Various Artists – Good As Gold. Artefacts Of The Apple Era 1967-1975. (@320)

 

Various Artists – Good As Gold. Artefacts Of The Apple Era 1967-1975

AllMusic Review by Tim Sendra.

When the Beatles set up their mini-empire in 1967, they intended to be involved in as many aspects of the recording industry as possible. Good as Gold: Artefacts of the Apple Era 1967-1975 collects tracks drawn from some of the avenues that Apple Corps pursued. The first disc -- Lost Sessions and Singles 1968-1969 -- is made up of songs recorded by artists someone at Apple thought had a chance at a hit. The bands were given some studio time and, as the title of the disc makes clear, the results didn't make it to vinyl. Looking back thorough the mists of time, it's hard to determine why many of them didn't make the cut. The three tracks by Timon are solid psych-pop with a happily twee point of view, Mortimer's "You Don't Say You Love Me" is a brilliantly brassy slice of horn-driven pop, and Grapefruit's "Lullaby" was produced by Paul and John but somehow languished on the shelf despite being a psychedelic treat. Disc two gathers up freakbeat and psych tracks from the publishing arm of the company, and it's clear that whoever was guiding the ship here had both hands on the rudder. Rip-roaring hard psych classics like Fire's "Father's Name Is Dad" and the Misunderstood's "Children of the Sun" sit happily next to toytown tunes (Majority One's "Charlotte Rose"), oddball rockers (Sands' "Listen to the Sky"), and bouncy pop (the Ways and Means' "Breaking Up a Dream") in a wonderfully trippy and fun mix. Both the third and fifth discs collect demos recorded for Apple Publishing; the latter set was recorded in the attic of Apple HQ on a bare-bones setup. As such, the tracks on disc three are more finished sounding. There are nice stripped-down versions of songs (Turquoise's classic "Flying Machine"), early efforts by Gallagher and Lyle, a nice batch of tunes from Grapefruit's George Alexander, and loads of cool rarities. Disc five is a more spartan affair with many of the songs sounding coated in 50 years' worth of dust. It's still worth a listen, but it should come with a warning that it's for fanatics only. The remaining disc is titled the Savile Row Sound 1971-1975 and showcases songs recorded at the state-of-the-art studio built in the basement and helmed by Abbey Road's Geoff Emerick. Friends and family of the Beatles would turn up to record here, as would Apple artists like Badfinger. They also took on outside work that ranged from the hard rock thunder of Fanny to the sweet soul-folk of Linda Lewis, provided a home to faded genius Tim Hardin, and even spawned a timeless hit with Stealers Wheel's "Stuck in the Middle with You." As with Apple itself, this set is all over the place, kind of a mess and utterly fascinating. Grapefruit Records has done its usual top-notch excavation job and has provided an artifact that serves as an educational tract and a compelling listen in equal amounts.

DISC 1:

LOST SESSIONS AND SINGLES

1968-1969

 

1. LULLABY – Grapefruit

2. SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY - Timon

3. WHO NEEDS A KING - Timon

4. AND NOW SHE SAYS SHE’S YOUNG - Timon

5. LOVERS FROM THE SKY - Contact

6. MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S SCENE (AKA ROUND AND ROUND) - Contact

7. DEDICATED TO LOVE* - Drew And Dy

8. TAURUS THE BULL* - Drew And Dy

9. TALES OF FRANKIE RABBIT* - Drew And Dy

10. JUST ONE MORE TRY- Grapefruit

11. KING OF FUH - Brute Force

12. NOBODY KNOWS - Brute Force

13. YOU DON’T SAY YOU LOVE ME - Mortimer

14. ON OUR WAY HOME - Mortimer

15. LOVERS FROM THE SKY (VERSION) - Contact

 

DISC 2:

CHILDREN OF THE SUN: POP PSYCH SOUNDS

OF THE APPLE ERA 1967-1971

 

1. AN APPLE A DAY (MIX 2) – The U (Don't) No Who

2. DEAR DELILAH - Grapefruit

3. LISTEN TO THE SKY – Sands

4. THE WORDS - The Cyrkle

5. FOOL FROM UPPER EDEN – Andy Ellison

6. BREAKING UP A DREAM – The Ways And The Means

7. TREACLE TOFFEE WORLD – The Fire

8. I AM NEARLY THERE – Denis Couldry And The Next Collection

9. LAND OF PEOPLE (DEMO) – Jackie Lomax

10. A FAIRY TALE – Second Hand

11. SAILING – Joker

12. ELEVATOR (UK SINGLE MIX) – Grapefruit

13. FATHER’S NAME IS DAD – The Fire

14. RIP VAN WINKLE – Joker

15. SISTER SAXOPHONE – Turquoise

16. FORGIVE AND FORGET - Rawlings And Huckstep

17. SOLDIER – Lace

18. EVIL LOVING WOMAN – Pete Cooper

19. CHILDREN OF THE SUN (IBC) – The Misunderstood

20. SAYNIA – Turquoise

21. CHARLOTTE ROSE – Majority One

22. SINGING SONGS UNSUNG –Danny Kaih And Stefan Grossman

23. DEEP WATER – Grapefuit

24. HOME IS IN MY HEAD – Jackie Lomax

 

DISC 3:

PUBLISHING CURIOS

 

1. DEAR DELILAH (DEMO) – George Alexander

2. IN YOUR WONDERFUL WAY – Gallagher And Lyle

3. THE FANTASTIC STORY OF THE STEAM DRIVEN BANANA – Legay

4. LOVE YOU FOREVER – Focal Point

5. FLYING MACHINE – Turquoise

6. TECHNICOLOUR DREAM – Gallagher And Lyle

7. FOOL FROM UPPER EDEN – George Alexander

8. NOT SARAH – Promise

9. MIRROR - Coconut Mushroom

10. YOU’VE GOT A HOLD ON SOMEONE – George Alexander

11. IVY UNREHEARSED – Gallagher And Lyle

12. SYCAMORE SYD – Focal Point

13. ONLY EVERY TIME IT RAINS* -Drew And Dy

14. THIS LITTLE MAN (DEMO) – George Alexander

15. STRANGE PEOPLE – The U (Don't) No Who

16. NEVER NEVER – Focal Point

17. HOW DOES IT FEEL – The Perishers

18. NOW AND AGAIN REBECCA – The U (Don't) No Who

19. THINKING PICTURES – Rawlings And Huckstep

20. WITHOUT HER – Coconut Mushroom

21. GIRL ON THE CORNER – Focal Point

22. I UNSEEN (IBC DEMO) – Misunderstood

23. WOODSTOCK (ALT MIX) – Turquoise

24. GOOD AS GOLD – The Cups

 

DISC 4:

THE SAVILE ROW SOUND 1971-1975

 

1. AIN’T THAT PECULIAR – Fanny

2. PAUL MCCARTNEY – Tony Hazzard

3. SPRING SONG – Linda Lewis

4. STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH YOU – Stealers Wheel

5. LOVIN' YOU AIN'T EASY – Pagliaro

6. MIDNIGHT CALLER – Tim Hardin

7. THEY'RE ALL COMING ON – Contact

8. HEY BULLDOG – Fanny

9. SOME SING, SOME DANCE – Pagliaro

10. PERFECTION – Tim Hardin

11. NEXT - The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

12. WOULD YOU MIND/THE WRITER – Fairfield Ski

13. PLAY AROUND – Linda Lewis

14. I THINK I’M OVER GETTING OVER YOU – Tony Hazzard

15. KID IN A BIG WORLD – John Howard

16. THE FAITH HEALER - The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

17. WATERCOLOUR VIEW - Chris Sievey

18. LET'S TURN THE RADIO ON – Mike McGear

19. FOUND MY WAY TO YOU – Stealers Wheel

20. BLOWIN' IN THE BAY - Mike McGear

21. LAY ME DOWN - Badfinger

 

DISC 5:

THE GHOSTS OF 94 BAKER STREET

SONGS FROM THE APPLE DEMO STUDIO

 

1. MISS SINCLAIR – Focal Point

2. IT WAS LOVE – Jack Hollingshead

3. JUST LIVING OUR LIVES – Robert and Miles Priestley

4. IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT (94 BAKER ST VERSION) – Jackie Lomax

5. REFLECTIONS* - Focal Point

6. CARNABY KING – Jack Hollingshead

7. EMILY JANE (BAKER ST VERSION) – Barry Alexander

8. WINDY LOVE AFFAIR – Robert and Miles Priestley

9. TAURUS THE BULL (BAKER ST DEMO)* - Drew and Dy

10. NEVER NEVER (BAKER ST VERSION) – Focal Point

11. BELINDA BE GOOD – Jack Hollingshead

12. FAIRYTALE PRINCESS – Barry Alexander

13. LULLABY (94 BAKER ST DEMO)* - George Alexander

14. VOTE FOR ME – Jack Hollingshead

15. FLYING MACHINE (BAKER ST DEMO)* - Drew and Dy

16. LOVE YOU NICOLA – Barry Alexander

17. I'VE GOT A SECRET – Jack Hollingshead

18. TALES OF FRANKIE RABBIT (BAKER ST DEMO)* - Drew and Dy

19. KINGFISHER – Barry Alexander

20. I FEEL GOOD – Jack Hollingshead

21. TALES OF TWO CITIES (BAKER ST DEMO)* - Drew and Dy

22. ‘CEPT ME – Focal Point

23. DEDICATED TO LOVE (BAKER ST DEMO)* - Drew and Dy

* previously unreleased

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