(2020) Shape of the Rain – Riley, Riley, Wood and Waggett (1971, Reissue )
Review: Keith Riley, Len Riley, Brian Wood, and Ian “Tag” Waggett came together under the very 1960s name of after having exhausted other monikers including The Gear and The Reaction. Under their new psychedelic handle, the group came to the attention of Joe Cocker’s manager David McPhie. Initially, the foursome found it difficult to get club gigs precisely because of their originality; they had very few covers in their set. But 1968 and 1969 saw them support Jethro Tull and Pink Floyd, and in 1970, they earned a deal with the U.K. office of RCA’s new “underground” Neon label. The match of Shape of the Rain to Neon wasn’t an ideal one; Shape of the Rain were heavily influenced in style and songcraft by The Beatles, and their brand of proto power-pop didn’t sit well on the roster. Now, Grapefruit has expanded their lone album Riley, Riley, Wood and Waggett in a definitive 3-CD slipcased edition. Under its unwieldy title, Riley, Riley, Wood and Waggett revealed a band that should have held their own on the charts next to such other prominent Fab disciples such as Badfinger. Producers Tony Hall and Eric Hine allowed the band-penned songs to speak for themselves in mostly unadorned fashion, although echo and tape effects were sprinkled throughout. Hine sat in on electric piano for a few tracks. The group’s distinctive sound emerged from their use of both 12-string and pedal steel guitars played by Keith Riley and his cousin Brian Wood, respectively. Len Riley handled bass with Tag Waggett on drums. The leadoff single and opening track “Woman” adorned its pop melody with crunchy, hard-rock guitar licks and Beatle-esque harmonies. Elsewhere, the LP reflected the group’s range of influences from the jangly Byrds-style folk-rock of “Patterns” to the Bee Gees-evoking ballad “Wasting My Time.” The acoustic “Castles” was a delicate piece belonging to another era altogether and “Dusty Road” a lovely slice of country-pop with a McCartney lilt and a slight psychedelic bent. The rocking “Broken Man” encompassed two mini-songs, “Every One a Gem” and “After Collapsing at Kingsley’s.” Grapefruit’s reissue adds a whopping 15 bonus tracks to the original album on CD 1, including the bright, catchy non-LP single “My Friend John” and the premiere of 14 post-album demos from Keith Riley assisted by Brian Wood and synth player David Brookfield. Many of these are striking, indeed, and show Keith maturing as a songwriter while remaining rooted in the late ’60s melodic pop sound. The haunting “The Very First Clown,” the George Harrison-styled “You’re the One,” the gorgeous and wistful if all too short “From Me and From You,” and beautiful, harmony-flecked “We Can Make It Right” and “Lady of My Dreams” all leave no doubt that a sophomore album would have been more focused and even stronger than the first. RCA didn’t renew the band’s contract and the proposed second album never materialized. In 2001, the Background label issued a CD also entitled Shape of the Rain, collecting odds and ends from between 1966 and 1973. (Though dropped by their label, the band initially pressed on, recording in various studios and playing such venues as The Marquee and Liverpool’s Cavern. They also supported artists from Elton John to the earliest incarnations of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.) Three unissued tracks, including demos of RRW&W‘s “Yes” and “Dusty Road” have been appended to this solid collection of material originally produced by Steve Lillywhite, Geoff Emerick, and others. The third and final disc premieres 14 previously unheard live recordings, giving a taste of Shape of the Rain on the concert stage. Most of the tracks are culled from Alfreton Hall, Derbyshire (1970) and Manchester University (1973) shows in which very few songs from the album were still on the setlist; only “Woman” has made the cut here. By the time of the Manchester gig, Len Riley had departed the lineup. The resulting band was a bit edgier while still retaining their keen sense of songcraft. Pete Dolan took his place. The set concludes with “Hello 503” from a 1968 live acetate in poor sound quality; it’s been included for historical purposes only.
Tracklist:
Disc 1
Disc 2
Disc 3
Media Report: Genre: folk-rock, pop, psychedelic rock
Source: CD
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits
