B

Chris Farlowe

Band members Related acts

- Chris Farlowe (aka John Henry Deighton) -- vocals

backing musicians:

- Paul Buckmaster -- cello (1971)

- Steve Hammond (RIP 2002) -- lead guitar (1971)

- Colin Davy -- drums (1971)

- Peter Robinson -- keyboards (1971)

- Bruce Waddell -- bass (1971)

- Atomic Rooster

- Colosseum

- Fat Mattress (Steve Hammond)

- Chris Farlowe and the Thunderbirds

- Mick Farren and the Deviants (Steve Hammond)

- Fat Mattress (Steve Hammond)

- The Johnny Burns Rhythm and Blues Quartet (Chris Farlowe)

- The John Henry Skiffle Group (Chris Farlowe)

Rating: 3 stars ***

Title: From Here To Mama Rosa with the Hill

Company: Polydor

Catalog: 24-4041
Year: 1971

Country/State: London, UK

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+

Comments: gatefold sleeve; cut lower left corner; original inner sleeve

Available: SOLD

Catalog ID: SOLD 5648

Price: SOLD $35.00

This is usually erroneously billed as a Chris Farlowe solo effort when it's actually a full scale collaboration with the band Hill which showcased the talents of cello player Paul Buckmaster, drummer Colin Davy, former Fat Mattress guitarist Steve Hammond, keyboard player Peter Robinson, and bassist Bruce Waddell.

Produced by Stuart MacKay, as you probably figured out from the instrumental line up, 1971's "From Here To Mama Rosa with the Hill" marked a major departure from Farlowe's R&B repertoire with The Thunderbirds. With Hammond, Waddell and producer MacKay responsible for the majority of material, tracks like 'Fifty Years', 'Head In the Clouds', and 'Winter In My Life' found Farlowe jumping headlong into a surprisingly enjoyable mixture of folk and progressive genres. On the surface Farlowe's rugged voice wouldn't have seemed like a particularly good tool for progressive material, but that wasn't the case. I can't quite explain it but Farlowe's ragged voice somehow managed to keep the band's progressive orientations firmly grounded in a likeable commercial vein. 'Questions' was a perfect example. Set amongst cello and guitar solos, Farlowe's labored croon managed to give the song a tough edge. Left to a more technically agile singer and the song would have become overly delicate and fey. Elsewhere, propelled by Robinson's front and center keyboards and Hammond's guitar, the collection occasionally reminded me a bit of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown - doubt the comparison then check out the opener 'Traveling Into Make Believe'. Anyone who missed Farlowe's R&B roots could take a little bit of comfort in the inclusion of the rocking 'Where Do We Go From Here?' and 'Black Sheep'. All that aside, the standout track was the rustic acoustic ballad 'Are You Sleeping?'. Aside the irritating female backing vocals, Farlowe's performance was simply stunning. (I don't know what the source was, but the title track was reportedly inspired by a drug dealer.) In the UK the album was tapped for a single:

- 1971's 'Black Sheep' b/w 'Fifty Years' (Polydor catalog number 2066-17)

Needless to say the set did nothing in the States.

"From Here To Mama Rosa with the Hill" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Traveling Into Make Believe (Alcock - Crane) - 4:40

2.) Fifty Years (Stuart MacKay - Bruce Waddell) - 2:45

3.) Where Do We Go From Here? (Steve Hammond - Bruce Waddell - Stuart MacKay) - 4:58

4.) Questions (Stuart MacKay - Bruce Waddell) - 3:48

5.) Head In the Clouds (Steve Hammond - Bruce Waddell) - 7:00

(side 2)
1.) Are You Sleeping? (Steve Hammond - Bruce Waddell - Stuart MacKay) - 5:40

2.) Black Sheep (Steve Hammond) - 4:52

3.) Winter In My Life (Steve Hammond - Bruce Waddell) - 4:10

4.) Mama Rosa (Steve Hammond - Bruce Waddell - Stuart MacKay) - 7:45

The partnership with Hill collapsed shortly after the album was released with Farlowe signing up for short stints with the progressive-oriented bands Atomic Rooster (replacing Carl Palmer) and Colosseum.

Genre: rock

Rating: 3 stars ***

Title: Paint It Farlowe

Company: Immediate

Catalog: ZS12 52 010
Year: 1968

Country/State: London, UK

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+

Comments: UK pressing

Available: 1

Catalog ID: 830

Price: $30.00

1968's "Paint It Farlowe" essentially repackage Chris Farlowe's 1966 solo set "The Art of Chris Farlowe". Who knows why, but for some reason Immediate marketing folks decided to keep the same crappy album art while mucking around with the track listing. Six tracks were dropping from the original LP - 'Cutting In', 'Open the Door to Your Heart', 'North South East West', 'I'm Free', I've Been Loving You Too Long', and 'Ride On Baby'. In their place the US release added four tracks - the stunning Motown-flavored 'My Way of Giving', the obscure 'B' side 'Headlines', 'What Have I Been Doing', and 'Baby Make It Soon'. The changes didn't seem to make a lot of sense, particularly since the US release dropped a couple of Farlowe's 'A' sides ('Ride On Baby') in favor of obscure 'B' sides. I'd love to know the rationale for the move. Regardless, it made for an interesting retrospective showcasing Farlowe's impressive voice and obvious affection for American R&B and soul. Northern soul fans would be well advised to track down a copy of the album.

"Paint It Farlowe" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Paint It Black (Mick Jagger - Keith Richards) - 3:27

Produced by Mick Jagger and released as a 1968 single (Immediate catalog number IM 071), as much as I like Farlowe's voice, I've never understood why he felt the need to employ his best Arthur Brown vocals on this weird Gypsy-inspired cover of The Stones' 'Paint It Black'. I won't say the track was terrible, but it wasn't really something you'll feel the need to play on a regular basis. rating: *** stars

2.) My Way of Giving (Steve Marriott - Ronnie Lane) - 2:33

After all these years I'm still amazed that Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane could write a song that managed to sound more Motown-ish than most Motown releases. Getting Farlowe to do a cover was sheer genius - the man simply crushed this one. (For anyone curious, the song had previously been released as a 1967 single (Immediate catalog number IM 041). rating: **** stars

3.) What Becomes of the Broken Hearted (Paul Riser - James Dean - William Weatherspoon) - 2:34

I won't lie; Jimmy Ruffin's version of 'What Becomes of the Broken Hearted' remains the classic. That said, the thought that a skinny, pale British guy would be able to turn in a cover of the classic soul tune that was nearly as good is pretty stunning. Well worth checking out and one of the album highlights - the underlying bass and keyboard patterns were amazing - geez I'd love to know how to play that well. (Always wondered if that was a belch about two seconds into the song.) rating: **** stars

4.) It Was Easier To Hurt Her (Ragavoy - Russell) - 3:45

This one makes it pretty clear that Farlowe wasn't cut out to record Tom Jones-styled top-40 pop ballads. Painful. rating: ** stars

5.) Life Is But Nothing (Skinner - Rose) - 4:00

Another 'B' side (supporting 1967's 'Yesterday's Papers'), though this time around it was easy to see why the song was buried. Mauldin and saccharine, this one was pretty horrible and hearing Farlowe try to kick into a falsetto wasn't much fun. rating: ** stars

6.) Headlines (Andrew Loog Oldham - Art Greenslade) - 3:10

Another obscure 'B' side (it backed 1966's 'Ride On Baby'), 'Headlines' was a wonderful slice of Motown-influenced soul with some frenetic drumming from Andy White (you can hear Farlowe yelling "c'mon, give me some Andy"). White's performance simply makes the song. rating; **** stars

(side 2)
1.) Out of Time (Mick Jagger - Keith Richards) - 3:11

Another Stones cover (you can hear Jagger on backing vocals) that Farlowe was released as a single (Immediate catalog number IM 035) and provided him with a # 1 hit in the UK. Farlowe did a decent job, though his growling version wasn't going to make you forget the original. For anyone interested, YouTube has an interesting early promotion clip of the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpDjbul0WyE rating: *** stars

2.) What Have I Been Doing (Alcock - Crane) - 3:07

Originally the flip side to 1967's 'Moaning' (Immediate catalog number IM 056),

3.) You're So Good for Me (Andrew Oldham - Bell - Skinner - Rose) - 2:17

'You're So Good for Me' sounded like it had been stolen from a Holland-Dozier-Holland song ... The track had previously been released as a 1967 'B' side supporting 'My Way of Giving'. rating: *** stars

4.) Baby Make It Soon (Andrew Oldham - Woolfson) - 3:15

Yet another 'B' side (flip side of 'Out of Time'), 'Baby Make It Soon' was an interesting, if slightly stilted ballad. Always liked the instrumental backing on this one. Come to think of it, I actually like it better than his version of 'Out of Time'. rating: **** stars

5.) We're Doing Fine (Ott) - 2:35

Maybe because he pushed his voice to the breaking point, or perhaps a result of the heavy-handed orchestration, I wasn't as impressed by the Motown-ish 'We're Doing Fine'. rating: *** stars

6.) Reach Out (I'll Be There) - Brian Holland - Lamont Dozier - Eddie Holland) - 3:14

Well, I've certainly heard worse, but this version wasn't going to make your forget Levi Stubbs and company - loved the rollicking bass line. rating: *** stars

As an

Genre: rock

Rating: 3 stars ***

Title: Out of Time Paint It Black

Company: Charly / Immediate

Catalog: CR 300020 (FC)
Year: 1976

Country/State: London, UK

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+

Comments: UK pressing

Available: 1

Catalog ID: 5592

Price: $30.00

By the mid-1970s singer Chris Farlowe was struggling to survive. Probably more out of financial need than artistic desire, he recorded a series of early-1970s album with the progressive leaning Colosseum and then replaced Carl Palmer in the equally mismatched Atomic Rooster. In the meantime Andrew Loog Oldham continued to mine Farlowe's mid and late-1960s Immediate Records catalog with a series of haphazard compilations.

Released in partnership with Charly Records, 1976's "Out of Time Paint It Black" served up one of those compilations. Sporting a truly hideous cover (great marketing move), the set pulled together a mixture of earlier singles and album tracks. Now here's the surprising thing - given its haphazard roots the album was really good ! Way too abbreviated to give you a thorough overview of the man's career, it still managed to hit several of the mid-1960s R&B oriented highlights. Farlowe had a bluesy voice that recalled the likes of Eric Burden, Alan Price, or Steve Marriott. Mind you with his gruff and limited delivery the resemblance was there, but Farlowe wasn't a clone - his sinewy delivery was actually far more attractive to my ears than any of the others. Given the bulk of the ten tracks have an R&B feel, my favorites were the weirder entries including the Indian-flavored 'Moanin'', the pop-oriented 'Yesterday's Paper' and 'Handbags and Gladrags'. Good place to start it you're curious about the man.

"Out of Time Paint It Black" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Paint It Black (Mick Jagger - Keith Richard) - 3:29

2.) Yesterday's Paper (Mick Jagger - Keith Richard) - 2:36

3.) Everyone Makes a Mistake (Allcock - Crane) - 1:58

4.) Moanin' (Bob Timmons- Jon Hendricks) - 2:31

5.) Out of Time (Mick Jagger - Keith Richard) - 3:23

(side 2)
1.) Ride On Baby (Mick Jagger - Keith Richard) - 32:51

2.) Headlines (Oldham - Greenslade) - 3:93

3.) What Have I Been Doing (Allcock - Crane) - 3:04

4.) My Way of Giving (Steve Marriot - Ronnie Lane) - 2:30

5.) Handbags and Gladrags (D'Abo) - 3:24

Farlowe's still going strong and has a nice website at: