CD & VINYL AVAILABLE!
New links for all other territories will be released soon.
The Album
In the 1970s, Jones was looking to continue to showcase the matured aspect of his music, most recently presented on The Monkees’ “Instant Replay” and “Present” albums in 1969. Jones went to work recording demos to present to Bell Records, two of which are included in this collection (Paul McCartney’s “Man We Was Lonely” and the mid-60s “King Lonely the
Blue”. The resulting demos had an earthy and gritty feel, akin to a style made popular by Creedence Clearwater Revival, with a unique presentation that Jones felt best suited him as an artist. The majority of the tracks feature minimal musical accompaniment – in some cases nothing more than just an acoustic guitar. Most impressive is Jones’
ability to carry the songs far beyond their narrow arrangements, with vocals that convey the raw emotion of the lyrics. In fact, Jones himself wrote or co-wrote over half the songs on this collection, including the autobiographical “Manchester Boy” and the passionate “Can’t Believe You’ve Given Up On Me.” Jones also took difficult vocal material and proved his abilities to powerfully recast established songs in a different light, including James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain,” Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good” (aka “Dragonfly”) and Bobbie Gentry’s “I Saw An Angel Die” (aka “Was It A Dream?”).
The songs on this album went unreleased until the mid-1990s when Jones self-issued them as part of a four-volume set called “Just For The Record,” a mail-order only collection that is exceedingly rare today. 7A Records has spent a lot of time and effort on remastering the recordings and they are available for the first time ever on Vinyl. The vinyl comes in a gatefold sleeve and is pressed on 180g black and white Splatter Vinyl. Also available on CD, which comes with a 28 page colour
booklet including extensive liner notes.
Track listing:
1. Manchester Boy
2. King Lonely The Blue
3. Man We Was Lonely
4. If I Knew
5. Feeling Good (Dragonfly)
6. Blossom
7. I Saw An Angel Die (Was It A Dream?)
8. Fire And Rain
9. Bluebird (In My Garden)
10. Please Believe Me
11. Proud Proud Man
12. Can’t Believe You’ve Given Up On Me
13. I’m Coming Home
14. Leavin’ It Up To You
15. Goodbye Old Friends
Digital Single
A digital single featuring "Man We Was Lonely" b/w "King Lonely The Blue" will be released on all platforms on September 16.