Show biz kids (Steely Dan) (LP 3954 - 3957)

Steely Dan  Katy Lied (CD, ABC Records, 1975) *****  

Steely Dan  Aja (CD, ABC Records, 1977) *****  

Steely Dan  Showbiz Kids: The Steely Dan Story 1972 - 1980 (2CD, MCA Records, 2000) *****  

Steely Dan  Everything Must Go (Vinyl, Giant Records, 2003)  **** 

Genre: Jazz-rock, pop 

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records, Fives, Marbecks Records.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Show Biz Kids (Countdown to Ecstasy)

Gear costume: My Old School (Countdown to Ecstasy), Black Friday (Katy Lied), Deacon Blues (Aja)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6

Active compensatory factors: I have a spotty collection of Steely Dan records. For some reason I haven't been driven to collect them all. Curious.

I did buy the Do It Again single in 1972 when I was pretty choosy about the albums I bought. So my first album I own is their second - Countdown to Ecstasy, which has already featured in the collection countdown.

Katy Lied was actually the first Steely Dan album I heard, thanks to my cousin Christine in England. She sent me a cassette copy and I played it over and over. I know this album well, and yet it still reveals new stuff every time I listen to it. The jazz-rock music and its sophistication marked them out as unique. No one else was within coo-eee.

Aja was their sixth album. They had long ceased to be an actual band, but Aja went into session player overdrive with nearly 40 musicians being employed by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. AllMusic describes it as "a coolly textured and immaculately produced collection of sophisticated jazz-rock".

I've included the compilation that I have because it fills in the gaps nicely over two CDs. There are many Steely Dan compilations out there, but this one has all the chart and radio hits, plus a terrific sampling of classic album tracks.   

The final album in my list came after Becker and Fagen rebooted Steely Dan in 2000, after a twenty-year gap. It's the last album they made together (Walter Becker died in 2017). It may not be a classic Steely Dan album, but the usual jazz-rock moves are on display and this one has a more spontaneous and relaxed feel than their other albums.

Where do they all belong? I should really get a copy of Can't Buy a Thrill, Pretzel Logic, The Royal Scam, Gaucho, Two Against Nature. In the meantime, I'll stick with these seminal albums.

The lark in the morning (Steeleye Span) (LP 3949 - 3953)

Steeleye Span  Please to See the King (Vinyl, Big Tree Records, 1971) ****  

Steeleye Span  Now We Are Six (Vinyl, Chrysalis Records, 1974) ****

Steeleye Span  Commoner's Crown (Vinyl, Chrysalis Records, 1975) *****  

Steeleye Span  All Around My Hat (Vinyl, Chrysalis Records, 1975) ****  

Steeleye Span  Rocket Cottage (Vinyl, Chrysalis Records, 1976) ****  

Genre: Folk, folk-rock

Places I remember: Amoeba Music, Real Groovy Records, Slow Boat Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Two Magicians (Now We Are Six), All Around My Hat 

Gear costume: Cold, Haily, Windy Night (Please to See the King), Thomas the Rhymer (Now We Are Six)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6

Active compensatory factors: I have mentioned a couple of Steeleye Span's albums already on this blog - Hark! The Village Wait and Below the Salt - their first and fourth albums.

My musical proclivities are interesting. I have always loved Steeleye Span and Maddy Prior and for a while, I collected their albums when I saw them. But I was never drawn to collect a similar band - Fairport Convention, in the same way. Curious.

While visiting Los Angeles this year, I found a copy of Please to See the King, their second album, so we'll start there.

It begins with a different version of The Blacksmith (which was also on their debut). It's a radically slowed down version, though, that concentrates attention on the singing and guitar. Maddy Prior is superb as always.

This first song signals a changed sound for the album overall, as Martin Cathy (guitar) and Peter Knight (fiddle) join the band (they also dispense with drums).

By 1974's Now We Are Six the band had morphed into a much more commercial proposition. The six members were now Maddy Prior – vocals; Tim Hart – vocals, guitars; Peter Knight – vocals, violin; Bob Johnson – vocals, guitars; Rick Kemp – vocals, bass guitar; Nigel Pegrum – drums.

Commoner's Crown was their seventh studio album and the band were well into their folk-rock stance on this album. In many ways it was a peak moment for this version of Steeleye Span. It's a five star classic!

All Around My Hat was their highest charting album. Given it has rocky drums and guitars providing some power chords at times, that's the result they were after, I guess. It's still absolutely Steeleye Span though - traditions were still there under the surface and the resulting sound is a lot of fun - purists can try elsewhere.

Final album on my list is Rocket Cottage from the year after All Around My Hat. This year (1976) also happened to be Year Zero for punk in the UK and folk-rock wasn't cutting it at that time. It was the last album featuring the mid-seventies version of the band. It's another excellent folk-rock album.

Where do they all belong? A few gaps need plugging. I'll get there eventually. I have a few compilations that are okay but they tend to be wide ranging and so the different Steeleye Spans jostle for attention.

Can I get a witness (Steampacket) (LP 3948)

Steampacket  Rod Stewart & Steampacket (Vinyl, Pagan Records, 1993) ****  

Genre: Soul revue, jazz, R&B, blues

Places I remember: Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Can I Get A Witness

Gear costume: Back at the Chicken Shack 

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6

Active compensatory factors: A cheeky bit of packaging promotes this album as Rod Stewart & Steampacket. He's the biggest name that eventually emerged from this sixties' blues band, but it could just as easily have been marketed as Julie Driscoll & Steampacket, or Brian Auger & Steampacket, or Long John Baldry & Steampacket (he has the best claim as he started the band). 

All four were members, along with guitarist Vic Briggs, Richard Brown on bass guitar and Micky Waller on drums.

They never recorded a studio album, nor did they release a live album at the time. So where did these songs come from? The answer is - from some demo tapes they recorded at a rehearsal in the Marquee Club. They've been released in a myriad of titles ever since.

It's soul-jazz-rock music featuring Brian's cool organ sounds. The three vocalists are on form when featured, even though it's a demo, but it's Brian Auger that's the appeal for me. Everything he does has value.

 

Where do they all belong? What happened next is probably more interesting to fans of each member. Rod Stewart left in early 1966 and joined Shotgun Express. Long John Baldry left a few months later, and Steampacket disbanded soon after. Long John Baldry then joined Bluesology (which included a then unknown Elton John). Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger and Vic Briggs formed Trinity.

Sunny cellophane skies (Status Quo) (LP 3935 - 3947)

The Status Quo  Pictures of Matchstick Men (2CD, Sanctuary Records, 2006) ***  

Status Quo  Dog of Two Head (CD, Sanctuary Records reissue, 1971) ****

Status Quo  Piledriver (CD, Universal Records reissue, 1972) *****

Status Quo  Hello! (Vinyl and CD, Universal Records reissue, 1973) ****

Status Quo  Quo (CD, Universal Records reissue, 1974) ****

Status Quo  On the Level (CD, Universal Records reissue, 1975) ****

Status Quo  Blue For You (CD, Mercury Records, 1976) ****

Status Quo  Live! (Vinyl and 2CD, Vertigo Records, 1977) *****

Status Quo  12 Gold Bars (Vinyl, Vertigo Records, 1980) ****

Status Quo  Live Alive Quo (CD, Vertigo Records, 1992) ***

Status Quo  The Cover Up (CD, Music Club Records, 2006) **

Status Quo  The Frantic Four Reunion 2013 - Live at Hammersmith Apollo (DVD/ CD, Fourth Chord Records, 2013) ****

Status Quo  Aquostic - Stripped Bare (CD, Warner Bros. Records, 2014) ***

Genre: Pop, rock

Places I remember: The Warehouse, HMV, Chaldon Books and Records, Charity shops in the UK, Kings Recording (Abu Dhabu)

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Paper Plane (Piledriver), Down Down (On the Level) 

Gear costume:  Mean Girl (Dog of Two Head)  

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6

Active compensatory factors: Way back in 1968, Status Quo started out as a psychedelic pop band. Their first big hits were in that style - Pictures of Matchstick Men and Ice in the Sun. The first disc on this double CD compilation combines early singles with most of the tracks from their debut album Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from The Status Quo.

That early sound is influenced by the Bee Gees (they do an okay version of Spicks and Specks), The Beatles and late sixties bubblegum pop (they do an okay version of Tommy Roe's Shiela).

The second disc again has some singles (Down the Dustpipe) and songs from their third album Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon from 1970. By this time, their trademark boogie shuffle was being born. I was on board via singles back in 1970 with In My Chair and 1972 with Paper Plane, but I was yet to buy a Status Quo album. 

Dog of Two Head was now Status Quo (they'd dropped the 'The' along the way) as we know and love them - a full tilt, heads down, no nonsense boogie band. 

A lineup change with Roy Lynes (organ) leaving meant that the classic Quo personnel were in place, with Francis Rossi (lead guitar/ vocals), Rick Parfitt (rhythm guitar/vocals), Alan Lancaster (bass/vocals) and John Coghlan (drums) opting to stay as a foursome. 

Piledriver sealed the deal with some brilliant songs: Don't Waste My Time; Big Fat Mama; Paper Plane and a terrific version of Roadhouse Blues saw the band in full chooglin' mode.

They had built up appreciable momentum into 1973's Hello! - their sixth studio album. Again, there were some strong songs on it that did the business. Roll Over Lay Down is one of my favourites, but the album also had Caroline (a single lifted from Hello!), Softer Ride and Forty-Five Hundred Times. All classic Status Quo!

Quo repeated the trick. Actually, I could just write that for the next x number of Status Quo albums. On the surface it looks like they found a formula that worked and stuck with it but that ignores how creative they were within their formula. Quo is a heavy set of songs that translated brilliantly to a live setting. Just Take me is the obvious example of that.

On the Level was their eighth studio album. It's the one with Down Down on it. Down Down is quintessential Quo AND it went to number one in the UK charts! The rest of the album is up their usual high standards. No coasting for these boys.

Blue For You has more great Quo classics - Rain, Mystery Song, Is There a Better Way. It went immediately to #1 in the album charts and also turned out to be the last of their classic albums.

Their decision to embrace more mainstream popularity meant I jumped off the good ship Quo for a while after the Live! album. It seemed to me that they couldn't ever beat that double live album experience.

Live! was recorded at Glasgow's Apollo Theatre between 27 and 29 October 1976. I first bought the double album on vinyl in the seventies, but I also needed a CD version so that I could get the whole performance in a more seamless format. Plus, the CD adds a couple of songs that aren't on the vinyl edition.

The first three songs set out their store superbly; Junior's Wailing, Blackwater/ Just Take Me and Is There A Better Way are scorching hot renditions. 

Before that is the best introduction of a band ever. Is there anybody out there who wants to rock?...Tonight. Live. From the Apollo. Glasgow...It gives me goosebumps every time! The band are hot but so is the audience. Their noise is a huge part of the enjoyment - they go nuts! This is one of the best live albums of all time, and if you want to find out why Status Quo are such a great band - take a listen. This is a definite peak experience.

There's a big gap in my collection following Live!, during which the original band fell apart - John Coghlan threw in the towel in 1981, Alan Lancaster (who passed away in 2021) left in 1985 and moved to Australia.

The singles collection - 12 Gold Bars from 1980 is a pretty good one stop shop. The band had a massive amount of chart success so picking only 12 songs is never going to do the band justice and the inclusion of Living on an Island? Really? Aside from that, it's got all the essential Quo hit moments on it.

A double live and a hits compilation both signal a line in the sand and that would prove to be the case for me. At the time, I wasn't that interested in the polished Status Quo product that would follow these glory years, and I haven't changed my mind since then.

Compared to Live!, Live Alive Quo is not so good - it's a pale imitation of the band following their mainstream success following the years after their version of Rockin' All Over the World. 

Only Rick and Francis were left from the original lineup. It does bring you up to date in a live way though, even if it's not a cohesive live album.

I'm not much of a fan of medleys joining up snippets from songs (The Beatles are exempt from criticism) and Roadhouse Medley goes for 20-minutes, consisting of a medley of The Wanderer, Marguerita Time, Living on an Island, Break the Rules, Something 'Bout You Baby I Like and The Price of Love. Basically, this says that none of those songs are worthy of having a full version.

The Cover Up is a weird one on a weird label (Music Club). It's a budget compilation of various covers they released during the nineties. 

The nicest thing I can say about is that it's patchy. Some duds (Get Back, Keep on Rocking Me Baby) are mixed in with some okay ones (Tobacco Road, Claudette). On the whole though, it all feels pretty shoddy, pretty tame.

Some redemption was sorely needed by the time the 2010's rolled around. What to do? What to do? How about the stunning decision to reform the classic foursome? GREAT IDEA!!!

They released four versions to celebrate this reunion  - Hammersmith Apollo (my CD), Wembley Arena (my DVD), O2 Academy Glasgow, and Dublin O2 Arena.

The set list looks pretty much the same as that for Live! - certainly there is nothing from the post Live! iterations of Status Quo. Brilliant decision number 2. It's not a particularly chummy get together but the Frantic Four play like one unit, as they always did. It's become a fitting tribute to the band members who have passed away.

The guys sound reinvigorated and the versions are great - different to Live! as they are older gentlemen but energetic, and in the pocket. 

The final album in my list is an attempt to use the unplugged format to recast some old songs. It works for some (Paper Plane, Softer Ride) but not for others. Rick Parfitt died two years after this effort - which leaves John Coghlan and Francis Rossi as the last two originals standing (not together but in brotherhood, from a distance).

Where do they all belong? A lot of Status Quo. Probably too much, but for a while there - i.e. the seventies, they were without peer.

Hour of gold (Emmylou Harris) (LP 3934)

Emmylou Harris  Red Dirt Girl (CD, Nonesuch Records, 2000) ****  

Genre: Alt country

Places I remember: Waipukarau secondhand bookshop

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: J'ai Fait Tout

Gear costume: Tragedy

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6

Active compensatory factors: I picked this up for $1 in a closing down sale. It was her 19th studio album and notable for the amount of songs written by her on it. Up until now she'd mostly been a brilliant interpreter of other songwriters.

Its music is wide ranging - she's now comfortable using drum loops and middle eastern melodies as much as guitar to suit the moods of each song.

Also notable are the guest appearances of Bruce Springsteen (on Tragedy) and Kate McGarrigle on a couple of songs.

Where do they all belong? A nice addition to my small Emmylou collection.

It don't come easy (Ringo Starr) (LP 3929 - 3933)

Ringo Starr  Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band (Cassette, EMI Records, 1990) ***

Ringo Starr  Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band Volume 2: Live from Montreux (CD, Rykodisc Records, 1993) *** 

Ringo Starr  VH1 Storytellers (CD, Mercury Records, 1998) **** 

Ringo Starr  Live at Soundstage  (CD, Koch Records, 2007) **** 

Ringo Starr & His All Starr Band  Live 2006 (CD, Koch Records, 2008) **

Genre: Pop 

Places I remember: Music shop in Nelson, Real Groovy Records, JB Hi Fi.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Back Off Boogaloo (Live at Soundstage)

Gear costume: Never Without You (Live at Soundstage)

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6

Active compensatory factors: I can't say that I'm a very keen collector of Ringo's live albums. There are a few of The All-Starr Band live albums that I don't own and I haven't put them on my wants list. A few are fun to have, but how many times do I need to have live versions of Yellow Submarine and Boys? Not that many!

I do have the first All-Starr Band album on cassette and that one is a lot of fun. The All-Starr Band at this early stage was pretty incredible with Dr. John, Joe Walsh, Billy Preston, Levon Helm, Rick Danko, Nils Lofgren, Clarence Clemons, and session drummer Jim Keltner. 

Next up - Volume 2: Live from Montreux and there were a couple of familiar faces retained from the first incarnation of the All Starr Band (like The Plastic Ono Band it was never the intention to be a fixed group of the same band members) namely Joe Walsh and Nils Lofgren. They were joined by newcomers Timothy B. Schmit, Dave Edmunds, Todd Rundgren, Burton Cummings, and Zak Starkey, on drums.

Ringo is not on top form - he sounds a tad tired and his vocals are up and down (and out) during the concert.

The VH1 Storytellers set is much better. Ringo is in an intimate setting, the sound is superb and The Roundheads are a great band. Tight as a...erm...drum.

Ringo sings well throughout, appears in enthusiastic mood and the stories add a lot to the atmosphere. Ringo is, of course, just naturally hilarious!

Live at Soundstage also has Ringo and The Roundheads (still in great form). The usual songs make the setlist (it's a great setlist) along with some tracks off the latest album at the time (Choose Love), and his tribute to George - Never Without You.

The final live album in this list is back to the All-Starr Band. This iteration is from 2006. The All-Starr Band for this outing included Richard Marx, Billy Squier, Edgar Winter, Rod Argent, Hamish Stuart, and Sheila E. Yep - aside from Rod Argent and Edgar, a pretty average kind of line-up. This one gets a low rating because of the meh songs by some meh artists.

Where do they all belong? If you only want a taste of Ringo live I suggest you go for VH1 or Live at Soundstage.

Never without you (Ringo Starr) (LP 3919 - 3928)

Ringo Starr  Ringo Rama (CD/ DVD, Koch Records, 2003) ****  

Ringo Starr  Liverpool 8 (CD, Capitol Records, 2008) ***  

Ringo Starr  Y Not (CD, UME Records, 2010) ***  

Ringo Starr  Ringo 2012 (CD, UME Records, 2012) ***  

Ringo Starr  Postcards From Paradise (CD, UME Records, 2015) ***  

Ringo Starr  Give More Love (CD, UME Records, 2017) ***  

Ringo Starr  What's My Name (Vinyl, UME Records, 2019) ***  

Ringo Starr  EP3 (Vinyl, UME Records, 2022) ***  

Ringo Starr  Rewind Forward (Vinyl, UME Records, 2023) ***  

Ringo Starr  Look Up (Vinyl, Lost Highway Records, 2025) ****  

Genre: Pop 

Places I remember: HMV, JB Hi Fi, Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Liverpool 8

Gear costume: Island in the Sun (Postcards from Paradise) 

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6

Active compensatory factors: Ringo was revitalised in the new millennium. Time Takes Time and Vertical Man (to a lesser extent) had reestablished him as an artist and so he carried some momentum into the new decade. 

Mark Hudson again produces; it's a beefed up rock sound he mainly goes for successfully on Ringo Rama. He continues the love affair with things Beatley as well (Elizabeth Reigns). No complaints from me.

Guests this time include Willie Nelson, Van Dyke Parks, David Gilmour, Shawn Colvin, Timothy B. Schmit, and Eric Clapton. Everybody sounds like they are having fun, and they help produce an entertaining album.

Worthy of note: Ringo includes a song about George who had passed away in 2001 - Never Without You (Eric plays a blinder on that as well). This nostalgic side to his character is a bit like Neil Young's affectionate songs about Buffalo Springfield and life in Canada. The nostalgic bent continues on his next album - Liverpool 8. 

The title song of Liverpool 8 kicks off with the fond paean to Liverpool and his three friends. It totally works too! The rest of the album is another dose of Ringo's patented relaxed, fun collection of Beatle pop tunes. By this stage you know what you are getting with a Ringo Starr album. That no-surprises approach works to his advantage.

The nostalgia track on Y Not is The Other Side of Liverpool. It's not as memorable as Liverpool 8 but it's heartfelt and genuine (much like Ringo himself). Macca turns up on the album singing on Walk With You (a Ringo co-write with Van Dyke Parks). In keeping with Liverpool 8 the album has a bright and shiny pop sheen once again. 

He makes more attempts on this album to update the sound than he has previously. The last two tracks especially embrace the current (end of the naughties) pop sound via female singer support - Who's Your Daddy even features Joss Stone.

The lad was churning them out in roughly two year intervals in the 2000's. Ringo 2012 was next, without the plethora of guests aside from Joe Walsh, Van Dyke Parks, and Edgar Winter. He redoes Step Lightly (from Ringo 1973) and Wings (from Ringo the 4th), plus covers Think It Over (Buddy Holly), and Rock Island Line. The nostalgic one, his third autobiographical song in three albums, is In Liverpool.

Postcards from Paradise came three years later, in 2015. It continued the well-established new-millennium formula with the same guests from his recent albums. He was well in his seventies at this point, extremely rich, and yet he continued to do what he does - be Ringo, have fun with his mates, and churn out entertaining albums.

The nostalgia quotient is ramped up for this one with first song Rory and the Hurricanes and the title track - written with Todd Rundgren. It's a fun play on the various Beatles/Ringo solo song titles (like Titles by Barclay James Harvest). The rest of the album is good Ringo pop music - he's almost his own genre. The love song for Barbara? Tick (and no cringey mention of her specifically this time). 

Give More Love begins strongly with We're on the Road Again. Good muscular rock'n'roll has been a feature of the new millennium Ringo albums. The usual friends appear on the album and Macca plays bass/sings backing vocals on a couple of tracks. 

Electricity is the nostalgic looking song on this album. The country sounding So Wrong For So Long is seemingly the love song to Barbara (the country heartbreak twist is nice). So, the predictable formula is intact and has become something I kinda look forward to, as in - it would be weird if these songs weren't included.

The bonus tracks comprising reworked Ringo classics are well worth the price of the album on their own. They each present different feels that creates a fresh picture for each. Fav would be Don't Pass Me By.

What's My Name is his twentieth studio album. Phew. Amazing! Macca again appears (bass and vocals on the cover of John's Grow Old Along With Me), along with Ringo's usual musician friends. Nothing different to report - his usual chirpy self on display as he continues to accentuate the positive (and peace and love).

The two EPs (both on 10 inch vinyl) are attempts to present regular product and were successful as such. They also show Ringo embracing modern sounds. I only have two as they are quite expensive - as in - priced like regular albums.

EP3 has four songs - in upbeat and ballad forms. Ringo sounds like Ringo - his voice hasn't aged appreciably. Bruce Sugar (producer, mixer) has been a Ringo associate for many years and he does a great sound job here, as usual. 

Rewind Forward also has four songs. Macca produces one - Feeling the Sunlight (his own song) and also plays/sings on it. The best song on this EP is Mike Campbell's Miss Jean. It's been retro fitted for Ringo and it works well.

The final studio album to date is this year's Look Up. His work ethic in the new millennium is damned amazing. This one sees him successfully returning to a countryish setting (although it's not Beaucoup of Blues part 2). It's country leaning, rather than traditional country and western. It is infused with very tasteful pedal steel and female backing vocals that create a warm country music feel. Ringo likes country; you can tell this by the cover - a dapper 85 year old Ringo in a cowboy hat. He's good at it, too.

Where do they all belong? If I was a Ringo completist I would need to get a copy of 2005's Choose Love and the EPs that I'm missing.

Next up - live albums.