Originally, this LP was UK only. Later releases would be packaged as 2-fers with other albums, or as a “remaster” with bonus tracks. Whatever the case, this bunch of tracks from the exact same recording sessions as the previous record – did I make that point already – is either hailed as a marked improvement or a noticeable downgrade. Really? Someone want to make up their mind here? It is the same grab-bag, anything-goes, Traffic-like approach, for sure, but just better executed this time, IMHO. Interesting that Marriott, the main songwriter, is credited with only four songs here, but others pitch with their takes which are pleasant surprises if one drops preconceived notions. Hell, the cover itself is a piss-take on Traffic’s Dear Mr. Fantasy, just to give you an idea of where these guys heads were at in the creative process. Frampton’s walk-in-the-country rocker “Take Me Back” sets the tone here – intimate, warm, homey, comfortable, and more approachable than anything on the debut or what their colleagues were doing at the time. “The Sad Bag of Shaky Jake” was the single (don’t quote me on this), a cutesy rambling tale about a down-on-his-luck bandit from “Abilene” and was probably autobiographical (being one of the few Marriott-written tracks). The B-side was Shirley’s “Cold Lady”, a spooky ballad which benefits from the group’s ragged vocal harmonies. Later on, the group covers Buddy Holly’s “Heartbeat” and it is normally recognized as a high point of the album. What I can’t figure out is how they ignore the rest of it. Before “Heartbeat” one encounters a couple of Marriott’s most heartfelt tracks ever. “Down Home Again” is simply lovely – a neat little uncluttered rocker somewhat in the mold of the “Heartbeat” cover, which was unburdened by all of the crap that affected the band down the line. “Every Mother’s Son”, though, might just be my favorite Marriott track of all-time. This one is straight acoustic, and again, feels rather autobiographical, but the lyrics do not matter all that much. It’s the mood that matters, and this one is hard to rightly pin down. Is it lost love, lost opportunity, or lost innocence that the man is lamenting here? Not sure, and maybe that is the trick…. “Silver Tongue” has been pegged quite often as a highlight, but for me I find it to be more in tune with the chaos of the debut record. However, the anything-goes final track “Home and Away”, which serves as a metaphor for the album in general, is another notable pick here. Re-issues of the album itself will include “Greg’s Song” (a decent cut from Ridley) and “79th Street Blues”, an early version of “79th and Sunset”, one of the more notable cuts from the Rock On record, although this version is fairly similar. All in all, the peak of their early “super group” era.
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