Now Sounds Cherry Red Records

Issued in 2020, ‘Bubblerock Is Here To Stay’ shone a spotlight on the lost and often murky world of early 70s British Pop, a scene largely controlled by old-fashioned, Denmark Street- based production/songwriting teams as the Rock world concentrated on the album market. Another four-hour 3CD set, ‘Bubblerock Is Here To Stay Volume Two’ treads the same neglected path to deliver more mouldy old dough from the era's backroom boys: crack songwriting teams (Cook/Greenaway, Carter/Lewis, Chinn/Chapman), hit-or-bust producers (Phil Wainman, Jonathan King), session singers (Tony Burrows, Sue And Sunny), and writers-turned-performers (Lynsey de Paul, Barry Blue, Phillip Goodhand- Tait).

From 1973 until this very year (2019 at time of writing) one-time Uriah Heep man Ken Hensley has treated us to a huge amount of music outside of the band that he still can’t quite shake of his long standing link with. The first of these solo sojourns, Proud Words On A Dusty Shelf, arrived in 1973, when Hensley was still part of The ‘eep and very much ‘appy to be so. Together with 1975’s Eager To Please and 1980’s Free Spirit these three albums have been brought together under the banner The Bronze Years 1973-1980 by Cherry Red/HNE Records with a newly recorded DVD, which finds roughly an hours’ worth of new chat with man himself regarding the three albums re-released here and the era in which they were recorded…

Long-established as a hugely popular radio format, the Classic Rock sound was established – though not codified and canonised until some while later – in the Seventies, when numerous British bands from a pop or blues-based background pioneered a muscular, riff-based sound that dominated American FM airwaves and led the most successful practitioners to fame, fortune and all manner of related excess.

Established in 1967 at the height of their powers, The Beatles’ Apple operation saw the group embrace and encourage a wealth of contemporary musical talent, offering studio time and demo facilities alongside recording and publishing contracts. This unique opportunity attracted artists and songwriters from across the musical spectrum, and GOOD AS GOLD presents a snapshot of that talent, spanning the years 1967 to 1975. From the psychedelic tinged sounds of the mid-late 1960s onwards, the label matured and evolved alongside its audience and remains as compelling today as it did during those halcyon days.

This 3CD set is a must for all fans of rock steady, dub and dancehall, as well as admirers of Duke Reid’s inimitable Treasure Isle sound.

Soon after forming in the late Sixties, the Chosen Few became widely regarded as one the most accomplished harmony groups on the Jamaican music scene, as demonstrated by a series of hits for local producers, Derrick Harriott and ‘Prince’ Tony. A subsequent collaboration with Florida-based ex-pat, Noel Williams aka King Sporty spawned the reggae-funk masterpiece, ‘In Miami’ featuring backing from leading soul outfit K.C. & the Sunshine Band. The enduring popularity of the quartet, comprising Franklyn Spence and the three Browns – Busty, Noel and Errol – was demonstrated by the release of three acclaimed long players between 1973 and 1975, all of which were issued in the UK by the country’s premier Jamaican music record company, Trojan Records. This trio of albums form the basis of this superb collection of classic soulful reggae sounds, which is further enhanced by 11 bonus tracks from the period.