First Time In A Long Time: The Reprise Recordings

$56.99

FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME For The Undisputed Queens Of Rock & Roll! - I don t normally review greatest hits, live albums or collections. In fact, over the last eight years, I ve only done four: Fleetwood Mac (my all-time favorite group), Carly Simon (my #1 female singer), Tom Petty (it s such a killer chronological retrospective!) and Matthew Sweet (just...because!). So do I ignore the first appearance on CD of four of Fanny s five albums? Nope, can t do it! I preached the merits of this band all through junior high, high school and college, and, almost 35 years after their last release, they re still my #2 all-time favorite group. Oh, sure, I could go on about how they re still the best all-female band to date, or how June Milllington and Alice de Buhr were just SO amazing, but that s all old hat. What I ve really come to appreciate about Fanny over the last decade or so is that there were no gimmicks involved, at least not during their first four discs. They weren t punky princesses...they weren t indie darlings....they weren t jailbait teases...they were just four (very) young women who got up and ROCKED! The fact that they haven t gotten their just dues over the last forty years is criminal...with no one to show them how, they (along with Suzi Quatro) kicked in the doors, paving the way for pretty much every female rocker since. Since it would take forever to review this whole set, I m just going to touch upon a few tracks from each album that have garnered new (or renewed) respect with this remastering. As stated elsewhere, it s the band s debut effort that has benefited the most from all of this....everything s crisper, cleaner, more punched up. It boggles my mind how solid FANNY is....it has the energy and professionalism of a seasoned band on their third or fourth release, instead of a group in their late teens and early twenties who are just starting out. I ve long felt that Come And Hold Me was one of the best album openers ever, and the song s remastering only reinforces that. June Millington s shimmering guitars, sister Jean s forceful, yet tasteful, bass lines and Alice de Buhr s whip-smart drumming all coalesce into a sound that s smooth and vibrant, easy-going, yet urgent. Add a relaxed, assured lead vocal from June and you have a track that has easily stood the test of time. Ditto I Just Realized, one of June s and Nickey Barclay s few collaborative efforts. From it s opening scream, pounding keyboards and searing guitar licks, this is one of Fanny s strongest rockers. Toss in brilliant rotating lead vocals and smart lyrics, and you have a real winner! And then there s Badge. If I could play just one track for someone when introducing them to Fanny...well, it would be Badge. Pure rock n roll perfection! Other high-lights include Changing Horses, Bitter Wine and the ultra-funky It Takes A Lot Of Good Lovin . And then there are the tracks from FANNY 0.50 (A phrase, I m proud to say, I coined seven years ago!), the rare Canadian mis-release. As good as it is to finally have them in print, I think it was a wise move to drop most of them, only One Step At A Time hints at what was yet to come. One song that was VASTLY improved is the track that went on to be the title cut for the group s second album...CHARITY BALL. A beefier arrangement and gutsier vocals was just what this song needed, and that s exactly what we have here. Why anyone thought there was any need to remix this version for the single release is beyond me. Just cracking the Top 40, this song should have sailed into the Top 20...at least! To this day, I think someone...say, Wendy & Lisa or Pink....could have a great dance hit with this baby! I ve also fallen in love all over agin with Cat Fever and Special Care. The former features Barclay at her sexiest and sassiest, both vocally and musically. Add some smokin riffs from June and the one/two punch of the de Buhr/Millington rhythm section and...WOW! The latter is Jean Millington s shining moment, both as a vocalist and (grossly underrated) bassist. Another track that I often use to introduce people to Fanny. Love it! Other CHARITY BALL beaut s include You re The One, Thinking Of You, Soul Child and A Little While Late. What do I say about FANNY HILL (other than, to this day, it s still my #2 favorite album, behind only Fleetwood Mac s TUSK)? I SO want to comment on every single track, but I know I can t, so I ll just mention the pure brillince of the Should ve-been-a-huge-hit! Ain t That Peculiar (arguably June Millington s finest moment!), the pounding fury of Blind Alley, the muted beauty of You ve Got A Home, the sultriness of Wonderful Feeling, the sheer brillance of Hey Bulldog ~ how often do you better the Beatles?!? ~ and Rock Bottom Blues...Man, how many times did I play this song over and over and....as a 14 year old Fanny-atic?!? At the time of it s release, MOTHERS PRIDE was a bit of a letdown for me, what wih FANNY HILL being SO amazing, but now I ve really come to appreciate it s many charms. With all of it s diversity and maturity, MOTHERS PRIDE is the release that hints the most at what could have been. From the stunning growth exhibited by Barclay on such tracks as the atmospheric Last Night I Had A Dream and the sparkling Regular Guy to some of June Millington s strongest work to date (the lovely Feelings and the raucous Polecat Blues), this album has it all. Toss in the easy-going vibe of Long Road Home, the glorious juxtaposition of Jean Millington s and Barclay s vocals on the wistfully forlorn Is It Really You, the arena-rock glory of I Need You Need Me and All Mine (another MAJOR Should ve Been A Hit!) and you have a classic, albeit underappreciated, gem! Before I wrap things up, I have to acknowledge three unreleased tracks. First up is Tomorrow, an acoustic stunner from June Millington that was probably dropped from FANNY HILL to make room for You ve Got A Home. Bad move. Millington s finger-picking is some of her best, while the lyrics (Mountain peaks, circus freaks and dancers/To me it s all the same/I ll leave the way I came) are achingly beautiful. A lot of people like Young And Dumb, but it s always left me cold. To me, it sounds like the band s trying too hard...I d expect to find this song on a Birtha album! Far better is Back In My Arms Again, the last new song this line-up recorded. de Buhr s drums and percussive tid-bits anchor the track, and there s an overall vibe that s loose, fun and together....it s here that we best see what future efforts could have sounded like, had the Female Fab Four stayed together. And what if that had happened? What would it have meant? Would Nickey Barclay have grown into a confident songwriter and musician? Would Jean Millington have continued to evolve into the strong, sexy frontwoman of Butter Boy fame (Different label or not, it should have been included, ladies!)? Would June Millington and Alice de Buhr have become major roll models, instead of just rock footnotes as the greatest female guitarist and drummer of all time? And what if Brie Berry/Brandt/Howard/Darling had been allowed to stay? Would the top-tier session and touring vocalist/percussionist (as well as frontwoman of the likes of American Girls and Boxing Ghandis) that she became have provided THE VOICE that a lot of critics (as well as the band themselves) felt was missing? We ll never know. But I do know this...almost forty years later, FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME proves Fanny was, is, and, just maybe, always will be the Queens of Rock & Roll! My apologizes to anyone who fell asleep reading this review....but we re talking four discs and forty years here! (As with all my reviews, I m giving the disc an extra half a star....not for including the lyrics, but for the extensive interview with the Millington s and de Buhr that s provided).

Outstanding early all girls band - One of the most outstanding early 70 s band aound. I first heard them at a friends house in Twin Falls Idaho. We quickly orderd all the records from our local music shop. We had friends in Spokan WA who also told us about them. We thought they didn t get the promotion they really deserved.

Fanny - I loved this group when I was 18. They came to the University of Houston to play and , even though I was not a student, went to see them in person. The best live show I have ever seen. Music was clean and clear and my little brother , who was 15, danced to their music in the UC.I have had all their albums and played them till they were so worn, I had to throw them away. If you like Girl Bands and you like good music, Fanny is it! This release brings back the good ole days when life was good and simple. Rock on!

FANNY IS AWESOME!!! - I just wish this set weren t so pricey-lol-because I d snatch it up in a millisecond!!!! In the past year, I ve purchased their LP s on E-bay Charity Ball, Fanny Hill, and Mother s Pride-MAN-they just don t make stuff like this anymore!!! What a band-such a shame they didn t get the recognition they most definitly deserved!!!!One of my all-time favorite bands!!!

Fanny was the first - Fanny Hill was one of the first rock albums I ever listened to in its entirety - and repeatedly. It belonged to my older brother, and, bless his heart, he never seemed to mind his ten-year-old sister going through his record collection. Before I had any preconceived ideas about what rock should look or sound like, I remember being really excited by the fact that here was a group of women who played their own instruments, wrote their own songs, AND made good, loud music! Looking back, I can definitely say that listening to Fanny Hill raised my consciousness in more ways than one. I ve yet to listen to all of the songs included in this handsome boxset (thanks again, Gary!) - I m kinda stuck on my favorites from Fanny Hill - but kudos to Rhino for doing the band justice and for bringing Fanny back in all their glory.