The Doors - The Singles

(This review first appeared in issue #72 of Shindig! magazine.)

Rhino 2CD

It's difficult to think of an American band from rock's late '60s salad days that so divides sentiment. For every person that holds them in high esteem, there's another that will decry the band as overrated, at times pretentious, indulgent and overblown. Even among their West Coast contemporaries were musicians that refused to open up to The Doors. Former Byrd David Crosby to this day doesn't have a kind word to say about them, as anyone who follows his Twitter feed will know. His main gripes being that as a band they “didn't swing”, and that Jim Morrison was a bit of a bozo.

Whether you agree with Crosby or not there's no denying that among the band's back catalogue contains a body of work that has stood the test of time and gained new fans from successive generations. And listening to this value for money 44-song collection, the accusations of being overblown are easily laid to rest. Their reputation has long been that of an “albums band”, or one best experienced live where they had the freedom to improvise and give in to their jazz-rock/free-form leanings. But from the evidence here they could also turn in concise, memorable tracks that fitted nicely onto a 7” pieces of plastic, had catchy choruses and sounded good on the radio

All the tracks have been remastered, with killer A-sides 'Break On Through', 'Light My Fire, 'Hello I Love You' and 'Touch Me' all sounding as fresh as they would have done when the LA quartet first committed them to tape. This collection's other USP is the inclusion of all B-sides including those from their posthumous releases right the way up to the 1983 release of 'Gloria'/'Moonlight Drive (Live)', along with four tracks in in mono radio versions. The only omission is of ' Not To Touch The Earth, the flip-side of the 1980 reissue of 'People Are Strange', but given the other riches I guess we can live without that.

If your vinyl copies are wearing a little thin this could be just the compilation to have on your Christmas list. Unless you're David Crosby that is.

Ronee Blakley - Ronee Blakley

(This review first appeared in issue #63 of Shindig! magazine.)

Man In The Moon CD

Although best known as an actress with a resume that includes roles in Robert Altman's Nashville and Dylan's Renaldo And Clara, Ronee Blakley's parallel singing career generated some fine records, not least her eponymous 1972 debut for Elektra Records. With a predominate slant towards country music, it's a record that's stood the test of time, and still sounds fresh mainly due to Blakley's pure, crystalline voice and the musicianship of her assembled session players.

Alongside the country tracks are more introspective, piano-led songs ('Attachment', 'Graduation Tune') which compare favourably to those released by Blakley's friend and contemporary Joni Mitchell. Also of note is 'Fred Hampton', a protest song about the death of the Black Panther, shot by Illinois police at the age of 21.

Poor sales meant there would be no more records for Elektra though Blakley recorded a 2^nd LP for Warner Brothers and continues to self-release music via her website.

Leviathan - Leviathan

(This review first appeared in issue #62 of Shindig! magazine.)

Grapefruit CD

First time on CD for this legendary lost album, and bolstered with the addition of three 7” tracks. The band formerly known as Mike Stuart Span were only the third UK band to sign to ultra-hip Elektra Records. After changing their name at label boss Jac Holzman's request in order to be promoted as a new band, their 1969 recordings for what should have been their debut album were rejected as not strong enough. In truth they probably lost something in transatlantic translation as they chime nicely with the heavy-psych and hard rock scene happening in the UK at the time.

With phased drums, incredible lead guitar work and occasional Beatle-isms Leviathan sound not unlike a pre-glam Slade, or a more melodic, less blues-based Zep. Quintessentially heavy, right down to the band's whale-shaped logo. A nice follow up and companion piece to Grapefruit's recent I'm A Freak Baby box set.