Happy Birthday

Both charting albums from this British band led by ex-Manfred Mann guitarist Tom McGuinness! Includes the hit When I'm Dead and Gone underappreciated rock from 1971…

The liner notes neglect to mention in what year this April 29th birthday performance was recorded, but given the orchestra's lineup and set choices, 1953 or 1954 is likely. Unlike the majority of recently-discovered live tapes, this dance at Portland's McElroy's Ballroom was professionally recorded (by the great engineer Wally Heider) and so the sound is astonishing. This five-CD series is easily the best representation we have of Ellington's early-'50s lineup in an intimate ballroom dance setting.

In the early '70s, Capitol had both the Band and McGuinness Flint on their roster, with both bands producing the best work of their careers. Like the Band, McGuinness Flint excelled by ignoring trends in rock music and drawing on styles with deeper roots…

The album Happy Birthday bears little resemblance to the cute and bubbly new wave pop of the title track, for which they're best remembered. Instead of capitalizing on the brightness of the obvious hit single, producer Steven Severin (of Siouxsie & the Banshees) pushed the band into moodier post-punk territory with minimalist arrangements and simple, driving rhythms. Clair Grogan's little-girl voice was probably better suited to pop, but the combination of the two extremes is certainly interesting, if not as fun and engaging as "Happy Birthday".

In the early '70s, Capitol had both the Band and McGuinness Flint on their roster, with both bands producing the best work of their careers. Like the Band, McGuinness Flint excelled by ignoring trends in rock music and drawing on styles with deeper roots. Also like the Band, Happy Birthday, Ruthy Baby is a follow-up that often surpasses their exceptional debut album. Where Dylan's former backup band was making the cover of Time magazine, though, McGuinness Flint remained largely unknown outside their native England. Happy Birthday, Ruthy Baby, with solid production by Glynn Johns and the gifted Nicky Hopkins on piano, expands on the rustic tone of the band's first album. The title track is a rousing pub rock tribute to one of the band's supporters, a touching picture of life as a struggling musician…

No matter how brilliantly played, how beautifully recorded, how enthusiastically performed, a disc of joke encores is still a disc of joke encores. No one could complain that the KREMERata BALTICA is a less than superb chamber orchestra or that Gidon Kremer is less than a spectacular violinist or that Nonesuch has not given Kremer and the KREMERata stunning sound. No one could complain that the pieces are not fun and funny and sometimes a little touching.