Search - Long John Baldry :: Boogie Woogie: The Warner Bros. Recordings

Is this CD gold plated?

LI Music Fan | 03/28/2006

(1 out of 5 stars)

"At over fifty bucks it must be... I can't figure any other reason. It's not an import. According to Relix its a 2-CD compilation of the albums "It Aint Easy" and "Everything Stops For Tea" - two great albums - plus a few outtakes. I'd plunk down twenty bucks in a flash for this but not these crazy prices. Why does everyone think us baby boomers are all independently wealthy and will pay over twenty five dollars a disk for thirty five year old reissues? Thank god for on-line file sharing.

"

Baldrey's Best, Revistited

J P Ryan | Waltham, Massachusetts United States | 05/14/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"John Baldry secured his place in British blues and rock history beginning a decade before these recordings were made, there at the start of the early '60s when the Stones, Yardbirds, Pretty Things and so many more future were meeting each other art school underachievers and future immortals gathered around en ambryonic scene to share energy and connect with other outsiders obsessed with American blues, R&B, and folk recordings.

Baldry was born in 1940, roughly the same age as the Stones and Yardbirds, and by the mid '60s had already discovered Leadbelly during the late '50s folk revival, and fronted a series of bands. His stature as mentor and bandleader would earn the gratitude and good will of those he worked with. Later, in 1970, two of his proteges in particular would have achieved international success on a scale Baldry couldn't hope to match, and for "It Ain't Easy" (1971) and "Everything Stops For Tea" (1972), Rod Stewart and Elton John each agreed to produce one side of a pair of Baldry albums that are probably his finest ever.

Baldry's place in the evolution of British blues/rock is undisputed: in 1961 - 62 he sang with Blues Inc, a group that featured Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts (months before they co-founded the Rolling Stones later that year), as well as Jack Bruce (Graham Bond, Cream) and Alexis Korner. Next he fronted the Cyril Davies All-Stars, featuring Jimmy Page and pianist Nicky Hopkins, who worked with Stewart and Ron Wood in the Jeff Beck Group. Stewart (along with Trinity's Brian Augur and Julie Driscoll, and Jeff Beck Group drummer Mick Waller) played in Baldry's Hoochie Coochie Men and Steampacket during 1964 - 66.

After a misguided (artistically) foray into MOR, in 1970 Baldry was signed to Warner Bros, and by January 1971 he and a stellar crew of old friends were recording a terrific new album for the label, "It Ain't Easy". The results reached # 84 in Billboard's Top 200 album chart (and even produced a charting single, 'Don't Lay No Boogie Woogie On The King Of Rock & Roll'), Baldry's only real chart success in the States. The first disc on this wonderful set is an expanded version of that album, produced by Rod Stewart (side one of the original vinyl) and Elton John (side two). Perhaps some of you have the vinyl, but the sessions produced many unreleased songs and versions, and most of them appear to be from the Stewart-produced sessions. Certainly fans of "Gasoline Alley" or Faces will finds much to enjoy on this almost forgotton little classic. Check out the scorching Ron Wood/Sam Mitchell guitar team's workout on Muddy Waters' 'I'm Ready', which rocks deleriously. (I first heard this track a year ago on a Cabridge college radio station, and immediatly recognized Wood's sonic stamp, leading me to wonder - at least until John starts to sing - how I'd missed what sounds like a really hot Faces track). Stewart - then at his creative peak, known for an uncalculated persona that made him seem like a hugely gifted everyman who'd stumbled into the role of superstar - proves Baldry's perfect collaborator. In a year when Rod recorded the classic "Every Picture Tells A Story" and two superb Faces albums, "Long Player" and "A Nod Is As Good As A Wink...", everything he touched seemed worthy of attention, and "It Ain't Easy," the first and best of Baldry's Warner Bros albums is no exception. Stewart utilizes Wood, Mitchell, Mick Waller and other friends who contributed mightily to Rod's finest achievements, his five Mercury solo albums, and the material herein will delight fans of those records; yet Rod also experiments with the settings as well, adding sax on the aforementioned rocker that became a minor hit, and occasional backing vocalists led by Maggie Bell or Madeleine Bell. The bonus cuts are superb - less 'produced' than the released tracks, they're mostly blues, and that suits Baldry's voice just fine. Check the scorching, impassioned take on 'Love In Vain' or Baldry's understated interpretations of Leroy Carr and Howlin Wolf ('Going Down Slow') all of which are equal to the originally released material and worth the price of admission. No question, the sackful of bonus tracks are in no way mere filler. Throughout "It Ain't Easy" Ron Wood, Stewart's partner in the Beck Group and Faces, adds witty, soulful, loose-yet-apt commentary or smoldering performances; his and Mitchell's guitars, bottleneck, and dobro work are always subtle and a pleasure to hear. The rest of Stewart's band, Waller, mandolin player Ray Jackson ('Maggie May') and pianist Ian Armit give Baldry's voice the best possible settings on such exquisite material as the haunting Fugs classic 'Morning, Morning,' and Leadbelly's 'Black Girl,' not to mention the great title track, which would be famously recorded one year later by David Bowie on "Ziggy Stardust".

As for the Elton John side, Reg hadn't yet become a smarmy poptart, and here used his regular band (Davey Johnstone, Caleb Quaye, etc) on four songs that comprise the original LP's second side. Only slightly less raw than Stewart's tracks, Elton and Baldry manage to nail a smoldering and sexy reinvention of Randy Newman's 'Let's Burn Down The Cornfield'; elsewhere Elton's uncharacteristic restraint serves Baldry well: a savory seven-minute version of Faces' 'Flying' is one surprising highlight, and closes the original album on a gorgeous high note. The whole disc, now expanded to 18 tracks, is a real good time.

The second disc, "Everything Stops For Tea," - also expanded, to include a brace of live tracks from the Mar-Y-Sol festival, among other goodies - is only slightly less successful than "It Ain't Easy," but certainly offers many fine moments including a lovely banjo performance by Stewart, who duets with Baldry to marvelous effect. The gorgeous folk classic 'Wild Mountain Tyme' is another piece that is given an original and affecting perfomance. If the material isn't always as stunning as that of its predecessor, what the excellent cast laid down is always quite enjoyable. And if you happen to find a copy of the original vinyl cheap (I scored a sealed promo copy for $10 just a few years back), it's well worth it for Ron Wood's marvelous Lewis Carroll-inspired gatefold cover painting. "The Warner Bros Recordings" succeeds as a wonderful reissue and rediscovery of Baldry's most accomplished recordings. As usual the project is yet another meticulously mastered, annotated, and produced set from Rhinohandmade. Highly recommended - while supplies of this numbered, limited edition last!"