Back in the early ’70s, when Iain Matthews had but a single “i” in his name and was still searching for his creative identity, with the shadows of FAIRPORT CONVENTION, SOUTHERN COMFORT and PLAINSONG lingering nearby, the singer recorded a few uneven albums, like 1972’s "Tigers Will Survive" and its immediate successor “Journeys From Gospel Oak,” which would see the light of day only in 1974, but that didn’t get in the way of his signing to Elektra. A logical move after the American label issued “In Search Of Amelia Earhart” – only Matthews’s spell there was rather brief and brought forth just a couple of platters, and now both 1973’s “Valley Hi” and “Some Days You Eat the Bear And Some Days the Bear Eats You” from the following year have become the backbone of Iain’s next box set.
Scheduled for release on December 4th, “Keep On Sailing: The Elektra Years 1972-1974” will be a belated predecessor to "Rhythm Of The West: The Columbia Years 1975-1977" that appeared a few months ago, and comprises five discs, with “Valley Hi” – which Iain recently cut afresh – augmented with mostly studio bonuses, and “The Bear” with concert ones, with the rest of the CDs also dedicated to concert material focused on the titular period, including an entire stage set from the States. A nice addition to any collection, especially with four songs that didn’t land on any of Matthews’s albums.
Keep On Sailing:
The Elektra Years 1972-1974
CD 1 – Valley Hi:
1. Keep On Sailing
2. Old Man At The Mill
3. Shady Lies
4. These Days
5. Leaving Alone
6. Seven Bridges Road
7. Save Your Sorrows
8. What Are You Waiting For
9. Propinquity
10. Blue Blue Day
bonus tracks:
11. You Fell Through My Mind (B-side)
12. Seven Bridges Road (unreleased alternate vocal version)
13. Tried So Hard (unreleased demo version)
14. Old Man At The Mill (unreleased bluegrass version)
15. Leaving Alone (1992 Hamilton Pool demo)
16. Propinquity (1999 re-recording)
17. These Days (2017 re-recording)
18. Keep On Sailing (2019 B-side single)
CD 2 – Some Days You Eat The Bear And Some Days The Bear Eats You:
1. Ol’ 55
2. I Don’t Want To Talk About It
3. A Wailing Goodbye
4. Keep On Sailing
5. Tried So Hard
6. Dirty Work
7. Do I Still Figure In Your Life
8. Home
9. Biloxi
10. The Fault
bonus tracks:
11. Poor Ditching Boy (rejected album track)
12. I Don’t Want To Talk About It (Nottingham 1991)
13. A Wailing Goodbye (Nottingham 1991)
14. Keep On Sailing (Berlin 1990)
15. Poor Ditching Boy (Berlin 1990)
CD 3 – Ultrasonic Studios / WLIR Radio Broadcast 1974:
1. A Wailing Goodbye
2. Even The Guiding Light
3. Leaving Alone
4. True Story Of Amelia Earhart
5. Keep On Sailing
6. Call The Tune
7. Streets Of Baltimore
8. Dirty Work
9. Ann Eliza Jane
CD 4 – Elektra Years Live (1973-2023)
Radio 1 Sounds On Sunday, 1973:
1. Blue Blue Day
2. Save Your Sorrows
Kalamazoo 1973:
3. Keep On Sailing
4. Poor Ditching Boy
5. Leaving Alone
6. Diesel On My Tail
Brussels 1979:
7. These Days
Los Angeles 1988:
8. Seven Bridges Road
9. Keep On Sailing
Mayrhofen 1993:
10. Louise
Zurich 2001:
11. I Don’t Want To Talk About It
Norderstedt 2012:
12. Call The Tune
Bergen op Zoom 2016:
13. Even The Guiding Light
Pontefract 2022:
14. Seven Bridges Road
15. I Don’t Want To Talk About It
Camden 2023:
16. These Days
17. Old Man At The Mill
CD 5 – With A Little Help From My Friends:
1. Seven Bridges Road (Winnipeg 1989)
2. A Wailing Goodbye (Santa Monica 1990)
3. I Don’t Want To Talk About It (Heilbronn 2001)
4. Poor Ditching Boy (Tokyo 1991)
5. Keep On Sailing (Thalgau 1996)
6. Old Man At The Mill (Bethlehem 2019)
7. These Days (Bethlehem 2019)
8. Even The Guiding Light (Erlangen 1995)
9. Side Roads (Pontefract 2022)
10. For The Second Time (2020 re-recording)
11. Call The Tune (Ottersum 2008)
12. Louise (Pontefract 2025)
13. Poor Ditching Boy (Paris 2008)
14. Feel A Whole Lot Better (Ride The Times outtake, 2009)
15. Silver Raven (Pontefract 2016)
16. Train Leaves Here This Morning (Osaka 1991)
17. Tried So Hard (Osaka 1991)
