www.musicweek.com PRODUCTREISSUES STEEL PULSE • MC SQUARED • THE SPINNERS • LOVE ME DO
STEEL PULSE • Prodigal Sons - The Best Of (UMC/Island UMC 8912)/TOOTS & THE MAYTALS: Pressure Drop - The Best Of (5339066)/BLACK UHURU: Guess Who's Coming To Dinner - The Best Of (5339219)/BURNING SPEAR: Marcus Garvey - The Best Of (5339220)
Continuing the flood of releases marking the 50th anniversary of Jamaica's
independence,
Island Records - created by a Jamaican ex-pat primarily to provide an outlet for reggae - releases these four mid-priced CDs, all of which are excellent compilations of material by some of the most significant, popular and important acts in the genre. Roots reggae is the name of the game with Burning Spear, Black Uhuru and Steel Pulse - who were based in Birmingham, but of Caribbean descent. Toots And The Maytals are something else, with their earlier ska/reggae recordings being remarkably infectious and commercial, with Monkey Man, 54-46 Was My Number and the title track all minor classics. It is a world away
from the heavier bass sound of the roots reggae brigade, of whom Black Uhuru in particular having a darker more political agenda, tackling subjects including The Great Train Robbery, Sensimillia and Africa.
MC SQUARED • Tantalizing
Colours: The Reprise Recordings (Now Sounds CRNOW 34)
Set up by Frank Sinatra in 1960, the Reprise label was originally a fairly staid reflection of its
owner's musical tastes but by the late 1960s Sinatra was no longer chairman and the label's roster had diversified considerably. One of its more fleeting signings was MC Squared, a Los Angeles-based quintet whose members were folk renegades and studio musicians. They delivered four excellent but commercially unsuccessful pop/psych singles before being dropped. However, they left behind several additional tracks recorded for their debut album, which have never been released - until now. Compiled by Steve
Stanley, who also contributed copious liner notes featuring the participation of original band members, the previously unissued material takes its place alongside the singles sides and the result is a masterpiece with great harmonies coating the pop/psych pill. Tracks like My Mind Goes High sound for all the world like The Mamas & Papas on a trip but the band's folk roots are also evident on the title track, while the spirit of Carlos Santana is evoked on the Latin-styled Karneeval. Excellent.
THE SPINNERS • Truly Yours (Kent CDTOP 371)
The number of previously unreleased tracks plucked from Motown's vaults over the years is
truly remarkable - and Kent's ongoing and exemplary raiding of the label's archives continues to pay dividends, with this agreeable augmentation of The Spinners' first album increasing its track count from 12 to 26, 10 of which are being released for the first
time. Admittedly not one of Motown's priorities, The Spinners were nevertheless given some fairly strong material for their debut album, The Original Spinners, which was released in 1967. It included contributions from Berry Gordy, Harvey Fuqua, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder, whose pleasant I Cross My Heart was originally intended for Gladys Knight. Bonus tracks on the set date from 1963 to 1967, and include Nobody But You, a storming Northern Soul cut, and the slightly Oriental- flavoured Tea House In China Town, an excellent version of a song also recorded by The Four Tops. Overall, it's an excellent album, well up to Motown's high standards, and comes with an extensive and informative essay on the band, informed by a new interview with lead singer Bobby Smith.
VARIOUS • Love Me Do - 50 Songs
That Shaped The Beatles (Fantastic Voyage FVDD 136)
Far from being the first compilation to feature recordings influential in the development of
The Beatles, this new Fantastic Voyage collection nevertheless wins the prize for being released closest to the 50th anniversary of The Beatles' first single, Love Me Do. And with respected Liverpool Beatles authority Spencer Leigh responsible for song selection, it is broader and more interesting than some that have ostensibly covered the same ground. Undoubtedly, American music had a huge effect on The Beatles, and it's hard to argue against the inclusion of Elvis Presley's Trouble, The Crew Cuts Sh-Boom and the original recordings of songs they covered, like Baby It's You (The Shirelles) and Please Mr. Postman (The Marvelettes). But the Beatles' quintessentially British spin on rock was informed by their love of everything from music hall to skiffle, hence the inclusion of songs like George Formby's Chinese Laundry Blues and Peter Sellers' Puttin' On The Smile. With most, if not all, of the tracks here falling out of copyright, it's as complete and insightful a collection of Beatles influences as ever assembled.
10.08.12 Music Week 41
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48