Four-LPs-on-two-CDs reissue of Ray Charles’ jazz sides
Ray Charles’ helped inaugurate the Impulse! label with this 1961 release, the label’s second album. Produced by Creed Taylor, and recorded in the same New Jersey studios that hosted Jimmy Smith and other Blue Note greats, Charles sat himself behind a Hammond B-3 and together with key members of the Count Basie band, he swung arrangements written by Quincy Jones and Ralph Burns. From the opening horn stabs of “From the Heart†it’s clear that this band plays big, brassy and hard, yet Charles keeps it cool on the organ, and his two vocal numbers (“I’ve Got News For You†and “I’m Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Townâ€), are blue and soulful. Charles gave the band and its soloists plenty of room to shine, but when his keys step to the front, such as his growling lead on “One Mint Julep,†it’s clear whose leading the sessions.
Concord’s two-CD reissue adds three albums that Charles recorded in the 1970s: My Kind of Jazz (1970), Jazz Number II (1972) and My Kind of Jazz Part 3 (1975). These are primarily instrumental albums and are filled with the sort of charts used to warm up audiences at Charles’ live shows. There is a generous helping of 3/4 jazz waltzes and Latin rhythms. Recorded with his road band, the lineup is filled with instrumental stars, including Blue Mitchell, Joe Randazzo, Clifford Scott, David “Fathead†Newman and many others. Highlights include the Stax-styled groove of “Booty-Butt†and a bubbly take on Lee Morgan’s “Sidewinder.†As an additional bonus, a cover of “Misty†is included from trombonist Steve Turre’s In the Spur of the Moment.
Terrific 3-CD anthology of underappreciated powerhouse
Pacific Northwest powerhouse Paul Revere & the Raiders seem to have been lost in shadow of Lenny Kaye’s Nuggets and the hundreds of garage-rock compilations that followed in its wake. They aren’t exactly a secret, having recorded for Columbia, scoring fifteen Top 40 singles, garnering a feature spot on Where the Action Is and hosting their own shows, Happening ’68 and It’s Happening. But neither are they afforded the recognition their hits, B-sides, album cuts and live performances really earned. Perhaps it was the genesis of their stardom in Southern California or their major label association that kept them from garage band legend. Maybe it was the themed costumes – particularly the three-corner hats – or that vocalist Mark Lindsay had a soulful finesse which went beyond the typical garage-punk snot. Or maybe it’s that their run into the mid-70s outlasted their roots. Whatever it was, it’s left the Raiders rich catalog remembered only by a few high-charting hits.
The Raiders’ garage and frat-rock credentials were minted on a string of indie singles, and a recording of rock ‘n’ roll’s national anthem, “Louie, Louie,†that was laid down only a few weeks after the Kingsmen’s. The Raiders version bubbled under the Top 100, and along with the Wailers’ earlier version helped root the song in the Pacific Northwest. Picked up by Columbia the single had a good helping of regional success before Columbia A&R honcho Mitch Miller scuttled it. The group’s original follow-up “Louie-Go Home†sounds more like a grungy take on Otis Blackwell’s “Daddy Rolling Stone,†than a riff on Richard Berry’s original, and once again only managed to grazed the bottom of the Billboard chart. These early single, fueled by Lindsay’s fat saxophone tone and covers of R&B tunes “Night Train†and “Have Love, Will Travel,†weren’t as raw as the Sonics, but were still a lot meatier than most of their L.A., Chicago or Northeast counterparts.
“Louie, Louie,†originally released on the Sande label, turned out to be the Raiders ticket to the big time: a deal with Columbia Records. The group continued to crank out R&B covers for the next year, including a fuzz-heavy cover of Gene Thomas’ country-tinged “Sometimes†and a solid take on the Aaron Neville hit “Over You.†The group’s original were initially limited to B-sides, such as the instrumental “Swim,†but in 1965 the Lindsay/Revere composition “Steppin’ Out†began the group’s assault on the charts. Revere’s organ riffs and a confrontational lyric gave this single a tougher garage sound that took them just shy of the Top 40. A short-lived detour into Jan & Dean-styled car songs (“SS396†b/w “Corvair Babyâ€) was followed by a trifecta of the group’s best remembered hits.
First up was “Just Like Me,†with a wickedly insinuating organ riff, a brilliant double guitar solo, and a vocal that rises from barely contained verses to emotionally explosive choruses. Next was Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil’s anti-drug “Kicks,†turned down by the Animals and taken to #4 by the Raiders. Lindsay really sells the song, singing the lyric as both a lecture and a plea, forceful on the verses and understanding in the choruses. The group cracked the Top 10 again with another Mann & Weil tune, “Hungry,†propelled by its hypnotically powerful bass line. The group (with Terry Melcher) subsequently began writing many of their own hits and B-sides, including “Good Thing,†“Him or Me,†and “Ups and Downs,†and Melcher began adding studio musicians to the mix.
As 1967 turned into 1968 the band stretched from their Northwest rock roots into sunshine pop, bubblegum, folk rock, soul and light-psych. Fine sides from this period include the Beatle-esque “Too Much Talk,†the groovy theme songs “Happening ‘68†and “It’s Happening,†and the chewy “Cinderella Sunshine†and “Mr. Sun, Mr. Moon.†The latter two are among the sides Lindsey produced for the band after their separation from Terry Melcher and the arrival of three replacement Raiders with Southern roots. By the end of the 1960s the group’s singles were charting lower, often outside the Top 40, but their quality never dipped, and the advent of stereo releases (with 1969’s “We Gotta All Get Togetherâ€) finally detached their sound from the monophonic thrash of their Northwest roots.
Their success was renewed in 1971 with a cover of John D. Loudermilk’s “Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian),†a song that had been recorded a decade earlier by Marvin Rainwater and with some commercial success by Don Fardon. The Raiders’ version topped the singles charts – their only #1 – and sold a million copies. The renewed success was brief however: a follow-up cover of Joe South’s “Birds of a Feather†just missed the Top 20, and their next four singles charted lower and lower, ending their run with 1973’s barely charting pre-disco “Love Music.†The group’s contract with Columbia ended in 1975, lead singer Mark Lindsay left for a solo career, and though the group soldiered on with sporadic new releases they became more of a fixture on the oldies circuit.
Collectors’ Choice’s 3-CD set offers sixty-six tracks that cover all of the group’s Columbia singles. The B-sides offer some real treats, including the autobiographical “The Legend of Paul Revere,†the Las Vegas grind-styled instrumental “B.F.D.R.F. Blues,†the flower-power “Do Unto Others,†the trippy “Observations from Flight 285 (in 3/4 Time),†the muscular jam “Without You,†the Band-styled country-rock “I Don’t Know,†the Peter & Gordon-ish “Frankford Side Street,†and the organ instrumental “Terry’s Tune.†There are four rarities: the withdrawn “Rain, Sleet, Snow†and its flip “Brotherly Love,†and promo songs for the GTO (“Judge GTO Breakawayâ€) and a Mattel doll (“Song for Swingyâ€). The collection closes with the post-Mark Lindsay “Your Love (is the Only Love),†featuring Bob Wooley on lead vocal. Missing are the group’s pre-Columbia singles, including their boogie-woogie instrumentals “Beatnik Sticks†and “Like, Long Hair,†and their last single “Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong.â€
Elvis recorded live amid the blaze of his 1968-71 revival
After an eight-year layoff from concert performance, Elvis returned to the stage with a pair of runs at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. The first shows, in the summer of 1969, were first captured on Elvis in Person at the International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada, and featured samples of his seminal early hits and then-contemporary smashes. In early 1970 he returned for a second set of shows, documented on On Stage, and changed up the set list to highlight his restyling of others’ hits in his own image. RCA’s new two-disc Legacy Edition combines both albums and ten bonus tracks into a superbly detailed picture of Elvis’ return to the stage and the physical reconnection to his fans.
When originally released, the albums caught Elvis amid his biggest blaze of glory. His televised ’68 Comeback Special had proved him still vital, and the 1969 studio sessions that resulted in From Elvis in Memphis (and its own 2-CD Legacy reissue) had proved him still relevant. The live sets showed Elvis to be both a star of the brightest magnitude and an artist with something to say to contemporary audiences. With both an extensive legacy and new singles, Elvis had to find a way to satisfy crowds that came to hear both his rich back catalog and his hot new hits. In the ’69 shows, featured on disc two of this set, Elvis cherry-picked from his seminal rock ‘n’ roll sides (including blistering versions of “Mystery Train†and “Hound Dogâ€), his early’60s post-army comeback hits, and the contemporary tracks he’d recently laid down with Chips Moman at American Studios.
For his 1970 return to Las Vegas, featured on disc one, Elvis leaned away from the rocked-up performances of 1969 and more heavily on his then-current penchant for covers. Beyond his Top 10 cover of Ray Peterson’s “The Wonder of You,†the selections forsook the golden oldies in favor of recent hits by Engelbert Humperdinck (“Release Meâ€), Neil Diamond (“Sweet Carolineâ€), Tony Joe White (“Polk Salad Annieâ€), the Beatles (“Yesterday,†recorded at the 1969 shows), Creedence Clearwater Revival (“Proud Maryâ€), and Joe South (“Walk a Mile in My Shoesâ€). It’s a mark of Elvis’ force and singularity as a performer that the original singers often disappeared in his wake, and a few of these songs (particularly “Walk a Mile in My Shoesâ€) became as closely associated with the King as with their originators.
Elvis sounds loose, comfortable and artistically commanding on stage, a surprise given his eight-year hiatus from live performance. No doubt his A-list TCB Band (which included James Burton, Jerry Scheff, Glen D. Hardin and the Sweet Inspirations) helped him regain his crown, but the essential flame that sparked in 1954 was clearly still burning within sixteen years later. A hint of his humble uncertainty is shown as he introduces “Kentucky Rain†with “I have out a new record, just came out in the past week or so, I hope you like it,†but his fans never had a doubt. As with his Memphis sessions of 1969, the liberty to engage his musical muse spurred Elvis to great artistic heights. Freed from the musical dross that filled many of his film soundtracks, standing in front of an audience he’d not seen face-to-face in nearly a decade, Elvis dug deep into the music he loved.
Terrific collection of The Runaways four Mercury albums
With the Runaways biopic getting a major market push, it was a no-brainer for their oft-ignored catalog to get a fresh reissue. Contained in this set are the three studio albums the group recorded for Mercury (The Runaways, Queens of Noise and Waitin’ For the Night), and a live album originally released as an import (Live in Japan). This represents the heart and soul of the Runaways’ catalog, and though a post-Mercury album (And Now… The Runaways), an odds ‘n’ sods collection (Flaming Schoolgirls) and prehistoric demos (Born to Be Bad) can be found, they’re the province of completists. For those new to the group’s repertoire this four-LPs-on-two-CDs set will tell you everything you need to know – if not a bit more – about the group’s recorded legacy.
The Runaways’ self-titled 1976 debut tells most of the story: five girls who are both a legitimate rock group and puppets of their Svengali producer, Kim Fowley. The dynamic of teenage hormones, rock ‘n’ roll dreams and jailbait marketing gave the album both muscle and sexual sizzle. Joan Jett proved herself a songwriter with an uncommon touch for evoking mid-70s Los Angeles teendom, and she and Cherie Currie sang with a conviction that couldn’t be faked. The band’s playing could be plodding and clumsy in spots, but it was still surprisingly powerful. The group’s 1977 follow-up, Queens of Noise, followed the same template, but within it you could hear the group was a year wiser to the perils of rock ‘n’ roll. Abused by their managers and worn down by the road, they were staring at the madness that would cause the band to implode.
The group’s live album, recorded before an enthusiastic audience in Japan, shows how well the act translated to the stage. As on their debut, the playing isn’t particularly refined, but Currie shows herself to be a commanding front-woman, and Sandy West holds down the beat with power and authority. The Runaways’ final studio release for Mercury, Waitin’ For the Night, saw the band reconfigured: Cherie Currie and Jackie Fox were gone, and with them went some of the band’s overt sex appeal. The former’s vocal spotlight fell to Joan Jett, the latter’s bass playing to Vicki Blue, and the focus to the band’s music. Jett seized the opportunity to assert herself as group leader, rising to the challenge of writing most and singing all of the album’s tracks. In the album’s wake Jett proved, at least to listeners, if not to the record industry, that she was a star in the making. Lita Ford’s two metal-tinged originals also pointed to post-Runaways commercial success.
Terrific cherry-picked set of Jones’ 1965-71 Musicor sides
George Jones’ recordings for the Musicor label weren’t so much lost as hung up in legal limbo. When Jones left Musicor for Epic in a rancorous split with label owner and manager Pappy Daily, seven years (1965-71) of prime recordings were left to haphazard reissue and illegitimate copying, and worse yet, inferior contemporary re-recordings. This is a textbook example of the cultural blockades created by the multiparty complexity of music licensing, restrictive copyright laws and the lawyer tax that attaches to just about everything. Jones waxed over 250 master recordings for Musicor during the early prime of his recording life, so the riches that have been locked in the vault are substantial.
True, the Musicor sessions didn’t always live up the standard of “Walk Through This World With Me,†“Where Grass Won’t Grow†or “A Good Year for the Roses,†but these simpler productions provide key contrast to the more complex arrangements Billy Sherrill would employ at Epic. Among the thirty-four tracks are twenty-three charting hits (missing only “No Blues is Good News†and the Melba Montgomery duet “(Close Together) As You and Meâ€), and eleven album sides. Lesser known singles like “Small Time Laboring Man†are complemented by excellent obscurities later resurrected by Keith Whitley, Elvis Costello, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Emmylou Harris and others. Listening to the high quality of these performances it seems criminal for seven prime years of Jones’ career to have been available only to collectors who’d maintained a turntable.
Essra Mohawk, while then still performing under her birth name of Sandy Hurvitz, released this album in 1969 for Frank Zappa’s Bizarre Productions. Zappa quickly handed production over to fellow-Mother of Invention Ian Underwood, who seemingly had no talent for or interest in producing the album. The sound quality is that of demo tracks, which gives this a sense of performance innocence but obscures Hurvitz’s lyrics. There are instrumental cameos by saxophonist Jim Pepper and Jeremy Steig, and Hurvitz is accompanied by bass and drums on a few tracks, but mostly Underwood leaves her to wander around original compositions with only her piano.
Four-LPs-on-two-CDs reissue of Ray Charles’ jazz sides
