Issue #25 Extra!: Archives & Reissues

The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band - "New Tricks"
Murray Head - "Restless"
Murray Head - "Sooner or Later" Murray Head - "Greatest Hits"
Hereward Kaye - "Golden Mile"
John Martyn - "Live at the Bottom Line, New York 1983"
John Martyn - "Sweet Certain Surprise"

John Martyn - "Live at the Bottom Line, New York 1983"

 (One World, OW116CD, CD, 1983/2001)

John Martyn - "Sweet Certain Surprise"

 (One World, OW119CD, CD, 1977/2001)

What is remarkable in this last set of two live rarities from guitarist and vocalist John Martyn is that the two performances continue to show an expanding range within different periods of the man's thirty years plus career. Sweet Certain Surprise is a semi-legitimate release of well-circulated Martyn bootleg of a 1977 U.S. performance that captures several rare live tracks with add-ons. Martyn had just come off a self-imposed performing hiatus that he maintains saved his career and it shows. Acclaimed albums such as Bless the Weather are well represented as the title tracks is included along with a delicate version of the live set's opening piece, "Head and Heart". "Man in the Station" from 'Solid Air' received a surprise ovation as the composer denotes the train leaving on the tracks homeward bound. Stripped down versions of "My Baby Girl" from Sunday's Child paired with "Certain Surprise" and "Couldn't Love You More" from One World demonstrate the solo performer at his best. Tagged onto to the original boot are four songs from a 1981 full band performance that includes a pulsing rendition of the rare Jamaican tinged track, "Big Muff".
In contrast the 1983 show finds Martyn together with bassist Alan Thomson and drummer Jeffrey Allen at the long established jazz club, the Bottom Line. The set is culled from mostly eighties catalogue material except for a few re-worked pieces from Sunday's Child ("Root Love") and the blues standard "I'd Rather be the Devil" from Solid Air. The performance finds the guitarist in his gritty electric mode that characterizes his style of the day. Probably the most effective songs on the disc include "Didn't Do That" (where Martyn sounds uncannily like Eric Johnson of all people) and the bouncy "Johnny Too Bad". Included for good measure is the rare soundtrack piece, "Anna" a slow ballad that bemoans bad luck searching for a lost love. As Martyn is enjoying a bit of a renaissance in his career, there is no doubt that there is certainly plenty of quality material to draw from. - Jeff Melton

The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band - "New Tricks"

 (Right Recordings, RIGHT010, CD, 2000)

Comedy troupes recording albums for the rock and roll audience stem from such acts as the Firesign Theater and England's Monty Python (with the Eric Idle and John Cleese). Voiceprint has been keen enough to usher in a re-release of Vivian Stanshall and Neil Innes' UK act, The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band who toured in the late sixties along such acts such as the Nice and Yes (among many others). New Tricks is the group's 18th album and this compilation also includes "I'm the Urban Spaceman" b/w "Canyons of Your Mind" that reached #5 in the UK originally from their third LP, Tadpoles. Pieces originating from their first LP Gorilla include "The Intro and the Outro" (which was reprised by Stanshall at the end of "Tubular Bells Part 1"). Other notable classics included "Shirt" details a "man on the street" skit where passers by are asked about the essentials of wearing apparel. "Hunting Tigers" is also a longtime fan favorite along with "We Were Wrong" (the closest thing to a genuinely serious song). I'm not certain how Yes' first keyboard player Tony Kaye became associated with this tongue-in-cheek comedy group, but he is credited for co-writing "Rusty (Champion Thrust)" which dates from 1972 along with "Slush". "Busted" portrays the agony of a hippie being caught red handed doing his thing in public. Overall, it's impossible to keep a straight face while listening to this collection off English whimsy. - Jeff Melton

Murray Head - "Restless"

 (Headcase, GAH112CD, CD, 1984/2001)

Murray Head is one of those few mid-sixties singer/songwriters whom seems at home on the silver screen as much as in a recording studio. In a career that has spanned almost four decades, it's clear that this restless soul has had much to accomplish in this life as evidenced by three new archival releases from Voiceprint. The re-issue of Nigel Lived from 1972 is reviewed elsewhere in this issue and can be considered a true classic of the period as well as in the singer/songwriter genre. In contrast, the mid-1980s' weren't such an unproductive period for Head since he retired to France with a crack shot group to record a series of ten light pop/radio targeted pieces. Long time friend and Caravan member, Geoff Richardson provides string accompaniment along with Simon Jeffes arrangements (both of whom were with the acclaimed Penguin Café Orchestra). Bassist Ian Maidman (ex-David Sylvian and now with Annie Whitehead) and noted drummer Danny Cummins provide a stable rhythmic section for the rock standards. "Modern Boy" typifies the sessions with bright synth chords and blaring guitar parallel to other period works by the Fixx or Bryan Adams. "Peril in Venice" is an oddity if only due it's darker scope and brooding theme. The other track that has more substance to it is "African Tourist" where the composer belies the plight of visitors who disturb the outback. - Jeff Melton

Murray Head - "Sooner or Later"

 (Headcase, GAH112CD, CD, 1987/2001)

1987 was another year of soul searching for the artist as he linked with ex-Gong guitarist Steve Hillage to produce a series of electronic pop songs with an electronic slant. "Lana Turner" is one of those songs that referenced film stars (like Kim Carnes' "Betty Davis Eyes") to great effect but fell on deaf European ears. Hillage is responsible for nearly all the instrumentation as well as arrangements for each piece in a lucrative effort similar to what he also did for artists such as Cock Robin, Robin Hitchcock and Simple Minds. It's clear that the overall package itself is closer to Rupert Hine or the Fixx than other artists of the day. Geoff Richardson donated a song of his own for singer to cover: "Paper Thin", a reflective piece that reminds me of many of the Brooker/Reid compositions for Procol Harum. Two bonus tracks have been added to the original LP, to pad out the disc: including "Picking Up the Pieces", a pop ditty that relies on a bouncing rhythm section and catchy hook. The album can also be looked upon as a pre-cursor to Hillage's System 7 techno work that would sadly later pre-occupy him fulltime. - Jeff Melton

Murray Head - "Greatest Hits"

 (Headcase, GAH112CD, CD, 2001)

Summarizing Head's career of singles and one off recordings is actually a great career retrospective opportunity. Opening the track is Head's sensitive piece, "Say It Ain't So, Joe" a top European Hit from 1975 and one of his two signature pieces. Songs such as "You Are" follow the same path that Steve Winwood's R&B flavored radio endeavors in the late eighties before resurrecting Traffic, while "Los Angeles", which comes from Head's 1979 album Between Us is more introspective. Most of the pieces are clever slices of pop with standard arrangements. Closing out the set of nineteen pieces is probably the track he's best known for "One Night in Bangkok" from Rice/Webber musical, Chess in 1985. The artist has made many inroads in his career but only the French appear to appreciate him fully. - Jeff Melton

Hereward Kaye - "Golden Mile"

 (Secret Records, SECRET002CD, CD, 2001)

Singer songwriter, Hereward Kaye is something of a mystery even in his homeland, the UK. The artist has crafted thirteen pieces somewhat reminiscent of Elton John's renaissance era with a style coined on 1980's pop stardom. After getting stiffed from a big time recording company, these polished sessions languished for several years before Voiceprint picked up the disc for release. Accompaniment is provided from two separate rhythm sections: one featuring one-time Brand X drummer Preston Heyman and noted gay activist Tom Robinson on bass, and the other belonging to Steeleye Span (Nigel Pegrum and Rick Kemp). "Golden Mile" is a David Hentschel production so there is a bit of that Genesis "Duke" era sheen on several of the pieces (as heard on "Don't Make Me") which covers the pop side of the tracks. The title track along with several pieces have that high radio profile quality about them but based on a songwriter's skills rather than overt singer or performer (which is not a bad trait). "Barnado" is perhaps one of the most noticeable tracks (and my pick for that elusive single his label couldn't find). Formerly from the early 1970's band, Café Society with Tom Robinson, Kaye recorded only one album with them before stepping out on his own. Kaye's own account of his brief exposure to stardom is excruciatingly detailed in the liner notes: another avowed victim of label re-prioritization. Overall it's not a bad set of songs for an unsupporting industry, but it's someone's singer/songwriter treasure once properly introduced. - Jeff Melton