What Steve Ellis is mostly being remembered
for, is the orchestrated blue-eyed soul confectionery of his
late’60 days spent fronting The Love Affair. However,
given a proper chance, his lungs can provide whatever Steve
Marriott, Steve Winwood or Rod Stewart were capable of at
their best.
I still haven’t managed to track down the name of the
producer, but whoever twiddle’s the knobs here, seems
to be aiming for The Style Council-like ‘80s soul vibe,
while ending up more like Paul Young or the like. Hearing
stripped down acoustic arrangements of ‘Everlasting
Love’, and Weller’s ‘Brand New Start’,
suggest an idea of what-might-ve-been, along with a couple
of other exceptions such as the moody ‘El Doomo’
from his ‘70s Ellis-era, or the post-Small Faces Ronnie
Lane-like good-time vibe of the title tune.
A major talent, mostly being lost to an inappropriate production,
with just an occasioonal harmonica, blowing some life into
the overall artificial surrounding.
- Goran Obradovic
Steve Ellis: The Musical Love Affair
Is Back On For City-Based Soul Man 29 July 2008
Steve Ellis, one of this city’s best kept secrets,
has had a ‘Love Affair’ with popular music that
dates back some forty years.
Steve Ellis Joins Up With Weller, Daltrey & Co
The golden tonsiled young man, who now resides in Hove, sang
such classics as ‘Everlasting Love’ and ‘Rainbow
Valley’.
Now he's back with the fourteen tracks that make up ‘Best
Of Days’.
The music may be calmer and more acoustic based, but that
only helps to bring to the forefront the still rich and passionate
tones of the now fifty-something, Steve Ellis.
He first fronted a band, Soul Survivors, at the age of fifteen.
After plying their trade at weddings, youth clubs and barmitzvas,
they were proficient enough to tap into the current ‘scene’
and play Mod clubs in London, Brighton, Manchester .. in fact
all over this musically rich isle.
It was a name change to Love Affair that brought Ellis a
string of hit records.
He walked away from the band in 1969, with seemingly the
world at his feet. But he was never to taste major chart success
again.
Following a bad accident in the early 80s, the following
decade saw him return with Steve Ellis’ Love Affair.
The band, via old hits and new material, appealed to both
nostalgists and converts.
He recorded with the likes of Paul Weller (‘Step Inside
My Love’), and contributed to the soundtrack of ‘Loot’,
the screen adaptation of a play by Joe Orton.
But it’s with the all new ‘Best Of Days’
that Ellis might find his star rightfully on the rise once
more.
Appearing on the album are such industry heavyweights of
Roger Daltrey, Paul Weller and Steve Cradock.
Kicking off with an up-to-date reinterpretation of Everlasting
Love, Ellis proves that age need not wilt hunger nor talent.
Also in among strong original material comes an emotive version
of Weller’s, ‘Brand New Start’.
Best of Days is an excellent restatement of
Steve Ellis'’ remarkable vocal and compositional talents.
- The
Brighton Magazine
In 1966, 16 year old Steve Ellis took the first step towards
stardom and joined The Soul Survivors. Rechristened Love Affair,
between 1968 and '69, the band slammed five singles into the
British Top Twenty. Ellis launched his solo career in the
next decade, formed Ellis in 1972, and a few years later joined
hardrock heroes Widowmaker, before returning to his solo career
in 1977. And it's here that the two disc set The Love Affair
Is Over picks up, as Ellis, backed by a group of top-notch
musicians and singer Roger Chapman, began work on his solo
album The Last Angry Man. Unfortunately the set sat on the
shelves due to a dispute between its producers Dave Courtney
and Tony Meehan. A pity because this was an adventurous album,
one that took Ellis from his Motown roots down the path to
hardrock, a kind of stylistic autobiography. The set's highlights
include an exuberant take on Love Affair's chart topping "Everlasting
Love", the hard rocking "Blackmail", and the
fabulously Stax flavored cover of "Soothe Me". Of
equal interest is "Why Do the Good Guy's Die", an
emotive down-tempo number with a soft-pop edge, but washed
in a gentle Pink Floyd-ish spacy mist. "Rag and Bone"
is a fine arena ballad, the lilting "Wind and a Lady"
boasts superb fiddle solos and strong acoustic guitars, while
"Hear Your Woman" struts straight into bluesy rock'n'roll.
The original album is appended by a bumper crop of demos that
Ellis recorded in 1983 for a solo project that never quite
got off the ground. The exhilarating slide guitar riven "Shark
Shoes", the rumbling "War Train", and the fiery
"Warm Love" are the stand-outs amongst a strong
group of songs. Fast forwarding a decade, the singer returned
with Steve Ellis' Love Affair to fans delight. The accompanying
DVD captures the group live in Bradford in 2003, running through
a stellar set of old hits and well-chosen covers. Still going
strong after all these years, Ellis sounds as great as ever.
- Allmusic.com
STEVE ELLIS
The Love Affair is Over
Previously
unheard emotions from the man who brought us "Everlasting
Love", which is here as well.
His has been an illustrious career - from the LOVE AFFAIR
pop in the '60s to the WIDOWMAKER hard rock in the '70s -
but when punk swept the UK, he felt like a fish out of water.
More so, his first solo album, 1977's "The Last Angry
Man", recorded with the aid of friends such as Rogers
Daltrey and Chapman, got entangled in the producers' disagreement
and shelved. As a result, Steve Ellis quit music for the docker's
job that almost cost him both legs, but now the singer's been
standing his own ground for some time, and the time came to
dust off the tapes... and be amazed. Not releasing these songs
was a crime.
An arc to a new cut of "Everlasting Love", elegantly
rocking "Life User" is a blistering tone-setter,
its weary optimism lighting Steve's vocal swagger, offset
with Roger Chapman's vibrato, and Albert Lee's guitar lines.
The album's line-up features such talents as Brian Robertson,
then in THIN LIZZY, Henry McCullough, Henry Spinetti, Tim
Hinkley and Brian Oadgers - exactly what this voice needs
to shine through with flying colors be it on folksy, acoustic
reel that is"Wind And A Lady" or soul-shattering,
wisely orchestrated ballad "Rag And Bone". Most
of the songs like the Lennonesque "Hang On Joey"
and honky-tonk ballsy "Blackmail" are joyfully anthemic
and brimful with life-affirming nervousness, so it's a highlight
through and through.
The mood of "The Last Angry Man" is carried on
with Ellis' own basement tapes, or the results of 1983's "Basement
Days" with the reformed LOVE AFFAIR guitarist Mel Taylor,
which weren't meant to produce an album but to have fun...
if only dramatic "El Doomo" in all its heartbreak
was funny. But while the "War Train" heavy reggae
chugs on even more seriously, "I Lost My Feelings"
comes rockin' an' reelin' and "Warm Love", if released,
would have followed the hit way of its everlasting predecessor.
With a live bonus DVD, it's an essential collection to have
a love affair with.
*****
STEVE ELLIS ‘The Love Affair Is Over’
Angel Air
Yet another superlative release by the dedicated team at
Angel Air offers plenty of gems for fans of Steve Ellis.
The CD consists of 10 tracks plus a further seven bonus tracks.
There’s plenty to enjoy here and what’s more apparent
is that Ellis is perhaps one of the most experienced singers
this country has produced. Born in London, he has been in
bands since he was 13 years old and has continued to sing
for 40 years. The sleeve notes put his whole career into context
and offer some illuminating thoughts on his music. The first
10 tracks were recorded in ’77 while the bonus tracks
were recorded six years later. His voice swings from wonderful
Paul Rodgers style blues to softer pop and soul harmonies.
The accompanying DVD was recorded in Bradford in 2002 and
comes complete with an interview with Mr. Ellis. The 10 handpicked
songs on the DVD offers deep insight into his illustrious
recording career.
He is most certainly genuine talent and this thoughtful collection
is proof of that…
****
Review by Neil Daniels
www.neildaniels.com
STEVE ELLIS'S LOVE AFFAIR
Last Tango in Bradford
Angel Air 2008
Intelligent,
and thus irreverent, version of Joe South's "Hush"
speaks volumes of the singer whose emotions, written all over
his face, are hidden so deep that Steve Ellis' take on "Handbags
And Gladrags" emerges as one of the coolest covers of
this great ballad. Much better fare another Chris Farlowe's
hit, "Out Of Time", the Northern soul gem "If
I Could Only Be Sure", and the original LOVE AFFAIR smashes
"Everlasting Love" and "Bringing On Back the
Good Times", carried out by the catchy melody and the
less nonchalant delivery yet still with the deadpan looks.
This contrast makes Steve somewhat special, as he's a very
convincing performer, especially when his jacket comes off,
the smile lights up his face and "Gimme Some Lovin'"
is unleashed on the dancing audience.
****
STEVE ELLIS
Loot (OST)
As
an ardent fan of 60's/70's film soundtracks, 'Loot' must rank
as one of my all-time favourites. In 1970, 'Hancock's Half
Hour' writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson adapted Joe Orton's
witty and satirical stage play for the big screen, roping
in the likes of Hywel Bennett, Roy Holder, Richard Attenborough,
Lee Remick and Dick Emery to play the parts of the main characters.
The soundtrack brought together two well-known names from
the world of late-60's Pop; Keith Mansfield and Steve Ellis.
Mansfield had spent the majority of the 60's producing and
arranging tracks with artists such as Dusty Springfield, Tom
Jones, Marmalade, The Tremeloes, Georgie Fame and Steve Ellis'
very own Love Affair. Towards the end of the 60's Mansfield
became heavily involved with the KPM sound library, providing
many a groovy instrumental that would be later used on films,
TV shows or adverts. As for Ellis, he cut his teeth as lead-singer
for The Love Affair, famous for their 1968 #1 hit 'Everlasting
Love' (incidentally, produced by Keith Mansfield!). However,
having just left Love Affair to start a solo career, Ellis
was still grappling with a musical direction just as the offer
to sing on the 'Loot' soundtrack was made to him.
With the help of Dave Clark Five's Mike Smith, Caleb Quaye,
Clem Cattini, Herbie Flowers, Sue & Sunny, Madeline Bell,
Doris Troy and Big Jim Sullivan, Mansfield and Ellis served
up just over 30 minutes of brilliant brassy and up-beat Pop,
something I'm sure Orton himself would have loved. Opening
track 'More, More, More' sets the tone - tight playing, swirling
brass, Ellis' soulful-yet-greedy delivery, strong backing
vocals and a fantastic arrangement add up to make a compelling
track made up of various different parts (check out the smart
use of film dialogue within the track). Loot's 'The Root'
is a total belter, defiantly one that wouldn't sound out of
place played in a club. Built around a killer bass-line, powerful
horns and Mansfield's groovy Hammond playing, Ellis weaves
in-and-out of the vocal line and belts the tune out superbly
well. A fantastic tune to dance to, I reckon, and probably
the outstanding tune amongst in this set.
As 'Loot' was meant as a satirical piece based on society's
greed, the soundtrack provides many humorous moments in keeping
with this theme. The lyrics to "Hey, Hey, Hey' are particulary
biting ('Money is the root of all evil, you must have heard
them say. The people who have said it are normally the people
who've got it, anyway' - top stuff!), 'Where It's At' is an
excellent 'the story so far' tune incase you've lost your
way, 'Oh Fay!' isn't a million miles away from The Who's 'Cobwebs
& Strange', whilst 'We Were Nearly Lovers' and 'Mothers
Waltz' see's Ellis singing in different (yet no less compelling)
vocal styles to his usual passionate and soulful delivery.
The last two tracks on the album are reprises of the opening
two tracks, 'And More, More, More' and 'Loot's The Root',
and are a perfect way to round things up; Ellis sounds as
if he's on his knees in delivering the words: 'More, more,
I want more!', whilst Mansfield wraps everything up with a
huge blast of brass, drum and Hammond organ. Fantastic stuff.
For fans of Steve Ellis/Love Affair, Keith Mansfield, late-60's
Pop, Hammond, Joe Orton or just film soundtracks in general,
this is an essential purchase. As usual with RPM, the packaging
is spot-on and liner-notes are on hand to inform you more
about the film and the soundtrack itself.
If Loot really is the root of all evil, put it to some good
and shell out for this little beauty.
Reviewed by David Steel, modculture.com
(review posted on 14th September 2002)
LOVE AFFAIR
Single's A's and B's
Often
cruelly dismissed as another late-60's manufactured band for
teeny-boppers, this 25-track collection of all of Love Affair's
singles from 1966 to 1969 (and Steve Ellis's early solo outings,
too) will serve as a timely reminder to those cynics and doubters
what an excellent group Love Affair actually were, what a
fantastic voice Steve Ellis had/has and hopefully introduce
a new generation of music listeners to them.
Ellis was gifted with a voice just as powerful and soulful
as the likes of Steve Marriott, Steve Winwood, Eric Burdon,
Chris Farlowe and other white UK blue-eyed Soul singers of
that time. The power and rawness of his voice is no more evident
than on Love Affair's earliest records - "Back In Your
Life Again", "Woman Woman", the superb Mod-Pop
of "Sweetness And Tenderness" and The Rolling Stones
cover "She Smiled Sweetly" all show Love Affair
(or The Soul Survivors as they were known in those days) to
be a tight group with an exceptionally young and talented
singer. Many Modculture readers will recognise the quirky
1967 single "Satisfaction Guaranteed" from "Empire
Made: The In Crowd Volume 2", but that tunes appeal is
stifled by the huge number 1 from the same year, "Everlasting
Love", that follows it. Of course, little needs to be
said about this song due to it's huge popularity, but spin
it and be reminded of what an incredible tune it is - it's
classic late-60's Pop; a huge intro, horns, big backing vocals,
a clever yet simple arrangement and of course Ellis putting
in a superbly passionate and gutsy vocal performance.
The singles that followed "Everlasting Love" were
similar in feel and formula (to get a second number 1, no
doubt), yet great songs nonetheless. "Rainbow Valley"
is probably technically better than "Everlasting Love"
(check out the Italian version of this track at the end of
the CD, too!), and "A Day Without Love", "One
Road" and "Bringing On Back The Good Times"
aren't too far behind either. However, it's the b-sides to
these tunes that are of most interest here. "Gone Are
The Songs Of Yesterday", the flip-side to "Everlasting
Love", is a tender and reflective piece of music, whilst
"Someone Like Me" isn't a million miles away from
The Small Faces emotional take on Brenda Holloway's "Every
Little Bit Hurts". "Let Me Know" and "Accept
Me For What I Am", two b-sides from 1969, are both fantastic
slabs of soulful late-60's Rock, with some ballsy guitar solos,
driving drumming and Ellis letting rip with some great vocal
performances.
Following Love Affair's last single "Baby I Know"
(which firmly broke the "Everlasting Love" formula,
and unfortunately suffered chart-wise as a consequence) and
having grown tired of pop stardom, Ellis quit the band to
pursue a solo career. He quickly hooked up with Keith Mansfield
and released a single, the beautifully arranged "Evie".
As well as working on the soundtrack to "Loot" with
Mansfield (see 'Film Soundtracks' section for that review),
Ellis also hooked up with the likes of Zoot Money, Jimmy McCulloch,
Johnny Steele and Caleb Quaye to record two more singles -
"Take Your Love" and "Have You Seen My Baby",
which are included here with their b-sides ("Jingle Jangle
Jasmine" is a particular favourite of this reviewer -
Ellis very nearly takes the paint off the walls when the chorus
kicks in), before forming The Steve Ellis Band with Zoot Money
in 1972.
Steve himself provides the excellent liner-notes to this
set, and it's interesting to read his memories of being a
Mod, buying clothes/records and playing gigs with The Soul
Survivors at venues such as The Marquee, The Flamingo and
various Northern Soul clubs in the mid-60's. If you can't
get enough of The Small Faces, Spencer Davies Group, Amen
Corner, The Herd, Marmalade, or late-60's soulful Pop in general
then this is definitely for you. It'd be nice to see Steve
Ellis and Love Affair get a little more attention and recognition
beyond "Everlasting Love", such was their ability
and the songs they recorded aside from their number 1 single.
Reviewed by David Steel - modculture.com
(review posted on 8th December 2002)
ELLIS
Riding on the crest of a slump
Steve Ellis, who was the front man in Love Affair, formed
Ellis in the early seventies when Love Affair called it a
day. Still young (he was only eighteen years old when Love
Affair scored a hit with "Everlasting Love" in '68),
but with a really mature voice, he still wanted to go on singing
and formed Ellis to get a proper vehicle to do that.
Steve Ellis got this classy rock voice based on soul and rhythm
& blues singing technique. His vocal chords handles easily
the power from his lungs and belly. His voice is strong, moving
and very flexible. The expression is distinct and his phrasing
is just great. What Steve Ellis stands for vocally, we get
an example on in the album opener "Good To Be Alive".
A jolly singalong tune which makes me think of those old vaudeville
days. Zoot Money, Steve's long-time friend and co-founder
of Ellis, and keyboardist extraordinaire who has played with
everybody, plays a kind of crispy bar-piano behind hired hand
Gary Farr's juicy harmonica. And Steve sings with full power
like his life was depending on it. Great album opener! The
follower "El Doomo" is every bit as good, a soulful
ballad where Steve shows us the other side of his vocal expression.
More relaxed, yet powerful. Guitarist Andy Gee (real name
Andreas Gröber, friend of Steve from Germany and headhunted
for the band) plays some intense, slow-burning electric guitar
here, reminding me of the tone of the late great Leslie Harvey
from Stone The Crows. This albums winner! Zoot Money plays
straight piano in the beautiful "You're The Only Reason"
with Maggie Bell from the earlier mentioned Stone The Crows
contributing on backing vocals. "Your Game" is nearly
heavy at times and done with howling guitar and some percussion
that sounds some kind of electronically treated! The sound
of Maggie Bell's voice opens "Three Times Corner"
before Steve comes in using the whole register of his magnificent
voice. Jim Leverton's bass rolls heavy together with Dave
Lutton's excellent drum work here and with Andy's guitar screaming
and howling over Zoot's piano. Good one! Colin Allen, he too
from Stone The Crows, contributes with some percussion on
"Wish I Was Back Home" where Zoot plays electric
piano on this easy singalong track. Guest Mick Weaver plays
the organ together with Zoot's piano on the funky "Angela"
which gets a more jam-feeling to it towards the end. Not bad
of course, but not that exciting either.
Roger Daltrey (from The Who) has been in charge of the producing
here and he has done an okay job, but then again it could
have been better.
ELLIS
Why Not?
Just
a year after the debut, Ellis hit the streets with another
album. It's called "Why Not ?" and the band's line-up
is almost the same which recorded the debut. But bass-player
Jim Leverton was out of the band here and Nick South took
his place. Sitting in the producer's chair this time was none
other than Mike Vernon, famous for his great blues productions.
And the sound here are better than the debut-album. The bass
and drums are more upfront in the mix and the overall sound
is better.
"Why Not?" is a rock album with roots in the blues
and soul music, but this time also some influences from progressive
music are at present.
"Goodbye Boredom" rocks away fine with Nick South's
steady bass behind Andy Gee's noisy guitar. He plays an infectious
riff and delivers a solo with a bite. Heavy use of wah-wah
here. Tough! Some progressive elements like tempo-changes
and counterpoints comes towards the end of the track. Those
elements are more at present in "Opus 17 ¾",
this album's most progressive track. Excellent arrangement
here with a great rocking interlude. And Steve sings like
only he can do, from screams to a whisper with the greatest
ease. A killer! An acoustic slide-guitar over a more distant
electric guitar sets the tone on "Future Passed",
giving it an acoustic feel. Not much vocals from Steve here,
but the backing vocals are really upfront making a choir effect.
Good one. On "Lazy Love Songs" we get more guitars
both acoustic and electric ones, with the latter most upfront.
The refrain rocks real good here with steady guitar and Zoot's
rolling piano. Wonderful guitar-solo here by the way! The
rocking continues on "Open Road" before a slow steady
blues comes in, in "All Before". Zoot's piano sounds
lonely, yet steady, and makes the backbone for Andy's guitar
excursions and Steve's powerhouse vocals. Goodie! "Leaving
In The Morning" is heavy on the guitars but rocks behind
Steve's great singing. And you'll easily detect Roger Chapman's
(Family) distinct voice in the backing vocals here! Among
the other voices here are Julie Tippett and Mike Patto, they
also sings on the last track "We Need Money Too",
but they are not as audible as Roger Chapman though.
To my knowledge there are no plans of releasing these Ellis
albums on cd, and that's a shame because they really deserves
a wider recognition. But we can always hope that somebody
out there get a hold of the master tapes, and does something
about it. Maybe that Angel Air (which has released Steve Ellis'
"The Last Angry Man") are capable of the job.
STEVE ELLIS
The Last Angry Man
After
nearly two years with Widowmaker, it was time for Steve Ellis
to go solo. Ariola picked him up and gave him a deal. This
was in '77 and the recording of "The Last Angry Man"
started. But things didn't work out that smoothly. Two singles
from the album were released in '78, but a dispute between
producers Tony Meehan and Dave Courtney led to the fact that
the album never released at the time. Not completely true,
in fact a few copies of it hit the streets in the music-cassette
format. And I was lucky enough to pick one up on one of my
first trips to London. So I've been living with this great
album for awhile now.
"Life User" starts up with Brian Robertson's (Thin
Lizzy) intense guitar over Brian Odgers' pounding deep bass.
Tim Hinkley joins with organ before Steve starts to sing.
Great solo and guitar-playing all the way from Brian Robertson
here. Henry McCulloch also plays guitar on the album, but
judging by the sound I guess that Brian does most of the solo's.
And Roger Chapman (Family) sings backing vocals here, nearly
stealing the show from Steve with his colossal voice! He does
a great job on "Hear Your Woman" too, together with
Steve. Both acoustic and electric guitars makes the melody
on the slow burning "Hang On Joey". A good one!
Tim Hinkley starts up alone with piano on the beautiful "Rag
And Bone". Steve sings really great on this mighty soul-ballad
with strings and horns. I can't compare the version of "Everlasting
Love" here to the original Love Affair version because
I've never heard it. But I do like this version here, that's
for sure. Great wah-wah guitar from Brian Robertson we get
on the rocking "Blackmail", before the lovely "Wind
And A Lady" starts up with acoustic guitar behind Steve's
voice. Roger Chapman joins Steve and a great solo on fiddle
spices it up. I would have guessed on Dave Arbus (East Of
Eden) being responsible for that one, but it was a guy aged
sixty-eight (!) years old from London Symphony Orchestra who
did that magnificent solo! Great track! A powerful version
of Sam & Dave's "Soothe Me" (together with "Rag
And Bone", one of the two singles released from this
album) follows with good saxophones, but it should have been
longer! "Why Do The Good Guys Die" is a ballad with
a powerful interlude and a nice saxophone solo. The title-track
"The Last Angry Man" ends the original album in
a good funky way. Just to have it mentioned, it's Henry Spinetti
and Barry Morgan who plays the drums on the album.
But the fun isn't over yet. Seven tracks recorded in '83 is
the bonus here, with over thirty-five more minutes of Steve's
voice to make you happy. The musicians here are Mel Taylor
on bass, Eric Wright and Gerry Pinner on guitars and Ozzie
Garvey on drums. A version of the great "El Doomo"
from the days of Ellis is ok, but nowhere near the original.
The rest of the tracks are written by Steve and Eric Wright
for the most. It's very powerful with tracks like "Shark
Shoes", "She's Leaving" and "War Train"
standing out. So do yourself a favor and buy the album, it
clocks in for more than seventy-five minutes with Steve Ellis
great vocals and is really very good value for the money!
(A big thanx goes to Sven Gusevik here, who has written the
excellent liner notes for this cd. Some of the information
used in the review here and on Ellis and Widowmaker, comes
from this source. Visit Sven's great site about Love Affair,
Mott The Hoople, Ian Hunter and Medicine Head. It's called
"The Mott Archive" and contains loads of great information
there!)
Shindig! Magazine: October 2002
THE LOVE AFFAIR / ELLIS
Singles A's & B's (Ascadia/Evangeline; CD)
Although somewhat younger than Marriott and
with a much shorter fringe, Steve Ellis was truly one of the
finest British voices to emerge from the late '60s. In short,
the story follows the rags to riches story of a bunch of teenage
mods who honed their skills, played the clubs, impressed people
in high places, recorded an acetate (included as the first
four tracks) that Tony Blackburn played it on Radio 1, an
okay version of the Stones 'She Smile's Sweetly' was released
and next the band were re-shaped (meaning Ellis sang with
Keith Mansfield's Orchestra backing him) and 'Everlasting
Love' stormed the charts! Love Affair were now a sensation!
The teeny-bopper classification insulted the band, but on
album tracks and b-sides they wrote and played their own stripped
down material, which was an indication of how they sounded
live. 'I'm Happy' is a fab freakbeat stomper, not unlike Wimple
Winch or even The Creation, whilst the tremendous 'Let Me
Know' is so much like high-octane late '60s US garage rock
that it was included on a volume of the Boulders series, Ellis'
final 45 b-side 'Accept Me For What I Am' rocks big time;
strewn with searing guitars, Hammond and a powered Ellis vocal
it runs the LOUD competition into the ground! The a' sides
shouldn't be knocked though as they represent the zenith of
blue eyed soul bubblegum. How can one not appreciate Ellis'
vocals on 'Everlasting Love' or melt from the good time movie-theme-like
'Bringing On Back The Good Times'? After Ellis quit the band
in '69 he recorded an impressive version of Jimmy Webb's 'Evie'
backed once again by Keith Mansfield. The result is a hybrid
soul/loungecore/country-tinged slice of groovy balladry soaked
in Euro pop strings and fuzzy guitar. The remaining 45s Ellis
recorded until the formation of the Ellis Band are like a
more honed version of The Faces with pop rather than rock
aspirations. The a-sides, such as 'Take Your Love' were commercial
fare, whilst b-sides like 'Fat Crow' and 'Jingle Jangle Jasmine'
were rootsy, bluesy rock. 'Goody Goody Dancing Shoes', (Ellis'
final self-written b-side of his solo career) is a tumultuous
portion of power pop/rock that has an edge not unlike his
pal Roger's Who!
If you thought that Ellis and cohorts were a one-trick pony
you need this, now. An essential item for those who wish to
be surprised by some impeccable late '60s pop!
Jon
'Mojo' Mills
Shindig! Magazine: June 2006
ELLIS
Riding On The Crest Of A Slump / Why Not? (Evangeline; CD)
Steve Ellis had more than five minutes of fame with the
extremely popular post-mod blue-eyed soul/rock band The Love
Affair, but as the '60s ended and he dabbled with new bands
and a solo career the hits dried up. Of course a lack of later
success doesn't mean his talent had faded; quite the contrary,
Ellis's voice had a new depth and his own compositions, 'El
Doomo' and 'Tune For Brownie' in particular, aired a far deeper
sensibility than the marketed pop that had made him. Backing
the singer under the Ellis name was old mod era mate Zoot
Money (bearded and beered up) and a selection of other musical
city boys moved out to the country. The two Ellis albumsRiding
On The Crest Of A Slump (1972) andWhy Not? (1973) both explore
a mixture of Band-esque rural rock, post-psych acoustic pieces,
bluesy singer songwriter styles and a hefty dose of funky,
soulful rock. The overall effect was not dissimilar to The
Faces or Humble Pie; and what with Roger Daltrey's production
work and some impressive songs the neglected Who associate
Billy Nicholls also springs to mind.
Both albums are nothing short of exceptional and British rock's
most overlooked voice is in fine form throughout. Essential.
Jon 'Mojo' Mills
Shindig! Magazine: June 2004
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Le Beat Bespoke: Voume 1 (Discotheque; CD/LP)
It’s such a shame that the cover shot of five London
Mod club regulars posed leaning on a vintage car in vintage
gear (with one guy holding a cocked rifle!) gives the glossy
Le Beat Bespoke packaging the cheesy appearance of Austin
Powers-doing-Get Carter! Is this the most appropriate way
to sell such a splendid compilation of real dance music?!
I think not. Yes, the music stems from the 1960s! Yes, the
club goers who dance to these 45s are obsessed by the decade
… but… something a little less obvious would have
been a far better option. Nevertheless, aesthetic grumbles
aside, this is an absolutely superb album --far, far, better
than the iconography suggests.
On his first foray into the saturated ‘60s compilation
market Rob Bailey (leading DJ, promoter and the flame that
burns behind the thriving contemporary mod scene) avoids known
acts like the Small Faces, or anything too obvious. Focusing
on truly obscure 45s from the late ‘60s he concocts
something very different from what can be heard on the plethora
of mod/freakbeat comps that fill the stands, and impresses
throughout!
This really is dance music!
In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s even the squarest
performer (usually European) cut at least one killer fuzz
guitar, Hammond and percussion inflected raver -- and this
area of music, lets call it Euro-freakpop, is something Bailey
uses to great effect: hear France’s Danyel Gerrard’s
‘Sexologie’ and Germany’s Howard Carpendale’s/
Daisy Clan’s ‘Du Host Mich’/ ‘Glory
Be’ (Mix). Perhaps UK bands Marmalade and Plastic Penny
may be known, Steve Ellis too, and his incredible ‘Loot’
-- but this compilation (mixed live in the studio for that
authentic deejay set vibe) is about the sound of the music
rather than artist or genre. Spain’s Los Gatos Negros
superlative version of John Fred & the Playboys’
‘Hey Bunny’ is the perfect example of the raging
energy of the nation’s garagey blue-eyed soul; American
“who-are-theys?” Flash & the Dynamics’
‘Electric Latin Soul’ is an OTT exploitation soundtrack
styled freakout, whilst Swede faves Ola & The Janglers’
‘No No No’ throw in some Kinks’ beats with
popish harmonies and Bonny St Claire (backed by nederbiet
heroes The Nicols) do pop-soul Dutch style. Finally, with
one of the many nightlights on this faultless collection,
Phil Wainman typifies that wonderful late ‘60s big production
with the winning ‘Going, Going, Gone’.
These singles are worth thousands, and the superb sequencing
(and mixing) give legendary DJ names like David Holmes a good
run for his money.
Jon 'Mojo' Mills
Maverick Magazine
August 2006
