Plain and Fancy

1973 Fruupp - Future Legends (2004 japan, 2009 esoteric and 2016 blu spec)

Monday, March 15, 2021

Fruupp - The Prince Of Heaven's Eyes (1974 ireland, imressive baroque art prog rock, with extra tracks 2004 japan, 2009 esoteric and 2016 blu spec)

With two albums under their belt, each displaying a natural progression, and gaining a reputation as one of the most solid live acts around, Fruupp were back in the studio that same summer to produce The Prince Of Heaven’s Eyes. It was released on 8th November 1974 the very same day that I and a friend and fellow fan caught them live mid tour to promote the album. The third album is regarded by most (including yours truly) to be their strongest and most assured. Most surprisingly McCusker’s compositions take a backseat with Houston given credit for writing six out of the eight songs. The albums title and concept are taken from a mythical story written by Paul Charles which was included as a separate booklet with the original vinyl release and has been thoughtfully reproduced to accompany this CD.

The tuneful opening cut It's All Up Now has shades of Barclay James Harvest and remains to this day my favourite Fruupp song. Gone were the strings of previous recordings, replaced by Houston’s symphonic keys and McCusker’s lyrical guitar. The sinister vocals during Prince Of Darkness echo Peter Gabriel’s character led performances with Genesis and it also made a curious choice for the bands first single released in October 1974. Jaunting Car is a whimsical Mellotron led instrumental whilst Annie Austere literally burst from the speakers sounding very like The Who, returning to the punchy but melodic style of the first album. Farrelly’s vocals are particularly expressive here with more than a hint of an accent to reveal his Irish origins. He also adds his talents as flute player to the poignant Knowing You, the first of two McCusker penned songs that open what would have been side two of the original vinyl release. It segues into the mini-epic Crystal Brook which again brings BJH to mind especially their classic Mockingbird. The two tracks combine into one of the bands finest ever creations.

The piano opening to Seaward Sunset sounds distinctly Chopin and develops into a beautiful and delicate melody that would have sat very comfortably on Ant Phillips’ The Geese And The Ghost album. The Perfect Wish also features classical style piano together with a stately Andy Latimer flavoured guitar line. John Lees appears to be the role model for the guitar sound whilst the classical inspiration is Sibelius’ 5th Symphony with lush waves of synth strings providing a perfect, grandiose closer. The bonus track Prince Of Heaven is something of a rarity in that it was co-composed by the band and was left off the original release due to space constraints. A pity because it would have provided the perfect prologue to explain the story and with a strong piano and guitar led melody building to a rousing climax it’s a quintessential slice of Fruupp. The single version of Jaunting Car on the other hand is instantly disposable as to my ears it’s identical to the album version.

by Geoff Feakes

Tracks

1. It's All Up Now - 7:23

2. Prince Of Darkness - 3:48

3. Jaunting Car - 2:24

4. Annie Austere - 5:17

5. Knowing You (Vincent McCusker) - 10:47

6. Crystal Brook (Vincent McCusker) - 3:07

7. Seaward Sunset - 5:25

8. The Perfect Wish - 4:31

9. Prince Of Heaven - 3:32

10.Jaunting Car (Single Version) - 2:26

All songs by Stephen Houston except where indicated

Bonus Tracks 9-10

Fruupp

*Peter Farrelly - Bass, Flute, Lead Vocals

*Martin Foye - Drums, Percussion

*Stephen Houston - Keyboards, Oboe, Vocals

*Vincent McCusker - Acoustic, Electric Guitars, Vocals

1974 Fruupp - Seven Secrets (2004 japan, 2009 esoteric and 2016 blu spec)

1977 Detective - Detective (2010 remaster)

Sunday, March 14, 2021

Detective - It Takes One To Know One (1977 us / uk, tough zeppelinesque hard rock, 2016 remaster)

Detective wasn't without its detractors who dismissed the short-lived band as a poor man's Led Zeppelin. But Detective had more to offer than that. To be sure, Detective was heavily influenced by Zeppelin, but it wasn't a knee-jerk Zeppelin clone -- and its bluesy brand of hard rock also owed a lot to Bad Company and Free and Pretty Things. Released in 1977, It Takes One to Know One was the second of Detective's two studio albums.

When Detective hits its mark -- and it often does -- the listener is happy to have this record in his/her collection. The album's best songs (which include "Dynamite," "Competition," and "Tear Jerker") pack an invigorating hard rock punch. Equally memorable is "Are You Talkin' to Me?," which was obviously inspired by Robert De Niro's famous line in the film Taxi Driver. That Martin Scorsese masterpiece came out in 1976, and Detective's 1977 song is an example of how De Niro's line quickly became a part of popular culture. Imperfections and all, It Takes One to Know One is worth having in your collection if you have a taste for bluesy, riff-oriented hard rock.

by Alex Henderson

Tracks

1. Help Me Up (Jon Hyde) - 4:14

2. Competition (Michael Des Barres, Pamela Des Barres, Michael Monarch, Tony Kaye) - 4:34

3. Are You Talkin' To Me?- (Michael Des Barres, Michael Monarch) - 4:35

4. Dynamite (Michael Monarch, Jon Hyde) - 5:25

5. Something Beautiful (Michael Des Barres) - 4:19

6. Warm Love (Michael Monarch, Jon Hyde) - 5:24

7. Betcha Won't Dance (Michael Des Barres, Bobby Pickett) - 4:24

8. Fever (Michael Monarch, Bobby Pickett, Jon Hyde) - 4:40

9. Tear Jerker (Michael Monarch, Tony Kaye, Jon Hyde) - 4:30

Detective

*Michael Des Barres - Lead Vocals

*Michael Monarch - Guitars

*Tony Kaye - Keyboards

*Bobby Pickett - Bass, Backing Vocals

*Jon Hyde - Drums, Backing Vocals, Percussion

1969 Steppenwolf - At Your Birthday Party (2013 Japan SHM)

1975 Badger - White Lady (2015 remaster)

1976 Badger - One Live Badger (2016 digi pak remaster)

1969 Steppenwolf - At Your Birthday Party (2013 Japan SHM)

Saturday, March 13, 2021

Detective - Detective (1977 us / uk, powerhouse rock, 2010 remaster)

In the late 1970’s, Led Zeppelin;s own record label Swan Song signed a band known as Detective. It was not a group of unknown musicians. At the helm on lead vocals was ex-Silverhead lead singer Michael De Barres. On keyboards ex-Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye. Bobby Pickett played bass and on drums was the John Bonham inspired John Hyde. Michael Monarch played guitar (previously for Steppenwolf). The band only recorded two albums that were both released in 1977. However, the band did make a splash in the rock scene during their short tenure.

Any band that was signed to Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song label was due to get noticed. Having members of Led Zeppelin like Jimmy Page speak positively about the band Detective is not going to hurt. Like many bands that signed major label record deals in the 1970’s, the band Detective found themselves on tour opening for some of the biggest name in rock and roll. The band went on the road opening for Kiss and Blue Oyster Cult.

The band’s first album entitled Detective was released early in 1977. The record sold over seventy five thousand copies. However it never cracked the Billboard Hot 100 Album charts peaking at number 135. The album featured the popular cut “Wild Hot Summer Nights.” The song strayed closer to the soul funk sound of Chic than it did Led Zeppelin. Nonetheless, the cut featured some great lead vocals by Michael Des Barres and a great guitar solo from Michael Monarch. Bobby Pickett’s lead bass playing also played a prominent role in the tune. A really great track that you can check out below.

While the song “Wild Hot Summer Nights,” may have sounded closer to the popular disco funk sound of the 1970’s, the rest of the band’s debut album featured some pretty heavy Led Zeppelin-esqe melodies and Zep style performances. One great example is the standout track Grim Reaper.

by Janey Roberts

Tracks

1. Recognition (Michael Des Barres, Pamela Des Barres, Michael Monarch) - 4:27

2. Got Enough Love (Michael Des Barres, P. Des Barres, Michael Monarch) - 3:59

3. Grim Reaper (Michael Des Barres, Monarch, Bobby Pickett, Jon Hyde) - 4:10

4. Nightingale (Michael Monarch, John Hyde) - 4:54

5. Detective Man (Michael Monarch, John Hyde) - 3:25

6. Ain't None Of Your Business (Lew Anderson, Becky Hobbs) - 4:29

7. Deep Down (Michael Monarch, Bobby Pickett) - 3:06

8. Wild Hot Summer Nights (Michael Monarch, John Hyde) - 4:17

9. One More Heartache (Michael Monarch, John Hyde) - 5:22

Detective

*Michael Des Barres - Lead Vocals

*Michael Monarch - Guitars

*Tony Kaye - Keyboards

*Bobby Pickett - Bass, Backing Vocals

*Jon Hyde - Drums, Backing Vocals, Percussion

1975 Badger - White Lady (2015 remaster)

1976 Badger - One Live Badger (2016 digi pak remaster)

Thursday, March 11, 2021

Totty - Totty (1977 us, good hard rock with excellent guitar parts and prog shades)

Totty formed 1975 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA by brothers Dennis and Byron Totty. A Christian Hard Rock trio, with a tight rhythm section, hard and powerful with great songs like the 8-minute "Somebody Help Me" or the early Prog Rock "Crack In The Cosmic Egg", if you like the so-called underground 70's Hard Rock, then Totty is for your tastes. If you like heavy guitar sound from the 70's then this is for you, or if you like bands like Montrose, Granicus or Nitzinger then you will love them.

This blasting album was originally recorded in 1976 in promo format (white cover) and in 50 copies only, for promotional-advertising purposes only. In 1977 it was released regularly in record stores, with a changed cover by an independent record company, of course it did not have any huge commercial success, the usually result for independent self-financed productions. After years the collectors of forgotten vinyl found it and it came back in part, the original vinyl copy costs around 250-300 euros, while the reissue costs 20.

Totty's influences are plentiful, most often reminiscent of bands such as Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top, but also bands such as Outlaws, Cain, Truth & Janey or Missouri. So it is a power-trio that plays hot hard 70's Hard Rock with some Boogie, Psych Rock and Prog Rock, but also Southern Rock music passages. This is a really good Hard Rock album, sometimes its sound is very heavy and with a hard approach, the vocals sound a little weird, hoarse and rough like those of Ted Nugent.

Oklahoma Desert Totty give us an intensely Hard Rock album with songs like "T-Town Teasers", "Crack In The Cosmic Egg", "Somebody Help Me" and "Wicked Truth", which sound like to have come straight from the records of the biggest and most remarkable bands of that era. It keeps the flame of the hot 70's burning inside. A reliable cult obscure Hard Rock album. After another album, "Too", which is less harsh than its predecessor, the Totty finally disbanded in 1981. In 1994 brothers Dennis and Byron Totty returned to the music scene with the EP "Rock-n-Okie Roll", but under the name Totty Brothers.

by Elias Kostopoulos

Tracks

1. Thus Saith The Lord - 1:30

2. T-Town Teasers - 2:41

3. Crack In The Cosmic Egg - 5:04

4. Love Down By One Share (Love Song To A Whore) - 4:57

5. I´Ve Done Made Up My Mind - 5:40

6. Wicked Truth - 4:09

7. Tryin´ To Forget You - 3:47

8. Take Me Away Jesus - 4:48

9. Somebody Help Me - 8:27

All songs by Dennis Totty, Byron Totty

Totty

*Dennis Totty - Guitar, Vocals, Piano, Synthesizer

*Byron Totty - Bass, Vocals, Synthesizer

*George Cooper - Drums

With

*David Blue - Drums

*Roger Roden - Drums

1972 Mick Softley - Any Mother Doesn't Grumble (2016 reissue)

Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Mick Softley - Sunrise / Street Singer (1970-71 uk, brilliant folk bluesy rock, 2005 double disc remaster)

Mick Softley was a troubador in the classic mould; a drifter with a guitar slung over his shoulder, his songs drawn from his surroundings and his wonderful singing voice inflamed by social passion (a Londoner, his mother had worked for a time in the offices of Sylvia and Christabel Pankhurst). In the winter of 1959 he lost his job as an apprentice engineer and set off for Spain to follow his muse, with a mate of his, another Mick, on the back of a motorbike - which with almost tidal inevitability broke down. Eventually Softley found himself in Paris where he hooked up with numerous other dispossessed British beatniks, including Wizz Jones, Clive Palmer and Alex Campbell, who encouraged and mentored the inexeperienced singer. Returning to the UK in the early 60s, Softley discovered that the folk-protest movement was in full swing, and gripped by artistic fervour he started up a folk club in Hemel Hempstead, soon to be home to the likes of Mac MacLeod, Maddy Prior - and a young singer named Donovan Leitch, who by 1965 rapidly, meteroically almost, became a bona-fide star. Luckily Donovan remembered the favours he owed to Softley and it was through him that Softley’s debut album ‘Songs for Swinging Survivors’ came to be recorded – Donovan also recorded a couple of Softley songs on his debut records, including ‘The War Drags On’ on his EP ‘The Universal Soldier’ which made the Top Ten.

After a lengthy spell of wandering, it was Donovan who convinced Softley to record again in 1970, introducing him to producer Terry Cox who had by that time already worked with Sandy Denny, the Fairports, Yes and (the today sadly overlooked) Allan Taylor. Cox assembled a truly phenomenal cast of musicians to back the singer, including Trees’ guitarist Barry Clark, Fotheringay’s Jerry Donahue, Pat Donaldson and Gerry Conway, plus Lyn Dobson, Richard Thompson and Doris Troy, and together they recorded three albums – including the two reissues to hand now. Times had changed, folk was no longer fashionable and although this was the era of “progressive rock”, it was also the heyday of the singer/songwriter with artists like Cat Stevens, Jackson Browne and James Taylor dominating the US, and in Britain home-grown acts such as Roy Harper, John Martyn and Nick Drake all rising to prominence. Mick Softley’s incredible singing voice plus the fact that he had matured as a songwriter meant that his music was now easily as good as any of his contemporaries, and Tony Cox’s lush arrangements and production was quite simply the icing on the cake.

‘Sunrise’, the debut LP for CBS released in 1970, arrived in a full-colour gatefold sleeve and was filled with songs about earth, nature and the universe, Softley’s concerns by now being more environmental (and bodily!) than social. The stand-out track is arguably ‘Time Machine’, a song about reincarnation which became Mick’s best known song, thanks largely to it being included on the ‘Rock Buster’ double compilation LP from CBS which also featured tracks by Dylan, Soft Machine, Spirit, the Byrds, It’s a Beautiful Day, Johnny & Edgar Winter, Santana, Trees, Robert Wyatt and Poco. That sold a few copies! I well remember it being a regular in almost every second-hand shop “record bin” well into the 1980s. Another cut from the album, the exquisite ‘Waterfall’, also appeared on the CBS ‘Together’ sampler. ‘Ship’s another personal favourite, with a stunning lead guitar line from Barry Clarke and a synthesiser adding a suitably spaceward-bound rumble to the proceedings as the ship in question blasts into orbit; and the long closing track ‘Love Colours’ has an eastern feel thanks to some sitar from reedsman Lyn Dobson.

‘Street Singer’ followed in 1971 and, despite (or maybe because of?) featuring even richer and more expansive production values to ‘Sunrise’, it’s a patchy album in comparison – helped in no small part to my mind by the inclusion of some good-timey jazz and ragtime pieces, enormously clever and probably hilarious in the studio when performed by the musos present but not really bearing repeated listenings. There’s a few nice moments of Softley uplugged though, particularly ‘Gypsy’ which features some tasty harmonica playing from Steve Hayton (of Daddy Longlegs!) and the Donovon-esque ‘Water Sister Water Brother’. The closing ‘New Day, New Way’ gives the album a rousing climax – one of my own favourite pieces on here with some striking backing vocals from Doris Troy.

After one more album, ‘Any Mother Doesn’t Grumble’, Softley once again drifted away from the scene for ten years or so – eventually recording three now extremely hard to find solo acoustic albums for Doll Records of Switzerland, and subsequently retiring to Ireland.

by Phil McMullen

Tracks

Disc 1 Sunrise 1970

1. Can You Hear Me Now? - 2:46

2. Waterfall - 2:09

3. Eagle - 4:25

4. Julia Argoyne - 2:30

5. Caravan - 3:03

6. If You're Not Part Of The Solution, You Must Be Part Of The Problem - 2:50

7. Ship - 6:07

8. You Go Your Way, I'll Go Mine - 3:56

9. Birdie, Birdie - 4:05

10.Time Machine - 4:57

11.On The Road Again - 1:43

12.Love Colours - 8:23

Music and Lyrics by Mick Softley

Disc 2 Street Singer 1971

1. Goin' Down The Road - 4:25

2. Ragtime Mama - 4:11

3. Water Sister, Water Brother - 3:46

4. Just Flew In On A Jet Plane - 2:36

5. Shucks Blues - 2:01

6. I Seen Good Times, I Seen Bad - 4:15

7. Peoples Talkin' About Hard Times - 2:56

8. Hope - 2:28

9. Hey Mama - 2:03

10.Gypsy - 3:17

11.Goldwatch Blues - 2:54

12.Went Down To The Sea - 2:28

13.New Day, New Way - 6:56

Words and Music by Mick Softley

Musicians

*Mick Softley - Acoustic Guitar, Harmonium

*Tony Cox - Harmonium, Piano, String Conductor, Synthesizer

*Jerry Donahue - Electric Guitar

*Gerry Conway - Drums, Percussion

*Lyn Dobson - Flute, Harmonica, Soprano, Tenor Saxophones, Sitar

*Chris Laurence - Bass

*Pat Donaldson - Bass

*Barry Clarke - Acoustic, Electric, Guitars

*Ned Balen - Tabla

*Mike Vickers - Synthesizer

*Lesley Duncan - Vocals

*Sue Wheatman - Vocals

*Sunny Wheetman - Vocals

*Tony Carr - Percussion

*Gringo - Vocals

*Steve Hayton - Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica

*David Horowitz - Piano

*Karl Jenkins - Baritone Sax

*Montpelier Strings - Strings

*Dudu Pukwana - Alto Sax

*Frank Ricotti - Marimba, Percussion

*Smiley Brothers - Vocals

*Liza Strike - Vocals

*Jimmy Thomas - Vocals

*Richard Thompson - Electric Guitar

*Doris Troy - Vocals

1965 V.A. - The Eve Folk Recordings (2014 double disc set)

1969-74 Various Artists - Bob Stanley And Pete Wiggs Present Occasional Rain (2020 release)

Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Various Artists - Bob Stanley And Pete Wiggs Present English Weather (1969-76 uk, The autumnal sound of Britain at the turn of the seventies, looking out through wet window panes to a new decade with a mixture of melancholy and optimism for what might come next, a new and distinctive sound emerges, 2017 issue)

The autumnal sound of Britain at the turn of the 70s, looking out through wet window panes to a new decade with a mixture of melancholy and optimism for what might come next. With the Beatles gone and the pound sinking, a new and distinctive sound emerges, led by flutes and mellotrons. Available in 18-track CD and 19-track double LP formats. The LP version is pressed on 180g vinyl in heavy-duty gatefold sleeve.

It’s hard for me – and I’m guessing I’m not alone here – to shake the Get Carter theme from my head whenever I cross the Tyne rail bridge on a journey up from London. The city may have changed dramatically since the film was shot at the turn of the 70s, but the weather hasn’t. One day last autumn I was working in Newcastle. With an afternoon to kill, I did what I usually do with a couple of spare hours in an unfamiliar town – I sought out a record shop. It would at least protect me from the rain, which was getting steadily heavier.

As I flicked through the racks I was trying to identify the record that was playing, an album with a hint of Crosby, Stills and Nash but an identifiably British pall hanging over the sunny harmonies. It was by Shape Of The Rain, and had a sepia sleeve which was an attempt to suggest the Old West even though it was clearly a shot of a post-industrial Britain that still felt closer to the War than it did to punk, just six or seven years down the line.

Outside the Newcastle rain was getting ridiculous. I was stuck in the shop. There was no one in there apart from me and Craig, the lad behind the counter. Once he’d twigged that I was genuinely interested in the Shape Of The Rain LP he pulled out T2’s “It’ll All Work Out In Boomland” and stuck it on the Hacker turntable. The sound was warm but slightly awkward, slashing guitars that recalled 1966 and frenetic drums hemmed in by warm brass, minor chords, and the kind of hazy nonchalant English vocals reminiscent of Caravan, or More-era Pink Floyd; not an easy listen, but absorbing. Then he revealed albums by the Parlour Band, Aardvark and Spring. All of them were melodic, melancholy, with jazz and folk touches and the same similar shrug of resignation, their collars turned to the wind of 1970 and the end of the Aquarian dream.

Enveloped in this post-psychedelic cocoon, sheltering from the rain, these records made a lot of sense together. I had childhood flashbacks of cafés with steamed-up windows, occupied by workmen in donkey jackets; hippies and bikers on Box Hill; odd music on Radio 1 on a Sunday afternoon that had a sense of serious intent but without knowing what for.

While America may have licked its wounds at the turn of the 70s by turning to singer-songwriters, purveyors of homilies like “teach your children well”, Britain wasn’t so ready to give up the trappings of psychedelia. And while the UK counter culture may have shed its “faith in something bigger”, it wasn’t about to chuck out the mellotron. This is how the day after the 60s felt: damp, fuzzy-headed, neither optimistic nor pessimistic but more than a little lost. British bands would mirror the ennui of the new decade with a new kind of music.

Any song on this colle296,4+ction could have been on the soundtrack of Bronco Bullfrog, Barney Platts-Mills’ film about bored youth trying to get its kicks in crumbling 1969 East London; each of them could have been the title song for the same director’s Private Road, with its young couple holed up in a country cottage, directionless, travelling without a destination. The post-psychedelic, pre-progressive age was brief, but rarely has contemporary music summed up a sense of place and time so perfectly. Some of these songs pre-date and post-date this era but all of them share an atmosphere.

Plenty of the acts on this compilation only got to make one album. Some got to make many more, but even with the bands who became leviathans of progressive rock, their debuts tended to be more focused, more human-sized; significantly, they pre-dated the term, and therefore the connotations of “prog”.

English Weather was also the name of a record shop I loved when I first moved toLondon, out in Crouch End which, back in the mid-80s, was deep bedsitter land. The shop was run by Dark Star magazine’s Steve Burgess – a major influence on my tastes and my writing, Steve put me onto records such as Mellow Candle’s “Swaddling Songs”, Fairfield Parlour’s “From Home To Home” and the now-venerated Spring album: “It may look like prog”, he said of Spring, sensing my scepticism at the peak of prog’s unfashionability, “but it's beautiful”. He was right. I hope he’d have liked this selection.

by Bob Stanley

Artists - Tracks - Composer

1. Caravan - Love Song With Flute (Richard Coughlan, Pye Hastings, Richard Sinclair, Dave Sinclair) - 4:08

2. The Roger Webb Sound - Moon Bird (Roger Webb) - 2:17

3. The Parlour Band - Early Morning Eyes (Peter Filleul) - 3:49

4. Scotch Mist - Pamela (William Lyall, David Paton) - 3:11

5. The Orange Bicycle - Last Cloud Home (John Dove) - 3:05

6. T2 - JLT (Peter Dunton) - 5:49

7. Bill Fay - 'Til The Christ Come Back (Bill Fay) - 3:05

8. Van Der Graaf Generator - Refugees (Peter Hammill) - 5:18

9. Aardvark - Very Nice Of You To Call (David Skillin) - 3:36

10.John Cale - Big White Cloud (John Cale) - 3:28

11.Belle Gonzalez - Bottles (Belle Gonzalez) - 3:19

12.The Way We Live - Watching White Stars (Stephen Clayton, James Milne) - 7:04

13.Offspring - Windfall (Mike Brayn, John Howard) - 3:27

14.Camel - Never Let Go (Andrew Latimer) - 3:36

15.Daevid Allen - Wise Man In Your Heart (David Allen, Mike Howlett, Pierre Moerlen) - 8:30

16.Matching Mole - O Caroline (David Sinclair, Robert Wyatt) - 5:04

17.Prelude - Edge Of The Sea (Brian Hume, Ian Vardy) - 6:40

18.Alan Parker And Alan Hawkshaw - Evening Shade (Alan Parker, Alan Hawkshaw) - 2:30

1972-75 Various Artists - Bob Stanley And Pete Wiggs Present Three Day Week (2019 compilation)

Monday, March 8, 2021

Ian Lloyd And Stories - Traveling Underground (1973 us, glam art rock with prog shades)

With 1973's Traveling Underground, Stories changed its name to Ian Lloyd & Stories and unveiled a new five-man lineup. Lead singer Lloyd (a whiskey-voiced belter comparable to Rod Stewart and Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant), guitarist Steve Love, and drummer Bryan Madey were still on board. But keyboardist/composer Michael Brown (a graduate of Left Banke and Montage) was gone, and the new members were keyboardist Kenneth Bichel and bassist Kenny Aaronson. Traveling Underground proved that there was life after Brown for Stories; this is a generally solid effort, although About Us remains the band's most essential album.

Like before, Stories came out with an R&B-minded single that doesn't sound anything like the rest of the album it's on. "Mammy Blue" is as different from the other songs on Traveling Underground as "Brother Louie" is from the rest of About Us. A long way from the R&B leanings of "Mammy Blue," tracks like "Stories Untold," "Hard When You're So Far Away," and "Earth Bound/Freefall" favor the type of baroque art-rock approach that had worked so well on Stories' previous releases. "Brother Louie" and "Mammy Blue" indicated that Stories might have made a great blue-eyed soul band, instead, Traveling Underground is the work of a fine pop-rock/art-rock band that occasionally detoured into blue-eyed soul.

by Alex Henderson

Tracks

1. Bridges (Ian Lloyd) - 5:11

2. Soft Rain (Ian Lloyd, Steve Love) - 4:33

3. Hard When You're So Far Away (Steve Love) - 4:28

4. If It Feels Good, Do It (Johnny Stevenson) - 2:50

5. Mammy Blue (Hubert Giraud, Phil Trim) - 3:43

6. Stories Untold (Ian Lloyd) - 4:04

7. I Can't Understand It (Steve Love) - 3:58

8. Earthbound / Free Fall (Ian Lloyd, Kenneth Bichel) - 8:16

9. Traveling Underground (Ian Lloyd) - 4:31

Ian Lloyd And Stories

*Ian Lloyd - Vocals

*Steve Love - Guitar

*Kenneth Bichel - Keyboards, Art Synthesizers, Mellotron

*Brian Madey - Drums, Percussion

*Kenny Aaronson - Bass

With

*Larry Wilcox - Strings Arragments

1972-75 Various Artists - Bob Stanley And Pete Wiggs Present Three Day Week (2019 compilation)

Sunday, March 7, 2021

Various Artists - Bob Stanley And Pete Wiggs Present Occasional Rain (1969-74 uk, jazzy folk west coast inspired post psych pre prog rock, 2020 release)

This is England, the day after the 60s. It’s a time of flux. On the cusp of progressive rock but without a rule book, many groups hold fast to psychedelia’s adventurousness and melodic delights, while they are also happy to venture deep into the jazz and folk scenes. The result is some wonderful, atmospheric, rain-flecked music.

You turn on the radio and there is news about John leaving the Beatles – or will Paul be the first to jump? There is insecurity, uncertainty and, to cap it all, the Tories are on the verge of coming back. Outside, after widespread redevelopment, many town centres are barely recognisable from the way they had looked ten years ago. People who have lived all their lives in places such as Bradford, Glasgow or Birmingham are literally struggling to find their way home. People need direction.

If there are two themes that crop up regularly in British rock at the turn of the 70s, it’s the search for a home that isn’t there anymore – the certainties of the progressive 60s, the physical reality of terraced streets – and the rain. The former had its totemic song in Blind Faith’s ‘Can’t Find My Way Home’, and on this collection there’s Cressida’s gently keening ‘Home And Where I Long To Be’. The weather just filtered into the post-psychedelic, pre-progressive sound; it’s always there. Duncan Browne’s ‘Ragged Rain Life’ feels like a decent summary of Britain at any time but, especially in times of upheaval, you tend to notice bad weather.

Music created in a time of flux is frequently fascinating – with genres gestating, there aren’t any hardened preconceptions of how they should sound. In 1970, on the cusp of progressive rock, many groups were loath to let go of psychedelia’s adventurousness and melodic delights, while they were also happy to venture deep into the jazz and folk scenes. The result was some wonderful music. Some of it sold by the truckload (people forget just how big the Moody Blues were), but much of it barely made it to the shops; for every Yes there were a dozen ’Igginbottoms.

“Occasional Rain” puts bigger names such as Traffic and lesser-known artists (Mandy More, Shape Of The Rain, Andrew Leigh) side by side. Like its predecessor “English Weather”, it attempts to evoke the turn of the new decade, the feel of a wet Saturday afternoon at the dawn of the 70s spent flicking through the racks, wondering whether to buy the new Tull album or maybe take a chance on that Christine Harwood LP in the bargain bin (go on, you won’t regret it).

by Bob Stanley

Artsis - Tracks - Composer

1. Traffic - Hidden Treasure (Jim Capaldi, Steve Winwood) - 4:11

2. Duncan Browne - Ragged Rain Life (Duncan Browne) - 2:56

3. Cressida - Home And Where I Long To Be (John Heyworth) - 4:03

4. Keith West - Leit Motif (Keith West) - 2:54

5. Skin Alley - Night Time (Thomas Crimble) - 5:32

6. Clouds - Once Upon A Time (Ian Ellis, Harry Hughes, Billy Ritchie) - 2:49

7. Mandy More - Come With Me To Jesus (Mandy More) - 3:54

8. The Moody Blues - Out And In (John Lodge, Mike Pinder) - 3:44

9. Shape Of The Rain - Wasting My Time (Keith Riley, Len Riley, Brian Wood, Tag Waggett) - 3:08

10.Granny's Intentions - Nutmeg, Bitter Suite (John Ryan) - 3:09

11.Yes - Sweetness (Chris Squire, Clive Bayley, Jon Anderson) - 4:29

12.Pete Brown And Piblokto! - Station Song Platform Two (Pete Brown, Jim Mullen) - 3:37

13.Argent - Freefall (Rod Argent, Chris White) - 3:19

14.The Exchange And Mart - I Know That I'm Dreaming (John Cooper) - 2:50

15.Michael Chapman - Postcards Of Scarborough (Michael Chapman) - 5:17

16.Christine Harwood - Question Of Time (Roger Sutton) - 3:40

17.'Igginbottom - The Castle (Allan Holdsworth) - 2:55

18.Andrew Leigh - Windy Baker Street (Andrew Leigh) - 4:53

19.Tonton Macoute - Flying South In The Winter (Paul French, Chris Gavin, David Knowles, Nigel Reveler) - 6:25

20.Catherine Howe - Innocence Of Child (Catherine Howe) - 3:41

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Ace - Time For Another / No Strings / At The BBC (1975-77 uk, splendid pub rock, 2011 three disc digipak remaster)

Ace were one of the few pub rock groups to enjoy success on the pop charts, largely due to the warm, soulful vocals of Paul Carrack. While Carrack's voice certainly had crossover appeal -- as he would later prove with his own records, as well as his work with Squeeze and Roxy Music -- the band was also less devoted to the three-chord boogie and country-rock that marked most pub rock bands, favoring soulful R&B. And while they did have hits, their time in the spotlight was brief, and they fell apart shortly after Carrack left for a solo career.

Phil Harris (guitar) and Alan "Bam" King (guitar, vocal) formed Ace in 1972, recruiting Paul Carrack (keyboards, vocals), Terry "Tex" Comer (bass), and Steve Witherington (drums) over the course of the next year. Before the group began recording, they went through several drummers -- Witherington was replaced by Chico Greenwood, who was later replaced by Fran Byrne in 1974. After developing a small but dedicated following on the pub rock circuit, Ace signed with Anchor Records and recorded Five-a-Side. "How Long" -- a song about Comer leaving the band briefly to play with the Sutherland Brothers and Quiver, and his subsequent return -- was released as the first single. Most listeners interpreted the song as an ode to a crumbling love affair, and it became a fluke hit in both the U.K. and the U.S. Ace released Time for Another in 1975, but it was generally ignored, especially since the popularity of pub rock was declining rapidly.

There’s a knowing shrug to the title of Time for Another, Ace’s second album, an admission that this is just another round, not dissimilar to another pint of bitter served up halfway into a leisurely evening at the pub. Despite several shared traits, Time for Another is distinctly different than the casually funky Five-A-Side, extending the cool, soft groove of “How Long” throughout an entire LP. There’s a bit of boogie and twang, apparent in the relaxed shuffle of “I’m a Man,” the muted rocking of “You Can’t Lose,” and the lazy blues of “Ain’t Gonna Stand for This No More.” By and large, though, Time for Another is a very easy-rolling affair -- too easy, in fact, sounding too comfortable in its hazy surroundings, sometimes slipping into the sleepiness a third or fourth beer can lend.

If Time for Another was a tad bit subdued, Ace’s 1977 follow-up remedies that problem by giving the pub rock a big, splashy production suited for the crossover audience “How Long” gave them three years prior. It was a case of too much too late -- Ace lost whatever chart momentum they had and the times were beginning to shift, with many of their pub rock peers gravitating toward punk. Ace took the opposite approach: they retooled themselves as a soft rock outfit with a distinctly Southern California bent. No Strings is music made with the charts in mind but it’s livelier and more varied than Time for Another, capitalizing on Paul Carrack’s soulful voice. Carrack is now front and center, so ably navigating the turns from bouncy pop to bright boogie to gossamer ballads that it’s no wonder No Strings sounds in retrospect like a blueprint for his subsequent solo career. Nevertheless, No Strings is firmly a band album, gaining strength from Ace’s group interplay, John Woodhead seamlessly filling the departed Phil Harris’ shoes, but the production is so slick that it glosses over any potential rifts. And that smooth production is a big reason why No Strings is a strong record: it may not have been a hit, but with its soulful shine and easy melodies, it captures ‘70s major-label soft rock at a peak.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Tracks

Disc 1 Time For Another 1975

1. I Think It's Gonna Last (Paul Carrack) - 4:42

2. I'm a Man (Alan "Bam" King, Paul Carrack, Phil Harris, Terry "Tex" Comer, Fran Byrne) - 3:56

3. Tongue Tied (Terry "Tex" Comer) - 4:40

4. Does It Hurt You (Alan "Bam" King) - 4:25

5. Message To You (Phil Harris) - 4:23

6. No Future In Your Eyes (Paul Carrack) - 3:29

7. This Is What You Find (Alan "Bam" King) - 3:58

8. You Can't Lose (Fran Byrne, Phil Harris, Terry "Tex" Comer) - 4:29

9. Sail On My Brother (Paul Carrack) - 4:35

10.Ain't Gonna Stand For This No More (Alan "Bam" King, Paul Carrack, Phil Harris, Terry "Tex" Comer, Fran Byrne) - 4:08

Disc 2 No Strings 1977

1. Rock N Roll Singer (Paul Carrack, Terry "Tex" Comer) - 5:01

2. You're All That I Need (Paul Carrack) - 3:46

3. Crazy World (Alan "Bam" King) - 3:32

4. I'm Not Takin' It Out On You (Paul Carrack) - 3:33

5. Movin' (John Woodhead, Paul Carrack) - 4:29

6. Gleaming In The Gloom (Alan "Bam" King, Phil Harris) - 5:39

7. Let's Hang On (Paul Carrack) - 3:13

8. Why Did You Leave Me (Terry "Tex" Comer) - 3:57

9. Found Out The Hard Way (John Woodhead, Paul Carrack) - 4:00

10.C'est la Vie (Paul Carrack) - 3:20

Disc 3 At The BBC 1975-76

1. Sail On My Brother (Paul Carrack) - 3:58

2. Ain't Gonna Stand For This No More (Alan "Bam" King, Paul Carrack, Phil Harris, Terry "Tex" Comer, Fran Byrne) - 4:29

3. Ain't Gonna Stand For This No More (Alan "Bam" King, Paul Carrack, Phil Harris, Terry "Tex" Comer, Fran Byrne) - 5:00

4. The Real Feeling (Paul Carrack) - 2:57

5. 24 Hours (Paul Carrack) - 5:47

6. I Know How It Feels (Paul Carrack) - 3:31

7. How Long (Paul Carrack) - 4:14

8. Ain't That Peculiar (Marvin Tarplin, Robert Rogers, Warren Moore) - 6:03

9. Sniffin' About (Paul Carrack, Alan "Bam" King) - 6:02

10.I Think It's Gonna Last (Paul Carrack) - 5:00

11.Sail On My Brother (Paul Carrack) - 4:30

12.This Is What You Find (Alan "Bam" King) - 6:45

13.I'm A Man (Alan "Bam" King, Paul Carrack, Phil Harris, Terry "Tex" Comer, Fran Byrne) - 4:48

Tracks 1, 2, 8 from Peel Sessions

Tracks 2 - 7 and 9 - 13 Live In Concert

Ace

Alan "Bam" King - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals

Paul Carrack - Vocals, Organ, Piano

Phil Harris - Lead Guitar, Vocals (1972-76)

Terry "Tex" Comer - Bass, Vocals

Fran Byrne - Drums, Percussion

John Woodhead - Lead Guitar, Vocals (1976-77)

With

*Rusty Young - Guitar