Audiophile Digital

The Scaffold
A Box Of Scaffold
Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 62893 (five CDs + DVD; mono/stereo)

Who knew that The Scaffold recorded enough material to fill five CDs, with a live DVD to add to the merriment? Aside from ‘Thank U Very Much’ (cutesy spelling long before Slade or Prince or texting) and ‘Lily The Pink’, most of their fame rests on Mike McGear being Paul McCartney’s brother. That, or their importance for scholars of post-war British poetry, whimsy and comedy. With buckets of appeal to fans of The Bonzos, Viv Stanshall, Ivor Cutler, The Pythons and the like, this magnificent collection contains their studio and live albums and singles, loads of previously unreleased material and live BBC sessions. The 64-page booklet explains it all, but I admit that after 53 years here, a lot of it goes over my head. KK

Sound Quality: 90%

Anthony Gomes
Praise The Loud
Rat Pak Records (no cat. no.)

Hot on the heels of the last issue’s Album Choice CD, the remastered Peace, Love & Loud Guitars, comes Gomes’ latest studio effort, reinforcing his position as one of the most exciting blues/rock practitioners since the passing of Stevie Ray Vaughan. His modus operandi is wailing guitar backed by powerhouse drums and fat bass, with snarling vocals that wouldn’t shame a Captain Beefheart album. This stuff is so powerful that it might overwhelm, the title track begging for amps that go up to ‘11’. Then you get to less relentless songs like ‘Netflix & Chill’ and the sinister blues element dons another guise. Don’t take my word for it: check him out on YouTube. KK

Sound Quality: 85%

Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey – The Singer
Strawberry Records QCR3JAM31 (three discs)

A gift for fans of the legendary vocalist: 65 tracks including many newly-remastered Bassey classics, alternate versions, album cuts, singles, unreleased material and an entire concert recorded at the Royal Albert Hall in 1973 filling CD3. It goes without saying that she’s one of the greatest vocalists of the modern era, but what’s so astonishing is her immaculate and open-minded taste: she was covering The Doors, Shuman/Pomus, The Beatles and others alongside standards. The real surprise with this magnificent set? It was supposed to be released in 2012 but sat on the shelf. Sack the executive who made the decision and it’s champagne all round for Strawberry. KK

Sound Quality: 90%

The Final Solution
Just Like Gold!
High Moon Records HMR-15

It’s in the subtitle: ‘Live At The Matrix July 2nd 1966’. This is pretty much all of the evidence that the group – the unfortunate choice of name is covered in the copious liner notes – was part of the earliest wave of San Francisco bands, before The Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead broke out of Haight-Ashbury. Even less well known than the equally ground-breaking Charlatans, this band had promise, the mix of folk, blues and rock utterly redolent of the period yet somehow fresh and original. This was remastered from the surviving tapes, curated and annotated by the estimable Alec Palao, so it’s a must-have if you’re a fan of the San Francisco sound. KK

Sound Quality: 85%