I had a chance to hear this album for the first time recently and I have to say I was very impressed. Much like the much-later Mad Disco, the key to the album's success is, yes, it's a parody - but it's played straight. These songs are straight up rock n' roll and pop, and really just the lyrics give away the fact it's a spoof. And even then, it's hard to tell. For example, "My Johnny's Hub Cap", sung by Jeanne Hayes, is a legitimately haunting ballad where a girl mourns for her boyfriend after his death in a drag race. If you replaced the word "hub cap" with something a little less bizarre (say "ball cap"), you'd have a straightforward "teenage tragedy" ballad. Possibly the most fascinating track - when listened to in retrospect - is "Pretzel" which is a very funny spoof of dance crazes, describing a physically impossible move. It's performed in the style of Roy Head - the singer sounds very much like him - and those who have seen video of him perform know his style of dancing while performing songs like "Treat Her Right" could best be described as "Pretzel"-like! But here's the thing: this album came out in 1962 and Roy Head and "Treat Her Right" wouldn't come along for several more years! Did someone at Mad get hold of a time machine?

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Clem Clempson played in many very well known and much loved bands such as Bakerloo, Neil Ardley's New Jazz Orchestra, Colosseum, Greenslade, Humble Pie, Jack Bruce and Friends, Rough Diamond, Hamburg Blues Band, and lately JCM, a band he formed with Jon Hiseman (R.I.P. Jon) and Mark Clarke. If you are a guitar geek then you opened the right door. Every song on this album is graced with some great guitar playing from Clem. You can even more enjoy his playing in two instrumental tracks.
Further more ... a cover version of Humble Pie's 'I don't need no doctor' is an excellent track where Maggie Bell and Chris Farlowe share lead vocals. Both vocalists also have another song each to sing some fabulous lead vocals on.
All in all: This is a great record. You get what you expected from these experienced musicians. Buy it.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

What to say, c'est le Francais [shrugs shoulders], not particularly a comedy, and not much of a romance.
At the ski-resort they call home, Pascal (the babe-magnet) shows off his latest conquest, Viviane, to his best friend Micky (the dumpy one). Micky is irritated and grumpy and unfriendly towards Viviane, however when Pascal goes to work Micky stays to keep Viviane company and the icy façade thaws. Things then get a bit romantically complicated, or predictable, or rather it skids along as the screenwriters can't seem to make their minds up on where to take the slushy story. This viewer was left decidedly cold and unperturbed, rather like the participants.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

"Come to Me" is a #1 disco hit from 1979 performed by France Joli, who had recorded it at the age of fifteen with producer, Tony Green, who composed the song and briefly sings on it. The track also features the famed Philadelphia session vocalists, The Sweethearts of Sigma Sound. The song was introduced on the album France Joli (1979 album), which was released in the US on 17 April 1979 on Prelude, and rose to #26. "Come to Me" received a major boost on 7 July when Joli performed it as a last minute replacement for Donna Summer at a concert held on Fire Island, whose estimated audience numbered 5,000.[citation needed] "Come to Me" began a three-week reign atop the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart on 22 September 1979.[1] "Come to Me" peaked at #15 on the Hot 100 and at #36 on the R&B chart.[2]
[YouTube Video]

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

The US London label shows the artist as: The Multiple Voices of Frann Weigle.
The A side is like the Ink Spots and the flip is like the Mills Bros.
The male vocal group sound would clearly have been created by multi-tracking. For 1949 it's a great effort and very enjoyable.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

For me this has to one of the greatest Prog Rock albums from the 70's. Released in 1971 this was the follow up to their first album Piggy Go Getter. The first album was a complete non runner and then this almighty beast came along and changed my perceptions on heavy rock forever. I remember buying this and taking it home on the bus. I was 17 at the time and thought I'd heard it all but I can hand on heart say this album just blew my head off. Looking at it in the shop I remember puzzling over it because it was on Regal Zonophone, the label for pop music, The Move, Joe Cocker, Blue Mink and the Boppin' Elves themselves Tyrannosaurus Rex. In my mind I associated the label as being kind of experimental and thought that it might be worth giving a go. When I got home I got it on the turntable and whacked up the volume, not really recommended for this album as the Bass is so mighty it nearly blew the cones out of my speakers along with the windows. I was surprised to read on the liner notes that Zal Cleminson never had a strong singer and that's what Tear Gas lacked, If you're reading this Zal, I'd have to completely disagree with you, the vocals on this album are amazing. I played in a rock band in Belfast (Lead Singer, Harmonica, Acoustic 12 String) and our band learned 4 tracks from this album and they always went down a storm. Needless to say when people asked who the original band was, nobody had ever heard of them and by that time the album had been deleted and was extremely hard to come by. They were like a cross between Sabbath, Purple and Zeppelin.
If you've never heard this album I would give your ears a treat and go buy it, £9.99 on Amazon Prime at the moment.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Langstaff is credited only as artistic director on this album, but he can be heard clearly singing in his clear baritone voice on several tracks. A large number of individual singers, instrumentalists, bellringers and conductors are credited in the notes, including those in the Revels Chorus, Youth Pro Musica, and Cambridge Symphonic Brass Ensemble.

Carols and Christmas songs from Britain and France predominate, but there are examples from Poland, Czechoslovakia, Russia and Israel. Here is a lovely example from France, the pavane by dance collector and music publisher, Thoinot Arbeau

[YouTube Video]

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

A1) This is the real beginning of the Disco Era. A fantastic dance track that would turn dance clubs into Disco and is the finest work this group ever recorded!

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Publisher Blurb

This is a colour album of London Buses concentrating mainly on the 1970s which was the first decade since London Transport s inception in 1933 to feature a large number of buses on London streets which were not painted in the mainly all-red (or in a few cases, all-green) livery with which people are familiar. Vehicles in the traditional London liveries have not been ignored but many of the pictures depict this remarkably colourful era and often against the backdrop of famous or historically interesting landmarks which the author has been able to describe. As far as is known, none of the photographs has been published before, and the vast majority were taken by one photographer, sadly now deceased, who had the foresight to compose his picture well. The author is a well-known London Bus enthusiast and this is his 34th transport book and second for Pen & Sword.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Produced by John Burgess.This album originally released in 1984,and this is their second album to be released on the EMI/MFP label,since their first album called The Greatest Hits of Manfred Mann,released in 1972.In their second album,contains all the releases from 1964-66,when they first appeared on the EMI/HMV,featuring Paul Jones on vocals,before Mike D`Abo took over from Paul Jones,and signed again on the Fontana from 1966-69.Overall,this album contains two no.1 hits in this selection,as well as a great interpreter of Bob Dylan`s Songs,and I think it`s a great album for me and I will treasure this forever.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Heard Can't Hold Me on the radio, ordered it pre-release, and when it came I thought "Remind Me, why did I buy this, it's twee and inconsequential", but by the time I'd listened through the album I had an understanding of what King is doing here. All the tracks are on YT and are in the same style. Can't Hold Me has the strongest hook line, and does everything I want in pop music, and Caliche is another strong track.

[YouTube Video]

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

A disc to avoid. By the time this one hit the stores Mud were past their pop prime and were on the downward slope. The album was cobbled together with a handful of tracks from the previous 2 Private Stock albums with the semi decent (but nowhere as good as the original) Lean On Me chucked in to justify it's release.

At the old age of 31, Les Gray was in 1977 over the hill as far as the UK music scene was concerned and the public turned their back on Mud in favour of younger, louder bands.

About 18 months after this release Mud disbanded and although Les did continue to tour for a few years as "Les Gray's Mud" he had no chart success in comparison to the original line up.

If you want to listen to some decent Glam Rock/Pop dig out the original Mud 45s or a RAK greatest hits.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Australian guitarist / keyboardist / composer / vocalist Ben Craven continues on a mission to bring his music to the ears of progressive rock audiences far and wide. Progressive rock fans who might have missed Ben’s last opus, Last Chance To Hear, will be pleasantly surprised by the concise nature of his 2018 album entitled THE SINGLE EDITS.

THE SINGLE EDITS showcases Ben’s finest moments from his solo output, both rock vocals and rock instrumentals, compiled and re-imagined as single edits. A good bet for radio as Ben takes his greatest moments and edits them timewise into bite-sized chunks of sonic majesty. Although a 24-bit, 96kHz lossless download was released in late 2017, in early 2018 a special edition of THE SINGLE EDITS is available on compact disc, complete with folder artwork and multi-page booklet.

KEY POINTS:
- Clocking in at 41 minutes, the eleven track CD of THE SINGLE EDITS features a cross-section from Ben Craven’s album releases and is brimming with fascinating musical ideas.
- THE SINGLE EDITS includes several remixed, edited prog-pop tracks from Ben’s first solo album Two False Idols.
- On the track “Spy In The Sky Pt. 3” Ben enlists the help of spoken work recording artist and Star Trek legend William Shatner and YES member Billy Sherwood on a track finished in L.A.
- All the music on THE SINGLE EDITS was superbly played and written by Ben Craven. Essential for Ben’s growing fan base, THE SINGLE EDITS is the most compelling musical statement yet from prog-rock sensation Ben Craven.

- Robert Steven Silverstein
credits
released March 10, 2018

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

This is a very, very, very good album. It manages to follow up on every piece of work Andy had done so far and added some more Eastern European music to his oeuvre. He left Ireland shortly after his great success with Sweeney's Men to travel around this area. He was welcomed by the locals and taught their music. He later introduced his love of the various different odd time-signatures and tunes to his band mates in Planxty and Davy Spillane. There is no doubt that this eventually, inexorably led to the writing of the music for Riverdance and the ensuing success and financial industry of this musical movement in Ireland and around the world.

His Planxty band mate Donal Lunny embraced the music and carried his own torch with the hugely successful and equally wonderful album - Coolfin, and also, with Andy Irvine - Mozaik.

If you've ever loved anything by Andy Irvine, and I can only say "Your loss!" if you haven't, then this album will be on your turntable or even cd player for a very long time.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Petty's transformation leaves his audience shouting for more
By Cathy M. Lewis
Lakeland Ledger - Monday, October 5, 1981

Donning cowboy boots and a blue bandanna tied beneath a full-toothed grin, Tom Petty moved onto the Lakeland stage Friday looking like the embodiment of the mythical all-American boy.

Petty smiled his way through "American Girl" and "Listen to Her Heart" with the naturalness of water moving against the coastline of Florida, his native state. Even a haunting keyboard solo by Benmont Tench on the grand piano during "A Thing About You" didn't erase Petty's smile.

When the band launced into "I'm in Love," Petty skipped and swaggered across the stage with the joy of an adolescent in puppy love.

Watch Petty prance. Watch Petty preen. The rest of the audience leaned back and relaxed. They'd just watch and wait their turn. And the singer didn't disappoint them.

It was a slow build. Petty mixed just enough pain into "Here Comes My Girl" to make the words sound as though they came from personal experience. And there was just enough of Bruce Springsteen in his voice to assure the few 25-year-olds in the audience he knew what rock 'n' roll was about.

It was the beginning of a transformation that would leave Petty's audience gasping for relief yet begging for more. Somewhere between the Kingsmen's classic "Louie, Louie" and Petty's own "Kings Road," the all-American boy became a passionate, streetwise rocker.

Once the atmosphere in the civic center changed, there was little relief. Only a few tuned like "Night Watchman" -- a song inspired by the man who protects Petty's privacy at his San Fernando Home and backed Friday with a dazzling light show -- and "Even the Losers Get Lucky" slowed the musical pulse of the evening.

Even then, with Petty leaning over his audience like a mad magician, swinging his arms full circle to end in a thunderous slash across his guitar, you could feel the momentum rolling through like shock waves.

When Petty's voice cried with the ache of dashed hopes "she's a woman in love but it's not me," Tench pulled the full power of his rhythm and blues background from the ivories. Teen-agers, some yet to experience that kind of pain, moaned right along with them.

When the lights went down and Petty grabbed the mike around the throat and demanded seductively, "You've got to give it to me," the now hypnotized crowd groaned in anticipation of "Breakdown." They were in love and their affair with Petty was not the light, joyful love of the first 15 minutes of this concert. This affair was full blown and passionate. They weren't letting go.

The band launched into "Refugee" with exuberance, rocking with the Dylanesque lyric as if they had come home. The crowd didn't mind. If Petty was clinging to his last like his critics have said, they would cling right along with him.

The acceptance of Petty's occasional revelry into his roots was amazing considering the same audience had heartly booed Joe Ely's late '50s style during the opening act.

When Petty left the stage, the crowd wasn't having any of it. Encoring with Sly and the Family Stone's hit "Shout," Petty led his believers with the fervor of a Southern minister. The force of their response literally knocked him flat on his back.

Even Petty seemed amazed at the feeling he was producing. He turned over, crawling belly down to the front of the stage, brought the mike down to the floor and hid behind a speaker.When Petty pulled his head from behind the speaker, one hand following the other, they were ready for him. He shook his head in disbelief. "I can't believe you," he said. "Boy, is it good to be home!"

For Petty, it was the climax of the show. And when his fans demanded a second encore, he slowed the tempo with a song from his new album. He must have realized that if he didn't, he would never get out of the auditorium.

Still the believers stayed. When the house lights came up a moan of disappointment rolled its way across the crowd, as one by one, his congregation realized Petty was gone.

He had charmed them, wooed them, moved them and now he had left them -- left them begging for more.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

the intended fifth book of "the once and future king", q.v., cut (unfinished) by the author from the same for a variety of considerations, and some parts rewritten and included in the tetralogy as published.

interesting, even absorbing, reading after reading the definitive series of four novels;
i imagine it would be somewhat confusing as well as distinctly lacking in substance, read alone and without the context of the main work.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

once peter lavery, now hamlyn paperbacks' editorial director, had decided (whilst back at methuen) that yr hmbl srppnt. was both knowledgeable and competent as regards sf & fantasy, he ceased doing much more regarding evaluation of sf/fantasy books offered by agents, merkin publishers, uk hardcover publishers for the methuen paperbacks/magnum books sf list, and then for the hamlyn paperbacks sf list - though i was never a full-time employee of either, and played no part in the financial, nor hardly any part regarding the production sides.
- but, somewhat unfortunately, peter didn't actually tell me that the recommendations i was making regarding the publishability (sfnal/fantastic excellence, etc.) of the books being offered hamlyn paperbacks were now being taken by him as definitive judgement upon their suitability for these lists - that i was effectively taking most of the editorial decisions for the two sf/fantasy lists in turn - excluding size of advances offered, royalty rates offered, cover art to be used and other production matters - and publication dates.

this had some mildly strange, occasionally definitely unintended effects, as the criteria by which one sets out to build an sf&f list are somewhat different from those by which one judges individual books
- and hamlyn paperbacks' publishing damon knight's "beyond the barrier" is an example.

it's a wonderful load of science-fictional adventure tripe, damon knight "doing" a. e. van vogt in that sf luminary's classic wide-screen baroque, flash! - bang! - non-stop action mode: and there are progressive denouements or discoveries that what the characters (or most of them) - and therefore you, the reader - knew, or thought you knew, was not in fact what was happening at all,

- but, unlike van vogt's classic cosmic jerry-building, the plot of the pyrotechnic adventure, and the sub-plots, and the plots laid by the competing sets(!) of bad guys, do actually hang together - the end of the headlong career through action, illusion and revelation does actually make sense, and it all comes to a satisfying conclusion.

- so; great wide-screen adventure sf, great fun to read, and a good book for hamlyn paperbacks to publish, yes - ?

- well, not really that last: vastly entertaining though the book is, and was, the advice that it was - and is - a minor gem of its kind was originally given in the context of advising methuen/magnum books' fiction editor, knowing we'd already published three excellent collections of damon knight's wonderfully well-thought out and told novellas & novelettes (with some very fine short stories, too) - a recommendation peter carried with him when he moved to set up hamlyn paperbacks for reed/ipc: so, on the embryo hamlyn paperbacks sf/f list, this was a firework display without its backdrop - and yr hmbl srppnt. didn't know that naught more'd be done to chase after further damon knight sf titles, because neither he, nor anyone else'd told me i should tell them they ought to.

- but it's still a wonderful, zap-bangy, veils of illusion-spinning and penetrating, evil plot-weaving, uncovering, discovering, and countering, and eventually confusion-busting, barrel of fun.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Why try to compete with "Hey Jude" and "Let It Be"? Just do something low key. A brilliant decision by Paul in retrospect. If you're looking for Paul's finest work you won't find it here but the record is still a great listen. He plays all the instruments including some blazing guitar work but you'll have to excuse the drumming. "Maybe I'm Amazed" got a lot of airplay from this record but was never issued as a single. Big mistake there. As with "Ram", the bonus tracks are interesting but hardly essential.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Jack Jones had eighteen songs on the Kapp label reach the Billboard Top 100 yet only nine of those are on this "Greatest Hits" CD. I have no issue with the tracks they've included but it hardly represents his best "hits". Missing are "Toys In The Attic", "The First Night Of The Full Moon","Where Love Has Gone", "Seeing The Right Love Go Wrong", "Just Yesterday", "Love Bug", "I'm Indestructible", "Now I Know" and "Our Song". Please check to see the songs you want are included. It might save you some money.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Perhaps not their best effort but by most people's standards it's still six stars all the way. Side one isn't staggering. "Maxwell's...." is a little annoying from Paul and John's "I Want You..." sounds like Mel Torme's "Comin' Home Baby" to me. But George surprises us with two of his very best songs and Ringo delivers "Octopus' Garden", by far his best composition. Then there's an excellent collage of mostly short tunes on side two. Even when they were fighting they could make great music! Neil Young once said it's better to burn out than to fade away. I'm not sure The Beatles did either. This was the last long play The Beatles recorded and they went out with a bang. And we're still not over it.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Another top quality BBC series that I recommend taking the time to watch. Eight 40 minute episodes that I personally watched over two nights.

Based on the Villanelle novellas by Luke Jennings the series serves up a feast of subtle British humour and action carried out with quality acting by the players. Although not billed as such, this drama has a thick underlying element of black humour that just makes it a pleasure to watch.

Sandra Oh as Eve is excellent but Jodie Comer as Villanelle steals the show with a character that you can't help to adore given her quirky, if some what, dark and bizarre behaviour (but then as a psychopathic contract killer what can you expect).

The background stories of the main players fills out over the series but there is obviously a lot more to see and learn and episode 8 leaves me in no doubt that there will be a future series (or two).

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

From the opening track "Calico Girlfriend", it hits home that this is not Monkees music. It has a very loose sound, almost as if it may have been recorded in a hurry. What is very surprising is that Nesmith relinquishes production duties to Felton Jarvis, a veteran producer who had worked with many famous artists including Elvis Presley. In his entire subsequent career he always did his own production but perhaps Mike wanted to get an authentic Nashville sound on his first post Monkees release. My first reaction to this LP in 1970 was that it was a disappointment. There was no "Tapioca Tundra" or "Listen To The Band" and it had a very pronounced country/western sound. I don’t think I warmed up to it until after his next two LP’s were released. For years I thought it was the weakest of this trilogy but now I’m not so sure. Of the three, Magnetic South seems to have harder country sound. A few songs here like "Nine Times Blue" and "The Crippled Lion" had actually been recorded with the Monkees but never released. The Magnetic South versions are all newly recorded in 1970. Nesmith had been recording in Nashville for at least two years prior to this with local musicians. Some of these recordings had made it onto several Monkees' LP's even though there was literally no output from Mickey, Davy & Peter. He assembled a band in early 1970 called The First National Band which was centered around steel guitar virtuoso O.J. "Red" Rhodes, a veteran of close to thirty years already in 1970. Other members included John London on bass guitar who had played with The Lewis & Clark Expedition, Johnny Ware on drums, Earl P. Ball on side piano & Nesmith on guitar & vocals. The only clue that this was not a truly “country” LP was Nesmith’s lyrics which tend to be incredibly more literate than most Nashville writers of the day.

This LP would be a lot more obscure than it is but for the fact that it produced a Top Twenty hit in “Joanne”, a glorious little tune that today seems to sound much more country than it used to. Other tracks like “The Keys To The Car”, “Little Red Rider” and the rocking “Mama Nantucket” sound like they wouldn’t be out of place on a George Jones record. Then there’s “Hollywood” a five minute blend of country and psychedelia which seems to indicate Nesmith’s attitude in regard to his experiences as a teen idol with his former band. The last two tracks are covers, the country standard “The One Rose (That’s Left In My Heart)” and the 1930 classic “Beyond The Blue Horizon” which alone covers the price of admission with its sound effects, humor and ambience.

I keep coming back to this record and I’m always entertained.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Great shame that this is only available in Swedish at present because the rise and fall of record companies is always interesting reading.

Sonet began because of a burning musical interest in Jazz..at that time the youth music of the after war years in Sweden. Enthusiastic young men contacted US record firms through the Swedish Embassy's commercial registers and got an answer back from Savoy and were able to import discs and sell to a market hungry for product.
Visiting Jazz musicians on European tours were recorded and a network of contacts was soon built up.
By 1958 it was obvious that Jazz was on the wane and similar overtures were made to US companies like Chancellor, Roulette and Canadian American offering Scandinavian representation where that was not already covered by Decca and EMI in the UK.

Sonet kept its small label values and many interviews with Artists contracted to the label all tell of a distinct family feel ..all were welcomed and nurtured.

Interesting also is the views of other label bosses working with Sonet ..Chess, Alligator, Island, Mute.
Monetary rewards were only for re investing in another music project. Nobody starved at Sonet but Music making was by far the more important to them.

This book and the one about Metronome Records deserves translation as 45Cat has shown that there is an interest in other that UK and US companies

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

I bought this on a whim as I'd loved some of ELPs music, especially in the 70s. Keith Emerson's keyboard sound was recognisable anywhere.

This seemed good value for money to me, CD and DVD with the DVD having many more tracks than the audio CD and as a tribute to the recently (when recorded) death of Emerson.

So, I sat down to watch and listen. Decent sound quality but as for the rest. No.

For some reason Carl Palmer has decided to change the lineup to a 3 piece centring on the guitar, not keyboards, well technically I guess it centres on the drums, which is no real surprise as that's Carl's role in the band.

So, to me, disappointing but it did encourage me to put on my copy of the original ELP album and have an evening of some classics.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

With all the hype of a 'vinyl revival' there have been a great many books published about record collecting and record shops over the last 5 years and I think this is one of the best.

The writer originally planned to do a book about record collectors in general but when she started doing research interviews she soon discovered that in many respects 78s collectors are 'next level' and decided to just focus on them.

The level of passion and determination among the collectors she encounters is incredible. I think the book also benefits from being penned by a female entering a 99% male world of obsession. She manages to get caught up in the excitement of discovering long lost early century blues and esoteric music whilst remaining a sense of being an outside observer.

A recommended read for anyone who has ever wondered if their collecting habit has ever strayed into the realm of being slightly unhealthy!

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Having always intended to read the book, but at the same time being congenitally intellectually lazy, I was pleased to see this was on telly over Christmas, so I could sit back and watch the film instead.

It's grand tale of opulence and excess belying more human motives are terrifically conveyed in typical Baz Luhrmann style...

...but...

It's one of those films that I stuggled with, and in any ordinary circumstance, I would have switched it off after the first 10 - 15 minutes, as being too messy, superficial, and too much hard work to concentrate on. And the reason is this really goes with the pimped out big budget music video thing for almost 40 minutes - quick cuts, lots of shallowness and dazzling images that are too much of an assault on the senses.

Fortunately, I was even too lazy to find the remote on this occasion, so let it go, and I'm glad I did, because as this "human" centre reveals itself in the story, it settles down, and reveals a real film there that is worth watching.

Obviously, this was intentional, in order to peel away the mask of emptiness of these characters, but I think having to go the better part of an hour to get there is asking a lot of an audience, and perhaps Baz could have eased off the gas a little earlier in order to make the point without bludgeoning my brain too much.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

In 1973 I was fairly steeped in a progressive rock arrogance. On a lark, I listened to “Back to Front” without many positive expectations.

To be succinct, it blew me away.

This is a real “feel good” album that is light, clever, a bit nostalgic, and always tuneful. The level of songwriting is decidedly first-rate. There’s nothing like a great hook in a pop song, and Gilbert seemed to have no trouble coming up with one terrific one after another. His voice is the perfect vehicle to showcase his significant songwriting talent.

The album contains at least five standout songs, including the big hit “Clair.” On a scale of 1-10, I’d give “Back to Front” an 8.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

I love this album. Teddy Randazzo was at the top of his game as a writer, arranger, and producer. The Royalettes deliver the goods on every track. Exceptional album that never gets old.



7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

I had to get rid of this book. I collect books about soul music, but this one was so badly written it annoyed me to even think I'd wasted money on it!

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Great period piece, with excellent location shots of ye olde London tahhhn, rather than boring matte shots or models!

Coincidentally, I was reading a short article in a magazine about the Barbican Centre, saying it was built on the bombed-out remains of Cripplegate Street (I did not know this). Sure enough, a road sign for the street was shown and yes, it was a shell! Little did they know what it would become!

:happy:

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Andy Powell apparently owns the rights to the name Wishbone Ash and Martin Turner can't use it other than ex Wishbone Ash. Martin Turner and drummer Steve Upton recruited Andy Powell and Ted Turner to he band in 1969. Andy Powell's version of Wishbone Ash are musically very good, but the singing lets them down as does most of the material written after Martin Turner and the excellent Laurie Wisefield left the band. Martin Turner's sets are always mainly Wishbone Ash material. Andy Powell's sets include quite of lot of his later material which I find to be nowhere near as good as the Wishbone Ash stuff. Martin Turner's band are more in tune with Wishbone Ash fans like myself, having seen the various line-ups 28 times since about 1972

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Jan and Dean's second compilation album. If you were to only own one Jan and Dean album, this is the one you should get. It contains all of the songs that one usually associated with the duo. In addition to their usual hot rod and surfing tunes, the album also includes their newest single to date, "You Really Know How to Hurt a Guy", a song that Dean hated and isn't even featured on. As the story goes, Dean walked out of the recording studio and joined The Beach Boys on their recording session of "Barbara Ann".
Jan and Dean's Golden Hits Vol. 2 is a great album, well worth seeking if you love the surfing and/or hot rod music of the early to mid 60s.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Excellent album, but a slightly strange music mix. Herald had tax problems involving payola, so was selling song rights cheaply. Budget label MVM leased several Golden Goodies (The Five Satins, The Turbans, Faye Adams, etc.) but added some cuts that are closer to jazz. The Johnny Hartman cuts are excellent and one - "Durango" - was never released by Herald.
The King Curtis cuts are strictly small combo jazz and are culled from the MVM King Curtis LP, "The Soul of King Curtis." NOBODY seems to know where MVM found these songs, so I've had to leave it out of my two recent books. If you know anything about the origin of the King Curtis cuts I would love to hear from you!

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

This is a collection of great Ike cuts from Modern/RPM/Crown's sister label, Flair, recorded in the fifties. Many are retitled to make them sound more contemporary. For example, "Hey Miss Tina" was originally released on Flair in 1954 as "Cubano Jump." The instrumentals are excellent and you'll love Ike singing "The Way You Treat Me," which is actually Guitar Slim's "The Things That I used to Do" with different lyrics.
The other big attraction here is the Fazzio cover, which makes the album even more collectable.

[YouTube Video]

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Ronnie Dove ended up being sold to Certron Records, a new label from Nashville operated by Aubrey Mayhew, the former owner of Little Darlin Records. Despite the fact that Ronnie recorded enough material for the label to fill up several LPs, this is the only one to get released, and it's a compilation of his Diamond singles to boot. Actually, despite being billed as a "hits" album, only 5 of the 12 tracks were issued as singles. Something of note however is the inclusion of the song "No One Ever Lost More", the only new track on the album, despite not being advertised as such. Just about every copy of this album has distortion on most of the tracks. A Capitol Record club pressing exists without distortion, but this album is very scarce, so the Certron pressings are what you are more likely to run across. If you're looking for a good compilation of his material, look elsewhere. If you're a collector of Ronnie's records (like myself), then the album is still worth owning, even if only for the unreleased track.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Ronnie Dove's sixth album for Diamond Records is by far his most different in my opinion. The album culls mostly from the American songbook. Indeed, several of the songs on the album (including the title track) were originally recorded by Johnnie Ray. That having been said, in my opinion, he blows away Johnnies versions. The album contains two of Ronnie's chart hits, "One More Mountain to Climb", and the title track, which earned Ronnie an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1967. Also included is a beautiful song called "Autumn Rhapsody", which was used as the B-side of "Cry". Overall, a very solid listen and very enjoyable album worth purchasing!

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Time to get out the old de-coder rings to figure out exactly what's on this album! The songs are mostly good, but the packaging is - as with most budget records - a tad deceiving. True, there are two Petula Clark songs on this album, but they were recorded in 1961, well before her hits of the British Invasion period. "Isn't It a Lovely Day" is a remake of an old Ginger Rogers tune done to a cha-cha beat. And "Romeo" is another nice song, but - like "Lovely Day" - it stiffed in the US when released on the Warwick label.
There are some songs here that were big hits like "Alfie" and "I Only Want to Be with You" but they aren't done by the original artists. Meanwhile, the mysterious "Submarine Spitfires" are really "The Buggs." Premier lifted their songs from "The Beetle Beat" on its subsidiary label Coronet. My book "Rock Rarities for a Song" tells the sad story of The Buggs/Submarine Spitfires." They received no credit or royalties under either name.

Brian McFadden

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

First time on CD for this hard to find album, originally issued by Trojan Records on their High Note subsidiary in early 1969. The album comprised twelve classic slices of late Rock Steady / early Reggae. The album is supplemented by thirteen tracks that were originally issued on High Note singles around the same time period. In total we have 25 classic and scarce tracks, all produced by female pioneer producer, the late Sonia Pottinger.

You'd need a pretty fat wallet to buy original copies of these on vinyl. Excellent sound quality throughout. Great cover, and extensive notes in the inlay, but I can't really comment on them.

This is the fourth release on the reactivated Doctor Bird label, and this set certainly doesn't let the side down.

Superb.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Wow! They don't make them like this anymore. Although perhaps post-Brexit they will and we can return to this amazing simultaneously kinky and yet utterly repressed England which surely even at 1973 must have seemed unreal?!

I really enjoyed this film, it's dreadful, BUT it's so unashamedly dreadful that if you go with the flow then you can enjoy it. A good cast hamming it up with an unrelentingly cringey script - Beaver (the mammal) and Tit (the bird) jokes feature heavily.

It's basically a carry on film with a mere smidge of nipple.


That's progress! Or was it........

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

I've not seen a 'Confessions' film for at least 20 years and having just watched this one I'm finding myself strangely fascinated with just how terrible it was. A young plumber gets into various sexy scrapes in an effort to pay off his gambling debts and avoid the least threatening gangster of all time - Arthur Mullard!

It's hard to imagine this was ever funny or erotic in any way and it certainly isn't now. Some of the scenes of 'slapping birds about' or getting them to get out of bed to make a cup of tea are pretty amazing to watch nowadays. This was 1978!

It'd be hard to argue that this film is anything other than a load of crap which given the subject matter is very apt.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

1969 - 1970 saw the rise of "underground" and "progressive " rock music, taking over from psychedelia and blues/rock. Blues/rock based bands such as Free in the early days fitted into this category along with Jethro Tull and many others. Spooky Tooth were one of these bands and in 1970 released this excellent album. The outstanding track has to be "I am the Walrus" which was given the full progressive rock treatment, totally different to The Beatles version. The album version is arguably the finest Beatles cover ever, although the single version was a different take and is nowhere near as good by comparison. There are songs by Joe Cocker and Elton John on this album that are also excellent cover versions. "The wrong time" is another excellent track, in fact every track is at the least "very good", not a bad track on the album . The 2015 CD re-issue of this album has the album and single versions of "I am the Walrus" where the comparisons can be made. One of my all time favourite albums.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Everyone probably already knows that this is a really really inaccurate telling of the story of William Wallace but... if viewed as a period action movie, it's brilliant.

There's supposedly a red car driving along the side of the valley in the opening battle but no matter how many times I watched it, I've never seen it.

Always worth a watch, even if Mel's Scots accent is wobbly most of the time.

They may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

This was the first album by the mark 2 line up, where Laurie Wisefield replaced Ted Turner on lead guitar, alongside Andy Powell to get that distinctive twin lead guitar sound. Argus is considered to be their outstanding album, rightly so but I think this runs it a close second as every track is excellent. The outstanding tracks on it are --- Persephone, which has some fantastic melodic lead guitar work by Andy & Laurie. Lady Jay is another excellent track with some neat guitar work. The instrumental track F.U.B.B. ( reportedly F***** Up Beyond Belief) is still a concert favourite. All other tracks help to make this an excellent album. My CD version gets a regular spin

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

This disc sounds incredible!

There has been a Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab re-issue which fetches a few bobs... but while I haven't heard that, it's difficult to see what improvements they could have made to the way this sounds.

For those of us who are perhaps only casual Cat fans, only the lead track will be the familiar one, and maybe that makes people opt for greatest hits and best-ofs, rather than get his studio albums, but this has a lot more to offer. I has a lot of early-ish synth programming, and lots of noodly and twiddly sounds and noises, all wrapped around the familiar song writing style of Mr Stevens.

Was Dog A Doughnut? is a particularly pleasing noodle, as well as Killin' Time... the vid I attached to an earlier comment.

Sonically though, this has to be heard.... it'll knock you out of your shoes!

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

I used to do a lot of gigs & concerts in the 1970's where I saw quite a few "Iffy" support acts. When I went to a YES concert in 1975, these were the support, and my thoughts were that I would not fancy them after a bit of research prior to the show. They played instruments that I hadn't heard of and I really enjoyed their performance, and consequently bought the album the next day.I now have it on CD and give it the occasional spin. It is very much of it's time, but I still find bits to enjoy. I had some (younger) friends round a couple of years ago, browsing my CD collection and one of them pulled this out and asked for me to give it a quick spin, which I duly did. They were horrified to find that I would actually listen to (and enjoy) this. I'm not sure they've been round again. There's no accounting for taste.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

This film could never quite live up to the striking opening shot of blood dripping down a decaying English seaside pier but overall it's a very enjoyable watch.

It has to be said that after the opening, the emphasis is very much on Flesh rather than Blood. The female cast often appear topless for no apparent reason whereas the murders are surprisingly low key.

One thing that isn't so low key is the acting. Patrick Barr steals the show as the lonely Major Bell.

If you enjoy thespians being bumped off then this makes a nice and sleazy companion piece to the camp horror classic Theatre Of Blood

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

This boxed set has been heavily edited from the original broadcast versions to remove some racial based gags. Weirdly, only some have been removed but not others. It seems it's OK to poke fun at English, Irish, Germans, Japanese etc but not at Arabs and Greeks (for example). Whilst it is fair to say that it's unlikely anything of this nature would be made in these enlightened times, the original programme was made in a different era and with pretentions and social quirks of the time. In any case, in comparison to other TV series of the era this one is mild and anyone who really takes offence at this needs to take a chill pill. Its gentle mocking humour is fairly all pervading. Crudities about sex, toilets, foreigners, relationships are all staples of British comedy and carried off with great aplomb in this programme. Masterly acting, direction and scripts from start to finish make this one of the best loved British TV sitcoms of all time. For those who wish to see the original unedited broadcast versions you'll have to seek out the US Region 1 DVD version, which has thankfully been left censor free.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

Certain artists fail to impress me when they play in a straightforward country music vein, but really light up when they move into the rockabilly style. Bill Haley is one. Carl Perkins is another. "Let The Juke Box Keep On Playing" is Perkins in his straightforward country style. It is no doubt a competent foray in that genre. I will leave it to somebody who's into that to rate it, because I would not do it justice for those people. "Gone, Gone, Gone" is another matter, however. It is Perkins at least halfway to his ultimate rockabilly persona. The rhythm is more urgent, his voice is more dominant, his guitar is more clearly a part of his personal musical voice when he plays this kind of material. I don't know if this track pre-dates "Blue Suede Shoes", but it feels like it does by just a little. It's not as good as it gets, but whoever gave it an 8 was pretty much on the money. It's far better than merely good, and it ought to whet your appetite for more Perkins.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

This album which was originally released in 1970 contains (arguably) the best "Beatles" cover ever. This issue also has an alternative single version which is nowhere near as good as the album version. The album was greatly underrated at the time and did not sell very well at a time when "Progressive Rock" albums were starting to figure highly in the album charts. All of the other tracks help to make this a very good album that sounds just as good today.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?

A radicalised black man is ejected from college and fantasizes after a mixed racial relationship. Meanwhile in London somewhere, machine gun toting revolutionaries force a bishop to beg with a suckling baby, a man endures a cannibalistic castration, a hippy chick prances and much racist babble is shouted at Hyde Park corner.
Light relief comes from a freaky band who practice in a derelict house in a soot-encrusted street, and who also soundtrack much of the film.

7 people found this review helpful.   ✔︎ Helpful Review?