Charity Ball Expanded Edition

This review is for the 2014 expanded edition of Charity Ball released on Real Gone Music. Fanny was the very first all female rock band to record an album for a major label, which was their self-titled debut in 1970. Charity Ball was their 2nd release and contained their very 1st 45 to chart top 40, which was "Charity Ball". Fanny consisted of June Millington on guitar and vocals, her sister Jean Millington, who played bass and vocals, Alice de Buhr on drums, percussion and vocals, and Nickey Barclay on piano, organ and vocals. This release contains 14 tracks with a duration of 51 minutes. Both June and her sister Jean were born in the Philippines and moved to Sacramento, California in 1961 when their father, who was in the Navy, was transferred. Their mother was also from the Philippines. Alice was born in Iowa, while Nickey was born in Washington, DC. Initially, Fanny was perceived as somewhat of a gimmick, specifically because they were all women who played their instruments, which was unheard of early on, to be taken seriously. But over time and after playing so frequently and gigging all over the USA, as well as the entire world, music lovers began to notice how very good they were at their musicianship. They had to put up with a great deal of crap, as would be expected, but, essentially, they developed a huge following of both music fans, as well as musicians, themselves. David Bowie declared in a 1999 Rolling Stone review of how excellent they were as musicians. Their live shows were very good and they actually sounded better live than on their recordings, even though the very well respected and competent producer, Richard Perry, produced their 1st 3 L.P.'s. Fanny was essentially the resident band at the Whiskey-a-Go-Go in LA. Another plus for the group was the fact that they wrote almost all of their own songs, with Nickey being the chief songwriter, at least early on. Charity Ball was released in 1971. The cover photo for the L.P. was taken by Candice Bergen, who surprised the girls by offering her services to take the cover photo. I was fortunate enough to see Fanny live in 1973, in Ct. at The Shaboo, which was a famous club which attracted many famous acts, largely due to it's proximity between New York City and Boston. I was very impressed at how good Fanny was live. The difficult task was to get this live experience transferred to wax, and Charity Ball does succeed in just doing that. Kicking off with the title track, which was penned by both sisters June and Jean, as well as Nickey, the track does capture the excitement of their live show, as well as being a very well-written track. Nickey is the writer of the next 3 tracks, with the exceptional "Cat Fever",which just grabs you and doesn't let go until the last note. The track features some excellent trade-off interplay between lead guitar by June, and keyboards by Nickey. A real rocker! Next up is the Stephen Stills tune written for Buffalo Springfield's last L.P., "Last Time Around". Fanny actually makes the tune their very own featuring some fine organ by Nickey, lead vocal by Jean, and again, some rocking lead guitar by June. Jean delivers an exceptional lead vocal work for "What's Wrong With Me", a nice ballad penned by Jean, herself. "Soul Child", which was one of the few tunes that both Nickey and June wrote together, features a rather complex lyrical arrangement that was years ahead of it's time, with the refrain, "Look Out, Girl". "Thinking of You", is a tender ballad written by June with an exceptional solo by June, herself. The hard rocker, "Place In The Country", became an anthem for Vietnam Veterans, who later wrote of how they played it daily, featuring the refrain, "caught in the middle of a shooting war". How timely this tune was and now, has withheld the test of time, some 44 years later. It was written by Nickey. Nickey's tune, "A Little While Later", is a tender ballad that closes the album proper. The 3 bonus tracks really put the icing on the cake, so to speak. "Charity Ball", with the refrain, "You've Got My Number", is the original single version, which is then followed by a live version, which was recorded on a radio broadcast from Cleveland in 1973. The live version gives one an idea of how special Fanny was to see in a live show. The lead guitar by June, the keyboard interplay by Nickey, and the refrain, " I Wanna Be There", all combine to again, give the listener an idea of how special Fanny was in a live setting. Finishing up the release is a live version of "Place In the Country", with Nickey's piano playing a real highlight, while June, once again, bends those notes with her exceptional lead guitar. I have played this cd some 20 times over the past week, and I am repeatedly impressed at how tight Fanny was as a band. The cd is accompanied by a very well annotated 12 page booklet written by Alice from which I have borrowed for this review. The exciting news now is that Real Gone Music is planning to release the 1st ever cd of Fanny's 3rd L.P., "Fanny Hill", in June of this year. Their 3rd is my favorite so I, for one, am quite excited at this very good news. It is again, like Charity Ball, supposed to be remastered with additional bonus tracks, as well. More good news for followers of Fanny, is that June Millington, who is now the artistic director for The Institute For Musical Arts, which is a non-profit studio and performance sight for mentoring girls and young women in lessons of real life skills, by women who have excelled & survived in the music industry, is coming out with her own auto-biography, in the very near future. Fanny were instrumental in leading the way for women to perform in the world today in the Rock industry. Again, I must give extend a large positive nod to Alice de Buhr, for her liner notes which add valuable insight into the making of Charity Ball. I also must extend a huge Thank You to the entire band for paving the way for all women rockers who followed in their footsteps. MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! SMRZ!

Good music!

I already own Fanny's wonderful "First Time In A Long Time: The Reprise Recordings" box set, so I put off buying this CD (and the reissue of their first album as well), thinking it would just be a repeat. However, I've LOVED "Charity Ball" ever since I first bought it back in 1971 at age 17, and the idea of finally getting a separate CD version of it, all by itself, won me over. It's great and I was not disappointed. I was even expecting the same "extra" tracks as are on the box set. Hey, no problem! I want to support Fanny any way that I can. There are 3 "extra" tracks. The first is an alternate studio take of "Charity Ball", which I think is included on the box set. No big deal, it's pretty much the same as the regular version minus some of June's guitar work. The next "extra" song is a LIVE version of Charity Ball, which I believe is a slightly remixed (and louder) version of the one contained in the box set. This one made me a believer of what I've always read, that Fanny, as good as they were on the LPs, was astronomically better live! Great stuff. Its source is obviously a damaged tape, but still, the spirit of the band comes through! All of the musicians are smoking, and June is fantastic, even playing a wah-wah guitar solo! I thought that it couldn't get any better, but an equally good live version of the Viet-Nam Vet favorite, "Place in the Country" follows. Fantastic.If you already own the box set, this one is borderline non-essential. But to me, it sounds a little bit better, and I think it may have been mixed a little bit louder, which suits the band perfectly. For me, it's a must-have, as are the first and third albums, "Fanny" and "Fanny Hill".

I sure wish I'd known about women like this back in the day. These women clearly challenged convention and this album is evidence that their message and their talent wasn't watered down or second-rate in any way. This music is really, really good and sounds best loud. It's a little like Janis Joplin in its rawness and in the fact that women's voices in rock and roll are not as ubiquitous as men's, but the music here isn't as lonely as Joplin's. Not as bluesy, but more rowdy, with a good dose of social outrage thrown in. I love this album.

Good songs, I can listen to Fanny on repeat without getting bored of it. Great musicianship, cool songs.

Beatle George Harrison himself was approached for a new band name (after being over 'Wild Honey') by the guy who was responsible for them. He named them a rude euphemism for anatomy. And then later christened them as "The Female Beatles". Please listen to this band.

Wonderful album with rocking guitar & organ by an all girl band.Fanny was the most known of the girl bands,they played all of the music the way they wanted and it showed! Both the first album & this one are the best. Sure to please most rock fans.

What a great release! Fanny was truly one of the most under-rated bands in rock and roll history. This CD is faithful to the original vinyl and sounds crisp and rowdy! The extra tracks are just frosting on this amazing CD.

Found on Amazon music from seventies, that I once had on vinyl, glad to get this cd and add to my collection..

Listen and discover your new favourite rock band.

My old vinyl copy having worn out years ago, & it being sometime since the "First time in a long time" anthology was released, it is a joy that one of my favourite albums of all time is at last available on CD. With "Fanny Hill" and hopefully "Mother's Pride" to be issued soon, my cup runneth over! Superb musicianship throughout, just listen closely to any of the tracks to feel the quality. Their cover version of Stephen Still's "Special Care" is still,even now, in my all time top favourite tracks. Boy, these girls could rock ... don't hesitate ... buy it ... you will not be disappointed!

I listened to some 'Fanny' on u-tube and decided to purchase a CD for easier listening.....This CD shows the versatility and great rockin' musicianship of this innovative bandThat they are good looking ladies in jeans is purely incidental....!!Check out the excellent drumming and drive they createAnd evidence of skillful songwriting to boot...!!

Saw these ladies on a Sky Arts programme about female groups, and thought they were brilliant. I had not heard them before, but apparently were pioneers of their genre in 1971. They received high praise from David Bowie and Ray Davies as being the best female rock band. The girls showed how diverse their songs could be, which meant I enjoyed listening to this album very much.