| Master's Apprentices | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 1971 | |||
| Recorded | September 1970 | |||
| Studio | ||||
| Genre | Hard rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock | |||
| Length | 35:28 | |||
| Label | Columbia (Australia), Regal Zonophone (UK) | |||
| Producer | Jeff Jarratt | |||
| The Masters Apprentices chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Master's Apprentices | ||||
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Master's Apprentices (re-titled Choice Cuts in Australia) is the third studio album by The Masters Apprentices, released in March 1971 on Regal Zonophone.
In mid-1969, The Masters Apprentices won a boat trip to England in Hoadley's "Battle of the Sounds". With this the group were set on breaking into the UK market. They worked to save money for the effort with a national farewell tour in April–May. On 25 May, they boarded the Fairsky for the UK, leaving their agency business in the hands of Adrian Barker. [1] The six-week ocean voyage provided a break after years of constant gigging. Without the pressure and distraction of touring, they wrote and rehearsed new material. They had a stopover in Panama, where they were 'ripped off' while they bought some local marijuana. Arriving at the height of an English summer in July, the band entered a productive period. They moved into a hotel in Bayswater, but it was too expensive, so they moved to a house in North Harrow, London, where they continued to write and rehearse, and made contact with other Aussie expatriates. Freed from constant performing, they immersed themselves in the cultural life of London, going on shopping sprees for clothes in Kings Road, Chelsea, ploughing through scores of new records and doing the rounds of clubs and concerts, seeing the best music on offer.
Having only been advanced $500 by EMI Australia, bassist Glenn Wheatley started knocking on doors in hopes of getting the band established in London and possibly securing a record deal. Wheatley contacted EMI in London, and met Trudy Green, secretary to staff producer Jeff Jarratt. Green was later an artist manager for Heart, Janet Jackson and Mick Jagger. She liked the Australian band and got Jarratt interested, he agreed to produce them. EMI Australia agreed to pay for the album's recording, with EMI UK providing the artwork; the group were thrilled to record at the legendary Abbey Road Studios with Jarratt and engineer Peter Bown. Jarratt had worked on some of The Beatles' later recordings, and Brown's credits included Pink Floyd's A Saucerful of Secrets , Ummagumma and Atom Heart Mother .
Just before the start of recording, Keays made a trip to mainland Europe, and was in Copenhagen when he heard of the death of Jimi Hendrix, one of his idols. Back in London, Ford and Keays penned "Song for a Lost Gypsy", [2] which they added to their songlist. The band entered the studio in September to record the new album. The staff and facilities were superior to those in Australia, which allowed a greater range of expression. The songs they brought to the sessions—many written during the voyage—were original and distinctive, distilling their recent musical influences. This included the heavier sounds of Hendrix, King Crimson and Free, as well as the acoustic styles of Donovan, the Small Faces and Van Morrison (whose Astral Weeks LP was on constant rotation at their North Harrow house). They brought in outside musicians to augment some tracks, and made use of Paul McCartney's white grand piano on a few cuts, including "Because I Love You". During sessions they bumped into a Who's Who of UK music: The Moody Blues, Pink Floyd, Barclay James Harvest, Ringo Starr and Roy Harper. Towards the end of recording, they found themselves one song short of the optimum LP length, so at Jarratt's suggestion they wrote a new song, built up from a Latin-flavoured instrumental shuffle that Ford had been playing with. Keays wrote lyrics for the piece overnight, they cut it the next day and it became the album's opening track "Rio de Camero".
The entire LP was recorded, mixed and mastered within a month, and the band were thrilled with the results. The choice of the first single was, "Because I Love You", a song of love, separation and independence, and became a popular and enduring recording. [3] To promote it, they used Australian film-maker Timothy Fisher to make a music video. The simple but effective clip was filmed on a chilly autumn morning on Hampstead Heath. Black-and-white prints were shown many times on Australian TV, where colour was not introduced until 1975, but it was shot in colour, as were several other clips for tracks from the LP, most were not screened.
The album's cover depicts an elegant, overstuffed chair in a panelled room, with a mysterious disembodied hand holding a cigarette floating above it. It was from the English design group Hipgnosis, who were responsible for covers by Pink Floyd, 10cc and Led Zeppelin. Despite the prospects for their new LP, the band were caught by surprise after its completion when Wheatley revealed they were almost broke. They were determined to stay in London but desperately needed funds. A phone call to EMI Australia for financial assistance proved futile, so they planned an Australian tour. Wheatley headed home to organise it and secured a local soft drink company as a sponsor. The band returned to Australia at the end of December, just as "Because I Love You" was released. It was their fourth consecutive Top 20 hit, reaching No. 12 nationally, [4] and became one of the key songs of the new era of Australian rock. [3] The album's title internationally was Master's Apprentices, however since their debut album already bore that name in Australia, it was re-titled Choice Cuts. This alternate title only featured on the label the original vinyl record's label, while the front cover still featured the same title and artwork as the self-titled album.
Complementary reviews of the album were positive. Melody Maker's Ray Hollingworth praised the album's original sounding material, partially "Because I Love"; "Maybe it's the strong use of acoustic guitar, maybe it's the blowing energetic scores and vocals 'Because I Love You' is one of those splendid shifting things.". [5] However, despite positive reviews, the album failed to make any impact on the UK charts.
In Australia, the lead single "Because I Love You" would reach #12 on the Go-Set National Top 60 Charts. When the album was released in Australia in April 1971 as Choice Cuts, initial sales were slow. Eventually, by July, the album would climb to #11 on the Go-Set Top 20 Albums Charts.
All songs written by Doug Ford and Jim Keays, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Rio De Camero" | 4:02 |
| 2. | "Michael" (Doug Ford) | 3:07 |
| 3. | "Easy To Lie" | 3:58 |
| 4. | "Because I Love You" | 4:30 |
| 5. | "Catty" (Doug Ford) | 2:34 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Our Friend Owsley Stanley 3" | 2:43 |
| 2. | "Death Of A King" (Doug Ford) | 2:35 |
| 3. | "Song For A Lost Gypsy" | 2:03 |
| 4. | "I'm Your Satisfier" | 2:15 |
| 5. | "Song For Joey - Part 2" (Colin Burgess, Doug Ford, Glenn Wheatley, Jim Keays) | 3:32 |
| Chart | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Go-Set Top 20 Album) | 11 [6] |
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Douglas John Ford is an Australian rock guitarist and songwriter since the mid-1960s. He was lead guitarist of rock n roll group, the Missing Links (1965–66), then during 1968–72, he joined the pop-rock band, the Masters Apprentices. He established a writing partnership with that group's lead singer, Jim Keays. Ford participated in some of the reunions of the Masters Apprentices from 1988 to 1991 and 1997. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1998 the group were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.
Glenn Dawson Wheatley is an Australian talent manager, entertainment industry executive and former musician. He is married to the actress Gaynor Martin and has one son and two daughters.
Colin John Burgess is an Australian rock musician who was the drummer in The Masters Apprentices from 1968 to 1972. He was later the original drummer with hard rock band AC/DC between November 1973 and February 1974. The Masters Apprentices had top 20 singles chart success with "5:10 Man", "Think about Tomorrow Today", "Turn Up Your Radio" and "Because I Love You". In 1998 The Masters Apprentices, with Burgess, were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame. He has performed in various bands with his brother, Denny Burgess, on bass guitar and vocals, including His Majesty.
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The Masters Apprentices were an Australian rock band fronted by Jim Keays on lead vocals, which formed in 1965 in Adelaide, South Australia, relocated to Melbourne, Victoria in February 1967 and attempted to break into the United Kingdom market from 1970, before disbanding in 1972. Their popular Australian singles are "Undecided", "Living in a Child's Dream", "5:10 Man", "Think About Tomorrow Today", "Turn Up Your Radio" and "Because I Love You". The band launched the career of bass guitarist Glenn Wheatley, who later became a music industry entrepreneur and an artist talent manager for both Little River Band and John Farnham.
"Undecided" is the debut single by Australian rock group, the Masters Apprentices, which was issued in October 1966 on Astor Records. It peaked at No. 13 on the Go-Set national singles charts. It was included on the The Masters Apprentices debut EP and The Masters Apprentices debut studio album, both released in 1967.
"Buried and Dead" is a song by Australian rock group, the Masters Apprentices, released in May 1967 on Astor Records as the second single from the band's debut self-titled extended play. It peaked at No. 26 on the Go-Set national singles charts.
"Living in a Child's Dream" is a song by Australian rock group, the Masters Apprentices. It was released in August 1967 on Astor Records as the lead single from the band's second EP The Masters Apprentices Vol. 2. The track was written by the group's guitarist, Mick Bower. It peaked at No. 9 on the Go-Set national singles charts.
The Masters Apprentices is the self titled debut studio album by the Masters Apprentices, released in June 1967 on Astor Records. It featured two hit singles; "Undecided" and "Buried and Dead", both of which has been released on the The Masters Apprentices EP in February 1967.
Masterpiece is the second studio album by The Masters Apprentices, released in February 1970 on Columbia Records.
Nickelodeon is the first live album by The Masters Apprentices, released in November 1971 on Columbia Records.
A Toast To Panama Red is the fourth studio album by The Masters Apprentices, released in January 1972 on Regal Zonophone. It would be the group's final studio album until 1988's reunion album Do What You Wanna Do.
Do What You Wanna Do is the fifth studio album by the Masters Apprentices, released in November 1988 on Virgin Records. It was the group's first album in 17 years since A Toast To Panama Red.