The Wesleys - The Wesleys

Following their 2022 EP, Outside Voices, Montreal’s The Wesleys are back with this impressive, eponymous full-length debut.  Their bio mentions influences like Teenage Fanclub, The Pixies, The Replacements and The Clean, and you can definitely hear elements of these somewhat diverse bands as you make your way through the nine songs.  “Make It My Way” kicks the album off with synths and a tight, post punk tinged intro, followed by heavier surf rock flavored guitars, not unlike The Pixies, meshed with jangly guitar pop.  “A Lot To Lose” is a mesmerizing, dreamy, folk-tinged pop track that definitely brings to mind a bit of that aforementioned influence from The Clean.  Next up are “I’ve Been Waiting”, a catchy power pop track with a ragged, garage rock vibe, and the two minute “Fucked Up”, a noisier post punk track.  “25” is a faster paced tune with hooks galore, as is “You Better Believe It”, which opens with a hypnotic guitar and bass intro.  A strong contender for album highlight, “Radio Circus” is more of a melancholy slacker rock track, and lead single “Great Big Smile” is a dreamy, jangly guitar driven track with some nice synth touches.  Closing the album is the taut, angular guitar driven “Death By The Bite”.  In addition to writing everything the album was also recorded and mixed by the band, largely in their home studios, and sounds great.  

(Little Village Records / The Wesleys - Facebook)

Dinosaur Jr - The Black Session - Live In Paris 1993 

For anyone unfamiliar, Black Sessions are live music performances recorded in front of an audience and broadcast on the C’est Lenoir show on the French radio station France Inter.  Initially recorded on March 2, 1993, this session from Dinosaur Jr has been remastered from the original tapes and released on coloured vinyl.  The session took place a little less than a month after the album Where You Been was released and featured original members, singer and guitarist J Mascis and drummer Murph, along with new bassist Mike Johnson.  While they only performed nine songs, they did a great job of covering all their releases to that point and also dug a little deeper at times instead of just sticking to their more popular songs.  The set opened with “Quest”, which starts like a slow dirge and has a noisy Neil Young vibe with a little Sonic Youth thrown in.  Their cover of The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven” is next and is an absolute kller track.  They give the song a great, ragged punk kick, while still maintaining all the hooks of the original.  After a long instrumental opening “Lung” kicks in with a manic pace and has a tenseness to it that almost takes your breath away, perfectly matching the lyrics.  “Freak Scene”, the super infectious single from Bug is up next and again Mascis lets loose with his guitar solo.  Side one closes out with the more melancholy “Get Me”.  The guitar on this track is a little mellower, but still plenty noisy, and really allows him to stretch out a little.  Sticking with the most recent album for another track, side B opens with the slow, somewhat pummeling sounds of “Drawerings” and another great solo from Mascis (hard to not sound redundant talking about his guitar solos when he kills it song after song). “Keep The Glove”, a bonus track from the album Bug, is actually a little more on the pop side of things and is about as bouncy and catchy as they come, but Mascis still absolutely lets loose at the end.  With Murph’s straight-ahead pounding leading the way, “Budge” is punk done the Dinosaur Jr way.  Closing out the nine-song set is “Thumb”, a gorgeous seven plus minute track that comes across like a ragged version of shoegaze with an extended guitar solo that is incredible.  The remastering on the album is outstanding and it’s easy to see why this has been a fan favorite for over thirty years.  (As the owner of a miniature horse I also have to give them bonus points for that great album cover).  

(Cherry Red Records)

Cock Sparrer - Hand On Heart

Cock Sparrer got their start in 1972 and are considered to be one of the pioneers of early punk and Oi!.  The band was founded by vocalist Colin McFaull, guitarist Mick Beaufoy, bassist Steve "Burge" Burgess and drummer Steve Bruce, and while they have broken up twice in the ensuing fifty-two years, since 1992 the four of them, along with rhythm guitarist Daryl Smith, have stuck together, doing the occasional tour and releasing the occasional album.  Now, with the release of Hand On Heart, they are back with their eighth and final (at least that’s what they are saying) album.  When you’ve been doing what they have been doing as long as they have, you tend to stick to what the fans want, and while there are a few exceptions to the rule where they expand their sound a little, that’s exactly what they do here.  Tracks like “With My Hand On My Heart”, “Rags To Riches”, “Nowhere To Be Found” and “Here We Stand” are great examples of their classic high energy, straight-ahead, anthemic punk with gang vocals, singalong choruses and plenty of hooks.  As mentioned before there are also a few cuts where they switch things up.  The most notable of these is “My Forgotten Dream”, which is more of a melancholy tune that’s a really nice change of pace.  It features a string arrangement from Simon Dobson, who has worked with the likes of Bring Me The Horizon and Architects, and is principal conductor and arranger with the London based Parallax Orchestra.  Although it's more of a singalong punk track, “Mind Your Own Business” is another one that veers in a slightly different direction with a bit of a boogie beat and a taut, buzzing guitar line running through it that gives it a really interesting sound.  With production handled by James Bragg and guitarist Daryl Smith the album sounds great and as the band says, “for once, more of the budget went into the studio than down the pub!”  Hopefully this really isn't the swan song for Cock Sparrer, but if it is they have definitely gone out with a winner.  

(Captain Oi! / Pirates Press Records)

  

 White City Graves - Canary's Dead

Canary’s Dead is the latest EP from Seattle’s White City Graves.  While I couldn’t find a lot of current information on the band, they have been around since 2010, although there have been several member changes, and prior to this they have released two full-length albums, an EP and a split EP with Terror Inc.  As for the four songs here they are largely thick muscular rock with elements of punk and metal that remind me a little of Tad (another Seattle band of yore), although I would say they are a little less aggressive and a little more melodic.  That is not to say they aren’t heavy, they rely a lot on that thick bass sound and meaty guitars and they don’t lack in aggression (check out “Personal Hell”).  They also manage to keep things fresh and diverse, but still always sound like White City Graves.  One song that really exemplifies that is “Burn It All Down”, an extremely catchy track that stands apart from the rest and will most likely have you bopping your head with its groove metal element.     

(White City Graves)

 

 

Alan Hull - Singing A Song In The Morning Light – The Legendary Demo Tapes 1967-1970

Before becoming one of the founding members and primary songwriters for the band Lindisfarne (originally Brethren), Alan Hull was in the band The Chosen Few.  During his time in that band he met David Wood, who wanted to get involved in the local music scene.  He started hanging out with the band, taking pictures, helping roadie and even providing financial assistance.  Hull wrote the songs for their two 1965 singles for Pye Records but left the band the following year after having a falling out with their producer.  While the rest of the band recruited a new singer and evolved into the psychedelic band Skip Bifferty, Hull had gotten married and got a job at the local mental hospital St Nicholas, so he would have a steady income.  Not only did he continue to write songs while working there, but his experiences at work greatly influenced his writing and he wrote even more than before.  At this same time, Wood decided to build a recording studio and was slowly piecing together what would become Impulse Sound.  Although they had lost touch after he left The Chosen Few, the two of them had a chance reunion and Alan started going to the studio to cut some lo-fi demos.  Many of these songs ended up becoming the main source for Lindisfarne albums in their early years and with very few of them seeing the light of day over the years on compilations or as bonus tracks, they have become the holy grail for fans.  Now with Singing A Song In The Morning Light – The Legendary Demo Tapes 1967-1970, Grapefruit has released four discs containing ninety of these demos, seventy-seven of which were previously unreleased.  

Lindisfarne got their start as The Downtown Faction in 1968 and then changed their name to Brethren, before changing it one last time when Hull joined the band.  After signing to Charisma Records in 1970 they released Nicely Out Of Tune, the first of three albums in three years, all of which hit the top ten in the UK, including the number one Fog On The Tyne.  The early demos of classic Lindisfarne tracks from that debut album, like “Winter Song”, “Lady Eleanor” (one of two tracks here, along with “We Can Swing Together”, recorded with Brethren), “Clear White - Part 2” and “Scarecrow Song” can be found here.  Demos of a couple more of his contributions to the next two releases are here as well, including the title track of Dingly Dell.  He also went back to these demos for later releases like “The River” and “You Put The Laff On Me”, which were reworked for Happy Daze, along with “Justanothersadsong” and “Somewhere Out There” on solo albums Pipedream and Phantoms, respectively.  In addition to the aforementioned cuts recorded with Brethren, there are a couple of tracks here, “Schizoid Revolution” and “This We Shall Explore”, that he recorded with Skip Bifferty backing him.  Amazingly, these songs are just the tip of the iceberg, and as you make your way through the four discs there are so many great cuts it’s a shame so many never realized their full potential.  Of course, not everything here is a gem and alongside fully formed songs there are others that are rough and more of a skeletal work in progress.  There are also missed notes and vocals that are at times a bit off key, but they still make for a fascinating listen.  It should also be noted that since these are demos, they of course sound like demos, but the sound quality is actually quite good, especially considering they were recorded over fifty years ago.  Rounded out by an extremely informative booklet, whether you are a long-time fan or new to Lindisfarne and Hull, this is a highly recommended box set. 

(Grapefruit)

Kevin Ayers - Joy Of A Toy (Remastered Vinyl Edition)

After getting his start with Robert Wyatt, Hugh Hopper and future members of Caravan in the band Wilde Flowers, Kevin Ayers left the band, and along with Wyatt and Hopper formed Soft Machine.  Following the release of their debut album and an extensive tour of the United States, Ayers left the band and went to Ibiza to recuperate.  While there he ended up doing a lot of songwriting which led to his first solo album, 1969's Joy of a Toy.  Now, thanks to Esoteric Records, the album has been remastered from the original master tapes, cut at Abbey Road Studios, and released in a gatefold sleeve that fully restores the original artwork.  “Joy Of A Toy Continued” kicks things off and is a fun, chipper, la la la singalong, enhanced with trombone, kazoo, piccolo and more, that sounds like something you would hear as the opening theme to a children’s TV show.  It definitely makes for a very interesting way to introduce a solo career.  “Town Feeling” is a gorgeously arranged, baroque track with a stellar performance from Ayers showcasing his deep, almost lazy, bass vocals accompanied by cello and oboe.  With a strong Beatles vibe, “The Clarietta Rag” is an upbeat, bouncy psychedelic pop tune with some mellotron and trombone accompaniment along with a short fuzz guitar solo in the middle.  “Girl on a Swing” is another gorgeously arranged track that’s very mellow and hypnotic, but still has a lot going on with vibrating guitar, delicate piano and mellotron.  Featuring the Soft Machine lineup, “Song For Insane Times” closes out side one and is a bit different than the rest of the album.  It’s a laid-back jazzy pop tune that really let’s everyone shine with plenty of soloing, especially the jazzier dumming and organ, plus a fuzzed out guitar solo at the end.  Opening side two is “Stop This Train (Again Doing It)”, a six plus minute track that’s kinda simple sounding, but disjointed and intense.  The rhythm is driven by a simple drum beat, piano and organ, mimicking the rhythm of a train and repeating until the end when the tape speeds up to a fast paced finish, while the lyrics are about a bizarre train trip going nowhere.  “Eleanor’s Cake (Which Ate Her)” is a nice, slower acoustic ballad that’s more on the folk side with a bit of a medieval touch.  With the brilliant use of the oboe, “The Lady Rachel” is dark and haunting.  It starts with a trilling organ and strummed guitar then adds a drumbeat to accompany his darker vocals, which during the chorus have a disturbing, slightly distorted sound.  The song closes with a dark, noisy instrumental section.  Based on a traditional Malaysian folk song, the avant garde “Oleh Oleh Bandu Bandong” is by far the strangest cut on the album.  It has a plodding rhythm and odd time signatures with squeaking and squawking blips and beeps, piano that is discordant at times and key banging at others, screeching violin strings and Joe Meek like space sounds.  As if that isn’t strange enough, there are no vocals with the exception of the chorus, which is credited to Jean and Mary, who were supposedly two members of The Ladybirds singing group from the Benny Hill show.  Closing the album out is “All This Crazy Gift of Time”, a nice, Dylan-like track with Ayers deep, warm vocals accompanied by strummed guitar and harmonica.  The remastering here sounds great, making this a great addition to your vinyl collection.  

(Esoteric Recordings)

The End Machine - The Quantum Phase

Initially comprised of three-fourths of the classic Dokken lineup with guitarist George Lynch, bassist Jeff Pilson and drummer Mick Brown who were then joined by vocalist Robert Mason, The End Machine hit the scene with their eponymous debut in 2018.  When Brown decided to put down his sticks and step away from music, the drum seat was filled by his younger brother Steve who played on their 2021 release Phase2.  The Quantum Phase, their latest release, finds the band once again with a new member with Girish Pradhan (Girish And The Chronicles, Joel Hoekstra's 13) taking over on lead vocals.  While Mason is a great vocalist and those first two albums were outstanding, Pradham's vocals are more in the vein of Ray Gillen, which adds a whole new element to their sound.  “Black Hole Extinction”, the opening track, kicks things off with a super heavy galloping riff and a spoken vocal that leads into a tune that is heavy, with Pradhan’s powerhouse vocals and hard driving percussion, but still has a strong melodic side.  Another heavier rocker is up next with the single “Silent Winter”, which also has some great harmony vocals.  “Killer Of The Night” is a little more on the melodic side and is the first of several tracks reminiscent of early Dokken with a Lynch solo that will definitely take you back.  Other tracks with that early Dokken sound include “Hunted”, a midtempo tune where it’s especially evident in the chorus and Lynch’s guitar licks, and the slower “Burning Man”.  “Hell or Highwater” starts off with more driving guitar and a wail from Pradham and never lets up, followed by “Stand Up”, a straight-ahead rocker that brings to mind Tesla.  The bluesier groove of “Shattered Glass Heart”, change things up a bit and sounds a lot like Badlands and really showcases Pradham’s vocals.  As to be expected, every song here has a Lynch guitar solo that never fails to impress, and while they almost always sound like a George Lynch solo should, “Time” is an interesting solid midtempo rocker where the guitars instead have a very strong Eddie Van Halen sound. After a heavy, kind of sludgy opening, “Stranger In The Mirror’ shifts into a very eighties midtempo track that is a little generic and my least favorite song here.  Thankfully get right back on track with the muscular, high energy “Into The Blazing Sun”, a shorter, straight to the point cut that closes the album perfectly.  

(Frontiers Music)

The Tornados - Love & Fury : The Holloway Road Sessions 1962-1966

The Tornados got their start when Joe Meek needed a second in-house band to help with the large amount of work that The Outlaws were handling for him.  One of the first musicians to audition was Heinz (check out his Tea Chest Tapes box set - Heinz: The White Tornado – The Holloway Road Sessions 1963-1966).  He initially was almost made a member of The Outlaws, but when he auditioned, Chas Hodges, one of the band’s members, felt his bass playing wasn’t good enough, so Meek built The Tornados around him.  From 1962 to 1966, The Tornados (in numerous incarnations) were mainstays at Meek's studio at 304 Holloway Rd.  They were also Billy Fury's permanent backing band for live performances and in 1962 were the first British group to top the billboard charts (a year before The Beatles) with the song "Telstar".  It should also be noted that over the course of those years there were many membership changes and at the end there were no original members in the band.  Also, while they started as an instrumental band, in 1963 they started adding vocals in order to compete with the Mersey Sound.  They are the focus of Love & Fury: The Holloway Road Sessions 1962-1966, which contains 131 track on five CD’s with 119 being previously unreleased, and is the latest in Cherry Red’s outstanding series of Joe Meek’s Tea Chest Tapes releases.

Through a variety of alternate and original speed versions, backing tracks and pre-overdubs, disc one covers the Telstar album, which combined their first three UK EP's for the US market, disc two covers the follow-up Away From It All and the third and fourth discs cover sessions recorded for their various singles.  As with the prior Tea Chest Tapes releases, they are fascinating glimpses into Meek’s genius and the bits and pieces that would eventually come together to create the final songs.  He often sped up the recordings and to me a lot of the more interesting tracks are the ones released here at their original speed, which honestly usually sound a lot better and more natural.  There are also interesting and offbeat tracks like the sound effects tape for “Telstar”, which actually evolved from the sessions for Joe Meek and the Blue Men’s I Hear A New World album, and a sped up, pre-sound effects version of “Telstar”.   A few others include the session for the intro speech to “Life On Venus” as well as a recording of the special effects used as the intro for that song.  

That brings us to disc number five, titled Demos, Unreleased and Curios, an outstanding collection of various odds and ends.  Kicking things off are nine demos and writing sessions that show the earliest days of six different Tornados songs.  Most of these contain Meek on vocals and if you are familiar with any of the previous Tea Chest Tapes releases you will definitely recognize his off key singing.  A couple of tracks that are especially notable are demos of “Telstar”, one with him caterwauling the non-lyrics over the backing track for Geoff Goddard’s “Try Once More” and another recorded over Mike Berry’s “Every Little Kiss”.   His frequent collaborator Dave Adams assisted on a few of these tracks, and he also plays a great version of “Indian Brave” on organ, that comes across more like a sea shanty.  Since the band was Billy Fury’s backing band, they had rehearsals at Meek’s studio and next up are four tracks recorded at one of these rehearsals.  The band and Fury sound fantastic together here, especially when they tear through “Go Go Go” (Move On Down The Line)”.  Originally released on the soundtrack to the movie Just For Fun, the twinkling, somewhat spacey sounds of the hypnotic “All The Stars In The Sky” is here at its original speed.  The remaining tracks are various takes of twelve songs that were never official releases, although many showed up on compilations or bootlegs.  One major highlight is a crystal clear take on “Lullaby Of The Stars”, an infectious instrumental that has been bootlegged over the years, but always in deliberately slurred versions.  There are also takes of the more Mersey Beat sounding "Alright Alright", "Hurtin' Inside", "Fortune Teller" and "You Can Make It If You Try" that came from a recently discovered tape box and are quite different than the bootleg versions already out there.  The grandiose “Lawrence Of Arabia” is an epic sounding track that was recorded in 1966 and is one of the few Tea Chest Tapes tracks recorded in stereo (some think it was recorded somewhere besides Meek’s 304 Holloway Road studio).  It was supposed to be a double A-side single along with “No More You And Me”, a stunning, prog-tinged hard rocker that was a complete shift in direction for the band, made more notable by fuzzbox drenched overdubs provided by Ritchie Blackmore.  It would be interesting to see where this single would have taken the band, but unfortunately it was never released due to Meek’s death.  Closing things out are a couple takes on the newly discovered “You Always Did What You Wanted”, a more mature sounding track highlighted with some gorgeous piano runs.  Rounded out with a CD booklet with very comprehensive notes from The Joe Meek's Society's Craig Newton and previously unseen photos, this is another winner from the Tea Chest Tapes series.  

(Cherry Red Records)

Slightest Cue - Carousel

Carousel is the outstanding new EP from Vancouver’s Slightest Clue, a band that initially started as a bedroom project for vocalist / guitarist Malcom McLaren but has since evolved into a full-fledged four-piece.  Lyrically the EP follows the arc of a relationship from beginning to end, while musically it is an amalgamation of styles including post-punk, pop, blues, distortion heavy rock, psychedelia and more.  Opener “These Days”, is dark, but poppy tune with a heavy post punk edge, tons of hooks and a haunting, somewhat psychedelic outro that leads into “Why Can’t I Call You” which has a slinky, head-bopping groove that is tension-filled and builds with intensity as the song progresses.  One of my favorite tracks on the EP, “When You Wake Up” is absolutely hypnotic, starting as a slow, soulful blues tune with sultry vocals from Hannah Kruse, but with an undercurrent of tension that explodes into an all-out rocker full of noisy, distorted guitars.  Driven by a deep, throbbing bass and thick, distorted, angular guitars along with McLaren’s panicked sounding, at times high pitched vocals, complemented perfectly with Kruse’s backing vocals, “Suit Uptight!” brings to mind bands like Gang Of Four and Wire.  The title track is the perfect closer and it is an absolute powerhouse.  It opens with a slow, swirling, very melancholy psychedelic vibe (complemented nicely with cello) that is reminiscent of Radiohead (especially the vocals), then intensifies and slows back down before building to a climactic ending.  Also, the back-and-forth vocal interplay here between McLaren and Kruse works brilliantly.  Carousel is a very impressive EP that manages to stay cohesive while displaying alot of diversity and makes me excited to see where they go from here.  

(Slightest Cue)

 

Jane Getter Premonition - Division World

Following their 2021 album Anomalia, Jane Getter Premonition is back with Division World.  Written during the pandemic with lyrics that Getter says are “reflections of the divisiveness and divisions happening in the world today”, the album contains only one instrumental and is the most song-oriented one they’ve released.  Getter’s regular band, keyboardist Adam Holzman, guitarist Alex Skolnick, bassist and singer Paul Frazier and drummer Gene Lake, who have all played with a who’s who of musicians and bands, are back, along with guest vocals from Randy McStine on three cuts.  While often rooted in prog, there is a lot of diversity throughout the album, often within the same song, and even though they are more song-oriented there is always room for Getter’s guitar solos, which never fail to impress.  The title track kicks things off and is more of a straightforward prog track, as is “Layers”.  “Dissipate” is a very dynamic tune that while midtempo is also a little heavier with a thumping bass and cymbals along with hypnotic, swirling synths.  It is followed by “The Spark”, a melancholy rock song with some hints of jazz accompanied by some really nice piano work.  The sole instrumental “Compass” starts with crunching, metal guitars and shifts to strong jazz fusion with some outstanding guitar work, before shifting again to a jazzier section and then back to a thick heavy guitar solo at the end. “End The Blame” is up next and is a really pretty track that lays a foundation of piano and synths, a laid-back rhythm section and guitars (acoustic at times) all under Getter’s vocals and some great harmonies.  Book-ended with a more easygoing prog vibe, “Devolution” has a great metal guitar in the middle, while “Another Way” has an offbeat, angular, stop and start prog sound meshed with a bluesier side.  “Mixed Up” is another more laid-back prog track that not only has some great fusion guitar work, but also really showcases Holzman as he lets it fly on the keys.  Getter’s well-crafted songwriting really comes through on “Rewind Again”, a dynamic tune that opens slow and dreamy and has a nuanced, heavier guitar solo at the end.  The closing track features McStine on lead vocals and is a lush, orchestrated ballad that is a complete shift from anything that came before.  While somewhat a shift away from their previous releases, Division World is another winning release from Jane Getter Premonition.  

(Esoteric Antenna)

Snakes In The Pit - Hamburg City Hardcore

On their debut full-length, Hamburg City Hardcore, Snakes In The Pit straddle the line between punk and hardcore, also throwing in some metal and even a little ska and reggae, all while maintaining an ever-present sense of melody and atmosphere.  The band cites Pennywise and Comeback Kid as inspiration, and while you can hear that influence, they take it and turn it into something their own.  The musicianship is top notch and the vocals are strong and largely clean, although there is a muscular edge when necessary, and most songs have great singalong vocal harmonies.  At only eight songs (plus a short intro) and just over twenty-five minutes there isn’t a bad track here, but some of the standouts include “Komm Schon”, “Snakes In The Pit”, “Manni”, a track that really highlights the dynamics of their sound, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Holiday”, with the aforementioned ska breakdown in the middle, and closer “4 Life”.  

(Snakes In The Pit - Facebook Snakes In The Pit - Bandcamp)

 

 

 

Alcatrazz - Rock Justice - Complete Recordings 1983-1986

Following stints in bands like Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow and the Michael Schenker Group along with several solo albums, vocalist Graham Bonnet formed Alcatrazz.  The band was rounded out with former New England and Warrior members Jimmy Waldo on keys and Gary Shea on bass, former Iron Butterfly and Alice Cooper drummer Jan Uvena and a then 20-year-old Yngwie J Malmsteen, who had previously recorded one album with the band Steeler, on guitar.  While two different versions of the band are still around today (a Graham Bonnet lineup and a Waldo Shea lineup), the new box four-disc box set Rock Justice - Complete Recordings 1983-1986 contains their first four releases and also includes rare and unreleased bonus tracks from the vaults.

No Parole From Rock ‘N’ Roll, their debut release, gets the box started and to me is the strongest of their releases.  I remember fondly listening to it over and over after purchasing it when it was released back in 1983 and feeling like there was something special with this band and this album.  Bonnet’s vocals are outstanding throughout, there is plenty of Malmsteen’s classic guitar work, but it is often more restrained than his future playing, which definitely works better in the context of the songs, and Waldo’s organ playing does a great job fleshing out a lot of the tracks.  There is also plenty of diversity throughout the album while they still stay in that classic hard rock style.  On the lighter side of things, opener “Island In The Sun” and “Starcarr Lane” are a couple of solid hook heavy melodic rockers, and closing track is a nice power ballad with more laid-back guitar from Malmsteen.  With extremely dark and disturbing lyrics, “General Hospital” is a heavier, hard rock tune, and “Jet To Jet”, which is strongly reminiscent of Rainbow’s “Spotlight Kid”, and “Too Young To Die, Too Drunk To Live” are hard driving rockers, both with some great organ work.  “Hiroshima Mon Amour” is another organ driven track that is heavier and a bit dark, with a strong Deep Purple vibe, and “Big Foot” is a slower and moodier song that is a definite showcase for Malmsteen and shows signs of his future solo work.  The highlight of the album for me is “Kree Nakoori”, a very unique track with a Middle Eastern flavor that is a real showcase for Bonnet’s soaring vocal delivery, which takes on a life of its own here, and Malmsteen’s guitar work.  Disc one also includes one bonus track, a seventeen-and-a-half-minute interview with every member of the band. 

Bonnet and Malmsteen’s desire to be the focal point of the band led to an onstage fight between them resulting in Malmsteen’s firing from the band in 1984.  Replacing him for the follow-up album Disturbing The Peace was former Frank Zappa guitarist Steve Vai.  While there are some really strong songs here, it’s definitely a mixed bag and doesn’t stand up to the debut. The sound here is quite different and almost sounds like a completely different band.  Overall, it is a more generic sound and is missing a lot of the elements that made the debut what it was.  Waldo’s keys don’t have the presence they had before and when they are there, they don’t have the same effect.  Vai’s guitar work is outstanding, but it doesn’t work near as well for the band’s sound as Malmsteen’s did.  There also isn’t as much of the diversity here as there was on the debut and there is more emphasis on melodic rockers like the strong album opener, “God Blessed Video”, a hard driving song with some great guitar from Vai (you can definitely hear a lot of the same guitar sounds that he later brought to David Lee Roth).  Other tracks in this vein include “Sons & Lover”, one of the strongest cuts here, “Skyfire”, which has a bit of a harder edge, and the more laid-back “Will You Be Home Tonight”, one of the tracks where the keys still make an impact.  On the heavier side of things “Wire And Wood” is a solid, straight-ahead rocker and “Stripper” is a fast-paced, balls to the wall track that is unfortunately drug down a bit with its juvenile lyrics (what do you expect with that title) and a very Van Halen like spoken word section in the middle (a la “Hot For Teacher” and Unchained”).  A couple of the more interesting tunes, and definite highlights, are “Desert Diamond” and “Breaking The Heart Of The City”.  The former is a slow burning track that finds them delving into Indian music with some great sitar work from Vai, while the latter Is a slower and darker track, and one of the few that makes good use of Waldo’s organ, which is juxtaposed with Satriani’s more lively and upbeat guitar work.  Disc two also contains five more bonus tracks including a demo of the song “Emotion”, a really strong power ballad with some really strong bluesy guitar from Vai.  It's hard to believe this track didn’t make the album.  There is also a drunk driving PSA the band recorded, a couple of instrumental demos and a fifteen-minute band rehearsal from 1984 that’s an interesting listen, but probably not something you will listen to more than once.

The revolving door of guitarists continued when Vai left to join David Lee Roth’s band and in came Danny Johnson, formerly of Alice Cooper and Axis.  Unlike Malmsteen and Vai, there was really nothing distinctive about Johnson’s guitar work, and while Bonnet’s vocals were still top-notch, for the most part Dangerous Games ended up being a fairly generic melodic rock album.  Having said that it did still have its moments.  The album opens with the first of two covers, The Animals’ “It’s My Life”, which is a muscular rocker that is really good, but comes across a little dated with the eighties synths and singalong chorus.  Among the best tracks are “Ohayo Tokyo”, which is actually reminiscent of their debut and has some really good guitar work, and “Double Man”, an interesting rocker with a slower, dark and mysterious sound where all the pieces really come together, including the guitar and synths.  The second cover is the ballad “Only One Woman”, interestingly originally recorded by Bonnet’s sixties band The Marbles.  With more of a rock edge and Bonnet’s vocal performance, it is an album highlight, as is the the emotional power ballad “The Witchwood”.  Also worth mentioning are “No Imagination” and the title track, a couple of the better melodic rockers.  I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention the closing track “Night of The Shooting Star” (and last song of this era of the band), a short a cappella tune with the band ooh-ing and aah-ing in the background like the sound of a band throwing up their arms in defeat.  A mixed bag of seven more bonus tracks is tacked on the end of disc three.  Among these are a new version of “No Imagination”, remixed by Waldo in 2020, that really only sounds a little different, a demo of “Dangerous Games” with just Bonnet’s vocals and limited instrumentation, a Danny Johnson scratch vocal of “Let Me Go” (the song sounds like it had real potential, but thank goodness Johnson isn’t the vocalist), a couple of instrumental demos and a near fifteen minute writing session with Jimmy and Danny running through some songs.  Lastly, is “Lonely Rider”, a great track that’s melodic, but with an edge, full of chugging guitars and synths.  It also has a guitar solo that is far better than anything on the album and again it's a mystery why this track didn’t make it.   

The final disc, titled Capitol Crimes - The Unreleased Sessions (1985-1986) is a collection of demos and new mixes from Jimmy Waldo.  Most notable here are demos of two tracks that I’m assuming were recorded for the next album, and a 2020 remix from Waldo of another.  “Set Me Free” is a strong, midtempo rocker with a hint of Rainbow and “Losing You Is Winning” is a hard rocking melodic rocker.  Johnson’s guitar work stands out much more on these tracks and the synths mesh much better.  The third new track is “Please Call Me”, another strong power ballad, which is something the band always excelled at.  It really sounds like they were heading in a better direction and it’s a shame the next album never came to fruition.  There is a different version of “Emotion” and a more polished 2020 mix of “Rider” (aka “Freedom Rider”), two unreleased tracks that appear elsewhere in the box set.  A couple of soul/R&B covers are also included, but unfortunately neither works very well.  While the vocals are very strong, and it’s quite possible the band was just messing around in the studio, but their take on the Holland-Dozier-Holland track “A Love Like Yours” is kind of odd with keys that sound plunky and drumming that sounds like it’s on a cardboard box.  On the other hand, “When A Man Loves A Woman” is very good musically, but they key is too high and Bonnet sounds like he’s straining.  Lastly, there are three demo versions of three Dangerous Games tracks.  Even though it's less than perfect, Rock Justice - Complete Recordings 1983-1986 is a great look back at the first era of Alcatrazz.

(HNE Recordings)

Pace Glacier - Earthmover

I first saw Vincent Bruinsma (Vincent James at that time) performing at a local coffee shop in April 2013, a few months before he released his debut EP The Wilderness Below.  Performed largely by him, with a few guest musicians on a couple tracks, the EP is a beautiful collection of haunting, atmospheric folk enhanced by his warm, soulful vocals.  About six months after the EP’s release, he was fronting what started as a three-piece under the name Vincent James and the Modest Hearts, but eventually evolved into the five (and then six) piece Run the Willow.  They released an outstanding album A Living Dichotomy in 2018, which expanded on his earlier EP in a rootsier folk rock direction, but then disbanded in 2020.  Now with the release of his new EP Earthmover, under the name Pace Glacier, he’s back to doing things on his own, actually even more than before, playing all the instruments as well as recording and mixing everything.  His sound has evolved once again and while at their core the songs, written on acoustic guitar, will take you back to that haunting, atmospheric folk of his first EP, the addition of new instrumentation, especially the synths, give them a gorgeous, ambient texture and atmosphere.  His vocals are as captivating as they have ever been and Sydney Moon’s harmony vocals on “Architect” and “Continental Divide” complement him perfectly. Vincent said he “started working on these songs a couple years ago as a way to practice recording and mixing while forcing myself to learn some new instruments”, and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the outstanding production (do yourself a favor and give it a listen with headphones).  I can’t recommend Earthmover enough and look forward to hearing what he has in store for us next. (Note - Earthmover is currently only available on streaming services) 

(Pace Glacier - Facebook   Pace Glacier - Instagram)

Mark Eric - A Midsummer's Day Dream 12"LP 

A Midsummer’s Day Dream, was released in 1969 and was the only album ever from Mark Eric (real name Mark Eric Malmborg).  When it came out there was very minimal fanfare or support and unfortunately it made little impact, but after it was reissued on CD in 2002 and again in 2009 (with bonus tracks) it was to great reviews, which caused the price for the out of print vinyl to shoot up.  Now for the first time since it was originally released, it has been reissued on vinyl in a gatefold jacket with exclusive photos and song by song comments from the now deceased Malmborg, that were also included with the CD reissues.  Written and recorded by Mark, arranged by former Animals’ guitarist Vic Briggs, and produced by Norman Ratner, the album is full of bright, sunshine-y pop, occasionally mixed with a bit of melancholia, often strongly indebted to Brian Wilson and Pet Sounds era Beach Boys and late sixties, Liberty Records era, Four Freshmen (interestingly the Four Freshmen recorded his song “When School Is Out This Year” in 1968).   The songs are lushly arranged with vibraphones, french horns and strings fleshing out the sound and topped with great vocal harmonies and Mark’s falsetto vocals that also bring to mind The Beach Boys.  The musicians are some of the best of that era including the legendary guitarist James Burton and many other members of The Wrecking Crew.  The high point of the album is “Where Do The Girls of Summer Go”, a gorgeous, laid-back track lamenting the days of summer after they are over, which with the right push probably would’ve been a hit.  Having said that, there are so many more highlights including “California Home”, sounding like a lost Beach Boys song, “Move With The Dawn”, the lush, beautifully arranged “Take Me With You” and “Don't Cry Over Me”, and “We Live So Fast”, which is more reminiscent of an upbeat surf era Beach Boys tune.  There are also a couple of tracks that veer off a little in a different direction musically, most notably “I’d Like To Talk To You”, which has more of a funk groove and “Night Of the Lions”, an extremely catchy song that is upbeat and bouncy and arranged perfectly with horns and strings (the guitar at times reminds me of Shocking Blue’s “Venus).  Although Mark did record more songs for a follow-up, the label ended up never releasing them (they were among the bonus tracks on the CD reissues), and at this point he started focusing more on his acting career, appearing in guest star roles on shows like Hawaii Five-O, The Partridge Family and Room 222, as well as the movies Call Her Mom and Pretty Maids All In A Row.  In the seventies he pursued his love of flying, getting his private license and then in the eighties and nineties he did a lot of modeling and also started playing music live again, including nightclubs and cruise ship piano bars, before passing away in 2009 at the age of 59.  While it's unfortunate that we didn't get more music from Mark, thankfully this once overlooked gem is getting its just due.

(Now Sounds)

Purple Hearts - Extraordinary Sensations - Studio and Live 1979-1986

Purple Hearts initially grew out of the punk band The Sockets, which was bassist Jeff Shadbolt, guitarist Simon Stebbing, singer Bob Manton and drummer Nicky Lake.  During that time they played some local shows and even won audition night at the London punk club The Roxy, but in 1978 Lake broke his leg and they took a time out.  With punk fading at this time, and the band feeling like they were improving as musicians, they wanted to try incorporating more of a sixties flavor into their music.  They ended up bringing in drummer Gary Sparks to replace Lake, and Purple Hearts were born.  While they were lumped in with the mod revival of the late seventies, alongside bands like The Chords and Secret Affair, there really was more to the sound of Purple Hearts.  Extraordinary Sensations - Studio and Live 1979-1986 is a great new three CD box set that contains both of their studio albums, 1980’s Beat That! and 1986’s Pop-ish Frenzy, the A and B sides of their six singles, two demos produced by Paul Weller, and five by Sham 69’s Jimmy Pursey, plus live tracks recorded at several different shows and more.  

Disc one opens with their debut album and while cuts like “Frustration” and “Jimmy” (their second and third singles) are standouts that stick the closest to the Mod sound with slicing guitars, pop hooks and a punky beat, “Perfect World” and “Nothing’s Left” follow a similar path, but with a hint of The Kinks and early Who (the latter has some very Townsend influenced guitar licks).  “Something You Can’t Have” and “Beat That!” both have more of a driving beat but mix things up with guitar that is more psychedelic on the former track and jangly on the latter.  Driven by a thumping bass. a jazzier beat and the occasional punk blast “Can’t Stay Here” has some disjointed elements of more experimental New Wave.  The album also has a couple of covers with a slow and dirty, kind of snotty, blues take on Wilson Pickett’s “If You Need Me”, which has a bit of a Stones feel, and a sped up punkier mod version of Bowie’s “Cant Help Thinking About Me”.  After slowing things down with the really cool “Slay It With Flowers”, a track that is dark and moody, but still mod sounding, they wrap up the album with “I’ve Been Away”, which starts off more midtempo, but builds and builds in intensity and is the perfect closer.  Disc one is also loaded with bonus tracks starting with their first single “Millions Like Us”, an extremely catchy, high octane mod track that ended up being their biggest hit reaching number 57 in the UK (also included is the single’s b-side, an earlier version of “Beat That!”, which is rawer and more ragged than the album version).  The flipsides of their second and third singles (“Frustration” and “Jimmy”) are up next with “Extraordinary Sensations”, another strong shot of mod, full of hooks and stabbing guitars and a great aggressive instrumental section, and “What Am I Gonna Do”, which is more of an aggressive punk tune.  The six demos produced by Pursey are for songs that all either ended up on the debut album or singles and while they aren’t that far removed from the versions that were released, they are rawer and more ragged.  After their debut sold only 6000 copies the band was dropped by their label Fiction resulting in a on-off single with Safari Records.  For these cuts the band made a purposeful decision to record something more commercial.  This is most apparent on the title track, “My Life’s A Jigsaw”, a very synth heavy track that finds them moving in more of a new wave direction.  The other two tracks, “Just To Please You” and “The Guy Who Made Her A Star” aren’t quite as poppy and have a bit more of a mod sound but are still way more commercial than prior releases.  In February of 1981 they were invited by Paul Weller to record a couple tracks for potential release on his label Respond Records.  Not only did he produce, but he also sang harmony vocals on "Plane Crash" and played piano and organ.  These demos found them shifting back in the direction of their earlier releases with “Concrete Mixer” also throwing in a touch of Clash-like reggae beats, bit unfortunately, the deal with Weller’s label never happened.  Closing out disc one is the demo of “My Life’s A Jigsaw”, which relies less on the synths and more on the guitar.

While disc two opens with the band’s sophomore full-lengther, 1986’s Pop-ish Frenzy, the band recorded numerous demos in 1981 and 1982 and also re-recorded “Plane Crash” for a single released on Roadrunner Records in 1982.  The single version is similar to one produced by Weller, but a little poppier.  Also included on that single was a fun, punched up cover of “Scooby Doo” and “Gun Of Life”, a really strong rocker with a rootsier sound and ringing guitars, that Is reminiscent of bands of that era like Red Rockers.  Over the next couple of years, the band continued to record demos, several of which ended up on the next album, including notable tracks like the incredible acoustic take on “I’ll Make You Mine”, an edgier “Gun Of Life” that like the single includes piano, and “When I See You”, which kicks off with a great ringing guitar that’s missing on the album.  Among the demos that didn’t make the album are two versions of “Smashing Time”, one that is more new wave with a beat reminiscent of Adam and the Ants and another that is a punkier and more aggressive, along with “Another Day”, a ragged power pop track.  Not long after recording the demos the band split up, but a few years later reunited for some live shows that ended up with them recording Pop-ish Frenzy.  That album found them largely moving away from mod towards a variety of styles that worked well on some songs, but not much on others.  It opens strongly with “Friends Again”, a hook-heavy track with more of a new wave edge.  Some of the other highlights include “Call Of The Wild” and another take on “Gun Of Life” both with a rootsy sound and big ringing guitars, “I’ll Make You Mine”, a hypnotic track that’s a bit darker and moodier with a hint of psychedelia, the high tension rocker “I Can’t Dream” with its rapid fire beat, and “Hi Baby!”, hearkening back to the mod sound with a bit of a beat influence.  Following the album, they released one last single consisting of a new version of “Friends Again”, which was an interesting twist on that track with the very prominent addition of horns.  The flipside was “Head On Collision Time”, a dark and meandering track, once again with horns, that is very good, but very different for them.  

The bulk of the final disc is live tracks taken from three different shows, starting with a previously unreleased show recorded at The Hippodrome in London on November 9, 1986.  The thirteen song set is a mixture of songs from both albums and some single tracks as well as a great cover of The Creation’s “Painter Man”.  Next up is their four song performance at the Mod Aid Alldayer on December 15, 1985 and while there is an overlap on three of the songs, this show also contains an excellent version of “Plane Crash”.  Lastly are two tracks from their reunion at Mods Mayday 99.  Their energetic performance of “I’ve Been Away” and a cover of Solomon Burke's ”Everybody Needs Somebody” show that they still had it.  The performance through all three shows is really strong and the band sounds great with the only drawback being the recording, which is a little thin on all three (the last two cuts sound the best), but definitely very listenable.  Also included here are several two track recordings that are an interesting listen and great for completists, but not something that will most likely get repeat listens.  Also included here is a booklet that includes an interview with guitarist and songwriter Stebbing.  While the definitely had plenty of ups and downs over the years, Extraordinary Sensations - Studio and Live 1979-1986 is a much-deserved collection that is well worth a listen.

(Cherry Red Records)

Elephant - Shooting for the Moon

Following up their debut Big Thing, Rotterdam’s Elephant, comprised of Frank Schalkwijk, Michael Broekhuizen, Bas Vosselman and Kaj van Driel, are back with their second full-length album, Shooting For The Moon.  All the hallmarks of their debut are still here like the warm vocals and great vocal harmonies, the incredible lead guitar that adds so much texture and mood to every single song, the songs themselves with their never-ending hooks and the music that often has a dreaminess to it reminiscent of a modern-day meshing of Americana and the breezy West Coast sounds of the seventies.  Having said that, many of the tracks find them expanding on their debut and experimenting a little.  “Post-Punk” opens the disc and while it is really gorgeous tune it really shows some of this experimental side with the contrast of Michael’s almost droning guitar that works brilliantly.  The breezy, laid-back “The Morning” is up next and hearkens back to their debut.  It also contains guest vocals from Flemish singer Meskerem Mees that complement Frank’s vocals perfectly.  A little more upbeat, “Enemy” has a massively infectious groove with swirling guitars, while “Baby Jean” slows things down again and is very melancholy with great vocal harmonies and a softer guitar that creates a textured wave of sound.  “Dog in the Park” changes things up a bit again, opening with a quick funky bass line that then falls to the background and continues throughout the song.  It is a little more upbeat, but still has that Elephant sound, as does “Bullets” with its extremely infectious chorus and beat.  “The Magnet” is a definite standout with more of a psychedelic feel (there are a few moments where it reminds me of a rootsier Pink Floyd) and some stellar guitar work that has a subdued, wavery sound that really enhances it.  That psychedelic vibe continues on “Alice”, which is driven by a simple, yet propulsive beat and of course that guitar.  Even though the lyrics deal with the aftermath of a break up, “Better Man” is an easygoing track with a loping, almost  country beat along with some squeaky synths that give it a bit of a Grandaddy vibe at times.  The combination of the ringing, acoustic guitar and Schalkwijk’s whispery vocals of the delicate “Moonlight” closes the album perfectly.  Just like their debut, which was one of my favorite albums of 2022, Shooting for the Moon was easily one of my top releases of 2023.  Hopefully they can continue the tradition in 2024.

(Excelsior Recordings)

 

 

Suburban Studs - Slam (Expanded Edition)

Suburban Studs initially got their start as Gnasher, a rock covers band led by vocalist Steve Burton.  When he left the band, they changed their name to the Zipper Kids and then Suburban Studs.  At first, they were more of a glam band, but shifted in a punk direction, largely influenced by supporting the Sex Pistols and The Clash in August of 1976 and then The Runaways a few months later in October.   With the band now consisting of vocalist Eddie “Zipps” Hunt, guitarist Keith Owen, bassist Paul Morton, drummer Steve Poole and saxophonist Steve “Heart” Harrington they signed to the new label Pogo Records and recorded their debut single “Questions” / “No Faith”, which was released in June 1977.  Harrington left the band a short while later, so they continued as a four-piece.  They remixed the single without the sax and turned up the guitar a little and re-released it in October 1977, boosted by a distribution deal Pogo got with WEA.  That connection got them a nationwide UK tour supporting AC/DC, which was followed by a John Peel session recorded in November 1977 and then the release of their sole album Slam in 1978.  While the album didn’t really sell much when it was first released, over the years it has become one of the more collectable punk albums.  It was initially reissued on CD in 1996 on Anagram Records, but now thanks to Captain Oi! it is available on CD again with a second disc of bonus tracks including the original single, demos for the second album (two that were previously unreleased) and the Peel Session, available on CD for the first time.  

When Slam was released, the reviews tended to be less than favorable, often saying they were by the numbers.  Yes, there are some weaker tracks, and the lyrics are at times lacking, but there is a lot more diversity among these seventeen tracks than they get credit for.  Having said that there is plenty of strong straight-ahead punk like “Suburban Studs”, “Questions”, an extremely catchy cut with a ripping guitar solo, “No Faith”, album highlight “I Hate School”, a blast of fast punk where all the pieces fit and “Raw” and “Rumble”, which both add a little harmonica to the mix.  They also do a great breakneck paced cover of The Who’s “My Generation”.  On the flipside there are also songs like “Necro”, which is dark and haunting but then every once has a reggae backbeat, “Razor Blades, a track reminiscent of The Heartbreakers, “Two Victims”, another absolute standout that is more of a classic rocker that at times strangely reminds me a little of Thin Lizzy (this is one song that I definitely wish had better lyrics) and “Panda Patrol”, again more of a rocker with a great galloping beat.

Kicking off disc two are the original single versions of “Questions” and “No Faith” and while it’s interesting to have them here the production is muddy and the sax definitely sounds out of place.  Next up is a live version of “I Hate School” that’s taken from the compilation LP Hope & Anchor Front Row Festival, which was recorded at the Hope & Anchor in the winter of 1977 and also contained contributions from artists like The Stranglers, Wilko Johnson Band, XTC, X-Ray Spex, The Saints and Dire Straits.  The aforementioned Peel Session feature “Suburban Studs”, “No Faith”, “Necro” and “I Hate School” and actually sound better than the album versions with crisper production and a spontaneous edginess.  Closing out the disc are ten demos recorded for a potential second album that was never finished.  From the sound of these tracks, they were shifting away from punk and moving back in more of a glam direction.  “Sniper”, “White Light”, “Hit And Run”, which is glammy, but with a punk edge and the more mod sounding “Forget About You” all show real potential.  Other cuts like “Supernatural”, “Sinkin’ Down” and “All That Jazz” have a T Rex vibe, and while the first is probably the strongest of these demos, the other two are a little too campy.  Slam is an interesting look back at the early days of punk and one of the unsung bands there early on.   

(Captain Oi!)

The Relics - Every Tiny Diamond

Recorded over the course of four weekends last October, Every Tiny Diamond, the new EP from The Relics has a great modern, blues-tinged rock sound while also harkening back to the classic rock and soulful blues of artists like Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and even a little Chris Whitley.  That is especially evident in the stellar guitar work of RYAN that is showcased in every track.  He also fronts the band with his rich, soulful vocals.  All of that by no means minimizes the musicianship of the rhythm section of drummer Joey Marano and bassist Nick Dutiel, who both hold their own and complement his guitar and vocals perfectly.  The first three tracks "Blind", "Reach For The Sky" and the title track are all slow burning bluesy rockers with hooks galore and incredible textures and atmosphere, while the closer "Asking Questions", which still has plenty of a rock edge, puts a little more emphasis on the blues and also does a great job of letting each band member stretch out a little bit on their instrument.  Do yourself a favor and search this one out, because it deserves to be heard.  

(The Relics - Facebook)

The Bluebells - Sisters (Expanded Deluxe)

Following the release of several singles and their eponymous 1983 EP, Glasgow's The Bluebells, with the classic lineup of guitarist Robert Hodgens, drummer David McCluskey, singer Ken McCluskey, bassist Lawrence Donegan and guitarist Russell Irvine (later on Craig Gannon replaced Irvine and Neil Baldwin replaced Donegan), released their outstanding, and what for many years would be their only, full-length release Sisters. That original album exploded with jangly guitar pop gems, often with subtle hints of folk and country, highlighted by three top forty UK hits.  The infectious "Cath" with its singalong pop hooks and ringing guitars, the gorgeous ballad "I'm Falling", and the bouncy, bluegrass-tinged feel-good pop tune "Young At Heart", the last of which hit thirty-eight in the UK in 1984, but then made it to number one when it was re-issued in 1993.  Interestingly, that song was initially released by Bananarama on their Deep Sea Skiving album and was co-written by The Bluebells’ lead singer Robert Hodgens and his girlfriend at the time, Bananarama’s Siobhan Fahey.  Now, thanks to Cherry Red Records, Sisters has been re-issued in an expanded two-disc version that not only contains twenty-two bonus tracks, including non-album singles, B-sides and extended versions, five of which are previously unreleased, but also contains the album the way the band originally wanted it released. 

Since they were on a long European tour when the album was being put together, the version that was released differed quite a bit from what the band wanted.  First up was the opening track "Everybody's Somebody's Fool".  They had recorded a new arrangement, which is the one that was released, but the band wanted one that had been produced by Robin Millar and to them sounded more like The Bluebells.  The original version has a warmer, folkier sound with more emphasis on the rootsier instrumentation.  The band also recorded three tracks with Elvis Costello including the lush “Will She Always Be Waiting”, which includes a sixteen-piece orchestra and was included on the album, but for some reason the other two were left off.  “Some Sweet Day” is a great track that fits right in with the rest of the album with backing vocals from Costello and even a little brass section at the end, while “Aim In Life” is a beautiful cut with sparse instrumentation under the McCluskey brothers’ great vocal harmonies.  That song actually got its start as “Eggy Beard” in the McCluskey Brothers’ earlier band Raw Deal and at the time was more of an angular punk song.  The final missing piece of the puzzle is the original longer version of “Cath” that the band wanted on the album and now also back where it belongs.  The rest of the album includes two tracks that are a little more straight-ahead rock with "Syracuse University" and “Red Guitars”, the last of which still manages to mix in some pop hooks with it’s ba-ba-ba-di-ba chorus, along with the horn and organ driven soul of “Learn To Love”, with some killer backing vocals from the incredible Eddi Reader.  Closing the album are a couple of songs with a strong political slant.  First up is “South Atlantic Way” a driving tune with hints of U2 and The Alarm with lyrics directly addressing the conflict in the Falklands and their stunning take on “The Patriot Game”, a late fifties folk tune with the melody from the traditional song “One Morning In May” and lyrics from Irish writer and songwriter Dominic Behan (also a friend of the McCluskey family).  Rounding out the first disc are five bonus tracks including their debut single “Forevermore”, with its hypnotic jangle, the very Beatles-esque Merseybeat sounding “All I Ever Said”, the acoustic guitar and French horn driven “Fall From Grace”, the upbeat “Happy Birthday (Turn Gold)” and the 12” version of “Cath”.

Disc number two contains the remaining seventeen bonus tracks and while there are quite a few remixes and alternate versions including the original album version of “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool”, the extended version of “Young At Heart”, “Wishful Thinking (Will She Always Be Waiting)”, which is an alternate version of "Will She Always Be Waiting" that has been tweaked a little and doesn't have the string section, alternate and instrumental versions of “Forevermore” (here titled “Forever Yours, Forever Mine (Evermore)”, an alternate version of “Happy Birthday (Turn Gold)” and four more of “Cath” (US Remix, Original Album Version, Remix and Alternative Version), there is still plenty to sink your teeth into.  “Sugar Bridge (It Will Stand)” is a non-album single (here in 7” and 12” versions) and is another infectious pop gem that stands up with some of their best songs.  The remaining songs were b-sides including “H.O.L.L.A.N.D.”, a mellow track with a nice lazy lilt, “Tender Mercy”, a captivating, somewhat somber acoustic song and “All I Am (Is Loving You)”, a heartfelt love song with a bit of an edge.  “Smalltown Martyr” is a fun, more aggressive tune that really rocks out and is a bit of a left turn for the the band, sounding different than anything else they’ve done.  Lastly is their haunting, stark acoustic cover of the 1936 folk song “The Ballad Of Joe Hill” about the labor activist of the same name and the perfect bookend to “The Patriot Game”.  This outstanding collection also contains a very informative twenty page booklet that contains a conversation with Hodgens and MOJO and Record Collector writer Lois Wilson.  While the band has reunited a few times over the years a have released a couple more albums of outtakes and demos, 2023 saw them finally release In the 21st Century, their second album of new material, which is also well worth checking out.  

(Cherry Red Records)