CHI COLTRANE s/t , Let It Ride, Silk & Steel 2-cd set

Discogs does have a label photo of the Canadian version of Chi's first album showing Thunder and Lightning with a timing at 3:57.

I've been exploring what the longer version might consist of, and I'm guessing it's this:

--the short version 45 / US LP:
intro riff, verse 1, chorus, verse 2, chorus, bridge, intro riff, verse 3, chorus, chorus, softer chorus to fade...

--3:57 long version, from this YouTube video clip, with Chi live on piano/vocals to a backing tape:
intro riff, verse 1, chorus, verse 2, chorus, bridge, verse 3, chorus, bridge, intro riff, verse 4, chorus, chorus, soft chorus to fade...

So the longer version gives you an extra verse/chorus/bridge:

 

I was so excited to find "The Message" CD at Sam The Record Man on a trip to Toronto in the 80's! Chi really should have received lots more recognition.

 

Below is the description of the extended/unedited version from an online review of the K-Tel compilation, I believe:

"The long version of "Thunder & Lightning"would be more properly called the "full" version.

Listening to it makes clear that, originally, the bridge was repeated following the third verse, which is then followed by a repeat of the first verse. It's also clear
that this is NOT some sort of sloppy re-edit, with someone simply taking the bridge; first verse; recopying them onto the end of the song.

Obviously, the song was originally about 4:00 long or so."

 

It took me a while to get comfortable with such a synth-orientated album. When I first heard it, I found it cold and clinical. Now, I do go back to it from time to time and enjoy it.

 

Delighted to have copies of the BGO collection land on my carpet this afternoon. First CD appearances for Let it Ride and S&S! Good times.

 

Would you know if the first album contains the longer version of "Thunder" as it apparently does on the original Canadian vinyl? I never did get a response from "Andy" at BGO.
Also, the US release date has been pushed back yet again for the set. It's now due on October 27th!

 

It’s the shorter version, around 3:04 or so.

 

Thanks, C-Don.

 

My pleasure. I’m not sure why there are delayed/staggered release dates on Amazon UK/US. BGO are definitely dispatching orders from their own website now.

 

Thank you for letting me know that BGO is shipping. Perhaps I'll just cancel my B&N order, which I won't see now until November, and reorder it direct.

 

My Chi set arrived yesterday from B&N. Very nice liner notes. Of course, I'm disappointed about the truncated version of "Thunder and Lightning" but I was alerted to this. It would have been nice if the booklet included full jewel-case size copies of each album cover, but that's just a personal thing, since I never found the "Silk & Steel" album on vinyl.

Anyway, I would be interested to know where her first album was recorded. The studios for the other two albums are listed in the liner notes, but not for the first LP.

 

I’m really glad you liked the notes, which were written around a one-hour interview I conducted with Chi. I will look into the recording location of the debut and see if I can find out. Probably an oversight on my part not to refer to it in the essay. Best wishes, CD

 

Ok, I can confirm: Chi’s first album recorded at Columbia Studios in Hollywood. I’m not sure why that was left off the sleeve of the album in its original incarnation.

 

Curious, as the why there was such a long time between Let it Ride and Road to Tomorrow. Can you shed any light?

 

At this point, all I know is that Chi says she asked to be released from her contract because after Clive Davis left CBS, they stopped promoting her and Let It Ride was not supported sufficiently by them, at least in the US.

 

Thanks for the response.
Must have been interesting to talk with her . Her first 3 albums were spectacular.

 

Thank you very much for checking into this, CD.

I was curious about the recording background on Chi's first album, since the studio name or location did not appear on the original sleeve. I've read somewhere that when "Thunder and Lighting" appeared on a Columbia compilation CD many years ago, the notes suggested that her album master was delivered to Columbia completed (the label didn't have the multi-track masters for the first album). That made me think at the time that it was recorded somewhere other than Columbia.

Again, thank you for your time. The BGO package was done well - I especially like the unadulterated photos previously used on the "Best of" cover and the studio shot used, I believe, on the back of the first album. Very nice work.

 

Thank you. That ‘best of’ photo is originally from the Silk & Steel sessions. It was used on the inner, I think.

 

I agree. Her approach to songwriting changed from the fourth album onwards, as did the arrangements. Things like ‘Soul stalker’ from Ready To Roll or ‘Angie’ from The Message are very different to the earlier material. It took me a while to warm to them and appreciate them.

 

Very instructive liner notes in the new re-issue! I had not known that Hallelujah was a Sweathog cover. Further investigation showed that Sweathog was covering the original version by Houston's The Clique.

So, what do Chi Coltrane and R.E.M. have in common? They both covered Gary Zekley/Clique songs (Hallelujah in Chi's case; Superman in R.E.M.'s). The Superman backstory is a little strange - The Clique's producers forced them to record it even though they disliked the song. Then Michael Stipe didn't want to sing it so Mike Mills did. It's enough to give Superman an inferiority complex.

 

Thanks for the kind words about the notes - and congrats on bettering my research! I did try to get to the provenance of Hallelujah, but didn’t manage to trace it back to The Clique. That’s really interesting. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the BGO package. I’m really glad to have got Let It Ride and Silk & Steel onto the market on CD. I remember hoping that LIR would be reissued back when I first heard it in the 1990s and it turns out that if you want something done, there’s truth in the adage that you should do it yourself. CD

 

Thunder & Lightning has appeared on so many CD compilations it's amazing how none of them have the long/full version. And besides the K-tel LP it seems it's also been issued
on more than a few Columbia Various Artists LP's....Knowing that I'm a bit surprised it was not used on the Rock Artifacts series issued by Legacy/Sony on CD.....Vol.1 in that series
also uses the edited version.

 

Newsflash: on Chi's website and FB page, she's releasing "45th Anniversary Box - The First 4 Albums" digitally remastered, due out 6-27-18, on 4 CD box and download. Check it out:

Chi Coltrane

 

Thanks for the heads-up..I am sooooo there !

 

Just received my 45th Anniversary Box. It made me aware again what a great album Chi's first was. (Love all the others, too, but this is special!) 'Thunder and Lightning' is such a fantastic song, I never get tired of it, even after all this time. Should've been a much bigger hit than it actualy was...