Express Rip

One of the 70’s “unsung heroes”, Liverpool Express were formed by ex- members of Sixties hitmakers The Merseybeats and The Merseys. This is the first time their three studio albums have been issued on CD. Included are the hit singles ‘You Are My Love’ (No.11), ‘Hold Tight’ (No.46), ‘Every Man Must Have A Dream’ (No.17) and ‘Dreamin’’ (No. 40). ‘You Are My Love’ also hit No.39 in Germany. Housed in a clam shell box, each album comes in a cardboard wallet depicting the original LP artwork. The detailed 20 page booklet includes liner notes from “History Of Rock” editor Michael Heatley alongside pictures of all the relevant singles including many rare European issues.

Primarily based in Leeds, The Lewis Express is comprised of many of the musicians that have graced previous ATA releases: George Cooper, Piano (Abstract Orchestra) Neil Innes, Bass (The Sorcerers, The Magnificent Tape Band, Tony Burkill), Sam Hobbs, Drums (Dread Supreme, Tony Burkill, Matthew Bourne) and Pete Williams, Percussion (The Sorcerers, The Magnificent Tape Band, Tony Burkill). Recorded over an intense two-day session by the band of the same name, “The Lewis Express” is a nod to the classic soul jazz recordings of The Young Holt Trio / Young Holt Unlimited and Ramsey Lewis, from who this group take their name. But, delivered with a distinctly European feel. As with many of the classic Ramsey Lewis cuts this album was recorded live, capturing the rich inter-relationship between the players and leaving in some of that chunky room noise, lending the album a sound that’s as thick as a steak and raw as a carrot.

Golden Classics is a perfectly reasonable 17-track collection of the Ohio Express' Buddah singles, featuring the majority of their hits, including "Yummy Yummy Yummy," "Down at Lulu's," "Chewy Chewy," "Sweeter Than Sugar," "Mercy," "Pinch Me (Baby, Convince Me)" and "Sausalito (Is the Place to Go)."
Formed from the ashes of Rare Breed, Mansfield Ohio's the Ohio Express came together in 1967 and enjoyed some of the largest successes of the bubblegum rock craze of the late '60s. The initial line-up included Joey Levine on vocals, Dale Powers on guitar, Doug Grassel on second guitar, Jim Pflayer on keyboards, Dean Krastan on bass and Tim Corwin on drums. Under the aegis of producers Jerry Kasenetz and Jeff Katz, Ohio Express surfaced repeatedly on the late-'60s pop charts.

Definitive's mini-anthology of classic recordings featuring pioneer electrically amplified guitarist Charlie Christian is an excellent core sample taken from his brief and eventful career. Note that Definitive has also issued what purport to be compilations containing all of Christian's complete live and studio recordings, as well as another more modestly proportioned sampler entitled The Genius of the Electric Guitar. Charlie Christian was like a will-o'-the-wisp, a strikingly creative sideman who appeared at studio sessions and live jams during a span of months only adding up to a couple of years before succumbing to tuberculosis at the age of 25 in 1942. On Definitive's Celestial Express, the guitarist is heard with various groups led by Lionel Hampton and Benny Goodman, with Edmond Hall's Celeste Quartet, and with the Kansas City Six (a band including Count Basie and Lester Young) at the second From Spirituals to Swing concert in Carnegie Hall.