Short Review: Iveys - Anthology Vol. 1 Live June 7, 1966 @ Empire Neath, S. Wales Up front I give the Audio an 8.5, which is generous for a recording this primitive, it needed some important Remastering to present the unique recording today. This isn't like live Hamburg recordings captured of The Beatles. No comparison other than it is all Cover material performed by The Iveys, the Sound quality is amazing for the chance to here Pete, Ron, Mike & Dai playing in a club from 1966. Forgive my ramblings below. A "Time Capsule" listen to a 65 minute gig by The Iveys, very animated fast paced singing, and banter with the audience in attendance (small crowd of 25-45?). The audio is crystal clear with a wool sock damper feel to it. Still very enjoyable! I could hear some crisp wonderful playing by Mike Gibbins, he had so much energy on the kit at this gig, even hitting some cowbell during the track "Crocadile Walk". Clear intros of the songs, and some dedications are mentioned to the audience. Much of the singing is done by Ron, with strong harmonies from Pete & Dai Jenkins. Pete does a beautiful job singing on the Solomon Burke "Stupidity", he's so energetic on this! Another nice one from Pete singing Curtis Mayfield "It's All Right" , and amazing guitar playing on James Brown's "I Go Crazy", another Pete belts out is "Everything Is Gonna Be Alight", with some wonderful guitar playing. Dai does a few too, one that stands out is "Keep A Driving" The band wraps up the night with a quick take of Spencer Davis tune "Keep On Running" written by Steve Winwood Very cool to listen, eyes closed and envision The Iveys jamming away the night, and this is very different from what became Badfinger in early 70's [4-5 years later]. I don't know what the pressing quantity of these titles will be, but grab one or two while it's available! Pete, Ron, Dai & Mike really had a nice R&B groove going back in 1966. *the recording was originally made by Bill Collins with a single microphone placed in front of a P.A. speaker on to a portable reel-to-reel tape machine.
Here's one Encore from close of the July 29th appearance of Joey performing full "Straight Up album Live" No More
As a follow up to the short review of The Iveys Vol. 1 release, i want to thank Ron L. Griffiths for making the opportunity available to hear these recordings and hopefully much more to come for everyone!
You have to have a PayPal account, no other option. I'm actually getting my PayPal account as we speak.
Been looking for a nice copy of No Dice for many years and by a weird circumstance ended up with 2 and a Straight Up for $2 a piece. On a tip from a local, while out yard sale-ing last week, I went to a garage that was supposed to have hundreds of LP's for sale but when I got there the people busy moving in said ....oh, that guy isn't here anymore but we have records we're willing to sell. So, picked up 35 nice LP's for $70. Been listening to both No Dice copies....great, even if a long time comin'.
Saw Joey Molland perform STRAIGHT UP at Daryl's House last night (using the same group who plays with Denny Laine). Very, very good. Who knew?
Years ago, before I had Internet access, I phoned in an order for Dan Matovina's Without You book. Turns out I'd reached the author in person, and we talked for quite a while. I spoke to him a few more times and exchanged the occasional email. His passion for the group is quite genuine. I'm glad he's had the chance to participate in some of the band's archival projects. A while ago he put a couple of remixed Head First tracks up on YouTube, which got my hopes up for a reissue, but so far I haven't seen any more word about that.
Dan has helped Ham & Evans estates throughout the last couple decades, at some point he has focused on Ron Griffiths musical contributions before Magic Christian Music was released by Apple. There were two demo projects initiated on PledgeMusic in 2015 for Pete & Tom, but they were withdrawn. Also another release mentioned was a unique Live gig of Badfinger from end of November 1970, again it appears that in this one case clearances from Apple were requested, and awaiting Publishing approval. The newest project is from Ron, The Iveys 1966 Live CD. Maybe they are distributed by Dan, my mailing envelope was marked First Class mail, where as Paypal indicated shipping was from outside U.S.A.?
Here's another planned release (withdrawn?) prior to recent 1966 Iveys Live, mostly Covers with a few Iveys tracks
I just received my copy and am listening to it right now. I agree about the cdr/thermal b&w print on disc. Minimal packaging, pic on front, songs and credits on back. A brief review ... Sound quality is pretty clear with intelligible vocals, the instrumentation is kind of mid-rangey, however the lead guitar does cut through, and there are some nice bluesy leads. The last song, Keep on Running cuts off before the end. IMO, regarding sound quality, if the Star Club Tapes are 3 0n scale of 1-10. This release is a 5- 6, but given the fact that it was recorded with a mic in front of a PA speaker, that's pretty good. The Iveys sound like a very good beat/R&B combo. I don't think this resembles what The Iveys eventually became, but like The Beatles, they were doing songs they dug when they were young. It is really nice to have a good historical document of The Iveys.
Having listened to the album now a couple of times, the Hamburg analogy that has been mentioned is spot-on. Sonically, and in terms of content, it's a fair & accurate comparison. Is it my favourite Iveys album? No. Would I buy a volume 2? Yes. and a volume 3, for that matter. A worthy addition to the Badfinger story. An excellent snapshot/document of the band.
This gig looks even better than the 1966 one... a few early originals and a nice list of covers. C'mom Apple, let Dan release these privately recorded shows for the true fans. Ron
Here's the other release initially scheduled for July of 2016. November 28, 1970 at Palladium Birmingham, Michigan. (From a soundboard sourced tape) Setlist: My Dark Hour Midnight Sun Better Days I Don't Mind Blodwyn We're For The Dark Feelin' Alright I Can't Take It No Matter What Crimson Ship Come And Get It Love Me Do/Lucille/Rip It Up-Long Tall Sally encores: blues jam: "Walk That Road"/Matchbox Rock Of All Ages [w/ Good Golly Miss Molly] The Palladium was a club owned by Punch Andrew, Bob Seger's longtime manager. The recording was by a friend of the band, close to Pete & Tom. Hopefully one day it will be released, looks like a nice set by Badfinger in the beginning.
A fun Cover of a demo by Pete Ham "I Know That You Should" by the band Ex Norwegian on bandcamp: I Know That You Should, by Ex Norwegian
