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Shang-a-Lang: The Albums of the Bay City Rollers (Thanks to the not-too-long-ago-reissued-in-England quartet of Bay City Rollers CDs, Roller Mania is once again rockin’ and rollin’ ‘till all hours of the day and night. Kenny Cruz (The Bobbies) is, in my estimation, the most deeply-committed Rollers fan on the face of planet Earth. A couple of years ago, back when I was publishing the Pure Pop website, I asked Kenny to put together a comprehensive review of the Rollers catalog. He did so, and it was well received. Since it has been unavailable for so long, I thought it would be useful to republish it here. Part three appears below. It’s a marathon, useful work, and a lot of fun to read. Kenny, how about a similar feature on the Sweet or Slade?-Alan Haber) BREAKOUT '85 Depending on who you ask, this is either the best album the Rollers ever did, or the worst, with no in betweens. Reuniting once again, this strangest line up ever (Les, Eric, Woody, Pat McGlynn, Ian Mitchell and newcomer George Spencer on drums) put together a collection of songs very much in tune with the 80s sound. In fact, this sounds more like a Duran Duran or Platinum Blonde record than a BCR record. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Most of the songs are penned by Les and Pat; standouts include the title song and the excellent single "When You Find Out." Eric makes strong contributions like "Make My Body Work" and "The Whip," and Woody contributes "Emotion," a holdover from his work with Karu back in 1983. The boys supported this album with a short tour of Australia and Japan, which was cut short abruptly due to much infighting among the band members. In fact, a lot of the animosity between Les and Eric was only straightened out by when the band reunited, only to have Alan's stroke bring the whole thing to a screaming halt. My rating: *** MEMORIAL At this point, I'm going to gloss over the myriad of CD compilations (official and unofficial) that were released in the late 80s (through to the 90s) and concentrate on this release. With characteristic Japanese efficiency and detail, this album remained the most complete greatest hits compilation until "The Definitive Collection" was issued . Of special note are the inclusion of the single mix of "Turn On the Radio" and 1976's "Love Me Like I Love You," which makes its first CD appearance here. My rating: **** M62/LIVE AND UNRELEASED By this point BCR had split into two camps--Les McKeown's version of the band and Eric Faulkner's. Les' version occasionally would be joined by Ian Mitchell, and Eric's version (featuring Eric's girlfriend Kass and at times called the New Rollers) was augmented by Woody's and Alan's return. A legal battle ensued over ownership of the name and Eric won (having gotten public support from former manager Tam Paton and Derek Longmuir). Not for nothing, but really, Les had some nerve in trying to pawn off his band as the real McCoy. As Eric won the legal battle and his band is really the official BCR, we'll use this space for his releases. Primarily a live concert recording from 1990, this release consists of five new songs; "Before the Edge,""Electric Wheels" (written by Kass), "Dreaming" (written by Woody), "Cut In the Night," and "Cut 'n' Run." Establishing a more sophisticated and rocking sound, these songs were staples of live sets throughout the 90s. The rest of this release contains recorded messages to the fans which exhibit humor not unlike The Beatles' yearly Christmas records. My rating: *** THE WORLD OF THE BAY CITY ROLLERS This is a greatest hits package of re-recordings (with some re-arrangements) done in 1992 by the band (Eric, Woody, Alan & Kass), backed up by a drum machine. I remember that when I bought this, my biggest concern was that if the girl on the CD cover was the lead singer, I might not like this very much. I needn't have worried; by this point, Eric was now the front man and most of the songs were sung by him. As a nice surprise, Woody and Alan sing some of the songs as well. This pretty much represented the way that the band sounded during their 1993 U.S. Tour. I caught them at the Limelight and danced my butt off the whole night, although the disco and techno heads that were there didn't get the point. Oh well, they never do. This package has been reissued in so many forms and on so many labels that it should be very easy to get a copy. Usually for less than $6.00 in most cases. My rating: *** NEW RECORDINGS Although yet another re-recorded greatest hits package (this time with a live drummer), this 18 song collection includes some new songs ("Retro-Jive,", "Best Things," and "When Sunday Comes"). Also included is a four-song medley. Even though this CD is very worthwhile, it's a shame that at this point in the band's career, record companies were only interested in having BCR do greatest hits re-recordings, instead of giving them a shot at doing a CD of all new material. My rating: *** DEMOS 1 Although this release is officially credited to Eric, the fact that Alan and Woody appear on one song and that "Rock and Roll Suicide" and "Retro-Jive" were performed on the 1993 tour leads me to believe that these demos were meant for BCR and therefore should be part of their catalog. With the exception of two songs, all the instruments are performed by Eric. This release showcases Eric Faulkner's talents as a lead guitarist ("Hungarian Goulash") and shows his range as a songwriter (from ballads such as "You're My Soul" and "The Army of Love" to out and out punk rock like the wonderful "Sad Bastard"). An interesting note: When I ordered this from the now defunct fan club, the order was delayed due to accidental damage to the master tape. Much to my consternation, this defect is quite audible (stretched and damaged tape) as a nasty screech during "Sad Bastard". My rating: *** ROLLER MANIA Yet another collection of greatest hits re-recordings (boy, you sure can get a lot of mileage from these cuts), but this package features studio versions of 90s BCR staples and new songs like "Cut And Run,""Don't Stop Believing,""Electric Wheels,""I Was Only Dreaming," and "She Can't Say No." An interesting note: This CD features a photo of the band circa 1975, which obviously is most incorrect. I wish that these low budget labels would take the time and trouble to use recent photos of the artists rather than outdated and incorrect ones. This causes confusion for the buyers who think that they are getting a CD recorded by the original artist and/or band. So unless you already know the difference, "caveat empty" or send me an e-mail, I'll tell ya. My rating *** THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION Enough said! Lovingly put together, with great sound. (You do have this, don't you?!)-Alan Haber My rating **** Don't miss part four!
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