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christie/for
all mankind (repertoire)
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CHRISTIE and FOR ALL MANKIND
(CD, Repertoire Records)
Almost the entire Christie canon has been released
by re-issue specialists Repertoire Records. The first two albums have
been re-produced with the original track listing and eight extra songs
on each, comprising the non-album singles and flipsides. The only
missing song is Jo Jo's Band. Each track
is remastered, and each CD comes with a handsome booklet with great
pictures (most of which were donated by Jeff and I). This is a must
for all Christie fans, as it includes songs not previously released
on CD.
To get your copies, visit your local
music store to see if they are in stock. If not, simply ask for them
to be imported. Alternatively, you can try mail order services, many
of which operate on the web. If you still have no luck, write to Repertoire
direct at: Repertoire
Records, Adlerhorst 15, D-22459 Hamburg, Germany.
The only song not here, Jo
Jo's Band, can be found on the Christie
Again album. Since that CD has all brand new recordings, any fan
who gets that album plus these two Repertoire CDs is guaranteed of
owning every Christie song to date, without any song repeated between
the three CDs. The perfect trio!
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CHRISTIE featuring
Yellow River and San Bernadino 1. Yellow River
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FOR ALL MANKIND 1. Magic Highway
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"GOING back to the early 70's, what great memories I have
for this era. Just bought the Yellow River
CD and I have to say I love every track. Most people who remember
Christie will automatically think of Yellow
River which was his number one hit, and rightly so: it is a
classic.
Jeff Christie, who is from the UK and was born
in Leeds, is very under rated in my opinion. I think he's more versatile
music-wise than many people think.
When he wrote Yellow River
it was offered to The Tremeloes who did record it as a single but
then changed their minds about releasing it. Bet they regretted it
at the time.
In the end Christie used the track themselves
and the rest is history, a No.1 hit and it sold millions worldwide.
Going back to the CD, Christie also charted with
his follow-up single San Bernadino, another
favourite of mine which got to No.7.
This is one of the best CDs have bought in a long
time; every track has its own merits and all are fantastic in my opinion.
New York City, Inside Looking Out and
Down The Mississippi Line really got
me rocking along. FANTASTIC!!
A great addition to the disc are the bonus tracks
which include Iron Horse and Fools
Gold, which are awesome and very welcome.
To sum up can't fault the disc, which is why I
give it 5 Stars and the sound quality is amazing.
If anyone is thinking about buying this CD and you like the 70's,
all Ican say is do it now. These are great tracks and they will have
you singing and rocking along.
The CD starts with Yellow
River and finishes with the rocker Born
To Lose. Absolutely brilliant!!
A worthy addition to any collection."
D
Burton: Amazon.co.uk
"BEAUTIFULLY packaged and presented, not least for the generous
helping of bonus tracks, Christie's first album is one you can enjoy
if you're prepared to ignore the question of what is cool.
Frontman Jeff Christie had already recorded as
a member of The Epics and The Outer Limits, two obscure pop bands
of the late 1960s. With Christie he attempted to make music with a
rougher edge, but it's evident from this album that he could never
stray far from his pop tendencies.
The result is a collection of memorable tracks
that have a touch of grittiness without ever being convincing as rock
songs. Just to confuse matters, many of the songs are taken at a simple
country-styled tempo while employing rock-styled guitar.
Their biggest hit, Yellow
River, is a typical example. The memorable guitar intro suggests
a rock song which is then belied by a more down home rhythm. The decision
to write mock Americana is another complication. Ultimately, this
English band make music that isn't authentic or fully committed to
any genre but works on a simple level. Then again, if an Englishman
can find fame with a song about Amarillo, why can't Christie do the
same with San Bernadino? This is a lovely
song, though it suffers from a weak production.
There are highlights among the non-singles too,
the prowling guitar of Country Boy for
instance, but this is an album of minor fluctuations in what is sustained
quality. Only the production, which often holds back the rhythm, is
suspect. For lovers of pop without prejudice, this is a good value
album."
DJH
Thorn: Hull, UK
"5 stars, magnific!!! A special collector item, wonderful
sound and a splendid artwork. In addition to the new release, you
can have all those hard to find rarities by Jeff Christie."
duhanna:
Brazil
"WHEN I heard Yellow River for
the first time in decades, it sparked me to seek out the 'Voice of
Tony Burrows' CD, so convinced I was that Christie was yet another
of the Burrows-led groups of the early 70's such as Edison Lighthouse,
White Plains, Brotherhood of Man, First Class, et al.
Upon receiving the Burrows recording, I was disappointed
to find Christie's Yellow River was not
included in the compilation. How could the producers omit such a classic?
Upon researching further, the answer became apparent. Tony Burrows
and Christie had nothing to do with one another.
So I ordered the CD Christie, ear unheard, so
to speak, and what an unexpected pleasure it turned out to be!
Other than Yellow River,
I had never before heard any of the selections included therein but
was delighted with the disc from the first listen. After a month,
it remains in permanent rotation in the car and it gets regular listenings.
The tightness of this three-man band is something
to behold and the recording comes with my highest recommendation,
whatever THAT's worth. But if you enjoyed the catchy tunes of Tony
Burrows, you'll really appreciate the sounds of Christie."
PL
Svendsen: Illinois, USA
"CHRISTIE epitomised the glory and power of big beat which
in itself was quite removed from the rock'n'roll idiom. True, this
release is as lavish on touch as it is void of the original rugged
CBS vinyl sound - nevertheless, the band's manner comes through straighforward,
harmonic-rich, unequalized and background-noise intact! Hence the
sound is empowering and overly convincing.
In San Bernadino,
arguably Jeff's most underestimated track, those traits are particularly
noteworthy. Pity the band went heavy primitive later (as Jeff chose
to compensate riffs for sheer energy).
The release reminds us of how great the initial
Christie were live. There's unfortunately no single version of Down
The Mississippi Line here. "
Vladimir
Yelbaev: Moscow, Russia
"CHRISTIE were more than just Yellow
River. They were a group either behind or ahead of their time
... depending on your perspective. They were out of step with the
early 70s progressive rock movement, but pre-dated the rock revival
and glam rock scene by several years.
This reissue of their first album (plus bonus
tracks) is a long overdue gem. The songs are all catchy and riff-laden
mini-masterpieces. Apart from their hits (Yellow
River and San Bernadino), there's
a wealth of great stuff to enjoy here, Country
Boy being a standout. A very highly recommended reissue. Repertoire's
remastering is exemplary."
Colin
Duff: Sydney, Australia
"THIS is totally sick! Until The Dawn
is the greatest song ever written ... and I
Gotta Be Free is #2.
This record remains one of the greatest finds
for these two songs alone, in addition to Yellow
River."
E.
Snizek: Guam
"CHRISTIE'S style of music was simple, high-energy rock with
country influences. Jeff Christie was their main songwriter and lead
singer. They made it to number one in the UK charts with Yellow
River in 1970 although it was quickly knocked off the top my
Mungo Jerry's classic In The Summertime.
Following that success, their next single, San
Bernadino, became a top ten UK hit. Any hopes that they might
have a string of hits after that were quickly dispelled as they only
had one other UK hit: Iron Horse, which
only briefly crept in at the bottom of the charts. I get the impression
that Christie were more successful in Germany, where their music has
been easier to find on CDs.
In the seventies, pop and rock music became ever
more complex, so the simple sounds of Christie soon went out of fashion.
Nevertheless, their music is highly entertaining and worthy of a place
in any collection of rock oldies."
Pete
Harris: Leicester, England
"FOR me it's a long lost 70s sound. Finding Christie is like
finding my childhood, back in the early 70s. I knew Christie from
my dad's Top of The Pops audio cassettes. It was really a long journey
for me to find it.
Yellow River and
the ultimate one (for me), Iron Horse
- all written by the man of the band, Jeff Christie.
Before reading the brochure inside, I thought
they were an American band. People can tell it from their music (basic
rock with blues and country taste) and song tittles (New York City?
Mississipi? San Bernardino?). But no, they come from UK."
ugroseno:
Jakarta, Indonesia
"THIS is the sound of Chreedence; Christie plus Creedence.
It's got the hits you probabaly haven't heard
in a long time, if ever. Yep, they were English, all right, but if
San Bernadino and Yellow
River and Down The Mississippi Line and
Country Boy (get the idea?) don't sound
like Creedence, then Creedence doesn't sound like they really were
born on the bayou after all."
Mark
Champion: San Antonio, Texas, United States
"TO listen to Christie again is like to come back to all
those good years ago, it's magic and really a wonderful feeling.
The trio pass to all who listen to them the good
sound from the 70s, and playing only guitar, bass and drums. Christie's
sound is clear and pure.
The Christie CD brings eight bonus tracks to give
you an unforgettable gift; some songs were released on singles and
never released on LP before.
How I love this record and I was hoping for this
CD for a long time."
Reginaldo
G. Pacelli: Indaiatuba, Sau Paulo, Brazil
"IF you are a fan of the old music, as I am, the Christie
CD is the one for you. It is a very good CD to add to your collection,
I play drums and love the songs on this ..... bottom line: GET IT.!!!!
Devon
Hartman: Michigan, United States
"THE Christie album holds up over time. Some of the songs
were unknown to me, but I have played it many times since I bought
it."
Morlock
Loves Music: Atlanta, United States
"JEFF Christie and the gang turn up the heat on this one,
with a harder approach towards rock.
Don't get me wrong, they were never Zeppelin/Purple,
but they still push out some decent 70's mild rock tracks, as is evident
on Magic Highway, Picture Painter, Peace Loving
Man and My Baby's Gone.
The stand out track is Martian
King, which would easily fit into any of the early Uriah Heep
albums - by the way, some great lead guitar work from Vic Elmes.
The title track For All
Mankind is quite an uplifting song with poignant lyrics."
Metalstar,
amazon.co.uk
Yorkshire
boy Jeff Christie was one of the first Brits to make any serious headway
in the US charts before ever setting foot on American soil. His band's
debut release Yellow River sold millions
around the world, reaching No 1 in the UK and across Europe. Hopes
were high for this homegrown version of Creedence Clearwater Revival.
Their hit-making days were over in a year or so,
however, after top 10 success with San Bernadino
and scarping the lower rungs of the listings with Iron
Horse. All three singles feature on the expanded reissue of
their eponymous first album, but Christie's hummable country pop proved
a little too polite for longevity, lacking the hard musical edge of
CCR, forcing a rethink on 1971's For All Mankind.
With more focus on bluesy solos and extended riffing,
it was as if Christie were labouring under the impression that making
their tracks twice as long somehow made them more credible or hip,
although Picture Painter has a certain
mid-60s Who charm.
If
CBS had been smarter, they might have steered Christie towards being
the new Creedence, judging by their second album which kicks with
unexpected vigour, turning MOR pop into melodic rock.
Unfortunately, while
the songs were cruising towards Green River,
production was marooned in Yellow River.
Some effort was made to rectify this problem on subsequent tracks,
included on the new Repertoire release as bonus songs.
Christie's
second album was a large success, but it was not as pop-oriented as
the first album, being somewhat harder and bluesier.
But the strong commercial tracks were present, such as Picture
Painter.
There are eight bonus tracks, among them —
hard to believe, but true — the Sandpipers' classic Guantanamera.
Both Christie albums were developed with the co-operation
of Jeff Christie, who also contributed some songs from his private
archives.
At the beginning of the 70s, Christie were proclaimed
as England's answer to Creedence Clearwater Revival.
