COLIN BLUNSTONE/I DON'T BELIEVE IN MIRACLES EPC 32192 (-79) UK

 

 This might be something for the Blunstone and Zombies fans still into vinyl who for some reason don't wanna spend money for, or waste  time to chase,  his first three solo albums.  Here's a collection of some of the best tracks from those and the audio very good, providing enjoyable listening.  The homogenous and rather uniformative sleeve may make it seem uninteresting for the regular bin explorer, but if you forget about that and just listen it can be a heartwarmer.  Romantic ballads carried by that beautiful voice and orchestrated by some of the best. Some of the tracks were also backed and/or produced by some of his old Zombies bandmates (for more details on that check post on Ennismore from which six of the tracks were lifted).  I've always liked his breathy personal voice and here it shows what a great singer he was.  To my ears this is all good, but if to pick favorites it'll be two from Ennismore -  the sweet Russ Ballard ballad "I Don't Believe In Miracles" and the happy-go-lucky "I Want More" - plus "Wonderful" from Journey.  To my knowledge only issued in Europe.  Also UK  2012 CD on Talking Elephant Records (TECD 205) and UK 1979 cassette on CBS/Embassy (40-31760)  It seems premiere UK vinyl came on CBS/Embassy (S CBS 31760), this is probably a couple of years later, with Epic label as shown here and thin fully laminated cover.   (ZÖZ*)

 

PETER GABRIEL/III CDS 4019 (-80) UK

 

                                                                                  

While his old mates in Genesis got more commercial in the early eighties, climbing the lists, Gabriel went even deeper than before.  Correspondingly successful, but not as crowdpleasing.  I appreciated both directions back then as they spoke to different moods and very well done in their own separate ways.  But for some reason this and his fourth album have stayed unlistened by me for over twenty years, so now I'm picking them out from the shelf again trying to rekindle.  And it doesn't take me long to rediscover this is a great album, sincere and strangely catchy.  After all this time "And Through The Wire" still gives me goosebumps with its raw guitar riff and fervent vocals, "Games Without Frontiers" still gripping and "Biko" still hits me as important. As you know I'm usually not very fond of albums were electronics substitute real instruments, but Gabriel was one of few who could do it and make it feel just right, here with help from Robert Fripp, Phil Collins, Jerry Marotta and Kate Bush among others.  Very happy I gave it a second chance but a little sad it took me so long.  Now I will return to "And Through The Wire" again and maybe move around a little to the beat.  Issued and reissued on every possible format all over the world through the years. First US on Mercury (SRM 1-3848), also in a German language version as "Ein Deutsches Album" (Charisma 6302 035) . Premiere UK had labels as shown here in a thin fully laminated cover with pic/lyric/info collage inner.  (GYÄ*)  (CÄX*)

 

                                                                                  

                                                                                

                                                                                 

GREG LAKE 204103 (-81) GERMANY

 

 Tagged as a Greg Lake solo album, much awaited after the original ELP split, but listening in it sounds more like a group effort.  Lake produced, sang and played rhythm guitar yet only penned two of the songs by himself,  five were co-written with other participants, one by Gary Moore and the two remaining covers.  He did manage to gather an impressive gang for the event.  Gary Moore on lead gutar together with Clarence Clemmons, Michael Giles (who he worked with on "In The Court Of The Crimson King" and "In The Wake Of Poseidon"), three members of Toto and various top session musicians.  I've always liked his voice, that rich personal baritone that gilded so many albums by ELP and early King Crimson.  Sadly I don't get to enjoy that in full freedom everywhere here.  To my taste he's way too low in the mix most of the time and the voice sounds damped.  If you know him you hear him, but too crammed to be fully enjoyed.  On the other hand it is a very good hard rock album, played by some of the best with tophole guitars by Moore.  And there are places where I recognize the old Greg Lake - especially in his own emotional "It Hurts" and the cover of "Let Me Love You Once Before You Go".  So a keeper for sure even if his vocals aren't conveyed as fully fledged as I'd like.  Issued and reissued all over the world on vinyl, cassette and CD through the years. Premiere UK and US on Chrysalis (CHR 1357).  First German had label as shown here in a thin glossy cover with lyric/credit inner.   (GÖXÄ*)  (ÄPY*)

                                                                               

                                                                                  

YES/FRAGILE SD 7211 (-71) US

 

 A band more or less unprecedented when it came to combining efficiently performed complicated structures with catchy.  I've already praised the surrounding "Yes Album" and "Close To The Edge" LP:s and now it's time to show love for this.  When it comes to music my mind is like a tape recorder.  If I really like a song it becomes a part of my system and there it stays forever, almost note by note. Not consciously, though with the right trigger it will emerge in me as it was.  Haven't had or even heard this LP for a couple of decades, but after finding this copy already the first spin took me back to the early seventies and the impression I got when digging it then. After all this time I still knew almost every part and got the same feeling of adventure and experienced the same joy.  I'd like to pick every single track as favorites, but we can't do that so here's just a few. "Long Distance Runaround" where Howe's guitar skillfully conterpoints the vocals. The epics  "Roundabout" and "Heart Of The Sunrise", both offering abrupt changes between sweet and frenzied, yet managing to keep the flow intact for my pleasure. I also very much like Howe's acoustic "Mood For A Day", showing he didn't need electricity to glow. The audio on this US press is very good.  "PR" on label and matrixes shows a Presswell pressing and "AT/GP" on matrix that it was mastered by Georg Prios at Atlantic.  Issued and reissued on all possible formats all over the world through the years. Premiere UK on Atlantic "plum" label (2401019). Japan 2003 CD on Rhino Records (WPCR 11513) came with two bonus tracks. Early US had label as shown here in a glossy fold/out cover and an eight page booklet with art by Roger Dean and pics of the band.  (YZÄ*) (JÄZ*)

                                                                                

                                                                                 

                                                                                

                                                                                

                                                                                  

                                                                                 

                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                               

POP POWER '69 109 601/2/3 (-69) UK MONO

 

 I'm aware people value compilations individually and look for different things when grading them, though to my taste this is close to perfect.  A Polydor 3-LP sampler box containing thirtysix mono single versions from the years 1967-69.  Labels and places on the box say "stereo", but that is corrected by a sticker on the bottom of track list and the enclosed note shown below.  Even if some of the numbers do exist on corresponding mono albums I guess this may be one of very few places you can get a large part of them as true mono on LP.  I get a couple each from BeeGees, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Julie Driscoll/ Brian Auger, The Who and James Brown, but also rarer stuff by acts like The Happy Magazine, The Power Pack, King Koss, Heath Hampstead, Marbles and The Glass Menagerie, plus ones from Taste, Easybeats and more. So many classics together with some today forgotten by most, all carried by pristine mono. The audio shifts a little between tracks depending on origin, still non is bad and many tophole. Good listening all through...and for me great to get the mono versions of Who's "Pinnball Wizard", Taste's "Born On The Wrong Side Of Time", Jimi Hendrix "All Along The Watchtower" and "Crosstown Traffic" plus Easybeats "St. Louis",   To my knowledge only released in UK and never reissued in any shape.  It came with label design as shown here in a structured box with glossy glued-on paper and a "format correction" note  (SÄM*)

                                                                                
                                                                                  

                                                                                  

VANILLA FUDGE/NEAR THE BEGINNING SD 33-278 (-69) US

 

 My favorite Vanilla Fudge album has always been Renaissance (see earlier post), which to me is a highlight of prych-prog drama, importunately adventurous and bursting with emotions.  To my taste this isn't up there and will probably not gather any new band fans, but for us alredy accustomed there are things well worth a spin or two.  "Shotgun" has a force that reminds me of Renaissance's more intense moments, "Some Velvet Morning" dark and heavy with a very still and graceful part woven in, like the eye of a storm, and "Where Is Happiness" filled with raw guitar and organ figures making it flow.  Not all in yet with the "Break Song" jam on side two.  Quite good journey, though my mind tends to digress while listening. I do like the organ and bass solos, but have a hard time to stay focused the whole trip.  Anyway, for us who dug their first three albums this is fairly close with enough pleasing parts to make happy.  Issued and reissued on vinyl and CD all over the world through the years, also 4-track, 8-track and cassette. First UK on ATCO (228 020). US 1998 CD on Sundazed (SC 6144) came with three bonus tracks. Premiere US had label as shown here in a glossy cover.  (YZÄ*)

 

THE CONGREGATION/SOFTLY WHISPERING I LOVE YOU SCX 6490 (-72) UK

 

Outfit today tagged as a one-hit-wonder due to their prosperous remake of Roger Cook and Roger Greeaway's 1967 "Softly Whispering I Love You".  While the "David And Jonathan" (pseudo for Cook and Greenaway) original only had a minor impact, this 1971 cover made #4 in UK, #29 in US and top ten in many other countries...but that was it for this setting.  The LP undoubtedly a trial to cash in on the 45 success by doing an album consisting of eight covers and two self-penned performed in the exactly same style.  There has been many attempts to record follow-up albums to one-off hits through the years and most of them not so good, but this I like.  Most of it heavily orchestrated and backed by giant quires, then balanced by Brian Keith's raw, borderline guttural, vocals and Alan Parker's partly prominent guitars.  These are the two pictured on the sleeve, but I suspect most of the result was due to the work of arranger and conductor Andrew Pryce Jackman plus producers John Burgess and Peter Sullivan at George Martin's AIR studio.  It's very emotional, the audio is absolutely tophole and I'm touched. Especially by the title track and versions of "Lover's Concerto" and "If I Could Have My Way".  When it comes to the covers of  Beatles "Something" and Procol Harum's "Whiter Shade Of Pale" I'm already too stuck with the originals, but the versions here are so different they're worth to be valued intrinsically.  Call me sentimental and sometimes I am and then this will work like a charm.  Issued in US and Canada as "The English Congregation" on Signpost (SP 7217), US also as mono promo. Australian on Columbia (SCXO 6490). To my knowledge never released on CD. Premiere UK had label as shown here in a laminated flip/back cover.

 

TAJ MAHAL/THE NATCH'L BLUES UK MONO 58-63397 VS UK STEREO S 8-63397

 

 Wrote a way too short post on the mono eight years ago and even if that is a known fold (as you can see the label has the US "CS" no), now that I've bought the corresponding stereo still making a format comparison as an excuse to repost. A to the greater part self-penned album backed by top session musicians and also including Al Kooper on keyboards.  As I hear it a perfect mix between black blues and pastel.  I get a bundle of very pleasant and catchy songs conveyed in a way that's almost easy listening, but at the same time carrying a strong undertone of black blues making it more substantial than regular pop.  I guess some hard-core blues fans find it futile and lovers of light pop too provoking, but if you settle with the blend it's pure joy all through.  To my taste there's not a bad moment here, just one good song after another providing uplifting background to any chore and also  working well when relaxing in the listening chair.  I like it all, but if to chose just two favorites - "Good Moring Miss Brown" and "She Caught The Katy And Left Me A Mule To Ride".  Moving around my appartment or listening from some adjacent room I can't hear any difference between the mono and stereo, but sitting in front of the speakers the stereo comes through just a little wider and more detailed so that's the one for the listening chair.  A top album anyway you chose.  Issued and reissued pretty much all over the world on vinyl and CD through the years, also reel and 8-track. Premiere US on Columbia (CS 9698). Japan 2018 CD on Sony (SICP 5872) came with three bonus tracks.  First UK had label as shown here in a laminated cover, using the US rear sleeve pic on both front and back.  (DÄJ*) (MÅW*) (YMÖ*)

 

THE TEMPTATIONS/WITH A LOT O'SOUL STML 11057 (-67) UK

 

Their fifth and back then most successful studio album, recorded during what is called the "classic 5" era,  when the group consisted of David Ruffin, Eddie Kendricks, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin and Otis Williams.  Add to that skill most of the song-writing, production and arrangements were handeled by people as Norman Whitfield, Smokey Robinson, Holland-Dozier-Holland and backed by the Motown crew and it just had to be good.  I get lots of delightful sixties soul here. Melodic and touching all the way. Not a bad track and nothing that even remotely can be called a filler.  I enjoy sitting through even if to my ears it gets a little sugary in the long run.  That don't have to be a bad thing, but just a little salt would have made it even more perfect for me.  My favorites here are the most obvious - "Just One Last Look" and "(I Know) I'm Losing You" -  whereof the latter causes a small problem in my mind.  Rod Stewart's cover of that song, from "Every Picture Tells A Story", has been with me since 1971 and I've always adored that.  Since the the one here is the original I should prefer it by all means, but can't as I still find Stewart's version a lot more fitting. However the audio on this UK press is very good, stereo mix fine for its time and it's cut comfortably loud.  Should be an enjoyable aquaintence for all lovers of sweet soul music. Issued and reissued more or less all over the world on vinyl and/or CD through the years, also reel.  Premiere US on  Gordy (G/GS 922). Japan 2013 remastered CD on Motown (UICY 75836).  First UK, also as mono (TML 11057), had label as shown here and laminated flip/back cover with Motown ad inner.  (TÖMÖ*)  (ÄIÖ*)

 

POP HISTORY/THE FABULOUS 60'S AND 70'S BEAT, POP, FLOWER POWER ELP 1001 (-90) UK MONO + STEREO

 

 A K-tel project initially sold by TV-ads only.  May have been a cheapish run-of-the-mill affair back then, but today remaining as a good catalogue of UK hits in the sixties and seventies.  Five LP:s including eighty numbers of which anyone musically present at the time would know and maybe cherish at least fifty.  Can't mention them all, but please check the listing below.  I have so many favorites here. Songs I spent a large part of my teens with and know by heart, plus others I forgot about but now get a chance to relive.  Even if I have some of the cuts on LP already it can be refreshing to get them in a new environment.  Record 4, side two, is one exemple. To hear Searchers "Needles And Pins", Small Faces "Lazy Sunday", Easybeats "Friday On My Mind", Status Quo "Pictures Of Matchstickmen", Zombies "She's Not There", Turtles "Elenore", Fleetwood Mac "Man Of The World" and The Nice "Hang On To A Dream" all in a row,  one killer after another, just warms my soul. Some of the older tracks appear in mono but larger part come as stereo. Audio not top of the line, but most totally ok and non bad. Certainly good enough to allow contact and rekindling.  If you belong to the era and still prefer vinyl it could be something.  Also issued in Germany, with partly different tracking, as 5xLP, 5xCassette or 4xCD.  This UK also as 4xCD. Premier UK vinyl came with labels  in five different colors - orange, blue, pink, green and yellow - in a glossy single cover and insert with further info on the songs. (SÄM*)