When Fanny - a.k.a. June Millington (guitar), Jean Millington (bass), Alice De Buhr (drums), and Nickey Barclay (keyboards) - came to Reprise Records in 1969, the foursome became the first all-female rock band to be signed to a major label.  Championed by Richard Perry, Fanny went on record four albums for Reprise, notch two top 40 singles, open for acts including Humble Pie, Jethro Tull, and Slade, and even back Barbra Streisand on a couple of songs.  Their catalogue has been well-served over the years, both via a comprehensive 2002 Rhino Handmade box set, First Time in a Long Time: The Reprise Recordings, and a long-running series (on both CD and vinyl) from the Real Gone Music label.  Now, Cherry Red has thrown its hat into the ring with The Reprise Years 1970-1973, a new 4-CD box in the tradition of the Rhino Handmade set but with a unique track listing.

Each disc in Cherry Red's box expands one of the four original Reprise albums, though the bonus tracks have been reshuffled from both the Rhino Handmade and Real Gone Music presentations.  1970's Perry-produced Fanny (on CD 1) introduced the band's muscular sound on a host of original songs plus a cover of Cream's "Badge" (co-written by Eric Clapton and George Harrison) and the Alvertis Isbell/Booker T. Jones co-write "It Takes a Lot of Good Lovin'" which had been introduced by Judy Clay on Stax.  Soulful, melodic, and yet as heavy as any of their male counterparts, Fanny's style made them darlings of the Sunset Strip.  Their self-titled album captured the raw feel of their live performances with Perry adding a subtle sheen as his own mastery of the studio grew.  Fanny is expanded here with ten bonuses including single versions, four tracks from the erroneously-issued Canadian version of the LP (including covers of Maxine Brown and Martha and The Vandellas), a demo, and a live recording.

The band released their second LP, Charity Ball (adorned with a cover photo by none other than actress and member of Hollywood royalty, Candice Bergen), in July 1971.  Produced again by Perry, the eleven-song set featured original band compositions alongside a cover of Stephen Stills' Buffalo Springfield tune "Special Care."  With Alice De Buhr's aggressive, in-the-pocket drumming anchoring the LP, Charity Ball was funkier and more confident than its predecessor. June's guitar and Nickey's keyboards were linked in tight interplay on these strong cuts, all given just the right amount of polish by Perry.  When the title track penned by De Buhr and the Millingtons reached the Billboard top 40, Fanny notched their biggest-ever hit on Reprise.  Eight bonus tracks round out the disc here: singles, live tracks recorded in Cleveland circa 1972, demos (one dating back to the band's days as Wild Honey), and a 1973 outtake of The Supremes' "Back in My Arms Again."  (The bonuses on this set aren't arranged in strict chronology, perhaps owing to the timings of each disc.)

A few months later, in February, 1972, Fanny Hill (named after an oft-banned erotic novel from 1748) arrived in stores.  A change of scenery had taken place, with the band and producer Perry recording at Apple Studios in London with Beatles collaborator Geoff Emerick as engineer.  Fanny was also joined in the studio by Rolling Stones sidemen Bobby Keys and Jim Price on a couple of tracks.  Tipping their hats to their studio owners, Fanny covered The Beatles' "Hey Bulldog" (with some lyrical adjustments) and the original material was also supplemented by a Latin-styled take on Marvin Gaye's "Ain't That Peculiar" which hit a respectable No. 85 on the Billboard Hot 100.  With both exuberant rockers and well-crafted ballads, Fanny Hill was the band's most ambitious and artistically varied album to date.  The ten bonus tracks appended here include live tracks from both the Cleveland set and Philadelphia's Bijou in 1973, single versions and non-LP sides, and studio outtakes.

The 1973 LP Mother's Pride, on CD 4, concluded Fanny's tenure at Reprise.  The bandmates parted ways with Richard Perry and headed to New York's Secret Sound to record with white-hot producer Todd Rundgren.  (Jean and June Millington reveal in the liner notes that Bernie Taupin and Denny Cordell were also considered.)  Rundgren was happy to work with the band, but things turned sour when he refused to let Fanny be involved with the final album mix.  "He agreed, but later locked us out of the studio, and to this day, we resent that," Jean writes.  June recalls the sessions as "fun" but also "utterly bizarre" owing to Rundgren's behavior.  Nonetheless, Mother's Pride (named for a British brand of bread) became a fourth straight artistic success with strong originals and the expected covers - this time of Reprise labelmate Randy Newman's "Last Night I Had a Dream" and London pub-rockers Uncle Dog's "Old Hat."  The Who's Keith Moon would later cover the Nickey Barclay-penned, Alice De Buhr-sung "Solid Gold."  Rundgren smoothed out the band's edges to a degree, achieving impressive sonics comparable to his own albums of the period and emphasizing their harmonies and songcraft.  One song recorded in London with engineer Andy Johns and arranger Paul Buckmaster, "Summer Song," also made the final cut for the album.  Mother's Pride gained Fanny legions of fans in the U.K. but failed to make the U.S. charts. Eight bonus tracks have been added, encompassing singles, alternate versions, the demo of "All Mine," and the live Bijou Café performance of "Last Night I Had a Dream."

June Millington left the band soon after the release of Mother's Pride, followed by Alice De Buhr; the group then left Reprise.  With a new line-up consisting of Jean, Nickey, Patti Quatro, and Brie Howard, Fanny signed with Casablanca and released one LP in 1974.  However, the group broke up not too long afterward.  June and Jean Millington tried to revive Fanny with a whole new roster for a tour in 1975, but that effort failed to gain much traction when they resisted playing Fanny's older output.  Three of the four members would perform a reunion concert in 2007 and a spin-off project in 2018.  Fanny Walked the Earth saw the Millington sisters join drummer Brie Howard-Darling.  A documentary was released in 2021, cementing Fanny's place in the rock pantheon.

The Reprise Years 1970-1973 is a comprehensive look at Fanny's recordings for the label, though it doesn't contain everything on the long out-of-print Rhino Handmade box (and vice versa).  The clamshell box contains the four discs in individual sleeves replicating the original cover artwork, and the copiously-illustrated 28-page booklet has a Reprise discography as well as an essay with illuminating reflections from the Millington sisters and Alice De Buhr.  (It lacks discographical annotation and supplemental information on the bonus tracks and their origins.)  Dave Turner has remastered at 360 Mastering.

Fanny's The Reprise Years 1970-1973 is available now at the links below.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.​

Fanny, The Reprise Years 1970-1973 (Cherry Red QCRCD4BOX173, 2024) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Cherry Red)

CD 1: Fanny: Expanded Edition

1. Come and Hold Me
2. I Just Realized
3. Candlelighter Man
4. Conversation with a Cop
5. Badge
6. Changing Horses
7. Bitter Wine
8. Take a Message to the Captain
9. It Takes a Lot of Good Lovin'
10. Shade Me
11. Seven Roads (First Version)
12. Lady's Choice
13. New Day
14. Nowhere to Run
15. One Step at a Time
16. Changing Horses (Single Version)
17. Seven Roads (German Single Edit)
18. Shade Me (B-Side/Edit)
19. Badge (Live at the Bijou Café, Philadelphia)
20. Candlelighter Man (The Kitchen Tapes)
21. Seven Roads (Second Version)

Tracks 1-11 released as Reprise RS 6416, 1970
Tracks 12-13 released as Reprise single 0901, 1970
Tracks 14-15 released as Reprise single 0938, 1970
Track 16 released on Reprise single 0963, 1970
Tracks 17-18 released as Reprise German single REP 3496, 1971
Tracks 19-20 released on First Time in a Long Time: The Reprise Recordings - Rhino Handmade RHM2 7734, 2002
Track 21 released on erroneous Canadian pressing of Reprise RS 6416, 1970

CD 2: Charity Ball: Expanded Edition

1. Charity Ball
2. What Kind of Lover
3. Cat Fever
4. A Person Like You
5. Special Care
6. What's Wrong with Me
7. Soul Child
8. You're the One
9. Thinking of You
10. Place in the Country (Second Version)
11. A Little While Later
12. Charity Ball (Single Version)
13. Charity Ball (Live in Cleveland)
14. Place in the Country (Live in Cleveland)
15. Back in My Arms Again
16. Lonesome Pine (Mother's Pride Demo)
17. Old Milwaukee (Mother's Pride Demo)
18. Place in the Country (First Version)
19. Queen Aretha (Wild Honey Demo)

Tracks 1-11 released on Reprise LP RS 6456, 1971
Track 12 released on Reprise single 1033, 1971
Tracks 13-16 and 19 released on First Time in a Long Time: The Reprise Recordings - Rhino Handmade RHM2 7734, 2002
Track 18 released on erroneous Canadian pressing of Reprise RS 6416, 1970

CD 3: Fanny Hill: Expanded Edition

1. Ain't That Peculiar
2. Knock on My Door
3. Blind Alley
4. You've Got a Home
5. Wonderful Feeling
6. Borrowed Time
7. Hey Bulldog
8. Think About the Children
9. Rock Bottom Blues
10. Sound and the Fury
11. The First Time
12. Ain't That Peculiar (Single Version)
13. Young and Dumb
14. Knock on My Door (B-Side/Edit)
15. Tomorrow
16. No Deposit, No Return
17. Ain't That Peculiar (Live at the Bijou Café, Philadelphia)
18. Borrowed Time (Live in Cleveland)
19. Hey Bulldog (Live at the Bijou Café, Philadelphia)
20. Knock on My Door (Live in Cleveland)
21. Young and Dumb (Live at the Bijou Café, Philadelphia)

Tracks 1-11 released as Reprise MS 2058, 1972
Track 12 released on Reprise single 1080, 1972
Tracks 13-14 released as Reprise single 1119, 1972
Tracks 15-21 released on First Time in a Long Time: The Reprise Recordings - Rhino Handmade RHM2 7734, 2002

CD 4: Mother's Pride: Expanded Edition

1. Last Night I Had a Dream
2. Long Road Home
3. Old Hat
4. Solid Gold
5. Is It Really You
6. All Mine
7. Summer Song
8. Polecat Blues
9. Beside Myself
10. Regular Guy
11. I Need You Need Me
12. Feelings
13. I'm Satisfied
14. Summer Song (Single Version)
15. Wonderful Feeling (Single Version)
16. Rock Bottom Blues (Original Version)
17. I Need You Need Me (Single Version)
18. Last Night I Had a Dream (Single Edit)
19. Rock Bottom Blues (Backing Track)
20. All Mine (Mother's Pride Demo)
21. Last Night I Had a Dream (Live at the Bijou Café, Philadelphia)

Tracks 1-13 released as Reprise MS 2137, 1973
Track 14 released on Reprise U.K. single K 14220, 1973
Track 15 released on Reprise single 1092, 1972
Tracks 16 and 19-21 released on First Time in a Long Time: The Reprise Recordings - Rhino Handmade RHM2 7734, 2002
Track 17 released on Reprise U.K. single K 14250, 1973
Track 18 released on Reprise single 1162, 1973