Tag: Reissues

Reissues: The Choir’s “Artifact – The Unreleased Album”

By Ken Paulson
Here’s an album I’ve always wanted, but never knew existed.
I’ve always loved the near-perfect power pop of the Raspberries, and I knew their roots were in the Choir, where band members Wally Bryson, Jim Bonfanti and Dave Smalley honed their skills.
There have been re-issues of their early stuff, most notably “Choir Practice” and their single “Baby It’s Cold Outside.”
But it turns out that in 1969, after the departure of Bryson and Smalley, drummer Bonfanti soldiered on with a new line-up and recorded the album that’s just been released by Omnivore Recordings.
The “Artifact” title is apt. The music is ambitious, uneven and sometimes just odd, but as a document of the era, it’s remarkable.
Opening tracks “Anyway I Can” and “If These Are Men” reflect the band’s British invasion influences, and bring to mind both the Nazz and the soon-to-arrive Big Star. There’s also a faithful and energetic take on the Kinks’ “David Watts.”
But from there, the album is all over the board. In 1969, bands didn’t just make albums; they made statements. Blame psychedelia for the band’s bizarre “Lady Bug” and these lyrics: “Lady Bug, Lady Bug, Please do me no harm.” Yes, be sure to look out for killer lady bugs.
It gets stranger. The final track is a jaunty tribute to a Mummer Band: “I love rock ‘n’ roll and rhythm ‘n’ blues, but oh that Mummer Band.” Oh indeed.
But give credit where due. This was the band that inspired Eric Carmen to pursue rock and these final recordings bridged the gap to the Raspberries. Omnivore has unearthed an important final chapter.

Tony Joe White: Complete Warner Bros. Recordings

Tony Joe WhiteBy Ken Paulson

Tony Joe White will always be associated with his swamp-rock hit “Polk Salad Annie,” but a new collection from Real Gone Music reveals an artist of greater depth and breadth.

The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings includes 40 tracks released between 1972 and 1974, including three albums and six songs issued on singles. White had enjoyed his greatest commercial success on Monument Records, and these recordings were largely overlooked and underappreciated.

You can’t say Warner Bros. didn’t try. They paired him with some of the hottest producers of the era and sent him to three iconic music towns to record.

Tony Joe White was produced by Peter Asher in Memphis in 1970. It’s a mixed outing, with “Polk Salad derivatives (“They Caught the Devil and Put Him in Jail in Eudora, Arkansas”) and the autobiographical “A Night in the Life of the Swamp Fox.”

“The Change” could have used one more draft. The drawled narrative: “It’s about a time of the year we call the fall.”

The gem here is “The Daddy,” a message to a teen-aged girl about finding an understanding with her father.

The Train I’m On found White in Muscle Shoals working with Jerry Wexler and Tom Dowd. “Take Time to Love,” written with Donnie Fritts, reminds of us of White’s way with a ballad, exemplified by his earlier “Rainy Night in Georgia.” The album also features “I’ve Got a Thing About You Baby,” a Top 40 hit in Elvis Presley’s hands in 1974.

Another Presley single – “For ‘Ol’ Times Sake” – is a highlight of Homemade Ice Cream, a 1973 album recorded with Dowd in Nashville. It’s the most satisfying of the three albums, with a laid-back feel and a fine collection of songs.

White continues to tour and record, a testament to his enduring talents as both a performer and songwriter. The Complete Warner Bros. Recordings is compelling evidence of both.

Reissues: David Ruffin’s first four albums revisited

David RuffinBy Ken Paulson

David Ruffin, the man who sang lead on the Temptations’ “My Girl” and “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg,” died of a drug overdose at age 50, the epitome of squandered talent.

Yet two new releases from Real Gone Music remind us of the richness of his early solo career, when for a time it looked like he might match the success of his former group.

Each of the two discs contains two Ruffin solo albums on Motown: My Whole World Ended and Feelin’ Good from 1969 and David Ruffin and Me ‘n Rock ‘n’ Roll Are Here to Stay, from 1973 and 1974 respectively.

The first album is a stunner, fueled by the title hit and the similarly despairing “I Lost Everything I’ve Ever Loved.” This is classic Motown with driving and inventive songs from a wide range of writers, including Johnny Bristol, Harvey Fuqua and Pamela Sawyer, plus a soaring cover of “Everlasting Love.”

Feelin’ Good is much of the same, though there were no breakout pop hits. “I Could Never Be President” is both topical and goofy; this guy could solve all the world’s problems, but he’s too busy being in love.  It appears the writers skipped civics class: “Congress would veto the first bill I would pass.”

Less impressive, but still worthy, are the third and fourth albums. It’s odd that after an army of writers on the first two releases, Motown opted to have Bobby Miller produce and write most of David Ruffin.” “The Rovin’ Kind” and  the audacious “Go On with Your Bad Self”  are highlights.

ruffin rockI was a young music writer and college radio station programmer when Me and Rock ‘n’ Roll Are Here to Stay was released and remember being surprised by the odd packaging. The orange cover with a large jukebox graphic suggested something from Starland Vocal Band or Dawn, and certainly not the work of a soul great.

Norman Whitfield’s production was ambitious and sometimes intrusive. Otherwise compelling versions of “Superstar (Remember How You Got to Where You Are) are marred by pumped-up audience noise.  The album didn’t even crack the Top 200.

Both collections capture the vibrancy of early ‘70s soul,  and the first two albums are a must for fans of Motown’s golden era.

Duane Allman’s “Skydog” issued in “encore” edition

duane allmanAmericana Music News – The new Muscle Shoals documentary tells the fascinating story of Rick Hall, Fame Studios and the against-all-odds success of two great studios in the same small town. There’s a great moment in the movie when we hear about Duane Allman showing up, ingratiating himself with his style and guitar, and eventually urging Wilson Pickett to tackle “Hey Jude” on the now-classic recording. It’s a reminder of Allman’s gifts and his career in music well before the Allman Brothers.

Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective documents his career in impressive style, ranging from early recordings with the Escorts, Allman Joys and Hour Glass to sessions with Clarence Carter and Aretha Franklin and recordings with Eric Clapton and the Allman Brothers Band.

The 7-CD set was released by Rounder Records in a limited edition in March and is now back in an “encore edition.” The packaging is stripped down, but the 72-page booklet and extraordinary music are intact. This should make a lot of “best of” lists for 2013.

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Reissues: Soulful pop albums from Marilyn McCoo, Billy Davis

MarilynBy Ken Paulson

The summer of 1967 saw the release of one of the best (and most underrated) pop albums of the decade. With Johnny Rivers producing and Jimmy Webb contributing songs, the Fifth Dimension literally soared into the charts with Up, Up and Away and the big single of the same name.

Over the next eight years, the Fifth Dimension dominated the singles charts, drawing on great songwriters like Laura Nyro (“Sweet Blindness, “Wedding Bell Blues”) and Webb to deliver a very hip brand of mainstream pop.

In 1975, Marilyn McCoo and husband Billy Davis left the group to pursue a career as a duo, scoring immediately with “You Don’t Have to Be a Star (to be in my Show.)” The sound was a little funkier than the Fifth Dimension, but the vocals were immediately recognizable.

Unfortunately, that album was the duo’s commercial peak. Two more albums followed, but sold modestly and have been largely unavailable.

That’s changed with Real Gone Music’s release of The Two of Us (circa 1977) and Marilyn and Billy (1978.)

Both offer their own rewards, but on very different terms. The Two of Us kicks off with “Look What You’ve Done to My Heart,” an up-tempo track that briefly put the duo back on the charts.   It sets the tone for the entire album, largely one song after another celebrating a really good relationship. “Wonderful,”  “My Reason to Be is You” and “My Very Special Darling” are representative.

Marilyn and Billy, recorded as the pair moved to Columbia Records, is more ambitious and ultimately more satisfying. Disco was dominant and McCoo and Davis had to make their sound more contemporary. They pulled that off in part by working with producer Steve Cropper, the legendary guitarist from the MG’s.  Yes, it has a disco influences, so it’s a bit dated. But the cover of Sam and Dave’s hit “I Thank You” is timeless and the vocals are strong throughout.

The Two of Us and Marilyn and Billy will be welcome additions to the collections of ‘70s pop and soul fans.

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Reissues: Amazing Rhythm Aces’ first two albums

AcesBy Ken Paulson

The Amazing Rhythm Aces were a little ahead of their time.

1975, the year of the Aces’ debut album, was not the time for a country band that was soulful or a bluesy band with a twang.  And it sure wasn’t the time for a band that embraced all of that, plus rock and jazz.

36 years ago, it was called “eclectic.” Today, it would be called “Americana.”

Now the band’s first two albums are available again on a reissue from Real Gone Records. Stacked Desk, their debut, boasted a big hit single in “Third-Rate Romance,” a genre-defying song that proved irresistible to AM radio.

That first album was fun and funky, but follow-up Too Stuffed to Jump may have been even stronger. The band-written “Typical American Boy,” “The End is Not In Sight” and “Dancing the Night Away” showed songwriting depth, while their rendition of “If I Knew What to Say” added a reflective tone.

Highly recommended.

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Re-issues: Wilderness Road and the Hello People

 

wilderness roadBy Ken Paulson

There was a time when pop and politics were often intertwined and two new releases from Real Gone Music nicely illustrate that.

The Hello People were known for their “mime rock,” essentially a mime performance punctuated with songs. Yes, that was a weird concept even for the late sixties. Fusion, released in 1968, is genteel and jazzy pop, with a number of politically-minded compositions. Most notable is “Anthem,” a modest FM hit that told the story of a draft resister being sent to prison: “I’m going to prison for what I believe.”

The Hello People would go on to play with and be produced by Todd Rundgren ,but Fusion was their most ambitious and rewarding album.

Wilderness Road used humor to make its political points. Its second album Sold for the Prevention of Disease Only is laden with country, rock and parody. Band members had ties to Chicago’s Second City Comedy troupe and a good part of this entertaining album from 1973 sounds like comedy skits set to music. That’s most notable in the band’s extended send-up of evangelical preachers.

It’s adventurous and surprisingly fresh 40 years on.

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Reissue: Don Nix’s “Living by the Days”

Don NixBy Ken Paulson

–The reissue of Living By the Days, Don Nix’s second album, is something of a revelation. It barely charted in 1971 and the single “Olena” just cracked the Hot 100. But 42 years later, the album sounds fresh and soulful.

Nix was signed to Leon Russell’s Shelter Records and they had similar musical sensibilities. Nix is backed on the album by Mussel Shoals’ best, including David Hood, Barry Beckett, Wayne Perkins, Roger Hawkins and Jimmy Johnson.

Highlights include “Three Angels,” written with Lonnie Mack, “She Don’t Want a Lover (She Just Needs a Friend)” and a heartfelt cover of Hank Williams’ “I saw the Light.”  It’s very good to have Living by the Days back in print (Real Gone Music.)

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Reissue: Kenny O’Dell’s “Beautiful People”

Kenny O'DellBy Ken Paulson

I met Kenny O’Dell at a press conference announcing the new Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame earlier this year, and mentioned how much I had enjoyed his Beautiful People album, released in 1967.

O’Dell, who is a member of the Hall of Fame, was gracious and seemed surprised that anyone remembered the pop album he recorded before going on to fame in country music.

Now with the re-issue of that album on Real Gone Music,  many more can appreciate this modest pop gem. Largely a collection of  quick recordings pulled together to capitalize on O’Dell’s Top 40 hit “Beautiful People,” the album features the hits of the era – “Kentucky Woman” and “Different Drum” among them – and also his “Next Train to London,” which became a hit for the Rose Garden.

O’Dell’s vocals were similar to Bobby Vee’s, so it probably wasn’t a surprise that Vee’s cover of “Beautiful People” also broke into the Top 40, undercutting O’Dell’s own chart success.

O’Dell went on to write “Behind Closed Doors” for Charlie Rich and even had his own career as a country artist, but this bonus track-laden re-issue of Beautiful People shows him to be a strong pop writer and performer as well.

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