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Spring 2007
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 ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA |
 THE FOUR SEASONS |
 TRACEY ULLMAN |
 JAMES WARREN |
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VARIOUS ARTISTS Forever Changing (Rhino)
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HUGH HOPPER Hopper Tunity Box (Cuneiform) 
Always
a label on the cutting edge of modern music and specifically Euro-rock
remasters, Cuneiform land a big fish with the 2007 reissue of an album
classic from bass guitar icon Hugh Hopper. Remembered for his brilliant
work on Soft Machine Volume II, Hopper was an early member of
the legendary English jazz / art rock band but he really hit his stride
with his 1977 solo album HopperTunity Box, reissued in 2007 by
Cuneiform Records. With the original Lp cover on the backside of the
CD booklet, the booklet features new cover art, 2006 liner notes by
Hopper with added sheet music arrangements of his melodic arrangements.
Featuring Hopper in rare form with memorable melodies flowing and his
fuzz-bass rockin’, Hopper Tunity Box has through
the years maintained its unique status as one the most innovative instrumental
jazz-rock albums of the ‘70s. A fine addition to their every growing
catalog of Hopper and Softs related remasters, Cuneiform’s CD remaster
of Hopper Tunity Box is a major coup for purveyors of classic
U.K. fusion. www.cuneiformrecords.com
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ELECTRIC
LIGHT ORCHESTRA
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THE
FOUR SEASONS The 4 Seasons Entertain You (Collector's Choice)
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TRACEY
ULLMAN You Broke My Heart In 17 Places (Stiff)
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JAMES
WARREN Burning Questions (Angel Air)
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After
checking out Rhino’s 2007 5 CD box set tribute to the vaults of
Elektra Records, entitled Forever Changing,
the question is: what genre of music didn’t Elektra make a huge
contribution to? And the answer is no branch of pop music went untouched
by “the house the Jac built.” We’re referring to Elektra
mogul Jac Holzman and the incredible music his label brought
to the music world starting in 1963. Elektra, although formed as a rootsy
Americana folk label, landed The Doors in 1967 and the rest is
history. There are some glowing vault omissions (in addition to tons
of stuff that didn’t make Rhino’s first Elektra installment)
over 118 tracks spread over five CDs, yet for the most part Forever
Changing: The Golden Age Of Elektra Records - 1963-1973 hits
the nail on the head. There’s countless classic folk, blues, rock
and pop jewels here that were great when they first came out decades
ago, and are still great. With track by track discussion, new interviews
with artists and Elektra insiders, Forever Changing offers a
fascinating glimpse into the greatest indy record label success story
in 20th century American music history. 
With
their early 2007 reissues of Out Of The Blue and Balance Of
Power, Legacy concludes their successful reissue program of the
ELO back catalog. That’s a lot of music as was especially the case
with ELO’s 1977 double Lp Out Of The Blue. The CD remaster
sounds amazing and Legacy pairs the 17 original Lp cuts with
3 bonus cuts. On OOTB Jeff Lynne scaled new heights on
classic rockers that combine Lynne’s love of Roy Orbison with Mozart
and beyond. ‘77 was the height of disco, the precursor of punk,
and there was a cultural war in the U.S. so these ‘50s flecked
symphonic rockers were the perfect fodder to take your mind off how
bad things were going to get in a few short years. Looking back on these
late ‘70s ELO sounds, you could just imagine John Lennon baking
bread in the Dakota reveling in OOTB cuts like “Turn To
Stone” and others on WNEW-FM. Released ten years before Balance
Of Power (1986, coming on CD), Out Of The Blue is further
supplanted by excellent liner notes from Lynne, who adds, “Out
Of The Blue was probably the hardest work I’ve ever done but
also the most satisfying” and ELO web master Rob Caiger.
The
musical glue that connected ‘50s rock to Beatlemania, The 4 Seasons
ruled the radio waves during those great Camelot years of ‘61-63.
Hit after hit, the Seasons had it all. During my interview with Brian
Wilson in 1998, he spoke a great line saying he wanted his next album
to have Four Seasons inspired vocal sound. A legend of the NY/NJ metropolitan
area, The 4 Seasons had it all including great group vocals and two
illustrious men named Bob—Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe—the
Seasons co-writing keyboardist and behind the scenes producer / arranger/
songwriter, Bob Crewe. Despite having never gained the respect
of the late‘60s rock crowd, there isn’t a classic rock singer
worth his salt that doesn’t cite Frankie Valli as an influence.
The original quartet with the four piece vocal lineup of Valli, Gaudio,
guitarist Tommy DeVito and bassist Nick Massi, recorded
a number of rockin' 45’s and Lps in the early ‘60s. Now, in
2007 Collector’s Choice has a bunch of late ‘60s CD remasters
of 4 Seasons recordings. 4 Seasons fans will remember the band’s
‘65 lp classic Working My Way Back To You, named
after the title track smash. That album is paired in a double CD set
from CC with the group’s psychedelia Lp, the January ‘69 release
of The Genuine Imitation Life Gazette. In addition
Collector’s Choice offers a double CD pairing of The 4 Seasons
Entertain You with On Stage With The Four Seasons,
two studio titles from ‘65. A concept album of sorts, On
Stage is actually a studio set with canned studio noise. Out of
the mainstream rock scene, the 4 Seasons kept going over the years and
CC offers a 19 track CD pairing of Half & Half (last
Phillips album from 1970) and Helicon (1977) and another
double CD pairing of Streetfighter (from ‘85) with
Hope & Glory (1992). Interestingly Valli, Crewe,
Gaudio and song writing ace Sandy Linzer were involved in the
latter years as well. Last of the current CC 4 Seasons remasters is
a 15 track reissue of 1980’s Frankie Valli 4 Seasons Reunited
Live, with both Bob’s on hand again to produce.
All these 4 Seasons remasters on CC feature excellent sound and historic
liner notes from Bill Dahl. 
Back
in the early ‘80s, the U.K. based Stiff label was one of the coolest
post-punk bastions of great music including artists like Nick Lowe,
Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, Madness and more. In April 2007, the label
is poised to start opening their vaults to reissue some of the prized
music classics on CD here in the U.S. for the first time. High on the
list of Stiff classics coming on CD in 007 include You Broke My Heart
In Seventeen Places by singer Tracey Ullman. If Ullman’s
voice and songs don’t get you pining for the early ‘80s then
nothing will. Inspired by classic U.K. singers like Sandie Shaw and
Dusty Springfield, Ullman recorded a certified pop classic in ‘83
and Stiff have wisely remastered the entire album in all it’s glory,
complete with a round of excellent b-sides and informative liner notes.
Stiff keeps up the reissue work with a 2007 CD of Fool Around
by U.S. singer Rachel Sweet. Although Sweet was just
16 when Stiff signed her, her good looks and excellent singing—not
to mention fine production work from Liam Sternberg and Pete
Solley—made her a favorite with the post-punk pop crowd. Again,
this Stiff CD classic features original art, a bounty of b-sides and
fine liners. Keep a look out for future Stiff CD reissues coming in
‘07. 
Over
in England, Angel Air honor their fellow countrymen with the release
of more archive titles from Stackridge and the band’s offshoots.
First off is a reissue of an 1985 title from founding Stackridge singer-songwriter
and guitarist James Warren entitled Burning Questions.
Assisted by his band mate in both Stackridge and The Korgis, Andy
Davis, the pair are also aided by keyboardist Nick Magnus and
singer Eddi Reader, who is here with a non Lp b-side from 1987.
Although quite well established with Anglo-prone audiophiles, Stackridge,
Davis and Warren never made much of a big 'commercial' dent here in
the U.S. That lack of success in and of itself is most unfortunate but
in the case of James, Burning Questions is an excellent period
piece pop artifact from the heyday of the ‘80s, one that highlights
Warren’s penchant for writing great Beatles inspired pop hooks.
Long time Stackridge watchers will also want to see and hear 2007 reissues
of long awaited key CD reissues from the band on Angel Air, including
The Man In The Bowler Hat (1973) and Friendliness
(1972). A definite highlight of this multi-disc reissue bonanza
featuring Stackridge is a straight reissue of the band's follow up to
Bowler Hat, Extravaganza—a 1975 album that saw Warren
replaced by singer-songwriter Rod Bowket, who also made a surprisingly
cool foil for Davis. A great guitarist and singer, Warren of course
would be the one to kick start the Stackridge resurgence, starting in
the late ‘ 90s with a newly formed Stackridge capped off with Davis
finally rejoining the fold for the band's brilliant 2005 comeback album
Sex & Flags, also out on CD on AA. Prior to Sex &
Flags, Stackridge actually began their current comeback with the
band’s 1999 indy release of Something For The Weekend,
which for some reason didn’t include Andy Davis! Nothing much
was said about it for about five years when Angel Air signed Davis and
was primed to re-vault the entire Stackridge catalog with their new
album Sex & Flags. Now, with Angel Air’s 2007 CD reissue
of Something For The Weekend—including fab recent pics of
the original band + some excellent sounding original demo bonus tracks
penned by Davis for possible inclusion before he mysteriously left the
band, Davis, Warren and Stackridge and The Korgis as well, continue
getting excellent reissue treatment from the experts at Angel Air. Each
of these Angel Air Stackridge CD remasters features excellent remastering,
restored art work, pages of photos and loads of detailed liner notes
on each title. 
