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"...A Chance To Be A Spirit..."
You wouldn't expect South
Wales (Newport to be exact) to be a hotbed of Sixties and Seventies Prog - but
BLONDE ON BLONDE and their four album catalogue would beg to differ. Their Pye
Records debut LP "Contrasts" (NSPL 18288) hit the streets in 1969 -
their career ending in acrimony, poor sales and an unreleased 1974 last album
on Ember that even got to Test Pressing stages.
This superb 2017 CD reissue
pair from England's Esoteric Recordings (part of Cherry Red) concentrates on
their second and third platters - "Rebirth" from 1970 and it's
follow-up "Reflections On A Life" in 1971 - both on Pye's budget
label of the time - Ember Records. Each is an 'Expanded Edition' newly
remastered from original Ember tapes. Here are the newborn details...
UK released 27 January 2017
(February 2017 in the USA) - "Rebirth" by BLONDE ON BLONDE on
Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2572 (Barcode 5013929467248) is an 'Expanded Edition'
CD Reissue and Remaster with Three Bonus Tracks (Two Previously Unreleased) and
plays out as follows (56:26 minutes):
1. Castles In The Sky
2. Broken Hours
3. Heart Without A Home
4. Time Is Passing
5. Circles
6. November [Side 2]
7. Colour Questions
8. You'll Never Know
Me/Release
Tracks 1 to 8 are their 2nd
studio album "Rebirth" (credited as "Re-birth" on the
label) - released May 1970 in the UK on Ember Records NR 5049 (no US issue).
Produced by the band - it failed to chart in the UK.
BONUS TRACKS:
9. Circles (Single Version) -
Non-Album Track, B-side to "Castles In The Sky", a UK 7" single
released 24 April 1970 on Ember EMB S 279
10. Castles In The Sky
(Alternate Version - Previously Unreleased)
11. Time Is Passing
(Alternate Version - Previously Unreleased)
BLONDE ON BLONDE was:
DAVID THOMAS - Vocals
GARETH JOHNSON - Guitars
RICHARD JOHN - Bass
LESLIE HICKS - Drums
The 20-page booklet is a
pleasingly thorough affair with new liner notes from noted writer MALCOLM DOME.
He interviews founder members David Thomas and Gareth Johnson for the release
who give witty and honest appraisals of what was good (got to support huge
bands of the day - The Who, Genesis, Deep Purple, Wishbone Ash and Graham Bond
- even opening ahead of a decimated Fleetwood Mac) - and the bad (record
company disinterest - a Melody Maker review that killed momentum - songs
foisted on them they detested like "Castles In The Sky". You also get
the lovely Esa Besalel gatefold artwork (Edward St. Maur took the photos) fully
reproduced including the wildly-excited liner notes from British Rock DJ Tommy
Vance (ex BBC) and the USA's equivalent John Mendelsohn (contributed to Rolling
Stone and Coast Magazine) - both extolling the album's nose-down Psych-Rock
approach and delivery (no pretentious 200-piece Orchestra here pal). There are
photos of the "Castles In The Sky" UK 7" single in its rare
Ember Records label bag (a Demo version) and the even harder-to-find picture
sleeve of it that came with certain copies is repro'd on Page 14 along with other
black and whites. There's even a Tour poster from 24 and 25 August 1969 that
features BOB alongside such notables as Fairport Convention, The Incredible
String Band, Blossom Toes, Family, Traffic and The Bonzo Dog Doodah Band (what
a line-up).
BEN WISEMAN – an Audio
Engineer who has done loads of superlative work with Esoteric, Universal and
many other labels over the years – has taken the Ember tapes and made a damn
good fist of the distinctly lo-fi recordings. The shimmering cymbals lead-in –
guitars and then voices – “Broken Hours” sounds damn good and with that Psych
guitar kicking in – you can so hear why collectors rate their three albums so
much. A quality job done on what must have been a difficult transfer...
The "Castles In The
Sky" pop single written by Eve King (John King's wife) and Paul Smith (who
had penned songs for Simon Dupree And The Big Sound before they later became
Gentle Giant) is given short shift by band guitarist Gareth Johnson in the
liner notes where he describes it as a 'terrible song' foisted on them by BBC
Producer John King and not in keeping with the band's vision. Far better is the
rollicking almost Hawkwind drone of "Heart Without A Home" where
Johnson gets to wig out on his axes. Vocalist David Thomas gets all 'son leaving
home - wanting to be free' on the very Moody Blues "Time Is Passing"
- quite possibly another single on an album that doesn't have many. Side 1 ends
in a Psych collector's dream - the 'silent world keeps turning around' of
"Circles" where huge drums crash and a crudely recorded fuzzed-up
guitar tries to get heard (dig that wild solo). I have to say I prefer the
album mix of the song to the 45 version - more punch.
There's a rather naive sound
to Side 2's opener "November" - Thomas' vocals all echoed for effect
- the guitar ever so slightly crude in that homemade way that makes these kind
of albums a thrill for collectors who like it unpolished - all feel and
passion. The 12-minute racially right-on "Colour Questions" is the
album's centrepiece - a sophisticated guitar rumble and rant that feels like
"Coming Your Way" from Fleetwood Mac's "Then Play On" album
from the year previous. Guitarist Johnson really gets to let rip on various
devices - and you can 'feel' his enjoyment. It chops and changes into
acoustic/vocal passages and back into wild Prog electric - a monster that would
do heavy Van Der Graaf Generator fans a solid. The near 8-minute ballad
"You'll Never Know Me/Release" is probably the most sophisticated
song on the album - an impressive array of chunky piano chords and clever combo
vocals.
"Rebirth" is very
much of its time and those expecting Hard Rock or Van Morrison type musings
should probably dabble elsewhere. But if you like your Psych with a bit of
homemade British Prog thrown in - then this muscular-sounding CD reissue is the
baby out the bathwater for you...
