Sundazed, who in 2000 released one of the most amazing C&J CDs to date (their reissue of Distant Shores, which gave us all the rest of the November 1965 London tracks), has done it again with Before and After.

Where the original album was a scant 30 minutes long, Sundazed has added a whopping 30 minutes of bonus tracks, bringing the CD up to modern standards for running length. The sound, as usual for Sundazed, is stunning. A comparison of this and the original vinyl will leave you praying that Sundazed can manage to get their hands on I Don't Want To Lose You Baby, and reissue that straight from the master tapes.

The album is, of course, still the same album. A mixture of pop, psuedo-rock, and folk. If you liked it before, you'll like it again. If you didn't, then at least it's in its cleanest quality ever. If the original album don't inspire you to shell out your $15, the the bonus tracks are worth it all on their own.

So enough about the album, let's talk about the bonus tracks:

"Pennies" - Finally! The last Columbia b-side to appear on CD! This time, it's been remixed to stereo for the first time ever. The track was recorded during these sessions, but didn't appear on record until it was the b-side of the "I Don't Wanna Lose You Baby" single. By the time the LP was compiled, the track was simply too much a part of their older sound, and it was left behind when the I Don't Want To Lose You Baby LP was released.

"Don't Get Around Much Anymore" - This one is one I was deeply disappointed about when it didn't appear on the Distant Shores CD, so I'm elated that we can all hear it now. This track was done during the sessions for I Don't Want To Lose You Baby (an LP which some other outfit has already put on an out-of-print CD), so it's included (like the early "When Your Love Has Gone" on Distant Shores) in case Sundazed never gets a chance to reissue that LP.

"Sometimes" - The very first rejected master at Columbia! When I first heard this track a few years ago, it sounded very sloppy. But Bob has gone back and found extensive backing sections which cover up the sloppiness of the lead vocals, and make the song quite enjoyable and energetic. Another outtake from the March sessions, "I'll Be There" was simply too rough to justify including, especially since the first thing Chad does on it is crack his voice!

"Fare Thee Well" - The *real* "Fare Thee Well". The track long known (courtesy of the 45 b-side, and original pressings of the LP) is actually called "Marianne", while this much better variation is, definitely, called "Fare Thee Well (I Must Be Gone)"

"Adesso Si" and "Nessuno Pui De Mi" - Both sides of the 1966 San Remo Pop Festival 45, in first time stereo. If I had my druthers, these would have been on Distant Shores, since they were recorded in January 1966, after the Distant Shores LP was already mostly completed. Oh well, it's here now.

"What Do You Want With Me?" (alt) - The first of three alternate versions is the most interesting. This is a remake of a World Artists song they had recorded only a matter of months before. For some reason, Chad played with the backing, to very clunky results. The re-remake, released on the LP, and featured as track seven, is a definite improvement.

"Evil Hearted Me" (alt) - An alternate vocal from everyone's favorite actor. Jeremy really hams this up, but then he really hams it up on the master take!

"Before and After" (alt) - Not all that much different, just a few extra (and strange sounding) orchestral flares from Lor Crane around the two minute mark. Supposedly, this is the early pre-remake version (done the same day as the regular take), but it seems such a small change to justify calling the released one a "remake", since usually that means going back to the start, not jus taking a couple of frills out of the chart.

"The Cruel War" and "I Can't Talk To You" - Finally, these tracks (from a 1966 Chad and Jill Stuart single) make their first appearance on a C&J CD, with the a side in glorious stereo. That's not all though. Leave your stereo on a minute after "I Can't Talk To You", and you'll get a bit of a laugh, circa November 1965.

This CD is a definite must-get for all C&J fans. Even if it's not your favorite album, between the bonus tracks ("Don't Get Around Much Anymore" is worth the price of admission alone) and the amazing remastered sound, you'll really enjoy it, and never have any reason to spin a vinyl copy of this one again!

Jason Rhoden

UPDATE: June 8th.
The release has been delayed until Tuesday the 11th, but I'm updating because something that my review reflected didn't end up on the final disc. Original test discs had a count-in on "Little Does She Know", and "Tell Me Baby" was allowed to come to its natural breakdown ending, but were changed at the last minute. The count-in is gone, and "Tell Me Baby" fades where it should, meaning the disc now definitively reflects the original album. The discs are possibly the best C&J releases ever, visually and sonically.

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Copyright 2007  Frank Jason Rhoden.