Beryl Marsden - CHANGES: The Story Of Beryl Marsden

Beryl Marsden was one of the undeservedly neglected singers to come out of the Liverpool beat boom. A powerful vocalist with a fine sense of style, she was a precocious talent similar to Lulu in that she could bring her own style and stamp to American R&B and soul standards from her mid-teens onward. Born Beryl Hogg (and no relation to Gerry Marsden of Gerry & the Pacemakers) in Liverpool, she began her professional career backed by a band called the Crew and was signed to Decca Records in 1963.

https://www.45cat.com/artist/beryl-marsden

https://www.discogs.com/artist/366237-Beryl-Marsden

She released a pair of singles on the label that somehow failed to click, the first ("I Know") rather inexplicably and the second, a cover of "When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes," when the Supremes' version eclipsed it. Marsden had the distinction of being one of the earliest performers to be managed by Tony Stratton-Smith, a sports journalist turned music maven who later founded Charisma Records and managed such acts as the Nice, Genesis, and Lindisfarne. Marsden jumped to EMI's Columbia label in 1965 and lasted there for two singles, of which "Break-A-Way" -- arranged and conducted by Ivor Raymonde, outdoing his work with Dusty Springfield -- was a British pop-soul jewel. After the failure of her single "What's She Got" in 1966, Marsden changed her approach to music. Her solo career having failed to ignite sales, Marsden joined Rod Stewart in Shotgun Express and after that moved on to a stint with an all-girl band called She Trinity before linking up with Paddy Chambers (of Paddy, Klaus & Gibson) in a group called Sinbad. During the 1970s, she also performed as a member of a group called the Gamblers. Marsden was most visible on record as a session vocalist and resumed her work as a solo act in the 1980s. Perhaps her high point as a singer -- and the highest tribute ever paid this underrated talent -- was her stint performing as a member of the latter-day Martha & the Vandellas alongside Martha Reeves. Marsden never recorded enough during the 1960s to support a compilation album, much less a CD of her work, which has reappeared as part of anthologies such as Deram Records' The Girls' Scene ("When the Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes"), EMI's Beat at Abbey Road 1963-1965 ("Break-A-Way"), and her rendition of the Shirelles' "Everybody Loves a Lover" appeared on See for Miles' 1985 compilation LP At the Cavern.

" Beryl Marsden is one of those names that diligent British Invasion scholars are likely to be aware of, but unlikely to actually have heard much or at all. She has footnotes in some history books as being one of the most popular woman vocalists in Liverpool in the early to mid-'60s, as well as for singing on a 1966 single by the early quasi-supergroup the Shotgun Express (who also included Rod Stewart and Peter Green). This has all dozen of the tracks she issued on Decca and Columbia from 1963-1966, as well as, less interestingly, three 1979-1981 recordings, and eight done just a few years prior to this 2012 compilation. It's one of those anthologies that doesn't really live up to the reputation of the artist, frankly, as Marsden was an OK singer, but not superb. Her '60s singles (there's also a live track from the At the Cavern LP) had serviceable covers of American soul and girl group-type songs that didn't match the originals, as well as some more Merseybeat-influenced pop tunes (including "Love Is Going to Happen to Me," co-written by a young Lesley Duncan with her brother). The orchestrated pop of the Shotgun Express single "I Could Feel the Whole World Turn Around," though not typical of her style, is actually the best song (a previously unreleased alternate take of the subsequent Shotgun Express track "Funny 'Cos Neither Could I" including her voice is also here, though the issued 45 did not include her vocals). The recordings of a more modern vintage are way too synth pop-heavy (even on the '60s soul/girl group covers) to be of much if any interest to those who are curious about her British Invasion-era recordings, though her voice remained in good shape. The compilation's for a specialized audience even by British Invasion collector standards, but the packaging's excellent, the lengthy liner notes including many recollections by Marsden herself. "

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Shotgun Express

Beryl Marsden - vocals

Rod Stewart - harmonica/vocals 

Peter Bardens - organ

Peter Green - guitar 

Phil Sawyer - guitar

Dave Ambrose - bass guitar

Mick Fleetwood - drums

Shotgun Express were a short-lived band, they only stayed together for a few months from late '66 - early '67. Their main importance lies in what the individual members went on to achieve with other groups. Rod Stewart joined ex-Yardbird Jeff Beck in The Jeff Beck Group, Green and Fleetwood were briefly with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers before going on to form Fleetwood Mac, and Bardens was with The Love Affair before forming Village.

https://alchetron.com/Shotgun-Express

Shotgun Express ‎– I Could Feel The Whole World Turn Round (1966)

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