THE ARTWOODS - The Artwoods Singles A's & B's 

(Repertoire Records REP 4887, 2000)

The Artwoods were formed in 1963, and over the next two years became an extremely popular live attraction, rivaling groups such as the Animals, although, despite releasing a clutch of singles and an album, their record sales never reflected this popularity. Singer Arthur Wood, from whom the band took their name, was the elder brother of The Rolling Stones' Ronnie Wood. He had been a vocalist with Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated for a short period during 1962, simultaneously fronting his own group, the Art Wood Combo. When keyboardist Jon Lord and guitarist Derek Griffiths joined from Red Bludd's Bluesicians they re-christened themselves the Artwoods. Keef Hartley, formerly with Rory Storm & The Hurricanes, joined on drums in '64 and the band turned professional, secured a residency at London's 100 Club and gained a recording contract with Decca Records.

The intended debut single, a cover of Muddy Waters' "Hoochie Coochie Man" was shelved in favour of a version of an old Leadbelly song, Sweet Mary". Although it didn't reach the Charts it got sufficient airplay to bring them a lot of live work, including an appearance on the first live edition of 'Ready, Steady, Go!' The second record, "Oh My Love", was another blues cover. Like it's predecessor, and subsequent releases, it failed to chart. The Artwoods were dropped by Decca at the end of 1966 and signed a one record deal with Parlophone, but "What Shall I Do" also flopped. Later in 1967 a final "one-off" single appeared on Fontana under the name "St. Valentine's Day Massacre" but by the time of it's release the Artwoods had effectively ceased to exist.

The Artwoods' early records today stand up well against the work of more successful groups such as the Stones, the Yardbirds or ironically, the Birds, who included Art's younger brother Ron. But at the time they came out, despite appearances on programs like Ready, Steady, Go! their singles never seemed to connect with the record-buying public. In live performance, on the other hand, it was a different matter. They had a virtuoso lineup, Lord'spiano and organ sound was a great complement to Wood's singing, Griffith's guitar work was tastefully flashy, and Keef Hartley was animated as well as powerful, with a big sound on the drums. Club audiences always knew they were good for a great show and the band loved playing live. Ultimately, in fact, the group's success in touring and their love of playing live may have hurt them. 

The 18 songs on this release, comprising the group's entire single and EP output, are some of the best British-spawned R&B of their time, and can stand alongside the best work of the Animals, Manfred Mann, or the Yardbirds in that vein. The Artwoods were a virtuoso outfit from the get-go, with a natural feel for the music as singers and players, whether they were working in the vein of Sam and Dave or Booker T. and the MG's, or just having fun in the studio as they do on several of the B-sides represented here. They were good at improvising in the studio and had a slightly more jazzy feel to their playing than a lot of their rivals -- their records are amazingly busy, between Jon Lord's piano and organ flourishes, Keef Hartley's very flashy drumming, and Malcolm Pool's extremely active bass work; what's more, on their B-sides, it's possible to hear the very beginnings of what became progressive rock in the hands of outfits like the Nice, at a point when the virtuosity was still focused on R&B and soul. Even their cover of "Brother Can You Spare a Dime" works within the context of British R&B. 

The Artwoods treaded a fine line between Manfred Mann and Georgie Fame & the Blue Flames, but they really sounded like no one else. There's not a bad cut here, even the trio of pop-rock covers ("A Taste of Honey," "Our Man Flint," etc.) that they hesitated to release at the time for fear of looking like they were selling out. The mastering is excellent, and if this were an LP, it's the sort of release purchasers would need more than one of because they'd wear out their first copies. 

OUT OF FOCUS - Out Of Focus (Kuckuck Records 2375 010, 1971)

On their eponymous second album, Out of Focus further develop their progressive jazz-rock sound, at the same time pushing in other directions as well. The rhythm section is still as upbeat and funky as ever, with those repetitive but odd rhythm patterns. There is now more sax in the mix, as well as the flute riffing, guitar wails, and chunky organ chords, with each instrument allowed ample soloing and no instrument over-dominant. If anything, this one dispenses with some of the heavy rock sound to get closer to the jazz influences. They slow down the pace on the strange folk song "It's Your Life" as well as the even stranger "Blue Sunday Morning" with its airy flute, church organ, and bizarre song narration. Lyrics are even sharper, whether ripping into the banality of television or the hypocrisy of religion, with the dark-edged humor more firmly in place. On the suite "Fly Bird Fly"/"Television Program," the group veers from soft to full in-your-face intensity while staying on a bouncy riff. On long tracks like this one and "Whispering," they throw a lot of variation over repetitive grooves to create mesmerizing jams that are both incredibly loose and far more focused than the average jam band. 

As Mario Rossi’s excellent liner notes make clear, by the summer of 1971 and the release of their sophomore album, the self-titled Out Of Focus, the band have quite dramatically eschewed the loose, amateurish rawness that characterised Wake Up! in favour of a more structured, professional approach. In it’s place, Out Of Focus have adopted a more jazz-rock oriented style in the songwriting. Neumüller has jettisoned the lead role for the flute on this album and he now shares his woodwind duties between flute and saxophone. I’ll come straight out and say it, however. I find the sax work on this album incredibly unsophisticated and grating. Neumüller demonstrates little mastery of the instrument but uses it extensively as a tonal layer in the arrangements, often in tandem with Hennes Hering’s organ lines and sometimes in unison with Drechsler’s guitar lines. Musically, I find it repetitive and unimaginative. Of course, I say this with the benefit of hindsight and the use across the decades of a sax by many rock and prog acts in thrilling ways. Let’s just say Theo Travis he is not. I suppose it stands as a legitimate experiment with a brassy, hard-bop sound that would come to ultimate fruition a year later on Four Letter Monday Afternoon. Nevertheless, what I’m hearing here is, to me, an annoying intrusion in some interesting compositions.

To speak in broad strokes, Out Of Focus have slowed down a lot. The tracks on this album possess a much more open sound, allowing their musical ideas more space in which to breathe. There’s a subtlety to the playing beyond the soft/loud dynamics of their debut. Many of the melodic sensibilities of Wake Up! have been retained but developed to offer a broader harmonic palette. Fly Bird Fly is a wonderfully tuneful example of the way in which they have reconsidered their songwriting. Everything is so much more controlled and restrained. This is particularly notable in Klaus Spöri’s much more delicate drumming and even more so in Neumüller’s vocal delivery. On this album he comes over as a heavy-lidded performance poet channelling Mick Jagger to vent his anti-establishment spleen; but he is distant, detached, almost astral in his sonic position and it’s a whole lot more palatable. What he is saying does now sound a tad juvenile, but back then, this was real and avowedly counter-cultural.

"What Can A Poor Boy Do (But To Be A Street Fighting Man)" offers a hint in its title. That we ought to expect something reactionary but it doesn’t actually manifest itself in this track. With its high-tempo, infectious and repetitive rhythm, this could just have easily have been on a Blue Note Recordings release a decade earlier. Or perhaps Out Of Focus were inspired by the De Patie/Freleng cartoons of The Pink Panther with Henry Mancini’s iconic theme tune because there are clear echoes of that too. I imagine that this must have been an audience favourite at the time, just because it’s fun. "It’s Your Life" also has its tongue in its cheek as it gently see-saws its way along like a children’s nursery rhyme, but with a lyric like “No more whipping your bottom/When you’re gasping, longing for it”, I don’t suppose it was in any way intended as children’s entertainment.

Things start to get serious with "Whispering", which is primitive and barely listenable unless you’re under the influence of psychoactive drugs. Essentially the same four notes again and again for its 14 minute duration; it’s as underground and dingy and seedy as I imagine 1971 Munich ever got. It still has its counterpart today in the kind of minimalist, downtempo techno you’ll hear in the chill-out rooms of dance clubs all over Europe. For me to get the desired effect required four HobNob biscuits eaten quickly and dry one after the other, no liquid to cleanse the palate, then lie back and let the sugar do its work. What a trip, man. Genuinely. This is what was great about the underground psychedelia of its day; played by heads for heads. It is shamanic and intoxicating if you can find the time and the mood to go with it. "Blue Sunday Morning" continues the lysergic theme with Jesus being bored in heaven and desperate to come down to Earth and partake of some weed, but by the time Television Program loops its repetitive, though likeable, motif round and round my head, I feel a little browbeaten. The biscuits have obviously worn off, and without those sugar-laden receptors in my brain firing off, it’s really quite difficult to keep focussed on the music.

Like "Wake Up!", this is undoubtedly a product of its times but it’s also something that can transcend those temporal boundaries and have some relevance for our modern anodised and commoditised ears. This album reminds us how great analogue can sound and once again, Ben Wiseman’s remaster superbly and faithfully recaptures the thrumming warmth of valves and the simple chemistry between five musicians. The fin de siècle doom-mongery of the debut has been replaced with a certain joie de vivre. Or maybe they were just on better drugs? They certainly seem to be having fun and enjoying what they are doing a bit more. As psychedelic albums go, this is one of the better ones I’ve heard. It also compares with some of The Doors early recordings. Just as Jim Morrison is ‘retiring’ to Paris after the recording of L.A. Woman, and four years after The Doors were asked to change the word ‘higher’ to the word ‘better’ in their rendition of Light My Fire on The Ed Sullivan Show, Out Of Focus are stoned out of their brains and carrying Morrison’s ‘scrambled-egg mind’ torch to a logical apotheosis. The Germans are more hardcore than I think the Doors could ever have dreamt of, even with Morrison in their midst, but they are also quite an influence on the Germans.

GALLAGHER AND LYLE - Love On The Airwaves 

(A&M Records AMLH 64620, 1977)

Gallagher and Lyle are a Scottish musical duo, comprising singer-songwriters Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle. Their style consists mainly in pop, soft and folk rock oriented songs. Their first recognition came in 1968, when they were signed by The Beatles to write for Apple Records' artists. They were founding members of the band McGuinness Flint and wrote the 1970 UK chart hit "When I'm Dead and Gone". In 1972 they formed the duo Gallagher and Lyle, whose fifth album Breakaway charted well and included the hit songs "Heart on My Sleeve" and "I Wanna Stay with You". Don Williams took their song "Stay Young" to No. 1 on the US Country charts. The duo split in 1980, but re-formed in 2010. Gallagher and Lyle have worked, jointly and individually, on records with, among others, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, Ronnie Lane, Ronnie Wood, Joan Armatrading, Ralph McTell, Sandy Denny, Fairport Convention and Jim Diamond. Artists who have released Gallagher and Lyle songs include Bryan Ferry, Elkie Brooks, Fairport Convention, Art Garfunkel and Joe Brown.

They joined forces in 1959, initially as members of a local Largs-based band, The Bluefrets. They began writing original material for the band, while Gallagher also co-wrote "Mr Heartbreak's Here Instead" for Dean Ford and the Gaylords (later to become Marmalade). When they were signed by Apple Records, they wrote for musicians such as Mary Hopkin ("Sparrow", "The Fields of St. Etienne", "International", "Heritage" and "Jefferson"). There was a rare one-off single issued on UK Polydor 56093 in 1967; "Trees" b/w "In The Crowd" issued under the name 'Gallagher-Lyle', which preceded their success as songwriters at Apple. They also backed singer James Galt, a friend of theirs from Largs, on two singles for Pye Records that are now highly prized by northern soul collectors: "Comes The Dawn"/"My Own Way" and "With My Baby"/"A Most Unusual Feeling", both of which were composed by permutations of Gallagher, Lyle and Galt. These tracks have appeared on various CD compilations of 1960s rarities. In 1970 Gallagher and Lyle were original members of McGuinness Flint, writing nine of the 11 songs on the group's debut album, including the UK Singles Chart success "When I'm Dead and Gone" as well as the follow-up non-album single "Malt and Barley Blues", both of which were produced by Glyn Johns.

They recorded a second album, "Happy Birthday Ruthy Baby", with McGuinness Flint, again writing most of the songs, before leaving to form the duo Gallagher and Lyle in 1972, signing to A&M Records after their initial solo album was first released on UK and US Capitol Records. They recorded four albums: "Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle", "Willie and the Lapdog", "Seeds" and "The Last Cowboy, again" under the auspices of Glyn Johns. But it was not until they teamed up with US producer David Kershenbaum for their fifth album "Breakaway", in 1976, that they charted again, with the hits "Heart on My Sleeve" and "I Wanna Stay with You", both of which reached Number 6 in the UK Singles Chart and also charted in the US. Their mellow sound was only briefly in vogue, and elusive further success (another minor hit in the UK was "Every Little Teardrop") prompted their split in 1980, by which time three more albums had been issued: "Love On The Airwaves" (which went silver in the UK), "Showdown" and "Lonesome No More". The latter was issued on Mercury Records; a further album recorded for that label, "Living On The Breadline", has never been released. The duo's original version of "A Heart In New York", which was to have been included on that set, appeared on 1991's compilation album "Heart On My Sleeve - The Very Best of Gallagher and Lyle". The UK Capitol and the UK A&M issue of their first album included their musical version of the poem "Desiderata". The US Capitol album is missing that track.

Graham Lyle formed his own publishing company Goodsingle Publishing (later to become goodsingle.com) in 1980, chiefly to administer his own copyrights, and began writing for other artists. His earliest post-Gallagher & Lyle compositions included the singles "Our Love" for Elkie Brooks and "Listen to the Night" for Climax Blues Band. Since then Lyle's songs have been recorded by some of the biggest names in music including Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Etta James, Patti LaBelle, Anita Baker, Joe Cocker, Wyclef Jean, Fat Joe, Rod Stewart, Tom Jones, The Neville Brothers, Hall & Oates, Kenny Rogers, Crystal Gayle, Jim Diamond, The Judds, Wet Wet Wet, Paul Young, Bucks Fizz, Eros Ramazzotti and Warren G, but it is for his work with Tina Turner that he has become best known. Lyle formed a new songwriting partnership with Terry Britten, and their hits included the Grammy-winning Song of the Year and Record of the Year "What's Love Got to Do with It ?" and the multi-Ivor Novello-winning "We Don't Need Another Hero" for Tina Turner; and "Just Good Friends" for Michael Jackson. He also recorded an album with Tom McGuinness, credited to the Lyle McGuinness Band: "Acting on Impulse" (1983), as well as a solo portfolio album, "Something Beautiful Remains" (2003). A solo single, "Marley", was issued on Red Bus Records in the UK in 1983, while "Taking Off" - a TV advertising jingle, co-written with prolific session keyboardist Billy Livsey and credited to the Lyle-Livsey Ban - was released on the Dolphin label in 1984 but only in Ireland, where it became a Top 20 hit.

Benny Gallagher is a featured artist and co-owner of OnSong (an internet-based record label) with Derek Wilson. Gallagher has released two albums as a solo artist – Benny Gallagher on Stage, and more recently At the Edge of the Wave. The latter set features his tribute to Robert Louis Stevenson, "Tusitala"; this song has also been included on the Greentrax CD "The Great Tapestry of Scotland", which was released in late 2012 to accompany the launch of what will be the largest tapestry in the world. Gallagher and Lyle sang and performed as members of Ronnie Lane and The Slim Chance Band on the hit single "How Come" and the ensuing album "Anymore for Anymore", and they have worked, jointly and individually, on records with Mary Hopkin, Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, Ronnie Lane, Ronnie Wood, Elkie Brooks, Joe Egan, Andy Fairweather Low, Gary Brooker, Dennis Coulson, Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, Champion Jack Dupree, Joan Armatrading, Ralph McTell, Sandy Denny, Fairport Convention and Jim Diamond.

Other artists who have recorded Gallagher and Lyle songs include: Bryan Ferry, Colin Blunstone, Donavon Frankenreiter, Elkie Brooks, Fairport Convention, Fury in the Slaughterhouse, Joe Brown, Judith Durham, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Phil Everly, Ricky Nelson, Ringo Starr, Rita Coolidge, Status Quo, The Fureys, Lemon Jelly, and Jim Capaldi. The seeds for a reunion were sown in 2007 when both Gallagher and Lyle, as session musicians, appeared on an album by Canadian singer-songwriter Chris Tassone; this was recorded at London's Abbey Road Studios. In April 2009, the two Scots attended the opening of the Largs Heritage Centre. The following year, the duo re-formed. In October 2010 the pair staged two charity concerts in Largs in aid of Haylie House, a residential care home in the town. This was followed in June 2011 by 'The Big Gig', an all-star charity concert at Glasgow's Barrowland nightclub, in which they performed alongside Midge Ure, Jim Diamond and Marti Pellow. In September of that year, the duo appeared at the outdoor MOARE Festival in Faversham, Kent, which was headlined by former Average White Band stalwart Hamish Stuart.

2012 saw Gallagher and Lyle undertake their first tour since 1979, consisting of 9 dates at 8 Scottish venues. Their two dates at The Green Hotel in Kinross, a large golf resort, earned them the Mundell Music Award for Best UK Performance of the year, to add to their Tartan Clef Award for Lifetime Achievement, which they had received in November 2010. The soundtrack to the 2012 documentary film "We Went To War", directed by Michael Grigsby and relating the stories of three Vietnam War veterans, features the song "I Was A Soldier", which was written and performed by Gallagher and Lyle. In March 2016, Gallagher and Lyle performed together at the Belfast Nashville Songwriters' Festival. In November 2016, the duo returned to The Green Hotel in Kinross for four concerts. The summer of 2017 saw the duo perform as part of the 'Byre at The Botanics' season in St Andrews, and also at the Belladrum Festival in Inverness and the Albany Theatre in Greenock. In March 2018, the duo returned to Belfast to perform once more at the Belfast Nashville Songwriters' Festival.

"Caledonia USA", a musical based on the songs of Gallagher and Lyle, was staged in Largs in April 2016. Originally titled "When I'm Dead and Gone", it was subsequently retitled after a new song written specially for the show by Gallagher and Lyle. "When I'm Dead and Gone" was featured on the soundtrack of the 1999 British comedy-drama film East is East. British chick-lit author Lisa Jewell's 2010 novel After The Party makes reference to "I Wanna Stay With You". The late British comedian and broadcaster Kenny Everett staged an outrageously literal visual interpretation of "Heart on My Sleeve" on his BBC TV show in the early 1980s. The Variety Club of Great Britain has used "Heart on My Sleeve" to promote its Gold Heart Appeal.

JOHN ENTWISTLE'S RIGOR MORTIS - Rigor Mortis Sets In

(Track/MCA Records MCA-321, 1973)

John Entwistle´s musical career began aged 7, when he started taking piano lessons. He did not enjoy the experience and after joining Acton County Grammar School aged 11, switched to the trumpet, moving to the French horn when he joined the Middlesex School's Symphony Orchestra. He met Pete Townshend in the second year of school, and the two formed a trad jazz band, the Confederates. The group only played one gig together, before they decided that rock 'n' roll was a more attractive prospect. Entwistle, in particular, was having difficulty hearing his trumpet with rock bands, and decided to switch to playing guitar, but due to his large fingers, and also his fondness for the low guitar tones of Duane Eddy, he decided to take up the bass guitar instead. He made his own instrument at home, and soon attracted the attention of Roger Daltrey, who had been the year above Entwistle at Acton County, but had since left to work in sheet metal. Daltrey was aware of Entwistle from school, and asked him to join as a bass guitarist for his band, The Detours. After joining The Detours, Entwistle played a major role in encouraging Pete Townshend's budding talent on the guitar, and insisting that Townshend be admitted into the band as well. Eventually, Roger Daltrey fired all the members of his band with the exception of Entwistle, Townshend and the drummer, Doug Sandom, a semi-pro player who was several years older than the others. Roger Daltrey relinquished the role of guitarist to Pete Townshend in 1963, instead becoming frontman and lead singer. The band considered several changes of name, finally settling on the name The Who while Entwistle was still working as a tax clerk (temporarily performing as the High Numbers for four months in 1964). When the band decided that the blond Roger Daltrey needed to stand out more from the others, Entwistle dyed his naturally light brown hair black, and it remained so until the early 1980s.

Around 1963, Entwistle played in a London band called the Initials for a short while; the band broke up when a planned resident engagement in Spain fell through. In 1967, Entwistle married his childhood sweetheart Alison Wise and bought a large semi-detached home in Stanmore Middlesex filling it with all sorts of extraordinary artefacts, ranging from suits of armour to a tarantula spider. His eccentricity and taste for the bizarre was to remain with him throughout his life, and when he finally moved out of the city in 1978, to Stow-on-the-Wold in Gloucestershire, his 17-bedroom mansion, Quarwood, resembled a museum. It also housed one of the largest guitar collections belonging to any rock musician. Entwistle picked up two nicknames during his career as a musician. He was nicknamed "The Ox" because of his strong constitution and seeming ability to "Eat, drink or do more than the rest of them." He was also later nicknamed "Thunderfingers". Bill Wyman, bass guitarist for the Rolling Stones, described him as "the quietest man in private but the loudest man on stage". Entwistle was one of the first to make use of Marshall stacks in an attempt to hear himself over the noise of his band members, who famously leapt and moved about on the stage, with Pete Townshend and Keith Moon smashing their instruments on numerous occasions (Moon even used explosives in his drum kit during one memorable television performance on the "Smother Brothers Comedy Hour"). Townshend later remarked that Entwistle started using Marshall amplification to hear himself over drummer Keith Moon's rapid-fire drumming style, and Townshend himself also had to use them just to be heard over Entwistle.

They both continued expanding and experimenting with their rigs, until they were both using twin stacks with new experimental prototype 200 watt amps, at a time when most bands used 50–100 watt amplifiers with single cabinets. All of this quickly gained the Who a reputation for being "the loudest band on the planet", a point well proven when they famously reached 126 decibels at a 1976 concert in London, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the loudest rock concert in history. The band had a strong influence at the time on their contemporaries' choice of equipment, with Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience both following suit. Although they pioneered and directly contributed to the development of the "classic" Marshall sound (at this point their equipment was being built/tweaked to their personal specifications), they only used Marshall equipment for a couple of years. Entwistle eventually switched to using a Sound City rig, with Pete Townshend following suit later as well. Townshend points out that Jimi Hendrix, their new label mate, was influenced beyond just the band's volume. Both Entwistle and Townshend had begun experimenting with feedback from the amplifiers in the mid-1960s, and Hendrix did not begin destroying his instruments until after he had witnessed the Who's "auto-destructive art".

Entwistle's wry and sometimes dark sense of humour clashed at times with Pete Townshend's more introspective, intellectual work. Although he wrote songs on every Who album except for Quadrophenia, he was frustrated at Townshend not allowing him to sing them himself. As he said, "I got a couple of songs on per album but my problem was that I wanted to sing the songs and not let Roger sing them." This was a large part of the reason that he became the first member of the band to release a solo album, "Smash Your Head Against the Wall" (1971) which featured contributions from Keith Moon, Jerry Shirley, Vivian Stanshall, Neil Innes and the Who's roadie, Dave "Cyrano" Langston. He was the only member of the band to have had formal musical training. In addition to the bass guitar, he contributed backing vocals and performed on the French horn (heard on "Pictures of Lily"), trumpet, bugle, and Jew's harp, and on some occasions he sang the lead vocals on his compositions. He layered several horns to create the brass section as heard on songs such as "5:15", among others, while recording the Who's studio albums, and for concerts, arranged a horn section to perform with the band. While Entwistle was known for being the quietest member of the Who, he in fact often exerted major influences on the rest of the band. For instance, Entwistle was the first member of the band to wear a Union Jack waistcoat. This piece of clothing later became one of Pete Townshend's signature garments.

In 1974, he compiled "Odds & Sods", a collection of unreleased Who material. Entwistle designed the cover art for the band's 1975 album The Who by Numbers and in a 1996 interview remarked that it had cost £30 to create, while the "Quadrophenia" cover, designed by Pete Townshend, had cost £16,000. Entwistle also experimented throughout his career with "Bi-amping," where the high and low ends of the bass sound are sent through separate signal paths, allowing for more control over the output. At one point his rig became so loaded down with speaker cabinets and processing gear that it was dubbed "Little Manhattan," in reference to the towering, skyscraper-like stacks, racks and blinking lights. While Townshend emerged as the Who's songwriter-in-chief, Entwistle began making distinctive contributions to the band's catalogue, beginning with "Whiskey Man" and "Boris the Spider" on the "A Quick One" album in 1966, continuing with "Doctor, Doctor" and "Someone's Coming" (1967); "Silas Stingy", "Heinz Baked Beans" and "Medac" from "The Who Sell Out" (1967); "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" (1968); and "Heaven And Hell", with which the Who opened their live shows between 1968 and 1970. Entwistle wrote "Cousin Kevin" and "Fiddle About" for the Who's 1969 album Tommy because Pete Townshend had specifically requested Entwistle to write 'nasty songs' that he felt uncomfortable with. "My Wife", Entwistle's driving, comedic song about marital strife from 1971's "Who's Next", also became a popular stage number. He wrote "Success Story" for "The Who by Numbers" (1975), for which he also drew the illustration on the album cover; "Had Enough", "905", and "Trick of the Light" for "Who Are You" (1978); "The Quiet One" and "You" for "Face Dances" (1981); and "It's Your Turn", "Dangerous" and "One at a Time" for "It's Hard" (1982), his final album with the Who.

In 1971, Entwistle became the first member to release a solo album, "Smash Your Head Against the Wall", which earned him a cult following in the US for fans of his brand of black humour. Other solo studio albums included: "Whistle Rymes" (1972) and "Rigor Mortis Sets In" (1973). "Rigor Mortis Sets In" was his third solo album. Distributed by Track Records, the album was named John Entwistle's Rigor Mortis Sets In in the U.S. Co-produced by Entwistle and John Alcock, it consists of three Fifties rock and roll covers, a new version of the Entwistle song "My Wife" from The Who's album "Who's Next", and new tracks (only six of the ten songs were new). Rigor Mortis Sets In set in motion John Entwistle assembling his own touring unit during the increasing periods of The Who's inactivity. Bearing the dedication "In Loving Memory of Rock 'n' Roll 1950–∞: Never Really Passed Away Just Ran Out of Time", Entwistle's affection for Fifties rock and roll was evident by covers of "Mr. Bass Man", "Hound Dog", and "Lucille". As George Lucas had released American Graffiti at the same time as Rigor Mortis Sets In was released, creating a huge market for Fifties nostalgia, Entwistle's timing was uncannily prescient. In Entwistle's original material for the album, light whimsy prevailed over the darker (and more creative) vein of "Smash Your Head Against the Wall" and "Whistle Rymes". The album was completed in less than three weeks, ultimately costing $10,000 in studio time and $4,000 on liquor bills.

The cover art of the gatefold LP features on one cover an outdoor photo of a grave, whose heart-shaped headstone is engraved with the dedication described above, while the grave's footstone is inscribed "V.S.O.P." (a grading acronym for cognac). The opposite cover features a wooden coffin bearing a brass plate engraved with the album's name. The UK (Track) LP used the coffin on the cover and the gravestone on the inner gatefold, while the U.S. (MCA) LP had the opposite arrangement. Compact disc releases have been fronted with Track's original coffin cover, with the gravestone cover proportionally preserved inside as part of the liner notes. "Rigor Mortis Sets In" had a rough launch due to its title and cover art. BBC Radio refused to play the album and banned it, ironically in part due to the influence of DJ Jimmy Savile who had just suffered a death in his family. The album's U.S. debut was problematic for MCA Records (Track's new American distributor), who insisted on appending the artist's name to the title, out of concern that the album's sales would be weak without the Entwistle name in the title. The album was rated by AllMusic as a "Nosedive" in his career compared to "Smash Your Head Against the Wall" and "Whistle Rymes". His covers of "Hound Dog" and "Lucille" were known as "lifelessly performed that it sounds like the band is merely attempting to imitate Sha Na Na instead of sending up the original tunes themselves". The song that was known as the biggest offender in this respect was "Mr. Bass Man" which replaces the enthusiasm of Johnny Cymbal's original version with a self-consciously campy production built on cutesy vocals guaranteed to make listeners grind their teeth.

Further solo albums were "Mad Dog" (1975), "Too Late the Hero" (1981), and "The Rock" (1996). The band was preoccupied with recording "The Who by Numbers" during the spring of 1975 and did not do any touring for most of the year, so Entwistle spent the summer performing solo concerts. He also fronted the John Entwistle Band on US club tours during the 1990s, and appeared with Ringo Starr's All Starr Band in 1995. A talented artist, Entwistle held regular exhibitions of his paintings, with many of them featuring the Who. In 1984 he became the first artist besides Arlen Roth to record an instructional video for Roth's company Hot Licks Video. In 1990, Entwistle toured with the Best, a short-lived supergroup which included Keith Emerson, Joe Walsh, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, and Simon Phillips. Towards the end of his career, he formed the John Entwistle Project with longtime friend, drummer Steve Luongo, and guitarist Mark Hitt, both formerly of Rat Race Choir. This evolved into "The John Entwistle Band", with Godfrey Townsend replacing Mark Hitt on guitar and joining harmony vocals. In 1996, the band went on the "Left for Dead" tour with Alan St. Jon joining on keyboards. After Entwistle toured with the Who for Quadrophenia in 1996–97, the John Entwistle Band set off on the "Left for Dead - The Sequel" tour in late 1998, now with Gordon Cotten on keyboards. After this second venture, the band released an album of highlights from the tour, titled "Left for Live" and a studio album "Music from Van-Pires" in 2000. The album featured lost demos of Who drummer Keith Moon together with newly recorded parts by the band. In 1995, Entwistle also toured and recorded with Ringo Starr in one of the incarnations of Starr's All-Starr Band. This one also featured Billy Preston, Randy Bachman, and Mark Farner. In this ensemble, he played and sang "Boris the Spider" as his Who showpiece, along with "My Wife".

Toward the end of his career he used a Status Graphite Buzzard Bass, which he had designed. From 1999 to early 2002, he played as part of The Who. Entwistle also played at Woodstock '99, being the only performer there to have taken the stage at the original Woodstock. As a side project, he played the bass guitar in a country-rock album project of original songs called the Pioneers, with Mickey Wynne on lead guitar, Ron Magness on rhythm guitar and keyboards, Roy Michaels, Andre Beeka on vocals, and John Delgado playing drums. The album was released on Voiceprint. Shortly before his death, Entwistle had agreed to play some US dates with the band including Nashville's Grand Ole Opry, following his final upcoming tour with the Who. In 2001, he played in Alan Parsons' Beatles tribute show "A Walk Down Abbey Road". The show also featured Ann Wilson of Heart, Todd Rundgren, David Pack of Ambrosia, Godfrey Townsend, Steve Luongo, and John Beck. That year he also played with the Who at the Concert for New York City. He also joined forces again with the John Entwistle Band for an 8-gig tour. This time Chris Clark played keyboards. From January-February, 2002, Entwistle played his last concerts with the Who in a handful of dates in England, the last being on 8 February at London's Royal Albert Hall. In late 2002, an expanded 2-CD "Left for Live Deluxe" was released, highlighting the John Entwistle Band's performances. Between 1996 and 2002, Entwistle attended dozens of art openings in his honour. He chatted with each collector, personalising their art with a quote and a sketch of "Boris". In early 2002, Entwistle finished what was his last drawing. "Eyes Wide Shut" represented a new style for Entwistle. Featuring Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, Jimmy Page and Eric Clapton, Entwistle's style had evolved from simple line drawings and caricatures to a more lifelike representation of his subjects. He was more confident and relaxed with his art and ready to share that with his collectors.

Entwistle died in Room 658 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on 27 June 2002, one day before the scheduled first show of the Who's 2002 United States tour. He had gone to bed that night with stripper Alison Rowse, who woke that morning to find Entwistle cold and unresponsive. The Clark County medical examiner determined that his death was due to a heart attack induced by a cocaine overdose. Entwistle was 57. His funeral was held at St Edward's Church in Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, England, on 10 July 2002. He was cremated and his ashes were buried privately. A memorial service was held on 24 October at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London. Entwistle's huge collection of guitars and basses was auctioned at Sotheby's in London by his son, Christopher, to meet anticipated taxes on his father's estate. On Pete Townshend's website, Townshend and Roger Daltrey published a tribute, saying, "The Ox has left the building - we've lost another great friend. Thanks for your support and love. Pete and Roger." Entwistle's mansion in Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswolds and some of his personal effects were later sold off to meet the demands of the Inland Revenue; coincidentally, he had worked for the agency from 1962-1963 as a tax officer before being demoted to filing clerk, prior to joining the Who.

One aspect of Entwistle's life emerged after his death that came as a surprise even to those closest to him, including the members of the Who. "It wasn't until the day of his funeral that I discovered that he'd spent most of his life as a Freemason," said Pete Townshend. Welsh-born bass guitarist Pino Palladino, who had previously played on several of Townshend's solo albums, took over for Entwistle onstage when the Who resumed their postponed U.S. tour on 1 July 2002. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey spoke at length about their reaction to Entwistle's death. Some of their comments can be found on "The Who Live in Boston" DVD. On the opening night of their Vapor Trails tour, which began in Hartford, Connecticut on 28 June 2002 (the night after Entwistle's death), Geddy Lee of Rush dedicated the band's performance of the song "Between Sun and Moon" to Entwistle. Oasis played a version of "My Generation" during their set at T in the Park on Saturday 13 July 2002 as a tribute to Entwistle. In a Red Hot Chili Peppers gig at Slane Castle in 2003, Flea got on stage wearing a similar version of the famous skeleton suit that Entwistle mostly had on during The Who 1970 tour as a tribute to the British bass player.

NECROMANDUS - Necromandus (Mandus Music MANDUS0612LP, 2017)

The tale of Necromandus always deserved a happy ending. For too long their mysterious name was associated with missed chances and broken dreams; a young band with such potential, cruelly kicked into the long grass of musical obscurity. It had started so well, in that magical wellspring of British pop culture, the late 1960s, with the joining together of four young musicians growing up in the shadow of the Sellafield nuclear site on the Cumbrian coast of North West England: singer Bill Branch, guitarist Barry Dunnery, bassist Dennis McCarten and drummer Frank Hall. Each had cut their teeth on the local circuit in teenage hobby bands, with names like Pink Dream, Jug, Route 16 and Heaven. 

After Frank and Dennis teamed up with Barry and Bill, more band names quickly came and went in time-honoured Monty Python ‘Toad The Wet Sprocket’ fashion. They were initially Hot Spring Water, followed by Heavy Hand, Taurus and even Urinal, until a BBC Radio Birmingham show invited suggestions from listeners. Among the responses were Necromancer and Nostradamus; ‘Necromandus’ was Frank’s inadvertently ingenious conflation, and it stuck. By now the fast-rising foursome were being groomed for stardom by Tramp Entertainments, an agency set up by promoter Norman Hood with Tony Iommi. Iommi and Bill Ward had been crossing paths with Frank since their band Mythology came to Cockermouth in 1968, and Frank’s band Heaven had appropriately supported Earth shortly before the name changed to Black Sabbath. But in 1972, Sabbath’s esteemed patronage didn’t just mean the odd support slot. “Tony said ‘You’re a bit out in the sticks, I’ll get you a house in Birmingham, you can rehearse there’,” remembers Frank, still sounding overawed. “Not only that, he says ‘I’m gonna try and get you a record deal. Get some songs together that you really like, we’ll go down to Morgan Studios in Willesden and record everything.’ I thought ‘Oh my God, dream come true’!” 

The self-titled Necromandus debut - and the single Don’t Look Down Frank - were due to emerge on Vertigo Records in the spring of 1973, but release dates were continually pushed back; then suddenly, on the eve of a US tour with Sabbath, Barry Dunnery left the band. Iommi wasn’t convinced that Necromandus could find a suitable replacement, Vertigo dropped the band, and their recordings remained lost and forgotten for nearly 20 years. But what prompted Baz to walk out on his bandmates at such a crucial stage? The classic standby ‘musical differences’ was wheeled out, but the reality is rather darker and sadder. “Barry got really, really nervous and uptight, he just couldn’t do it, it was completely out of the question, and we didn’t push the issue,” reveals Frank. “I think he suffered from undiagnosed depression. He once opened up to me, he said ‘I’ve got a funny feeling in me head, nothing seems a pleasure anymore.’ He said he was going through a ‘vale of tears’. Was he bipolar? I don’t know, but there was a dark side to him, and I learnt to recognise the signs. He was a very spiritual person, and although he looked rock ’n’ roll, he was a proper old-fashioned gentleman. It was a pleasure to know him.” 

Three years after Necromandus ended, Frank Hall found himself again playing with Barry Dunnery and Dennis McCarten when Ozzy Osbourne put together an embryonic incarnation of his Blizzard Of Ozz in the summer of 1976. But just as rehearsals got underway with Ozzy, Frank was approached by Phil Collins about playing drums for Genesis. “If I had the foresight to see what wasn’t going to happen with John Osbourne, God bless him, I’d have jumped ship there and then,” Frank confesses, “rather than hang on and put together this mish-mash of songs that weren’t going to work anyway. We were thinking on different levels, Ozzy couldn’t get his head around it, so we called it a day.” 

Frank spent the 1980s “going from band to band, looking for really good musicians.” After brief stints with Cumbrian heavy metal outfits Hammerhead and Plateau, Frank moved to London, where one day circa 1996 he was staggered to discover the old Necromandus recordings on sale. “I still don’t know how that happened,” reveals Frank. “Somebody found the original tapes, God knows who or where. We thought they were lost, we used to joke about it. I’ll tell you who told me: my mother! She’d found out that the Necromandus album was being sold all over the world. They hadn’t bothered to track us down or ask permission. I was happy and annoyed at the same time.” 

The bootleg versions of the Necromandus debut - by now luridly renamed ‘Orexis Of Death’ - listed incorrect song titles and erroneously tried to sell the band as doom metal pioneers, but they did give this once-forgotten artefact a long-overdue global profile and acclaim, getting the name buzzing on the lips of collectors, connoisseurs and rock archaeologists worldwide. However, by the time of 2010’s official reissue, Baz, Bill and Dennis had all died. These losses have brought priorities into sharp focus for Frank: “The rest of the guys are dead now, and before I shuffle off this mortal coil I wanted to put one more Necromandus album together,” the drummer affirms. His first choice of singer was a crucial link to the past; John Branch was persuaded to front the band as his dad Bill did all those years ago, and when Frank heard John’s first take, those years fell away. “It was just like his dad singing,” recalls Frank. “I started to well up, it was really emotional. One of those moments.” 

Furthering the album’s profound emotional impact, the guitarwork of Barry Dunnery has found its way into the grooves via a recently-rediscovered rehearsal tape dating back to the mid-70s, when Baz was writing songs with John Marcangelo, who now plays keyboards in the new-look Necromandus. With the addition of wunderkind guitarist Dean Newton and seasoned bassist Banjo Cunanan, what Frank calls “the reincarnation of Necromandus” was complete, and as if compensating for the 44-year delay, the new album came together with extraordinary momentum. “It happened really quickly, I was surprised,” Frank admits. “We got the right studio, the right engineer, I wanted people on my side that were devout fans, who were really into what we were doing. After that, the ideas just flowed, and that was it.” 

You can hear those ideas flowing throughout every minute of ‘Necromandus’. And as with the elegant dynamics of the debut, this band’s ethos is still one of sonic experimentation and atmospheric versatility, channelling ancient and modern energies to produce an extraordinary work that honours the past while opening up a bold new future for a band none of us expected to hear from again. “I didn’t want to do a boring, straight-on rocking, punch-in-the-face-then-it’s-forgotten album. I want these songs to remain, to be remembered,” Frank emphasises. “I wanted to put so many colours in there. I’ve got a group of artists around me, a canvas in front of me and a big palette of colours, and I’m not gonna waste them."

RONNIE LANE'S SLIM CHANCE - One For The Road 

(Island Records ILPS 9366, 1976)

As the former bassist for The Small Faces, and later The Faces, Ronnie Lane left both bands when he felt the spirit of the group had died, gaining him the reputation of an uncompromising artist, and allowing him the opportunity to release some fine solo material in the '70s. An underrated singer and songwriter, Lane (along with guitarist Steve Marriott) co-founded the British mod group The Small Faces in the mid-'60s, helping to guide them to the top of British charts with his clever songwriting. After Marriott left, Lane jettisoned the group's mod reputation and, adding former Jeff Beck cohorts Ron Wood and Rod Stewart, Lane re-formed the group as The Faces, a loud, boozy rock band that achieved widespread success in the States (something The Small Faces could never do). Although Lane was the unacknowledged leader among the group members, audiences were drawn to singer Rod Stewart, and when Stewart's burgeoning solo career began affecting the quality of The Faces' albums, Lane jumped ship to form his own band in 1973. Billing themselves as Ronnie Lane's Slim Chance, the bassist organized an ambitious tour dubbed the "Passing Show" that included a traveling circus complete with jugglers, clowns, and animals in 1974. Although the tour was an interesting moment in rock history, it was a financial failure from which Lane would never recover. For income, he continued leasing his mobile recording unit out to bands like Led Zeppelin, who used it to record their double-LP "Physical Graffiti".

After leaving the Faces, Lane formed his own band, Slim Chance, who recorded the singles "How Come" (UK No. 11) and "The Poacher" (UK No. 36) and the album "Anymore for Anymore", showcasing a blend of British rock, folk and country music. The original line-up of this band included Scottish singer-songwriters Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle, who provided harmony vocals and played a variety of instruments including keyboards, accordion, acoustic guitar, mandolin, banjo and harmonica. They left in May 1974 to continue their career as a duo, though they would appear on 1977's Rough Mix as guests. After initial success he toured the UK with "The Passing Show", a circus-type carnival complete with tents and barkers. Viv Stanshall, from the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, served briefly as ringmaster (of sorts). Lane moved to Island Records and issued Ronnie Lane's Slim Chance and "One for the Road". In late 1976 he joined a short-lived reformation of The Small Faces but quit after two rehearsals, to be replaced by Rick Wills (who later played alongside former Small Faces drummer Kenney Jones in the Jones Gang). However, Lane had signed a contract with Atlantic Records as part of The Small Faces, and was informed that he owed the company an album. His ensuing album with Pete Townshend, Rough Mix, produced by Glyn Johns, which was released in 1977, was lauded as contender for best album of the year by many critics, but the label did not promote it and sales were lackluster.

During the recording of "Rough Mix", Lane's multiple sclerosis was diagnosed. Nonetheless he toured, wrote and recorded (with Eric Clapton among others) and in 1979 released another album, "See Me", which features several songs written by Lane and Clapton. Around this time Lane travelled the highways and byways of England and lived a 'passing show' modern nomadic life in full Gypsy traveller costume and accommodation. In 1983 his girlfriend Boo Oldfield contacted Glyn Johns with a view to organising a concert to help fund Action for Research into Multiple Sclerosis. Johns was already arranging Clapton's Command Performance[clarification needed] for Prince Charles so they decided to book the Royal Albert Hall for a further two nights and host a benefit concert. The resulting ARMS Charity Concerts. featured Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood, Kenney Jones, Andy Fairweather-Low, Steve Winwood, Ray Cooper, James Hooker, Fernando Saunders, Chris Stainton, Tony Hymas, Simon Phillips and others. With the addition of Joe Cocker and Paul Rodgers they toured the US.

Lane emigrated to Texas, USA, in 1984 (first to Houston, then Austin), where the climate was more beneficial to his health and he continued playing, writing, and recording. He formed an American version of Slim Chance, which was, as always, a loose-knit conglomeration of available musicians. For much of the time, membership included Alejandro Escovedo. For close to a decade Lane enjoyed "rock royalty" status in the Austin area. He toured Japan but his health continued to decline. His last performance was in 1992 at a Ronnie Wood gig alongside Ian McLagan. In 1994 Ronnie and his wife Susan moved to the small town of Trinidad, Colorado. Jimmy Page, Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood funded his medical care as no royalties from the Small Faces work was forthcoming - until Kenney Jones and Ian McLagan were eventually able to secure payments, by which time Steve Marriott had died in a house fire and Lane had also died. Lane succumbed to pneumonia, in the final stages of his progressive multiple sclerosis, on 4 June 1997 and was buried in the Masonic Cemetery in Trinidad, Colorado. An album of live BBC recordings was about to be released to raise money for his care when Lane died.

Ride recorded "A Trip Down Ronnie Lane" as a B-Side to their final single "Black Nite Crash" in 1996. The Ocean Colour Scene song "Travellers Tune" on their 1997 studio album "Marchin' Already" was inspired by and written in the memory of Ronnie Lane, a strong influence on the group, which appeared at the tribute concert for Ronnie Lane. Likewise Lane had been such a source of inspiration to the members of Poi Dog Pondering that they created a tribute page for him and in 1995 band member Susan Voelz covered Lane's song, "Glad and Sorry" on her 1995 album, "Summer Crashing", "out of her respect and affection for Ronnie Lane". In 2000, Paul Weller recorded "He's the Keeper", a song dedicated to Lane's memory. An album of live and in-studio recordings from Lane's Austin days was later culled, and released as Live in Austin. A street was named after him, "Ronnie Lane", in Manor Park in 2001. In January 2006 BBC Four broadcast an extensive documentary about Lane, The Passing Show that had been in preparation since 2000 and included footage of vintage concerts by the Faces and Slim Chance. In October 2006 the documentary was also shown on BBC Two. In 2012, former Small Faces bandmate Ian MacLagan interpreted some of Lane's best-known songs in a record entitled Spiritual Boy: In Appreciation of Ronnie Lane. McLagan died in 2014.

Ronnie Lane has been rightly described as a born entertainer, humorous, emotional and spiritual. He was 'short and sweet', 'combined East End nous and the romantic' and a troubadour to the day he died. Ronnie gambled his shirt on a pipedream, a circus! His approach to music was refreshing and genuine, the gig an instant party. Ronnie Lane and Steve Marriott were one of the great songwriting partnerships of the '60s. Listen to The Small Faces' classics, "Itchycoo Park" or "Lazy Sunday" for example. The Faces became one of the great rock and roll bands of the '70s. Ronnie's next great venture, The Passing Show, was equally rich musically but not commercially or in terms of public recognition at the time. "How Come" was Ronnie's last top ten (or rather, eleven!) hit, but not his last great song. Living in a remote part of Shropshire, surrounded by showman's wagons, and inspired by Meher Baba, Ronnie carried on writing and performing with his band Slim Chance and others including Eric Clapton and Pete Townshend even after he was afflicted by MS. Ronnie was held in such high esteem, that he became the focus of star-studded concerts and tours on both sides of the Atlantic to raise money for other MS sufferers. When he moved to the Texas to seek treatment, he carried on playing with some fine American musicians. Ronnie died in Colorado in 1997 but his songs live on.

IT FLEW AWAY - Pull Out All The Stops 

(Vicious Sloths Collectables VSC012, 2007 - Recordings from 1972)

It Flew Away was a band whose story seems to sum up the hopes and aspirations of so many outfits who played their guts out to very little critical acclaim. This was in an era when simply being able to express one's musical ideas in a public forum was considered by many to be reward enough to make the long hours of rehearsal and equipment lugging seem worthwhile. Early in 1971 Ian Clarke (keyboards), Barend du Preez (bass, vocals and harmonica) and John Reid (guitar) were living in a defunct private hospital in Prahran, writing songs and thinking only half seriously about forming a band. John's brother, Rob, took the initiative and put an ad in the Source Bookshop in Melbourne... Wanted - Creative Drummer. Guitarist, bass player and organist, writing own music, seek sincere musician to develop a group from embryonic stages to something satisfying. 

In August, Shane Cleary turned up, and on a cold grey day, over a bowl of hot millet, It Flew Away was born. The band's first gig was in early December, supporting Carson at Ocean Grove, a coastal town on the outskirts of Melbourne. Then followed an appearance at Evolution ("Australia's biggest holiday dance in the heart of swinging Rosebud"). At about this time an American promoter was developing the Regent Theatre in South Yarra as a Fillmore-style concert hall Billed as a 'mixed-media palace', it promised to be an exciting new venue for rock music in Melbourne. The Regent wanted new talent, and It Flew Away wanted a place to play, so a short, but exciting association was formed. On New Years Eve they played The Regent for the first time with Spectrum, Friends, Carl & Janie Myriad, Blackfeather and The Joy Band. With earnest expressions they presented their collection of lengthy and extravagant musical images, in front of the Stargate Corridor light show. 

Throughout 1972, It Flew Away took their music wherever they could. Bookings through the Let It Be agency led the band to play at such venues as Sebastians, Q Club, Much More Ballroom, various Universities and tertiary institutions, suburban dances, and also as far afield as Adelaide, Sydney and Newcastle. Whilst in Sydney the band visited the ABC (government funded TV channel) studios, to record 'Candy Meets The Vibrator', 'Aimless Pasture' and one other song for an airing on the popular music show of the day known as "G.T.K.'. They won a Battle of the Bands at Buronga on the Murray River near Mildura, and seemed to be achieving some recognition among informed writers in the music press. But all was not well. The Regent burned down and the Much More Ballroom closed. Taking note of these events, the band invested in a custom built PA. system that became endearingly known as the 'D.S.H.', and after a couple of live engagements, the 'D.S.H.' blew up! At least one band member believed that music could save the world, but despite this idealism, by early 1973 they were silting on the floor of Phil Dwyer's panel shop cum studio, tearing strips off each other. 

Sympathetic audiences were scarce, and efforts to support It Flew Away with a theatrical rock and roll band called Thicket Ducks, and later, a straight outfit called The Pub Band had failed. Idealism was no match for a lack of equipment, and with poverty lurking just around the corner, It Flew Away would fly no more. It Flew Away really had it all, ambitious keyboard passages combined with a great guitar sound and tough rhythm section making their sound far more memorable than most symphonic rock outfits of the day. The almost six minute opening track 'On My Way Home' has classy guitar/keyboard interplay and practically sets the tone for all the material on this release. From the epic 'Good Times' with its fantastic guitar lines, soaring keyboards and interesting lyrical content (du Preez even managed to incorporate some Tolkien imagery), to the wildness of 'Candy...' or the last track 'Pull Out All The Stops Mother', everything here is played with 100% confidence by a band on the brink of greatness, but nonetheless, one whose members never saw the door of opportunity open for them. 

It had been a creative period in four peoples lives, at times joyful and positive, at others turbulent and difficult. And so to the passage of time... Fortunately for the band, they had loyal friends in Carl Hartung and Ross Williams, to whom a great debt is owed for the existence of a cache of well recorded tapes containing a number of versions of different songs, without which this music would inevitably have faded with time and memory. It was always Hartung's ambition to make an album using this material which had been hidden away in dark cupboards for many years, with only the occasional airing. In 1987 he and Reid worked together to create a compilation reflecting various facets of the band's songwriting. Eventually, after a great deal of effort everything fell into place, and a 2LP set was produced, primarily for fans and friends in a limited edition of 250 copies. It Flew Away The Lounge Room Tapes finally saw the  light of day, sold-out and  disappeared.

 

 

 

 

DREAMS - Imagine My Surprise (Columbia Records C 30960, 1971)

Dreams existed between 1969 and 1972. They originally consisted of singer, guitarist and keyboards player Jeff Kent, bassist Doug Lubahn and drummer Mark Whittaker. Soon the trio became a septet with percussionist Angel Allende, John Abercrombie on guitar, trombonist Barry Rogers, Michael Brecker on tenor sax and Randy Brecker on trumpet joining them. Mark Whittaker departed and Billy Cobham took up the drum stool, and with the addition of Edward Vernon as singer and the departure of Angel Allende, the Dreams line up was complete. Their approach was interesting as well as novel, recording their albums 'live' and working on a 'traditional' method of making up horn arrangements to suit the songs while «recording instead of using formulized  arrangements scored for horns and rhythm , section. Musically their style varied between soul/pop and jazz rock as if their axis swayed between FM radio respect, cult appeal and Top 40 chart success. The principal difference between Dreams and most other brass infused bands was, according to their album sleeve notes, that they didn't work from written arrangements but rather worked them out 'Trad' or 'New Orleans style', playing whatever came into their heads and I waiting for something to gel. This was a great achievement coming from a mostly white a band - incorporating a link with traditional jazz forms in a modern setting.

Dreams soon became a popular live band in the New York and Chicago areas and headed to Los Angeles. There they played a battle of the bands between Dreams and ] Geils Band for a recording contract with Atlantic Records as the prize. The boisterous rhythm and blues-based J. Geils Band from Boston was signed to Atlantic but Dreams made their own reputation. There were eyewitness reports of Dreams knocking the audience out and changing musical perceptions. Dreams tore the place down and people's eyes opened at the compulsive Panamanian drummer Billy Cobham. After the Atlantic battle of the bands sessions, Dreams received a contract from CBS Records who signed them in 1970. They began work on their debut album, "Dreams"  (CBS US 30225), which was also issued in the UK (CBS 64203) and the band was represented on the 1971 compilation "Together with New York City". For "Dreams" they selected Fred Weinberg as their producer, composer and sound engineer, whose work included albums for Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente, La Lupe, Mongo Santamaria, Celia Cruz, Illustration (Alan Lorber's group), Little Anthony and many others. Phil Ramone, another highly respected producer and studio owner for whom Weinberg worked at the time at a studio named A & R in New York City, gave his blessings to Weinberg to record the Dreams IP at CBS Studios in New York City and complete the recordings at CBS Studios in Chicago.

All tracks were original compositions by Jeff Kent and Doug Lubahn. The album highlighted their talents for writing catchy jazz/pop/rock songs and the band's individual musical expertise. The album was recorded mostly live which added to the fresh spontaneous atmosphere of the recording. "Dreams" featured a mix of catchy songs with great horn licks and impassioned vocals from Edward Vernon; while an accomplished debut album, the individual musicians were beginning to stylistically assert themselves at the time. John Abercrombie's brief but eclectic guitar breaks on "Devil Lady" offers a hint of what was to come in his own later recordings, and Randy Brecker's trumpet and flugelhorn fills embellish pieces like "Holli Be Home" and "15 Miles To Provo" very nicely. While five conventional soul/jazz/ rock songs occupied side one, the second side was dominated by an extended epic composition typical of the time. The three part and fourteen minute long "Dream Suite" was an extended composition featuring stylistically outstanding work from Billy Cobham showing his powerful style on the drum kit and contributing an unbelievable, energetic drum solo, and with saxophonist Michael Brecker excelling on "Asset Stop". 

At the time Michael and Randy Brecker were barely out of their teens and had a glittering career before them. Billy Cobham's playing caught the attention of John McLaughlin and later led to his gig with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and John Abercrombie would make a considerable career as a soloist on ECM Records. While most of the players had jazz backgrounds, the music is an eclection of jazz, rock, and pop with some of the tracks harkening to folk roots as well. Recorded mostly live to recapture the band's energetic performances, Dreams was an accurate reflection of the open-minded musical attitude that existed at the time, and takes the sophisticated and more loosely structured horn charts and solos of jazz and places them over a rock oriented rhythm section. The results are always listenable, never boring, and often surprising. All of the pieces contain musical subtleties that make this recording special. Certainly, many of the ideas expressed here were well above those expressed by Chicago and BS’n’T,  yet the music is just as accessible and has its own distinctive character.

Dreams' second album "Imagine My Surprise" was issued in 1971 in the US (CBS US 30960). A British and European release came in early 1972 with the catalogue number of CBS 64597. Tracks featured mostly original material by Jeff Kent and Doug Lubahn including "Calico Baby", "Why Can't I Find A Home", "Child Of Wisdom", "Just Be Ourselves", "I Can't Hear You", "Here She Comes Now", "Don't Cry" and "My Lady", plus a cover of Traffic's "Medicated Goo" as featured on their live album "Welcome to the Canteen". The song was composed by Steve Winwood and producer Jimmy Miller, who would later work with The Rolling Stones. "Calico Baby" was featured on "The Music People" sampler issued by CBS in April 1972 on the American and European markets. "Imagine My Surprise" retained the Brecker Brothers, Billy Cobham, Barry Rogers and Edward Vernon from the line up that recorded "Dreams". Bob Mann on guitars, flugelhorn and vocals replaced John Abercrombie. Jeff Kent (keyboards) was replaced by Don Grolnick, and Will Lee (bass) replaced Doug Lubahn, who left the band to tour with the reformed Doors.

Album producer Steve Cropper contributed additional guitar on "Calico Baby" and superb background vocals on "Don't Cry My Lady" and "Child Of Wisdom". Original percussionist Angel Allende played conga drums on "Calico Baby" and Toni Torrence featured on background vocals on "Find A Home". "Imagine My Surprise" featured musicianship of incomparable beauty and a master class in jazz composition. "Just Be Ourselves" had a vocal by bassist Will Lee, and suggested a haunting tribute to the memory of its composer Don Grolnick. "Imagine My Surprise" was recorded in Memphis and produced by Steve Cropper who, according to "The Music People", was "a man who had some previous experience working with horn bands. Steve was there when the 'Memphis Sound' was born -and he's still there". With the fluidity of the line up, the album moves easily from soul to jazz rock and back again. According to Bob Palmer's review of "Imagine My Surprise": "Every note is in place, every phrase means something, the flashes and energy are all directed and channelled. Yet the band retains both its fire and sophistication... music people can't avoid dancing to." While "Imagine My Surprise" got some favourable reviews and advanced Dreams' cause somewhat, the writing was on the wall for horn-based rock bands with the horn driven style of jazz-rock rapidly turning in on its axis and losing commercial popularity.

Record companies were losing patience as the pretenders to the Blood Sweat'n'Tears and Chicago thrones weren't returning interest. After the release of their second album, "Imagine My Surprise", Dreams disbanded. In 1972 when Dreams bit the dust, jazz fusion was taking a new route away from horns to smaller, tighter groupings with individual virtuosos such as John McLaughlin and Chick Corea heading new bands made up of gifted soloists in Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return To Forever respectively. Here the focus was on instrumental flash and rock-inclined pyrotechnics within a jazz framework, combined with strong spiritual inclinations as practiced by McLaughlin and Corea with their individual commitments to Eastern philosophy and the Church of Scientology. In conclusion, Dreams' ambitious and highly vibrant style of Jazz Rock Fusion neatly contrasts the ethereal nature of their name. Both albums, "Dreams" and "Imagine My Surprise", capture an exciting time when new elements of jazz, soul, rock and funk were equally handled and produced music unique in its originality. Dreams deserve to be more than a footnote to beginning the careers of Billy Cobham, John Abercrombie and the Brecker Brothers among others. With their distinctive jazz/rock/funk crossovers encompassing commerciality and musical dexterity, for a brief while they added some spice of their own to the jazz rock recipe book.

 

LOVERBOY - Loverboy (Epic Records 25·3P-280, 1980)

Loverboy is a Canadian rock band formed in 1979 in Calgary, Alberta. Loverboy's hit singles, particularly "Turn Me Loose" and "Working for the Weekend", have become arena rock staples and are still heard on many classic rock and classic hits radio stations across Canada. The band is based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Throughout the 1980s, Loverboy accumulated numerous hit songs in Canada and the United States, earning four multi-platinum albums and selling millions of records. After being rejected by many American record labels, they signed with Columbia/CBS Records Canada and began recording their first album on March 20, 1980. Loverboy's founding members were lead singer Mike Reno, guitarist Paul Dean, keyboardist Doug Johnson, bassist Scott Smith, and drummer Matt Frenette. It has been stated by Reno that their name was chosen due to a dream by Paul Dean. He had come up with the name after spending the previous night with some of the bandmates, including Reno and their girlfriends, before going to the movies. The girlfriends were browsing through fashion magazines, where the guys in the band saw a Cover Girl advertisement. Cover Girl became Cover Boy, and then became Loverboy in Dean's dream later that night. After being told by Dean about the dream the next morning, Reno agreed to try it out and it stuck. The group made its live debut opening for Kiss at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, B.C. on November 19, 1979.

Originally rejected by all the major record labels in the United States, the band signed with Columbia Records of Canada, and on March 20, 1980, Loverboy went into the studio with producer Bruce Fairbairn and engineer Bob Rock to record what would be their self-titled debut album. Over that summer, the record became a huge hit with eventually over 1,000,000 records sold in Canada alone. The album made its American debut in November 1980, and would go on to sell over two million copies in the USA alone. The band went on a touring spree that year putting on over 200 shows with bands such as Cheap Trick, ZZ Top, Kansas, and Def Leppard. Their debut single, "Turn Me Loose", went on to hit No. 7 on the Canadian charts and No. 35 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in early 1981.

The band's follow-up album, Get Lucky, released in October 1981 when they were opening for Journey, included the hit tracks "Working for the Weekend" and "When It's Over". It became their best selling album in the U.S., reaching No. 7 on the Billboard album charts and selling over four million copies. In the same year Loverboy received six[5] Juno Awards (Canada's highest award for music) in one year, a record that still stands today. Loverboy released their third album, Keep It Up, in November 1983. Its first single "Hot Girls in Love" became their most successful to that date, reaching No.11 on the U.S. charts. The video for the song as well as for the follow-up single "Queen of the Broken Hearts" were hugely popular on MTV, and the band embarked on its first tour as headliners. In 1984, Loverboy recorded the United States Team theme for the 1984 Summer Olympics, "Nothing's Gonna Stop You Now". The song originally appeared on The Official Music of the 1984 Games but not on any of their albums or compilations to date. They would often play it on tour mixing it in during the performance of "Queen of the Broken Hearts". Also in 1984, Loverboy recorded a song called "Destruction" which appeared on the 1984 soundtrack of a re-edited version of the film Metropolis (1927).

Lovin' Every Minute of It, the band's fourth album, and the first not produced by Fairbairn (it was produced by Tom Allom, best known for producing Judas Priest several years later) was released in August 1985, with the title single written by Mutt Lange and "This Could Be the Night" co-written by Journey's Jonathan Cain becoming their first and second U.S. Billboard top 10 hits respectively. In 1986, the band recorded "Heaven in Your Eyes", a song featured in the movie Top Gun, which peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard charts. However, Doug Johnson refused to appear in the video as he felt that the film glorified war, which Doug was highly against. The release of Wildside, their fifth album, followed in September 1987. While the band scored a minor hit with "Notorious", co-written by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, the album sold relatively poorly and the band broke up in 1988 due to tensions between Dean and Reno.

Dean released a solo album, Hardcore, in May 1989 and a Loverboy greatest-hits album, Big Ones, was released later that same year, in October, to fulfill Loverboy's obligation to Columbia Records. The group briefly reunited in late 1989 to tour to promote it, but broke up again at the tour's conclusion. On October 6, 1991 the band reunited again to join fellow rockers Bryan Adams, Colin James, Chrissy Steele and Bill Henderson of Chilliwack at a benefit show at Vancouver's 86 Street Music Hall to raise over $50,000 for Henderson's former bandmate, Brian MacLeod, who was fighting cancer and undergoing treatment at a Houston medical clinic. The band reportedly recalled that the concert was the most fun that they had had in years and decided that they wanted to do it again. They went on another live touring spree in Canada the following year before launching a 64-concert tour in the United States in 1993.

The band's record label released their second and third compilation albums, Loverboy Classics and Temperature's Rising, in 1994. Loverboy Classics went Gold by 1998, coinciding with another American tour. Following the releases of Six and Super Hits in 1997, the band continued touring until November 30, 2000, when bassist Scott Smith died in a boating accident. The band went on to release a live album, Live, Loud and Loose, in 2001, which consisted of refurbished early live concert recordings from the band's intense touring years from 1982 to 1986. 2001 also brought another round of touring, this time dedicated to Scott Smith. Ken "Spider" Sinnaeve, a former member of The Guess Who, Red Rider and Dean and Frenette's pre-Loverboy band Streetheart, joined the band on bass prior to the tour. Loverboy celebrated 25 years together in 2005 and began to perform in selected cities to commemorate this milestone. That tour continued with live concerts scheduled well into August 2006. Also in 2005, Loverboy was one of the featured bands on the American version of Hit Me, Baby, One More Time. They performed "Working for the Weekend" and a cover version of "Hero" by Enrique Iglesias on the show. In 2006, twenty-five years after its initial release, Get Lucky was remastered and re-released with several previously unreleased songs, including the original demo of "Working for the Weekend".

In a video interview from March 2007, Mike Reno confirmed that the band finished recording a new studio album released in 2007. Titled Just Getting Started, it was released in October, with a clip of the first single "The One That Got Away" available on the band's MySpace page. The band continues to tour throughout Canada and the United States. The band was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame during the 2009 Juno Awards. On February 21, 2010, the band performed at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics awards ceremony. In June 2012, the band announced their album Rock 'n' Roll Revival would be released by Frontiers Records. The band was on tour with Journey and Pat Benatar/Neil Giraldo from July 24 to November 16, 2012. They finished up 2012 on the same tour when Night Ranger took up the reins to replace Benatar. 2013 saw Loverboy tour on and off for at least a few dates during every month, except for the month of March. While continuing to tour in 2014, it was announced on the official Loverboy home page on June 19, 2014 that the band's newest album of all-original material, Unfinished Business, was expected to be released on July 15, 2014. The first single was already available for purchase on iTunes and the title of this song was "Countin' the Nights". The band toured during that summer, including at least two free shows. Loverboy appeared at the Rockingham Festival 2017, held at Nottingham Trent University, UK, between 20 and 22 October 2017. The band headlined on Sunday 22 October 2017.