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JULY /
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 WIGWAM |
 THE SMALL FACES |
 PORKY'S REVENGE |
 YES |
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THE MOODY BLUES The Lost Performance (Kultur)
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THE SHADOWS The Shadows Greatest Hits (EMI)
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WIGWAM
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THE
SMALL FACES Hits,Misses,Thrashers & Crashers (Fuel 2000)
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VARIOUS
ARTISTS Porky's Revenge (Sony Legacy)
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YES Drama (WSM / Rhino)
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Although
the original Moody Blues are often considered right up there
with The Beatles among the groups most responsible for the cultivation
of ‘60s English progressive rock, there’s been sadly, very
little in the way of live performance footage released on DVD so far
from the Moodies. As is pointed out in my liner notes of The Moody
Blues: The Lost Performance Live In Paris ‘70, during
the ‘60s and ‘70s, the five man Moodies lineup of Mike
Pinder, Ray Thomas, Justin Hayward, John Lodge
and Graeme Edge recorded some of the most articulate studio
rock ever made on either side of the Atlantic. A rarity and a relic
of kaleidoscopic musical dimensions laying dormant in the vaults, this
concert was recorded and filmed by French TV on the band’s 1970
European tour. In a bizarre musical twist, Live In Paris ‘70
serves up a fine lineup of tracks in a concert club like setting,
yet strangely this made for TV film finds The Moodies singing live on
top of and along with what appears to be interwoven audio backing tracks
prepared by ‘Classic 7’ producer Tony Clarke. Reflecting
on this concert event spotlighting the definitive group line-up, Moody
Blues founder Mike Pinder says, “I thought it was very good
and represents what the band was like during its peak. I had forgotten
we performed it with backing tracks but realized it when I saw the Hammond
Organ I was miming my mellotron parts on. Graeme was miming with
a really basic kit. Vocals were live over some backing vocals which
were intermixed in the backing tapes.” While the band looks fabulous
and this DVD on N.J.-based Kultur captures much of the stage
presence and charisma of the definitive ‘Classic 7’ line-up,
Pinder further speculates, nearly 35 years later, that long time Moodies
producer Tony Clark in fact played a part in the history behind
the Live In Paris ‘70 shows. Pinder explains, “The
fact that we were half way through recording A Question Of Balance,
I am pretty sure Tony Clarke was there and I remember that Tony Clarke
did prepare the backing tracks. I sent a copy of the DVD to Tony in
England. He will enjoy the trip down memory lane as you and I did. I
agree it had that raw Cinéma Vérité feel and the
sound was good. I think Moody fans will enjoy it.” Cast into a
musical time tunnel, The Moody Blues reappear like musical titans from
a bygone era, singing their parts on top of Tony Clarke’s perfectly
timed studio backing tracks. Coupled with the raw Cinéma Vérité
feel captured by the French producers of their TV show (spelling mistakes
and all!), the Live In Paris ‘70 DVD creates a mysterious
karmic impact of Kubrick-esque dimensions (re: AI) and is a dream-like,
welcome cosmic specter from the band that made our planet a much better
place way back then. 
Probably
the most important greatest hits collections to emerge from the British
Isles in the early ‘60s and certainly, the last word on the state
of the British pop instrumental guitar art form circa 1960, the original
1963 release of The Shadows Greatest Hits was remastered and
reissued on CD in June 2004 by EMI Records in England. The most notable
collection showcasing all the chart topping singles The Shadows released
during those nascent late ‘50s, early ‘60s years, The Shadows
Greatest Hits was no doubt, among the key albums many future British
guitar rockers were grooving to back in the early ‘60s. EMI’s
32 track, 2004 edition of The Shadows Greatest Hits is notable
for a number of reasons none the least of which is that this particular
CD features the original 15 track lineup—packed with huge Shadows
hits like “Apache”, “Dance On”, “Wonderful
Land” and “F.B.I.”—in both their original mono and
stereo mixes complete plus a bonus track inclusion of the CD closing
“Quartermasters Stores” (originally the b-side to “Apache”).
The Shadows’ towering pop singles were quite a different a different
kettle of fish compared both to their studio albums and soundtrack work,
writing and producing with pop star Cliff Richard. Almost as famous
for it's incredibly evocative cover art, The Shadows Greatest Hits
is further bolstered by insightful, track by track liner notes by Rob
Bradford. By the close of the lynchpin year of 1963 The Beatles
would soon take over the British charts—and certainly by the close
of ‘64 on charts everywhere else for that matter!—yet, for
a period back in 1963, The Shadows Greatest Hits single handedly
provided a blueprint for the entire Euro-pop art form that would be
further expounded upon in the coming years by countless artists from
Mike Oldfield to ABBA. When it rains it pours, and coinciding with the
2004 mono/stereo remaster of The Shadows Greatest Hits, EMI
has also reissued a mono/stereo twofer of the December 1965 follow up
‘best-of’ from The Shads. More Hits! assembles
another fine non-LP, singles ‘best-of’ collection from Hank
Marvin, Bruce Welch, Brian Bennett and John Rostill.
Sixteen Shadows favorites like “Atlantis”, “Geronimo”
the Jerry Lordan pop vocal classic “Mary Anne”
and “Theme For Young Lovers” (to name a few) are given a fine
airing in both their stereo and mono mixes, with the 32 track CD giving
long time fans what they’ve long been waiting for. Original art
work from the original ‘65 Lp release makes More Hits! yet
another essential Shadows remaster on EMI. Topping it all off, EMI has
assembled the definitive four CD Shadows singles compilation. Put into
perspective with fascinating track by track liner notes by Mr. Bradford,
the 80 track Complete Singles 1959-1980 strategically
and chronologically compiles all the singles A & B sides that The
Shadows recorded for EMI Records, starting with their earliest sides
from 1959—when they were still known as The Drifters—all the
way to the final singles released at the end of their tenure with EMI
in 1980, when they left for Polydor Records. 
Originally
released on the the Finnish Polarvox label back in 1993, Light
Ages was reissued on CD, complete with 24 bit remastering in 2004
on Warner Music in Finland. Back in the late ‘60s and for much
of the ‘70s, Wigwam was the premier English singing rock group
in Finland, most of Scandinavia and continental Europe for that matter.
Although the group scattered at the dawn of the ‘80s following
the tragic passing of founding drummer Ronnie Österberg,
the nucleus of the mid ‘70s Wigwam Mark II—featuring singer-songerwriter
Jim Pembroke, guitar great Pekka Rechardt and producer/bassist
Måns Groundströem—raised the flag once again
in 1993 for an album still considered by some to be one of their finest.
The U.K.-born Pembroke—one of the most underrated singers and songwriters
of the 20th Century—is in particularly fine form on Light Ages.
Coming up with seven new Wigwam classics, Pembroke balanced the
CD with six new covers of classic Wigwam tunes including a remake of
the title track to their 1970 classic, Tombstone Valentine. When
you think Wigwam, think classic British-flavored Euro-rock along the
lines of Procol Harum meets Focus...that’s just how good they were
and still are. It would take nearly another ten years for Pembroke and
Wigwam to resurface with a new studio album again—as they did in
2002 with the EMI/Harvest CD release of Titans Wheel. Let’s
hope we don’t have to wait another ten years for a new album of
music and magic from Wigwam. 
Featuring
the late, great Steve Marriott and the late, great Ronnie
Lane, the original Small faces were one of the most incredible British
pop bands of the mid ‘60s. Between ‘65 and the end of 1968,
Small Faces scored fourteen Top Forty hits in the U.K. although it wouldn’t
be until they signed with Andrew Loog Oldham and Immediate Records that
they would reach their height of popularity, especially in the U.S.
The big boom came with the release of ‘67-68 psychedelic / teenybopper
era smashes like the eternally great “Itchycoo Park” and the
title track and album of the same name, Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake.
L.A.-based Fuel 2000 honors the British rockers again on
their 36 track 2004 Small Faces compilation. Split into two CDs—Absolutely
The Best and Odds And Mods—the double disc
Hits, Misses, Thrashers & Crashers takes another definitive
look at the band at the start and height of their career. Of course,
Marriott went on to huge success with Humble Pie while Lane, drummer
Kenney Jones and keyboardist Ian MacLagen went on to form The Faces
with Rod (The Mod) Stewart and Ron Wood. Superbly anthologized and featuring
rare stereo and mono mixes of ground breaking pop classics and backed
up by historic track by track liner notes, Hits, Misses, Thrashers
& Crashers puts some of the greatest pop music of the ‘60s
into a timely perspective. 
Legacy
reissued several fine albums from roots-rocker Dave Edmunds in
2004, however their finest Edmunds-related CD might well be a rockin’
soundtrack album Edmunds produced for the 1985 comedy film Porky’s
Revenge. Featuring Edmunds on guitar and vocals backed up by a tight
band—including Chuck Leavell (keyboards), Mike Shrieve
(drums) and Kenny Aaronson (bass)—Legacy’s Porky’s
CD spotlights a number of Edmunds-produced tracks with the
great George Harrison (an unreleased Bob Dylan cover of
“I Don’t Want To Do It”), Jeff Beck (covering
the Santo & Johnny instro “Sleepwalk”) and Clarence
Clemons (“The Peter Gunn Theme”). On his cuts, Edmunds
& Co. tackle vintage pop chestnuts like “Do You Wanna Dance”
and “Queen Of The Hop”. Also on hand are Willie Nelson,
Robert Plant, Phil Collins, Carl Perkins, Jimmy
Vaughan and more, making Porky’s Revenge one of the
classic pop CD soundtracks of the ‘80s. Original artwork and fine
liner notes adds further historical insight to this essential 2004 reissue.
In celebration of rock legend Dave Edmunds turning 60 on April
15, 2004, Legacy puts a new face on certain pop classics with the mid
2004 reissue of two more Edmunds-related titles. The 1980 release of
Seconds Of Pleasure by Rockpile found Edmunds joined
by Brinsley Schwarz founder Nick Lowe, Billy Bremner on
guitar and Terry Williams on drums. Although the Rockpile crew
appeared on several of Dave’s solo album’s starting in 1976,
the band’s one and only album came in October 1980. Sadly, the
band split four months later. Legacy’s 2004 reissue of Seconds
Of Pleasure pairs the original album with a number of bonus tracks
including live BBC tracks. Legacy also has the good fortune to reissue
The Best Of Dave Edmunds. Spanning the years 1970-2002,
the sixteen track single disc CD compiles a number of Edmunds classics
drawn from various titles released on seven different record labels,
including his 1970 classic “I Hear You Knocking” and various
tracks taken from his 1982-1987 years on Columbia. 
For
died-in-the-wool Yes fans, the release of the 1980 Yes album Drama
was nothing less than dramatic! So dramatic was it that the sessions
proved too much for Yes founder Jon Anderson, who left the band
along with keyboard guru Rick Wakeman. Wakeman was never completely
sold on the intrinsically esoteric side of Yes anyway, so one could
almost imagine him bailing again, but Jon Anderson? Anyway, in retrospect,
Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White teaming
up with Buggles Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes wasn’t
such a bad idea after all and yielded a different kind of Yes album,
although the union of Yes and Horn wouldn’t achieve full lift-off
until the 1983 Yes album 90125. Anyway, even if
you never gave the Lp a good listen back then, Rhino’s retooled
2004 CD of Drama is worth more than a listen for a several reasons,
among which include a number of bonus tracks, including several excellent
instrumentals (featuring Howe in full flight) and a rare glimpse into
the ‘dramatic’ Drama sessions featuring Anderson and
Wakeman before they left, on three tracks including the pop-concious
“Friend Of A Friend.” Of course, preceding Drama, Yes
released their definitive late ‘80s statement, Tormato in
1978. More rocking and rootsy Yes than say, Tales From Topographic
Oceans or Relayer, the album remains one of the most accessible
Yes albums and key FM radio classics like “Don’t Kill The
Whale” and the brilliant set-closing “On The Silent Wings
Of Freedom” insure it’s essential status. An incredible find
for long time Yes-aholics, Rhino’s Tormato reissue boasts
no less than nine bonus tracks. After the Drama of 1980, Yes
revamped their ‘80s sound yet again, losing guitar journeyman Howe
to Asia and GTR among other greatness. The resulting 90125 depicted
an unusual alliance with Yes and South African guitarist Trevor Rabin,
while the quirkiness of the event also delivered keyboard ace Tony
Kaye back into the Yes camp. Backed up by Horn’s immensely
manifesting production skills, 90125 put Yes back onto the pop
charts with a round of chart-topping single tracks and more made for
MTV videos. Despite further albums with Rabin and Kaye in the ‘80s
and early ‘90s, the trend would eventually lead Howe back into
the fold and that’s where it’s at today. However, as far as
progressive rock CD reissue classics go, Rhino’s 2004 remasters
of Tormato, Drama and 90125 are comprehensive to say the
least and are to date, the definitive audio masters of all three.