TIMES TO REMEMBER 28

SHIRLEY COLLINS And THE ALBION COUNTRY BAND: "No Roses"

Original released on LP Pegasus PEG 7

(UK, November 1971)

Shirley Collins' collaboration with the Albion Country Band for "No Roses" is considered a major event in the history of British folk and British folk-rock. For it was the first time that Collins, roundly acknowledged as one of the best British traditional folk singers, sang with electric accompaniment, and indeed one of the first times that a British traditional folk musician had "gone electric" in the wake of Dave Swarbrick joining Fairport Convention and Martin Carthy joining Steeleye Span. The album itself doesn't sound too radical, however. At times it sounds something like Fairport Convention with Shirley Collins on lead vocals, which is unsurprising given the presence of Ashley Hutchings on all cuts but one, and Richard Thompson and Simon Nicol on most of the selections (Dave Mattacks plays drums on a few tracks for good measure). The nine songs are almost wholly traditional tunes with Collins' arrangements, with perhaps a jauntier and folkier mood than that heard in early-'70s Fairport, though not much. It's more impressive for Collins' always tasteful smoky vocals than for the imagination of the material, which consolidates the sound of the more traditional wing of early-'70s British folk-rock. (Richie Unterberger in AllMusic)

LPA Classic Golden Years

TIMES TO REMEMBER 27

JOHN BALDRY: "It Ain't Easy"

Original released on LP Warner Bros WS 1921

(US, June 1971)

"It Ain't Easy" features a British blues/rock lineup befitting the man behind the Long John Baldry moniker. This album returns Baldry to a decidedly edgier and hipper audience, with a literal cast of all-stars on some of the more adventurous material he had covered to date. This is no doubt due, at least in part, to the involvement of rock superstars Rod Stewart and Elton John. (In fact, John confesses to have taken the last name in his stage moniker from Baldry's first.) Among their contributions to the project, Stewart and Elton divided the production tasks - each taking a side of the original album. Immediately, Baldry sheds the MOR blue-eyed pop soul image. The backing band on Stewart's side include fellow Face and future Rolling Stone, Ron Wood, on electric guitar and acoustic guitarist Sam Mitchell, who appeared on many of Stewart's early-'70s solo albums. His contributions to this side are numerous, including an especially potent solo on Leadbelly's "Black Girl." This authentic duet featuring Maggie Bell on co-lead vocals is a definite return to the Mississippi Delta for the song which is also known as the bluegrass standard "In the Pines." Other highlights from Stewart's sector include the humorous and self-biographical leadoff track "Conditional Discharge," which is paired with the full-tilt boogie of "Don't Try to Lay No Boogie Woogie on the King of Rock & Roll." Arguably the oddest cover version on this album is also among the best; "Morning Morning" from head Fug Tuli Kupferberg is given new and surprisingly fresh life by Baldry. Highlights from Elton John's side include Randy Newman's "Let's Burn Down the Cornfield," which would have fit perfectly on John's "Tumbleweed Connection" album. Additionally, "Rock Me When He's Gone" was actually recorded by John, although his version remained unissued until the 1992 odds and sods compilation Rare Masters. (Lindsay Planer in AllMusic)

TIMES TO REMEMBER 26

WALLACE COLLECTION: "LA MAISON" (OST)

Original Released on LP EMI-ODEON C 062-04582 
(FRANCE, 1971)

TIMES TO REMEMBER 25

TIMES TO REMEMBER 24

TIMES TO REMEMBER 23

THE MOODY BLUES: "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour"

Original released on LP Threshold THS 5

(UK, July 1971)

The best-realized of their classic albums, "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour" was also the last of the group's albums for almost a decade to be done under reasonably happy and satisfying circumstances - for the last time with this lineup, they went into the studio with a reasonably full song bag and a lot of ambition and brought both as far as time would allow, across close to four months (interrupted by a tour of the United States right in the middle). Virtually everywhere you listen on this record, the lush melodies and the sound of Michael Pinder's Mellotron (augmented here by the Moog synthesizer and a brace of other instruments) just sweep over the music, and where they don't, Justin Hayward's guitar pyrotechnics on pieces like "The Story in Your Eyes" elevate the hard rocking side of the music, in tandem with John Lodge's muscular bass work - which still leaves plenty of room for a cello here, and a grand piano there, on top of Ray Thomas' flute, and Graeme Edge's ever more ambitious percussion. "Emily's Song." "Nice to Be Here," and "My Song" are among the best work the group ever did, and "The Story in Your Eyes" is the best rock number they ever cut, with a bracing beat and the kind of lyrical complexity one more expected out of George Harrison at the time. Sad to say, the group would never be this happy with an album again - at least not for a lot of years - or with their commitment to being a group, though they would leave one more highly worthwhile album before taking a hiatus for most of the rest of the 1970s. (Bruce Eder in AllMusic)

"Seems Like a Long Time..."

Original released on LP Mercury SRM 1-609 

(US, July 1971)

Rod Stewart's "Every Picture Tells a Story" is the greatest rock & roll recording of the last ten years. It is a mature tale of adolescence, full of revelatory detail (Rod combing his hair a thousand different ways in front of the mirror), and it contains the only reference to the Dreyfus case in the history of rock. It is also hilarious, and one of the friendliest pieces of music ever recorded. It is rock & roll of utterly unbelievable power, and for most of its five minutes and fifty-eight seconds that power is supplied by nothing more than drums, bass, acoustic guitar and Rod's voice. Mick Waller should have received the Nobel Prize - in physics, of course - for his demolition work at the end of the first verse; Martin Quittenton's acoustic guitar playing is well beyond any human award - for that matter, it is beyond human ken. John Lennon once said he wanted to make a record as good as "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On"; Rod Stewart did it. (Greil Marcus, Rolling Stone, 12/15/77)

Without greatly altering his approach, Rod Stewart perfected his blend of hard rock, folk, and blues on his masterpiece, "Every Picture Tells a Story". Marginally a harder-rocking album than "Gasoline Alley" - the Faces blister on the Temptations cover "(I Know I'm) Losing You," and the acoustic title track goes into hyper-drive with Mick Waller's primitive drumming - the great triumph of "Every Picture Tells a Story" lies in its content. Every song on the album, whether it's a cover or original, is a gem, combining to form a romantic, earthy portrait of a young man joyously celebrating his young life. Of course, "Maggie May" - the ornate, ringing ode about a seduction from an older woman - is the centerpiece, but each song, whether it's the devilishly witty title track or the unbearably poignant "Mandolin Wind," has the same appeal. And the covers, including definitive readings of Bob Dylan's "Tomorrow Is Such a Long Time" and Tim Hardin's "Reason to Believe," as well as a rollicking "That's All Right," are equally terrific, bringing new dimension to the songs. It's a beautiful album, one that has the timeless qualities of the best folk, yet one that rocks harder than most pop music - few rock albums are quite this powerful or this rich. (Stephen Erlewine in AllMusic)

Quite simply one of the greatest albums ever recorded by any British rock singer. At last this remastered edition (*) does it justice. The vocals from Rod remain his best and the harmonising of the great Maggie Bell on the title track add a little extra to abreast song. It's easy to forget just what an awesome 2nd side of the album these tracks were - 2 self written classics - "Maggie May" and "Mandolin Wind" (you choose which you prefer) followed by a mighty "I know I'm losing you" and closing with the exquisite "Reason to Believe". Possibly one of the few albums that you can pick any track on its own or the whole cd to listen to and not be disappointed it has aged so well and this remastering shows off the musicians to perfection. Stuck this on and memories of many happy times flooded back, suddenly your a teenager falling out a window to Maggie May...... The magic of truly great music!... (in Amazon)

(*) Collectors DeLuxe Vinyl Replica CD, with High Definition Remastering 96 Khz/24-Bit, including the original album cover art (13,5 cm X 13,5 cm), Inner Paper Sleeves and Black Polycarbonate High Definition CD.

TIMES TO REMEMBER 22