As much as I love the work of Leon Russell (and I do), I’m an even bigger fan of the unjustly overlooked singer/songwriter Mary McCreary, who became Mary Russell for the duration of three albums. Her first two solo album, Butterflies In Heaven (1973) and Jezebel (1974), are two of my all-time favourites. I really cannot recommend them highly enough. She was an absolutely terrific pianist, vocalist and songwriter (and also, by 1978, self-producer). I had the great pleasure of contributing to the booklet for a project overseen by Joe Marchese for Second Disc Records/Cherry Red, gathering up the albums by the two Russells issued on Leon’s Paradise imprint in the second half of the 70s and just a little beyond. This remastered anthology includes extras such as single edits, and two liner essays – one by Joe and one by me. I spoke to three people involved in the making of Wedding Album (1976), Make Love To The Music (1977) and Mary’s solo album Heart Of Fire (1978), to gather a few first-hand recollections.
