Gooder'n Bad Vinyl

Forever More are one of the great neglected treasures of the 70s. The core of the band went on to fame as the Average White Band - Onnie Mair is Onnie MacIntyre of AWB, and the horns went with him and Alan. Mick Travis was briefly in Glencoe, split before they recorded, and has not been heard from since. Stuart Francis was in Glencoe and is on their 2 LPs, which I recall as bland.

Forever More were in a Lindsay Shonteff film, a dreadful sexpolitation flick that does feature thier music and some live, though murky, footage. For completists only.

The roots of the band lie in various Scottish aggregations that recorded a few singles in the 60s. Alan Gorrie, the main singer and somngwriter as well as fabulous bass player, also recorded a few folkish sole tunes. Alan also did quite a few sessions in the 60s and early 70s.

The horn section on their records, also later to feature in AWB, is mostly guys from Mogul Thrash, one of John Wetton's earliest bands. Mogul Thrash made one LP, which I've not heard.

Somewhere soemone compared Forevr More to the Beatles circa Abbey Road. Beleive it or not, this is an apt comparison. the songs are consistently tuneful, go through some unexpected turns without seeming contrived, and build to emotional highs in a very convincing fashion. Some of the finest guitar playing by people you never heard of is on their 2 albums (Words on Black Plastic is the second, and in my opinion matginally superior).

The record covers were awful, they got ZERO publicity, and the LPs were mainstays of cutout racks for years. Napier-Bell made a lot of stupid mangement decions for other people and may have been part of their downfall. Also, the LPs were on RCA, who made notoriously horrible pressings at this time. If only these would make their way to CD release, off master tapes.

In my alternate universe, "Put Your Money on a Pony" was a mega-hit and "Cut the Cake" never happened.

I'd never heard of this band before but some while ago came across the 'Permissive' video in a second hand store. I bought it partly because I have an interest in more or less everything which dates from the late sixties to the early seventies, and partly because I thought I could make some money my later selling it on.

I did indeed find the movie a dismal affair but was completely captivated by the music, and soon found myself using the profits from the sale of the tape to buy both LPs on ebay. Unfortunately my copies were not of brilliant audio quality, and I've since spent ages trying to clean the tracks up for a reasonable sounding CDR, so I much appreciate this download - thank you! Why these albums have not seen an official release on CD is totally beyond me. I too slightly favour 'Words on Black Plastic' but think both albums are great.

Certainly a lot of styles are covered, and it's easy to pick out the 'influences' mentioned - plus I am reminded of later Small Faces/Humble Pie, Chicago, Beggars Opera, King Crimson, Gentle Giant & Wishbone Ash in places. 'We Sing' even manages to include melodies from 'Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds' and 'The Wind Cries Mary'. I have to say that, on paper, it doesn't sound as though it's all going to work, and going by reading this (as well as taking into account the AWB association) I could understand people being put off of lending their ears. However, Forever More very much have their own identity and it's a tragedy that the albums have not received the acclaim they deserve.

Another great find. I actually owned this album. WBCN in Boston used to play it. I was humming the title song on the way home from work just last week.

This is such a great album. I've been advertising the link at http;//last.fm/group/Classic+Rock. It would seem though that the rapidshare link is no longer active (reached the download limit). Any chance you could renew a link? Having your blog and the link together seems the best way. Thanks!

I was just cleaning up a digitized copy of "Words on Black Plastic" and did a Google search for "Forever More" and found this page. I don't have a copy of "Yours" and would love to get the songs. I clicked on the link and it didn't work. Any ideas?

I was also looking at some of the other music you have. The Bliss Band, wow! Have you ever heard of "The Cretones" from around Chicago? How about "Space Opera" a 70's Fort Worth band? The finally released there LP on CD about 2 years ago.

Thanks!

I figured out how to download it. Thanks...

Wow! I finally downloaded it. I really sounds great. Good job digitizing this LP. It sure is a blast from the past. It sounds so much better (quality and sounding) than "Words on Black Plastic" which I had a friend digitize for me, and I cleaned it up using the app AmadeusPro (on my Mac).

Thanks again!

Hey, great to hear back from you. Actually, I still have the Space Opera LP. I saw the band about 4 years ago in FW. They had reformed with all the original members (a little bit older, but just as good). They released a new CD, and also released the original LP on CD. I think they were able to get the original master tapes from Sony. I got them to autograph the LP for me. Funny thing, Dave Bullock's daughter went to the same grade school as my son, so I got to meet and talk to him some. Oh, and yes, I too love Country Max! Actually, the whole LP is great. I just love the 12 string tuned in 5ths (leads). On a sad note, the last I heard, Scott Fraser was not doing very well. I got on a mailing list for the band, and got email a while back that Scott had cancer and was very close to death. I think he is probably gone now. Sad. At least he got to play until the end. He was teaching guitar I heard.

Hey, I just scanned the LP where they signed it. You can find it at:

http://homepage.mac.com/alfredojahn/SpaceOpera.jpg

I digitized the cretones. If you are interested I can zip it up and put it somewhere where you can download it. Let me know.

-aj

Oh, let me just add... I still have *all* my vinyl. All in plastic covers and pretty much mint condition. I don't remember how many LPs I have (in boxes all around the house). I think I have over 1000. Since I played in bands in High School and College, I bought a lot of tunes.

Keep in touch.

Texas bass dude,
Anyone from Texas who likes "Yours" and "Words on Black Plastic" has my vote- both albums are top-notch to me, and possibly the best records that nobody ever heard of. I just googled Forever More and found this page. (I joined but I don't know what I joined...). At any rate, I'm curious where you are, (not to get too personal), what your gigging status is, etc. I live in Carrollton and am finishing up on a dedicated music room at my home, with hopes towards getting to making more demos soon; (+/- 2 dozen in the "can", and some aren't bad). This is just a shot in the dark, but your apparent appreciation of the eclectic, (I don't even know anyone else who's heard of them except my friends from west Texas), is enough to prompt this contact. I will appreciate any response. (I play drums, and some guitar, bass, etc., as well as sing, etc.) Other favs are Eno, XTC, Beatles, Kevin Ayers, John Hiatt, Beach Boys, Roy Wood, and on and on. Thanks for putting this up.
Scott Schenkel

Well, I finally got Words on Black Plastic up on my blog at:

http://my.opera.com/ajahn/blog/forever-more-words-on-black-plastic-1970

Hope you don't mind that I put a link back to this page.

-aj

Not much to add, except I first heard this album at a friend's house- one who always seemed to be on the cutting edge & who always played me the most incredible things before I heard them elsewhere....(Like Led Zepplin IV) For some reason, I memorized the words to "Mean Pappie Blues"...... and I still remember them!

A couple of these guys were later in Average White Band... I wonder if I still have theser records?

Mick Travis - real name Mick Strode is my brother. After leaving Forever More and disappearing from Glencoe. He trained as a music/geography teacher and taught in Burton on Trent. He continued his music by writing all the school plays and performing live. Google Mick Strode. He still produces CDs occasionally & I think he is brilliamt

http://freespace.virgin.net/jd.k/zzbirmingham/duke2.htm

http://brumbeat.net/letters.htm

http://folkmusic.net/chrisfoster/fostch_cds.htm

He now lives happily in France


Hope the update is on interest.

WOW! How cool. Thanks for filling us in!

-ajahn

Somehow, ajahn, suitable words of appreciation fail me at the moment after discovering the existence of this work in digital format here <<sigh>>. What a real piece of musical history for me...

Like many others, I suspect, my brother and I happened across this album pretty much by accident and, in spite of the somewhat 'cheesy' cover and off-beat group name|title, decided to 'take a chance on romance', so to speak, something we could easily do back in those days when music at the Base Exchange could be purchased for $1.25 to $2.50 an album... Believe me when I say we felt lawn mowing revenues were never put to better use... Anyway, we loved this music, and, believe it or not, actually covered a number of the songs in our band at the time <<bigger sigh>>... Being Air Force 'brats', we had ample opportunities to travel the globe growing up, and every time we came back to the States after that time, we'd inevitably be humming 'Back In The States Again' as we crossed the border, broad smiles on each of our faces <<biggest sigh>>... My brother passed away a number of years ago, so I can't even begin to tell you how emotional hearing that song again -- and the others as well -- has been (it's playing even as I type this)...

Anyway, what a treasured find and a v-e-r-y special moment this has been for me -- thanks so much!

Hi !!! Just downloaded it... and was really positively surprised ;-) Thanks for sharing this cool record with us...

I wish you and your family a merry christmas holiday, stay alive and well!!!

cheers proggy

WLIR, an alternative radio station on Long Island, used to play "Back In The States Again" all the time in the mid 1980's. It was an actual hit around here, they even got requests for it from people returning home from Europe.

The Forever More "Yours" LP was a big part of my young adult 20-something life, I played that record several hundred times and covered two songs "You Too Can Have A Body Like Mine" and "Back In The States Again" in various bands throughout the years.

I downloaded both records (guiltfree, as I own them both on vinyl) and as much as I like "Put Your Money On A Pony" the rest of Words On Black Plastic still leaves me cold. The recording was lackluster and there was too much singing about Jesus. Very good analog to digital transfer though.

"Yours" still shines as a brilliant album and the mastering from LP to mp3 was done extremely well, my hat is off to the person who did it. A+ job with lots of punch! A million thanks for this, what a great way to start off 2008 with my favorite album from 1970 now on my iPod.

I am going to try and convince either The Hussy's or the Fratellis, both Glasgow bands, to cover "You Too Can Have A Body Like Mine". Both would do it justice and it might be a hit.

Again, thanks for a superb LP to MP3 transfer of "Yours".

I used to work at Sony Music Studios in NYC and you could/should be a mastering engineer.

And I play bass too. My weapons of choice are a 1969 Gibson EB3 Long Scale and a (drum roll please) 1980 Zemaitis Custom.

The Zemaitis will eventually be sold to finance my second son's college education. Until then every time I play it I feel like Ronnie Lane.

Thanks again and be well!

I had to give up a sweet 1993 PRS plus a sweeter Modulus bass plus a fat check to obtain the Zemaitis, but it was worth it. Sadly Tony died a month after I bought it...

I'm not allowed to buy any new stuff either, but with 5 guitars (1988 Paul Reed Smith Custom 24, 1994 Guild Brian May, 1998 Gibson ES-135, Epiphone "Union Jack" Supernova & Yamaha acoustic) plus my two basses I am not at a loss for choices. If a nice Fender P bass were to cross my path I might have to consider it though.

How's that Framus play? Interesting looking at the very least...

Better not turn this into a gear thread. Take care!

I'm a Mac guy. I downloaded the "yours" album, but I don't know what to do with it to load it into iTunes. Can anyone help?

thanks

Nevermind. I downloaded UnRarX and that did the trick.

Thank you so much - I've been looking for this in CD or mp3 for years. Was a favourite when I was a kid.

peace, and thanks again

Hey Mac guy, look for UnRarX (free). That's what I use to un-rar.
You will need to enter the password for the downloaded .rar file (Yours)
before you can un-rar it. If you just double click on the RAR file, it will bring up UnRarX and try to un-rar the file. In the un-Rar window, you can select "Password", enter in, then try un-rar-ing. Walkn' should have the password displayed from where you downloaded the Yours lp.

Good luck.

-aj

Just wanted to mention that both albums are now obtainable remastered on one CD which can be imported from Germany. Check Amazon.de or ebay.

There is a God!

Really? Cool. I'll have to check that out. Although Yours sounds great. Now the one I did of Words on Black Plastic didn't come out that great. Not the best LP copy...

ajahn

Thanks to walknthabass for this blog, and to doccawudi for the background information.

Forever More's "Yours/Words On Black Plastic" is available on CD finally.

http://www.amazon.com/Yours-Words-Black-Plastic-Forever/dp/B000X6OMSM/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1197589362&sr=1-8

I also got some extra copies of this group's LPs at Radio Shack, but I was aware of it already.
Also in that Radio Shack batch of RCA cut-outs was a similar band, "Fresh". The album, "Fresh Today" included some Forever More personnel, and Alan Gorrie doing some vocals, and had some interesting songs, like "Stoned In Saigon" and "Horrible Breath". This is one I don't ever expect to see on CD.

I recently got a sealed copy of "Words On Black Plastic" on e-bay for 10 dollars.
I also found a sheet-music book of "Yours", with the gaudy red cover, some years back, in a used book store.

I hear that White Stripes are doing a song called "Get Behind Me Satan", and I wonder if there's any connection. That song, on "Words On Black Plastic", was about the devil getting into people, including "my brother Bill". Another song was titled "Angel of the Lord", so the earlier post was correct in pointing out the religious element, but this in no way spoils the album for me.
"Promises of Spring", "Last Breakfast", "Put Your Money On a Pony", "Lookin' Through The Water", and "What A Lovely Day" were all strong songs.

Is this the only release of this band?

I remember, a cover that had a woman marionette on the cover, with a heart in the, er, certain anatomical area- Or, is that the back cover of this release?

It has been SO long since I have heard this album, thank you for making it available- If it were not for a few Audiophiles that have digitised these long out of print albums, they would be lost forever.

(EDIT - Ah, the album I'm thinking of is Words on Black Plastic... Which AMAZON is ridiculously CENSORING the image... There is NOTHING "nasty" about that image at all, that it is censored is fantastically absurd!)

Edit part II! As I do a search for the original artwork... The RECORD company is the cuplit... They censored the release and stuck that black square in the middle.

Maybe I am mistaken, maybe the image I am thinking of is on Yours... Is there an image of the back cover I can see somewhere?

I remember, buying the album for 25 cents, and listening with a friend... I am thinking that maybe the woman had movable arms and legs... It was So long ago.

This is akin to the first release of School's Out by Alice Cooper, and I DISTINCTLY remember, taking the panties OFF the record and my friend put it on his head, someone took a picture of it, but it is alas, lost.

Vinyl Record Albums used to be SO cool, I was against CDs only for the fact that all the bitchen stuff on record albums would be forever lost- And it has been, my Black Sabbath Volume IV has a book inside of it... I never saw it again.

My Genesis Foxtrot and Nursery Crime, British releases, had double sided covers... My USA issues did not have the same thing...

The album Octopus by Gentle Giant was in the form of an Octopus inside of a Glass Jar... And the English release of that, has a double ROGER DEAN cover.

RIP Album Art from the 60s to about 1990

Ps:

Is anyone is better at me at documenting stuff, Wiki-Syiki-Pedia did NOT have an article referring to forever More.

They did have a reference to some lame japanese single CALLED forever more. (It was not japanes, but scottish, eh!)

If someone can back me up and add in anythign they know about Forever More (That can be documented) please feel free to edit the srticle, also to suggest that the MOLOKO content me moved to a page called MOLOKO

I made the article called

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forever_More_%28Band%29

And I renamed the original page

I finally was able to download the other album... I am being driven mad.. WHICH album had the "marionette" cover? I had thought it was Words on Black Plastic.

I have set up a Wiki at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forever_More_%28Band%29 and I desperatly need people who know what the fook they are doing to go and add good references.

Or email them to me at socialspit@NOSPAMgmail.com (remove NOSPAM)

I must have listened to FM abotu a thousand times from 1971 to 1895, when I lost my albums up in San Francisco ( A friend of mine SOLD all my rare albums)

The "marionette" red cover is "Yours", the first album. The back cover depicts a moving-jointed paper doll, with a strategically placed fig leaf. "Words On Black Plastic" has a black cover. Use the word "black" as your memory key: "black"="Black Plastic." Got that?

Here is an excerpt from the review I posted on Amazon, about the CD release:

After actually receiving the CD, which is a Spanish import (I ordered mine from Germany), I noticed noise at the beginning of "Angel of the Lord/What a Lovely Day", which is the quietest portion of the program. It is a continuous "hash" noise, similar to tape hiss, but not as high-pitched or smooth.

Unfortunately, it sounds like what I would imagine to be the sonic artifact of a "de-noising" program, done digitally on a recording that was transferred from vinyl. No ticks or pops, but a rather uneven hash of noise, similar to vinyl noise. The overall sound is rather brittle and bright, not unlike a lower-end phono cartridge. My own personal vinyl dub, which I did using a Pioneer linear-tracking turntable and a decent Stanton cartridge, sounds fuller and better in the bass and midrange, and smoother on top. Mine still has the ticks and pops, though.
It looks like we will still have to wait on the original master tape transfer, if it still exists. BTW, my five-stars are for the music: give this CD a three-star.

Hey Allan Gorrie: get off your funky posterior and do something about this!

the link for the great YOURS FOREVER MORE does not seem to be working. Could you please check it and maybe upload it again.
Thanks
Rob

got it this time......thank you so much. I have both on vinyl but you know how the old RCA discs were. You did a fantastic job on both. I never knew anyone but myself loved this band.....thanks for the comments about the cd release.....your copies will serve me well until they are redone the right way. All the best.
Rob

Saw this band live a couple of times circa 1970.The original sleeve for "Yours" was (is) a a paint it yourself rainbow. I have converted both albums to mp3 from vinyl and if no one objects I may put them on youtube with the sleeves as the video unless anyone has any footage (am sure there must be some somewhere). The two albums are on my all time favourite albums
list. I will check the (German) remastered versions.

I am soooo happy to find this "Yours" album, and what a great job you've done on the mastering! (Hard to tell it's off an LP). . .

I bought this from used record store in San Diego called "Arcade" . . . back in the day, this was the place to buy your vinyl. They actually resealed their used albums, and you just knew that anything you bought there (for $2.99 single LPs) would be in superb condition.

Anyway. . . there are a few albums (that I still have and continue to play on my turntable) that have been MUSTS in my collection . . . this is one of them. Back in 1976, we'd fire one up and this was always an album that got played all the way through. Sounding like Traffic at times . . . the song "Yours" sounds like it's off of a Blodwyn Pig album, and the song "Beautiful Afternoon" sounds like it's off a Fat Mattress album . . . great, great stuff. This was a great band!!

Thanks so much for posting this!

Thank, you, thank you, thank you for the excellent digitization of this wonderful album. I loved it in my mid-teens, and I still love it now. Though I still have the vinyl, it's been played to death so this reincarnation is much appreciated. This album to me is a top-to-bottom keeper and reminds me of Toy Matinee from the 90's in terms of top-to bottom quality. Is it me or does the voice sound little Steve Winwood-like here and there. BTw, it looks like the amazon cd is discontinued.

Crap, crap, crap! I am so pissed that I did not get this double CD when it was available on Amazon. You don't know how many times I was ready to buy it, but I just kept putting if off... Although Walkin's rip is excellent, I was hoping the CD would have been a remaster. They probably ripped it off LP anyway. Oh well...

-ajahn