craft fair of the southern highlands - Rapid River Magazine

R A P I D R I V E R A R T S & C U L T U R E
spinning
discs
CD Reviews
by James Cassara
This month and next I’ll be switching gears a bit and trying something new.
This issue is concentrating on boxed sets and deluxe packages that have
come out in the past year or so, while our August issue is going to be
themed “keep it local.”
There are so many great bands from this area that deserve mention, and I
want to give them plenty of space. Local musicians: While I already have
a back log of discs to cover, feel free to email me at jjcassara@aol.com so
I can give you some press in the near future. Now, as always, be sure to
support the many excellent independent record stores our area has. They’re
the ones who keep the music alive!
The Hollies
The Clarke,
Hicks, and
Nash Years
EMI Catalog
While
there have been
many Hollies
compilations
over the years – in fact the various reissues
and “best of” collections far outnumber
the original albums – this is the
first such collection fixed on the first days
of the band up to when Graham Nash
moved stateside and became a superstar.
Subtitled The Complete Hollies
April 1963 – October 1968, this six disc
set essentially brings together the first
dozen albums, including a handful of
Japanese bonus tracks and singles, and
distills them down to a “mere” six discs.
Fortunately, given the average 32-minute
running length of their early albums,
virtually nothing is lost and more than a
few rare and delightful gems are included.
One of the very best, and most commercially
successful pop/rock acts of the
British Invasion, the Hollies’ first sides
relied heavily upon the R&B/early rock
& roll covers that provided the staple diet
for most British bands of the time. But
they quickly developed a more distinctive
style featuring Every Brothers-styled
three-part harmonies, ringing guitars, and
hook-happy material, penned by both
outside writers (especially Graham Gouldman
and Rod Argent) and themselves.
The best early Hollies records evoke
an infectious, melodic cheer similar to
that of the early Beatles, although they
never reached the Fab Four’s capacity
for artistic growth. They eventually
began composing most of their own
tunes, which adversely affected their
sales but greatly expanded their sound.
Wisely sequenced in chronological fashion,
allowing the listener to hear first hand
the band’s progression, the first and second
discs are largely devoted to the early rhythm
and blues years, materially often done with
more skill and authenticity by other bands
but elevated here by the radiant harmonies.
Disc three opens with a trio of previously
unheard demos, including the simply
wonderful “You’ll be Mine”, and begins
charting the emergence of the trio as accomplished
songwriters. As a vocalist Nash
wouldn’t fully bloom until a year or so later
but when he gained his full confidence,
10 July 2011 — Rapid River ArtS & CULTURE Magazine — Vol. 14, No. 11
best witnessed here by 1966’s “Pay You
Back With Interest” he was on his way.
Listening to these sides one gets a sense
of how intense the competition between
bands must have been. At the time the
Hollies released Stop! Stop! Stop!, generally
considered their most consistent full length
album, such sixties milestones as Revolver,
Aftermath, and Face to Face had just come
out. It’s as if the boys suddenly felt compelled
to prove themselves as worthy rivals.
If nothing else this collection dispels
the myth that the Hollies were little
more than a singles band. The abundance
of hits serves as a primer for the uninitiated
(although it’s hard to imagine anyone
not familiar with “Carrie Anne” or “On A
Carousel”) while the demos and “b” sides
should satisfy the fanatics among us.
The packaging might have been a bit
more deluxe but overall I cannot think of a
better way to summarize the greatest years
from one of the period’s greatest bands. ****
Robert Wyatt
Going Back a Bit
Universal Music
Both as cofounder
of The
Soft Boys and
later as a prime
mover in the British radical singer/songwriter
school, Robert Wyatt is one of the
most enduring and fascinating figures of
his time. A superb drummer and vocalist,
he is unfortunately better known for
the influences he cast upon others (most
notably Billy Bragg) than for his own
consistently out of the ordinary solo work.
This wonderfully compiled double disc
set, originally available only as an expensive
import but finally released in the United
States, is but a 28 song snapshot of his
lengthy and prodigious career, sensitively
detailing the dramatic shift in his music
following the 1974 accident which left him a
paraplegic. It includes a brief overview of his
work with Soft Machine, as well as his short
lived and rather tedious tenure with his band
of radical politicos Matching Mole, but graciously
concentrates on the primo solo years.
It also includes some outtakes and
unreleased material, and while Wyatt never
had anything resembling a hit song, there
are a few tunes found here that did make
their way to the very hippest of college radio
stations. It’s a basic overview of Wyatt’s career
that’s doesn’t skimp on the strong stuff
and provides a sense of chronology. And
in that regard, you can’t do much better.
Going back a Bit is by no means the
definitive Robert Wyatt compilation. But
until he’s afforded the massive boxed set
and comprehensive overview he so richly
deserves it will most certainly suffice. ***1/2
Kevin Ayers
Songs for
Insane Times
EMI/Harvest
Much like the
Wyatt compilation,
this fantastic
summary of one of British rock’s most
idiosyncratic figures was long unavailable in
the United States. Initially released in 2008
it has only recently become available in the
US, and we should all celebrate its arrival.
Unlike Wyatt, Ayers has already
benefitted from a substantial re-examination
of his music, as EMI/Harvest has
wisely reissued his catalog over the past
few years. A four CD anthology, Songs
for Insane Times dips into much the same
bag of tricks as his earliest albums and that
truly does reflect upon everything that
made those albums such a timeless joy.
Traversing a decade’s worth of releases,
from the delightful debut Joy of a Toy
onward, the three discs that carry Ayers
through to 1980’s That’s What You Get
Babe are a near perfect gathering. Key album
cuts are joined by the string of 45s that he so
inexplicably omitted from the long-players,
and while there’s a dearth of unreleased material
here, that’s only because the previous
reissues pretty much cleaned out the vaults.
Two discs take listeners through
the very best of Ayers, up to and including
1974’s Confessions of Dr. Dream
and Other Stories. The third disc wraps
up the lesser, but still enjoyable, late
1970s output; and while one can bemoan
the absence of anything from the brilliant
June 1, 1974 live album, disc four
makes up for that with a full 1973 concert,
unreleased in any form until now!
Indeed, this is worth buying simply
for the live show, which captures Ayers
and his then current 747 band carving
exquisitely sharp edges through such
delights as “Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes,”
“Shouting in a Bucket Blues,” and “Caribbean
Moon”, before devoting nearly thirty
minutes to maniacal jams via “We Did It
Again” and “Why Are We Sleeping?”
Perfection! Returning to the studio
sides, a few fan favorites have prob-
‘CD’s’ continued on next page