURVITZ ARMY – Including Their Albums "The Baker Gurvitz Army" (1975 Debut, Recorded 1974), "Elysian Encounter" (1975) and "Hearts On Fire" (1976) – featuring Ginger Baker (ex Cream) and Adrian and Paul Gurvitz (ex Gun and Three Man Army) with guest Vocalists Snips, Madeline Bell, Ann O’Dell (of Blue Mink and Chopyn), Liza Strike and Barry St. John (April 2019 UK Esoteric Recordings 3CD Clamshell Box Set with Three Albums and Four Bonus Tracks – Mark Powell Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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PROG ROCK, PSYCH, AVANT GARDE...
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Covering 1967 to 1977 - It Also Focuses On

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"...Mad Jack and Space Machine..."

The BAKER GURVITZ ARMY was a strange one - started out well but tapered off quickly and then died fast.

Cream's mouthy drummer Ginger Baker and his collaboration with brothers Adrian and Paul Gurvitz (ex Gun and Three Man Army, Guitar, Bass and Principal Vocals) set Prog Rock pulses racing with their rather good self-titled UK debut album (recorded in 1974) on Vertigo Records. Eventually released in January 1975 - "The Baker Gurvitz Army" even charted in February 1975 in Blighty and went up to No. 22 (a more modest No 140 in the USA on Janus Records).

But as is aurally evidenced by this cute 2019 Mini Clamshell Box Set from those decent chappies over at Esoteric Recordings UK (it gathers all three of their albums together in one place and adds on four live bonus tracks, card sleeves with a foldout photographs/details poster) - the music took something of a steady nosedive with album's two and three from September 1975 and May 1976 - as did any further bothering of the British LP charts until their demise in late 1976. Still, there is stuff here to love. Back to memory lane...

UK released 26 April 2019 - "Since Beginning: The Albums 1974-1976" by BAKER GURVITZ ARMY on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 32669 (Barcode 5013929476943) is a 3CD Mini Clamshell Box Set of Remasters that plays out as follows:

CD One (51:50 minutes):

1. Help Me [Side 1]

2. Love Is

3. Memory Lane

4. Inside Of Me

5. I Wanna Live Again

6. Mad Jack [Side 2]

7. 4 Phil

8. Since Beginning

Tracks 1 to 8 are their debut album "The Baker Gurvitz Army" - released January 1975 in the UK on Vertigo 9103 201 and January 1975 in the USA on Janus JXS 7015. Produced by GINGER BAKER with PAUL and ADRIAN GURVITZ - it peaked at No. 22 in the UK and No. 140 in the USA (February 1975). Adrian and Paul Gurvitz on Vocals (Ginger Baker on "Mad Jack") with Backing Vocals by Barry St. John, Liza Strike, Madeline Bell and Rosetta Hightower on "I Wanna Live Again".

BONUS TRACK (Previously Unreleased):

9. Memory Lane (Live)

CD Two (53:41 minutes):

1. People [Side 1]

2. The Key

3. Time

4. The Gambler

5. The Dreamer [Side 2]

6. Remember

7. The Artist

8. The Hustler

Tracks 1 to 8 are their second studio album "Elysian Encounter" - released September 1975 in the UK on Mountain Records TOPS 101 and November 1975 in the USA on Atco Records SD 36-123. Produced by GINGER BAKER with ADRIAN and PAUL GURVITZ - it peaked at No. 185 in the USA but didn't chart in the UK. Steve Parsons (credited as Mr. Snips or just Snips) on Lead Vocals with Adrian Gurvitz Lead Vocals on "Remember" and "Time" (Snips is also Lead Vocals on the bonus live cut of "Memory Lane" on CD1).

BONUS TRACKS (Previously Unreleased):

9. People (Live)

10. Freedom (Live)

CD Three (43:48 minutes):

1. Hearts On Fire [Side 1]

2. Neon Lights

3. Smiling

4. Tracks Of My Life

5. Flying In And Out Of Stardom

6. Dancing The Night Away [Side 2]

7. My Mind Is Healing

8. Thirsty For The Blues

9. Night People

10. Mystery

Tracks 1 to 10 are their third and final studio album "Hearts On Fire" - released May 1976 in the UK on Mountain Records TOPS 111 and June 1976 in the USA on Atco Records SD 36-137 - didn't chart in either country. Guests include Ann O'Dell (ex Blue Mink and Chopyn) laying Hammond Organ on "Smiling" and "My Mind Is Healing" and Piano on "Tracks Of My Life", Brian Chatton (ex Jackson Heights) plays Clavinet on "Smiling" and Ken Freeman plays Synth on "Neon Lights" and "Dancing The Night Away"

BONUS TRACK (Previously Unreleased):

11. Wotever It Is (Live)

While the clamshell box is nice to look at and hold, fans will probably find the six-leaf foldout poster not enough in terms of actual info. The tracks lists and musician credits (guest stuff too) is all here abutted by four rare European picture sleeves of singles on the credits side of the poster. The other side offers a collage of live photos of the band meshed into the debut album's great artwork. But there are no liner notes, no history and apart from Mark Powell's 'master preparation' - not even a Remaster credit. The card sleeves are cute with "Elysian Encounter" awarded a gatefold sleeve like its 1975 vinyl original on Mountain Records. This is one of those occasions when an interview/liner notes would have not gone amiss. The Audio is great throughout as they are on these Cherry Red reissues.

After the debut album's late January 1975 release and its chart placing in February, Vertigo figured a single might help. So they threw out Side 1's big drums and synth rolling "Help Me" b/w "I Wanna Live Again" as a 45 in early March 1975 - but Vertigo 6078 211 didn't do any business and was the only 7" single flourish from the album. The playing on the tight "Love Is" is amazing as is the Production values - orchestration by John Bell and Martyn Ford giving the short Proggy instrumental an epic feel - rather like some chop-show theme. The near five minutes of "Memory Lane" features Adrian's geetar skills even though you wish it left out his hammy echoed vocals. "Inside Of Me" and its five and half minutes is probably one of the LP's better cuts - a mixture of doubled-up slide guitar, amplified drum rolls and building Prog flourishes (love it). They end Side 1 with "I Wanna Live Again" - a bizarre mixture of sickly sweet pleading with great harmony vocals from Barry St. John, Madeline Bell, Liza Strike and Rosetta Hightower and strings. You loves it or hates it - personally I think it’s a melodrama too far.

Side 2 goes back to business with nearly eight minutes of "Mad Jack" where Baker tells us what we're about to hear is a true story before Gurvitz takes over singing. There's great playing and ideas sans The Sensational Alex Harvey Band but soon it overstays its welcome. Some lazily tasteful Peter Green-type Blues guitar opens "4 Phil" and it pretty much stays that way throughout - another one of this patchy LP's better moments.  We close with nearly eight minutes of floating Prog Rock "Since Beginning" where they sound closer to Gentle Giant and Yes than they've done on the rest of the LP. The Previously Unreleased live version of "Memory Lane" clocks in at a whopping 10:20 minutes and there's no doubt that the riffage sounds exciting and the band alive (well recorded too).

I remember "Elysian Encounter" so looking the part with its gorgeous gatefold sleeve art courtesy of Petagno - but material like "Elysian Encounter" and "The Hustler" felt old and tired by 1976. The last album hardly registered with me, and re-hearing stuff like "Tracks Of My Life" only makes me think of the kind of stodgy Rock riffage that Punk was just about to blow away and ridicule from a height. Didn't help either that in 1976, "Hearts On Fire" had that awful mid 70ts artwork and cheesy title too. 

BAKER and GURVITZ fans will probably already own "Since Beginning: The Albums 1974-1976" and welcome the threesome of albums in one place with those excellently recorded live additions as bonuses. Others would be advised to nab a listen to the debut first (get a lay of the Prog Rock land so to speak) and thereafter decide if they want more, albeit in a lesser vein as it progresses...

"That's The Way God Planned It" by BILLY PRESTON (2010 Apple 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"…Don't Put Off Tomorrow…What You Can Do Today…"

Having played on the “Let It Be” album, become the only other named artist on a Beatles 7” single (“Get Back”) and done the rooftop concert with The Fabs - Billy Preston’s signing to their Apple Records label was something of a foregone conclusion. But what pleases now in 2015 (all those decades later) is that his two albums on their corporate record company were both underrated corkers - right up their with the majors offerings of the time (and featured a host of big league guests and songs associated with the Beatles Solo catalogue).

Monday 25 October 2010 saw 14 of the Apple Label albums remastered and reissued alongside "Come And Get It" - a first-time-ever label Best Of compilation. This reissue for Preston’s debut on Apple is one of them. "That's The Way God Planned It" was the first of two outings for long-time friend and sometimes collaborator with The Beatles - American keyboardist and Soul Singer Billy Preston. And along with its superb 1970 follow up LP "Encouraging Words" - it's one of the labels better offerings. Here are the Heavenly details…

UK released 25 October 2010 - "That's The Way God Planned It" by BILLY PRESTON on Apple/EMI 5099990824128 (Barcode 5099990824128) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster with Four Bonus Tracks and plays out as follows (53:52 minutes):

1. Do What You Want

2. I Want To Thank You

3. Everything’s Alright

4. She Belongs To Me

5. It Doesn’t Matter

6. Morning Star

7. Hey Brother

8. What About You

9. Let Us Get Together Right Now

10. This Is It

11. Keep It To Yourself

12. That’s The Way God Planned It (Parts 1 & 2)

Tracks 1 to 12 are the LP "That's The Way God Planned It" released 22 August 1969 in the UK on Apple SAPCOR 9 (Stereo only) and on Apple/Capitol ST-3359 in the USA.

BONUS TRACKS:

13. Through All Times

14. As I Get Older

15. That’s The Way God Planned It (Alternate Version)

16. Something’s Got To Change [Previously Unreleased]

Tracks 13 to 15 are the 3 bonus tracks given with the 1991 reissue. The writer of "Through All Times" is unknown, "As I Get Older" is an instrumental co-written with Sylvester Sly Stone Stewart and produced by Ray Charles - while Eric Clapton plays guitar on the Alternate Version of the “That’s The Way God Planned It”. Track 16 is a new bonus track for this 2010 issue - the previously unreleased fully formed song - a cover of “Something's Got To Change” by Johnny Johnson and The Bandwagon

Two UK singles came off the album with one non-album 7" that followed: 

1. "That's The Way God Planned It" b/w "What About You"

(Released 25 June 1969 in the UK on Apple APPLE 12 - it reached number 11 in July 1969 on the UK pop charts)

2. "Everything's All Right" b/w "I Want To Thank You"

(Released 17 October 1969 in the UK on Apple APPLE 19)

3. "All That I Got (I'm Gonna Give It To You)" b/w "As I Get Older"

(Released 30 January 1970 in the UK on Apple APPLE 21 - the A-side is on the "Encouraging Words" reissue as a bonus (Track 15), the B-side is Track 14 on here; both songs were non-album at the time of release)

BOOKLET/PACKAGING:

Noted writer and music lover ANDY DAVIS does the new liner notes for the disappointingly weedy 12-page booklet (EMI pushes the boat out again people). But with what little text he has been afforded, Davis does at least fill it with properly informative details - and it's peppered with some very tasty colour photos of Harrison and Preston in the studio. Derek Taylor's original LP sleeve notes are taken off the back cover artwork and placed inside the inner gatefold of the card - the collage of 6 black and white photos on the rear sleeve stay on the back.

PLAYERS:

The cast of musicians involved is impressive - KEITH RICHARDS on Bass, GINGER BAKER on Drums, ERIC CLAPTON and GEORGE HARRISON on Guitars with both MADELINE BELL and DORIS TROY providing beautiful soulful backing vocals (Doris Troy was in fact signed to the label on the strength of her work here). George Harrison handled all Producing except "Hey Brother" and Keep It To Yourself", which along with the B-side "Through All Times" were done by Wayne Schuler.

CONTENT:

Six of the 12 are Billy Preston originals with "Hey Brother" (a derivative of "Hey Joe") being co-written with Jesse Kirkland. Three others are co-writes too, this time with soon-to-be label mate Doris Troy - "Everything's All Right", "This Is It" and "Let Us All Get Together Right Now". Which leaves two cover versions - Bob Dylan's "She Belongs To Me" and "Morning Star" by American Blues founder father W.C. Handy. Unlike some of the other Apple issues, there are no extra tracks via download. But the really big news is the sound...

SOUND:

The same team that handled the much-praised 09/09/09 Beatles remasters has done this - GUY MASSEY, STEVE ROOKES, PHIL HICKS and SIMON GIBSON. I always though the initial 1991 reissue was dull-as-dishwater soundwise - well not so now because the audio quality here is BEAUTIFUL - a massive improvement. The kick off the drums and vocals is fantastic - the piano intro on "Let Us All Get Together Right Now" is stunning (lyrics above). It makes you reassess a lot of the songs and appreciate more Harrison's excellent production contributions.

Highlights for me include the wonderfully uptempo "I Want To Thank You" which feels like it stepped right out of a 1968 Northern Soul session - and the almost Aretha Franklin gospel vibe of "Let's Us All Get Together Right Now". The irresistible dancer beat and cautionary lyrics about keeping your trap shut when it comes to matters of love in "Keep It To Yourself" are so Motown - great stuff. But the best is kept until last. While the initial 3 bonus tracks are ok - not so the newly found "Something's Got To Change" - it's shockingly good. The closest approximation would be "I Want To Thank You" - the new song is a brass-laden dancer with male backing vocals - and it's that rarest of things, a genuine must-have bonus track.

Niggles - the gatefold card sleeve is nice to look at for sure, but the booklet and overall packaging feel lightweight (what EMI could get away with). The CD should have one of those gauze inner bags to protect it - a problem that no record company that issues these card sleeves seems to want to acknowledge (scuffing and damage). And like so many of the LPs on this erratic vanity label - it's a good record rather than a great one.

To sum up - fans will love it, while skeptics may have to rethink this underrated LP and artist. Recommended - especially given the massive improvement in sound quality and that great bonus track…