Mark Barry's Books on Music, Film, Poetry, Heart Attacks, The NHS, Piles, Discographies...: 2015

Thursday, 17 December 2015

Home From Home - A Poem For My Father JOHN FRANCIS BARRY Who Passed Monday, 7 December 2015 in Dublin's Beaumont Hospital, Aged 86... Love From All Of Us To You...

HOME FROM HOME

And so it begins – the final journey from a Cancer Bed we’ve all been dreading

Five siblings united from afar by a loss that seems so unreal and stark –

Remembering the devotion of all those Nurses at Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital

Following nine long years of care by Jonathan & Mum at Castilla Park -

But I keep on thinking about your sheer enthusiasm for life at ‘86 years of age’

“…Live and let live…” was your simple and often-quoted philosophy –

Journeys in the Anglia to Waterford’s Mount Melleray Abbey with nattering kids

Buttered Marietta biscuits, egg sandwiches and mugs of Volcano Tea -

Our Dad loved King Kong, The Guns Of Navarone and Jason and The Argonauts

Dusting with Emitex Cleaning Clothes and the warmth of Classical LPs –

He played a mean upright Piano and Organ and did zippy licks on the Trombone

Once graced the Dublin Orchestral Players with his phrasing expertise –

Poppy loved train journeys, garden rockeries and biogs about Historical Figures

Drives out to Howth, his wife’s angel paintings and a browse around HMV –

He’d marvel at the frame-by-frame clarity of “Snow White” on a restored Blu Ray

Looking spiffing on our hugely with it Samsung Plasma upscaling 4K TV –

He’d travel to the other side of Dublin to get a raised batch of freshly baked bread

And risk hours of allergic sniffles for some Neapolitan ice cream and jelly –

He adored Carl Sagan, Kenneth Clark, Jacob Bronowski and David Attenborough

The Antiques Roadshow on Sundays & the consistent quality of BBC telly –

He fell madly in love with Olivia de Havilland in “The Adventures of Robin Hood”

And I was 10 when he took me to see Stanley Kubrick’s Odyssey “2001...” –

We’d all would howl with laughter at Mel Blanc’s Tweety Bird & Foghorn Leghorn

Terry Thomas, Jack Lemmon and Kenneth Williams oohing in Carry On -

He’d devour the Yearly Review in December’s issue of The Gramophone Magazine

And circle interesting programs in yellow in the fortnightly Radio Times –

He proudly collected Jonathan’s paintings on the covers of Wordsworth Classics

Cathy’s books, Ian Fleming, The Bible and Spike Milligan’s witty rhymes –

An Irishman is genetically programmed to talk and our Dad was exactly the same

Praising women on cookery programs with big appetites and Monroe hips -

Regaling stories about meeting Ray Harryhausen and seeing Laurel & Hardy live

While downing Kimberley Coconut Creams and eleven gallons of PG Tips -

Our Dad was a daily communicant at Mass and truly believed in a Higher Power

He practised real-world Christianity and wasn’t just acting out a pious part –

Worked tirelessly as a Leader in Dr. Abraham Lowe’s Recovery for over 40 years

Giving frightened souls - imprisoned by their nerves - a precious new start –

There’s a collage of family photographs pinned to a large noticeboard in our kitchen

Decades of generations flowing from Mom and Dad’s loving parental caress –

Mark, Frances, Catherine, Jonathan and Damien Barry - and all their wee sundries

Sporting natty hairdos from ‘85 and embarrassing modes of Seventies dress –

And now a life well-lived - ends with a Church Service that’s overflowing with love

Remembered as a Rock to us all – left here awash in a sea of emotional foam –

Go to the angels in Paradise John Francis Barry and like that old Fifties photo of you
You’re young again in your dapper sunglasses – in your new home from home...

A Poem For John Francis Barry - My Father

Who Passed Away Monday, 7 Dec 2015 in Dublin's Beaumont Hospital

Aged 86 Years And Counting...

Written by Mark Barry for him and his family....

Sunday, 2 August 2015

"RINGO: With A Little Help" by MICHAEL SETH STARR - A Review Of The July 2015 Hardback Book (on Backbeat Books) by Mark Barry...

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"...All I Have Is A Photograph..."

It's Wednesday morning – the 15th of August 1962. Having had too many beers the night previous playing that lewd and lascivious Rock 'n' Roll music to impressionable teenage girls - Johnny Guitar of Johnny & The Hurricanes is sharing a trailer with a mate of his who is sleeping it off in the back. As Johnny opens the trailer door - he's greeted by two nattily dressed and equally cocky Liverpudlian reprobates. Johnny knows instantly that his band's rhythm section is in trouble.

These two guys are part of the only pop group in Liverpool with an actual recording contract – a deal with a proper record company called Parlophone Records. In a heartbeat Johnny also knows what the young Paul McCartney and John Lennon want – the best Drummer in Liverpool – Richard Starkey - aka RINGO STARR. And thus history is made in a hung-over trailer on an unpromising summer morning. And then in September of the year 1962 - along with George Harrison (who championed Ringo joining the band all along) - they would fly as a foursome called "The Beatles" down to EMI's Abbey Road Studios in the big choke of London to meet professional Producer George Martin and thereafter quietly alter the known Universe...

After all these years later (five decades plus and counting) - it seems odd that Michael Seth Starr (no relation) should be the first to claim an in-depth Biography of the world’s most famous Drummer – Ringo Starr. And it appears he’s done it without the subject’s permission or indeed interest. Yet across the 442 pages of this July 2015 Hardback Book published by Milwaukee’s Backbeat Books – Michael gives a blow-by-blow account of Ringo’s extraordinary life and some would say miraculous survival.

There’s 19 chapters beginning with "Little Richy" (his formative years) and ending with "Peace And Love" (a 35-year marriage of substance with Barbara Bach - an All Starr Band that has featured Joe Walsh and Nils Lofgren in its ranks). In between of course is the sheer lunacy and joy of "Beatlemania" – the movies "How I Won The War", "Candy" and "The Magic Christian" - the split – the chart years on Apple – the "Born To Boogie" movie with Marc Bolan's T.Rex - the drunken oblivion of the mid-to-late Seventies with Harry Nilsson and others – meeting Bond Girl Barbara Bach on the set of "The Caveman" film - Lennon's horrible assassination in December 1980 in New York and so on...

The early chapters describe his harsh upbringing - a toiling mother Elsie trying to put food on the table in Dingle (a rough part of Liverpool) – his father walking out - years of ill-health with stays in boy’s homes and finally salvation through American Rock 'n' Roll 45s coming off the ships down at the docks. Chapters 2 and 3 are called "It Was In My Soul" and "Ringo Starrtime" chart his early passion for rhythms and his rise as a drummer (his first kit was bought for him by a kindly work mate called Henry "Harry" Hunt for £12 – hauled all the way from London). Then that fateful meeting - followed by “Please Please Me" which hits the shelves of record shops in January 1963 and all Hell breaks loose...

The author keeps the details and facts coming and the two sets of photo plates chart the passing years up to 2014 with a smiling Ringo and Barbara still looking impossibly cool after all these years. Chapter 11 deals with the “Magical Mystery Tour” and “Sgt. Peppers” period of astonishing recording achievements – the pressure of global fame. Aged 30 in July 1970 – Ringo began his solo Apple career with hits like "It Don't Come Easy", "Back Off Boogaloo" and the gorgeous "Photograph" – but he also starred in the disastrous and bloody "Blindman" film and the Frank Zappa Avant Garde indulgence of "200 Motels". By the time we get to Chapter 14 delightfully and honestly entitled "We Were Junkies Dabbling In Music" – the lifestyle rot had set in and his marriage to his wife Maureen was over by 1975. In 1976 he shaves his head bald – in 1978 he makes a dreadful film called "Sextet" with 85-year old Mae West – and in 1984 he plays on stage with The Beach Boys but can’t remember it because he was so out of it (hid behind dark glasses). By the time you arrive at "Getting Out Of Bed's A Problem These Days" and finally "Peace And Love" – you’re amazed him, his family and his relationship with McCartney and Harrison is still intact. There’s an Epilogue, Notes (references), Bibliography and an Index.

Now revered as an Elder Statesman of Rock – Ringo has been there and done that – and has indeed survived with more than a little help from friends. I enjoyed this crazy journey far more than I thought I would. I’ve always had an affection for Ringo Starr and a sneaking admiration for his wit and occasional musical brilliance - and this hugely entertaining read (sanctioned or not) has only made that smile every time I see him - wider..

Saturday, 1 August 2015

"BROOK BENTON: There Goes That Song Again" by HERWIG GRADISCHNIG and HANS MAITNER - A Review Of 2015 Music Mentor Books Paperback In English by Mark Barry...

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"...A Rockin' Good Way..."

Originally published in Germany in 2010 as the last word on Brook Benton’s remarkable recording career and equally colourful private life – "There Goes That Song Again" is now updated and republished in English as a tall paperback (April 2015) by York's 'Music Mentor Books'. And I have to say it’s a magnificent tome that comes buffed up with a stupendous Worldwide Discography stretching an impressive 200 pages (it has also has info on chart hits, him as a songwriter, sheet music, his songs recorded by other artists, his TV and Film appearances etc).

Not quite Soul nor Rhythm 'n' Blues – South Carolina's Brook Benton was often viewed as Easy Listening by his record companies and I suppose by his public – but this serious work of affection goes a long way to arguing that his vocal prowess and way with a tune means he should now be seen on the same par as the greats - like say Sam Cooke. Yet like Jackie Wilson and Bobby Womack – Benton is a Black American Soul Singer and First Class Entertainer who's in danger of being a chart/hitmaking footnote instead of being revered – a talent that time has forgotten and criminally so.

Penned by Austrian authors and lifelong fans Herwig Gradischnig and Hans Maitner – you get 434 pages of in-depth study that includes interviews conducted with family members. Part 1 visits his early childhood, his rise to fame on Mercury, RCA, Reprise and Atlantic’s Cotillion Records, his Stage Craft, his Personality and his social commitment to youth projects. The text from Pages 22 to 212 is peppered with great black and white period photos – on stage with Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington – his 1959 tour bus – with Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin of the Rat Pack - in the studio with Margie Singleton and Damita Jo – posters for concerts with Mary Wells and The Penguins - mobbed by audiences in South Africa’s Johannesburg in 1971 and so on... The last few pages even reproduce the American Funeral Service of 1988, Obits and a final shot of his headstone (Brook Benton, 1938-1988).

The Discography has 660 entries (apparently 300 more than previous printed efforts) and begins with his December 1949 recordings with Bill Landford, The Sandmen and Chuck Willis in 1954 and 1955 and his own debut with "Ooh" in 1955 on Okeh 7058. It then goes into his long and productive stint with Mercury Records (duets with Dinah Washington) and there's even US Radio Spots and Transcription Discs. The exhaustive US Discography is followed by a UK equivalent - then a Worldwide section which features countries like Angola, Hong Kong, New Zealand and one LP from Uruguay! Smartly the endless lists are broken up with LP sleeves, label bags, demo copies etc...

American columnist Dick Kleiner said of Brook Benton's deep affecting tone - "...He has a rich soft voice and a way of using it that makes a sound like a breeze though a field of cello strings..." After reading this wonderful book – I'm inclined to think he was so much more. An absolute must own for fans and a great read for the curious. Well done to all involved...

Sunday, 7 June 2015

“Goldmine Standard Catalogue Of American Records 1948-1991 (7th Edition)” by MARTIN POPOFF - A Review of the 2010 American Reference Source by Mark Barry...

“Goldmine Standard Catalogue Of American Records 1948-1991 (7^th Edition)” by MARTIN POPOFF - (A Review of the 2010 American Reference Source)

To get this superb book at the best price and quickest post - go to Amazon by clicking the Title-Link above

"…Tramps Like Us…"

The 5th Edition of this massive American publication came out in 2000 and at 1226 pages (A4 size) was an impressive beast. Version 6 turned up in 2008 and had expanded to a gargantuan 1392 pages and even contained a DVD attached to the back cover (both issues covered 1950 to 1975). This review is for the 7th Edition from 2010 with 1344 pages. More importantly - Edition 7 opened its parameters to give us American releases between 1948 and 1991 for the first time - and covered many more genres than its predecessors (note there’s also my review for the 8th edition).

The layout is simple – each artist gets their 45’s first - with their LPs following (both in label alphabetical order). A fantastically helpful thing is that the 78" and 7" entries have their A & B-sides listed - while the LPs feature both Mono and Stereo issues where applicable. Some important Promo issues on LP and 12" singles are featured – especially on modern day artists like Madonna where different mixes attract the attention of collectors. The album entries don't list tracks (it would be ten times the size if it did) - but they do include a year of release and a Near Mint value in dollars.

A point worth noting - the LP catalogue numbers in this reference source are not like the US Billboard Chart Books that concentrate only on the central set of numbers as a catalogue number. Bruce Springsteen's "Born To Run" is not merely 'Columbia 33795' as per Billboard – here it gets the full monty - it’s PC 33795 for the 1975 original, JC 33795 for the 1977 reissue and HC 33795 for the 1981 Half-Speed Mastered version (lyrics from the song "Born To Run" title this review). This of course helps enormously when you're trying to work out what issue is what. But the range of this book doesn’t just stop there…

Take RAY CHARLES for instance – starting on Page 229 with his ABC Label 45’s – his Solo Discography ends on Page 231 with his "Would You Believe?" album from 1990 on Warner Brothers (A to W). But following that are entries for his 'collaborations' with Harry Belafonte, Betty Carter, Joe Hunter, Jimmy Rushing, Milt Jackson, Cleo Laine and finally The Ray Charles Singers (Page 232). The very end pages even provide info on Soundtracks, Stage Shows, Television and Various Artists compilations (Pages 1301 to 1344). As you can imagine the detail is staggering.

Another point about which 'issue' is an original and which is a reissue: on artists like say Lou Donaldson, The Grateful Dead or Kurt Cobain’s Nirvana – their catalogues are small enough to be manageable reading. But when you get to the big boys like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, The Kinks, James Brown, Elvis Presley, David Bowie, Bob Dylan and The Who - they have sections that are massive and a bit unwieldy – so you need to look thoroughly for the issue you want. On some artists there are even Audiophile pressings listed on well respected labels – Audio Fidelity, DCC Compact Classics, Mobile Fidelity, Nautilus etc

CONTENT - while you would expect The Beach Boys, The Doors, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Prince, Queen, R.E.M., Simon & Garfunkel, U2 and Neil Young to all be in here – it’s the artists in between the cracks that impress. How about Ryan Adams, Mike Bloomfield, Caravan, Lorraine Ellison, The Fireballs, Rory Gallagher, Richie Havens, Leo Kottke, Barbara Lewis, Laura Nyro, The Pixies, The Replacements, Ravi Shankar, Ten Years After, The Undisputed Truth, Suzanne Vega, Tom Waits, Tony Joe White, XTC, The Yardbirds and Warren Zevon.

In fact the sheer range of artists and genres covered is incredible – here's some more:

BLUES, DOO WOP, R'n'B and R'n'R – Chuck Berry, Johnny Burnette, The Clovers, Eddie Cochran, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, Duane Eddy, The Everly Brothers, The Flamingos, Slim Harpo, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Buddy Holly, BB King, Smiley Lewis, Muddy Waters, Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich, Big Joe Turner, Gene Vincent and Jackie Wilson.

COUNTRY – The Ames Brothers, The Carter Family, Johnny Cash, John Denver, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Jim Reeves, Hank Snow and Hank Williams

EASY LISTENING and EXOTICA – Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Percy Faith, Connie Francis, Judy Garland, Burl Ives, Stan Kenton, Peggy Lee, Julie London, Dean Martin, Johnny Mathis, Les Paul and Mary Ford, Frank Sinatra, Yma Sumac, Sarah Vaughan, Dionne Warwick, Lawrence Welk and Kitty Wells

JAZZ – Gene Ammons, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Dave Brubeck, Donald Byrd, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Herbie Hancock, Keith Jarrett, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Nina Simone, Sonny Stitt, Stanley Turrentine, Phil Upchurch and Weather Report

POP, ROCK, PROG, METAL – The Animals, Badfinger, Black Sabbath, Budgie, Joe Cocker, Elvis Costello, Creedence, Deep Purple, Donovan, Echo & The Bunnymen, ELP, Fleetwood Mac, Genesis (and all Solo), Hall & Oates, Iron Maiden, Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Van Morrison (and Them), Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, Talking Heads, Traffic (and all Solo), Velvet Underground (and all Solo), Yes, Frank Zappa and The Zombies

SOUL, FUNK, MODERN R'n'B, HIP-HOP – The Beastie Boys, Bobby Bland, Mariah Carey, Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, The Isley Brothers, Big Daddy Kane, Otis Redding, Rufus, 2 Live Crew and Stevie Wonder

PUNK and NEW WAVE – Black Flag, The Clash, The Damned, Dead Kennedys, Devo, The Jam, The Sex Pistols, Stiff Little Fingers, The Stooges, Television, The Undertones

INDIE – The Cure, Depeche Mode, The Fall, Joy Division, My Bloody Valentine, New Order and The Smiths

Niggles – an artist like CHRIS ISAAK began his career in 1985, but his discography here doesn’t go past 1991 which gives his entries a half-finished feel. You get Tim Buckley but not Jeff Buckley - which just doesn’t seem right? There are artists missing like The Blue Nile and Icehouse, but you could say this about so many names…

Apart from those tiny whines – this is an incredible piece of work that has undoubtedly taken decades to collate. Compiler and Author MARTIN POPOFF is to be congratulated.

To sum up - this extraordinary reference source is entirely American based (as its title clearly states) - but if you’ve any passing interest in the history of music – then this peach will serve you well for years to come. A genuine wow. Recommended – and then some…

“Young, Gifted & Black – The Story Of Trojan Records” by Michael de Koningh & Laurence Cane-Honeysett (2003 Sanctuary Books) - A Review by Mark Barry

“Young, Gifted & Black – The Story Of Trojan Records” by Michael de Koningh & Laurence Cane-Honeysett (2003 Sanctuary Books)

Buy this book from Amazon for the best price and fastest postal - click the Title-Link above

“…Lively Up Yourself…”

I've contributed large numbers of entries to the UK's "Record Collector Price Guide” (and on several occasions too) and have worked in the rare record mail-order business for 'too' many years. Why do I say all this - because I can tell you that its REGGAE MUSIC - and especially information about it 7" singles - that is so scarce, hard-to-find and problematic.

Details are always sketchy. Sure, most of the Island Records and later Virgin Label Reggae stuff is now listed and documented, but you go off-the-beaten track a little bit and it's a whole different ballgame. Usually produced on a shoestring, pressed up as one-off pressings, then sold off vans to shops in the city that specialized in it...much of it never charted in the pop charts and is therefore something of a mystery. I've found that hard info about reggae (LPs or 7"s) is in the mitts of a handful of dedicated collectors and dedicated shop sources (like the now sadly defunct and brilliant "Daddy Kool" in Berwick Street in London) and the general public never gets a shoe in on what's what. Which is why this book is such an absolute sensation.

After the main story of Trojan Records itself (which is a fantastic read) - Pages 119 to 156 give you all the supplementary stuff - Lists of R&B, Motown and Pop Covers that the label did, Musicland & Muzic City shops stocking Trojan from their incorporation in 1963 to their closure in 1976, pages of detailed Suggested Listening, then Suggested Reading, the Sources used to compile it all and Profiles of all the labels under the Trojan umbrella. But then - wait for it - there’s a discography that takes up much of the book stretching from Page 157 to 305. The detail and accuracy is astonishing and in many cases - first time info into the public domain.

A nice touch also is that there’s a set of 16 full-sized colour plates inset at the centre - photos of Bob & Marcia from 1970 (the hit and title of the book - “Young, Gifted & Black”), trade adverts for Symarip’s “Skinhead Moonstomp” and Judge Dread’s “Big 8”, a cool-looking Toots & The Maytals standing by the railings as they contemplate “Funy Kingston”, an LP advert from December 1971 for a whole range of releases, publicity photos of Bob Andy, John Holt, The Dynamites (Clancy Eccles’ studio band) as well as several label bags and 7” single variations.

It should also be noted that while the TROJAN name and label is well known, its subsidiary labels are not. The discography includes both singles & LPs of the following labels for the first time:

Amalgamated, Attack, Big, Big Shot, Black Swan, Blue Cat, Bread, Clandisc, Doctor Bird, Down Town, Duke, Duke Reid, Dynamic, Explosion, Gayfeet, GC, GPW, Grape, Green Door, Harry J, High Note, Horse, Hot Rod, Jackpot, J-Dan, Joe, JJ, Jump-Up, Moodisc, Pressure Beat, Pyramid, Q, Randy's, Smash, Song Bird, Spinning Wheel, Summit, Techniques, Treasure Isle, Trojan and Upsetter. Wow!

As if this isn't good enough, there's a superlative 12-track CD attached to the inside of the front sleeve with both rare and well known Trojan titles - its track list is:

1. Everything Crash by The Ethiopians, 1968 UK 7" single on JJ Records DB 1169

2. Pressure Drop by The Maytals, 1969 UK 7" single on Trojan Records TR 7709

3. Poor Rameses by The Pioneers, 1969 UK 7" single on Trojan Records TR 698

4. Mr. Midnight (Skookiaan) by Clancy Eccles & The Dynamites, 1969 UK 7" single on Clandisc CLAN 200

5. Shocks Of Mighty by Dave Barker & The Upsetters, 1970 UK 7" single on Upsetter US 331

6. Skinhead Revolt by Joe The Boss, 1970 UK 7" single on Joe Records JRS 9

7. Shanghai by Freddie Notes & The Rudies, 1970 UK 7" single on Trojan Records TR 7713

8. You Don't Know by BOB ANDY, 1973 UK 7" single on Green Door Records GD 4060 (Recorded in 1970, released in 1973)

9. Melody Maker by Keith Hudson, 1972 UK 7" single on Summit Records SUM 8541

10. (That's The Way) Nature Planned It by KEN BOOTHE, 1974 UK 7" single on Trojan Records TR 7910 (a cover version of The Four Tops hit)

11. Red, Gold & Green by I-Roy, 1973 UK 7" single on Trojan Records TRLS 63

12. Nice & Easy by Susan Cadogan, 1974 UK 7" single on Trojan Records TR 9028 (a Lee Perry production)

Another really cool touch is that the singles discographies provides ‘both’ the A&B side info and the Producer on almost each entry because that often determines the collectability of a single in the world of Reggae collecting. Each label is presented in rising numerical order with those catalogue numbers that are unreleased, not known about or not yet found - given a NYT entry - not yet traced.

I can't praise this book enough and its researcher’s extraordinary work. I dragged out my 8 "Tighten Up" album compilations and have been petting them and playing them like a favourite child ever since.

A sensational book then with a groundbreaking and detailed Discography - I can’t recommend “Young Gifted And Black - The Story Of and Trojan Records” enough (something I'll be dipping into for years to come). Lively up yourself and your musical world by acquiring it…

"The Virgin Book Of TOP 40 CHARTS" by DAVID McALEER - A Review by Mark Barry of the 2009 Reference Book...

"The Virgin Book Of TOP 40 CHARTS" by DAVID McALEER (2009)

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“…Me…I’m Just A Lawnmower…You Can Tell By The Way I Walk…”

When I got this brill November 2009 1053-page paperback (with an introduction by compiler DAVID McALEER) - I hardly knew where to start...the detail is gargantuan. It contains every Top 40 UK Singles chart beginning at 10 March 1960 and ending at 3 January 2009 (US customers should note this is ONLY the charts for UK 7” singles).

“The Virgin Book Of TOP 40 CHARTS” breaks down like this… To the far left is the chart position (1, 2, 3 etc), then to the right of that is a column that gives you 'last week's chart position' - which allows you to trace back when the record first showed up on the charts. The title of the song is in BLOCK CAPITOLS while the artist is standard print so you can differentiate quickly and easily which is which. It then gives you the label (Capitol, HMV, RAK, Bell, Polydor etc), but unfortunately not the catalogue number (you need the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles for that). It is updated to 2009 - which the Guinness one isn't.

Another real ace is a track-by-track index in the rear; say you want to check on "Give Me The Night" by GEORGE BENSON - it tells you look at the week ending 2/8/80 which is when it first charted - you know exactly where to locate it - very handy. The final column to the far right gives you the number of weeks it’s been on chart (3, 7 etc).

Browsing through the years if of course half the fun. You notice stuff. There were an awful lot of Number 1’s that were truly awful – and seemed to stay there for an eternity. It’s also interesting to notice that despite having actually lived when "Ride A White Swan" by T.REX first hit the charts in October 1970 - there are titles in that week and the subsequent weeks that I don't remember at all (and some you'd rather forget).

I then figured I'd try to set up some of these Top Forty lists in iTunes on my computer. I chose a week from 1970, 1971, 1972 and 1973 - and I found to my astonishment that even with 46,000 songs at my disposal (don't ask!), I only had about half in each list. Many are elusive on CD still.

Downsides - there's no pictures at all to break the monotony - and all those dry lists have little to accompany them by way of text on the changing face of music and the charts - like the Guinness books do (there are a few pages at the beginning on Chart statistics). But it’s still a fantastic reference source. And long overdue too.

I got my copy for just under seven on-line - despite its official twenty-pound price tag. A very, very good reference source and a great fun-trip down our music's 50 Year Memory Lane…

"TAMLA MOTOWN: The Stories Behind The UK Singles" by TERRY WILSON - A Review by MARK BARRY of the 2009 Cherry Red Books Publictation...

TAMLA MOTOWN:The Stories Behind The UK Singles by TERRY WILSON (A Review by Mark Barry)

Click on the Title-Link Above to get this book on Amazon

"...And The Lord God Looked Down On Motown in Detroit And Verily Thought...I Must Set Up A British Branch..."

Did you know that following the departure of his principal hit-writers Holland Dozier and Holland, Berry Gordy wanted to reinstate the Supremes as a number act after a year of dullard releases, so he locked all his remaining writers in a hotel room and told them they weren't coming out until they penned a winner for his wife. They promptly raided the hotel bar and got completely pissed in retaliation. But the following morning they threw out the number one hit "Love Child" anyway. Or that Stevie Wonder's manager sang his newly released "Higher Ground" single into his ear in 1973 as Stevie lay dying on a hospital bed having had a freak accident where a huge log crashed through his windscreen and into his skull - and it brought him back. Or did you know that the original version of Marvin Gaye's masterpiece "What's Going On" had a question mark removed from the end of the title - so that you didn't know whether he was asking a question or making a statement? Neither did I...

A book like this is a treasure trove of such juicy trivia, but it wouldn't amount to more than a long list of staid statistics if the rest of the text weren't imbibed with wit, affection and a genuine thirst for knowledge and understanding - on every single entry. Americans know that Brits are soul mad, but this book proves it like no other. There's stuff in here that even the guys who wrote the music don't know about!

First, in order to convey just how deep this work goes, let's get to the details.

Published by Cherry Red Books in 2009 (a division of Cherry Red Records) – “TAMLA MOTOWN: The Stories Behind The UK Singles” by TERRY WILSON is a tall paperback with over 710 pages. The 72 singles from 1959 to mid 1965 issued on London (4), Fontana (4), Oriole (19) and Stateside (45) are all here - each given an individual essay on their release and history. Topping the essay over each single is other relevant info - Timing, Writers, Producers, Recording Date, UK Release Date, B-side, UK Chart Position, US catalogue number, US release date and finally the US chart position attained in both Billboard's Pop and R&B charts.

The two-word 'Tamla Motown' identity was started by Gordy specifically to deal with UK issues (it was either the single word 'Motown', 'Tamla' or 'Gordy' in the USA). Its first 7" single release came in March 1965 on TMG 501 - "Stop! In The Name Of Love" by The Supremes. While it topped the charts in the States, it made Number 7 in the UK (the title was a remark made by a producer to his argumentative girlfriend). From this point on page 68, the releases stretch all the way to page 606 and the February 2006 release of Stevie Wonder's "From The Bottom Of My Heart" on TMG 1513. Every single one!

This is then followed by the ARTIST SUMMARY section - which gives you their releases at a glance - 1 for Jerry Butler and 9 for The Commodores and so forth - very handy. There's then a section on STATISTICS, FACTS and FEATS; followed by AN ALPHABETICAL LIST OF TRACKS; followed by a section on MOTOWN EPs and 12" SINGLES. Then there's a section on the off-shoot labels, Rare Earth, Mo-West and Gaiee labels...and a COLLECTORS section dealing with label bags, different texts, matrix numbers etc. and finally a REFERENCES section that in itself goes on for pages.

Some entries are long - "Tears Of A Clown" by SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES (an instrumental first presented to Smokey by Stevie Wonder at a Christmas party), others are short because they deserve to be "A Little Bit For Sandy" by PAUL PETERSEN (a child actor originally on The Donna Reed Show) - it was produced by R DEAN TAYLOR and sank without a trace. The social consciousness period of Norman Whitfield's 1970s productions (Temptations, Undisputed Truth) I found fascinating and full of amazing info. In fact I can't imagine the thousands of hours it must have taken to assemble all this information, cross check every entry and then present the whole lot in an interesting way. His assessment of Marvin's "What's Going On" as a song that "says so little, yet means so much to so many people..." is both insightful and true.

I would say - however - that a very real down point is the complete lack of visuals. There should have been 10 or 12 pages of colour pictures, label variations, rare picture sleeves, early issues - but maybe on the next run.

Also, I went into 5 West End book stores and none had it for sale let alone knew of its existence - and Cherry Red books need to address that pronto - because it's criminal to see a book of this stature go unnoticed - reviewed online by some Irish nutter in a second-hand record shop in London. I would also prep a 'download' version for the net with better front artwork and a slew of picture pages from collectors with a far cheaper price to make it more accessible. Those minor nitpicks aside, both Cherry Red and the author are to be congratulated for this wonderful tome.

I can tell you now with all confidence that even as Moses was parting the Red Sea with the sound of hooves and chariots in his shelllikes, he was secretly thinking, I can't wait for 2009 and Terry Wilson's detailed book about Tamla Motown in England...

To say I'm impressed folks is like saying the Sistine Chapel is an ok painting - a fantastic achievement...and well done to Terry Wilson and all involved...

Saturday, 6 June 2015

"I’ll Take You There: Mavis Staples, The Staple Singers And The March Up Freedom’s Highway" - A Book by GREG KOT - A Review by Mark Barry

"I’ll Take You There: Mavis Staples, The Staple Singers And The MarchUp Freedom’s Highway" - A Book by GREG KOT

Click the Titled-Link above to get this superb book on AMAZON - Best Prices and Fastest Delivery

“…You’re Not Alone…”

Father of two, all-round-good-egg and a respected critic at the Chicago Tribune since 1990 - GREG KOT has also authored three acclaimed music books - "Ripped: How The Wired Generation Revolutionized Music", "Wilco: Learning How To Die" and "Beatles vs. Stones: Sound Opinions On The Great Rock 'n' Roll Rivalry". This is his 4th musical tome...

Published in 2014 by Scribner of the USA in Hardback (308 Pages) - "I'll Take You There: Mavis Staples, The Staples Singers, And The March Up Freedom's Highway" is the first fully sanctioned autobiography of what many feel is an American institution long overdue hysterical praise - a God given thing of wonder - the voice and heart of MAVIS STAPLES. I'll be blunt here. I've loved her voice, her music, her spirit and her healing effect fro my whole life - having been a lifetime fan since those STAX Records sides in the early Seventies (the book takes its title from their 1972 hit). I'd high expectations for "I'll Take You There" and I'm thrilled to say it doesn't disappoint.

And what a journey it's been - filled with never-before-told stories of growing up in segregation Thirties and Forties Mississippi - onwards with Pops and The Staples Singers to shaking church rafters with Sam Cooke in the Fifties - becoming both Gospel and cross-over artists in the explosive civil-rights Sixties - and global bone-fide Soul Superstars in the Seventies. The book then goes into the desert of the Eighties and re-emerges with Prince in the Nineties and Jeff Tweedy of Wilco in the Naughties. You wouldn't mind if her last two albums "You Are Not Alone" (2010) and "One True Vine" (2013) were no good - now in her late Seventies they're probably the best of her career.

KOT cleverly keeps the chapters short and sweet - they last only 6 to 8 pages each and there's 43 of them - each packed with extraordinary names that crossed the family's path across nearly 7 decades (Charlie Patton, Howlin' Wolf, Buddy and Ella Johnson, Lou Rawls, John Carter of The Flamingos and The Dells, Johnnie Taylor, Mahalia Jackson, Sam Cooke, Bobby Womack, Aretha Franklin, Martin Luther King, Harry Belafonte, Billy Preston, Levon Helm of The Band and Hilary Clinton to name but a few). One of fourteen children himself - Roebuck "Pops" Staples was 18 when he married his childhood sweetheart Oceola Ware in 1933 (she was 16). By early 1936 and with his trusting wife and two young kids in tow (Cleotha and Pervis - Pervis would later manage the band) - hothead Pops defied his father's advice, scrounged for a whole year until he had the $12 bus fare needed and left the dead-end South for the music of Chicago. Yvonne Staples came in 1937 and Mavis followed in July 1939. Soon the family of singing siblings were doing ensemble vocal renditions of Gospel songs with Dad on his trademark guitar - practising in their apartment as a way to pass the time. But after they earned $7 one Sunday afternoon by wowing the Gospel crowds with their sheer spirit and uncanny harmonising - Pops began to see how he could support his family long term. Little did he know that such a humble beginning would spawn a musical career lasting way past his sad passing in 2000.

The beauty of a book like this is that it covers so much of America' turbulent history - a virtual step-by-musical-step through Americana. You get example after example of horrible racism, the civil rights movement and the redeeming bringing-together power of music. Through interviews - Kot gets the good and the bad of what happened - and to whom. Yet throughout Mavis remains positive and forgiving - bad career decisions - broken marriages - never having children - all of it anchored by family, music and a mighty, mighty faith. The chapters also document the very real difficulty the family had with their peers as they tried endlessly shed purist Gospel for their version of righteous Soul - how their success at Stax elicited howls of `sell out' derision - and how they toured in places where blacks just didn't go. We get her brief affair with Bob Dylan, support shows with Rock acts like Love, Steppenwolf and Traffic - collaborations with Steve Cropper of Booker T & The MG's as she took her first tentative steps into a solo career in 1969. There's stuff on Iran in 1970, Ghana in 1971, the WattStax Festival in 1972 with "Respect Yourself" on to headlining an anti-apartheid South Africa concert in 1975. There's stuff on Vee-Jay, Epic, Stax and Warner Brothers.

Her meeting the mercurial Prince is described as Holy Ghost Moment and that same collaborative magic happened again with Jeff Tweedy of Wilco. His "You Are Not Alone" is probably the single most gorgeous song Mavis has sung in damn near 40 years - full of great message and heart - a hopeful Soulful ballad of hope ("I wanna get it through to you...you're not alone...every night I stand in your place..." Isn't that beautiful - much like her good self and this uplifting book...