GRAHAM BONNET – Solo Albums 1974-1992 [HNE 6xCD Box Remastered + Bonus] (2020)

Hear No Evil / Cherry Red Records are releasing today “Solo Albums 1974-1992” a 6xCD Box Set collecting together all of GRAHAM BONNET’s solo albums from 1974-1992, plus rare singles for the first time on CD and lots of unreleased material fully remastered.
Although the Skegness born Graham Bonnet is probably best known for the melodic hard rock he fronted in the 1980s with Ritchie’s Blackmore RAINBOW, THE MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, and his own band, ALCATRAZZ, his musical odyssey started with the duo The Marbles in 1968.

DISC ONE: BACK ROW IN THE STALLS (1974) remastered 2020
Despite top ten success with The Marbles, Graham’s undeniable talents languished in relative obscurity until he appeared as frontman with the fictitious band Billy Beethoven in the 1975 cinematic romp, “Three Of A Kind”, co-starring his then wife, Adrienne Posta.
This largely forgotten piece of cinematic history did lead to Graham recording what was meant to be his debut solo outing for DJM Records, “Back Row In The Stalls”.
Although this album was thought long lost, thankfully the original production master was found, allowing a much superior remaster, released here for the very first time by HNE.
Although the more pop orientated material may be a surprise to fans of the man that brought us ‘Lost In Hollywood’ and ‘Eyes Of the World’, it certainly paved the way for his debut solo LP proper, 1977’s “Graham Bonnet”.
What makes this rare collection an extra treat is the inclusion of seven bonus tracks: six of which are taken from the A and B-Sides of the singles ‘Whisper In The Night’ b/w ‘Rare Specimen’ from 1972, ‘Trying To Say Goodbye’ b/w ‘Castles In The Air’ from 1973 and a very rare 1973 single from Graham’s then wife, the actress Adrienne Posta, ‘Dog Song’ b/w ‘Express Yourself’ from 1973; both featuring Graham.

DISC TWO: GRAHAM BONNET (1977) remastered
Graham’s style was originally geared more towards rock&pop orientated music, recording a number of obscure, but now highly collectable 45s in the early 1970s, before releasing his eponymous titled debut in 1977 for Ringo Records.
Kicking off with Bob Dylan’s ‘It’s All over Now, Baby Blue’, 1977’s “Graham Bonnet” certainly draws upon some classic songwriters, with Goffin and King’s ‘Will You Love Me Tomorrow?’, a track briefly resurrected by Rainbow at the 1980 Monsters of Rock, Al Green’s ‘Tired Of Being Alone’ and ‘Goodnight And Good Morning’, originally from Hall & Oates’ “Whole Oats” LP.
Produced by Pip Williams and engineered by John Eden, both of whom are probably best known for their work with Status Quo, “Graham Bonnet” is augmented by no less than seven bonus tracks, including ‘Heroes On My Picture Wall’, the B-Side of ‘It’s All over Now, Baby Blue’.

DISC THREE: NO BAD HABITS (1978)
Wasting no time at all, his debut was followed up in 1978 by “No Bad Habits”, again produced by Pip Williams. Featuring the singles ‘Can’t Complain’ and a cover of the Bee Gee’s ‘Warm Ride’, the bonus tracks include ‘10/12 Observation’, the B-Side of ‘Warm Ride’, as well as a different version of the track ‘Warm Ride’.
The following year, Graham would be enlisted to join Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Don Airey and Cozy Powell in Rainbow, and that band’s commercial breakthrough album, “Down To Earth”.
“Graham Bonnet” and “No Bad Habits” remain fitting testimonials to this singular artist’s progress as a singer and musician.

DISC FOUR: LINE-UP (1981) remastered
Graham Bonnet enjoyed a solo career throughout the 1970s, but truly made his mark with Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow in 1979. The album “Down To Earth” was propelled to global success by the hit singles ‘All Night Long’ and ‘Since You Been Gone’, but would be the sole studio record to feature Bonnet, who would make the inaugural Monsters Of Rock festival at Castle Donington in 1980 his final Rainbow show.
Signing to Vertigo Records, the release of “Line Up” in 1981 was preceded by the Top 10 hit single ‘Night Games’. Produced by John Eden, famed for his work with Status Quo, plus Quo’s Francis Rossi, a band was assembled around Whitesnake’s Jon Lord on keyboards and Mick Moody on guitar, former Rainbow and future Whitesnake drummer Cozy Powell, then drumming with Michael Schenker, as well as guest spots from Quo’s Andy Bown, Rick Partfitt and Francis Rossi, who co-produced two of the album’s tracks.
Although continuing in the melodic hard rock vein of Rainbow, Bonnet still brought his R&B roots to the record, and draws on material from some classic songwriters, such as Russ Ballard (‘S.O.S.’ and ‘Liar’), The Kinks’ Ray Davies (‘Set Me Free’), Chuck Berry (‘Anthony Boy’) and The Ronettes’ ‘Be My Baby’.
Bob Young and Micky Moody also contribute three songs to the set. This disc features four bonus tracks, including two non-album B-sides, making this is the definitive version of this melodic rock classic.

DISC FIVE: HERE COMES THE NIGHT (1991) remastered
1991’s “Here Comes The Night” saw Graham move far away from his more rock orientated path to take a more rock&pop flavoured approach, including covers of Ray Davies ‘I Go To Sleep’, Denny Laine’s ‘Eyes Of A Child’, Leiber & Stoller’s ‘Don’t’ and James Brown’s ‘I’ll Go Crazy’.
“Here Comes The Night” now includes four bonus demos; ‘Gone In A Minute’, ‘ A Hole In My Soul’, ‘Please Call Me’ and ‘Greenwich Meantime’.

DISC SIX: REEL TO REAL: THE ARCHIVES (1987-1992) remastered 2020
Featuring newly remastered audio, “Reel To Real: The Archives 1987-1992” kicks off with three track recorded in Los Angeles in 1987 with Danny Johnson on guitar. Very ’80s sounding stuff.
Tracks 4 – 9 were recorded in Australia, April 1989. ‘You Are Your Money’ and ‘Dead Man Walking’ are two demo tracks from EZoo, a collaboration between Graham and Dario Mollo.
Digging even deeper, ‘Glass Mountain’ and ‘Red Rum’ are two tracks recorded with Norwegian metallers Tomorrow’s Outlook.
In 2015, Graham formed the Graham Bonnet Band, releasing the “My Kingdom Come” EP, with a title track courtesy of Russ Ballard and featuring ‘The Mirror Lies’.
This extensive collection finishes off with Unleash The Beast’ by Rough Rockers and finally ‘Hippie Heart, Gypsy Soul’ from Wishing Well.

A comprehensive, impeccably put together collection from this talented singer.
Highly Recommended

Disc 1 BACK ROW IN THE STALLS (1974) 2020 REMASTER
01 – Here Comes The Rain (2020 Remaster)
02 – What’s This ‘Ere Then (2020 Remaster)
03 – Private Eye (2020 Remaster)
04 – Ghost Writer In My Eye (2020 Remaster)
05 – Saturday’s Over (2020 Remaster)
06 – Back Row In The Stalls (2020 Remaster)
07 – She May Be Not Much To Look At (2020 Remaster)
08 – Ade’s Song (2020 Remaster)
09 – Mamma Mine (2020 Remaster)
10 – Relaxae (2020 Remaster)
11 – She May Be Not Much To Look At [Vers. 2] (2020 Remaster)
12 – Don’t Drink The Water (2020 Remaster)
13 – Dreams (Out In The Forest) (2020 Remaster)
14 – We’re Free (2020 Remaster)
BONUS TRACKS:
15 – Whisper In The Night (2020 Remaster)
16 – Rare Specimen (2020 Remaster)
17 – Trying To Say Goodbye (2020 Remaster)
18 – Castles In The Air (2020 Remaster)
19 – Dog Song (2020 Remaster)
20 – Express Yourself (2020 Remaster)
21 – Message To Trevor (2020 Remaster)

Disc 2 GRAHAM BONNET st (1977) REMASTERED
01 – It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
02 – Will You Love Me Tomorrow?
03 – Tired Of Being Alone
04 – Wino Song
05 – It Ain’t Easy
06 – Goodnight And Goodmorning
07 – Danny
08 – Sunday 16
09 – Rock Island Line
10 – Soul Seeker
BONUS TRACKS:
11 – Heroes On My Picture Wall
12 – Goodnight And Goodmorning (Single Edit)
13 – I Who Am I
14 – The Loving Touch
15 – Do What You Gotta Do (Demo)
16 – It Ain’t Easy (Demo)
17 – You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling (Demo)

Disc 3 NO BAD HABITS (1978) REMASTERED
01 – I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
02 – Won’t You Join Me
03 – Warm Ride
04 – Is There A Way To Sing The Blues
05 – Can’t Complain
06 – Givin’ Up My Worryin’
07 – Pyramid
08 – Only You Can Lift Me
09 – Stand Still Stella
10 – High School Angel
11 – Cold Lady
BONUS TRACKS:
12 – 10/12 Observation
13 – Only You Can Lift Me (Single Edit)
14 – Such A Shame
15 – Warm Ride (Long Disco Version)
16 – Warm Ride (Long Version)

Disc 4 LINE-UP (1981) REMASTERED
01 – Night Games
02 – S.O.S
03 – I’m A Lover
04 – Be My Baby
05 – That’s The Way That It Is
06 – Liar
07 – Anthony Boy
08 – Dirty Hand
09 – Out On The Water
10 – Don’t Stand In The Open
11 – Set Me Free
BONUS TRACKS:
12 – Don’t Tell Me To Go
13 – Bad Days Are Gone
14 – Night Games (Single Edit)
15 – Out On The Water (Single Edit)

Disc 5 HERE COMES THE NIGHT (1991) REMASTERED
01 – Something About You
02 – Here Comes the Night
03 – Long Time Gone
04 – Only One Woman
05 – Please Call Me
06 – A Change is Gonna Come
07 – I’ll Go Crazy
08 – I Go to Sleep
09 – Look Don’t Touch
10 – Eyes of a Child
11 – Don’t
12 – What She Says, You Hear It Means
BONUS TRACKS:
13 – Gone in a Minute (Instrumental Demo)
14 – A Hole in My Soul (Instrumental Demo)
15 – Please Call Me (Instrumental Demo)
16 – Greenwich Meantime (Instrumental Demo)

Disc 6 REEL TO REAL THE ARCHIVES (1987-1992) 2020 REMASTER
01 – Tonite I Fly (2020 Remaster)
02 – Reel To Real (2020 Remaster)
03 – The Dancer (2020 Remaster)
04 – Whiplash (2020 Remaster)
05 – Long Time Gone (2020 Remaster)
06 – Summer In The City (2020 Remaster)
07 – River Deep – Mountain High (2020 Remaster)
08 – Midnight Crossing (2020 Remaster)
09 – Rider (2020 Remaster)
10 – Double Cross My Heart (2020 Remaster)
11 – Hearts Under Fire (2020 Remaster)
12 – You Are Your Money (2020 Remaster)
13 – Dead Man Walking (2020 Remaster)
14 – Glass Mountain (2020 Remaster)
15 – Red Rum (2020 Remaster)
16 – My Kingdom Come (2020 Remaster)
17 – Mirror Lies (2020 Remaster)
18 – Unleash The Beast (2020 Remaster)
19 – Hippie Heart, Gypsy Soul (2020 Remaster)

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