Customer Reviews

The Best of Ashton, Gardner and Dyke

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4 star:		(2)
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2 star:		(1)
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I have to admit I bought this CD just for the song "Resurrection Shuffle", which was a favorite of mine for a brief time in highschool. But as we say in Oklahoma, this is one heck of an album, and some mighty fine listenin'. To my surprise, the rest of this CD really doesn't sound like Resurrection Shuffle, which was their only song to my knowledge that ever charted in the U.S.The rest of this album is filled with some tasty rock, and a little jazzy R&B. I think fans of Traffic or Procol Harum would like this band. Standout songs on here include the very Traffic sounding "I'm Your Spiritual Breadman", "Maiden Voyage", which Gary Brooker from Procol Harum would feel right at home with, singing. And their reworking of the Bee Gees song "New York Mining Disaster 1941" is one of the most beautifully arranged songs I've ever heard. Really nice stuff. I also liked "Ballad of the Remo Four" which has a little bit of that early west coast sound to it. And of course the always enjoyable "Resurrection Shuffle", an upbeat, feel good song that never gets old. The music on here was done between 1969-73, but it still feels very fresh and holds up well over time. Guest musicians who played throughout this album were George Harrison and Eric Clapton. This band was obviously a well respected band over in England, it's too bad their music didn't make it to the states. But you can get an idea how good this band was, with this nice little Best Of compilation that comes at a good price for an import, and worh every penny. Highly recommended.

Once upon a time when I was young and daring I would occasionally buy an album if I thought the cover was cool. Thus did I end up owning "What A Bloody Long Day It's Been" by Ashton,Gardner and Dyke. All I knew about them at the time (1971)was that they toured with Blind Faith and that the previous years single "Ressurection Shuffle" was a great song and a surprise regional hit in Oklahoma City. Well, the lp was only half good, but the good half was terrific. This "Best Of" weeds out the weaker tunes from their two seventies albums and includes plenty of alternate takes, unreleased tracks, and a live cut or two, making it a great buy. Tony Ashton has a gruff soulful voice not unlike Procol Harum's Gary Brooker, and the rest of the band (despite their name they are not a trio)lay down a funky, syncopated sound like..well..an english Little Feat I guess. They do swing. Best in show; "Ballad Of The Remo Four", Tony Ashton's heartfelt tribute to all the early sixties Hamburg bands. It features Tijuana brass behind Van Morrison Belfast soul styling if you can imagine such a mixture. Trust me it's great.There's not a clinker on the record, but it"s docked one star for graphics, and as I pointed out at the top of this review, graphics can make all the difference. Enjoy. Since the date of my original review appeared, I'm sorry to have to report that Tony Ashton died of cancer in June of 2001. He left a wealth of heartfelt music behind him, and he will be missed.

I bought this on the premise of knowing two thirds of the group (they were with a group called 'The Remo Four' previously) I can't implore you urgently enough - You need this record!!!! Fantastic playing all round and some great songs.

In 1964 THE REMO FOUR managed two UK 7" singles on the Pye offshoot label Piccadilly and a further attempt at stardom in 1967 on Fontana - each are sought after 45's now. The band included Keyboard Player and Lead Vocalist TONY ASHTON and Drummer ROY DYKE. Not getting anywhere for 4 years (they never got an album out), in 1968 the duo then teamed up with Bass Player KIM GARDNER of THE CREATION and formed - ASHTON, GARDNER & DYKE. And that's where this obscure CD compilation comes in...

Released in 1999, Repertoire REP 4035-WG breaks down as follows (75:52 minutes):

1. Resurrection Shuffle
2. Ballad Of The Remo Four
3. Let It Roll
4. Billy And His Piano With...
5. I'm Your Spiritual Breadman
6. Hymn To Everyone
7. Maiden Voyage
8. Why Did You Go
9. New York Mining Disaster
10. The Falling Song
11. Oh Mathilda
12. Momma's Getting Married
13. What A Bloody Long Day It's Been
14. Rolling Home
15. Can You Get It
16. I'm Dying For You
17. Paper Head, Paper Mind
18. You, Me And A Friend Of Mine
19. It's Gonna Be High Tonight
20. Picture Sliding Down The Wall

Track 1 is "The Resurrection Shuffle" - their 2nd UK single and their most famous hit. It's a non-album track and was released on Capitol CL 15665 in January 1971. Its B-side is Track 6 - "Hymn To Everyone" from "The Worst Of" album.

Tracks 2, 13 and 19 are from their 3rd album "What A Bloody Long Day It's Been" - released February 1972 in the UK on Capitol Records EA-ST 22862.

Tracks 3, 5, 6, 12 and 17 are from their 2nd album "The Worst Of" - released February 1971 in the UK on Capitol Records E-ST 563.

Tracks 4, 8, 9, 10, 14 and 20 are from their debut album "Ashton, Gardner & Dyke" - released 1969 in the UK on Polydor Records 583 081.

Track 7 is "Maiden Voyage (Single Version)", their debut 7" single released 1969 in the UK on Polydor 56306 (it's B-side "The Sun In My Eyes" is not included on here). It's a genuine rarity on vinyl and currently listed at £60+ in value.

Tracks 11, 16 and 18 are from their 4th and last album "The Last Rebel", a soundtrack released on Capitol Records 1C 062-80964 in Holland in 1973. Tracks 18 and 16 were also the A&B sides of a Dutch 7" single on Capitol Records 1C 006-81012.

Track 15 is "Can You Get It" - a non-album track issued as the A-side of a UK 7" single on Capitol CL 15684 in May 1971 (failed to chart). Its B-side was "Delirium" (not included here either).

The problem with A, G & D was "The Resurrection Shuffle" (lyrics above) - an absolutely storming upbeat pop single that peaked at Number 3 in the UK charts in early 1971 after huge radio-play. To say it was popular at the time is an understatement. Like Thunderclap Newman's "Something In The Air" in 1969 - it was beloved at the time - an instant classic that's remembered with huge affection even to this day (Clarence Clemons - Springsteen's saxophonist did a fab cover of it on his "Rescue" album in 1983 you should check out). But it had the effect of obliterating everything else in its path because all after that seemed like a disappointment - especially the lame follow-up "Can You Get It" which was essentially a poor man's rethread of RS. Worse - in common practice with the times, RS was a non-album track - so even if you went out and bought the album that surrounded the single "The Worst Of" - it wasn't on there. Throw in the fact that nothing on the LP matched it or even sounded similar - then it's easy to see why the group failed to capitalize on that initial firestorm (collector's should also note that the track is said to include both George Harrison and Eric Clapton on it). The end result for A, G & D is that are now remembered as a one-hit wonder - yet they managed 4 albums - most of which are very hard to find - and actually deserve a bit of a reappraisal...

The first album sounds very Procol Harum circa "A Salty Dog" and their superb cover version of The Bee Gees' "New York Mining Disaster 1941" has echoes of "Everyday" by Yes - it's a very cool track in a trippy Sixties kind of way. The instrumental "Billy And His Piano With" rollocks along very nicely while the funky rock of "Let It Roll" is a very Juicy Lucy album track kind of listen. I also like the live "Momma's Getting Married" which bombs along with great vocals from the gruff-sounding Ashton. It's not all brilliant by any means (plodding in places), but there are goodies on here worth rediscovering.

It doesn't say who remastered what, but the songs are licensed from Tony Ashton so we can presume he has his own masters - the sound quality is uniformly great and the playing time generous. The dull artwork does it no favours and the 3-way foldout 6-page inlay is basic to say the least, but it's the sound I'm after - and its real good.

Tony Ashton spent time with Medicine Head and Family and then joined up with Jon Lord of Deep Purple and Ian Paice in the mid Seventies to some success on Polydor. Kim Gardner went into Badger while Ron Dyke recorded with several bands in Germany.

This is not a CD you see every day of the week, but I'd urge you to seek it out.

PS: it's been reissued by Repertoire in 2010 with the same 20-tracks and name, but with different artwork

As usual, when Amazon doesn't put samples of "Legendary" or "Seminal" bands up, the band is not that great. I had always heard about this group, but never actually "heard" them. So I took a chance. This music is at best a pedestrian Traffic knock-off; at worst it's difficult to understand how these guys got signed in the first place. Again, when investigating groups from the 60's and 70's, if amazon doesn't provide any samples, buyer beware!!!