ANDWELLA
To Dream
NUMERO GROUP
8/10
Three-album box of neglected turn-of-the-’70s psychedelia
Initially formed in Belfast as Cream-style power trio The Method, Andwellas Dream came into being after singer-songwriter Dave Lewis shifted operations to London. 1969 debut Love And Poetry is a technicolour showcase for his mystical visions of home, driven by cantering acid-rock, Floyd-ish fancy and ringing folk, lifted by woodwind and bells. Following a name change to Andwella and the addition of pianist/organist Dave McDougall, 1970’s World’s End is altogether more soulful. The band peak on the stoned funk of “Hold On To Your Mind” (later a bastion of NYC’s loft scene) and “Shadow Of The Night”, which pre-echoes Traffic’s “The Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys”. And while 1971’s reflective People’s People never quite hits the mark, there’s plenty here to warrant investigation. Andwella split a year later, with Lewis eventually scoring a hit by writing Demis Roussos’s “Happy To Be On An Island In The Sun”. ROB HUGHES
AVERAGE WHITE BAND
50: A 50th Anniversary Celebration
EDSEL
8/10
Celebrating Scotland’s hardiest funk institution with a 15CD box
In strictly commercial terms, the Dundee funksters’ 50-yearlong saga reached an early peak with 1974’s unstoppable “Pick Up The Pieces”, a triumph that was blighted by drummer Robbie McIntosh’s death by accidental overdose the same year (their second major US hit, 1975’s “Cut The Cake”, was dedicated to his memory). Yet there’s much more to savour in Edsel’s shelf-straining collection of the AWB output from 1973 to 1982, whether it’s the exhilarating live set captured for 1976’s , their stirring take on John Lennon’s “Imagine” from 1977’s underappreciated Ben E King collaboration or the tasty renditions of “Walk On By” included among the extended mixes and rarities. Especially worthy of rediscovery is the yacht-soul splendour that fills 1980’s and the outtakes collected for , a belatedly released testament to
