In 1969, Donald K. Donald introduced Franki Hart (The Sirocco Singers, Riverson) to Bill Hill (J.B. and the Playboys) and suggested they join forces with members of Montréalband The Munks (Rick St. Jean, Rene Boileau, Del Desrosiers and Eddie Kaye) to form a new group called Freedom. In 1970, Freedom went into the studio to record an album for Aquarius Records. The line up was Bill Hill (lead guitar), Franki Hart (vocals/piano), Rick St. Jean (vocals/guitar), Les Leroux (bass) and Eddie Kaye (drums). Ron Dann added pedal steel guitar, and Rayburn Blake (Mashmakhan) guested on the song “Doctor Tom” on acoustic guitar.
The album was released on Aquarius under the name Freedom North and was produced by Bill Hill. From Montreal, Quebéc, Freedom’s “Doctor Tom” was released on Aquarius in May 1970 and peaked at #17 on the RPM Top Singles chart in August of that year. The song was released in the US on the Wand label under the name Freedom of Choice. Freedom North toured extensively in Eastern Canada, often with other Montréalbands such as Mashmakhan and April Wine and, as well, performed in concert in Montreal, Toronto and New England. This line-up would include Graham Lear (drums) and Bob Burgess (bass). After the band split up Kaye, St. Jean and Leroux all ended up as part of Don Graham’s band Graham County in 1971; Franki Hart would perform solo in Quebéc throughout the 1970s under the name Frankie Hart and was the backing vocalist on The Wackers’ 1973 LP ‘Shredder’. She also made a guest appearance as part of the Wackers’ 40th anniversary reunion in Toronto in 2011.
by Frankie Hart and Don Graham
Tracks
1. Ordinary Man (Rick St. Jean) - 3:17
2. Take A Look At Me (Allan Nicholls, Bill Hill) - 3:16
3. Losing You (Bill Hil, Eddy Kaye, Franki Hart, Les Leroux, Rick St. Jean) - 2:24
4. Seems To Me (Bill Hill, Rick St. Jean) - 2:42
5. Lonely Man (Bill Hill, Les Leroux, Rick St. Jean) - 5:33
For Nektar, 1973's double set "Sounds Like This" was a pivotal moment. Roye Albrighton, (guitar, lead vocals), Allan "Taff" Freeman (keyboards, vocals), Derek "Mo" Moore (bass guitar, vocals) and Ron Howden (drums and percussion), had been touring and recording solidly for nearly four years, ably assisted by Mick Brockett's elaborate light show. Forming in Hamburg in 1969, Nektar quickly established themselves as a major live attraction in Germany. Signing to Bacillus records in 1970, the band had recorded the superb albums "Journey to the Centre of the Eye" and "A Tab in The Ocean" and were now looking to spread their music outside of Germany.
The first overseas territory to be receptive to Nektar's music was Britain. Andrew Lauder, head of the UK division of United Artists records had become aware of the band thanks to the members of Welsh band Man recommending the group highly. As a result, the next album to be recorded by Nektar would also secure a British release. "Sounds Like This" was conceived as a way of capturing the live power of Nektar in the controlled surroundings of a recording studio, without employing the use of overdubs and as a vehicle to record of die older material written by the band in their formative months. The first sessions for “Sound Like This" took place at Dierks studio in Stommeln on 12th October 1972. In front of a small invited audience Nektar performed a lengthy set of music which included versions of "Good Day". "A New Day Dawning" (written by the band in 1969), "Wings", an extended jam of "Cast Your Fare" which featured a riff utilised in "Mr. H", later included in "A Day in the Life of a Preuhtr" and"Da Da Dum". In addition several pieces were recorded that in hindsight proved to be the birth of several major compositions in the later Nektar canon. "Sunshine Down on the City" was a twelve minute long opus that included sections of music that later appeared in "Remember the Future Part Two" and "A Day in the Life of a Preacher", whilst "It's All in Your Mind" was a twelve minute tour de force that also contained passages that would later feature in the bands magnum opus "Remember the Future".
Despite the excellence of these recordings, no final mixes were made, as both producer Peter Hauke and Nektar felt the performances, (with the notable exception of "Wings"), whilst passionate and energetic, could be improved upon. Therefore the decision was made to enter the studio on February 8th 1973 to record a further "live in the studio" session. By this time "A Day in the Life of a Preacher" had evolved into a full thirteen minute long concert highlight and was captured for the first time on multi-track tape. Additionally, newer and more polished versions of "Good Day", "New Day Dawning", "WhatYa Gonna Do?" and "Cast Your Fate" were recorded. Nektar also took the opportunity to revisit both sides of their 1972 single "Do You Believe in Magic?" and "1-2-3-4" along with the Ron Howden showcase "Odyssey".
This time the fruits of the recording sessions were deemed productive and the sessions were duly mixed and released in June 1973 under the title "Sounds Like This" in Germany and the UK. The interest generated by the first British Nektar release resulted in the first UK concert dates by the band and laid the foundations of the recording of the next Nektar album, "Remember the Future" at Chipping Norton studios in Oxfordshire. This work was to be their breakthrough album in the USA, reaching number 19 on the Billboard chart and was declared "album of the year" in Germany by the magazine Musik Express. Nektar's star was truly on the ascendant.
by Mark Powell
Tracks
Disc 1 Original LP
1. Good Day - 6:43
2. New Day Dawning - 5:01
3. What Ya Gonna Do? - 5:24
4. 1-2-3-4 - 12:43
5. Do You Believe In Magic? - 7:15
6. Cast Your Fate - 5:44
7. A Day In The Life Of A Preacher - 12:55
a. Preacher
b. Squeeze
c. Mr. H
8. Wings - 3:45
9. Odyssey - 14:26
a. Ron's On
b. Never Never Never
c. Da-Da-Dum
All compositions by Roye Albrighton, Allan Freeman, Ron Howden, Derek Moore
Disc 2 Bonus Tracks
1. Good Day - 7:10
2. New Day Dawning - 5:36
3. Sunshine Down On The City - 13:02
4. Da Da Dum - 6:30
5. What Ya Gonna Do? - 6:50
6. It's All In Your Mind - 12:48
7. Cast Your Fate Jam - 20:25
8. Wings - 3:54
All tracks written by Roye Albrighton, Allan Freeman, Ron Howden, Derek Moore
Free's 3rd album was a huge success, reaching #2 in the UK charts and #17 in the American, making it the most successful Free album. This is largely due to the album containing the hit single "All Right Now" which they later played to a crowd of over 600,000 people at the 1970 Isle Of Wight Festival, which generated them huge publicity, originally released in June 1970 and has now been expanded with 23 bonus tracks.
Disc One contains the original album digitally remastered by Peter Mew at Abbey Road plus 3 songs recorded in session for the BBC plus 4 songs recorded live for John Peel's Sunday Live in Concert programme for the BBC.
Disc Two gathers together 16 alternative versions of songs from the album including a previously unreleased version of Fire and Water and previously unreleased versions of All Right Now recorded for the video.
"While it may seem excessive to close the set with three versions of the same song we felt that these are so good, and all quite different performances, that it would be absurd not to let you hear them and simply leave them languishing in the vaults."
Tracks
Disc 1
1. Fire And Water - 4:03
2. Oh I Wept - 4:31
3. Remember - 4:29
4. Heavy Load - 5:23
5. Mr Big (Andy Fraser, Paul Kossoff, Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke) - 6:00
6. Don't Say You Love Me - 6:05
7. All Right Now - 5:37
8. Fire And Water - 3:05
9. Mr Big (Andy Fraser, Paul Kossoff, Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke) - 5:07
10.All Right Now - 5:29
11.Remember - 4:50
12.Mr Big - 6:37
13.Don't Say You Love Me - 5:55
14.All Right Now - 5:09
All songs by Andy Fraser, Paul Rodgers except where stated
Disc 2
1. Fire And Water - 3:44
2. Oh I Wept - 4:32
3. Remember - 4:30
4. Don't Say You Love Me - 6:26
5. All Right Now - 3:4
6. All Right Now - 4:16
7. Fire And Water - 2:26
8. Fire And Water - 4:13
9. Fire And Water - 4:13
1. Don't Say You Love Me - 5:56
11.Mr Big (Andy Fraser, Paul Kossoff, Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke) - 5:56
12.All Right Now - 6:25
13.Mr Big (Andy Fraser, Paul Kossoff, Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke) - 5:26
14.All Right Now - 4:28
15.All Right Now - 4:30
16.All Right Now - 4:46
All songs by Andy Fraser, Paul Rodgers except where noted
Sometimes the best albums come from the worst of situations. In 1972 Free had been through a lot. After they failing to capitalise on the success of Alright Now and reinvent themselves as swaggering rockers with Highway, the band returned to their soul roots to craft an emotive, melodic epitaph for a band they all knew was on the verge of implosion.
Where Paul Kossof was intelligible enough to play guitar he does so with tear jerking abandon, hearing but never heading Rodger's please for sobriety on opening numbers “Wishing Well” and “Heartbreaker.” It's Rodgers who gives the album it's soul and binds the lost guitarist and newcomer John “Rabbit” Bundrick on keyboards (who contributes the solid numbers “Common Mortal Man” and “Muddy Waters”) into the semblance of a working band.
The singer graces all eight tracks with, well, hearbreaking emotion. By the last two tracks it all comes to a head with the elegant prayer for mercy “Easy On My Soul,” and “Seven Angels,” embodying the shared desire of all involved to break away from the train wreck the band had become. Any classic rock historian will tell you that Free recorded many more tracks in their latter days than feature here.
There are eight tracks here for a reason; this was an era before CDs when quality counted more than quantity and creating a seamless work was all. It's this attitude that makes Hearbreaker the most gripping and emotive work Free ever committed to tape.
Tracks
1. Wishing Well (Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke, Tetsu Yamauchi, Paul Kossoff, John Bundrick) - 3:43
2. Come Together In The Morning (Paul Rodgers) - 4:38
3. Travellin' in Style (Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke, Tetsu Yamauchi, Paul Kossoff, John Bundrick) - 4:01
4. Heartbreaker (Paul Rodgers) - 6:12
5. Muddy Water (John Bundrick) - 4:15
6. Common Mortal Man (John Bundrick) - 4:06
7. Easy on My Soul (Paul Rodgers) - 3:44
8. Seven Angels (Paul Rodgers) - 5:03
9. Wishing Well (US mix) (Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke, Tetsu Yamauchi, Paul Kossoff, John Bundrick) - 3:39
10.Let Me Show You (Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke, Tetsu Yamauchi, Paul Kossoff, John Bundrick)- 3:01
11.Muddy Water (John Bundrick) - 4:15
12.Hand Me Down Turn Me Round (John Bundrick) - 3:19
In the mid sixties Tom Crosgrove was lead guitarist and vocalist in the Bronx band called Elegant Four were also known as the Elegants, they released only one single in 1965, both songs where written by Tom
In the early 1970s he formed Brethren together with Rick Marotta who spent several years as the drummer for his own group, Stu Woods played bass (he would later appear on Todd Rundgren’s Something/Anything? album), and Mike Garson who played keyboards. Tom Cosgrove took over the singing and played lead guitar. They released two albums.
The band had a unique sound, a mixture of rock and country, with traces of jazz and influences from Dr. John (Mac Rebennack), who wrote the album notes and the song “Loop Garoo” for them. A really fine sample of swamp rock and blues rock.
Rick Marotta was also a famous session drummer who appeared on recordings by leading artists such as Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Paul Simon, John Lennon, Hall & Oates, Stevie Nicks, Wynonna, Roy Orbison, Todd Rundgren, Roberta Flack, Peter Frampton, Quincy Jones, Jackson Browne, Al Kooper, Waylon Jennings, Randy Newman, Peter Gabriel, Kenny G, The Jacksons, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Warren Zevon, Linda Ronstadt, among others.
Tracks
1. Loop Garoo (Dr. John) - 8:25
2. Wesley With The Gun (Stu Woods, Tom Cosgrove) - 3:04
3. Sun And The Moon (Mark Klingman) - 3:15
4. Freedom Blues (Eskew Reeder) - 5:13
5. Lady On The Terrace (Tom Cosgrove) - 3:57
6. Move On (Rick Marotta, Stu Woods, Tom Cosgrove) - 4:00
Everyone knows Al Kooper in one form or another. If the name isn’t instantly recognizable, then Kooper’s long list of musical contributions and achievements should very well be. After all, this is the man who not only played the legendary and unforgettable organ part on Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone”, but Kooper also did everything from having a hand in penning the classic tune “This Diamond Ring” to founding such incomparable Sixties groups such as Blues Project and Blood, Sweat and Tears. The man even started out as a member of The Royal Teens who charted with “Short Shorts”. He hung out with Hendrix, “discovered” Lynyrd Skynyrd, and produced a ton of classic albums. And he’s still going strong.
So much so, in fact, that Kooper has recently released Rare & Well Done, a two disc collection that fully represent the album’s title. Rare and Well Done, is a two disc collection that fully represent the album's title. All the tracks were 24-bit remastered with Kooper's own supervision.
Disc one is a 19-track collection of hard to find and previously unreleased material from the Kooper vaults, while disc two features plenty of the artist's best known work, in solo and various band formats. For longtime fans, this collection is a welcome addition to their Kooper collection. For anyone else who's even mildly curious about Kooper's legacy, this album works as a nice springboard from which to begin exploring the man's vast catalogue. As it usually is with such releases, not everything here works and not every "rare" found here needed inclusion, but overall Rare & Well Done is an indispensable look back at one of rock music's most prolific artists.
The "Rare" disc opens with a new demo, "I Can't Quit Her 2001". It's not the best song on the disc that the collection could have started with. In fact, it's a bit schmaltzy and sounds like something that you might hear Paul Schaffer's band doing on Letterman. It's certainly not the best version of this classic, as the live version included on the "Well Done" disc proves. However, things fall into place and start to genuinely rock with track two, Kooper's 1964 demo of "Somethin' Goin' On". Amazingly soulful, gospel tinged and incredibly deep, "Somethin' Goin' On" seems light years away from everything else that was coming out in '64 -- especially Beatlemania. Kooper's voice instantly moves one emotionally as much as those fantastic piano, organ, and guitar parts. Stunning.
But then again, the disc manages to dip down for a moment as "Autumn Song" sounds like a mid-'80s fusion/muzak piece. It would have been better had the contents of this disc been arranged chronologically as the time warps back and forth through the years certainly mess up the grooves more than once. Kooper's own phrasing of some of the words here, like "winter" also seem a bit silly as if he were just goofing off on the track. "I Can't Stand The Rain" which follows is a bit better, though the horn section sounds like nothing more than synth brass. These are the kinds of rarities that may have been better off left on the shelves.
Still, one can't argue with the slow cooking "Baby Please Don't Go" offered here in a live version from 1971 and getting and eight-and-a-half minute workout. Kooper's amazing piano work on the track just simply burns, as does his vocal prowess once again. Giving Big Joe Williams a run for his money, "Baby Please Don't Go" encapsulates not only the blues here, but also takes on funk and classical vestiges that must simply be heard to be appreciated. The band's solo spots are equally remarkable, with the other-worldy synth break being especially dazzling.
But then the record shifts once more and we're back into smoove rock territory with "I Let Love Slip Through My Fingers", a number on which Kooper seems to be doing his best Lou Rawls impression that turns out to be not so good in the end. The sax and guitar parts are overwrought and cheese up the track way too much. "The Earthquake of Your Love" restores the good groove with an undeniably Seventies bounce and charm. This time, Kooper vocally sounds almost like Steve Miller. And that's not too strange, considering Miller himself went on to create such plastic, yet likable boogie like "Abracadabra" a bit later on.
Getting back to the downright essential tracks on the disc, of important note is the inclusion of Al's very first single from 1965, "New York's My Home (Razz-A-Ma-Tazz)". Again, this long lost Sixties chestnut doesn't sound much like anything else going on at the time with its pretty flute and string arrangement outdoing the Fab Four (again), and that indelible swinging jazz outbreak at the middle of the tune being especially captivating. If Kooper wasn't influencing both Brian Wilson and Lennon and McCartney at this time, then I'd damn sure be surprised as Al had created his own "mini-epic" right here . . . in 1965 . . . in two-and-a-half minutes.
The "English Hall" cover of XTC's "Making Plans for Nigel" is also excellent. Dare I say that it's even better than XTC's. Sure. I'm not so taken with that group that I can't see that their career has been spotty through the decades. But even better than that is Kooper's blistering version of Dylan's "Went To See The Gypsy", an outtake from Bob's New Morning LP that rock fiercer than Dylan's own take. Of course, that version was so subdued (yet equally great) that it wouldn't be difficult to rock harder. But here, Kooper's band injects stunning guitar parts that do sound distinctively Sixties, but all the better.
Also of interest is Kooper's instrumental rehearsal version of "Hey Jude" from 1969 with orchestra. Kooper jazzes the Beatles tune up with swinging horns and lickety-split drumming. It sounds a bit like a Vegas spectacular, but it's by no means horrible. Hearing someone with Kooper's talent reconfigure such a song in this format is impressive. Although it is hard not to laugh at "The Big Chase", a piece of incidental music that was left out of an episode of TV's Crime Story. It sounds like Jan Hammer and Harold Faltermeyer got together and created the most hellish cop music they could think of. Lots of fun (seriously).
Turning to the "Well Done" disc of the collection now, the old fans should finally start feeling like they're on familiar territory as nothing on the CD here hasn't been released before. Things start with a live 1994 take of "I Can't Keep from Cryin' Sometimes" recorded with the Blues Project. Once again, Al is in his element when he has a band behind him that complements his own talent. The organ work, the guitar licks are both hot, and Kooper puts in some of his most soulful vocalizing. Tasty.
Set the Way Back Machine for 1968 then, because it's time to hear Blood, Sweat and Tears' "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know". Again, there's a stunning amount of soulfulness ripping through this track with the undeniable organ and vocal parts (especially those of the backup singers). A slow burner if there ever was one, it's followed up with a 1975 version of "This Diamond Ring" complete with funky keyboards a-la Billy Preston's "Outa Space". Personally, I dig this version a lot more than the original by Gary Lewis and the Playboys.
There's still no getting over the Kooper/Bloomfield (as in Mike) number "Albert's Shuffle" from '68. Here it is once again in all of its blistering glory. The blues as pounded out by two of the best. All you have to do is hear that organ and guitar and those horns and that's all it takes. Next thing you know, you're somewhere else. All great music should move you. Here's a number that does it every time. And the movement continues with the classic "Bury My Body" recorded with Shuggie Otis in 1969 and "Season of the Witch" with Stephen Stills in 1968. It's truly a joy to hear Kooper's phenomenal work from the Sixties here all laid out. The man was clearly an inspired and enviable musician at that point in his career.
"New York City (You're A Woman)" is also great. Here, Kooper's organ sounds just like Booker T.'s good old Hammond B-3. And who could forget such brazen opening lines like "New York City you're a woman / Cold hearted bitch ought to be your name / Oh you ain't never loved nobody / Yet I'm drawn to you like a moth to flame/ . . . Yeah"? This piece of classic funkiness is then followed with a damned great live version of "I Can't Quit Her" from 1994 that shows just how great the song really is (you wouldn't know it from that limp version that opened the "Rare" disc as stated earlier).
The classics just keep on coming from there, from the fantastic "I Stand Alone" to another slow burner, this time in the form of "I Got a Woman". Also included is the closing "Love Theme from The Landlord", which is the only Al Kooper disc not currently on CD. All in all, "Well Done" lives up to its name and then some.
It's just too bad that the "Rare" portion of this collection didn't include an equal portion of indispensable tracks. The nuggets from the Sixties and Seventies are cool and wonderful, but with only a couple of exceptions, like "Making Plans for Nigel", and "The Big Chase", the rest of the rarities kind of bring about a cringe-inducing element, proving once and for all that there was a very good reason a lot of the tracks here were previously unissued.
Yet the "Well Done" disc is impeccable, making this collection a must-have. It's great to have all these tracks in once place. Al Kooper continues to play a highly influential part in the music industry. His well-documented history up this point has been preserved beautifully and put on display for all to hear in this collection.
