(2010, download, - , crossfire publications) |
(2011, flash-drive, usa, crossfire publications) |
singles & rarities
-
feat.contributions by frank zappa
2010 | download | - | crossfire publications |
re-releases
(2011,
flash-drive, usa, crossfire publications) =
the complete 35 album series, with bonus liner notes on pdf and 56 extra tracks
paul buff
ronnie williams
johnny fisher
frank zappa
t bone
sunday blues
sixteen tons
breaktime
under the earth
rolling blues
toothpick boogie (mono mix)
drivin'
for sonny
t bone (alternate version 1 - mono mix)
come back my love (double-tracked vocal)
let me love you
t bone (outtake 1)
t bone (outtake 2)
t bone (outtake 3)
t bone (alternate version 2)
sunday blues (outtake 1)
sunday blues (alternate version 1)
t bone (outtake 4)
t bone (outtake 5)
t bone (alternate version 3)
sunday blues (outtake 2)
sunday blues (alternate version 2)
t bone (undubbed single master - mono mix 1)
come back my love (single-tracked vocal)
t bone (alternate version 1 - stereo mix)
toothpick boogie (stereo mix)
t bone (undubbed single master - stereo mix)
come back my love (stereo backing track)
let me love you (mono backing track)
t bone (undubbed single master - mono mix 2)
liner notes by Greg Russo:
After
nearly 50 years, the entire existing output of The Masters - all 32 tracks - is
now released! All Frank Zappa fans know that "Breaktime" was the first
released recording that he played on, but The Masters were a lot more than that.
Who
were The Masters? They started out as Paul Buff, lead guitarist Ronnie Williams
and rhythm guitarist Johnny Fisher. Their first single "T Bone"/
"Sunday Blues" was released as Emmy E-1006 in October 1960 and was
reviewed very positively in Billboard. The record showed the artist as The
Masters, and underneath that, "Ronnie, Johnnie and Paul." Buff
produced the single, and he was billed as "P.C. Buff." "T
Bone" was a Chuck Berry-inspired instrumental that clearly showed that
Ronnie Williams' guitar playing was a lot hotter than the competition. The
B-side "Sunday Blues" was a more sedate number with more complicated
blues-based changes than the typical 1-4-5 chord progression. Lots of outtakes
from this single session have been included here, including some rare stereo
mixes. The backing track was mixed into mono before Ronnie Williams overdubbed
the bass riff that completed the single master. Ronnie's distorted guitar tone
was intentional and it appeared on every version of the track.
At
the same "T Bone"/ "Sunday Blues" session, the previously
unreleased "Toothpick Boogie" was recorded. It was a brief piece for
Williams and Buff, but Ronnie Williams really made it happen on guitar. Mono and
stereo mixes of "Toothpick Boogie" have been included on this release.
Paul Buff revisited the track in 2007 and added instrumentation to create
"Tropical Toothpick," our last track. Another title listed on the tape
box was called "Mo Mo," but there is no existing recording of it.
Johnny
Fisher moved on after the single to create the Park Ave. and Crusader labels,
but Buff and Williams felt that The Masters had more to say. Working up a unique
Duane Eddy-like instrumental arrangement of Merle Travis' "Sixteen
Tons," a big hit for "Tennessee" Ernie Ford, Paul Buff and Ronnie
Williams recorded it as a single A-side. Ronnie had brought Frank Zappa to Pal
in late 1960, and Zappa and Paul Buff hit it off. In May 1961, Buff invited
Zappa to co-write something at Pal for the record's B-side. Buff, Williams and
Zappa came up with "Breaktime." The record was released as Emmy E-1008
in June 1961.
However,
Johnny Fisher's parting shot was more of an insult. In the process of getting
his year-old Emmy single "Tell Me Yes" promoted by local radio station
KFXM, Fisher made a deal with evening DJ Gary Price to have his name listed as a
"supervisor" on the "Sixteen Tons"/ "Breaktime"
single even though Price was not at Pal Studios when it was recorded!
Regardless, "Breaktime" was an exciting performance by Williams (drums
and bass), Zappa (multiple guitar parts) and Buff (piano). The piano, drums and
one of Zappa's guitar tracks were laid down first, with Zappa and Williams
overdubs following thereafter.
The
third and final Masters single was "Under The Earth"/ "Rolling
Blues" (Emmy E-1009; released August 1961). Ronnie Williams proved that he
had more guitar tricks and styles to offer on "Under The Earth." That
track and the flipside covered familiar and new ground at the same time. It's no
wonder that all three Masters records cost an absolute fortune if you are lucky
to find any of them.
Along
the way, The Masters recorded "Drivin'" and "For Sonny" in
1961, and they also recorded with otherwise unknown vocalist Chester Martin on
the tracks "Come Back My Love" and "Let Me Love You."
"Come Back My Love" was originally done by The Wrens, and "Let Me
Love You" was recorded by The Metallics (co-produced by Pal Studios veteran
Dino Dupree). All of these tracks have fine Ronnie Williams performances, and
alternate mixes and versions appear throughout this collection.