MUSIC UPFRONT - 03.05.08: Catalogue reviews.

Jethro Tull: This Was (Chrysalis 2064972)

The iconic rock band's debut album gets the deluxe 2CD treatment to mark its 40th birthday, with mono and a new stereo mix of the original album supplemented by early singles tracks and nine BBC sessions. The latter tracks were primarily recorded for John Peel, who was a huge early supporter of the band, and largely responsible for the album's number 10 chart success. Jethro Tull's future prog-rock credentials are less obvious here, with records ranging from folk to blues to hard rock. The package is completed by new liner notes and anecdotes.

The Yardbirds: The Very Best Of The Yardbirds (Music Club MCCD 631)

Perhaps most revered for kickstarting the careers of future guitar legends Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck, The Yardbirds had a unique and innovative style of their own, which they managed to combine with sufficient commercial clout to notch four consecutive top three hits in less than a year. These included Graham Gouldman's excellent For Your Love and Still I'm Sad, which certainly lives up to its name, with its mournful sound enriched by Gregorian chanting. All selections are digitally remastered.

Various: The Jerry Ragovoy Story - Time Is On My Side 1953-2003 (Ace CDCHD 1183)

The latest release in Ace Records' Producer/Writer series takes a look at the work of Jerry Ragovoy, a driven perfectionist who penned and produced classic soul/R&B tracks - 24 are included here. Taking up the story in 1953, with The Castelles' My Girl Awaits Me, the album's last track, Howard Tate's stripped down Get It While You Can, was recorded 50 years later. Now 73, Ragovoy is a consummate backroom boy but is rightly given the limelight by this release.