"Good Old Boys" by RANDY NEWMAN - September 1974 US Fourth Album on Reprise Records (October 1974 in the UK) – Guest Musicians Includes Ry Cooder, John Platania, Ron Elliott, Dennis Budimir and Al Perkins on Guitars with Glenn Frey, Don Henley and Bernie Leadon of Eagles on Backing Vocals (May 2002 UK Reprise/Rhino Expanded Edition 2CD Reissue and Remaster with 14 Bonus Tracks) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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RATING: *****  

"…Smart Ass…"

Randy Newman's follow-up to the acidic and brilliant "Sail Away" album of 1972 was another ball-buster equal to its predecessor's fame – "Good Old Boys" provided shell-shocked '74 listeners with more deeply uncomfortable subject matters that even here in 2024 (its 50th Anniversary year) raise a "You-wot!" eyebrow response.

Having done the Reissue and Remaster business by "Sail Away" – time for our hero to get the same nod towards door number four. Rhino have found an entire album of February 1973 piano demos with spoken intros between every song (see CD2). "Everyone is so friendly on this album…", Newman snarks sarcastically before his moving and sad "Louisiana 1927" demo version – not really. To the details…

UK released 27 May 2002 (21 May 2002 in the USA) - "Good Old Boys" by RANDY NEWMAN on Reprise/Rhino 8122-78243-2 (Barcode 081227824327) is a 2CD Expanded Edition reissue of his fourth studio album with Previously Unreleased Demos on Disc Two (reissued in 2003 in the UK on Reprise/Rhino 8122-73839-2 (Barcode 081227383923) as a single CD - essentially CD1 of the double). It plays out as follows:

CD1 "Good Old Boys" (36:55 minutes):

1. Rednecks [Side 1]

2. Birmingham

3. Marie

4. Mr. President (Have Pity On The Working Man)

5. Guilty 

6. Louisiana 1927 [Side 2]

7. Every Man A King

8. Kingfish

9. Naked Man

10. A Wedding In Cherokee County

11. Back On My Feet Again

12. Rollin' 

Tracks 1 to 12 are his fourth studio album "Good Old Boys" - released 10 September 1974 in the USA on Reprise MS 2193 and October 1974 in the UK on Reprise K 54022. Produced by LARRY WARONKER and RUSS TITELMAN - it peaked at No. 36 in the US Rock LP Charts (didn't chart UK).

BONUS TRACK:

13. Marie (Demo) - PREVIOUSLY UNISSUED

Musicians On The Album Included: 

RANDY NEWMAN - Piano, Electric Piano, Synth and All Lead Vocals

RY COODER and JOHN PLATANIA - Electric Guitars

RON ELLIOTT and DENNIS BUDIMIR - Acoustic Guitars

AL PERKINS - Pedal Steel Guitar

RUSS TITELMAN, WILLIE WEEKS and RED CALLENDER - Bass

ANDY NEWMARK, JIM KELTNER and MILT HOLLAND - Drums

BOBBYE HALL and MILT HOLLAND - Percussion

DON HENLEY, GLENN FREY and BERNIE LEADON of EAGLES - Backing Vocals

  

CD2 "Johnny Cutler's Birthday" (41:44 minutes):

1. Rednecks

2. If We Didn't Have Jesus

3. Birmingham

4. The Joke

5. Louisiana

6. My Daddy Knew Dixie Howell

7. Shining

8. Marie

9. Good Morning

10. Birmingham Redux

11. Doctor, Doctor

12. Albanian Anthem

13. Rolling

Recorded 2 January 1973 at Amigo Studios, Hollywood, CA with Randy Newman on Piano only - Produced by Russ Titelman

Remasters are by DAN HERSCH at Digiprep and with new Liner Notes by DAVID WILD - the '2CD Expanded Edition' set offers 14 Previously Unreleased Demo Versions and a pleasingly comprehensive 20-page booklet complete with reminiscences from the great man himself. The David Wild essay 'Randy Newman's Southern Discomfort' tells it like it was and unfortunately still is - Newman rightly proud of his stance on important issues. There are promo photos, gig posters (World Premier of "Good Old Boys" with the Atlanta Symphony, 5 October 1974) and those acidic lyrics alongside original recording/reissue credits - it's a tasty job done and sounds so good. This is not an audiophile album, but the Hersch Remaster has given enough oomph to the piano-led songs to make them even more powerful and haunting and that's what I wanted. 

The album opens with an incendiary piece of social observation songmanship written as if sung by a Southern Good Old Boy who clearly favours keeping the coloured folk down and most definitely out (as the lyrics literally say). Ever the news junkie – Newman had been watching TV in December 1970 when he witnessed the 75th Governor of Georgia – the deeply bigoted and white racist Lester Maddox (who had been instrumental in enforcing segregation in his town and restaurants in the Sixties) sat beside the legendary Georgia American Football Full Back and Black Civil Rights Activist Jim Brown on The Dick Cavett Show. Placing these politically polar-opposite men beside each other saw Brown unable to contain himself (as Cavett knew) and he remarked about racism towards negroes. It was fractious to say the least, but Newman felt that Brown had never been given a chance to counter the whoops and hollers he felt went the wrong way. So he wrote "Rednecks" where the song is peopled with references to smart-assed Jews, no-neck oilmen from Texas, rednecks who don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground. The smug singer (johnny Cutler) goes on to suggest how black people should be put in cages in Chicago and San Francisco and Cleveland. As you can imagine, "Rednecks" is grating-funny - but it’s also deeply uncomfortable as you hear the glee the singer employs in his sickening lists of hate. 

The following two melodies soften things - "Birmingham" and "Marie" filled with the sadness of working people struggling to live let alone love – characters drunk and pleading. The audio on those two is good – clean – but they are suddenly trampled by fantastic audio on "Mr. President (Have Pity On The Working Man)" which employs a jolly brass section that give heft to lyrics about folks running out of money while cold winds blow onto porches, kitchen tables with scraps on them. Side 1 ends with what I think is one of his most understated masterpieces - "Guilty" - a whiskey-sodden cocaine-laden lover pleading to his lady to take his sorry ass back in her arms again. Others have seen its ache and covered it - I particularly love the Bonnie Raitt and Joe Cocker versions from the Seventies.

Speaking of exceptional covers, they don't in my book come much better than Aaron Neville taking the sad and moving dustbowl feel of "Louisiana 1927" and making it a highlight on his 1991 album "Warm Your Heart" (A&M Records). Randy's version has strings that elevates the 'trying to wash us away' lyrics about floods - people's homes and livelihoods destroyed by an act of a heartless God and a conveniently absent government. Reprise used "Louisiana 1927" with "Marie" on its flipside as a belated US 45-single on Reprise RPS 1387. They also tried plugging the "Good Old Boys" album by pairing the jaunty and commercially usable "Naked Man" from Side 2 (I think the Eagles are the backing vocalists) with the slow and melancholy "Guilty" from Side 1 as a US 45-single in January 1975 on Reprise RPS 1324. 

Side 2 highlights also include "A Wedding In Cherokee County" which I recall Ireland's Freddie White used to sing in Dublin's Baggot Inn during the Eighties (recorded it for his "Long Distance Runner" album in 1985) - a smokehouse rocking-chair piano lurch filled with fabulous lyrics about no-goods and slimy old bastards.  The album rolls home with tales about machinists and a Polish girl with gaps in her teeth - the Eagles distinctive against the slide guitar on "Back On My Feet Again". Even with Nick DeCaro arranged strings - "Rollin'" feels like an Eagles B-side - is slight - anti-climax after the brilliance that went before it. But there's no doubt about the feeling that "Good Old Boys" is an album seeing a brilliant songwriter flourish - it isn't going to be everyone's favourite Friends episode - all cuddly and warm - but it is genius.

Stripped of all instrumentation except his grand piano - the 'demo' of "Marie" drips of pain and loneliness - the lyrics almost identical to the finished album version. It may end abruptly and have the airy feel of a 'demo' - but "Marie" in this form is loaded with that rarest of things - raw emotion that is almost unbearable to hear. Brilliant. Speaking of rough cuts – the fascinating back inlay shows the Stereo Tape Box for the 2/1/73 US session – 'Birthday Party' crossed out to read "The Joke". Each of the CD2 demos features a spoken lead-in – the lyrics almost all razor-close to the finished cuts – already honed and set to shock. The character (and suggested album title) Johnny Cutler and his Birthday is supposed to be the theme throughout – Newman suggesting sound effects that might preamble each song. You can also hear him working out the storylines as he speaks too. The remastered quality is by and large superb. 

Newman is undecided about including "If We Didn't Have Jesus" – one of the new titles – and while it is good his gut instinct that it was bordering on cliché was right. A rabbit is being chased by a big black dog in "The Joke" – a song that did not make the final cut and you can hear it is thematically out of place. "My Daddy Knew Dixie Howell" could have made the album – Cutler singing of his 29th birthday fading into the manhood of 30 – suddenly singing about how Daddy had a shop in Tuscaloosa where he cut hair (the famous Dixie Howell included). It slowly dawns on the listener that the drunken Johnny Cutler is none too enamouring with dead Daddy and his insufferable magnolias (he puts Vaseline and Razors in the coffin). And on it goes to Cutler's wife being the "Marie" we've known as someone else all these years – the sinister "Shining" probably just that – too sinister. 

For sure Randy Newman's 1974 album "Good Old Boys" will not be everybody's idea of 'Airplane' type laughter - 'Family Guy' gags-a-plenty some of which might actually make you gag - or at least double-take. But this Reprise/Rhino 2CD Reissue/Remaster hammers home its on-the-money brilliance and musical bravery with real style...

"Sail Away" by RANDY NEWMAN (May 2002 Rhino/Reprise 'Expanded Edition' CD Reissue - Dan Hersch Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Drop The Big One Now!"

While Randy Newman is a musical household name in 2017 - especially with his glorious Oscar-winning Soundtrack work on beloved Pixar films like "Toy Story", "Monsters Inc." and more - back in 1972 when he was onto his 4th solo LP for Reprise Records (3rd studio set) - and despite huge industry wide critical acclaim - he couldn't get arrested by the buying public even if he did insult short people or rail against the tyranny of religious zealots.

Originally released in May 1972 - the American vinyl LP of Reprise MS 2064 was not only ignored but even derided in some sectors - something Newman alludes to and smirks at in the caustic liner notes that accompany this stunning 2002 Rhino CD reissue. 

Because of course history tells us a different story to the chart indifference he suffered then - "Sail Away" is a great album - a masterpiece really - and an early jewel in a very large and long career arc. He is also helped by an impressive array of session players - Ry Cooder, Chris Etheridge of The Flying Burrito Brothers, Jimmy Bond, Wilton Felder of The Crusaders and Milt Holland to name but a few (Randy plays piano and sings). It's lonely at the top indeed. Here are the memos from Simon Smith and his Amazing Dancing Bear...

UK released May 2002 - "Sail Away" by RANDY NEWMAN on Rhino/Reprise 8122-78244-2 (Barcode 081227824426) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster of the 12-Track 1972 LP with Five Previously Unreleased Bonus Tracks and plays out as follows (41:51 minutes):

1. Sail Away [Side 1]

2. Lonely At The Top

3. He Gives Us All His Love

4. Last Night I Had A Dream

5. Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear

6. Old Man

7. Political Science [Side 2]

8. Burn On

9. Memo To My Son

10. Dayton, Ohio - 1903

11. You Can Leave Your Hat On

12. God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind)

Tracks 1 to 12 are his 4th album "Sail Away" (3rd studio set) - released May 1972 in the USA on Reprise MS 2064 and July 1972 in the UK on Reprise K 44185.

BONUS TRACKS (Previously Unreleased):

13. Let It Shine

14. Maybe I'm Doing It Wrong (Studio Version)

15. Dayton, Ohio - 1903 (Early Version)

16. You Can Leave Your Hat On (Demo)

17. Sail Away (Early Version)

The 20-page booklet is a pleasingly in-depth affair with a Page 3 introduction from the great songsmith himself and a further essay/assessment pleasantly called "Of Freaks, Geeks, And God" by Editor of the Rolling Stone – DAVID WILD. There is even some personalized notes on the five Previously Unreleased outtakes and how pleased Randy is with the sound of the new Remaster carried out by long-time Rhino Records Audio Engineer associate - DAN HERSCH. This is a gorgeous sounding CD reissue - warm and full - as this quietly subdued album has always cried out for.

"...In America you get food to eat...Won't have to run through the jungle and scuff up your feet...You'll just sing about Jesus and drink wine all day..." You can't really imagine (even now) the impact those opening lyrics to "Sail Away". Firstly very few artists would have risked them. Newman isn't casually slagging off America or taking a cheap shot - but he is highlighting hypocrisies and attacking homegrown racists and their simplistic crap all in the same song. The fact that he does all this inside a haunting melody (orchestration conducted by Louis Kauffman) is all the more remarkable. Newman then digs at his own supposed Rock Star lifestyle in "Lonely At The Top" - the applause - the money – the after parties. The song was used as a title to a CD Best Of for Warner Brothers in 1987 remastered by Lee Herschberg – a disc I bought back in early days of reissue.

An uncaring God and our blind allegiance to pie-in-the-sky indoctrination crops up in the sly and disturbing "He Gives Us All His Love". The distinctive rattle of Ry Cooder's slide guitar strings comes slinking in on "Last Night I Had A Dream" – a song I only half like actually. Speaking of which - his Alan Price hit "Simon Smith And The Amazing Dancing Bear" dates back to the Sixties and put RN on the songwriting map. But again - I've always admired the song more than I actually liked it. "Old Man" is one of the saddest melodies on the album - a tearful farewell by a son to his father - a Dad he clearly dislikes and loves in equal measure.

Side 2 gives us the masterful "Political Science" - a song with lyrics that inspire awe and giggles even now – a full 45 years after they were released. The protagonist singer tells of American Generals and Politicians weary of trying to be nice to the world – why bother man - they hate all Americans anyhow. So to Hell with them all and let's drop the big one now (not on Australia though - don't want to hurt no Kangaroo - besides they've got surfing and good weather too). "Burn On" is one of the album's secret nuggets - a river in Cleveland suddenly containing magical qualities as a red moon of fire rises in the distance. Understated observation number 424 comes in the shape of "Memo To My Son" - as witty and as wise a love letter from a father to a son as you'll ever hear. Like most young Dads - he's struggling with all the joys and terrors a child brings - but there's a simple love in there that's so touching. In the liner notes Newman's fairly dismissive of "Dayton, Ohio - 1903" but I actually think it's beautiful - a mournful 'missus and me' ballad. The ever so slightly perverse "You Can Leave Your Hat On" tickled many people's fancy (Tom Jones even covered it for "The Full Monty" film) - and it's easy to work out why as it plays - the song is witty, acidic and lusty. Buddhists and Hindus join Catholics and Jews on Satellite TV for the seriously harsh "God's Song (That's Why I Love Mankind)" – a nonchalant even disinterested Almighty poo-pooing his creation Mankind as they beg for mercy from plagues and suffering.

You can't help thinking that the wonderful outtake "Let It Shine" was left off the album precisely because it is so upbeat and uplifting - not in keeping with the album's overall moody demeanour. But it's a treat to hear it and "Maybe I'm Doing It Wrong" - fully formed songs that actually deserve the moniker 'Bonus'. As I already liked "Dayton, Ohio - 1903" - a pretty 'early version' of it is alright by me. And the early version of the title song is radically different and fascinating for it...

"...I hope people like them this time..." - Randy Newman remarks in the new liner notes (the next LP "Good Ole Boys" from 1974 was also reissued in this CD series) - maybe a little mellowed by the years and distance. I'd agree.

I know RN is not everyone's cup of Darjeeling - but his songmanship and affecting melodies/lyrics warrant your attention – yes even deserve it. And 1972's forgotten and overlooked "Sail Away" album is the perfect starting point...

"Leftoverture" by KANSAS (2001 Epic/Legacy 'Expanded Edition' CD - Darcy Proper and Suha Gur Remaster) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...More Than I Can Measure..."

Prog Rock - and American Prog Rock at that - wasn't supposed to have the words 'monster chart hit' written anywhere on its dense playlist. And yet after three 'crawling-up-the-lower-200' albums and many years of touring slog - Topeka's KANSAS finally broke through in 1976 with a bona-fide radio-friendly bruiser "Carry On Wayward Son" – a very Boston-sounding complex rocker that's played today - 41 years after the event.

Signed stateside to Kirshner Records - their self-titled debut "Kansas" troubled the US charts in June 1974 at No. 174 while March 1975's "Song For America" did better at No. 57 - but December 1975's "Masque" dipped back down to No. 70. It was time for a do-or-die change - and with Guitarist and Principal songwriter Steve Walsh suffering from writer's block - up stepped KERRY LIVGREN who penned five of Leftoverture's songs and co-wrote the other three. And it worked. The hit single made a hit album (both doing a storm of business) which meant that their next and even better platter "Point Of Know Return" went one higher to No. 4 in October 1977 - impressive statistics for an American Prog Rock band in the late Seventies.

Which brings us to this fab-sounded CD remaster on Sony’s Legacy imprint. Let's "Carry On Wayward Son" to the Magnum Opus details...

UK released June 2001 (May 2001 in the USA) - "Leftoverture" by KANSAS on Epic/Legacy 502479 2 (Barcode 5099750247921) is an 'Expanded Edition' CD Remaster of their 4th studio album plus Two Previously Unreleased Bonus Tracks and plays out as follows (55:21 minutes):

1. Carry On Wayward Son
2. The Wall
3. What's On My Mind
4. Miracles Out Of Nowhere
5. Opus Insert [Side 2]
6. Questions Of My Childhood
7. Cheyenne Anthem
8. Magnum Opus
(a) Father Padilla Meets The Perfect Gnat
(b) Howling At The Moon
(c) Man Overboard
(d) Industry On Parade
(e) Release The Beavers
(f) Gnat Attack
Tracks 1 to 8 are their 4th studio album "Leftoverture" - released October 1976 in the USA on Kirshner JZ 34224 and December 1976 in the UK on Epic S EPC 82718 (reissued February 1977 on Kirshner S KIR 82718). Produced by JEFF GLIXMAN - the LP peaked at No. 5 on the US Rock charts (didn't chart in the UK).

BONUS TRACKS (Previously Unreleased):
9. Carry On Wayward Son (Live, 1977 at Pine Knob in Wisconsin)
10. Cheyenne Anthem (Live, December 1977 at The Palladium in New York)

KANSAS was:
BOBBY STEINHARDT – Lead and Backing Vocals, Violin and Viola
STEVE WALSH – Lead and Background Vocals, Organ, Piano, Vibes and Synths
KERRY LIVGREN – Lead Guitar, Piano, Moog, Clavinet, Oberheim and ARP Synth
RICH WILLIAMS – Lead Guitar and Acoustic Guitar
DAVE HOPE – Bass
PHIL EHART – Drums and Percussion

The 10-sided foldout inlay has excellent and informative liner notes from DAVID WILD (Contributing Editor to Rolling Stone) – lyrics to all the songs – a live snap of the boys in full-on serious-musician mode and the six portrait photos of the band that came with original Kirshner LPs (facsimile artwork front and rear too). But all that is small beer to the gorgeous sound...

There’s a 'Producer's Note' from Jeff Glixman about the transfers and Remaster. He advises that the original vinyl format left audio compromises with an album running to nearly forty-five minutes - no such problem with the freshened-up CD. Done by DARCY PROPER and SUHA GUR from original master tapes - the Audio is a huge improvement - the synth-and-piano-bop of "Questions Of My Childhood" now leaps out of your speakers - those violin moments and girly chorus on "Cheyenne Anthem" - it's all so good. But it's a damn shame someone didn't think to include the obvious 7" single edit of "Carry On Wayward Son" - at 3:26 minutes - there was plenty of room. Still there is that 'live' version from the period that’s new...

When the voices sing "...don’t you cry no more..." as "Carry On Wayward Son" slithers in – you’re in no doubt about the clarity of the Remaster. At 5:25 minutes as opposed to 3:26 minutes - I can never make up my mind whether or not I prefer the full album version to the zippy 7” single edit (it rose to No. 11 on the US singles chart in February 1977 but would have to wait for a reissue in the UK in May 1978 on Kirshner S KIR 4932 to chart at a lowly 51). And I guess you would have to argue that songs like "Frankenstein" by the Edgar Winter Group (from way back in 1973 – another band on Epic) and more recently "More Than A Feeling" and "Long Time" by BOSTON – had smashed down the Prog Rock door for Kansas. The people were ready for dense guitar Rock. And don’t you just love those funky guitar breaks towards the end – brilliant.

Livgren wants to break down the dark barrier in relationships that is "The Wall" - while Kansas try for another guitar-hit with the catchy "What's On My Mind". That acoustic beginning to the 'dew drops' of "Miracles Out Of Nowhere" is very clear as are those synth-flourishes from Walsh. Side 2 is dominated by the near nine-minute "Magnum Opus" which looms in ominously before going into full-on Genesis - sounding at time like those big moments in "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway". As the guitar then grunges before softly segueing into piano plinkers - you're reminded of the musicality of Rush. "...Music is all for you..." he sings during the "Howling At The Moon" portion before they go all Gentle Giant on yer ass...

In truth the music of Kansas will not be for everyone in 2017 - but loyal fans will devour the transfer here and newcomers will see where modern day Prog acts got their inspiration/information from... Onwards my wayward sons to the "Point Of Know Return"...

"Rumours: 35th Anniversary Edition" by FLEETWOOD MAC - February 1977 LP featuring Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks, Christine McVie, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood (January 2013 UK Warner Brothers 3-CD Expanded Edition - Bill Inglot and Dan Hersch Remasters) - A Review by Mark Barry...

"…Wrapped Around Your Dreams…"

Pitched as a 35th Anniversary Edition (they were a year late) - you could argue that this 2013 'Expanded Edition' of Fleetwood Mac's love/hate opus "Rumours" is just another excuse to extract hard-earned readies from fans. And with Disc 1 sporting the same remaster as the last Anniversary issue in 2004 - then why bother? The two answers are a 65-minute slew of staggeringly raw and revealing outtakes on Disc 3 (all previously unreleased) and a frankly better than expected live fest on Disc 2 recorded on the "Rumours" World Tour in 1977. Here are the chains that can't be broken, dreams of oh daddy and the ways you should go (as long you go on your own)...

Released January 2013 - "Rumours: 35th Anniversary Edition" by FLEETWOOD MAC on Warner Brothers 8122-79709-4 (Barcode 081227970949) is a 3CD Reissue/Remaster that breaks down as follows:

Disc 1 (44:54 minutes):

1. Second Hand News

2. Dreams

3. Never Going Back Again

4. Don't Stop

5. Go Your Own Way

6. Songbird

7. The Chain [Side 2]

8. You Make Loving Fun

9. I Don't Want To Know

10. Oh Daddy

11. Gold Dust Woman

Tracks 1 to 11 are the album "Rumours" - released February 1977 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 56344 and Warner Brothers BSK 3010. It reached Number 1 on both the UK and USA charts and is one the biggest selling albums of all time.

Track 12 is "Silver Springs" - the non-album B-side to "Go Your Own Way" - released as a 7" single January 1977 in the UK on Warner Brothers K 16872 and Warner Brothers 8304 in the USA

Disc 2 "Live, 1977 "Rumours" World Tour (55:39 minutes):

1. Intro

2. Monday Morning

3. Dreams

4. Don't Stop

5. The Chain

6. Oh Daddy

7. Rhiannon

8. Never Going Back Again

9. Gold Dust Woman

10. World Turning

11. Go Your Own Way

12. Songbird

Disc 3 "More From The Rumours Sessions" (65:00 minutes):

1. Second Hand News (Early Take)

2. Dreams (Take 2)

3. Never Going Back Again (Acoustic Duet)

4. Go Your Own Way (Early Take)

5. Songbird (Demo)

6. Songbird (Instrumental, Take 10)

7. I Don't Want To Know (Early Take)

8. Keep Me There (Instrumental)

9. The Chain (Demo)

10. Keep Me There (With Vocal)

11. Gold Dust Woman (Early Take)

12. Oh Daddy (Early Take)

13. Silver Springs (Early Take)

14. Planets Of The Universe (Demo)

15. Doesn't Anything Last (Acoustic Duet)

16. Never Going Back Again (Instrumental)

It's presented in a three-way foldout card digipak - the four inner flaps have outtake photos from that famous shot of the band playing about in front of the camera - while the other flaps sport live shots from some vast American football stadium. Each of the three CDs has different photos - "Rumours" a cropped version of the cover, the other two with outtake photos. The 20-page booklet has an essay called "The Truth About Rumours" by DAVID WILD, reproductions of the albums insert with the photo spread and lyrics as well as detailed reissue credits. It's all very tastefully done.

The album itself was remastered for the March 2004 reissue to perfection by long-standing Rhino tape engineers BILL INGLOT and DAN HERSCH who have had their hands on more important master tapes than we've had hot dinners. Their remastering credits probably run into thousands between them - and the sound on Disc 1 is truly gorgeous - amazing clarity and power. Unfortunately fans will notice that the 9 bonus tracks on the 2004 reissue aren't here - neither are the Alternate Mixes of "The Chain" and "Dreams" that turned up on "The Chain" 4CD Box Set in 1992 - so don't sell those just yet. However what you do get as bonuses are excellent...

Hersch and Inglot did the vault research and transfers for Disc 2 and 3 too - and the results are heavily dependent on the source material. The live disc sounds huge and has warmth ("Dreams" sounds fab with the crowd loving it) and even live "Never Going Back Again" is delightful with Buckingham going solo on the vocals. Nicks lets rip on "Gold Dust Woman" that a fantastic slow power to it live. Buckingham gets the crowd going with two guitar rippers - "World Turning" from 1975's "Fleetwood Mac" and the ass-kicking "Go Your Own Way". The live set is far better than I had expected - the band tight and playing tremendous new material.

The demos and outtakes on Disc 3 are a mixture of polish versus rough and ready - but they are all a revelation in a way Mac fans haven't heard before. The band's inner dynamics and toxic love affairs are well documented and many have said its 'the' reason why the album is so good - flitting from love highs to relationship lows and the rage that often follows. Never is this more obvious than on these 'demos' - the Stevie Nicks stuff in particular having an edge to it that is almost like an open wound. It imbibes these early takes with a sense of truth that was hidden under all that production-polish the final album mix received.

Disc 3 opens badly with a ramshackle short early take of "Second Hand News" where Buckingham hasn't even got the lyrics down and he just mumbles through - easy to see why it's been left in the can until now. Far better is Take 2 of "Dreams" which even at this rough stage has magic written all over it - although the lyrics are there verbatim - the looseness of the keys and the guitars in the background are in direct contrast to the hugely polished finished take. And Nicks sounds so young - and truth be told - so emotionally raw - a feature that will crop up again and again in this deeply personal outtakes. The truly gorgeous "Never Going Back Again" gets a rougher `duet' vocal and a different guitar refrain as a solo. It's a fascinating insight into Buckingham's fantastic and stylistic type of guitar playing - others would have kept the clever runs - but he dropped them (less is more). Then the meanness comes with a counted-in "Go Your Own Way" - it has that menace pending - but while the band rock - his vocal is awful. Even at this early stage you see it's going to be a barnstormer when its finished (and it is).

You then get a very hissy and delicate "Songbird" - lovely and aching at the same time. McVie also plays some gorgeous piano runs that aren't in the album version on the Instrumental Take 10 where she's feeling out how the song should go - it may not be audiophile standard (you can tape clicking) but it's bare in a real way and moving because of it. "Keep Me There" turns out to be an early working on "The Chain" but as a different song. That famous bass run in "The Chain" turns up here and is electrifying. The "Planets Of The Universe" demo is simply Stevie Nicks at the piano. "I will never love again the way I loved you...you will never rule again the way you ruled..." - the words are painfully honest and perhaps the reason it was kept in the can all these years is precisely because its so revealing. The short duet "Doesn't Anything Last" sounds like Fleetwood Mac does The Everlys (only lasts a minute) and it finishes on something akin to "Brushes" - the "Never Going Back Again" outtake that turned up on the bonus tracks on the 2004 CD.  I've been playing this disc a lot more than the album...

"Roll the tape...we'll just see what happens..." Christine McVie says at the beginning of "Oh Daddy". I for one am glad someone in the control room kept those boxes for posterity...

This review is part of my SOUNDS GOOD Music Book Series. One of those titles is CLASSIC 1970s ROCK - an E-Book with over 260 entries and 2450 e-Pages - purchase on Amazon and search any artist or song (click the link below). Huge amounts of info taken directly from the discs (no cut and paste crap). 

"Selected Works 1973-1999" by EAGLES - A Review Of Their 2000 Elektra 4CD Book Set - Now Reissued In 2013 Into A Card Slipcase and Bernie Grundman Remasters...

“…Pretty Maids All In A Row…” 

Originally released as a Long Book in November 2000 - this November 2013 reissue on Elektra 8122796239 reduces that "Selected Works 1973-1999" 4CD retrospective into a manageable card slipcase and keeps the four-themed CDs, the booklet (24-pages) and best of all - the superb Bernie Grundman/Richard Davis remasters. Here are the witchy women, ornery outlaws and dry-roasted desperados...

Disc 1 "The Early Years" (49:44 minutes)
1. Take It Easy ("Eagles", 1972)
2. Hollywood Waltz ("One Of These Nights", 1975)
3. Already Gone ("On The Border", 1974)
4. Doolin'-Dalton ("Desperado", 1973)
5. Midnight Flyer ("On The Border", 1974)
6. Tequila Sunrise ("Eagles", 1972)
7. Witchy Woman ("Eagles", 1972)
8. Tran Leaves Here This Morning ("Eagles", 1972)
9. Outlaw Man ("Desperado", 1973)
10. Peaceful Easy Feeling ("Eagles", 1972)
11. James Dean ("On The Border", 1974)
12. Saturday Night ("Desperado", 1973)
13. On The Border Dean ("On The Border", 1974)

Disc 2 "The Ballads" (58:26 minutes):
1. Wasted Time Reprise
2. Wasted Time ("Hotel California", 1976)
3. I Can't Tell You Why ("The Long Run", 1979)
4. Lyin' Eyes ("One Of These Nights", 1975)
5. Pretty Maids All In A Row ("Hotel California", 1976)
6. Desperado ("Desperado", 1973)
7. Try And Love Again ("Hotel California", 1976)
14. The Best Of My Love ("On The Border", 1974)
8. New Kid In Town ("Hotel California", 1976)
9. Love Will Keep Us Alive (1 of 4 new tracks on "Hell Freezes Over", 1994)
10. Sad Café ("The Long Run", 1979)
11. Take It To The Limit ("One Of These Nights", 1975)
12. After The Thrill Is Gone ("One Of These Nights", 1975)

Disc "The Fast Lane" (69:55 minutes):
1. One Of These Nights Intro
2. One Of The Nights ("One Of These Nights", 1975)
3. Disco Strangler ("The Long Run", 1979)
4. Heartache Tonight ("The Long Run", 1979)
5. Hotel California ("Hotel California", 1976)
6. Born To Boogie (outtake from "The Long Run" sessions - previously unreleased)
7. In The City ("The Long Run", 1979)
8. Get Over It (2 of 4 new tracks on "Hell Freezes Over", 1994)
9. King Of Hollywood ("The Long Run", 1979)
10. Too Many Hands ("One Of These Nights", 1975)
11. Life In The Fast Lane ("Hotel California", 1976)
12. The Long Run ("The Long Run", 1979)
13. Long Run Leftovers (instrumental outtakes from "The Long Run" sessions)
14. The Last Resort ("Hotel California", 1976)
15. Random Victims Part 3 (outtakes from various recordings sessions)

Disc 4 "The Millennium Concert" (59:53 minutes):
1. Hotel California
2. Victim Of Love
3. Peaceful Feeling
4. Please Come Home For Christmas
5. Ol' 55
6. Take It To The Limit
7. Those Shoes
8. Funky New Year
9. Dirty Laundry
10. Funk 49
11. All She Wants To Do Is Dance
12. The Best Of My Love
Recorded live at The Staples Centre, Los Angeles, 31 December1999

When this rather dull looking 4-disc set came out in 2000 - fans were both thrilled and let down. The themes given to the first three CDs were cleverly sequenced for sure - giving the listener an EAGLES song experience that touches well know bases but also throws in some of those forgotten album gems like say "Saturday Night", "Train Leaves Here This Morning", "Try And Love Again" and "Pretty Maids All In A Row". But it doesn't take a genius to look at the total playing times of the CDs (especially Disc 1 and 2) and wonder - why so much empty space? And in 2000 - this sucker wasn't cheap either...

Fast forward thirteen years later - and it's 2013 reissue into a card slipcase (four-way foldout holder inside) whilst boasting on online price tag of just seven pound coins - represents a far better buy (and not just in terms of its more manageable and very pretty `mini' box set packaging - but in the exclusives that aren't available anywhere else). The booklet has great liner notes by DAVID WILD with interviews, period photos, a note from original Producer Bill Szymczyk and Glenn Frey. Then there's the real deal - the gorgeous Bernie Grundman/Richard F. W. Davis remasters which brings stuff like "Doolin' Dalton", "I Can't Tell You Why" and the full version of "One Of These Nights" to life - warm, clear and beautifully produced.

The live show is good rather than great and suffers from the hugeness of the event - the duelling guitars on "Hotel California" feeling like their way back in the mix and instead of being out front. The "Funky New Year" track is good and "Please Come Home For Christmas" pleasant - but it takes Joe Walsh's "Funk 49" to really liven up things.

Written by Pete Vale, Jim Capaldi and Paul Carrack - "Love Will Keep Us Alive" showed that that melody magic hadn't disappeared and in the Elevens - the Eagles now seem more comfortable with their own legend than ever.

Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Randy Meisner, Don Felder and Timothy B. Schmit - what a line-up of talent. Put this cowboy builder in your ten gallon hat real soon...