Tag Archives: Dark Horse Records

More Dark Horse News

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Regular readers will know that we like to keep up with news about the Dark Horse label – the Beatle-related record company started by George Harrison, but now run by his son Dhani.

The revitalised label signed a distribution deal with BMG and has been slowly re-releasing in physical form some of the original Dark Horse titles. It’s also embarked on an eclectic series of reissues and new titles from a range of other artists. These range from to Joe Strummer to Leon Russell, and from Billy Idol to Yusuf/Cat Stevens.

As the number of titles is starting to add up we’ve put together a catalogue of all the records and CDs released since Dhani Harrison took over in 2020. You can see that below.

In researching the list one Dark Horse title from the good old days snuck completely under our radar. It actually came out last year in strictly limited numbers through the Vinyl Me Please record club. It was Ravi Shankar’s Music Festival From India, issued on bright orange vinyl and given the new catalogue number of DH0020:

Two other Dark Horse titles are due in the next month or so. They are the reissue of a jazz LP by Nina Simone, originally released 1959:

The other is the black vinyl version of the Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros LP Live at Acton Town Hall, previously reissued by Dark Horse on clear vinyl in July last year:

Then in April we’ll finally see the long-awaited Mobile Fidelity audiophile pressing of Ravi Shankar’s Shankar Family and Friends. This one has been such a long time coming. We first reported on it back in January 2022! It has clearly been an on-again/off again prospect. So much so that Dark Horse itself seemed to get fed up and put out their own re-issue last year…..

Now it seems the Mobile Fidelity is back on again as we got this in an email last week:

Finally, another strange Dark Horse-related title that you may not have heard about. It is the mysterious duo Dick and Mary and their debut, a self-titled LP which came out late last year. It is on the Bunbun Records label, but on the shrink there’s a Dark Horse hype sticker.

Dick and Mary doesn’t get a Dark Horse catalogue number. We’d suggest its being supported by Dark Horse because people are pretty sure that the “Mary” in the band is Mereki Beach, Dhani Harrison’s partner. (She’s also Australian btw). In a separate project Mereki recorded her solo album Death of a Cloud at the Harrison’s Friar Park studio. You can see her in the studio in a series of ‘live sessions’ videos she’s released. One is here, but there are several others: 

Also, her video for the single ‘Presence’ was shot in the gardens of Friar Park:

Her solo album is only available on streaming services at the moment but there’s talk it will be released in physical form this year, so we guess it is likely to be another Bunbun Records and Dark Horse support deal. So watch out for that one too! 

For those interested, here’s a catalogue of Dark Horse releases to date, starting at catalogue number DH001. We’re still unsure of the mysterious DH0017. Could it be assigned to the long-delayed but much-anticpated album by Benmont Tench called The Melancholy Season?

DH0001 Ravi Shankar – Chants of India (RSD) (2LP Red vinyl)

DH0002 Joe Strummer – Assembly (2LP Red vinyl)
DH0002 Joe Strummer – Assembly (2LP Black vinyl)
DH0002 Joe Strummer – Assembly (CD)
DH0002 Joe Strummer – Assembly (Cassette)

DH0003 Joe Strummer – Junco Partner (12” single Picture Disc) (RSD)

DH0004 Billy Idol – The Roadside EP (12” EP Blue vinyl)
DH0004 Billy Idol – The Roadside EP (12” EP Black vinyl)
DH0004 Billy Idol – The Roadside EP (CD)

DH0005 Billy Idol – Happy Holidays (LP White vinyl)
DH0005 Billy Idol – Happy Holidays (LP Black vinyl)

DH0006 Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Johnny Appleseed (RSD) (12” single
Pink vinyl)

DH0007 Shankar Family & Friends – I Am Missing You (RSD) (12” single Blue vinyl)

DH0008 Billy Idol – The Cage EP (12” EP Red vinyl)
DH0008 Billy Idol – The Cage EP (12” EP Black vinyl)
DH0008 Billy Idol – The Cage EP (CD)

DH0009 Joe Strummer – 002: The Mescaleros Years (7LP Box Set)
DH0009 Joe Strummer – 002: The Mescaleros Years (7CD Box Set)

DH0010 Shankar Family & Friends – Shankar Family & Friends (LP Orchid vinyl)
DH0010 Shankar Family & Friends – Shankar Family & Friends (CD)

DH0011 Leon Russell – Signature Songs (LP Black vinyl)
DH0011 Leon Russell – Signature Songs (CD)

DH0012 The Best of Dark Horse 1974-1976 (RSD) (LP Black vinyl)

DH0013 Joe Strummer – Live at Music Millennium (RSD) (12” EP Black vinyl)

DH0014 Stairsteps – 2nd Resurrection (RSD) (LP Gold vinyl)

DH0015 Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Streetcore (RSD) (LP White Vinyl)

DH0016 Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Live at Acton Town Hall (2LP Clear vinyl)
DH0016 Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Live at Acton Town Hall (CD)

DH0017 ?

DH0018 Ravi Shankar & Ali Akbar Khan – In Concert 1972 (50th Anniversary) (RSD)
(2LP Black vinyl)

DH0019 Leon Russell – Hank Wilson Vol. II (RSD) (LP Red vinyl)

DH0020 Ravi Shankar – Ravi Shankar’s Music Festival From India (Vinyl Me Please
exclusive/numbered vinyl/1000 copies) (LP Orange vinyl)

DH0021 Splinter – The Place I Love (RSD) (LP Clear vinyl)

DH0022 Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Streetcore (20th Ann.) (LP Black vinyl)
DH0022 Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Streetcore (20th Anniversary) (CD)

Associated:

4 050538 868876 Yusuf/Cat Stevens – King of a Land. (Cat-O-Log Records)
(LP Green vinyl). Dark Horse Records logo on rear cover and labels.
538856902 Yusuf/Cat Stevens – King of a Land. (Cat-O-Log Records) (CD).
4 050538 856301 Yusuf/Cat Stevens – King of a Land. (Cat-O-Log Records)
(LP Black vinyl).
4 050538 874006 Yusuf/Cat Stevens – King of a Land. (Cat-O-Log Records)
(LP White vinyl) (Artist Store Exclusive).
4 050538 885453 Yusuf/Cat Stevens – King of a Land. (Cat-O-Log Records)
(LP Blue vinyl) (Barnes & Noble Exclusive).
4 050538 899870 Yusuf/Cat Stevens – King of a Land. (Cat-O-Log Records)
(LP Purple vinyl) (Spotify Fans First Exclusive)

BB0002 Dick and Mary – Dick and Mary (Bunbun Records) Dark Horse hype sticker
(LP Orchid vinyl)

Coming in 2024:

FEB: Nina Simone – Little Girl Blue (Barnes & Noble Exclusive) (LP Pink vinyl)

MAR: Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Live at Acton Town Hall (2LP Black vinyl)

APR: Ravi Shankar – Shankar Family & Friends (Mobile Fidelity) (LP Black vinyl)

New Dark Horse Title is an Unusual Choice but a Great Album

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From Olivia Harrison’s socials:

“Nina Simone is recognised as one of the most authentic and captivating artists of our time. She recorded some of George’s songs with powerful conviction. We are privileged to have this album on the Dark Horse label.” – Olivia Harrison

“Nina Simone’s music has always held a special place in the hearts of my family. Her unique talent and profound artistry not only resonated with us but also left an indelible mark on our musical journey. Nina’s legacy continues to be an enduring source of inspiration, a reminder of the power of music to touch the soul and inspire the spirit.” – Dhani Harrison

Dark Horse Records is proud to release a very limited pressing of Nina Simone’s debut studio album Little Girl Blue, celebrating the album’s 65th anniversary.

Originally released in February 1959, this limited pink vinyl reissue is available exclusively from Barnes & Noble on February 23rd.

Pre-order now at barnesandnoble.com

This is a great album.

The pre-order details say it will include a 12×12 insert with an introduction written by Dhani Harrison. Little Girl Blue includes some of Simone’s best-known tracks, including ‘My Baby Just Cares for Me’, ‘I Loves You, Porgy’ and ‘Love Me Or Leave Me’, and even at this early stage in her career, you can hear the profound impact she would go on to have on the musical landscape in the ensuing decades.

For those of us outside the US though this is going to be a tricky one to secure……however, Barnes & Noble now ship internationally (previously they did not), so it should be possible.

Oh, and it looks like it has the catalogue number DH0024.

Collecting ‘Now and Then’ – and beyond….

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There’s no doubt about it.

It has been a busy couple of weeks for collectors and completists in the Beatle community!

Not only have we had the release of the new/last Beatle single, ‘Now and Then’, but also a newly expanded Beatles 1962-1966 [Red] and Beatles 1967-1970 [Blue] in double CD and triple LP form.

One of our readers (Guy in the USA) prides himself on securing every possible variation and often sends us a tantalising image or two. For ‘Now and Then’ he points out that most collectors only show pictures of the outer covers. Here, he says, are the contents – photographed all together:

For collectors in the west there are no fewer than 9 variations to seek out. If you add in unique Japanese editions that number creeps up to 14.

Because there are enough different pressings we thought we’d create another visual representation to capture them all (we have previously created these for McCartney III and McCartney III Imagined too):

(Click on the image to see a larger version)

The Japanese ‘Now and Then’ vinyl pressings are unique in that they have a rear cover written in Japanese. They also come with a special lyric sheet with the lyrics in English and Japanese:

Additionally, the SHM-CD single comes with an OBI strip (and also the extra lyric insert):

To add to the onslaught on collector wallets there was also Black Friday Record Store Day.

No Beatle records that day, but for completists who also go for the George Harrison-affiliated Dark Horse Records label, we had music on vinyl from Splinter, Leon Russell, and Ravi Shankar.

Also released on that day were further coloured vinyl editions (in “Yellow Submarine Yellow”) of Ringo Starr’s Old Wave and Stop and Smell the Roses. Here’s Guy again:

You can see there on the bottom row the little Yoto kids toy card editions of the 2023 Red and Blue albums, plus a unique Paul McCartney card containing a selection of his hits for kids which also contains two hard-to-get instrumentals.

McCartney also weighed in with pre-sales of the 50th anniversary, Half Speed Mastered editions of Band On The Run, and then followed that up a week later with the 3rd anniversary release (yes, that’s right 3rd anniversary….) of McCartney III, which comes in a limited edition choice of 3 coloured vinyls with new artwork and inserts.

Phew.

Dark Horse Records Goes Big for RSD Black Friday 2023

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Dark Horse is to release three titles on vinyl for this year’s Record Store Day Black Friday.

One of the three is Splinter’s The Place I Love, the very first record to come out on George Harrison’s then new label.

Produced by and featuring Harrison, The Place I Love was one of the earliest recordings to be made at the FPSHOT studio in his Friar Park home.

DETAILS
Event: BLACK FRIDAY 2023
Release Date: 11/24/2023
Format: Clear vinyl LP
Label: Dark Horse Records
Quantity: 1000
Release type: ‘RSD First’ Release

MORE INFO
Splinter was comprised of duo Bill Elliot and Bobby Purvis, and their blend of folk, pop, and rock were introduced to Dark Horse Records founder George Harrison in 1973. Harrison was quick to spot their potential and made them one of the first signings to his new label.

The band’s debut album The Place I Love was produced by Harrison and features extensive guitar work by the legendary musician, as well as contributions from Billy Preston, Jim Keltner, Alvin Lee (Ten Years After), and Gary Wright (Spooky Tooth and ‘Dream Weaver’).

Including the hit record ‘Costafine Town’, along with the singles ‘Drink All Day (Got to Find Your Own Way Home)’ and ‘China Light’, this remastered recording will be available on vinyl for the first time since its 1974 release. For RSD Black Friday it is remastered and pressed on transparent clear vinyl with reproduced gatefold artwork and an OBI strip.

Also being readied for RSD Black Friday is an album that originally made it’s debut on the Apple label – Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan’s In Concert 1972.

DETAILS
Event: BLACK FRIDAY 2023
Release Date: 11/24/2023
Format: 2 x LP
Label: Dark Horse Records
Quantity: 1280
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release

MORE INFO
The original Apple Records release, now remastered and reissued on Dark Horse, is the Indian sitar master in concert with Ali Akbar Khan on sarod, and Alla Rakha on tabla. It was recorded at Philarmonic Hall in New York City. The double LP is produced by George Harrison, Zakir Hussain, and Phil McDonald.

Dark Horse is also digging deeper into its Leon Russell catalogue with a special edition red vinyl release of his called Hank Wilson Volume II.

DETAILS
Event: BLACK FRIDAY 2023
Release Date: 11/24/2023
Format: Red vinyl LP
Label: Dark Horse Records
Quantity: 1700
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release

MORE INFO
This is a coloured vinyl reissue of Leon Russell’s 1984 country album Hank Wilson Vol. II. Hank Wilson is Russell’s country music alter ego, and this title has a bit of a strange release history. You can read up here for a bit of the background. Originally released on Paradise Records, Dark Horse is reissuing the album on vinyl for the first time since 1984. It includes country staples such as ‘Wabash Cannonball’ and ‘I Saw the Light’. Willie Nelson makes a guest appearance on ‘Wabash Cannonball’.

So there you have it. Some Dark Horse titles to look out for in November.

And if you’re collecting the new Dark Horse release series don’t forget they’re once again re-issuing Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros Streetcore LP on October 20. This time it will be on black vinyl with an exclusive ‘Coma Girl’ Lyric Art Print from the Joe Strummer Archive. It will also be available on CD. Dark Horse already issued this album on limited edition white vinyl for Record Store Day proper earlier this year.

Another Dark Horse Release on the way

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Seems this blog is becoming more about Dark Horse Records records than the Beatles lately!

That’s because the label has had a bit of a rush of activity while the Beatle camp has been relatively quiet – unless of course you count all the speculation about a mysterious new release slated for later this year supposedly employing Artificial Intelligence. That’s something the mainstream media jumped on in a big way as AI is a topic du jour at the moment. So much so that Paul McCartney himself took to social media to hose the whole thing down a bit, something he almost never does when it comes to forthcoming releases:

Anyways, while we await news of just what that project is (or is it projects – meaning more than one?), we can focus on Dark Horse as it is Beatle-related, and something many of us collectors like to add into our libraries.

Earlier this week we got this email from Juno, a record store in the UK:

Looks like this will be the next Dark Horse title to look out for, available for pre-order now and out on August 18.

Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros Live at Acton Town Hall is remastered by Paul Hicks (The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, George Harrison) and will be available on 2LP “cloudy clear” vinyl. It will also be issued for the first time on CD.

Recorded on November 15, 2002, the concert was a benefit for striking fire fighters and would be one of Strummer’s last performances as he passed away from a heart condition just a month later. The performance features a 3-song reunion with his former band mate from The Clash, Mick Jones, who reunited on stage for the first time in almost twenty years. It would also be their last time on stage together.

The double LP will be packaged in a gatefold sleeve featuring never-before-seen photos from the show, plus new liner notes from former Fire Brigade Union Secretary Andy Gilchrist, who introduced the band at the show and led the strikes Joe was supporting.

This will also be the first time the concert has been properly released with full packaging on vinyl, with its extremely limited previous incarnation being a very limited Record Store Day exclusive in 2012 featuring just a DIY-inspired clear plastic sleeve.

More Dark Horse Records News

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As well as the new Yusef/Cat Stevens release next month there’s another title on the way from Dark Horse Records.

While we are STILL awaiting a release date from Mobile Fidelity for their audiophile vinyl re-issue of the George Harrison-produced Shankar Family & Friends, Dark Horse has decided to put it out on CD, and as a limited edition “orchid” purple coloured vinyl – remastered by Paul Hicks.

One of the first albums to be released on George’s original Dark Horse Records, its East-meets-West musical styles put Western musicians such as Ringo Starr, Billy Preston, Jim Keltner, Klaus Voormann, and Nicky Hopkins side-by-side with Indian-music pioneers Alla Rakha, Ashish Khan, Shivkumar Sharma and Hariprasad Chaurasi.

Shankar Family & Friends is released in 2023 for the first time as a “stand alone” CD (though it was on CD part of this lovely Collaborations box set from 2010).

The purple vinyl and CD were initially slated for a June 9 release, but the date has recently been pushed back to July 14.

There could also be a black vinyl version but we’re not exactly sure. This image is appearing on some store sites:

Yusuf/Cat Stevens – New Dark Horse Vinyl & CD

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Earlier this year Dark Horse Records announced the signing of music legend Yusuf/Cat Stevens to the label.

Image (from l to r): Dhani Harrison and Yusuf with David Zonshine (Dark Horse) and Yoriyos Adamos (Yusuf’s son and manager) at F.P.S.H.O.T.

A number of digital back catalogue albums were almost immediately put up on the Dark Horse releases site indicating they were now available on streaming services. These are all what might be considered his second tier works, definitely not his top-selling LPs. So the wait has been on to see what new content from Yusuf/Cat Stevens might be made available for the first time – and on physical media.

In March the label made this announcement about a brand new studio work and now the wait for that release is almost over because next month (June 16) sees King Of A Land issued on Dark Horse:

This will be on CD:

And, if ordered through the official Yusuf/Cat Stevens website, on limited edition white vinyl:

Amazon and some independent stores have a limited edition green vinyl version available for pre-order too:

The album’s artwork is created by award-winning Canadian children’s illustrator Peter H. Reynolds. As well as the cover art he has created illustrations for each song portraying the album’s lyrical themes in an accompanying 36 page booklet. The vinyl and booklet are housed in a gatefold sleeve.

Dark Horse, with it’s direct association with founder George Harrison, seems to be a natural home for Yusuf. “George has been an immense influence on me, spiritually, from the very beginning. He pioneered certain thoughts and ideas, which stretched way east, and that was very important. He was beginning to explore Eastern mysticism around the time I was hospitalised with TB, in 1968. Lying in bed, I had a lot of time on my hands and ended up reading a Buddhist book called The Secret Path. That was the beginning of my own search for the light.”

“Looking at the jagged journey of my music, beginning as I did in the 60’s, I would say this new record is a mosaic. A very clearly defined description of where I’ve been and who I am.”

In welcoming the singer to the Dark Horse Record label, Dhani Harrison said “I’m thrilled to welcome Yusuf/Cat Stevens to the Dark Horse Records family. Not only is he a great musical legend but his songs could not fit the Dark Horse mythos any better. From his back catalogue, through to the new music we can’t wait for you to hear. Yusuf is without question one of the most influential singer-songwriters of all time. It is a great honour to be able to give his music a home on our humble yet historic label.”

Yusuf has started to tease King Of A Land with some very charming lyric videos:

King Of A Land sounds like it could be something special, very reminiscent of his early 1970’s work. Definitely looking forward to this one.

Classic Leon Russell on Dark Horse, Shankar Family on MoFi

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In addition to the two Dark Horse Records releases that came out on Record Store Day just past (see our post here), there are two more physical titles from the newly-revitalised label you might like to track down.

The first came out just a couple of weeks prior to Record Store Day.

Its the late, great Leon Russell’s Signature Songs, an album of solo piano and vocal recordings originally released in 2001 and which has been long out-of-print since.

Signature Songs features stripped-down, unique takes of songs from across Russell’s long and illustrious songwriting career. Songs you will definitely know either recorded by him, or the many artists who covered his songs and had hits with them: ‘A Song For You’, ‘Tight Rope’, ‘Delta Lady’, ‘Stranger In A Strange Land’, and the classic ‘This Masquerade’.

Signature Songs is available on CD, digital download, and is now pressed on vinyl for the very first time.

Here’s the hype sticker:

And the label:

Sometimes you just have to bide your time when it comes to waiting for new releases.

We reported way back in January 2022 that the Mobile Fidelity company intended to issue an audiophile pressing of the1974 George Harrison-produced Dark Horse album Shankar Family ૐ Friends. On it Indian musical virtuosos Ravi Shankar, Alla Rakha, Ashish Khan, Kamala Chakravarty, Hariprasad Chaurasia are joined by Western musos like Ringo Starr, David Bromberg, Billy Preston, Nicky Hopkins, Jim Keltner, Klaus Voorman and Tom Scott. 

Well, truth is we’re still waiting for this one, so you’ll have to be patient.

But, there has been movement at the station…

A press release page has appeared on the Mobile Fidelity website inviting pre-orders. Still no firm release date sadly, but at least you can now pre-order and secure this Dark Horse “Beatle-related” extra for your collection:

RSD 2023 Beatle-related Titles Announced

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The Record Store Day 2023 release list has just come out and come April 23 there’ll be at least three titles of interest to Beatle collectors.

Probably the most interesting and hard-to-get will be a re-imagining of John Lennon’s Gimme Some Truth best-of compilation which is being re-issued as a boxset containing 9 x 10” white vinyl EPs. Each EP will feature four tracks. Only 500 copies of this will be produced, hence the ‘hard-to-get’ moniker….

Next is the highly speculated 50th anniversary release of Paul McCartney’s Red Rose Speedway in limited edition, Half Speed Master vinyl form:

According to the RSD list there will be 5,000 pressed so this should be much easier to secure. It follows similar Half Speed Master editions of McCartney, Wings Wild Life and RAM.

Then there’s a re-issue of the 1981 Ringo Starr title Stop and Smell the Roses. This is being re-issued on vinyl as a 2LP with six bonus tracks for the first time. It will come in a gatefold with printed inner sleeves, original record labels and specialty color vinyl described as lava lamp effect clear red/white for LP1 and lava lamp effect clear red/pink for LP2. There are 2,500 copies being pressed.

Stop and Smell the Roses will also be issued on RSD as a CD (500 copies).

So, that’s John, Paul, and Ringo for Record Store Day 2023.

But wait, there is a George connection too. Dark Horse, the record label he started up (now run by son Dhani Harrison) is releasing not one but two LPs.

The first is by Stairsteps, a band originally signed to the label back in 1975. For Record Store Day 2023 we’ll see their 1976 album 2nd Resurrection re-issued on black vinyl. Billy Preston played synthesizer and served as co-producer alongside Robert Margouleff.

Dark Horse will also have a 20th Anniversary edition of the Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros album Streetcore as a limited edition pressing on white vinyl for RSD:

RSD Black Friday – A Dark Horse Extra? (Plus Dark Horse Collecting – The Hard Way)

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Is it just us who completely missed this, or did Dark Horse Records surreptitiously slip an additional title into Record Store Day Black Friday last Friday?

We’re pretty sure when we published this heads-up post back in September detailing which records might be of interest to Beatle completists, this listing definitely wasn’t there:

But when we looked on 25 November, there it was: a Joe Strummer LP Live at Music Millennium, 3600 copies, on the Dark Horse label:

This is a soundboard recording of Strummer’s solo acoustic in-store performance at a record store called Music Millennium in Portland, Oregon on November 2, 1999. It is getting its first ever release for RSD Black Friday and features the songs “Junco Partner,” “X-Ray Style” “Island Hopping,” “The Road to Rock N Roll,” and “Trash City.” The record continues the ongoing celebration this year of what would have been Joe Strummer’s 70th birthday.

While on the subject of Dark Horse, their other title for RSD, Dark Horse Records: The Best of 1974-1977, looks like a great collection:

Side A
1. Ravi Shankar – I Am Missing You
2. Ravi Shankar – Dispute & Violence
3. Splinter – Costafine Town
4. Splinter – Lonely Man
5. Attitudes – Ain’t Love Enough
6. Attitudes – Sweet Summer Music

Side B
1. Stairsteps – From Us To You
2. Stairsteps – Time
3. Keni Burke – Give All You Can Give
4. Henry McCullough – Lord Knows
5. Henry McCullough – Mind Your Own Business
6. Jiva – Take My Love

One of our long-time readers and avid Beatles and Beatle-related collector – see his selection of McCartney III variations for example! – has sent us this photo with the simple caption:

“Dark Horse Records: Best of 1974-1977 THE HARD WAY”

Enough said!