...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI


..::OPIS::..

Sześciopłytowy zestaw zawierający antologię kultowej brytyjskiej grupy. Znalazły się tutaj albumy: "Help Yourself" z 1971, "Strange Affair" i "Beware The Shadow" z 1972, "Return Of Ken Whaley", "Happy Days" i "Help Yourself 5" (wydany dopiero w 2004) z 1973, a także solowy album lidera zespołu Malcolma Morleya "Lost And Found", nagrany w 1976 z towarzyszeniem grupy Plummet Airlines, którego taśmy-matki zaginęły i odnalazły się po latach, a następnie zostały wydane w 2002 roku. Wszystkie nagrania zremasterowano, a całość znajduje się w sztywnym pudełku, z książeczką z niepublikowanymi wcześniej zdjęciami i wywiadami oraz plakatem.


- A NEW 6CD REMASTERED BOXED SET ANTHOLOGY FEATURING THE COMPLETE STUDIO RECORDINGS BY THE UNSUNG HEROES OF BRITISH EARLY ‘70s ROCK, HELP YOURSELF
- FEATURING 66 TRACKS ON 6 CDs INCLUDING THE ALBUMS HELP YOURSELF, STRANGE AFFAIR, BEWARE THE SHADOW, THE RETURN OF KEN WHALEY / HAPPY DAYS, THE ALBUM FIVE & MALCOLM MORLEY’S 1976 ALBUM LOST & FOUND (BOTH UNRELEASED FOR THIRTY YEARS) ALONG WITH A PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED BBC SESSION & DEMO.
- REMASTERED FROM THE ORIGINAL ALBUM MASTER TAPES
- INCLUDES AN ILLUSTRATED BOOK WITH EXTENSIVE ESSAY WITH PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN PHOTOGRAPHS AND INTERVIEWS & A POSTER

Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the release of PASSING THROUGH – THE COMPLETE STUDIO RECORDINGS, a 6CD boxed set by the unsung heroes of British early ‘70s rock, HELP YOURSELF.

The band was formed in London in 1970, originally as a backing band for singer-songwriter MALCOLM MORLEY and took their influences from American West Coast Country and Acid Rock. After Morley signed to the Famepushers management stable, his manager John Eichler suggested Morley form a new band and HELP YOURSELF was born. Featuring MALCOLM MORLEY (guitars, keyboards, vocals), former Sam Apple Pie member DAVE CHARLES (drums, percussion, vocals), RICHARD TREECE (guitars, vocals, harmonica) and KEN WHALEY (bass), the band signed to United Artists in 1970 and their eponymous debut album was issued in 1971.

Following a tour with label mates Brinsley Schwarz and Ernie Graham (also Famepushers artists), Ken Whaley departed the band. An expanded line-up including Ernie Graham and Jonathan Glemser began work on the album STRANGE AFFAIR in 1972, but Graham and Glemser’s departure half-way through the recording saw roadie Paul Burton join the band to complete the album, (which would include the excellent extended track “The All Electric Fur Trapper”). The band embarked on a tour of Switzerland with Welsh rock legends Man and a bond formed between the two groups. The band’s next album, BEWARE THE SHADOW, was an even stronger effort, featuring the Help’s twelve-minute anthem, “Reaffirmation”, a track that displayed the instrumental excellence of the group. Prior to a tour to promote their most recent album Malcolm Morley fell ill with depression and DEKE LEONARD, recently dismissed from Man, took his place. When Morley recovered, Leonard remained with the band, appearing with them on the CHRISTMAS AT THE PATTI concert in Swansea in December 1972. In early 1973 Deke Leonard departed the band to pursue a solo career and the band began work on the album HAPPY DAYS, a record that also featured THE FLYING ACES (featuring former MAN bassist MARTIN ACE and his wife George) and VIVIAN “SPIV’ MORRIS and spawned a touring musical review featuring all the musicians. Paul Burton’s departure during these sessions saw Ken Whaley return to the band. Work then commenced on another album, THE RETURN OF KEN WHALEY. Both albums were released as a package by United Artists later that year. Although critically acclaimed, commercial success continued to elude the band and Help Yourself were dropped by their record label. A fifth album was recorded at Chipping Norton Studios in Oxfordshire in 1973 but this failed to gain a release for over thirty years. The aborted album led to Help Yourself disbanding, with Malcolm Morley and Ken Whaley joining Man in 1974 for their album Winos, Rhinos and Lunatics. Following his departure from Man, Malcolm Morley recorded a solo album in 1976 that would also remain unreleased for thirty years.

Over four decades on, HELP YOURSELF are now regarded as one of the great, unsung British bands of their era and the songs of Malcolm Morley are recognised as true treasures. PASSING THROUGH – THE COMPLETE STUDIO RECORDINGS is a lovingly compiled boxed set which gathers together the albums HELP YOURSELF, STRANGE AFFAIR, BEWARE THE SHADOW, THE RETURN OF KEN WHALEY / HAPPY DAYS, the unreleased album FIVE , all the band’s non-album singles & Malcolm Morley’s unreleased album LOST & FOUND along with a previously unreleased BBC session & a studio demo.

The set is newly re-mastered from the original master tapes and features an illustrated booklet with rare photographs and a new essay with interviews and a poster and is a tribute to the inspirational music of HELP YOURSELF.

Esoteric



More of the same for Help Yourself on their second album, for the most part. Bassist Ken Whaley had taken his leave, replaced by former band roadie Ernie Graham on guitars and vocals (although Whaley would return a couple years later with the band naming their fourth album in his honor). Graham penned the only non-Malcolm Morley track on the first two albums, the strumming and west coast-flavored “Movie Star”.
Otherwise most of these tracks are quite similar to the debut, at least most of them. The band would put together their first full- length psych jam here with the ten minute rambling “Excerpts from the ‘All Electric Fur Trapper’”, which would only be topped during their career by the even longer and more improvisational “Reaffirmation” on the ‘Beware the Shadow’ release.

The instrumentation is the same: a couple of guitars, piano, bass and drums. Pub band fare for the most part, but Help Yourself had a knack for coming off as just vaguely enough like several ‘A’ list bands to sound like they were a bit more accomplished than what they probably were. The title track for example has a jaunty piano intro and lumbering tempo that bears a striking resemblance to a fair amount of Joe Walsh’s solo stuff; even the theme, something about a classy chick picking up a bum in a bar, sounds like something Walsh would have penned.

“Brown Lady” leans quite heavily into Ambrosia or Firefall territory with its strumming acoustic guitar, almost invisible bass line, and disjointed amorous lyrics. The Graham track “Movie Star” fits quite well in between the Morley tunes, but with harmonizing vocals that recall Buffalo Springfield or even CSN; while “Deanna Call and Scotty” has a Morley vocal track and piano accompaniment that could easily have been inspired by any number of tracks from ‘Abbey Road’, or maybe even some of the early seventies albums from the Beatles Lite (ELO).

The band moves back into pub rock with “Heaven Row”, even to the extent of including female harmonizing vocal backing. And the closing “Many Ways of Meeting” has a real “Let it Be” feel to it but without any kind of heavy lyrical undercurrent of meaning.

But the stand out track is the aforementioned “Excerpts from the ‘All Electric Fur Trapper’”, a lightly psychedelic and slow- developing instrumental that weaves in acoustic picking, electric strumming, fuzz, and some odd keyboard effects with a couple minutes of undisciplined jamming that sounds awfully acid-inspired. The result is one of those space-out songs that is best listened to in early dusk while lying on the hood of your car in a park somewhere. Peaceful, easy stuff, and probably brought the lighters out when it was played live at festivals back then (assuming it was played live at festivals, which I’m sure it was).

The next couple albums would be a bit heavier than this one, which is a bit heavier than the debut. But in reality these guys can be easily lumped with Man, pre-Laurie Wisefield Wishbone Ash, or Home. In other words British pub rock that aspires to be a bit more, and is inexplicably very west coast leaning in its execution. Decent stuff, probably not progressive, but worth a listen unless you are a prog purist. Three stars.

ClemofNazareth



..::TRACK-LIST::..

CD 2 - STRANGE AFFAIR (remastered edition) Released in 1972:
1. Strange Affair
2. Brown Lady
3. Movie Star
4. Deanna Call And Scotty
5. Heaven Row
6. Excerpts From 'The All Electric Fur Trapper' (Soundtrack From The Film Of The Novel)
7. Many Ways Of Meetings

Bonus Track:
8. Heaven Row (A-Side Of Single - Released In 1972)



..::OBSADA::..

Malcolm Morley - keyboards, guitar, vocals, composer (excl. 3)
Richard Treece - bass, guitar, vocals
Paul Burton - bass, guitar, vocals
Dave Charles - drums, percussion, vocals

With:
Ernie Graham - guitar, vocals
Jonathan 'Jojo' Glemser - guitar




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ErEZ9_7SK0



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