1970s


sound, they are something like The Flamin’ Groovies meets Yes, say, or The James Gang meets Dark Side Of The Moon-era Pink Floyd. Sufficiently Breathless is less rocking than


its eponymous predecessor, in part because the lineup had changed, Caldwell leaving and being replaced by Marty Rodriguez, with a piano player and percussionist being added. So where Captain Beyond has you thinking of what Grand Funk Railroad might have sounded like if they’d gone prog, the follow-up conjures the image of Blue Cheer taking a stab at ‘Don’t Fear The Reaper’. Brian Greene


JAN DUKES DE GREY Sorcerers/Mice And Rats In The Loft Cherry Tree 2-CD www.cherryred.co.uk


This double CD represents the complete recorded output of late '60s/early '70s UK acid folksters Jan Dukes De Grey and this really is a tale of


two albums. Recorded as a duo and originally released on Decca imprint Nova in 1970, Sorcerers is an


TONIGHT WILL BE FINE


How LEONARD COHEN calmed the Hendrix-battered, rain-soaked masses. By GARY VON TERSCH.


LEONARD COHEN Live At The Isle Of Wight 1970 Columbia/CMV/Legacy CD/DVD www.legacyrecordings.com


Bob Dylan put the initial Isle Of Wight music festival on the map when he played there in 1968 –his first public


appearance since his fabled


motorcycle accident in ’66. Two summers later it was left up to novelist,


poet and lately singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen, awakened at 2AM from a nap in his trailer, to calm a rain-soaked, near riotous audience of 600,000 which had just been so stoked by one of Jimi Hendrix’s most incendiary sets that they set the stage on fire. This two disc CD and DVD package couples


Teo Macero’s superb audio recording of the event (Cohen is accompanied by his Army, a small band of Nashville-based musicians including Bob Johnston, Charlie Daniels and Ron Cornelius) with Academy Award-winning filmmaker Murray Lerner’s documentary styled video remembrance of Cohen’s electrifying performance that also includes recent interview segments with fellow festival artists Joan Baez (who had performed before Hendrix), Judy Collins (who introduces ‘Suzanne’ on the DVD), Bob Johnston and Kris Kristofferson. The majority of songs derive from Cohen’s first


two albums (Songs Of Leonard Cohen from ’67 and ’69’s Songs From A Room) save three that


66


were destined for his upcoming third release, ’71’s Songs Of Love And Hate. All are Cohen originals, except for the highly-charged ‘The Partisan’, originally a French World War II resistance tune, which he dedicates “to Joan Baez and the work she is doing”.


Particular pleasers include a


solemn, slowed down rendition of his existential anthem ‘Bird On A Wire’ (that he opened with, immediately transfixing and calming the restive throng), an extended, cathartic version of his rowdy ‘Tonight Will Be Fine’, a blues-haunted, droning ‘So Long Marianne’, the tranquil, lullaby- like ‘Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye’ and the emotionally overwhelming, confessional tone- poem ‘You Know Who I Am’. The trio of newer titles encompasses spellbinding run- throughs of both the erotically elliptical ‘Diamonds In The Mine’ and the spiritualistic ‘Sing Another Song, Boys’ along with what would become one of his most covered compositions –the bleak letter-song ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’. Throughout, Lerner’s cameras brilliantly capture Cohen’s arresting presence, enchanter’s allurement and an eerie intimacy that seems out of place given the circumstances. Also available in double LP and


Blue-ray configurations. Gary von Tersch


“Wake up. It’s time to rock!” Len takes to the stage at 2 am.


easy on the ear collection of mellow acoustic ramblings apparently recorded inside a meditation tent to ensure the vibes were just right. However, there's never any hint of the seismic eruptions that were to follow one year later with the arrival of the extraordinary Mice And Rats In The Cellar. Having switched labels to Transatlantic and


expanded to a trio, a gaping stylistic and conceptual void separates the three lengthy tracks that make up the near unclassifiable Mice And Rats... from its gently hued predecessor. Completing the story are two tracks from


post Jan Dukes De Grey outfit Noy's Band originally released as their one and only 45 on Dawn in ’74. Grahame Bent


LOUIE & THE LOVERS The Complete Recordings Bear Family CD www.bear-family.de


The Complete Recordings comprises the Salinas quartet's debut album Rise originally released on Epic in 1970, non- album singles,


outtakes and their never previously released second album. Produced by Doug Sahm and recorded in


one mammoth 18 hour session, Rise is, by and large, a straight ahead collection of rootsy chicano rock ‘n’ roll originals save for covers of ‘Rock Me Baby’ and Kaleidoscope's ‘If The Night’, whose pared down sound brings with it audible echoes of Creedence Clearwater Revival.


Despite the album's complete commercial


failure a second album was recorded at the behest of Atlantic which, following Jerry Wexler's departure for Warner Brothers was put on ice and is only now finally seeing the light of day. These Tom Dowd engineered Atlantic


sessions are notable for their fuller sound and feature guest appearances from, among others, Doug Sahm, Flaco Jimenez, Dr John and the Memphis Horns. Grahame Bent


ONE ST STEPHEN One St Stephen AnazitisI LP YEZDA URFA Boris AnazitisI LP + 7” www.anazitisirecords.com For a few years now the Greek label Anazititsi


has been quietly issuing some of the most genuine mega rarities of the ’60s and ’70s. One St Stephen, from 1975, has suffered multiple bootlegs but this is


the first official release for the album incorrectly rumoured to be the second by Steve Cataldo (St Steven/Nervous Eaters). One of the best American private pressings,


well recorded, filled with ripping acid guitar, Doors-like vocals, and dark, brooding, druggy songs, it’s a minor classic. The deluxe booklet reveals an equally entertaining history of creator, Don Patterson.


Another 1975 US


mega rarity Yezda Urfda - not previously reissued - is also a rare example of ’70s US prog, much demanded by


collectors. Brilliantly played with complex instrumentation and silly song titles, it’s full on prog mayhem. Again, a deluxe booklet, insert and bonus


single add to the overall wonder. Richard Allen


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