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- Artist: Marmalade
- Rating:
- Release Date: May 24, 2005
- Type: Compilation (best of)
- Genre: Rock
Review
Marmalade is often overlooked when lists of the great bands of the '60s British pop scene are compiled. Much like the Tremeloes and Honeybus, two other bands that didn't get much respect, Marmalade was perhaps too poppy and sweet to leave the same lasting impression that the Kinks, Small Faces, and Beatles did. The Ultimate Collection gathers together the group's entire recorded output from 1966 to 1972, with disc one covering their tenure at CBS and the other two covering their time with Decca. Their mid-'60s CBS recordings showcase the group's lush vocal harmonies, chunky musical backing, and high quality songwriting. At their best, on songs like "I See the Rain," "Wait a Minute Baby," and "Mr. Lion," Marmalade created a powerful fusion of British Invasion songcraft, the swirling atmospheres of psychedelia, and the gritty passion of soul. Like so many bands of the era, Marmalade had to round out its albums with contemporary covers, and while the band did a fair job with covers of "Summer in the City," "Mr. Tambourine Man," and "Ob-La-Di, Ob-Li-Da," its originals are much more interesting. When the group left CBS and signed with Decca in 1968, it returned with a different sound: less psychedelic, more organic, and more influenced by the softer singer/songwriter sound, with the occasional nod to hard rock. It sounds like a completely different band with only a couple of songs ("Reflections of My Life" and "Kaleidoscope") having the same feel as before. Despite the departure in style and sound, the group was still very good at what it was doing, adding passion and depth to make up for the stripped down sound. When Hugo Nicholson joined the band and took over the songwriting chores (on disc three), the band went even further in a soft rock direction and songs like "Sarah," "Back on the Road," and "Radancer" are easily the equal of anything America, Bread, or Seals & Crofts released in the early '70s. The Ultimate Collection is not geared to collectors, as there is no unreleased material (in fact, disc one was first released as I See the Rain: The CBS Years and discs two and three were out as Rainbow: The Decca Years) and basically no liner notes. Still, if you want or need all of Marmalade's output in one handy place (and if you dig '60s British pop, you should), then this collection is very nice indeed. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music GuideTracks
CD 1
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| It's All Leading Up to Saturday Night | Marmalade | (2:20) | |
| Wait a Minute Baby | Marmalade | (2:11) | |
| Can't Stop Now | Marmalade | (2:08) | |
| There Ain't No Use in Hanging On | Marmalade | (2:01) | |
| I See the Rain (Lyrics) | Marmalade | (3:48) | |
| Laughing Man | Marmalade | (3:24) | |
| Man in a Shop | Marmalade | (3:18) | |
| Cry (The Shoob Dororie Song) | Marmalade | (2:39) | |
| Lovin' Things | Marmalade | (3:05) | |
| Hey Joe | Marmalade | (4:01) | |
| Wait for Me Marianne | Marmalade | (3:23) | |
| Mess Around | Marmalade | (3:13) | |
| I Shall Be Released | Bob Dylan | Marmalade | (4:04) |
| Summer in the City | John Sebastian, |
Marmalade | (2:12) |
| (Take a Little) Piece of My Heart | Marmalade | (3:55) | |
| Mr. Tambourine Man | Bob Dylan | Marmalade | (3:16) |
| Chains | Marmalade | (2:33) | |
| Mr. Lion | Marmalade | (3:01) | |
| Station on Third Avenue | George Young, |
Marmalade | (3:20) |
| Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | Marmalade | (3:02) |
| Baby Make It Soon | Tony Macaulay | Marmalade | (3:02) |
| Time Is on My Side | Marmalade | (2:40) | |
| Butterfly | Robin Gibb, Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb | Marmalade | (3:47) |
| Otherwise It's Been a Perfect Day | Marmalade | (2:41) | |
| Clean Up Your Heart | Marmalade | (2:28) |
CD 2
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Reflections of My Life (Lyrics) | Marmalade | (4:17) | |
| Rollin' My Thing | Marmalade | (4:55) | |
| Rainbow (Lyrics) | Marmalade | (3:19) | |
| The Ballad of Cherry Flavor | Marmalade | (3:22) | |
| Super Clean Jean | Marmalade | (3:30) | |
| Carolina on My Mind | James Taylor | Marmalade | (3:00) |
| I'll Be Home (In a Day or So) | Marmalade | (3:01) | |
| And Yours Is a Piece of Mine | Marmalade | (3:02) | |
| Some Other Guy | Marmalade | (3:54) | |
| Kaleidoscope | Marmalade | (4:06) | |
| Dear John | Marmalade | (2:48) | |
| Fight Say the Mighty | Marmalade | (4:32) | |
| Life Is | Marmalade | (1:51) | |
| My Little One | Marmalade | (3:20) | |
| Is Your Life Your Own | Marmalade | (5:43) | |
| Stay With Me Baby | Jerry Ragovoy, |
Marmalade | (4:03) |
| Can You Help Me | Marmalade | (8:35) | |
| Some Fine Day [1969 Demo][#][*] | Marmalade | (2:38) | |
| Evening Shadows [1970 Demo][#][*] | Marmalade | (3:24) |
CD 3
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Cousin Norman | Marmalade | (3:12) | |
| Lonely Man | Marmalade | (2:56) | |
| Back on the Road | Marmalade | (2:18) | |
| Love Is Hard to Re-Arrange | Marmalade | (2:13) | |
| Bad Weather | Marmalade | (3:18) | |
| Sarah | Marmalade | (3:16) | |
| Mama | Marmalade | (4:25) | |
| Lady of Catrine | Marmalade | (2:24) | |
| Empty Bottles | Marmalade | (4:51) | |
| I've Been Around Too Long | Marmalade | (4:47) | |
| Lovely Nights | Marmalade | (2:46) | |
| She Wrote Me a Letter | Marmalade | (2:43) | |
| Ride Boy Ride | Marmalade | (2:21) | |
| Radancer | Marmalade | (4:01) | |
| Just One Woman | Marmalade | (3:29) | |
| Jody [1972 Demo][#][*] | Marmalade | (3:21) | |
| Middle of a Night [1972 Demo][#][*] | Marmalade | (8:46) | |
| Out on a Dark Night [1972 Demo][#][*] | Marmalade | (7:19) | |
| Mr. Heartbreaker [1972 Demo][#][*] | Marmalade | (3:07) | |
| Sunset Regret [1972 Demo][#][*] | Marmalade | (4:42) |
