Genre: pop
Rating: 3 stars ***
Title: Sold Out
Company: Warner Brothers
Catalog: K
56097
Year: 1974
Country/State: UK
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: --
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 5653
Price: $30.00
Will the five Americans who've heard of Scaffold please stand up?
The last studio set by Liverpool's Scaffold is going to come as a major surprise to anyone familiar with their earlier work. Whether that surprise is good, or bad depends on what you thought about their previous work as a comedy-oriented outfit. If you liked the comedy material, then 1974's "Sold Out" probably won't do a great deal for you. On the other hand, if you liked their occasional forays into more conventional pop material, this will be right up your alley.
left to right: Roger McGough - Mike McGear - John Gorman
A little bit of background. 1974 saw the group enjoy an unexpected top-10 UK hit with the Paul McCartney-produced 'Liverpool Lou'. The single was even released in the States '('Liverpool Lou' b/w 'Ten Years On After Strawberry Jam' (Warner Brothers catalog number WBS 8003), though it proved an instant flop.
As was standard marketing procedure, in order to take advantage of the trio's commercial resurgence Warner Brothers quickly released 1975's "Sold Out". Recorded at 10cc's Strawberry Studios with Mike McGear and Jim Megginson co-producing (Megginson also provided keyboards throughout), the album showcased a surprisingly commercial mixture of updated traditional numbers and original material.
- Backed by McCartney and Wings, the album opened up with the earlier hit. 'Liverpool Lou' sported a folk-ish that wouldn't have sounded out of place at your local Irish bar. Kicked along by some nice vocal harmonies from Gorman, McGear, and McGough it was a sound that McCartney would return to with his own 'Mull of Kyntyre'. The song also sported a great guitar solo from Wings guitarist Jimmy McCulloch. Easy to see why the song went top-10 in the UK and did nothing in the States, Too bad the McCartney-penned instrumental flip side 'Ten Years On After Strawberry Jam' wasn't included on the album.
- One of three Roger McGough and Mike McGear originals, 'Potato Clock' may have sported a dumb lyric but was salvaged by a nice reggae-influenced rhythm.
- With Gorman, McGear, and McGough sharing lead vocals their update of the traditional Mingulay Boating Song'' was quite good, particularly if you liked the kind of stuff that you'd hear after a couple of beers at your local Irish pub.
- Sporting a Vaudevillian feel and a vocal drenched in a heavy Cockney accent whatever charm and humor 'Ramsbottom' might have had was completely lost to me. The one redeeming future was a nifty jazzy guitar solo . Not sure who turned it in ...
- McGough's lyric on 'Beilins Boneyard' was also lost on my American ears, though kicked along by a cool banjo solo the song had an engaging up tempo melody.
- Sounding like something out of the Chinn-Chapman catalog, 'Liverpool Girls'
- 'Cokey Cokey' was nothing more than the 'Hokey Pokey' set to a 1950s-styled rock arrangement. Way too cute and thoroughly forgettable.
- Sounding like something out of a Monty Python show 'Pack of Cards' was a somewhat funny parody of Wink Martindale's hysterical 'Deck of Cards'.
- 'Mummy Won't Be Home For Christmas' found the trio taking on America C&W-stylings. Complete with blubbering little girl narrative section they pulled out all the stops though it didn't do much for me.
- Another update of a traditional English song, 'Leaving of Liverpool' had the same Irish bar feel as the others, though this one benefited from some nice electric guitar. I'm guessing Ollie Halsall was responsible ...
- Sporting a very English feel, 'Julery Shop Lesley' was a pretty ballad with a great chorus and killer guitar solo.
- Yeah I know I'm going to regret it, but their cover of 'Lord of the Dance' was actually pretty good ...
Maybe not the great pop album they wanted to make, but all told not half bad and certainly better than lots of their competition. Backing from an all-star cast including guitarists Ollie Halsall and Andy Roberts certainly didn't hurt.
In an unsuccessful attempt to hit pay dirt again Warner Brothers tapped the album for two follow-on singles:
- 1974's 'Mummy Won't Be Home For Christmas' b/w 'The Who Wind Is Blowing' (Warner Brothers catalog number K 16487)
- 1975's 'The Leaving Of Liverpool' b/w 'Pack Of Cards '(Warner Brothers catalog number K 16521)
The trio also briefly toured in support of the LP and then called it quits.
"Sold
Out" track listing:
(side 1)
1.)
Liverpool Lou (Behan)
2.) Potato Clock (Roger McGough - Mike McGear)
3.) Mingulay Boating Song (traditional arranged by Scaffold)
4.) Ramsbottom (Fisher)
5.) Beilins Boneyard (Roger McGough)
6.) Liverpool Girls (traditional arranged by Scaffold)
7.) Cokey Cokey (Kennedy)
(side
2)
1.)
Pack of Cards (Roger McGough - Mike McGear)
2.) Mummy Won't Be Home For Christmas (Roger McGough - Mike
McGear)
3.) Leaving of Liverpool (traditional arranged by Scaffold)
4.) Julery Shop Lesley (Harvey)
5.) Lord of the Dance (Carter)
Mike McGear has a web presence at:
http://www.mikemccartney.co.uk/
McGough has an interesting website at:
http://www.rogermcgough.org.uk/