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| CD Reviews | Feature | Reviews & Features Archive | Photo Archive | Contact | MWE3 Home |
| Email: Info@mwe3.com |
Copyright ©2000-2002 MWE3.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved |
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As
guitar fans know, it’s just about unthinkable that one could hear too
much music from guitar icon Steve Howe. Following that train of reasoning,
Howe accommodates his followers with the second installment of his ongoing
Homebrew series. It’s
fascinating to hear Howe’s various works-in-progress and musical
sketches as they come to life on Homebrew
2. Kicking off with Steve’s early ‘80s solo version of
“Masquerade” (a song which later made it’s way onto the 1991 Union
album by Yes), Homebrew 2 soon
shifts gears with eight Howe demo tracks which were later incorporated on
the late ‘90s Yes albums Keys To
Ascension 1 & 2 and Open
Your Eyes. In fact, just about all of the CD’s 21 tracks feature
various versions of songs which later made their way onto various albums
by Howe, Yes, GTR and Anderson, Wakeman, Bruford & Howe. Further proof
of Howe’s studio wizardry on Homebrew 2 is his ability to perform all the parts necessary to make
these songs work, even as outtakes, demos and home recordings. The only
track here featuring a player other than the guitar great is a scaled down
and in Howe’s words, “a more intimate” alternate version of the
title track from Steve’s ‘75 album Beginnings,
with harpsichord by former Yes/Moody Blues keyboardist Pat Moraz. A well documented compilation of Howe’s prodigious
songbook, Homebrew 2 includes an
outpouring of liner notes, remembrances and evocative artwork. All in all Homebrew
2 is time well spent for Howe’s many devotees. 
When
it comes to English progressive rock music, the U.K.-based Voiceprint Records and their auxiliary label Blueprint have got it down to a science. Fans of English rock icons
such as Robert Wyatt, Soft
Machine, Roy Harper, Asia and Gong
are among the many illustrious artists featured in the Voiceprint
catalog. The Blueprint division has been quite active of late and among
the label’s more intriguing offerings is a comprehensive compilation of
early recordings retracing the career of U.K. guitar hero Peter
Banks. Subtitled The Pre-Yes
Years - Recordings From 1964-1968, the recently released Can
I Play You Something? answers a number of questions regarding the
groups Banks recorded with prior to joining Yes
in 1968. While progressive rock fans are quite well aware of Banks’
early work with Yes and his following group Flash,
Banks’ early career was something of an enigma - until now. Can
I Play You Something? revives 21 sundry tracks including some fabulous
sounding songs by the pre-Yes bands Syn
and Mabel Greer’s Toyshop, both of which featured a young Pete Banks
performing alongside Yes founder Chris
Squire and Squire’s early songwriting ally Clive Bailey. Rough sounding demos and various mixes blend nicely
with a number of rarely heard pop curios with the CD taking on the aura of
a well documented bootleg. Anyone interested in the heady psychedelic pop
scene of swinging London in the late ‘60s, and specifically about the
evolution of Yes, is recommended to check out the well documented Can I Play You Something? 
Many
fans of U.K. guitar great Phil
Manzanera have been waiting a long time for proper reissues of these
two early album classics. Recorded at the same time as the great Diamond Head was the trendsetting instrumental album Mainstream,
the one and only release by Phil’s side instrumental band Quiet
Sun. As pointed out in the
astute liner notes, both albums were recorded during 26 days in
January/February, 1975. It seemed that right after the daytime Diamond
Head sessions were over, Quiet Sun took over the studio by night with
Manzanera leading the quartet through a set of brilliantly executed, now
classic guitar-based instrumental music. The music Manzanera recorded with
Bill MacCormick (bass, cameo
vocals) Dave Jarrett (keyboards)
and Charles Hayward (drums)
remains an essential focus of the ‘70s progressive rock history. It’s
new CD reissue on Expression happily
sets the album’s history straight with stellar liner notes. It’s
incredible to think that during the same time period of time Manzanera was
also able to record his first proper debut album Diamond
Head. Ignited by the back-up support of the Quiet Sun players, Diamond Head also featured some dapper vocal performances from Robert
Wyatt, John Wetton and Eno. Two
sides of an impeccable musical coin, both Mainstream
and Diamond Head are aptly
described in the liner notes as ‘first born twins in a London studio’.
Instrumental
rock greats The Shadows couldn’t have been more out of step in 1973.
While groups like Yes and Tull were serving up double disc masterworks and
live prog-rock spectaculars, guitar god Hank
B. Marvin and band were quite happy recording their patented blend of
sophisticated instrumental rock, sounding more influenced by The Beatles
and The Beach Boys than Yes or Tull. If The Shadows were going for a more
up to date yet highly nostalgic instrumental pop beat, they truly
succeeded on Rockin’ With Curly
Leads. Released after a three year layoff, following the death of long
time Shadows bassist John Rostill,
the first ever solo album by Shadows founder/guitarist Hank B. Marvin and
the joining of bass guitarist John
Farrar, the disc offers a great crossection of riff-heavy rock and
soaring pop ballads as only the The Shadows could invent. True to their
roots as England’s greatest instrumental covers band, there’s also
covers of The Beach Boys “Good Vibrations” and a rousing, set-opening
“Pinball Wizard”. Never issued in the U.S., this recent EMI U.K.
digi-pak reissue of Rockin’ With
Curly Leads is the first ever release by the the band’s parent
company. No liner notes, but the high tech remastering makes it the
best-sounding version on CD yet. 
Finally
a proper CD reissue of the vintage classic Black
Is Black album from mid ‘60s pop phenomenon Los Bravos. Something of
an anomaly amongst pop bands (the band consisted of four Spaniards and a
German-born lead singer), the group are still recalled for their all time
hit single “Black Is Black”. Discovered in Spain and produced in
London by U.K. producer Ivor
Raymonde, Los Bravos took the U.S. airwaves by storm rising to top of
the charts and getting heavy airplay on thousands of AM stations. Los
Bravos were never quite able to again reach the same heights as “Black
Is Black”, although as these first ever U.S. Los Bravos reissues makes
clear - the group also made really good pop albums. Identified with the
‘60s pop sounds coming from what later turned into Polygram, the Bravos
joined a legendary roster of incredibly ground breaking pop bands on the
wide consortium of London Records offshoot labels - from Tom Jones and The
Troggs to The Walker Brothers and Cat Stevens. The fact that they were
only able to muster one big hit wasn’t as strange as it may seem looking
back on the whirlwind pop scene of the ‘60s. 
Kicking off with the killer
riff of the title track, the 1966 Black
Is Black album delivered a number of driving pop gems with all the
right moves. Composed for the group by the songwriting team of Vanda and
Young of The Easybeats (another group with a classic reissue on Retroactive),
the title track of the rarely heard Bring
A Little Lovin’ wasn’t bad at all yet, even with another solid
album out there, Los Bravos couldn’t dent the highly competitive pop
charts of 1968 and broke up after recording a two more (largely
unreleased) albums. Credit should go to Ed
Strait and the crew at Retroactive
Records in NYC. Both CDs go to great lengths to reproduce the original
LP artwork along with rare photos, lengthy liner notes, and full
discography. One hit wonder they may have been, but as these discs succeed
at pointing out, the Los Bravos discography is worth hearing again 
Featuring
the music of songwriting great and guitarist Roy Wood, The Move were
one of the most influential bands to come out of England during the
‘60s. The fact that they transformed from The Move into ELO at the dawn
of the ‘70s was overlooked as ELO got progressively more popular
throughout the ‘70s. Even though Wood left after the first ELO album,
credit had to go to Wood’s Move and early ELO band mates Jeff
Lynne and drumming great Bev
Bevan for taking the band to great heights (Without Lynne, Bevan still
fronts a completely different, yet still accomplished incarnation of ELO).
As this CD points out quite handily, ELO had an extensive family tree
which, although starting with The Move, also yielded an extensive
repertoire of recordings from an assorted spectrum of sundry Move and ELO
members. Purple Pyramid did a
splendid job with last years’ Yes Friends And Relatives collection and now they do the same for ELO.
Featured on the double disc collection are select live ELO tracks
featuring the ‘70s Lynne and Bevan group with other high points being
some truly remarkable tracks from Carl
Wayne (original Move lead singer), Wizzard
(featuring Move founding member Roy
Wood), Bev Bevan (solo tracks including an apropos cover of “Let
There Be Drums”) and of course, The Move (several early mid ‘60s
tracks). With so many other untapped musical avenues to venture down,
Purple Pyramid would do well to count on at least another 2 ELO F&R
volumes! Hopefully other collections will feature interviews and liner
notes. ELO ‘s F&R is a
great family tree collection from one of the all time great bands. 
A long time friend and musical accomplice of Who
great Pete Townshend,
singer-songwriter and guitarist Billy Nicholls has released only a handful
of albums since he started as a solo artist back in the late ‘60s. Yet,
each disc he has issued over these many years has proved to be a first
class showcase for his memorable pop gems. Influenced by Townshend’s
songwriting gift (and vice versa), Nicholls is at his best hanging his
well crafted pop hooks on gorgeous arrangements that rival the finest of
songwriters. Although his early ‘90s CD, Under
One Banner was hardly noticed in the U.S., Nicholls returns to the
music world again in early 2000 reissuing a pair of long sought after
albums he first issued in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. 1968’s Would
You Believe proves that even as a teenager, Nicholls had a solid
ability to write dazzling pop jewels. With none other than pop legends The
Small Faces on hand as the back up group, the album is further fueled
with contributions by Led Zeppelin’s John
Paul Jones (on bass and string arrangements), keyboard great Nicky
Hopkins, Jerry Shirley (drums) and Caleb
Quaye (guitars). Co-produced by Billy, Small Faces / Humble Pie great Steve
Marriott and Rolling Stones producer Andrew
Loog Oldham, Would You Believe is
a psych/pop classic ripe for rediscovery. Thanks must go to Pete Townshend
for first introducing Nicholls to a widespread audience on a number of his
early ‘70s solo albums and as a support player on various Who albums.
But as these reissue CDs make clear, as a songwriting great for going on
five decades, Nicholls is clearly in the same league as Townshend. Another
essential reissue on Billy’s own Southwest
Records is a CD of his early ‘70s album Love Songs. Townshend
engineers on a track but the album’s real co-star here is guitar great
Caleb Quaye. Best known for his fretboard work on early albums by Elton
John and John Kongos, Quaye’s acoustic and electric guitar/bass work
(and drumming) is stellar here. Also lending a hand on Love
Songs are various members of The Faces (who by then were no longer The
Small Faces). No lyric sheet on either CD, but there’s plenty of
reflective liner notes from Billy. A major rediscovery for Nicholls fans,
Who fans and anyone interested in the trendsetting history of ‘60s U.K.
pop, both discs are highly recommended.