[bigred]Show Your Hand/How Sweet Can You Get?/Average White Band[/bigred]
[lilred]April 6, 2009[/lilred]



Edsel is proud to announce the acquisition of the licence to issue the complete Average White Band catalogue of albums released from 1973 to 1982. We will be issuing all twelve albums in four 2 CD slip-cased sets, all overseen by AWB’s Alan Gorrie, Hamish Stuart and Onnie McIntyre, featuring memorabilia from their own collections and fully annotated.

Playing their own brand of soul, the Average White Band rocketed to fame and fortune in late 1974 with their absolute classic eponymous second album (usually known as the “White Album”) and the accompanying single “Pick Up The Pieces”, an instantly recognisable and perennial classic, and a staple of ‘gold’ radio stations around the world. Both the album and single reached #1 on the US pop charts – in the UK, both reached # 6.

This package starts with the band’s first album “Show Your Hand”, originally released on MCA in 1973 and never previously issued on CD in Europe. The album is expanded to feature eight bonus tracks, seven of which are previously unreleased. The first three of these date from the band’s first ever session together in Denmark Street in 1971, the remainder from a session at Island’s studios later the same year. The eighth bonus track is the rare non-album single “How Can You Go Home?” (also making its CD debut).

The second disc commences with what was intended to be the band’s second album for MCA, “How Sweet Can You Get?”. However MCA rejected it, and it was only ever issued as part of a “White Album” package many years later. We have now created its intended sleeve for the first time for this special release.

Producer Arif Mardin heard the songs, signed the band to Atlantic Records and set about re-recording eight of the songs along with two new compositions. The resulting album “Average White Band” was issued in September 1974 and was sitting at the top of the charts by Christmas (along with “Pick Up The Pieces”), going on to spend a whole year in the listings.

CD 1
Show Your Hand:
1 The Jugglers
2 This World Has Music
3 Twilight Zone
4 Put It Where You Want It
5 Show Your Hand
6 Back In ’67
7 Reach Out
8 TLC

Show Your Hand Bonus Tracks:
9 Reach Out [first version]
10 The Jugglers [first version]
11 It Didn’t Take Me A Minute
12 Got The Love
13 Look Out Now
14 Back In ’67 [first version]
15 White Water Dreams
16 How Can You Go Home?

CD 2
How Sweet Can You Get?:
1 Person To Person
2 Keepin’ It To Myself
3 There’s Always Someone Waiting
4 McEwan’s Export
5 Got The Love
6 Work To Do
7 Just Want To Love You Tonight
8 Pick Up The Pieces
9 I Just Can’t Give You Up
10 How Sweet Can You Get? [first version]

Average White Band:
11 You Got It
12 Got The Love
13 Pick Up The Pieces
14 Person To Person
15 Work To Do
16 Nothing You Can Do
17 Just Want To Love You Tonight
18 Keepin’ It To Myself
19 I Just Can’t Give You Up
20 There’s Always Someone Waiting

Amazon USA:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001NOMOQA/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001NOMOQA/?tag=imwan-21

[bigred]Cut The Cake/Soul Searching/Benny And Us[/bigred]
[lilred]April 6, 2009[/lilred]



Tragedy struck AWB when drummer Robie McIntosh died at a party held to celebrate the success of the “White Album” in late 1974. The band decided to honour Robbie’s memory by continuing: they recruited Steve Ferrone and set about recording “Cut The Cake” (which features some songs already co-written with McIntosh).

Released in June 1975, it went Top Ten in both the US and UK, reaching # 4 in the US (and going Gold). It features the AWB classics “Cut The Cake”, “School Boy Crush”, “Cloudy” and “If I Ever Lose This Heaven”, all hit singles and all still live favourites in AWB’s live shows.

“Soul Searching” (July 1976) consolidated this success, going platinum in the US and featuring more classics in “A Love Of Your Own”, “I’m The One” and Hamish Stuart’s love song to soul music “Queen Of My Soul”.

In 1977, producer Arif Mardin took the band to Miami to record a special album of covers with soul legend Ben E. King, orginal lead singer of The Drifters (“Save The Last Dance For Me”), and best known for his own hits “Stand By Me” and “Spanish Harlem”. Amongst the many highlights on “Benny & Us” is the unique reading of John Lennon’s “Imagine”.

CD 1
Cut The Cake:
1 Cut The Cake
2 School Boy Crush
3 It’s A Mystery
4 Groovin’ The Night Away
5 If I Ever Lose This Heaven
6 Why
7 High Flyin’ Woman
8 Cloudy
9 How Sweet Can You Get?
10 When They Bring Down The Curtain

Soul Searching:
11 Overture
12 Love Your Life
13 I’m The One
14 A Love Of Your Own
15 Queen Of My Soul

CD 2
1 Soul Searching
2 Goin’ Home
3 Everybody’s Darling
4 Would You Stay
5 Sunny Days (Make Me Think Of You)
6 Digging Deeper (Finale)

Benny And Us:
7 Get It Up For Love
8 Fool For You Anyway
9 A Star In The Ghetto
10 The Message
11 What Is Soul
12 Someday We’ll All Be Free
13 Imagine
14 Keepin’ It To Myself
17 Just Want To Love You Tonight
18 Keepin’ It To Myself
19 I Just Can’t Give You Up
20 There’s Always Someone Waiting

Amazon USA:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001NOMOOW/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001NOMOOW/?tag=imwan-21

[bigred]Person To Person/Warmer Communications[/bigred]
[lilred]May 4, 2009[/lilred]



Our third package commences with the band’s live double album “Person To Person”, originally released on Atlantic in 1977. Recorded in Philadelphia, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, the album features blistering versions of their classic songs “Person To Person”, “Cut The Cake”, an 18-minute version of “Pick Up The Pieces” and a 10-minute version of Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It ThroughThe Grapevine”. There two bonus tracks not originally on the album: Joe Zawinul’s “Walk Tall” and a previously unreleased version of Diana Ross and The Supremes and The Temptations hit “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me”.

The second half of the package features "Warmer Communications", recorded with producer Arif Mardin in Miami and originally released in 1978. It went Gold in the US and features another classic AWB instrumental in "Sweet And Sour" which was nominated for the Grammy™ for Best R&B Instrumental.

CD 1
Person To Person:
1 Person To Person
2 Cut The Cake
3 If I Ever Lose This Heaven
4 Cloudy
5 T.L.C.
6 I’m The One
7 Pick Up The Pieces

CD 2
1 Love Your Life
2 School Boy Crush
3 I Heard It Through The Grapevine

Person To Person Bonus Tracks:
4 Walk Tall
5 I’m Gonna Make You Love Me

Warmer Communications:
6 Your Love Is A Miracle
7 Same Feeling, Different Song
8 Daddy’s All Gone
9 Big City Lights
10 She’s A Dream
11 Warmer Communications
12 The Price Of A Dream
13 Sweet And Sour
14 One Look Over My Shoulder (Is This Really Goodbye?)

Amazon USA:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001NOMOPQ/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001NOMOPQ/?tag=imwan-21

[bigred]Feel No Fret/Volume VIII/Shine/Cupid's In Fashion[/bigred]
[lilred]May 4, 2009[/lilred]



The fourth Edsel AWB package contains three-and-a-half albums! Recorded in Nassau in 1979, "Feel No Fret" was an instant hit on both sides of the Atlantic. Produced by the band themselves, it features the hit singles "Atlantic Avenue" and their cover of Bacharach & David's "Walk On By", as well as AWB favourite "Stop The Rain".

The band had started recording the follow-up album with producer David Foster when they decided to switch record labels. Atlantic Records wouldn't let AWB take the tracks with them, and in 1980 issued four tracks as "Volume VIII" (with five greatest hits on side 2). We have added bonus track "Miss Sun" from the same sessions.

AWB started afresh with Foster to create the standout album "Shine" (1980). It features the hits "For You, For Love", "Whatcha Gonna Do For Me" (written by Hamish Stuart and a # 1 hit for Chaka Khan), and another perennial favourite in "Let's Go Round Again" (# 12 UK). The 6-minute 12" version is included here as a bonus track along with the previously unreleased "Wasn't I Your Friend".

For the last album by the original line-up, the band enlisted Dan Hartman as producer ("Instant Replay", "Relight My Fire"). Issued in 1982, it features the singles "Cupid's In Fashion" and "You're My Number One", as well as a cover of the Four Tops' "Reach Out (I'll Be There)".

CD 1
1 When Will You Be Mine
2 Please Don’t Fall In Love
3 Walk On By
4 Feel No Fret
5 Stop The Rain
6 Atlantic Avenue
7 Ace Of Hearts
8 Too Late To Cry
9 Fire Burning
10 Kiss Me
11 Love Gives, Love Takes Away
12 Growing Pains
13 Love Won’t Get In The Way
14 Miss Sun
15 Our Time Has Come
16 For You, For Love
17 Let’s Go Round Again
18 Whatcha Gonna Do For Me?

CD 2
1 Into The Night
2 Catch Me (Before I Have To Testify)
3 Help Is On The Way
4 If Love Only Lasts For One Night
5 Shine
5 Wasn’t I Your Friend
6 Let’s Go Round Again [12” version]
7 You’re My Number One
8 Easier Said Than Done
9 You Wanna Belong
10 Cupid’s In Fashion
11 Theatre Of Excess
12 I Believe
13 Is It Love That You’re Running From
14 Reach Out (I’ll Be There)
15 Isn’t It Strange
17 Love’s A Heartache

Amazon USA:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001NOMOP6/?tag=imwan-20

Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001NOMOP6/?tag=imwan-21