Sunday, October 8, 2023

Blue Rose - Blue Rose (1972 us, fine rural rock)



The Blue Rose LP is worth looking for. The album. It’s a pretty good piece of work. The opener, “My Impersonal Life” – which was edited down and altered for the single, is probably the best song on the record, but not by much. I also really like a couple other tracks: “Debt of Fools,” a bluesy track that reminds me a little bit of the Eagles, and “Sweet Thing,” a great ballad with some nice horns pulling it along.

Some notes about a few of the other tracks: “Takin’ Love And Run”  reminds  Badfinger with its crunchy power chords; “I’ll Never Be In Love Again” is a nice country-rock piece; “Chasing The Glow Of A Candle” is over-orchestrated and has its vocals over-stacked, and the metronome sound is really odd.

The rest of the album is good. The vocals are well done with harmonies and stacks that generally work but sometimes seem to be a little too much. Terry Furlong (from Grass Roots fame) and Dave Thomson on guitars, with great Harvey Mandell on guitar in one song “I’ll Never Be In Love Again”; Dave Thomson on bass, with John Uribe (taking bass on “Takin’ Love and Run” and “Home”; Stu Perry (ex Jellyroll, Frankie Miller Band) on drums, with Don Poncher (Blue Mountain Eagle, Arthur Lee and The Band Aid,  Bobby Whitlock) taking drums on “Takin’ Love and Run” and “Home”; horns by the Elijah Band Horn Section; conga by King Errison; and arrangements and piano by Michael Omartian. Terry Furlong produced the record.
Tracks
1. My Impersonal Life  (Terry Furlong) - 04:25 
2. Takin' Love And Run  (Terry Furlong) - 02:46 
3. I'll Never Be In Love Again  (Dave Thomson) - 02:00 
4. Debt Of Fools  (Terry Furlong) - 04:16 
5. Chasin' The Glow Of A Candle  (Dave Thomson) - 02:18 
6. Sweet Thing  (Terry Furlong) - 04:04 
7. Make You Happy  (Dave Thomson) - 02:52
8. Home (Day After Day)  (Terry Furlong, John Uribe) - 03:20 
9. Show You A Way To Have Fun  (Dave Thomson) - 03:01 
10.Look What We're Doin'  (Dave Thomson, John Uribe) - 02:54

Blue Rose
*Terry Furlong - Guitar 
*Dave Thomson - Guitar, Bass 
*John Uribe - Bass 
*Stu Perry - Drums 
*Don Poncher - Drums
With
*Harvey Mandel - Guitar (Track 3)
*Michael Omartian - Piano
*Trumpet – Bobby Blood
*Elijah Band Horn Section - Horns

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Saturday, October 7, 2023

Greg Sneddon - Mind Stroll (1975 australia, beautiful melodic baroque prog rock, 2019 korean remaster)



Australian composer and instrumentalist Greg Sneddon's sole album is a wonderful mixture of pop, space rock and strong keyboard driven progressive rock. Greg was a founding member of Men At Work. 

A keyboard player of some repute, Sneddon used a handful of other musicians on the album, playing multi-keys himself. The compositions have their moments. With flavours of Rick Wakeman in his keyboard playing and vocals similar to Peter Gabriel, this album is still worth a listen.
Tracks
1. Mind Stroll - 9:45
2. Winter - 3:17
3. Take It Slow And Easy - 3:22
4. A Spell Of Destruction - 3:57
5. Minuet In F - 2:14
6. Concerto For Two Handed Plectrum / Madman - 8:47
Music and Lyrics by Greg Sneddon

Personnel
*Greg Sneddon - Piano, Hammond B3, ARP Pro Synth, Mellotron, Hohner Clavinet, Spinnet, Fender, Rhodes, Percussion, Vocals, 2-Handed Plectrum, Composer
*Dayle Alison - Vocals, Percussion
*Phil Butson - Guitars
*Jerry H. Speiser - Drums, Voice
*Gary Ricketts - Bass, Vocals (Track 6)

Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Allan Clarke - My Real Name Is 'Arold (1972 uk, wonderful straight ahead rock with folk and country aspects)



Singer/guitarist/songwriter Allan Clarke is one of the founders of the Hollies; intermittently, he also has maintained a solo career. Clarke and his childhood friend, Graham Nash, began singing together in Manchester in the '50s. Adding Eric Haydock (bass) and Don Rathbone (drums) (replaced by Bobby Elliott in 1963), they became the Fourtones in 1961 and then the Deltas in 1962. By early 1963, when they added Tony Hicks (guitar) and signed a record contract, they had become the Hollies. 

Their initial repertoire consisted of American R&B songs (though they soon began to write original material), and their defining characteristic was a strong vocal style, usually with Clarke in the lead and Nash and Hicks providing harmonies. In the U.K., the Hollies enjoyed consistent singles success, starting with "Just Like Me," the first of 29 chart singles, 17 of which made the Top Ten, with two -- "I'm Alive" and "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" -- reaching number one. Their appearances on the U.S. charts were less successful, though they managed to rack up 23 chart singles, six of which hit the Top Ten. Nash decamped at the end of 1968 to form Crosby, Stills, and Nash, but the Hollies continued. Clarke quit in August 1971 and launched a solo career, during which he made three albums: My Name Is 'arold (1972)
by William Ruhlmann
Tracks
1. Ruby (Allan Clarke) - 3:03
2. Mary Skeffington (Gerry Rafferty) - 2:54
3. Baby It's Alright With Me (Allan Clarke) - 5:24
4. Moonshine Whiskey (Allan Clarke) - 3:53
5. Nature's Way Of Saying Goodbye (Allan Clarke) - 4:11
6. You're Losing Me (Kerry Chater, Renée Armand) - 4:12
7. Let Us Pray (Allan Clarke, Ray Glynn) - 4:17
8. Patchwork Quilts (Terry Slater) - 3:51
9. Walpurgis Night (Joe Egan) - 3:33
10.Bring On Your Smiles (Allan Clarke) - 2:52
11.Oh! Granny (Kenny Lynch, Tony Hicks) - 2:41

Personnel
*Allan Clarke - Vocals,Acoustic Guitar 
*Gary Brooker - Keyboards
*Herbie Flowers - Bass
*Joe Moretti - Guitars
*Dee Murray - Keyboards, Vocals
*Alan Parker - Guitar 
*Tony Newman - Drums, Timbales
*Ray Glynn - Pedal Steel Guitar, Acoustic Guitar
*Roger Coulam - Electric Piano

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Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Propinquity - Propinquity (1973 us, divine ethereal folk rock)



Issued in 1973 on Colorado’s Folkways-shaped Owl imprint, Propinquity is the only album this Boulder group ever recorded. Steeped in the CSNY tradition of strong solo pieces knotted together by friendship, the album is a dreamy blend of folk and rock—rural, but with an urbane public school sensibility. The original 10-track album has been expanded to 16, with four unreleased tracks, and two others previously featured only on Owl’s 1971 Sing-In Boulder compilation. 
Tracks
1. People Come (Jason Potter) -  - 4:21
2. And I A Fairy Tale Lady (Carla Sciaky) - 3:23
3. Tappan Square (Pat Hubbard) - 2:54
4. You don't Have To Hurry (Jason Potter) - 3:29 
5. Standing In The Doorway (Pat Hubbard) - 2:15
6. Dorian: 240 Lament (Mel Stonebraker) - 2:55
7. Window (Pat Hubbard) - 3:38
8. Binghamton (Jason Potter) - 3:30
9. I'll Be Here In The Morning (Townes Van Zandt) - 3:27
10.Ohio (Pat Hubbard) - 3:42
11.Miles Before Sleeping (Carla Sciaky) - 2:34
12.Sea Song (Jason Potter) - 2:42
13.Suite For Windy Spring (Pat Hubbard) - 4:45
14.Child (Carla Sciaky) - 3:13
15.Where I'm Bound (Tom Paxton) - 2:03
16.Chermaine (Pat Hubbard) - 1:22

Propinquity
*Jeff Harper - Drums, Percussion
*Mel Stonebraker - Guitar, Bass Guitar
*Jason Potter - Guitar, Piano
*Pat Hubbard - Guitar, Piano
*Carla Sciaky - Guitar, Violin, Bass Guitar

Monday, October 2, 2023

rep> Soho Orange - Soho Orange (1971 uk, heavy rumbling psych rock)



The music you're about to hear is rough, fresh and sometimes strange. The power of the Picts once more . Soho Orange (Glasgow natives) did the tracks you hear on this record in 1971.The mists of time cover the knowledge about the guys who called themselves Soho Orange. 

Jim told us, their earlier name was Ad Lib Nevertheless, here they are-and be careful: This music might kill your amplifier ! A short, psychedelic intro - then the instruments explode into ‘King Of The Road’, an interesting song with changing speed. Hard guitar and merciless drumfire torture your ears, the tormenting cymbals shake your mind. This song gives you everything - except mercy!! Wonder how many drumheads were knocked to pieces in one session. 

Hard, driving sound and unique vocal-duos, that's what 'Mississippi Tales' has to offer. The song changes into ‘The Wish – Tears’ some kind of anti-war-song. • Hare and more grows a haunting feeling. Ghostly, desperate vocals grip your mind. The drums join to get to a harder end. ‘Freedom Callin’ is another anti-war-song which contains unique, crazy vocal - duos. The song has a slower start but then gets into a faster guitar-solo. A little solo by the drums and some kind of Coke-bottle give the prelude to the ecstatic end. 

If you're using headphones, take care of your tympanums or you might perhaps neither hear ‘Freedom Callin’ nor something else anymore. Softer guitars and gentle vocals start ‘Dream Queen’ and the song flows psychedelic for a while. When the singer has found his Queen, guitars, bass and drums make  hard attack. ‘Nightmare’ is a very hard track which rocks the membranes out of your loud - speakers (no compensation !!!).Good vocals and maximum power. This is a massacre for your ears and maybe for the rest of your body, too, if your neighbor is able to find his axe or chainsaw ;there*s a guitar-solo in the middle of the song which remembers me to Chopin's "Deadmarch" - so watch your sound – intensity, it may be an Omen !  Now we're getting near the end (a hard one of course).

The last track  is called ‘Seven Faces’ (I've had my visions before).Maybe the most changing and strangest song contained herein. Also the first song of this .group which Jim played to us. A song worth to awake your  interest. Vocals, underlined with effective echoes conclude the  song and the album, too. I 've been listening to Soho Orange nearly for 20 times and I loved it more and more with every hearing. 
Tracks
1. King of the Road - 5:46
2. Mississippi Tales / The Wish - Tears - 10:22
3. Freedom Callin - 5:40
4. Dream Queen - 5:28
5. Nightmare - 6:00
6. Seven Faces - 6:14

Soho Orange
*Alan McDade - Vocal
*Brian Cairns - Guitar
*Alex Gow - Bass
*Ian Cochrane - Drums

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Sunday, October 1, 2023

Southern Cross - Southern Cross (1976 australia, hot burning hard rock, 2011 reissue)



A heavy rock band formed by ex-Buffalo members Alan Milano and John Baxter. Milano was co-vocalist on Dead Forever while John Baxter was responsible for Buffalo's heavy rock sound. By the time this recording came about Baxter had left to be replaced by Bruce Cumming.

After Buffalo some members went on to other projects. Peter Wells formed Rose Tattoo & had a distinguished solo career. Dave Tice went to the UK to join the Count Bishops & around 1981 returned to Australia to continue touring & recording as a solo artist & as a member of the Headhunters. He is currently playing in the Dave Tice Band & with ex AC/DC bassist Mark Evans as Tice & Evans. (see http://www.davetice.com) John (Jack The Riffer) Baxter played with Boy Racer & Southern Cross. Some material is believed to have been recorded but has never seen a release. Alan Milano was also a member of Southern Cross leaving Buffalo after Dead Forever...
Tracks
1. Money Maker (Jeff Beacham, Bruce Cumming, Alan Milano) - 4:31
2. You Need It - 5:10
3. Jessie (Bruce Cumming, Alan Milano) - 5:12
4. What Am I Waiting For? - 5:19
5. Harris Street - 4:42
6. Story Teller (Bruce Cumming, Alan Milano) - 5:12
7. Games - 8:58
8. Stormy Lady - 4:51
All compositions by Jeff Beacham, Michel Brouet, Bruce Cumming, Alan Milano except where stated

Southern Cross
*Bruce Cumming - Guitars
*Jeff Beacham - Drums
*Michel Brouet - Bass, Vocals
*Alan Milano - Vocals


Friday, September 29, 2023

Morning Dew - No More (1966-69 us, tight, dynamic garage psych, 2009 release)



The Morning Dew's body of work provides a compelling object lesson in how far into the ether the average American rock dude would drift over the course of the 1960s. Early in that fabled decade, lead guitarist Mal Robinson and drummer Don Sligar played together in a Ventures-influenced instrumental combo called the Impax and a pair of blue-eyed R&B acts, the Runaways and the Durations. Robinson and Sligar then joined forces with bassist Don Shufford to form a folk-rock band, the Toads, which in 1966 would evolve into the Morning Dew with the addition of guitarist Don Anderson. 

The Morning Dew started out as a swaggering garage rock outfit before embracing the fuzzy sounds and sonic wanderlust of psychedelia late in the decade. They cut an album for Roulette that was released in 1970, not long before the band called it quits, but No More 1966-1969 collects several small label singles and demo sessions the band recorded in the years before that album, and while most of the stuff here is strong if not exactly mind-bending rock & roll from the Middle of America, the group's creative progress is inarguably fascinating. 

The opening cuts, "No More" and "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone" (modeled after Paul Revere and the Raiders, not the Monkees) are classic sneering garage rock, and Robinson's vocals and lead work are a cut above the average, but by the time they recorded "Winter Dreams" (complete with an autoharp) and "Sycamore Dreamer" (a slick number with flute, violin, and wah-wah guitar adding to the trippiness), they might not have been dropping acid but they were listening to enough bands who did to pick up the influences, and they carried them off pretty well. 

By the time this disc has come to a close, the Morning Dew have transformed themselves into Topeka's answer to the Strawberry Alarm Clock, and on "Lady Soul," "Money Honey Blues," "Rainbow Women," and a cover of the Youngbloods' "Get Together" that drips with panning, they sounded as expert as their big-city compatriots and hip enough to pass for actual hippies in dim light. For fans of vintage garage and psychedelic rock, No More 1966-1969 is a solid collection that captures a lesser-known band in fine form, while for sociologists, the Morning Dew provide an absorbing case study in the freaking out of Young America. Either way, it's well worth a listen. 
by Mark Deming
Tracks
1. No More - 2:41
2. I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone (Tommy Boyce, Bobby Hart) - 2:17
3. Touch Of Magic - 2:26
4. Look At Me Now - 2:36
5. No More - 2:46
6. Be A Friend - 3:43
7. Go Away - 2:53
8. Winter Dreams - 2:18
9. Sycamore Dreamer - 3:45
10.Then Came The Light - 4:01
11.Cherry Street - 4:26
12.Rainbow Woman - 4:00
13.Lady Soul - 3:07
14.Money Honey Blues - 2:49
15.Sing Out - 2:57
16.Young Man - 2:38
17.Get Together (Dino Valenti) - 4:17
18.KEWI Radio July, 1967 Tour Interviews - 6:14
19.Look At Me Now - 2:52
All songs by Malcolm Robinson except where noted

The Morning Dew
*Malcolm Robinson - Lead Guitar, Vocals
*Don Sligar - Drums
*Don Anderson - Rhythm Guitar
*Don Shufford - Bass


Tuesday, September 26, 2023

Garland Jeffreys And Grinder's Switch - Garland Jeffreys And Grinder's Switch (1970 puerto rico / us, intelligent combined reggae, blues and idiosyncratic country-rock amalgams)



As a child of black, white and Puerto Rican heritage growing up in the ‘50s, Jeffreys was raised on everything from R&B to the first bursts of rock and roll to “God Bless America” crooner Kate Smith (who gets a shout-out in the new album’s title track, by virtue of having been a daily TV favorite of his grandfather’s). He fell in with a more literary crowd once his blue-collar father made enough money to send him to Syracuse. Once he started making his own music, Jeffreys never became any easier to nail down. As a folkie, he played Village nightspots like the Bitter End and the Gaslight, before recording his first album as a member of the short-lived Woodstock-based group Grinder’s Switch for Vanguard in 1970.

Garland Jeffreys made his disc debut as the leader of the band Grinder's Switch on Vanguard Records in 1970. By the evidence of its ten Jeffreys-composed songs, he and the group had spent a lot of time listening to the Band's Music from Big Pink and the batch of songs Bob Dylan had developed with the Band in the late '60s, including "The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)." Jeffreys, Ernest Corallo, and Stan Szelest approximated the Band's rough vocal trio of Levon Helm, Rick Danko, and Richard Manuel, and the country-rock musical arrangements, with their prominent organ and piano work by Szelest, also strongly recalled the sound of the Band. (Szelest actually joined a later lineup of the Band, appearing on their 1993 album, Jericho.) Jeffreys had some clever and amusing things to say in his lyrics, marking him as the singer/songwriter he would develop into later. But upon release, Garland Jeffreys and Grinder's Switch was so much of a clone of the Band that it was hard to separate it out as the work of an independent entity. 
by William Ruhlmann
Tracks
1. Sister Divine - 4:45
2. Father, The Son, And The Holy Ghost - 3:56
3. Won't Ya Come Back Home - 2:26
4. Dear Jolly Jack - 3:41
5. And Don't Be Late - 2:42
6. An Imaginary Invalid - 4:05
7. Last Night I Drove Down To The Bar (Women And Wine) - 2:09
8. Evening - 1:52
9. They Call Me Fortune And Fame - 2:17
10.Seven Sleepers' Den - 7:40
All songs by Garland Jeffreys

Musicians
*Garland Jeffreys - Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
*Ernie Corallo - Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Steel Guitar, Mandolin
*Richard Davis - Bass
*Sanford Konikoff - Drums
*Bob Piazza - Bass
*Stan Szelest - Vocals, Harmonica, Organ, Piano


Monday, September 25, 2023

rep> Johnny Lunchbreak - Appetizer / Soup's On (1974-75 us, amazing guitar garage psych rock)



Johnny Lunchbreak, never even released an album. The band had roots at King Philip Junior High in West Hartford, Conn., and their story is a prototype for thousands of groups-- start out playing because it's fun, get serious, find success elusive (complete with cool reception by the NYC press), call it quits in frustration when you realize that feeding your child is more important than gigging at bars in Vernon for chump change. 

But what most of those other bands didn't have was an album's worth of really good, unique songs that show a band tantalizingly close to a breakthrough. "Tinsel Days" has a colossal power pop hook and a great independent bassline, but the killer is "Not a Dry Eye in America", which shows off their harmonies and fakes you into believing it's a ballad before ramping up to a moody, blues-inflected climax. The recording quality is clean but not clear (these are demos in the true sense), but these guys had it, and it shows through the relatively murky sound.
by Joe Tangari
Tracks
1. A Very Papal State - 5:33
2. Tinsel Days - 3:50
3. The Same Could Happen To You - 2:42
4. Never Found - 2:29
5. It's Got A Hold On You (Tom Ekwurtzel) - 5:16
6. Take Me Baby (John Gengras) - 3:36
7. Amazing Pain (Tom Ekwurtzel) - 3:24
8. Not A Dry Eye In America - 4:06
9. The Best That I Had - 5:43
All songs by Andrew Merritt except otherwise stated.

Johnny Lunchbreak
*Andrew Merritt - Guitar, Vocals, Drums
*Michael Clare - Bass
*John Gengras - Lead Guitar, Vocals
*Guy Gengras - Drums, Vocals, Congas
*Tom Ekwurtzel - Guitar, Piano, Moog

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Sunday, September 24, 2023

Genya Ravan - Goldie Zelkowitz (1974 us, essential funky blues rock, 2008 remaster)



When you hear the great blues singer Genya Ravan totally capture Gregg Allman's "Whipping Post," you realize that his melody needed a vocal that could bring the song way over the bar. Ravan's voice does just that, hits the home run while gliding through the dense production of Gabriel Mekler, the man who produced Janis Joplin's I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama. It's the combination of Mekler's guidance and Ravan's musical instincts that give immense power to this 1974 release titled after Ravan's birth name, Goldie Zelkowitz. 

The version of the Allman Brothers' classic is a total reinterpretation, but it is only one of ten selections that are arguably the best setting for this pioneer vocalist. "Get It Back" is funky and hip with dance rhythms that are adventurous and futuristic; the song has pull like an undertow, and the production is so polished it will amaze. Mekler was one of the most underrated producers of his day, and the Kozmic Blues album was a masterpiece overshadowed by Cheap Thrills and Pearl. It seems like Mekler had something to prove and, with co-producer Trevor Lawrence, he augments Ravan's vocal prowess, the band aiding and abetting her as she takes "Hold On I'm Coming" and makes it her own. A dazzling recording that sounds like Quicksilver Messenger Service doing Big Mama Thornton's "Ball and Chain" with drums out of Charlie Watts on "Let It Bleed" -- this makeover of the Sam & Dave hit is a monster track. "Whipping Post" was great but this "Hold On I'm Coming" just obliterates everything in its path.

While Ten Wheel Drive experimented with various styles, their former lead singer has the opportunity here to focus and to strut her stuff away from the confines of a big, big rock band, giving listeners a side of Ravan that is only hinted at on Urban Desire, one of her most popular solo albums, which arrived a few years after this. "Letter" is like a subdued "Stay With Me" from the TWD days, while "Breadline" takes the disc even deeper into the blues. "Walkin' Walkin'" is snappy, intimate dance-pop that gives good balance to an album boasting Danny Kortchmar on guitar and Bobby Keyes on horns. "Need Your Lovin'" segues into a mini-medley with "Peeping and Hiding" finding Ravan's voice in complete control, and boy can she play the harmonica. 

Her catalog remains one of the most unmined vaults of treasures in rock/blues history, and this album needs to be the centerpiece of a boxed-set appreciation of Genya Ravan. It is so overwhelmingly good that, with a push to the blues market, it can find a new audience for this major and underrated talent. The singer's legacy is intact at www.genyaravan.com and Goldie Zelkowitz is an often overlooked chestnut in her impressive catalog, an album that needs to get serious attention from those who understand this art form and who want another album to cherish.
by Joe Viglione
Tracks
1. My Oh My My Mama (Catherine C. Williamson, Gabriel Mekler, Trevor Lawrence) - 4:08
2. Whipping Post (Gregg Allman) - 4:25
3. Get It Back (Gabriel Mekler, Genya Ravan, Trevor Lawrence) - 3:10
4. Hold On I'm Coming (David Porter, Isaac Hayes) - 4:22
5. Little By Little (Gabriel Mekler, Genya Ravan, Trevor Lawrence) - 3:33
6. Letter (Catherine C. Williamson, Gabriel Mekler, Trevor Lawrence) - 4:38
7. Breadline (Catherine C. Williamson, Gabriel Mekler, Trevor Lawrence) - 3:40
8. Walkin' (Catherine C. Williamson, Gabriel Mekler, Genya Ravan, Trevor Lawrence) - 2:36
9. Need Your Lovin / Peeping And Hiding (Bobby Robinson, Clarence Lewis, Don Gardner, James McDougal, Morris Levy) - 2:39

Personnel
*Genya Ravan - Harmonica, Percussion, Vocals
*Fred Beckmeier - Bass
*Steve Beckmeier - Guitar
*Mailto Correa - Percussion
*Gwen Edwards - Vocals
*Abigale Haness - Vocals
*Bobby Keys - Saxophone
*Danny Kortchmar - Guitar
*Trevor Lawrence - Horn, Keyboards
*Steve Madaio - Horn
*Ken Marco - Guitar
*Gabriel Mekler - Keyboards
*Larry Nash - Keyboards
*Kenneth "Spider Webb" Rice - Drums
*William D. "Smitty" Smith - Keyboards
*Catherine C. Williamson - Vocals

1971  Genya Ravan - Genya Ravan (Remaster)
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1969  Ten Wheel Drive - Construction #1 (2019 korean remaster)
1970  Ten Wheel Drive - Brief Replies (2019 korean remaster)