nlgbbbblth
Well-Known Member
Mention Ray Davies to people and a) they’ve never heard of him or b) think you’re referring to the bloke from The Kinks.
Neither applies in this case.
The Ray Davies I want to talk about is the master of the trumpet, the leader of the Button Down Brass – who released some of the funkiest records of the 1970s. Despite having put out approximately 25 LPs between 1967 and 1977, you’ll be hard pressed to find any of these in your local record shop. The main reason for this is that none of them have been reissued on CD. Instead he is poorly served by two rather gauche compilation discs that are neither fish nor flesh. Ray was also a major player in the UK library scene but that’s work for a different day.
The focus of this primer is Ray’s commercial albums. A kind of fantasy box set that will never happen. In three parts.
The first instalment features 22 tracks from 11 LPs – ranging from his 1967 debut, Funky Trumpet On Broadway, to the brace of US-only lounge classics released under the Manzanilla imprint. The majority of his albums are released by Ray Davies and The Button Down Brass, the Ray Davies Orchestra, The Button Down Brass featuring The Funky Trumpet of Ray Davies etc.
The first four albums came out on the Fontana label and are somewhat indifferent in quality with a rather sparse selection of highlights.
[I have picked six from this period].
The arrangements are pleasant enough and parp along nicely which makes the more lively and fuzzy tracks stand out – and immediately rise to the top. Among them include a psych-axe
take on Donovan’s Hurdy Gurdy Man and foot-tapping gems like the fuzzy Men Of Menorca and Green Grow The Rushes-O.
Watch out for those birds in the studio, guv!
And I promise that you won’t find a better cover of Son Of Hickory Holler’s Tramp anywhere
Late 1968 saw a sideways move to Morgan Records under the guise of The In-Keepers. This led to a surprisingly decent self-titled LP with an olde English theme. Plenty of harpsichord mixed with jazzy arrangements and a stirring version of Matthew and Son. 1969 seems to have been a fairly quiet year but 1970 saw a pair of LPs emerge, On Days Like These and This Is The Button Down Brass – both on the Fontana label. The title track of the former got a single release while the Hair explosion saw the band produce a nice Aquarius. The self-titled album yields up the beefy Tequila which was compiled on the In-Flight Entertainment disc released in the mid 1990s.
16 Star Tracks from the following year was a mixture of old and new. The fresh tracks include a fiery La Bamba and the soulful Ain’t No Mountain High Enough. By now Ray was a Pye man and released his first LP for them called Everybody’s Talkin’ ‘Bout… I can’t really glean any Midnight Cowboy influence here but legendary session man Alan Hawkshaw contributes the lovely Marielle.
The compilation finishes with a quartet of tunes from Manzanilla. Towards the end of 1971 a harder edge began to develop with the band’s sound. More wah-wah, some frenzied drumming and choppy guitar riffs. The first fruits was an album called The Manzanilla Sound. Without Rhyme Or Reason and Hear What I Say are two original compositions that exemplify the new direction. A few months later saw a second (admittedly less good) Manzanilla LP which included another killer Ray cut called Cat Walk. Things were really starting to fizz up…
The tracks
01 Something's Coming
02 Up, Up And Away
03 Men Of Menorca
04 Green Grow The Rushes-O
05 Hurdy Gurdy Man
06 Son Of Hickory Holler's Tramp
07 Stirrup Cup
08 Matthew And Son
09 The Old Lady Of Threadneedle Street
10 On Days Like These
11 Aquarius
12 Tequila
13 Saffron And Nutmeg
14 La Bamba
15 Ain't No Mountain High Enough
16 Melting Pot
17 Stop, Look And Listen
18 Marielle
19 Hear What I Say
20 Without Reason Or Rhyme
21 Mammy Blue
22 Cat Walk
Source LPs
01 Funky Trumpet On Broadway
(1967, Fontana)
02 The Button Down Brass (1968, Fontana)
03 – 04 Let’s Be Gay (1968, Fontana)
05 – 06 This Guy’s In Love (1968, Fontana)
07 – 09 The In-Keepers (1968, Morgan) credited to The In-Keepers
10 – 11 On Days Like These (1970, Fontana)
12 – 13 This Is The Button Down Brass
(1970, Fontana)
14 – 16 16 Star Tracks (1971, Philips)
17 – 18 Everybody’s Talkin’ Bout The Button Down Brass (1971, Pye)
19 – 20 The Manzanilla Sound (1971, GNPS) credited to Manzanilla
21 – 22 Make Mine Manzanilla (1972, GNPS) credited to Manzanilla
Download from
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PSGRTFV0
I have pressed up a limited number of CD copies so if you prefer a shiny disc with a numbered inlay then let me know.
Neither applies in this case.
The Ray Davies I want to talk about is the master of the trumpet, the leader of the Button Down Brass – who released some of the funkiest records of the 1970s. Despite having put out approximately 25 LPs between 1967 and 1977, you’ll be hard pressed to find any of these in your local record shop. The main reason for this is that none of them have been reissued on CD. Instead he is poorly served by two rather gauche compilation discs that are neither fish nor flesh. Ray was also a major player in the UK library scene but that’s work for a different day.
The focus of this primer is Ray’s commercial albums. A kind of fantasy box set that will never happen. In three parts.
The first instalment features 22 tracks from 11 LPs – ranging from his 1967 debut, Funky Trumpet On Broadway, to the brace of US-only lounge classics released under the Manzanilla imprint. The majority of his albums are released by Ray Davies and The Button Down Brass, the Ray Davies Orchestra, The Button Down Brass featuring The Funky Trumpet of Ray Davies etc.
The first four albums came out on the Fontana label and are somewhat indifferent in quality with a rather sparse selection of highlights.
[I have picked six from this period].
The arrangements are pleasant enough and parp along nicely which makes the more lively and fuzzy tracks stand out – and immediately rise to the top. Among them include a psych-axe
take on Donovan’s Hurdy Gurdy Man and foot-tapping gems like the fuzzy Men Of Menorca and Green Grow The Rushes-O.
Watch out for those birds in the studio, guv!
And I promise that you won’t find a better cover of Son Of Hickory Holler’s Tramp anywhere
Late 1968 saw a sideways move to Morgan Records under the guise of The In-Keepers. This led to a surprisingly decent self-titled LP with an olde English theme. Plenty of harpsichord mixed with jazzy arrangements and a stirring version of Matthew and Son. 1969 seems to have been a fairly quiet year but 1970 saw a pair of LPs emerge, On Days Like These and This Is The Button Down Brass – both on the Fontana label. The title track of the former got a single release while the Hair explosion saw the band produce a nice Aquarius. The self-titled album yields up the beefy Tequila which was compiled on the In-Flight Entertainment disc released in the mid 1990s.
16 Star Tracks from the following year was a mixture of old and new. The fresh tracks include a fiery La Bamba and the soulful Ain’t No Mountain High Enough. By now Ray was a Pye man and released his first LP for them called Everybody’s Talkin’ ‘Bout… I can’t really glean any Midnight Cowboy influence here but legendary session man Alan Hawkshaw contributes the lovely Marielle.
The compilation finishes with a quartet of tunes from Manzanilla. Towards the end of 1971 a harder edge began to develop with the band’s sound. More wah-wah, some frenzied drumming and choppy guitar riffs. The first fruits was an album called The Manzanilla Sound. Without Rhyme Or Reason and Hear What I Say are two original compositions that exemplify the new direction. A few months later saw a second (admittedly less good) Manzanilla LP which included another killer Ray cut called Cat Walk. Things were really starting to fizz up…
The tracks
01 Something's Coming
02 Up, Up And Away
03 Men Of Menorca
04 Green Grow The Rushes-O
05 Hurdy Gurdy Man
06 Son Of Hickory Holler's Tramp
07 Stirrup Cup
08 Matthew And Son
09 The Old Lady Of Threadneedle Street
10 On Days Like These
11 Aquarius
12 Tequila
13 Saffron And Nutmeg
14 La Bamba
15 Ain't No Mountain High Enough
16 Melting Pot
17 Stop, Look And Listen
18 Marielle
19 Hear What I Say
20 Without Reason Or Rhyme
21 Mammy Blue
22 Cat Walk
Source LPs
01 Funky Trumpet On Broadway
(1967, Fontana)
02 The Button Down Brass (1968, Fontana)
03 – 04 Let’s Be Gay (1968, Fontana)
05 – 06 This Guy’s In Love (1968, Fontana)
07 – 09 The In-Keepers (1968, Morgan) credited to The In-Keepers
10 – 11 On Days Like These (1970, Fontana)
12 – 13 This Is The Button Down Brass
(1970, Fontana)
14 – 16 16 Star Tracks (1971, Philips)
17 – 18 Everybody’s Talkin’ Bout The Button Down Brass (1971, Pye)
19 – 20 The Manzanilla Sound (1971, GNPS) credited to Manzanilla
21 – 22 Make Mine Manzanilla (1972, GNPS) credited to Manzanilla
Download from
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PSGRTFV0
I have pressed up a limited number of CD copies so if you prefer a shiny disc with a numbered inlay then let me know.
