Customer Reviews

It Ain't Easy

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It's a little sad that the long overdue reissue of this album coincided almost exactly with Long John's death, but as one who grew up on the vinyl copy, I am delighted to have it. This may even be the first time that it has been released on CD in North America. I'm not sure about that, but it certainly hasn't been available for a long time.

In my view, this is one of the best blues-rock albums to come out of the 1970's. The involvement of Elton John and Rod Stewart was a thank you to Long John for his earlier support, and a recognition of his importance in London blues scene in the 1960's. The result is a killer selection of songs perfectly suited to Long John's bluesy rasp, and played with incredible energy. Many of these tunes are familiar, but these are the definitive renditions.

Adding bonus tracks to classic albums is sometimes a dreadful idea if the additional tracks are not up to snuff and diminish the original work. In this case, however, Stony Plain records have added some great tracks, all of which are well worth a listen. I just wished they hadn't waited so long.

Sadly coinciding with the death of LJB, this is as good as it gets.
I've had the vinyl for some 25 years and played it until it screamed "no more!"
Eclectic Baldry...sort of a Dave Van Ronk of the English scene jumps from Blues to Folk without a hitch.
The infamous "Don't Lay No Boogie Woogie" has a splendid Piano
track but for my money there is simply nothing like Willie Dixon's "I'm Ready." Ron Wood on Guitar and Sam Mitchell on slide
make this a signature piece copied by everyone from Aerosmith to George Thoroughgood and neither delivers the swagger and punch that Baldry does here.
Simply put. Worth every shilling.Rest gently, John.

I first saw LJB in a local club in West London in 1964. In those days he was the main man and a moody young guy with a big nose sang when Long John wanted to take a break. His name was Rod Stewart- I wonder what happened to him?. Another of John's sidekicks, Reg Dwight, changed his name to Elton John (the John was in honor of Baldry) and I believe had some success in later years.

This album dates from the early 70s, after LJB had been to the big time singing MOR and come back down to earth with a bump. It was produced by Rod and Elton (one side each in the days when discs had two sides) and contains some of John's best singing. 'The King of Rock & Roll' is an obvious highlight, but 'Black Girl' is great and 'I'm Ready' and 'It Ain't Easy' are my favorites on a CD which is all good. After this, he made some albums in England which weren't big sellers. He had a breakdown and moved to Canada, where he made good albums regularly but without much commercial success.

The CD isn't quite as the album was originally issued (the duet with Rod on a song called 'Mother Ain't Dead' is omitted for some reason), but the bonus tracks make up for it. If you like John Baldry, or good blues and rock singing, then this is an album to savor.

Note: Commenters have pointed out that my memory was at fault and 'Mother Ain't Dead' is on the 'Everything Stops For Tea' album, now also released on CD. I thank them and am glad to say that I now have that CD, too.

This album was my first exposure to Long John; my oldest friend Mike had (and still has) a penchant for scouring used record stores and came home with a slightly used, well cared-for copy. He played it for me and I was hooked. That was 33 years ago and "It Ain't Easy" still stands as my favorite blues rock album. The humor he throws into "Conditional Discharge" (and later in the title track of his next project, "Everything Stops for Tea" ) speaks on a personal level, while the power of his vocals, keyboarding and the guitars of Ron Wood and Sam Mitchell gives raw pure emotion to every track.

It is interesting to note that LJB appeared on the venerable BBC series "Top of the Pops" no less than 11 times (10 times between 1967 and 1969, the 11th in 1988) and not one of the performances showcased his "bluesy" side, but of his pop style (his top-of-the-charts hit "Let the Heartaches Begin" and "(Underneath the Sun in) Mexico" figured in 9 out of the 11 appearances). I'm glad the blues won out.

Long John, you're sorely missed. Hats off to those at Warner who made the decision to release your landmark album to CD.

Yes!! , Don't Lay No Boogie Woogie .. The original studio version is here! Sad that John did not live to see it's re -release .. He passed this July 05'in Vancouver BC,We are treated to a double release as , his follow up album 'Everything Stops For Tea' from 1973 is also now available again. It was 1963 when I saw him on the Chris Barber /Howlin Wolf tour of Britain .. I still have the program! He strode onstage with his guitar , and accompanied only by the stand up bass player .. he was electrifying..He came to my home town of Manchester with the Hoochie Coochie Men /with Rod Stewart as second vocalist .. ,and delivered again a mighty set of blues .. I was his neighbour and pal in London in Muswell Hill in the 70's and was actually signed to his management company as an artist at the time this disc came out ..So I am very pleased to pick up a copy of this again .. with bonus tracks .. time to 'Burn Down The Cornfield' .. R.I.P John ..see my obituary on his website (...)

I remember getting this album in '71 largely in part due to the Rod Stewart involvement plus the strength of the AOR hit Don't Lay No Boogie Woogie... I actually saw Long John in concert promoting this album and remember it was a fun show. Now, listening to it almost 35 years later in its first-ever CD release, I realize how under appreciating I was of this record. Oh I liked it, but more for the musicians involved than the music. The band on side one was basically Stewart's solo band and side 2 was Elton John and band. The music really holds up. It is very strong British blues-rock that in no way sounds dated either in delivery or production. I seem to recall that Stewart actually sang on one track on side one but either my memory is failing or an alternate version of the song he sang on, sans his vocal, is used. My memory is probably at fault though. I also recall that Elton John was credited as Reg Dwight, his real name, while on the CD he's listed as Elton John. Anyway, if you like good rocking blues and miss the output of such then I highly recommend this excellent work by the late, great John Baldry.

When Nashville songwriter Ron Davies wrote "It Ain't Easy" for his 1970 LP "Silent Song Through The Land" on A&M SP-4264, he probably had no idea that TWO artists would then take his unknown song and name TWO entire albums after it - Three Dog Night in 1970 - and John Baldry in 1971. Many will also be aware of it through David Bowie's cover on Side 1 of 1972's "Ziggy Stardust". Even Dave Edmunds had a go for his debut album "Rockpile" on Regal Zonophone - also in 1972 (see separate review). "It Ain't Easy" was just one of those cool rock tracks that lent itself to other artists who then somehow made it 'their' song. Baldry (who loved bluesy based acoustic tunes) was also clearly partial to its charms (lyrics above)...

The LP "It Ain't Easy" was released on Warner Brothers WS 1921 in June 1971 in the USA and Canada and on Warner Brothers K 46088 in the UK. This 2005 CD reissue (Warner Brothers 8122784642) bolsters up the original 9-track album with 6 bonus outtakes and 1 Radio Spot. The cover uses the US artwork (the UK front and rear sleeve was different, but is unfortunately not featured anywhere on this reissue) while the booklet provides session details for each song (excepting the bonus tracks). The recording of the album also involved a large cast of British rock notables (all listed below), but first here's a detailed track-by-track breakdown (69:11 minutes):

ORIGINAL VINYL ALBUM
1. Intro: Conditional Discharge
2. Don't Try To Lay No Boogie-Woogie On The King Of Rock And Roll [Jeff Thomas song]
3. Black Girl [Huddie Ledbetter aka Leadbelly cover]
4. It Ain't Easy [Ron Davies song]
5. Morning, Morning [Fugs cover]
6. I'm Ready [Willie Dixon song/Muddy Waters cover]
7. Let's Burn Down The Cornfield [Randy Newman cover]
8. Mr. Robin [Leslie Duncan cover]
9. Rock Me When He's Gone [Elton John/Bernie Taupin song - Exclusive Track]
10. Flying [Ronnie Lane-Rod Stewart-Ronnie Wood song/Faces cover]
(Note: Tracks 1 and 2 ran into 1 song on the vinyl album, but for the CD they're 2 tracks; 1 to 6 makes up Side 1, 7 to 10 makes up Side 2)

CD BONUS TRACKS
11. Going Down Slow [a St. Louis Jimmy cover - 1941 Blues track on Bluebird - real name Jimmy Burke Oden]
12. Blues (Cornbread, Meat And Molasses) [Sonny Terry/Brownie McGhee cover]
13. Love In Vain [Robert Johnson cover]
14. Midnight Hour Blues [Leroy Carr cover]
15. Black Girl [Alternate Take]
16. It Ain't Easy [Alternate Take]
17. I'm Ready [Alternate Take]
18. Radio Spot [30-Second Spoken Advert for the US Market made in 1971 - it talks about LBJ and Fleetwood Mac leaving the UK to tour and "...storm America"]

The band for the ROD STEWART sessions was:
Lead Vocals - LONG JOHN BALDRY (12-String Guitar on "Black Girl")
Guitars - RON WOOD (of Faces, Rolling Stones) [Tracks 2, 4, 5, 6, 16 and 17]
Guitars and Pedal Steel Guitar - SAM MITCHELL [Tracks 1 to 5, 15 and 16]
Piano - IAN ARMIT
Mandolin - RAY JACKSON (of Lindisfarne) on "Black Girl" and "Morning Morning"
Tenor Sax Solo - ALAN SKIDMORE on "Don't Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie..."
Bass - RICK BROWN
Drums - MICKIE WALLER (of Steampacket)
Backing Vocals - MAGGIE BELL (of Stone The Crows) on "Black Girl" and "It Ain't Easy"

The band for the ELTON JOHN sessions was:
Guitars - CALEB QUAYE and JOSHUA M'BOPO (of Hookfoot)
Piano - ELTON JOHN
Bass - DAVE GLOVER
Drums - ROGER POPE
Backing Vocals - Leslie Duncan, Madelene Bell, Doris Troy, Kay Garner, Liza Strike, Tony Burrows, Tony Hazzard & Roger Cook

The original green label of the US and UK vinyl albums is aped on the CD label, the 12-page inlay has affectionate and information liner notes by SID GRIFFIN and the expert remastering has been carried out by Rhino's long-time tape associate DAN HERSH.

It sounds just brilliant - analogue warm and in your face for all the right reasons. At times in fact it feels like the FACES unleashed - both acoustically and in full-on band mode. Music wise - this is pre "Every Picture Tells A Story" and "Madman Across The Water" - I mention these albums specifically because Side 1 sounds like "Picture" (produced by Rod and featuring his backing band), while Side 2 sounds like a more rockier version of "Madman" (produced by Elton etc). Couple this with great song selections (fast and folky alike) and Baldry's British toff speaking voice sounding like a guttural fired-up Eric Burden when he sings and the effect is magical...

But the real fireworks for me come in the blistering bonus tracks. Faces and Mercury-years Rod Stewart fans will flip for these - 4 are acoustic (11, 12, 14 and 15), while the other 2 are band orientated (16 and 17). In fact it almost sounds like these tracks represent the true spirit of the sessions - an unplugged pure blues album trying desperately to get out - get past all that production. Infuriatingly, it doesn't say who plays the harmonica and acoustic guitar on the fabulous version of "Going Down Slow" or the weird cello intro on the Alternate "Black Girl"?

A fabulous little reissue then - and it compliments his second album for Warner Brothers that followed shortly afterwards "Everything Stops For Tea" which is also now reissued.

In June 1964, Long John Baldry & The Hoochie Coochie Men released an obscure UK 7" single on United Artists UP 1056. Its B-side - a raucous cover of Sister Rosetta Tharpe's gospel tune "Up Above My Head" - featured an uncredited duet vocal with a sensational new singer (it was Rod Stewart's first vinyl appearance). You have to say that Rod The Mod certainly repaid the gallant Englishman for this launching pad, when he put together this wicked little album for him in 1971 at the behest of Joe Smith - President of Warners.

With Baldry lost to us since 2005, this is a lovely way to remember him - and well done to all those involved for finally seeing it reissued.

Rest in Peace you British beauty...

Long John Baldry has been legendary since he began his journey through the Blues Clubs of Britain. His graveled vocals and hard hitting style have attracted some of the industries best known performers; all eager to do something, anything, with him. It Ain't Easy includes input from Rod Stewart, Elton John, Bernie Taupin and Madelene Bell (a.k.a. Marion Bell the female voice from Gimme Shelter). The story-telling and musical accompaniment are superb. The "drive" in his music is unmistakably angry and soft at the same time. Check it out. It's worth the price.

not every cut on this album is a gem, but all are worthy of a hearing and, depending on your standards, at least half are keepers.

This is one of those great albums that not everybody will have the opportunity to discover. I mean, if you wasn't there when John Baldry played guitar in Wardour Street, with an old hat full of pennies, and doin' that Boogie Woogie music, maybe you will lose the chance to listen to it. I wasn't there of course! and I am not sure how did I get the recommendation for "It Ain't Easy" but it has been one of the best albums I've ever bought.

It begins with what has been known as Baldry's biggest hit...and what a starter!..."Don't Try To Lay No Boogie Woogie On The King Of Rock And Roll". It's pure and absolute rock and roll indeed! but the blues and the best pop music are present too all along this record.

"It Ain't Easy" is a song that I first heard with David Bowie in his Ziggy Stardust album, and Baldry (With Maggie Bell on the vocals) does a great version of this song in a Stone The Crows' style.

The first part of the album run produced by Rod Stewart, so if you love his Faces' Era it wont take you long to love this record too. And the other part, produced by Elton John is as good as the first one. It's more oriented to the pop side of the music, but it doesn't sacrify quality. It's curious, but there's a version of a Faces song, "Flying" under Elton John's production, very enjoyable by the way. And that smooth masterpiece, "Let's Burn Down The Cornfield"...WOW! it has it all, piano, guitar, feeling!.

It could be his voice, raised somewhere in the Mississippi and similar to Joe Cocker's...as if they were drinking some whisky or brandy just before they began singing, but the fact is that this guy knew how to do the blues!. I am glad to own a copy of this album...so give a click on "Order Now" and don't forget to put it into your buying cart!