Search - Chicken Shack :: Complete Blue Horizon Sessions

Chicken Shack Complete - 4 Full Albums - Rare Non-Album Sing

Mark Barry at Reckless Records, Lon | UK | 12/13/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Across it's 56 tracks and 3 CDs, this fantastic release offers you 4 full albums from 1968 to 1970, 6 non-album 7" singles and their rare B-sides and even 2 previously unreleased songs. The 1st generation original master tapes were digitally transferred and remastered by Duncan Cowell at Sound Mastering and overseen by label supremo Mike Vernon - and as usual with all the Blue Horizon reissues - the sonic results are just stunning - clear, warm and fresh sounding. And with each of their original vinyl issues pushing £60 a throw (if you can actually find them in playable condition), this is a welcome release.



Here's the layout:



Disc 1 (74:16 minutes):

Tracks 1 & 2 are the band's 1st UK 7" single on Blue Horizon (57-3157) and both songs are non-album

Tracks 3 to 12 are their debut UK album "40 Blue Fingers Freshly Packed & Ready To Serve" on Blue Horizon (7-63203) from 1968

Tracks 13 and 20 are their 3rd UK 7" single on Blue Horizon (57-3146) and both songs are non-album (there's a version of "When The Train Comes Back" on "40 Fresh Fingers..." but it's different to the single release - the single release pushes the brass section more into the mix)

Tracks 14 to 19 are Side 1 of their 2nd UK album "O.K. Ken?" on Blue Horizon (7-63209) also from 1968



Disc 2 (71:52 minutes)

Tracks 1 and 2 are their 2nd UK 7" single on Blue Horizon (57-3143) and are both non-album

Tracks 3 to 7 are Side 2 of their 2nd UK album "O.K. Ken?" on Blue Horizon (7-63209) also from 1968

Tracks 8 and 9 are their 4th UK 7" single on Blue Horizon (57-3153) and are both non-album (8 is an Etta James cover, 9 a Willie Nelson cover)

Tracks 10 to 15 are Side 1 of their 3rd UK album "100 Ton Chicken" on Blue Horizon (7-63218) from 1969

Track 16 is the non-album A-side to their 5th UK 7" single on Blue Horizon (57-3160) (the non-album B-side in on Disc 3)

Tracks 17 to 20 are Side 2 on their 3rd UK album "100 Ton Chicken" on Blue Horizon (7-63218) from 1969



(Note: Track 1 is the 7" single version, which features what you would call a `guitar' version of the track, with Webb's guitar work to the fore. However, Track 19 is the `album' version of "Worried About My Woman" - wittily tagged with the word "Still" in front of it, because although it's the same song, the version is very different. It features Paul Raymond's Organ work far more to the fore of the mix - almost Georgie Fame and The Blues Flames in its feel - and a far louder Webb guitar - he rocks like a mother on this one - fantastic!)



Disc 3 (51:08 minutes):

Tracks 1 and 2 are previously unreleased, recorded in May 1969 with the Stan Webb (Guitar), Paul Raymond (Organ), Andy Silvester (Bass) and David Bidwell (Drums) line-up featured on both

Track 3 is the non-album B-side to "Tears In The Wind" (track 16 on Disc 2)

Tracks 4 to 15 are their 4th and last album "Accept" for Blue Horizon (7-63861) from 1970

Track 16 is the non-album A-side to their 6th UK 7" single on Blue Horizon (57-3168)



(Note: Track 13 "Andalucian Blues" is the B-side to "Maudie" their 6th UK 7" single

Track 7 "Sad Clown" and Track 10 "Tired Eyes" make up the A & B side of their 7th and last Blue Horizon 7" single (57-3176) from 1970

This 3CD set allows you to sequence all 14 tracks on their seven UK Blue Horizon singles as a compilation.)



Chicken Shack was always about the blues and the bar-brawling boogie that came out of that tradition (they took their name from a 50's R&B tune by Amos Milburn). Mixing raucous cover versions with equally impressive originals, the first 3 albums featured shared vocals/song-writing credits between blues-nutter Stan Webb and a young Female Singer of the Year, Christine Perfect. (Christine married John McVie in 1969 and later joined Fleetwood Mac - retaining the McVie surname to this day). The Shacks albums also featured guest Sax work from Johnny Almond and Paul Raymond and his Organ/Piano work came on board from "100 Ton Chicken" onwards. The music is infectious blues based rock with the occasional funky moment (the instrumental "Evelyn" is a good example). Stan Webb kept Chicken Shack going after BH to do two more 'rock' albums for the Deram label - "Imagination Lady" in 1972 and "Unlucky Boy" in 1973.



If I was to say there was a downside - it's the lack of unreleased material - I'd hoped for more. Also, it's a damn shame that these four albums didn't receive the Fleetwood Mac box set treatment - I would love to have seen all of them in Repro Card Sleeves (Gatefolds in some cases) - each topped up with bonus tracks. But alas! It probably wasn't viable financially anyway. Still, as it stands "The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions" is another jewel in the Blue Horizon crown. Never less than brilliant on any of the discs, this set finally makes available rare and sought-after albums to everyone - and for peanut amounts of money too.



This superb release is a steal - and I recommend it wholeheartedly to fans and the uninitiated alike.



PS: see also my review of "The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions" by CHRISTINE PERFECT"

Hidden treasure

R. Boyd | California, USA | 01/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Long out of print and unavailable to those of us who live across the pond, this member of the fabled British blues explosion has sadly been a mere rumor to many of us with a passion for the genre. As I eagerly ripped open the package and read through producer Mike Vernon's nostalgic and glowing thoughts about the band and the product, I began to salivate in anticipation to hear from the unit that the erstwhile producer refered to as "... the most exciting of the bands on the circuit." As the circuit refered to included such renowned stalwarts as fellow Blue Horizon lablemates Fleetwwod Mac, Kim Simmond's hard driving Savoy Brown, and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (who at the time featured a young, pre-Rolling Stones, Mick Taylor) I was skeptical, but anxious to witness the product for myself.



Although the pecking order for one's own personal favorites among the tribes is a matter of personal choice, I can concur that the esteemed Mr. Vernon (who was as close as can be to all of the principals and a great many more) presents a valid entry into this point of contention. Having no desire to rate my family members, works of art, or beloved rock/blues bands against others of seemingly equal or superior footing, I'll add only that Chicken Shack could hold their own with anyone's band of bluesmen, at any time.



Discover for yourselves the powerful brush strokes of Stan Webb's lusty guitar and the piano and vocal styling's of the young Christine Perfect. Webb, like Peter Green, the aforementioned Simmonds, Eric Clapton, and a host of other British Blues greats is a glorious student the American urban blues scene. The influences of Albert and B.B. King, Albert Collins, Buddy Guy...lay the foundation for the then young bluesman's stinging, note-squeezing style. I felt like I'd found a hidden treasure when I plunked down a few well-spent dollars to mine this nugget. Hear for yourselves Christine McVee when she was Perfect (pun intended) and get a sense of the feeling behind all of those impassioned ballads that she later created with the more famous version of Fleetwood Mac. It was the blues, man, and it wasn't and isn't soley the property of the boys.



I urge you to part with a few of your hard-earned bucks and add this little treasure to your own private chest. Just another piece of the puzzle, but a piece that neatly fits in it's place."