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 Sundazed Music continues
their Paul Revere & The Raiders
series with new expanded editions of four more Raiders ‘60s album
classics. The new reissues include the group’s all-time classic album Midnight Ride (produced by
Terry Melcher and recorded by
the original group in ‘66), Goin’
To Memphis (the Raiders soul album released in (‘68), Hard
‘N’ Heavy (With Marshmallow) (3/69), and lastly, Alias Pink Puzz (7/69). Sundazed packs their new Raiders CDs
with key information, original artwork and liner notes. As he points out
in his new liner notes for Midnight
Ride, original Raiders’ bass player Fang
claims that while the group’s first two albums Just
Like Us and Here They Come were
basically covers albums, Midnight
Ride (leading off with the Barry Mann composition “Kicks”)
was the first album to showcase the group’s own considerable writing
talents. The Raiders will always be remembered for great singles like
“Just Like Me” and “Kicks”, yet as these album reissues point out,
their talents were far more considerable.
It’s amazing when you consider that when he sung the lead vocals
on “The Letter” Alex Chilton was just 16. Comparable in tone to the blue-eyed soul
singing of 
Stevie Winwood, Chilton came to fame early on as the lead
singer with The Box Tops, who
were recently accorded the Sundazed reissue treatment. The Memphis-based
Box Tops were carried to the top of the charts via the catchy pop anthems
of group producer Dan Penn and
his songwriting partner Spooner
Oldham, who went on to pen other great BT’s tracks like “Neon
Rainbow” and “Cry Like A Baby”. Sundazed has done an excellent job
of restoring the Box Tops late ‘60s catalog on CD complete with bonus
tracks, fab artwork and cool liner notes. The titles include the BT’s
album debut The
Letter / Neon Rainbow (issued 11/67), Cry Like A Baby (4/68), Nonstop
(7/68) and Dimensions
(9/69). The Box Tops would eventually become a favorite among
oldies stations and Chilton would go on to his acclaimed solo career and
become a
name to know among pop cultists. But back in the late ‘60s, before the
dust settled, The Box Tops proved their worth as a notable pop outfit, a
fact plainly heard on these valuable classic pop reissues. www.sundazed.com
During the
mid to late ‘90s, MCA Records delighted
fans of U.K. rock legends,
 The Who with
their fab expanded edition reissues of the group’s historic back
catalog. The icing on the cake may be the recent arrival of BBC
Sessions from guitar icon Pete
Townshend and company. Still revered for trend-setting studio albums
like Who’s Next and Tommy,
The Who live unleashed a force which has yet to be equaled. Case in
point is the 25 track BBC Sessions, which
compiles a number of rare radio tracks The Who recorded for British
Broadcasting between 1965-73. Every bit the ear-opening revelation that
recent BBC Session CDs from Jimi Hendrix and The Beatles were, The Who’s
BBC Sessions captures the band
in classic form with sparkling live radio broadcasts of favorites like
“The Seeker” (from 4/13/70), “I’m A Boy” (9/13/66), possibly the
band’s best performance of “Shakin’ All Over” (recorded 4/13/70)
and “The Relay” (1/30/73). Everything you wanted to know about the
connection between The Who and the Beeb is documented in the fine liner
notes from Andy Neill. The set
is topped off by vintage cover art and fine period piece photos. Fans
should note that The Who are currently putting together songs for a new
studio album due out during 2000. Also worth checking out is Pete
Townshend’s web site www.eelpie.com which is offering a number of limited edition Who and
Townshend related CDs and more. www.thewho.com
 Several titles from the fabled ABC
/ Dunhill Records catalog have been recently reissued by the giant MCA
/ Universal Music Group. Among the latest ABC titles upgraded on CD
are three albums from David Crosby
& Graham Nash. The duo’s second album Wind
On The Water (1975) and third studio album, Whistling Down The Wire (1976) were just reissued again now
complete with original lyric sheets and detailed liner notes. Both albums
find Crosby & Nash backed by a fine band of support players including
guitarists Danny Kortchmar and David
Lindley as well as Russ Kunkel (drums)
and Leland Sklar (bass). Nearly
25 years after these albums were first issued they are ripe again for
reevaluation as is a reissue of the 1977 Crosby/Nash release Live. Recorded at various Crosby/Nash concerts during ‘75-76, the set
spotlights well known favorites like “Immigration Man” and “Deja
Vu” along with two newly added bonus tracks and lengthy liner notes. www.crosbynash.com
Also out on Universal / MCA is a fresh 18 track compilation from
one of the ‘60s most influential rock groups,  Steppenwolf
entitled All
Time Greatest Hits. The
Steppenwolf story is a fascinating one and is well depicted in the
in-depth liner notes by writer Scott
Schinder. German-born and legally blind, singer-songwriter John Kay made his way to North America in the late ‘50s and by the
late ‘60s had formed Steppenwolf and was poised to take the AM and FM
radio waves by storm. Kay was assisted by some fine bandmates including
the late Jerry Edmonton (guitar)
and his brother Dennis Edmonton (who
under the alias Mars Bonfire wrote
Steppenwolf’s all time classic “Born To Be Wild”). MCA’s new All
Time Greatest Hits compiles all the great Steppenwolf ‘60s hits
recorded on Dunhill Records,
from “Magic Carpet Ride” and “Rock Me” to the set closing
“Straight Shootin’ Woman” released on the band’s 1974 album Slow
Flux. All Time Greatest Hits offers
a solid selection of great tracks and gives the Steppenwolf story a timely
perspective. www.steppenwolf.com
The catalog of Spitfire Records continues to grow with a number of reissues from
classic rock bands such as  Deep
Purple and Mott The Hoople
as well as blues giant John Mayall.
Collectors of ‘60s rock have waited a long time for proper reissues of
the first three Deep Purple albums originally issued in the U.K. on Harvest Records. Spitfire has rescued these long sought after albums
and have revamped them with bonus tracks, original art and new liner
notes. Before they went the heavy metal route and even gaining acclaim as
one of the first rock bands to record live with a symphony orchestra,
guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord (keyboards), Ian
Paice (drums) and company
were actually a gifted psychedelic hard rock group offering up smokin’,
jazzy, pop covers of ‘60s pop anthems like (DP’s best known hit)
“Hush” and “River Deep Mountain High”. Recently out on Spitfire is
the Deep Purple debut Shades
Of Deep Purple (recorded 5/68 with covers of “Hush”,
“Help”, “I’m So Glad” and “Hey Joe”), The
Book Of Taliesyn (recorded 8/68 with covers of “River Deep”
and Neil Diamond’s “Kentucky Woman”) and the self-titled Deep Purple (recorded 1/69 with a cover of Donovan’s “Lalena”).
Complete with liner notes, new mastering from the original tapes and rare
photos, each new CD features five bonus tracks including BBC sessions,
live U.S. TV broadcasts, b-sides and various instrumental outtakes.
Another recent title from Spitfire is useful compilation from ‘70
rockers  Mott The Hoople entitled
Friends
And Relatives. The 26
track double disc set takes in a number of live Mott tracks paired with
various MTH offshoot bands including tracks by British
Lions, Mick Ralphs (who
departed to join Bad Company), Doc
Thomas Group and Morgan (featuring
Mott keyboardist turned New Age icon Morgan
Fisher). The set features a good sampling of various sources,
track-by-track data and detailed liner notes, including the humorous tale
of how lead singer Ian Hunter came
to join the Mott fold, by long time Mott drummer Dale
“Buffin” Griffin.
Spitfire is also offering two vital compilations from blues great  John
Mayall including The
Masters and Live At The Marquee 1969.
Both sets chronicle Mayall’s progression just before he recorded his
album The Turning Point with
acoustic guitarist Jon Mark and
sax player Johnny Almond. The
Masters is actually a double CD set containing music from the original
soundtrack of The Turning Point, a rarely seen movie made about Mayall during his
1969 period. The music Mayall made with the duo that later went on to fame
as Marc/Almond would be better
documented on albums like The
Turning Point (recorded in 7/69 at the Fillmore East), yet these
recent reissue CDs still offer another view of Mayall & Marc/Almond in
fine form. Live At The Marquee is
just that, a live performance at the Marquee Club in London in early
‘69, while the The Masters adds
in further live tracks from that period with an added disc of recorded
interviews, instrumental jams and rehearsals. Long time Mayall fans should
note that among the musicians interviewed on disc two of The
Masters are long time Mayall chums Eric
Clapton and Peter Green.
The sound quality varies a bit, but the spirit and skill is there and is
recommended to fans of Mayall’s late ‘60s/early ‘70s acoustic-based
music. Another highpoint of both packages are the memorable liner notes by
esteemed journalist Chris Welch.
www.SpitfireRecords.com
His
album and song titles are in German, and the liner notes are
indecipherable by most English speaking music fans, yet the instrumental
music of guitarist / composer  Michael Rother transcends both language and nationality. Rother came
to fame as a member of the German avant gard rock group NEU! and his early
solo albums, especially his 1979 album Katzenmusik
remains a work of sonic guitar architecture. Multi-layered guitar
melodies are tested and reworked and come across like audio scenery on a
high speed drive on the Autobahn. Imagine Mike Oldfield jamming with
Kraftwerk and you begin to get an idea of Rother’s hypnotic Euro-pop
guitar blend. Katzenmusik and
Rother’s other engaging albums have recently been remastered and
reissued by the German-based Random
Records. Additionally, Random has tacked on a number of new tracks and
remixes on each CD. Included are Rother’s ‘77 debut Flammende Herzen,
Sterntaler (1978), Katzenmusik (1979), Fernwarme
(1982), Lust
(1983), Sussherz
Und Tiefenscharfe (1985), Traumreisen
(1987), a mid 90’s retrospective entitled Radio
and his most recent album Esperanza
(1996). Rother’s
ambient guitarscapes remain anything but alien sounding to fans of late
20th Century European guitar music. www.randomrecords.de
/ www.waysidemusic.com
Some
believe that The Byrds peaked after the controversial and undervalued 1968 album The
Notorious Byrd Brothers. Yet for the second Byrds, or the Byrds
featuring original Byrd brain Roger
McGuinn, the late, great guitar ace Clarence
White, Skip Battin (bass),
and Gene Parsons (drums - no
relation to Gram Parsons), the
story didn’t stop with the departure of David Crosby and The
 Byrds
of Notorious fame. The group went on to the fabled second half of their
tenure as an incredibly gifted band in their own right blending cosmic
country mixed up with hard rock bluegrass. Having seen the Byrds play
around the time Untitled (Dave Mason was the opening act), I can attest to the
fact that these Byrds were a most potent rock band, delivering one balls
to the wall classic after the next along with their new stuff. McGuinn was
a sight to behold, but guitarist Clarence
White was another man to keep your eyes on. Standing like statue in
blue light, White punched out one classic lick after the next and was
simply spellbinding. The Byrds of those days can be heard to great effect
on the latest round of reissues from Columbia
Legacy Records. Their final three studio albums, Untitled
/ Unissued (1970 - complete with a bonus disc of uncovered
outtakes and live tracks), Byrdmaniax ( 1971 - now
with three bonus tracks including a studio take of Bob Dylan’s “Just
Like A Woman”) and Farther Along (1971 - now with three bonus tracks) have just
arrived along with a forth reissue CD entitled Live At The Fillmore - February
1969. The live CD
features the newly paired McGuinn and White at the helm guiding the ‘69
group through 16 tracks of Byrd classics and newer material. They could
never be as revered as the the first five albums with David Crosby, yet
these new reissues still hold up just as well as any of their mid-60s
classics. Each CD features faithful liner notes, rare photos and although
missing lyric sheets, is a classy way for Legacy to round out their Byrds
reissue series. www.sonymusic.com/artists/TheByrds
When
punk-rock took over the airwaves back during the late ‘70s, it was
clearly a case of attitude versus altitude.
 The
pomp and circumstance of progressive arena rock took a back seat to
cut-throat punk rockers like The Sex Pistols and The Clash. The back catalog of The Clash is the latest in the Epic
Legacy catalog to receive the reissue upgrade treatment. The band will
be best remembered for their punk-rock concept classics London Calling (released 12/79) and the double disc Sandinista!
(a triple album set released 12/80). Both albums remain provide
vital introductions to the group who bowed out following their 1982
swansong Combat
Rock (featuring their
only MTV hit “Rock The Casbah”). With the series overseen by Clash
guitarist/vocalist Joe Strummer and
group guitarist Mick Jones, the
newly overhauled CDs include the group’s self-titled debut The Clash (from 1977 and
now offered on two separate discs in both U.S. and U.K. versions), Give
‘Em Enough Rope (U.K. version from 11/78), London Calling, Super Black
Market Clash (compilation from 10/80), Sandinista!, Combat Rock, The
Story Of The Clash (2 CD compilation from 3/88), The Clash On Broadway (box
set with live tracks from 1991) and lastly, The Singles (A ‘91 set
with 18 A-side singles released in the U.K.). www.epicrecords.com/theclash
The
newly revived NYC-based Buddha
Records continues to make collectors of vintage pop, rock and blues
reissue CDs quite happy. Among the latest offerings from Buddha are no
less than eight newly revamped CDs from blues-rock guitar legend, the
late, great  Rory
Gallagher. Gallagher of course came to prominence as the leader of the
blues-pop group Taste, who,
back in 1969 supported Blind Faith on their summer tour. Actually, Taste
alternated with Free who were also on that historic tour. As good as the
first two Taste albums are, fans still point to his many solo albums as
the definitive Gallagher sound. Although he passed away from a long
illness back in June, 95, Gallagher’s stature as an amazing rock
guitarist, vocalist and songwriting genius hasn’t diminished with time
and it’s also apparent Buddha has done the right thing with Gallagher’s
back catalog. Released earlier this Winter on Buddha were several mid ‘70s
Gallagher albums including Live In Europe (1972),
Against The Grain (1975), Calling
Card (1976) and Photo
Finish (1978). To get a good appreciation of Rory’s early
career, check out Live In Europe which
reprints an intriguing interview/article of Gallagher by Mick Rock back
when the album first came out in ‘72. Approaching late Winter 99/00,
Buddha has also just reissued another four Gallagher solo albums including
include Tattoo
(1973), Blueprint ( also 1973), Jinx
(1982) and Stage Struck (1989). Remixed
for top sound while also featuring newly penned liner notes by Rory’s
brother Donal Gallagher and
bonus tracks, these reissue CDs provide the proper setting from which to
rethink the significance of the late, great blues guitar hero. www.btinternet.com/~rory.gallagher
Pop greats The
Lovin’ Spoonful were among the first American bands to seriously
challenge the hold that The Beatles had over the Top 40 pop charts during
the mid ‘60s. Singles like “Do You Believe In Magic”, “Summer In
The City” and “Six O'clock” added to the groovy soundtrack of the
‘60s. There’s been many collections of the Spoonful’s greatest hits,
but Buddha has finally set the record straight with their new Lovin’
Spoonful Greatest Hits CD, just released to coincide with the
 Spoonful’s
induction into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. Remastered from the newly
discovered master tapes under the supervision of the group’s leader John Sebastian,
Buddha’s new 26 track CD features all of the Spoonful’s best known
hits and more with liner notes and rare photos. Also new from Buddha is
the 30th anniversary edition of Nilsson
Sings Newman from legendary singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson. The original album was Nilsson’s tribute to the
then relatively unknown pop composer Randy
Newman. In addition to five unreleased bonus tracks, Buddha has also
loaded up their deluxe edition with
new liner notes from composer Newman and Dean
Torrence (of Jan & Dean). www.BuddhaRecords.com
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