LONG JOHN BALDRY
''A THRILL'S A THRILL: THE CANADIAN YEARS, DISC ONE''
1996
121:52
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DISC ONE (61:33)
1 Baldry's Out 04:37 (Long John Baldry)
2 Stealer 03:33 (Andy Fraser, Paul Rodgers, Phil Spector)
3 You've Lost That Loving Feeling 05:10 (Barry Mann, Phil Spector, Cynthia Weil)
4 Find You 03:23 (Long John Baldry, Roy Young)
5 Come And Get Your Love 04:25 (Russ Ballard)
6 A Thrill's A Thrill 05:32 (Bill Amesbury)
7 Savoir Faire 03:30 (Willy DeVille)
8 Any Day Now 03:28 (Burt Bacharach, Bob Hilliard)
9 Morning Dew 04:33 (Bonnie Dobson, Tim Rose)
10 You're Good With Your Love 02:48 (Eddie Schwartz)
11 Run Johnny Run 02:59 (Jean Roussel, Marty Simon)
12 I Want You I Love You 02:37 (Walter Zwol)
13 Love Is A Killer 03:14 (Vladymir Rogov)
14 Darlin' 04:22 (Oscar Stuart Blandamer)
15 River's Invitation 03:54 (Percy Mayfield)
16 Passing Glances 03:20 (Mick Clarke)
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DISC TWO (60:19)
1 Passing Glances (Guitar Version) 04:09 (Mick Clarke)
2 Rock With The Best 03:47 (Eli Short, Ralph Long)
3 It Ain't Easy 03:53 (Ron Davies)
4 25 Years Of Pain 03:47 (Eli Short)
5 Stay The Way You Are 03:38 (Uel Wells)
6 Bad Attitude 03:28 (Frank Sheen, Sam Hogan, Ted Lindsay)
7 Let The Heartaches Stop 04:41 (Eli Short, Ralph Long)
8 Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City 04:25 (Dan Walsh, Harvey Price)
9 This Is Japan 04:20 (Leslie Adey)
10 The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Any More 03:26 (Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio)
11 Here Comes Another Fool 04:12 (Rick Rhodes)
12 It Still Ain't Easy 04:10 (David Raven, Tom Lavin)
13 Midnight In New Orleans 03:25 (Len O'Connor, Matthew Horner)
14 Don’t Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie 08:52 (Jeff Thomas)
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REVIEW/AMG
Roch Parisien
Two-CD set A Thrill's a Thrill - The Canadian Years distills the best from Baldry's seven Canadian releases, recorded between 1979 and 1993. I would have been happier with a complete career retrospective, but the highlights here hold up elegantly in their own right: "Baldry's Out," "It Still Ain't Easy," and a definitive covers of Tim Hardin's "Morning Dew" among them. Besides, an eight-minute live rendition of signature song "Don't Try to Lay No Boogie Woogie on the King of Rock'n'Roll" captures the old days nicely.
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BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Richie Unterberger
Like Cliff Richard, Chris Farlowe, Slade, Blur, and eel pie, Long John Baldry is one of those peculiarly British phenomena that doggedly resists American translation. As a historical figure, he has undeniable importance. When he began singing as a teenager in the 1950s, he was one of the first British vocalists to perform folk and blues music. In the early '60s, he sang in the band of British blues godfather Alexis Korner, Blues Incorporated, which also served as a starting point for future rock stars Mick Jagger, Jack Bruce, and others. As a member of Blues Incorporated, he contributed to the first British blues album, R&B at the Marquee (1962). He then joined the Cyril Davies R&B All Stars, taking over the group (renamed Long John Baldry and His Hoochie Coochie Men) after Davies' death in early 1964. This band featured Rod Stewart as a second vocalist, and also employed Geoff Bradford (who had been in an embryonic version of the Rolling Stones) on guitar.
In the mid-'60s, he helped form Steampacket, a proto-supergroup that also featured Stewart, Julie Driscoll, and Brian Auger. When Steampacket broke up, he fronted Bluesology, the band that gave keyboardist Reg Dwight -- soon to become Elton John -- his first prestigious gig. He was a well-liked figure on the London club circuit, and in fact the Beatles took him on as a guest on one of their 1964 British TV specials, at a time when the Fab Four could have been no bigger, and Baldry was virtually unknown.
Ironically, his greatest commercial success came not with blues, but orchestrated pop ballads that echoed Engelbert Humperdinck. The 1967 single "Let the Heartaches Begin" reached number one in Britain, and Baldry had several other small British hits in the late '60s, the biggest of which was "Mexico" (1968). (None of these made an impression in the U.S.)
The commercial success of his ballads led Baldry to forsake the blues on record for a few years. He returned to blues and rock in 1971 on It Ain't Easy, for which Rod Stewart and Elton John shared the production duties. The album contained a tiny American chart item, "Don't Try to Lay No Boogie-Woogie on the King of Rock'n'Roll," and Stewart and John split the production once again on the 1972 follow-up, Everything Stops for Tea. Baldry never caught on as an international figure, though, and by 1980 had become a Canadian citizen. He continued to record, and did commercial voice-overs as well as the voice of Doctor Robotnik in children's cartoons. After battling a severe chest infection for several months, Long John Baldry passed away on July 21, 2005, while hospitalized in Vancouver.
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''A THRILL'S A THRILL: THE CANADIAN YEARS, DISC ONE''
1996
121:52
********************
DISC ONE (61:33)
1 Baldry's Out 04:37 (Long John Baldry)
2 Stealer 03:33 (Andy Fraser, Paul Rodgers, Phil Spector)
3 You've Lost That Loving Feeling 05:10 (Barry Mann, Phil Spector, Cynthia Weil)
4 Find You 03:23 (Long John Baldry, Roy Young)
5 Come And Get Your Love 04:25 (Russ Ballard)
6 A Thrill's A Thrill 05:32 (Bill Amesbury)
7 Savoir Faire 03:30 (Willy DeVille)
8 Any Day Now 03:28 (Burt Bacharach, Bob Hilliard)
9 Morning Dew 04:33 (Bonnie Dobson, Tim Rose)
10 You're Good With Your Love 02:48 (Eddie Schwartz)
11 Run Johnny Run 02:59 (Jean Roussel, Marty Simon)
12 I Want You I Love You 02:37 (Walter Zwol)
13 Love Is A Killer 03:14 (Vladymir Rogov)
14 Darlin' 04:22 (Oscar Stuart Blandamer)
15 River's Invitation 03:54 (Percy Mayfield)
16 Passing Glances 03:20 (Mick Clarke)
**********
DISC TWO (60:19)
1 Passing Glances (Guitar Version) 04:09 (Mick Clarke)
2 Rock With The Best 03:47 (Eli Short, Ralph Long)
3 It Ain't Easy 03:53 (Ron Davies)
4 25 Years Of Pain 03:47 (Eli Short)
5 Stay The Way You Are 03:38 (Uel Wells)
6 Bad Attitude 03:28 (Frank Sheen, Sam Hogan, Ted Lindsay)
7 Let The Heartaches Stop 04:41 (Eli Short, Ralph Long)
8 Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City 04:25 (Dan Walsh, Harvey Price)
9 This Is Japan 04:20 (Leslie Adey)
10 The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Any More 03:26 (Bob Crewe, Bob Gaudio)
11 Here Comes Another Fool 04:12 (Rick Rhodes)
12 It Still Ain't Easy 04:10 (David Raven, Tom Lavin)
13 Midnight In New Orleans 03:25 (Len O'Connor, Matthew Horner)
14 Don’t Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie 08:52 (Jeff Thomas)
********************
REVIEW/AMG
Roch Parisien
Two-CD set A Thrill's a Thrill - The Canadian Years distills the best from Baldry's seven Canadian releases, recorded between 1979 and 1993. I would have been happier with a complete career retrospective, but the highlights here hold up elegantly in their own right: "Baldry's Out," "It Still Ain't Easy," and a definitive covers of Tim Hardin's "Morning Dew" among them. Besides, an eight-minute live rendition of signature song "Don't Try to Lay No Boogie Woogie on the King of Rock'n'Roll" captures the old days nicely.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Richie Unterberger
Like Cliff Richard, Chris Farlowe, Slade, Blur, and eel pie, Long John Baldry is one of those peculiarly British phenomena that doggedly resists American translation. As a historical figure, he has undeniable importance. When he began singing as a teenager in the 1950s, he was one of the first British vocalists to perform folk and blues music. In the early '60s, he sang in the band of British blues godfather Alexis Korner, Blues Incorporated, which also served as a starting point for future rock stars Mick Jagger, Jack Bruce, and others. As a member of Blues Incorporated, he contributed to the first British blues album, R&B at the Marquee (1962). He then joined the Cyril Davies R&B All Stars, taking over the group (renamed Long John Baldry and His Hoochie Coochie Men) after Davies' death in early 1964. This band featured Rod Stewart as a second vocalist, and also employed Geoff Bradford (who had been in an embryonic version of the Rolling Stones) on guitar.
In the mid-'60s, he helped form Steampacket, a proto-supergroup that also featured Stewart, Julie Driscoll, and Brian Auger. When Steampacket broke up, he fronted Bluesology, the band that gave keyboardist Reg Dwight -- soon to become Elton John -- his first prestigious gig. He was a well-liked figure on the London club circuit, and in fact the Beatles took him on as a guest on one of their 1964 British TV specials, at a time when the Fab Four could have been no bigger, and Baldry was virtually unknown.
Ironically, his greatest commercial success came not with blues, but orchestrated pop ballads that echoed Engelbert Humperdinck. The 1967 single "Let the Heartaches Begin" reached number one in Britain, and Baldry had several other small British hits in the late '60s, the biggest of which was "Mexico" (1968). (None of these made an impression in the U.S.)
The commercial success of his ballads led Baldry to forsake the blues on record for a few years. He returned to blues and rock in 1971 on It Ain't Easy, for which Rod Stewart and Elton John shared the production duties. The album contained a tiny American chart item, "Don't Try to Lay No Boogie-Woogie on the King of Rock'n'Roll," and Stewart and John split the production once again on the 1972 follow-up, Everything Stops for Tea. Baldry never caught on as an international figure, though, and by 1980 had become a Canadian citizen. He continued to record, and did commercial voice-overs as well as the voice of Doctor Robotnik in children's cartoons. After battling a severe chest infection for several months, Long John Baldry passed away on July 21, 2005, while hospitalized in Vancouver.
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