Preamble:
This Track By Track covers The Town Criers’ magnum opus, “4”. The album was recorded throughout the spring of 1971 and released on their own Town Criers record label. The band was in dire straits in early 1971. As explained in a poem on the back cover, rhythm guitarist Corky McCorkle had been drafted, bassist and original member Bill Patterson left the band, and the group was directionless. The band's producer and musical director, Skip Brooks, officially joined The Town Criers to sort the mess out and get the fellas back on track.
The resulting album covered many genres and experimented with some psychedelic material. Odd cover tracks were chosen, including tracks by The Hollies, The Beatles, and King Crimson. Three original numbers by Brooks were also included. It’s a weird listen, but a fun one nonetheless. Out of all of The Town Criers’ albums, this one is certainly the most intriguing and complex. It’s a favorite of mine, especially side 2 which features some great original material. There is still a lot unknown about these sessions. I tried my best (using their other recordings and information from their albums and Benny Joe Devine's old website) to piece together the history.
Lineup:
Lead and Backing Vocals, Organs, Electric Piano, Rhythm Guitar, Piano, Acoustic Rhythm Guitar on “”, Autoharp on “”, Bell on “”, Spoken Word on “” - Skip Brooks
Lead and Backing Vocals, Electric and Acoustic Lead Guitars, Rhythm Guitar, Spoken Word, Bass Guitar on “” - Ed Wing
Lead and Backing Vocals, Bass Guitar, Spoken Word on “” - Ron Stephenson
Backing and Lead Vocals, Drums, Percussion, Possible Acoustic Rhythm Guitar on “Cory”, Spoken Word on “” - Benny Joe Devine
Track By Track:
Somethin’ Coming On / Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?:
Recorded (1971)
Written By: Joe Cocker, Chris Stainton, Robert Lamm
Performed Live: Yes
I believe that Devine referred to this number on his website as their “Chicago Medley”. However, “Somethin’ Coming On” was a Joe Cocker tune from 1968. This is pretty much what The Town Criers would’ve sounded like in 1971 at the local bar or restaurant.
Personnel:
Lead Vocals, Organs: Skip Brooks
Backing Vocals, Rhythm Guitar: Ed Wing
Backing Vocals, Bass Guitar: Ron Stephenson
Backing Vocals (?), Drums, Percussion: Benny Joe Devine
Lady Madonna:
Recorded (1971)
Written By: Paul McCartney, John Lennon
Performed Live: Probably Not
I was confused to say the least about why this one was recorded. It was a decent hit for The Beatles in 1968 but was not one of their smash tunes. Wing, Stephenson, and Brooks all share the lead vocal during the bridge. Stephenson sings the main vocal part and plays a nice Macca-esque bass line. I doubt this was performed live because it’s very cringe-worthy.
Personnel:
Lead and Backing Vocals, Bass Guitar: Ron Stephenson
Backing and Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar: Ed Wing
Backing and Lead Vocals, Piano: Skip Brooks
Drums, Percussion: Benny Joe Devine
J. Edgar Swoop:
Recorded (197?)
Written By: Mason Williams
Performed Live: Yes
Ed Wing was obsessed with Mr. Mason Williams’ poetry and comedy tunes. He frequently performed them in shows and on all of the band’s recordings. I believe Wing played most of the instruments on this tune. It does not sound like Stephenson’s bass work at all on this one. It’s very simple and sticks to root notes only. Pretty much a traditional country affair like the band’s first recordings in 1963.
Personnel:
Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar, Lead and Rhythm Acoustic Guitars, Bass Guitar, Spoken Word: Ed Wing
Drums: Benny Joe Devine
I Talk To The Wind:
Recorded (1971)
Written By: Ian McDonald, Peter Sinfield
Performed Live: Probably Not
The main attraction on this album is the group’s stab at King Crimson. There are two covers of their work on here, this being the more complicated of the two. This was most likely a studio experiment concocted by Stephenson and Brooks. Brooks contributed a ton of instrumentation to this track to get that dreamy psychedelic tone of the original. There is an autoharp making gliding noises (could be piano strings), organ, and a fuzzy electric piano. His treated piano solo is very impressive. Stephenson gives a good vocal performance as well.
Personnel:
Lead and Backing Vocals, Bass Guitar: Ron Stephenson
Backing Vocals, Organ, Electric Piano, Treated Piano, Autoharp: Skip Brooks
Backing Vocals, Lead and Rhythm Guitar: Ed Wing
Drums, Percussion, Cymbals: Benny Joe Devine
He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother:
Recorded (1971)
Written By: Bob Russell, Bobby Scott
Performed Live: Yes
Every lounge rock group back in the late 60’s and early 70’s performed this monster hit, so it’s safe to assume this was a frequently performed track. The group is incredibly tight on this one and Brooks gives a great performance on piano and vocals. I like the upbeat tempo of this version more than the original.
Personnel:
Lead Vocals, Piano: Skip Brooks
Backing Vocals, Rhythm Guitar: Ed Wing
Backing Vocals, Bass Guitar : Ron Stephenson
Backing Vocals, Drums, Percussion: Benny Joe Devine
Hey Brother:
Recorded (1971)
Written By: Skip Brooks
Performed Live: Probably Not
It appears that when Skip Brooks transitioned from the group’s “Musical Director” to a full member, he began to assert more control over the band’s arrangements and performances. This album features three originals by Brooks, this being the first. This garage-pop song with some nice country tinge features some hippie lyricism. Brooks sings about his disdain for inequality and the current political climate in the United States. That contradicts with the southern charm the group was known for so I doubt this number was ever performed live.
Personnel:
Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar: Skip Brooks
Backing Vocals, Lead Guitar: Ed Wing
Backing Vocals, Bass Guitar : Ron Stephenson
Drums, Percussion: Benny Joe Devine
Cory:
Recorded (1971)
Written By: Skip Brooks, Benny Joe Devine (?)
Performed Live: Yes
Another Skip Brooks original. I read online that Benny Joe Devine claimed to have written this tune, sang it, and played guitar on it. He claimed the song was about his daughter. Not really sure about that story since the song appears to be about a nomad woman he had a great affection for that helped his family when he was a child. I’m confident in the lineup listed below, save for Devine’s guitar part. It makes sense since he didn’t play drums on the tune and was a solid rhythm guitarist in another band. It also sounds like there are three guitar parts on the tune. Probably the best tune on the album and was performed for several years by the band.
Personnel:
Lead and Backing Vocals, Acoustic Rhythm Guitar (?): Benny Joe Devine
Backing Vocals, Acoustic Rhythm Guitar, Electric Piano: Skip Brooks
Lead Acoustic Guitar: Ed Wing
Bass Guitar: Ron Stephenson
Poems:
Recorded (1971)
Written By: Mason Williams, Ed Wing (Arrangement)
Performed Live: Yes
More Mason Williams poetry. This album is the shortest version of Ed Wing's poetry set the group recorded. This was most likely because it didn't fit in with the group's more serious sound on this album. Wing covers most of the spoken word portions with the other Town Criers providing backing and percussion. These poems were included on all of their previous albums and their next two as well.
Personnel:
Spoken Word, Percussion: Ed Wing
Spoken Word, Percussion: Skip Brooks
Spoken Word, Percussion: Ron Stephenson
Spoken Word, Percussion: Benny Joe Devine
Bye & Bye:
Recorded (1971)
Written By: Skip Brooks
Performed Live: Probably Not
Another country tinged Skip Brooks original. This one always reminded me of something The Monkees would have recorded. Features Devine and Brooks sharing the lead vocal. Pretty straight forward love tune rocker with some lines about being stoned. Brooks did a lot of heavy lifting on this number in terms of instrumentation.
Personnel:
Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Electric Piano: Skip Brooks
Lead Vocals, Drums, Percussion: Benny Joe Devine
Backing Vocals, Lead Guitar: Ed Wing
Bass Guitar : Ron Stephenson
Peace / Theme:
Recorded (1971)
Written By: Robert Fripp, Peter Sinfield
Performed Live: Probably Not
The second King Crimson is a large departure from the original with a two part harmony, effects, and a lot of keyboards. Probably another Skip Brooks led experiment that was never performed live (which is a shame). Wing and Stephenson share the vocal so maybe Stephenson was the King Crimson fan and not Brooks. Pretty sure the bell noise is actually from an organ or electric piano. There are two guitars played on this track and both sound like Wing’s playing. Not sure who played the subdued rhythm part.
Personnel:
Lead Vocals, Bass Guitar: Ron Stephenson
Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar (?): Ed Wing
Backing Vocals, Electric Piano, Organ, Bell, Rhythm Guitar (?): Skip Brooks
Percussion: Benny Joe Devine