Average White Band - The Complete Studio Recordings 1971-2003 (2014) [19CD Box Set]

Average White Band are widely and rightly regarded as one of the best ever soul and funk bands. Although probably best known for their global hit, the US #1 single ‘Pick Up The Pieces’, this extensive anthology delves back into their musical history, from the early sessions in 1971, right up to the most recent studio album released this millennium. ‘All The Pieces…’ features the band’s entire catalogue of recorded material on a 19CD box set, which includes all of the original studio albums (and ‘spoilers’ ‘Put It Where You Want It’ and ‘Volume VIII’) in mini-vinyl replica wallets, alternate versions and selected mixes, in this 172-track collection. The box set includes the collectable re-packaged debut album ‘Show Your Hand’ - ‘Put It Where You Want It’ - whilst ‘Person To Person’ is packaged as a 2 disc gatefold wallet – to reflect the original 2LP set, ‘Feel No Fret’ is packaged as a gatefold release. The bonus CDs wallet artwork has been created by the legendary John Pasche, who designed the iconic AWB logo. AWB’s repertoire has been a source of inspiration for many R&B acts, who have sampled their material and who cite AWB’s grooves as a major influence. The 52-page booklet includes an 11,000+ word liner note by US musicologist, Justin M. Kantor and includes recent historical recollections undertaken with Alan Gorrie and Hamish Stuart.

~ amazon

The Average White Band

Their self-effacing name to the contrary, Average White Band was anything but – one of the few white groups to cross the color line and achieve success and credibility playing funk, with their tight, fiery sound also belying their Scottish heritage, evoking American R&B hotbeds like Detroit, Memphis, and Philadelphia instead. Singer/bassist Alan Gorrie, guitarists Hamish Stuart and Onnie McIntyre, tenor saxophonist Malcolm Duncan, keyboardist/saxophonist Roger Ball, and drummer Robbie McIntosh comprised the original Average White Band lineup. Veterans of numerous Scottish soul and jazz groups, they made their debut in 1973 as the opening act at Eric Clapton's Rainbow Theatre comeback gig, soon issuing their debut LP, Show Your Hand, to little notice. After adopting the abbreviated moniker AWB, a year later the band issued their self-titled sophomore effort, topping the American pop charts with the Arif Mardin-produced instrumental "Pick Up the Pieces." The record's mammoth success was nevertheless tempered by the September 23, 1974 death of McIntosh, who died at a Hollywood party after overdosing on heroin.

Ex-Bloodstone drummer Steve Ferrone replaced McIntosh for AWB's third album, 1975's Cut the Cake, which scored a Top Ten hit with its title track as well as two other chart entries, "If I Ever Lose This Heaven" and "School Boy Crush." (Put It Where You Want It, issued later that same year, was simply a retitled and repackaged Show Your Hand.) With 1976's Soul Searching, the group reclaimed the full Average White Band name, scoring their final Top 40 hit with "Queen of My Soul." Following the live Person to Person, they issued Benny & Us, a collaboration with soul legend Ben E. King. However, after subsequent outings, including 1978's Warmer Communications, 1979's Feel No Fret, and 1980's Shine, failed to recapture the energy of AWB's peak, the group dissolved in 1982, with Ferrone later joining Duran Duran and Stuart recording with Paul McCartney. Gorrie, Ball, and McIntyre reformed Average White Band in 1989, tapping vocalist Alex Ligertwood for their comeback effort Aftershock. Oft-sampled by hip-hop producers throughout the 1990s, the group continued touring prior to releasing Soul Tattoo in 1996. The live album, Face to Face, followed three years later.

by Jason Ankeny, AMG

Show Your Hand was where it all began for the Average White Band, which turned out to be one of the hottest funk/soul outfits of the mid- to late '70s. But when MCA released this debut LP in 1973, the band's commercial success was still a year away – it wasn't until they joined the Atlantic roster in 1974 that they exploded commercially. Show Your Hand, in fact, was among 1973's neglected R&B releases. In retrospect, it's easy to point the finger at MCA and say, "You dropped the ball; this album should have done better." Atlantic successfully broke AWB in 1974, so why weren't MCA's promotions and marketing people able to accomplish that the previous year? But in all fairness to MCA, breaking AWB was a challenge – imagine trying to convince '70s soul stations that a white band from Scotland played first-class funk and soul. Back in 1973, a lot of program directors at R&B stations probably took one look at this LP and assumed that AWB was a rock band; it took Atlantic to convince those programmers that the name Average White Band was meant to be ironic. Of course, anyone who gave Show Your Hand a serious listen in 1973 realized that AWB certainly wasn't typical of the era's long-haired white bands – stylistically, they inspired comparisons to the Isley Brothers and Tower of Power, not Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, or Mahogany Rush. Whether AWB is turning up the funk on "T.L.C." or chilling out on the smooth soul of "Twilight Zone," there is no getting around the fact that Show Your Hand is very much an R&B album. Show Your Hand (which MCA reissued as Put It Where You Want It in 1975) never became as well-known as AWB's subsequent recordings for Atlantic, but that doesn't make it any less impressive a debut for Hamish Stuart and his colleagues.

by Alex Henderson, AMG

Tracklist:

01. The Jugglers 04:51
02. This World Has Music 05:57
03. Twilight Zone 05:28
04. Put It Where You Want It 05:15
05. Show Your Hand 04:28
06. Back In '67 04:09
07. Reach Out 04:04
08. T.L.C. 08:08





Tracklist:

01. Person To Person 03:23
02. Keepin' It To Myself 03:09
03. There's Always Someone Waiting 05:01
04. McEwan's Export 04:47
05. Got The Love 03:41
06. Work To Do 03:42
07. Just Want To Love You Tonight 04:42
08. Pick Up The Pieces 03:56
09. I Just Can't Give You Up 03:45
10. How Sweet Can You Get? (First Version) 03:41

After debuting with 1973's excellent but neglected Show Your Hand (later reissued as Put It Where You Want It), the Average White Band switched from MCA to Atlantic and hit big with this self-titled gem. Upon first hearing gutsy, Tower of Power-influenced funk like "Person to Person" and the instrumental "Pick Up the Pieces" (a number one R&B hit), many soul fans were shocked to learn that not only were the bandmembers white – they were whites from Scotland. Like Teena Marie five years later, AWB embraced soul and funk with so much conviction that it was clear this was anything but an "average" white band. This album is full of treasures that weren't big hits but should have been – including the addictive "You Got It," the ominous "There's Always Someone Waiting," and a gutsy remake of the Isley Brothers' "Work to Do."

by Alex Henderson, AMG

Tracklist:

01. You Got It 03:30
02. Got The Love 03:47
03. Pick Up The Pieces 03:54
04. Person To Person 03:35
05. Work To Do 04:20
06. Nothing You Can Do 04:03
07. Just Want To Love You Tonight 03:54
08. Keepin' It To Myself 03:56
09. I Just Can't Give You Up 03:26
10. There's Always Someone Waiting 05:28

When the Average White Band recorded their debut album, Show Your Hand, for MCA in 1973, they had yet to become well known. But their second album (and first for Atlantic) made them huge – and in 1975, MCA tried to cash in by reissuing Show Your Hand as Put It Where You Want It. Although Put It Where You Want It offered different artwork, the two LPs aren't much different in terms of material. "The Jugglers," which opened Show Your Hand, was replaced with a new opener: the previously unreleased "How Can You Go Home." But except for the opening track, the two LPs contained the same material in the same order; Put It Where You Want It is essentially Show Your Hand with a new cover, a new title, and a new opening track – and whatever you call this collection of pre-Atlantic material, it was an impressive start for the Average White Band. So why isn't Put It Where You Want It – or Show Your Hand, if you prefer – as well known as their Atlantic recordings? It all comes down to marketing. Thanks to producer Arif Mardin, AWB received a much more aggressive promotional campaign than they got from MCA. Nonetheless, AWB's truly hardcore, truly devoted fans speak highly of this album. They'll tell you that the band shows a great deal of promise on the gritty funk of "T.L.C." and "Put It Where You Want It" as well as softer items like "Show Your Hand" and the melancholy "Twilight Zone." While Put It Where You Want It (aka Show Your Hand) is hardly AWB's most famous album and didn't contain a major hit single, it was still a promising debut for the Scottish soul-funk outfit.

by Alex Henderson, AMG

Tracklist:

01. How Can You Go Home? 03:05
02. This World Has Music 05:57
03. Twilight Zone 05:28
04. Put It Where You Want It 05;14
05. Show Your Hand 04:28
06. Back In '67 04:10
07. Reach Out 04:04
08. T.L.C. 08:07

In the informative liner notes that he wrote for Rhino's early-'90s reissue of Cut the Cake, writer A. Scott Galloway explains that this excellent album was recorded under less-than-ideal circumstances. The Average White Band's original drummer, Robbie McIntosh, died of a heroin overdose in 1974, and the surviving members were still in mourning when they started working on their third album, Cut the Cake (which originally came out on LP in 1975). Steve Ferrone, a black drummer from London, England, was hired as a replacement – ironically, he became the first black member of a Scottish soul/funk band that had a very African-American sound and a largely African-American following. Despite the fact that AWB's members still had McIntosh's death on their minds when they were writing and recording Cut the Cake, this isn't a depressing or consistently melancholy album; far from it. In fact, parts of the album are downright fun, especially up-tempo funk gems like "School Boy Crush," "Groovin' the Night Away" and the hit title song (which made it to number seven on Billboard's R&B singles chart). Cut the Cake is also the album that gave us the ballad "Cloudy" (one of the more melancholy tracks) and AWB's version of "If I Ever Lose This Heaven," a smooth soul classic that was originally recorded by Quincy Jones in 1973. The song wasn't a chart-buster – it peaked at number 25 on Billboard's R&B singles chart – but it did become a favorite among AWB fans and enjoyed a lot of exposure on quiet storm formats. AWB's members certainly don't sound like they're in mourning on Cut the Cake. If anything, they honor McIntosh's memory by showing their resilience and delivering one of their finest, most engaging albums.

by Alex Henderson, AMG

Tracklist:

01. Cut The Cake 04:04
02. School Boy Crush 04:59
03. It's A Mystery 03:55
04. Groovin' The Night Away 03:42
05. If I Ever Lose This Heaven 04:58
06. Why 04:05
07. High Flyin' Woman 03:47
08. Cloudy 04:21
09. How Sweet Can You Get? 03:58
10. When They Bring Down The Curtain 04:44

AWB's artistic winning streak continued with its outstanding fourth album, Soul Searching. Interestingly, this wasn't an album that enjoyed a great deal of publicity or that contained a lot of major hits. In fact, its biggest single, the dreamy "Queen of My Soul," only made it to number 21 on Billboard's R&B albums chart. But thanks to the devoted following AWB had acquired since signing with Atlantic in 1974, Soul Searching went gold. Indeed, AWB aficionados were quite receptive to first-rate material ranging from the invigorating "I'm the One" to the hauntingly romantic "A Love of Your Own." By zeroing in on their strengths – hard-hitting funk and delightfully melodic soul – AWB saw to it that Soul Searching was every bit as rewarding as its predecessors.

by Alex Henderson, AMG

Tracklist:

01. Overture 02:15
02. Love Your Life 04:52
03. I'm The One 04:19
04. A Love Of Your Own 05:34
05. Queen Of My Soul 06:05
06. Soul Searching 03:15
07. Goin' Home 04:39
08. Everybody's Darling 03:34
09. Would You Stay 05:34
10. Sunny Days (Make Me Think Of You) 03:19
11. Digging Deeper (Finale) 02:44

Scotland's Average White Band was in a celebratory mood on its third major-label release, the live double-album Person to Person. Following the crossover success of the band's self-titled debut and subsequent Cut the Cake, Person to Person presented the six-piece R&B/funk act stretching out on most of its hits. Lead vocalists Alan Gorrie and Hamish Stuart switch between guitar and bass chores throughout, and drive the opening title track and "Cut the Cake." The ballads "If I Ever Lose This Heaven" and "Cloudy" provide nice changes of pace; rhythm guitarist Onnie McIntyre and drummer Steve Ferrone shine on lesser-known gems like "I'm the One" and "Love Your Life." But the real prize of this collection is an 18-minute version of the Average White Band's biggest hit, the instrumental "Pick Up the Pieces." After the expected solos from the studio version by saxophonists Roger Ball and Malcolm "Molly" Duncan, McIntyre, Stuart, Gorrie, and Ferrone take extended leads in this masterpiece of editing – the track actually features different versions from four concert halls, all spliced together so that each musician could have the solo of his choice represented. A few walk-through versions ("T.L.C.," "School Boy Crush," and the Marvin Gaye hit "Heard It Through the Grapevine") away from being a classic, Person to Person still shows what a great live act this underrated band was in its heyday.

by Bill Meredith, AMG

Tracklist CD1:

01. Person To Person 07:03
02. Cut The Cake 05:05
03. If I Ever Lose This Heaven 08:11
04. Cloudy 06:35
05. T.L.C. 14:20


Tracklist CD2:

01. I'm The One 04:45
02. Pick Up The Pieces 18:19
03. Love Your Life 05:01
04. School Boy Crush 07:39
05. I Heard It Through The Grapevine 09:55

Benny and Us celebrates two distinctly different acts at interesting career junctures. AWB had just come off of the moody classic Soul Searching, and King's last album release, 1976's I Had a Love, came and went. Benny and Us benefited both acts as AWB gave King camaraderie and skilled backing; King gave them a context – something they needed at this point. Ned Doheny's "Get It Up for Love" is a great mix of King's methodical delivery and the band's effortless, glossy yet earthy sound. "Star in the Ghetto" has skilled horn and string arrangements by album producer Arif Mardin and features emotive backing vocals from Hamish Stuart and Alan Gorrie. The best track, the relentless and funky "The Message," has Gorrie's high-pitched, popping basslines and Stephen Ferrone's great drum kicks providing a great counterpoint to King's stiff vocals. This effort has its fair share of remakes and revamps. King's 1967 hit, "What Is Soul," gets a Tower of Power-styled production. More notable tracks, Donny Hathaway's "Someday We'll All Be Free" and John Lennon's "Imagine," merge into one another and have good and surprisingly felt performances from King. For the last track, the group does a remake of the AWB classic "Keepin' to Myself." Although King can't attain Gorrie's laid-back proficiency on the original, it's fun to hear Ferrone play on a track so identified with late drummer Robbie McIntosh, who had played with King. Although Benny and Us wasn't a huge commercial success, fans of both King and AWB will be pleased with the work here.

by Jason Elias, AMG

Tracklist:

01. Get It Up For Love 04:35
02. Fool For You Anyway 05:38
03. A Star In The Ghetto 07:01
04. The Message 05:17
05. What Is Soul 04:32
06. Someday We’ll All Be Free 05:14
07. Imagine 04:57
08. Keepin' It To Myself 04:28

Like Earth, Wind & Fire and the Ohio Players, the Average White Band demonstrated that even the mightiest of funk bands can experience a creative and commercial decline. 1978's Warmer Communications was the last AWB album that went gold; by the time they came out with 1979's uneven Feel No Fret, AWB's popularity had decreased. That isn't to say that nothing they recorded after the '70s has merit; 1997's Soul Tattoo found AWB providing a decent and satisfying, if less than essential, CD 17 years after the '70s ended. Nonetheless, many AWB fans agree that Warmer Communications was the Scottish band's last truly excellent album. This 1978 LP didn't have a blockbuster single like "Cut the Cake" or "Pick Up the Pieces"; the funky single "Your Love Is a Miracle" only made it to number 33 on Billboard's R&B singles chart. But Warmer Communications (which Arif Mardin produced) didn't need a major single to sell at least half a million copies in the United States, where fans were willing the buy the record regardless of how much radio airplay it received. In fact, fans found that they could easily play this album from start to finish without ever feeling disappointed – and you can't say that about Feel No Fret, AWB's next album. Warmer Communications gets off to an impressive start with "Your Love Is a Miracle," and AWB keeps the creative momentum going whether they're getting funky on "Same Feeling, Different Song" and "Big City Lights" or chilling out on slow jams that include "One Look Over My Shoulder (Is This Really Goodbye?)," the ethereal "She's a Dream," and a memorable cover of James Taylor's "Daddy's All Gone." There are no dull moments on Warmer Communications, which was a welcome addition to AWB's catalog.

by Alex Henderson, AMG

Tracklist:

01. Your Love Is A Miracle 06:08
02. Same Feeling, Different Song 05:18
03. Daddy's All Gone 04:38
04. Big City Lights 04:55
05. She's A Dream 05:36
06. Warmer Communications 04:11
07. The Price Of A Dream 04:02
08. Sweet And Sour 04:49
09. One Look Over My Shoulder (Is This Really Goodbye?) 03:58

From their self-titled sophomore album of 1974 to 1978's Warmer Communications, the Average White Band enjoyed a commercial winning streak in the '70s; all of the albums they recorded for Atlantic during that period went either gold or platinum in the United States (and that is in addition to their impressive sales in Europe). But if any AWB album demonstrated that all good things must eventually come to an end, it was Feel No Fret. This 1979 LP marked the first time since 1973's Show Your Hand (also known as Put It Where You Want It) that an AWB album didn't enjoy either gold or platinum sales in the U.S., and it was also the most uneven album they recorded in the '70s. So what went wrong? Perhaps the absence of Arif Mardin was a factor; Mardin had produced all of AWB's previous Atlantic releases, whereas they produced Feel No Fret themselves. If Mardin had been encouraging the Scottish soul/funk band to go that extra mile, they settled for decent or competent on this record. Feel No Fret is far from a total meltdown, and the material is generally likable – especially the good-natured "Atlantic Avenue," the slow-grinding "When Will You Be Mine," and a remake of the Burt Bacharach/Hal David favorite "Walk On By" (which became a minor hit and made it to number 32 on Billboard's R&B singles chart). But after Mardin-produced treasures like AWB, Soul Searching, Cut the Cake, and Warmer Communications, AWB followers had become extremely spoiled – they expected excellence, not a record that was merely adequate.

by Alex Henderson, AMG

Tracklist:

01. When Will You Be Mine 04:25
02. Please Don't Fall In Love 03:43
03. Walk On By 03:58
04. Feel No Fret 06:23
05. Stop The Rain 04:30
06. Atlantic Avenue 03:15
07. Ace Of Hearts 03:50
08. Too Late To Cry 03:59
09. Fire Burning 03:29

This underrated Average White Band album produced by David Foster featured songs by AWB with Foster co-writing a couple with the guys. The album's smooth, jazzy sound turned off fans that liked AWB rawer. Time, however, has treated these tracks well (they can be found on CD) and what wasn't cutting-edge at the time has proven to be timeless trinkets. Check out: "Catch Me (Before I Have to Testify)," "Let's Go Round Again," "For Your Love," and "Into the Night," the LP's rawest cut.

by Andrew Hamilton, AMG

Tracklist:

01. Our Time Has Come 03:37
02. For You, For Love 03:52
03. Let's Go Round Again 04:56
04. Whatcha' Gonna Do For Me 04:10
05. Into The Night 03:59
06. Catch Me (Before I Have To Testify) 04:59
07. Help Is On The Way 04:19
08. If Love Only Lasts For One Night 04:38
09. Shine 03:56





Tracklist:

01. Kiss Me 03:49
02. Love Won't Get In The Way 05:09
03. Love Gives, Love Takes Away 04:05
04. Growing Pains 04:27
05. Pick Up The Pieces 03:54
06. Person To Person 03:36
07. Cut The Cake 04:05
08. A Love Of Your Own 04:05
09. Queen Of My Soul 04:35





Tracklist:

01. You're My Number One 03:23
02. Easier Said Than Done 04:07
03. You Wanna Belong 04:27
04. Cupid's In Fashion 04:21
05. Theatre Of Excess 04:26
06. I Believe 04:30
07. Is It Love That You're Running From 04:14
08. Reach Out (I'll Be There) 03:52
09. Isn't It Strange 03:24
10. Love's A Heartache 04:48

The Average White Band were down to a trio consisting of singer/bassist Alan Gorrie, guitarist/singer Onnie McIntyre, and saxophonist Roger Ball on Aftershock, the band's first new album in six years. The threesome brought in a lot of session players, however, starting with Alex Ligertwood, who sang on three songs, and Elliot Lewis, who handled keyboards and programming, and including such friends as Chaka Khan and the Ohio Players. Producer John Robie, known for his mechanistic dance tracks, emphasized Average White Band's traditional funk sound without finding an effective way to update it, resulting in an album that was faithful to the band's heyday but did not address its career decline.

by William Ruhlmann, AMG

Tracklist:

01. The Spirit Of Love 04:16
02. Sticky Situation 04:39
03. Aftershock 04:11
04. Love At First Sight 04:47
05. I'll Get Over You 04:33
06. Later We'll Be Greater 03:52
07. Let's Go All The Way 05:54
08. We’re In Too Deep 03:54
09. Stocky Sachoo-A-Shun 01:43

Long after the Average White Band disappeared from the charts, its impact was being felt. Hip-hop, urban contemporary and new jack swing artists sampled AWB's '70s classics to death in the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s, and such retro acts as the Brand New Heavies wore AWB's influence like a badge of honor. When Soul Tattoo was released in mid-1997, AWB was a quintet consisting of longtime members Alan Gorrie (lead vocals, bass), Onnie McIntyre (guitar, vocals) and Roger Ball (sax) and newcomers Eliot Lewis (keyboards, lead vocals, bass and guitar) and Pete Abbott (drums, percussion). Although not in a class with Cut the Cake or Soul Searching, the album (AWB's first since 1989's Aftershock) is surprisingly good. Thankfully, the band makes no attempt to appeal to 1997's urban contemporary market, and material ranging from the invigorating, horn-driven funk of "Soul Mine," "Love Is the Bottom Line" and the instrumental "Oh, Maceo" to the laidback soul of "Back to Basics," "Welcome to the Real World" and "No Easy Way to Say Goodbye" sounds like it could have been recorded 20 years earlier. Longtime AWB fans will be glad to hear how well Gorrie's voice has held up, and they'll definitely find Soul Tattoo to be inspired and satisfying.

by Alex Henderson, AMG

Tracklist:

01. Soul Mine 04:26
02. Back To Basics 03:59
03. Livin' On Borrowed Time 04:13
04. Every Beat Of My Heart 05:07
05. When We Get Down To It 04:03
06. Oh Maceo 03:37
07. Do Ya Really 04:26
08. I Wanna Be Loved 04:33
09. No Easy Way To Say Goodbye 04:28
10. Love Is The Bottom Line 04:04
11. Welcome To The Real World 04:16
12. Window To Your Soul 05:04
13. You Shoulda' Know 04:12





Tracklist:

01. Check Your Groove 05:00
02. Down To The River 05:28
03. Living In Colour 04:55
04. One Of My Heartbeats 05:06
05. Close To You Tonight 05:02
06. Half Moon In The Crescent City 05:13
07. Think Small 06:16
08. I Can't Help It 04:37
09. I’m Gonna Make You Love Me 04:53
10. Love Won’t Let Me Wait 03:43





Tracklist CD1:

01. Reach Out (First Version / Recorded 1971) 03:44
02. The Jugglers (First Version / Recorded 1971) 04:06
03. It Didn't Take Me A Minute (Recorded 1971) 02:25
04. In The Beginning (Recorded Between 1971/1972) 03:46
05. Look Out Now (Recorded Between 1971/1972) 02:15
06. White Water Dreams (Recorded Between 1971/1972) 04:00
07. Walk Tall (Recorded Live In 1976 / First Released In 2005) 05:29
08. I’m Gonna Make You Love Me (Recorded Live In 1976 / First Released In 2005) 05:53
09. Wasn't I Your Friend 06:17
10. Miss Sun (Recorded 1980) 04:14


Tracklist CD2:

01. Back In '67 (First Version / Recorded Between 1971/1972) 04:06
02. The Spirit Of Love (Radio Short Version) 04:15
03. The Spirit Of Love (Dance Mix) 07:25
04. Let's Go Round Again (The Brothers Mix) 06:48
05. Livin' On Borrowed Time (DJ Slok Remix) 05:22
06. Things (DJ Philly P & Joey M Remix) 07:44
07. Stop The Rain (Supreme One Mix) 04:09
08. Let's Go Round Again (Cosmic Village Mix) 07:26
09. Let's Go Round Again (12'' Version) 06:27



All thanks go to ALLexxess